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

Û

539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Grammar across turns and sentences | 245

---

Nobody has a bad word to say about her

. 

Such is her popularity.

Well, 

this is what the timetable says: 

buses every other hour but no service on

Sundays

.

It, this and that referring to segments of text

128

The impersonal pronoun it and the demonstrative pronouns this and that are used in

different ways to refer to segments of text or to ideas in the text.

It

It

is used to continue reference to an entity which has already been established as a topic in

the text:

The girl was so ecstatic afterwards, she had such a wonderful smile on her face. 

It was a

sight I shall never forget. 

(It refers neutrally to the girl’s ecstatic behaviour and smile)

✪

It

cannot be used to refer back to a title/heading or sub-title/sub-heading of a text. In such

cases this is used or the full noun phrase is repeated:

[veggies means vegetarians]

Quorn or Mycoprotein 

This is a relatively new foodstuff which is sold as a meat substitute with a chicken-

like texture. 

It’s rich in protein and contains no animal fat and many veggies eat it. 

(note how it is used to refer back once ‘quorn’ is established as a topic, but it cannot

be used in the first sentence to refer back to quorn in the title.) 

Or:

Quorn or Mycoprotein 

Quorn is a relatively new foodstuff …

But not:

Quorn or Mycoprotein

It is a relatively new foodstuff …

It

is not used when the referring pronoun is stressed:

She’s proved herself as a writer, Mel. 

That you can’t deny. 

(stressed fronted pronoun object; this could have been used, but not it)