A lot of people go through life with only a few friends. It seems that some have less than that.

They have no one on whom they can call in good times or bad. There is no one with whom to bounce ideas around, or to talk about deep and troubling subjects. They have no one to call in times of need or difficulty. They are at the mercy of life, standing alone. Others seem to have a multitude of friends. Wherever they go, people know them, and like to be around them. Should trouble strike, their biggest hesitation might be over which friend to call. They know exactly the person with whom to discuss the topics of inquiry and debate. Life is full of entertaining and invigorating relationships because it is full of friends. There ought to be a course in school on friendship. Of course, some people are perfectly happy to operate with fewer friends. They might rather have a few deep and loyal friends, than many superficial ones. Others thrive best when friends are everywhere and numerous. It is not so much the number of friends that is important as is the possession of friends, period.
Friendship is a blessing, and a friend is the channel through whom great emotional, blessing... spiritual, and sometimes even physical blessings flow. Friends can cheer us when were sorrowful or depressed. Friends can challenge us when we allow ourselves to get beyond our reasonable boundaries. Friends can motivate us when were ready to give in, and they can provide for us when life falls apart. They are there when all is well, and we want someone with whom to share lifes pleasant and memorable moments. We often just want them around to have a good time, to laugh, to act silly, to enjoy some mutually liked activity. In how many ways have friends enriched our lives and made us feel loved, accepted, respected and cared for? Probably, too many to list, and the list grows daily. It is safe to say that when God created the world and all the majestic things in it, when he streaked the heavens with radiant color and the earth with grand mountains and awe-inspiring canyons, when he painted the plains with waving grasses and erected noble forests of towering trees, he outdid it all by creating friends. Why not take a moment or two and thank someone today for being a friend to you? May God bless you with all the friends you need, and may he turn you into a blessing by using you as a friend to others.

Friendship is a

Tristan and Isolde The heart-rending tale of Tristan and Isolde has gone through its iota of storytelling sessions. The story takes place during medieval times during the reign of King Arthur. The immortality of this tale is quite evident from the way it has been told and retold through numerous stories and manuscripts. Isolde was name of the pretty daughter of the King of Ireland. Her father had chosen King Mark of Cornwall for Isolde and both got engaged. Tristan was nephew of King Mark who sent him to Ireland to escort Isolde back to Cornwall and thats where the story took a different turn. Love knows no boundaries and never cares for any barriers. Isolde and Tristan both sensed a strong sense of attachment and fulfilment in each other. The seeds of love were sown but destiny had something else in store. Isolde had to marry Mark of Cornwall but then heart was longing for Tristan. As a result of that, the love affair between the two continued even after her marriage. They say, you cannot hide love and King Mark finally came to know about their affair. Tristan was banned from Cornwall but King forgave Isolde. Tristan was forced to move to Brittany where he encountered Iseult and the similarity of her name with Isolde made Tristan felt attracted towards her. He kept looking for signs of Isolde in Iseult and finally decided to marry her. But Tristans undying love for Isolde did not let him consummate his marriage with Iseult. His hopes started to fade away and soon grief-stricken Tristan fell severely ill. In the deep recess of his heart, Tristan knew Isolde would be able to cure him. He sent for Isolde and if Isolde agreed to come, the sails of returning ship would be white. However, in case the sails are black, that would indicate Isolde has not decided to come. The call of love soon became evident as the sails were white but scorned love is extremely dangerous. Iseult could not accept the return of Isolde and subsequently lied to Tristan and told him that the sails were black. Tristan could not take it and died of grief even before Isolde could reach for her lover. The pain of Tristans death did not spare and Isolde either and she died soon after of a broken heart. Though, both of them died yet gave the world something to remember for eternity.

Pyramus and Thisbe Famous sad love stories- the title itself is self-explanatory. Its really hard to pinpoint the exact number of historians, philosophers, kings, psychologists and poets who have tried to explain love in a different way and yet the underlying emotion always remains the same. Love is a state of heart and no matter how

many definitions you try; you will always feel exhilarated and blessed once you are in love. Even with closed eyes, you can feel its presence and your heart will keep dancing on the melody of its beats. The intensity experienced during love is truly unexplainable. Sharing love stories make us remember and feel the eternal love and it completely redefines the way one experiences love. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe is touching but tragic. The story has the power to move anyone who reads it. The fable has its origins in the Roman Mythology. The tale of Pyramus and Thisbe has enthralled many young lovers over the centuries and it has lost none of its charm even during the modern age. Pyramus was an extremely handsome man whereas Thisbe was the most beautiful girl in the Babylonia. They both were neighbours and had grown up together. As they grew up, love blossomed but it was the forbidden fruit for the lovers. Their parents were totally against them marrying each other and that forced both of them to meet clandestinely if they could. However, their parents could not suppress the lights of love burning in the hearts of love birds. One fine day, they decided to run away from their homes and meet the next day under a mulberry tree near tomb of Ninus. Thisbe was the first one to reach on spot and was waiting for Pyramus. Thats when the tragedy struck and story took a devastating turn. There was a fountain nearby where a lioness came to quench her thirst. The sight of lioness made Thisbe panic and she hurried to safety in some hollow rocks nearby. While she was running she left her veil behind. The lioness came near, sniffed the veil and tore it in his bloody jaws. At that very moment, Pyramus arrived near the mulberry tree and found the tattered blood stained veil. He thought that his love was dead and was completely devastated. He blamed himself to be the cause of Tisbes death and in a moment of agony, pierced his chest with his own sword. Tisbe, who was still hiding in the rocks, came out of her hiding place and seeing the dead body of her lover, she was totally shattered and grief-stricken. She also took the sword and killed herself and thus one of the purest love stories ended in pain and death.

