INSTRUCTIONS AND PROPHECIES OF THE Blessed MOTHER ALIPIA GOLOSEEVSKY, Kyiv...
Learning a foreign language is enough difficult process requiring concentration, a lot of time and regular practice. This is important if you want to be fluent in the language at a conversational level. Learning how to collect known words into one sentence may seem very simple, but this is only at first glance. This is especially true for those who work on their own. To do this, we advise you to understand the classification of structures.
If we talk about the types of sentences on the subject, then they are divided into:
- personal;
- vaguely personal;
- impersonal.
In our article, we will dwell on impersonal sentences in more detail: we will explain why they are used, when they are appropriate or necessary, and consider the construction features and types.
Impersonal constructions - this topic is one of the most important in English grammar. Offers of this kind are widespread. Their peculiarity lies in the absence of an indication of the person who performs the action. If we talk about the Russian language, the following constructions can serve as an example: “Winter. It was getting dark. It's cold." The distinguishing feature that defines impersonal sentences- it consists of only one word, which is the subject or predicate.
Unlike our native language, in English they are built differently, according to certain rules. Constructions without the main members of the sentence are not allowed here and will be perceived by foreigners as a set of unrelated words. In order for the text to carry a semantic load, it is important to be guided by the rules of word order. When the subject comes first and the predicate comes after it, it will be a sentence of the affirmative type. When asking a question, the reverse word order is applied: the predicate, and then the subject. Therefore, when writing or speaking, prioritize correctly. First of all, find the main members of the sentence, and only then add secondary words.
So where do you start to get it right? The pronoun it and the verb to be (sometimes other verbs are used) are the key words that form the basis of the impersonal grammatical construction. The phrase is built on the principle of direct order. At the same time, it does not translate in any way.
What are impersonal offers used for?
You can't learn something without understanding what it's for. Here is a classification of cases in which you cannot do without impersonal constructions. These include:
Description of natural phenomena:
- It is light. - Light.
- It is hold. - Cold.
Description of the weather:
It is rainy. - It is rainy.
In English, more than complex sentences:
It is snowing for the whole night. - It snows all night.
It often rains in autumn. - It often rains in autumn.
Answering the question: "What time is it?":
- It is 6.30 p.m. - It's half past seven.
Denoting time and distance:
- It is 9 o'clock - It's 9 o'clock now.
- It is close from here. - Close to here.
- When we reach the peninsula, it will be 1 p.m. “When we reach the peninsula, it will already be one in the morning.
Translation of adverbs: difficult, easy, perhaps, early, late, far:
- It is late to go to the store. - It's too late to go to the store.
- It is easy to do sit-ups. - Easy to do squats.
Indicating the amount of time required to complete the action:
- It takes me 40 minutes to go to school. The road to school takes me 40 minutes.
- It will take him 2 hours to repair his car. He will need 2 hours to fix the car.
With the verbs believe, know, understand, expect, say, report, think, consider, used in passive voice:.
- It is believed that the author's cakes are difficult to prepare. - It is believed that it is difficult to cook author's cakes.
- She is expected to leave soon. She is expected to leave soon.
To create an interrogative sentence, you need to swap the pronoun and the verb.
For example: Is it interested for you to watch a movie? Are you interested in watching a movie?
To build a negative construction, use the not particle by adding it to the verb to be: It is not complicated to swim brace. - Swimming is difficult.
Now that you are familiar with impersonal constructions, we suggest that you consolidate the material covered by yourself. Make up sentences using your vocabulary. You can try to write short story with minimal inclusion of pronouns. For the first time, we advise you to take a simple topic, for example, “The Seasons”. Do not forget that competent text creation is the foundation of spoken English. That is why it is important to pay special attention to the rules for the formation of sentences and not to ignore the questions that arise during the lessons.
Astrakhan State Technical University
Department "IAGENO"
Methodical development
grammar topic
"Indefinitely personal and impersonal
sentences in English"
(for studentsI – IIcourses studying English at the university).
