Countable nouns are items or things that can be singular (eg, apple), or plural (apples). Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, only has one form (eg, coffee, beer, money, energy, electricity, magic). Numbers can be used with countable nouns, but they can’t be used with uncountable nouns (for instance, it’s possible to say one elephant, eighteen guns, four winds)

‘Some’ and ‘any’ can be used with plural countable nouns and with uncountable nouns.

Countable:

They are gone to buy some apples.
Do we have any biscuits?

Uncountable:

Would you like some coffee?
I don’t have any money.

One useful way to think about uncountable nouns, is that they name items that need to be placed in a container - for example, salt, milk, vinegar, water etc.

A or an can be used with countable nouns (an envelope, a daughter, an eyeball, a snake), but not with uncountable nouns. However, with uncountable nouns, we can use phrases such as ‘a cup of tea’, ‘a grain of salt’ etc. We can count the units or containers that uncountable nouns come in.

As an exercise, place the following words into these sentences to make uncountable nouns countable:

grain bottle bolt jar bowl bag

There’s nothing more welcome on a cold winter’s day than a bowl of Irish stew.
She said she felt as insignificant as a ________ of sand on the beach.
The tree was hit by a _______ of lightening.
“I tell you now I’d kill my own grandmother for just one more _______ of whiskey”
You told me yesterday that you’d bought a ______ of sugar. Where is it?
They went down to the shop to buy a ________ of mayonnaise.

One point in time

On is used with days:

• I will see you on Monday.
• The week begins on Sunday.

At is used with noon, night, midnight, and with the time of day:

• My plane leaves at noon.
• The movie starts at 6 p.m.

In is used with other parts of the day, with months, with years, with seasons:

• He likes to read in the afternoon.
• The days are long in August.
• The book was published in 1999.
• The flowers will bloom in spring.

Extended time

To express extended time, English uses the following prepositions: since, for, by, from—to, from-until, during, (with)in

• She has been gone since yesterday. (She left yesterday and has not returned.)
• I’m going to Paris for two weeks. (I will spend two weeks there.)
• The movie showed from August to October. (Beginning in August and ending in October.)
• The decorations were up from spring until fall. (Beginning in spring and ending in fall.)
• I watch TV during the evening. (For some period of time in the evening.)
• We must finish the project within a year. (No longer than a year.)

Place

To express notions of place, English uses the following prepositions: to talk about the point itself: in, to express something contained: inside, to talk about the surface: on, to talk about a general vicinity, at.

• There is a wasp in the room.
• Put the present inside the box.
• I left your keys on the table.
• She was waiting at the corner.

Higher than a point

To express notions of an object being higher than a point, English uses the following prepositions: over, above.

• He threw the ball over the roof.
• Hang that picture above the couch.

Lower than a point

To express notions of an object being lower than a point, English uses the following prepositions: under, underneath, beneath, below.

• The rabbit burrowed under the ground.
• The child hid underneath the blanket.
• We relaxed in the shade beneath the branches.
• The valley is below sea-level.

Close to a point

To express notions of an object being close to a point, English uses the following prepositions: near, by, next to, between, among, opposite.

• She lives near the school.
• There is an ice cream shop by the store.
• An oak tree grows next to my house
• The house is between Elm Street and Maple Street.
• I found my pen lying among the books.
• The bathroom is opposite that room.

“A man that doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man”.

Don Corleone (The Godfather).

My “old man” (father) met my mum (mother) in the 1970s. They had two sons – me, and my elder brother (older brother). Last year he got married. My sister-in-law (brother’s wife) gave birth to a baby boy, so now I have a nephew (brother’s son). I was very happy to become an uncle. My mother was not so happy to become a grandmother, but she loves spending time with her grandson. My extended family (uncles, aunts etc) is fairly large. On my mother’s side of the family (mother’s relatives) I have 3 aunts, two uncles, and a lot of cousins.

How well do you know your family?

Your wife’s brother is your ___________________________.

Your grandfather’s father is your ______________________.

Your grandmother’s sister is your ______________________.

Your cousin’s child is your ____________________________.

Your sister’s daughter is your _________________________.

Your mother’s daughter is your________________________.

Your son’s daughter is your ___________________________.

A man whose wife has passed away is a _________________.

A woman whose husband has passed away is a ____________.

Your spouse’s family are your __________________________.

Great grandfather. Sister. Widower. In-laws. Brother-in-law. Great aunt. Niece. Granddaughter. Widow. First cousin once removed.

We use ‘can’ to talk about abilities:

He can play guitar.
I can’t believe it’s not butter.
You can do it if you really want.
You can’t always get what you want.
They can speak German, but they cannot speak French.

‘Can’ is used in the present tense, to talk about things that someone is able to do now, at this time. It is what’s known as a ‘modal verb’.

If we want to use ‘can’ in the past tense, we change it to ‘could’. (Note: ‘could’ has several other meanings, but we shall only focus on the one meaning in this lesson):

I couldn’t understand what you were saying to me last night on the telephone
They could sing many old songs when they were younger, but now they can’t remember them.
He told me that when he was a child, he could read people’s minds
I couldn’t remember for days, but today it finally came back to me
We could go out whenever we pleased, back then.

Now, insert either ‘can’ or ‘could’ (or ‘can’t’ or ‘couldn’t’) into the following sentences.

1. I looked and looked but I _______ find anything.
2. ______ you hear me? I’m speaking as loud as I _____.
3. What do you mean, you ______ believe me - I’m telling you the truth!
4. She _____ sing so beautifully, before she lost her throat to the wild dogs.
5. They ______ take long, leisurely strolls in the hills and meadows while they were living in Switzerland. It was ideal.
6. We ______ leave the house until the landlord went away.

