Posted in English Learning

Irregular Verbs: Why We Need Them

Most of English verbs are irregular. It is impossible to avoid irregular verbs if you speak or write in English. Moreover, such verbs can reveal whether the speaker or writer is a native or not. The correct usage of irregular verbs also shows an educational level of a person. It is common for uneducated people to misuse irregular verbs. If you don’t want to fall into that category and give a bad impression, then you have to study grammar. Luckily for you, there are a lot of helpful grammar related articles that can help you to clarify some questions. However, if you are not a native speaker, the task of learning irregular verbs is more complicated for you. In this post, we will try to make this process as easy as possible for you and find new ways how you can learn irregular verbs.

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Regular and Irregular Verbs: What Is the Difference

English language has only two types of verbs in this regard — regular and irregular. And before we step into the field of irregular verbs, it would be helpful if we firstly understood the main points of regular verbs.

Regular verbs are called so, because they follow the regular pattern. They adhere to one rule, which states that if you want to form a past form of a verb, you have to add –ed at its end. For example:

Julie smiled to her new friend.

They never closed the door to their house.

On the contrary, irregular verbs are called so, because they don’t follow the established rules. Each of irregular verbs has its own way of forming a Past Simple and Past Participle. For example:

The children ran away to hide from the cold rain.

saw him yesterday on my way to work.

As it was mentioned before, most of verbs in English language are irregular. In fact, even the most often used verbs are irregular, such as to be and to have. There are about 200 of them, and if you count their prefixed forms, the list would count more than 600 irregular verbs. It would be very hard and not really necessary to memorize all of them. You could speak and write perfectly well if you learn just the most commonly used irregular verbs. Nevertheless, if you are curious to see the full list, you can always find it online.

Where They Come From and Why We Need Them

A lot of language learners ask, why do we need all these irregular verbs? They only make things more complicated so why English cannot change their grammar and make all verbs regular? It is a good question, but unfortunately there cannot be a perfect clear answer to it. Langue is a complex unity that exists and evolves together with a society, and the attempts to manage it artificially almost never succeed. Some elements of grammar and words come and go, and it is connected to the way people use them. However, things cannot disappear from a language, because some grammarians decided so. There will always be opposing points of view. The same way it happened with irregular verbs in English.

Practically all English irregular verbs come from Old English or derive from strong Germanic words. Other foreign words that joined English in later times follow the standard –ed pattern. Naturally, there were discussions among linguists about reforming this part of grammar and getting rid of irregular verbs. However, the opponents of this idea claim that irregular verbs are a historical heritage of English language and it would be a crime to remove those words out of usage. Any language is not only a mean of communication, but it is also a cultural domain of the nation, which shows where the culture came from and how it evolved.

Therefore, irregular verbs have no particular functional purpose. They are just a part of the language, and all the learner can do is to respect the fact and try to learn them.

Conjugation

When you begin learning irregular verbs, you will hear a lot about conjugation. So let’s at first understand what conjugation is, so the word would not leave you confused. Conjugation is the process of creating changed forms of verbs. Conjugation varies depending on gender, number, tense, mood and other grammar aspects. However, the conjugation we discuss today is strictly limited to the tense of the verbs.

The Commonly Misused Irregular Verbs

The format of this post doesn’t allow us to present all most commonly used irregular verbs. Nevertheless, we will mention the most important ones that you will definitely need in every piece of writing, be it a letter, essay or research paper. Coincidentally, these verbs are also being very often misused. So let’s revise them and try to memorize.

How to Learn Irregular Verbs

The question that troubles minds of most of the English learners is ‘how to learn irregular verbs?’ The most likely your teachers tell you that you just have to memorize them. It is true, that there is no special pattern or rule that you could learn in order to know how to conjugate each verb. And ultimately, memorization is the only choice you have got. However, there are different ways you can do it. Let’s look at the most effective ones:

  • Reading. As the saying goes, reading is the best type of learning. When you read English books, articles or blog posts about grammar, you inevitably stumble upon irregular verbs. It is one of the best ways to learn, because you the words are used in context, and this is how our mind remembers things;
  • Writing. If you use irregular verbs in your writing, it engages your memory in the most active way. It will guarantee that the words learned this way, will stay with you forever. All you need to do is to take an irregular verb and to create a sentence using this verb in context;
  • Flashcards. This is the method for very busy people. You can buy ready flashcards in the bookstore or download the printable set online. However, it would be better if you created them yourself, because it will be additional learning for you. You will need a stack of small square papers. On one side you write an infinitive form of the verb, and on the other side — Past Simple and Past Participle. Carry the cards with you when you go to college or work, you could revise them when you are in the public transport or waiting in line at the supermarket.

