Comedian Fred Armisen /Barack Obama
It Subject Clauses
Shifting focus to another sentence part
That to It Subject Clauses
| SUBJECT THAT–CLAUSE | OBJECT IT…THAT | ||
|---|---|---|---|
A that-clause in the subject position is usually followed by a be verb or by a stative verb of being or emotion. List |
We can change the focus to the complement (verb + information after the verb) of the sentence by bringing that part forward. We use it to hold the place of the subject, and move the subject towards the end of the sentence. |
||
SUBJECT CLAUSE That Fred is a funny comedian |
SENTENCE COMPLEMENT is obvious to all. |
IT PLACEHOLDER It is obvious to all |
DISPLACED SUBJECT (MOVED TO END) that he is a funny comedian. |
That they look alike |
is clear to everyone. verb agrees with that |
It is clear to everyone |
that they look alike. |
That he can imitate Barack Obama |
is amazing. |
It is amazing |
that he he can imitate Barack Obama. |
That the President thinks he is funny |
surprises no one. |
It surprises no one |
that the President thinks he is funny. |
Also see It Cleft Sentences
What to It Subject Clauses
| SUBJECT WHAT-CLAUSE | OBJECT WHAT-CLAUSE |
|---|---|
What can replace and emphasize the subject or object of the subject of a sentence. As the subject of the sentence, it is often followed by (be) and an adjective-phrase. |
What can replace and emphasize the subject or object of the object of a sentence. As the object of the sentence, It + (be) + adjective-phrase comes before it. |
What he said was funny (object pronoun) |
It was funny what he said. (object pronoun) |
What inspires him is a mystery. (subject pronoun) |
It is a mystery what inspires him. (subject pronoun) |
There/ It Subjects — "Dummy Pronouns"
| THERE — HOLDING THE SUBJECT POSITION | IT — HOLDING THE SUBJECT POSITION |
|---|---|
There, also a dummy pronoun, has no particular meaning. It displaces the subject noun which is moved to another part of the sentence. It refers to the existence of something (mentioned elsewhere in the sentence. (Do not confuse with there meaning "location".) |
It, a "dummy pronoun", has no particular meaning. It displaces the subject noun or clause to another part of the sentence. Often the sentence can be restated without it. When we use this wording, the "heavier part" of the sentence is at the end. |
There was a particularly funny joke. (There = existence) |
It was a particularly funny joke. |
There is two-week old episode on television. (There = existence) |
It is a two-week old episode. |
See It / There Subject Pronouns
Also see It Clefts.
It Clauses
It Expressions
| SUBJECT CLAUSE | IT AS THE SUBJECT |
|---|---|
The sentences below contain a clause in the subject position followed by a verb and its complement (predicate). |
It, a dummy pronoun, has no particular meaning. It allows us to move part of a sentence to the beginning. It hold the place of the subject and refers back to the subject that was moved toward the end of the sentence. We use this wording to place the "heavier part" of the sentence at the end. |
1. CLAUSE + [BE] + ADJECTIVE |
IT [BE] ADJECTIVE |
To do the work this way is easy. |
It is easy to do the work this way. |
Driving all day was hard. |
It was hard driving all day. |
That he was lying was clear. |
It was clear (that) he was lying. |
2. CLAUSE + TAKES X AMOUNT |
IT TAKES X |
Boiling an egg takes three minutes. (gerund) |
It takes three minutes to boil an egg. (gerund⇒infinitive) |
To house-train a puppy takes (requires) a lot of newspaper. |
It takes a lot of newspaper to house-train a puppy. |
To succeed takes hard work. |
It takes hard work to succeed. |
3. CLAUSE + MAKES |
IT MAKES |
Eating chocolate makes me happy. |
It makes me happy to eat chocolate. |
To save energy makes sense. |
It makes sense to save energy. |
Where I turn makes no difference. |
It makes no difference where I turn. |
4. CLAUSE + STATIVE VERB |
IT (STATIVE VERB) – THAT |
That you would say such a thing surprises me. |
It surprises me that you would say such a thing. |
That she is still in love amazes us. |
It amazes us that she is still in love. |
That you are unhappy *seems to me. (awkward, ungrammatical) |
It seems to me that you are unhappy. |
That he is regretful *appears to me. (awkward, ungrammatical) |
It appears to me that he is regretful. |
5. CLAUSE + VERB |
IT – VERB – THAT |
That she might change her mind occured to me. |
It occurred to me that she might change her mind.† |
That she came along by chance happened. |
It happened that she came along by chance. |
6. CLAUSE + NOUN |
IT [BE] NOUN |
That he escaped alive is a miracle. |
It's a miracle (that) he escaped alive. |
That world is round is a fact. |
It's a fact (that) the world is round. |
That you couldn't come is a pity. (unfortunate) |
It's a pity (that) you couldn't come. |
That you couldn't come is a shame. (unfortunate) |
It's a shame (that) he couldn't come. |
† These particular intransitive verbs (occur and happen) may be used in this way.
Also see It Clefts.
Resources
Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. "Clefts" (267-70, 1414)
Swan, Michael. "Practical English Usage. 3rd ed. 2009: Oxford University Press. Print.
Practice 1
It / That / What / There
- Select the word from each menu that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.
Practice 2
Correct / Incorrect
- Read each sentence and decide if it is correct or incorrect. Select your response.
- Read the feedback about your response.
Practice 3
Slap-Stick Comedy
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving slips, falls, embarrassing situations and pies in the face.
- Rewrite the what sentence to a sentence beginning with it.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.