{"id":2672,"date":"2018-02-07T08:45:29","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T14:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2672"},"modified":"2023-06-07T16:47:42","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T21:47:42","slug":"grasping-the-grammatical-expletive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/pronouns\/grasping-the-grammatical-expletive\/","title":{"rendered":"Grasping the Grammatical Expletive"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is\/are\u2026, It is\u2026<\/em>: We often use these constructions in communicating, perhaps without being aware they have a grammatical classification, the expletive.<\/p>\n

Expletives introduce clauses and delay sentence subjects. Unlike nouns and verbs, which have well-defined roles in expression, expletives do not add to sense or meaning; rather, they let us shift emphasis in sentences by using \u201cfiller.\u201d For this reason, expletives are sometimes referred to as \u201cempty words.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is\/are<\/em> and it is<\/em> are the two primary expletive clauses. Because the words are unnecessary, sentences are tighter without them. Including the expletive depends on whether we want to delay the subject for emphatic effect. Note the nuance and intent in the following examples.<\/p>\n

Sentence with expletive there<\/em>: <\/strong>There is<\/em> a toy airplane on the grass in the backyard.
\nSentence without expletive: <\/strong>A toy airplane is on the grass in the backyard.<\/p>\n

Sentence with expletive it<\/em>: <\/strong>It is<\/em> a fact that he is a former Elvis impersonator.
\nSentence without expletive: <\/strong>He is a former Elvis impersonator.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The sentences with expletives stress the subject instead of the verb by postponing its normal syntactical placement. Examples of expletives for emphasis abound in English literature. Here is but one from Samuel Taylor Coleridge\u2019s poem \u201cThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner\u201d:<\/p>\n

“There <\/em>passed a weary time. Each throat
\nWas parched, and glazed each eye.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Coleridge uses the expletive there<\/em> to emphasize “weary time” by having it follow rather than precede the verb.<\/p>\n

Expletives’ status as filler does have exceptions. For instance, when a sentence\u2019s subject is an infinitive phrase or a that<\/em> clause, starting the sentence with the expletive it <\/em>instead of the subject sounds more natural.<\/p>\n

Original sentence:<\/strong> To train at least four weeks for the event is crucial. (less natural)
\nSentence with expletive it<\/em>:<\/strong> It is<\/em> crucial to train at least four weeks for the event. (more natural)<\/p>\n

Original sentence:<\/strong> That she will win the local election is certain. (less natural)
\nSentence with expletive it<\/em>:<\/strong> It is<\/em> certain that she will win the local election. (more natural)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The expletive it <\/em>also serves constructions that do not have a concrete subject.<\/p>\n

Examples
\n<\/strong>
\nIt is<\/em> cold outside.<\/p>\n

It is<\/em> getting a bit loud over there.<\/p>\n

It could<\/em> turn out to be better than we thought.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In using and understanding expletives, we also want to identify when there<\/em> and it<\/em> are not operating as such. There<\/em> frequently functions as an adverb, and it<\/em> is often a pronoun referring to an antecedent.<\/p>\n

There<\/em> as expletive:<\/strong> There are<\/em> six members at the meeting.
\nThere<\/em> as adverb:<\/strong> Six members are there<\/em> at the meeting.<\/p>\n

It<\/em> as expletive:<\/strong> It is<\/em> a good idea to save money for the trip.
\nIt<\/em> as pronoun:<\/strong> Saving money for the trip is a good idea. It<\/em> is something we should do. (The gerund phrase Saving money for the trip<\/em> is the antecedent to which It<\/em> refers.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As illustrated, expletives can add style and even needed duty to our writing. At the same time, we should include them with reserve. Like the passive voice, they can weaken writing if used too freely. The occasional expletive with thoughtful placement can help keep writing rich and resonant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is\/are\u2026, It is\u2026: We often use these constructions in communicating, perhaps without being aware they have a grammatical classification, the expletive. Expletives introduce clauses and delay sentence subjects. Unlike nouns and verbs, which have well-defined roles in expression, expletives do not add to sense or meaning; rather, they let us shift emphasis in sentences […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,12,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-definitions","category-effective-writing","category-pronouns"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2672"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6594,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2672\/revisions\/6594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}