Articles & Quantifiers

 

Ex. 1

There is / There are

 On this section from module 2, we are going to study the structures to form sentences with THERE IS, THERE ARE, ARTICLES AND QUANTIFIERS.

So, let start with a live image that sumarizes this content:

We use there is and there are to say that something exists.

 

Positive Sentences 

 We use there is for singular and there are for plural.

• There is one table in the classroom.
• There are three chairs in the classroom.
• There is a spider in the bath.
• There are many people at the bus stop.

We also use There is with uncountable nouns:

• There is milk in the fridge.
• There is some sugar on the table.
• There is ice cream on your shirt.

Contractions

The contraction of there is is there's.

• There's a good song on the radio.
• There's only one chocolate left in the box.

You cannot contract there are.

• There are nine cats on the roof.
• There are only five weeks until my birthday.

Negative Form

The negative is formed by putting not after is or are:

• There is not a horse in the field.
• There are not eight children in the school.
• There is not a tree in the garden.
• There are not two elephants in the zoo.

We almost always use contractions when speaking.

The Negative contractions are:

• There's not = There isn't
• There are not = There aren't

There aren't with ANY

When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists we use there aren't any.

• There aren't any people at the party.
• There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

• There isn't any water in the swimming pool.
• There isn't any sugar in my coffee.

Questions

To form a question we place is / are in front of there.

Again we use any with plural questions or those which use uncountable nouns.

We also use there is / are in short answers.

• Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.
• Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.
• Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.
• Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.
• Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is.

How Many with Are There

If we want to find out the number of objects that exist we use How many in the following form:

How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).

• How many dogs are there in the park?
• How many students are there in your class?
• How many countries are there in South America?
• How many Star Wars films are there?

Ex. 1

                 Ex. 2

Adverbs of frequency

USES:

They are used to say how often an action is done.

POSITION:

They go AFTER the verb to be but BEFORE other verbs.

Links to exercises: 

Adverbs 1

Adverbs 2

Adverbs 3

Have or have got?

For starters, when it comes to the English language, it’s helpful to notice the difference between American and British English:

The verb “have” in American English

The verb “have got” in British English

As can be easily seen, the structures of all types of sentences – positive, negative and questions – are different. However, we should emphasize that in the Polish education system British English is more common, and the overseas structures are barely presented.

 

Ex. 1 

Countries and nationalities

 

 

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

 

 

Capital letters

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Demonstrative Adjectives

Exercises

Body parts

Ex. 1

 

Ex. 2

Subject pronouns

The subject of a sentence is a person or thing that performs the action of the verb.

Subject pronouns are used to replace the subject (person or thing) of a verb.

We do NOT normally say:

• John is tall and John is intelligent.

Saying the word "John" twice is repetitive and does not sound natural.

We replace the subject (John) that appears the second time with a subject pronoun to avoid repetition (and in this case to avoid saying the name John again.)

So we would say:

• John is tall and he is intelligent.

We replace the second "John" with the Subject Pronoun "He".

What are the subject pronouns in English?

These are the subject pronouns we use in English.

Subject Pronoun	Singular or Plural - Who?	Masculine or Feminine
I	Singular - first person	masculine or feminine
You	Singular - second person	masculine or feminine
He	Singular - third person	only masculine
She	Singular - third person	only feminine
It	Singular - third person	object / thing / animal
We	Plural - first person	masculine or feminine
You	Plural - second person	masculine or feminine
They	Plural - third person	masculine or feminine

When do you use IT?

IT is normally used when we refer to objects, things, animals or ideas (and not normally people).

• The dog is big. It is also hairy. (It = the dog)
• My bed is small but it is comfortable. (It = my bed)

Sometimes when we don't know the sex of a baby (we don't know if it is a boy or girl), then we can use IT.

• Their baby is very small. It only weighs 2 kilos. (It = the baby.)

We use IT when we talk about the time, weather or temperature.

• It is five o'clock (= the time is five o'clock)
• It is cold today. (= the weather is cold today.)
• It is 30º outside right now. (= the temperature is 30º outside right now)

Ex. 1

 

Prepositions of place

Next to / beside

• We had a picnic next to/beside the river.
• Come and sit next to/beside me.

Between

• I live in a small town between Liverpool and Manchester.
• She is sleeping between her mum and dad. 
• 
  

In front of

• John sits in front of me in class.
• You are always in front of the mirror.

Behind

• She is hiding behind the curtains. 
• We hang our coats behind the door. 

Opposite

• I live opposite the supermarket (=on the other side of the road)
• I am sitting opposite him (=facing him)

Under

• The cat is hiding under the bed.
• Why are your shoes under the table?
• I’m wearing a white shirt under the jersey.

Opposite

• I live opposite the supermarket (=on the other side of the road)
• I am sitting opposite him (=facing him)

Under

• The cat is hiding under the bed.
• Why are your shoes under the table?
• I’m wearing a white shirt under the jersey.

Above / over

Above and over mean ‘at or to a higher position’. Over is more common.

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

 

Family

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

 

    Ex. 4

School items

 

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

 

Months of the year

Ex. 1

Origin of the Names of the Months