it

Question

It is confusing about the use of 'it' in the below sentence.

e.g. A : I'm trying to get a taxi.
B : You won't find it easy.

Seemingly, the word 'it' refers to the infitival clause and there seems to be no error in that exchange.

But then, the problem arises from the fact that 'it' can't be replaced by its reference.
i.e. You won't find to get a taxi easy.

So the sentence B is grammatically incomplete in that the real object replaced by 'it 'is missing.
Then the only way to make the sentence B possible is ellipsis.
So to say, the complete version of the sentence B is

i.e. You won't find it easy (to get a taxi).

Supposing my guessing is correct up to this point,
then one can't be saying that 'it' in the sentence B is used as the pro-form.
Also the sentence B is correct only if assumed to be an ellipted structure. (from the pragmatic point of view)

Is my guessing right?

Nikoo · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Here, we use it as a preparatory object. We do this when the object of a verb is an infinitive expression or a clause with an adjective or noun complement.
For example, instead of saying "I find to talk to you difficult", we prefer "I find it difficult to talk to you."

I don't understand why you consider sentence B (You won't find to get a taxi easy) to be incomplete.

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the reply.

Firstly, your answer inidicates that

Nikoowe use it as a preparatory object.

and I can consider it as being corresponding to my thinking.

And secondly, This below information is somewhat different to what I've known.

Nikooinstead of saying "I find to talk to you difficult", we prefer "I find it difficult to talk to you."

? It is obligatory that the preparatory 'it' is required to be when the verb 'find' takes a clausal object and an objective complement sequentially, which could be the reason for the incompleteness of the sentence 'You won't find to get a taxi easy'. And that is what I've been informed of the use of preparatory 'it' in the verb 'find' construction. How do you see my opinion?

NikooI don't understand why you consider sentence B (You won't find to get a taxi easy) to be incomplete.

?And the real intention by saying incomplete is that the sentence B has no actual object. So it should be recoverable only when the situation is given. It might be possible that you confused 'You won't find it easy' with 'You won't find to get a taxi easy'.
But leaving the possible slip aside, the sentence 'You won't find to get a taxi easy' seems to have the problem for the reason of ?. What do you think about it?

Nikoo · Answer

cho7712It is obligatory that the preparatory 'it' is required to be when the verb 'find' takes a clausal object and an objective complement sequentially.

Yes,
Let's put it this way:
subject + verb + it + complement + infinitive / clause

cho7712 ...the reason for the incompleteness of the sentence 'You won't find to get a taxi easy'.

The sentence "You won't find to get a taxi easy" is complete. We just prefer "You won't find it easy to get a taxi."
Consider the following example:
George made what he wanted clear.
George made it clear what he wanted.

cho7712And the real intention by saying incomplete is that the sentence B has no actual object. So it should be recoverable only when the situation is given.

We often leave out words to avoid repetition, or in other cases when the meaning can be understood without them.
As in your example:
A : I'm trying to get a taxi.
B : You won't find it easy.

In replies we usually avoid repeating information that has just been given. In your example, "to get a taxi" has been dropped to avoid repetition.
A: I think she's out this evening.
B: Yes, working.
Sentence B must be seen as a part of the conversation.

Does this help? I hope so.

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the answer,

It surely is of much help. Thanks again for the very specific explanation.

BillJ · Answer

cho7712It is confusing about the use of 'it' in the below sentence.e.g. A : I'm trying to get a taxi. B : You won't find it easy.Seemingly, the word 'it' refers to the infitival clause and there seems to be no error in that exchange.But then, the problem arises from the fact that 'it' can't be replaced by its reference.i.e. You won't find to get a taxi easy.So the sentence B is grammatically incomplete in that the real object replaced by 'it 'is missing. Then the only way to make the sentence B possible is ellipsis.So to say, the complete version of the sentence B isi.e. You won't find it easy (to get a taxi).Supposing my guessing is correct up to this point,then one can't be saying that 'it' in the sentence B is used as the pro-form.Also the sentence B is correct only if assumed to be an ellipted structure. (from the pragmatic point of view)Is my guessing right?

No, your guessing is incorrect. "It" is a pro-form, a 'pro-clause' to be precise because it has a clause as antecedent. We could replace "it" by the clause "getting a taxi". It doesn't matter that the interpretation of "it" is slightly different from the antecedent. Sometimes we have to extract part of the meaning, or change the words slightly - it's quite normal.

Here are two other examples with a clause as antecedent:

"If he was disappointed by her response he did not show it".

Here we could replace "it" by a clause "he did not show that he was disappointed by her response".

"She may change her mind, but I doubt it".

In this example, "it" can be replaced by a clause "but I doubt that she'll change her mind".

So you see, it is not necessary to use the exact wording of the clausal antecedent.

BillJ

Cho7712 · Answer

Thank you for the answer,

BillJIt doesn't matter that the interpretation of "it" is slightly different from the antecedent. Sometimes we have to extract part of the meaning, or change the words slightly - it's quite normal.

BillJ it is not necessary to use the exact wording of the clausal antecedent.

As you pointed out, I too much forced myself into sticking to the exact recoverability. And it has turned out to be the wrong approach. At the same time, I get a very reliable reason to be applicable to all the pro-sentence with the help of your answer.
Thanks again.

it

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