2. Subject (Cont’d).

 

“It” as Subject

 

1. 1. Notional “It”:

a) personal The door opened. It opened slowly.(= the door)

b) demonstrative It was a large room.(= this, that)

2. 2. Formal “It”

a) impersonal It often rains. It’s cold. It’s five past six. It seems...

b) introductory (anticipatory) It is no use denying the fact.

c) emphatic It was Winifred who went up to him.

 

Notice the difference between the formal “It” and “There” as subjects. “There” always introduces an indefinite or negative notional subject, and is used in EXISTENTIAL sentences (= in the meaning “there EXISTS...” or “there DOESN’T EXIST”, e.g. compare:

It’s no good arguing. (= Arguing is no good.)

There’s no good in arguing. (= No good exists in arguing.)

 

Exercise 2.1. Analyze the nature of “It”.

 

1. 1.       It was dusky in the dining-room and quite chilly.

2. 2.       The bell rang. It was lean, pale Eddie Warren in a state of acute distress.

3. 3.       Oh! Oh! Oh! It was a little house. It was a little pink house.

4. 4.       But in her bosom there was still that bright glowing place. It was almost unbearable.

5. 5.       She sat up, but she felt quite dizzy, quite drunk. It must have been the spring.

6. 6.       It was marvelous to be made love to like that.

7. 7.       It is the moon that makes you talk to yourself in that silly way.

8. 8.       It is very distressing to me, Sir, to give this information.

9. 9.       He took the path through the fields: it was pleasanter than the road.

10. 10.   If this is liberty, it isn’t going to mean a thing.

11. 11.   It was now almost four-thirty in the afternoon.

12. 12.   I took a good room. It was very big and light and looked out on the lake.

 

Exercise 2.2. Change the non-anticipatory constructions into anticipatory ones and vice versa.

 

1. 1.    Participating in the preliminary matches gives athletes the necessary confidence.

2. 2.    It was next to impossible to overcome his stubbornness.

3. 3.    Was it so very important having the script finished by the end of the month?

4. 4.    Watching the performances of these great actors opened for me new truths of life.

5. 5.    It’s a joy to see you under our roof.

6. 6.    It’s no use quarreling about the matter.

7. 7.    No seeing Cecil among the guests surprised me immensely.

8. 8.    To apply the rule of the thumb won’t do in this case.

9. 9.    Losing the game was a great disappointment.

10. 10. Isn’t it a great advantage to have so weak a memory?

11. 11. Pretending being older seems rather strange.

12. 12. To be an expert in one’s field requires a lifetime of effort.

 

Exercise 2.3. Emphasize the highlighted words.

 

1. 1.    John wore his best suit to the dance last night.

2. 2.    John wore his best suit to the dance last night.

3. 3.    John wore his best suit to the dance last night.

4. 4.    John wore his best suit to the dance last night.

5. 5.    John washed his best suit last night.

6. 6.    I asked Frank to go there.

7. 7.    He is not allowed to go to the South because of his illness.

8. 8.    Leaves do not fall in May.

9. 9.    Orchards do not blossom in winter.

10. 10. He had never asked for books by Greene until he read The Quiet American.

11. 11. They hid the guns somewhere here.

12. 12. We decided to return because he was ill.

 

Exercise 2.4. Translate using the emphatic “It”.

 

1. 1.      Это письмо написал совсем не мой брат.

2. 2.      Я вас просил взять из библиотеки вовсе не эту книгу.

3. 3.      Первым прочитал статью именно ваш приятель.

4. 4.      Я начал готовиться к экзаменам еще задолго до вашего приезда.

5. 5.      Я просил именно вашу подругу дать мне записи по грамматике.

6. 6.      Они стали изучать второй язык только, когда перешли на второй курс.

7. 7.      Именно в деревне вы сможете хорошо отдохнуть.

8. 8.      Только после того, когда больной начал принимать это лекарство, он начал поправляться.

9. 9.      Чашку разбила совсем не она.

10. 10. Из всех произведений этого композитора мне нравится больше всего совсем не Двенадцатая симфония.

11. 11. Мы условились провести каникулы в Европе еще до разговора с вами.

12. 12. Впервые я услышал этот анекдот вовсе не от вашего супруга.

 

Exercise 2.5. “It” or “There”

 

1. 1.      … was no wind, but … was very cold, and … was no use going to the beach.

2. 2.      … was day already, and … was a ride in the country to look forward to, and … was lucky that … was still another day to spare.

3. 3.      Though … was light coming through the trees, … wasn’t light enough and … was difficult to read.

4. 4.      … was a great joy to get the news of our team’s victory, … was joy written all over everyone’s face, and … was a celebration ahead.

5. 5.      … was somebody in the house - … could be no mistake about it. … could be anybody. … was difficult to see through the steamy windows.

6. 6.      … is another letter from Polly, isn’t … fine? … is her sixth letter, and … is a lot of bitterness.

7. 7.      From now on, … will be no steady tendency for improvement. … should be another alternative still. … is always preferable to have more than one option to choose from.

8. 8.      … is just one more thing to add. … is no telling what may happen, so … is not much sense in planning, and … is no use scheduling events before we know for sure.

 

 

Complex Subject