ESL Learning: Time Idioms

If you’ve ever watched the UFC, you may have heard the announcer, Bruce Buffer, yell, “It’s time!”

What does he mean when he says, “It’s time”?

In this blog post, we will discuss this saying and two other idioms related to time.

It’s time: now is the time to do something

Examples

• Son, you’re 16 now. I think it’s time for you to start practicing your driving skills.

• The mothers of the world say that it’s time for us to stop fighting each other.

Moment of truth: a situation that requires us to face a challenge and find out more about ourselves and our plans

Examples

• Today we face a moment of truth. We will open our restaurant and start inviting customers to eat our delicious food! What will they think?

• The people of Earth are having to face a moment of truth as we experience the negative effects of polluting our planet.

Now or never: something must be acted on now, because the opportunity may not remain for much longer

• It’s now or never. We need to make sure that we leave our children with a truly better world.

• If we really want to be happy, we must choose to be happy now or never.

 

Well, it’s time to say goodbye for now. When you reach your moments of truth, remember that we all have challenges in life. It’s now or never for us as a planet to work together, and 2014 is the year of teamwork!

Why not join the ETO family? Let’s work together to make the world better. For a free class, just click here.

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By Joseph

ETO American English teacher

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Using Articles with Country Names

Using articles with country names seems difficult. But really it is not. There 3 clear rules that I can give you to help you know when you should use articles with country names.

Rule 1: we use ‘The’ if the county’s name includes a common noun.

For example, the United States of America has the common noun ‘States’ in its name, so we need to use ‘The’.

Here is another example: The Islamic Republic of Iran contains the common noun ‘Republic’, so we need to use ‘The’.

Below is a list of some more common country names that have common nouns and use the article ‘The’:

The Central African Republic

The Republic of Korea (South Korea)

The Russian Federation (Russia)

The Roman Empire (Rome)

Rule 2:‘the’ is used before any country name if the name contains ‘of’.

Here is the structure: The ___ of ___.

Look below at these examples:

(Countries with ‘of’)

The United States of America

The Republic of China

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The Islamic Republic of Iran

Rule 3: we use ‘The’ if the country is an island country.

Look below at these examples:

(Island nations)

The Maldives

The Marshall Islands

The Philippine Islands (The Philippines)

Here is the summary:

Rule 1 is that we use ‘The’ if the county’s name includes a common noun.

Rule 2 is ‘The’ is used before any country name if the name contains ‘of’.

Rule 3 says we use ‘The’ if the country is an island country.

To learn more about Articles view our most recent blogs:

How to Use Articles in English 1 

How to Use Articles in English 2

If you would like to improve your English in grammar, reading, writing or any other reason, please book a free trial class with ETO today! In the meantime, please stay subscribed to our Facebook, YouTube & Twitter pages.

By Luke

ETO American English teacher

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How to Use Articles in English 2

In our last post, How to Use Articles in English 1, we learned 3 grammar rules about articles:

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

In this post, we look at 3 new rules NOT talked about in the last post.

Rule 4: We do not use articles for certain special places.

Examples: 

1. I want to go home.
2. I am at university right now.
3. I do not want to go to jail / prison.
4. I am in bed; call me later please.

Note: Other special places include work, church & hospital, plus others.

Rule 5: We do not use articles for modes of transportation.

Examples:

1. I came by bus.
2. I will go by train.
3. You can get there by foot.
4. I went by motorcycle.

Rule 6: We do not use articles with country names, unless if the country name includes a common noun.

Examples:

1. Country without common noun in name: America
2. Country with common noun in name: The United States of America
3. Country without common noun in name: China
4. Country with common noun in name: The People’s Republic of China

For additional explanation of this rule reference our blog: Using Articles with Country Names.

Lastly,

Here is a quick summary of today’s post:

Rule 4: We do not use articles for certain special places.

Rule 5: We do not use articles for modes of transportation.

Rule 6: We do not use articles with country names, unless if the country name includes a common noun.

Like I said, there are many rules about articles, but try to remember the rules from parts 1 & 2 of How to Use Articles and you will have far fewer mistakes. That is for sure.

If you would like to improve your English in grammar, reading, writing or any other reason, please book a free trial class with ETO today!

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By Luke

ETO American English teacher

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How to Use Articles in English 1

There are many rules about how to use articles. We will not try to cover ALL grammar rules about articles; but we will cover the 3 most common rules you need to know. These 3 rules will represent most mistakes that most ESL speakers make.