Astrakhan 1998
Compiled by: Department foreign languages ass. Fedorova O. V.
© Astrakhan State Technical University
Indefinitely personal and impersonal sentences.
Remember the following grammar rule:
Indefinite personal sentences in English contain a subject denoting an indefinite person. The subject can be expressed by the pronoun one, this pronoun is not translated into Russian.
For example:
One should carefully select words and expressions in translating a foreign text.
It is necessary to carefully select words and expressions when translating a foreign text.
One can easily find seas, lakes, rivers on the map.
You can easily find seas, lakes, rivers on the map.
In the function of the subject indefinite personal sentence, the pronouns they, we, you are also used in the meaning of an indefinite person,
excluding the speaker.
For example:
They say he will be back on Monday.
When you cross the street you should be careful.
They say he won't be back on Monday.
When crossing the street, you need to be careful.
To find the area of a square we must
knon the length of the side.
To calculate the area of a square, you need to know the length of one side.
Exercise 1.
Translate the sentences from English into Russian.
1. On the map one also finds seas, lakes, rivers.
2. They say there is no life without water.
3. One can easily find the way out from the difficult situation.
4. When you write a dictation you should remember the grammar rules.
5. From the window one saw the four large buildings of the university.
Exercise 2.
Translate the sentences into English using the following models:
Model 1 They say the climate in Europe is getting warmer.
They say that the climate in Europe is getting warmer.
1. He is said to be a great director.
2. She is said to be a talented actress.
3. They say he wants to become a sailor.
4. They say she will teach them French.
Model 2 When you read you should be careful.
When you read, you need to be careful.
1. When writing a letter, you need to be careful. 2. When you see older people in transport, you need to give them a seat. 3. When you receive money, you need to count them without leaving the cash register.
Model 3 To get a good mark at school we must prepare the home task at home.
To get a good mark in school, you need to prepare your homework at home.
1. To translate foreign texts, you need to know foreign languages.
2. To write a dictation without mistakes, you need to learn the grammar rules.
3. To get to know each other well, you need to live a whole life together.
Exercise 3
Compose and translate sentences into Russian using the following verbs .
Model 1: one cannot do everything by himself only with the help of others.
It is forbidden do everything yourself, you can only do it with the help of others.
1. to hear; 2. to see; 3. to visit; 4. to think; 5. to hope.
Impersonal offers.
Remember the following rule:
Impersonal sentences in English do not have a subject of action, although, due to the grammatical structure of English sentences, they always contain a subject expressed by a pronoun.
In an impersonal sentence, it has no lexical meaning, but performs the function of a formal subject and is not translated into Russian.
It's dark now.
(no subject) (predicate)
The predicate in an impersonal sentence can be:
Compound nominal predicate.
Simple verbal predicate.
A compound nominal predicate consists of
A) verb to be noun
copula + adjective nominal part
numeral
b) verbs to become + noun nominal part
to get adjective
Very often, such impersonal sentences describe phenomena or states of nature, denote time, distance.
Consider examples:
It was 9 o'clock.
It becomes hot in summer.
It was nine o'clock.
It gets hot in summer.
It will get cold soon. It will be cold soon.
Sentences like "It's getting dark", "It's getting light", "It's freezing", are translated as follows:
It is getting dark. It's getting dark.
It is getting light. It's getting light.
Impersonal sentences like “It is difficult (for me) to understand” are a kind of nominal impersonal sentences and differ from them in that they express the attitude, opinion of the speaker about the action expressed by the infinitive following the adjective.
For example: It is easy to read this book.
When the speaker wants to name the person who performs the action expressed by the infinitive, a turnover with a preposition is used.
For example: It is easy for him to read this book.
In such impersonal sentences, adjectives are most often used:
Difficult - difficult
Easy - easy
Necessary - necessary
Important - important
Strange - strange
Interesting - interesting
Possible - possible
Impossible - not possible, etc.
