XCV. ANTICIPATIVE SUBJECT

XCV. ANTICIPATIVE SUBJECT

=368.= We have learned that the pronoun _it_ may be used as an anticipative subject to throw the real subject after the predicate. This real subject may be a noun clause or an infinitive phrase.

It will never be known whether the lady came out of that door or the tiger.

It is a mistake to suppose that the fox cannot be tamed.

=369.= We must not conclude that the word _it_ at the beginning of a sentence is always an anticipative subject. Sometimes it is the real subject, that is, it is a neuter personal pronoun having for its antecedent some term perfectly understood by both speaker and listener; as, “Have you read ‘The Call of the Wild’? _It_ is the story of a dog that reverted.”

=370.= Sometimes _it_ is used for subject with no special word for antecedent; as when we say, “It was blowing great guns.” (See § 252.)

=371.= In the familiar expression, “It is time to get up,” the antecedent of _it_ is the word _now_ or the term _the present moment_.

=372.= _It_ is not the only word used as anticipative subject. Another word is _there_; as in the sentence, “There is snow on the top of Pike’s Peak.” If we ask the question, _What is on the top of Pike’s Peak?_ the sensible answer is not _there_, but _snow_, hence _snow_ is the subject. The word _there_ does not denote place, hence it is not an adverb. It is used merely to fill a gap in a declarative sentence in which the subject has been placed after the verb, for if the gap were not filled and the sentence began with a verb, it would seem to be interrogative. When so used the word _there_ is called an =expletive=, which means a word used to fill up a gap.

=373.= Of course _there_ at the beginning of a sentence is not always an expletive. Sometimes it is an adverb denoting place; as, “There will I build me a nest.”

NOTE.—When _there_ is an adverb we pronounce it distinctly, but when it is an expletive used as anticipative subject, we slur it.

=Summary.=—The word _it_ is often used as an anticipative subject so that the real subject may come after the verb. The word _there_ may be an anticipative subject. It is then called an expletive.

=Exercise.=—Analyze the following sentences. If there is an anticipative subject, state that fact before giving the real subject; thus,—In the sentence, “Once upon a time there were four little rabbits,” the anticipative subject is the expletive _there_; the real subject is _four little rabbits_. The predicate is _were once upon a time_.

1. There would be several insuperable difficulties in adopting the moon as a residence.

2. Every object on the moon would be only one sixth as heavy as the same object on the earth. There a box containing a pound of chocolate bonbons would weigh only two or three ounces.

3. It is a little curious that the effect of a short allowance of food does not show itself in hunger.