Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Centro de Comunicao e Expresso Departamento de Lngua e Literatura Estrangeiras Cursos Extracurriculares de Idiomas Curso

de Lngua Inglesa Nvel: 5 Turmas: G / K Professor: Alison Roberto Gonalves; April 20th, 2012.1

Impersonal Subjects
(i) Gerund as a subject
Gerund subjects usually refer to an activity, in general (an unspecific one.) A gerund, ending in -ing is a reduced verb form not marked by tense or person. The focus is on the activity. Playing tennis is an excellent exercise. Using a computer saves a lot of time. Reading English newspapers is often difficult. I.(to tell) _____________________________ a joke always makes people relax. II.(to try) _____________________________ to make people laugh often doesn't work. III.(to fly) _____________________________ through a joke too quickly doesn't give listeners enough time to use their imaginations. IV.(to relate) _____________________________ the joke to the audience is essential. V.(to win) _____________________________ laughs from an audience is a rewarding feeling. VI.(to be) _____________________________ a good actor helps when telling a joke. VII.(to have) _____________________________ a good memory helps a lot too. VIII.(to make) _____________________________ people smile is priceless.
priceless (adj.) extremely valuable, no one can put a price on it

(ii) It as subject
Case 01: It is used as an empty subject for verbs that have no real subject. This usually concerns the time or the weather. Its 6.30. Its raining. It was hot. Its going to be 40 C. Case 02: It is also used as subject for say, to describe what is written; for take, to describe length of time; It says here we have to be there an hour before; It takes almost an hour to get there. Case: 03: It is subject in expressions like it doesnt matter, its no use, its a pity its a shame; It doesnt really matter; Its no use. I cant make it work; Its a pity you missed the movie. Its cold. It will soon be supper time.

Its a shame you didnt come to the party. Case 04: It is also used with verbs like seem, appear and look when the subject is an infinitive phrase, a phrase with a gerund in it or a clause. It seemed strange to see him there. It appears possible that the two companies may merge. It appeared unwise to offend him. It looks improper to behave like that.

01. Rewrite the following sentences. Make sure the new sentence begins with it. a) Downloading a movie takes a few minutes. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ b) To watch an old Charlie Chaplin movie is wonderful. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ c) Making people laugh in a silent film seems difficult. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ d) To do what he did takes a lot of talent. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ e) That some of his films have been lost is a pity. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ pity (n.) a loss, a disappointment (iii) There/ It as subjects There is used with the verbs be, seem, appear to introduce a statement about what exists or happens. Theres a shop at the end of the road. There seems/ appears to be a problem. Theres been a fire at school. There was nobody in the building at the time. Do not confuse with there meaning "location": There was a particularly funny joke (there = existence) _ A particularly funny joke was there (there = location). There is two-week old episode on television (there = existence) _ A two-week old episode is there, on television episode (n.) part of a television series in drama or comedy 01. Complete the sentences below with it or there. Remember: there + to be means existence. 1. ____________ is fun to watch a movie in the evening. 2. ____________ used to be hard to get into a theater or rent and return a movie on time. 3. Nowadays, ____________ are so many options for watching movies. 4. ____________ movies are available online. ____________ is a big convenience. 5. ____________ only takes a few minutes to download or "stream" a movie. 6. Also, ____________ is convenient to receive DVDs through the mail.. 7. ____________ is a website where you can select your choices. 8. ____________ is the best way to watch "hard to find" movies. used to be past routine or habit stream (v.) receive small amounts (bits) at a time; a flow, a current.