The structure of an impersonal sentence.
Type A: It is cold; It is interesting. It is difficult to help him.
Is it cold? Yes, it is. (No, it isn't.)
It is not cold.
Type B: It gets/becomes cold.
It gets cold. in autumn.
Does it get cold? in autumn? Yes, it does.
become No, it doesn't.
When does it get cold? - In autumn.
It doesn't get cold.
Type C: It is getting dark.
It is getting dark.
Is it getting dark? Yes, it is.
No, it isn't.
It is not getting dark.
The interrogative and negative form in impersonal sentences is built according to general rule. The auxiliary verb changes depending on the tense. It must be remembered that the verb “to be” itself acts as an auxiliary verb and does not require another verb in addition.
Exercise 1. Read and translate into Russian the following sentences. Put them in interrogative and negative forms.
1. It is usually dark at 6 o'clock in winter. 2. It is always cold in January. 3. It was simple to translate that letter. 4. It was warm yesterday. 5. It will be interesting for you to read this English book. 6. It was easy to find the railway station. 7. It is difficult for him to learn this text by heart.
Exercise 2.
Make three sentences each using the following examples using adjectives.
dark - dark cold - cold
hot - hot late - late
warm-warm.
a) It is light here now.
b) It was early morning.
c) Is it already ten o'clock?
Exercise3.
Translate the following sentences into English according to the models.
Model 1: Dark - It is dark.
1. Light. 2. Hot. 3. Cool. 4.Heat. 5. Interesting. 6. It's important to know this. 7. It's hard to ask about it. 8. It was cold in November.
Model 2: Dawn - It is getting light.
1. It's getting dark. 2. It becomes warm and light. It's getting chilly. 4. Get bored. 5. It's getting hot.
1. It gets hot in July. 2. It dawns at five o'clock in the morning. 3. When does it get dark? 4. It becomes difficult to understand it.
Exercise 4
Put the following sentences in the past and future tenses, changing the circumstances of the time accordingly.
1. It is cold today. 2. It is dark here. 3. It is eight o'clock. 4. It is easy to understand this simple text. 5. It is interesting to listen to your stories. 6. It is difficult for me to learn some grammar rules. 7. It is dark in this room. 8. It is important for me to invite them how. 9. It is strange for us to hear such words. 10. It is strange for him to see you here.
Exercise 5
Answer the questions paying attention to the impersonal sentences.
1. It is usually cold in April, isn't it?
2. Is it usually dark or light in the streets at five o'clock in the morning in summer?
3. Was it warm or cold yesterday?
4. Will it be warm or cold tomorrow?
5. Is it usually hot or cold in summer?
6. Won't it be late if I ring you up at eleven o'clock to-night?
7. Is it the shortest (longest) day of the year today?
8. Is it colder or warmer today than it was yesterday?
Exercise 6
Translate the following sentences into English.
1. It's very dark in here. Let's study in room number 3. 2. It's cold near the window. Let's sit here, it's warmer here. 3. This is not a very important question, let's discuss it tomorrow. It's already very late now. 4. It was very early, but when I approached the river my brother was already waiting for me. 5. It is too early to discuss the results of our work. 6. Winter. Cold. 7. It is difficult to get up early in winter because it is dark in the morning. 8. Katya knows German and French, so it is easy for her to learn English. 9. It is strange that she does not take part in the discussion of this report. 10. Do you find it difficult to walk? Let's take a taxi. 11. It is not at all strange that Tom did not agree to go with you to the city of N. He never likes this place.
Exercise 7
Change the sentences into impersonal ones using the impersonal “it”, according to the model.
Model: He came to Moscow only yesterday. It was only yesterday that he came to
1. I recognized him only when he came up to me.
2.He used to read to us Cheknov's stories.
