In speech, we quite often use sentences like - “Spring. It was evening. It got cold”, etc. Such sentences are called "impersonal" because the sentence does not specify the person performing the action, and often the action itself is missing. In Russian, everything is simple, in English, with impersonal sentences, impersonal sentences are a little more complicated. English grammar does not allow sentences without subject and predicate following one after the other in strict order, and we cannot translate Russian sentence, consisting of one word, is also one word. It is imperative to come up with a design in which there will be the main members of the proposal. How it will look in English, we will now see.
Structure of an impersonal sentence
Let's start with a simple and gradually complicate the impersonal sentence. "Spring. It was evening. It's cold." As can be seen from the examples, this type of sentence is used to convey natural conditions or weather phenomena. At the heart of the construction used to translate impersonal sentences, English is in the present, past or future tense. As you probably guessed, to be will serve as the missing predicate, and as for the subject, the pronoun will take its place it, which always and in any impersonal sentence will perform the function of the subject and, accordingly, take its rightful place at the beginning of the sentence. Now let's see what we got.
- Spring - It is spring
- It's cold
- Warm - It is warm
- Hot - It is hot
- Evening – It was getting dark
- It was getting cold
- Winter will come soon - It will be winter soon
- It will be hot in summer - It will be hot in summer
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As you can see from the above examples, we have created a non-existent formal subject it, and a formal predicate is, was or will be depending on the tense. With the help of construction it is, it was, it will be we will translate into English all sentences in which there is an adverb - difficult, possibly, impossible, easy, late, early, far, near etc. To make it easier for you to understand, we will give some examples:
- It is difficult for a child to lift a heavy box - It is difficult for the child to lift the heavy box
- It is impossible to finish this work in a day
- I find it difficult to breathe - it is difficult for me to breathe
- It's too early to get up now - it is too early to get up
- It's too late to walk - it is late to go for a walk
To form an interrogative form of an impersonal sentence auxiliary to be (am, is, are) is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and the negative is formed using a negative particles not.
- Is it dark out of doors?
- It wasn't snowing.
The use of impersonal sentences
- We use an impersonal sentence to say what time is it now
:
It's 11 o'clock now - it is 11 o'clock now
It was half past five - it was half past 4
When I return it will be 10 o'clock already - Impersonal sentences are always used to describe the weather with verbs to rain, to snow, to hail, to drizzle
Often in autumn it's raining– It often rains in autumn
Drizzling, you need to take an umbrella - It is drizzling, I must take an umbrella - To note how much time we need to complete an action - you probably met sentences that begin with the words " I need ... time to do something, it takes me ... time to do something, etc.
". So, to translate such sentences, the construction of an impersonal sentence is also used - It takes ... to ...:
She needs an hour to get to work - It takes her an hour to get to her work
It will take my mother half a day to bake so many cakes.
- An impersonal sentence is often used to describe actions that require an infinitive, in which words such as never, to appear, to seem, to turn out, to happen
It is never late to say "excuse me" - It's never too late to say "I'm sorry"
It seemed to be late to change anything - It seemed to be too late to change anything - An impersonal sentence is used to express modality with the verbs can, may, must
. In this case, the formal subject is the word one, which is omitted when translated into Russian.
You can't smoke here - One must not smoke here
One should wash hands before having meals
It is impossible to do all the work at once - One cannot do all the work at once.
That's it for impersonal offers in English language. Try to form a few sentences on your own to consolidate the material.
The English language differs from the Russian language in that the sentence must have a subject and a predicate, the main members of the sentence.
Construction of impersonal sentences
However, sentences often lack an agent and a verb denoting action. Thus, the sentence becomes impersonal, but formally a subject and a predicate are needed to preserve the structure of the sentence. In this case, the subject becomes impersonal pronoun, if you can call it that, it. And the function of the predicate will be performed by the linking verb to be.
For example, It is hot today. Today it's hot.
The most common impersonal sentences in English are sentences about weather, seasons, time, distance, etc. Today we will look at suggestions about the weather and seasons. In russian language impersonal sentences sound like this.
