Extraposition & Anticipatory It
Aturan
Extraposition shifts syntactically heavy subject or object clauses to the end of the sentence, inserting expletive it as a structural placeholder.
Extraposition is a fundamental syntactic mechanism in English that resolves processing friction caused by clausal subjects. English strongly favors the Principle of End-Weight, preferring light, thematic subjects at the beginning of a clause and relegating heavy, informationally complex constituents to the end. In subject extraposition, a finite that-clause, infinitive clause, or gerund clause functioning as the grammatical subject is moved to the clause terminus, and the phonologically light, semantically empty pronoun it (the expletive or anticipatory dummy) is inserted into the canonical subject position: That so many ancient manuscripts survived the fire is extraordinary -> It is extraordinary that so many ancient manuscripts survived the fire. In object extraposition, complex clausal objects following factive, evaluative, or cognitive verbs (find, deem, consider, make, think) are extraposed past an object complement adjective, with it serving as the dummy object: The board deemed it imperative that safety protocols be overhauled.
Ingat
- Apply subject extraposition to that-clauses, to-infinitives, and wh-interrogative clauses using introductory anticipatory it.
- Deploy object extraposition after cognitive and reporting verbs such as find it surprising that or make it possible to.
- Preserve expletive it as an obligatory syntactic dummy that cannot be omitted or replaced by demonstrative this or that.
Jebakan Umum yang Harus Dihindari
Omitting anticipatory it in object extraposition constructions, writing We consider unfortunate that the meeting was postponed.
Guía visual
How to read this C2 topic
At C2, grammar manages nuance: responsibility, irony, concession, distance, rhythm, and dense argument.
1. Read the writer's stance
Advanced forms may signal caution, skepticism, authority, or deliberate distance.
The proposal would appear to be flawed.
2. Recover what is omitted
Ellipsis and compression expect the reader to rebuild missing grammar.
If necessary, revise the clause.
3. Match form to discourse
The most sophisticated option is the one that fits purpose and register.
Little did they realize what followed.
Decision path before answering
Use these checks before choosing between close options.
- 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
- 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
- 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
- 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.
Contrasts that often decide the answer
Event or background
Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.
I left while she was talking.
Fact or stance
Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.
This may indicate a problem.
Clause or compressed phrase
Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.
Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.
Contoh
- 1It is widely acknowledged among economists that structural unemployment cannot be solved by monetary expansion alone.
- 2The supervisory committee deemed it appropriate to suspend trading pending a full investigation into insider trading allegations.
- 3It came as a profound shock to the scientific community when the celebrated laboratory retracted its groundbreaking cancer study.
- 4The diplomatic envoy made it clear that continued economic sanctions would be lifted only upon full compliance with the treaty.
- 5It remains to be seen whether the newly appointed judicial panel will uphold the controversial appellate court ruling.
- 6The defense attorneys found it extraordinary that the prosecution had withheld vital forensic exculpatory evidence.
- 7It is incumbent upon senior management to ensure that all workplace safety protocols are rigorously enforced.
- 8The sudden cancellation of the bilateral summit made it impossible for foreign ministers to finalize the border agreement.
- 9It is of paramount importance that the integrity of the clinical trial data remain uncompromised by commercial sponsors.
Pengecualian
While that-clauses and to-infinitives almost always extrapose gracefully, gerund clauses resist extraposition in formal English unless paired with specific evaluative idioms: It is no use crying, It is worth noting, It is no good complaining.
Kesalahan umum
Omitting the mandatory anticipatory object it: The executive committee considered unacceptable that deadlines were repeatedly missed (ungrammatical; English requires considered it unacceptable that...).
Uji dirimu
Convert five heavy sentential subjects into extraposed constructions, analyzing the shift in cognitive readability.
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