Do vs Make

Click the pic below if you want to know more

Have/Get Something Done

    

                                            Ex 1           Ex 2

The Passive Voice

     
           

                               

                 
                                   

Passive Trivia         Jeopardy Game   Jeopardy Game 2
Exercises 1          Exercises 2   Exercise 3

Try now this interactive video lesson about the passive voice.


                    

                        


                       

Conditionals

Do you want to know more? Click here

Rewriting conditional sentences

Rewriting conditional sentences 2

Compound Nouns

Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. 

They normally have two parts. 

The first part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is.
The second part identifies the object or person in question.

You may have noticed that the compound noun can be written either as a single word (toothpaste), as a word with a hyphen (ccoking-oil), or as two words (paper clip). There are no clear rules about this. A good rule of thumb is to write the most common compound nouns as one word, and the others as two words.

The rules on whether to put a hyphen, a space, or nothing between the words in a compound noun are inconsistent. For example:

• inkwell , ink well , ink-well 
• fulltime , full time , full-time 
• waterbottle , water bottle , water-bottle 

It is best to use a spellchecker or a dictionary to see what versions of the word are acceptable. 

Noun Suffixes

Noun Suffixes 

Suffixes are affixes that attach to the ends of the base forms of words to create new words or new forms of words. Suffixation is a type of English derivation that creates new words. In addition to the agent suffixes -er, -or, and -ar, other derivational suffixes also result in the creation of agent nouns. Derivation suffixes create new agent nouns, nouns that identify the person performing an action or, in other words, names for people.



The following suffixes are more noun suffixes that create names for people:
 -ist – person
 -ian – of or belonging to
 -ess – denoting female persons
 -ar /-er/-eur/-ier/-or/-ur – agent

For example, affixing -ist to the base form of the noun art results in the new noun artist, meaning someone who creates art, and affixing -ian to the base form of the noun library results in the new noun librarian, meaning someone who works in a library.

The Use of Articles

English has two articles: the and a/an.
The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns.
 We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article                a/an = indefinite article 

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book.
If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the. 

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's take a closer look at the use of the articles in English.

General rules:

1.  a/an before singular countable nouns mentioned for the first time
2. a/an before some expressions of quantity
3.  the before proper nouns (eg rivers and mountain ranges)
4.  the before superlative adjectives
5.  the before singular countable nouns when we have a specific thing in mind
6. no article before countries, languages, cities, etc
7. no article before people or things in general

Ex 1         Ex 2

Be Used To & Get Used To

Exercise 1   Exercise 2   Exercise 3

Gerunds and Infinitives

There is no quick and easy way to learn gerunds and infinitives. It takes years of practice and familiarity with the English language. Sorry about that! Over time, you will begin to use the right verb combination.

           Basically, some verbs are followed by gerunds, some verbs are followed by infinitives, and some verbs can be followed by gerunds or infinitives. Native speakers do not think about the difference. But English learners have to memorize the hundreds of different verb combinations. Here are a few tips.

Tip Number 1: you almost always find a gerund after a preposition. For example, “She is afraid of flying.” In this sentence “of” is the preposition and “flying” is the gerund. You cannot say “She is afraid of to fly.” An infinitive cannot be the object of a preposition, only a gerund can. You could say, “She is afraid to fly,” but in this sentence, the preposition “of” is gone.

Tip Number 2: When you are talking about an activity, you usually use a gerund. For example, “I stopped smoking.” You can describe many activities by using “go” before a gerund. “Let’s go shopping,” or “We went skiing.”

This is only a simple introduction to a complicated grammar topic. Take a look at the lists here and here.   

Let's see how much you know already.   Exercises

Sit or Seat

What is the difference between Seat and Sit? 

Seat : (noun)

( 1 ) A thing made or used for sitting on

She rose from seat to welcome me. ( 2 ) Place where one pays to site in a vehicle or in a theatre etc…

There are no seats left on the flight.

Book four seats for the concert.

( 3 ) Place where something is based or where an activity is carried on

In India, Delhi is the seat of government.

Seat : (verb)

( 1 ) Make something / someone sit

I seated the girl next to her mother.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated.

I seated myself on the sofa.

( 2 ) Have seats for (a specified number of people)

This is a hall that seats 567 persons.


Sit : (verb)

( 1 ) Be in a position in which the body is upright and resting on the buttocks either on a seat or on the ground

Please sit on the chair.

She was sitting next to the door.
( 2 ) (Of clothes) fit the body well

The dress sits well on her.

The coat sits badly across the shoulders.

( 3 ) Be a candidate for an examination

He will sit for the test tomorrow.