Yishun English Tuition Eunos Primary School is rebuilt as a focused Primary English guide to two small but powerful sentence patterns: existential there and dummy or anticipatory it. Families searching for Primary English tuition in Yishun, Eunos Primary School English tuition, PSLE English, grammar, sentence construction, composition writing, comprehension and small-group English tuition often see pupils who know the words there and it but assume they always point to a place or object.
In There are three forms on the table, there introduces the existence of three forms; it is not the same as the place word in Put the forms there. In It is important to check the date, it does not point to a previously named object. The sentence uses it to organise the clause so the longer idea can appear later.
This page therefore owns one distinct learning job: how English introduces new information and packages long ideas using there and it.
This article retains a historical school-name title for archive continuity. It does not claim affiliation with, endorsement by, or a current programme operated by Eunos Primary School.
The 50-Second There/It Check
Ask:
- Does there point to a place, or introduce existence?
- Does it refer to a known noun, or organise a longer idea?
- What noun phrase controls the agreement?
- Can the sentence be rewritten to reveal the full meaning?
Existential There Introduces Something Into the Discourse
There is a folder on the desk.
The sentence introduces a folder as new information.
Existential There Is Different From Location There
There is a folder on the desk. — existential.
Put the folder there. — location.
The spelling is identical; the sentence job is different.
Agreement Follows the Introduced Noun Phrase in Formal School English
There is one folder.
There are three folders.
Pupils should check the noun phrase after the verb.
Longer Noun Phrases Still Control the Number
There is a box of labels beside the door.
The introduced phrase is headed by singular box.
There are labels in the box.
The head is plural labels.
There Was and There Were Introduce Past Situations
There was a delay.
There were two delays.
There Will Be Introduces a Future Situation
There will be a briefing at three.
This announces the existence of a future event.
There May Be Preserves Possibility
There may be a change to the venue.
Do not paraphrase it as a confirmed change.
Existential There Is Useful in Descriptive Writing
There was a narrow path behind the building.
The sentence introduces a new feature before the writer develops it.
But Overusing There Is Can Flatten Writing
There was a boy. There was a bag. There was a door.
Once the reader knows the entities, direct noun subjects often create stronger flow.
Referential It Points Back to Something
I found the folder. It was under the chair.
It refers to the folder.
Dummy It Does Not Refer to a Specific Object
It is raining.
It is late.
It is important to check the date.
These uses organise the sentence without a concrete noun referent for it.
Anticipatory It Can Move a Long Clause Later
It is important to check the date.
The underlying important action is to check the date.
Compare the more formal alternative:
Checking the date is important.
It Is Clear That… Packages a Proposition
It is clear that the venue changed.
The that-clause carries the proposition being evaluated.
It Seems That… Reduces Certainty
It seems that the notice is outdated.
This presents an appearance or inference, not the same certainty as The notice is outdated.
It Is Possible That… Keeps Possibility Explicit
Useful when the writer needs to avoid overclaiming.
It Is Necessary To… Expresses Requirement
It is necessary to submit the form by Friday.
In practical writing, a direct instruction may be clearer:
Submit the form by Friday.
Information Packaging Changes Emphasis
Three folders are on the desk.
There are three folders on the desk.
The second naturally introduces the presence of the folders.
There Is Can Introduce, Then Pronouns Can Continue
There is a new notice beside the door. It explains the venue change.
The first sentence introduces the notice; the second refers back to it.
Do Not Confuse the Two Uses of There
There are two boxes there.
The first there is existential; the second points to a location.
A Fictional Learner: Maya and Two Theres
Imagine Maya, a fictional Primary 4 pupil. She reads:
There are two chairs there.
She thinks the sentence contains a repeated location word.
The tutor asks what each there does. Maya sees that the first introduces the chairs; the second identifies where they are.
Reading Laboratory
Original passage: There was a new notice beside the library entrance. It was important to read it before joining the queue because there were two different reporting times. It seemed that some visitors had used the session start time instead of the earlier reporting time. There may have been some confusion because the first version of the notice was still displayed inside the hall.
Ask pupils to classify:
- There was a new notice — existential introduction.
- It was important to read it — first it is dummy/anticipatory; second refers to the notice.
- There were two different reporting times — existential.
- It seemed that… — anticipatory/evaluative pattern expressing inference.
- There may have been… — existential plus possibility.
Diagnostic
- Classify the first there in There is a folder there.
- Classify the second there.
- Repair agreement: There is three folders.
- Explain It is important to check the date.
- Explain It seems that the time has changed.
- Identify referential it in I found the notice. It was torn.
Answers
The first there introduces existence; the second is locative. Write There are three folders. In It is important to check the date, it packages the longer action. It seems that… presents an inference or appearance. In the final sentence, it refers to the notice.
Writing Clinic
Repetitive draft: “There was a room. There was a table. There were three folders. There was a notice. It was important.”
A stronger version is:
A table stood in the room with three folders beside a new notice. It was important to read the notice before choosing a folder.
The writer uses existential structure where useful but does not depend on it for every sentence.
Existential There in Situational Writing
There will be a briefing at 8.45 a.m. is useful when announcing the existence of an event.
Dummy It in Explanatory Writing
It is useful to compare the two notices before deciding which time is current.
This structure can help organise longer ideas, but direct writing may sometimes be clearer.
Primary 3 and Primary 4
Begin with there is/are and referential versus non-referential it.
Primary 5
Add there was/were, there may be, anticipatory it and it seems that.
Primary 6 and PSLE English
Pupils should understand these structures in dense reading and use them selectively in writing.
A 90-Minute There/It Lesson
- 10 min: locative versus existential there.
- 15 min: there is/are/was/were.
- 15 min: modal existential structures.
- 15 min: referential it.
- 15 min: dummy/anticipatory it.
- 15 min: paragraph revision.
- 5 min: fresh independent check.
What Parents Can Look For
- there is/are agreement improves;
- the child distinguishes location there from existential there;
- referential it has a clear noun antecedent;
- dummy it is not forced to refer to an object;
- writing introduces information more smoothly;
- overuse of there is/there are decreases in composition.
The Independence Test
Give a fresh paragraph containing two locative theres, two existential constructions, one referential it and one anticipatory it. Ask the pupil to identify each job and rewrite one repetitive section for clearer flow.
The Larger Goal
English sometimes needs a way to introduce new entities or hold a place for a long idea. Understanding existential there and dummy it gives pupils better control over both sentence meaning and information flow.
Related eduKate Yishun Reading
Official Reference
Ministry of Education: English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary
Leave a Reply