3. I could not read this book because of the small type.
4. This student made a very good report on the international situation. at the meeting yesterday.
5. He made so much progress in English because he worked a great deal.
6. His smile made me recognize him immediately.
7. I objected to his taking part in this work.
8. He improved his phonetics by reading books aloud.
9. I med him on my home.
10. In our country men of education and culture, men of lofty principle and moral integrity are most highly esteemed.
Remember the following rule.
The predicate in an impersonal sentence can be a simple verb, which is expressed by verbs denoting states of nature:
To rain, to snow, to freeze, to thunder, etc.
For example: Il often rains in autumn.
It often rains in autumn.
It snowed in December.
It snowed in December.
It rains/snows in spring.
Does it rain/snow in spring? Yes, it does
No, it doesn't.
When does it rain/snow? - In spring.
It doesn't rain/snow in spring.
It is raining now.
Is it raining now? Yes, it is.
It is not raining now.
Interrogative and negative sentences are built according to the general rule. The auxiliary verb changes depending on the tense. But the verb “to be” does not require an auxiliary verb.
Do the following grammar exercises:
Exercise number 1. Read and translate the following sentences into Russian. Put these sentences in interrogative and negative forms.
1. It often rains in autumn. 2. It is snowing now. 3. It was thundering at eleven o'clock yesterday. 4. It seldom snows in October. 5. It will rain soon.
Exercise number 2. Translate into English.
1. Look out the window. It's raining? 2. Was it snowing yesterday? -Not. It didn't snow yesterday and it was very cold. 3. When I left the house, it was raining. 4. When does it often rain? - It often rains in autumn. 5. It rarely snows in this city in November.
Exercise number 3. Put in the future and past tenses, changing the circumstances of the time accordingly.
1. It snows much in winter. 2. It rains in autumn.
3. It is snowing now. 4. It thunders in summer.
Exercise number 4. Translate the sentences according to the models.
Model 1: It snows in winter.
1. It rains every day in April and May. 2. It often snows in January. 3. Does it snow in England in winter? 4. Does it rain there in summer?
Exercise number 5. Agree with the statement or refute it. Complete your answers.
Model: It is warm in summer.
Yes, you are right. It is warm in summer. Summer is the warmest season
Model: It rains in February (Snow).
Excuse me, but it doesn't rain in February. There is a lot of snow in Feb-
1. It snow in spring (begin to melt)
2. It is raining in autumn.
3. It is cold in winter.
4. It is foggy in the afternoon (in the morning).
5. It is cold in August. (hot).
6. It is difficult to translate this text. (easy).
Remember the following grammar rule.
Impersonal sentences, in addition, include sentences where the predicate is a verb expressing doubt, probability, chance, for example:
to seem, to happen, to appear, to turn out, etc.
This includes such impersonal turns as:
it seems - it seems
to appear - apparently, obviously
to happen
for example:
It seems that he works much.
Seems, He works a lot.
It turned out that nobody knew anything about the matter.
It turned out, that no one knows anything about this case.
The interrogative and negative forms of such sentences are built according to the general rule.
The structure of sentences of this type.
It seems that she knows English.
Does it seem that she knows English?
It doesn't seem that she knows English.
Do the following exercises:
Exercise #1. Read and translate the following sentences into Russian. Put these sentences in interrogative and negative forms.
1. It seems that she cooked breakfast.
2. It appears that your friends often come to you.
3. It turned out that Helen saw him in the cinema.
4. It happened that Tom got a bad mark.
5. It turns out that she works at the factory.
Exercise #2. Translate the sentences into English.
1. It turns out that he got up at 10 o'clock yesterday.
2. I think I saw her somewhere, but I don't remember where.
3. Apparently, she knows English well, as she translates this text very quickly. 4. I think I have read this book.
5. Apparently. Jane won't come.
Exercise #3. Read the text and change the sentences to impersonal or indefinitely personal, using the pronouns one, we, you, they, it and impersonal sentences like:
It turns out…
It is important to remember…
It is necessary to know … etc.
There is no life without water. Man can Live without clothes, without shelter, and even for some time without food. Without water he soon dies.
