Category: VOCABULARY

Valentine’s day is just around the corner. It’s celebrated every year on February 14th. Practice Valentine’s day vocabulary with this collection of 4 worksheets and puzzles. 

Category: SPEAKING

You probably learned “How are you?” and “I’m fine, thank you. And you?” in textbooks before, but native English speakers answer it in a different way. Unfortunately, replying to this question with “I’m fine” can still be found in many English textbooks. It’s not the natural way to greet someone and actually may be rude or negative.

Here are some other phrases that you can use instead of “I’m fine”
How are you?

• Fine. You?
• Very well, thank you.
• I’m good, thanks. You?
• I’m pretty good. What’s new with you?
• Not bad. You?
• Alright, you?
• Can’t complain, you?
• Never been better. What about you?

Now, let’s look at some different ways to ask how someone is. These ways are much more common.

Hey, how’s it going?

• Good.
• Pretty good.
• Not so good.
• Great.
• Not great.
• Not so well.
• Well, a bit tired/sick/sleepy.

What’s up?

• Not much.
• Nothing much.
• Hey! What’s up?
• Hi!

How do you do? / Howdy? (informal)

• How do you do?
• Hello.
• Nice to meet you.

How are you doing? / How ya doing? (informal)

• I’m doing great, thanks.

• I’m not doing that great.
• Doing pretty good, you?
• Doing well, you?

How have you been? / How’ve you been?

• I’ve been doing great.
• Never been better.
• Could be better.
• Things have been better.
• Not so good lately.
• It’s been tough.
• I’ve been a bit sick.
• A little crazy actually!
• As usual.
• Busy, busy.
• I’m been busy working.
• Pretty good. Work’s been busy.
• Things have been a bit rough lately, but they’re getting better.

Category: VERB TENSES

THE FORMS OF PRESENT CONTINUOUS / PROGRESSIVE
Affirmative: (am/is/are) + [VERB + ing]
Examples:

• I am watching TV now.
• You are practicing English at the moment.
• He is working at the office right now.
• She is playing volleyball.
• It’s raining today.
• We are looking for a new apartment.
• You’re studying mathematics.
• They’re thinking about buying a house.

Negative: (am/is/are) + not + [VERB + ing]
Examples:

• I’m not reading the newspaper right now.
• He’s not writing a letter.
• It’s not snowing today.
• They are not doing their homework.

Interrogative: (am/is/are) + SUBJECT + [VERB + ing]
Examples:

• Are you going to the hospital? Yes, I am / No I’m not.
• Is he working today? Yes, he is / No, he isn’t.
• Isn’t she coming to the dinner? Yes, she is / No, she is not.
• Is the computer working? Yes, it is / No, it’s not.
• Are they coming? Yes, they are / No, they are not.

You can add a question word (what, where, who, why, etc.) before the verb to be (am, is, or are) to ask for more information.
Examples:

• What are you doing? I’m eating chocolate.
• Where is Santiago going? He’s going to the supermarket.
• Who are playing chess? Brian and Richard.
• Why is she crying? She fell down from her bicycle.

​Spelling rules for [VERB + ing]
Here are the spelling rules:
​

Category: PRONOUNS

Generally, if you use the same subject pronoun in a compound sentence, you don’t need to mention it again unless the subject pronoun or the tense change.

Example sentences:

• My mom is a secretary and lives in Tokyo.
• I woke up early in the morning and felt sick.
• He got up, took a shower and had his breakfast.

We always use a pronoun after the verbs “hope” and “think”:
Example sentences:

• I hope I get it.
• I think I’ll buy a new coat.

​We always use a pronoun after “because”, “but” and “so”:
Example sentences:

• She is not coming because she can’t find a babysitter.
• I love fruit but I am allergic to apples.
• He was unhappy, so he left his wife.

Answers:
​1. She laughed and cried.
2. I am tired, so I decided to stay in bed all day.
4. I can play soccer, but I don't play very well.
5. I got up late because I was very tired.
6. I think I will do my homework.
7. I hope I will see you later.
9. She missed the train because her watch stopped, and she had to get a taxi home. 

Category: DETERMINERS

When a noun is not preceded by a definite article (the) or indefinite article (a, an), we use zero article. 

THE USE OF NO ARTICLE
1) We use no article with proper names
EXAMPLES

• Sarah is my cousin.
• Where’s Grandpa Michael?

2) We use no article with uncountable nouns when we are referring in general
EXAMPLES

• Water is an important resource.
• Fiber is important for the health of the digestive system.
• I love democracy.
• I like listening to music.
• She’s a vegetarian. She doesn’t eat meat.

3) We use no article with plural countable nouns when we are referring in general
EXAMPLES

• ​Dogs are commonly referred to as “man's best friend”.
• Rich people think and behave differently.

4) We use no article with the names of language

EXAMPLES

• Chinese is not more difficult than other languages.
• I’d like to speak French.

5) We use no article with the names of meals
EXAMPLES

• What would you like for breakfast?
• Lunch is ready!
• I felt sleepy after dinner.

6) We use no article with the names of games or sport

EXAMPLE

• Baseball is the king of sports in the Dominican Republic.

7) We use no article with the names of days, months, seasons, holidays and parts of the day
EXAMPLES

• See you on Monday.
• Many Americans celebrate Halloween on October 31.
• I love summer.
• On St. Patrick’s Day everybody wears green.
• Are you coming over for Christmas?
• Mother’s Day celebration in Mexico takes place on May 10.
• The stars shine at night.
• The sun had set, and dusk settled over the ocean.

There are some exceptions with the parts of the day: in the morning / afternoon / evening.

8) We use no article with the names of continents, countries, cities, towns, streets, single lakes and single mountains

EXAMPLES

• Asia is Earth's largest and most populous continent.
• I live in Brazil.
• My address is 1520 Green Street.
• She lives near Lake Superior.
• I've climbed Mount Everest.  

There are some exceptions: The US (The United States), The UK (The United Kingdom), The Philippines, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic,  etc.

9) We use no article with routine places

 EXAMPLES

• I’m going to bed.
• They went to school yesterday.
• I'm at home right now.
• I go to work every day by train.

10) We use no article with means of transport (in expression with by)
EXAMPLE

• She usually goes to work by bus.

11) We use no article in exclamations with what + uncountable noun
EXAMPLE

• What beautiful weather!

12) We use no article with academic subjects

EXAMPLES

• He studied Law at university.
• I like English.

13) We use no article with names of companies
EXAMPLES

• Bill Gates founded Microsoft.
• Facebook is a popular free social networking website.

14) We use no article with names of universities
EXAMPLE

• Claire goes to Harvard.

15) We use no article with noun + number
EXAMPLE

• Charles is staying at the Plaza hotel in room 511.

16) We use no article with year

EXAMPLE

• 1998 was the best year in film history.

Worksheets

What to read next