Grammar combing: Teacher Wang Xinggang
Suitable for: English teachers, English majors, middle and high school students, etc
There be
Entry from the Oxford Dictionary
used to show that sth exists or happens.
interpretation:
The English entry means "only when something exists or happens can you use the thether be". Our grammar teacher often says that "there is something somewhere" also means this.
There be emphasizes a "sense of presence".
Remember the three words "brush existence".
A few example sentences are explained in detail:
There's a restaurant around the corner. There is a restaurant around the corner.
Subtext: There's a restaurant, you haven't seen it, it's there.
There are two people waiting outside. Two people were waiting outside.
Subtext: There are two people outside, staring at you, not leaving. The real two lumps of meat are there. You can't hide.
Has there been an accident? Have you ever had an accident?
Subtext: The accident is there, it can't be erased.
I don't want there to be any misunderstanding. I don't want any misunderstandings.
Subtext: Misunderstanding this thing cannot make it exist between us. If any misunderstanding occurs, quickly eliminate it, do not let it arise and exist.
There seemed to be no doubt about it. There seems to be no doubt about this.
Subtext: there is no doubt, there is no doubt, the doubt is eliminated, there is no longer a problem, there is no disappear.
There comes a point where you give up. Now it's time for you to give up.
Subtext: It should come or come, you can't accept it, this point is all here.
There remains the problem of finance. Financial problems remain.
Subtext: The financial problem is real, you close your eyes and it's there, you have to face it, admit it, accept it. You can't pretend you don't exist.
Suddenly there was a loud bang. Suddenly there was a loud bang.
Subtext: If you're not deaf, you can hear. Such a big sound came out, as long as it was a person can hear it, it was quite sudden. It's not that there is no sound, it's that it's cold and loud, it really exists.
Have
(also have got) [VN] ( not used in the progressive tenses is not used when proceeding ) to own, hold or possess sth have; hold; possess
The English entry means to say "ownership", which emphasizes ownership of the subject, which is a right and fact of ownership.
He had a new car and a boat. He had a new car and a boat.
Subtext: He legally owns the car and the boat, and if someone breaks it, he has to pay compensation. He had money, bought these two things, and drove and rowed when he had nothing to do, and no one else wanted to drive a boat.
Have you got a job yet? Do you have a job?
Subtext: Is there a job for you? Can you get a job? Can you use your brain to find it and then make some money to come back.
I don't have that much money on me. I didn't have that much money with me.
Subtext: I'm poor, I don't have money. I didn't make money, I didn't legally own it. If you must ask me for money, I will go to the street and kneel down and beg for food, and get some money.
She's got a BA in English. She has a bachelor's degree in English.
Subtext: After years of hard work, she has done well in all subjects, so she can graduate. She had great abilities and she learned something professional. She was awarded a bachelor's degree by her teacher.
Replace the contrast
There's a restaurant around the corner.
If changed to The corner has a restaurant. The meaning is no longer to emphasize the location of the restaurant, but to say that there is a restaurant on this street corner. If the ownership is not understood, it can be further seen as the property of the hotel. Obviously unreasonable, so this sentence cannot be changed from the thether be to the have.
I don't have that much money on me.
If changed to There is much money on me. It means that I have a lot of money in me. But remember that this money doesn't have to be mine. It could be money that I legally own, or it could be something that someone else planted and put on me. It emphasizes not whether I am the owner of the money, but whether there is money in the "pockets, pant legs, collars, etc." This sentence can be changed from have to the thether be, but the meaning has changed.
I have two hands.
If changed to There are two hands on me. This means that I have two hands on my body, maybe the two people who kidnapped me, or the two stumped arms behind the mutilated corpse, in short, this hand is not mine, not my own, not my own hand. This sentence can be changed from have to the thether be, but the meaning has changed.
There are many books in my schoolbag.
If it is changed to My schoolbag has many books, it means that my bag has financial ownership and legally owns several books. Apparently not. So can't change. Nor can it be assumed that the book is part of the school bag, the school bag is just a container. If there is a long strap in the bag, you can use have or has.
China has 1.4 billion people.
If changed to There are 1.4 billion people in China. There is no problem with the syntax, but there will be some deviations in the meaning. Has said that China is a country with a population of 1.4 billion. And there are said that in China, there are 1.4 billion people living in this country. But not everyone is Chinese, and there are also foreigners living in China.
Say an extreme example sentence
I have a head, four limbs and a body.
Although this sentence is nonsense, it also says that I am healthy, I am not lacking in anything, very complete (very healthy).