Posted in English Learning

Creative Ideas for Teaching Children Nouns and Proper Nouns

Nouns are used to designate people, places, things, objects, and concepts. They are, quite simply, the building blocks of our language. Children are sometimes confused as to how nouns are used, and if they’re very young, they may use nouns as substitutes for complete sentences. They may, for example, say simply “juice” when they mean “I want some juice,” or “bed” when they mean “I’m tired, and I’d like to go to bed now.”

So, how do you teach your child about nouns in a way that’s fun and will give them an edge over their peers? You can use online noun worksheets from various sites, but we also encourage you to work one-on-one with your kids. The best way to do it is by making learning about nouns a game. Kids love to play, and they especially love to play with their parents. Noun worksheets are a great way to facilitate learning, and you can try these great activities as well.

The 20-Second List

Make a 4-column chart. The headings should be Person, Place, Thing and Idea. Give your child 20 seconds per column, to fill it with as many correct nouns they can come up with. Make sure you have a stopwatch so you can count off the seconds correctly, or use a timer on your computer. When they finish one column, shout “Go!” to move them to the next. Expect mistakes early on, but when they fill all columns with four or more correct nouns, offer a reward – maybe a sticker, or 10 minutes worth of video game time. Keep upping the ante, and increase the rewards accordingly.

News You Can Use

Cut out pictures from newspapers or magazines. Ask your child to identify the nouns in the pictures. For example, “This is a firefighter rescuing a cat from a pole.” They’ll not only learn about nouns, they’ll develop an interest in what’s going on in the world around them.

For older kids, you can ask them to write their own story about the picture, again underlining the nouns. Online worksheets also offer similar activities.

Guess the Game

Kids love games and sports. So for this game, you have them pick a game or a sport that they like. Then they write out a list of nouns that have something to do with the game or sport. For instance, for Monopoly, they might choose “hotel,” “house,” “money” or “bank.” For hockey, they could choose “stick,” “puck,” “player,” referee,” and so on. To switch it up, you might write the nouns the child has chosen on cards, and then ask him or her to identify the game or sport that the noun relates to.

Travel With Nouns

This is a variation on a very old party game. You can start by saying, “I am going in a trip, and in my suitcase I have packed an automobile.” You can bet your child will get a giggle out of that. Now, his or her job is to come up with a noun that begins with the letter “B”. Keep going back and forth.

You can also play “sentence games” when you’re out for a walk with your child. Ask him to identify the nouns in sentences like “There’s a boy on a bike.” You can also work on proper nouns by playing this game – “Look, there’s Ryan on his bike.”

Online Noun Games

There are also tons of games that you can play online that will help your child to learn about nouns.

Posted in English Learning

Verbs Pave the Way for Language Development

It’s really exciting when children begin talking. If you have your own child or have had the opportunity to watch a young child develop, you may have noticed that a child’s first words are usually the names of people or things (nouns), such as MamaDadaballcar, or bear. But by the age of two, young children should also be saying verbs. Verbs are words for actions like gocomewasheat, or words for states like wantlikelovesee.

Why Are Verbs Important?

A recent study showed that 2-year-old children who use more verbs have more advanced grammatical skills six months later.

Verbs are very important for language development because they allow children to start building early sentences. Every sentence needs a verb. And the choice of verb determines many of the grammatical forms in a sentence. In fact, a recent study showed that 2-year-old children who use more verbs have more advanced grammatical skills six months later.

When Should Children Start Using Verbs?

