On the nature of the verb in present day English (existential) there-constructions. Formal and communicative implications

Ana Elina Martínez Insúa

doi:10.14198/raei.2002.15.09

Abstract

There is general agreement that be is the verb 'par excellence' in so-called English existential there-constructions (existential TCs). In fact, on many occasions, a distinction is made between existential TCs -be TCs- and presentational TCs (non-be TCs). It is true, however, that other verbs may also occur in TCs. These are mainly intransitive verbs that express the ideas of permanence, being, existence, movement, position, entrance into the scene of discourse, arrival or continuation of an event (seem, come, remain, follow, develop, etc.). From a corpus-driven perspective, the proportion of non-be TCs in Present Day English (PDE) is analysed, granting special attention to their communicative value. It is hypothesised that even though, strictly speaking, non-be TCs do not primarily express existence, they do share with be TCs their main pragmatic function -i.e. signal function- a trait genuinely linked to the use of there. It is also examined whether any significant difference is observed between the use of non-be TCs in speech and writing, and what is the rationale for this difference (if any).

Highlights

From a corpus-driven perspective, the proportion of non-be TCs in Present Day English (PDE) is analysed, granting special attention to their communicative valué
The question of the verb occurring in so-called existential í/iere-constructions has been a common topic in the recent literature
Adopting a corpus-driven perspective,3 and starting with a mandatory look at naturally produced TCs in context, this paper seeks to gain some deeper insight into the nature of the verbs that occur in PDE TCs, and their communicative roles

Summary

Introduction

From a corpus-driven perspective, the proportion of non-be TCs in Present Day English (PDE) is analysed, granting special attention to their communicative valué. The question of the verb occurring in so-called existential í/iere-constructions (hereafter, existential TCs) has been a common topic in the recent literature. Together with be, other verbs expressing being, permanence, occurrence, movement, position, arrival, entrance into the scene of discourse, or eventhe continuation of an event do occur together with so-called existential there The majority of these verbs are intransitive and are generally grouped, on semantic grounds, as verbs of being and occurrence -e.g. come, exist, hang, happen-, temporal verbs -e.g. arise, burst, emerge, loom-, verbs of continuation -develop, remain, linger, persist-, and verbs of motion -e.g. arrive, enter, come, pass- (cf Erdmann, 1976: 137ff; Pérez Guerra, 1995: 228ff).

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