The dummy-it tag has no wiki summary.
1
vote
2answers
168 views
“Something suffices the condition that” vs. “it suffices that something”
In a book I am reading there is a sentence:
Our initial version of Cauchy's theorem begins with the observation that it suffices that f(z) [a function] have a primitive in a region Ω
In ...
1
vote
2answers
344 views
“It was my birthday yesterday” vs. “My birthday was yesterday”
Is there a difference between the following sentences?
It was my birthday yesterday.
My birthday was yesterday.
When should I use "it was something yesterday/a few days ago/..." and when ...
1
vote
1answer
589 views
“As is customary” vs. “as it is customary”
I more often see the first version being used, but to me, that doesn't sound right because I can't see the subject there. I would definitely use the second one.
What am I missing here?
Update: ...
1
vote
1answer
86 views
How to avoiding starting with “it is”? [closed]
I have a sentence fragment I must make into a sentence:
Late August at the Los Angeles Zoo.
I use this sentence to begin a story. I really do not want to use “it is” though, because “it is” ...
1
vote
2answers
5k views
“What day is it today?” vs. “What day is today?”
Which of the following is grammatical?
What date/day is it today?
What date/day is today?
3
votes
3answers
528 views
Ambiguous use of infinitive after “It's needed”
After writing this sentence, I found myself thinking that its meaning may be a little confusing to other people:
It’s needed to make clear some issues regarding absences.
I used the phrase to ...
2
votes
3answers
76 views
The general 'it' [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What does “it” refer to in “it's raining”?
Whence the “it” in “I like it here”?
What is the grammatical term for ...
22
votes
7answers
1k views
Why “it’s turtles” not “they are turtles”
It is a third person singular and is used to refer to a thing. If that’s the case, then why do we say:
A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on ...
1
vote
2answers
322 views
Is “it makes it easy to do …” good English?
There are two "it"s in this sentence, but they refer to different things. Is this considered good English? If not, what's a better way to express the same meaning?
3
votes
4answers
264 views
It is an existential question
A question on another site asks, I have a laptop ... Now I am trying to install Windows 7 and it shows a message saying "Driver not found".
Whereupon a commenter asks, What is the "it" that shows ...
3
votes
4answers
363 views
Avoiding “existential it” while referring to a past event?
I know the use of "existential it" is frowned upon, but I'm not entirely sure how to rephrase the following sentence to remove it:
It is hard to tell what would have occurred if the battle had ...
4
votes
2answers
231 views
What do ‘it’ ‘on’ ‘off’ mean in “it’ll be on with the old Invisibility Cloak and off to find out what he’s –“
I have trouble understanding the bold part.
Harry has a magical map by which he can see where others are. He is looking at the map and paying attention to his enemy schoolboy, Malfoy.
”Well, I’m ...
9
votes
2answers
445 views
Whence the “it” in “I like it here”?
What is the origin of the use of the object (it) in the following sentences, and what is its purpose?
I like it here!
and
Did you like it there?
In essence, the things we are saying we ...
5
votes
2answers
506 views
Omitting “is”, like in “I think it strange”
What is the grammar behind the construction "I think it strange/necessary that ...", and when can and cannot this apparent omission of the copula be used? Do we always need the "that" clause?
Also, ...
7
votes
3answers
651 views
“A guy whose job is to” vs “a guy whose job it is to”?
I've been hearing the phrase "whose job it is to" quite often lately. Consider these two sentences:
We have a guy whose job is to clean windows.
We have a guy whose job it is to clean ...
1
vote
2answers
403 views
“It’s the height of the season”?
The question is from the transcript of a podcast:
Mmmm, blueberries. It’s the height of the season, and I’ve been tossing a handful onto cereal, into pancakes or just straight into my mouth.
I ...
27
votes
10answers
4k views
What does “it” refer to in “it's raining”?
I wanted to leave the question title as is so as not to take away from my amusement :).
Anyway,
It's raining.
What is raining? Is it the sky? The clouds? The weather? The rain? What is "it"? ...
