Count And Noncount Nouns

Count nouns are nouns that can be counted (e.g., a book, two friends, three cars, etc.). A count noun may be preceded by a or an in the singular; it takes a final -s or -es in the plural.


Noncount (or mass) nouns refer to things that cannot be counted (e.g., money, rain, snow, butter, wind, air, clothing, etc.). Noncount nouns are not preceded by a or an and have no plural form.


COMMON NONCOUNT NOUNS


advice               weather             equipment
news                  water                 jewelry
information        music               postage
work                  money              luggage


Some nouns can be both count and noncount nouns:


–We drank some wine. (Noncount)
–We ordered three wines. (Count)


(It is implicit that three different wines were ordered.)

Irregular Noun Plurals

When the final -y is preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -i and add -es:


baby–>babies
lady–>ladies


If a noun ends in -fe or -f, the ending is changed to -ves (except: beliefs, chiefs, roofs, staffs).


life–>lives
thief–>thieves


Add -es to nouns ending in -sh, -ch, -s, -z, and -x. (Exceptions: monarchs, stomachs.)


wish–>wishes
class–>classes


Both the -s and -es spellings are accepted for nouns ending in -o.

tomato–>tomatoes
hero–>heroes


The plural form of these nouns is also irregular.

child–>children
foot–>feet
goose–>geese
man–>men
tooth–>teeth

The plural is the same as the singular for these nouns.

deer–>deer
fish–>fish
sheep–>sheep
species–>species


The final sound of these plurals is pronounced like the word sees.


crisis–>crises
thesis–>theses

Nouns: Singular and Plural

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Singular and Plural Forms of Nouns


All English nouns are either singular or plural. Most words form the plural by adding an -s to the end of the singular form:


month–>months
visa–>visas
airport–>airports


Other words, already referring to more than one person or thing, do not normally add an -s.


–the people, the fish, the mice, etc.

Asking Questions

In English, you can ask simple yes/no questions by either inverting the subject and verb or by using rising intonation:

–We can change money here.
(simple, declarative statement)


–Can we change money here?
(question with verb first)


–We can change money here?
(question with rising intonation)


NOTE: In the case of the simple present tense, it is necessary to use a form of the verb to do as an auxiliary in making a question:


–They like this bank.
–Do they like this bank?
–You have a passport.
–Do you have a passport?

Indirect Questions

Interrogatives in Dependent Clauses

–Do you know where I can cut off the water? (correct)


This construction can be troublesome for learners of English, because there is a tendency to make the dependent clause (where I can cut off...) a question as well:


–Do you know where can I cut off the water? (incorrect)


Both do you know and where can I cut off the water are legitimate questions when used separately. However, when combined in a single sentence the main clause (Do you know...) carries the full weight of the interrogative.


Here are some additional examples:


–Do you see it? Where is it?
–>Do you see where it is?

–Do you know when? When does he arrive?
–>Do you know when he arrives?

Information Questions

Many times you will want to ask a question that elicits information, instead of a simple yes/no answer. Information questions will begin with one of the following words:


WHO
WHERE
WHOM
WHAT
WHOSE
WHICH
WHY
HOW
WHEN


Who refers to people. It is used as the subject of the question.
Whom is used as the object of a verb or preposition.
Whose asks questions about possession.
Why is used to ask questions about reason.
When is used to ask questions about time.
Where is used to ask questions about place.
What can be used as the subject or object of a question. It refers to things.
Which is used instead of what when a question concerns choosing from a definite, known quantity or group.
How generally asks about manner. It is often used with much and many.
When a form of to be is the main verb in the simple present and simple past, it precedes the subject:


–Who is that man?
–Where is the airport?
–Where are the checks?
–What time is it?

Negative Questions

In a yes/no question in which the verb is negative, usually a contraction is used:


–Doesn't she live with you?


The other form, which is not contracted, is considered formal and is rarely used in everyday speech:


–Does she not live with you?


To form a negative question, make the auxiliary negative by adding not:


–Do they cash traveler's checks?
–> Don't they (Do they not) cash...?


