There is/are

There is & There are

We use ‚There is‘ & ‚There are‘ to say that something is somewhere.

‚There is‘ for singular and uncountable nouns; ‚There are‘ for plural nouns

Present:

There is a banana in a fridge.

There is some noise in the cellar.

There isn’t (is not) any milk in the house.

There is a cup of coffee on the table.

There are 2 apples in the pantry.

There aren’t any cars on the car park.

Past:

There was a policeman in the street a moment ago.

There was some rubbish in the lake.

There wasn’t any doctor on board.

There were 2 fires in our town last night.

There weren’t any of my friends in the pub on Sunday.

Future:

There will be a public enquiry into the shooting of a suspect.

There will be some people you know at the music festival.

There won’t (will not) be any food in the fridge when you come home next week.

There will be 3 new colleagues in our office when you’re back from Sweden.

Same rules apply to other tenses.

Forming questions and answers.

Present:

Is there any milk left in the fridge? Yes, there is.

Is there anyone outside your door? No, there isn’t.

Are there any of your friends in a pub tonight? Yes, there are.

Are there any books in your bag? No, there aren’t.

Past:

Was there any doctor in the hospital on Saturday? Yes, there was.

Was there any problem with the bus service on Sunday? No, there wasn’t.

Were there any girls in the club last night? Yes, there were.

Were there any bananas left in the basket? No, there weren’t.

Future:

Will there ever be peace on Earth? Yes, there will.

Will there be any people at the music festival? No, there won’t.

Some – Any

Some and Any

We use Some in positive sentences. It is used with both countable [C] and uncountable [U] nouns.

It means non-exact amount of something.

Examples:

There is some milk in the fridge. (can be 0.5 litre or can be 2 gallons)

There are some sausages in the freezer. (can be 2 or 5)

He has got some water left in his bottle.

They bought some clothes over the Internet. (1 piece or 6 pieces – we don’t know)

There were some people outside my house at midnight last night.

I have got some experience with this software, so I can help you to solve this problem.

They have received some bad news from school.

We use Any in negative sentences and in questions. It is used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

It means no (zero) amount of something.

Examples:

There isn’t any milk in my coffee. (also possible: There is no milk…..)

There aren’t any shops around here. (also possible: There are no shops….)

He hasn’t got any girlfriend.

She hasn’t got any pets.

Have you got any brothers and sisters? No, I haven’t.

Are there any shops around here? Yes, there are.

Have you got any news about him? No, I haven’t.

Have the got any pets? No, they haven’t.

Is there any post box near your flat? Yes, there is.

(Un)countable nouns

Countable [C] and uncountable [U] nouns

Countable nouns have 2 forms: singular (a car, a banana, a mouse) and

plural (cars, bananas, mice)

Examples:

There is a cat in a house.

There are 2 people in the car.

There isn’t any bar in our street.

There are no mice in my cottage.

I like bananas.

We don’t like spiders.

She hates mice.

Uncountable nouns have ONLY one form: water, bread, money, information, experience (all liquids, dairy products etc.)

Examples:

I like to drink some coffee in the morning.

We need to get some fresh air now.

He doesn’t like wine.

She doesn’t drink beer.

We have got no experience with this type of situation.

I haven’t received any information about his whereabouts yet.

I haven’t got any money on me. I left it all at home.

How much & How many

Usage:

Asking for amount and price.

Form:

‚How much‘ with uncountable nouns.

‚How many‘ with countable nouns.

Examples:

How much is it? (universal question for a price of something)

How much water do you drink every day?

How much petrol does your car take per 100km?

How much money have you got on you right now?

How many miles to the gallon does your car do?

How many people have you got as friends on Facebook?

How many cups of coffee do you drink every day?

Articles (a,an,the)

A R T I C L E S

a/an (indefinite article)

Form:

‚a‘ before consonants

‚an‘ before vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

(It is based on a sound of a word, not spelling!): An hour, a university etc.

Usage:

a/an with countable nouns in singular form only.

When we talk about something for the first time.

A man walks into a bar and says ‚Hello‘.

I can see a dog running outside. He works in an office (no specific office).

A/an with jobs

My dad’s a teacher and my mother is an office clerk.

He’s a labourer. She’s a nurse.

‚A/an‘ meaning one

There’s a car (one car) in the car park.

