impersonal "it" n introductory "there"

C. IMPERSONAL “IT” AND INTRODUCTORY “THERE”
1. IMPERSONAL “IT”
http://esl.about.com/od/grammaradvanced/a/g_impersonal.htm
Compare these two sentences:
Studying English is sometimes boring. and It is sometimes boring to study English.
Both of the sentences are used to make general statements about an activity - studying English. Here is an overview of the two forms:
gerund + object + 'to be' conjugated (berubah disesuaikan subject, tense dllnya) + (adverb of frequency) + adjective
Examples:

Playing tennis is excellent exercise.
Reading English newspapers is often difficult.
It + 'to be' conjugated + (adverb of frequency) + adjective + infinitive
Examples:
It is sometimes exciting to walk in the pouring rain.
It was strange to say that Russian is easier than English.
Two Exceptions
The phrases 'It is worth' and 'It is no use' take the gerund NOT the infinitive form.
It is worth / It is no use + gerund + object
Examples:
It is worth driving to the lake to have a look around.
It is no use studying for this exam.
Quiz
Change the sentences from the original to the other similar structure.
Example:
It is sometimes easy to forget your cell phone number.
ANSWER:
Forgetting your cell phone number is sometimes easy.
DO AS THE ABOVE EXAMPLES (ASSIGNMENT 3)
1. Playing chess requires great concentration.
2. It is not easy to learn Chinese.
3. It is difficult to understand the motives of many politicians.
4. Interviewing applicants is often stressful and unrewarding.
5. Speaking English is always useful when travelling abroad.
6. It is never simple to move abroad.
7. Thinking about danger is often illogical.
8. It has been difficult to accept his death.
9. Flying to Africa will be great fun.
10. Working hard for so many years has been tiring for them.



2. INTRODUCTORY THERE
http://www.englishpractice.com/improve/introductory/
There is
A sentence that starts with There is is intended for singular subjects and therefore, you should also use the corresponding verb that agrees with its subject.
There are
Same as a sentence that starts with There are. It is used for plural subjects and therefore, its verb also must agree with the subject .
However, I’ve seen a lot of writings where the writer didn’t seem to follow that basic rule. And I guess there might be a lot of her/his kind that uses the same thing as well. If that happens, then there are a lot of people that needs to study simple rules in grammar first
The structure there + to be is very commonly used to say that something exists. There is normally an adverb of place. But the introductory there does not have any adverbial sense and is merely used to introduce the sentence.
There are many stars in the sky.
This sentence can also be written as ‘Many stars are in the sky’.
But normally the form with there is preferred, though the real subject is many stars.
There is some water in the bottle. (More natural than Water is in the bottle.)
There is a hole in my socks. (More natural than A hole is in my socks.)
There is a bridge over the river.
There were few very accidents last year.
There is no way out.
There have been many such incidents.
There are some people waiting outside.
There is something wrong with him.
There is no point in talking about it again.
There is no going back on it.
There is no denying the fact that she stole the money.

Notes
Note that we use there are with plural subjects and there is with singular subjects. However, in informal speech there is is also common before plural subjects.
There is some grapes in the fridge. (Informal)
There are some grapes in the fridge. (Formal)
There can be used in this way with all the tenses of be.
Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess.
There will be somebody at home.
There has never been anybody like you.
After there is, the structure no + gerund can be used to indicate impossibility.
There is no knowing what she did with the money. = It is impossible to know what she did with the money.
There is no denying the fact that she stole the money. = It is impossible to deny the fact that she stole the money.
There is no knowing what will happen. = It is impossible to know what will happen.
Note that the expressions ‘There is no question of denying the fact …’, ‘There is no question of satisfying …’ etc., are incorrect in standard English and should be avoided.
The introductory there can also be used with intransitive verbs.
There came a knock at the door.
There seems to be a problem.
There happened to be no one near by to help her.
There grew a warm relationship between them.
Note that we do not normally use there in sentences with a definite subject (e.g. a noun with a definite article or a proper name).
Alice was at the club. (NOT There was Alice at the club.)
The boy was playing with his toys. (NOT There was the boy playing with his toys.)

