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Welcome !

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Quotations

IF YOU CAN TRANSLATE FOR YOURSELF ALL THESE QUOTATIONS AND, MOST OF ALL, YOU CAN REALLY UNDERSTAND THE LINES, THEN YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT WAY IN YOUR LIFE.

PRIDE IS A SPIRITUAL DISEASE. IT EATS UP THE VERY POSSIBILITY OF LOVING AND BEING LOVED AND MAKE YOU LOSE YOUR COMMON SENSE !








Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Indefinite Articles, Explanations and Exercise


INDEFINITE ARTICLES A / An

A

The article A is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with consonant sounds. 

Articolul nehotarat A se foloseste cu substantivele numarabile care incep cu o consoana.

Atentie ! Este vorba de pronuntie - se refera la substantivele a caror pronuntie incepe cu o consoana. 
Important este sunetul si nu felul in care este scris cuvantul respectiv.

Exista substantive sau alt tip de cuvinte [ adjective, de exemplu ] care incep cu o consoana dar se pronunta fara consoana initiala:

ex. an honorable man - H nu se pronunta, motiv pentru care se foloseste articolul nehotarat AN

an hour - H nu se pronunta, de aceea se foloseste articolul nehotarat AN

If there is an adjective or an adverb-adjective combination before the noun, A(AN) should agree with the first sound in the adjective or the adverb-adjective combination.

Examples:
He is an excellent singer / He is a singer.
She wrote an essay / She wrote a long essay.
She is an excellent dentist / She is a dentist.

Use AN before words such as "hour" which sound like they start with a vowel even if the first letter is a consonant.

Also use AN before letters and numbers which sound like they begin with a vowel, such as "F", "L", "M",,, or "8".

Remember, it is the sound not the spelling which is important.

Examples:
I only have an hour for lunch. 
Does his name begin with an "F"? 

AN

The article AN is used before singular, countable nouns which begin with vowel sounds.
Examples:
She is an actress.
He didn't get an invitation.
I saw an eagle at the zoo.

Note: You cannot use A / AN with plural nouns
Use A before words such as "European" or "university" which sound like they start with a consonant even if the first letter is a vowel. 

Also use A before letters and numbers which sound like they begin with a consonant, such as "U", "J", "1" or "9".
Remember, it is the sound not the spelling which is important.
For example, "1" is spelled O-N-E; however, it is pronounced "won" like it starts with a "W".
Examples:
She is a European citizen.
That number is a "1". 

In English, some nouns are uncountable such as: information, news, knowledge, water, sugar, air, advice, money, etc.

We do not use A(AN) with these uncountable nouns.  

If we want to count them, there are quantifiers to be used:
ex. a piece of information
      a word of advice
      a bag of money
     an item of furniture


REMEMBER !

A – with consonant voiced nouns
AN – with vowel voiced nouns

 EXERCISE:

Add a / an to the following:

Hour, heir, heiress, hospitable man, hospital, usual thing, union, uniform, unit, UFO, Unidentified Flying Object, European citizen, university, X-ray, egg, ice-cream, education, unicorn, year, ear, yard, yellow wall, L, W, X