[Grammar] Struggling with it's and is

[Berni94]

Hello! I'm new and I was wondering If someone could clarify something for me about the usage of 'it is ' and 'is'. I generally use them correctly, but I'm struggling with some sentences:

'If there is something I know, (it is or is) that....'

'If someone can do this, (it is or is) ....'

'whatever he's planning, (it is or is) in that folder...'

When should I use 'it is' ? And when 'is' ? why?

Thank you !

 

[5jj]

Welcome to the forum, Berni. :hi:

I have underlined the subject of the verb 'is' to help make things clearer.

1. 'If there is something I know, it is that....'

2. 'If someone can do this, it is ....'

3. 'w Whatever he's planning, it is in that folder...'

4.'Whatever he's planning is in that folder...'

#3 means roughly Whatever thing he he planning, it (that thing) is in that folder.
#4, which I have added. means roughly: The thing [that he is planning][,whatever that thing may be,] is in that folder.

 

[Berni94]

Thank you for your reply !

But I'm still confused... I can't understand the difference between #3 and #4, they sound the same to me. That's why I don't really understand why I should use 'it is' in sentences #1 and #2.

I mean, why can't it be, 'if There is something I know is that....' for example? I don't really see the difference between both types of sentences (the one with 'it is' and the one with 'is'). I hope I'm making myself clear.

 

[BobSmith]

3. 'w Whatever he's planning, [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] is in that folder...'

4.'Whatever he's planning is in that folder...'

I think 5 means:

3. 'w Whatever he's planning, it is in that folder...' (underlined the IT)

Not sure if that helps you.

 

[Raymott]

Thank you for your reply !

But I'm still confused... I can't understand the difference between #3 and #4, they sound the same to me. That's why I don't really understand why I should use 'it is' with sentences #1 and #2.

Let's leave the difference between 3 and 4 until you understand 1.

1. 'If there is something I know, it is that....'
You must write the subject in English. This differs from Spanish where "Es ..." can mean "It is ..." This can't happen in English.
Looking at sentence 1. "If there is something [that] I know" is not a subject. It's a complete clause with its own subject and verb. So this leaves the next clause without a subject if you just write, "If there is something I know, is that....'" Usually (but not always), if you're Spanish and you have a clause with a verb "is" and no subject, the subject will be "It" (or sometimes 'that', or something else). But there must be a subject.

4. doesn't need it because "Whatever he's planning" can be the subject.
By the way, in #3, 5jj has crossed out 'it' instead of underlining. He might want to fix that because it could confuse you. "It" belongs in 3, but not 4.

 

[5jj]

Thanks to BobSmith and Raymott for pointing out my mistake. I am sorry if my carelessness confused you, Berni.

 

[Berni94]

Mr. 5jj, don't worry, it's okay ;-) In fact, I never noticed that you had crossed out "it", I thought you had underlined it. :up:

I think I'm beginning to understand. But why can't "Whatever he's planning" be a clause? There's a subject (he) and a verb (planning), right? and based on what I've understood, you can use both "it is" and "is" with the "whatever he's planning" sentence. Why is nº 3 so special?

Or did I just get confused again? :S :-|:-|:-|:?::?::?:

 

[Raymott]

Mr. 5jj, don't worry, it's okay ;-) In fact, I never noticed that you had crossed out "it", I thought you had underlined it. :up:

I think I'm beginning to understand. But why can't "Whatever he's planning" be a clause? There's a subject (he) and a verb (planning), right? and based on what I've understood, you can use both "it is" and "is" with the "whatever he's planning" sentence. Why is nº 3 so special?

Or did I just get confused again? :S :-|:-|:-|:?::?::?:

There's nothing special about these sentences. Study these and see if you tell why the phrase before 'es' in 4 can be the subject, while in 3, the last clause needs a subject,"it", which refers back to "lo que" in the first clause.

[Loose translations only, but sufficient for illustration.]
4. Lo que está planeando es (is) en esa carpeta.
(What he is planning is in this folder).

3a. Independientemente de lo que él está planeando, es (it is) en esa carpeta.</SPAN>
(Regardless of what he is planning, it is in this folder.

3b. No importa lo que él proyecta, es (it is) en esa carpeta.
(No matter what he's planning, it is in this folder)
</SPAN>
Can you detect any difference at all?

