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How would you interpret this sentence? Does it make sense at all?It's a problem what kind of people use nuclear technology..

Enoon · Accepted Answer

That is a pretty loose sentence. It is not clear. I hear something like "The wrong people might use nuclear technology." "Problem" is vague, and the grammar is informal.

Taka · Answer

Purely from a grammatical point of view, does the sentence work?

Enoon · Answer

It's at moments like this one that I think I have no business posting here. The grammar of your sentence is quite gnarly, and I'm not sure I'm equipped to analyze it.

It's a problem what kind of people use nuclear technology.

The anticipatory "it" needs a referent, and the dummy "it" needs to make sense.

"What kind of people use nuclear technology" is not really a noun-like phrase, so it can't be a referent without a little mental abacus work on the part of the reader.

If it's a dummy "it", "what kind of people use nuclear technology" should be an adverb, and it is even less an adverb than it is a noun. The reader expects "when (something)" instead of "what" in that case.

I read it as an anticipatory "it", and I did the math on the "what" phrase on the fly, as I believe any experienced reader would do. Your sentence is unremarkable colloquial English, but the grammar does not stand up to scrutiny, and I would not let that sentence go out in any formal work.

Taka · Answer

This one below works, doesn't it?

It's important how you do the job.

Then what about this? Does it sound any better?

It's important what kind of people use nuclear technology.

Or this one.

It matters what kind of people use nuclear technology.

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