High School English Grammar » Grammar test 2 of 42: Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that

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Score: N/A

Question 1 of 10: They organized ____ dinner to celebrate our arrival.

Very Good! Correct.

Sorry, Incorrect.

Correct answer: a

Explanation: Omit A/AN before the names of meals. EXCEPTIONS: 1. use A/AN when there is an adjective before the name of the meal: "a late supper." 2. use A/AN when it's a special meal, in celebration of something or in someone's honor: "It was a dinner given to celebrate their graduation."

2. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Look at all _______ stars! What a breathtaking view!

(a) -

(b) an

(c) a

(d) the

Answer: D

Grammar rules: Use THE with objects or groups that are unique: "the earth," "the sea," "the sky," "the equator," "the stars."

3. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: ____ New York Times is one of the best-known newspapers in the world.

(a) An

(b) -

(c) A

(d) The

Answer: D

Grammar rules: Use THE before names of newspapers and ships.

4. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Which sentence is NOT grammatically correct?

(a) It will take just an minute.

(b) It will take just a minute.

(c) It will take just one minute.

Answer: A

Grammar rules: A/AN and ONE are usually interchangeable in the singular form when measuring distance, time, weight, etc.: "a pound" = "one pound."

BUT: You can't replace A/AN with ONE in sentences such as "four times a week."

5. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: They had _______ time to prepare for their audition.

(a) little

(b) few

Answer: A

Grammar rules: LITTLE and FEW, used as adjectives and pronouns, speak of scarcity or lack of something: "I have little to say on that matter."

However, in spoken English LITTLE and FEW are usually replaced by HARDLY ANY ("I have hardly anything to say on that matter") or a combination of negative + "much/many" ("I don't have much to say on that matter").

6. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: I know English can be hard, but you will appreciate it _____ day.

(a) an

(b) one

(c) a

Answer: B

Grammar rules: You can use "one day" (or "some day") in the meaning of "some time in the future": "We will get there one day."

7. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: Tomorrow I'm meeting with ____ Mrs. Holly, who is my thesis advisor.

(a) the

(b) an

(c) -

(d) a

Answer: C

Grammar rules: You can use A before Mr./Mrs./Miss + surname if you want to imply that the speaker doesn't know who they are: "There's a Mr. Jones waiting in the hall."

If you refer to a particular person by that name who is known to the speaker, don't use A: "Mr. Jones is waiting to see you."

8. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: You are not leaving the house in _____, young lady. Stilettos are not shoes for a hike.

(a) that

(b) those

(c) these

(d) this

Answer: C

Grammar rules: THIS/THAT and THESE/THOSE can be also used as pronouns: "This is your new room," "Those are hers."

9. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: I don't like ____ football; can we watch a movie instead?

(a) an

(b) -

(c) a

(d) the

Answer: B

Grammar rules: Don't use THE before names of games ("tennis," "football," "chess," etc.)

10. english exercises / grammar test / learn english grammar/ english online: The temperatures dropped below -20 degrees Fahrenheit _____ winter.

(a) an

(b) a

(c) one

Answer: C

Grammar rules: To refer to a particular time when something happened, you can use ONE before "day"/"week"/"month"/"year"/"summer"/"winter," etc., or before the name of the day or month: "One day the clock stopped working."

 

 

 

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Charlotte's Web Vocabulary

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English Grammar in Use / A Practical English Grammar

1. Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that

2. Nouns

3. Adjectives

4. Irregular verbs

 

Common Errors in English

1. Misused forms – Using a Wrong Preposition

2. Misused forms – Misuse of the Infinitive

3. Misused forms – The Use of a Wrong Tense

4. Misused forms – Miscellaneous Examples

5. Misused forms – Un-English Expressions

6. Incorrect Omissions – Omission of Prepositions

7. Incorrect Omissions – Miscellaneous Examples

8. Unnecessary Words – Unnecessary Prepositions

9. Unnecessary Words – Unnecessary Articles

10. Unnecessary Words – The Infinitive without "To"

11. Unnecessary Words – Miscellaneous Examples

12. Misplaced Words – Wrong Position of Adverbs

13. Misplaced Words – Miscellaneous Examples

14. Confused Words – Prepositions often Confused

15. Confused Words – Verbs often Confused

16. Confused Words – Adverbs often Confused

17. Confused Words – Adjectives often Confused

18. Confused Words – Nouns often Confused

19. Confused Words – Confusion of Numbers

20. Confused Words – Confusion of Parts of Speech

 

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The following simple English grammar tips and tricks will help you to learn and memorize English grammar rules and speak correctly. If you are on this site for English grammar practice, these tips will really help you. Let's start.

