It  is often the case in English that we start a sentence with the word 'it', and when you analyze the meaning of the sentence you find that the word 'it' in that sentence doesn't really mean anything.  In this case, the word 'it' is called 'non-referential', in other words it doesn't refer to anything.  Other sources go so far as to call it the 'dummy it'.  It is merely a placeholder.   Since all canonical sentences need a subject, this 'dummy' is in the place of the subject.  Thus it is also called the 'dummy subject'.

When can we use this non-referential it?  Here are several situations that call for its use.

(1)    Environmental features:
        (a)    Weather:  It is raining.  It is cold.  It's a nice day.
        (b)    Temperature:  It is 32 degrees.
        (c)    Time:  It's 4:00.  It's 20 after 5.
        (d)    Distance:  How far is it to Duluth?  It's 150 miles to Duluth.  It's a long ways to Duluth.

These expressions are common and can be practiced often in a relevant context.

(2)    Extraposition sentences.  These are sentences that within generative theory are said to be 'extraposed' from their canonical state.  I'll give you some examples:
 
      Canonical state                                                     Extraposition

    That the earth is round is well known. --->  It is well known that the earth is round.
    That Sam passed the test is unlikely.  -->    It is unlikely that Sam passed the test.
    That Mary will be late is possible.  -->        It is possible that Mary will be late.

As you can see, the complement clause beginning with 'that' has been moved or 'extraposed' to the end of the sentence.  Its place has been taken by the word 'it'.  We do this often.

(3)    Cleft sentences .  These sentences look similar to extraposed sentences but are different.  For one thing, they have a relative clause in them rather than a complement clause.  (We will get to the different types of clauses.  If you don't understand the differences now, be patient.)

    Canonical sentence                                                    Cleft sentence
    The wine made Jack sick.          --->                  It was the wine that made Jack sick.
    Minnie prefers intelligent men.        --->            It's intelligent men (that) Minnie prefers.

You'll notice that the cleft sentence form sets up a stressed focus, and is commonly used as some type of response within a specific context.

Within all of the above uses the IT has no referent.  Compare the above sentences to the following, where IT does have a referent:

Have you seen my pen?  IT is blue and gold.  [IT refers to my pen]
I have a great idea, but IT may be impossible to explain.  [IT refers to a great idea]
A cat ran across my backyard.  IT was black with white paws.  [IT refers to a cat]

There is a belief in our society that it is not correct to use THERE  in subject position in this non-referential way.  However, it is common in standard speech.  Some sources refer to it as the 'existential there' because the verb used in these sentences is a verb of existence, usually a form of TO BE.  (This has nothing to do with  French philosophers.)

Note the following examples:

1.  a. A student is outside.
     b. There is a student outside.  [non-referential]
     c. *Is a student outside.

2.  a. A loaf of bread is in the oven.
     b. There is a loaf of bread in the oven.  [non-referential]
     c. *Is a loaf of bread in the oven.

In examples (1) and (2), (a) and (b) are variations, (b) using the 'existential there'.  (c) in both examples just illustrates that something has to be in that subject position.

3.  a. Something is causing her distress.
     b. There is something causing her distress.   [non-referential]
     c.  *Is something causing her distress.

4.  a. Five books have been stolen from the library.
     b. There have been five books stolen from the library.  [non-referential]
     c. *Have been five books stolen from the library.

Examples (3) and (4) further illustrate the point, but with more complicated verb complexes.

5.  a. A whale is a mammal.
     b. *There is a whale a mammal.
     c. *Is a whale a mammal.

6.   a. A whale is gigantic.
      b. *There is a whale gigantic.
      c.  *Is a whale gigantic.

Examples (5) and (6) are meant to illustrate that when the verb is a linking verb, that is, it is linking two noun phrases or a noun with an adjective, we can't use the 'existential there'.  The (b) sentences are not grammatical.  And of course the (c) sentences aren't grammatical, since they have nothing in subject position.

