Indefinite Article. Part 1. 1. We use the indefinite article, a/an, with countable nouns when the hearer/reader does not know exactly (точно) which one we are referring to: Example: Police are searching (искать) for a 14 year-old girl.2. We also use it to show the person or thing is one of a group: Example:…
The Definite Article. Part 3. We also use the definite article: • countries whose names include (включать в себя) words like kingdom, states or republic: the United Kingdom; the Kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the People’s Republic of China • countries which have plural nouns as their names: the Netherlands; the Philippines• geographical…
The Definite Article. Part 2. We also use the definite article:• to say something about all the things referred to by a noun The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia) We use the definite…
The Definite Article The definite article the is the most frequent (часто повторяемый) word in English. We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to. • because there is only one: The Pope is visiting Russia. The moon is very bright tonight.…
What Are Articles? Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific (неопределенный). Consider the following examples: Example: After the long day, the cup of tea tasted particularly good.- После долгого дня чашка чая была особенно вкусной. By using the article the, we’ve shown that it was one specific day that was long…
How to Ask For Clarification (прояснение) After you express your lack of understanding, the next step is to ask the person to clarify what they have said. Here are some phrases you can use.For many of them, you can use “can” or “could,” with could being a little more formal:Example: Could you say it in…
How to Express Lack of Understanding The first step is to tell the person that you are not sure that you have understood them fully. Let’s look at a few useful phrases:Example: I’m sorry but I’m not sure (that) I understand.Example: Sorry, I’m not sure (that) I know what you mean.Example: Sorry, but I don’t…
Prepositions and Places When English speakers refer to a place, we use in for the largest or most general places. You can say that “FLUENTRUSSIA is located in Moscow” And “for the best food, try the restaurants in Chinatown.” For more specific places, like certain streets, we use the preposition on. Example: There is bar…
Prepositions and Time Let’s start by looking at how we talk about time. English speakers use in to refer to a general, longer period of time, such as months, years, decades, or centuries. For example, we say “in April,” “in 2015” or “in the 21st century.”Moving to shorter, more specific periods of time, we use…
How to use Allow Now, let’s look at “allow.” It is more formal than “let” but less formal than “permit.” You can use it in everyday situations. You may also find it in official rules, such as street, building and office signs.With “allow,” we use the infinitive form for main verbs. The infinitive form is…