TransWikia.com

Problem with 'that' clause

English Language & Usage Asked by Md Hasan on January 4, 2021

It shames us as a nation that a freedom fighter has to scrape a living singing on the streets in his twilight years.

In the above sentence, what is the function of the that clause?? Is [that a freedom fighter….. years] a objective complement of us(object) here?

One Answer

It shames us as a nation that a freedom fighter has to scrape a living singing on the streets in his twilight years.

No: the that clause is not an objective complement.

This is an extraposition construction where the dummy pronoun "it" is subject and the that clause is an extraposed subject; the extraposed element doesn’t give the meaning (reference) of "it" but serves simply as a semantic argument of the VP.

The non-extraposed counterpart would be:

That a freedom fighter has to scrape a living singing on the streets in his twilight years shames us as a nation.

Answered by BillJ on January 4, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP