Quote:
Originally Posted by i0pepper  Hello, my students keep writing "It is happy to read interesting books," "It is happy to see my grandfather," etc. My co-worker from England says "happy" should be "fun" or "enjoyable," but we don't know why.
Could someone help us? How can we explain this to our students? |
Hi
Your co-worker is right. You cannot use the impersonal pronoun in this construction. "It" is used as an impersonal subject of the verb "be", especially to refer to time, distance, weather or in identity constructions.
e.g. It was a nice day yesterday.
It is 3 o`clock p.m.
It is a long distance to the nearest town.
This is my dog ;it[my dog] is happy now though it has been sick this morning.
For further details regarding the use of impersonal "it" see :
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=it
to be happy to see a person:
I am happy to see my grandfather, or
You / we/they are happy....
He/She/It is happy to see....
but [as your co-worker told you ] you can say :
It is fun/enjoyable to see somebody, etc.
She is full of fun./ I am full of fun etc. or,
A picnic would be fun.
Hope you understand the use of "it"
Best wishes,