The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Edward Woods, Rudy Coppieters 2002

17.7. Organising information - Postponement
Unit seventeen. Focusing

Sections 424-429

Postponement with introductory “it”

This is used to postpone a subject clause for purposes of end-weight or end-focus:

• when the subject is a ’that’ clause

• impersonal passive introduction

Occasionally it can be used to displace a clause in object position. This must occur when the object clause is a ’that’ clause or an infinitive clause.

It is also possible to postpone sentence elements to give more emphasis and to avoid awkwardness.

Task one **

Complete the sentences by starting each one with the introductory ’It’ and adding one of the words or phrases here.

amazing, a problem, disappointing, expected, hard, lovely, not clear, stupid, very gratifying, very important

Example: ... to see so much waste paper in the countryside. (annoy)

It annoys me to see so much waste paper in the countryside.

1. ... to be here.

2. ... they will soon attack.

3. ... why the government was being so cautious.

4. ... that he failed his exams so badly.

5. ... how long elephants live.

6. ... to be proved right in this case.

7. ... to walk all the way to the university.

8. ... if you always refuse.

9. ... to predict what will finally happen.

10. ... for him to win the prize.

Task two **

Rewrite these sentences postponing certain elements to give them more emphasis or to avoid awkwardness.

1. A place for him to stay has been found.

2. The train coming from Berlin was late.

3. What a problem finding this address has been!

4. How serious about resigning are you?

5. The commander himself gave the order to shoot.

6. The manager himself paid for the breakages.

7. Footballers have more status than they used to as celebrities.

8. All the bills except the one for the new computer system have been paid.

9. He’s earned more money in a year than his father earned in his whole life writing that one novel.

10. What a story about her adventures in Thailand she had to tell.

Task three **

Rewrite the report to make it sound more impersonal and authoritative, using introductory ’It’ with passive verb forms to replace the underlined expressions.

People think that the British National Health Service is badly run, when generally many know that it is underfunded. You hear tales of vastly overcrowded hospitals, and frequently there are reports that people have had to wait months if not years for minor surgery. Set against this, however, is the fact that the British people value the principle of the National Health Service, and most people acknowledge that no government would dare try to dismantle it. When politicians suggest that there could be some kind of private investment, there is strong opposition; but, on the other hand, there is equally strong opposition, when they say that there will have to be tax increases to fund the service properly. Most analysts acknowledge that, in many ways, the service is the most efficient in Europe and that with more investment, it could be one of the best. There are many people who assume it will always be there, but there are also many who fear it will disappear because of lack of financial support. They don’t appreciate how determined the government is to see it survive.