I only have a 20-pound note on me. She has got a (one) cat.

A/an goes with a noun

There was a storm last night. She has bought a nice dress. He’s been talking on a mobile phone all morning. I ate an apple for lunch. We’ll have a holiday in June.

The (definite article)

Form:

We use ‚the‘ for both consonants and vowels

Usage:

‚The‘ when we mention something for the second time (we know which particular object is being talked about)

I live in a house. The house is not very large and the garden is small.

My friend has got a cat. The cat is 3 years old.

Ordinal numbers with dates

Today is the second of June.

Tom was born on the 15^th of October.

‚The‘ with south/north/east/west

Houses are cheaper in the north than in the south of England.

He comes from the Eastern Europe.

Parts of town

There are many clubs in the city centre.

Many people live on the outskirts of big cities where rents are usually lower than in the centre.

Musical instruments

I can play the guitar. You can play the piano. I don’t anyone who can play the violin. She used to play the flute when she was little.

Right/left

People in Britain, Australia, India, Japan and some other countries drive on the left.

Cars in Britain have a steering wheel on the right.

‚The‘ when we want to say that something is unique

You can find some sandwiches in the fridge. (our fridge, not any fridge in the world)

The Americans landed on the Moon in 1969.

The Queen (British Queen) made a speech on TV on the New Year’s Day as always.

Parts of day

I want to go out clubbing in the evening. (this evening)

I didn’t have any breakfast in the morning. (this morning)

We need to do some shopping in the afternoon.

BUT He came home late at night. (NO article)

Other common uses:

We went to the cinema last night.

I wanted to go to the theatre but my girlfriend didn’t.

He goes to the swimming pool every Saturday.

She goes to the gym four times (4x) a week.

What’s the time, please? It’s 3 o’clock.

London is the capital city of the UK.

My teacher comes from the USA and he works in the Czech Republic.

In/On/At for place

IN / ON / AT for place

IN (think of ‚inside‘; in a 3D place)

in a house/garage/ building/ shop/ office / swimming pool/ library

in a car

in the kitchen/ bedroom/ bathroom

in a bath

in the garden/ park/ stadium

in the cinema/ theatre/ opera

in the court of law

in the air

in the sea/ river/ water

in the picture/ photo/ film/ movie

in a glass/ box/ bag/ suitcase

in a book/ magazine/ newspapers

in the corner (inside angle)

AT (think of ‚next to,outside‘)

at school/ home/ work/ university/ college (institutions)

at the airport/ the cinema (outside)/ bus stop/ train station

at sea(side) – holiday at the seaside

ON (think of ‚on the top of)

on the table/ floor/ bed / carpet

on the platform/ road/ street/ bridge

on public transport / bus/ train/ plane/ tram/ underground train/ subway

on the wall/ hill

on a map

an TV/ radio/ CD, DVD,Blue-ray disc

on the internet/ website

on holiday

on the corner (outside angle)

In/On/At for time

IN / ON / AT for Time

in the morning/ afternoon/ evening

in 1968/ 2012, etc.

in 21^st century

in July/ August, etc.

in spring/ summer, etc.

on Monday/ Tuesday, etc.

on 11^th November 1918

at 6am/ 3pm, etc.

at weekend/ Easter/ Christmas

at night

Present simple tense

We use present simple tense to say that something happens at present. We describe the state of things.

Examples:

I work as a teacher at a private school.

You go to school from Monday to Friday.

He travels to work by car every day.

She likes dogs.

It is warm in summer.

We live in Chicago.

They have got a nice house in the country.

Note: In 3^rd singular (he, she, it) we add -s to a verb. Whe -o we add -es; when consonant + y we add -ies.

Examples:

He works in a bank. (work = works)

She goes to school by bus. (go = goes)

He studies English at university (study = studies)

She plays hockey for her local team. (play = plays)

He does his homework every evening. (do = does)

It looks okay to me. (look = looks

Her newborn baby cries every night. (cry = cries)

Negative sentences (We use ‚do not/ does not‘)

Examples:

I don’t (do not) play football.

You don’t (do not) like coffee.

He doesn’t (does not) work in a hospital.

She doesn’t (does not) go to work by car.

We don’t (do not) drink red wine.

They don’t (do not) call us very often.

Questions (We use ‚do/Does‘ to form questions)

Examples:

Do you like ice cream? Yes, I do.

