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No matter what they say about him, it's false.

introductory phrase followed by comma and it's false.

So is the whole sentence acting as the main clause in these constructions ? It's false can't stand alone, right.

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    Why do you think it's false can't stand alone? Sep 17, 2018 at 3:36
  • It's or It is. Doesn't feel like a definitive subject to me. So I wasn't sure. I thought you needed something like: It's false information (ect).
    – bluebell1
    Sep 17, 2018 at 8:02
  • Technically wasn't sure what 'It's represents'. It's refering back to something mentioned previously in the sentence but other than that. Certainly doesn't stand alone out of context.
    – bluebell1
    Sep 17, 2018 at 8:04
  • It is a pronoun that, in this case, refers to what they say about him. In your example of It's false information, It is still the subject and false information is the object -- that which it is. Sep 17, 2018 at 16:40
  • It is can certainly stand on its own -- I might see you and, having nothing better to talk about, might say It's raining. But, yes, generally speaking, a pronoun must refer to something specific previously discussed. Consider this conversation: "Did you hear that Joe was eaten by a bear?" "It's false." In this case, it refers to the story about Joe. On the other hand, if someone simply walked up to you and said "It's false", that would be grammatically correct but you would probably respond with "What's false?" Sep 17, 2018 at 16:44

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