Articles — both definite and indefinite
Indefinite — a, an
Uses
Before a singular noun which is countable when it is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or thing.
"A horse is a noble animal."
Before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of a class of things.
"A book is something you read."
With a noun complement, including names of professions.
"She is a doctor, he became a famous actor."
In certain numerical expressions.
"a dozen, a hundred"
In expressions of price, speed, ratio.
"60 miles an hour, 4 hours a day, 30p a box"
With "few" and "little"
"a few people, a little sugar"
In exclamations before singular, countable nouns. "What a pity! What a sunny day!"
It can be placed before Mr., Mrs, Miss, Ms + surname.
"a Mr. Brown phoned today."
Not Used
Before plural nouns.
"Horses are noble animals."
Before uncountable nouns
"Milk is good for you."
Before abstract nouns.
"Fear is natural."
Before names of meals except when preceded by an adjective.
"We had a late breakfast and decided to miss lunch."
Definite — the
Uses
Before nouns of which there is only one.
"The earth is round."
Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned a second time.
"We saw a good film last night. It was the film you recommended."
Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause.
"The woman dressed in black."
Before a noun which, by reason of locality, can represent only one particular thing.
"There’s a bee in the kitchen."
Before superlatives and "first", "second" and "only"
"The longest river in the world."
Before singular nouns used to represent a class of objects.
"The donkey is a very obstinate animal."
Before an adjective used to represent a class of persons.
"That tax hurts the rich."
Before names of seas, rivers, chains of mountains, groups of islands and plural names of countries.
"the Pacific Ocean, the Thames, the Andes, the West Indies, the Netherlands"
Before musical instruments.
"She plays the piano"
Not Used
Before countries, towns, proper names.
"Charlie lived in Chicago in America"
Before abstract nouns.
"Jealousy can be dangerous."
Before parts of the body and articles of clothing — these normally prefer a possessive adjective.
"Lift your left arm."
"He removed his hat."
"Charlie the Brave"
Charlie is a teacher and his wife, Maria is an artist. One of the main differences between the two is that Charlie has no imagination well perhaps a little whereas Maria has the most vivid imagination you could think of.
Now — imagination is an essential quality if you’re an artist but sometimes it can lead to — problems. Take the night before last, for example. It was a fine summer night and you could see the moon and the stars quite clearly, it was shortly before the longest day of the year. Charlie was sitting in a deckchair enjoying the warm summer air when he felt something touch his shoulder; it was Maria’s hand and he could tell immediately she was a little worried about something. He had noticed this sensation a hundred times before. He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. Now you must remember that they had both lived in the West Indies and had seen a lot of strange creatures in their house before. But now they were living in — England and so Charlie just laughed and said he would have a look at the "thing".
He left the garden and made his way to the bedroom. He could see a jacket hanging in the bedroom and went up to it to have a closer look at the"thing". The moment he touched it, the thing sprang into— life. Now Charlie experiences — fear like the rest of us but when this creature opened its wings, he jumped out of his skin and ran screaming from the room like a small child doing about 100 miles an hour.
What a fuss you may say and the brave among you may well regard such behaviour as pathetic but — bats (for this thing was a bat) bring out the worst in many people. For a moment the next-door neighbours thought that Charlie was murdering his wife because of the noise they could hear. In fact the bat was the one that was frightened and it fluttered its wings and flew from one side of the bedroom to the other.
Eventually Charlie managed to trap the bat in a box and went out into thefront garden clutching the box as if it had a bomb inside it, took off the lid and the bat, obviously delighted to be free, flew away into the dark. Eventually Maria, who had been playing the guitar while Charlie was upstairs, asked Charlie if he had found out what the thing was. "Oh, nothing to worry about", he said casually hoping that the terror could not be seen in his eyes, "it was just a bat."
Saturday
Selnate International School (Selnate) in Provo
Selnate's English Language and Culture Training
prepares you for a world of success!
Selnate International School (Selnate) in Provo, Utah is the perfect environment for learning the English language and American culture. Students who want to enhance their English skills before entering an American University, working in English, or simply wanting to improve themselves will become more proficient in less time and will find our intensive program effective and enjoyable.
Selnate offers intensive ESL (English as a Second Language) courses with emphasis in TOEFL, GRE & GMAT, and college preparation for international students. Many of our intensive ESL graduates have successfully passed their TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT tests with direction from our well-credentialed teachers, all of which have been professionally trained at accredited institutions to teach ESL, have years of experience, and have lived abroad and learned a foreign language.
Selnate also offers homestay in the Provo, Utah area (successful host of the 2002 Winter Olympics), which can dramatically increase student's ability to learn ESL quickly by placing them in an English-only environment. Our homestay program has a great guarantee to ensure students are comfortable and happy with their family. Provo, Utah is nestled against the Rocky Mountains which provides a beautiful and safe location to study English.
