Level: beginner
English clauses always have a subject:
His father has just retired. > He was a teacher. (NOT
Was a teacher.)
I'm waiting for my wife. > She is late. (NOTIs late.)
... except for the imperative:
Go away.
Play it again, please.
there
If there is no other subject, we use there to talk about:
- where or when something is:
There's an interesting book on the shelf.
There'll be an eclipse of the moon tonight.
- a number or amount:
There is plenty of bread left.
There were twenty people at the meeting.
- something existing or happening:
There's a small problem.
There was a nasty fight.
it
We use it to talk about:
- times and dates:
It's nearly one o'clock.
It's my birthday.
- the weather:
It's raining.
It's a lovely day.
It was getting cold.
We use it with the verb be and an –ing form or to-infinitive to express opinions:
It's great living here.
It's nice to meet you.
- Subjects of sentences
- it and there as dummy subjects 1
- it and there as dummy subjects 2
Do you need to improve your English grammar?
Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.
Hello aliali20054,
Both of these phrases are quite common when we meet someone for the first time and I don't think there is any real difference in meaning. Both can refer to past, present or future.
After the first meeting we would use the verb 'see' rather than 'meet':
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Smiles,
I'm afraid English is not consistent in how it regards lists of items.
When the verb comes before the list it agrees with the closest noun to it (i.e. the first in the list):
However, when the verb follows the list it is always plural, even if each individual item in the list is singular:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi smiles,
When the first item in the list is singular, we use a singular verb. In your example, There is is the correct form.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Valentina,
I'm afraid we had a few technical problems with the exercises but everything should be working correctly now.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello hoamuoigio,
If you say it will not be time for lunch then you mean that the time on the clock is not the time at which you usually have lunch or at which lunch is scheduled. It is a statement about what time it is, not how much time you have.
If you say there will not be time for lunch then you are talking about how much time you have available and whether or not it is sufficient for lunch.
In the context of a train leaving the second sentence (with there) makes more sense, I would say.
In your second example, again you could use either option but, again, the meaning changes and the sentence also needs to be changed:
There's a funny smell here, it's turpentine.
In this sentence you are talking about what the smell is. The two statements (there is a funny smell and the smell is turpentine) are directly connected because the pronoun 'it' refers back to the noun 'the smell'.
There's a funny smell here, there's some turpentine.
In this sentence you are talking about the presence of turpentine. Obviously, the listener would understand that the two statements (there is a funny smell and there is some turpentine) are connected, but it is implied rather than directly stated. 'Some' is necessary here for the sentence to be grammatically correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Khadhar,
It's difficult to give a good answer without knowing more about the situation or what you mean, but yes, since it sounds like this is a finished past event, it should probably be 'It was an exciting moment when we visited our village. It was a lot of fun'.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi hawa100,
The first sentence is not correct, i.e. the sentence without 'it' at the end is the correct one. This is because the object of 'without' is 'that' and if you put 'it' at the end, it is repeated, which causes confusion.
By the way, I would recommend using 'a' before 'very important thing'. It would also sound more natural to say 'we cannot live without' at the end.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Van Hua,
'your mum's birthday' is like a date, which is why 'is' is correct here. It might help to think that in sentences with dummy subjects, 'it' usually identifies something and 'there' says that something exists.
Hope that helps!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Niteesh,
The best way to say this depends on who is speaking.
If someone else (not Niteesh) is saying it:
If Niteesh is speaking:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello appu,
Why don't you tell us what you think the answer is and why this is the case, and we'll be happy to tell you if you are right or not. Trying to work it out for yourself is a much more effective way to learn.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Queenie-Chan,
Both of the first two phrases are commonly used. For example, 'The car won't start. It's no use (to try anymore) or 'There's no use in wasting our time trying to start the car'.
I'm afraid the other two phrases are not correct. 'there's no denying' is a common phrase -- you can see a definition and example sentence in the Cambridge Dictionary entry for 'deny'.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team