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empty subject

[ˈɛmpti ˈsʌbdʒɪkt]
nounpl: empty subjects
sujeito nulo
1. A grammatical subject that is not overtly expressed in a sentence but is understood from context or linguistic convention, particularly in pro-drop languages
In Spanish 'Habló' (He/She spoke), the empty subject refers to the understood third-person singular pronoun
Em português 'Falei' (I spoke), o sujeito nulo refere-se ao pronome de primeira pessoa singular entendido
2. In linguistics, a syntactic position for a subject that contains no phonetic material but has semantic and grammatical content
The sentence 'It is raining' contains an expletive empty subject in English
A sentença 'Chove' em português contém um sujeito nulo expletivo
Synonyms
null subjectpro-drop subjectelided subjectimplicit subject
Antonyms
overt subjectexplicit subjectstated subject

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
sujeito nulo
Standard term used in Brazilian Portuguese linguistics
Portugal
sujeito nulo
Standard term used in European Portuguese linguistics
Academic
sujeito vazio
Alternative technical term in linguistic contexts

Related Idioms & Phrases

pro-drop language phenomenon
null subject parameter in generative grammar
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