pronoun (used as the subject or object of a verb or after a preposition)
1 used to refer to an animal or a thing that has already been mentioned or that is being talked about now:
'Where's your car?' 'It's in the garage.' * Did you see it? * Start a new file and put this letter in it. * Look! It's going up that tree. * We have $500. Will it be enough for a deposit?
2 used to refer to a baby, especially one whose sex is not known:
Her baby's due next month. She hopes it will be a boy.
3 used to refer to a fact or situation that is already known or happening:
When the factory closes, it will mean 500 people losing their jobs. * Yes, I was at home on Sunday. What about it? (= Why do you ask?) * Stop it, you're hurting me!
4 used to identify a person:
It's your mother on the phone. * Hello, Peter, it's Mike here. * Hi, it's me! * Was it you who put these books on my desk?
5 used in the position of the subject or object of a verb when the real subject or object is at the end of the sentence:
Does it matter what colour it is? * It's impossible to get there in time. * It's no use shouting. * She finds it boring at home. * It appears that the two leaders are holding secret talks. * I find it strange that she doesn't want to go.
6 used in the position of the subject of a verb when you are talking about time, the date, distance, the weather, etc:
It's ten past twelve. * It's our anniversary. * It's two miles to the beach. * It's a long time since they left. * It was raining this morning. * It's quite warm at the moment.
7 used when you are talking about a situation:
If it's convenient I can come tomorrow. * It's good to talk. * I like it here.
8 used to emphasize any part of a sentence:
It's Jim who's the clever one. * It's Spain that they're going to, not Portugal. * It was three weeks later that he heard the news.
9 exactly what is needed:
In this business, either you've got it or you haven't.
seealsoITS
IDIOMS
that is it
1 this/that is the important point, reason, etc:
That's just it-I can't work when you're making so much noise.
2 this/that is the end:
I'm afraid that's it-we've lost.
this is it
1 the expected event is just going to happen:
Well, this is it! Wish me luck.
2 this is the main point:
'You're doing too much.' 'Well, this is it. I can't cope with any more work.'
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About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for it is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Does it appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — it appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