There is a lot of variability when it comes to how many verbs children use when they are toddlers. But children should say at least a few verbs by 24 months. Many children can say at least 40 verbs by 24 months. A child with only three or four verbs at 24 months would be at the low end of the average range. This would not be cause for concern as long as the child continues to learn several new verbs every month for the next six months.

But children with no verbs at 24 months who don’t start to speed up in the rate at which they learn new verbs between 24 and 30 months may be at risk for problems with language development. These children will not be able to produce short sentences yet, as they can’t build sentences without verbs. If they have any other risk factors for a long-term language difficulty, it may be wise to seek advice from a speech language pathologist who can determine whether they need help building their vocabulary. See our article “How to Tell if Your Child is a Late Talker – And What to Do about It” for more information and a list of risk factors.

Posted in English Learning

How to help learners of English understand prepositions

Prepositions and their importance in English

Prepositions are tricky little beasts. The relative shortness of the words (most are six letters or under) and their often misplaced role in the overall scheme of things (why should prepositions be less important than nouns, adjectives or verbs?) mean that we should treat them carefully and perhaps give them more time in the classroom than is usually the case.

What exactly are prepositions and how are they used in English?

In a list of English prepositions you will find very common words such as ‘in’, ‘up’, ‘behind’, ‘from’, and ‘with’. Prepositions hold a privileged position as parts of speech in that they are a ‘closed class’. In other words, they are a select group of words that don’t accept new members to their club. This is in contrast to nouns, adjectives and verbs, which welcome new additions to their respective groups all the time.

While prepositions are limited in number, they are important because they act as vital markers to the structure of a sentence; they mark special relationships between persons, objects, and locations. For this reason, we should think carefully about how we incorporate the teaching and learning of prepositions into our classes.

What problems can prepositions cause for learners of English and their teachers?

It’s very difficult to use prepositions correctly in English and they present a number of problems for both teachers and learners.

First, most prepositions, especially the common ones, have several different functions. The preposition ‘at’, for example, has as many as 18 different functions, depending on which dictionary you consult. As vocabulary items in their own right, prepositions can therefore present a major challenge and it’s not unusual for learners of English to ask teachers to explain what a word such as ‘at’ means.

Second, there is no logical way of deciding which preposition goes with a particular noun, verb or adjective. Consider these examples: the reason for, arrive at, angry with somebody, on a train. In many instances, the correct preposition cannot be guessed, so the expression must be learned as a whole. The problem is compounded when a particular vocabulary item – again it’s those commonly used ones that are often guilty – flirts with many different prepositions, making teaching and learning a longer process than we may initially account for. Consider the adjective ‘available’. As a teacher, which of the following would you prioritise?

  • Tickets are available from the box office.
  • Not enough data is available to scientists.
  • No figures are available for the number of goods sold.
  • There are plenty of jobs available in the area.

All of these sentences are correct, yet in each case the adjective goes with a different preposition. We need to consider how we would deal with phrases such as ‘the reason for’ and the best way to teach words such as ‘available’, that go with multiple prepositions.

Finally, learners’ native language can ‘get in the way’ of the learning process and interfere with correct English usage. This is perhaps never more true than in the form of prepositional errors. For example, some expressions in English do not use a preposition but the same expression in another language does, and vice versa. In my teaching context, where the majority of learners are native Turkish speakers, I constantly hear sentences like ‘he married with her’, ‘I hate from that’ and ‘I accessed to the internet.’ Another problem I regularly encounter among Turkish learners relates to the multiplicity of uses of particular prepositions. Turkish has one preposition serving the same purpose as ‘in’, ‘on’ and ‘at’ in English, making it difficult for my learners to distinguish between their various uses.

A few tips for learning and teaching prepositions of place and movement

Go with the tried and trusted basics

Following the pattern that most course books take, i.e., dealing with prepositions in manageable chunks, is not a bad way to go. Teaching prepositions of time, place and movement, for instance, at different times, will enable learners to build up their knowledge of prepositions slowly and steadily. Doing so will be much more effective than, say, trying to teach every use of ‘in’ at the same time.

