Special Use of “IT”

① It is + adjective (for sb.) + to V

∙ It is necessary to learn English.
∙ It is happy to have a family meal at home at weekend.
∙ It is very hard to listen to English.
∙ It is happy to have good friends.
∙ It is wonderful to have a cup of coffee in the morning.
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② It is + noun (for sb.) + to V

∙ It is an honor for me to know professor Moore.
∙ It is a great pride to receive this scholarship.
∙ It is a high salary for me to receive this job.
∙ It is a great honor for me to join the meeting.
∙ It is an importance to learn English.
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③ It is + past participle + that + clause
∙ It is said that honesty is the best policy.
∙ It is thought that health is the most important in life.
∙ It is said that you are having a very big house built.
∙ It is thought that the kids should study hard.
∙ It is thought that money can make people happy.
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④ It costs (sb.) a sum of money + to V→ Phải tốn
∙ It costs an arm and a leg to possess a car in Vietnam.
∙ It costs $200 to spend a night in that hotel.
∙ It costs him 100 dollars to buy new sneakers
∙ It costs 20 dollars to buy that pair of shoes.
∙ It costs 300 USD to pay the school fee.
⑤ It takes (sb.) an amount of time + to V → Phải mất
 ∙ It takes four hours and a half to get to Sai Gon from here by coach.
∙ It took me one hour to complete that paragraph.
∙ It takes two hours to travel from Tien Giang to HCM city by coach.
∙ It takes one hour to cook for my children.
∙ It takes me 30 minutes to get to my company from home by bike.
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⑥ It is / was not until … ... ... that ... ... ...
∙ It was not until midnight that I went to bed last night.
∙ It was not until he was 38 that he got married.
∙ It was not until this morning I completed this homework
∙ It was not until 16 years old that I could ride a bike.
∙ It was not until he was 40 that he had a child.

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⑦ It → weather / time / distance / date
∙ Is it raining? ∙ It is over 150 miles from London to Oxford.
∙ It is two o’clock. ∙ It gets dark early in winter.
∙ What date is it today? ∙ It is 28th March, 2022
∙ It is one kilometer away from here. ∙ It snowed all day yesterday.
∙ It is sunny. ∙ It is warm in spring.
∙ It is cloudy. ∙ It is a lucky day for me.

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⑧ It is no + comparative adjective + than + verb-ing
∙ It is no crazier than wearing a vest with sneakers.
∙ For him it is no more difficult than saying “I love you”.
∙ For me it is no happier than live with my family.
∙ It is no more difficult than correcting what they did wrong.
∙ It is no crazier than walking in the sun.
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⑨ It is not often + that + subject + verb (hiếm khi)
∙ It is not often that architects have a chance to design a building in
the way they want.
∙ It is not often that a word is completely synonymous to another
word in any context.
∙ It is not often that students do homework by themselves.
∙ It is not often that I come back home from work before 6pm.
∙ It is not often that I get up early on Sunday.

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➉ Cleft sentences
1. John solved the problem.
---> It was John who solved the problem.

2. I need your help, not your sympathy.

---> It is your help that I need, not your sympathy.

3. It gets really cold in winter.

---> It is in winter that it gets really cold.

⑪ It is (high) time + past subjunctive expresses that

something should be done and that it is already a bit late.
- It is high time we left.
- It is high time the children went to bed
- It is high time the security force took action.