It as a subject
It's cold, it's five o'clock, it's nice to meet you: it as the subject when nothing else is.
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Most English sentences need a subject before the verb. Sometimes there is no person or thing to be the subject: for the weather, the time or the distance. Then we use it. Here it doesn't mean any one thing. It just fills the place of the subject.
The weather
Use it + is to talk about the weather.
- It's cold today.
- It's raining again.
- It's very windy by the sea.
- Is it sunny in Madrid at the moment?
- Incorrect: Is cold today.
- Correct: It's cold today.The sentence needs a subject, so we start with it.
- Incorrect: Is raining.
- Correct: It's raining.
The time, the day and the date
Use it for the time, the day and the date.
- What time is it? It's half past six.
- It's Monday today.
- It's the fifth of May.
- It's late. Let's go home.
- Incorrect: What time is?
- Correct: What time is it?In the question, it comes after is.
Distance
Use it to say how far a place is.
- It's two kilometres to the beach.
- How far is it to the station?
- It's a long way from here.
- It's about ten minutes on foot.
It's + adjective + to + verb
To give an opinion about doing something, we usually start with It's + an adjective. The action comes after, with to.
- It's nice to meet you.
- It's easy to find the hotel. It's next to the station.
- It's expensive to eat out in this city.
- Is it possible to pay by card?
- Incorrect: Is difficult to find a flat here.
- Correct: It's difficult to find a flat here.The sentence starts with it. The action comes after the adjective.
How a place or a situation is
We also use it to say what a place or a moment is like.
- It's very quiet in the office today.
- It's always busy here at lunchtime.
- Don't worry. It's OK.
Who is it? It's me
At the door or on the phone, we use it for a person we can't see yet, a man or a woman.
- "Who is it?" "It's me, Leo."
- Hi, it's Priya from the office.
It or there?
Use it to describe the weather, the time or a situation. Use there is or there are to say that something exists or is in a place.
Use it | Use there is or there are |
|---|---|
It's cold. | There's snow on the road. |
It's late. | There are no buses after midnight. |
It's noisy here. | There's a party next door. |
- It's windy, and there's a lot of rain.
- Incorrect: There is cold in the flat.
- Correct: It's cold in the flat.Cold is an adjective. To describe how something is, use it.
- Incorrect: It is two banks in this street.
- Correct: There are two banks in this street.To say that things are in a place, use there.