The game Simon Says is great for reviewing prepositions of place and movement with young learners, as you can give directions for students to move around, such as ‘Simon Says stand on your chair’ or ‘Simon Says get under your desk.’ Learners respond well to the movement and start using the prepositions naturally.

With adult learners, a competitive timed review game can work really well. Start by dividing the class into teams, say a sentence and then have them take turns drawing it on the board. If you say ‘the dog is behind the chair’, the learners have to draw a corresponding image, which can be graded according to speed or accuracy, depending on which is more enjoyable for the class.

Posted in English Learning

Why Pronouns Are Important

Pronouns are essential in the way we communicate with one another. The importance of pronoun communication, however, is crucial. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone so next time before making an assumption about someone’s pronouns, just ask!

What is a pronoun? 

A word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., Iyou ) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., sheitthis ).

What are Gender Neutral/Gender Inclusive Pronouns?

Gender neutral or gender inclusive pronouns are unspecific to one gender. Using gender neutral pronouns does not label or associate the person being discussed with a specific gender. This is especially important for people who don’t identify with their assigned gender at birth. Physical sex does not determine gender. In other words, genitals do not equal gender. Rather than assume someone’s pronouns based on their perceived gender or appearance, it’s crucial to ask what their pronouns are. 


Pronouns are essential in the way we communicate with one another. The importance of pronoun communication, however, is crucial. We use pronouns as a way to identify or refer to someone so next time before making an assumption about someone’s pronouns, just ask!

What is a pronoun? 

A word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., Iyou ) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., sheitthis ).

What are Gender Neutral/Gender Inclusive Pronouns?

Gender neutral or gender inclusive pronouns are unspecific to one gender. Using gender neutral pronouns does not label or associate the person being discussed with a specific gender. This is especially important for people who don’t identify with their assigned gender at birth. Physical sex does not determine gender. In other words, genitals do not equal gender. Rather than assume someone’s pronouns based on their perceived gender or appearance, it’s crucial to ask what their pronouns are. 

How do you ask?
  • “What pronouns do you use?”
  • “What pronouns would you like for me to use?”

It can take time to get someone’s pronouns right. Try your best. Apologizeif you do make a mistake and correct it. Don’t make it awkward. Remember that respecting someone means also respecting their pronouns.

How do you share?
  • “I’m Sally, and my pronouns are ze and hir.”
  • “My pronoun is co.” 
  • “I don’t use pronouns.”

Posted in English Learning

A Summary of the 10 Functions of Nouns

A Summary of the 10 Functions of Nouns — enjoy your reading!

1. Subjects of Sentences:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

2. Subject Complements (“Predicate Nouns” or “Predicate Nominatives”):
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

3. Direct Objects of Transitive Verbs:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

4. Objects of Verbal Phrases:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

5. Indirect Objects:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

6. Objects of Prepositions:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

7. Noun Appositives:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

8. Noun Modifiers:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

9. Noun Adverbs:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

10. Noun Absolutes:
The professor, John Smith, is the noun expert, so yesterday he gave the class his views on the importance of learning to write papers clearly, his students feverishly taking notes on all he said.

Posted in English Learning

8 Rules for Using the Article The in English

An article is a word that modifies a noun.

In English, there are two different types of articles: the definite article (the) and the indefinite article (a/an).

In accord with the designations, the indefinite article is used when we speak about something for the first time, or something non-specific. The definite article is used when we speak about something specific or something that has already been mentioned in the conversation.

Many languages in the world use articles, but just as many languages don’t have them at all. So there is no reason to panic if your native language does not use articles.

The following eight rules regarding the use of the articles in English will help you make fewer mistakes when you speak English.

It is very important to be able to use the articles properly, both when writing and speaking.

1. With the names of countries and continents

In these instances we do not use the articles at all, BUT if the country is made up of different parts or if the name is taken from common nouns, for example USA, UK, UAE, then we use the article the and say the USA, the UK, the UAE, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands.

It is the same when speaking of continents and islands. It is not used at all with the continents. We usually do not use an article when speaking about islands, but if the name is made up of different parts, then use the definite article.

For example, Africa, Europe, Bermuda, Tasmania, BUT the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas

  •         She lived in America.
  •         They live in England.
  •         My friend is from the Czech Republic.

