Syntactic expletive  

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-An '''existential clause''' is a [[clause (grammar)|clause]] that refers to the existence or presence of something. Examples in [[English language|English]] include the sentences "There is a God" and "There are boys in the yard". The use of such clauses can be considered analogous to [[existential quantification]] in predicate logic (often expressed with the phrase "There exist(s)..."). 
-Different languages have different ways of forming and using existential clauses. For details about English, see [[English grammar#There as pronoun|English grammar: ''There'' as pronoun]].+A '''syntactic expletive''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] '''{{sc|expl}}''') is a form of [[expletive]]: a word that in itself contributes nothing to the [[semantic]] meaning of a sentence, yet does perform a [[Syntax|syntactic]] role.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/expletive |title=Expletive &#124; Define Expletive at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-15}}</ref> Expletive subjects in the form of [[dummy pronoun]]s are part of the [[grammar]] of many non-[[pro-drop language]]s such as English, whose clauses normally require overt provision of [[subject (grammar)|subject]] even when the subject can be pragmatically inferred. (For an alternative theory considering expletives like ''there'' as a dummy [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]] rather than a dummy [[subject (grammar)|subject]] based on the analysis of the [[copula (linguistics)|copula]] see Moro 1997<ref>[[Andrea Moro|Moro, A.]] 1997 ''The Raising of Predicates. Predicative Noun Phrases and the Theory of Clause Structure'', ''Cambridge Studies in Linguistics'', 80, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.</ref>). Consider this example:
-==Formation of existential clauses==+:"''It'' is important that you work hard for the exam."
-Many languages form existential clauses without any particular marker, simply using forms of the normal [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] verb (the equivalent of English ''be''), the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] being the noun (phrase) referring to the thing whose existence is asserted. For example, in [[Finnish language|Finnish]], the sentence ''Pihalla on poikia'', meaning "There are boys in the yard", is literally "On the yard is boys". Some languages have a different verb for this purpose, e.g. [[Swedish language|Swedish]] ''finnas'', as in ''Det finns pojkar på gården'', which is literally "It is found boys on the yard". On the other hand, some languages do not require a [[Copula (linguistics)|copula]] at all, and sentences analogous to "In the yard boys" are used. Some languages use the verb ''have'', e.g. [[Serbo-Croatian]], as in ''U dvorištu ima dječaka'', which is literally "In the yard has boys".+
-Some languages form the negative of existential clauses in an irregular way; for example, in [[Russian language|Russian]], есть ''yest'' ("there is/are") is used in affirmative existential clauses (in the present tense), whereas the negative equivalent is нет ''nyet'' ("there is/are not"), used with the logical subject in the [[genitive case]].+Following the eighteenth-century conception of [[pronoun]], Bishop [[Robert Lowth]] objected that since [[It (pronoun)|"''it''"]] is a pronoun, it should have an [[Antecedent_(grammar)|antecedent]]. Since it cannot function without an antecedent in [[Latin]], Lowth declared the usage to be incorrect in [[English language|English]]. It is possible to rephrase such sentences omitting the syntactic expletive "it," for example:
-In English, existential clauses usually use the [[dummy subject]] construction (also known as [[Syntactic expletive|expletive]]) with ''[[there is|there]]'', as in "There are boys in the yard", although ''there'' is sometimes omitted when the sentence begins with another [[adverbial]] (usually designating a place), as in "In my room (there) is a large box." Other languages with constructions similar to the English dummy subject include [[French language|French]] (see ''[[il y a]]'') and [[German language|German]] (which uses ''es ist'', ''es sind'' or ''es gibt'', literally "it is", "it are", "it gives").+:"That you work hard for the exam is important," or
 +:"To work hard for the exam is important."
-==Uses of existential clauses==+Since subject pronouns are not used in Latin except for emphasis, neither are expletive pronouns and the problem does not arise. For example, the Latin equivalent of ''it is necessary that you ...'', {{Lang-la|oportet tibi|label=none}}, translates to 'necessitates to you'.
-===Indicating existence or presence===+
-The principal meaning of existential clauses is to refer to the existence of something, or the presence of something in a particular place or time. For example, "There is a God" asserts the existence of a God, while "There is a pen on the desk" asserts the presence or existence of a pen in a particular place.+
-Existential clauses can be modified like other clauses in terms of [[verb tense|tense]], [[negation (linguistics)|negation]], [[interrogative|question formation]], [[modality (grammar)]], [[non-finite clause|finiteness]], etc. For example, one can say "There was a God", "There is not a God" ("There is no God"), "Is there a God?", "There might be a God", "He was anxious for there to be a God", etc.+Since English syntax and Latin syntax are not the same, the sentence was and is fully acceptable to native speakers of English and thus was and is widely considered to be proper grammar. ''It'' has no meaning here; it merely serves as a dummy [[Subject (grammar)|subject]]. (It is sometimes called ''preparatory it'' or ''prep it'', or a ''[[dummy pronoun]]''.)
-===Indicating possession===+Bishop Lowth did not condemn sentences that use ''there'' as an expletive, for example:
-In some languages, linguistic [[Possession (linguistics)|possession]] (in a broad sense) is indicated by existential clauses, rather than by a verb such as ''have''. For example, in [[Russian language|Russian]], "I have a friend" can be expressed by the sentence у меня есть друг ''u menya yest' drug'', literally "to me there is a friend". Russian has a verb иметь ''imet'' meaning "have", but it is less commonly used than the preceding method for expressing possession.+
-Other examples include [[Irish language|Irish]] ''Tá ocras orm'' "There is hunger on me" (for "I have hunger", i.e. "I am hungry"), [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] ''Van egy halam'' "(There) is a my-fish" (for "I have a fish") and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''İki defterim var'' "two notebook-my (there) is" (for "I have two notebooks").+:"''There'' are ten desks here."
- +
-As an example, consider the following sentence in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]:+
- +
-* yésh l-i ha-séfer ha-zè+
-* (EXISTENTIAL.COPULA) (DATIVE-1st.person.singular) (DEFINITE-book) (DEFINITE-masculine.singular.PROXIMAL.DEMONSTRATIVE)+
-* There is for me the book the this+
-* "I have this book"+
- +
-According to linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, the Hebrew existential construction employed to mark possession was reinterpreted in "Israeli" (his term for "Modern Hebrew") to fit in with the "habere" (to have) construction, requiring the direct object, which is predominant in [[Yiddish]] and other European languages such as English (in "I have this book", "this book" is the direct object of "have"). Consider the following Israeli sentence:+
- +
-* yésh l-i '''et''' ha-séfer ha-zè+
-* (EXISTENTIAL.COPULA) (DATIVE-1st.person.singular) ('''ACCUSATIVE.MARKER''') (DEFINITE-book) (DEFINITE-masculine.singular.PROXIMAL.DEMONSTRATIVE)+
-*There is for me '''ACCUSATIVE''' the book the this+
-*"I have this book"+
- +
-Zuckermann argues that Israeli is a "habere language" (cf. Latin ''habere'' "to have", taking the direct object), in stark contrast to Hebrew. As demonstrated by the accusative marker ''et'', the noun phrase ''ha-séfer ha-zè'' is the direct object in this sentence. +
- +
-[[Yiddish]] has two options to indicate possession. The most common form is ''ikh hob'', literally "I have", which requires a direct object (accusative). However, there is also a form which is more similar to old Hebrew: ''bay mir iz do'', literally "By me is there", followed by the subject (nominative). According to Zuckermann, the latter form, available in the feature pool together with the erstwhile non-habere Hebrew structure ''yésh l-i'' + Subject (there is for me, followed by the nominative), did not prevail because ''ikh hob'' is more productive in Yiddish and other European habere languages that contributed to the emergence of "Israeli".+
- +
-A similar process occurred in [[Maltese language|Maltese]]: "in the possessive construction, subject properties have been transferred diachronically from the possessed noun phrase to the possessor, while the possessor has all the subject properties except the form of the verb agreement that it triggers."+
-== Further reading ==+
-* Everaert, M., H. van Riemsdijk and R. Goedemans (eds.) 2006. ''The Blackwell Companion to Syntax''. London: Blackwell, London. [see "Existential sentences and expletive there" in Volume II]+
-* Graffi, G. 2001. ''200 Years of Syntax: A critical survey''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.+
-* Milsark, G. L. 1979. ''Existential Sentences in English''. New York & London: Garland. [Published version of 1974 MIT Ph. D. dissertation]+
-* Moro, A. 1997. ''The Raising of Predicates: Predicative noun phrases and the theory of clause structure''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.+
 +The nomenclature used for the constituents of sentences such as this is still a matter of some dispute, but ''there'' might be the subject, ''are'' the copula, and ''ten desks'' a predicate nominal.
 +==See also==
 +*[[Existential clause]]
 +*[[Unaccusative verb]]
 +*[[Impersonal verb]]
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A syntactic expletive (abbreviated Template:Sc) is a form of expletive: a word that in itself contributes nothing to the semantic meaning of a sentence, yet does perform a syntactic role.<ref>{{

