Dummy Subject: There and It:

N. English clauses always have a subject: (e.g. Look at the time! It’s half past two), except for the imperative (e.g. Go away. Play it again please.) If we have no other subject we use 'there' or 'it' as a dummy subject with part of the verb be followed by a noun phrase.

N1. use There
a. We can say to introduce a new topic or when we talk about something for the first time. (e.g. There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven.)

b. can say with numbers or quantities. (e.g. There was a lot of rain last night.)
c. to say where something is, and 'There' also means 'to/at/in that place'. (e.g. The new restaurant is very good. I went there (= to the restaurant) last night.
d. with the Indefinite Pronoun or expressions of quantity and the 'to-infinitive' and '-ing verb'. (e.g. There is nothing to do in the village. There is someone waiting to see you.) If we want to show the subject of the to-infinitive we use 'for'. (e.g. There is nothing for the children to do in the village.)
e. use a singular verb if the noun phrase is singular. (e.g. There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven. vs. There are more than twenty people waiting to see you.)
f. can say there will be/ there must be/ there might be/ there used to be/ there must have been/ there should have been etc. (e.g. Will there be many people at the party?)
g. also say there is sure/ certain/ likely/ bound to be ~. (e.g. There is bound (=sure) to be a flight to London this evening.)

N2. We use 'it' to talk about:
a. times, dates and weather. (e.g. It’s nearly one o’clock. It’s raining.)
b. to give an opinion about a place. (e.g. It’s very cold in here.)
c. to give an opinion followed by 'to -infinitive' and '-ing verb'. (e.g. It’s nice to meet you. It’s great living in Spain.)
d. using 'it' to talk about people. (e.g. (on the telephone) Hello. It’s George. Hello. Who is it?)

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Idiom 365

Your guess is as good as mine: to have no idea, do not know the answer to a question
Example: How long do you think we should have to wait for the bus? Your guess is as good as mine.

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