A selection of English ESL a an articles determiners printables

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

Here is a very simple worksheet in which beginners or young learners have to write A or An before the words then match thees words to the pictures.Sorry I don\'t know why the preview is all messed up but when you download, it\'s OK Have great holidays!

A or AN  for young learners

students roll the dice and must say the sentence represented by the picture. Determine if it's A or AN (It's AN orange, It's A dog) before they can play on.

A or AN boardgame

Articles, plurals, and demonstratives

An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech.



In English, both "the" and "a/an" are articles, which combine with a noun to form a noun phrase. Articles typically specify grammatical definiteness of the noun phrase, but in many languages they carry additional grammatical information such as gender, number, and case. Articles are part of a broader category called determiners, which also include demonstratives, possessive determiners, and quantifiers. In linguistic interlinear glossing, articles are abbreviated as art.

Articles, plurals and demonstratives

Here is a simple ESL grammar practice to learn to use the determiners a, an , the , or zero article in context. The sentences are simple and suitable for pre-intermediate level.

A/An/The or Zero Article Practice

Here is  a worksheet with some tips to help students with the us of determiners, then they read the sentences and complete with the correct determiners, can be used in class or as homework

A/An/The or Zero Article Revision

A/an and the are articles. They are a type of determiner and they go before a noun.

A/an before a noun shows that what is referred to is not already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the indefinite article).The before a noun shows that what is referred to is already known to the speaker, listener, writer and/or reader (it is the definite article).

Indefinite article

Here is a simple ESL practice for the use of the determiners "a", "an", "the" or the zero article. Students read the sentences and choose the correct solutions after reading the information given.

A/An/The or Zero Article With Tips

A fascinating article about Golden Bridge in Vietnam lends itself to an Intermediate / Upper-Intermediate passive tense worksheet. Students need to read the article carefully to determine whether to use present, past, past perfect or future passive tenses.



Great resource for anyone teaching in Vietnam right now!

Answers on page 2

Passive tenses: Golden Bridge, Vietnam Reading

Hi, here young learneers have to choose the correct determiners , then match the words to the pictures , then they can colour the objects . Then they find the words in the spiral, PS please put a space bewteen pupil's and table , sorry

School Objects for Young Learners - A/An/The or No Article

In this paper a writer follows the strategy how to write an act essay and refers to four articles critical in different ways of Affirmative Action. 



Read: https://studydaddy.com/question/the-university-has-decided-that-for-the-following-year-lecture-costs-will-increa



As a mechanical method of improving opportunities and correcting the evils of discrimination, AA does not correct underlying racism or other determinants of exclusion. 

A Discussion of Affirmative Action - Pros and Cons

Article Summary

Elizabeth Wagner's 2008 article, “Depressed Like You: The Myth of Teen Angst”, commences with Wagner's observation of the enormity of depression as a global concern, or certainly as a significant issue in American life. She then leads the way to what will be the focus of her article, which centers on the striking prevalence of depression in teens, and how this appears to carry through in adult statistics. This elicits the thrust of her interest; Wagner seeks to determine how much of what is typically considered ordinary, teenage angst is, in fact, serious depression, and how much of this is actually related to adolescence. Through better assessing of the teenage brain in this regard, Wagner asserts, must evolve a better understanding of depression in all men and women.



Turning substantially to studies conducted by the Oregon Research Institute, the author conveys this as evidence that teen and adult depression are more closely linked than has been suspected. Then, turning to work done at the University of Texas, Wagner further corroborates these findings, as the latter research demonstrates further similarities between teen and adult depression in regard to the efficacy of treatments. Contrary evidence is then presented, which suggests that teens do indeed suffer from periods of depression clearly linked to adolescence, as the depression often is not present when the teen years are left. This examination of various studies is followed by a discussion of how the teen brain evolves, citing research findings from the National Institute for Mental Health. Wagner concludes by affirming that, whether teen depression is driven by adolescent issues, or is more the onset of adult depression, this factor of it as the earliest indication of the disorder renders the extensive study of teen depression an urgent matter, reports Darren Barden, a writing coach who cooperates with writemyessayforme.co.uk.



