Collins Cobuild English Grammar (167 page)

In formal English,
to
-infinitive clauses are sometimes used.

To sell your story to the papers
is a risky strategy.

Commenting on a fact that you are about to mention

9.42
    When you want to comment on a fact, event, or situation, you can use
it
followed by a
linking verb
, an adjective or a noun phrase, and a
that
-clause giving the fact.

It is strange that it hasn’t been noticed before.
It’s a shame he didn’t come.
From the photographs it seems clear my mother was no beauty.

Here is a list of adjectives used in this structure:

amazing

apparent

appropriate

awful

bad

clear

doubtful

essential

evident

extraordinary

fair

funny

good

important

inevitable

interesting

likely

lucky

natural

obvious

odd

plain

possible

probable

queer

sad

shocking

strange

surprising

true

unbelievable

unlikely

wonderful

Here is a list of nouns used in this structure:

disgrace

marvel

nuisance

pity

shame

surprise

wonder

USAGE NOTE

9.43
    After adjectives like
funny
,
odd
, and
strange
, a clause beginning with
how
is sometimes used instead of a
that
-clause, with the same meaning.

It’s funny how they don’t get on.
It’s strange how life turns out.
It is astonishing how he has changed.

What
-clauses can be used after similar adjectives when you want to comment on something that is the object of an action.

It’s surprising what you can dig up.
It’s amazing what some of them would do for a little publicity.

Why
-clauses can be used after adjectives such as
obvious
and
clear
when you want to comment on how clear the reason for something is.

Looking back on these cases, it is clear why the unions distrust the law.

Whether
-clauses can be used after adjectives such as
doubtful
and
irrelevant
when you want to comment on something that may or may not be true.

It is doubtful whether supply could ever have kept up with consumption.

other verbs

9.44
    If you want to say what someone thinks about a fact, you can use
it
followed by a verb such as
please
or
surprise
. The verb is followed by a noun phrase and a
that
-clause.

It won’t surprise you that I stuck it in my pocket.
It bothered her that Alice wasn’t interested in going out.

Here is a list of verbs that can be used in this way:

amaze

amuse

annoy

appal

astonish

astound

bewilder

bother

delight

disgust

distress

grieve

horrify

interest

please

shock

surprise

upset

worry

passive of reporting verbs

9.45
    If you want to say what is said, thought, or discovered by a group of people, you can use
it
as the subject of the passive form of a
reporting verb
, followed by a
that
-clause.

It was agreed that the plan should be kept secret.
It was felt that there had been some dishonest behaviour.
It was found that no cases of hypothermia had been recorded.

For a list of verbs that can be used in this way, see paragraph
7.69
.

Introducing something new:
there
as subject

saying that something exists:
There are four people in my family

9.46
    When you want to say that something exists, or when you want to mention the presence of something, you can use
there
followed by
be
and a noun phrase.

     In this context,
there
does not refer to a place. In spoken English, the difference is often clearer, because this use of
there
is often pronounced without stress as /ðǝ/ (American English ðǝr), whereas the adverb of place is almost always pronounced fully as /ðeǝ/ (American English ðeǝr).

There
has very little meaning in the structures that are being explained here. For example, the sentence
There is a good reason for this
just means
A good reason for this exists
.

9.47
    The noun phrase is usually followed by an adverb or prepositional phrase, a
wh
-clause, or one of the adjectives
available
,
present
, or
free
.

There were thirty boys in the class.
There are three reasons why we should support this action.
There were no other jobs available.

Prepositional phrases relating to place can be put either in front of
there
or after the noun phrase.

On a small table
there was a white china mug.
There was a box
in the middle of the room
.

saying that something happened:
There was a sudden noise

9.48
    You can also use
there
followed by
be
and a noun phrase referring to an event to say that something happened or will happen.

There was a knock at his door.
There were two general elections that year.
There will be trouble tonight.

describing something that is happening:
There was a man standing next to her

9.49
    When you are describing a scene or situation, you can use a structure consisting of
there
followed by
be
, a noun phrase, and an
-ing
participle.

For example, instead of saying
Flames were coming out of it
, you can say
There were flames coming out of it
.

There was a storm raging outside.
There were men and women working in the fields with horses.
There was a revolver lying there.

verb agreement

9.50
    Usually a plural form of
be
is used if the noun phrase after it is plural.

There were two men in the room.

You use a singular form of
be
when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable.

There was a sofa and two chairs.

Note that you use a plural form of
be
in front of plural quantity expressions beginning with
a
, such as
a lot of
, and
a few of
.

There were a lot of people there.

You also use a plural form of
be
in front of numbers beginning with
a
, such as
a hundred
,
a thousand
, and
a dozen
.

There were a dozen reasons why a man might disappear.

contractions with
there

9.51
    In spoken and informal written English,
there is
and
there has
are often contracted to
there’s
;
there had
and
there would
to
there’d
; and
there will
to
there’ll
.

There’s
no danger.
I didn’t even know
there’d
been a fire.

there
with adjectives