Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › Nouns › Pronouns › It vs. This
It vs. This
Refer back to something
Referring back to a subject with emphasis
| IT – REFERRING BACK |
|---|
We use it to refer back to things, places, facts or situations that have just been talked or written about. It does not give any particular emphasis. |
| REFERS TO A NOUN (NP) |
Apple is going to release a new operating system. It will merge the laptop OS with the iPad and iPhone OS. (It refers to the new operating system.) |
| REFERS TO A SITUATION (CLAUSE) |
Another employee has lost an iPhone prototype. It set off an official search for the missing phone. (It refers to the situation in the sentence.) |
| THIS – REFERRING WITH EMPHASIS |
|---|
We use this or that to refer to something with special emphasis – indicating an interesting new fact has been mentioned. |
| REFERS TO A NOUN (NP) |
Apple is going to release a new operating system. This will be a huge step in merging the laptop OS with the iPad and iPhone OS. (This emphasizes the preceding noun, operating system.) |
| REFERS TO A SITUATION (CLAUSE) |
Another employee has lost an iPhone prototype. This set off an official search for the missing phone. (This emphasizes the situation.) |
prototype (N) – the first form that a new design of a car, machine etc has, or a model of it used to test the design before it is produced
NP – noun phrase
(Huddleston 1504) (Swan 590) (Murphy 84)
Related pages:
There in Subject Position — Milk is on the table. → There is milk on the table.
It as Subject Placeholder — That he is very funny is obvious. → It is obvious that he is very funny.
"It is" + Adj + Infin — Finding the answers is hard. → It is hard to find the answers.
"It seems" / "It occurs" / "It is likely" — It seems odd to me that he didn't say anything.
"It takes" + Infinitive — To get ready takes ten minutes. → It takes ten minutes to get ready.
"Identifying 'be'" — Rain is there. There is rain; Reciprocal Property (A + B = B + A)
It / This Reference — Gizmo developed a new app. It is amazing. Gizmo managed to develop a new app. This is amazing.
It Clefts (extraposition) — What he said was amazing. It was amazing what he said.
It / This
Former / Latter
Referring to an earlier or later mentioned topic
| REFERS TO A FORMER TOPIC |
|---|
We use it to refer to the main or the first mentioned topic of a discussion. The subject is usually a noun or noun phrase. |
| REFERS TO THE FORMER (FIRST) TOPIC |
AppleCar¹ wants to market its auto in the United States first. It is the first tech company to do so. |
AppleCar wants to market its auto in the United States first. It will be a limited release. (the car) |
AppleCar plans a new venture in which it will produce cars with its lithium-ion batteries. It will require a lot of capital. |
| THIS – REFERRING TO A LATTER TOPIC |
|---|
We use this or that to refer to a new topic, often the last thing mentioned. The reference could be a word, phrase or clause. |
| REFERS TO THE LATTER (LAST) TOPIC |
AppleCar wants to market its auto in the United States first. This will allow the product to be tested before introducing it to the international market. |
People hoping to own an AppleCar will need to put their names on the AppleCar wait list. This will be a fair distribution method. |
AppleCar plans a new venture in which it will produce cars with its patented technology. This has upset the auto industry. |
¹The AppleCar is fictional (not real). It is used above for the purpose of example.
topic (N) – a subject of conversation or discussion
capital (N) – money used to start a business
venture (N) – a new business activity that involves taking financial risks
patented (Adj) – a legal document that gives you the right to make or sell a new invention or product that no one else is allowed to copy
It / This
Backward / Forward
Referring backward or forward
| IT – REFERRING BACK |
|---|
We use it to refer to a topic that has already been mentioned |
| REFERS BACK TO THE SUBJECT |
Google will release Gaggle a social network for telling jokes. It will be released soon. |
The network has a lot of support among its users. It will be available in over 30 languages. |
| THIS – INTRODUCING AHEAD |
|---|
We can use this or that to introduce or prepare the listener or reader for a new topic, something we are about to mention. |
| EXPRESSES A SUBJECT |
This is the best idea ever! Google will start a social network for telling jokes called Gaggle. |
What do you think about this? Gaggle will be available in over 30 languages. |
This / That
Distancing
This vs. That – distancing
| THIS / THESE |
|---|
This expresses locational, temporal (time), emotional (importance) nearness. This often expresses a favorable attitude about something. This – singular; These – plural |
| NEAR LOCATION |
I have the estimate in my hand. This is what I need. |
| NEAR TIME |
This is the first time. The class is this week. I can attend this (the next) class. |
| NEAR MENTALLY OR EMOTIONALLY |
I really like this woman. favorable This idea is the best invention since sliced bread. |
| THAT / THOSE |
|---|
That expresses locational, temporal (time) or emotional distance. That may express an unwillingness to be associated with something. That – singular; Those – plural |
| FAR LOCATON |
You have the estimate in your hand. That is what I need. |
| FAR TIME |
That was the last time. I can't attend that class. "distancing" |
| FAR MENTALLY OR EMOTIONALLY |
President Clinton — "I did not have sex with that woman." distancing, unfavorable I have never met that guy. I want nothing to do with that guy. |
Also see Demonstratives.
