Alright. I know this is a nerdy question, even to be posted on SDMB, but…
When one says the common phrase, “It’s raining,” what’s raining? More precisely, what is the antecedent for the pronoun “it”?
A friend(yes, I have them) and I were debating this. I said “it” refers to atmospheric conditions, making “is” a linking verb and “raining” a gerund. My friend said “it” is the actually water droplets, making “is” a helping verb to “raining.”
So, who’s right?
I think you’re right.
However my proof is the phrase ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’
Hope this helps…
Don’t know if it helps, but the Germanic roots are Es regnet.
Why does “it” require an antecedent? It’s just an expression. We also say “it’s cold” and “it’s hot” and “it’s windy.”
That’s just how we express the state of the weather in English.
Why do the Spanish say “Hace calor”, literally “It makes heat” for “It’s hot”, but for “It’s raining”, it’s simple “Llueve” the third person singular for “to rain”?
Going along with what 'Enery said, you may also notice other phrases that use ‘it’ in this weird sort of way. Certainly the same source as the German usage (sehr haeufig : Es gibt = “There is”, Es regnet = “It’s raining”, usw.) , though I don’t know why exactly. But “There is” is just as odd as “It gives”, I think.
How’s it going? It’s going well.
It sure looks like rain. (not as a forensic statement, but as a comment on the weather conditions.)
It’s a lot sunnier today than yesterday.
It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!
I have to admit, it’s getting better …
Clara Bow
Further evidence- if someone from across the country phones you and asks “What’s the weather doing there?”, “It’s raining” can be an appropriate response. Nobody asks “What’s the moisture in the atmosphere doing there?”
What is rain?
God is crying because you did something bad.
Then I don’t want to know what thunder is.
Obviously the it in phrases such as it’s raining and how’s it going is the Tao. In French they say, “Il fait de pluie,” which means it makes of rain, again the Tao, but I wonder what the of is for. Anyway, the Tao, the general flow of things, the indefinite general progress of the universe in all its particulars.