EFINITE ARTICLE

THE

Articles in English are invariable. That is, they do not change according to the gender or number
of the noun they refer to, e.g. the boy, the woman, the children

'The' is used:

1. to refer to something which has already been mentioned.

Example: An elephant and a mouse fell in love.

The mouse loved the elephant's long trunk,
and the elephant loved the mouse's tiny nose.

2. when both the speaker and listener know what is being talked about, even if it has not been
mentioned before.

Example: 'Where's the bathroom?'

'It's on the first floor.'

3. in sentences or clauses where we define or identify a particular person or object:

Examples: The man who wrote this book is famous.

'Which car did you scratch?' 'The red one.
My house is the one with a blue door.'

4. to refer to objects we regard as unique:

Examples: the sun, the moon, the world

5. before superlatives and ordinal numbers: (see Adjectives)

Examples: the highest building, the first page, the last chapter.

6. with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people:

Examples: the Japanese (see Nouns - Nationalities), the old

7. with names of geographical areas and oceans:

Examples: the Caribbean, the Sahara, the Atlantic

8. with decades, or groups of years:

Example: she grew up in the seventies

INDEFINITE ARTICLE

A / AN

Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels),
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)

Examples:

A boy
An apple
A car
An orange
A house
An opera

NOTE:
An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit

The indefinite article is used:

 to refer to something for the first time:

An elephant and a mouse fell in love.
Would you like a drink?
I've finally got a good job.
 to refer to a particular member of a group or class

Examples:

o with names of jobs:

John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an engineer.
He wants to be a dancer.
o with nationalities and religions:
John is an Englishman.
Kate is a Catholic.
o with musical instruments:
Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
(BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")
o with names of days:
I was born on a Thursday

 
  to refer to a kind of, or example of something:
the mouse had a tiny nose
the elephant had a long trunk
it was a very strange car
 with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such':
What a shame!
She's such a beautiful girl.
 meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:
I'd like an orange and two lemons please.
The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.

Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.

NOTE: that we use 'one' to add emphasis or to contrast with other numbers:
I don't know one person who likes eating elephant meat.
We've got six computers but only one printer.

EXCEPTIONS TO USING THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

There is no article:

 with names of countries (if singular)

Germany is an important economic power.
He's just returned from Zimbabwe.
(But: I'm visiting the United States next week.)

 with the names of languages

French is spoken in Tahiti.
English uses many words of Latin origin.
Indonesian is a relatively new language.

 with the names of meals.

Lunch is at midday.
Dinner is in the evening.
Breakfast is the first meal of the day.

 with people's names (if singular):

John's coming to the party.
George King is my uncle.
(But: we're having lunch with the Morgans tomorrow.)

 with titles and names:

Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son.
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
 Dr. Watson was Sherlock Holmes' friend.
(But: the Queen of England, the Pope.)

 After the 's possessive case:

His brother's car.
Peter's house.

 with professions:
Engineering is a useful career.
He'll probably go into medicine.

 with names of shops:

I'll get the card at Smith's.
Can you go to Boots for me?

 with years:
1948 was a wonderful year.
Do you remember 1995?

 With uncountable nouns:

Rice is the main food in Asia.
Milk is often added to tea in England.
War is destructive.

 with the names of individual mountains, lakes and islands:

Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in Alaska.
She lives near Lake Windermere.
Have you visited Long Island?

 with most names of towns, streets, stations and airports:

Victoria Station is in the centre of London.
Can you direct me to Bond Street?
She lives in Florence.
They're flying from Heathrow.

 in some fixed expressions, for example:

by car at school
by train at work
by air at University
on foot in church
on holiday in prison
on air (in broadcasting) in bed
THE DEMONSTRATIVES

THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE

1. Function

The demonstratives this, that, these, those ,show where an object or person is in relation to the
speaker.
This (singular) and these (plural) refer to an object or person near the speaker. That (singular)
and those (plural) refer to an object or person further away. It can be a physical closeness or
distance as in:

Who owns that house? (distant)

Is this John's house? (near)

Or it can be a psychological distance as in:

That's nothing to do with me.. (distant)

This is a nice surprise! (near)

2. Position

a) Before the noun.

b) Before the word 'one'.
c) Before an adjective + noun.
d) Alone when the noun is 'understood'.

Examples:

This car looks cleaner than that one.

This old world keeps turning round
Do you remember that wonderful day in June?
I'll never forget this.

THE POSSESSIVES

Possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives show who the thing belongs to.

PERSON ADJECTIVES PRONOUNS

1st (I) my mine
2nd (you) your yours
3rd (he) his his
  (she) her hers
  (it) it its
Plural    
1st (we) our ours
2nd (you) your yours
3rd (they) their theirs

NOTE: In English, possessive adjectives and pronouns refer to the possessor, not the object or
person that is possessed.

Example:

Jane's brother is married to John's sister.

Her brother is married to his sister.

Examples:

a. Peter and his sister.

b. Jane and her father.
c. Do you know where your books are?
d. Is this their picnic? No, it is ours.
e. I think this is your passport. Yes, it is mine.

