It as a Dummy Subject in Grammar

It as a Dummy Subject in Grammar The word it can be a  subject (or dummy subject) in sentences about times, dates, and the weather (such as, Its raining) and in certain idioms (Its OK). Also known as ambient it or empty it. Unlike the ordinary pronoun it, dummy it refers to nothing at all; it simply serves a grammatical function. In other words, dummy it has a grammatical meaning but no lexical meaning. Examples and Observations Here are some examples: It is hot, it is late, and it is time to go.It will be morning soon.Juan WilliamsBut it is a new day. The need for honest conversations across racial as well as ethnic and religious lines has never been greater.William FauknerHe did not know it was midnight and he did not know how far he had come.Its Always Sunny In PhiladelphiaWaitress: Wow, why are you so sweaty?Charlie Kelly: Its really hot in here.Waitress: Its not hot, its freezing.Charlie Kelly: Its freezing, isnt it. They are blazing that AC.Penelope FitzgeraldIts a pity that Kattie couldnt be here tonight.Sean Astin, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingIts a shame, really. Lady Galadriel gave me that. Real elvish rope.Bob DylanAnd it aint no use to sit and wonder why, babe,If you dont know by now.Wallace StevensIt was evening all afternoon.It was snowingAnd it was going to snow.The blackbird satIn the cedar-limbs.Christopher J. Halle[S]nowing is just snowing: not even God can snow, and although we can be snowed on, i n, or under, the meaning of the verb snow just doesnt require anything to be snowed (except snow itself, I suppose, but that would be a little redundant). So semantics doesnt explain why we need to express a subject, even a dummy one like it in It is snowing. Verbs That Accompany Ambient It James D. McCawleyAmbient it occurs only in combination with a limited set of verbs and predicate adjectives that express environmental conditions (especially, but not exclusively, the weather):- (8a) It was raining/snowing/thundering/pouring.- (8b) It was hot/cold/pleasant/delightful/unbearable/disgusting/uncomfortable in the attic.- (8c) I like/enjoy/hate it here.- (8d) Its third down and twelve to go.- (8e) Its intermission now.- (8e) Its 4:00.In most instances ambient it is the subject of its clause either in surface structure or in what is arguably the deep structure (as in the case of The lake makes it pleasant here, which allows an analysis in which the deep structure direct object of make is a sentence It is pleasant here whose subject is ambient it). Subject Extraposition Rodney D. HuddlestonClauses with a subordinate clause subject generally have variants with the subordinate clause at the end and dummy it as the subject:- a. That he was acquitted disturbs her.- b. It disturbs her that he was acquitted. Using Dummy It in African-American Vernacular English Fern L. JohnsonThe use of dummy it (Labov, 1972a) corresponds to particular meanings in AAVE. Roughly equivalent to SAE there, it can be found in contexts such as the following: It wasnt nothing to do and Its a new car, which compare to SAE There wasnt nothing to do and Theres a new car. This dummy it exists in Gullah as well and is likely a direct retention from plantation creole. Also Known As: ambient it, introductory it, prop it, empty it, nonreferential it