There and It

1. There + To Be:

existence of something: (to say that this person or thing exists, happens or it is to be found in a particular place)

There’ll be.. There have been… There is sure to be…There might be…Is there…? Are there…? Was there…?

Were there…? Will there be …? Have there been…? Might there be…?

There's a bus at ten to five. There'll be a meal waiting for us. Is there a toilet in the building? Were there any bargains in the sale? There have been some burglaries recently. There might have been an accident.

We also use there with words like a lot of, many, much, more, enough and with numbers.

There were a lot of problems to discuss. There's too much noise in here. Will there be enough chairs? There are thirty days in April.

3. We often use there when we mention something for the first time, like the picture in this example.

There was a picture on the wall. It was an abstract painting.

We use it when we talk about the details. It means the picture.

Here are some more examples.

There's a woman at the door. ~ Oh, it's Aunt Joan. There was a dog in the field. It was a big black one.

There's a new one-way traffic system in the town centre. It's very confusing.

2. “It” is used:

- for a thing, action, a situation, an idea: You’ve bought a new coat. It’s very nice. (a thing and detail)

- for an unknown person: Did someone ring? – It was Vicky. (person, detail)

- for the time, the weather, distance: It’s 7 o’clock. It’s warm today. It’s fifty miles from here.

- with to-infinitive and that-clauses: It was nice to meet you. It’s a pity (that) you can’t come. It takes me…

- it is …that :

It was I that met his sister in the park. (именно я встретил его сестру в парке).

It was his sister that I met in the park. (именно его сестру я встретил в парке).

It was in the park that I met his sister. (именно в парке я встретил его сестру).

I. Put in there or it.

Is …it… the fifteenth today? – No, the sixteenth.

The road is closed. ___________’s been an accident.

Take a taxi. ________’s a long way to the station.

__________ was a motor bike outside. ________ looked very expensive.

Will ___________ be any delays because of the strike? – Well, _______ would be a good idea to ring the airline and check.

___________was wet, and _______ was a cold east wind. ____ was after midnight, and _________ were few people on the streets.

II. Put in there is/was or it is/was. Some sentences are questions (is there ...?/is it ...? etc.) and some are negative (isn't/wasn't).

1. The journey took a long time. …There was… a lot of traffic.

2. What's the new restaurant like? …Is it… good?

3. '…………. a bookshop near here?' 'Yes, ………………….. one in Hill Street.'

4. When we got to the cinema ………………. a queue outside. ………………………..a very long queue, so we decided not to wait.

5. I couldn't see anything ………………………….. completely dark.

6. ………………………….. trouble at the club last night. They had to call the police.

7. How far …………………….. from Milan to Rome?

8. ……………………….. Keith's birthday yesterday. We had a party.

9. ………………………. three years since I last went to the theatre.

10. I wanted to visit the museum but ……………………………. enough time.

11. '…………………….. time to go?' 'Yes, ………………………. nearly midnight.'

12. A few days ago ……………………….a storm. ………………………… a lot of damage.

13. …………………………… a beautiful day yesterday. We had a picnic.

14. ……………………………. anything on television, so I turned it off.

15. ………………………… an accident in King Street but …………………………. very serious.

III. Are these sentences right or wrong? Change it to there where necessary.

1. They live on a busy road. It must be a lot of noise. WRONG; There must be ...

2. Last winter it was very cold and it was a lot of snow………………………………………………………………

3. I wish it was warmer. I hate cold weather. …………………………………………………………………………

4. It used to be a church here, but it was knocked down……………………………………………………………..

5. It's a long way from my house to the nearest shop. ………………………………………………………………

6. Why was she so unfriendly? It must have been a reason. …………………………………………………………

7. I don't know who will win but it's sure to be a good match. ………………………………………………………

8. 'Where can we park the car?' 'Don't worry. It's sure to be a car park somewhere.'

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

9. After the lecture it will be an opportunity to ask questions. …………………………………………………………

10. I like the place where I live but it would be nicer to live by the sea.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11. I was told that it would be somebody to meet me at the station but it wasn't anybody.

IV. Insert it is/there is in the spaces. In some sentences, contracted plural, negative and interrogative forms, or the past or future tense are required.