∙     I will go to the Galapagos Islands next year.

2. With the words breakfastlunchdinner

When it comes to eating in general, the article is not used. But if you are speaking about a particular breakfast, lunch or dinner, use the.

For example:

  •         I don’t eat breakfast.
  •         We didn’t like the dinner.

3. With the names of jobs and professions

In these instances, use the indefinite article a/an.

For example:

  •         I want to be a politician.
  •         My younger brother wants to be a vet.

4. With compass directions

Compass directions are written with capital letters when they designate definite regions (the North, the South, the East, the West), but not when they indicate direction or general location.

If the compass direction follows a preposition or if it designates a definite region, use the definite article the. If it follows a verb, no article is used.

For example:

  •         They went east.
  •         Look to the north and you will see the lake.
  •         The North is cooler than the South.

5. With names of oceans, seas, rivers, and canals

Remember that the definite article is always used with these bodies of water.

For example, the Amazon, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal.

  •         I would like to swim in the Red Sea, and you?
  •         The Amazon is the longest river in the world.

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6. With the names of unique objects

This means that only one of the object or thing exists; it is one of a kind. Specifically, the sun, the moon, the internet, the sky, the earth.

For example:

  •         The sun is a star.
  •         We looked up at all the stars in the sky.
  •         He is always on the internet.

7. With uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are nouns that we cannot count. A way to identify these nouns, in most cases, is that they do not add –s in the plural form.

But remember that for every rule there are many exceptions. If you are speaking about any uncountable noun in general, do not use the article. But when speaking about something specific, the is used.

For example:

  •         I like bread/milk/honey.
  •         I like the bread/the milk/the honey. (specific bread/milk/honey)

8. With surnames

When speaking about members of the same family collectively, the article the is used before the surname. In this way, you designate a group of people –a family – with one word. Remember, the surname must be in the plural form.

For example:

  •         The Smiths are coming for dinner today.
  •         Have you seen the Johnsons recently?
Posted in English Learning

Prepositions of time and place – article

Introduction

Many learners and even some teachers view the usage and meaning of prepositions as a secret that can’t be unlocked. However, if we examine the syntactic environments of such key prepositions systematically, patterns of usage and core meaning concepts emerge which can aid explanation and learning.

The prepositions at, in and on are often used in English to talk about places (positions) and times. Sometimes the choice of one over another in a particular phrase or sentence seems arbitrary. However, if we analyse patterns of occurrence we can identify key concepts in meaning and usage which consistently apply and can be used as a platform for learning.

Prepositions of time

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of time:

With clock times

  • My last train leaves at 10:30.
  • We left at midnight.
  • The meeting starts at two thirty.

With specific times of day, or mealtimes

  • He doesn’t like driving at night.
  • I’ll go shopping at lunchtime.
  • I like to read the children a story at bedtime.

With festivals

  • Are you going home at Christmas/Easter?

In certain fixed expressions which refer to specific points in time

  • Are you leaving at the weekend?*
  • She’s working at the moment.
  • He’s unavailable at present.
  • I finish the course at the end of April.
  • We arrived at the same time.

The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of time:

With months, years, seasons, and longer periods of time

  • I was born in 1965.
  • We’re going to visit them in May.
  • The pool is closed in winter.
  • He was famous in the 1980’s.
  • The play is set in the Middle Ages.
  • They’ve done work for me in the past.

With periods of time during the day

  • He’s leaving in the morning.
  • She usually has a sleep in the afternoon.
  • I tried to work in the evening.

To describe the amount of time needed to do something

  • They managed to finish the job in two weeks.
  • You can travel there and back in a day.

To indicate when something will happen in the future:

  • She’ll be ready in a few minutes.
  • He’s gone away but he’ll be back in a couple of days.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of time:

With days of the week, and parts of days of the week

  • I’ll see you on Friday.
  • She usually works on Mondays.
  • We’re going to the theatre on Wednesday evening.

Note that in spoken English, on is often omitted in this context, e.g. I’ll see you Friday.

With dates

  • The interview is on 29th April.
  • He was born on February 14th, 1995.

