Expletive Pronouns - it/ there

Complete the sentence: There _________ several empty seats in the movie theater.

• is

• are

• was

• be

Answer explanation

The verb must agree with the real subject, 'seats,' which is plural. 'Are' is the correct present tense plural verb to use in this case.

In which sentence is the word 'it' used as an expletive, or a placeholder?

• My phone is new, and it has a great camera.

• It is getting late, so we should probably go home.

• The dog wagged its tail when it saw the treat.

• Did you finish your homework? I can help you with it.

Answer explanation

In this sentence, 'it' is an expletive used to talk about time and doesn't refer to a specific noun. In the other options, 'it' is a pronoun that refers to 'phone,' 'dog,' and 'homework.'

True or False: In the sentence 'There is a new student in our class,' the word 'There' is an expletive that introduces the subject.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

'There' is used as an expletive, or dummy subject, to introduce the real subject ('a new student') later in the sentence. It does not refer to a place.

Complete the sentence: Look! There ________ a huge slice of pizza left just for you.

• are

• were

• is

• be

Answer explanation

The real subject of the sentence is 'a huge slice,' which is singular. The verb must be 'is' to agree with the singular subject.

Which sentence uses 'there' as an adverb of place, NOT as an expletive?

• There seems to be a problem with the Wi-Fi.

• Is there any milk left in the fridge?

• I love that park; we should have our picnic there.

• There are too many people in this line.

Answer explanation

In this sentence, 'there' indicates a specific location (the park). In the other options, 'there' is an expletive that introduces the existence of something.

Complete the sentence: Last night, there ________ two loud noises that woke me up.

• was

• were

• is

• are

Answer explanation

The sentence is in the past tense, and the real subject 'two loud noises' is plural. Therefore, the correct plural past tense verb is 'were.'

True or False: The word 'it' has the same function in both of these sentences: 1. 'It is important to be on time.' 2. 'I read the book and gave it to my friend.'

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In sentence 1, 'it' is an expletive placeholder for the phrase 'to be on time.' In sentence 2, 'it' is a referential pronoun that refers back to 'the book.'

In the sentence 'There are three good reasons to join the club,' what is the actual subject that the verb 'are' agrees with?

• There

• reasons

• club

• are

Answer explanation

In sentences beginning with the expletive 'there,' the verb agrees with the noun phrase that follows it. Here, the verb 'are' is plural because the real subject is 'three good reasons.'

Complete the sentence: There _________ to be some confusion about the meeting time.

• seem

• seems

• is

• are

Answer explanation

The real subject is 'some confusion' (a singular concept), so the verb must be singular. 'Seems' is a singular verb that works with the expletive 'there' to suggest an appearance.

Which sentence correctly uses the expletive 'it' to move a long subject to the end of the sentence for better flow?

• That we would be late for the movie was obvious.

• It was obvious that we would be late for the movie.

• The movie, it was obvious we would be late for.

• It, that we would be late for the movie, was obvious.

Answer explanation

This sentence correctly uses the expletive 'it' as a placeholder for the clause 'that we would be late for the movie,' making the sentence easier to read. This is called extraposition.