I want to go to London. It is ten miles form here.

Question

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Does 'it' refer to 'London'? Or does it refer to 'the distance' used as an impersonal pronoun?

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How far is it from here to the station?
(Here 'it' is an impersonal pronoun referring to the distance, right?) •English - Writeacher, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:50am
Yes, "it" refers to London in that sentence.

•English - rfvv, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 7:57am
I want to go to London. It is ten miles from here. (Thank you.)

•English - Writeacher, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 8:11am
Yes, right!!

=)
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2. I want to go to London. It is ten miles away.

3. It is ten miles away.

(#2 has a context. So it refers to 'London.' Am I right? Maybe does 'it' refer to the distance in #2? Or 'it' refers either 'London' or 'the distance'? What about this opinion. In #3, there is no context. It is only one sentence. So in this case, 'It' refers to 'The distance.' Is that right?)

Answer 1

In #2, "It" has to refer to a place. Maybe the place was named in the previous sentence, but it cannot just be vague and impersonal when the reference is to a specific distance like this.

Answer 2

What about #3? When there is no previous sentence, it cannot refer to a place, can it?

Answer 3

Whether the place is named in THIS sentence or not, "it" still refers to a place.
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London is 344 km from Paris.

London is the capital of England.
It is 344 km from Paris.