Primary English tuition for River Isles families in Punggol should help students recognise sentences where there and it fill grammatical positions without carrying the ordinary meanings of place or object reference.
This rebuilt legacy URL now owns one distinct teaching job: existential there → anticipatory it → true subject/content → agreement. The old 2015-style marketing and residential tuition boilerplate have been removed.
eduKateSG does not claim an on-site River Isles class. Selected Primary English classes run in focused 3-pax small groups, typically 1.5 hours, at 83 Punggol Central, Singapore 828761.
The Direct Answer
Two useful English patterns are:
- existential there: “There are three reasons for the change.”
- anticipatory it: “It is important to check the instructions.”
In both cases, the opening word helps organise the sentence; the main content appears later.
Do not assume the first word is the real meaning-bearing subject.
Existential There
“There is a problem.”
Here there does not mean a location such as “over there”. The sentence introduces the existence of a problem.
Agreement After There
“There is one reason.”
“There are three reasons.”
Students need to look past there to the following noun phrase when choosing singular/plural agreement in formal school English.
Existential There vs Locative There
Existential: “There are two books on the table.”
Locative: “Put the books there.”
The spelling is the same, but the grammatical job differs.
Worked Example: Writing
Basic: “Three problems remain.”
Existential: “There are three problems remaining.”
The first is more direct; the second introduces the existence/number of problems. Writers can choose according to information flow.
Anticipatory It
“It is difficult to revise everything in one night.”
The real content being evaluated is the infinitive clause to revise everything in one night.
A heavier alternative is: “To revise everything in one night is difficult.”
English often prefers the anticipatory it pattern because it postpones the long content.
It + That-Clause
“It is clear that the instructions were incomplete.”
The sentence evaluates the proposition that follows.
Weather/Time It
“It is raining.” “It is late.”
Here it does not refer to a specific object. English requires a grammatical subject position even though no concrete entity fills that role.
Referential It
“I found the key. It was under the chair.”
This it refers to the key. Students should distinguish referential it from dummy/anticipatory it.
Worked Example: Ambiguity
“It is surprising that Mira left early.”
It does not refer to an earlier noun; the surprise concerns the whole proposition that Mira left early.
Comprehension reference questions become easier when students recognise this structure.
The Replacement Test
For existential there, rewrite with the real noun phrase first:
“There are two reasons.” → “Two reasons exist/remain.”
For anticipatory it:
“It is important to check.” → “To check is important.”
The second versions may sound less natural, but they reveal the hidden content.
The Reference Test
Ask: what does it point to?
If the answer is a clear earlier noun, it is referential. If the answer is “nothing specific; the content comes later” or weather/time, it has a different grammatical job.
There Is/Are in Writing
Students often overuse “There is/There are”:
“There are many students who prefer reading.”
More direct: “Many students prefer reading.”
Existential structure is useful when introducing existence or quantity, but not every sentence needs it.
Anticipatory It and Formal Writing
Useful patterns include:
- “It is important to…”
- “It is possible that…”
- “It appears that…”
- “It is difficult to…”
Students should avoid using these as empty sentence starters without content.
P1–P2
Young learners can distinguish locative there from “there is/are” and referential it from weather/time uses.
P3–P4
Middle-primary students can control agreement after there and use simple anticipatory it + to-infinitive structures.
P5–P6
Upper-primary students can parse it + that-clause, avoid overusing existential openings and recognise when it does not refer back to a noun. Official reference: MOE English Language Syllabus 2020 Primary.
Common There/It Failure Modes
| Symptom | Issue | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| “There is three…” | Following noun number ignored | Check real noun phrase |
| Every “it” treated as pronoun reference | Dummy/anticipatory use unseen | Run reference test |
| Writing begins every sentence “There is” | Existential frame overused | Use direct subject when clearer |
| Long clause at sentence front sounds heavy | Information order weak | Use anticipatory it where natural |
Why Three Students Helps
Students can classify examples as locative there, existential there, referential it or anticipatory/dummy it, then rewrite them to expose the true content.
When River Isles Families May Consider This Support
- There is/are agreement errors recur.
- Pronoun reference questions around “it” are confusing.
- Writing overuses “There is…” openings.
- Long content clauses are difficult to organise.
What Progress Should Look Like
A stronger learner can identify whether there introduces existence or location, whether it refers to an entity or holds a grammatical slot, and choose agreement/order accordingly.
Location notice: eduKateSG does not claim an on-site River Isles class. Current Punggol centre: 83 Punggol Central, Singapore 828761. Contact +65 8823 1234.