There or in my town

[Rachel Adams]

Is my sentence correct without adding the second "there" and "in my town"?

"There are lots of churches and cathedrals."

 

[GoesStation]

It's grammatical but it doesn't say where the churches and cathedrals are. It could be a response to a question like What is there to see in your town? It's not a sentence that would work in very many contexts.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

You can also say:

- There are a lot of churches and cathedrals in my town.

- There are lots of churches and cathedrals in my town.

- My town has lots of churches and cathedrals.

- My town has a lot of churches and cathedrals.​

They all mean the same thing.

As in your other "there" post, in these sentences "there" is a generalized noun that does not refer to anything.

 

[tedmc]

Why would you want to add a second "there" at the end? That would be wrong.

 

[5jj]

Why would you want to add a second "there" at the end? That would be wrong.

Not necessarily.

X is a beautiful town. There are lots of churches and cathedrals there.

​

​

 

[tedmc]

Not necessarily.

X is a beautiful town. There are lots of churches and cathedrals there.

​

Yes, if it follows from a sentence about the same subject, but not if it is a standalone sentence as in the original post.​

 

[5jj]

Yes, if it follows from a sentence about the same subject, but not if it is a standalone sentence as in the original post.

The original sentence doesn't work as a standalone sentence.

 

[Rover_KE]

I'm just nitpicking here, but only five UK towns and cities have two cathedrals each.

Do many Georgian towns have lots of cathedrals?

 

[Rachel Adams]

The original sentence doesn't work as a standalone sentence.

If I start my sentence with location I can omit "there" but if I use it will my sentence be ungrammatical?
"In my town (there) are my churches.

 

[5jj]

"In my town (there) are my churches.

Do you mean many rather than my? If you do, the most natural sentence would be There are many churches in my town.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

If I start my sentence with location I can omit "there", [COMMA] but if I use it will my sentence be ungrammatical?
"In my town (there) are many churches.

Always use commas to divide compound sentences.

You're trying to understand when to use "there," right? These are grammatical and mean the same thing:

- In my town are many churches.

- In my town there are many churches.​

- Many churches are in my town.
​

You can also say "lots of" or "a lot of." They mean the same thing as "many."

 

[5jj]

- In my town are many churches.

- In my town there are many churches.​

- Many churches are in my town."​

I find neither the first nor the third particularly natural​

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I find neither the first nor the third particularly natural

You're right, of course. I wouldn't use the second one, either. Nothing is as natural as "There are a lot of churches in my town" or "My town has a lot of churches."

But Rachel is puzzling out when and where to use the word "there" and is experimenting with what does and doesn't work.

Yoda, the Jedi Master in the Star Wars movies, would say, "Many churches in my town there are." Rachel, don't you do that!

 

[Rachel Adams]

You're right, of course. I wouldn't use the second one, either. Nothing is as natural as "There are a lot of churches in my town" or "My town has a lot of churches."

But Rachel is puzzling out when and where to use the word "there" and is experimenting with what does and doesn't work.

Yoda, the Jedi Master in the Star Wars movies, would say, "Many churches in my town there are." Rachel, don't you do that!

I can't find the example written by a native speaker. She is an AmE speaker from another forum. She said if you start a sentence with the location then adding 'there" is unnecessary. I wanted to find out if adding "there" would be still correct. I can't find that discussion anymore. But you said you wouldn't use the second sentence "In my town there are many churches". So perhaps I should not omit "there" and start my sentence with the exact location and use this construction at all?

 

[Yankee]

Is my sentence correct without adding the second "there" and "in my town"?

"There are lots of churches and cathedrals."

It's OK if you have/had previously established that you were speaking about your town.

 

[GoesStation]

I wanted to find out if adding "there" would be still correct. I can't find that discussion anymore. But you said you wouldn't use the second sentence "In my town there are many churches". So perhaps I should not omit "there" and start my sentence with the exact location and use this construction at all?

A native speaker would be very unlikely to use it. This is more natural: There are a lot of churches in my town. Note that "there" is (if I understand the grammar) a dummy pronoun here. It doesn't refer to "my town".