pleonastic "it"

[Dick Hudson]

If pleonastic "it" is simply not shown at all at f-structure, as Steven
Shaufele suggests, how come it is involved in passivisation as in (2)?

(1) We expected it to rain.
(2) It was expected to rain.

And if all lexical requirements are imposed at f-structure, rather than at
c-structure, how come subject "it" is obligatory with some verbs (eg. RAIN)
even when they're not finite?

(3) *(It) raining during the picnic was a nuisance.
(4) *(For it) to rain in mid-summer is quite normal in London.

Richard Hudson
Department of Phonetics and Linguistics,
University College London,
Gower Street,
London WC1E 6BT
work phone +171 419 3152; work fax +171 383 4108
email dick at ling.ucl.ac.uk; web-site http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/home.htm