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

Days of the week

 

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

School subjects

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Telling the date

 

 

The number of the day

For dates in spoken English, we always use ordinal numbers, i.e. Fourth of July, not Four of July.

Ordinal numbers = Numbers that show the order or sequence. Normally a -TH appears at the end of the number. e.g. seven … seventh

However the ordinal numbers that are highlighted in red in the chart below are irregular or have a slight change in spelling. See our complete lesson about Ordinal Numbers in English.

In spoken English we ALWAYS use ordinal numbers for dates. However, in written English you may write a normal (cardinal) number without the -TH or -ST etc. after it. Even if it is not written, the ordinal number is still said in spoken English. In United States it is NOT common to put the -th after the number in written English.

 

Order of Days and Months when saying the date

There are two ways of giving the date in English:

Month + Day: December 25 – used in United States.* OR

Day + Month: 25th December – used in the rest of the world.

*  The exception is with the name of the US celebration the Fourth of July.

 

How to say the YEARS in English

Years are normally divided into two parts; the first two digits and the last two digits. **

2017 is divided into 20 and 17 so you would say twenty seventeen.

• 1982 = nineteen eighty-two
• 1999 = nineteen ninety-nine
• 2017 = twenty seventeen
• 2021 = twenty twenty-one

** For the exceptions, see our entire lesson about How to say the YEAR in English.

 

Writing the date in English

Be careful when writing the dates using only numbers.

For example, Christmas day is written:

• 12 / 25 / 17   in United States (the month is first) and
• 25 / 12 / 17   in the rest of the world (the day is first).

So what day is this?  3/4/17. It depends on the country. It can be:

March fourth, twenty seventeen (in United States) OR

The third of April, twenty seventeen (in the rest of the world)

There’s a big difference, isn’t there!

To avoid confusion, when writing an email or any other written form of English, it is best to write the month as its name (January, February, etc.) or its abbreviation (Jan. Feb. etc.) and NOT as its number.

And remember, the months are always written in Capital letters.

In US English, a comma is put after the day if it is followed by a year.

• March 17, 2016.
• December 22, 2012.

 

How can you ask for the date in English?

The main ways of asking the date are:

What day is it today?

– People will probably respond with a day of the week (It’s Monday) or the number (It’s the 19th).

What date is it?

– People may give you the number (It’s the 19th) or the day/month (It’s 19th May or May 19th). They will not answer with a day of the week.

What is the date (today)? OR What is today’s date?

– This is another way where you will get a number as an answer.

The response to your question will most likely start with…

• The date is …
• The date today is …
• Today is…
• It is… (most common)

 

 

Summary Chart

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Telling the time in English

 

 

Asking for the Time

The common question forms we use to ask for the time right now are:

• What time is it?
• What is the time?

A more polite way to ask for the time, especially from a stranger is:

• Could you tell me the time please?

The common question forms we use to ask at what time a specific event will happen are:

What time...?

When...?

• What time does the flight to New York leave?
• When does the bus arrive from London?
• When does the concert begin?

Giving the Time

We use It is or It's to respond to the questions that ask for the time right now.

• It is half past five (5:30).
• It's ten to twelve (11:50)

We use the structure AT + time when giving the time of a specific event.

• The bus arrives at midday (12:00).
• The flight leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
• The concert begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

We can also use subject pronouns in these responses.

• It arrives at midday (12:00).
• It leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
• It begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

AM vs. PM

We don't normally use the 24-hour clock in English.

We use a.m. (am) for the morning and p.m. (pm) for the afternoon and night.

3am = Three o'clock in the morning.

3pm = Three o'clock in the afternoon.

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4