HERE ARE SOME MORE EXAMPLES:


–Is Mr. Jones here?
–>Isn't Mr. Jones here?


–Are you coming?
–>Aren't you coming?

Tag Questions

Tag questions are questions that are added at the end of a sentence.


–Mary is here, isn't she?
–You like beer, don't you?
–They are leaving, aren't they?
–She doesn't drink coffee, does she?
–He has brown hair, doesn't he?


The subject of the tag question should be the same as the subject of the main verb. If the first part of the sentence is in the affirmative, then the tag question will be negative, and vice versa.


FIRST PART OF SENTENCE         TAG QUESTION


affirmative                                             negative
negative                                                 affirmative


In American English, a form of do is usually used when have is the main verb: They have change, don't they?

Using When

When is used in asking questions.
–When are you leaving?


When can also be used in a dependent clause:
–I forgot the date when you arrived.


In the latter example, when is used to refer to a noun of time (i.e., a day, week, month, etc.)


In time clauses, it is also possible to use that or which preceded by a preposition:

–I forgot the date that you arrived.
–I forgot the date on which you arrived.


No preposition is needed with that.


Note how two sentences are combined using when:


–I'll always remember the day she was born. She was born then (on that day).
–I'll always remember the day when she was born.

Using Where

You can use where in asking questions.

–Where are you going?


Where can also be used in a dependent clause:
–I see the house where they live.


In the latter example, where is used to refer to a place, such as a city, state, country, room, etc.


NOTE: In dependent clauses, where can be replaced with in which, which ... in, that ... in, or nothing at all:


–The building where they work is new.
–The building in which they work is new.
–The building, which they work in, is new.
–The building that they work in is new.
–The building they work in is new.

Forms of Other

Forms of other are used as either adjectives or pronouns:

SINGULAR: another book
                     (is)
                     another is

PLURAL: other books
                 (are)
                 others (are)


SINGULAR: the other book
                      (is)
                      the other (is)


PLURAL: the other books
                 (are)
                  the others (are)


Note that a final -s is used only for a plural pronoun (others). Another means one more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. Other/others (without the) refer to several more in addition to the one(s) already mentioned. The other(s) has a different meaning (all that remains from a given number or specific group):


–I have three apartments. Two are mine. The other is yours.

Jul 6, English Nouns

An noun is a word that names a person, a place or a thing.

Examples:
Sarah, lady, cat, New York, Canada, room, school, football, reading.

Example sentences:
People like to go to the beach.Emma passed the test.My parents are traveling to Japan next month.
The word "noun" comes from the Latin word nomen which means "name," and nouns are indeed how we name people, places and things.
An abstract noun is a noun that names an idea, not a physical thing. Love is an abstract noun.

Examples:
Hope, interest, peace, ability, success, knowledge, trouble.
A concrete noun is a noun that names a physical thing. House is a concrete noun.

Examples:
Boy, table, floor, coffee, beach, king, rain, children, professor.
A common noun is a noun that names a general thing, not a specific thing. Cat is a common noun.

Examples:
Boy, girl, city, country, company, planet, location, war.
A proper noun is a noun that indicates the specific name of a thing. It begins with a capital letter. Mabel (this cat's name) is a proper noun

Examples:
Robin, Alice, London, Sweden, Google, Earth, Eiffel Tower, Civil War.
(Compare these examples to ones in the "Common nouns" section to see the difference.)
A countable noun is a noun that indicates something you could actually count. Cup is a countable noun.

For example, you could count pigs: one pig, two pigs, three pigs...
However, you couldn't count water: one water, two water – no, it doesn't work...

A countable noun has both a singular and a plural form, and it can be used with the indefinite articles (a/an).

Examples:
Window, teacher, tree, lion, eye, cloud, pencil, heart, movie.

An uncountable noun is a noun that indicates something you cannot count. Water is an uncountable noun.

For example, you could count pigs: one pig, two pigs, three pigs...
However, you couldn't count water: one water, two water – no, it doesn't work...

