1
- An old man is sitting on the bench.
Or
- There is an old man sitting on the bench.
1
- An old man is sitting on the bench.
Or
- There is an old man sitting on the bench.
1
I'm sure if you wrote about an old man on a bench every day, at some point you would know him well enough, to simply call him "The old man". :)
Jokes aside.
An old man is sitting on the bench
and
There is an old man sitting on the bench
are perfectly equivalent. Use them interchangeably, picking the one whose rhythm you prefer in the context of the surrounding sentences.
1
They are both fine, and might be used in slightly different contexts. See this discussion.
– Peter Shor – 2016-02-08T01:28:19.1271The first is simply descriptive. The second hints that "the old man" will be the subject of further discussion. – None – 2016-02-08T01:40:38.913