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what
the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech,
we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke
originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

For example:

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense change

As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left
changes to the tense on the right):
 Direct speech   Indirect speech
Present simple
› Past simple
She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.
Present continuous Past continuous
She said, "I'm teaching English online." › She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple Past perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since › She said she had been on the web since
1999." 1999.
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I've been teaching English › She said she had been teaching English for
for seven years." seven years.
Past simple Past perfect
She said, "I taught online yesterday." › She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I was teaching earlier." › She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect
She said, "The lesson had already › NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had
started when he arrived." already started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
She said, "I'd already been teaching for › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been
five minutes." teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:

Direct speech   Indirect speech

will would
She said, "I'll teach English online › She said she would teach English online
tomorrow." tomorrow.
can
She said, "I can teach English online." › could
She said she could teach English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a computer to › She said she had to have a computer to
teach English online." teach English online.
shall
She said, "What shall we learn today?" › should
She asked what we should learn today.
might
may
She said, "May I open a new browser?" › She asked if she might open a new
browser.

!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.

Direct speech Indirect speech

"I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema.
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still true i.e.
my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-

Direct speech Indirect speech

She said her name was Lynne.

"My name is Lynne", she said. or

She said her name is Lynne.

You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact)

"Next week's lesson is on reported She said next week's lesson is on reported
speech ", she said. speech.

Time change

If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time
of reporting.

For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different meanings at
the time and place of reporting.

Today + 24 hours - Indirect speech

She said yesterday's lesson was on
"Today's lesson is on presentations."
presentations.
Expressions of time if reported on a different day
this (evening) › that (evening)
today › yesterday ...
these (days) › those (days)
now › then
(a week) ago › (a week) before
last weekend › the weekend before last / the previous weekend
here › there
next (week) › the following (week)
tomorrow › the next/following day
In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you heard it
you must change the place (here) to the place (there).

For example:-

At work At home
"How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.

Pronoun change

In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.

For example:

Me You
"I teach English online." She said she teaches English online.

Reporting Verbs

Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.

We use asked to report questions:-

For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.

We use told with an object.

For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.

!Note - Here me is the object.

We usually use said without an object.

For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online.

If said is used with an object we must include to ;

For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.

!Note - We usually use told.

For example: Lynne told me that she'd never been to China.

There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.

These include:-

accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted, complained,

denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised, replied, suggested and
thought.

Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative.

For example:

He asked me to come to the party:-

He invited me to the party.

He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party.
He advised me to come to the party.
He suggested I should come to the party.

Use of 'That' in reported speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used.

For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.

However, that is optional.

For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.

!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.

For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.

Tag Questions 1

Present Tense/To Be Verb/Affirmative

When using tag questions, watch for 4 points:

     * What tense is the verb?
     * What kind of verb is it? (to be/other verbs)
     * Is the sentence affirmative or negative?
     * Does the pronoun need to be changed?
*present tense
*present tense ->
*to be verb -> Look at these changes:
*to be verb
*affirmative ->
*negative
Jack's happy, isn't he? he is -> isn't he?
Susan's tired, isn't she? she is -> isn't she?
It's warm today, isn't it? it is -> isn't it?
They're busy, aren't they? they are -> aren't they?
You and I are fun people, aren't we? we are -> aren't we?
You're quiet, aren't you? you are -> aren't you?
aren't I? I am -> aren't I?
I'm intelligent,
am I not? I am -> am I not?

A tag question is a short question added to the end of a positive or negative statement.

For example:-

He is, isn't he?

He does, doesn't he?
He will, won't he?
He can, can't he?

How are they formed?

Normally a positive statement is followed by a negative tag, and a negative statement is followed
by a positive tag.

For example:-

+ -
You're English, aren't you?
- +
You're not
are you?
German,
! The statement and the tag are always separated by a comma.

! Treat any statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements.

The verb in the statement should be the same tense as the verb in the tag.

For example:-

Present tense | present tense

You are a good singer, aren't you?
Past tense | past tense
You didn't go to work
did you?
yesterday,
| present perfect
Present perfect tense
tense
You have been to London, haven't you?

If the verb used in the statement is an auxiliary verb, then the verb used in the tag must match it.
If a modal (can, could, will, should, etc.) is used in the statement, then the same modal is used in
the tag part. If the statement doesn't use an auxilliary verb, then the auxiliary do is used in the tag
part.

For example:-

Auxiliary verb   !Note

She is from England, isn't she?  
They aren't very nice, are they?  
She doesn't like it
does she?  
here,
Modal verb    
You can sing, can't you?  
They shouldn't do
should they?  
that,
No auxiliary    
He eats meat, doesn't he? (He does eat meat...)
He had a bath, didn't he? (He did have a bath...)
Nothing happened, did it? (Nothing did happen...)
Why do we use them?

Tag questions are used to verify or check information that we think is true or to check
information that we aren't sure is true. Sometimes we just use them for effect, when we are trying
to be sarcastic, or to make a strong point. So be sure to use them with care.

We show the meaning of the tag question through intonation.

If the tag is a real question it has a rising intonation.

For example:-

The chairman's coming at 3.00, isn 't he?

If the tag is not a real question it has a flat or falling intonation.

For example:-

It's a nice day today, isn't it?

! It is possible for a positive statement to be followed by a positive tag for even more effect
(sarcasm, anger, disbelief, shock, concern etc.).

For example:-

Oh you will, will you?

You think you're funny, do you?