Some people say that man and his story is “a question of water and Little else”. Allhis food has water, from about 60 to as much as 95 per cent. His body is about 70 per cent water. But often man does not have enough water.
Man needed something to carry and keep water in, and so the idea of pottery was born. And industry is thirsty too. People need 3.5 liters of water to produce a kilogram of dry cement, 10 liters to produce one liters of petrol, 100 liters to produce one kilogram of paper, and so. on.
The earth has as much water as it ever had: no more, no Less. But with every year the world gets Larger and Larger. That's why everybody must use water sparingly.
In Russian, we can easily build sentences consisting of one word: “It's cold. Hot. Difficult. Late".
But how to do it in English?
After all, English has its own word order, and the sentence must necessarily have a main character.
Therefore, according to the rules of the English language, we cannot translate these sentences “in Russian” in one word: “Cold. hot. Difficult. late".
To build them there is a special construction It is, which I will tell you about in this article.
From the article you will learn:
- How to build impersonal sentences in English
What are impersonal offers?
Impersonal sentences are sentences in which no main character . Let's look at this with an example.
We use impersonal sentences:
1. To describe the weather and natural phenomena
For example: It's cold. Dark.
2.
To indicate time, date, day of the week, etc.
For example: 6 hours. Monday.
3. To indicate the distance
For example: far. Close.
4. To express the opinion of the speaker
For example: Fun. Difficult.
Attention: Confused in English rules? Find out how easy it is to understand English grammar.
To build such sentences in English, you need to use the it is construct.
Let's look at it in detail.
Rules for the formation of impersonal sentences in English
Such sentences are formed very simply: using the pronoun it and the verb to be at the right time. Offer scheme:
It + verb to be + other members of the sentence
It does not indicate a person and is not translated into Russian, but in the formation of a sentence it takes on the role of the main character.
The verb to be is a special kind of verb. We use it when we say that someone:
- Is somewhere (He's in the park)
- Is someone (She's a nurse)
- Is somehow (Grey cat)
Depending on the tense in which we use this verb, in combination with the pronoun it, it changes its form:
In the present Present Simple - It is ...= It’s….
It is hot.
Hot.
It is 5 o'clock.
5 o'clock.
In the past tense, Past Simple - It was ...
Itwas dark.
It was dark.
It was easy.
It was easy.
Itwill be…
It will be difficult.
It will be hard.
It will be fun.
It will be fun.
Negation in impersonal sentences in English
Sometimes we need to say negative sentences: “It's not difficult. Not windy. Not far." To form such sentences, we need to add a negative particle not to the verb to be.
The scheme of such a proposal:
It + verb to be + not + other members of the sentence
We can build such negative sentences in the present, past, future tenses.
In the present Present Simple - It is not ...= It's not…
It's not important.
Doesn't matter.
It’
snot cold.
Not cold.
In the past tense, Past Simple - Itwasnot…
It wasn't funny.
It wasn't funny.
It wasn't dark.
It wasn't dark.
ATfuturetime Future Simple– It will not be… = It won’t be…
It won't be hot.
It won't be hot.
It won't be easy.
It won't be easy.
Interrogative impersonal sentences in English
To ask a question with such sentences, we need to put the verb to be in the first place.
The outline of such a proposal would be:
Verb to be + it + other members of the sentence?
Let's see how it will look for each of the times.
Present Present Simple – Isit…?
Isit easy?
Just?
Isit beautiful?
Handsomely?
In the past tense, Past Simple - Wasit…?
Was it warm?
It was warm?
Was it night?
It was night?
In the future tense Future Simple -Willitbe…?
Will it be cold?
It will be cold?
Will it be windy?
Will it be windy?
So, now you know what impersonal sentences are. Let's move on to practice.
Reinforcement task with It is construction
Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments:
1. Friday.
2. It will be difficult.
3. Was it interesting?
4. 6 hours.
