Anticipatory It
Summary
Anticipatory it is used in the position of subject or object in a sentence to refer to the real subject or object, which appears later.
- Anticipatory subject: It’s interesting that birds are dinosaurs.
- Anticipatory subject: It was nice to meet you yesterday.
- Anticipatory object: She considers it a waste of time to care about what everyone else thinks.
Anticipatory it is also used in passive constructions and to soften or hedge a statement.
- It is known that light travels faster than sound.
- It appears that your ticket has been canceled.
What is anticipatory it?
Anticipatory it is used in the subject or object position to refer to the real subject or object, which appears later in the sentence. When used like this, the pronoun it “anticipates” or predicts the arrival of the actual subject or object of the sentence.
- It was nice talking to you yesterday.
What was nice? Although the word “it” occupies the position of subject, the real subject in this sentence is “talking to you yesterday.”
- It’s fun to take the day off once in a while.
- It’s great that you’re learning French.
- I consider it an honor to be nominated.
What is considered an honor? The position of object is occupied by the word “it,” but the real object is “to be nominated.”
Usually, a word or phrase appears first, and we then use the pronoun it to refer to it again.
- We had chocolate ice-cream for dessert, and it was delicious.
- Farley replaced all the parts of his car, but it still wouldn’t start.
- Maya bought a new umbrella and had to use it immediately.
When the word it appears as an anticipatory reference, this order is reversed.
With noun clause as subject
When a noun clause is the subject, it is normal to use anticipatory it as a dummy subject and move the clause to the end of the sentence. This is idiomatic in both speech and writing. (A noun clause functions as a noun in sentences—for example, as a subject or object. It often starts with words like that, how, and what.)
- It was thought that the Sun revolves around the Earth.
- It is funny how I keep losing my spectacles.
- It’s interesting what you can learn just by listening better.
- It is no concern of mine what Rita does in her free time.
- It’s time you started thinking about your future.
- It is likely he’ll call you in the morning.
- It is not my fault he’s not coming to the party.
With infinitive as subject
When the subject is an infinitive (like to find, to meet, to want), anticipatory it generally appears first, with the infinitive phrase moved to the end of the sentence.
- It’s great to sit back and relax sometimes.
real subject (what is great?) = to sit back and relax (infinitive phrase); dummy subject = anticipatory it
- It’s important to find time for yourself.
- It’s normal to want more than you have.
- It’s nice to finally meet you.
Starting a sentence with an infinitive as subject can sound unusually formal and is uncommon in both speech and writing.
- Normal: It’s nice to meet you.
Unusual: To meet you is nice.
With gerund as subject
Anticipatory it may also be used as a dummy subject when the real subject is a gerund phrase. (A gerund is the -ing form of a verb, which can be used as a noun.)
- It’s strange being back here again.
- It was wonderful seeing you again.
In impersonal and passive constructions
Anticipatory it is also used in passive and impersonal constructions, where the doer or agent is considered relatively less important or unimportant in the statement.
- It is thought by zoologists that dodo birds were probably intelligent but unfortunate creatures.
Compare with “Zoologists think that . . .”
- It is argued that today’s birds are the last of the dinosaurs.
Where the people who argue this are not mentioned.
For hedging and softening
Anticipatory it is used to lead the reader or listener more gently to the subject (also called softening) or where the writer wants to distance themselves from a statement (hedging).
- It seems that someone has already booked your favorite room at our hotel.
Gentler than, “Someone has already booked your favorite room at our hotel.”
- It looks like we’re lost here in the forest.
- It appears that your tickets are nonrefundable.
In cleft sentences
In cleft sentences, the word it is used as an anticipatory subject to place focus on a specific element of the sentence.
- It was in 1914 that war was declared.
Can also be written as “In 1914, war was declared,” but the cleft structure allows us to emphasize the phrase “in 1914.”
- It is in winter that the bears come down from the mountains.
- It was Poco who asked me to send the email.
Is it wrong to start a sentence with it?
There is nothing wrong with starting a sentence with the word it. Doing so is often the more natural choice. However, certain constructions starting with phrases like “It is thought that” and “It was found that” can sound vague and verbose in formal writing. In a statement of purpose or a thesis for example, an editor might ask you to rephrase and provide a clearer subject.
- Poor: It was found that the sensors had malfunctioned.
Who found that this had happened?Better: We found that the sensors had malfunctioned.more direct and concise
Anticipatory references are otherwise fine and idiomatic, and often the preferred choice.
- Preferred: It is wonderful to be here.
Unusual: To be here is wonderful. - Preferred: It doesn’t matter to me what Poco thinks.
Unusual: What Poco thinks doesn’t matter to me. - Preferred: It’s normal to use the word it as a dummy subject.
Unusual: To use the word it as a dummy subject is normal.
The word it may begin a sentence when it is used as an empty subject (e.g., It’s raining). In such sentences, there is no real subject at all, and it simply fills the empty slot of subject. Such usage is normal in English in references to weather, time, and dates (It’s sunny, It’s Sunday, It’s two o’ clock).
As object
Anticipatory it can act as a dummy object in sentences. In such usage, the word it precedes or “anticipates” the appearance of the real object of the sentence.
- I find it funny that Lulu likes butterflies but not caterpillars.
Clearer than “I find that Lulu likes butterflies but not caterpillars funny.”
- Poco makes it impossible to like him.
Instead of “Poco makes liking him impossible.”
- I consider it my duty to sign up.
Preferred to “I consider signing up to be my duty.”
Examples from literature
Here are some examples of anticipatory it as subject in the writings of famous authors.
It is a good rule in life never to apologize.
— P.G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories (1914)It is as painful perhaps to be awakened from a vision as to be born.
— James Joyce, Ulysses (1922)It is not easy to become sane.
— George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)It would be nice if we were different people but we are not different people.
— Margaret Laurence, The Fire-Dwellers (1969)It is hard to believe you can feel so bad and still not die.
— Peter Carey, Illywhacker (1985)It would never occur to us, unless we stumbled on a book or a person who explained to us, that we were in fact in the process of change, of actually becoming larger, spiritually, than we were before.
— Alice Walker, Living by the Word: Selected Writings, 1973–1987 (1988)
Usage guide
Use it as an anticipatory subject, with the real subject presented later in the sentence, in the following situations:
- When the real subject is a noun clause (It’s funny that you should mention this)
- When the real subject is an infinitive phrase (It was nice to see you again)
- With gerund phrases (It’s lovely sitting here by myself)
- In cleft sentences, to place focus on a particular element (It was in spring that we got married)
- To soften a statement (It seems that I can’t marry you after all)
- In passive constructions (It was believed that the Earth was the center of the universe)
Anticipatory it is also used as a preparatory object for the real object in the sentence, which appears later (I find it strange that Nesbit isn’t here yet).