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A dummy pronoun is a deictic pronoun that fulfills a
syntactical In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency ...
requirement without providing a contextually explicit meaning of its
referent A referent () is a person or thing to which a name – a linguistic expression or other symbol – refers. For example, in the sentence ''Mary saw me'', the referent of the word ''Mary'' is the particular person called Mary who is being spoken of ...
. As such, it is an example of exophora. Dummy pronouns are used in many Germanic languages, including
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
and English. Pronoun-dropping languages such as
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
,
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
, and Turkish do not require dummy pronouns. A dummy pronoun is used when a particular verb argument (or preposition) is nonexistent (it could also be unknown, irrelevant, already understood, or otherwise "not to be spoken of directly") but when a reference to the argument (a pronoun) is nevertheless
syntactically In linguistics, syntax () is the study of how words and morphemes combine to form larger units such as phrases and sentences. Central concerns of syntax include word order, grammatical relations, hierarchical sentence structure (constituency) ...
required. For example, in the phrase "It is obvious that the violence will continue", ''it'' is a dummy pronoun, not referring to any agent. Unlike a regular pronoun of English, it cannot be replaced by any noun phrase. The term ''dummy pronoun'' refers to the function of a word in a particular sentence, not a property of individual words. For example, ''it'' in the example from the previous paragraph is a dummy pronoun, but ''it'' in the sentence "I bought a sandwich and ate it" is a referential pronoun (referring to the sandwich).


Dummy subjects


Weather ''it''

In the phrase "it is raining—", the verb ''to rain'' is usually considered semantically impersonal, even though it appears as syntactically
intransitive In grammar, an intransitive verb is a verb whose context does not entail a direct object. That lack of transitivity distinguishes intransitive verbs from transitive verbs, which entail one or more objects. Additionally, intransitive verbs are ...
; in this view, the required ''it'' is to be considered a dummy word.


Other views

However, there have been a few objections to this interpretation. Noam Chomsky has argued that the ''it'' employed as the subject of English weather verbs can control the subject of an adjunct clause, just like a "normal" subject. For example, compare: :''She brushes her teeth before having a bath.'' ::→ ''She brushes her teeth before she has a bath.'' :''It sometimes rains after snowing.'' ::→ ''It sometimes rains after it snows''. If this analysis is accepted, then the "weather ''it''" is to be considered a "quasi-(verb)
argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectic ...
" and not a dummy word. Some
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...
s such as D. L. Bolinger go even further, claiming that the "weather ''it''" simply refers to a general state of affairs in the context of the utterance. In this case, it would not be a dummy word at all. Possible evidence for this claim includes exchanges such as: :''"Was it nice (out) yesterday?"'' :''"No, it rained."'' where ''it'' is implied to mean "the local weather".


Raising verbs

Other examples of semantically empty ''it'' are found with raising verbs in "unraised" counterparts. For example: :''It seems that John loves coffee.'' (Corresponding "raised" sentence: ''John seems to love coffee.'')


Extraposition

Dummy ''it'' can also be found in
extraposition Extraposition is a mechanism of syntax that alters word order in such a manner that a relatively "heavy" constituent appears to the right of its canonical position. Extraposing a constituent results in a discontinuity and in this regard, it is ...
constructions in English, such as the following: :''It was known to all the class'' 'that the boy failed his test'''.''


Dummy objects

In English, dummy
object Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ...
pronouns tend to serve an ''
ad hoc Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.) Com ...
'' function, applying with less regularity than dummy subjects. Dummy objects are sometimes used to transform transitive verbs to a transitive light verb form: e.g., ''do'' → ''do it'', "to engage in
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...
"; ''make'' → '' make it'', "to achieve success"; ''get'' → '' get it'', "to comprehend". Prepositional objects are similar: e.g., '' with it'', "up to date"; '' out of it'', "dazed" or "not thinking". All of these phrases, of course, can also be taken literally. For instance: :He ordered a
cheeseburger A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Cheese ...
, and even though it took them a while to make it, he did get some French fries with it.


Dummy predicates

It has been proposed that elements like expletive ''there'' in existential sentences and ''pro''-''forms'' in inverse copular sentences play the role of dummy predicate rather than dummy subject, so that the postverbal noun phrase would rather be the embedded subject of the sentence.


See also

* Impersonal verb * Null subject language


References

*Everaert, M. - van Riemsdijk, H - Goedemans, R. (eds) 2006 The Blackwell Companion to Syntax, Volumes I-V, Blackwell, London: see "existential sentences and expletive there" in Volume II. *
Chomsky, Noam Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...
(1981)
Lectures on Government and Binding ''Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures'' (''LGB'') is a book by the linguist Noam Chomsky, published in 1981. It is based on the lectures Chomsky gave at the GLOW conference and workshop held at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pi ...
. Dordrecht: Foris., cited in http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/sky/julkaisut/SKY2004/Alba-Salas.pdf. * Bolinger, D. L. (1977). Meaning and form. English Language Series, 11. London: Longman. * Graffi, G. 2001 200 Years of Syntax. A critical survey, John Benjamins, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. * Moro, A. 1997 The raising of predicates. Predicative noun phrases and the theory of clause structure, Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dummy Pronoun Pronouns Transitivity and valency