Talk:it
Early misc
I left what's at the beginning of the page, although I don't think it says a lot...
How does it mean sexual intercourse???
The only thing I can think of is a phrase like this:
Let's do it.
But it's simply a pronoun replacing a noun. It doesn't mean all of a sudden it gets that meaning.
— This unsigned comment was added by Polyglot (talk • contribs) at 22:09, 19 May 2003 (UTC).
- I've removed the first part of the article. The number of meanings might as well be a number pulled out of the air like "Heinz 57 varieties". That never really represented 57 varieties, but it sounded good so the company adopted it as a slogan. "It" as sexual intercourse i8s also meaningless. This usage is really as a general purpose euphemism for anything that may be slightly naughty or forbidden. Eclecticology 01:57 May 20, 2003 (UTC)!
It as noun
In my schooldays, we played a game called "it", which is tag. --Umbrella 08:10, 12 August 2007 (UTC)
İngiliscə — Azərbaycanca?
Is there anything useful that could be gleaned from this revision by an anonymous user? † ﴾(u):Raifʻhār (t):Doremítzwr﴿ 15:06, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
- He’s saying that o is an Azeri pronoun for he/she/it/that, and bu is an Azeri pronoun for this/it. —Stephen 16:44, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
- So that information belongs in a translation section, oui? † ﴾(u):Raifʻhār (t):Doremítzwr﴿ 16:55, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
- Is that what was meant? † ﴾(u):Raifʻhār (t):Doremítzwr﴿ 18:13, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
- Azeri is highly inflected, so there are limited uses for nominative singular o. —Stephen 18:46, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
- OK. Please check əvəzlik, too. Thanks. † ﴾(u):Raifʻhār (t):Doremítzwr﴿ 19:28, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
It girl
It girl should be added to derived terms.--TonyTheTiger 00:46, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
RFV discussion
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"(British) IT (used by schoolchildren). What have we got next? Art, then it." A joke? Equinox ◑ 18:17, 15 November 2010 (UTC)
- I'd just remove it to be honest. Perhaps
{{form of|nonstandard form of|IT}}, but why even bother? Mglovesfun (talk) 12:33, 17 November 2010 (UTC)
RFV failed, sense removed. —RuakhTALK 21:41, 11 January 2011 (UTC)
be it
What meaning is used in They had many national flags but the flag we’re banning was never it --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:51, 29 November 2019 (UTC)
- "It" = "the national flag". Looks like sense 1 to me. —Granger (talk · contribs) 00:34, 30 November 2019 (UTC)
- @Mx. Granger: it = one of them? --Backinstadiums (talk) 16:31, 30 November 2019 (UTC)
this is it
IT: In referring to a critical event that has finally happened or is about to happen: Suddenly the lights went out, and we thought, this is it! Random House Learner's Dictionary
--Backinstadiums (talk) 10:54, 6 March 2020 (UTC)
have a lean time of it
What meaning is used in have a lean time of it ? --Backinstadiums (talk) 15:10, 4 June 2020 (UTC)
- Compare have an easy time of it, and several similar phrases listed at time#Related terms. Maybe there's a fixed structure have a(n) ______ time of it. Not sure how we should cover that. —Granger (talk · contribs) 16:21, 4 June 2020 (UTC)
An animal that has been neutered
The cat is an it. --Backinstadiums (talk) 09:20, 29 July 2020 (UTC)
- This is roughly noun sense 1, "One who is neither a he nor a she; a creature; a dehumanized being." (That, in turn, has some overlap with the derogatory "transgender" pronoun sense. The wording of both could be improved: the pronoun to add some of the explanation the noun sense has, and the noun to perhaps add something like "depersonalized"...) - -sche (discuss) 00:46, 2 August 2020 (UTC)
What time does it say on that clock?
What meaning is used in What time does it say on that clock? --Backinstadiums (talk) 15:20, 19 August 2020 (UTC)
Use for a generic human referent
- 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando, chapter 5:
- All these things inclined her, step by step, to submit to the new discovery, whether Queen Victoria's or another's, that each man and each woman has another allotted to it for life, whom it supports, by whom it is supported, till death them do part.
Is this usage covered by any of the senses currently in the article? I don't think it is. —Granger (talk · contribs) 22:41, 2 December 2021 (UTC)
- Very unusual. I don't think I've ever seen that before (excluding one person on Reddit who wanted their pronoun to be "it", and kicked off a big genderstorm). But we already have human senses for specific contexts (the baby or child; the telephone call; etc.) so maybe we should just broaden it and say it can be human but isn't normal. Equinox ◑ 22:52, 2 December 2021 (UTC)
"it" in tag only?
Is saying "you're it" and the like specifically restricted to the game of tag? Or does it also work for other games? Like hide and seek for example. Or say that football/soccer game where one player is in the middle and has to touch the ball. 90.186.72.65 10:26, 26 May 2023 (UTC)
Usage note: question tags & people
Used in question tags to refer to indefinite pronouns like nothing, anything, everything: Nothing happened, did it?
Also to identify a person: Who's that over there? ~ It's my sis; Somebody wanted a drink, didn't they? Who was it?
Usage note: vs this/that
According to Swan's Practical, when more than one thing has been mentioned, generally it refers to the main subject of discussion, while this/that to a newest subject (often the last thing mentioned). Additionally, only this can refer forward to something that has not yet been mentioned. JMGN (talk) 16:59, 3 April 2025 (UTC)
Peter it was who helped Jane
What exact meaning is used in sentences such as Him it was from whom Jane got some help? JMGN (talk) 18:15, 19 April 2025 (UTC)
- The syntax is a bit unusual (poetic or archaic). More conventional phrasing would be It was him from whom Jane got some help, which looks like sense 5 ("Refers to someone being identified, often on the phone, but not limited to this situation.") to me. —Granger (talk · contribs) 21:11, 20 April 2025 (UTC)
Existential "there"
"I told Anse it likely won't be no need."(Faulkner's As I Lay Dying). JMGN (talk) 18:33, 2 May 2025 (UTC)
it as a preparatory object
According to Swan's Practical, common when the object of a verb is a clause, infinitive/-ing structure:
- I made (it) clear (to you), I'd prefer it if you didn't, I found it strange being in your house, I'd appreciate it if..., owe it to somebody to..., leave it to somebody to..., my blister made it an ordeal to walk, or I love/like/hate it when you smile.
- Looks like sense 10 (The impersonal pronoun, used as a placeholder for a delayed subject, or less commonly, object...), which has the example sentence I find it odd that you would say that. —Granger (talk · contribs) 01:03, 18 June 2025 (UTC)
Relative clauses
According to Swan's Practical, the structure It's me that wants more is very informal, while It is I who want more is too formal. Therefore, I'm (the person/one) who wants more can be used instead. JMGN (talk) 12:04, 19 June 2025 (UTC)
Usage note: preparatory subject
According to Swan's Practical, in an informal style it can be a preparatory subject for noun phrase with relative clause (compare: It was stupid of you to leave the window open):
- It's wonderful the energy that the kids show.
- It's amazing the way (that) kids work together.
Usage note: ditransitive verbs
According to Swan's Practical, when both objects are pronouns, the indirect object commonly comes last, and the preposition to is occasionally dropped after it in informal British English (Give it (to) me/her!). However, this structure is avoided in phrases ending with it/them. JMGN (talk) 17:22, 27 June 2025 (UTC)