Please explore our website and see for yourself how Selnate will prepare you for success, whether you are trying to pass the TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT tests, or if you are simply trying to increase your English as a Second Language skills.
New at Selnate! NEW! Announcing a new Intensive Enhanced Class for Japanese Students of English! Developed and overseen by Dr. Masakazu Watabe of Brigham Young University, this class is designed to help Japanese TOEFL students increase their English skills by focusing on their specific needs. Tried and tested with great success over the past 3 years, Selnate is pleased to make this new offering to Japanese students in the Provo area! Please click here for a flyer with more details. !NUEVO curso semi-intensivo de Ingles dirigido a la comunidad hispana!
3 Horas cada dia! y en horario nocturno. Ven y aprende con los mejores maestros!!
Por favor click en este lugar para tener mas detalles del curso.
New! Semintensive English course!
3 hours daily--evening classes! Come and learn from the best! Please click here for more details (Spanish radio commercial) or click here for a flyer.
prepares you for a world of success!
Selnate International School (Selnate) in Provo, Utah is the perfect environment for learning the English language and American culture. Students who want to enhance their English skills before entering an American University, working in English, or simply wanting to improve themselves will become more proficient in less time and will find our intensive program effective and enjoyable.
Selnate offers intensive ESL (English as a Second Language) courses with emphasis in TOEFL, GRE & GMAT, and college preparation for international students. Many of our intensive ESL graduates have successfully passed their TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT tests with direction from our well-credentialed teachers, all of which have been professionally trained at accredited institutions to teach ESL, have years of experience, and have lived abroad and learned a foreign language.
Selnate also offers homestay in the Provo, Utah area (successful host of the 2002 Winter Olympics), which can dramatically increase student's ability to learn ESL quickly by placing them in an English-only environment. Our homestay program has a great guarantee to ensure students are comfortable and happy with their family. Provo, Utah is nestled against the Rocky Mountains which provides a beautiful and safe location to study English.
Please explore our website and see for yourself how Selnate will prepare you for success, whether you are trying to pass the TOEFL, GRE, or GMAT tests, or if you are simply trying to increase your English as a Second Language skills.
New at Selnate! NEW! Announcing a new Intensive Enhanced Class for Japanese Students of English! Developed and overseen by Dr. Masakazu Watabe of Brigham Young University, this class is designed to help Japanese TOEFL students increase their English skills by focusing on their specific needs. Tried and tested with great success over the past 3 years, Selnate is pleased to make this new offering to Japanese students in the Provo area! Please click here for a flyer with more details. !NUEVO curso semi-intensivo de Ingles dirigido a la comunidad hispana!
3 Horas cada dia! y en horario nocturno. Ven y aprende con los mejores maestros!!
Por favor click en este lugar para tener mas detalles del curso.
New! Semintensive English course!
3 hours daily--evening classes! Come and learn from the best! Please click here for more details (Spanish radio commercial) or click here for a flyer.
Present Simple Tense
Listen to this lesson (English audio, MP3)
What do you think of this audio recording?
In this story you will find many examples of how the Present Simple Tense can be used. As you know we use the present simple for things that are true in general, or for things that happen sometimes or all the time:
She likes black tea.
I start work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5:30.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
We usually visit our friends on the weekend.
English Grammar through Stories
Improving your grammar is much easier than you think
Printable, photocopiable and clearly structured format
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC, or anywhere
Start improving your listening skills today!
Take these listening exercises now.
You probably remember that after he/she/it an "s" is added to the verb as in these examples:
She speaks excellent French.
He sometimes calls her "my darling".
It makes perfect sense to me.
When we want to make a negative sentence we use the following structure:
subject (I/you/we/they) + auxiliary verb (don't) + main verb (infinitive)
subject (he/she/it) + auxiliary verb (doesn't) + main verb (infinitive)
Examples:
I don't speak Chinese.
You don't work very hard.
She doesn't call me every day.
When we want to make a question we also use do after I/you/we/they and does after he/she/it:
Do you speak Chinese?
Does she work here?
What do you do for a living?
How do you usually get to work?
Now enjoy the following story and find the present simple in italics.
"It never gets you anywhere"
Andrew Smodley is a natural worrier. It is something he has inherited from his father — the king of all worriers. But then there are those who are never happy unless they have a problem to solve. Andrew worried about the weather, the state of the pound, his health, the cost of living and once he even worried because he thought he wasn't worrying enough. But that was in the past. Things have changed because something happened to him exactly two years ago.
It was in the spring when leaves appear on trees and nature prepares herself for renewal. Other things happen too — people often fall in love. Now Andrew doesn't have a romantic disposition. He never looks up at the leaves starting to grow, sighs and says: "Ah here comes the spring!" He simply thinks to himself: "I live in a small village by a little stream and around this time of year lots of creatures start to wake up and make a lot of noise." In London, which stands on the River Thames, people make a lot of noise all the time."
