Extraposition with Anticipatory It in Technical Specs
5 exercises — using anticipatory it to extrapose that-clauses, infinitive clauses, and whether-clauses in specs and design docs.
Key patterns:
it + verb + that-clause — moves a heavy subject to the end
it + verb + to-infinitive — same for infinitive clause subjects
it is essential/important that + base verb — mandative subjunctive after necessity adjectives
whether vs that — use whether for unresolved alternatives, that for stated facts
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses extraposition with anticipatory "it" to move a long subject clause to the end of the sentence in a technical spec?
Extraposition moves a heavy clausal subject (that the cache invalidates asynchronously) to the end of the sentence and fills the original subject position with anticipatory "it", improving readability. Option A is grammatically valid but front-loads a long subject, which is harder to process — the extraposed version (B) is generally preferred in technical prose. Option C incorrectly keeps both "it" and the fronted clause. Option D omits the required subject "it" entirely, making it ungrammatical.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly extraposes an infinitive clause subject in an RFC:
Option B correctly extraposes the infinitive subject clause (to migrate the database without downtime) using anticipatory "it". Option A is a grammatical but heavier, less common alternative in technical writing, where extraposition is strongly preferred. Option C incorrectly duplicates the subject by keeping both "it" and the infinitive clause in initial position. Option D is missing the obligatory subject "it".
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses extraposition with a "that" clause following an adjective expressing necessity, common in specifications?
Option A correctly includes the conjunction "that" after the adjective "essential" in this formal extraposed structure, and uses the mandative subjunctivebe rotated (base form, not "is rotated") since "essential" triggers a requirement. Option B omits "that", which is less formal and less standard in technical specs. Option C incorrectly fronts the adjective without "it". Option D has incorrect word order, separating "it" from the verb "is".
4 / 5
A design doc contains the sentence: "It remains unclear _____ the memory leak originates in the connection pool or the serializer." Which word correctly completes this extraposed clause?
"Whether" correctly introduces a clause expressing an unresolved yes/no-type alternative ("originates in X or Y"), matching "remains unclear". "That" (option A) would present the clause as an established fact, which contradicts "unclear". "Which" (option C) would require a preceding noun to refer back to, and doesn't fit this clause type. "What" (option D) would need the clause to describe an unknown identity/content rather than a binary alternative introduced by "or".
5 / 5
Which sentence demonstrates a common error when using extraposition in technical writing — a dangling or redundant subject?
Option C incorrectly inserts an appositive noun phrase ("the root cause") directly after anticipatory "it", which is ungrammatical — anticipatory "it" is a grammatical placeholder, not a pronoun referring to a specific noun, so it cannot take an appositive. It should read "The root cause is likely that DNS resolution was delayed" or use extraposition without the interruption. Options A, B, and D are all correctly formed extraposed sentences with anticipatory "it" followed directly by the verb phrase.