ARTICLES

http://www.focus.olsztyn.pl/en-exercises-articles.html

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-definite-or-zero-article.php

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-articles.php

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6185

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-213.php

ARTICLES

The Indefinite Article – A / AN

We use A/AN with:

1. Singular nouns and the first time we refer to a person, animal or thing.

• a child
• an elephant
• a television

2. We don't use A/AN with possessive pronouns, demonstratives or cardinal numbers.

• My shirt is dirty.
• This car is expensive.
• One person is in the reception.

3. We use ONE (or more) instead of A/AN when the number is important.

• There is only one exit from the airport.

What is the difference between A and AN?

A is used when the next word begins with a consonant sound (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k etc).

• a book
• a table
• a clock
• a university (because the beginning of university sounds like YOU-niversity)

AN is used when the next word begins with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).

• an apple
• an elephant
• an umbrella
• an hour (because the H is silent)

Try our game to practice the difference between A and AN.

The Definite Article – THE

We use THE with:

1. A singular or plural noun when it is clear/obvious which person or thing we are talking about.

• There is a lamp in my bedroom. (we mention the lamp for the first time)
• The lamp is next to the desk.

2. Anything which we identify immediately.

• We watched the new Brad Pitt movie last night.

3. Musical instruments (the violin, the guitar, the drums, the flute, the piccolo).

• She plays the piano.

4. Something that is unique or there is only one.

• the sun
• the moon
• the internet.

5. Names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges and deserts (always in capitals).

• The Mississippi River
• The Black Sea
• The Andes
• The Sahara Desert

6. Directions (cardinal points).

• the west
• the south-east
• the north-west.

No Article

We use no article with:

1. When we refer to general ideas, plurals or uncountable nouns we do not use THE.

• Religion is an important issue. (NOT The religion is an important issue)
• Mexican food is spicy. (NOT The Mexican food is spicy).

2. Names of people, books and plays (unless it is part of the title).

• I have read Romeo and Juliet.

3. Towns, cities, states and countries.

• Cape Town
• Montana
• Vietnam

(Exceptions – The USA, The UK, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, The Philippines).

4. Lakes, single islands, continents or mountains.

• Lake Victoria
• Jamaica
• Asia
• Mt Fuji

5. Planets

• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn

6. Sports or games

• soccer
• tennis
• skiing
• monopoly

7. Meals

• breakfast
• lunch
• dinner
• supper

EXERCISES	TOPICS COVERED
Articles Exercise 1	A vs. An vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 4)
Articles Exercise 2	A vs. An vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 4)
Articles Exercise 3	A vs. An vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 7)
Articles Exercise 4	A vs. An vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 7)
Articles Exercise 5	A vs. An vs. No Article (Use 8)
Articles Exercise 6	A vs. An vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 8)
Articles Exercise 7	A(An) vs. The (Uses 9 - 10)
Articles Exercise 8	A(An) vs. The (Uses 9 - 10)
Articles Exercise 9	A(An) vs. The (Use 11)
Articles Exercise 10	A(An) vs. The vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 11)
Articles Exercise 11	A(An) vs. The vs. No Article (Uses 1 - 11)
Articles Exercise 12	Advanced Articles (Uses 12 - 14)
Articles Exercise 13	Advanced Articles (Uses 15 - 16)
Articles Exercise 14	Advanced Articles (Use 17)
Articles Exercise 15	Advanced Articles (Use 18)

GREETINGS !!!

I really hope everybody is fine and safe.
It has been a long time without seeing each other I pray all of you find peace to keep on.

IPA

EXERCISE 1

EXERCISE 2

EXERCISE 3

EXERCISE 4

USED TO VS WOULD

The difference between USED TO and WOULD 

Used to and would are both use to describe something that happened regularly in the past but doesn't happen any longer, as shown in the following two sentences about quitting smoking:

1. I used to smoke, but I quit last year. 
2. Whenever I craved a cigarette, I would chew gum instead. 

However, there are two important differences between used to and would. The first difference is that would should not be used unless it has already been established that the time frame is in the past, while used to does not require this. This example, with used to at the beginning, sounds natural:

• I used to watch cartoons every Saturday morning when I was very little. Now I rarely watch TV.

