Page 133 - Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking

■ When a citizen finds herself struggling to get a small business permit
from the city, she can seek help from her councilperson.

■ A citizen who needs to find out how much he owes in home-business
taxes can also get help from his councilperson.

Also see section 17.21, Y’all, You Guys, and Genderless Guy.

10.12 Weather It, Expletive It, and the Dummy
Subject

It can be used in place of a subject as a dummy subject or dummy pronoun,
which is known as an expletive use of it. Expletive, in this case, doesn’t mean

naughty words you blurt out when you’re suddenly angry or hurt. It’s simply a
word used to make a sentence seem more grammatical without adding to the

meaning.

■ It seems to me that you should go to bed.

■ It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone.
■ It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

More specifically, it can be used as the subject of a verb in a sentence about

a condition or situation, especially in reference to the weather. This usage is

sometimes called weather it.

■ It is raining.
■ Is it done snowing yet?

■ It looks like a storm is coming on.

Also see indefinite pronouns in section 5.2, Subject-Verb Agreement.