there be
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]The expletive there, from Old English þær, to fill the first position in English's historic V2 word order.[1]
Verb
[edit]there be (highly irregular; see conjugation table)
- Of the specified thing: to exist, physically or abstractly.
- Synonym: there exist
- There are two apples on the table. [=Two apples are on the table.]
- There is no way to do it. [=No way to do it exists.]
- Is there an answer? [=Does an answer exist?]
- No, there isn't. [=No, one doesn't exist.]
- There seems to be some difficulty with the papers. [=It seems that there is some difficulty with the papers.]
- I expected there to be a simpler solution. [=I expected that there would be a simpler solution.]
- There are beginning to be complications. [=It's beginning to be the case that there are complications.]
- There have to be two people at the post.
- 1749, Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaftesbury, Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, J. Baskerville, page 8:
- If there be any thing ILL in the Univerſe from Deſign, then that which diſpoſes all things, is no one good deſigning Principle.
- 1907, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, J.B. Lippincott, Co., page 627:
- Unless there be some lesion of the stomach, there is no blood, either microscopic or occult.
- 1988, John S. Doskey, William Maclure, The European Journals of William Maclure, →ISBN, page 204:
- There ought to be representation on the broad basis of population and public discussion with open doors and free debate. . . . Nor should there be any constraint upon the opinions of any of the members of the Diet or upon their right of publishing them, even though such would meet with opposition from without.
- 1996, Diane Meyers, Disaster Response and Recovery: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals, →ISBN, page 75:
- There may be people with drug or alcohol problems who may go into withdrawal.
- 1999, Christopher Shays, “Hearing Before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs, and International Relationsof the Committee on Government Reform”, in Anthrax Immunization Program, →ISBN, page 35:
- I just want to know the truth, you are expressing your concerns, but I also want there to be some candor between us.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:there be.
Usage notes
[edit]- When introducing more than one noun phrase, the verb often agrees with the number of the first noun phrase. Whether distinctions are made for pluralization can vary from one speaker to the next.
- There is a swing and a seesaw for kids.
- Non-finite forms (subjunctive, infinitive) nearly always break up the phase with to, i.e. there to be, as in e.g. “were there to be …” or “in order for there to be …”. However, it may not be considered a true infinitive, as, unlike the “to …” infinitive construction for typical verbs, there to be cannot be used as a standalone nominal infinitive (though there is a rare gerund there being) nor as an infinitive of purpose. (Examples of ungrammatical phrases: *There to be rain would be a reason to bring an umbrella; *There to be a big enough party, you must invite more people.)
Conjugation
[edit]Conjugation of there be
* Nonstandard.
Related terms
[edit]- as if there is no tomorrow, as if there's no tomorrow
- as if there was no tomorrow
- as if there were no tomorrow
- if ever there was one
- if ever there were one
- if ever there were some
- if there's grass on the field, play ball
- if there's grass on the pitch, play ball
- in unity, there is strength
- in wine there is truth; in wine, there is truth
- let there be light
- like there is no tomorrow, like there's no tomorrow
- like there was no tomorrow
- like there were no tomorrow
- not that there's anything wrong with that
- that's all there is to it
- there are bad apples in every orchard
- there are many ways to skin a cat, there are many ways to skin cats
- there are more horses' asses than horses
- there are no atheists in foxholes
- there are none so blind as those who will not see
- there are no stupid questions
- there are plenty more fish in the sea, there are plenty of fish in the sea
- there are two sides to every question
- there are two sides to every story
- there is a lid for every pot
- there is a new sheriff in town
- there is an exception to every rule, there's an exception to every rule
- there is a place and time for everything, there's a place and time for everything
- there is a time and a place for everything, there's a time and a place for everything, there is a time and place for everything, there's a time and place for everything
- there is no fool like an old fool, there's no fool like an old fool
- there is no free lunch
- there is no honor among thieves
- there is no Planet B
- there is no replacement for displacement
- there is no spoon
- there is no such thing as a free lunch, there's no such thing as a free lunch
- there is no such thing as bad press
- there is no such thing as bad publicity
- there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing
- there is no there there, there is no "there" there, there's no there there, there's no "there" there
- there is nothing new under the sun
- there is no war in Ba Sing Se
- there is reason in the roasting of eggs
- there is safety in numbers
- there is something rotten in the state of Denmark
- there is something to be said for
- there is strength in numbers
- there is the rub
- there is truth in wine
- there may be snow on the mountaintop but there's fire in the valley
- there may be snow on the rooftop but there is fire in the furnace, there may be snow on the rooftop but there's fire in the furnace
- there's a first time for everything
- there's a good time coming
- there's a grain of truth in every joke
- there's a lid for every pot
- there's always a bigger fish
- there's a rotten apple in every barrel
- there's a sucker born every minute
- there's been an accident
- there's life in the old dog yet
- there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle
- there's many a slip between the cup and the lip
- there's many a slip twixt cup and lip, there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip
- there's more than one way to cook an egg
- there's more than one way to crack an egg
- there's more than one way to feed a cat
- there's more than one way to fuck a cat
- there's more than one way to peel an orange
- there's more than one way to skin a cat
- there's more where that came from
- there's no accounting for taste
- there's no business like show business
- there's no I in team
- there's none so blind as those who will not see
- there's no place like home
- there's no point crying over spilt milk
- there's no shame in my game
- there's no smoke without fire
- there's no such thing as a stupid question
- there's nothing to it
- there's no time like the present
- there's no use
- there's no use crying over spilt milk
- there's nowt so queer as folk
- there's one born every minute
- there's plenty more fish in the sea
- where there is a will there is a way; where there is a will, there is a way; where there's a will there's a way
- where there is a will, where there's a will
- where there is smoke, there is fire; where there's smoke, there's fire
- where there's muck there's brass
- where there's no sense there's no feeling
- while there's life, there's hope
Translations
[edit]to exist
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References
[edit]- ^ Leiv Egil Breivik and Toril Swan, The desemanticisation of existential there, in Christiane Dalton-Puffer et al. ed., Words: Structure, Meaning, Function, Walter de Gruyter, 2000.