Lesson 1 : Articles

What are articles? You must have read about articles in your previous classes. Do you remember their uses? Let's read the story below and notice the articles in italics.

An Ideal Farm

It is less than an hour away from Dhaka. It's on the way to Chandra from EPZ at Savar. It is a place that stands in sharp contrast to our dusty, noisy and crowded capital. The eye soothing greenery of the farmhouse 'Kalpana' on 30-acres of land is a place of absolute calm. Here butterflies fly among the flowers while grasshoppers hover over grass and rice fields. White clouds float above the head and birds glide gracefully in the sky increasing the quietness of the farmhouse. But there is more to this farm than just being an oasis of quietness. The farm uses a new technique that excludes the use of any kind of chemicals.

Now, talk about the bold words in the text with a partner. In pairs discuss the following questions :

a) What is an article?
b) What different types of articles are there in English?
c) What roles do articles play in a sentence?

Now, read the above text again and discuss in pairs the purpose and use of articles printed in bold. Then compare your answer with the following text.

An article is a word that is used before a noun to show whether the noun refers to something specific or not. A, an and the are articles.

Look at some more examples of articles:

Examples :

I need a chair.

In the sentence above we find the article 'a'. It shows us that the speaker does not need a specific chair. He can have any chair.

Can I have an apple, please?
In the sentence above we find the article 'an'. It shows us that the speaker does not want any specific apple. He can have any apple.

I want the apple on the books.
In the sentence above we find the article 'the'. It shows us that the speaker wants a specific apple.

You know that in English, there are two kinds of articles. Now, let's have a clear idea about them

The Definite Article
For example: The box is small.

The definite article tells us that the noun is specific. By using a definite article, the speaker talks about a particular (or known) thing. The definite article In English is 'the.'

Examples :

     The car my father bought broke down.

     He has a son and a daughter. The daughter Is a doctor.

     The actors were really good. 

     I remember the day I first met you.

The can be used before both singular and plural nouns.

Examples :

      The pen she gave me was very beautiful. 

      The flowers on the table are nice.

The Indefinite Article
For example:
I need a box

The indefinite article tells us that the noun is not specific. The speaker talks about any one of that type of thing.

The indefinite articles in English are 'a' and 'an.'

Examples :

               I need a pen.

(The speaker doesn't tell us which pen s/he needs. S/he simply needs a pen, any pen.)

             Liza wants to see a movie.

             (The speaker doesn't tell us which movie Liza wants to see. She wants to see any movie.)

             Mr. Alam has a car. 

             (The speaker doesn't tell us which car Mr. Alam has. He has a car, unspecific - no details are given.)

             She is a dancer.
             (She dances professionally.)

Now, let's find out the different uses of a and an. 'A' and 'an' have the same meaning.

We use "a" before a consonant sound but 'an' before a vowel sound.

Now compare:

We use 'a' and 'an' only before a singular noun. We cannot use 'a' and 'an' before a plural noun.

Examples :
Correct : a car. [correct]
Incorrect : a cars. [incorrect]
Correct : an orange. [correct]
Incorrect : a oranges [incorrect]

More examples of articles

1. Examples of sentences with a/an and the:
               They live in a big house.
               They live in the big house on the corner.

2. We can use a/an with a singular noun:
               I bought a book.

3. We can use the with singualr and plural nouns:
               I put the ticket in my pocket.
               I paid for the tickets in cash.

4. We often use an adjective after a/an or the before a noun:
               I bought a cheap ticket.
               The cheap tickets are sold out.

Other uses of articles :

1. We use a/an to talk about something for the first time.
       e.g. I saw Avik yesterday. He was wearing a T-shirt.

2. We use the with a singular noun to talk about something we have already mentioned. Here, the speaker gives more information about something.
       e.g. Avik was wearing a new T- shirt. The T-shirt had red stripes.

3. We use a/an to talk about one thing or person when there are many and we are not specifying which one. We are not interested in which one or we don't know which one.
       e.g. I bought this dress in a shop last week.( the dress is important, not the shop)

4. We use the when we are specifying which thing or person we are talking about.
      e.g. I bought this dress from the shop next to the library. (Which shop?The shop next to the library.)

