8/17/2016 Dummy Pronouns

DummyPronouns
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DummyPronouns
Definition
Dummypronounsarewordsthatfunctiongrammaticallyaspronouns,butwhichdonothaveantecedentslike
normalpronounsdo.Thismeansthat,unlikenormalpronouns,dummypronounsdonotreplaceanoun,phrase,or
clause.Theyrefertonothinginparticular,butinsteadhelpthesentencetofunctionproperlyinagrammatical
context.Dummypronounsarealsocommonlyreferredtoasexpletivepronouns.

Therearetwodummypronouns,thereandit.

Thereasadummypronoun
Thereisprimarilyusedasadummypronounincircumstanceswherethesentenceisexplainingthataperson,
place,orthingexists.Whenthewordthereisbeingusedinthismanner,itisoftenreferredtoasexistentialthere.
Forexample,thefollowingsentencescontainthedummypronountheretoexplaintheexistenceofpeople,places,
orthings:
Thereisashipintheharbor.
Thereisabowlonthetable.
Therewereflowersinthemeadow.
Thereisariverthatpassesthroughthemountain.
TherearemanyreasonstogotoJamaica.

Singularvs.Pluraluseofthere
Thedummypronountherecanbeusedineitherasingularorpluralcontext.Whenitisusedinasingularcontext,
thecorrelatingnounsandverbshavesingularendingswhenitisusedinapluralcontext,thecorrespondingnouns
andverbshavepluralendings.

Singular
Thereisafencearoundtheyard.
Inthiscase,theexistenceofonlyonething,afence,isbeingdiscussed.Therefore,thesingularverbisandthe
singularnounfenceareused.Hereisanotherexampleoftherebeingusedinasingularcontext:
Thereisacanoeonthelake.
Again,theexistenceofonlyonecanoeisbeingdiscussed,sothesingularverbisandthesingularnouncanoeare
used.

Plural
Therearetwofencesaroundtheyard.
Thissentencediscussestheexistenceoftwofences,andthusthepluralformisused.Thisisdemonstratedbythe
useofthepluralverbareandthepluralnounfences.Hereisanotherexample:
Therearemanycanoesonthelake.
Thissentencediscussestheexistenceoftwoormorecanoes.Becauseofthisfact,thepluralverbareandthe
pluralnouncanoesareused.

Differencefromadverbialthere
Althoughthewordtherecanbeusedasadummypronoun,itcanalsobeusedasanadverbitisimportanttoknow
thedifferencebetweenthetwo.

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Whenthereisbeingusedasanadverb,itistakingtheplaceofanadverbialphrase,oftentimesanadverbial
prepositionalphrase.Forexample,considerthefollowingsentences:
Theyswaminthewater.
Theyswamthere.

Imgoingtohidethecookiesupabovethefridge.
Imgoingtohidethecookiesupthere.

Inthesecases,thewordthereactsasanadverbialthatgivesfurtherinformationaboutwheretheactiontakes
place.But,ifthewordtherewereuseddifferentlyinasimilarsentence,itcouldfunctionasadummypronoun.For
example:
Therewerefishwheretheyswam.
Therearecookiesupabovethefridge.

Bothofthesesentencesusetheexistentialtheretoexplainthatcertainthingsnamely,thefishandthecookies
exist.Therealsodoesnothaveanyantecedentsinthesesentences,soitisclearlyfunctioningasadummy
pronouninboth.

Itasadummypronoun
Justlikethedummypronounthere,itisalsousedasapronounwithoutanantecedentinsentences.Itiscommonly
usedinsituationswhenweather,distance,ortimeisbeingdiscussed.

Weather
Thefollowingareexamplesofsentencesthatuseitasadummypronounrelatedtoweather.
Itlookslikeitmaysnowtonight.
Isitraining?
Itwasverysunnyatthebeachlastweekend.
Italwaysseemstosleetwhenhedrivesonthehighway.

Distance
Thefollowingexamplesuseitasadummypronouninsentencesinvolvingdistance.
ItisveryfarfromNorthAmericatoEurope.
Isitalongdrivetogettothemountain?
Itisashortwalkonceyougetoutoftheforest.
ItisfartherthanyouthinktodrivetoCalifornia.

Time
Thefollowingexamplesuseitasadummypronouninsentencesinvolvingtime.
Itis4:30.
Itwasearlierthanheexpected.
Couldyoutellmewhattimeitis?
ShetoldhimtocomebackwhenItwaslaterintheday.

Otheruses
Thereareanumberofothersituationswhereitcanbeusedasadummypronoun,withoutpertainingtoweather,
distance,ortime.

Whenitfunctionsasanemptysubjecttointroduceoranticipatesomethingthatappearslaterinthesentence,itis
sometimesreferredtoasanticipatoryit.Forexample:
Itwasassumedthatthetourguideknewexactlyhowtogetthere.
Itseemsthatfourpeopleshowedupinsteadoftheexpectedtwo.

Itcanalsofunctionasanobjectwhenitisadummypronoun:
Theteacherseemedabitoutofityesterday.
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Watchit,pal!

Singularvs.Plural
Noticethatinalloftheexamplesabove,itisonlyfunctioningasasingulardummypronoun.Thisisbecauseitcant
beplural.Thismeansthattheverbsandobjectsinsentenceswiththedummypronounithavetobesingularas
well.

Subjectvs.object
Asubjectisanounorpronounthatperformstheactionoftheverb.Anobjectisanounorpronounthatreceives
theactionoftheverb,

Thedummypronounitcaneitherfunctionasthesubjectofasentenceorastheobject,althoughitismore
commonlyusedasthesubject.Existentialthere,ontheotherhand,canonlybeasubject.

(Thewordtherecanfunctionastheobjectofapreposition,asinWeleftfromthere.However,itisconsidereda
nouninthiscase,notapronoun.)

Herearesomeexamplesofsentenceswheredummypronounsareusedassubjects:
Therearemanyducksinthepond.
Thereisatreeinthemiddleofthefield.
Itis12:30.
Itissunnyoutsidetoday.

Herearesomeexamplesofsentenceswheredummypronounsareusedasobjects:
Willhemakeittothegame?
Youhavetocoolitdown.
Watchit!

Quiz

1.Whichofthefollowingwordsisadummypronoun?

a)and
b)the
b)it
d)when

2.Whichdummypronouncouldbeusedtocompletethefollowingsentence?
_____were12colorsinthepainting.

a)It
b)There
c)BothA&B
d)Noneoftheabove

3.Dummypronounsarealsoreferredtoaswhat?

a)Roundaboutpronouns
b)Concretepronouns
c)Ghostpronouns
d)Expletivepronouns

4.Thefollowingsentenceincludeswhattypeofdummypronoun?
Itwaswarmoutsidewhentheywenttothepool.

a)Subject

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b)Object
c)Hyphenated
d)Noneoftheabove

5.Dummypronounsaredifferentfromregularpronounsbecausetheydon'thavewhichofthefollowing?

a)Clauses
b)Periods
c)Antecedents
d)Adverbs

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