USEFUL TIPS

You may find some of the following tips very useful:

1

You can emphasise the time of an event by using this pattern or structure:

It + be + time reference + when / since / before

It was nearly dawn when they finally stopped dancing.
It's ages since I heard from Manuel.
It was months before she spoke to him again.

2

When you want to say how much time is needed for an activity, you can use this pattern:

It + take + time + to infinitive

It rarely took more than an hour to set up camp.

If you want to mention the person involved, you use one of these patterns:

It + take + noun/pronoun + time + to infinitive

It took them all day to paint the room.

It + take + time + for + noun/pronoun + to infinitive

It takes ten minutes for the doctor to do an examination.

3

You can comment on an action or experience by using:

It + be + noun / adjective + -ing form / to infinitive

It is normal to stand in a line there and simply wait for ages.
It must be fun working for a radio station.
It's impossible to read his writing.

If you want to mention the person involved, you use:

 for  +  noun / pronoun

It would be easier for me to change than ask them to.
It is hard to get some papers for a man who has never travelled.

You can also use the pattern:

It + verb + noun / adjective + that clause:

It seemed only fair that they would stay with me.
It's a pity that you missed the show.
It relieved us that Manuel could find a job at OM Personal.

4

You can use it as the object of verbs such as like and hate to describe your feelings about something:

I like it when it rains.
She would hate it if she failed the FCE exam.

You can also use:

find + it + adjective + to infinitive

He found it hard to cope with staircases that moved.
I find it difficult to remember names.

On the next page you can practise the above grammar tips.