Collins Cobuild English Grammar (166 page)

It
had been raining all day.
It
is seven o’clock.

These uses are often called the
impersonal
uses of
it
.

9.32
    In these uses,
it
does not refer back to anything earlier in the speech or writing, and so it is different from the
personal pronoun
, which usually refers back to a particular noun phrase:

The ending
, when
it
arrives, is completely unexpected.
Paris
is special, isn’t
it
?

For more information about
personal pronouns
, see the section beginning at paragraph
1.95
.

Note that the pronoun
it
is also used to refer to a whole situation or fact that has been described or implied.

He’s never come to see his son.
It
’s most peculiar, isn’t it?
It
doesn’t matter.
It
’s my fault.

9.33
    
It
is also used to introduce a comment on an action, activity, or experience. The subject
it
refers forward.

It
costs so much
to get there
.
It
was amazing
that audiences came to the theatre at all
.

This structure with
it
allows you to avoid having a long subject, and to put what you are talking about in a more prominent position at the end of the sentence.

Describing a place or situation

9.34
    If you want to describe the experience of being in a particular place, you can use
it
followed by a
linking verb
such as
be
, an adjective, and an
adverbial of place
.

It was very hard in Germany after the war.
It was terribly cold in the trucks.
It’s nice down there.

For more information about how to talk about place, see the section beginning at paragraph
6.53
.

Similarly, you can indicate your opinion of a situation using
it
,
be
, an adjective, and a clause beginning with
when
or
if
.

It’s so nice when it’s hot, isn’t it?
Won’t it seem odd if I have no luggage?

using
it
as an object

9.35
    You can also use
it
as the object of verbs such as
like
and
hate
to describe your feelings about a place or situation.

I like
it
here.
He knew that he would hate
it
if they said no.

Here is a list of common verbs that are used in this way:

adore

dislike

enjoy

hate

like

loathe

love

prefer

Talking about the weather and the time

describing the weather:
It’s raining, It’s sunny

9.36
    You can describe the weather by using
it
as the subject of a verb.

It’s still raining.
It was pouring with rain.
It snowed steadily throughout the night.

The following verbs are used after
it
to talk about the weather:

drizzle

hail

pour

rain

sleet

snow

thunder

You can also describe the weather by using
it
followed by
be
and an adjective by itself, or an adjective followed by a noun referring to a period of time.

‘Can I go swimming?’ – ‘No, it’s too cold.’
It was very windy.
It was a warm, sunny evening.
It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?

Here is a list of common adjectives that are used to describe the weather:

bitter

blowy

blustery

boiling

breezy

chilly

cloudy

cold

cool

damp

dark

dry

fine

foggy

freezing

frosty

hot

humid

icy

light

lovely

misty

muggy

nasty

rainy

showery

stormy

sunny

thundery

warm

wet

windy

Note that you can describe a change in the weather or light by using
it
followed by
get
and an adjective.

It’s getting cold. Shall we go inside?
It’s getting dark.

giving times and dates

9.37
    You can say what the time, day, or date is by using
it
followed by
be
and an adjective or noun phrase referring to time.

It’s eight o’clock.
It’s Saturday afternoon and all my friends are out.
It was July, but freezing cold.

emphasizing time

9.38
    You can form many useful time expressions using a structure with
It is
… or
It was
… and an adjective or noun phrase referring to time. The use of this structure puts emphasis on the time of the event.

You can say when something happened using
when
.

It was 11 o’clock at night
when
16 armed men came to my house.
It was nearly midnight
when
Kunta finally slept.

You can say how long ago something happened using
since
.

It’s two weeks now
since
I wrote to you.
It was forty years
since
the war.

You can say how long the period was between one event and another using
before
.

It was ninety days
before
the search was over.
It was four minutes
before
half-time.

You can say how soon something will happen using
to
.

It was only two days
to
the wedding.

Commenting on an action, activity, or experience

using linking verbs

9.39
    A common way of commenting on what you are doing or experiencing is to use
it
followed by a
linking verb
and an adjective or noun phrase. This is followed by an
-ing
participle or a
to
-infinitive.

It’s fun working for him.
It was difficult trying to talk to her.
It’s nice to see you with your books for a change.
It will be a stimulating experience to see Mrs Oliver.

If you want to mention the person who performs the action or has the experience, you use a
prepositional phrase
beginning with
for
and a
to
-infinitive.

It becomes hard for a child to develop a sense of identity.

You can also use the structure with a
to
-infinitive when you are recommending a course of action or saying that something is necessary.

Its important to know your own limitations.
It’s a good idea to have a little notebook handy.
It is necessary to examine this claim before we proceed any further.

using other verbs

9.40
    Similar structures can be used with verbs other than linking verbs.

If you want to say what effect an experience has on someone, you can use
it
with a verb such as
please
,
surprise
, or
shock
, followed by a noun phrase and a
to
-infinitive. For a list of these verbs, see paragraph
9.44
.

It always pleased him to think of his father.
It shocked me to see how much weight he’d lost.
It interests him to hear what you’ve been buying.

You can use
it
with
take
and a
to
-infinitive clause to indicate what is used in a particular action or activity, or is needed for it, for example the amount of time or the type of person that is needed.

It takes an hour to get to Northampton.
It takes an exceptional parent to cope with a child like that.
It took a lot of work to put it together.

If there is also an
indirect object
, this can be placed immediately after the verb.

It took
me
a year to save up for a new camera.

If the indirect object is expressed by a prepositional phrase, usually beginning with
for
, it is placed after the direct object.

It took some time
for him
to realize what was required.
It takes a lot more time
for an adult
to pick up a language than for a child.

Cost
can be used in similar structures when talking about the amount of something, usually money, that is used in an activity.

It costs about £150 a week to keep someone in prison.

With
find
and
think
, you can use
it
as the object, followed by an adjective, and either a
to
-infinitive or a
that
-clause.

He found
it
hard to make friends.
He thought
it
right to resign immediately.

other ways of talking about actions

9.41
    If you want to focus on a clause that starts with a participle or a
to
-infinitive, you can use this clause as the subject of the main clause, instead of
it
. For example, instead of saying
It’s fun working for him
you can say
Working for him is fun
.

Measuring the water correctly
is most important.