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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

It

Hi.

It snows a lot in the winter.


What does the pronoun it substitute in such a sentence?

Is a lot an object of the verb snow or is it an adverbial?

Thank you.
  

Top answer

Anonymous What does the pronoun it substitute It's not a substitute. This is called "dummy it ". It is just a place holder for the subject because English requires that the subject position in the sentence has to be filled with something.

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous What does the pronoun it substitute It's not a substitute.
  • This is called "dummy it ".
  • It is just a place holder for the subject because English requires that the subject position in the sentence has to be filled with something.
  • to snow is intransitive.
  • That means it can't have an object.
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3 Answers
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AnonymousWhat does the pronoun it substitute
It's not a substitute. This is called "dummy it". It is just a place holder for the subject because English requires that the subject position in the sentence has to be filled with something.

to snow is intransitive. That means it can't have an object. a lot is therefore an adverbia
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AnonymousWhat does the pronoun it substitute in such a sentence?
This is called a "dummy it." There is no antecedent. The same is true of "it is 8:00."
AnonymousIs a lot an object of the verb snow or is it an adverbial?
adverbial.
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Thank you, CJ and AS, for your useful reply.
AlpheccaStars The same is true of "it is 8:00."
I'm a non-native so it may be my native tongue structures tell me that the 8 o'clock is a complement and somehow refers back to it and in a sense anchors that it specifically thus making the pronoun "less dummy".
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