v it ADJ that

The adjective group follows a verb and introductory it, and is followed by a that-clause. This pattern occurs when a verb which has the pattern V n adj is followed by an adjective which has the pattern it v-link ADJ that.

	verb group	it	Adjective group	that-clause
I	find	it	amazing	that he can be so cruel.
That	makes	it	unlikely	that the patients were infected elsewhere.

The passive pattern is it be v-ed ADJ that.The verbs that occur most frequently with this pattern are find, make and think, although other verbs with similar meanings also occur. (See Collins Cobuild Grammar Patterns 1: Verbs.)This pattern is productive: all adjectives that have the pattern it v-link ADJ that can be used in this way. We list below the adjectives that are most frequently used in this way.Adjectives with this pattern belong to the following meaning groups:The 'fair' group The 'sad' group The 'incredible' group The 'surprising' group The 'important' group The 'probable' group The 'apparent' group The 'illegal' group Adjectives with other meanings

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