English grammar · Intermediate
Dummy It and There: Weather, Time, Distance, Existence
Dummy it and dummy there fill the subject slot when English needs a subject but the real information comes later. It covers weather, time, distance, cleft focus, and it plus adjective plus to (It's foggy. It's twenty past eight. It's six kilometres to the quarry. It's easy to miss the turning.). There introduces existence or presence (There's a rehearsal at seven.). Neither word points at a thing in those uses; both are empty subjects.
It's drizzling on the quay, and there's a spare reed in the case.
dummy it for weather, dummy there for existence
What it is
English likes a visible subject before the verb. When the real content is weather, a clock time, a distance, a focused piece of news, or the mere fact that something exists, the language still puts a word in that slot. It takes weather, time, distance, and several focusing patterns. There takes existence and presence. The two dummy subjects are not interchangeable: It's a rehearsal at seven is wrong if you mean one exists, and There's cold today is wrong if you mean the weather. The dedicated there is / there are page drills agreement (is vs are); this page teaches the pair of empty subjects and when each one is the right empty word.
It's half past six. There's a taxi on the rank. (Clock time takes it; existence takes there.) It was the stage manager who called. (Cleft it puts the stage manager in focus.)
How to spot it
Ask whether it or there points at something already named. If it does (Put it on the stand. Leave it there.), you have a real pronoun or a place adverb. If the sentence would collapse without a filler subject, and the real news is weather, a measurement, a focus, or existence, you have a dummy.
- It's muggy along the harbour wall. (dummy it for weather, no real noun as subject)
- It's a twenty-minute walk to the quarry. (dummy it for distance)
- There's a preview at eight. (dummy there introducing an event that exists)
- It was the cello that needed restringing. (cleft it focusing the instrument)
There as a dummy is unstressed. Stressed there means in that place: Put the scores there. Dummy it is also unstressed; stressed it is a real pronoun: I found the reed; it was cracked.
It and There as Dummy Subjects Quick Reference
Dummy it and dummy there at a glance
| Use | Dummy word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Weather and conditions | it | It's sleeting. It's too bright to read the score. |
| Clock time and dates | it | It's quarter to nine. It's Tuesday the twelfth. |
| Distance and duration | it | It's four kilometres. It takes forty minutes. |
| Existence and presence | there | There's a spare stand in the wings. |
| Cleft focus | it | It was Maya who locked the annex. |
| It + adjective + to-infinitive | it | It's hard to park by the quay. |
| It + adjective + that-clause | it | It's odd that the kiln is still cold. |
| Empty identifying it | it | It's a long way. It's a pity we missed the tide. |
Common It and There as Dummy Subjects Examples in English
Four jobs dummy it and dummy there actually do, so you can hear the empty subject rather than treating it and there as ordinary pronouns:
Weather, Time, and Distance
- It's drizzling on the harbour wall.
- weather: no noun for the rain to be subject
- It's twenty past eight, and the foyer is still locked.
- clock time takes it
- It's six kilometres to the quarry from the halt.
- distance measured from here
- It takes half an hour to tune the harp.
- duration: it takes plus time
English has no weather verb that can stand alone as a subject. The rain is falling is possible, but the default report is It's raining.
Existence with There
- There's a spare reed in the case.
- one countable noun after there is
- There are three taxis on the rank.
- plural noun: there are
- There isn't any glaze left in the tin.
- uncountable noun, negative
- Is there a later crossing after the rehearsal?
- question: is moves in front of there
The noun after be is the real subject for agreement. Details of is vs are live on the there is / there are page; here the point is that there, not it, opens an existence sentence.
Cleft It for Focus
- It was the cello that needed restringing, not the viola.
- it-cleft focusing the instrument
- It is Maya who keeps the spare key.
- present cleft focusing the person
- It was on the ferry that they first spoke.
- cleft focusing a place phrase
- It wasn't the weather that cancelled the preview; it was the power cut.
- negative cleft correcting a guess
A cleft splits one idea into two clauses so one piece sits in a highlighted slot. The full cleft toolkit is on the cleft sentences page; dummy it is the empty subject that makes the pattern possible.
It Plus Adjective Plus To or That
- It's easy to miss the turning after the viaduct.
- it + adjective + to-infinitive
- It's worth packing the scores the night before.
- it + worth + -ing
- It's unlikely that the kiln will fire before noon.
- it + adjective + that-clause
- It seems the stage door is bolted.
- it seems plus a clause, no that needed
The real content is the infinitive or the that-clause. Putting that content first (To miss the turning is easy) is grammatical but stiff; dummy it lets the sentence start light.
How Dummy It and Dummy There Work
Two empty subjects, two jobs, and a small set of patterns that recycle across tenses.
It Fills a Slot English Refuses to Leave Empty
Weather, clock time, and distance have no natural noun subject in English. Languages that omit subjects can say Rains. English cannot, so it stands in. The same filler appears in identifying comments (It's a shame, It's a long climb) where the real idea is the phrase after be.
It's sleeting, and it's already dark at four.
two dummy-it reports, weather then light
No real subject? Start with it.
There Introduces Something That Exists
Dummy there lets you name a thing after the verb instead of before it. The verb agrees with that later noun: there is a stand, there are two stands, there is milk. Questions invert: Is there a stand? The existence page covers some and any; the rule here is simply that existence chooses there, not it.
There's a rehearsal at seven. There are spare chairs in the gallery.
is with one event, are with plural chairs
Existence opens with there.
Do Not Swap the Two Dummies
Learners often import one filler and use it for both jobs. It's a taxi on the rank tries to use it for existence; There's cold today tries to use there for weather. Test by asking whether you are reporting a condition (it) or announcing that something is present (there).