Does anyone ever watch the closing credits of a film? Is anyone interested in where the film was shot? Is anyone patient enough to watch the credits to see if there are bloopers or post-credit scenes? For those of you who do, here’s a list of jobs on a film crew. Try match these definitions with the job titles below:

1. The person who creates the physical “look” of the film.

2. The person responsible for microphone placement.

3. The person in charge of setting up the lighting.

4. The person who creates and records sound effects.

5. The person in charge of the camera, framing and lighting.

6. The person who assembles the various shots into a film.

7. The person in charge of objects that appear in the film.

8. The person responsible for inserting film into the camera.

9. The person who keeps track of what parts of the script have been filmed.

10. The person who builds the structures in a film.

Production Designer

Props Master

Director of Photography

Loader

Boom Operator

Key Grip

Foley Artist

Continuity person

Set Designer

Editor

Sometimes, verbs are used as nouns, and when this is the case they become known as ‘gerunds’. If we say ‘He is fishing’, the main verb in this sentence is fishing (it is in present continuous form; subject + auxiliary verb ‘to be’ + main verb with ‘ing’). However, if we say ‘He likes fishing’, ‘fishing’ in this case is not a verb; it functions as a noun - fishing as a concept, a sport, a ‘thing’. The verb in the sentence is ‘likes’. The gerund is formed by adding ‘ing’ to the infinitive (or root) of the verb.

Some of the most common circumstances when gerunds can be used include the following:

- After verbs that mean liking or disliking: like, love, enjoy, hate, dislike etc.

Eg. We really love yodelling

- After verbs that indicate the end or beginning of an action: begin, start, finish, end etc.

Eg. She started combing her nephew’s hair

In some cases it is not permissible to use a gerund, and the to-infinitive must be used (to eat, to go, to follow). In other cases the bare infinitive is used (eat, go, follow).

Fill in the blanks in these sentences with the gerund form :

1. Have you ever seen anybody _______ (throw) a boomerang. (Gerund used after verb of sensation - see)
2. I remember _______ (put) the papers somewhere on the table.
3. I’m really looking forward to _______ (taste) one of those cakes of yours.
4.She remembers _______ (go) out of school and _______ (have) tea with her friends.

The ‘passive’ form (or voice) is used when the subject of the sentence becomes the object.

Eg: Houses are made of bricks

My bike was robbed.

Subject (but not the ‘agent’ or ‘author’):

– auxiliary verb ‘to be’ (present or past)

– the past participle of the main verb.

Complete these sentences in the passive form:

1. The charge was _____ (make) by the police.
2. The job can be ____ (do) by anyone.
3. The corpse was ____ (bury) in the cemetery.

When you want to avoid saying something that might be offensive to the listener you can use a euphemism. It’s a more indirect way to talk about something that might be taboo. One of the most common euphemisms is “pass away”, or “pass on”, which both mean “die”. Have a look at the following example.

“When did your father die?”

This is a very blunt way to ask. The listener might not want to hear the words “father” and “die” together, because to have a family member die is an upsetting experience.

“When did your father pass on?”

The second example asks for the same information, but in a much gentler way.

Below is a list of euphemisms. Try to match them with the actual meanings underneath.

1. Adult entertainment

2. Mature

3. Conflict

4. Sanitary landfill

5. Bathroom tissue

6. The big C

7. Restroom

8. Disabled

9. Fading quickly

10. Seeking work/Between jobs

Cancer, Handicapped/Crippled, Dying, Toilet paper, War, Pornography, Old, Garbage dump, Unemployed, Toilet.

There are hundreds of what are known as ‘phrasal verbs’ in the English language. This can be one of the most frustrating things about learning English as a non-native speaker. Phrasal verbs are words compounded of two or more words, including one ‘normal’. For example: get back - means ‘to return’; get away - means ‘to escape’; come back - means ‘to return’.

There is no rule or logic behind these phrasal verbs; the only way to learn them is by becoming familiar with them through speech, listening, reading, and practice. With a little effort, it won’t take long to master a few of the most common phrasal verbs. After that, more and more can be added as they are found.

Here are a few phrasal verbs related to anxiety, and an exercise for you to try:

Fill in all the gaps, using the phrasal verbs below

I really felt sorry for Jane today. I saw her sitting outside, but she didn’t look as relaxed as she usually does. I asked her if anything was ________her _______, but instead of replying she _______ crying! I was so shocked. It turned out that she had an important deadline to meet at work, and her boss had been her _______ by constantly reminding her of how important the project was, and how everyone was depending on her to do it well. As she was telling me she started _______ herself _______ again, to the point that she started shaking. I tried my best to _______ it _______, and even offered to help her with some of the work, but I don’t think she’ll be able to relax again until the project is complete.

work up / smooth over / wind up / burst out / stress out

Onomatopoeia is a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing.

A common example is “Knock, knock” – the sound of someone tapping on a door with their knuckles. The sounds that animals make are also described with onomatopoeic words. For example the sound a cat makes is “Meow”. Onomatopoeic words can also be used as verbs.

Eg. Someone knocked on my door.

Eg. My cat always Meows when she wants something to eat.

When used as verbs, almost all onomatopoeic words conjugate like a regular verb. So for the past tense just add “ed”.

Try to put these onomatopoeic words in the sentences below. Don’t forget to use the correct tense.

Achoo. Chirp. Hiccup. Moo. Oink. Thump. Boom. Smooch.

1. The birds were _______________ loudly this morning.

2. My brother ____________ me on the shoulder.

3. I ate that cake too fast and got the _______________.

4. “______________!” I think I have hay-fever.

5. I wish that couple would stop ______________.

6. The sound a cow makes is “____________”.

7. The canons on the ship _____________.

8. Those pigs always start _______________ when they eat.