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help in sentence structure

 
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avid_learner



Joined: 07 Apr 2006
Posts: 14
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:32 am    Post subject: help in sentence structure Reply with quote
it's time to go.

what is the subject and the sentence structure of this sentence? is it here an expletive? what is an expletive?
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Anuradha Chepur



Joined: 20 May 2006
Posts: 933
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It is the subject, is is the verb, time is the object and to go is the object complement.

For an explanation on expletive, see this link:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/student/viewtopic.php?t=18038&highlight=expletive
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Mary W. Ng



Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 261
PostPosted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:19 pm    Post subject: Re: help in sentence structure Reply with quote
Quote:
it's time to go.


There is no real subject in the quoted sentence. The impersonal it has no meaning; it merely functions as the grammatical subject to fulfil the requirement that every verb must have a subject. It is called an expletive (filler).

Is is a linking verb.

Time to go is the subject complement even though there is no real subject. A subject complement follows a linking verb and tells something about the subject.
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Mary W. Ng
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