# Idiomatic way to say: There are ... in/on



## ibogi

Hi!

What is the idiomatic way to say the English construction "There are ... in/on"

E.g. There are many stars in the sky tonight

Ο ουράνος έχει πολλά αστέρια απόψε
Υπάρχουν πολλα αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε

Is this construction is also valid (I never heard it):
Έχουν πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε

Or: There are many people on the streets

Οι δρόμοι έχουν πολύ κόσμο
Υπάεχει πολύς κόσμος στους δρόμους


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## Perseas

ibogi said:


> Hi!
> 
> What is the idiomatic way to say the English construction "There are ... in/on"
> 
> E.g. There are many stars in the sky tonight
> 
> Ο ουραν*ό*ς έχει πολλά αστέρια απόψε
> Υπάρχουν πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε
> 
> Is this construction is also valid (I never heard it):
> Έχουν πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε
> 
> Or: There are many people on the streets
> 
> Οι δρόμοι έχουν πολύ κόσμο
> Υπά*ρ*χει πολύς κόσμος στους δρόμους


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## ibogi

Thanks perseas, so I guess using έχει in the translation of "there is" is a no-no in Greek compared to other languages es gibt(germ)/il y a(fran)/ima(serb-cro).

Just one more question: if you talk to some other people, would you use version with έχει or υπάρχει. What about the case in written/official documentation?


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## Perseas

ibogi said:


> Is this construction is also valid (I never heard it):
> *Έχουν* πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε


*"Έχει* πολλά αστέρια στο ουρανό απόψε" sounds OK.

The usual translation for "there is"/"es gibt" in Greek is "υπάρχει" (sing.) & "υπάρχουν" (pl.).
In many cases you can also use "έχει", either for singular or plural, but in a more informal use, I believe.
Another example: "Έχει αρκετά μήλα στο ψυγείο" > "There are enough apples in the fridge".
"Έχει" is also used in other meanings. Ex. "Σήμερα έχει καλό καιρό" > "Τοday the weather is good".


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## ibogi

is the following translation also good? Is it used and in what context?

Πολλά αστέρια είναι στον ουρανό απόψε


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## Perseas

ibogi said:


> Πολλά αστέρια είναι στον ουρανό απόψε


Τhe sentence is idiomatic. Here "είναι" means "exist". Another example:_ Είναι κανείς εδώ; Is anybody here?_


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## Αγγελος

I would say "Πολλά αστέρια είναι στον ουρανό απόψε" is *un*idiomatic. On hearing it, my reaction would be "Why, where are the other stars?", as _all _stars are in the sky at all times, though of course some may not be visible. 
This is not to say that one can't use είναι in that sense; but it should probably come at the beginning of the sentence (Eίναι πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε), maybe also with a definite article (Eίναι πολλά *τ'*αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε). More realistic examples: Είναι πολλά τα φίδια στο δάσος· Είναι πολλοί οι ανόητοι που πιστεύουν ότι... (With έχει one would NOT use the article: Εχει πολλά φίδια στο δάσος· Εχει πολλούς ανόητους που πιστεύουν ότι... )

In general one must distinguish the personal use of έχει (=contains, includes), as in Το σπίτι έχει τρία μπάνια, which agrees in number with the subject (Όλα τα δωμάτια του ξενοδοχείου έχ*ουν* ψυγείο), from the *im*personal use of έχει (cf. French _il y a_ or Spanish _hay_), as in Έχει πολλούς ζητιάνους στην πλατεία απόψε, which is always in the singular.


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## Perseas

Αγγελος said:


> I would say "Πολλά αστέρια είναι στον ουρανό απόψε" is _un_idiomatic. On hearing it, my reaction would be "Why, where are the other stars?", as _all _stars are in the sky at all times, though of course some may not be visible.
> This is not to say that one can't use είναι in that sense; but it should probably come at the beginning of the sentence (Eίναι πολλά αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε), maybe also with a definite article (Eίναι πολλά *τ'*αστέρια στον ουρανό απόψε).


No, I don't agree. About the issue of idiomacy, it doesn't make a difference for me if "είναι" is in the beginning or in the middle of the sentence.


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