Home of English Grammar

Free Guide (Updated for 2023)

  • Home
  • Download Lessons
  • Grammar Rules
  • Online Exercises
  • Online Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Lessons / Using ‘it’ as an introductory subject

Using ‘it’ as an introductory subject

April 27, 2015 - pdf

It can be used with who and that-clauses to emphasize one part of a sentence.

Study the examples given below.

My father gave me a laptop on my birthday.

We can express the same idea in three different ways.

  • It was my father who gave me a laptop on my birthday. (In this sentence, the emphasis is on the noun ‘my father’.)
  • It was a laptop that my father gave me on my birthday. (In this sentence the emphasis is on the noun ‘laptop’.)
  • It was on my birthday that my father gave me a laptop. (In this case, the emphasis is on the word ‘my birthday’.)

Rewrite the following sentences in three different ways shifting the emphasis to another word. Begin with ‘it’.

Tagore got the Nobel Prize for his Geethanjali.

  • It was Tagore who got the Nobel Prize for Geethanjali. (Emphasis on Tagore)
  • It was the Nobel Prize that Tagore got for his Geethanjali. (Emphasis on Nobel Prize)
  • It was for Geethanjali that Tagore got the Nobel Prize. (Emphasis on Geethanjali)

I met John at the airport.

  • It was I who met John at the airport.
  • It was John who I met at the airport.
  • It was at the airport that I met John.

My aunt took Peter to Tokyo yesterday.

  • It was Peter that my aunt took to Tokyo yesterday.
  • It was my aunt who took Peter to Tokyo yesterday.
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
1,280,336 
647,105 

Check Your Grammar

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • Articles Exercise October 1, 2023
  • Relative Pronouns Exercise September 29, 2023
  • Phrasal Verbs Exercise September 28, 2023
  • Gap Filling Vocabulary Exercise September 28, 2023
  • Correct or Incorrect September 26, 2023
  • No, None. Not September 22, 2023
  • Definite Article vs. No Article September 21, 2023
  • Irregular Plurals September 20, 2023
  • Color Idioms September 19, 2023

Topics

  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Business Writing
  • Commas
  • Conjunctions
  • Creative Writing
  • Difference
  • Essay Writing
  • Exercises
  • Learning
  • Lessons
  • Nouns
  • Prepositions
  • Pronouns
  • Proofreading
  • Punctuation
  • Quiz
  • Spelling
  • Style Guide
  • Teaching
  • Terms
  • Verbs
  • Words
  • Writing

Quiz

  • Can you correct these 14 basic grammar mistakes?
  • What kind of writer are you?

Copyright © 2023 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap