Extraposition in English: A Study of the Interaction between the Matrix Predicate and the Type of Extraposed Clause

Abstract

IntroductionExtraposition 1 is a thematic variation which, according to the principles of endweight and end-focus, places a heavy item, usually a clause, to the right of the predicate and replaces it with it, e.g. It is likely that he has left (Quirk et al. 1985(Quirk et al. : 1355(Quirk et al. -1377. The function of the matrix predicate, which is now in initial position in the sentence and thereby given thematic status, is to express the speaker's opinion of the content of the extraposed item. In It is likely that he has left, then, it is the speaker's assessment of the truth value of the that-clause that he has left that is expressed in the matrix predicate is likely. Extraposition is thus one of a variety of means that speakers have at their disposal to express their opinion of what they are saying. 2 Furthermore, by encoding this opinion in an objective projecting clause with the impersonal pronoun it rather than, for instance, in a subjective projecting clause, such as I think, extraposition makes it possible for the speaker to disguise the source of the opinion and thereby make it appear to be objective (Halliday 1994: 355).Classifications of the types of opinions expressed by the matrix predicates of extraposed clauses have revealed some semantic differences between the types of matrix predicates that occur with different clause types. Mair (1990: 24), in his investigation of spoken and written material in the Survey of English Usage, finds that the matrix predicates of extraposed infinitival subject clauses represent the semantic categories of potentiality (e.g. It is possible), ease or difficulty (e.g. It is a daunting task), frequency (e.g. It is customary), value judgement (e.g. It is absurd), necessity or desirability (e.g. It is vital), the financial or other 'costs' of an action (e.g. It takes + NP), and the emotional or cognitive reaction to an action or state (e.g. It pleases me), but notes that truth and probability (e.g. It is true/obvious) are usually represented by the matrix predicates of finite, not infinitival clauses. Collins (1994: 19), in his investigation of extraposed clause constructions in a corpus of contemporary Australian English, finds that the matrix predicates of both extraposed finite and nonfinite clauses represent the semantic categories of judgement, both emotional and rational (e.g. It is a pity/true/clear), deontic conditions (e.g. It is better/desirable) and potentiality (e.g. It is possible/impossible, etc.), but notes that ease and difficulty (e.g. It is

Adjectives in extraposed constructions with that-clauses: a quantitative corpus-driven analysis

“…Second, it allows a speaker/writer to express evaluative opinions in a "rhetorically effective way" by introducing evaluative comments at the beginning of a sentence. These findings are consistent with the results of the research studies conducted by Collins (1994), Gómez-González (1997), Herriman (2000a), Hoey (2000), and Hewings and Hewings (2002). A different view for the functional properties of extraposed clauses is expressed by Mair (1990: 39), Miller (2001), and Kaltenböck (2005), who found that extraposed clauses convey given as well as new information.…”

“…Other studies that have considered the use of adjectives in extraposed constructions are restricted either in terms of their scope of interest or the data investigated (e.g. Herriman 2000a;Kaltenböck 2005;Kataari 2010). Kataari's (2010) study, for example, examined the occurrence of several epistemic, deontic, dynamic and evaluative adjectives in extraposed constructions and post-predicative ones followed by to-infinitives and that-clauses in a sub-corpus consisting of one million words derived from the BNC.…”

The construal of objectivity in atemporal complement clauses in English

“…To survey the predicates, I pursue two tasks. The first task is to compile the adjectival predicates, for which I rely upon lists offered in Quirk et al (1985:1224-1231), Frank (1972:231-233) Erdmann (1997 and Herriman (2000). The second task is to provide examples to demonstrate the occurrences of the predicates.…”

Bettelou Los, The rise of the to-infinitive. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Pp. xv + 335. Hardback £53.00. ISBN 0-19-927476-2

“…a mere 51 in Miller's 2001 study). Collins' (1994), which deals exclusively with Australian English, and Miller's (2001), which employs a framework inspired by Prince's (1981) given-new taxonomy (as does GK's); Herrimann's (2000) investigation, while comparable in size to GK's, is mainly semantic rather than functional in nature. In fact, only two studies appear to be directly comparable to GK's in terms of approach, viz.…”