Page 893 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Revise Sentences That Begin

with There is or It is

4 Revise sentences that begin with there is

or it is.

Sentences that begin with “There is” or “It is” (or “There are,” “It was,”

and so on) often sound stiff and awkward. In addition, the verb in such

a sentence is by default the verb to be. Revision solves two problems

and results in a stronger sentence.

Sentences Beginning with There is

There were three men standing at the door.

Three men were standing (or better yet, stood) at the door.

There is a bee crawling on Angela’s shirt.