INDEX:
1. a place that you are not in now
2. to be in a place where you are not now
3. to be at an event where you are not now
4. the number of people who are at an event
5. to not be there
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ HERE/NOT HERE
get there : ↑ ARRIVE (1)
there is/there are : ↑ EXIST , ↑ HAPPEN
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1. a place that you are not in now
▷ there /ðeəʳ/ [adverb]
▪ I love Italy - I worked there for a year.
▪ Jackie’s arriving at the station at 3.15 and I said I’d meet her there.
▪ When I came home Sean was just sitting there waiting for me.
▪ We drove down to Baltimore, and on the way there we stopped for lunch.
right there
exactly there
▪ Where’s my umbrella? I’m sure I left it right there, next to my bag.
from there
▪ We flew in to Munich and from there we took the train to Prague.
down/up/in etc there
▪ How did you get up there on the roof?
▷ over there /əʊvəʳ ˈðeəʳ/ [adverb]
in a place that you can see or point to but cannot touch :
▪ My car’s over there by that big tree.
▪ See those rocks over there? Be careful to keep the boat away from them.
▷ that place /ˌðæt ˈpleɪs/ [noun phrase]
a place that you have mentioned or been in, especially a place that you feel strongly about :
▪ You went to Camp Chippewa too? I hated that place.
in that place
▪ They’ll never let us back in that place after the way you behaved.
to that place
▪ Do you remember we went down to that place along the river and had a barbecue?
▷ around/near there also round there British /əˌraʊnd, ˌnɪəʳ ˈðeəʳ, ˌraʊnd ˈðeəʳ/ [adverb]
in the area near a place you have been talking about :
▪ We usually go to Lake Como for our holidays - it’s beautiful round there.
▪ Judy’s looking for an apartment in Greenwich Village. A lot of her friends live around there.
▪ One of the largest tornadoes ever seen was photographed near there.
2. to be in a place where you are not now
▷ be there /biː ˈðeəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ ‘Have you seen the newspaper?’ ‘It’s there, next to your chair.’
▪ I want to be there when he comes out of surgery.
▪ When I worked at the factory, I was there every day from nine till six.
be down/up/in etc there
▪ The bathroom’s up there, on your right.
▷ be around /biː əˈraʊnd/ [verb phrase]
if someone or something is around, you know that they are there but you are not sure exactly where :
▪ I tried to call you last night, but I guess you weren’t around.
▪ Go and look downstairs. There must be a coffee machine around somewhere.
▪ It doesn’t matter if no one is around - I’m still not going through a red light.
▷ be in /biː ˈɪn/ [verb phrase]
to be in your home, the place where you work etc, especially when you are expected to be :
▪ Is Marsha in? I have a letter for her.
▪ I’ll phone back later when Mr Boswell is in.
▪ I walked over to Sonia’s house but when I got there only her brother was in.
▷ be present /biː ˈprez ə nt/ [verb phrase] formal
if a substance is present somewhere, it is there even though you cannot see it :
▪ When acid is present, the chemical in the test tube turns red.
be present in
▪ The virus is present in tears and saliva, but in very small amounts.
▪ Tests revealed that large quantities of alcohol were present in the driver’s blood.
3. to be at an event where you are not now
▷ be there /biː ˈðeəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ What was the game like? Were there many people there?
▪ I went to a party last night and your sister was there too.
▪ A lot of the people at the charity event were only there to look at other people.
▷ be at /biː æt/ [verb phrase]
if someone is at a particular event, they are there in order to see or hear it :
▪ Most of the actors in the movie were at the New York preview.
▪ I don’t remember Uncle Bob. I don’t think he was at the funeral.
▪ Were you at the meeting when they announced the layoffs?
▷ be present /biː ˈprez ə nt/ [verb phrase] formal
if someone is present at a special or official event, they are there, especially because it is important that they should see what is happening :
▪ The only people who were present for the ceremony were the bride and groom, the priest, and two witnesses.
be present at/for
▪ It was very important to Jim to be present for the birth of his first child.
those present
the people there
▪ Those present at the trial said that the accused looked cheerful.
