 #2 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 10:27 am "it" from "A bit of a laugh", English.test.net. |
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Good morning.
English language always requieres of the use of a pronoun (subject pronoun in the two instances that you underlined), unless using Imperative Mood.
In the sentence above the word "English" is the noun, it could be substituted by a pronoun ("it" substituted "English")
In the sentences you are inquiring about, "it" introduces the concept or the idea that the writer is referring to.
I hope this will help.
God bless you.
Cisco.
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 Cisco795
I'm here quite often ;-)
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| #3 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:23 pm "it" from "A bit of a laugh", English.test.net. |
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Hello Cisco795 and others,
I would like to thank Cisco795 for the response. However, I would like to know what the writer was referring to in the story “A bit of a laugh” by using the pronouns “it”. For example, what are the antecedents or what are the subjects?
Here is an example from Kanjikook:
You want to laugh [out loud] but you can't and so you keep it [the laugh] to yourself and laugh up your sleeve — I should imagine if you tried doing this, it [laughing up your sleeve] could be very awkward! (Paragraph 4, line 8 )
By the way, I apologize if my question was too ambiguous.
I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.
Best wishes. |
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Bhikkhu1991a
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 04 Jan 2009
Posts: 53
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| #4 (permalink) Sat Jan 10, 2009 20:18 pm "it" from "A bit of a laugh", English.test.net. |
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| Bhikkhu1991a wrote: |
Hello,
How do you interpret the underlined “it” from English.test.net, please?
Here is the excerpt from the Newsletter “A bit of a laugh” dated November 14, 2008 (http://www.english-test.net/newsletter/a-bit-of-a-laugh-175.html):
Mind you, it could be that you and the others get jobs somewhere else for much more money and then it's the turn of the boss to laugh on the other side of his face. And of course nowadays getting a job is important and it's a very serious business if you can't get one or you lose your present job. (Paragraph 4, line 12)
Answer:
I hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.
Best wishes. |
If we start the sentence without any pronoun, it would be a question sentence rather than a statement.
"Mind you, could be that you......"
This sentence, by omitting the pronoun (it), has the grammar structure of a question, Modal/auxiliary verb (could) preceding a pronoun (you).
By adding "it" before "could", the writer is expressing a statement, which refers to an idea that might take place (getting a job).
"Is getting a job". In this sentence, who is getting a job? Who knows!
"He is getting a job".[/color] In this sentence, who is getting a job? "He" is.
"Could be that..." In this sentence, what is the writer talking about?
"It could be that..." In this sentence, what is the writer talking about? An idea, a concept, an item, etc, and this is the subject, the rest of the sentence clearly states that the writer is talking about the "idea" of getting a job, and in English grammar the pronoun "it" is used to express/substitute ideas, concepts, animals, things, etc.
I hope that my attempt of helping you will bear fruit in you.
God bless you.
Cisco.
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Cisco795
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 118
Location: Mèxico
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