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Examples: 

1. He is an English teacher.
2. He is a policeman.
3. She was an actress.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Examples:

1. I want to try a class online.
2. Do you want a glass of milk?
3. I loved the good English class last night.  (Note: We use the to talk about specific countable singular things)
4.  I ate a piece of the chocolate cake. (Note: We use the to talk about specific countable singular things)

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

Examples:

1. Dogs are good pets. NOT The dogs are good pets.
2. Ice melts in the hot sun. NOT The ice melts in the hot sun.
3. Cows eat grass. NOT The cows eat grass.

Lastly,

Like I said, there are many rules about articles, but if you can remember these 3 rules, you will have a good start:

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

Please be sure to read the next post called How to Use Articles in English 2

If you would like to improve your English in grammar, reading, writing or any other reason, please book a free trial class with ETO today!

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By Luke

ETO American English teacher

 

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Using At, In and On

At, in, and on are some of the most frequently used words in the English language, but sometimes, they are very easy to mix up!

Let’s make these words a bit more clear.

When we talk about location (where something is), we use all three of these words. Here’s a general rule for distinguishing (deciding) which one is right.

We choose at for a point in space.

• Where can I find the manager?

He’s at the front of the store.

In this case, we will have to go find the manager at the front (towards the entrance).

• I parked at the corner of Main Avenue and 1st Street.

This sentence explains that I have parked my car where Main Avenue and 1st Street (also known as 1st St.) cross.

We use in to describe being within a self-contained (closed in) area, also known as an enclosed space, such as a building, a room, or a fenced in yard.

• She’s in the library checking her email.

With this example, we can find this woman using the computer inside the library. Note that a person can be outside of the library, and still be at the library, but must be inside the building to be in the library.

• Oops, I left my money in the car!

This sentence would be used especially if I have parked my car and then walked into a restaurant or store. In this case, I would need to go back to my car to get money to pay.

 

We prefer on to talk about something that is located on top of or connected to a surface.

• The painting looks good on that wall.

This sentence describes a painting that is attached to the surface of a wall, where it looks nice.

• Be careful! There’s some dog poop on the sidewalk.

We use this expression to let someone know that he/she needs to be careful to avoid some dog poop that is on the ground.

How about when we talk about time? By the way for some great time idioms, click here.

We use at to describe exact times, either based on a clock, or the time of day.

• I will meet you at 10:30.
• I love walking on the beach at sunset.

We choose in to talk about longer periods of time, like months, years, and beyond.

• I will visit the U.S. in May.
• Top hats were popular in the 19th century (1800s).

And on is reserved for specific days and dates.

• I will see you on Thursday.
• Her birthday is on July 14th.

Note that we say, “Her birthday is on July 14,” in British English.

Thanks for checking in with us! For more free resources, check us out on Facebook! Learning English online is very convenient. You are also welcomed to try a free English class with ETO today!

 

By Joseph

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ESL learning: There, Their & They’re

OK ladies and gents, I will answer a question that I had recently from a student studying a course in Business English.

Is there a difference between There, They’re and Their?

Yes. Of course! Here are the basic usages and differences in brief; we will look at them more closely further down in this post.

1. Use “There” when referring to a place.
2. Also use “There” to indicate the existence of something.
3. Use “Their” to indicate possession.
4. “They’re” is a contraction meaning ‘they are’.

There:
1. Adverb which means the opposite of “here”

The English book is over there.
Freeze! Stay right there.
Would you study English here or there?

2. Pronoun which introduces a clause or a noun.

We say ‘there’ + verb-to-be (is, am, are, was & were).
This shows the existence of a thing.
Also, we can use There to say something for the first time.
There is a great Travel English Program at ETO.
Are there any sodas here?
There is an old house on the corner.
There are a lot of people learning English as a second language.

3. Adjective which specifies a certain person, thing or noun.

That fish there is pretty.
That Native English teacher there is the best.

4. Noun which translates to “that place.”

He is not climbing up there!
From there, she jogged home.

Their: 

Their is an adjective that shows 3rd person possessive usually, but not always, in the plural form. This means that it shows that something belongs to another group of people. The word There nearly always comes just before the noun

Where are their grammar tips?
Is this their house?
At the ETO website, their demo class is posted for everyone to view.
ETO’s online textbooks are on their website too.
Her parents lost their car in the big parking lot.

