there
Used as an expletive subject of be in its sense of “exist”, with the semantic, usually…Used as an expletive subject of be in its sense of “exist”, with the semantic, usually indefinite subject being postponed or (occasionally) implied.
Recorded UK: Association Shtooka, Judith Franck, CC BY 3.0 US, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Translations
2 languagesBy meaning 1
Meaning
5 sensesUsed as an expletive subject of be in its sense of “exist”, with the semantic, usually indefinite subject being postponed or (occasionally) implied.
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.]
es
Used with other intransitive verbs of existence, in the same sense, or with other intransitive verbs, adding a sense of existence.
If x is a positive number, then there exists [=there is] a positive number y less than x.
There remain several problems with this approach. [=Several problems remain with this approach.]
Used with other verbs, when raised.
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.]
More meanings 2
(idiomatic, in compounds)That.
therefor, thereat, thereunder
(colloquial)Appended to words of greeting etc.
Hi there, young fellow.
Oh, hello there, Bob, how are you doing?
Origin
From Middle English there, ther, thare, thar, thore, from Old English þēr, þǣr, þār (“therFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.