It's chilly on the quay. There's a heater in the wings.
condition takes it; a present object takes there
Condition = it. Presence = there.
Cleft It Is Still Dummy It
It was the cello that needed restringing does not point to a previous it. The it is empty; be plus the focused phrase plus a that- or who-clause does the identifying. Tense sits on be: It is, It was, It will be. The that-clause keeps the original verb.
It will be the trustee who signs, not the secretary.
future cleft: will be plus the focused person
It + be + focus + that/who.
It Plus Adjective Lets the Heavy News Come Last
It's hard to park, It's odd that the kiln is cold, and It's worth waiting put an evaluation first and the content after. The adjective agrees with nothing; it is empty. A that-clause or a to-infinitive (sometimes an -ing after worth) carries the meaning.
It's surprising that the annex still has no lift.
evaluation first, that-clause with the fact
It + adj + to / that.
Common Mistakes with It and There as Dummy Subjects
Incorrect: It's a taxi on the rank.
Correct: There's a taxi on the rank.
You are announcing that a taxi exists or is present, so the dummy subject is there. It's a taxi identifies or characterises something already in view (What's that? It's a taxi.), which is a different job.
Incorrect: There's raining on the quay.
Correct: It's raining on the quay.
Weather takes dummy it. There needs a noun after be (There's rain on the quay is possible, treating rain as a present mass), but the -ing weather verb pairs with it.
Incorrect: It are three stands in the wings.
Correct: There are three stands in the wings.
Existence of a plural noun needs dummy there, and the verb agrees with the noun after be. Dummy it is always singular: it is, it was, it has been.
Incorrect: To park by the quay is hard it.
Correct: It's hard to park by the quay.
The natural English pattern puts dummy it first and the infinitive last. Leading with the infinitive is possible in a very formal style (To park by the quay is hard) but it does not take an extra it at the end.
It-Clefts and It Plus Adjective Plus To
Two patterns that keep dummy it busy beyond weather and the clock.
The it-cleft in brief
It + a form of be + the focused phrase + that/who + the rest of the original clause. Use it to correct, contrast, or delay the news.
- It was the power cut that stopped the kiln.
- focus on the cause
- It is on Fridays that the annex is locked early.
- focus on the time
- It wasn't me who stacked the chairs.
- negative cleft denying identity
You cannot drop that after a focused adverbial in careful style: It was yesterday that I found out. Full patterns live on the cleft sentences page.
It + adjective + to-infinitive
It + be + adjective + to + base verb. The infinitive names the action being evaluated. For worth, use -ing: It's worth packing early.
- It's difficult to hear the cello from the gallery.
- evaluation of an action
- It was kind of her to wait.
- of plus person plus to, past
- It's no use arguing with the timetable.
- no use plus -ing, a fixed pattern
Of plus a person (kind of her to wait) names who is responsible for the quality. For plus a person names who is affected: It's hard for us to park.
It seems, it appears, it turns out
A small set of reporting verbs take dummy it plus a clause. That is optional after seems and appears in speech.
- It seems the ferry is running on the later tide.
- it seems plus a clause
- It appears that the scores never left the annex.
- more formal, that kept
- It turns out Maya had the spare key all along.
- a discovery framed with dummy it
These are not clefts. There is no focused noun after be; the whole clause is the news.
Quick Check: It and There as Dummy Subjects
Choose it or there (plus the right form of be) for each gap.
1. ___ sleeting, so the path to the quarry is closed.
Answer: It's
weather takes dummy it
2. ___ a spare reed in the case if yours splits.
Answer: There's
existence of one countable noun
3. ___ six kilometres from the halt to the kiln.
Answer: It's
distance takes dummy it
4. ___ the trustee who has to sign, not the secretary.
Answer: It's / It is
cleft it focusing the person
5. ___ any later boats after the rehearsal?
Answer: Are there
existence question, plural boats
6. ___ worth packing the scores tonight.
Answer: It's
it + worth + -ing
It and There as Dummy Subjects FAQs
- When do you use dummy it and dummy there in English?
- Use dummy it for weather, clock time, distance, duration, cleft focus, and evaluations such as It's hard to park. Use dummy there to say that something exists or is present: There's a rehearsal at seven. The two words fill the same grammatical slot, the empty subject, but they do different jobs. If you can count the thing you are introducing, you almost certainly want there.
- Why do we say It's raining instead of Raining is?
- English requires a subject before a finite verb, and rain as a weather event has no natural noun sitting in that slot. Dummy it supplies one. You can make rain the subject if you treat it as a substance (Rain is falling on the quay), but the default spoken report is It's raining. The same filler covers It's cold, It's late, and It's a long walk.
- What is the difference between It's a taxi and There's a taxi?
- It's a taxi identifies or describes something you can already see or have just mentioned: What's that light? It's a taxi. There's a taxi announces that a taxi exists or is present, often as new information: There's a taxi on the rank if you want one. Identification leans to it; first-mention existence leans to there.
- Is the it in It was Maya who called the same as dummy it?
- Yes. In an it-cleft, it does not refer back to a previous noun. It is an empty subject, be introduces the focused phrase, and a that- or who-clause carries the rest: It was Maya who called. The cleft page shows the full set of patterns, including focus on times and places: It was on the ferry that they first spoke.
- Do dummy it and dummy there change in the past and future?
- The dummy word stays the same; only be (or take, seem, and a few other verbs) changes. It was foggy, there were three taxis, and there will be a preview on Friday. Questions still invert the first auxiliary (Was it foggy? Will there be a preview?), and dummy it remains singular in every tense.