extraposition (n.)

A term used in GRAMMATICAL analysis to refer to the process or result of moving (or extraposing) an ELEMENT from its normal position to a position at or near the end of the SENTENCE, e.g. That the boy came in late upset the teacher, compared with It upset the teacher that the boy came in late. The it which is introduced in such sentences is known as extrapositive it. The term is also used for the TRANSFORMATION which is responsible for the alternation between The girl in a blue dress arrived and The girl arrived in a blue dress; in such a case, we have extraposition out of a SUBJECT phrase.