 

[Berni94]

Yes, I think I see the diference.

The thing is that sometimes I can't identify the subject of a clause because I 'think in spanish''. For instance, I thought the subject was 'he', but it's 'what'. So in the 'if there is something I know' sentence, the subject is 'something'?

What I noticed is that the first sentencie is an independent clause ( what he's planning is in that folder), but there is still something I don't understand. 'what he is planning' is a clause on its own, right? That's what I think. But somehow, using 'is' sounds better to me in this case. Usinf 'it' again sounds repetitive to me, but then again isn't 'what he is planning' a clause? Then the rest would need a subject too....

About 3a and 3b, I think these are dependent clauses. I mean, if you omit the 'it', the entire sentence doesn't make sense at all. I mean,

'regardless of what he's planning, is in that folder' -> that doesn't make sense to me.

But

'regardless of what he's planning, it's in that folder ' -> this sounds better to me.

Wait, I just noticed something else. The 'if there is something...' sentence is similar to the 'regardless of what he's planning sentence'. problem is that in the first sentence I keep thinking that the entire clause is the subject.

But at least I noticed some differences between the sentences I'm starting to understand.

 

[emsr2d2]

If you reverse the word order, it might help:

It is in the folder, whatever it is. (I'm sure you recognise that "Is in the folder, whatever it is" does not sound natural.)
The thing he is planning is in the folder, whatever it is he is planning!

When you looked at the examples that the others gave, did you notice that when a comma comes before the part you have a problem with, it was followed by "it is" and when there was no comma, it was followed by "is"?

What he is planning (no comma) is in the folder.
Whatever he is planning, it is in the folder.

What she said (no comma) must have been very rude.
Whatever she said, it must have been very rude.

 

[Berni94]

Hey that's right!! I hadn't noticed that before... thank you so much! :up::-D

But why does that happen? :?::?::?: I mean, why does the comma mark the difference between the "is" and "It is"?

And is this "comma rule" applicable to the "If there is something I know" sentence? I mean,....

1a. If there is something I know is that...
1b. If there is something I know, it is that...

Thank you!! ;-)

 

[5jj]

And is this "comma rule" applicable to the "If there is something I know" sentence? I mean,....

1a. If there is something I know is that...
1b. If there is something I know, it is that.

No. #1a is not possible. If you read back through the thread, you'll see why.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hey that's right!! I hadn't noticed that before... thank you so much! :up::-D

But why does that happen? :?::?::?: I mean, why does the comma mark the difference between the "is" and "It is"?

And is this "comma rule" applicable to the "If there is something I know" sentence? I mean,....

1a. If there is something I know is that...
1b. If there is something I know, it is that...

Thank you!! ;-)

As 5jj said 1a is not possible. There are two possibilities:

If there is something I know, it is that ...
The thing I know is that ...

Here are some more sentences for you to look at with "If" or "whatever" at the beginning:

If it's snowing outside, it is cold.
Whatever the weather, it will be a fun day.
If there is one film I like, it's Rain Man.
Whatever she eats, it is always made of chocolate.

 

[Berni94]

Thank you very much for all your help :up::up:, I read back through the thread- I understood the last examples , and I read the previous ones again. However, I think that "Understand" to me means "sounds natural", and I doubt I really understand the grammatical concepts. I think I see my problem now...

I can't really identify the subject!

1b. "If there is something I know", just that part. "Is" and "know" are the verbs, and the subject.... is... something or I? The fisrt time I saw this sentence, I thought that "something I know" was the subject. I say this because the "something I know" is what I'm talking about, despite the fact that there are "two" "parts": "something" and "I". Because in that case, "something I know", has a verb, which is "is".

I tried translating that part to spanish... "Si hay algo que yo sé"...and I can't identify the subject, even in this case. :-?:-?:-?:-(

Honestly, I think this specific sentence has caused me trouble, because I've understood all the other ones you have showed me. In fact, if I omit the "it", none of the examples you have used make sense to me at all! but the "if there is something I know" sentence is the one I can't seem to understand. :-? Well, that's partially true. Using the "it is" sounds more natural to me now, but I can't really understand the grammatical concept behind the "it is" as I said before. I normally just say what sounds okay to me.

And...

