e.g. It is easy to draw cartoons.
In this sentence 'It' is a formal subject and 'to....' is a real subject.
(Is the expression correct?)
Yes, "It" is the subject.
"To draw cartoons" is an infinitive phrase used as an adverb, modifying the adjective, "easy."
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/infinitivephrase.htm
The expression you provided is not correct. The term "real subject" is not commonly used in English grammar. However, I can explain the structure of the sentence you provided.
In the sentence, "It is easy to draw cartoons," the word "it" is acting as a placeholder or dummy subject. It doesn't have any specific meaning in this context, and its main role is to take the position of the subject in the sentence.
The real subject in this sentence is the phrase "to draw cartoons." It functions as the subject of the sentence because it is the actual action being performed.
To understand this sentence, you can break it down as follows:
- "It" is the formal subject or placeholder.
- "is easy" is the verb phrase, where "is" is the linking verb and "easy" is the complement, describing the subject.
- "to draw cartoons" is the real subject or the action being performed.
Overall, the sentence is saying that the action of drawing cartoons is easy.