How a sentence is built · CEFR A2 · Everyday

The empty "it" — English sentence structure

English will not leave a subject empty, so it fills the gap with "it" — for weather, time, distance, and before an adjective plus to.

The shape

It + be + weather / time / distance / adjective + to…

Talk about the weather, the time and the distance correctly.

In Hindi

अंग्रेज़ी कर्ता की जगह ख़ाली नहीं छोड़ती, इसलिए मौसम, समय और दूरी के लिए वहाँ "it" रख देती है।

CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.

The mistake to fix first

The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.

Commonly said	Correct English
Is raining outside.	It is raining outside. English sentences need a subject even when there is nobody doing anything.

Commonly said

Correct English

Is raining outside.

It is raining outside.

English sentences need a subject even when there is nobody doing anything.

The empty "it" examples

Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.

It is sunny outside.
बाहर धूप है।
It is cold outside.
बाहर ठंड है।
It is cloudy today.
आज बादल हैं।
The sky is clear.
आसमान साफ है।
The wind is strong.
हवा तेज़ है।
It is morning now.
अभी सुबह है।
It is night now.
अभी रात है।
It is very hot today.
आज बहुत गर्मी है।
also correct: It's very hot today.
It is very cold today.
आज बहुत ठंड है।
The weather is nice today.
आज मौसम अच्छा है।
also correct: It is a nice day today.

Questions people ask

What is the the empty "it" used for?: English will not leave a subject empty, so it fills the gap with "it" — for weather, time, distance, and before an adjective plus to. In practice: talk about the weather, the time and the distance correctly.
How do you form the the empty "it"?: It + be + weather / time / distance / adjective + to….
What is the most common mistake with the the empty "it"?: Saying “Is raining outside.” instead of “It is raining outside.”. English sentences need a subject even when there is nobody doing anything.

Where the empty "it" fits

Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.

The empty "it" is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to how a sentence is built. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.

Reading it is not the same as saying it.

CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.

Practise the the empty "it" →

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