it/ that

[wowenglish1]

I would like to know the meaning of "it" and "that'.

Sir Wilfred, perhaps, was still in my head.
So it was that at 5 .30am I dragged myself and my other half out of the warm, comfortable bed and set off 150 yards up the near -vertical expanse of sand

[Gillnetter]

I would like to know the meaning of "it" and "that'.

Sir Wilfred, perhaps, was still in my head.
So it was that at 5 .30am I dragged myself and my other half out of the warm, comfortable bed and set off 150 yards up the near -vertical expanse of sand

So it (the time of day) was that (when the event happened) at 5:30 AM...

[5jj]

So it (the time of day) was that (when the event happened) at 5:30 AM...

I don't agree.

'So it was that' is another way of saying 'so it came about that..', 'thus it happened that...'. Perhaps a more modern version of this sentence might be, "And that is why, at 5.30 am..."

[bhaisahab]

I don't agree.

'So it was that' is another way of saying 'so it came about that..', 'thus it happened that...'. Perhaps a more modern version of this sentence might be, "And that is why, at 5.30 am..."

I agree.