Although objectively these things are not less, it seems to say, "There is such a bunch of things in my place." It emphasizes the sense of existence, as to whether it is good or not, it does not work, I do not care, do not know, do not care. Whether it works well or not is not the responsibility of the thether be. There be is only responsible for existence.
Universal interchangeable
A clock has a round face. =There is a round face on a clock.
The two are interchangeable. Because this is the relationship between the "whole and the part". The clock as a whole can have a dial. It can also be said that on the watch, there is (there be) a dial. But these two sentences still give people a different feeling. Has emphasized the structure of this watch, there is something, there is a large dial, as well as the hand and other components; and the there is still emphasis on the position, there is a large dial above the clock. Usually when we chat to introduce things to friends in the house, we still have to say My clock has a round face. If you want to emphasize the large dial and want to attract attention, use the thee be, let the listener focus on the a round face first. If it is not so true, the two are the same by default.
Each house in this area has a small yard.= There is a small yard in each house in this area.
The two are interchangeable. Because the house is the whole, the yard is the part. The house is made up of different parts such as yard, wall, house, etc., and yard is part of the house. Similarly, the linguistic extensions of the two expressions are not the same. Has emphasized the structure of the house, what is there. There is a sense of admiration for the small yard. Hey, you see, you see, every house has a small yard, it's nice. If it is not so true, the two are the same by default.
A week has seven days.= There are seven days in a week.
The two are interchangeable. There are seven days in a week, and seven days make up a week. It is also equivalent to the relationship between the whole and the part. So there's nothing wrong with hass. And there are seven days of this thing in a week. It also makes sense.
Our village has only one street.= There is only one street in our village.
The two are interchangeable. The connotation of has is that the village has a street. Because the village, as a thing, can have the component of the street. If you change it to Our village has a plane, this sentence is problematic. If this sentence is spatial, in that part of our village, there is an airplane, it can't be. Because the plane does not belong to this location. It would be nice to understand the village as a village (administrative unit), but the example of this airplane is different from the street. Street is part of the village (has denoted composition), but airplanes are not (has denoted ownership). Collectively owned! There is only one street in our village. So has emphasized that the village has a road (this road is from our village, not from outside the village), and there is emphasizing that there is such a road in the village (you can see it, you can drive through it).
There are 30 students in a class.= A class has 30 students.
The two are interchangeable. There is no difference in meaning. But there be is a little more common. Sentences like A class has 30 students, when I search for English websites, appear more often in calculation problems like SAT, so even if they are not common, they are correct.
Changed to We have 30 students in our class. This expression is more authentic.
There are 30 desks in my classroom.
If you change it to My Classroom has 30 desks, it's not good. Because the desk can be moved away at any time, there is no strong "whole and part" feeling. It is more appropriate to use there are to indicate existence. But if it's My classroom has four walls, that's fine, because as a space, a classroom definitely has 4 walls. If you change it to thether are four walls in my classroom, it's okay, but it's slightly redundant. Because there is an emphasis on the existence of space, and the relationship between the classroom and the wall, there is no need for thether to be emphasized. Unless this classroom is special, there are only three walls. There are just three walls in my classroom. It's ok at this time.
Sick sentences for students
Every day has six classes.
This is a sick sentence that students often write. This is not true because each day cannot be the owner of six lessons. Every day is everyone's every day, not every student's day, and for the workers every day is two and a half days, and they don't have classes either.
Changed to There are six classes every day. Yes, there are six lessons in one day.
Changed to We have six classes every day. Alternatively, it means that we need to take six lessons.
My family has my dad, my mom and I.
This sentence is also a sick sentence often written by students. While A clock has a round face as it is, clock is the whole and face is the part. But referring to people or organizations of people is not suitable for such expression.
Changed to:There are my dad, my mom and I in my family. Yes, but it's a bit strange.
Changed to:There are three people in my family. They are my dad, my mom and I. Because "there are a few people in my family" does not emphasize possession, but emphasizes "living, there are" several people.
Well, that's all there is to say, what example sentences do you have to discuss, please leave me a message!
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Author: Teacher Wang Xinggang (public account| toutiao number| Douyin number: Teacher Wang's English teaching), An English teacher, has been teaching for 16 years. The daily tweets of this number mainly include: the combing and analysis of the English knowledge of middle and high schools, and the explanation and summary of the English test centers in the middle and high school entrance examinations. Tweets are mainly for middle and high school entrance examination students, sharing the English knowledge that students can really use every day, especially suitable for middle and high school students who can study independently after double reduction!