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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › dictionary › there
THERE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
November 11, 2025 - The meaning of THERE is in or at that place —often used interjectionally. How to use there in a sentence. There vs. They're vs. Their
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YourDictionary
sentence.yourdictionary.com › home › there
Examples of "There" in a Sentence | YourDictionary.com
We'll see you in your inbox soon. ... There isn't much to tell. ... There was shopping and packing to be done before they left on vacation.
Discussions

word choice - Can you say "in there"? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
I'm confused because I learned that usually you can't use an adverb with prepositions. Does it sound more natural to you than saying "It was cool and dark there."? And what do you find the difference between "in there" and "there", concerning this sentence? More on english.stackexchange.com
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November 18, 2016
What is the grammatical use of ‘that there’
That there in that sentence is just the coincidental use together of two not uncommon constructions: accept that and there exists, which is the more formal-sounding dibling of there is. Consider these two simpler sentences: It is commonly accepted that interest rates and inflation have some kind of relationship. There is a strong relationship between interest rates and inflation. If we put these together to make the sentence in the example, it has that there in the middle. But that there in this context doesn't have any particular grammatical significance on its own. More on reddit.com
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September 19, 2023
Ending a sentence in 'There'
I see this as a kind of colloquial addition. It’s like when someone is saying “hey” to you, a response of, “Hey, there” would be totally acceptable. It’s just that friendly, common language addition. Or maybe it’s just what Obi Wan would say . More on reddit.com
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March 19, 2021
Using "on there" to end a sentence, even if it doesn't make any sense on there.
I think it's just a verbal tic. Some people do the same thing with "and that." (A friend of mine does this). I often end spoken sentences with "so" even if there is nothing else I'm adding. More on reddit.com
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October 12, 2023
People also ask

What does there mean?
The word there is used in a variety of different ways. It’s sometimes confused with their and they’re, but they have distinct meanings and spellings. · It is often used as a pronoun with “is”/“are” to say something exists or does not exist (e.g., “Is there a post office near here?”). · It is also frequently used as an adverb to indicate location (e.g., “Please put it down over there on the table”) or to refer to a place already mentioned (e.g., “Have you ever been before?”). · QuillBot’s Grammar Checker can help you use “there,” “their,” and “they’re” correctly.
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quillbot.com
quillbot.com › home › there, their, they’re | difference, meaning & examples
There, Their, They’re | Difference, Meaning & Examples
What does they’re mean?
They’re is a contraction (short form) of “they are.” · It’s sometimes confused with their and there, but they have distinct meanings and spellings. · “There” has many functions, and their is a possessive adjective.
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quillbot.com
quillbot.com › home › there, their, they’re | difference, meaning & examples
There, Their, They’re | Difference, Meaning & Examples
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › sentences › there
Examples of 'THERE' in a Sentence | Merriam-Webster
September 5, 2024 - The plan was to meet up at a bar, and then go from there. — Annie Berman, Anchorage Daily News, 15 Sep. 2020 · Williams was thrilled to be out there in front of a crowd.
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Sentence Dictionary
sentencedict.com › there.html
There in a sentence (esp. good sentence like quote, proverb...)
238+69 sentence examples: 1. There is no escape [flying] from fate. 2. There is small choice in rotten apples. 3. There is a time for all things. 4. There is no end to learning. 5. There is no medicine against death. 6. There is no man without faults
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Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › us › sentences › english › there
Examples of 'THERE' in a sentence | Collins English ...
There were differences of opinion, he added, on very basic issues. There's nothing in this room; there's no bed, and not a single shelf.
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QuillBot
quillbot.com › home › there, their, they’re | difference, meaning & examples
There, Their, They’re | Difference, Meaning & Examples
June 18, 2024 - Their is used before a noun in ... “they” (e.g., “Do they live here? Is that their house?”) Examples: Their in a sentenceTheir new album is out on Friday....
Find elsewhere
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British Council
learnenglish.britishcouncil.org › grammar › a1-a2-grammar › using-there-there-are
Using 'there is' and 'there are' | LearnEnglish
April 18, 2023 - But there's a café and a bank. Try this exercise to test your grammar. ... We use there is to say that something exists or is in a place.
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K5 Learning
k5learning.com › blog › there-is-or-there-are
There is or There are in Sentences | K5 Learning
We use “there is” when the noun in the sentence is singular. ... There is a tree in our garden.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › there
THERE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
1 week ago - The countryside around there is lovely. I like the house but I don't imagine I'll live there forever. I peeked out the window to see who was there. ... There's someone on the phone for you.
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English Grammar Revolution
english-grammar-revolution.com › home › usage & rules › there is
There is... There are... Expletive Construction
Notice that we don't lose any meaning when we rewrite our sentences without there. There is no place like home. ---> No place is like home. There are many leaves on the ground. ---> Many leaves are on the ground. There is trying to trick you into thinking that it is the subject, but it's not.
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Mango Languages
mangolanguages.com › resources › learn › grammar › english › how-to-use-there-is-sentences-in-english
How to use ‘there is’ sentences in English?
September 23, 2025 - There is a fish in the pond. There were thirty animals at the zoo. There is some soup on the floor. All English sentences need a subject, so you cannot just use the verb to be by itself!
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EF English Live
englishlive.ef.com › en › blog › language-lab › how-to-use-their-theyre-and-there
We explain: How to use Their, They’re and There | EF English Live
“Their” has the word “heir” in it, indicating possession; this can help remind you to use “their” in your sentence. “Their” is also plural so do not use if when referring to a specific person. Once again you can use spelling to select the correct word. When using “there” as a place or location it is the opposite of “here”; the word “here” is in the word which can remind you that this is the correct word for a place.
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Langeek
langeek.co › home › grammar › there
The Pronoun "There" in the English Grammar | LanGeek
1 week ago - There is always plenty to eat in my mom's house. ... There is some rice in the container. This sentence is actually 'some rice is in the container.'
Top answer
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Short answer

Yes, you can.

