There is/are and It

In English, impersonal sentences are often constructed using the pronoun "it" or the phrase "there is/are". Impersonal sentences are sentences in which the subject is not a specific person or thing, but rather an idea or a general concept. Impersonal sentences are often used to make general statements, give advice, or describe situations in a neutral and objective way.

There is/are

"There is/are" can be used to express different things. Some of them are listed below.

• To show the presence of something: there are books on the shelf.
• To express an event happening at a specific time: there is a party tonight.
• To mention the number of parts in a whole: there are four chapters in the book.
• For abstract items or situations: there is nothing on TV.
• With uncountable nouns: there is milk in the fridge.
• To express a quantity: there are a lot of people in the park.

Questions with there is/are are formed like this: is there a restaurant nearby? Are there any apples left?

The negatives are formed as follows: there isn't any sugar. There aren't any tickets available.

"There is/are" can be used with verb tenses other than present. See the examples below.

• Use There was/were for past events: there was an accident yesterday. There were ten people at the meeting.
• Use There has/have been for past events with present relevance: there has been a change in plans. There have been many complaints.
• Use There will be for future events: there will be a meeting tomorrow.

It

Here are some common uses of "it" to form impersonal sentences.

• For time and day: it's 3 o'clock. It's Friday.
• For distance: it's 5 miles to the nearest town.
• For weather: it's raining. It's hot today.

It's important to notice that there are other uses.