Prepositions of time show when something happens. They say precisely when an action takes place and how a noun relates to time.
Definitions and example sentences:
before = during the time preceding, earlier than something
She had to rest before eating dinner.
He woke up before his alarm went off.
The dog ran outside before me.
after = the period of time following, later than something
He went for a walk after dinner.
I went to bed after watching the movie.
She called her friend after seeing the man.
on = the day or part of a day during which an event takes place
I was born on January 13th.
She arrived home on a very warm day in July.
He's going home on Friday.
A preposition describes the relationship between other words in a sentence. Prepositions are very common and help to identify the location of a noun or the direction the noun is going.
The prepositions in this section can be divided into three groups: Prepositions of location, prepositions of time and prepositions of movement. Some prepositions can be used in more than one way.
Prepositions of time show when something happens. They say precisely when an action takes place and how a noun relates to time.
Definitions and example sentences:
before = during the time preceding, earlier than something
She had to rest before eating dinner.
He woke up before his alarm went off.
The dog ran outside before me.
after = the period of time following, later than something
He went for a walk after dinner.
I went to bed after watching the movie.
She called her friend after seeing the man.
on = the day or part of a day during which an event takes place
I was born on January 13th.
She arrived home on a very warm day in July.
He's going home on Friday.
A preposition describes the relationship between other words in a sentence. Prepositions are very common and help to identify the location of a noun or the direction the noun is going.
The prepositions in this section can be divided into three groups: Prepositions of location, prepositions of time and prepositions of movement. Some prepositions can be used in more than one way.
Quantifiers are words that go before nouns. Quantifiers show how much or how many of a noun is being talked about. Which quantifier is used depends on whether the noun is countable or uncountable.
A countable noun is a noun that can be counted, meaning it becomes plural.
Examples of countable nouns: cars, buildings, boys, girls, purse, wallet, woman, men, child, etc.
An uncountable noun is a noun that cannot be counted and is in singular form, but is composed of more than one individual person or item.
Examples of uncountable nouns: air, water, juice, crowd, class, team, blood, traffic etc.
Quantifiers usually go after the main verb in the sentence and always go before the noun. Notice that the noun becomes plural when a quantifier is used before it (countable only).
Definitions:
Not much = a small amount of
A little = a small amount of
Little = a small amount of
A bit of = a small amount, a little
A good deal of = plenty, a medium number of
A great deal of = a lot of, a large number of, more than a good deal of
No = none, zero
Example sentences:
There isn't much milk.
I have a little water in my glass.
There is little water left.
I ate a bit of meat with my meal.
He has a good deal of money.
I drank a great deal of wine last night.
There was no dancing at the party.
Note: There is a difference between a few and few. For instance, "Charlie owns a few books on Latin American literature." means that he has some books - not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes. On the contrary, "Charlie owns few books on Latin American literature." means he doesn't have enough for our purposes and we'd better go to the library.
There is a similar difference between little and a little. For example, "Yoshi has a little experience in management." means that although Yoshi is no great expert he does have some experience and that experience might be enough. On the other hand, "Yoshi has little experience in management." means that he doesn't have enough experience.
Definitions:
All of the = every bit of, all
Some = not all, a little bit
Most of the = not all, but a large of
Enough = perfect or right amount (not enough = not the right amount)
A lot of = a large number of
Lots of = a large number of
Plenty of = enough of, a good amount
A bunch of = many, a lot, a group of (a bunch of grapes or bananas)
Example sentences using both countable and uncountable nouns:
All of the cows are white. All of the milk is gone.
Some of the people are happy. Some of the class is Korean.
Most of the teachers are American. Most of the beef is in the freezer.
There are enough apples. There's enough beer for him.
A lot of cars are from Germany. A lot of the water was dirty.
Lots of children love Soccer. Lots of fruit comes from Asia.
There are plenty of pens in my bag. There is plenty of food left.
There are a bunch of flowers. There was a bunch of beer.
Containers are things that are used to carry, transport or hold other nouns. They range in size and shape and help to tell the location of other nouns. Containers are all countable.
Examples of containers:
a box, a bottle, a carton, a bag, a basket, a jug, a bowl, a plate, a cart
Example sentences:
The boxes have some cereal in them.
The water is in the bottle.
I bought two cartons of milk.
She has a bag of groceries.
They have a basket of flowers.
I was so thirsty, I drank a jug of juice.
For desert I had a bowl of fruit.
Dinner was served on three plates.
There is a baby in the cart.
Note: Generally, when talking about what the container is holding use the preposition of. As in, "It is a box of cereal." In this sentence the container is the main subject. When talking about the location of something and the focus is not on the container, but on the contents, use in (or on, for plates). As in, "The water is in the bottle." Here, "water" is the main subject.
Definitions:
Many = a lot, a high number of
A few = not many, a low number of
Few = a low number of
Several = a high number of
A couple of = not many, around two
None of = zero
Example sentences:
There are many dogs in Mexico City.
I have a few friends from Japan.
There are few Americans living in Hanoi.
She has several cats.
He has a couple of sisters.
None of the trees are blue.
When asking a question to find out the availability or number of something use how much or how many. Use questions starting with 'How many...' only when asking about countable nouns. Use questions starting with 'How much...' when asking about uncountable nouns.
Example questions and answers:
How much money do you have? (money is uncountable)
I don't have much money.
How many apples do you have? (apples are countable)
I have a couple apples.
"Want" is used to talk about something that is desired or wished for. "Want" implies that something is not necessary and is more for pleasure or fun than anything else. Usually, if the speaker doesn't get what they want, they feel bad, but nothing serious will happen.
Example sentences using "want":
I want to eat pizza for dinner.
(If I don't eat pizza, I will be sad, but I will not die.)
