Voice and text chat, in addition to instant messaging, are quickly becoming preferred ways of communicating with others online. For language learners, these forms of communication allow users to share ideas about themselves and the world in almost real time, and students can establish friendships with people around the globe, and thus, it can be an easy way to learn languages and world cultures.
However, care and consideration should be given when finding friends on the Internet because you really don't know who the person is at the other end. Thus, always use a nickname when chatting online and never give out personal information including your age, where you live, and the name of the school where you attend. Also, be careful about meeting online acquaintances in person, and if you do so, make sure it is in a public place and go with a friend or family member. Finally, contact local authorities if you feel you are in danger.
Again, chatting with others can be a fun and educational activity if you use care when doing so.
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:
There is one person here.
There are three people here.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable
Uncountable
dollar
money
song
music
suitcase
luggage
table
furniture
battery
electricity
bottle
wine
report
information
tip
advice
journey
travel
job
work
view
scenery
When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Countable
Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee!
hair
I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom.
light
Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
noise
It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)
paper
I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?
Our house has seven rooms.
room
Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party.
time
Have you got time for a coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.
work
I have no money. I need work!
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
A song from the School Rock House about PREPOSITIONS:
Like a butterfly, or a like bee
Like an ant, as busy as can be
These little words we call the "busy P's" Prepositions Nine or ten of them
Do most all of the work Of, on, to, with, in, from
By, for, at, over, across
And many others do their jobs,
Which is simply to connect
Their noun or pronoun object
To some other word in the sentence.
Busy p's,
If you please.
"On the top is where you are!" Top relates to where you are.
"With a friend you'll travel far!" With a friend you'll go.
"If you try you know that you can fly
Over the rainbow!" Over the rainbow is where you can fly.
Busy prepositions,
Always on the go.
Like a bunch of busy bees,
Floating pollen on the breeze.
Buzzing over the meadows,
Beyond the forest,
Through the trees,
In to the beehive.
Busy, busy P's In, to, beyond, over, on, through!
Busy prepositions always out in front,
On the edges, in the crack.
'Round the corner, from the back.
In between the action.
Stating clearly to your satisfaction,
The location and direction.
Prepositions give specific information.
Though little words they are,
They never stand alone
Gathering words behind them,
You soon will see how they have grown
Into a parade; a prepositional phrase.
With a noun, or at least a pronoun, bringing up the rear.
A little phrase of two or three or four or more words. Prepositions! Attention! Forward, March!
Busy prepositions,
Always on the march.
Like a horde of solider ants,
Inching bravely forward on the slimmest chance
That they might better their positions.
Busy, busy prepositions.
In the air, on the ground, everywhere.
The sun sank lower in the west.
"In the west it sank."
And it will rise in the morning,
And will bring the light of day;
We say the sun comes up in the east every day!
"In the east it rises."
Busy prepositions,
Busy, busy, busy!
On the top is where you are! On the top.
If you try you know that you can fly! Fly where?
Over the rainbow.
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. Whatever exists, we assume, can be named, and that name is a noun. A proper noun, which names a specific person, place, or thing (Carlos, Queen Marguerite, Middle East, Jerusalem, Malaysia, Presbyterianism, God, Spanish, Buddhism, the Republican Party), is almost always capitalized. Common nouns name everything else, things that usually are not capitalized.
A NOUN IS A PERSON, PLACE, OR THING
Music & Lyrics: Lynn Ahrens
Sung by: Lynn Ahrens
Animation: Phil Kimmelman and Associates
Well every person you can know,
And every place that you can go,
And any thing that you can show,
You know they're nouns.
A noun's a special kind of word,
It's any name you ever heard.
I find it quite interesting,
A noun's a person, place or thing.
Oh I took a train, took a train,
To another state.
The flora and the fauna that I saw were really great.
But when I saw some bandits chasing the train,
I was wishing I was back home again.
I took a train, took a train,
To another state.
Well every person you can know...
(Like a bandit or an engineer.)
And every place that you can go...
(Like a state or a home.)
And any thing that you can show...
(Like animals and plants or a train.)
You know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
Mrs. Jones is a lady on Hudson Street.
She sent her dog to bark at my brother and me.
We gave her dog a big fat bone,
And now he barks at Mrs. Jones.
She's a lady who lives on Hudson Street.
Well every person you can know...
(Mrs. Jones, a lady or a brother.)
And every place that you can go...
(Like a street or a corner.)
And anything that you can show...
(Like a dog or a bone.)
Well you know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
My best friend was waiting there for me.
(He took an early ferry.)
We went for a walk on the island you know,
And in the middle of summer it started to snow when...
I took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty.
Well every person you can know...
(Like a friend or the captain of a ship.)
And every place that you can go...
(An island or a sea.)
And anything that you can show...
