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the article ‘the’

The article the can be confusing at times as when or when not to omit.

It is the same for all genders in singular and in plural; the cat, the dog, the computers.

 

First, determine if the is being used indefinitely or definitely. Life is great. (indefinite) I’ve read the book about the life of Bill Clinton.  (definite)

 

Names of countries in the singular; summits of mountains; continents; towns;

Germany, France, Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley, Africa, Europe, Cairo, New York

 

Names of countries in the plural; mountain ranges; regions;

the United States of America, the Netherlands, the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps, the Middle East.

 

Single island; Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily

Groups of islands; the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries

 

Parks; lakes; streets;

Central Park, Hyde Park, Lake Michigan, Loch Ness, 42nd Street, Oxford Street

 

Name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers;

the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London), the Isle of Wight,

the Atlantic (Ocean), the Mediterranean (Sea), the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal

 

Months, days of the week (indefinite)

The weekend is over on Monday morning.

July and August are the most popular months for holidays.

 

Months, days of the week (definite)

I always remember the Monday when I had an accident.

The August of 2001 was hot and dry.

 

Seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) can be used with or without the definite article;

In summer or in the summer

* The American English word for autumn >fall< is always used with the definite article.

LINDA’S PROFILE

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DON’T GIVE UP

Learning another language is not something that can be done overnight. There are many things that you can do to speed up the process though. These things I can teach you. Remember, if you start any course: DON’T GIVE UPNÃO DESISTANO TE RINDASNE PAS ABANDONNERΜΗΝGIVE UPNE ADJA FEL, NÁ THABHAIRT SUASNON RINUNCIAREあきらめてはいけない, NOLITE, IKKE GI OPPНе сдавайтесьGE INTE UPPPEIDIWCH Â RHOI UP

LINDA’S PROFILE

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It’s only English, how many accents could there be!?

While English has become the most widely used language in the world, the definition of “Standard English” is not always so clear.

This video is one of my favorites for helping English students see the variations between accents and dialects in spoken English. Surprisingly, English accents vary greatly; and if a student has learned American English in school, for example, he/she could have a very hard time understanding someone speaking Australian English.

Because listening to various English accents is “easier said than done,” I recommend learning the fun way- with movies! Here is a great website that can help you learn all kinds of English accents by watching movie trailers and clips. Watch and re-watch until you can understand, and don’t hesitate to ask questions or look up some of the phrases being said. Also, I would advise taking on one accent at a time until you can better understand it, then moving on to the next one. Good luck, and don’t give up!

http://kelseysensei.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/its-only-english-how-many-accents-could-there-be/ 

 

 

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More on Remembering New Vocabulary

One of the biggest problems many language learners  have is remembering and retaining new vocabulary. Students often talk to me about keeping notebooks and lists of new vocabulary they come across and yet  finding it very difficult to remember or to use these new words or expressions. If this is a problem you’re having then this link may be very helpful for you. As always, with language acquisition, the more you can personalise it, make it relevant to you, the more you can relate things to your life and your interests the easier it will be to remember and to use them.  http://www.strategiesinlanguagelearning.com/improve-your-language-learning/

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A note from Dasha’s father

It is not often that teachers get such feedback from parents.  I feel very nice to have a parent and a child that are happy with my lessons on skype!

“Hi! How’re you doing? I want to thank you for the “A” grade of Dashas English at school this trimester. You know, last september Dasha challenged a new English specialized school and before that I had a conversation with director of new school about the level of Dashas future classmates as far as they are studying English deeply since they were 8 years old (2nd grade in school. For the moment Dasha at 8th grade). So School Director recommended to deal with one of school teacher to have additional classes for Dasha. Before they started i had a conversation with additional teacher about the purpose of this additional classes pointing that I would love Dasha to start talking English and do not care about grades. After first lesson Dasha told me that English is not interesting for her to study with this teacher. After that we quit the additional classes and sterted SkypeEnglish with you. THANK YOU again for your contribution. I’m so happy to have your lessons for my lovely Dasha.”

 

JANET’S PROFILE