italki - What does "IT" mean?? I've read a sentence in the book THE ART OF THINKING CLEARLY today. "Not too l

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CarolCAI

What does "IT" mean?? I've read a sentence in the book THE ART OF THINKING CLEARLY today. "Not too long ago, a rather maudlin friend remarked that it bordered on the miraculous that he -- yes, he - ever existed." I wanna know what does "it" exactly mean in this sentence? Thanks.

17 juil. 2014 16:14

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This is an impersonal 'it'. The simplified version of the phrase is: "It is almost miraculous that he ever existed" It's the same as saying: "It is nice that you gave me flowers" Some people call this a 'dummy subject' because the 'it' doesn't refer to anyone or anything.

17 juillet 2014