Impersonal constructions in English. Impersonal sentences that begin with It and There. sentences in English"

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.

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 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" auxiliary verb does not require.

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? -No. 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.

I write - You write - She writes

number(singular/plural)

will/shall- for the future

tobe– for a passive or prolonged

tohave- for the perfect

Service and semantic verbs form grammatical units as lexical wholes.

I have asked - I asked

Impersonal

Impersonal forms - 3 (infinitive, gerund, participle). Impersonal - these are verbal derivatives in the role of other parts of speech.

Infinitive– verbal adjective / adverb / noun of the type “ to+ verb stem.

Gerund- verbal noun with ending — ing.

Participle- verbal adjective with endings - ed/en/ing.

Grammar categories

Unlike personal forms, impersonal ones do not change in person/number and have similar grammatical features. They have aspect, voice and aspect (only for the infinitive).

Perfect impersonal forms express activity before another activity.

I'm glad to have helped you - Gladwashelpyou

Passive impersonal forms express activity over the subject.

I wanted to be asked that question - Iwanted, toThatquestionaskedto me

The continuous infinitive expresses activity in progress.

I like to be reading this story nowlikereadthisstoryNow

Confusion

Impersonal forms can define and even be subject, but do not act as its verbs. Sometimes they are vainly substituted for verbs.

The main difference between impersonal forms and nouns/adjectives is that the former can take their own object.

building a houseis complicated – ConstructionHouses- casetroublesome

With impersonal forms there are 2 difficulties. Resembling verbs, they sometimes force you to write unfinished sentences. The second difficulty is the very subtle difference. Despite the same ending, the gerund and the present participle are different parts of speech with different approaches.

In English, as in Russian, there are many types of different sentences. From simple and complex, which are divided into complex and complex, to impersonal. In speech, we quite often use sentences such as: “Spring. It was evening. It got cold”, etc.

Such sentences are called impersonal (" impersonal sentences”), since the sentence does not specify the person performing the action, and often the action itself is also missing.

We offer a little bit of grammar and find out all the details in this section of English. Go!

What are impersonal sentences in English

impersonal proposals(impersonal sentences) - a special type of sentences in which the protagonist cannot be clearly defined: (he?) is getting colder, (she?) is getting colder, (it?) is getting colder.

In Russian, compared to English, everything is much simpler, since we can freely use only one word, which will already be a whole sentence.

The grammatical structure of a sentence in English is quite strict. In order to correctly build an impersonal sentence, it must be remembered that one English word is not enough here. Therefore, an impersonal English sentence is essentially a sentence with a formal subject " it”, since the specificity of English requires the use of a holistic grammatical basis.

Thus, if in Russian we say: “Rainy”, then in English it will be: “ It's rainy". We will analyze in more detail the nuances of using impersonal sentences in English below.

When using impersonal sentences

There are quite a few different cases the use of the pronoun "it" in impersonal sentences in English, but one of the most common examples is the weather, because it is the weather that is the favorite topic of conversation for any self-respecting Englishman.

A few examples to illustrate:

It's rainy. - It is rainy.
It's foggy. - Foggy.
It's sunny. - Sunny.

As you can see from the above examples, "it" is always subject, albeit formal. With the weather, we can use the verb " to be» in present tense (Present Simple) followed by adjective; or instead of a simple one, use the temporary form “ Present continuous”, namely:

It's getting better.- Getting better.
It's getting foggy. - It's getting foggy.
It's getting hotter. - It's getting hotter.

Important to remember! The "Simple & Continuous" tense ruler is used in the present, past and future. Respectively:

is - was- will be(for simple time);
is getting - was getting - will be getting(for a long time).

An English-language impersonal sentence also occurs when we mean years, days or dates. Since time is an inanimate noun, we never use such pronouns with it as: “ I», « you», « he" or " we". The only companion is only " it". Examples:

hey,Samantha!What time is it?-It "s 2 o" clock, Sam.
Hey Samantha! What time is it now? - Two hours, Sam.

It's Monday.It is time to get up and make breakfast.
Monday. It's time to get up and make breakfast.

It's the 24th of March. My man and I have a wedding anniversary today.
March twenty-fourth. My husband and I have our wedding anniversary today.

When we talk about time, or rather about its specific interval, which is required to achieve a specific goal, it is not uncommon to use the link “ it takes / it lasts", which may be followed by an infinitive.

Conclusion

In general, impersonal sentences in English should not cause much difficulty. The main thing is to understand whether the subject of the situation really requires the use of such a sentence; use the pronoun "it" and desired shape verb depending on the tense and type of sentence: affirmation, negation, question.

Believe you can speak English and you"re halfway there!

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

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 missing, 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 features of constructing 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 tenses - past, present and future. The 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 specific tense (the form of the verb to be) is chosen depending on the specific situation or based on the context. The particle it remains unchanged for all temporary forms.

Constructions it is, it was, it will be are used to translate different sentences that contain an adverb. For example, how to translate sentences containing adverbs close, far, 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 take different forms is, are, am ).

To form a 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 => It is 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. In such sentences, the following words are often used => 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 cannot cope with 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!

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 by the 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:

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.

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.

INfuturetimeFuture 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.