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Old 29-May-2003, 17:57
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Default Re: it

Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Can one use 2 instead of 1, if the context makes it clear that it is a question of the wife and the children's being in danger?

1-"He has to be informed. After all, it is his wife and his children who are in danger."
2-"He has to be informed. After all, it is his wife and his children."

(In other words, can the "who are in danger" be ellipted?)
First of all, there is no mention of danger in the second sentence. It is not ellipsis unless the concept is mentioned elsewhere. Second, the second sentence is not grammatically correct. When you remove the relative clause, the sentence changes from a "dummy it" construction to a simple declarative sentence. It should be "they are his wife and his children."
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