How To Use The Pronoun IT
IT is a pronoun that represents, things, objects, animals, plants…basically IT can be used to represent anything except people. IT is an interesting little word in English because that word has a number of uses. Do you know how to use IT? Take a look at the paragraph below and then check out today’s lesson: It’s such a nice day today. It’s sunny and warm and the sky is bright blue. I don’t think it will rain at all. A day like this reminds me of the first time I went sailing. I remember it very clearly. It was just as nice of a day. I was in a place called Oyster Bay. Have you ever heard of it? It is a beautiful place to spend a nice afternoon. It was my sister who first told me about it and I have gone there every summer since that time. It is a pronoun. That means it is a professional noun. (No, that’s just a joke!) As a pronoun, we use it to represent things that were just mentioned in the conversation, like this: I lost my book. Have you seen it? Here, it means my book. I just mentioned my book, so it represents my book. I was …
Free English Grammar Lesson – Using Much
I like listening to music, especially rock and jazz. I don’t listen to much country or pop music, but I to like some classical music. I don’t watch much TV, because I don’t like commercials much. Listening to music is much more enjoyable than watching TV. A lot of people have said they have trouble with much. How about you? Today I am going to show you how to use much in your English conversation. Much is used as a determiner before a noun, especially in a negative sentence and questions: I don’t watch much TV these days. Jack said he usually doesn’t drink much wine. We didn’t get much snow in NYC last winter. Keep in mind we generally don’t use much in a positive sentence, unless we use much with too and so: Jane said she drank so much wine last night. My dog has too much energy, so we walk her twice a day. We also use much as a pronoun: Bob said there was a lot of pizza at the party, but he didn’t eat much. Joe said there was a lot of litter in the park, but I didn’t see much. We use not much …
English Vocabulary Lesson – Enough vs. Plenty
Building up your vocabulary is essential when you are learning a second language. In this English lesson, let’s look at the difference between ENOUGH and PLENTY. This will help you in your everyday English conversations, as well as on English tests such as the TOEIC exam. There are plenty of people in the world studying English now. And of course there are plenty of language schools and websites like Happy English to help them reach their goals. I think studying a language for only a short time is not enough. You need to have enough time to understand how the language works and enough knowledge of the language to be able to communicate using it. Of course, knowing plenty of vocabulary will also help! Enough is used as a determiner before a noun to show that a sufficient amount of that noun exists. Enough can be used in a negative and positive sentence: Do we have enough wine for the party? I think I have eaten enough donuts today. Jack has enough work to do. Let’s have Jenny write that report. I don’t have enough gasoline. I’m going to stop at that service station. Enough can also be used as …
English Lesson: Anything, Nothing, Anyone & No One
Today, lets look at anything, nothing, anyone & no one. These four words can be confusing sometimes. Anything and nothing have the exact same meaning, but the way we use these words is different: We use anything with a negative verb and questions: I didn’t eat anything for breakfast. We thought it was strange that Tom didn’t say anything to his boss. Did Cathy find anything on sale at the store? BUT NOT: I didn’t eat nothing for breakfast. We use nothing with a positive verb: I ate nothing for breakfast. We thought it was strange that Tom said nothing to his boss. Cathy said she found nothing on sale at the store. BUT NOT: I ate anything for breakfast. Anyone and no one also have the exact same meaning, and the way we use these words is also different: We use anyone with a negative verb and questions: I didn’t see anyone in the meeting room at 3:00. I couldn’t find anyone to take care of my dog when I go on vacation. Does Cathy know anyone who still uses CD’s? BUT NOT: I didn’t see no one in the meeting room at 3:00. We use no one with …
English Lesson: Enough & Too
My friend Jack was thinking about having a party so he checked what he had in the house. There seems to be enough wine and beer. The last time he had a party he bought too much wine, and he has about ten bottles left over from that party. There was not enough ice, so he is going to need to pick that up when he shops for food. I told him no to buy to many things because there was a lot left over from his last party. Today let’s look at how to use enough & too. Do you know how to use these words? Have a look at the paragraph above and then check today’s lesson: We use enough to show that there is a sufficient amount of something and we are satisfied with the amount or situation. Jack: Would you like some more coffee? Jenny: No thanks, I’ve had enough. There seems to be enough wine and beer. It’s warm enough in the house, so I will take off this sweater. Do you have enough books to read on your vacation? We use not enough to show that there is not a sufficient amount of …