5. We use the if it is clear what we are talking about and there are no other possibilities:
       e.g. The players are coming onto the field.(= the players of this match and the court for this match)

We use a/an for a type of job:
           My brother is a doctor. (not....is doctor.)

We use the for a specific job or job title that only one person has:
           His father is the Managing Director of this company.

Exercise :

Now, let's complete this description of a birthday by putting a or the into the gaps. The first one is done for you.

Exercise : Complete this text by putting a, an or the in the gaps

Some examples with a/an, the and no article:
     That's a nice song.
     I like the music in that film.
     I like listening to music.(music in general, so no article)
We can only use a/an with a countable noun. A countable noun can have a plural form and may describe something that exists in separate, individual forms:

     She has a very beautiful doll.('doll' is a countable noun.)
     She has a few dolls. ('dolls' is the plural form of 'doll')

We cannot use a/an with an uncountable noun. An uncountable noun has no plural form and describes something that does not exist in individual examples that can be 'counted' e.g. music, education, poitics, food, water, weather, work, meat, rice, bread.

     I listened to a music (wrong)
     (It is not possible to talk about different 'musics.')
We can use the with singular and plural countable nouns:
     The teacher arrived and spoke to the students.
We can use the with uncountabe nouns:
     The food was good and I really liked the curry.

More uses of articles

We use the with plural nouns to talk about specific things or people: 

     I like the vegetables in this dish. (these particular vegetables) 

     I like the students. (students of my class)

We do not use an article before a plural noun when we are talking about both things or people in general:

     Young children often don't like vegetables. (young children in general and vegetables in general)

We use the with an uncountable noun to talk about a particular type or example of something :

     I put the books into my bag. (particular books)

We do not use an article with an uncountable noun when we are talking about something in general :

     Books play an important role in our life. (books in general and life in general)

We do not use the with:

• the names of most countries (except the USA and the UK): 

   She comes from India and she lives in the US. Note: 

   For names of countries having various parts, we use 'the'. e.g. the USA, the UK.

• the names of continents or languages:

   She comes from Australia (not from the Australia)

   Do you speak Bangla? (not the Bangla)

• types of music, but we can use the with musical instruments:

   He likes classical music. (not the classical music) 

   He playstheguitar in a band.

• meals, subjects for study, sports and games : 

   What did you have for brekfast? (not the breakfast)

   She is very good at maths (not the maths)

   I dont know how to play chess. (not the chess)

Lesson 2 : Linking Words

What are 'connectors'? You must have read about connectors in your previous classes. Do you remember their uses? Now, let's read the passage below and try to underline the connectors.

Social Networking

Social networking sites are a part of everyday life and they have brought revolutionary changes in communication between people. These sites provide different resources such as email and instant messages. Availability of these resources makes communication easier and faster. When we look at the impacts of social networking sites, we find that they have both positive and negative effects. Because of this fact, it is necessary to analyse both advantages and disadvantages of social networking sites.

Undoubtedly, social networking sites are helpful to young generations. With the help of these sites, people can communicate and express themselves by exchanging messages and comments. Social Networking sites help connect people, friends and relatives. These sites can be accessed from any part of the world. Therefore, a person can communicate with another person from any place. However, we can see clearly that social networking sites are useful only if they are used wisely. So we should use social networking sites positively.

Now, talk about the italic/highlighted words with a partner. In pairs discuss the following questions :

a) What is a connector?
b) What different types of connectors are there in English?
c) What roles do connectors play in a sentence?

Let's try to describe Connectors.

Sentence Connectors are used to express relationships between ideas and to combine sentences.

There are various types of connectors. Let's try to look at them more closely. We can divide them into:

Coordinating Conjunctions :

They connect words, phrases and clauses. They are usually found in the middle of a sentence.

Examples :

He went to school and attended the classes.
He is a meritorious boy but his brother is dull.