Some verbs that show existence:  be, exist, dwell, lie, remain, stand, appear, arise, loom, happen.

Example (7) illustrates the verb 'arise' in an existential sentence:

7.  a. A great cry arose from the crowd.
     b. There arose a great cry from the crowd.

Examples (8) and (9) illustrate how the verbs used DO NOT work for an existential sentence.

8.  a. A student had walked outside.
     b. *There had walked a student outside.

9.  a. Something caused her distress.
     b. *There caused something her distress.

We can of course use the word there to refer to a place, kind of like pointing.  When used this way  sources refer to it as the 'DEICTIC there' or the 'LOCATIVE there'.  It is referring to something specific.  Examples (10) and (11) illustrate this type of usage.

10.  I see a bird there.
11.  There's the child who has been throwing rocks.

In example (12), there is a difference between (a) and (b).  The comma in (b) should trigger a pause, thus changing the meaning.  Example (a) is existential.  'There' is not referring to anything.  Example (b) shows 'there' as a deictic, a pointing expression signaling the meaning 'over there'.

12.    a. There's a boy on the dock.
         b.  There's a boy, on the dock.

In example (13), (a) is again existential, and (b) is deictic.  But the only difference syntactically is the use of the indefinite article in (a) and the definite article in (b).  This is typical.  The existential or non-referential 'there' is generally followed by an indefinite noun phrase.

13.    a. There's a student waiting outside.
         b. There's the student waiting outside.

Non-referential 'THERE' sometimes is the required form:

You may have heard that in writing it is considered undesirable to use the 'existential there'.  Handbooks often show a preference for 'A student is waiting outside' over 'There is a student waiting outside'.  Please remember that rules for writing are just that.  They do not reflect natural speech.  So this existential sentence type DOES need to be addressed as a viable form of speech.  Also, to press my point, sometimes the 'existential there' form is not only preferred but the only possibility to express a specific thought.  Examples (14) through (17) are meant to illustrate the fact that sometimes the non-referential 'there' construction is the preferred form.  The (a) examples are at least questionnable if not outright ungrammatical.

14. a. ?A bear wasn't in sight.
      b. There wasn't a bear in sight.
 

15. a. *No other way is out.
      b. There's no other way out.
 

16. a. *A solution to this problem is.
      b. There is a solution to this problem.
 

17. a. *A good reason for doing this is.
      b. There is a good reason for doing this.

ps.  The first sentence in my PhD dissertation is, "There is a belief in our society that..."

In any canonical sentence (ordinary sentence) there must be a subject.  A subject has several characteristics:

• The subject is the first noun phrase to the left of the verb
• The subject noun phrase governs verb agreement
• The subject noun phrase is the antecedent for the pronoun in a tag question.

•         It is raining.      IT is the first NP to the left of the subject, IT is governing verb agreement  (we don't say 'it are raining'), and in forming a tag question, 'It is raining, isn't it?' we can say that the 'it' in the tag is referring to the first 'it', or the subject.

So even though this non-referential 'it' has no meaning, it serves as the subject of the sentence.

Test the following sentence:

•   It is possible that  Max will quit his job.

Again IT passes the tests for being the subject of the main clause.

Now if we test the non-referential 'THERE' to see if it is a true subject, we find that it passes mOST of the tests.

• There is a solution to this problem.

A problem arises, however, when we discuss verb agreement.

• There is a book on the table.
• There are three books on the table.

But since it still passes two of the tests, couldn't we just as easily say that THERE is the subject?  This is another of those problematic areas of grammar.   To muddy the waters further, would you hear a native speaker say:

• There's three books on the table.

Non-native speaker problems:

The non-referential IT is used in more situations than is the non-referential THERE.  Thus if a student has problems deciding which to use, s/he will more than likely make the error of using IT in place of THERE more often than vice versa.

To return to Lesson 8, click here.