Does he go to work by car? No, he doesn’t.

Does she live in Spain? Yes, she does.

Do we often play board games? No, we don’t.

Do they drink tea with milk? Yes, they do.

Time

Telling the time

To ask for the time we say:

‚What’s the time?‘

‚What time is it?‘

In English we usually use a 12-hour clock. (24-hour clock is used only by military.)

Morning is from midnight (12am) to noon (12pm)

afternoon is from 12.01pm to about 5pm

evening is from about 6pm to about 9pm

night is from 10pm to midnight (0.00)

a.m. = ante meridiem (in Latin)

p.m. = post meridiem (in Latin)

Every hour is divided into two 30-minute periods.

For 1^st to 30^th minute we use past the hour and for 31^st to 59^th we use to the hour.

15 minutes past the hour is ‚ quarter past……‘

30minutes past the hour is ‚half past….‘

45 minutes past the hours is ‚quarter to…….‘

Examples:

5.00 a.m. = it’s five o’clock

6.05 a.m. = it’s five minutes past six in the morning

8.10 a.m. = it’s ten minutes past eight in the morning

9.15 a.m. = it’s quarter past nine in the morning

10.20 a.m. = it’s twenty minutes past ten in the morning

11.25 a.m. = it’s twenty-five past eleven in the morning

12.30 p.m. = it’s half past twelve in the afternoon

1.35 p.m. (or 13.35) = it’s twenty-five to two in the afternoon

2.40 p.m. (14.40) = it’s twenty to three in the afternoon

3.45 p.m (15.45) = it’s quarter to four in the afternoon

4.50 p.m. (16.50) = it’s ten to five in the afternoon

5.55.p.m. (17.55) = it’s five to six in the evening

6.00 p.m. (18.00) = it’s six o’clock in the evening

When talking about timetables (buses, trains, TV) we can say:

10.25am = ten twenty-five am (pronounced ‚ej em‘)

3.30pm = three thirty pm (pronounced ‚pee em‘)

Examples:

train leaves at 2.30pm = we can say: ‚ the train leaves at two thirty pee em‘

Top Gear at 8pm = we can say: ‚ the Top gear show starts at eight pee em‘

bus goes at 7.30am = we can say ‚ the bus goes at seven thiry ej em‘ or ‚at half past seven‘

Questions

Asking questions

Who – asking for person

Who is your best friend?

Who did you go there with?

Who are you waiting for?

Where – asking for place

Where will you go on holiday this year?

Where do your parents live?

Where did you park your car?

What – asking for information about thing/person

What is your job?

What colour do you like?

What time is it?

What was the weather like in Italy?

Which – similar to ‚what‘ but from a limited number

Which is the 4^th planet from the Sun?

Which continent is Saigon on?

Which sport do you prefer – football or rugby?

When – asking for information about time

When is the next train to Newcastle, please?

When did you come home last night?

When will you start learning for your GCSEs?

How – asking for style and manner

How did you manage to break this new computer?

How did you earn your first million?

How does the Oyster card work?

How old – asking for age

How old are you? (never ask a woman this question!)

How old is your father?

How old is their car?

How often – asking for frequency

How often do you play the guitar?

How often does it rain in England?

How often do you practise English?

How much/ How many – asking for amount

How much money have you got on you?

How many people can you see outside at night?

How many cats has your grandmother got?

Pronouns

Objective pronouns

Form:

I – me

You – you

He – him

She – her

It – it

We – us

They – them

Examples:

Paul sends me a funny email every week.

She calls you 4x (4 times) a day. How can you tolerate that?

You also receive an email from him.

Mother give her £20 pocket money a week.

She spends it on new clothes and shoes.

Our mother used to give us £5 a month.

I called my parents and told them about the wedding next year.

Reflexive pronouns

Singular form:

I – myself

You – yourself

He – himself

She – herself

It – itself

Plural form:

We – ourselves

You – yourselves

They – themselves

Examples:

Nobody helped me, I fixed the computer myself.

When you want something to be done, do it yourself!

He lives by himself in his new flat. No one else lives there.

She did it all by herself!

The flat won’t clean itself, so get up and do it!

We promised ourselves a nice holiday abroad this summer.

You two can organise it yourselves, so don’t bother me with that anymore.

Paul and Dee went to Spain all by themselves, they left their children at home.