I apologize for the simplicity of these statements but I want to illustrate the unimaginative nature which Andrew possesses. Towards the end of this story I give examples to show the extent of the change that he underwent.
The other character in this anecdote is a young woman called Sally Fairweather. She too lives in this tiny and remote village where Andrew has his cottage. Now Sally is an entirely different kettle of fish. Her philosophy runs as follows: "Worrying never gets you anywhere and life is too short to waste time imagining the worst."
In a word she is the complete opposite in temperament of Andrew. Here comes another cliche: Opposites attract. But you must remember that two years ago the two main characters hadn't met, which was surprising when you consider the proximity of Andrew's cottage and Sally's flat. If you take the first left after the post office, you come to Sally's place and if you take the second turning to the right after that you come to the cottage where Andrew lives.
The next participant in this village drama is the weather, which plays a very significant part in English life. It was late April and the sun had disappeared behind dark heavy rain clouds but Andrew had already set off for the local pub. Naturally he had his umbrella with him and a heavy coat following that aphorism his mother always used: "Never cast a clout (remove an article of clothing) before May is out."
Fortunately he made it to the pub before the storm broke. The moment he crossed the doorstep an old schoolfriend comes up to Andrew, offers to buy him a drink and tells him not to look so worried. Andrew showed him the newspaper headlines: "Petrol prices rise again." — "But you haven't got a car" said his friend. — "I know", retorted Andrew, "still it means everything else will go up in price, too."
Everyone in the pub looks suitably depressed at this remark and begins to think of all the price increases that will follow. The gloom is palpable. Then suddenly the door bursts open and in walks our heroine, Sally looking like a drowned rat. Most people in the pub think to themselves: "What a pretty girl!" Andrew sees her as someone who is drenched and needs help. He walks over to her and asks if she is all right. For probably the first time in his life Andrew actually transferred his worry from himself to someone else and he mixes her a special drink to protect her from a possible cold. The conversation went as follows: "I hear you live in this village, too" — "How do you know?" asked Andrew.
But Sally changed the subject. "This drink tastes delicious. How did you make it?" — "I put a drop of ginger ale and a piece of lemon in the alcohol and then stir thoroughly. I always keep those two ingredients with me when I go out at night." Suddenly Sally looked at her watch: "I must fly. My train leaves in ten minutes." — "Don't forget to take those tablets I suggested and let me know how you are." — "I'll let you know as soon as I come back from London." And then she went.
Immediately Andrew started to worry. He didn't know her name, he didn't know her address and he felt strange. He checks his pulse. He tests his mental faculties: "Two and two make four." It was a different sort of worry that was almost a concern. He wants to see her again. Within seconds he rushed out of the pub leaving his coat behind, ran into the pouring rain with no umbrella. What was happening to him? He saw Sally standing on the platform getting into the train and the train leaving the station. He jumps down from the platform onto the track and waves at the train driver to stop. The train stops and Andrew gets onto it.
Six weeks after this extraordinary episode Sally got married. Andrew doesn't worry any more now. He stays calm. The obvious time when people expected him to start worrying was during the wedding ceremony in the village church just over two years ago. As he says, "I know what everyone was thinking. They thought I would go to pieces. But I was perfectly relaxed and I owe it all to Sally. She is certainly a wonderful wife. She smiled at me when we were standing at the altar and I stopped worrying from that moment on. You can see me looking relaxed in the newspaper pictures especially that one with the caption:
ANDREW SMODLEY HANDS THE RING TO SALLY FAIRWEATHER'S FUTURE HUSBAND."
Dear Friend, if you have any questions or comments regarding this article, please click here.
Now, you should be able to take these tests:
Simple Present
Simple Present (2)
Simple Present (3)
Simple Present (4)
Simple Present (5)
What do you think of this audio recording?
In this story you will find many examples of how the Present Simple Tense can be used. As you know we use the present simple for things that are true in general, or for things that happen sometimes or all the time:
She likes black tea.
I start work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5:30.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
We usually visit our friends on the weekend.
English Grammar through Stories
Improving your grammar is much easier than you think
Printable, photocopiable and clearly structured format
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC, or anywhere
Start improving your listening skills today!
Take these listening exercises now.
You probably remember that after he/she/it an "s" is added to the verb as in these examples:
She speaks excellent French.
He sometimes calls her "my darling".
It makes perfect sense to me.
When we want to make a negative sentence we use the following structure:
subject (I/you/we/they) + auxiliary verb (don't) + main verb (infinitive)
subject (he/she/it) + auxiliary verb (doesn't) + main verb (infinitive)
Examples:
I don't speak Chinese.
