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dummy subject - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

dummy subject (plural dummy subjects)

  1. (grammar) A word (in English, it or there) used as the subject of a sentence when the real subject is placed after the main verb, or when the subject is indefinite.

    In the expression "It's raining", the word "it" is a dummy subject.

grammatical subject carrying no meaning of its own