[Grammar] Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event

[kadioguy]

In the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, it says:

Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area.

https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/make
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1. Is 'over' here a preposition?

2. Does 'it' refer to 'Over 80,000 people attended'?

 

[GoesStation]

For number 2, no. "It" refers to a sporting event mentioned previously.

 

[kadioguy]

For number 2, no. "It" refers to a sporting event mentioned previously.

How can I know "It" refers to a sporting event mentioned previously?
I cannot see a sporting event mentioned previously in the original example sentence.

 

[GoesStation]

Over 80,000 people attended, making it the biggest sporting event in the area.

How can I know "It" refers to a sporting event mentioned previously?
I cannot see a sporting event mentioned previously in the original example sentence.

We know that it refers to something in a previous sentence because there's no antecedent for it in the subject sentence. If we wanted to refer to the people, we'd have to use them: Over 80,000 people attended, making them the biggest crowd ever seen in the area.

 

[Rover_KE]

1. Yes.