English Grammar and Composition chapter 10: Introductory It and There

10 Introductory ‘It’ and ‘There’

A. Read the following letter and notice the use of ‘there’ and ‘it’ in it.

Dear Shovon,

I’m writing this letter to tell you about our day out at Savar yesterday. We went to Jahangirnagar University to watch the migratory birds that come there every winter. We started at 7 a.m. It was a very pleasant one and a half hour drive from Dhaka to the University. It’s a beautiful campus! There is a lake running through it. The scenic beauty of the place simply charmed us. There were hundreds of migratory birds- some circling in the sky in flocks, some resting on the lake water. There were red and white water lilies in full bloom in the lake. We were not the only ones watching the birds, there were about a dozen more visitors who came to enjoy the scene. There was enchanting sound of birds chirping, splashing water and fluttering winds all around us. It was such a splendid experience!

It was almost 4 o’clock when we started back from there for Dhaka. By the way, we had a wonderful lunch at the campus. There was a roadside eating place just outside the campus gate that served the best rice and curry I’ve ever had.

No more today.

Love,

Lali

Printed page 168

Grammar point

Every sentence must have a subject, but sometimes the subject does not mean anything, like the introductory ‘there’ and ‘it’ in the above sentences. When we don’t want to put a new information at the beginning of a sentence, we write it in a different way using there/it at the beginning. ‘There’ and ‘it’ at the beginning of a sentence are also called ‘empty subjects’.

Notice that there/it is followed by the verb be.

Form : There +be e.g. There is … /There are …

There was …/There were …

It + be e.g. It is …/ it was …

Use

We use the introductory ‘there’ to say that something exists or existed in the past:

There is a lake in the university campus.

There were hundreds of migratory birds.

We usually use it to talk about something that we have already mentioned:

What’s that bird? It’s a Siberian duck.

We can also use it when we talk about:

distance : It’s about 22 kilometers from Dhaka to Savar.

Printed page 169

time : It was 7 a.m. when we started for Savar.

nature/quality of a place : It’s quiet and peaceful here by the lake.

weather : It’s raining today.

We also use it + be + adjective to express our feeling about something:

It was wonderful to watch the migratory birds on the lake water!

It’s important to share your feelings with your close friends.

It’s good to know that you care for me.

Activity 1 Rewrite each sentence below by using ‘there’ or ‘it’ at the beginning without changing the meaning of the original sentence:

a. Saying sorry is polite when you’ve done something wrong.

__________ polite ____________ when you’ve done something wrong.

b. Using mobile phone in the exam hall is forbidden.

_______________________ mobile phone in the exam hall.

c. Seeing your childhood friends after a long time is wonderful.

_____________________________________________ after a long time.

d. A lady is waiting for you downstairs.

____________ a lady _______________ downstairs.

Printed page 170

e. I first met her two years ago.

____________ since I _______ last.

f. Hundreds of birds are on the lake water.

___________________________ on the lake water.

Activity 2 Rewrite the following sentences so that they don’t begin with ‘there’, but would mean the same as the original sentences:

a. There is a red rose in the vase.

---

b. There are three golden stars on the baby’s cap.

---

c. There were two dogs chasing the burglar.

---

d. There was a gold fish in the bowl.

---

e. There are many leaves on the ground.

---

Printed page 171

Activity 3 Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with ‘there’ or ‘it’ + be.

a. What’s that in your hand?

________ a parcel. It just came in by post.

__________ anything valuable in it? Why are you holding it so tightly?

_________ some books. Raju has sent them for you.

b. We stood in front of the heavy curtains in the hall room. ____________ something behind the curtains. I could sense it. I pulled the curtains. _________ a picture of a woman with a child. ____________ hanging on the wall. _____________ a sudden silence in the room. ___________ a tense moment.