(Like a statue, a ferry or snow.)
Well you know they're nouns
You know they're nouns, oh!
I put a dime in the drugstore record machine.
Oldie-goldies started playing - you know what I mean.
I heard Chubby Checker, he was doing the twist,
And the Beatles and the Monkees
It goes like this.
I put a dime in the drugstore record machine.
Well every person you can know...
(The Beatles and the Monkees; Chubby Checker.)
And every place that you can go...
(Like a neighborhood or a store.)
And anything that you can show...
(Like a dime or a record machine.)
Well you know they're nouns.
A noun's a special kind of word,
It's any name you ever heard.
I find it quite interesting,
A noun's a person, place or thing.
A noun is a person, place or thing.
Normally, we pronounce "the" with a short sound (like "thuh"). But when "the" comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".
vowel sound
we write
we say
A
the apple
thee apple
E
the egg
thee egg
I
the ice-cream
thee ice-cream
O
the orange
thee orange
U
the ugli fruit
thee ugli fruit
It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:
we write
with
we say
with
the house
consonant (h)
thuh house
consonant sound
the hour
consonant (h)
thee our
vowel sound
the university
vowel (u)
thuh youniversity
consonant sound
the umbrella
vowel (u)
thee umbrella
vowel sound
Emphatic the [thee] When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use "emphatic the" [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:
A: I saw the [thuh] President yesterday. B: What! The [thee] President of the United States? A: Yes, exactly.
Speak slowly and clearly Listening to someone speaking in a second language over the telephone can be very challenging because you cannot see the person you are trying to hear. However, it may be even more difficult for the person you are talking with to understand you. You may not realize that your pronunciation isn't clear because your teacher and fellow students know and understand you. Pay special attention to your weak areas (such as "r's" and "l's" or "b's" and "v's") when you are on the phone. If you are nervous about using the phone in English, you may notice yourself speaking very quickly. Practise or write down what you are going to say and take a few deep breaths before you make a phone call.
Make sure you understand the other speaker Don't pretend to understand everything you hear over the telephone. Even native speakers ask each other to repeat and confirm information from time to time. This is especially important if you are taking a message for someone else. Learn the appropriate expressions that English speakers use when they don't hear something properly. Don't be afraid to remind the person to slow down more than once. Keep your telephone in an area that is away from other noise distractions such as a radio or television.
Practice with a friend Ask another student to practise talking on the phone with you. You might choose one night a week and take turns phoning each other at a certain time. Try to talk for at least fifteen minutes. You can talk socially, or role play different scenarios in a business environment. If you don't have access to a telephone, you can practice by setting two chairs up back to back. The most important thing about practicing telephone English is that you aren't able to see each other's mouths. It is amazing how much people lip-read without realizing.
Use businesses and recordings There are many ways to get free telephone English practice. After business hours, you can call and listen to recorded messages. Write down what you hear the first time, and then call back and check if your notes are accurate. Use the phone in your everyday life. Call for a pizza delivery instead of going out to eat. Call a salon to book a hair appointment. You can even phone the movie theatre to ask for the listings instead of using the newspaper. Some large cities have free recordings you can call for information such as your daily horoscope or the weather. (Make sure that you aren't going to get charged for these numbers first.) Some products have free phone numbers on the packaging that you can call for information. Think of a question you might want to ask and call the free number! For example, call the number on the back of the cereal box and ask for coupons. You will have to give your name and address. Make sure you have a pen handy so that you can repeat the information and check your comprehension.
Learn telephone etiquette (manners) The way that you speak to your best friend on the phone is very different to the way you should speak to someone in a business setting. Many ESL speakers make the mistake of being too direct on the telephone. It is possible that the person on the other line will think that you are being rude on purpose if you don't use formal language in certain situations. Sometimes just one word such as "could" or "may" is necessary in order to sound polite. You should use the same modals you would use in a formal "face-to-face" situation. Take the time to learn how to answer the phone and say goodbye in a polite manner, as well as all the various ways one can start and end a conversation casually.
Practice dates and numbers It only takes a short time to memorize English Phonetic Spelling , but it is something that you will be able to use in any country. You should also practice saying dates and numbers aloud. You and a friend can write out a list of dates and numbers and take turns reading them over the phone to each other. Record what you hear. Swap papers the next day and check your answers.
Many ESL learners are concerned about eliminating their accents, but before you run out and spend hundreds of dollars on the latest pronunciation course, let me give you some things to think about.
First, the main goal of any pronunciation course should be to focus on accent reduction, not accent elimination, which is virtually impossible. Rather, students should work on reducing areas of their pronunciation that affect comprehensibility, that is, areas of their accents that make it difficult for native speakers to understand them.
