Swedish: An Essential Grammar, 2nd edition

Är han död? De fruktar/tror/hoppas/säger det.
Is he dead? They fear/think/hope/say so.
Note also:
Olle var hungrig. Och det var vi också. Olle was hungry. And so were we.
(f) in answer to questions, without an English equivalent, as a
complement of vara/bli or an object of auxiliary verbs:
Är du rik? Nej, det är jag inte.
Are you rich? No, I’m not.
Kan du svenska? Ja, det kan jag. Do you speak Swedish? Yes, I do.
Note also:
Hon ser snäll ut, och det är hon.
She looks kind, and she is too.
(g) without an English equivalent when referring back to a whole clause:
Han påstår att han bor i villa, men det gör han inte.
He claims that he lives in a detached house, but he doesn’t.
5
Pronouns
80

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Summary of the major uses of 
det:
Function
Used with
English equivalent
personal pronoun
any verb to refer back to
it
neuter noun in singular
demonstrative pronoun
cf. 5.8
that/it/that one
complement of vara/bli vara/bli + noun/pronoun
it/he/she/they
formal subject