Multi-Clause Sentencesis interpreted as what upsets Oscar’s parents, though in (76a) the clause
appears as the subject of the main clause, whereas in (76b) that position is
occupied by expletive (a.k.a. empty, dummy) it and the clause occurs at
the end of the predicate. The rule that connects these two constructions is
called extraposition, a name which suggest that the subject clause has been
moved (-posed) outside (extra-) its normal position.
We have already exemplified another construction in which a clause is
extraposed, but repeat our example here for convenience:
(77) a. A man who was from Iceland came in.
b. A man came in who was from Iceland.
Again, both sentences have identical meanings even though in (77b) the
relative clause modifying man appears at the end of the predicate. The rule
that links these two sentence types is called extraposition from NP.
One reason why English (and many other languages) allows extraposition
and extraposition from NP is that clauses tend to be relatively long and so if
they are not moved, they may disrupt the subject-predicate structure of the
sentences in which they are subordinate. Sentences are generally somewhat
easier to process (understand) when the clause has been extraposed. Another
reason might be that while NPs require case marking, subordinate clauses do
not, and so may be moved to positions that do not receive case.
Exercise
- Apply extraposition to the following sentences:
a. That dictionaries have poetic qualities has often been proposed.
b. That we should carefully study Diamond’s theories on the col-
lapse of civilizations is abundantly clear.
c. That grammatical subjects are not always topics has been re-
peatedly shown. - Reverse the extraposition in the following sentences:
a. It must be recalled that the earliest inhabitants of the Americas
arrived from Siberia.
b. It is extremely likely that the researchers’ claims are true.
c. It is utterly inconceivable that the press secretary would tell
such an egregious lie.