It's cold outside. Winter. It's getting dark.
In English, such sentences can be built according to general scheme: it + to be + adjective, noun.
Dictionary "Weather, seasons" (listen)
In order to learn how to talk about weather (weather) and seasons (seasons) we need an active dictionary.
Adjectives (weather)
Cold
Warm warm
Hot hot
cool cool
Windy [ʹwındı] windy
Cloudy [ʹklaʋdı] cloudy
Sunny [ʹsʌnı] sunny
Rainy [ʹreını] rainy
Snowy [ʹsnəʋı] snowy
Frosty [ʹfrɔstı] frosty
Nouns (seasons)
Summer [ʹsʌmə] summer
Autumn [ʹɔ:təm] autumn
Winter [ʹwıntə] winter
spring
Read all the words carefully and make sure they are pronounced correctly.
Learning to talk about the weather
To describe the weather on the street, we just need to put the pronoun at the beginning of the sentence it, linking verb to be and the required adjective. We know that in the present tense the verb to be has three forms (am, is, are). Recall that with the pronoun it we use the form is.
It is cold today. It is cloudy today. It is cold today. Today is cloudy.
If we want to describe what the weather was like yesterday, then we need past form verb to be. We know that this verb has two forms in the past tense (was, were). With pronoun it we use the form was.
It was sunny and warm yesterday. Yesterday it was sunny and warm.
Speaking of the time of year, we build a sentence in the same way.
It is spring now. Spring is now.
An interesting fact is that in the UK the favorite topic of conversation is the weather. Any conversation, whether it is a meeting of friends, colleagues or relatives, begins with questions:
It is a nice day today, isn't it? Nice day, right?
These questions are supposed to be the answers that we discussed above.
Now you know that in the case of a trip to the UK, according to the rules of etiquette, the conversation should begin with a question about the weather. In response, you will definitely be asked about the weather of the city, the country where you live.
Tasks for the lesson
Exercise 1. Answer the question.
What scheme is used to build an impersonal sentence in English?
Exercise 2. Answer the following questions.
1. What is the weather like today?
2. What season is it now?
3. What is the usual weather like in winter, summer, spring, autumn in Russia?
4. What is the usual weather like in winter, summer, spring, autumn in Great Britain?
5. What is your favorite season?
6. What weather do you like?
Exercise 1.
It + to be + adjective/noun Exercise 2.
1. It is…
2. It is ... (spring, summer, autumn, winter)
3. In winter it is usually cold and snowy in Russia. In spring it is usually warm and sunny in Russia. In summer it is usually hot and sunny in Russia. In autumn it is usually cloudy and rainy in Russia.
4. In winter it is usually cold in Great Britain. In spring it is usually warm and sunny in Great Britain. In summer it is usually hot and sunny in Great Britain. In autumn it is usually cloudy and rainy in Great Britain.
5. My favorite season is…
6. I like ... (cold, warm ...) weather.
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 actor . 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.
Verb to be - special kind 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 present time present simple- It is…= It’s….
It is hot.
Hot.
It is 5 o'clock.
5 o'clock.
In the past time past simple- It was…
Itwas dark.
It was dark.
It was easy.
It was easy.
In the future tense Future Simple - 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.
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.
ATfuturetimeFuture Simple - It will not be… = It won’t be…
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?
The English language is rich in idioms and interesting phrases, but not only them. Often we need to say simple sentences that seem simple in speech, but for some students are problematic in construction. For example, how to say in English about the weather ''sunny'', ''evening'' or ''winter''? As you can see, there is no face in such sentences, they are impersonal. Impersonal sentences in English are such sentences in which not only the person who performs the action is often absent, but also the action itself. Confused? Just! Consider the features of the formation of impersonal sentences, get acquainted with vivid examples and shed light on frequently asked questions.
To learn impersonal sentences, you first need to understand the construction features simple sentences, gradually taking on more complex ones. As examples, we use the above sentences ‘’Sunny’’. ‘’Evening’’. ''Winter''. In English it would be like this => It is sunny. It is getting dark. It is winter.
