The Basics
Expletive constructions are phrases like “there is”, “here are”, and “it seems” that typically serve to introduce the content of a sentence. Just because a sentence begins with a phrase that typically signals an expletive construction doesn’t mean that it is one. For example, if “it” is used to refer to an already identified subject, phrases such as “it is” fit within our typical understanding. Although extensive use of expletive constructions may be criticized as less clear or compelling than more direct constructions, expletive constructions can also be useful to place emphasis on different elements of a sentence or establish a particular tone within one’s writing. Used sparingly, they also offer variety in sentence structure.
While expletive constructions are fairly common in writing, they pose some unique challenges when talking about their grammar. The phrase “there is”, for example, creates some ambiguity about the subject and verb of the sentence. So, while in other settings, tutors may feel comfortable talking about these parts of speech, they may find it more difficult to use their existing tools to discuss these kinds of sentences.
Examples
Jane Austen famously begins Pride and Prejudice with an expletive construction:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Here, it is signals an expletive construction. This means that truth is the subject of the sentence rather than it, contrary to what might be expected at first glance.
We see a similar construction in Emily Dickinson (320):
There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons –
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes –
In this case, there’s (i.e., there is) allows us to identify that Dickinson is using an expletive construction. Again, this means that, even though there appears to be associated with is (and even forms a contraction with it), there is not the subject, but rather Slant. There isn’t acting as an adverb as we might be used to, either. Instead, it functions more closely to an interjection because it isn’t grammatically connected to any other part of the sentence.
Although these examples make clear that expletive constructions are far from universally weak rhetorical choices, some occasions may arise when revising a sentence to omit an expletive construction altogether. For example, if an expletive construction seems to obscure a subject, you may suggest that a writer consider restructuring it. Consider the following example:
There are a number of informative blog posts on UCWbLing.
UCWbLing features a number of informative blog posts.
While both of these sentences are grammatically correct, their emphasis differs: The former focuses on the blog posts, whereas the latter focuses on UCWbLing. The best decision is likely the one that best serves the writer’s meaning, regardless of whether it is an expletive construction or not.
Meanwhile, Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway includes an instance of the phrase “it was” that is not an example of expletive construction:
There she came, even before the time, and they stood with the fountain between them, the spout (it was broken) dribbling water incessantly.
In this case, it refers to the spout that is mentioned immediately before the parenthetical. Although “it” can still be used in this way without such close proximity to the antecedent, your ability to locate it can be a useful rule of thumb in determining how “it” is being used.
The opening sentence of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man features both an expletive construction and an example of “it was” where “it” is the subject:
Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo.
In this case, it was refers to the already defined noun time; this isn’t an expletive construction. However, there was, which immediately follows, is an expletive construction: It introduces readers to the subject, moocow.
Approaching Expletives with EAL Writers
In the below sentence, a writer uses a construction resembling “there is” without the verb “to be.” In response, the tutor provides two alternatives to express the meaning in a more conventional way.
There many people want to find a job that they are interested in, and choose a major to achieve their goals.
If you knew this writer to have explicit English grammar knowledge, you might construct a comment like this:
It seems like you’re using “there” to begin an expletive construction, which typically makes use of a linking verb. Similarly, because of this construction, “want” is now part of a new clause, so you need a relative pronoun to connect it to the rest of the sentence, like you do with “that” later in the sentence. So, you could say something like the following: “There are many people who want to find a job that they are interested in and choose a major to achieve their goals.”
Alternatively, if you wanted to formulate this sentence a little more directly, you could leave out “there” entirely and leave the rest of your sentence as you originally wrote it. Since “there” is acting like an interjection, you wouldn’t lose any meaning by omitting it.
In this comment, the tutor takes for granted that the writer understands what linking verbs, clauses, and relative pronouns are and how interjections function. Using that knowledge, the tutor explains how these elements affect the writer’s sentence. The tutor also uses an example from the writer’s own text as an example of a relative pronoun. When the tutor arrives at their suggestion for the writer, they bold the elements they referred to in their main comment, but rely on the writer to differentiate between them. This allows the writer to recall their own understanding of the referenced terms and work forward from there.
Meanwhile, if you were working with a writer without this knowledge base on the same sentence, you might write a comment more along these lines:
When you begin this sentence with “there”, I expect to see a phrase a little more familiar to me—“there is”—which is called an expletive construction. Because of the way this kind of phrase affects the sentence as a whole, “want” belongs to a new part of it. Using another word like “who” can connect these parts together, like you do with “that” later in this sentence. So, you could say something like the following: “There are many people who want to find a job that they are interested in and choose a major to achieve their goals.”
Alternatively, if you wanted to be a little more direct, you could leave out “there” entirely and leave the rest of your sentence as you originally wrote it. Because you’re not using “there” to refer to a place, you won’t lose any meaning by omitting it.
In this comment, the tutor chooses to focus only on one metalinguistic term, which gives the writer a place to look if they’d like to learn more without overwhelming them with new information. Instead, the tutor inserts examples into the comment itself, so that the writer can better understand the concepts at play. Again, the tutor uses an example from the writer’s own text to model a relative pronoun, this time without using the associated metalanguage. The suggested reformulation allows the writer to double-check their understanding after having followed the examples from earlier in the comment.