Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

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539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

From utterance to discourse | 183

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Both I and the auxiliary verb may be absent from initial position in declaratives:

[end of conversation] 

Okay then. Talk to you later.

(understood: I’ll talk to you later.)

Love to meet her. 

(understood: I’d love to meet her.)

✪

Pronouns cannot be omitted in all cases. Note that the examples above are all

informal, and involve mostly auxiliary and modal verbs, and verbs such as

think

, hope, wonder. In most other cases, a subject pronoun must be used:

Did you meet Robbie? He was there at the same time as you.

(Did you meet Robbie? Was there at the same time as you.)

A: Will your mother be here too?

B: Yeah, she’s coming.

(Yeah, is coming)