Invest your time in learning

It surely takes some time to learn English. There is no shortcut way to learn it. Some websites may say that they will teach you English in seven days or one month. These are false offers. Invest some time in learning and practicing. Your English skills will surely improve.

Speak, speak, and speak!

Try to speak English the same way you write it. Do not worry about grammatical mistakes. The more you practice, the less mistakes you will make and the more fluent you will be. So, practice daily and do not be afraid of grammatical errors.

Slow down your speaking speed

Your confidence will go down if you try to speak fluently from the very beginning. Give yourself some time. Start with slow speaking speed and increase your speed over time as you make more progress day by day. Slowing down speaking speed has another benefit — you will get enough time to make sentences in your mind before you speak.

The more you practice speaking, the more confident you will be.

Use Mobile apps

Luckily, there are many English learning apps available. Some are free and some are paid apps. If you are a smartphone user, you should install some of these apps in your mobile phone. You can at least install one app and start practicing. A mobile app is a very handy and useful thing to learn at your convenient time. You can start with free apps.

Install and use a dictionary app in your mobile

There are several free dictionary apps that will help you to learn proper pronunciation and new words. It is highly possible that your smartphone already has a dictionary installed. Use it or install a better one.

Try to get a good bilingual dictionary for better understanding. Besides using a mobile app, you can buy and use a good bilingual dictionary. A good bilingual dictionary is always a good investment for personal improvement.

Learn English idioms and phrasal verbs

Idioms and phrasal verbs are very common in everyday English conversation. If you do not know them, you may fail to understand the correct meaning of what the other person is saying. So, do not ignore them. Try to learn the most common English idioms and phrasal verbs.

Listen to news bulletins

Almost every radio and television channel broadcasts news bulletins. If you have a smartphone, radio or television, you can listen to these English news bulletins. Besides learning the correct pronunciation, you can learn correct English. Listening to these bulletins will also improve your fluency. This is a common technique used by English learners.

Read out loud

How does your English sound? The pronunciation style of some people is very bad. But there is a simple and easy way to fix improve pronunciation. Take a newspaper or any other script written in English and read out loud. This way you can hear and test your own pronunciation. If you are not happy with your own pronunciation, keep practicing and your English pronunciation will surely improve.

Learn new words daily

The more words you learn, the better you can understand English and express yourself. You may be surprised to know that learning only the basic words can help you to speak English that is used in communication everyday.

Learn sentences

Besides learning common words, try learning common sentences used in everyday English communication. This will give you a huge boost in your learning efforts.

Write every day

When you write, do not be shy of your mistakes. Try to write at least a few paragraphs, ideally at least one page. It is a great practice to use your newly learned words and practice grammar. This will also improve your writing skills.

Watch English movies

These movies will help you to learn proper pronunciation and improve your understanding of English. When you see how native English speakers speak English, your mind will automatically start copying the style. You can try to speak like them at home to understand the quality of your pronunciation and fluency.

Language swap

There are several websites where you can find people who are native English speakers and want to help your learn English if you teach them your language. This is free and can be a great way to learn from native speakers. Many learners are using this method and you should give a try.

Go to a mentor

A mentor can help you to guide in the right direction. She can measure your progress and suggest whatever you need to improve. You can regularly discuss about your improvement and weakness with your mentor. Oftentimes, she can help you. Your mentor can be someone who is good at English. She can be your school / college / university teacher, your friend or any person good at English.

Try to correct your mistakes

It is common to make mistakes. Every time you make a mistake, write it in a separate piece of paper. Make a list of mistakes. Check your mistakes from time to time and try not to make these mistakes again when you practice. These mistakes are clear and good indications of your weakness in English.

