There vs It

1. The Core Difference

Existential “There”

We use existential there to say that something exists or appears.
It introduces new information.

Examples:

• “There is a problem.”
• “There were many people at the event.”
• “There seems to be a mistake.”

Locative “There”

Locative (or deictic) there points to a place and means “in/at that place.” It is not the introductory there used to express existence.

• “Put the box there.”
• “My book is there, next to the lamp.”

It

We use it to talk about:

• something already known
• time
• weather
• distance
• situations or facts

Examples:

• “It is raining.”
• “It was expensive.”
• “It is difficult to understand.”

2. Essential Recap

Use there to introduce a new person, thing, or situation: There is a cat outside. Then use it to refer to that known thing: It looks hungry.

Use dummy it for weather, time, distance, and general situations:

• It is raining.
• It is 8 o’clock.
• It’s 10 kilometres to the airport.
• It is difficult to understand.

At B2, the important question is not only “Does something exist?” but also whether you are introducing a new, usually indefinite referent. We normally say There is a problem or There are several options, not There is the problem, because the problem is already identifiable to the listener. Use it or the noun itself when the referent is already known: The problem is serious. It needs attention.

The fuller pattern is there + be + quantifier/determiner + noun phrase + optional place/time expression: There were several delays at the airport yesterday.

3. Introductory “It”

We often use it before:

• infinitives
• clauses

This structure sounds more natural and balanced.

3.1 It + be + adjective + infinitive

Examples:

• “It is important to study.”
• “It was difficult to understand him.”
• “It is nice to meet you.”

3.2 It + be + adjective + that-clause

Examples:

• “It is obvious that she is upset.”
• “It is surprising that nobody complained.”

3.3 Anticipatory object it

We can also use it as an object before a clause or infinitive. This makes a long object easier to process.

Verb	Pattern	Example
find	find it + adjective + to + verb	We found it difficult to park near the station.
make	make it + adjective + to + verb	The new map makes it easier to find the museum.
consider	consider it + adjective + that-clause	They consider it unlikely that the plan will fail.

3.4 Cleft sentences with “it”

At B2 level, we can use an it-cleft to focus attention on one part of a sentence.

Structure: it + be + focused information + who/that + rest of sentence

Compare:

• Neutral: “John found the keys.”
• Focus on the person: “It was John who found the keys.”
• Focus on the time: “It was yesterday that John found the keys.”

We also use It wasn’t until...that... to emphasize that something happened later than expected:

• “It wasn’t until later that we understood the problem.”
• “It wasn’t until midnight that they arrived.”

In these sentences, it does not refer back to a noun. It helps bring the focused person, thing, or time to the front.

4. Useful Contrast Pairs and Edge Cases

Use there + be to introduce someone or something. Once the listener knows what you mean, use it to identify or describe it.

Introduction with existential “there”	Identification or description with “it”
“There is a man at the door.”	“It’s the postman.”
“There is something wrong with the printer.”	“It’s broken.”
“There was a loud bang outside.”	“It was thunder.”
“There is a good restaurant near here.”	“It’s an excellent place for lunch.”

The sentence “There is a man at the door” does not identify the man; it introduces him. “It’s the postman” then identifies who he is.

Remember the double use in “There is a book there”: existential there introduces the book, while locative there points to its position.

It-clefts and pseudo-clefts

Both structures can emphasise one part of a message, but they have different forms.

Structure	Pattern	Example
it-cleft	It + be + focus + who/that + clause	It was Maya who solved the problem.
pseudo-cleft	What-clause + be + focus	What Maya solved was the problem.

There cannot be clefted in this way. Do not say There was Maya who solved the problem. Use an it-cleft instead: It was Maya who solved the problem.

5. Advanced “There” Structures

Existential there can use more than be. The usual frame is:

there + verb phrase + noun phrase + optional place/time expression

The noun phrase still introduces new information.

Structure	Example
modal / perfect verb phrase	There must have been a mistake in the timetable.
likely + infinitive	There is likely to be heavy traffic this evening.
remain	There remains one important question.
arise (formal/literary)	There arose a difficulty during the meeting.
seem / appear	There seems to be a misunderstanding.
used to	There used to be a cinema here.

We also use existential there in non-finite structures:

• There is no point in waiting.
• There is no use in complaining.
• Despite there being very little time, we finished the report.

Agreement and question tags

In careful writing, make be agree with the following noun phrase: There is one reason / There are two reasons. In informal speech, many speakers use singular there’s before plural nouns: There’s two reasons, but avoid this in formal writing.

With existential there, use there in the question tag:

• There is a problem, isn’t there?
• There were several delays, weren’t there?

6. Easy Way to Remember

• there → introduces a new, usually indefinite referent or situation
• locative there → points to a place
• it → refers to something known or describes situations
• an it-cleft → focuses a person, thing, or time: “It was John who...”
• a pseudo-cleft → uses a what-clause to focus information

Ask yourself:
“Am I introducing something new?”
→ use there
“Am I describing or referring to something?”
→ use it