there
- 01 A1 Beginner
adv.in, at, or to a place that is not where you are now.
adv.at or in that place; used to indicate a location away from the speaker.
Simple“Put the chair over there by the window so we can see the garden.”
In context“The hikers decided to camp there because the plateau offered a clear view of the valley and protection from the wind.”
UsageFunctions as a locative adverb; typically follows the verb or the object.
Teacher's tipContrast with 'here' to teach spatial distance relative to the speaker.
PitfallI am going to there. I am going there.Do not use 'to' before 'there' when it means 'to that place'.
- 02 A1 Beginner
pron.used with the verb 'to be' to show that something exists or is happening.
pron.used as a dummy subject or expletive pronoun to introduce a sentence concerning the existence of something.
Simple“There is a small park near my house where children play.”
In context“There remain several unresolved issues regarding the budget that the committee must address before the final vote.”
UsageThe verb 'to be' must agree with the noun that follows 'there'.
Teacher's tipRemind students that 'there' is not the real subject; the noun following the verb determines singular or plural forms.
PitfallThere is many people. There are many people.The verb must agree with the real subject that follows it.
- 03 B1 Intermediate
interj.something you say to comfort someone who is upset.
interj.used as an expression of sympathy, encouragement, or to soothe someone.
Simple“There, there, don't cry; everything will be fine.”
In context“There, there, it was only a minor accident and no one was actually hurt.”
UsageOften repeated as 'there, there'.
Teacher's tipThis is very common when speaking to children or close friends in distress.
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.that specific place or position mentioned before.
n.a particular point, state, or location previously referred to.
Simple“It is a long walk from there to the train station.”
In context“We moved to the suburbs in 2010 and have lived there ever since.”
UsageOften follows a preposition like 'from' or 'near'.
Teacher's tipUsed as a noun substitute for a previously mentioned location.
Synonymsthat spotAntonyms
there vs their vs they're — Their shows ownership, they're is the short form of 'they are', and there points to a place or introduces a fact.
From Middle English there, ther, thare, thar, thore, from Old English þēr, þǣr, þār (“there; at that place”), from Proto-West Germanic þār, from Proto-Germanic þar (“at that place; there”), from Proto-Indo-European tó-r (“there”), from demonstrative pronominal base to- (“the, that”) + adverbial suffix *-r. Cognate with Scots thar, thair (“there”), North Frisian dear, deer, där (“there”), Saterland Frisian deer (“there”), West Frisian dêr (“there”), Dutch daar (“there”), Low German dar (“there”), German da, dar- (“there”), Danish der (“there”), Norwegian der (“there”), Swedish där (“there”), Icelandic þar (“in that place, there”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
For Mandarin speakers Mandarin lacks the voiced dental fricative /ð/, so speakers often substitute the alveolar plosive /d/, pronouncing 'there' as /deə/ or /dɛr/.
Mandarin uses '有 (yǒu)' to mean both 'to have' and 'there is/are'. This L1 transfer causes learners to omit the dummy subject 'there' and write 'has a book on the table' instead of 'there is a book on the table'.
The Mandarin '在那里 (zài nàlǐ)' combines the preposition 'at/in' with 'there'. This leads to the redundant collocation 'in there' or 'at there' in contexts where only the adverb 'there' is required in English.
For Japanese speakers The Japanese sound inventory lacks the voiced dental fricative /ð/, leading to the substitution of the alveolar plosive /d/. Learners often produce /ze/ or /de/ instead of /ðeə/.
Japanese existence verbs (ある aru, いる iru) do not require a dummy subject, whereas English uses 'there' as a placeholder in 'there is/are' constructions. Consequently, learners often omit the dummy 'there', producing 'Is a book on the table' following the Japanese structure 'Tsukue no ue ni hon ga aru'.
The Japanese phrase 'Soko ni' (そこ に) covers both location and movement, leading to the redundant insertion of 'to' after 'go'. This results in 'go to there' instead of the correct 'go there'.