it

it — 代名詞

1. points back to a thing, an animal, a situation, or an idea that was already ment

1.代名詞A1
釋義

指已提及的事物、動物或情況

points back to a thing, an animal, a situation, or an idea that was already mentioned — used as the doer or the receiver of an action in a sentence.

例句

Zola found her phone under the sofa — it was still working after the fall.

Zola 在沙發底下找到了她的手機——它摔過之後還能用。

subject pronoun referring to a thing

The package arrived yesterday, but I haven't opened it yet.

包裹昨天到了,但我還沒打開它。

object pronoun referring to a thing

文法句型

it + verb (subject)

verb + it (object)

preposition + it

用法筆記

Only sense where 'it' has a clear antecedent — the person, thing, or idea it refers back to is named earlier in the conversation or text.

常見錯誤

The book is interesting. I like him very much.
The book is interesting. I like it very much.
💡use 'it' for things and animals, not 'him' or 'her'.

2. placed at the front of a sentence as a dummy subject while the real subject — a

2.代名詞A2
釋義

形式主詞

句中先佔主詞位置,真正主詞在後方

placed at the front of a sentence as a dummy subject while the real subject — a to-infinitive phrase, a that-clause, or a for-phrase — comes later; also used in cleft sentences to highlight one part of the sentence.

例句

It is important for children to drink enough water during summer.

讓孩子在夏天喝足夠的水很重要。

it + be + adjective + for + someone + to-infinitive

It takes the bus about forty minutes to reach the airport from here.

從這裡坐公車到機場大約需要四十分鐘。

it + take + time + to-infinitive

文法句型

it + be + adjective + to-infinitive

it + be + noun + that-clause

it + take + time + to-infinitive

it + seem/appear + that-clause

it + be + noun + who/that (cleft)

用法筆記

The real subject (the phrase after 'it') can usually be moved to the front: 'To drink enough water is important' — but the 'it' version sounds more natural in everyday English.

3. used as a sentence subject when talking about the time of day, the date, weather

3.代名詞A1
釋義

天氣時間

描述天氣、時間、日期、距離

used as a sentence subject when talking about the time of day, the date, weather conditions, how far away a place is, or how dark or light it is — without referring to any earlier person or thing.

例句

It is already half past ten — the library will close soon.

已經十點半了——圖書館快要關門了。

time of day

It was raining hard when Cyrus stepped off the train.

Cyrus 下火車時正下著大雨。

weather condition

文法句型

it + be + time

it + weather verb (rain, snow)

it + be + adjective (cold, dark)

it + be + distance (far, five miles)

用法筆記

Unlike senses 1 and 2, this 'it' does not stand for anything — it simply fills the subject position because English sentences need a subject. Other languages often leave this out (e.g. Spanish 'Llueve' = 'It rains').

常見錯誤

Is raining outside.
It is raining outside.
💡English requires a subject in every sentence, even when the subject has no real meaning.

it — 形容詞

it — 名詞