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A noun is sometimes right after forward-referring “it is”, sometimes wrong and sometimes an option
FEATURES OF THIS STRUCTURE
There are various types of sentence that can start with It is… (see 190. Special Uses of “it”). They can be broadly divided into those where it refers to something obvious from previous words or the speech situation, and those where it refers forward to something mentioned later in its own sentence.
Here, the focus is on the second of these it types. What it refers forward to is a verb-based statement at the sentence end – the true subject of is:
(a) It is a challenge to maintain food supplies.
The underlined verb-based statement here is not in the starting position that is more typical of subjects because it is quite wordy, a feature that English speakers do not like at the start of a sentence. Such wordiness is typical of verb-based statements in general. The starting it is a “dummy” subject, needed to fill the space left by the transferred true subject (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “it”).
The wording between this kind of It… and the later verb-based statement (is a challenge above) occasionally comprises a verb + object (e.g. makes sense), but is more typically a verb + complement. The verb BE (= is above) is by far the commonest complement-taking verb, but not the only one, possible alternatives including BECOME, REMAIN and SEEM. The complement is able, like complements in general, to be either a noun or a verb. As the above title indicates, it is noun complements that are of particular interest here.
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THE POTENTIAL FOR ERROR
The use of noun complements in the relevant kind of It is… sentence is complicated in two major respects. Firstly, there is the question of when a noun is able to be used. In some cases, it is the only means of expressing a particular meaning (e.g. It is a pity…); sometimes, it is not a possible means at all of doing so (e.g. It is strange…); and sometimes it is replaceable by a similarly-spelt adjective (e.g. It is a challenge/ challenging…).
The second complication is the variability of the wording directly after the noun complement, where the verb-based statement begins. In sentence (a) after challenge, there is a to verb (to maintain). Other nouns, however, may be followed by an -ing verb or by that (with an ordinary subject + verb), or by a question word.
The common feature of all these latter wording variations is that they mark the verb-based statement as a specification or identification of the general noun idea just before them. For example, to maintain… in (a) gives the exact nature of a challenge (see 117. Restating Generalizations More Specifically).
The usability of each variation depends on the choice of complement noun before it. Challenge allows to… but not that…; fact requires the reverse. Yet predicting the right choice is hampered by not just this variability but also the fact that some nouns combine with a following verb in a different way when they are outside the complement position. Placing the challenge, for example, at the start of a sentence before a specifying statement requires of -ing instead of to (The challenge of maintaining…); whereas the fact in this position still requires that.
As usual, the best way to acquire such a complicated area of knowledge is by communicating in English as much as possible. However, additional help may come from knowing some general noun meanings that seem to be associated with each option, and it is these that I wish to explore here.
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NOUN USAGE AFTER “IT IS”
It is not possible here to list all of the nouns that could follow the relevant kind of It is…, but a fairly extensive list may give some idea of what is possible:
NOUN ONLY
an achievement (to)
a bonus (to/that)
a conundrum (that/ wh-)
a disincentive (to/that)
a duty (to)
an experience (to)
a fact (that)
a failure (to)
a good question (wh-)
a joy (to)
a moot point (wh-)
a pity (that)
a priority (to)
a relief (to/that)
a requirement (to/that)
a shame (to/that)
a struggle (to)
common sense (to/that)
fun (to)
hard work (to)
standard practice (to)
time (to)
Most of these nouns owe their use, it seems, to the fact that they have no similarly-spelt adjective that could replace them without a clear meaning change. Some do actually have a similarly-spelt adjective (e.g. time/ timely, a joy/ joyous), but only one with a noticeably different meaning.
The meanings of the nouns perhaps form some distinct categories. A “good/bad” category includes bonus, failure, fun, joy, pity, pleasure, relief, shame, struggle and hard work. “Necessity” includes duty, priority and requirement. “Factual” might describe fact, common sense and standard practice. “Asking” includes conundrum, moot point and question.
NOUN OR ADJECTIVE
an advantage/ advantageous (to/that)
a burden/ burdensome (to/that)
a certainty/ certain (that)
a challenge/ challenging (to)
a consolation/ consoling (to/that)
a crime/ criminal (to/that )
a disappointment/ disappointing (that)
a disaster/ disastrous (that)
a help/ helpful (to/that)
a mystery/ mysterious (that)
a necessity/ necessary (to/that)
a novelty/ novel (to/that)
a possibility/ possible (that)
a probability/ probable (that)
#a problem/ problematic (that)
a puzzle/ puzzling (that)
a shock/ shocking (to/that)
a surprise/ surprising (to/that)
a trial/ trying (to)
the custom/ customary (to/that)
the fashion/ fashionable (to/that)
the truth/ true (that)
Pairs like these seem more numerous than nouns in the first list, which lack a derived adjective of similar-meaning. However, it should not be concluded that any adjective whose meaning and spelling exist in a corresponding noun can be replaced by it – there are plenty of such adjectives that must always be used. Often, their corresponding noun will be uncountable. Consider this:
(b) It is enjoyable to visit new places.
It would not be correct here to say an enjoyment to…. What would be possible, however, is an enjoyable experience. Other adjectives that have a noun of similar spelling and meaning without being replaceable by it include acceptable, appealing, typical, difficult, easy, futile, normal, premature, satisfying and painful.
However, some adjectives that cannot be replaced by their similarly-spelt noun after it is can actually be changed in this way in a sentence type that is practically a paraphrase of an it is sentence, namely one starting with there is. This is the case, for example, with appealing (corresponding noun = appeal). Appealing in the position of enjoyable in (b) would become appeal in a sentence like the following:
(c) There is appeal in visiting new places.
For more on this kind of correspondence, see 161. Special Uses of “There” Sentences, #6.
The meaning categories represented in the second list are similar to those in the first.
For further aspects of noun/ adjective alternation, see 270. Paraphrasing Adjectives with Words of Other Kinds, #1.
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WORD CHOICES AFTER THE NOUN
Most of the above nouns, it is clear, need their following verb to be introduced with to. This may be because of the kind of meaning that the verb expresses: something to be done by either the speaker or addressee or both. Consider this:
(d) It is a requirement to sign in on arrival.
Very typically, such a sentence will be telling the addressee to carry out the mentioned action. If to is replaced by that, by contrast, this would not be the case:
(e) It is a requirement that dogs are kept on a lead.
Similarly, the first sentence below refers to an action by the speaker, while the second does not:
(f) It is a relief to have completed the task.
(g) It is a relief that the bank have received payment.
Two alternatives to to and that are -ing and question words. Replacing to with -ing seems possible after “good/bad” nouns. In sentence (f), for example, to have could easily be the rare auxiliary gerund having.
The choice between to and -ing in such situations depends on how the action is viewed (what grammarians call “aspect”): to… presents actions as brief, while -ing presents them as extended – the same contrast that is possible after some adjectives outside it sentences ( see 203. Expanding an Adjective with Words after it), and after some verbs (see 148. Infinitive Verbs without “to”, #2).
Replacement of that by a question word (how, when, who etc.) is sometimes necessary when the noun before is a question-implying one like a puzzle (see 88. Exotic Grammar Structures 1, #8):
(h) It is a puzzle why nobody is around.
For more on such sentences, see 219. Wording next to Indirect Questions, #2.
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