itpronoun
uk/ɪt/us/ɪt/it pronoun (THING)
A1 used as the subject of a verb, or the object of a verb or preposition, to refer to a thing, animal, situation, or idea that has already been mentioned:
"Where's my pen? It was on my desk a minute ago." "You left it by the phone."
The company was losing money and it had to let people go.
The argument was upsetting for us all - I don't want to talk about it.
Children who stay away from school do it for different reasons.
More examples
- He was clasping the vase tightly, terrified of dropping it.
- "Have you written your English essay yet?" "Of course, I finished it last week."
- It's a nice dress, but it creases very easily.
- He finds it extremely difficult being a single parent.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- me
- moi
- number one
- personal pronoun
- personally
- s
- s/he
- thee
- them
- themself
- they
- us
- ye
- you
- yours
- yours truly idiom
- yous
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it pronoun (SUBJECT/OBJECT)
A1 used as the subject or object of a verb to represent a phrase at the end of the sentence:
It's unlikely that she'll arrive on time.
It costs more if you travel before 9.00.
I liked it in Scotland.
I find it convenient to be able to do my banking by phone.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- me
- moi
- number one
- personal pronoun
- personally
- s
- s/he
- thee
- them
- themself
- they
- us
- ye
- you
- yours
- yours truly idiom
- yous
See more results »
it pronoun (TIME/WEATHER)
A2 used to talk about the time, date, weather, or distances:
What time is it?
It was October, so it was quite cold.
It rained all day.
It's ten miles to Leeds.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: personal pronouns
- 'em
- he
- her
- me
- moi
- number one
- personal pronoun
- personally
- s
- s/he
- thee
- them
- themself
- they
- us
- ye
- you
- yours
- yours truly idiom
- yous
See more results »