1 What's the time?- ... ……….... 3.30. ~ And what's the date? ~ . . . …………. . . the 24th.

2 How far... ………....to York? ~. . ……….. . . . 50 miles.

3 ... …………... very stormy last night. ~Yes, ... ……………….... storms all over the country.

4 ... ………........... freezing very hard. ... …………….. ...ice on the lake tomorrow.

5 As... …………….... sunny she decided to take the children to the sea.

6 Why don't you go for a walk? . . . ………….. . . a pity to stay in when . ………….. . . . . so nice outside.

7 ... ............................ not any shadows because ... …………….... not any sun.

8 ... …………….. going to be a bus strike tomorrow. ~….... ........ ...all right if ……………... ... a fine day; but if …………... .. wet... …….. ….... long queues on the Underground.

9 ... ……………... not any glass in the windows; that is why . . ……………….. . . . so cold in the room.

10 ... ……………….. very wet yesterday; ... ……………..... impossible to go out.

11 ……………….. ...a lot of rain last week. ... ……………... floods everywhere.

12 ... ………….....a thick fog last night. ... …………….... several accidents on the motorway.

13 ...................... ... foolish to drive fast when ... ………………..... foggy.

14 ... …………... difficult to find your way round this town. . ………………. . . . . so many streets all looking exactly alike.

15 Come on, children! ... …………... time to get up! ... ………………... nearly breakfast time.

16 . .. . …….. ... lunch time when we get to York, so let's have lunch there.~

No, ………………….. ... not be time for lunch because our train to Edinburgh leaves York at 13.15.

17 ... ……………..a funny smell here. .......................... ... turpentine?

18 ... ……………..all sorts of stories about Robin Hood, but ... ……….... not known exactly who he was or what he did.

19 ... …………….... said that if you break a mirror you'll be unlucky for seven years.

20 As he had very bad sight ... ……………….... difficult for him to recognize people.

21 'Can I have a Telegraph, please?' said the customer. I'm afraid ... …………………... not any left,' said the newsagent. 'But . …………. . . . a Guardian on the rack beside you. Why not take that? ... ……………….... just as good.'

22 ... ……. not necessary to carry your passport everywhere with you but ... ….. advisable to carry some document of identity.

23 ... …………....a guard outside the door and ... ………….... bars on the windows…………….... ... impossible to escape.

24 ... ………...a garage behind the hotel? ~Yes, but …………. ... rather full. I don't think ................. ... room for your car.

25 One night . . …….. . . . a heavy fall of snow which blocked all the roads. Luckily ... ……..... plenty of food in the house.

26 ... ………...a hotel in the village, so we decided to stay there……... . . . . . a charming village and I was very happy there, but my children were bored because ... ………………... nothing to do in the evenings.

27 ... …………….. five flats in the building—one on each floor. Mine's on the top floor. . . . …….. . . no lift but ... …………. supposed to be good for the figure to run up and down stairs, . . . ………………… . .?

28 ... ……………...a pity you haven't another bedroom. ~Yes, but ... ... quite a big loft, which I am thinking of turning into a bedroom. . . . . . . …….. a skylight so ... …………….….... not . …………………. . a ventilation problem.

29 ... ………………....all sorts of legends about these caves. ……………….. ... said that smugglers hid their goods here and that . . . . ………….. . an underground passage leading to the village inn.

30 Tell me something about King Lear. ~……………. .. . .. the story of a king who divided his kingdom between his daughters. ... ………………... foolish to give away your property like that. . . . ……….. . . . never certain that your family will behave generously to you in return.

31 Has Tom any more children? ~ Yes. ………………. . . . , . a daughter, Ann. ~ Oh yes, .................. ... Ann who opened the door to us yesterday, . . . ………………. . .?

32 He thought that ... ……………….. better to say nothing about his change of plan.

33 . .. ……………..a long time before I got an answer. Then one day a letter arrived—well, .............. ... not really a letter, for ... ……………... only one sentence on the paper.

34 ... ……….....a pond beside your house?— Yes, . . ……….. . . . ~ How deep . . ……………… . . .?

35 We've done all we can. ……………….. ... nothing to do now but wait.

36 Just cross out that word and go on.... …………….... not necessary to begin again. (or…………... ...no need to begin again.)