Pocahontas and John Smith Though love stories from different places are told in contrasting styles and languages yet the charm of romance remains the same. Love is like a blissful flow of emotion. Love knows no barriers, caste, creed, discrimination and status. It dictates terms on its own and has a habit of standing against all odds. How many times, have we come across tales of love managing to survive despite the insurmountable odds? Many times perhaps and yet we are not tired of love tales that has a heart-breaking end. These tales belong to different centuries but still

manage to enthral us. Painful romantic stories are timeless and have carved themselves in immortality. There are plenty of love stories to be shared like Helen of troy and Paris, Abelard and Heliose, Pygmalion and Galatea and Pocahontas and John Smith. The story of Pocahontas and John Smith is a celebrated legend in the history of America. Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan. She was an Indian princess. Powhatan was the commanding chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia. According to legend, the first meeting between Pocahontas and John Smith took place under unusual circumstances. John Smith was leading an expedition in December 1607 and because of certain misunderstanding Indians captivated him. Smith was taken to the residence of Powhatan where he was tortured. But he was saved by Pocahontas who helped him tremendously to get him out of his misery. Pocahontas felt an instant liking for John Smith and found him immensely attractive and appealing. Soon enough Powhatan adopted Smith as his son and from there onwards, the friendship between Pocahontas and Smith started taking deep roots. They started to come closer to each other but destiny had some other plans. John Smith had to return back to England after getting badly injured due to gunpowder explosion. Pocahontas was constantly worried about him and decided to make a visit to the fort but unfortunately there she was informed that Smith was dead. Things started to change rapidly and soon after, Pocahontas was taken prisoner by Sir Samuel Argall who had some devious plans of his own. He demanded return of English prisoners from Powhatan in return of Pocahontas. In the meantime, Pocahontas decided to become a Christian during her captivity. Just a year later, she married John Rolfe. She met John Smith after an eternal gap of eight years while visiting London. This was also their last meeting.

The indefinite article - a/an

The definite article The indefinite article Exercises: Articles

The indefinite article - a

The indefinte article is the a is the same for all genders. a boy, a girl, a cat The indefinte article has no plural form. a boy - boys We use an if the following word starts with a vowel. the following word starts with a consonant a boy a school a girl Mind the pronunciation of the following word. a unit This u sounds like a consonant, so we use a. an uncle This u sounds like a vowel, so we use an. the following word starts with a vowel an aunt an old school an American girl

Use of the indefinite article a/an

- before phrases of time and measurements (per week/weekly) We have English 4 times a week. I go on holiday twice a year. Our car can do 220 kilometres an hour. Tomatoes are $2 a kilo. - before phrases of jobs My father is a car mechanic. - with a noun complement He is a good boy. - before phrases of nationality Bruce Springsteen is an American. - half/quite

We need half a pound of sugar. This is quite a good stor

The definite article - the

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural. the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ consonant, we speak [ ]. [ ] [ ], if the following word begins with a

the following word starts with a spoken consonant the following word starts with a spoken vowel the girl the book the school the unit Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word. the English girl the blue book the old school the uncle Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word.

We have listed some examples in the following table. There you can see when we use the definite article and when we don't. without the definite article general words (indefinite) Life is too short. I like flowers. names of persons on the singular, relatives Peter and John live in London. Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles. public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite) Mandy doesn't like school. We go to school by bus. Some people go to church on Sundays. names of countries in the singular; summits of mountains; continents; towns Germany, France; Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley; Africa, Europe; Cairo, New York single islands Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily parks; lakes; streets with the definite article general words (definite) I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton. I like the flowers in your garden. family names in the plural The Smiths live in Chicago. public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite) The school that Mandy goes to is old. The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40. The round church in Klingenthal is famous. names of countries in the plural; mountain ranges; regions the United States of America, the Netherlands; the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps; the Middle East, the west of Australia groups of islands the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers

Central Park, Hyde Park; Lake Michigan, Loch Ness; 42nd Street, Oxford Street months, days of the week (indefinite) The weekend is over on Monday morning. July and August are the most popular months for holidays.

the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London), the Isle of Wight; the Atlantic (Ocean); the Mediterranean (Sea); the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal months, days of the week (definite) I always remember the Monday when I had an accident. The August of 2001 was hot and dry.

