ContentsPreface ................................................................................................................ v
List of tables and figures................................................................................. xAbbreviations ................................................................................................. xiv

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1 Terminology and Linguistic Facts ............................................ 5
1.1 Existential sentences with and without there in present-day
English ................................................................................................... 5
1.2 Grammaticalization and subjectification............................................... 6
1.3 Particle ................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Presentative function ............................................................................. 81.5 Present-day English, contemporary English, and current English .... 101.6 there’s ................................................................................................... 101.7 Locative vs. existential........................................................................ 18
1.8 Dialects ................................................................................................ 19

Chapter 2 Database and Data Collection................................................. 212.1 Database ............................................................................................... 212.2 Data collection ..................................................................................... 262.3 Summary .............................................................................................. 29vii

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Existential Sentences from the Diachronic and Synchronic Perspectives

Chapter 3 The Diachronic Development of Existential Sentences inOld and Middle English .......................................................... 31

Chapter 4 The Diachronic Development and Current Situations of
there and there + be.................................................................. 35
4.1 The syntactic development of there + be .......................................... 36
4.2 Subject raising ..................................................................................... 50
4.3 The there + be construction in present-day English ......................... 53
4.4 Summary .............................................................................................. 56

Chapter 5 The Diachronic Development of there + singular beas a Phrase................................................................................. 57
5.1 An overview of the contracted form there’s ...................................... 57
5.2 The diachronic development of there + be ....................................... 61
5.3 The historical features relevant to there’s .......................................... 63
5.3.1 Non-concord in number ............................................................... 63
5.3.2 Passive structure ........................................................................... 65
5.3.3 The definite referent of the notional subject .............................. 67
5.4 there was .............................................................................................. 71
5.5 Grammaticalization of here’s .............................................................. 80
5.6 Summary .............................................................................................. 83

Chapter 6 Peculiar Existential Constructions and there’s ..................... 85
6.1 Methodology ........................................................................................ 88
6.2 The TV construction ........................................................................... 91
6.3 The TP and Tbeen constructions ...................................................... 101
6.4 Discussion on the use of there’s ...................................................... 106
6.5 The Tbeen construction and the linguistic status of there’s ........... 116
6.6 Other verbal forms in the TV construction ..................................... 120
6.7 Characteristics of TV sentences in present-day English ................. 122
6.8 The here + be sequence .................................................................... 128
6.9 Summary ............................................................................................ 135

Contentsix

Chapter 7 There + VP and there + be + pp Passive ............................ 137
7.1 The Non-be construction................................................................... 139
7.1.1 Gradient nature of the Non-be construction ............................. 139
7.1.2 The historical transition of Non-be sentences .......................... 143
7.1.3 Transition of presentative features ............................................ 144
7.1.4 Positions of locatives ................................................................. 150
7.1.5 there + exist and there + remain............................................... 154
7.1.6 The data of the COHA .............................................................. 157
7.2 The passive existential construction ................................................. 162
7.2.1 The OED’s dataset ..................................................................... 164
7.2.2 The COHA’s dataset ................................................................... 169
7.3 Transitive verbs ................................................................................. 171
7.4 Summary ............................................................................................ 172

Chapter 8

Dialectal Differences and Changes in Contemporary
English ...................................................................................... 175
8.1 Differences between British English and American English .......... 175
8.1.1 Frequency and rhetorical use ..................................................... 176
8.1.2 Verbal form ................................................................................. 178
8.1.3 Number disagreement................................................................. 184
8.1.4 Interpersonal function................................................................. 185
8.1.5 Summary ..................................................................................... 187
8.2 Change in present-day English ......................................................... 188
8.3 Summary ............................................................................................ 193

Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 195
Appendix 1 .................................................................................................... 199
Appendix 2 .................................................................................................... 209
References ...................................................................................................... 213
Index ............................................................................................................... 223