In English grammar, “it” and “that” are both demonstrative pronouns, but they have different uses and meanings. “It” refers to something close to us, while “that” refers to something farther away. Understanding the differences between these two pronouns is important for using them correctly in sentences.
Understanding ‘It’
“It” is a demonstrative pronoun used to indicate something that is near. For example, in the sentence “He looks at it,” the word “it” refers to something close to the speaker. “It” can also be used for emphasis, as in “Yes, it is,” or to generalize, as in “It is so.”
Understanding ‘That’
“That” is also a demonstrative pronoun, but it’s used to indicate something that is far from the speaker. In the sentence “He looks at that,” the word “that” refers to something farther away from the speaker. “That” can also be used as a conjunction, as in “It is important to know that you have to drink a lot of water every day,” or to imply time, as in “That is the end of the show.”
Key Takeaways
- “It” is used to indicate something close to the speaker.
- “That” is used to indicate something farther away from the speaker.
- “That” can also be used as a conjunction or to imply time.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://whats-different.com/difference-between-it-that/&media=https://whats-different.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Demonstrative-pronoun-it.svg_.png&description=The distinction between "it" and "that" lies in the fact that "it" is generally employed as a pronoun to refer to a specific object, situation, or idea that has been previously mentioned or is clearly understood, while "that" can function as a demonstrative pronoun or determiner, pointing to something more distant or removed from the present context, often used as a comparative reference or to introduce a subordinate clause. Learn the difference here.){kind=link}