An uncountable noun has only one form (no plural), and it cannot be used with the indefinite articles (a/an).

Examples:
Furniture, advice, mail, news, equipment, luggage, work, coffee, information.

some

مع الأسماء التي تعد في حالة الجمع بمعنى بعض (some)تستخدم

Some books - some pens - some dogs - some chairs

 الأسماء التي لا تجمع وتكون بمعنى بعض من او مقدار من (some) تستخدم

 

Some water   some tea   some cheese   some milk   some rice

Jul 6, English Pronouns – Types of Pronouns and Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun.

For example, you could say "Lisa is a nice girl."
Then you could replace the noun "Lisa" with the word "She" and get the following sentence:
"She is a nice girl."

"She" is a pronoun.

Examples:
I, he, it, we, them, us, mine, itself.

Example sentences:
He doesn't want go with them.Would they help us?His house is bigger than ours.Who is she?
The word "pronoun" comes from "pro" (in the meaning of "substitute") + "noun."

Personal Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns

Relative Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

Intensive Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Personal pronouns represent people or things. The personal pronouns are: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them. Me is a personal pronoun.

"Demonstrative" means "showing, making something clear."

Demonstrative pronouns point to things. The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those.

Use "this" and "these" to talk about things that are near in space or in time. Use "that" and "those" to talk about things that are farther away in space or time.Example sentence:
This cannot go on.That was beautiful!He wanted those, but decided to compromise on these."Interrogative" means "used in questions."

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The interrogative pronouns are: who, whom, which, what, whoever, whatever, etc.

Use "who" and "whom" to talk about people. Use "which" and "what" to talk about animals and things.Who?

What?

Example sentences:
Who is your father?Whom did you speak to?Which bag did you buy?What are my choices?"Possessive" means "showing ownership."

Possessive pronouns indicate that something belongs to somebody/something. The possessive pronouns are: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.

Example sentences:
I've lost my wallet.He married his girlfriend.This place is theirs.Is that cat yours?My car is slow. Hers is much faster."Relative" means "connected with something."

Relative pronouns are pronouns that link different parts of a sentence.
The relative pronouns are: who, whom, which, that, whoever, etc.

The cake that I got

Examples sentences:
The girl who called yesterday came to see you. The teacher whom you wrote has answered your questions.She lives in Kiev, which is the capital city of Ukraine.I really liked the book that you gave me."Reflexive" means "going back to itself."

Reflexive pronouns show that the action affects the person who performs the action. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.

She hugs herself

  
Example sentences:
He cut himself while shaving.I sent myself to bed.He could hurt himself!We must help ourselves.She trusts herself."Intensive" means "giving force or emphasis."

An intensive pronoun is a pronoun used for emphasis. In other words, Intensive pronouns emphasis the subject of the sentence. They are written exactly the same way as the reflexive nouns, but their function is different.

I made it myself

Example sentences:
I myself baked the cake.The queen herself recommended this restaurant.Have you yourself been there?The project itself wasn't difficult.We will do it ourselves."Indefinite" means "not exact, not limited."

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any specific person or thing.

Examples:
Anything, everybody, another, each, few, many, none, some.

Every girl is dancing

Example sentences:
Many have died during the war.Can anyone call her?Everybody wants to see you.Something can be done to help.An antecedent is a word (or a group of words) which a pronoun refers back to.

Examples:
(the antecedent is red and the pronoun is green)
She will buy some water and drink it.
Water is the antecedent of "it."
"It" is a pronoun and it refers back to "water." Diana left her book at school.
Diana is the antecedent of "her."
"Her" is a pronoun and it refers back to "Diana." Kevin and Laura are meeting their friends.
The phrase Kevin and Laura is the antecedent of "their."
"Their" is a pronoun and it refers back to "Kevin and Laura."
The word "antecedent" comes from Latin: ante (before) + cedere (to go).
Here we can see the great importance of pronouns. If we didn't have pronouns then these sentence would have to be written like this:
She will buy some water and drink the water. Diana left Diana's book at school. Kevin and Laura are meeting Kevin and Laura's friends.Read the following sentences and see if you can fully understand them:
They took it.
(Who took it? What did he or she take?) Ours is with them.
(What is with them? Who is they?) She bought hers.
(Who is she? What did she buy?)Do you see what happens?