List of coordinating conjunctions :

Correlative Conjunctions

They connect equal sentence elements together (like two nouns) and are always composed of two words.

List of correlative conjunctions :

                                                   both...and
                                                   not only...but also either...or
                                                   not...but
                                                   neither...nor
                                                   whether...or
                                                   as...as

Examples :

     She is not only a good student but also a social worker.
     The book is neither interesting nor practical.

Subordinating Conjunctions

They connect a dependent clause and an independent clause and establish a relationship between them. They are used at the beginning of a sentence (with a comma in the middle separating the clauses) or in the middle of a sentence with no comma.

List of subordinating conjunctions

Examples :

If it rains, they will not play. 

Wait here until she comes back.

List of linking adverbs and transition words :

They connect two independent clauses or sentences. They provide transition between ideas.

Exercise 1

Now, read the following passage and discuss with your partner the uses of connectors.

Hasan's Picture

Hasan wasn't a very bright boy. Usually/Generally, he never stood second from the bottom in any test. However/Nevertheless, that morning in the art lesson, he had drawn a beautiful picture of a scarecrow in a field of maze. To his amazement/To his surprise, the drawing was the only one given full marks - ten out of ten - which made him for the first time in his life the best in the class! He had proudly pinned the picture up on the wall behind his desk, where it could be admired by all although/even though, it could not be seen from all corners of the class. Those who saw the picture liked it. As a matter of fact/Besides, it had been chosen to be printed in the School Magazine by the class teacher. Nevertheless/Besides, his talent in painting spread among the students and teachers.

Exercise 2

Let's read the English folktale given below and fill in the blank spaces with suitable connectors.

There were once three tortoises - a father, a mother _ a baby. _ one fine morning during Spring, they decided _ they would like to go for a picnic. They chose the place _ they would like to go; a nice wood at some distance, _ they began to put their things together. They got tins of cheese, vegetables, meat and fruits. In about three months, they were ready. They set out carrying their baskets. _ eighteen months, they sat down for a rest. They knew _ they were already half way to the picnic place. In three years they reached there. They unpacked _ spread out the canned food.

Lesson 3 : Introduction to Possessives

What are the various important days you celebrate at different times of the year?

Look at the greeting cards below and make a list of the days we observe throughout the year.

What have you noticed about the naming of these important days?

The days are named after a certain subject such as father, mother, teacher, etc. There is an apostrophe or an apostrophe and an 's in naming these days. These possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe and an s'. The words father, mother, teacher are nouns. We can transform these nouns into their possessive forms.

Here are some more examples of possessive nouns :

• brother's property
• Rahim's car
• uncle's diary
• a hard day's work

Write the correct form of the possessives for the nouns given in the brackets.
Example :

I met _ sister yesterday. (Moin)

Answer : I met Moin's sister yesterday.

1. This is ---------- book. (Pavel)
2. The ---------- room is upstairs. (children)
3. ---------- sister is twelve years old. (Zafar)
4. ---------- shoes are on the second floor. (men)
5. My ---------- car was not expensive. (father)
6. This is the ---------- bike. (boy)

In pairs discuss these questions :

1. What rules do you follow while writing the possessive forms of the nouns?
2. Where do you put the apostrophe, before or after the 's'?
3. Do you always need an 's' after the apostrophe for forming possessives?
4. How do you make possessives of plural nouns?

Now read the following section to know more about how to make possessives of plural nouns.

Possessives of Plurals

Most plural nouns already end in 's'. To create their possessive, simply add an apostrophe after the 's'. Examples:

• The lions' usual source of water has dried up.
• Man's ambition increases with income.
• Babies' clothes are sold at the other corner.

We need to add an apostrophe followed by an 's' to create the possessive form of the nouns that have irregular plural forms. Examples:

• She plans on opening a women's clothing shop.
• Children's parks are best places for a family picnic.
• The geese's food is eaten by some other birds.

