I hate it when you do that.

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Locked
Kellogg
Member
Posts: 24
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:13 pm
Status: Other

I hate it when you do that.

Post by Kellogg »

In "I hate it when you do that," some people classify "when you do that" as an adverbial clause, while others classify "when you do that" as a noun clause that explains the formal object "it."

May I have your comments? Thank you.
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15193
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Re: I hate it when you do that.

Post by Alan »

Personally I favour the noun clause interprepation since it makes 'it' rather more meaningful, but that is simply a preference. The construction is fundamentally ambiguous!
Locked