There is/There are is a common phrase in English, used to indicate that something "exists"or is in a certain location.

The main subject follows the verb when there is/are is used. There is an apple on the table. There are some apples on the table.

Other forms of "be" can also be used with there is/there are. There will be a party at Bill's house on Saturday. There were four witnesses at the crime scene. There have been two robberies in the last five months.

Contractions are possible, but they are mostly used informally in speech. There's a fly in my soup. There're plenty of oranges left. There'll be a lot of people in attendance. There's is by far the most common contraction, and it is sometimes used inadvertently with plural subjects by native speakers. There's ten people outside! Common mistakes

Since the expression there is/are usually has no equivalent in other languages, students sometimes use have instead. Have a lot of food on the table. It has a lot of food on the table. There have a lot of food on the table. There is a lot of food on the table. (Incorrect) (Incorrect)

(Incorrect) (Correct)

Simple Past Tense

Click for Audio Explanation

1. The simple past tense is expressed with the past form of the verb and nothing else. My grandfather died last year. My grandfather was died last year. My grandfather has died last year.

(Correct) (Incorrect) (Incorrect) 2. The simple past tense refers to a. action which occurred at a specific time in the past b. completed action c. past status Examples Specific past action I ate lunch at noon today.

He drove to work yesterday. Completed action She finally mailed the letter. Jan finished her report on time. Past status John was still single in 1995. Jane was a movie star. Note the usage of the past tense in the following story. Yesterday Mrs. Hubbard had a very rough day. In the morning, she went to the kitchen and looked in the cupboard for some food for her dog, but the cupboard was empty. Her poor dog stared up at her with its hungry eyes, and she knew she had to do something quickly. She hurried to the grocery store to buy some dog food, but unfortunately the store was out of her dog's favorite brand, so she had to catch a bus downtown. After buying the food, she waited for a half hour in the rain to get a taxi. When she finally got home, her dog was sound asleep on the living room sofa. Common problems with the past tense

1. Using the present tense when the past tense is required. Last week, Tonya fix her neighbor's car. Last week, Tonya fixed her neighbor's car.

(Incorrect) (Correct) 2. Using "was" with verbs in the past tense. It was happened one night in September. It happened one night in September.

(Incorrect)

(Correct)

English nouns can be classified as count (singular and plural) and non-count. The singular form is used when considering the noun as a single item (count) or entity (non-count). brick dog airplane person foot water sugar truth education The plural form is used when considering more than one of the same item. Non-count nouns do not have a plural form. bricks dogs airplanes people feet Things to be aware of: Regular plurals

Most plurals are formed by adding -s or -es to the singular noun:

boys cars pens pills pronounce /z/ cats rocks tips chiefs pronounce /s/ kisses watches boxes dishes pronounce /Iz/ In some cases, there are special spelling rules that need to be considered when forming the plural. knives hobbies quizzes Irregular plurals

Some nouns take on a different form in the plural: women teeth mice

children people Non-count nouns

Non-count nouns do not have a plural form; however, some nouns can be used in both the count and non-count sense: I have a lot of experience. I have a lot of experiences. Third-person singular "-s"

Singular and non-count nouns (in the third person) require the "-s" form of the verb in the present tense. The girl loves painting. My dog likes to eat meat. Johnny lives next door to Jenny. Milk contains nutrients. Tommy has two hobbies. Jerry is from Colorado. Singular count nouns require an article (the, a, an) unless they are "proper" nouns Mr. Jones went to Arizona. they are preceded by a possessive My mother loves my father. they are preceded by this, that, each, every, either, neither, or one. Each man contributed one dollar. (Wrong: Apple is on table. [Articles are required.])

The/An apple is on the table. Plural nouns and singular non-count nouns do not require an article in the "generic" sense: Water is important for plants. However, they require articles (the, some) in most other cases. Please put some wine in the glasses. See also: Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement If you have questions or comments about this page, please contact us. Be sure to include the title of this page in the Subject line of your e-mail.

Remember, the S - V relationship is at the "heart" of every sentence. All sentences are built around this core. To give a sentence more substance, you may enhance the subject or verb: (VERB enhancements) 1. Change the verb in tense or aspect or a combination of the two.

He eats.

(simple present) He will eat.

(future/modal) He is eating.

(continuous) He has eaten.

(perfect) He has been eating.

(combination) He should have been eating.

(combination) 2. Add an adverb or adverb phrase, or prepositional phrase.

He should have eaten already/ by now. He was eating in the kitchen. 3. Add an adverbial clause.

He was eating when the bus arrived. 4. Add a participial phrase.

Having finished his homework, he ate. (SUBJECT enhancements) 5. Change the noun to a pronoun or vice versa.

He eats. John eats. 6. Add an article, demonstrative, or possessive.

The man eats. This man eats. His father eats. Note: Subjects and Objects may be enhanced in similar ways. 7. Add an object.

Subject Object John eats rice.

The man eats an apple.

8. Add an adjective or adjectives.

The handsome man eats.

The man eats the big, red apple. 9. Add a prepositional phrase.

The man in the kitchen eats.

The man eats an apple from the bowl.

10. Add a relative (adjective) clause.

The man who lives next door eats.

The man ate the apple that I bought. 11. Use quantifiers.

Some of the men eat.

They eat some of the apples. 12. Use a noun clause.

Whoever gets here first can eat.

He eats whichever apple he chooses. Enhance both the subject and the verb to make sentences more interesting. The man who lives on the corner is eating his lunch now. The men from the health club eat every day after working out. The tall, green men from Mars are eating tuna sandwiches. Some of the men ate the apples (that) I left on the table. Whenever he feels like exercising, the fat man eats a huge meal instead. Basic Sentence Structures S-V

He sleeps.

S-LV-N

He is a doctor. S-V-O

She eats rice.

S-LV-Adj

The doctor is sick. S-V-IO-DO

She told him a lie.

S-LV-Adv

The doctor is here.