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Is it correct to say "Is there a cafe there?" or is the last there at the end of the sentence unnecessary and the correct way is "Is there a cafe?"

KillingTime
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JustOneMan
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    Locative/directional there is very different to existential there (the French have different words) and is emphasised, so word-repeat is no problem. Is the locative 'there' necessary here? That depends on the context, but it can usually be omitted and assumed (the antecedent being obligatory anyway). – Edwin Ashworth Dec 22 '21 at 15:21
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    If you're asking about the existence of a cafe in some previously mentioned place then, yes, the second "there" is required where it functions as a locative preposition. (or adverb for some). – BillJ Dec 22 '21 at 15:21
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    @Edwin, In French, the word “y” is used for both locative and existential “there”, although It’s true you probably wouldn’t use both meanings in the same sentence. A better example is German, which uses “gibt es ein Café?” for the existential meaning (Does it give a cafe?”) – Peter Shor Dec 22 '21 at 19:50

1 Answers1

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They can mean different things. The first “there” is an existential “there”; with just the first “there”, you’re asking "does a cafe exist?" The second “there” is locative; with it, the question asks "does a cafe exist in that location?"

Very often, "in that location" will be implied by context, in which case the second "there" is unnecessary. But sometimes you need the second "there".

For example, in this conversation, you need both "there"s:

"He told me to meet him in the cafe at the corner of Second street and Archibald."
"Is there a cafe there?"

Peter Shor
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