Odd dummy subject markers

[Wilson Gray]

I'm with Charlie all the way, to the extent that Ron's original example also
strikes me as a bit too colloquial for a formal paper. But, otherwise, it's
"proper English." Wun-a to-a yawl muss be from up Nawth, I speck.

-Wilson

On 4/5/06, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Odd dummy subject markers
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 4:27 PM -0200 4/5/06, Charles Doyle wrote:
> >Assuming the role, apparently, of spokesman for Southern
> >intuitions (!), I'll confirm that sentences with Ron's quasi-
> >dummy "it" do seem usually to include a "that" dependent
> >clause, though "that" itself can have been deleted (so to
> >speak).
> >
> >      "It said on the radio that showers are expected."
> >
> >      "It said on the radio showers are expected."
> >
> >     * "It said on the radio the prediction of showers."
> >
> >The dependant clause can be in the form of a direct
> >quotation:
> >
> >      "It said on the radio, 'Showers are expected.'"
> >
> >      "It said on the radio, 'Expect showers.'"
> >
> >And the transformation of the clause into an infinitive
> >phrase is possible:
> >
> >      "It said on the radio to expect showers."
> >
> >But that seems a little different (intuitively speaking).
> >Could it occur in Northern Normal?
> >
> >--Charlie
> >
> For me, these are all fine (expect the one you starred).
>
> Larry
>
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