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite article. in summer or in the summer The American English word for autum >fall< is always used with the definte article.

Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch the following example: The student goes to school. The mother goes to the school. In the first sentence we do not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to school for its primary purpose, so we do not use the article. The mother might talk to a teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's why we use the definite article in the second sentence.

Form
if clause main clause will-future or infinitive or Modal + infinitive

Simple Present

Examples
If I study, If you see John tonight, If Ben gets up early, I will pass the exams. tell him to e-mail me. he can catch the bus.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

If I study, I will pass the exams

I will pass the exams. if I study.

clean - cleaner - (the) cleanest We use -er/-est with the following adjectives: 1) adjectives with one syllable clean new cheap cleaner newer cheaper cleanest newest cheapest

2) adjectives with two syllables and the following endings: 2 - 1) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -y dirty easy happy pretty dirtier easier happier prettier dirtiest easiest happiest prettiest

2 - 2) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -er clever cleverer cleverest

2 - 3) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -le simple simpler simplest

2 - 4) adjectives with two syllables, ending in -ow narrow narrower narrowest

Spelling of the adjectives using the endings -er/-est

large larger largest leave out the silent -e

big sad dirty

bigger sadder dirtier

biggest Double the consonant after short vowel saddest dirtiest Change -y to -i (consonant before -y) Here -y is not changed to -i. (although consonant before -y)

shy

shyer

shyest

B - Comparison with more - most difficult - more difficult - (the) most difficult all adjectives with more than one syllable (except some adjectives with two syllables see 2 - 1 to 2 - 4)

C - Irregular adjectives good bad much many little little better worse more more less smaller best worst most most least smallest uncountable nouns countable nouns

D - Special adjectives Some ajdectives have two possible forms of comparison. common likely commoner / more common likelier / more likely commonest / most common likeliest / most likely

pleasant polite simple stupid subtle sure

pleasanter / more pleasant politer / more polite simpler / more simple stupider / more stupid subtler / more subtle surer / more sure

pleasantest / most pleasant politest / most polite simplest / most simple stupidest / most stupid subtlest surest / most sure

Difference in meaning with adjectives: farther far further furthest farthest distance distance or time

later late latter x older old elder nearer near x

latest x last oldest eldest nearest next people and things people (family) distance order

The conditional sentences are sometimes confusing for learners of English. Watch out: 1) Which type of the conditional sentences is used? 2) Where is the if-clause (e.g. at the beginning or at the end of the conditional sentence)? There are three types of the if-clauses.

type I II III

condition condition possible to fulfill condition in theory possible to fulfill condition not possible to fulfill (too late)

Form
type I II III if clause Simple Present Simple Past Past Perfect main clause will-future (or Modal + infinitive) would + infinitive * would + have + past participle *

Examples (if-clause at the beginning)

type I II III if clause If I study, If I studied, If I had studied, main clause I will pass the exam. I would pass the exam. I would have passed the exam.

Examples (if-clause at the end)

type I II III main clause I will pass the exam I would pass the exam I would have passed the exam if-clause if I study. if I studied. if I had studied.

Examples (affirmative and negative sentences)

type Examples long forms + If I study, I will pass the exam. I If I study, I will not fail the exam. If I do not study, I will fail the exam. short/contracted forms If I study, I'll pass the exam. If I study, I won't fail the exam. If I don't study, I'll fail the exam. If I studied, I'd pass the exam. If I studied, I wouldn't fail the exam. If I didn't study, I'd fail the exam. If I'd studied, I'd have passed the exam. If I'd studied, I wouldn't have failed the exam. If I hadn't studied, I'd have failed the exam.

+ If I studied, I would pass the exam. II + III If I studied, I would not fail the exam. If I did not study, I would fail the exam. If I had studied, I would have passed the exam. If I had studied, I would not have failedthe exam. If I had not studied, I would have failedthe exam.

* We can substitute could or might for would (should, may or must are sometimes possible, too). I would pass the exam. I could pass the exam. I might pass the exam. I may pass the exam. I should pass the exam. I must pass the exam.

Form
if clause main clause would + infinitive or could + infinitive or might + infinitive

Simple Past

Examples
If I studied, If I studied, If I studied, I would pass the exams. I could pass the exams. I might pass the exams.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. If I studied, I would pass the exams I would pass the exams. if I studied.

Form
if clause main clause would + have + past participle or could + have + past participle or might + have + past participle

Past Perfect

Examples

If I had studied, If I had studied, If I had studied,

I would have passed the exams. I could have passed the exams. I might have passed the exams.

The if-clause can be at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. If I had studied, I would have passed the exams I would have passed the exams. if I had studied.