English Lesson: Using “It”

It’s such a nice day today in New York but as you may know, yesterday we had a serious hurricane here in NY. It was interesting to experience such a big storm as hurricane Irene. However, it is such an inconvenience to spend all of this time with no electricity. It is surprising how much damage there is from the storm. Some people were out watching the waves at the beach. I think it is crazy to go out in a storm like that. The power company said it will take up to six days to restore the power here in Long Island.

Today, let’s take a look at the word it. It has a variety of uses in English. Do you know how to use it? Today we will look at using it as the subject of the sentence. Have a look at the paragraph above and then check today’s lesson:

It + be is used to talk about time and the weather

  • It’s such a nice day today in New York
  • It is ten o’clock in the morning
  • It is usually cool in the evenings here.

It + takes + to-Verb (infinitive) is used to show how much time is needed.

  • It will take up to six days to restore the power.
  • I takes six hours to fly from New York to Los Angeles
  • How long does it take you to get to work?  

It + be + adjective + to-Verb (infinitive) is used as the subject of the sentence:

  • It is nice to meet you!
  • It was good to see the family was safe after the storm.
  • It was interesting to experience such a big storm

It + be + adjective + Verb-ing (gerund) also can be used as the subject of the sentence:

  • It was frightening hearing the wind last night.
  • It is worth visiting Central Park if you come to NYC.
  • It’s tough working without electric power.

English Lesson: Adjective Order II

It is Saturday night in New York. We are having a serious hurricane overnight and there is a good chance we will lose our electric power and internet. So, I need to get some lessons ready and scheduled to be published this week. The forecast said the tidal surge will be four meters high! That’s a lot of water. It is times like this I wish I lived somewhere higher.

Today, let’s look at a few more cases of the order of adjectives. The first one is when we have a verb + object. In this case, the adjective goes after the object:

  • I need to get some lessons ready
  • My sister painted her bedroom purple!
  • My dog makes me so happy!

Next, when we talk about measurement, we generally put the adjective after the measurement noun:

  • The tidal surge will be four meters high.
  • That movie is three hours long.
  • From the storm, the water in my street was three feet deep.

When you use words like anything, something, somebody, somewhere, etc., put the adjective after those words:

  • I wish I lived somewhere higher.
  • I want to go somewhere quiet so I can concentrate.
  • Have you heard anything interesting recently?

When we use numbers and adjectives, we generally put the numbers first:

  • I went to the store and bought six sweet cupcakes.
  • There are two important bosses in the company. I’d say Jack is the most important boss and Angela is the second important boss.
  • I have three nice steaks for the BBQ

Thanks for studying today. Feel free to leave a comment, suggestion, or request for a one point lesson.

English Lesson: The Order of Adjectives

Have you seen my dog, Happy? She’s a cute, little, white, Jack Russell terrier. Even though she is 12 years old, she is a wild and energetic little dog. And she is a loyal watchdog too. No matter where I am in the house, she stays by my side.

Today, I want to look at the order of adjectives. As you know, an adjective describes or modifies a noun, and comes before the noun:

  • Happy is a white dog ← Here, white is an adjective and modifies the noun dog.
  • She is a loyal watchdog

What happens when you want to use two or more adjectives? Well, there are some general rules and guidelines. First of all, the basic order is opinion →  fact →  noun:

  • Happy is a cute, white dog ← Here, cute is an opinion and white is a fact, followed by the noun dog.
  • Casablanca is an interesting, old movie.

When we use more than one fact adjectives, the order is color → origin →  material →  noun:

  • I have a blue Japanese silk kimono.
  • Jack bought a green nylon ski jacket.

We don’t generally use more than three adjectives in everyday, conversational English. So if you need to describe something using a lot of adjectives, then it’s best to do so using two sentences.

  • I have a blue Japanese silk kimono. It’s a little old and worn, but it’s comfortable.
  • Happy is a cute, little, white, Jack Russell terrier. She’s a bit hyper, too.

Well, I hope you find this to be a useful, interesting English lesson. Remember, you can always feel free to suggest a topic for a lesson here.

English Lesson: Using “The” Article II

Today, lets look at the next part in this mini-series of lessons dealing with the. I will probably have another set of lessons on articles in the future. For many students, articles are one of the most difficult topics. One of my students said articles the hardest thing under the sun! What do you think? 

As I mentioned in yesterday’s lesson, there are three articles in English; a, an, and the. Today I want to show you a few more uses of the that I think should be easy to remember. Why don’t you take a look at the paragraph above once more, and then check out the lesson below.

Here are some key points: The is the definite article. The has many uses, but I can say that in general, the is used before nouns that represent specific things. Here are some more examples where the is always used. Try to memorize these combinations:

The + Last, Next

  • The last time I went to Turkey, I stayed in Istanbul.
  • Please look at the next sentence in this lesson.

The + Future & Past

  • I will probably have another set of lessons on articles in the future.
  • In the past, there was no internet or computers.

The + Sun, Moon

  • The sun is very strong these days, so if you spend time outside, use a good sunblock.
  • If you had a chance, would you go to the moon?

The + Government, World, etc – (When there is only one)

  • The government provides services for its citizens.
  • The world has gotten smaller these days because of the internet.
  • Did you watch the president’s speech last night?

The + Adj-est (Always use the before a superlative)

  • I think this is the best English lesson website in the world!
  • I’m usually the busiest in the mornings.

As I said yesterday, I am sure that there are other examples of words that are always used with the, so if you think of some, leave a comment here. Thanks for studying today.