Existential processes represent that something exists or happens using the word "there" as the subject. Existential clauses typically use the verb "be" and represent a neutral existence or one with circumstantial features like time or place. The entity or event said to exist is called the "existent" and can be things, actions, events, or abstractions. Examples show "there" used with verbs like "was," "is," representing the process of existing, along with the existent and any circumstances.

1. Existential Processes
Halliday & Matthiessen (199
By: Sarwar D. Ganjo

2. Linguistic “processes”
(Halliday, 1985: 101-102)
1- Material Process
2- Mental Process
3- Relational Process
4- Verbal Process
5- Behavioral Process
6- Existential process

3. Existential Process:
These represent that something exist or happens, as in there
was a little guinea- pig, there seems to be a problem, has there
been a phone call?
There isn’t enough time. The word there is such clauses has no
representational function; but it is needed as a subject.

4. Phonologically:
It is non-salient, and the vowel is often reduced to schwa
(hence identical with the); it is thus distinct from the Adjunct
there which is a circumstantial element.

5. Contrast:
•Existential there’s your father on the line, with reduced there
as subject, and response oh, is there?
•Circumstantial relational there’s your father, with salient
there, as Adjunct, and response oh, is he? Where? In (ii) but not
in (i) there’s in contrast with here’s.

6. ‘Existential’ clauses typically have the verb be; in this respect
also they resemble ‘relational’ clauses. But the other verbs that
commonly occur are mainly different from either the
‘attributive’ or the ‘identifying’: see Table
Table 1 Examples of verbs serving as Process in existential
clauses:
Types Verbs
Neutral, exist exist ,remain
happen arise; occur, come
about, happen, take
place
+Circumstantial feature time follow, ensue
place sit, stand, lie; hang,
rise, stretch, emerge,
grow
Abstract erupt, flourish, prevail

7. Place:
as in there was a picture on the wall; if the
circumstantial element is thematic, the Subject there
may be omitted — but it will turn up if there is a tag:
on the wall (there) was a Picasso painting, wasn’t
there?, all around (there) grew a thick hedge.
Another common way of ‘locating’ the process in
space-time is to follow it with a non-finite clause, for
example there was an old woman tossed up in a basket,
there’s someone waiting at the door, there’s a patient
to see you; the two together form a clause complex.

8. The entity or event which is being said to exist is labeled,
simply, Existent. In principle, there can ‘exist’ any kind of
phenomenon that can be construed as a ‘thing’: person,
object, institution, abstraction; but also any action or
event, as in is there going to be a storm?, there was another
robbery in the street. And here the ‘existential’ merges into
the ‘material’ type of clause: there is little difference in
meaning between ‘existential’ there was a robbery and
‘material: creative’ a robbery took place (note the present
tense a robbery is taking place).
Existentials are illustrated in below Figure

9. there was a storm
Process: Existential Existent: event
there is a man at the door
Process: Existential Existent: entity circumstance
there was an old woman tossed up in a basket
Process:
Existential Existent: event Process circumstance

10. Thank you