▎Existential Sentence with 有yǒu (2)

 

Function The existential verb 有yǒu expresses the existence of somebody or something at some location.

1 那棟大樓(的)前面有很多人。

Nà dòng dàlóu (de) qiánmiàn yǒu hěn duō rén.

There are many people in front of that building.

2 我家附近有圖書館。

Wǒ jiā fùjìn yǒu túshūguǎn.

There is a library near my home.

3 山上有兩家很有名的咖啡店。

Shān shàng yǒu liǎng jiā hěn yǒumíng de kāfēi diàn.

There are two famous coffee shops on the mountain.

4 樓下有一家商店。

Lóuxià yǒu yì jiā shāngdiàn.

There is a shop downstairs.

 

Structures The existential structure is: Location＋有yǒu＋Noun. The internal structures of location here are the same as the location in the locative sentences.

Negation：The negation for existential sentences is 沒有méi yǒu.

1 他家附近沒有游泳池。

Tā jiā fùjìn méi yǒu yóuyǒngchí.

There is no swimming pool near his home.

2 教室裡面沒有學生。

Jiàoshì lǐmiàn méi yǒu xuéshēng.

There is no student in the classroom.

3 那棟大樓的後面沒有餐廳。

Nà dòng dàlóu de hòumiàn méi yǒu cāntīng.

There is no restaurant behind that building.

Questions：

1 你家附近有海嗎？

Nǐ jiā fùjìn yǒu hǎi ma?

Is there ocean near your house?

2 學校(的)後面有沒有好吃的牛肉麵店？

Xuéxiào (de) hòumiàn yǒu méi yǒu hǎochī de niúròu miàn diàn?

Is there a good beef noodle shop behind the school?

 

Usage

(1) The object in existential sentences is usually indefinite, i.e., the identification of the object is not readily certain or familiar to the speaker.

(2) Note also that existential sentences and locative sentences are just the reverse in sequence, e.g., 樓下有圖書館。Lóuxià yǒu túshūguǎn. vs. 圖書館在樓下。Túshūguǎn zài lóuxià. ‘Downstairs there is a library.’ vs. ‘The library is downstairs.’

(3) In 我有一支手機。Wǒ yǒu yì zhī shǒujī. ‘I have a cellphone.’, the verb 有 is possessive and transitive and in 房子裡面有一支手機。Fángzi lǐmiàn yǒu yì zhī shǒujī. ‘There is a cellphone in the house’, the verb 有 is existential and intransitive. The possessive 有 is always transitive, while the existential 有 is always intransitive.

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