Can "it"acts as both pronoun and placeholder in one sentence

[uae918]

Hello Manhattan expert,

Can you please tell me if one sentence can use "it" as a pronoun for a noun and also as a dummy pronoun for either an infinitive subject/object or that-clause subject/object? Or is that consider as a pronoun error?

I came across this sentence in the Problem Set in Chapter 12

"It would be hardly be fair for the meatpacking industry to blame regulators for the harm that it has inflicted upon itself in the sub-prime meat sector"

The first "it" - a dummy pronoun (placeholder) for the long infinitive phrase "to blame... meat sector"

The second "it" and the third pronoun "itself" - refer to the "industry"

Thank you!

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Yes, that sentence is absolutely fine. Let's be clear, we've got two words 'it' in the sentence and they each have different purposes (as you correctly identify). There's no problem with that.

[uae918]

Thanks Sage! Just to confirm that it's ok to have these two "it" in this sentence and each has different purpose only because one of them is a dummy pronoun right? If I have two "it" in one sentence and each actually refers to a different noun (not dummy pronoun), then it would be considered incorrect.

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

No need to repost my post in your reply. It's fine to have two pronouns 'it' in the same sentence here because it's clear what each of them is doing. If we had two pronouns 'it' that were referring to nouns then, yes, it would be common for them to refer to the same noun. However, be careful not to make rigid rules! There's nothing in grammar that says that it's "wrong" to use two different antecedents for two different pronouns in the same sentence so long as they are used clearly. How about this one?

Annie loves her dog and spends a lot of time with it, whereas Amir finds his cat unfriendly and avoids it when he can.