Expletives 

In this lesson we learn about expletives, which are essential parts of a sentence that serve as placeholders without adding significant meaning. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.

Expletives in The English Language

What Are Expletives?

In grammar, an expletive is a word or phrase that is used to fill a syntactic slot without adding any extra meaning to the sentence. Expletives are commonly used in English to add emphasis or to create sentence balance, but they do not contribute to the overall meaning of the sentence.

Expletives: Uses

Expletives are not completely insignificant or meaningless. They can be used to:

1.

indicate emphasis

2.

give a particular tone to the statement

3.

help build the meter in verse

Common Expletives in English

In English, there are some words and phrases that are commonly used as expletives:

1.

like

2.

you know

3.

so

4.

in fact

5.

damn it

6.

by golly

7.

oaths or profanities

Let's take a look at some examples:

Example

Well, you know, we've got to start this project.

I was like, 'excuse me who are you again?'

They thought they could win and, by golly, they did!

Damn it, it's you again!

Attributive Expletives

Some expletives are attributive adjectives or adverbs that are used to indicate a strong feeling (anger, irritation, approval, excitement, etc.). These words do not add any meaning to the sentence nor are they necessary in the sentence. They are mostly profanities or swear words. For example:

Example

You'd better pay for your bloody lunch, or I will call the cops.

The expletive 'bloody' is usually used among British speakers.

Where is my damn phone?

This festival is downright ridiculous.

ThumbnailPhoto

"Do" as an Expletive

The verb 'do'is sometimes used as an expletive before verbs to show emphasis. In this case, 'do' does not have any meaning, it is simply there as a filler. For example:

Example

You do look nice in that hat.

Do have another sandwich.

Negative Expletive

A negative expletive is a sentence construction that includes one or more negative words that are redundant or unnecessary. One example is the double negative construction in English, which was more commonly used in old English but can still be found in modern English in some contexts. For example:

Example

Nobody never helped me about it.

I ain't never going back there again

Syntactic Expletive

A syntactic expletive is a pronoun that is used at the beginning of a sentence without adding any semantic meaning. These pronouns are also known as dummy subjects or pronouns. The primary purpose of these expletives is to provide a subject for the sentence and to indicate the existence of something. Common syntactic expletives of English are:

It is

There is/are

Here is/are

Example

There is an apple tree in the backyard.

"There" as an individual word doesn't carry any meaning here, it just points to existence of something. It just has a grammatical purpose.

It is over 200 miles from London to Manchester.

"It" does not refer to anything, it can't be replaced with a noun unlike regular pronouns.

Here are some pictures of John when he was little.

There are a few things we need to discuss.

Quiz:


1.

Which of the following sentences uses a syntactic expletive?

A

There are several challenges in the new project.

B

He does understand the rules.

C

I can’t believe you finished the damn project so early.

D

A and B

2.

Which sentence demonstrates the use of an expletive for emphasis?

A

Do you want to join us for dinner?

B

She does her work diligently every day.

C

He does his chores before playing.

D

You do look amazing in that outfit.

3.

Identify the expletive in each sentence.

Oh my, that looks amazing! → oh my

Where is my darn wallet? →

I can't get no sleep. →

There are many reasons to support this initiative. →

I believe she has in fact never done it. →

4.

Match the expletive in each sentence to its correct type

There are three cookies left in the jar.
I do love your new haircut!
Why is this blasted computer so slow?
I can’t find my keys nowhere.
Negative expletive
Attributive expletive
"Do" as an expletive
Syntactic expletive
5.

Fill in the blanks with the correct type of expletive. (There is one extra option.)

are many birds in the sky today.

You

look stunning in that dress!

Where is my

jacket? I’ve searched everywhere!

I ain’t

going to that boring lecture.

there
do
damn
never
here

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