End weight and extraposition

English often puts short, familiar material early and saves a long or new idea for the end. Extraposition helps do that. A small it or there occupies the early subject position; the heavier clause arrives later, where readers can process it more easily.

A small IT card leads word cards reading ‘It became clear that the files were missing.’; the long that-clause is carried at the end. — Anticipatory it fills the early subject slot while the longer that-clause comes later.

Move a clause to the end

Compare:

That the sample had been contaminated became obvious only after the second test.
It became obvious only after the second test that the sample had been contaminated.

The it in the second sentence does not refer to a thing. It anticipates the that-clause, which carries the real information. This structure is common after adjectives such as clear, likely, surprising and important:

It is increasingly likely that the two systems share a source.
It was surprising to discover how little the records revealed.

You can also extrapose a clause that follows an adjective or noun phrase:

It was difficult for the reviewers to agree on a single interpretation.
It was a relief that the missing files had been recovered.

The delayed clause remains the logical subject or complement. It does not change who performed the action.

It and there do different jobs

Use anticipatory it to delay a clause:

It appears that the account was altered.
It would be unfair to blame the only witness.

Use existential there to introduce something that exists, appears or remains:

There appears to be a discrepancy between the two totals.
There remain two questions for the review panel.

In the second structure, the noun phrase after the verb is the logical subject. Match the verb to it when it is plural in careful edited prose: There remain two questions, although there’s is common before plural nouns in informal speech.

Do not confuse this there with a place adverb:

The original document is there.

Here there means “in that place”; it does not introduce a newly mentioned item.

Use end weight for ease, not suspense

Extraposition often makes a long sentence easier to follow, but it can also move important information out of focus. Compare:

It is clear that the methods differ.
The methods differ; that is clear.

The first delays the claim and foregrounds the assessment. The second states the claim first. Choose the order that helps your reader, rather than treating it as a mechanical transformation.

Common mistakes

That the data was incomplete became it clear. Put anticipatory it first: It became clear that the data was incomplete.
There appears a discrepancy to be. Use There appears to be a discrepancy.
It remains two questions. For existence, use There remain two questions.
It was decided the team to withdraw. Use a clause with that or an infinitive: It was decided that the team would withdraw / It was decided to withdraw.

Quick check

Which opening gives the sentence a more natural end weight?

______ that the witnesses had seen different versions of the document.
______ to be no reliable record of the first meeting.
______ remain three points to settle.

Answers: It became clear; There seems; There. In 1 it anticipates a content clause; in 2 and 3 there introduces what exists.

Choose between it-extraposition and there-existential

Both structures can begin with a short word and postpone information, but the postponed material has a different job.

It is difficult to compare the two samples.

The infinitive clause tells us what is difficult. Here it anticipates an event or proposition.

There are two samples to compare.

The noun phrase two samples introduces what exists or is available. The to-infinitive identifies the samples. This is not the same construction as anticipatory it.

Use it + be/seem/appear + adjective + that-clause when you are assessing a proposition:

It is possible that the dates were entered incorrectly.
It became clear to the team that a control group was needed.

Use it + adjective + to-infinitive when the adjective evaluates an action:

It was difficult to reproduce the result.
It is useful for reviewers to see the original records.

A phrase with for + noun/pronoun can identify who performs the infinitive action. Use the object form after for: for them to review, not for they to review. Compare It is difficult to review the file (the person is unspecified) with It is difficult for the interns to review the file.

Extraposition can make a sentence easier, but it cannot repair a bad argument

The end-weight principle helps when a long subject would delay the main verb:

That the old files were incomplete and that the dates had been changed became apparent only after the audit.
It became apparent only after the audit that the old files were incomplete and that the dates had been changed.

The second sentence lets the reader reach the main verb earlier. But an extraposed subject can make a claim feel impersonal or postpone the main point. If you want the claim itself in focus, put it first:

The dates had been changed. That became apparent only after the audit.

Choose the order according to information flow: what is already familiar, what is new, and which claim deserves emphasis.

Agreement with existential there

In careful edited prose, the verb normally agrees with the noun phrase that follows it:

There is one explanation.
There are three explanations.

A long list can make agreement hard to hear, so locate the real noun phrase before choosing the verb. In conversation, there’s before a plural noun is common, but there are is the safer choice in formal writing.

Guided practice

Join naturally: To establish the cause was impossible before the second test.
Choose it or there: ___ remains one unresolved question.
Add the person who performs the action: It is essential ___ to declare any conflicts of interest.
Rewrite to give the claim early emphasis: It is clear that the two accounts conflict.

Answers and reasoning

It was impossible to establish the cause before the second test. The long infinitive is delayed.
There. The sentence introduces the existence of a question.
for all reviewers: It is essential for all reviewers to declare…
The two accounts conflict; that is clear. The claim is placed before the evaluation.

It can refer to an idea—or simply make room for one

An anticipatory it does not refer to an object; the later clause supplies its content:

It surprised the reviewers that the dates did not match.

A referential it points back to something already mentioned:

The team found a mismatch in the dates. It surprised the reviewers.

The word is the same, but its job is different. If the sentence begins with it, ask whether there is a noun or idea earlier for it to refer to. If not, the sentence may be using an anticipatory subject and the postponed clause should follow.

Extraposition works with several clause types:

It is unclear why the totals differ. — wh-clause
It is essential to preserve the original files. — to-infinitive
It seems that the second version is incomplete. — that-clause

With adjectives describing difficulty or value, for + noun phrase + to-infinitive can name the person who performs the action: It was difficult for the reviewers to compare the tables. The noun phrase is not the subject of was; it is understood as the subject of to compare.