On a note! Most often, impersonal sentences in English are used to refer to weather and natural conditions.
What does the construction of an impersonal sentence consist of, if it does not have an actor? Pronoun it+ verb to be- the main active members of the proposal.
But! Remember that the verb to be can be used in different times- past, present and future. Exact time can be learned from the context. For example, it is, it was, it will be – verb variations tobe at different times (present, past and future).
Here are some examples:
Verb to be plays the role of a predicate, and the role of the subject belongs to the pronoun it. Pronoun it performs the function of the subject always and everywhere (in any type of impersonal sentences).
To better understand the principle of forming impersonal sentences, let's explain the situation with examples:
- Autumn => It is autumn.
- Spring will come soon => It will be spring soon.
- Warm => It is warm.
- Cold => It is cold.
- It's hot => It is hot.
- It will be cool in summer => It will be cool in summer.
- It was getting dark => It was getting dark.
A definite tense (the form of the verb to be) is chosen depending on specific situation or based on context. The particle it remains unchanged for all temporary forms.
Constructions it is, it was, it will be used to translate different offers in which there is an adverb. For example, how to translate sentences containing adverbs close, long away, impossible, Maybe, difficult, easily etc.? Let's explain everything with examples:
Interrogative form of impersonal sentences
To form interrogative form, verb to be should be placed at the beginning of the sentence:
- Is it already dark? => Is it already dark?
- Is it near the window? => Is it next to the window?
- Is it drizzling? => Is it drizzling?
Note that the verb to be will have different forms (is, are, am ).
To form negative form, you only need to add a particle not .
- It wasn't raining. => There was no rain.
- It is not snowing. => It's not snowing.
Impersonal sentences: where they are used and when they are appropriate to use
- If you need to answer the question: "What time is it?", it is appropriate to use impersonal sentences:
- It is 9 o'clock now => It's nine o'clock now.
- It was half past 5 => It was half past six.
- When I return it will be 11 o'clock => When I return it will be 11 o'clock.
- If you need to say about the weather, describe it, then use impersonal sentences with verbs to snow, to rain, to drizzle, to hail etc.:
- It is snowing days and nights => Snowing days and nights.
- It often rains these days => It often rains these days.
- It will be drizzling => It will drizzle.
- If you need to say how long it will take to perform a particular action:
- It takes me half a day to get to the station => I need half a day to get to the station.
- It will take some time to learn so many rules => It will take some time to learn so many rules.
Note! We use the design i t takes… to… . If there is such a construction, it automatically means that you need to use an impersonal sentence.
- If you need to describe an action where the infinitive is used. These sentences often use following words => to seem, to appear, to happen, to turn out, never:
- It is hard for me to say ‘’hello’’, but it is never late =>
- It happened to be clear and sunny => It happened to be clear and sunny.
- It turned out funny but this young director is my close friend => It turned out funny, but this young director is my close friend.
- If you need to express modality with verbs must, may, can. In this situation, the subject is the word one:
- One cannot cope with everything at once => You can't do everything at once.
- One have to wash hands before his dinner => You need to wash your hands before dinner.
- One must sign in here => Here you need to register (log in).
On a note! When translated into Russian, the word one omitted (it is not translated in any way).
Summing up
By doing the exercises every day, you will quickly learn the intricacies of forming an impersonal sentence. It is important to change the words in sentences every time, make up other situations and use all the possible words of your vocabulary. Regular exercise, patience and diligence will lead you to success and new knowledge. Learn and improve!
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 proposals the direct word order is characteristic, that is, the subject comes first, then the predicate. Interrogative sentences have reverse order words, 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 holds the whole structure 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 direct order words according to the principle: put a 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, often impersonal constructs 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 verbs in passive voice: 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 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.
Be sure to check out these amazing designs! They will help you immerse yourself in the deep structure of the English language and understand the mentality of the English.
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Impersonal sentences in English
