形けい式しき主しゅ語ご

noun

formal subject; dummy subject

A grammatical term for a subject that has no real referent, such as 'it' in 'It is raining' or 'there' in 'There is a book on the table'. Used in linguistics and language teaching.

• 英えい語ごの「It is raining.」の「It」は形けい式しき主しゅ語ごです。

  The 'It' in 'It is raining.' is a formal subject.

• 形けい式しき主しゅ語ごの構こう文ぶんは日本にほん語ごにはあまり見みられません。

  Constructions with a formal subject are rarely seen in Japanese.