GRAMMAR: ALREADY, YET, JUST

We use the Present Perfect to:

- talk about experiences:

"I've been to London twice."

- Actions that started in the past and continue in the present:

"I have worked as a teacher for ten years"

- Past actions that have a result in the present:

"She has lost her keys"

We use ALREADY to talk about an action that has been completed before we expected.  It is normally used in affirmative sentences: "We have already had lunch" But it can also be used in interrogative sentences such as: "Has the class already begun?" Position within the sentence: before the participle.

We use YET to talk about an action that hasn't been completed, but we expect it to happen.     It is used in negative and interrogative sentences: "Have they arrived yet?" "She hasn't eaten anything yet" Position within the sentence: at the end of the sentence.

We use JUST to talk about actions that happened RECENTLY. "Dan and Kelly have just had a baby girl" (it means the baby was born a few days ago) Position: before the participle.

There is /There are

Affirmative form

  

There is a +  singular countable noun There is some + uncountable noun	There is a fish in the bowl.   There is some water in the bowl.
There are some +  plural noun	There are some vegetables in the basket.

 

Negative form

 

There isn't a/an +  singular countable noun There isn't any + uncountable noun	There isn't an apple on the plate.   There isn't any food on the plate.
There aren't any +  plural noun	There aren't any fruits in the bowl.

 

 Interrogative form

 

Is there a +  singular countable noun Is there any + uncountable noun	Is there a fish in the bowl?   Is there any water in the bowl?
Are there  +  plural noun	Are there any apples on the tree?

Exercise: THERE IS, THERE ARE

Correct the errors. Write the correct sentence below each sentence:

1. There isn't some water in the glass.

2. There are a 3 children talking with the teacher.

3. Are there some cars in the car park?

4. Is there any windows in this classroom?

5. There aren't some pencils in the pencilcase.

6. There is some people in the backyard.

7. There are any stickers in the album?

8. There is any parsley? 

Answers:

1: There isn't any water in the glass.
2: There are 3 children talking with the teacher.
3: Are there any cars in the car park? 
4: Are there any windows in this classroom?
5: There aren't any pencils in the pencilcase.
6: There are some people in the backyard.
7: Are there any stickers in the album?
8: Is there any parsley?

Found via: Englishexercises.

Exercise: A, AN, SOME, ANY

We use A or AN with singular nouns.  A is used when a noun starts with a consonant sound; a dog, a book, etc. AN is used when a noun starts with a vowel sound; an apple, an hour, etc.

We use SOME with countable nouns (only with their plural) and with uncountable nouns. SOME is used in: * positive sentences; I have got some time. * questions, expressing requests and offers; Would you like some tea? Can I have some biscuits?

We use ANY with countable nouns (only with their plural) and with uncountable nouns. ANY is used in: * negative sentences; I haven‘t got any time.    * general questions; Have you got any sisters? ExerciseIs there any tea left?

Choose the correct:

1. “Is there ... tea in this kitchen?” any      some a         an	9. “Are there any girls in your class?” “No, there aren´t … “ an       some any     a	17. The Browns haven’t got … children. any       some a          an	25. I haven’t got … books to read. some       an a            any
2.  Sorry, there isn’t … more tea. some      any a             an	10. Are there … lamps in the house? some        a any           an	18. Have the Collins got … children?  an        some a           any	26. Is there … book on the table? a              an some      any
3. Has Mr. Evans got … coffee? some      any an           a	11. This is … interesting newspaper. a          an any      some	19. “Is there any coffee in the kitchen?” “Yes, there is.....” some      any a             an	27.  There are … cups of tea on the table.  some      any a             an
4.  Have the Evans got … flat? any      some an        a	12.  “Have you got any glasses?” “No, I haven’t got …” some       a any          an	20. Have you got … chair for me? any        an some         a	28.  Is there … beer in the glasses? a              an some      any
5.  There aren’t … flats to rent. an         some any          a	13. There isn’t … water in the glass. some         a an          any	21. “Is there any coffee in the cup?” “Yes, there is …” a             an some        any	29.  There isn’t … beer in the bottle. a           some an           any
6.  Are there … boys in this class? an           any some       a	14. In the park there are … very nice trees. some       any an              a	22. I’m  reading … interesting book. an           any some       a	30. Mrs Green is having … coffee with milk. some        any a                an
7.  We haven’t got … cinemas here. any       some an          a	15. Mr. Smith is having … bread. any      some a            an	23. There are … children in the street. any       some an         a	31. Is there … wine in the glass?  some         a any          an
8. There are … girls in this class. any      some an           a	16. “Is there any beer in the glass” “No, there isn’t…” some       any a               an	24.  Has Peter got … interesting books?  some       any  an              a	32.  Have they got … books? any      some an         a

