rusproblem.jpg

Quick one that threw me off. For the longest time I've learnt that Russian doesn't use the "dummy subject" like English does. We don't say "это идёт дождь" or "это холодно" (unless I guess you are poiting at something and saying "This thing is cold")

From what I know it can be used demonstratively ("This is a car") and referentially ("I watch cartoons with russian subtitles" - That is a good way to learn).

Infact 2 books I have in russian, 1984 and двойник both start more or less with "был/о..." where english would have said "It was a... (cold april day)"

So why is this это here. If I didn't know any better (and I don't) I would have told someone this was ungrammatical. It seems to be used as a dummy subject when Russian is said not to need one.

Thanks in advance, Jake