5. Not far.
6. Will it be fun?
Even younger students know that there are very different sentences according to the grammatical structure: simple, complex and complex, etc. We use them every day and they seem completely natural to us. In this motley group, impersonal sentences occupy a special place. In truth, the British crown has a few surprises in store up its striped sleeve, so we finish our traditional milk tea and start focusing.
So, in impersonal sentences in English (Impersonal Sentences), you will never see either the performer of the action, or even the action itself. Remember the unforgettable "Night. The outside. Flashlight. Pharmacy." or the beginning of the standard tabloid publications "Darkness ...". It is these cases that will be discussed.
It would be logical to divide such structures into two groups: without subject and without a predicate. And if in Russian you can use any members of the sentence as you please, then the English language inevitably imposes a certain strict structure, namely: in any sentence there are always both main members. Moreover, the subject comes first, and then the predicate. Let's not be too lazy to remind: always! So if you don't see some of them in the source code in your native language, then they will appear during the translation. If you ignore them, feel free to subtract points from your exam paper or say goodbye with respect in the eyes of your English-speaking friends.
Using Impersonal Suggestions
These structures are used to denote:
- natural phenomena:
It was so cold that I could hardly breathe. It was so cold that I could hardly breathe.
It has been drizzling since morning. - It has been raining since morning.
- weather conditions:
It will be sunny and hot tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be sunny and hot.
It was very frosty and slippery last January. — Last January it was very frosty and slippery.
- Time and distance. Especially note for yourself the construction of the phrase “It takes me ... / I need ...” with the value of the time interval, which combines it and take:
It was five o'clock when I returned home. It was five o'clock when I got home.
It is not very far to the barn in the field from my aunt's house. “It’s not very far from my aunt’s house to a barn in the field.
It takes me nearly an hour to get back home from school. It takes me almost an hour to get home from school.
- Actions described by the infinitive:
It is never too late to say thank you. It's never too late to say thank you.
It is hard enough to part with your boss friends. It's hard enough to say goodbye to your bosom friends.
- Impersonal turnovers with the verbs to happen - to happen, to seem - to appear, to turn out - to appear, to appear - to appear, etc. So, complex sentences in English may include an impersonal representative:
It appears that Melissa won't visit us today. “Looks like Melissa won't be visiting us today.
It so happened that I hated hot milk with mineral water. - It so happened that I hated hot milk with mineral water.
- Modalities with the corresponding verbs: can - be able, may - have permission, must - be due, etc. In this case, you need a formal subject one, which has no equivalent in translation:
One must not cross the road here. - You can't cross the road here.
One cannot learn all the cards for the exam in a day. — It is impossible to learn all the tickets for the exam in a day.
As you may have noticed, almost all impersonal sentences in English have a formal subject. it. Remember that it is not translated into Russian.
Well, let's look at two groups of interest to us. Do not forget that different tenses of the Simple, Continuous and Perfect Continuous groups can be used in all phrases:
- Nominal sentences in English do not have a predicate in their composition, which, however, must necessarily emerge when translated in the form is verb to be or another copula in the third person and singular. Here it combined with nouns, adjectives, adverbs and phrases like adjective + infinitive:
It is very dirty outside, put on your old boots. It's very dirty outside, put on your old shoes.
It was so easy to swim across the river. It was so easy to swim across the river.
It is almost September and my nephews don't want to start school. It's almost September now and my nephews don't want to go to first grade.
- Verbal sentences do not fundamentally differ from their aforementioned relative. Here you will meet all the same it and impersonal verbs: to rain - go (about rain), to snow - go (about snow), to hail - go (about hail), to drizzle - drizzle, etc.:
Let's go home, it is getting dark. Let's go home, it's getting dark.
It hailed yesterday and I am afraid that my garden was damaged. There was hail yesterday and I'm afraid my garden has been damaged.
When it doesn't snow in winter one cannot ski or skate. When it doesn't snow in winter, you can't ski or skate.
