Exercises

1. Complete these sentences with a verb in an appropriate form, using ‘it’ if necessary.

consider enjoy find leave love notice owe remember

1. She ___ impossible to make a living from her painting. She just couldn’t earn enough money. 2. Have you ___ that Janet has got new glasses? 3. The film was very good. I ___ most when they were flying in the balloon across the Atlantic. 4. I don’t think we should ___ to the politicians to make the decision for us. 5. We ___ to the victims to find out who planted the bomb. 6. I ___ when she dances. She moves so gracefully. 7. When she got to work she ___ that she had left the cooker on at home. 8. We ___ essential to finish the building before winter. After that the freezing temperatures will prevent work continuing.

2. Alan had to go to hospital for an operation. What did the doctor say? Use the information in the two sentences and make a new sentence with the help of …it as… and the verb in brackets.

e.g. We should perform the operation immediately. It is necessary. (see) → I see it as necessary that we should perform the operation immediately.

1. Alan is now able to get out of bed. It is a good sign. (take) 2. He can already walk again. It is an indication of the success of the treatment. (take) 3. He is still week. It is normal after such an operation. (regard) 4. He should return to work as soon as possible. It is important. (view) 5. He has made a complete recovery. It is remarkable. (regard) 6. He can be discharged from hospital now. It is possible. (accept) 7. He should be very careful and not overwork for the time being. It’s important. (see) 8. He should come for a consultation in a week. It is necessary. (view)

3. Use ‘it’ as an ‘empty’ object where necessary.

1. I hate ___ when people stare at me. 2. I would appreciate ___ if you could fax your response as a matter of urgency. 3. In this paper we will demonstrate ___ that DNA strands can be replicated. 4. We love ___ when the grandchildren come over. 5. The organizers didn’t anticipate ___ that there would be such an overwhelming demand for tickets. 6. He takes ___ as encouraging when students attend all his lectures. 7. I consider ___ in your best interest that you leave immediately. 8. He finally accepted ___ that he would never become a doctor. 9. We owe ___ to him to try and find the resolution. 10. I’d appreciate ___ if you could send me an up-to-date retail price list. 11. What’s incredible ___ is that there might have been many more fatalities. 12. I find ___ intolerable that we have no recourse in law. 13. Grandpa loves ___ when the children ask for his advice. 14. He regretted ___ that he had come to the party. 15. She considers ___ essential that we should all come to the meeting. 16. She found ___ strange that he’d never heard of such a famous historical character. 17. I noticed ___ immediately that she didn’t like the way they treated her. 18. The director leaves ___ to the viewers to decide ___ who is guilty and who is innocent. 19. She predicted ___ that they would eventually come round to our way of thinking. 20. I find ___ impossible to conceive that someone with his track record would be so careless. 21. They would appreciate ___ if you submitted your estimate to our head office. 22. I don’t mind ___ if you stay a little longer. 23. They don’t remember ___ when it all began to go wrong. 24. We leave ___ to you to suggest a suitable solution. 25. She thought ___ that he hadn’t joined the festivities.

Structural Conversion

He thought it a pity that they hadn’t contributed to the fund. It’s a pity that they hadn’t contributed to the fund. We regard it as interesting that he joined the team. It’s interesting that he joined the team. They don’t mind it that / if you stayed for dinner. They don’t mind you / your staying for dinner. I hate it when people talk behind my back. I hate people talking behind my back. I don’t see it as surprising that she left you. It’s not surprising that she left you.

We leave it to the reader to appreciate what this will all mean. We let the reader appreciate what this will all mean. I find it hard to believe that he behaved so appallingly. It’s hard (for me) to believe that he behaved so appallingly. That he behaved so appallingly was hard to believe. She thought it sad that he hadn’t met her at the station. She thought it to be sad that he hadn’t met her at the station. She thought (that) it was sad that he hadn’t met her at the station. I like it when she wears red. I like her to wear red.