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}}</ref> Expletive subjects in the form of dummy pronouns are part of the grammar of many non-pro-drop languages such as English, whose clauses normally require overt provision of subject even when the subject can be pragmatically inferred. (For an alternative theory considering expletives like there as a dummy predicate rather than a dummy subject based on the analysis of the copula see Moro 1997<ref>Moro, A. 1997 The Raising of Predicates. Predicative Noun Phrases and the Theory of Clause Structure, Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 80, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.</ref>). Consider this example:

"It is important that you work hard for the exam."

Following the eighteenth-century conception of pronoun, Bishop Robert Lowth objected that since "it" is a pronoun, it should have an antecedent. Since it cannot function without an antecedent in Latin, Lowth declared the usage to be incorrect in English. It is possible to rephrase such sentences omitting the syntactic expletive "it," for example:

"That you work hard for the exam is important," or
"To work hard for the exam is important."

Since subject pronouns are not used in Latin except for emphasis, neither are expletive pronouns and the problem does not arise. For example, the Latin equivalent of it is necessary that you ..., Template:Lang-la, translates to 'necessitates to you'.

Since English syntax and Latin syntax are not the same, the sentence was and is fully acceptable to native speakers of English and thus was and is widely considered to be proper grammar. It has no meaning here; it merely serves as a dummy subject. (It is sometimes called preparatory it or prep it, or a dummy pronoun.)

Bishop Lowth did not condemn sentences that use there as an expletive, for example:

"There are ten desks here."

The nomenclature used for the constituents of sentences such as this is still a matter of some dispute, but there might be the subject, are the copula, and ten desks a predicate nominal.

See also


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