The sentence

C. ‘It’ and ‘one/some/any/none’
‘It’ as in ‘It’s hot’ and ‘It’s nice to see you’
1. ‘empty subject’: ‘It’s hot’
It carries no information in sentences like It’s hot, It’s 8 o’clock, etc. so we call it an
‘empty subject’. We use it because a sentence must have a subject. (Not *Is hot*)
2. ‘preparatory subject’: ‘It’s nice to see you’
We sometimes begin a sentence with it and continue with to-, -ing or that.
The true subject is to-, ing, or that, but we generally prefer to begin with it:
To lie in the sun/Lying in the sun is pleasant. →It’s pleasure to lie/lying in the sun.
That he’s arriving today is certain. →It’s certain (that) he’s arriving today.
‘It’ and ‘one’ as subjects and objects: ‘I like it’
1. We use it and they if we are referring to ‘something particular’:
Has the letter arrived this morning? –Yes, it has just arrived.
Have the letters arrived this morning? –Yes, they have just arrived.
2. We use one, some and none when we mean ‘in general’:
Has a letter arrived? –Yes, one has just arrived.
Have any letters arrived? –Yes, some have arrived. No, none have/has arrived.
3. We must use an object after verbs like enjoy and like:
particular: Do you like this cake? –Yes, I like it. (Not *I like/don’t like*)
general: Would you like some cake? –Yes, I’d like some./No, I don’t want any.(Not *I’d
like/I wouldn’t like*)
‘I hope/believe/expect so’
1. We use so (not *it*) after these verbs when we are responding in the affirmative:
believe, expect, fear, guess, hope, imagine, say, suppose, tell someone and think:
Is what you told me true? – I believe so. (Not *believe* *I believe it*)
2. We use so in the affirmative after I’m afraid and It seems:
The weather changing for the worse. – I’m afraid so. It seems so.
3. We can make a negative in two ways after these verbs:
believe, expect, imagine, suppose, think and It seems:
Is that true? – I don’t think so. Or: I think not.
D. Possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns (‘my/mine’)
Basic difference between ‘my’ and ‘mine’, etc.
1. My, your, his, her, its, one’s, our, your and their are possessive adjective. The means
they must go in front of nouns: He’s my son. It’s your house. etc.
2. They refer to the possessor, not to the thing possessed:
John amused his daughter. (= his own) John amused her daughter. (= someone else’s)
Jane amused her son. (= her own) Jane amused his son. (= someone else’s)
Its refers to possession by an animal or thing: The cat drank its milk.
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