I want to go to London. It is ten miles form here.
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Does 'it' refer to 'London'? Or does it refer to 'the distance' used as an impersonal pronoun?
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How far is it from here to the station?
(Here 'it' is an impersonal pronoun referring to the distance, right?) •English - Writeacher, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:50am
Yes, "it" refers to London in that sentence.
•English - rfvv, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:57am
I want to go to London. It is ten miles from here. (Thank you.)
•English - Writeacher, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 8:11am
Yes, right!!
=)
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2. I want to go to London. It is ten miles away.
3. It is ten miles away.
(#2 has a context. So it refers to 'London.' Am I right? Maybe does 'it' refer to the distance in #2? Or 'it' refers either 'London' or 'the distance'? What about this opinion. In #3, there is no context. It is only one sentence. So in this case, 'It' refers to 'The distance.' Is that right?)
In #2, "It" has to refer to a place. Maybe the place was named in the previous sentence, but it cannot just be vague and impersonal when the reference is to a specific distance like this.
What about #3? When there is no previous sentence, it cannot refer to a place, can it?
Whether the place is named in THIS sentence or not, "it" still refers to a place.
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London is 344 km from Paris.
London is the capital of England.
It is 344 km from Paris.
In the sentence "I want to go to London. It is ten miles away," the word "it" can refer to either "London" or "the distance." The context of the sentence can help determine the meaning.
In sentence #2, where there is context, "it" most likely refers to "London." This is because the previous sentence states the desire to go to London, so "it" refers back to the mentioned city.
In sentence #3, where there is no context, "it" is an impersonal pronoun that refers to "the distance." This is because there is no specific noun mentioned before "it," so it is more likely to refer to the distance mentioned in the sentence.
It's important to note that without further context or explicit clarification, the meaning of "it" in a sentence can sometimes be open to interpretation.