Sentences expressing existence (i.e. something exists somewhere) normally begin with a time or location word (or expression). The most common involve the verb 有 yǒu, which follows the time/location word (or expression) and is then itself followed by the relevant noun:
昨天有一场足球赛。
Zuó tiān yǒu yī chǎng zú qiú sài 。
There was a football match yesterday./Yesterday, there was a football match.
大学对面有一家书店。
Dà xué duì miàn yǒu yī jiā shū diàn 。
There is a bookshop opposite the university. /Opposite the university there is a bookshop.
这儿没有人。
Zhè ér méi yǒu rén 。
There is no one here. (lit. Here there are no people.)
树上没有鸟儿。
Shù shàng méi yǒu niǎo ér 。
There are no birds in the tree.
[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.