Answers:

1:any, 2:any, 3:any, 4:a, 5:any, 6:any, 7:any, 8:some, 9:any, 10:any, 11:an, 12:any, 13:any, 14:some, 15:some, 16:any, 17:any, 18:any, 19:some, 20:a, 21:some, 22:an, 23:some, 24:any, 25:any, 26:a, 27:some, 28:any, 29:any, 30:some, 31:any, 32:any

Found via: Englishexercises.

Talking about Christmas

Christmas Vocabulary:

Christmas Tree	Bulbs	Ornaments
Presents	Christmas Wreath	Chimney
Fireplace	Christmas Stockings	Eggnog
Ginger Bread Man	Ginger Bread House	Christmas Lights
Christmas Cookies	Candy Cane	Sitting on Santa’s Lap
Writing a Letter to Santa	Coal	Reindeer
Sleigh	Mistletoe	Carolers
Christmas Eve	Christmas Day

1. On _________________________ we will celebrate Christmas Eve.
2. Many people hang Christmas Wreath on their front doors.
3. Santa comes down the sleigh and leaves coal for the kids that have been naughty.
4. We decorate the Christmas tree with ornaments, bulbs and lights.
5. Candy cane is a red and white, mint flavored candy.
6. If you are under mistletoe you have to kiss the person you are with.
7. Carolers are people that come to the door and sing Christmas songs.
8. Santa flies in the sky in his ________________ that is pulled by _____________________.

We give presents for family and friends.

Christmas Eve is celebrated  on December 24th.

Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th.

Questions you can ask others about their Christmas:

• What's your favourite day?
• What happens on the day?
• Where do you go? What do you do?
• Do you eat special food?
• Do you wear special clothes?
• Do you give presents?
• Do you decorate your house?
• What did you do on Christmas Day?
• What did you do on Christmas Eve?
• What did you get for Christmas?
• Did Santa come to your house?

These are some sentence starters to help you talk about holidays.


On Christmas Eve, I ______________________.
On Christmas Day, I ______________________.
I went to ___________________ on Christmas Eve.
I went to ___________________ on Christmas Day.
My _________ cooked ________ on Christmas.
In my country, we _________________________ on Christmas.
I got _____________ for Christmas.
I gave my mother  ______________________ for Christmas.
Every Christmas, we ________________________.
Every year at Christmas time, I __________________________________.
We open gifts on __________________________.

 
Example Sentences:
I went to my uncle’s house on Christmas Eve.
My friends came to my house on Christmas Day.
Every year, we decorate a Christmas tree.
We always go to a movie on Christmas Day.
My family cooked beef for Christmas.
I baked cookies for my Grandmother on Christmas.
I got a puppy from my boyfriend for Christmas.
I gave my father a book for Christmas.
We go to Church every Christmas at 10pm.
In my country, we have fireworks on Christmas Eve.
In my country, we do not exchange gifts on Christmas.
In my county, we party until 5am on Christmas and New Years.
Children write a letter to Santa telling himm what presents they want and if they have been good boys/girls the past year because if they have been naughty Santa gives them coal.

 My favourite holiday is New Year. On this day Santa Clause comes in and gives me some presents. I go to the town's biggest square where we have our New Year Tree, and have some fun with my parents. I never go carol singing. I don't send any cards.
I usually eat some cake. On this day I wear a beautiful dress. I sometimes give presents to my parents. I decorate my New Year tree with baubles, tinsel and lights.

My favorite day is the three Kings day (6th January). Children get presents at this day. It is very funny!!!!!

December 25th is Christmas Day. It's a holiday for most people, and there are lots of customs and traditions, and children get lots of presents!