You don't work very hard.
She doesn't call me every day.
When we want to make a question we also use do after I/you/we/they and does after he/she/it:
Do you speak Chinese?
Does she work here?
What do you do for a living?
How do you usually get to work?
Now enjoy the following story and find the present simple in italics.
"It never gets you anywhere"
Andrew Smodley is a natural worrier. It is something he has inherited from his father — the king of all worriers. But then there are those who are never happy unless they have a problem to solve. Andrew worried about the weather, the state of the pound, his health, the cost of living and once he even worried because he thought he wasn't worrying enough. But that was in the past. Things have changed because something happened to him exactly two years ago.
It was in the spring when leaves appear on trees and nature prepares herself for renewal. Other things happen too — people often fall in love. Now Andrew doesn't have a romantic disposition. He never looks up at the leaves starting to grow, sighs and says: "Ah here comes the spring!" He simply thinks to himself: "I live in a small village by a little stream and around this time of year lots of creatures start to wake up and make a lot of noise." In London, which stands on the River Thames, people make a lot of noise all the time."
I apologize for the simplicity of these statements but I want to illustrate the unimaginative nature which Andrew possesses. Towards the end of this story I give examples to show the extent of the change that he underwent.
The other character in this anecdote is a young woman called Sally Fairweather. She too lives in this tiny and remote village where Andrew has his cottage. Now Sally is an entirely different kettle of fish. Her philosophy runs as follows: "Worrying never gets you anywhere and life is too short to waste time imagining the worst."
In a word she is the complete opposite in temperament of Andrew. Here comes another cliche: Opposites attract. But you must remember that two years ago the two main characters hadn't met, which was surprising when you consider the proximity of Andrew's cottage and Sally's flat. If you take the first left after the post office, you come to Sally's place and if you take the second turning to the right after that you come to the cottage where Andrew lives.
The next participant in this village drama is the weather, which plays a very significant part in English life. It was late April and the sun had disappeared behind dark heavy rain clouds but Andrew had already set off for the local pub. Naturally he had his umbrella with him and a heavy coat following that aphorism his mother always used: "Never cast a clout (remove an article of clothing) before May is out."
Fortunately he made it to the pub before the storm broke. The moment he crossed the doorstep an old schoolfriend comes up to Andrew, offers to buy him a drink and tells him not to look so worried. Andrew showed him the newspaper headlines: "Petrol prices rise again." — "But you haven't got a car" said his friend. — "I know", retorted Andrew, "still it means everything else will go up in price, too."
Everyone in the pub looks suitably depressed at this remark and begins to think of all the price increases that will follow. The gloom is palpable. Then suddenly the door bursts open and in walks our heroine, Sally looking like a drowned rat. Most people in the pub think to themselves: "What a pretty girl!" Andrew sees her as someone who is drenched and needs help. He walks over to her and asks if she is all right. For probably the first time in his life Andrew actually transferred his worry from himself to someone else and he mixes her a special drink to protect her from a possible cold. The conversation went as follows: "I hear you live in this village, too" — "How do you know?" asked Andrew.
But Sally changed the subject. "This drink tastes delicious. How did you make it?" — "I put a drop of ginger ale and a piece of lemon in the alcohol and then stir thoroughly. I always keep those two ingredients with me when I go out at night." Suddenly Sally looked at her watch: "I must fly. My train leaves in ten minutes." — "Don't forget to take those tablets I suggested and let me know how you are." — "I'll let you know as soon as I come back from London." And then she went.
Immediately Andrew started to worry. He didn't know her name, he didn't know her address and he felt strange. He checks his pulse. He tests his mental faculties: "Two and two make four." It was a different sort of worry that was almost a concern. He wants to see her again. Within seconds he rushed out of the pub leaving his coat behind, ran into the pouring rain with no umbrella. What was happening to him? He saw Sally standing on the platform getting into the train and the train leaving the station. He jumps down from the platform onto the track and waves at the train driver to stop. The train stops and Andrew gets onto it.
Six weeks after this extraordinary episode Sally got married. Andrew doesn't worry any more now. He stays calm. The obvious time when people expected him to start worrying was during the wedding ceremony in the village church just over two years ago. As he says, "I know what everyone was thinking. They thought I would go to pieces. But I was perfectly relaxed and I owe it all to Sally. She is certainly a wonderful wife. She smiled at me when we were standing at the altar and I stopped worrying from that moment on. You can see me looking relaxed in the newspaper pictures especially that one with the caption:
ANDREW SMODLEY HANDS THE RING TO SALLY FAIRWEATHER'S FUTURE HUSBAND."
Dear Friend, if you have any questions or comments regarding this article, please click here.
Now, you should be able to take these tests:
Simple Present
Simple Present (2)
Simple Present (3)
Simple Present (4)
Simple Present (5)
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