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9. A clause (then called a subject clause), which makes the whole
sentence a complex one.
What girls of her sort want is just a wedding ring.
This kind of subject is treated in full in § 147-148.
Grammatical classification of the subject
§ 42. From the point of view of its grammatical value the subject may be either notional or formal.
The notional subject denotes or (if expressed by a pronoun) points out a person or a non-person.
The formal subject neither denotes nor points out any person or non-person and is only a structural
element of the sentence filling the position of the subject. Thus a formal subject functions only as a position-
filler. In English there are two such position-fillers: it and there.
The notional subject
§ 43. The notional subject denotes or points out a person or non-person, that is, various kinds of concrete
things, substances, abstract notions or happening.
Persons:
The policeman stepped back.
The audience cheered wildly.
I know all about it.
Whoever said that was wrong.
Non-persons, including animals, whose name may be substituted by if or they.
A house was ready there for the new doctor. It stood on a hill.
These beasts are found only on four southern islets.
Building houses becomes more difficult.
To be a friend takes time.
Whatever he said is of no importance.
Look at the cat. It is very small.
The formal subject
The formal subject it
§ 44. The formal subject expressed by it is found in two patterns of sentences: those with impersonal
it and those with introductory it.
1. The formal subject it is impersonal when it is used in sentences describing various states
of nature, things in general, characteristics of the environment, or denoting time, distance, other measurements.
It’s spring. - Весна.
It’s cold today. - Сегодня холодно.
It’s freezing. - Морозит.
It’s still too hot to start. - Еще слишком жарко, чтобы отправляться в путь.
It seems that he was frank. - Кажется, он был откровенен.
It turned out that she was deaf. - Оказалось, что она глухая.
Sentences with impersonal it are usually rendered in Russian by means of impersonal (subjectless)