The Alphabet
A a B b C c
Click here to practice the alphabet
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Summary of Punctuation Marks.
Marks, Names and Examples.
. full stop
I love Polish food.
, comma
I speak Polish, Russian and English.
'World-English', as everyone knows, is the best place to study English.
; semi-colon
I hate swimming; my girlfriend loves it.
Neither of us spoke; we merely waited in silence to see what would happen.
: colon
You will need the following: some paper; a pencil; a pen, preferably blue or black; and your coursebook.
Joanna became a director in just four months: her father was the chief shareholder.
- hyphen
He had something of a couldn't-care-less attitude to life.
-- dash
In each country -- Egypt, India and China -- we were able to communicate in English.
The following day we had better luck - but that is another story.
? question mark
Where is the railway station in Skwierzyna?
! exclamation mark
"Help!" he cried. "I can't swim!"
/ slash
Please press your browser's Refresh/Reload button.
" quotation marks
"I think I'm falling in love with you," she said.
' apostrophe
This is Simon's car.
( ) brackets
Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes) are rich in vitamin C.
[ ] (square) brackets
The newspaper reported that the hostages [most of them French] had been released.
... ellipsis
One satisfied customer wrote: "This is the best school ... in which I have ever studied" or in more colloquial speech "This is the best school...that I have ever studied at."
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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
the following word starts with a vowel
an aunt
an old school
an American 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.
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.
- before phrases of nationality
Bruce Springsteen is an American.
- half/quite
We need half a pound of sugar.
This is quite a good story.
Exercises
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Simple Present Tense
1. Use the simple present tense to report repeated actions.
Examples:
I get up at 6 o'clock every day.
Nancy goes to the beach on Saturdays.
Bill watches TV in the evening.
2. Use the simple present tense with adverbs of frequency such as always, usually, generally, frequently, often, sometimes, seldom, rarely, hardly ever, almost never, never, etc. Notice that these are also repeated actions.
Examples
We usually have a quiz on Fridays.
I never go out on weeknights.
Maria rarely listens to the radio.
3. Use the simple present tense to describe general or scientific truths.
Examples
Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.
The sun rises in the east.
Cats like milk.
4. Use the simple present tense for permanent situations.
Examples
Jeff works for the government.
My brother lives in New York.
Mr. Norton sells cars.
5. We use the simple present tense with verbs that are not usually used in the present progressive tense to refer to the present moment.
Examples
I understand you now.
You look worried.
This food is delicious. I really like it.
Exercises
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Present Progressive - Use
1) actions happening at the moment of speaking
Peter is reading a book now.
2) fixed plan in the near future
She is going to Basel on Saturday.
3) temporary actions
His father is working in Rome this month.
4) actions happening around the moment of speaking (longer actions)
My friend is preparing for his exams.
5) trends
More and more people are using their computers to listen to music.
6) repeated actions which are irritating to the speaker (with always, constantly, forever)
Andrew is always coming late.
Form
to be (am, are, is) + infinitive + -ing
Examples
Affirmative sentences:
I am playing football.I'm playing football.
You are playing football.You're playing football.
Negative sentences:
I am not playing football.I'm not playing football.
You are not playing football.You're not playing football.You aren't playing football.
Questions:
Am I playing football?
Are you playing football?
Exercises
REVIEW EXERCISES
Click to download exercises to review lesson 4 to 6.
A. Complete the sentence with the right form of the verb.
Nick: Hi. I’m Nick.
Mary: Hello. I’m Mary.
Nick: I’m from England but I __________ (live) in Australia. And you where ______ you
_____________? (live)
click to download