"I like it that..."?

Kit Walker · Oct 27, 2012

It's a tiny thing, but it's starting to drive me buggy.

There's a published writer who posts at a couple of the same boards as I do. He's very precise and well-informed. But he uses "I like it that something something" rather than "I like that something something". I find it jarring every time I read it, but is he actually right in not dropping "it"? He's rarely wrong about anything.

jeffo20 · Oct 27, 2012

I don't consider grammar my strong suit (great thing to admit when you're posing as a writer, right?), so I will not really address whether it's correct or not; I'm sure others will chime in with the correct answer. BUT "I like it that..." strikes me as informal. Perhaps this writer just slips into informal speech at this particular board.

shadowwalker · Oct 27, 2012

I think it's probably just a thing like 'irregardless' - informal, irritating to some, unnoticed by most. I suppose one could write it as "I like it, that ... " and then it might be grammatically correct. Consider it 'dialogue' and let it go.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 27, 2012

Kit Walker said:
It's a tiny thing, but it's starting to drive me buggy.

There's a published writer who posts at a couple of the same boards as I do. He's very precise and well-informed. But he uses "I like it that something something" rather than "I like that something something". I find it jarring every time I read it, but is he actually right in not dropping "it"? He's rarely wrong about anything.

I'm with the other writer. At least, I think I am. I'd need a complete sentence to be sure. Sometimes I use "it", and sometimes not.

You can certainly drop the "it" is almost every case, but this doesn't mean you should. Sometimes the way something sounds, or the way you think meaning comes across better, is as important as precise grammar.

Quentin Nokov · Oct 27, 2012

I can see it going either way. In a complete sentence I'm not sure if I would find it jarring and only now that you pointed it out do I notice the some what awkward ring it has. I like it that the dogs give up their beds for the cat.

I don't think it's wrong, but dropping the 'it' would make it one less word to read

It could be a regional thing, too. Someone who lives in the city may not use it whereas it may be common out in the backwoods.

I myself typically use, 'I like how da-di-da-di-da. . . ." But I wouldn't be surprised if I caught myself saying 'it'.

I like it how . . . .

I think it would almost sound better if there was some sort of punctuation--and maybe at one time there was a distinct punctuation between the it & that but was slowly lost over time. I like it. [Period!] That she never takes no for an answer.

LJD · Oct 27, 2012

Quentin Nokov said:
I don't think it's wrong, but dropping the 'it' would make it one less word to read It could be a regional thing, too. Someone who lives in the city may not use it whereas it may be common out in the backwoods.

Yeah, it's kind of amazing what can be a regionalism.

For example:

1) I'm finished with my composition.
2) I'm finished my composition.

Apparently the second sounds weird to most Americans, but it is commonplace where I live.

It's possible that what you mention is a more common construction in some places. I wouldn't think too much of it.

Susan Coffin · Oct 27, 2012

Kit Walker said:
It's a tiny thing, but it's starting to drive me buggy.

There's a published writer who posts at a couple of the same boards as I do. He's very precise and well-informed. But he uses "I like it that something something" rather than "I like that something something". I find it jarring every time I read it, but is he actually right in not dropping "it"? He's rarely wrong about anything.

I tend to believe that it doesn't matter. People speak and write differently from different areas. On a message board, people often write their responses in a way they would speak.

rwm4768 · Oct 27, 2012

LJD said:
Yeah, it's kind of amazing what can be a regionalism.

For example:

1) I'm finished with my composition.
2) I'm finished my composition.

Apparently the second sounds weird to most Americans, but it is commonplace where I live.

It's possible that what you mention is a more common construction in some places. I wouldn't think too much of it.

Yeah, the second definitely sounds weird to me. As for the OP's question, it doesn't bother me. In some situations, it might actually create a better rhythm.

fadeaccompli · Oct 27, 2012

Seems to me like a standard use of apposition. Try replacing "it" with "the fact" and see if it reads better to you.

"I like that my dog finally came home."
"I like it that my dog finally came home."
"I like the fact that my dog finally came home."

So while it's a touch colloquial, and I probably wouldn't use it in a super-formal piece of writing, I wouldn't actually go so far as to call it grammatically incorrect, even by stern prescriptivist standards.

