Re: Odd construct
| From: | Matthew Pearson <matthew.pearson@...> |
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| Date: | Friday, October 12, 2001, 20:39 |
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--- You wrote:
> If you mean the semantically empty "it" found in sentences like "It is
> raining" or "It seems that John is sick", then yes. Both are referred
> to as expletives.
I wasn't aware of that meaning for "expletive".
--- end of quote ---
I'm not sure how this term came to be used in this way. What's more confusing is
that the everyday sense of "expletive" is also employed in linguistics, as in
the term "expletive insertion". This term refers to the insertion of an
emphatic element (usually a swear word) in the middle of another word--e.g.,
"abso-fuckin'-lutely!"
Matt.
Matt Pearson
Department of Linguistics
Reed College
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR 97202 USA
ph: 503-771-1112 (x 7618)
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