it
pronoun
uk/ɪt/us/ɪt/itpronoun(THING)
A1
used as thesubjectof averb, or theobjectof averborpreposition, to refer to a thing,animal,situation, orideathat has already beenmentioned:
（用作主语或宾语）它，这，那（指上文提到的事物、动物或情况）"Where's mypen? It was on mydeskaminuteago." "Youleftit by thephone."“我的钢笔在哪儿？刚才还在我的桌上。”“你放在电话旁了。”
Thecompanywaslosingmoneyand it had toletpeoplego.该公司在亏损，所以不得不裁员。
Theargumentwasupsettingfor us all - I don'twanttotalkabout it.那场争论使我们大家都心烦——我不想再谈论了。
Children whostayaway fromschooldo it for differentreasons.孩子逃学有各种原因。
- He wasclaspingthevasetightly,terrifiedofdroppingit.
- "Have you writtenyourEnglishessayyet?" "Ofcourse, Ifinishedit lastweek."
- It's anicedress, but itcreasesveryeasily.
- Hefindsitextremelydifficultbeing asingleparent.
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- I, i
- me
- number one
- personally
- S, s
- s/he
- she
- thee
- them
- themself
- thou
- us
- y'all
- you
- you-all
- yours trulyidiom
- yous
itpronoun(SUBJECT/OBJECT)
A1
used as thesubjectorobjectof averbtorepresenta phrase at the end of thesentence:
（用作主语或宾语）它，这，那（指句末的短语）It'sunlikelythat she'llarriveontime.她不太可能准时到来。
Itcostsmore if youtravelbefore 9.00.如果你在9点之前开始行程就会比较贵。
Ilikedit inScotland.我喜欢在苏格兰。
Ifinditconvenientto beableto do mybankingbyphone.我发现电话银行很方便。
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- I, i
- me
- number one
- personally
- S, s
- s/he
- she
- thee
- them
- themself
- thou
- us
- y'all
- you
- you-all
- yours trulyidiom
- yous
itpronoun(TIME/WEATHER)
A2
used totalkabout thetime,date,weather, ordistances:
（用来指代时间、日期、天气或距离）Whattimeis it?现在几点？
It wasOctober, so it wasquitecold.那时候是十月，所以很冷。
Itrainedallday.整天都在下雨。
It's tenmilesto Leeds.距利兹十英里。
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- I, i
- me
- number one
- personally
- S, s
- s/he
- she
- thee
- them
- themself
- thou
- us
- y'all
- you
- you-all
- yours trulyidiom
- yous
Grammar
Dummy subjects
English clauses which are not imperatives must have a subject. Sometimes we need to use a ‘dummy’ or ‘empty’ or ‘artificial’ subject when there is no subject attached to the verb, and where the real subject is somewhere else in the clause. It and there are the two dummy subjects used in English:…Itas a dummy subject
We often use it as a dummy subject with adjectives and their complements:…Thereas a dummy subject
There operates as a dummy subject in the construction there is or there are. There is/are indicates that something or someone exists or is in a particular place or situation:…It
We commonly use the pronoun it as both a subject and an object pronoun:…Itas an ‘empty’ or ‘dummy’ subject and object
We can use it as an ‘empty’ subject or as an ‘empty’ object. It is ‘empty’ because it doesn’t refer to anything in particular:…Anticipatoryit
We also use it to introduce or ‘anticipate’ the subject or object of a sentence, especially when the subject or object of the sentence is a clause. Most commonly, such clauses are to + infinitive and that clauses. We also call this use of it a ‘dummy’ subject, since the real subject is another part of the sentence (real subject underlined):…I find it amazing that…
With verbs such as find or consider, it + adjective + that clause or it + adjective + to infinitive, are commonly used to anticipate an object:…Itand cleft sentences (It was my friend who…)
We use it in cleft sentences. It emphasises the subject or object of the main clause:…Itwith the passive voice
It is common with the passive voice. It makes the sentence seem less personal and more objective:…It,thisandthatin paragraphs
We use it, this and that to introduce further information about a topic already mentioned. However, the words have different uses.…It’sorits?
It’s is the contracted form of it is or it has:…Pronouns: personal (I, me,you,him,it,they, etc.)
We use personal pronouns in place of noun phrases. We often use them to refer back to people and things that we have already identified (underlined):…Subject and object pronouns
Personal subject pronouns act as the subject of a clause. We use them before a verb to show who is doing the verb. We do not usually leave out the pronoun:…I,me
We use I and me to refer to the speaker or writer. I is the subject form and me is the object form:…You
We use you to refer to the listener or reader. It is both the subject and the object form. You can refer to one person or more than one person. It is usually clear from the context whether you is singular or plural:…He,him;she,her
He, him, she and her are singular third person pronouns. He and him are the masculine forms. She and her are the feminine forms:…It
We use it to refer to things:…We,us
We use we and us to refer to different groups of people, but always including the speaker. We and us can refer to the speaker + the listener, or the speaker + other people but not the listener, or people in general including the speaker:…They,them
We use they and them to refer to specific groups of people, things and animals:…Itto create focus
When we use it at the beginning of a clause, the subject can go at the end of the clause and therefore be in the position of focus or emphasis (underlined):…Thereto create focus
We can use there at the start of a clause as a type of indefinite subject. This means that we can put the actual subject at the end of the clause and so give it emphasis or focus (underlined below):…Noun forms of verbs to create focus
In formal writing, especially academic writing, we can use a noun form of a verb as a subject. By doing this, extra focus is given to the end of the clause. Noun phrase subjects (topics) are in bold type below; the focus of each sentence is underlined:…Idiom
it is what it is