Pronoun IT

[Anonymous]

Dear Pete (or Rusty):

I think in these sentences "it" is an anticipatory pronoun. Am I right?

1. [It] was Jack who/that traveled to Rome last year.
2. [It] was to Rome where/that Jack traveled last year.
3. You can rely on [it] that I'll not be late.

Thank you very much.
Best regards.

[Pete]

Dear Pete (or Rusty):

I think in these sentences "it" is an anticipatory pronoun. Am I right?

1. [It] was Jack who/that traveled to Rome last year.
2. [It] was to Rome where/that Jack traveled last year.
3. You can rely on [it] that I'll not be late.

...
The construction in numbers 1 and 2 is yet another construction that uses a non-referential "it". This is called the "it cleft". Its function is to put special emphasis on a word (like "Jack" or "Rome" in your sentences) before going on to say what you are going to about it.

I'd agree that the sentence #3 uses an ordinary anticipatory it.