Grammatical Confusion

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Grammatical Confusion [#permalink]

30 Apr 2012, 12:23

I am confused with the usage of a few English Language words. Please help.

* Is it alright to start a sentence with an IT? What is the antecedent of the IT then?
Eg.

"It is raining outside." "It is not a best practice to drive a car with one hand"

* Similarly can we use This.

"This is not correct"

* Has\Have any where in a sentence means it is referring to the present perfect tense?

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Re: Grammatical Confusion [#permalink]

30 Apr 2012, 13:58

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Regarding the use of "It" to begin a sentence, while I would not consider it incorrect, you will often find better ways to formulate your sentence. Ironically, your example might be on instance in which the alternatives make things more complicated, and so you could stick with the formulation "It is raining outside." Another example might be helpful: "It is fun to play in the the rain." A better formulation could be "Playing in the rain is fun." The latter eliminates a preposition, and is more direct.

A similar situation applies to using "This" to begin sentences. Doing so is not necessarily incorrect, but can be problematic. Using "This" tends demand that we ask "This what?" You will generally be better served by simply naming the thing to which you had intended to refer instead of using "This."

Finally, I believe that if you see a "has" or "have" combined with another verb, then you are dealing with the present perfect tense. Of course, those verbs by themselves are not in the present perfect.
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Re: Grammatical Confusion [#permalink]

09 May 2012, 21:51

Actually, starting a sentence with "it" may be completely acceptable and sometimes even preferred if the the sentence is more concise.

eg. IT is FUTILE TO resist temptation.

even though it is not refering to futile, it is simply functioning as a 'placeholder'

So how would such a sentence structure be the better choice:

eg. Studying hard made possible my achieving good grades.

This is an awkward construction

eg. Studying made it possible for me to achieve good grades.

Here "it" is not really referring to anything but is used as a placeholder.

Re: Grammatical Confusion [#permalink] 09 May 2012, 21:51

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