With special days

  • She was born on Valentine’s Day.
  • We move house on Christmas Eve.
  • I have an exam on my birthday.

If we examine these different aspects of usage for the three prepositions, a general pattern emerges. At is generally used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day. In generally refers to longer periods of time, several hours or more. On is used with dates and named days of the week.

Prepositions of place

Prepositions of time and place – article

An article on approaches to teaching the prepositions of time and place, atin and on.

Introduction

Why do we say The bank is on Grimshaw Lane. and She lives at 132 Gainsborough Avenue, but not She lives in 132 Gainsborough Avenue’ or The bank is at Grimshaw Lane?’

Many learners and even some teachers view the usage and meaning of prepositions as a secret that can’t be unlocked. However, if we examine the syntactic environments of such key prepositions systematically, patterns of usage and core meaning concepts emerge which can aid explanation and learning.

The prepositions at, in and on are often used in English to talk about places (positions) and times. Sometimes the choice of one over another in a particular phrase or sentence seems arbitrary. However, if we analyse patterns of occurrence we can identify key concepts in meaning and usage which consistently apply and can be used as a platform for learning.

Prepositions of time

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of time:

With clock times

  • My last train leaves at 10:30.
  • We left at midnight.
  • The meeting starts at two thirty.

With specific times of day, or mealtimes

  • He doesn’t like driving at night.
  • I’ll go shopping at lunchtime.
  • I like to read the children a story at bedtime.

With festivals

  • Are you going home at Christmas/Easter?

In certain fixed expressions which refer to specific points in time

  • Are you leaving at the weekend?*
  • She’s working at the moment.
  • He’s unavailable at present.
  • I finish the course at the end of April.
  • We arrived at the same time.

*Note that in American English, on the weekend is the correct form.


The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of time:

With months, years, seasons, and longer periods of time

  • I was born in 1965.
  • We’re going to visit them in May.
  • The pool is closed in winter.
  • He was famous in the 1980’s.
  • The play is set in the Middle Ages.
  • They’ve done work for me in the past.

With periods of time during the day

  • He’s leaving in the morning.
  • She usually has a sleep in the afternoon.
  • I tried to work in the evening.

To describe the amount of time needed to do something

  • They managed to finish the job in two weeks.
  • You can travel there and back in a day.

To indicate when something will happen in the future:

  • She’ll be ready in a few minutes.
  • He’s gone away but he’ll be back in a couple of days.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of time:

With days of the week, and parts of days of the week

  • I’ll see you on Friday.
  • She usually works on Mondays.
  • We’re going to the theatre on Wednesday evening.

Note that in spoken English, on is often omitted in this context, e.g. I’ll see you Friday.

With dates

  • The interview is on 29th April.
  • He was born on February 14th, 1995.

With special days

  • She was born on Valentine’s Day.
  • We move house on Christmas Eve.
  • I have an exam on my birthday.

If we examine these different aspects of usage for the three prepositions, a general pattern emerges. At is generally used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day. In generally refers to longer periods of time, several hours or more. On is used with dates and named days of the week.

Prepositions of place

The preposition at is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With specific places/points in space

  • She kept the horse at a nearby farm.
  • I had a cup of coffee at Helen’s (house/flat).
  • Angie’s still at home.
  • I’ll meet you at reception.
  • There’s a man at the door.
  • I saw her standing at the bus stop.
  • Turn right at the traffic lights.
  • The index is at the back of the book.
  • Write your name at the top of each page.

With public places and shops

  • Jane’s at the dentist/hairdresser.
  • I studied German at college/school/university.
  • Shall I meet you at the station?
  • We bought some bread at the supermarket.

With addresses

  • They live at 70, Duncombe Place.

With events

  • I met her at last year’s conference. She wasn’t at Simon’s party.

The preposition on is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With surfaces, or things that can be thought of as surfaces

  • The letter is on my desk.
  • There was a beautiful painting on the wall.
  • The toy department is on the first floor.
  • Write the number down on a piece of paper.
  • You’ve got a dirty mark on your jumper.
  • He had a large spot on his nose.
  • She placed her hand on my shoulder.