2.- "Whatever he's planning":.. I see the verbs "is" and "planning", and as for a subject, I see "whatever" and "he". Why is "whatever" the subject here...? What is "he's planning" then?

Why, in this case, can I use both "is" and "it is"?? Is it because of the clauses? I mean, can "Whatever he's planning" be both a complete and incomplete clause?

I know this is going to sound a bit funny, but :

"Whatever he's planning". Should the question be: "What or who is he planning?" or "what is being planned"? What happens to the "he" then?

I'm really sorry if I'm a bit slow... I tried reading my grammar books and the internet, but I can't find an answer.

 

[5jj]

1b. "If there is something I know", just that part. "Is" and "know" are the verbs, and the subject.... is... something or I?

Who or what knows? Is it 'I know X' or 'something knows X'?
Who or what is known? Is it ' X knows I (me)' or 'X knows something?'
Is it 'I know something' or 'something knows I (me)'?

Clearly it is 'I know something', and therefore 'I' is the grammatical subject of the verb 'know'.

2.- "Whatever he's planning":.. I see the verbs "is" and "planning", and as for a subject, I see "whatever" and "he". Why is "whatever" the subject here...? What is "he's planning" then?

Who or what is planning? He is planning. 'He' is the grammatical subject of 'is planning'.

'Whatever he is planning' has a finite verb (is planning), a subject (he) and a direct object (whatever). It is a clause.

Whatever he is planning (no comma) is in the folder.
What is the subject of the underlined verb is? It is the whole clause 'Whatever he is planning' (= The thing that he is planning [whatever that thing is])

Whatever he is planning, it is in the folder.
What is the subject of the underlined verb is? It is the pronoun 'it'. What does 'it refer to?
It refers to the thing/activity (that he is planning) [no matter what that thing is.]

 

[Berni94]

Thank you so much for helping me again :up:

1b. If 'I' is the subject and 'know' is its verb, then what is the 'If there is' part called ? Is it a conjunction ? (I tried looking on the internet ). Because there's still another verb, 'is'...

2. I understood now that 'whatever he's planning' is a clause, just like 'If there is something I know'. But what makes 'whatever he's planning' different from 'if there is something I know'? I really do understand that in the first case I can use the 'is' without a comma (in which case the clause becomes the subject) and 'it is' without the comma (and in that case I have two clauses). The same happens in other cases . For instance, 'whatever they're planning can't be good' vs 'whatever they're planning, it can't be good'. But this is not apliccable to the other sentence (If there is...) why does this happen? Is this because one uses 'whatever' and the other 'If there is' and If so why? :?:

Thank you so much for all your help and patience, these are my last questions., I've finally understood that both are clauses (to be honest I wasn't really sure what a clause was.... As bas as that sounds).

 

[5jj]

1b. If 'I' is the subject and 'know' is its verb, then what is the 'If there is' part called ? Is it a conjunction ? (I tried looking on the internet ). Because there's still another verb, 'is'...

1b. If there is something I know, it is that I am bored.

There are four finite verbs, and four subjects; there are four clauses.
1. If there is something
2, (that) I know
3. It is ...
4. that I am bored.

'If there is something' is a conditional clause. It notes the circumstances in which the situation noted in the main clause (it is ...) is possible.

 

[Berni94]

OH! I see now!!! that's why you all told me each subject needed a verb! :lol:

And I finally see why after the comma, I needed the "it" in the "If there is something I know" sentence. Because otherwise "is" has no subject as you said before...therefore, I need to use "It".



Whereas in the other sentence, "whatever he's planning", "he" has a finite verb, but "whatever" doesn't have any verb! So that's why I can use both "is" and "it is". That's why the entire clause can become the subject right?


Hum...I mean:

"Whatever he is planning", he has the verb "is planning", while whatever has no verb. Right?

I think I've finally understood these sentences. I knew I couldn't really understand them before because there was a subject (or many for that matter ... :lol that I wasn't identifying correctly.

Thank you everybody for all your patience!! I'm really grateful. I've been struggling with this specific sentence for a while now, and when I asked my teacher at school (she knows how I get when I don't understand something)... she just told me to memorize it, saying that it was "one simple sentence".


But then, I kept coming across many other sentences like the "If there is something I know" one! And I just couldn't understand why I needed to use "it".

Thank you!! :up::up::up::up: