Use of It in English Grammar: Sentences and Examples

Definition of ‘It’.

It is a pronoun that is used to refer to non-living things, animals, ideas, or situations previously mentioned.

It is Used for Time.

1. It is 10 O’clock.
2. It is late.
3. It’s time to go to school.
4. It’s time to cook.
5. What time is it?
6. It is his break time.
7. It is early for her to learn driving.

It is Used for Day.

1. It is Sunday.
2. It is 18^th March.
3. It is his birthday tomorrow.
4. What day is it?

It is Used for Distance.

1. It is far from here to the bank.
2. It is seven miles from our house to the station.
3. It isn’t far from our house.
4. How far is it from New York to London?
5. It isn’t far from our house to the airport.

It is Used for Weather.

1. It is sunny.
2. It is raining.
3. It is snowing.
4. It is windy.
5. It is hot.
6. It is cold.
7. It is foggy.
8. It is dark.
9. It is a nice day today.
10. It rains a lot in July.

It is Used for Things without Life.

1. It is a book.
2. Here is your pencil.
3. It is his car.

It is Used for Animals.

1. She loves her cat and cannot live without it.
2. The dog got hit by the car and broke its leg.

It is Used for a Young Child.

It is used for a young child unless we wish to refer to the gender.

1. When I saw the child it was playing.
2. The baby has torn its clothes.
3. The baby is in the bathtub with its toys.

It is Used to Give Emphasis on Noun or Pronoun.

1. It was he who stole the money.
2. It was I who first talked to the principal.
3. It was at France where the treaty was signed.

It is Used to Express Impersonal Information.

1. It is silly to talk like that.
2. It was quite shameful on his part.

Difference between it and there.

There is a lot of snow in December.

It was very windy.

There was a strong wind yesterday.

Exercise (Put it or there)

1. _____ was a hot day yesterday.
2. _____’s a long way from here to the bank.
3. ______’s cold in this room. Turn off the AC.
4. _______ was a strong wind yesterday.
5. _______is a lot of water on the floor.
6. _______ something in his behavior which made me worried.
7. _______ was his birthday yesterday.
8. ______’s a holiday today.
9. _____ is a box on the table.
10. ________ was a storm last night.
11. ____________ ‘s been two hours since I ordered my sandwich.
12. ____________’s been a lot of improvement in my speaking skills.
13. ____________’s a holiday today.
14. _______ shouldn’t take you too long to get dressed.
15. __________’s a security guard at the door.
16. ________ used to be a zoo in my town.
17. _______ was great to spend time with you.
18. _____ is a nice day.
19. ________’s a squirrel on the tree.
20. ________ appears that you are not connected via Bluetooth. 

A Newspaper Cutting Analysis: Use of It

In this cutting from The Times of India (6^th April 2026), notice the use of it in the first paragraph.

As stated in the newspaper cutting, “US President Donald Trump on Sunday made new, expletive-laden threats to escalate strikes on Iran and its infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz.” Here, its infrastructure refers to Iran’s infrastructure. And if it doesn’t open, the Strait of Hormuz refers to Iran. Instead of writing Iran multiple times, the journalist has used Its and it as pronouns to replace nouns.

This is a wonderful real-life example that I have used in my 17 years of teaching English grammar to explain such concepts. In my daily teaching practice, I found that students learn faster when they are explained through newspaper cuttings, and they also develop the habit of reading.

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