What does “it” mean?
- 1
pronounused for a thing, animal or situation already mentioned
I bought a new phone, and it works great.
- 2
pronounused as an empty subject for time, weather or distance
It’s raining again.
It at a glance
- Part of speech
- pronoun
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ɪt/ · IT
How to use “it” correctly
English sentences need a subject, so use “it” for weather and time: “It’s cold”, not “Is cold”.
“it” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- anything pronounA1any thing; used in questions and negative sentences
- everything pronounA1all things, or all the things in a situation
- he pronounA1used to talk about a man, boy or male animal already mentioned
- her pronounA1used for a woman or girl as the object of a verb or preposition
- him pronounA1used for a man or boy as the object of a verb or preposition
- I pronounA1used by the speaker or writer to talk about themselves as the subject
- me pronounA1used by the speaker to refer to himself or herself as the object of a verb or preposition
- nothing pronounA1not anything