Possessives & Compound Constructions

In pairs discuss the following questions:
How do you form the possessives of compound constructions such as daughter-in-law and friend of mine?
Usually, the apostrophe -s is simply added to the end of the compound structure, e.g. my daughter-in-law's car, a friend of mine's car, etc.
If this sounds clumsy, one may use 'of' to avoid the apostrophe: the car of a friend of mine, etc.

Exercise 1

Make the possessive form of the nouns given in brackets.
Example : My brother's house is in Chittagong. (brother)

1. My ----------- shirt is purple. (friend)
2. The ----------- books are on the desk. (girls)
3. It's ----------- birthday on Monday. (Jahid)
4. Do you have ----------- newspaper? (today)
5. The ----------- bags are in the bedroom. (children)
6. My ----------- office is next to mine. (boss)
7. Your uncle is your ----------- brother. (father)
8. Your aunt is your ----------- sister. (mother)

Lesson 4 : Some more possessives

You have reviewed the possessive nouns in the previous lesson. There are some other kinds of possessives too. What other possessives do you know about?

In pairs talk about what you know about the following types of possessives :

1. possessive adjectives
2. possessive pronouns

Possessive Adjectives

Look at the possessives below. Write them in the correct cell in the table according to their subjects and objects.

Read the following sentences and discuss the functions of possessive adjectives.

That's our house. My car is very old.
Her mother is a doctor.
How old is your sister?
He's broken his arm.
She's washing her hair.
I need to clean my teeth.

As you have seen in sentences above, possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their modify the nouns following them in order to show - possession.

We use possessive adjectives to show something belongs to somebody, for relations and friends and for parts of the body.

Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns. (However, possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns.)

Look at the examples below and discuss in pairs how possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns.

     This is your (possessive adjective) book and this is mine (possessive pronoun).
     Its color is beautiful (possessive adjectives).
     Their car is in their garage (possessive adjectives).

Caution : Many students use its and it's confusingly. it's, they're and there are not possessive adjectives - its is a contraction of it is or it has; they're is a contraction of they are; but there is an adverb of place.

Examples :

It's not my book = It is not my book.
My house is big. It's got five bedrooms = It has got five bedrooms.
Nancy and Alam are from Jhalkathi. They're my friends = They are my friends.
Please, put the chair there. (adverb)

Possessive Pronouns

Look at the possessives below. Write them in the correct cell in the table.

When do we use a possessive pronoun? We use a possessive pronoun instead of a noun phrase. Look at the examples below :

We also use possessive pronouns after of. We can say:
Khoka is one of my friends = Khoka is a friend of mine.
But we cannot say Khoka is a friend of me.

The words mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs are possessive pronouns. They show who or what something belongs to.
We use possessive pronouns depending on :

• number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)
• person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
• gender: male (his), female (hers)

Possessive pronouns generally do not use an apostrophe to indicate possession. This rule also applies to the possessive form of it, which is its.
Examples :

Do you see that woman over there? Her daughter is very clever. 

He was late for work because his car did not start this morning. 

Is that your house? No, ours is the one next to the shop. 

Virtue is its own reward.

Exercise 1

Replace the personal pronouns by possessive adjectives.

1. Where are (you) _ friends now?
2. Here is a letter from (I) _ friend.
3. She lives in the village now with (she) _ family.
4. (He) _ wife works in Tongi.
5. (He) _ company develops websites.

Exercise 2

Use the correct possessive adjectives.

1. Is this _ (you) house?
2. Mohs in is showing _ (he) cat to _ (he) friends.
3. My sister lost _ (she) way in the city.
4. The lion is chasing _ (it) prey.
5. The dentist asked _ (he) patient to open _ (she) mouth.
6. I gave _ (1) sandwich to Zohir.

Exercise 3

Complete the text with possessives.

I've got a sister. _ name is Hazera. She is fifteen and likes music. I like music too. _ favourite band is Renaissance. I've also got two brothers. _ names are Billal and Tomal. Billal likes football. _ favourite team is Abahani. Tomal doesn't like sports. _ prefers computer games. _ 've a grandma. She's sixty five and name is Jahanara.