这里有 or 这里是 ?

[2bwo]

I'm a beginner and I've just studied that you can express that something is in a place using 有 or 在.

The book gives the following example:

１　这里有书

２　书在这里

Then in the exercises this sentence came up: 这里____小雨的家

It asks to put the correct verb between 在　有　是

 

According to the example I put 有 but then a friend told me to put 是.

Another friend told me that it's the same thing, just that if you put 有 it becomes "XiaoYu's house is here" and if you put 是 it becomes "This is XiaoYu's house".

 

Does this mean that 这里 can also be used as "this"? Shouldn't it be 这个?

[Guest123]

这里 means "here" not "this".

是 and 有 change slightly the meaning. 有 + location it means that there is something in that place, usually it's indetermined: 这里有人 means "there is somebody here". 是 + location, it's an identification, telling what is the thing in this place.  Like in your example 这里是小雨的家,  it's telling what is here - Xiaoyu's home. If you say 这里有小雨的家， it could mean "somewhere in this place there is Xiaoyu's home". 

 

Here are some examples:

http://www.digmandarin.com/how-to-use-zai-you-and-shi-express-existence.html

[Demonic_Duck]

Yeah, 这里有小雨的家 isn't grammatically incorrect, it's just not something you'd ever be likely to say in a real situation.

[somethingfunny]

A：这里有什么好玩的地方？

B：这里有。。。小雨的家！

A：好！我们去玩吧！

[Demonic_Duck]

How about this one...

甲：这个对话有意思

乙：我们都说七个字

甲：天涯何处无草香

乙：此地无银三百两

甲：中华人民共和国

乙：你是我的小苹果

甲：用"这里有"造句吧

乙："这里有小雨的家"

[2bwo]

Thank you guys for the explanations. To clear up my mind In this case I think what I need to remember is this, as it's written in the page Edita posted:

A sentence with 有 only denotes what exists in a certain place, while a sentence with 是 not only indicates that a certain thing exists in a certain place, but also further specifies what that thing is.

[Silent]

 

 

Yeah, 这里有小雨的家 isn't grammatically incorrect, it's just not something you'd ever be likely to say in a real situation.

 

In a real situation I probably wouldn't think too much about it and just say what came up in my mind happy to come up with something close enough :-)  If I'ld think about it I think I would distinguish the two. If we were at an apartment building or a neighbourhood where 小雨 has a home I'ld say 这里有小雨的家 as it's in the building/neighbourhood, but not specified. I'ld prefer 这里是小雨的家 when entering the apartment or approaching a specific house/appartment. 

[anonymoose]

Maybe Chinglish translations would make it clearer:

这里有小雨的家 Here has Xiaoyu's house

这里是小雨的家 Here is Xiaoyu's house

[陳德聰]

Another friend told me that it's the same thing, just that if you put 有 it becomes "XiaoYu's house is here" and if you put 是 it becomes "This is XiaoYu's house".

Does this mean that 这里 can also be used as "this"? Shouldn't it be 这个?

A bit surprising nobody has answered this question. This is simply a matter of translation. We don't say "here is XiaoYu's house" to mean "this is XiaoYu's house", but that is literally what 这里是小雨的家 means.

这 is the part of 这个 that gives it the proximal meaning. 这个 would be more narrowly (resulting in unnatural English) translated as "this (thing)" and 这里 as "this place". "Here" and "this place" are synonymous.

[Pan Jialiang]

Both of them make sense depending on the context.

 

For "有", you could hear a narrator say (in the end of a documentary probably from CCTV) "这里有小明的家" with a close-up of XIaoMing's house where he used to live with his parents (just a possibility), the aim of which is to render a sense of nostalgia. Maybe 小明 is out working in another city and hasn't been back home for years while his parents wish that he can come back this time to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Then the narrator would keep talking with something like "这里有小明的童年" etc. That's one of a very few situations in which you can say "这里有小明的家." Otherwise it doesn't make much sense. 

 

"是" is much more commonly used in daily conversation. For instance, a friend of Xiaoming's shows someone around the house, saying "这里是小明的家." You could also think of various situations to say “这里是小明的家.” Maybe “小明的家” is on sale and an estate agent is showing potential clients around, saying that “这里是小明的家.” Or even “小明” becomes famous (don't know how but let's say he is famous now). Later, there is another documentary about the rising star, in which a narrator says "这里是小明的家" with a close-up of the house.

[2bwo]

Thanks again guys! Much appreciated