Give yourself time to think

Whenever you make a mistake, you should think how you can avoid this mistake from next time. Take time and assess your progress and weakness.

Be an advance learner

Try to learn advance English grammatical rules and vocabulary. Never be happy with your progress. The more you learn and practice, the better English skills you achieve.

Start with "Tense"

There are mainly three types of tense - past, present and future. Usually, verbs indicate the correct form of each tense. Besides learning tense, you should memorize some verbs too. Do not worry. It is interesting and easy to learn the necessary verbs.

Learn common pronoun usage

Do you know the difference between the common subject pronouns and object pronouns such as I/me, we/us, he/him, she/her, they/them?

We use subject pronouns such as I, we, he she, they when the subject is doing an action. Usually, we use subject pronouns at the beginning of a sentence. Example: I cannot remember the story.

But we do not start a sentence with object pronouns such as me, us, him, her, them. Example: Call him.

Active voice and passive voice

Many English learning students get confused here. In active voice, the subject performs an action. In passive voice, the subject and the object of a sentence swap to form the correct sentence.

Incorrect: The cinema was gone to by me.

Correct: The cinema was enjoyed by me.

Prepositions

A preposition defines the relationship between an object and its surroundings. Without the proper use of prepositions, your English will sound weird. Luckily, there are only a handful of prepositions and these are easy to learn.

Learning new words can be a matter of fun but you need to follow some effective methods to learn new words faster. Read them all in the list below.

Read, read, and read

You will find many new words that you need to learn in novels and literary works. You will be most benefited if you read classic literary books. You should also read magazines and newspapers because these are also good sources of new words that you need to learn. These sources often use high quality English that often contain both common and advance words.

Vocabulary wordbooks

In the bookshops, you will find vocabulary wordbooks that range from beginner to advance levels. You can buy one or more depending on your requirements. These books make it a lot easier to learn because these books come with a complete list of words that is suitable for your level.

Use a journal

During your learning time, you will surely find new words. Add them in your journal. This list will slowly grow. But this journal will help you to measure your progress and show where you need to improve. The journal can inspire you to learn more and faster if you find that you are going slow.

Learn some new words everyday

It is easier and more realistic to digest some new words everyday. If you are determined to learn some new words everyday, you will be surprised and happy to see your progress after a month. The progress will surely motivate you to keep using this learning method.

Use flashcards

Using flashcards is a common way to learn new words. You maybe know that you can buy flashcards from bookshops. Some learners find it easier to learn new words with flashcards. You should give a try too.

Set a target

Set a target that is achievable and realistic. Whatever happens, try to achieve your target at any cost.

Look up new words

Have you found a new word? Get in the habit of looking up words you do not know and immediately do this. If you leave it for later, you may completely forget about it and miss the chance to learn it. A quick way is to look the words in the dictionary installed or available in your smartphone. Another alternative is — look up the word on a search engine like Google.com and you will find the meaning of your desired word in several high quality websites.

Play some word games

If you search online, you can find several word learning games. Some of these games are developed in such a fun and entertaining way that you will not get bored even if you use them hours after hours. These games are not hard to find out. Vocabulary learners usually learn using crossword puzzles, anagrams, word jumble, Scrabble, and Boggle. You can try one of them or all of them.

Use your newly learned words

Take a piece of paper and make one or more sentences for every word you just learned. This way every word will be more memorable. It can take some time but it definitely has its benefits.

Engage in conversations

When you engage in conversation, use your newly learned vocabulary. It can be interesting because the other person will be surprised to see your improved vocabulary power / skills. Besides, you will be able to express / communicate in a better way.

Take vocabulary tests

There are several websites that give you free access to their website so that you can test your vocabulary. This website also helps you to test your SAT vocabulary, GRE vocabulary, IELTS vocabulary, TOEFL vocabulary, ACT vocabulary, TOEIC vocabulary, GMAT vocabulary, PTE vocabulary, ECPE vocabulary, MELAB vocabulary, MCAT vocabulary, and PCAT vocabulary.