What does "dummy subject" mean?

In English, a word (such as it or there) used as the subject of a sentence when the real subject is placed after the main verb, or when the subject is indefinite.

What is a synonym for "dummy subject"?

Common synonyms include: expletive, expletives, het, it, it mattered, it troubleshooting.

Dummy subject

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
In English, a word (such as it or there) used as the subject of a sentence when the real subject is placed after the main verb, or when the subject is indefinite.
"In the expression "It's raining", the word "it" is a dummy subject."

Synonyms

All synonyms

expletive expletives het it it mattered it troubleshooting

Example

More examples

"In the expression "It's raining", the word "it" is a dummy subject."

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