 

Christmas Eve refers to the night before Christmas. Eve refers to evening, and Christmas Eve is usually a time you get together with your family. Sometimes families have a big dinner. Sometimes you get together with friends, but for children Christmas Eve is when Santa comes, so it is very important for children to put cookies and milk out for Santa so when he comes and delivers presents, he has something to eat. 

One of the more popular cookies of Christmas is the gingerbread cookie with a shape of a person decorated with frosting and candy. They have a very unique taste and we usually only eat gingerbread cookies at Christmas. 

Having Christmas lights is really popular. The tradition is to decorate the house with lights. We often put lots of colorful Christmas lights on the outside of our house, and some people do different colors. Some people just do white lights, but it's really popular in America. Some people actually leave the lights on until February. We also decorate our house with a Christmas tree with christmas tree balls on.

On Christmas morning some people go to church. They go to Christmas Service. For Catholics it's called Christmas Mass and they go and they celebrate the birth of Jesus, which is the reason why we have Christmas, basically, the reason for the holiday.

Another morning tradition usually is to open gifts. Usually, the children run down and they check the gifts under the tree, but to see what they have for Christmas they have to wait for their parents. 

Another tradition for Christmas is the nativity scene that people have in their house to celebtrate Christmas. The nativity scene is the scene that has the story of Christmas so it would be basically a 'Joseph' and a 'Mary' and then 'The Baby Jesus' and then sometimes 'The Three Wise Men'.

EXERCISE: The Present Continuous and Present Simple Tenses

Put the verb in brackets in the correct form, either the Present Simple Tense or the Present Continuous Tense.

1. I ---readam reading a very interesting book.
   
2. Joanne ---worksis working eight hours a day.
   
3. Tonight we ---seeare seeing a play at the thereatre.
   
4. Who ---do you speakare you speaking to?
   
5. I ---don't knowam not knowing him very well.
   
6. What will you do if she ---comesis coming late?
   
7. My wife ---prefersis prefering coffee for breakfast.
   
8. What ---do you usually haveare you usually having for breakfast?
   
9. Your train ---leavesis leaving at 17.25 from platform 3.
   
10. What ---does Josephine dois Josephine doing? She's a student.

Answers:

1. I ---readam reading a very interesting book.
   
2. Joanne ---worksis working eight hours a day.
   
3. Tonight we ---seeare seeing a play at the thereatre.
   
4. Who ---do you speakare you speaking to?
   
5. I ---don't knowam not knowing him very well.
   
6. What will you do if she ---comesis coming late?
   
7. My wife ---prefersis prefering coffee for breakfast.
   
8. What ---do you usually haveare you usually having for breakfast?
   
9. Your train ---leavesis leaving at 17.25 from platform 3.
   
10. What ---does Josephine dois Josephine doing? She's a student.

GRAMMAR: The Present Continuous and Present Simple Tenses

Permanent (usual) and Temporary (now, around now) actions. We use the Present Continuous tense to speak about things which are happening now or things which are temporary.I am not working now. I am on holiday. Sally is listening to a new CD. Who are you phoning? The Present Simple tense describes usual, repeated and permanent things - for example, always, usually, often, sometimes, never.I work as an accountant. John doesn't know German. How often do you play tennis? Compare how these two tenses are used.Why are you walking to work? Don't you usually go by bus? I live in Kharkiv, but now I am living in Moscow. Usually we have dinner at 7, but today we are having it at 9.

Some verbs are not normally used in the Continuous Tense. They are called "state" verbs. If you need to practice such verbs, visit English Action and State Verbs page.

Present Continuous and Present Simple to talk about the future.

• We use the Present Continuous Tense for plans and arrangements.What are you doing tonight?
  I'm seeing a very important customer in my office at 4 o'clock.
  We are going to the see for our holiday.
  Where are you staying in Vienna?
  I'm not going anywhere. It is final.
• We use the Present Simple in the conditional clauses after if, when, as soon as, until etc, and when we talk about timetable, schedules, itineraries etc.What will you do if you fail your exam?
  We will wait, until she comes.
  
  My plane takes off at 9.00.
  The President arrives in Norway on 17 September.
  What time does your train leave?