Olly English
Olly is preparing your space...
Loading page content...
Olly is preparing your space...
Loading exercise...
Academic Excellence
Both there and it can be used as the subject of a sentence, but they have very different meanings. Choosing the right one is important! π―
| Word | Use it for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| There is / There are | To say something exists or is present somewhere | There is a cafΓ© near the station. |
| It is | Weather, time, distance, date, and to identify things | It is raining. / It is 3 o'clock. |
Use there is (singular) or there are (plural) to say that something exists in a place:
Always use it to talk about the weather. Never use there:
Always use it to talk about time, dates, and distance:
Use it is to identify or describe something you can see or point to:
| β Correct | β Wrong |
|---|---|
| It is raining. | There is raining. (never use there for weather) |
| There is a bus stop here. | It is a bus stop here. (use there for existence) |
| It is 9 o'clock. | There is 9 o'clock. (never use there for time) |
| There are many people here. | It are many people here. (use there are for plural existence) |
Ready to practice? Let's go! π