These existential "there" sentences are not exactly for emphasis. They are mandatorily used to state about the existence of subjects with "be".  You cannot say the following at all 

lights were.  
Lights are.
The light is.  

Sometimes the following is allowed but they are not at all typical and sound almost poetical.  

Lights were on the car

Something like the above indicates a previous reference or known lights rather than an existential type of sentence.  

except as short answers to questions.  The existential meeting requires the extraposed construction giving that wierd "empty subject" / true subject structure of English, "There were lights on the car".  German has it as well with "es gibts" and it is used just a little bit less than in English.  

Phil Bralich

-----Original Message-----
>From: Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: May 3, 2006 8:58 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: subject
>
>   Phil is right.  "lights" is sometimes called "extraposed subject" or
>"logical subject".  "There" stands in as a placemarker.
>   In this case, the extraposition is probably for emphasis, often because
>subject is new information.
>   "In the front of the house, they had added a new door. Above the door,
>there were lights." "Lights were above the door" wouldn't sound right
>as emphasis would be on given information, in the wrong place.>
>
>Craig
>
>
>"lights" is the true subject, but there are those who prefer to say that
>> "There" is an existential subject or before empty categories in syntax,
>> they were called empty subjects.  By mentioning both the true subject and
>> the empty subject you get to satisfy your sense of pattern and precision
>> as well as for meaning.
>>
>> Phil
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>>From: ?????? <[log in to unmask]>
>>>Sent: May 2, 2006 5:03 PM
>>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>>Subject: Re: subject
>>>
>>>on 06.5.3 8:51 AM, Rebecca Watson at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>>>
>>>> What is the subject of the following sentence:
>>>>
>>>> Above the door, there were lights.
>>>The subject is "lights".
>>>
>>>Mitsuko
>>>
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>>
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