In "Why Haven’t We Made IT Safer to Breathe in Classrooms", what is the actual role the pronoun "it" plays on this sentence? What does "it" refer to?
What do I need "it" for if I can read the sentence perfectly without the use of "it"?
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1 Answer
It's a dummy subject.
English requires an expressed subject in many contexts, even where there is no logical subject.
One of those is in an infinitive clause that is the object of make (= compel, bring about). The clause is required to be [subject] [infinitive] [objects/complements] and if there is no logical subject then we use the dummy subject "it".
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2OR rephrase to something like Why haven’t we made breathing in classrooms safer? Aug 9 at 15:37