英语中的虚拟主语是指什么

问题描述

在一个回答中看到刘老师采用了虚拟主语的说法。之前没听说过。虚拟主语有哪些情况？

老师答疑

刘老师：

Writers, especially beginning writers, are often cautioned against using passive voice in their writing because its use slows down the pace.

Another construction that can make your writing plod is the dummy subject.

When we use the words it and there to begin a sentence without a referent (a noun the pronoun is referring to), we’re using a dummy subject.

关于这个问题，可参考：

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/minor/dummy.htm

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/the-dummy-subject/

http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/Dummy-It.htm