As for interrogative and negative sentences, all the classic rules work here. English grammar- use auxiliary verbs, and everything will work out:
Is it windy today? Should I take my hat? — Is it windy today? Should I take my hat?
It hasn't rained for a week already, the ground is very dry. It hasn't rained for a week now, the ground is very dry.
As a result, it should be noted that impersonality is widely used in English: both simple and complex sentences have their own design options. In fact, there is nothing difficult in memorizing this material and using it correctly in speech. Everything is quite logical and justified, so feel free to take on the development and consolidation of the rule.
Impersonal constructions ( impersonal constructions) in English are a fairly common way of constructing sentences. In these sentences, we do not specify the person performing the action. It remains behind the scenes, because there is no information about it, or we simply do not care who performs the action. In Russian, such sentences are organized very simply: “Autumn. Twilight. It's cold." These words are impersonal sentences consisting of only one subject, or one predicate.
In English, we build impersonal sentences according to a different principle, because the rules of grammar do not allow such free use of the main members of the sentence, as in Russian. And a sentence in which there is no subject or predicate is generally considered grammatically incorrect and is translated into Russian in the style of “You don’t understand mine”.
The thing is that the word order in English is fixed, and it is he who makes the sentence meaningful. For affirmative sentences, the direct word order is characteristic, that is, the subject comes first, then the predicate. Interrogative sentences have the reverse word order, that is, first we put the predicate, and then the subject. Therefore, when we build a sentence in English, first of all we find those words that take the place of the subject and the predicate, and then we put whatever we want.
- Do not forget to read our article "".
In cases where the subject is nowhere to be found, we use the impersonal pronoun it. It does not indicate the person and is not translated into Russian, but it retains the entire structure of the English sentence, working, of course, in tandem with the predicate. In most cases, the verb works as a predicate in such sentences to be in present, past or future tense. By filling in the positions of the subject and predicate with it and to be, we fulfilled the rule of direct word order according to the principle: we put the formal subject it and predicate - verb to be or another verb. In fact, we made a grammatically correct sentence.
Such impersonal sentences in English are used in the following cases:
- To describe natural phenomena.
It is dark. - It's dark.
- To describe the state of the weather.
It is windy. - It's windy.
At the same time, impersonal constructions are often built with verbs to rain, to snow, to hail, to drizzle.
It was raining for the whole day yesterday. - It rained all day yesterday.
It often snows in winter. - It's snowing frequently in the winter.
- To answer the question: "What time is it?"
It is 8.20 p.m. - It's 8:20 am.
- To indicate time and distance.
It is 8 a.m. - It's 8 o'clock now.
It is far away from here. - Far away from here.
When we reach the city, it will be 2 a.m.. - When we get to the city, it will be 2 am.
- To translate adverbs: perhaps, difficult, late, easy, early, far.
It is late for the child to go for a walk. - To kid late to go for a walk.
It is easy for me to study English. - To me easily to learn English language.
It is very far for us to walk there. - There very far go.
- To indicate the amount of time it takes to complete an action. Here we use the construction It takes... to... (corresponds to Russian: “I need ... time to do something”; “it takes me ... time to ...”).
It takes me about an hour to do my morning exercise. - It takes me about an hour to exercise in the morning.
It will take her 20 min. to do her make-up. She will need 20 minutes to apply makeup.
- With passive verbs: believe, understand, say, know, report, expect, think, consider.
It is believed that English is easy to study. It is believed that English is easy to learn.
It is expected that he will arrive soon. He is expected to arrive soon.
It is reported that the election was a success. - It is reported that the elections were successful.
The interrogative form of an impersonal sentence in English is formed by changing the places of the main members of the sentence. Verb to be put in the first place, and the pronoun it- for the second.
Is it easy for you to speak English? – Is it easy for you to speak English?
The negative form of impersonal sentences is formed with the help of a negative particle not, which is added to the form of the verb to be.
It is not difficult to play tennis. “Tennis is easy to play.
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Impersonal sentences in English
