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Pructus Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Which ... it was

Hello....
.

It’s difficult to find out what the “it” refers to.

Is it a dummy it?
If not, what does it refer to?

And I guess "which" refers to "his shirt were crawling with fleas"...
.

********
.

He began to scratch himself as if his shirt were crawling with fleas, which, Jemmy thought, it probably was.
  

Top answer

"it" refers to his shirt. "it probably was" means "his shirt probably was crawling with fleas", though, oddly, substitution of this does not create a logical sentence.

— GPY

  • "it" refers to his shirt.
  • "it probably was" means "his shirt probably was crawling with fleas", though, oddly, substitution of this does not create a logical sentence.
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6 Answers
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"it" refers to his shirt. "it probably was" means "his shirt probably was crawling with fleas", though, oddly, substitution of this does not create a logical sentence.
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I interpret it this way.

it >>>. his shirt

which >>> crawling with fleas
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GPYthough, oddly, substitution of this does not create a logical sentence.
True, if you include 'crawling with fleas'. In that analysis I think we might say that 'which' is to be taken as 'and', though I must say, Clive has an ingenious solution to the problem that leaves 'which' as 'which'.

CJ
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Oh, I see.... I see...

That was quite unexpected for me and clearly makes sense.
That solves all the questions I had.

Thanks so much, Clive!!
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I see.... I see...

Thanks so much for the verification and confirmation, GPY!!
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I see... I see...

Thanks so much for the in-depth explanations CJ~!!
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