If there are no antecedents it can be unclear what the speaker or writer is referring to.

Important note:
In many cases the antecedent can be fully clear even without directly mentioning it. In other words, the antecedent can be understood from context.

For example, let's say Jessica and Molly have an annoying neighbor. They always complain about him.

Then when Jessica says to Molly, "Do you know what he did this time?"

It will be fully clear to Molly who Jessica refers to.

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in three ways:
Person (First person: I/we, second person: you, third person: he/she/it/they)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did your homework.

Number (singular/plural)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did their homework.

Gender (masculine/feminine)

Correct: Bob did his homework.
Incorrect: Bob did her homework.

Important note:
In some cases such sentences can be correct. You simply have to use your common sense.

For example, let's say that Bob did Susan's homework, and I am now talking to Susan.

In this case, I can definitely say, "Bob did your homework."
(And I refer to Susan's homework, not to Bob's homework. So in this case the antecedent is Susan, not Bob!)

Determining the correct pronoun to use is usually pretty straightforward.

Some cases, however, can seem more challenging.

Correct: Every boy will start his test.
Incorrect: Every boy will start their test.

Correct: The box of toys is in its place.
Incorrect: The box of toys is in their place.

Correct: Both lost their jobs.
Incorrect: Both lost his jobs.

Correct: Alice and Kate talked with their father.
Incorrect: Alice and Kate talked with her father.

Correct: The United States opened its borders.
Incorrect: The United States opened their borders.

Jul 9, Best English Lesson Plans

Every teacher wants to know how to write the best English lesson plans so here are some simple tips for you.

What do the best English lesson plans need?

When I started teaching, I found this tough. The aim is the ‘why’ of the lesson and without it you can plan nothing. Start at the aim and work back. For example if your aim is to provide speaking practice in a particular situation then make sure you give your students the grammar, vocabulary and background information they need before they can talk to each other. Tell your students what the aim is, and then they will stay focused too. It is also good to recap the aim at the end of the lesson so the students leave knowing what they have achieved. Keep the lessons relevant to the class. There is no point doing a lesson based on politics for a class of elementary school age kids, and a lesson about the current teen star won’t be of much interest to most adults! Find subjects the class will be interested in and base your lessons around these. If possible, get your students to choose the subjects themselves. Make sure you vary your tasks so your students don’t get bored. Try and include different activities for students with different learning styles. For example, some visual tasks (try using picture activities), some physical tasks (try getting your students to act things or move round the class), some audio tasks (music is great if you use it in the right way), and some old-fashioned reading and writing tasks. Even adults start to lose interest after about 30 minutes so keep each stage short. I don’t mean you need to write two lesson plans, but it’s a good idea to have some extra activities you can use if something doesn’t work, or if students finish too soon. If you did a reading activity and they finished too early, get them write comprehension questions for a partner, or give them dictation on part of the text. Having extra activities prepared means you don’t panic if you finish early and gives students extra practice. Don’t become a teaching machine. Put something of your own personality into your lessons. Your students will appreciate this. If you like music, write a lesson plan around a particular song. If you are a keen sports person then use that to create fun games and activities. Your enthusiasm for the subject will be clear and your students will also be enthusiastic about learning. Humor is also important in lessons and can be used at any level. Warm up activities are essential. If you exercise then you need to warm up first so your body can get the full benefit of your training. It’s the same with mental training. If you give your students challenging work to do before they have tuned into English, it may be too difficult for them and they will lose motivation. A 5 minute word game or a quick conversation with a partner is all you need. Try and keep it relevant to your lesson to maximize learning.

There are lots of things to think about but these tips will help you write the best English lesson plans possible.