1. It’s not what you think…
Expletives
It’s not what you think…

2. An expletive is literally a useless word
What is an “Expletive”?
An expletive is literally a useless word
Many times, this can be a curse word
In writing, this is a word that has no meaning but to emphasize
“Indeed, the results of the study demonstrate the predictions of the hypothesis.”
Where is the expletive?

3. Kinds of Expletives Empty words: Question-less question words
Actually
“What the article is about is important.”
Really
Expletive structures
Various
“There is a lot to get done today.”
Meaningless words:
There is
In my opinion
It is
It is important that
How can we rewrite the sentence?
Redundant Pairs
Final outcome
In my opinion, it is important that all college students vote.
Past history

4. What is an “Expletive”? Expletives are not always bad
You use expletives to:
Show emphasis
Point to something
Refer to a subject in a previous sentence or idea
“Karate gives me a great workout. It is one of the most thorough forms of exercise available.”

5. Examples of Expletives
Expletive: There are going to be hundreds of people attending the party.
Correction: Hundreds of people will attend the party.
Expletive: There is an easy way to determine the external temperature.
Correction: The external temperature is easy to determine.
Expletive: It is going to be a long, cold winter.
Correction: The winter will be long and cold.
Expletive: It was the setting sun that made it hard to see the ball.
Correction: The setting sun made the ball hard to see.