However, when used to is replaced with would, the same example becomes awkward and ungrammatical: 

• *I would watch cartoons every Saturday morning when I was very little. Now I rarely watch TV.

But if the past time frame is established before would appears, would sounds fine. 

• When I was little, I would get up and watch cartoons every Saturday morning. Now I rarely watch TV.

The second difference between used to and would is that would is not used with stative verbs such as love, be, understand, and feel. Compare these two sentences with the stative verb love:  

1. When I was a student, I used to love sleeping late on the weekends. (natural and grammatical)
2. *When I was a student, I would love sleeping late on weekends. (awkward and ungrammatical)

To summarize, the use of would is more restricted than that of used to. Therefore, if you aren't sure which one to use, it's best to choose used to.

EXERCISES

EXERCISE 1

EXERCISE 2

EXERCISE 3

EXERCISE 4

PAST SIMPLE VS PAST CONTINUOUS

taken from https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-paspro

Simple Past	Past Progressive
irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs I spoke regular verbs: verb + ed I worked	past form of 'be' + ing form of verb I was speaking you were speaking he / she / it was speaking we were speaking they were speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' : when the final letter is e, only add d. Example: love - loved after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: admit - admitted final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelled after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not after a vowel) Example: worry - he worried but: play - he played	Exceptions when adding 'ing' : silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -ee) Example: come - coming but: agree - agreeing after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: sit - sitting final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelling final ie becomes y. Example: lie - lying

See also explanations on Simple Past and Past Progressive

Use

After another or at the same time?

Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the same time?

Simple Past	Past Progressive
after another She came home, switched on the computer and checked her e-mails.	at the same time Simon was playing on the computer while his brother was watching TV.

New action or already in progress?

If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you need both tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already in progress.

Simple Past	Past Progressive
new action My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a meeting.)	action already in progress While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile suddenly rang.)

Only mentioning or emphasising progress?

Do you just want to mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short actions)? Or do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking place at a certain time?

Simple Past	Past Progressive
just mentioning Colin played football yesterday.	emphasising progress Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing football.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form).

• state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
  Example: We were on holiday.
• possession: belong, have
  Example: Sam had a cat.
• senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
  Example: He felt the cold.
• feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
  Example: Jane loved pizza.
• brain work: believe, know, think, understand
  Example: I did not understand him.
• introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
  Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.

Signal words

Simple Past	Past Progressive
first then If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)	when while as long as

Exercises on Simple Past and Past Progressive

• one after another or at the same time: Exercise 1, Exercise 2
• new or already in progress: Exercise 3, Exercise 4
• just mentioning or emphasising progress: Exercise 5, Exercise 6
• mixed exercises: Exercise 7, Exercise 8

PAST SIMPLE VS PRESENT PERFECT

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs Example: I spoke	irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs Example: I / you / we / they have spoken he / she / it has spoken
regular verbs: infinitive + ed Example: I worked	regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed Example: I / you / we / they have worked he / she / it has worked
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed': when the final letter is e, only add d Example: love - loved after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled Example: admit - admitted final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English) Example: travel - travelled after a consonant, final y becomes i (but: not after a vowel) Example: worry - worried but: play - played

See also explanations on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

Use

In British English, the use of Simple Past and Present Perfect is quite strict. As soon as a time expression in the past is given, you have to use Simple Past. If there are no signal words, you must decide if we just talk about an action in the past or if its consequence in the present is important.

Note that the following explanations and exercises refer to British English only. In American English, you can normally use Simple Past instead of Present Perfect. We cannot accept this in our exercises, however, as this would lead to confusions amongst those who have to learn the differences.

