Unit 84: There ... and it ...

English Grammar in Use With Answers » Unit 84: There ... and it ...

Study this example:

We use there ... when we talk about something for the first time, to say that it exists:

There's a new restaurant in Hill Street. (not A new restaurant is in Hill Street)
I'm sorry I'm late. There was a lot of traffic. (not It was a lot of traffic)
Things are more expensive now. There has been a big rise in the cost of living.

It = a specific thing, place, fact, situation etc. (but see also section C):

We went to the new restaurant. It's very good. (It = the restaurant)
I wasn't expecting them to come. It was a complete surprise. (It = that they came)

Compare there and it:

I don't like this town. There's nothing to do here. It's a boring place.

There also means 'to/at/in that place':

When we got to the party, there were already a lot of people there (= at the party).

You can say there will be / there must be / there might be / there used to be etc. :

Will you be busy tomorrow? Will there be much to do?
'Is there a flight to Rome tonight?' 'There might be. I'll check the website.'
If people drove more carefully, there wouldn't be so many accidents.

Also there must have been, there should have been etc.:

I could hear music coming from the house. There must have been somebody at home.

Compare there and it:

They live on a busy road. There must be a lot of noise from the traffic.
They live on a busy road. It must be very noisy.
There used to be a cinema here, but it closed a few years ago.
That building is now a supermarket. It used to be a cinema.

You can also say there is sure / bound (= sure) / likely to be .... Compare there and it:

There's sure to be a flight to Rome tonight. (or There's bound to be ... )
There's a flight to Rome tonight, but it's sure to be full. (it = the flight)

We also use it in sentences like this:

It's dangerous to walk in the road.

We do not usually say 'To walk in the road is dangerous'. Normally we begin with It ... .
Some more examples:

It didn't take us long to get here.
It's a shame (that) you can't come to the party.
Let's go. It's not worth waiting any longer.

We also use it to talk about distance, time and weather:

How far is it from here to the airport?
What day is it today?
It's a long time since we saw you last.
It was windy yesterday. (but There was a cold wind.)

84.1 Put in there is/was or it is/was. Some sentences are questions (is there ... ? / is it ... ? etc.) and some are negative (isn't/wasn't).

The journey took a long time. ⁽¹⁾ a lot of traffic.
What's this restaurant like? ⁽²⁾ good?
⁽³⁾ __________ something wrong with the computer. Can you check it for me?
I wanted to visit the museum, but ⁽⁴⁾ __________ enough time.
'What's that building? ⁽⁵⁾ __________ a hotel?' 'No ⁽⁶⁾ __________ a theatre.'
How do we get across the river? ⁽⁷⁾ __________ a bridge?
A few days ago ⁽⁸⁾ __________ a big storm, which caused a lot of damage.
I can't find my phone. ⁽⁹⁾ __________ in my bag - I just looked.
It's often cold here, but ⁽¹⁰⁾ __________ much snow.
'How was your trip?' '⁽¹¹⁾ __________ a disaster. Everything went wrong.'
⁽¹²⁾ __________ anything on television, so I turned it off.
'⁽¹³⁾ __________ a bookshop near here?' 'Yes, ⁽¹⁴⁾ __________ one in Hudson Street.'
When we got to the cinema, ⁽¹⁵⁾ __________ a queue outside. ⁽¹⁶⁾ __________ a very long queue, so we decided not to wait.
I couldn't see anything. ⁽¹⁷⁾ __________ completely dark.
⁽¹⁸⁾ __________ difficult to get a job right now. ⁽¹⁹⁾ __________ a lot of unemployment.

84.2 Read the first sentence and then write a sentence beginning There ... .

The roads were busy yesterday.
.
This soup is very salty.
There __________ in the soup.
The box was empty.
__________ in the box.
The film is very violent.
__________ .
The shopping mall was crowded.
__________ .
I like this town - it's lively.
__________ .

84.3 Complete the sentences. Use there will be, there would be etc. Choose from:

will
may
~~would~~
wouldn't
should
used to
(be) going to

If people drove more carefully, fewer accidents.
'Do we have any eggs? ' 'I'm not sure. __________ some in the fridge.'
I think everything will be OK. I don't think __________ any problems.
Look at the sky. __________ a storm.
'Is there a school in the village?' 'Not now. __________ one, but it closed.'
People drive too fast on this road. I think __________ a speed limit.
If people weren't aggressive, __________ any wars.

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