With roads/streets, or other things that can be thought of as a line, e.g. rivers

  • The bank is on the corner of King’s Street.
  • Koblenz is on the Rhine.
  • Bournemouth is on the south coast.
  • It’s the second turning on the left.

The preposition in is used in the following descriptions of place/position:

With geographical regions

  • Driving in France is very straightforward.
  • Orgiva is a very small village in the mountains.

With cities, towns and larger areas

  • Do you like living in Nottingham?
  • They were having a picnic in the park.
  • She works somewhere in the toy department.

With buildings/rooms and places that can be thought of as surrounding a person or object on all sides

  • Can you take a seat in the waiting room, please?
  • I’ve left my bag in the office.
  • There’s a wedding in the church this afternoon.
  • Lots of people were swimming in the lake

With containers

  • There’s fresh milk in the fridge.
  • I think I’ve got a tissue in my pocket.
  • The money is in the top drawer of my desk.

With liquids and other substances, to show what they contain

  • Do you take milk in your coffee?
  • I can taste garlic in this sauce.
  • There’s a lot of fat in cheese and butter.

A general pattern again emerges if we consider these different aspects of usage. We can think of at as one-dimensional, referring to a specific place or position in space. On is two-dimensional, referring to the position of something in relation to a surface. In is by contrast three-dimensional, referring to the position of something in relation to the things that surround it. Thinking of the prepositions in these terms helps us explain certain facts. For instance, in is generally used for larger places and at for smaller, more specific places, so we say:We arrived in Inverness two hours ago.

But:We arrived at the campsite two hours ago.

However, if we think of a city or larger place as a specific point in space, we can use at, e.g.The train stops at Birmingham and Bristol.

Or if we think of a smaller place as three-dimensional, we can use in, e.g.We’ve lived in this little village for many years.

Prepositions at/in/on – extended meanings

A systematic analysis of the occurrence of the prepositions at, in and on in their core usage as indicators of time and place, helps us establish some key meaning concepts which will aid us in identifying and explaining their extended meanings:

at – is a mechanism for denoting the specific, it usually refers to fixed points in time (e.g. clock times) and specific points in space.

on – is a mechanism which usually describes something in relation to a second, often linear dimension, hence it relates to the calendar (days and dates) and surfaces or lines.

in is a mechanism for describing something in relation to the things that surround it in time or space, hence it relates to periods of time and three-dimensional spaces or containers.

Posted in English Learning

Uses of Verbs–Grammar

Verbs tell you what the subject of a sentence or clause is doing (or being). Verbs are conjugated according to person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, or voice.

Verbs are at the heart of sentences and clauses; they are indispensable to the formation of a complete thought. A verb can express a thought by itself (with the subject implied) and be understood.Run!Believe!

Action vs. Nonaction Verbs

Action verbs simply indicate an action or occurrence.Gloria walked across the room.The shark swam menacingly close to the shore.

Even when used figuratively rather than literally, some verbs can still be considered action verbs.The singer broke with tradition by shaking hands with his fans.

In this example, the singer didn’t really break anything, but the verb is still an action verb.

Conversely, nonaction verbs can indicate a state of being, sense, emotion, desire, possession, or opinion. The most common nonaction verb is to be.I am a good person.The baby felt cold without her blanket.My mother loves me.I have four tickets to the show.

Verb Tenses

Verbs change in form, or tense, to indicate whether the actions or states are occurring in the present (or are happening continuously), occurred in the past, or will occur in the future.I take the bus.I am taking the bus.I took the bus.I will take the bus.

These examples indicate the simple present, present continuous, simple past, and simple future tenses respectively. Further possible tenses include present perfect (I have taken the bus), present perfect continuous (I have been taking the bus), past continuous (I was taking the bus), past perfect (I had taken the bus), past perfect continuous (I had been taking the bus), future continuous (I will be taking the bus), future perfect (I will have taken the bus), and future perfect continuous (I will have been taking the bus). All the latter uses would require additional grammatical elements to form complete thoughts. To ensure good writing, it is important for verbs to be used consistently and in a logical sequence so that the time period being written about is properly understood. Verbs can also have up to five different forms: root, third-person singular, present participle, past, and past participle.

