Dark picture, uncomfortable room and a girl

[Rachel Adams]

Should I use "a" instead of "one" before "young girl" and can I say that the picture is "dark" to mean it's "depressing" and the room is "uncomfortable"?

"The name of the painting is "The Potato Eaters". There are two women, two men and one young girl. They are all poor people. There is a table. There is a lamp above the table. It is a dark picture. The room isn't comfortable."

The excerice is from "English Grammar in Context' by Michael Vince. It is about the use of "there".

 

[teechar]

Should I use "a" instead of "one" before "young girl"

You can use either.

and can I say that the picture is "dark" to mean it's "depressing"

Would "gloomy" work for you? The reader may think you're talking about the hue of the picture if you use "dark".

and the room is "uncomfortable"?

OK.

 

[Rachel Adams]

You can use either.
Would "gloomy" work for you? The reader may think you're talking about the hue of the picture if you use "dark".
OK.

Should the sentence always start with "There is..." or can I use it at the end of the sentence?

"There is a book on the table." Instead of "On the table there is a book."

 

[Tarheel]

Perhaps:

There is a lamp providing some light. It's a depressing picture.

I don't know what you mean by "The room isn't comfortable".

exercise

 

[Tarheel]

Should the sentence always start with "There is..." or can I use it at the end of the sentence?

"There is a book on the table." Instead of "On the table there is a book."

You can use either one, but the second one looks more like a made up sentence.