They’re: 

There is a contraction. It means they are. There is usually followed by a continuous verb, (verb+ing)

They’re leaving tomorrow.
Who knows which English thesaurus they’re reading?
I see they’re improving their American pronunciation.
When they’re here, we will begin the conversation class.
When they’re richer, they can buy a nicer car.

Helpful ways to remember these grammar rules

There: Has the word ‘here’ inside to remind us there refers to places.
Their: Has the word ‘heir’ inside to remind us that something belongs to someone.
They’re: Try spelling out the contraction as ‘they are’ and see if it still sounds correct.

Grammar Quiz Time ^__^
Please try to complete the below grammar test and see how you do!
1. ___ cat is big.
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

2. ___ was a common grammar point on the test.
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

3. Her students will come today. ___ driving from Chicago.
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

4. Many years ago ___ weren’t any SAT exams; universities only looked at high school grades.
a. their
b. there
c. they‘re

5. My friends bought new English material for learning. ___ new material is great!
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

6. Both drivers have a license. ___ both able drive legally.
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

7. When you drive over ___ , can you please take my sister with you?
a. their
b. there
c. they‘re

8. Will you show me where ___ ETO Blogs are?
a. their
b. there
c. they‘re

9. ___ building is across the street.
a. Their
b. There
c. They’re

10. Can you tell me where ___ English class is?
a. their
b. there
c. they‘re

Please omment below with your answers..

How to keep learning?

Learn to recognize correct and incorrect usages of Their, There and They’re. It always helps us learn if we can teach these new points to a friend or if we write a few example sentences using the new grammar knowledge.

If you are still having challenges with this grammar, consider hiring a private tutor online.

In the meantime, please stay subscribed to our Facebook, YouTube & Twitter pages

By: Luke 

ETO American English teacher

Image credit 1: Grammarly.com

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Grammar – Its versus It’s

This has been a common grammar point that causes all kinds of problems for people who want to learn English. I was just asked this question last week on our ETO Facebook Page, so here is the answer 🙂

Use apostrophe: ‘It’s’ is a contraction meaning ‘it is’ or ‘it has’.

No Apostrophe: ‘Its’ is a possessive showing ownership or belonging.

These grammar rules are very easy and true 100% of the time. Let’s see some examples below.

Examples of contractions:

It’s a great hat.

It’s our opportunity to vote.

It’s been such a nice day.

Examples of possessives:

The website just posted its 25th blog

The company just bought its 5th building.

The zoo lost one of its animals.

Let’s look at more examples:

1. It’s been snowing hard for a month, but now it’s beginning to slow down. – Correct

2. Its one of the best hamburgers in the country. – Wrong (should be ‘it is’ or ‘it’s’.)

3. I think the country wants to get its economy stronger. – Correct

Below is an English quiz to help you practice and understand today’s English grammar better:

1. The company had spent all _______ money.

a) its

b) it’s

2. ________ been a great day!

a) its

b) it’s

3. Give me a call when _______ done.

a) its

b) it’s

4. The last car lost all ________ power.

a) its

b) it’s

5. The population voted for ________ new president.

a) its

b) it’s

My last comments:

Please feel free to write in our comment box below any questions, comments or contributions you might have.

Every ETO lesson has on average 20 or more grammar corrections to help you speak better English. Check out our class demo of a Skype English class and see what learning with a professional Native English Teacher can be like.

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Other valuable resource:

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By: Luke 

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What is the difference between good and well?

This is a question that English learners & Native speakers of British English and American English get incorrect in spoken English all the time.

Basically, ‘well’ should be an adverb and ‘good’ should be an adjective. The parts of speech are used differently. Let’s keep reading to understand better.

Have you ever heard this before?

1. I am doing good.

2. He plays guitar so good.

Well, they are both wrong!!! Why?

Answer: Because ‘good’ is an adjective that should be used to describe nouns. ‘Well’ is an adverb that should be used to modify verbs.

So, really we should say “I am doing well and I play guitar well”.

Can I see more examples and explanations?

You made a good painting. (‘good’ is an adjective that describes the painting)

You paint well. (‘well’ describes HOW you paint)

Are there more grammar rules I should know about ‘good and well’?

Yes!!!

Rule 1:

With the following words: look, smell, taste and feel, we must decide if these words are used actively or not. If the words are used actively, then we use ‘well’ and not ‘good’. If these words are being used as adjectives to describe nouns, then we use ‘good’.

For example:

1. The food smells good today.
Good describes the food, not the way that you use your nose.

2. You smell well considering you are sick and not breathing normally.
Here you are actively smelling with your nose, so use the adverb ‘well’.

