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Extraposed That-Clauses

It pleases me that you care

As subjects, that-clauses are probably more often extraposed than not, and the term extraposition is particularly associated with this process. Unlike postmodifying relative clauses, that- clauses leave behind more that an empty trace in a phrase structure tree. When we extrapose a that-clause, its original position is marked by a pronoun, almost always it. This token pronoun can be called an anticipatory it (or preparatory it because it comes before the clause to which it refers. When it replaces a nominal subject, we can also consider it a kind of dummy subject since it adds no semantic information to the sentence.
(1) (a) That you care pleases me.
(b) It pleases me that you care.
(2) (a) That this will do any good is far from clear.
(b) It is far from clear that this will do any good.
(3) (a) That you came to inform on your parents is good.
(b) It is good that you came to inform on your parents.

Extraposition of that-clause subjects, as in the sentences above, makes life easier for readers. These clauses have subject and predicates of their own, and placing them before the main predicate of the sentence could produce confusion. Extraposition can also occur when such nominals might otherwise occur as direct objects in complex transitive predicates:

(4)(a) ?She considered that George was a loser was obvious.
(b) She considered it obvious that George was a loser.

The it left behind in such cases is not a subject, so the term "dummy subject" cannot be applied to it. A more general term, pleonastic it is sometimes for all cases in which it serves as a mere place-holder.

Extraposition of Nominal Relatives. When the nominal relative clauses we discussed in an earlier section undergo extraposition, they are treated very much like extraposed that-clauses, but other pronouns can be used with who-clauses, as in sentence (5). Such structures are less common that extraposed that- clauses.

(5) (a) Who steals my purse steals trash.
(b) They steal trash who steal my purse.
(6) (a) Which dog wins this race makes little difference.
(b) It makes little difference who wins this race.

Required Extraposition of That-Clauses. Some which can take that-clauses as subjects seem to require extraposition when they do so. Here are some examples of such verbs:

(7) (a) ?That I have been led up the garden path occurs to me.
(b) It occurs to me that I have been led up the garden path.
(8)(a) *That nothing happened turns out.
(b) It turns out that nothing happened.

Happen and Seem. A more complicated question is the use of that-clause subjects with happen and seem. Extraposition when these verbs are used as linking verbs follows normal patterns, as in sentences (9) and (10):

(9) (a) That we will win seems certain.
(b) It seems certain that we will will.
(10) (a) ?That judges err happens in life.
(b) It happens in life that judges err.
But that clauses also appear as the complements of happen and seem with what looks very much like a dummy subject it, as in sentences (11) and (12), though assuming that they have been extraposed from a subject position leads us to imagine some very odd original sentences, with happen and seem as intransitive verbs:
(11) (a) ??That the woman is my wife happens.
(b) It happens that the woman is my wife.
(12) (a) *That you have been badly mistaken seems.
(b) It seems that you have been badly. mistaken

Rather than treat such cases as extraposition, it is probably better to see the subject it in these sentences as the kind of dummy subject that one finds used in constructions like It's raining, a mere prop it or pleonastic it stuck in to provide a subject for a sentence that would otherwise violate the English insistence on having subjects.

Conditional Complementizers. That is the most common complementizer introducing noun clauses, but it is not the only one. The two which most resemble it in behavior are the conditional complementizers whether and if. Whether can be used as a subject, as in sentence (13); extraposed as a subject, as in sentence (14); used as a direct object , as in sentence (15): or even used as a noun complement, as in sentence (16):

(13) Whether I am coming or not is uncertain.
(14) It is uncertain whether I am coming or not.
(15) He wants to know whether I am coming.
(16) I have no idea whether I am coming.

If could be used in all of the sentences above, though whether is preferable in all of them. If-clauses are least objectionable as direct objects:

(17) He wants to know if I am coming.

Even in the direct object position, there is the risk that the reader (or even the writer) will mistake the complementizer if for one being used as a subordinating conjunction. Remember never to put a comma in front of a complement clause, as one might in front of a subordinate conditional clause.

Just for the Record: Expletives. When it is used to stand in for an extraposed nominal clause, it can also be called an expletive (or syntactic expletive). It can also be used for there as a dummy subject, since its implication is that the word fills a syntactic role but contributes no semantic meaning to the sentence. We'll avoid that use of the term, since "expletive" is in common usage a term for obscene and profane words, as in "expletive deleted," especially as interjections.

How Much of This Will be on the Test?
The most important thing here is being able to recognize noun clauses that have undergone extraposition--both that-clauses and clauses with the conditional complementizers whether and if. Unlike extraposed relative clauses, these leave behind a dummy subject it. Because this pronoun comes before the clause it refers to, it can be called the anticipatory it or a preparatory it. All these semantically empty uses of it can be called pleonastic. You probably should know those terms, but expletive and syntactic expletive are mentioned here just for completeness and won't be on any test.