Modern grammars such as the Oxford Modern English Grammar show there to be a preposition, not an adverb. The preposition in cannot take adverbs or adverb phrases as Complements. It can take other preposition phrases as Complements. For this reason there is no problem using the word there after the preposition in.

When we use there with a stative verb, it has a general meaning of at that place. If you want to say something like in and at that place, you can say in there.


Full answer

In modern grammars such as Oxford Modern English Grammar (2011) or The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002), prepositions are a class of word like verbs, nouns, adjectives and so forth which have specific properties. Although taking noun phrases as Complements is a common feature of typical prepositions, this is not a necessary feature of this class of word. So many prepositions like the word out often occur without a following noun phrase:

  • Bertha walked out.

This is similar to how, although many verbs take noun phrases as Direct Objects, this is not a mandatory feature of verbs. These developments regarding prepositions, have not filtered into dictionaries yet. This is likely to take many decades. Traditional grammars and modern dictionaries take words like out in the sentence above to be an adverb because it doesn't have a following noun phrase.

According to linguists such as Jespersen and Emonds and modern grammars such as CamGEL and OMEG, the word there is a preposition (some linguists think of it as a pro-preposition). It passes every test for preposition-hood and none of the tests for being an adverb.

It can appear as a Locative Complement of the verb BE:

  • She is inside the building.
  • She is there.
  • *She is locally. (adverb as LC, ungrammatical)

It can be modified by the specialised adverb right, which can premodify many preposition phrases, but cannot premodify adverbs in standard English:

  • It is right at the top.
  • It is right there.
  • *It is right locally. (right modifying adverb, ungrammatical)

It can be premodified by the specialised adverb straight, which can premodify many preposition phrases, but cannot modify adverbs in standard English:

  • Go straight past the traffic lights.
  • Go straight there.
  • *Go straight directly. (right modifying adverb, ungrammatical)

Preposition phrases can freely postmodify nouns, adverbs usually cannot:

  • that dog in the window
  • that dog there
  • that dog cutely (adverb postmodifying noun, ungrammatical)

We can usually use the adverb very to modify adverbs. We can't use it to modify prepositions or preposition phrases such as there:

  • *She lives very beyond the border. (very + preposition, ungrammatical)
  • *She lives very there. (very + preposition, ungrammatical)
  • She lives very locally.

All of this information shows that there is a preposition and not an adverb.

The Original Poster's question

The original Poster says that prepositions cannot usually take adverbs as Complements. This is a good rule of thumb! But it might be better to think about prepositions in the same way we think about verbs. Some verbs don't take Complements. Some verbs only take noun phrases as Complements. Other verbs cannot take noun phrases as Complements, but only take preposition phrases and so forth.

The preposition until can take adverb phrases as Complements:

  • until recently

However, the preposition in cannot:

  • *in locally (in plus adverb, ungrammatical)

However, the preposition in can, of course, take preposition phrases as Complements:

  • in from the cold

For this reason we can use there as a Complement of the preposition in:

  • in there

The word there means something like at that place when it is used with stative verbs. If you want to say something like at that place and in that place, you can just say in there.

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The word there could be used as either an adverb which doesn't require a preposition and a noun which means

that place / that point.

(You need to note some other dictionaries classify it as a pronoun)

The sentence could be rephrased to

It was cool and dark in that place (the reptile house).

You should note that there could be used with many prepositions such as 'up there', 'down there', 'out there', etc. The same applies to the word here.

[Merriam-Webster]

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HiNative
hinative.com › questions › 3813445
Please show me example sentences with "there".
July 15, 2017 - Is this sentence natural? ... Hey guys! I have a question. It’s easy for you to swim. It’s easy to swim for you. Which patter... ... There are a lot of montains. However, why do we need attach "the" before mountains name? ... What a frogman is. ... Are all these meanings of "put off" common or some of them are British and not used in ...
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Scribbr
scribbr.com › home › there, their, they’re | meaning, examples & difference
There, Their, They’re | Meaning, Examples & Difference
September 11, 2023 - In this instance, “there” is used as a pronoun to introduce a clause. “Their” identifies the theory as belonging to someone. They’re in their final year of college. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are” used in conversation or informal writing. “Their” is a possessive referring to the same “they” from earlier in the sentence...
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Indeed
indeed.com › career guide › career development › 4 types of sentences: definitions, examples and tips
4 Types of Sentences: Definitions, Examples and Tips | Indeed.com
6 days ago - There are four types of sentences to choose from, each serving a different purpose. Distinguishing the sentences from one another can help you understand when it's best to use them for your written projects so you can better appeal to your audience. In this article, we explore the different ...