There as an introductory subject
THERE AS AN INTRODUCTORY SUBJECT (http://www.englishgrammar.org/introductory-subject/)
In English the most common way of indicating existence is by using the structure there + to be. Though there is an adverb of place the introductory there has no adverbial sense. It is merely used to introduce the sentence.
Consider the sentence ‘There are two men in the room’. This sentence may also be written as ‘Two men are in the room’.
Normally the first form is preferred, though the subject is ‘two men’.
More examples are given below.
There is a bridge over the river.
There is a way out.
There is no such thing.
There is no denying the fact that she did it.
There is no knowing when he will return.
In the last two sentences we use a peculiar structure after there + be –– no + gerund which shows impossibility.
There is no denying the fact that she did it. = It is impossible to deny the fact that she did it.
There is no knowing when he will return. = It is impossible to know when he will return.
Notes
The sentence ‘There is no question of going back on it’ is not correct in standard English. But you can say, ‘Going back on it is out of question’.
Introductory there can also be used with some intransitive verbs.
There arose a dispute about the ownership of the property.
There grew a strange relationship between them.
Sometimes the introductory there is used with an intransitive verb + to be.
There seems to be some misunderstanding between them.
Based on http://www.englishgrammar.org/introductory
In English, existence is usually indicated by the structure there + to be. There is actually an adverb of place, but the introductory there has no adverbial sense. It is merely used to introduce the sentence.
There are two people in the room. (More natural than ‘Two people are in the room’.)
There is a bridge over the river.
There have been many such rumors.
There is a hole in my tights.
There was a lot of noise in the street.
There is no denying the fact that he stole the watch.
Note that in the last sentence we use a peculiar structure – no + gerund, which indicates impossibility.
There is no denying…= It is impossible to deny…
With plural subjects we use there are.
There were many accidents last year.
Note that there is is also common before plural subjects in informal speech.
There is some apples in the fridge. OR There are some apples in the fridge.
Introductory there can also be used with some intransitive verbs.
There seems to be a problem.
There came a knock at the door.
There happened to be no on near to save the boy.
There grew a warm friendship between the two.
There spread a rumor that he had been killed.
Note that introductory there is not used in a sentence if there is a definite subject.
John was at the party. (NOT There was John at the party.)

THERE IS AND THERE ARE (http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/2007/03/there-is-and-there-are.html)
There is/are is one of those grammatical areas which at first sight looks simple – after all, it’s one of the first structures that we teach to beginner level students. But is it as straightforward as it seems? Look at the following sentences. Are they correct or incorrect? And how would you explain them to students?
a) There’s a squirrel in the tree.
b) There’s the squirrel in the tree.
c) There’s the man I was telling you about.
d) There’s John!
e) There’s John in the tree.
f) There’s a letter and two messages for you.
g) There are a letter and two messages for you.
h) There are two messages and a letter for you.
i) There are a load of messages for you.
j) There’s a load of messages for you.
k) There are a lot of messages for you.
l) There’s a lot of messages for you.
m) There’s two messages for you.
Confused? You can probably recognise some of the mistakes made by your students in these examples. Yet there is often another sentence which seems structurally parallel which is correct. What text books often forget to point out, is that there are actually two separate constructions which begin there is/are, each of which has it's own grammar and intonation. These constructions are :
Introductory There
In English it is unusual to use an indefinite expression as the subject of a sentence. Sentences like A squirrel is in the tree or A bus is coming are possible grammaticallly, but are generally avoided. Instead, the "empty" introductory subject There is inserted: There's a squirrel in the tree. There's someone coming. There must be some mistake. There can't have been enough time
As these examples show There can be used like this with any verb pattern which would otherwise have an indefinite subject and which contains the verb Be. It can even be used in infinitive and -ing clauses: I don't want there to be any mistakes. He was surprised at there being so many possibilities.
Back to our much simpler examples. The indefinite subject requirement explains why There’s the squirrel in the tree, There’s John in the garden, and There are your keys on the table, sound strange – at least, if they’re said with the same intonation as There’s a squirrel in the garden. The, John and your are definite expressions – they tell us which particular object or person we are talking about. So it doesn’t work. Definite expressions can act as subject with no problems and I would need to say John is in the garden, Your keys are on the table etc.
In this use, as we said before there is an "empty subject. It has no real meaning, and is always unstressed in the sentence. It certainly tells us nothing about the position of the objects. This is why the clause often finishes with an adverbial of place (unless this is already known from the context) : There’s a squirrel in the tree There are some messages on your desk. If we want to indicate that the place is “over there”, we need to say so again : I went to the zoo and there were some people there feeding the monkeys …
Notice that with this use the verb generally agrees with the first part of the complement. So :
There’s a letter and two messages for you is correct, as is There are two messages and a letter for you. But There are a letter and two messages … is incorrect.
What about There’s two messages for you ? Grammatically of course this is illogical. But the use of the singular is preceding a plural complement is common in informal spoken English. It’s not restricted to There is … constructions. Compare for example the greeting How’s things?
And what about There is/are a load of messages for you? or There is /are a lot of messages for you Here the following complement is clearly singular - a lot / a load – and so the singular verb is would seem to be correct. But notionally these expressions indicate a plural quantity – we know there is more than one message. With a lot of the notional meaning has almost taken over from the literal meaning and the phrase has become lexicalised as an alternative expression to many. There are a lot of messages for you is thus standard English.
Demonstrative There
But what about Look! There’s John! or Look! There’s the squirrel? In these examples, the speaker is pointing out someone or something. There is no longer an empty subject but an adverbial of place - it signifies an exact position. If that position was different I might have to use here rather than there: Here's John!
This means that There, far from acting as subject is actually the complement of the sentence - what I'm really saying is John is (over) there. "Fronting" the adverbial gives the sentence a more dramatic feeling - the adverbial is given prominence (it is always stressed) and, if the subject is a noun, the subject and verb are inverted: There's John = CVS. Notice that this doesn't happen when the subject is a pronoun: There he is! = CSV
This can also happen with other adverbials (we've already mentioned here) and with other verbs:
There goes John! Up went the sails!
As this is a demonstrative use, in this case it might well be a specific person or thing which I'm talking about. So a definite expression - a name, the definite article and so on -is possible : There’s the man who I was telling you about.
What happens if I want to tag on a more precise description of where the person/thing is? There's nothing to stop me, but the important thing to note is that it is "tagged on". It's no longer part of the same idea: There’s John! In the tree! There are your keys! On the table! In spoken English the intonation makes this difference clear. Compare the one tone group of : // There’s a SQUIrrel in the 'tree // and the two tone groups of : // ' There’s the SQUIrrel // in the TREE //
These rules are fairly complex, and we won't necessarily want to rush straight into the classroom to present them. But contrasting them with the rules for equivalent expressions in other languages can help us both to understand students' mistakes and to decide if and when it might be helpful for them to know at least part of the rules. Knowing that introductory there is restricted to indefinite reference, for example, can help Italian students, whose own language often uses the equivalent structure (c'è/ci sono) with definite expressions.
It can also help to separate out the two uses of there. The demonstrative use is rarely taught explicitly in textbooks, but can be explained as it comes up in dialogues and then practised using flashcards. Distribute flashcards of various objects around the room, placing some in front of the students. Start asking : Where are my (glasses)? The students pick up or point to the correct flashcard and reply here/There are your glasses. Once they have the idea the activity can continue as pairwork.
INTRODUCTORY
INTRODUCTORY (IT, THERE)
Sebuah kata yang bila digunakan dalam kalimat, tidak mempengaruhi makna kalimat tersebut karena maknanya sudah dikandung oleh unsur kalimat yang lain.
Introductory it dapat juga berfungsi sebagai kata ganti.
It dapat digunakan sebagai subject maupun object
Today is hot It is hot today
EXPRESSING WEATHER
Yesterday was cloudy
It was cloudy yesterday Summer is not rainy
It is not rainy in summer
Today is Sunday
It is Sunday today
Expressing time
Yesterday was Saturday
It was Saturday yesterday
Today is 25th today
It is 25th today tahun
That was 10 o’clock
It was 10’clock
(Subject) It How far is the station to your
How far is it to your home home
(indicating distance)
It is about 24 km
My house is far away from here
Is it far from here Is the mosque far from here
It is not easy to do the test
(menjelaskan to infinitive)
To do the test is not easy
It is very interesting to study
To study Math is very interesting Math
(kondisi)
To meet you again will be nice
It will be nice to meet you again
Mempertegas/menjelaskan to infinitive
She said it difficult to translate the article
They make it easy to understand the lesson
(Object kondisi)
I think, it is a wasting time to wait the bus Andi is in the class
There is some one in the class
(Sesuai dengan benda)
One car is parking lot
There is a car in the parking lot
(yang ditunjukkan)
Flowers are in the garden
There are flowers in the garden
To be There Ani and Mia were in the club
There were two girls in the club
(Sesuai dengan tense/ada)
Father was in the taxi
There was a man in the taxi
(terdapat)
Animals were in the zoo
There were animals in the zoo
(digunakan sebagai kata ganti tempat)
I saw him there (posisinya)
There, they found a wallet
(Pronoun diletakkan di belakang)
She goes there everyday
We want you to go there


