The Dummy It

The Dummy It

Sometimes called the "empty" it.​

The word "it" can be a subject (or dummy subject) in sentences about times, dates, and the weather (such as, It's raining) and in certain idioms (It's OK).

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Unlike the ordinary pronoun it, dummy it has no clear antecedent (the noun the pronoun refers to); it simply serves the grammatical function of giving the sentence a subject.

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What is the dummy it?

Sometimes the dummy it is ok.

​. . .Like when talking about environmental conditions

• ​It is hot.

• It is late.

• It is still cold out.​

• It's 2 AM. Go to bed!

• It's fine. Don't worry about it. ​

• It's a shame, really.

• ​It's almost morning.

• ​Did it rain last night?

But sometimes it's not ok. It Makes sentences wordy.

​Take a look at this sentence:

By choosing onions as the topping for his hot dog, it proves that he's a disgusting human.

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What is the subject?

What is the predicate?​

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Rewrite the sentence without the dummy it on the next slide. You may need to remove other non-essential words.

It's not a horrible sentence, but it can be written more directly. You don't need the "it."

Draw

By choosing onions as the topping for his hot dog, it proves that he's a disgusting human.

Here's HOw I would have done it:

Choosing onions as the topping for his hotdog proves that he's a disgusting person.

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The complete subject is: Choosing onions as the topping for his hot dog, and that gerund (ing) prhase performs the verb prove.​

Subject | Subject

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Let's try another.

Rewrite the following sentence without the dummy it.

Open Ended

Because Romeo does whatever Juliet wants, it makes him a simp.

Doing whatever Juliet wants makes Romeo a simp.

I changed the subject to be a gerund phrase and put Romeo at the end.

Try some on your own.

​There's only one "correct" answer, so make sure that you punctuate, capitalize, and space correctly.

Open Ended

By thinking about what's going on in the world today, it makes me crazy.

Fill in the Blank

By being direct with his students about their writing, it shows that Mr. Marr cares about them.

Open Ended

By not eating lunch, it deprives my body of energy at the end of the day.