Second, with this goal in mind, students need to be able to identify which specific areas of pronunciation give them the most trouble . Of course, there are universal areas of pronunciation that affect specific language groups, and reading up on this commonalities will help you. Furthermore, if you take a class on pronunciation, the teacher probably will ask you to record a speech sample which can be analyzed to check which specific areas you need to work on, for example, vowel and consonant sounds, word and sentence stress, and word reductions, and linking, and intonation.
Finally, you need to practice these features in different situations, from very structured exercises to extemporaneous speech. In other words, let's say you are focusing on past tense, -ed endings (e.g. worked, played, constructed, learned, etc.). The first step would be able to recognize and produce the corrected pronunciation of the endings of each word in isolation by repeating them; however, this does not guarantee that you will be able to use them in natural conversation. Thus, you might want to record yourself talking about the past weekend and what you did - again, using past tenses. Rewind the recording and check to see how well you formed the verbs and if your pronounced them correctly.
Just remember that improving your pronunciation will take a lot of patience and commitment.
As you probably know, phonetic symbols are a great help when it comes to learning to pronounce English words correctly. Any time you open a dictionary, you can find the correct pronunciation of words you don't know by looking at the phonetic pronunciation that follows the word. Unfortunately, learning the phonetic alphabet is not always the easiest thing to do.
Following the chart is an example of a text that has been transcribed in to phonetics. Notice how the text, as it would be spoken, differs from how each word might be transcribed individually. This is principally due to two factors; elision and unstressed syllables.
This text is the following:
There is a police message for motorists in the Barnet area of London. A lorry has shed its load at the Apex Corner roundabout on the A1. You are asked to avoid the area as much as possible. South-bound traffic will be diverted for the next two hours. That is the end of the message.
As you can see, the phonetic alphabet seems like another language entirely, however, with patience, it can serve you well in improving your pronunciation.
* note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, "fax" ends in the letter "x" but the sound /s/; "like" ends in the letter "e" but the sound /k/.
Exceptions
The following -ed words used as adjectives are pronounced with /Id/:
Here are some tips which may help you master the English Language!
Speak Without Fear
The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear. They worry that they won't say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don't talk at all. Don't do this. The fastest way to learn anything is to do it again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Don't let a little fear stop you from getting what you want.
Use All Of Your Resources
Even if you study English at a language school it doesn't mean you can't learn outside of class. Using as many different sources, methods and tools as possible, will allow you to learn faster. There are many different ways you can improve your English, so don't limit yourself to only one or two. The internet is a fantastic resource for virtually anything, but for the language learner it's perfect.
Surround Yourself With English
The absolute best way to learn English is to surround yourself with it. Take notes in English, put English books around your room, listen to English language radio broadcasts, watch English news, movies and television. Speak English with your friends whenever you can. The more English material that you have around you, the faster you will learn and the more likely it is that you will begin thinking in English.
Listen to Native Speakers as Much as Possible
There are some good English teachers that have had to learn English as a second language before they could teach it. However, there are several reasons why many of the best schools prefer to hire native English speakers. One of the reasons is that native speakers have a natural flow to their speech that students of English should try to imitate. The closer ESL / EFL students can get this rhythm or flow, the more convincing and comfortable they will become.
Watch English Films and Television
This is not only a fun way to learn but it is also very effective. By watching English films (especially those with English subtitles) you can expand your vocabulary and hear the flow of speech from the actors. If you listen to the news you can also hear different accents.
Listen to English Music
Music can be very effective method of learning English. In fact, it is often used as a way of improving comprehension. The best way to learn though is to get the lyrics (words) to the songs, you are listening to and try to read them as the artist sings. There are several good internet sites where one can find the words for most songs. This way you can practice you listening and reading at the same time. And if you like to sing, fine.
Study As Often As Possible
Only by studying things like grammar and vocabulary and doing exercises, can you really improve your knowledge of any language.
Do Exercises and Take Tests
Many people think that exercises and tests aren't much fun. However, by completing exercises and taking tests you can really improve your English. One of the best reasons for doing lots of exercises and tests is that they give a benchmark to compare your future results with. Often, it is by comparing your score on your test you took yesterday with you took a month or six months ago that you realize just how much you have learned. If you never test yourself, you will never know how much you are progressing. Start now by doing some of the many exercises and tests on this site, and return in a few days to see what you've learned. Keep doing this and you really will make some progress with English.
Record Yourself
Nobody likes to hear their own voice on tape but like tests, it is good to compare your tapes from time to time. You may be so impressed with the progress you are making that you may not mind the sound of your voice as much.
Listen to English
By this, we mean , speak on the phone or listen to radio broadcasts, audio books or CDs in English. This is different from watching the television or films because you can't see the person that is speaking to you. Many learners of English say that speaking on the phone is one of the most difficult things that they do and the only way to improve is to practice.
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