pronouns - Whence the "it" in "I like it here"?


What is the origin of the use of the object (it) in the following sentences, and what is its purpose?



I like it here!



and



Did you like it there?



In essence, the things we are saying we like are really here (this place) and there (that place) themselves - whence the insertion of the antecedent-free pronoun?


Note: I can think of plenty of antecedents you could replace the "it" with, so that's not the answer I'm looking for.



Answer



It's called a dummy it, and according to Wikipedia it's used "when a particular verb argument (or preposition) is nonexistent (it could also be unknown, irrelevant, already understood, or otherwise not to be spoken of directly), but when a reference to the argument (a pronoun) is nevertheless syntactically required."


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