Pop-Q Deictics and Adjusting Deictic Words
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
Here is the answer to your question.
|
This recipe sounds delicious. Will you please make me it. |
*There are four seats. I am saving my family them. |
I bought my friend it. Did you buy my friend it? I don't remember if I bought my friend it. We do not use an unstressed pronoun it after an indirect object. |
That who gets there first will win. (That only refers to inanimate things.) That which falls will be broken. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
Thanks for the answer. (Either use the full noun or change the wording so that It is in an unstressed position) As with *Buy me it → Buy it for me we tend not to use it in a stressed position. (The verb thank is a bit unusual because the "recipient" of the action you is the direct object and the "thing received" follows in a prepositional phrase.) See Buy vs. Thank and Indirect Objects. |
Will you please make it for me. |
I am saving them for my family. |
I bought my friend a sandwich. (Use the noun instead of the pronoun.) I bought it for my friend. (Indirect. obj. → prep. phrase) Did you buy it for my friend? |
The person who gets there first will win. / He who gets there first will win. Those who get there first will win. (Those can refer to animate or inanimate things.) |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
inanimate (Adj) – things items (non-living); animate (Adj) – living, people
Works Cited
- Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. "Demonstratives." The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Murphy, Raymond. "There…and it…." English Grammar in Use. 5th ed., Cambridge UP. 2019.
- Swan, Michael. "This / that and It: things that have just been mentioned." Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice
Major Blackout
Read the Context
The electrical network in the southwestern states was made to resist power outages. [It/This] was designed in the year 2000.
The electrical network in the southwestern states was designed to prevent one local malfunction from causing a blackout for millions of people. But [it/this] didn't prevent the exact event from happening Thursday in San Diego, parts of Arizona, and Mexico's Baja peninsula.
[It/This] started when a piece of equipment was switched off at a substation in Yuma, Arizona along the border with Mexico.
To make matters worse, the power fluctuation caused two reactors at the San Onofre nuclear power station to shut down. [It/This] cut off even more of San Diego's power supply. [It/This] happens whenever the computer system is trying to rebalance the load on the network
The chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric Company said it is possible that extreme heat in the region also may have caused some problems with the transmission lines. [It/This] is possible because the temperatures in these areas were above 100º F (38º C).
A professor of electrical engineering at Washington State University, agrees that if the system was at full capacity because of high usage, [it/this] could have contributed to the problem.
Whether it was human error or some malfunction of equipment, we don't know. Usually in these cases, [it/this] is a bit of both.
The power outage left over 5 million people in the dark. [It/This]was the largest one so far in the southwestern states.
In 1965, the Great Blackout in New York left over 30 million people in the dark. [It/This] is remembered because of its baby-boom nine months later!
baby-boom (N) – a sharp rise in the number of baby births
blackout (N) – a break-down of the electrical system causing loss of electricity (and lights).
capacity (N) – the amount a system can deal with or handle well
contribute to (VP) – add to; give to, make something happen
fluctuation (N) – a change or variation in the amount of something
malfunction (N) – a problem; a break-down
power outage (N) – a period of time when there is no electricity supply
prevent (V) – stop, avoid
transmission lines (NP) – electrical lines that carry the power
usage (N) – the using or consumption of something
Use It or This /That to refer back to something.
- Select the word from each list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your responses to the feedback by clicking the "Check" or "Check 1-10" button.