There-sentences are introduced by the word there:
There is a man at the door.
There is a God after all.
There was a phonecall for you.
There is no such thing as a popular tax.
There-sentences are chiefly used to introduce new information
relating to
the existence – or non-existence – of some state of affairs. For this reason they are sometimes called ‘existential’ sentences.
The word there in these constructions should be distinguished from the adverb there, which denotes place:
There he is. (cf. He is there.)
There is a man at the door.
There is a God after all.
There was a phonecall for you.
There is no such thing as a popular tax.
There-sentences are chiefly used to introduce new information
relating to
the existence – or non-existence – of some state of affairs. For this reason they are sometimes called ‘existential’ sentences.
The word there in these constructions should be distinguished from the adverb there, which denotes place:
There he is. (cf. He is there.)