They're vs. There vs. Their (http://esl.about.com/od/grammarintermediate/a/cm_there.htm)
They're is the contracted form of They are. This form is used in sentences using "they" as the subject of the sentence with the verb "to be" used as either the helping verb (e.g. They're going ..., They're playing ...) or the principal verb of the sentence.
Examples:
They're working hard this week.
They're very interested in helping out.
There is used as an introductory subject is sentences with "There is" and "There are". It is also used as an adverb of place meaning "in that place".
Examples:
There are many people in that room.
That's my house over there.
Their is the possessive pronoun form. This form is used to express that "they" have a specific quality, or that something belongs to "them".
Examples:
Their house is in Los Angeles.
He liked their looks!
Do you understand the rules? Test your knowledge with this they're vs. their vs. there
They're vs. There vs.
Choose whether they're, there or their is correct. Each question has only one correct answer. When you are finished click on the "Next Question" button. There are 10 questions to this quiz. Try to use only 30 seconds per question.
(ASSIGNMENT 3)
1. _____ is plenty for everyone!
They're
Their
There
2. I went to _____ party last weekend. It was a lot of fun.
they're
their
there
3. I think _____ in Paris this month.
they're
their
there
4. How often have you visited _____ home?
they're
their
there

5. Sometimes _____ things that have to be done whether you want or not.
they're
their
there
6. I think our guests have outstayed _____ welcome!
they're
their
there

7. That's my bank over _____.
they're
their
there
8. I'd like _____ to be more time to complete this quiz!
they're
their
there

9. _____ coming over for coffee this afternoon. Would you like to join us?
They're
Their
There
10. I told my colleagues to invite _____ friends to the opening.
they're
their
there