She wants to climb Mount Everest for her 30th birthday.
(If she doesn't climb Mount Everest, she will be disappointed, but will continue to live.)
The dog wants to come inside.
(If the dog doesn't come inside the house, it will be okay.)
The man wants to buy a new car.
(If that man doesn't buy a new car, he can still drive his old car, or take the bus, but it would be nice to have a new car.)
The horse wants to eat the man's hat.
(If the horse doesn't get to eat the man's hat, it's okay. The horse has other food it can eat.)
"Need" is used to talk about something required or things that are very important. "Need" implies that it is necessary and that if it doesn't happen, something bad will happen. That 'something bad' can be as bad as dying, or as minor as just being very upset or sad.
Example sentences using "need":
I need to drink water.
(If I don't drink water, I will become very unhealthy and maybe die.)
She needs to climb a tree.
(She is being chased by an angry dog. If she doesn't climb a tree, something bad will happen.)
The dog needs to come inside.
(The weather outside is very cold. If the dog doesn't come inside, it will die.)
The student needs to pass the exam.
(If the student doesn't pass the exam, something bad will happen.)
The horse needs to be fed.
(Someone has to feed the horse, or it could die.)
Countries / Nationality / Languages
The following is a chart listing the change that words make from country, nationality (the person from that country) and the language (what the people speak in that country).
Country Nationality Language
| Canada | Canadian | English |
| United States of America | American | English |
| Mexico | Mexican | Spanish |
| Brazil | Brazilian | Portuguese |
| Japan | Japanese | Japanese |
| China | Chinese | Chinese |
| South Korea | South Korean | Korean |
| Portugal | Portuguese | Portuguese |
| Great Britain | British | English |
| France | French | French |
| Spain | Spanish | Spanish |
| Sweden | Swedish | Swedish |
| Germany | German | German |
| Italy | Italian | Italian |
| Australia | Australian | English |
| Greece | Greek | Greek |
| Turkey | Turkish | Turkish |
| Iran | Iranian | Iranian |
| Ukraine | Ukrainian | Ukrainian |
| Russia | Russian | Russian |
Note: that not all languages are the same as the nationality and that in some countries a different language is spoken than expected.
Directions are the course that must be taken in order to reach a destination. Directions show where something or someone is, and how to get there. Prepositions are a very important part of directions. Directions can be given to something big like how to travel to India or something small like finding a pencil in a desk.
People ask for directions when they are looking for something and can't find it. There are many different ways to ask for directions.
Examples of asking for directions (ranging from most polite to least):
I'm sorry, could you please direct me to the nearest bus stop?
Excuse me, can you tell me where a bus stop is?
Can you tell me how to get to a bus stop?
Where is a bus stop?
Which way to the bus stop?
Bus stop?
Note: "Which way?" This only works when showing or pointing what you are asking about. Otherwise, the person being asked doesn't know where the speaker wants to go.
Step-by-step directions are very detailed and have many steps. Step-by-step directions are clear and precise because they use many prepositions to describe the location of something.
Example of step-by-step directions to a bus stop:
Go out of the door and turn right. Walk straight until you get to the first intersection. The street is Elm Street. Turn left on Elm Street. Walk down the hill four blocks. Turn right on Sesame Street and walk up one block. The bus stop is on the corner of Sesame Street and Walker Ave.
Not all directions need to be so detailed. Most often people will give quick, one sentence directions in order to not waste time and be more quicker.
Examples of questions and possible directions:
Which way is the escalator?
It's on the left, across from the shoe store.
Where is the bathroom?
It's down the hall to the right.
Where is the food court?
Go up the escalator two floors.
How do I get to the bank?
Walk down the hill and turn right on Oak Street. It's on the left.
Notice that the present simple tense is used. To be more direct when giving directions start the sentence with an action verb. This is not entirely impolite and is a very natural way of speaking to strangers in passing.
Pronouns are words used to replace proper names or nouns. Personal pronouns are used when the person or object has already been introduced.
Use personal pronouns to show who is being talked about. Use them when they are the subject of a sentence to replace a person, a persons name(s), or an object or animal. There are seven personal pronouns; I, she, he, it, you, we, and they.
Personal pronouns change depending on who is being talked about. The first person refers to the speaker(s) or writer(s) ("I" for singular, "we" for plural), the second person refers to the person or people being spoken or written to ("you" for both singular and plural) and the third person refers to the person or people being spoken or written about ("he," "she," and "it" for singular, "they" for plural).
Possessives
Generally, when showing possession (that something belongs to someone or something else) add an apostrophe and an 's' to the end of words.
Example sentences:
That is John's mother.
The cat's tail is white.
The girl's dress was long.
When the noun already ends in an 's', it is appropriate to just add an apostrophe to show possession. This is true for plural nouns that end in an 's' as well.
Example sentences:
That is Charles' book.
The students' questions were very good.
The babies' names are easy to remember.
Possessive pronouns are used when showing that something belongs to someone or something.
When showing that something belongs to someone or something, change the pronoun accordingly to become possessive.
Examples of possessive pronouns:
mine, my, your, yours, her, hers, his, our, ours, its, their and theirs
Example sentences and definitions:
I have mine. I have my pen.
You have yours. You have your pen.
She has hers. She has her pen.
He has his. He has his pen.
We have ours. We have our pens.
You have yours. You have your pens.
They have theirs. They have their pens.
I have a book. Its cover is black.
Note: In the above examples, the possessive pronouns on the left side are not followed by nouns and the possessive pronouns on the right are all followed by a noun. This doesn't change the meaning except that the possessive pronouns on the right are actually possessive adjectives because they describe who the pen belongs to.
Also note that apostrophes are not used when using possessive pronouns.
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