I can’t think of any other ‘it’ that is meaningless. ‘It’ normally refers to something in the sentences context. But in that and in the sentence ‘it rains’ there is nothing that ‘it’ could refer to. The sky doesn’t snow, the weather doesn’t snow and neither do the clouds.

    • Yareckt@lemmynsfw.comOP
      27·
      20 days ago

      ‘It’s raining’ must refer to the same it as the one in ‘it rains’. From that we can gather that the entity referred by ‘it’ must be quite capable as it can do the raining as well as be raining. However ‘It’s cold outside’ could refer to the air as in the air is cold outside. Similarly the ‘it’ in ‘it is the case’ needs some context in a prior sentence or something else in the real world otherwise the sentence doesn’t make sense.

      • cattywampas@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        20 days ago

        The sentence does make sense, because all the speakers understand what it means. The context is implied, as another commenter linked to.

          • witchybitchy@lemm.ee
            5·
            20 days ago

            the one you were talking about not making sense: “it is the case”

            you’re both kinda agreeing on the same thing, whatever the “it” is, is understood through context. which when you lack said context, the sentence becomes nonsensical

  • lordnikon@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    20 days ago

    I kinda of disagree with this as I always felt it refers to Time or the event frame of time

    • Yareckt@lemmynsfw.comOP
      2·
      20 days ago

      That somehow feels right. I still kind of want some phrase that you could substitute for it though. The most correct feeling thing I could think of are seasons as in ‘the summer rains’. But from a logical standpoint a concept that is defined by humans producing something material doesn’t really make sense since a concept isn’t material.

  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
    3·
    19 days ago

    “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”