TheWordsmith · Oct 27, 2012

shadowwalker said:
I think it's probably just a thing like 'irregardless' - informal, irritating to some, unnoticed by most.

Actually, irregardless is considered non-standard English, which is a fancy way of saying "incorrect in proper grammar". It is actually a bastardized merging of 'irrespective' [of] and 'regardless'. So "I like [it] that ..." and "irregardless" are not actually in the same category. Furthermore, "I like it that ..." and "I like that ..." are both grammatically acceptable though, as shadowalker alluded, it tends to be a personal, and regionally dictated, preference and those who live by one 'sword' want to die when faced with the other. Apparently, your published friend is one of the 'others'.

NeuroFizz · Oct 27, 2012

I don't have a problem with any nit-picking of an author's professional writing, but carrying that level of critique to an author's posts in social media, even if the media are centered on the writing craft, is carrying things a bit too far. My conversational discourse is not the same as my formal writing because the goals are different, as are the levels of self-evaluating and editing. If I can't be my relaxed self when posting at places like this, including the occasional typos and grammar and word-use lapses, I'll probably bail on the site. IF that person is like me, he/she probably has very limited time to post. Because of that limitation, I just try to get my ideas, opinions, and suggestions down in the format of the everyday me. Not good enough? Sorry about that.

Susan Coffin · Oct 27, 2012

NeuroFizz said:
I don't have a problem with any nit-picking of an author's profesdional writing, but carrying that level of critique to an author's posts in social media, even if the media are centered on the writing craft, is carrying things a bit too far. My conversational discourse is not the same as my formal writing because the goals are different, as are the levels of self-evaluating and editing. If I can't be my relaxed self when posting at places like this, including the occasional typos and grammar and word-use lapses, I'll probably bail on the site. IF that person is like me, he/she probably has very limited time to post. Because of that limitation, I just try to get my ideas, opinions, and suggestions down in the format of the everyday me. Not good enough? Sorry about that.

Besides what I wrote above, I echo this. There are also several successful writers at this board, but I love the humanness that comes through in people's responses here.

Polenth · Oct 28, 2012

NeuroFizz said:
I don't have a problem with any nit-picking of an author's profesdional writing, but carrying that level of critique to an author's posts in social media, even if the media are centered on the writing craft, is carrying things a bit too far. My conversational discourse is not the same as my formal writing because the goals are different, as are the levels of self-evaluating and editing.

I agree in general, but I wouldn't call fiction formal writing. It breaks grammar rules. It can speak in local dialects. It doesn't have to sound like an essay. This writer might use that construction in stories too, and that would be fine, as long as it fits the story.

writeontime · Oct 28, 2012

I agree with NeuroFizz, Susan and Polenth because I too tend to distinguish between formal and informal discursive practices, and between the written and spoken.

How I speak and write informally is vastly different from the way I write and speak in formal settings. As others have already indicated, normative writing practices do differ when it comes to the production of fiction and non-fiction.

I would also echo what NeuroFizz has already indicated. Given the constraints of time, how one writes on boards such as these, lapses are bound to happen but what's more important is the message that is conveyed.

seun · Oct 28, 2012

LJD said:
Yeah, it's kind of amazing what can be a regionalism.

For example:

1) I'm finished with my composition.
2) I'm finished my composition.

Apparently the second sounds weird to most Americans, but it is commonplace where I live.

It's possible that what you mention is a more common construction in some places. I wouldn't think too much of it.

The second example sounds really odd to me. I want to change it to I've finished my composition.

crunchyblanket · Oct 28, 2012

The second example sounds really odd to me. I want to change it to I've finished my composition.

Me too.

Actually, to say it out loud, I'd probably say "I finished my composition".

As for the OP, I think that particular sentence construction is more common in British English. "I like that..." (and especially the opposite sentiment, 'I hate that....') strikes me as very American-sounding. Though I could be totally wrong.

"I like it that..."?

Kit Walker

Ghost Who Walks

jeffo20

Tyrant King

shadowwalker

empty-nester!

Jamesaritchie

Quentin Nokov

King of the Kitties

LJD

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

rwm4768

practical experience, FTW

fadeaccompli

here and there again

TheWordsmith

practical experience, FTW

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

Polenth

Mushroom

writeontime

Why so serious?

seun

Horror Man

crunchyblanket

the Juggernaut of Imperfection