3. He looks good considering he is 65 years old.
He is not actively looking with his eyes, so we use ‘good’ to describe his looks / appearance.

Rule 2:

Any time we are talking about health, we use ‘well’.

For example:

1. Do you feel well?

2. He does not look so well.

Rule 3:

We use good anytime we talk about someone’s emotional state.

For example:

1. She does not feel good about her IELTS score.

2. He feels good about learning English online.

Grammar Quiz:
1. He ran very good/well for his weight.
2. We had a good/well meeting last night.
3. Because of a broken leg, I am sure he will not feel good/well enough to play golf next week.
4. Red shirts look good / well on most people.

Please feel free to write below in our comment box  a question, comment or a response for our teacher to check for you.

Last thoughts:

Learning English online is very convenient. You are welcome to try a free English class with ETO.

Also, check out our class demo and see how fun and realistic learning with a modern Native English Teacher can be.

 

By: Luke 

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What Are Collective Nouns?

A noun that refers to a group of individuals or individual things (e.g., team of players, bundle of newspapers or a wealth of blogs, as seen on the ETO blog page at the ETO website).

I have put together a list of collective nouns for you guys and girls. There are so many collective nouns in English grammar, so I have picked a few that I think are more fun and interesting.

Have a read, go out and use these collective nouns and impress your friends.  Enjoy ^__^

Objects Collective Noun

Apples Bushel

Bananas Bunch, Comb

Cash/Bills/Notes Wad

Bread Batch

Canyons Maze

Chairs Fold

Clothes Suit

Condiments Accompaniment

Documents Dossier, Wealth

Drinks Round

Drugs Cocktail

Eggs Clutch

Firewood Faggot

Flowers Bunch, Bouquet

Furniture Suite

Grapes Bunch

Information Wealth

Islands Archipelago, Chain, Group

Keys Ring

Machine guns Nest

Mountains Range

Paper Pad (together), Ream (loose)

Ribs Rack

Ships Armada, Fleet, Flotilla

Stairs Flight

Steps Flight

Sticks Fagot

Things Bunch, Cluster

Trash Heap, Pile

Trees Clump, Coupe, Forest, Grove, Stand, Stillness, Thicket, Wood

Trucks Convoy

Winnings Purse

Your thoughts

Please write in the comment box which one of these collective nouns you liked the most.

Want to learn more?

If this was interesting or useful to you, you may also be interested in our Social / Global English Course, which focuses on a wide variety of language useful for many topics.

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What is a Clause?

I get this question a lot from people learning English as a second language.

A clause is a group of related words with both a subject and a verb. This is different from a phrase, which is a group of words that do not have both a subject and a verb.

Here are examples to help us understand:

Clause: I really like to eat pineapple.

Phrase: In the morning.

Dependant versus Independent clauses:

Yes, there are 2 types of clauses that are used in English grammar. The independent clause and the dependent clause, also called a subordinate clause.

The independent clause has all of the parts of speech needed to stand alone as a complete sentence.

A dependent clause depends on another part of the sentence to get the full meaning.

Here we see 2 independent clauses: 1) He is faster than her. 2) The dog is fat.

Here we see 2 dependant clauses: 2) Because he is faster than her, … 2) Since the dog is fat, …

Here we see an independent clause + dependant clause: He did not think he could eat the whole pizza, but he was still able to finish it all.

As we can see, the independent clause “He did not think he could eat the whole pizza” can be a sentence by itself.

When we look at the dependent clause “but he was still able to finish it all.”, there must be more information to understand what the sentence is about.

What is a relative clause?

A relative clause is a dependant clause that begins with a relative pronoun, like that, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, and of which.

Here are some examples of relative clauses:

1. I went to a restaurant where they serve raw food.

2. I know a man who works 80 hours per week.

3. I am thinking about a thing that is used to cut holes.

What is a noun clause?

Sometimes when we speak English, we use a clause to represent a single noun. This is called a noun clause. Let’s have a look below at a normal noun compared to a noun clause:

1. You should know about healthy food. (normal noun)

2. You should know about what to eat to be healthy. (noun clause)

Please feel free to write a question, comment or a response for our teacher to check in the comment box below.

Last thoughts:
Learning English online is very convenient. You are welcome to try a free English class with ETO.

In the meantime, please stay subscribed to our Facebook, YouTube & Twitter pages.

Other valuable resource:

The idiom Dictionary: Here

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