Phil,
   I don't think this is an existential sentence. "Over the door were
lights." We don't need the "there."  It does sound poetic, but not
uncommon in context. "He had a beautiful door, and over the door were
lights." When the subject is the new information, it's a natural move.
   We also extrapose infinitives, also for emphasis:
   It is easy to love you.
   I find it easy to love you (extraposition in the predicate.)
>  "To love you is easy gives" us a different emphasis.

Craig


 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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>>
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