Certain time in the past or just / already / yet?

Do you want to express that an action happened at a certain time in the past (even if it was just a few seconds ago) or that an action has just / already / not yet happened?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain time in the past Example: I phoned Mary 2 minutes ago.	just / already / not yet Example: I have just phoned Mary.

Certain event in the past or how often so far?

Do you want to express when a certain action took place or whether / how often an action has happened till now?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
certain event in the past Example: He went to Canada last summer.	whether / how often till now Example: Have you ever been to Canada? / I have been to Canada twice.

Emphasis on action or result?

Do you just want to express what happened in the past? Or do you want to emphasise the result (a past action's consequence in the present)?

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
Emphasis on action Example: I bought a new bike.(just telling what I did in the past.)	Emphasis on result Example: I have bought a new bike. (With this sentence I actually want to express that I have a new bike now.)

Signal Words

Simple Past	Present Perfect Simple
yesterday ... ago in 1990 the other day last ...	just already up to now until now / till now ever (not) yet so far lately / recently

Exercises on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

• Certain time in the past or just / already / yet: Exercise 1, Exercise 2
• Certain event in the past or how often so far: : Exercise 3, Exercise 4
• Emphasis on action or result: Exercise 5, Exercise 6
• Mix: Exercise 7, Exercise 08
• Exercise on the text Grand Canyon
• Exercise on the text Edinburgh

Tests on Simple Past and Present Perfect Simple

• Test 1
• Test 2
• Test 3

VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY

QUESTIONS WITH / WITHOUT AUXILIARIES

QUESTIONS WITH / WITHOUT AUXILIARIES

https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint/a_grammar/file02/grammar02_c01?cc=us&selLanguage=en


https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/preint/a_grammar/file02/grammar02_c02?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Questions with and without auxiliary verbs   created by skypeless… on 24 Oct 12  General knowledge  Medium level (82% of success)    10 questions - 7 178 players An exercise to test the use of auxiliary verbs in questions

Q1.

What (. . . . . ) for breakfast today?

   Did you have

   You had

Q2.

Who (. . . . . . . ) the 'Mona Lisa'

   Did paint

   Painted

Q3.

What (. . . . . . . . ) to the boss?

   You said

   Did you say

Q4.

Where (. . . . . . . ) in the summer?

   You went

   Did you go

Q5.

Which country (. . . . . ) the best beaches?

   Does have

   Has

Q6.

Which team (. . . . . ) for?

   Did Ronaldo play

   Ronaldo played

Q7.

Which team (. . . . . ) the match last night?

   Did lose

   Lost

Q8.

What (. . . . . . . . . ) after you left the restaurant?

   Happened

   Did happen

Q9.

Where (. . . . . ) sleep, last night?

   Did you sleep

   You slept

Q10.

Which director (. . . . . ) the film 'Ghostbusters 2'

   Made

   Did make

Questions Without the Auxiliary Verb Exercise at Auto-English

Make a question about the word in bold in each sentence. Sometimes you need an auxiliary and sometimes you don't.

1	Queen Elizabeth I became queen of England in 1558.
	___________________________________________
2	Queen Elizabeth I became queen of England in 1558.
	___________________________________________
3	Lilith was Adam's first wife.
	___________________________________________
4	The Athenians sentenced Socrates to death in 399 BC.
	___________________________________________
5	The Athenians sentenced Socrates to death in 399 BC.
	___________________________________________
6	Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.
	___________________________________________
7	Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.
	___________________________________________
8	Apollo and Artemis were born in Delos, according to legend.
	___________________________________________
9	The archbishop of Valencia ordered the execution of an innocent school teacher in 1826.
	_________________________________________________________
10	Gema saw a fox cub.
	___________________________________________
11	Gema saw a fox cub.
	___________________________________________
12	Tony broke the video.
	___________________________________________