▷ be on the scene /biː ɒn ðə ˈsiːn/ [verb phrase]
to be in the place where something such as an accident or crime has happened :
▪ Journalists were on the scene within minutes of the plane crash.
▪ A Safety Board team was on the scene Monday morning to try to determine the cause of the accident.
▷ be on the spot /biː ɒn ðə ˈspɒtǁ-ˈspɑːt/ [verb phrase] especially British
to be in the place where something very interesting or exciting happens :
▪ I’m going to the stadium. I want to be on the spot when they announce the international team.
▪ Many reporters, in an attempt to be on the spot in war time, have ended up being killed.
▷ be in attendance /biː ɪn əˈtendəns/ [verb phrase] formal
to be at a special or important event, especially in order to take part in it :
▪ Over 2000 police were in attendance at yesterday’s demonstration.
▪ The First Lady was in attendance for most of the conference sessions.
▪ He always enjoyed going to Stewart’s parties where famous people were sure to be in attendance.
4. the number of people who are at an event
▷ attendance /əˈtendəns/ [singular/uncountable noun]
the number of people who attend an event such as a game, a concert, or an important meeting :
▪ The game had an attendance of over 50,000 people.
attendance at
▪ Attendance at the national championships is already higher than expected.
good/high attendance
▪ We had pretty good attendance despite the bad weather.
poor/low attendance
▪ Considering the seriousness of the matter to be debated there was an unusually low attendance at the meeting.
▷ turnout /ˈtɜːʳnaʊt/ [singular/uncountable noun]
the number of people who have decided to go to or take part in an event :
turnout for
▪ We had a much better turnout for the company picnic this year than last.
low/light/small turnout
▪ Turnout for the game was lighter than expected.
high/heavy/large turnout
▪ There was an unusually high turnout in the election, nearly twice the number predicted.
▷ bums on seats /ˌbʌmz ɒn ˈsiːts/ [noun phrase]
the number of people at an event, concert, play etc - use this especially when you think the people who organized the event are only interested in getting a lot of people there and do not really care about whether the event is good or not :
▪ Inviting a soap star or two to your opening night is always a good way of getting bums on seats.
5. to not be there
▷ not be there /nɒt biː ˈðeəʳ/ [verb phrase]
▪ She says the bottle is in the cupboard, but it just isn’t there.
▪ He was supposed to wait for me by the fountain, but he wasn’t there when I arrived.
▷ not be around /nɒt biː əˈraʊnd/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
if someone or something is not around, they are not there, especially when you expect them to be somewhere nearby :
▪ Maybe you should try talking to Michael when his wife isn’t around.
▪ According to Caroline, Larry isn’t around much since he started traveling for work.
▷ be out/not be in /biː ˈaʊt, nɒt biː ˈɪn/ [intransitive phrasal verb]
to be out of your home, the place where you work etc usually for a short time :
▪ He wasn’t in, so I left a message.
▪ She told me not to stop by today - she’ll be out most of the day running errands.
▷ be away/off /biː əˈweɪ, ˈɒf/ [intransitive phrasal verb] informal
to not be at work, for example, because you are ill or on holiday. In British English you can also use this when someone is not at school :
▪ After I’ve been away for a few days, there’s always so much work waiting when I get back.
▪ Selina’s off today? Then can you ask her to phone me when she’s back in the office ?
be off work/school
▪ He’s been off work ever since he hurt his back in a riding accident.
▷ absent /ˈæbs ə nt/ [adjective] formal
if something is absent, it is not where it is expected to be. If someone is absent from school, work etc, they are not there, for example because they are ill :
▪ The virus develops most quickly when antibodies are absent.
▪ If you’re absent more than five times, you fail the course.
▪ While the boss was absent everyone started taking very long lunchbreaks.
absent from
▪ For some reason, Young’s name was absent from the list.
▪ The Adkinson children were absent from school about a dozen times last fall.
▷ missing /ˈmɪsɪŋ/ [adjective]
someone or something that is missing is not there, especially when you expect them to be there :
▪ Some of the puzzle pieces are missing.
▪ Can you spot the missing number in this series?
▪ Suddenly he looked around and realized one of the children was missing.
missing from
▪ Three buttons were missing from his shirt.