 Re: Any difference between " it" and '"that"
That, is used to refer back to something which has previously been said in a conversation. It can be glossed as "what was just said" - eg :
A : Is your name Fred? B : That's right. ie What you just said is right. Here It is not possible. It would refer not to the utterance but to the thing - the name itself as in No, it's Bill. (ie, No my name is Bill)
But in your example the student could be saying either ....
1. He's really excited about going to the driving school (ie referring to the event, so ... about it) or .... 2. He's really excited about "what I just said" (so, ... about that).
Here then, both are possible, depending on how you interpret the student's meaning. When there is a choice and that is chosen, it tends to be more emphatic than just using it. |