Verb Moods

Among a verb’s many properties is mood. A verb’s mood, sometimes referred to as a mode, can be either indicative, imperative, or subjunctive. The most common of these is the indicative mood. Indicative mood is used for statements of fact or opinion and to pose questions.Every rose has its thorn.A cat has nine lives.Is the moon made of cheese?

The imperative mood is used to express commands. Subjects are often implied rather than expressed in sentences with imperative verbs. In the following examples, the subject you is implied:Put that down!Please exit the building in single file.

The subjunctive mood is used to express a verb with an action or state that is doubtful, imagined, conditional, desired, or hypothetical.I wish you were here.

It is implied by this sentence that you are not actually here, but I wish that were not so. Were is in the subjunctive mood. Conditional verbs (which often appear with if/when statements) also receive a subjunctive treatment.If I were a younger man, I would run three miles a day.

Were and would run indicate the subjunctive mood.

Of course, it is also important to follow the grammatical rules for conjugating verbs, including all those pesky English irregular verbs.


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Posted in English Learning

‘Some’, ‘Any’, and ‘No Article’

We can use someany or ‘no article’ before plural or uncountable nouns. They all mean something similar to a/an before a singular noun. For example:

  • Can I have a banana? [One banana, but any one is okay.]
  • Can I have some bananas? [More than one banana, but any small group is okay.]

The difference between some and ‘no article’:

Often, there isn’t a big difference in meaning between ‘no article’ and some. However, we use some when we are talking about a limited number or amount (but we don’t know or we don’t want to say the exact quantity).

Some means ‘a certain number of’ or ‘a certain amount of’. We don’t use some if we are talking about something in general or thinking about it as a category. When we use some, we don’t say the exact quantity, but we could probably find it out if we needed to. For example:

  • Can you buy some milk? [We don’t know exactly how much, but I’m talking about a certain amount of milk – I don’t want all the milk in the world.]

On the other hand, we use ‘no article’ when we aren’t thinking about the quantity. It’s used to talk about the noun as a category, rather than a certain amount of it:

  • We need Ø milk to make pancakes. [I’m thinking about milk as a category. I’m not thinking about a certain amount of milk.]

More examples:

  • We need to buy Ø coffee [I’m talking about coffee as a category, not thinking about the amount].
  • Would you like some coffee? [I mean a certain amount of coffee, probably a cup.]
  • I ate some bread [I mean a certain amount of bread].
  • I ate Ø bread [not pasta or rice].

Remember that often it doesn’t make a big difference:

  • Do you want Ø tea? [I’m not thinking about the amount.]
  • Do you want some tea? [I’m thinking about the amount, but the meaning is really the same as the first sentence.]

Try an exercise about this here.

The difference between some and any:

Generally, we use any in the same way as some: when we are thinking about a certain amount or number of something. Remember, usually both some and any can only be used with plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns, but not usually with singular countable nouns.

We usually use some with affirmative (positive) sentences and any with negatives and questions:

  • She bought some tomatoes [positive sentence].
  • She didn’t buy any tomatoes [negative sentence].
  • Did she buy any tomatoes ?

However, there are some exceptions to this.

1: Any can be used in a positive sentence to mean ‘it’s not important which one’. When we use any in this way, it’s most often used with singular countable nouns:

  • You can take any bus.
  • Pass me any glass.
  • Come over any Sunday.

2: Any can also be used in positive sentences that have a negative feeling, for example if they include neverhardlywithout:

  • She never eats any fruit.
  • We hardly watch any television.
  • Julia left the house without any money.

3: Some can be used in questions when we expect that the answer will be ‘yes’. This is very common in offers and requests:

  • Would you like some coffee?
  • Do you want some sandwiches?
  • Could you give me some help?
  • Could you pass me some sugar?

Compare the following two sentences:

  • Do you have any letters for me? [This is a real question. I don’t know if you have any letters or not.]
  • Do you have some letters for me? [I think you do, so I’m expecting that you will say ‘yes’.]

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