The Article's Impact and Value



In terms of significant impact in the field of neuropsychology, Wagner's article does virtually nothing to contribute to existing knowledge. In the author's defense, no claims are made by her that such an undertaking is a part of her agenda; rather, she sets out to present, and consequently juxtapose, some of the latest research on the subject. This being her purpose, then, it is reasonable to evaluate how successful Wagner is in producing new insights and/or previously unexplored interpretations from the data employed. In this regard, Wagner's achievement appears to be, at best, modest, and this is at least partially due to the fact that her article is too brief to do justice to the ideas entertained within it.



It seems, in fact, that Wagner is exploring the possibilities within the field of teen depression as she goes along. This creates for the reader no clear sense of agenda or purpose within the article itself, Wagner's introduction notwithstanding. The initial emphasis, for example, appears to be on depression as a disorder that, ordinary conceptions aside, afflicts adults and teens at similar rates. This introduction does contain the caveat that there is evidence of specifically adolescent depression, but this is not stressed as particularly relevant. More crucially, Wagner concludes her opening in a self-contradictory way. That is, after noting that most adults suffering from depression begin to exhibit symptoms by age fourteen, she issues her rallying cry that efforts are needed to stop teenage depression before it starts. As the issue just identified is that of a depression not defined by age, it is confusing and unhelpful that Wagner chooses to assign this designation to the core problem.



Teen depression is, as the evidence, Wagner cites supports, a difficult and complex issue. It is inescapable that many teen problems, including depressive states, are mutually inclusive and exponentially fueled. As is common knowledge, the adolescent physicality is changing, and this induces various and sometimes confounding emotional states in even the most well-adjusted teens. Moreover, and not conveyed by Wagner in the citing of her selected research, methodologies of adolescent research itself are sometimes questionable. That is, adult depression is typically studied employing some form of the interview process; with teens, it is usually conducted more as a self-reported checklist. Given the scope of emotional, physical, and mental changes the adolescent undergoes, it is reasonable to anticipate a greatly subjective response. Such responses may properly serve in obtaining actual feelings about depression from teens, but they cannot relate how temporal these feelings may be, as hyperbole is a typical aspect of adolescent reaction. In other words, to the teen responding to a survey, the mild state of depression felt brief may be expressed as both extreme and ongoing. Wagner must acknowledge that, in assessing actual depression in teens, a far more strict methodology must be employed, or she must reveal this to have been the case in the studies she cites.



The ambiguity of Wagner's article may well be a result of a lack of professionalism in the writer. For example, the article opens with: “From a distance, depression can seem like no big deal. After all, who doesn't feel a little down in the dumps sometimes?” This is a very casual approach for any piece attempting to evince academic integrity, and it does not go far in instilling confidence in the reader as to the author's scholarship. It also, unfortunately, betrays the kind of careless structure abetting the ambiguity, or lack of real direction, in the article.

Depression is indeed an enormous and serious issue in the world, and an abundance of existing research by no means precludes the need for more. As Wagner somewhat indicates, there is an important correlation between adults and teens within the subject, but the focus should be directed toward the genuine roots of depression not associated with typical teen problems. In other words, if, as Wagner asserts, most adults suffering from depression begin to do so in adolescence, the wisest course would be to isolate these early depressive factors away from the “angst” concerns associated with teens, and often misinterpreted as clinical depression.



Teen Depression Article Summary

English idioms are an attractive, entertaining part of the language, but sometimes beginners pay too much attention. From this article written by essay-company writers (https://essaycompany.org/), you will learn what idioms are and whether they are worth remembering. The difference between an idiom and a proverb where butterflies in the stomach come from, and what it is that spoon that sucks with fear.



What are idioms?



Idioms or phraseological expressions are stable turns of speech, indecomposable combinations of words, understood, as a rule, in symbolic meaning. The meaning of its constituent words does not determine the importance of the whole expression. Often the sense of an idiom is difficult to guess, to understand from its constituent words if you are not familiar with it.



For example: to be in the same boat. It means "to be in the same situation, to experience the same difficulties.



"I understand your problem. We are in the same boat."



Idioms are called stable, indecomposable combinations because they are used in a fixed form. For example, no one says to sit together in the same boat or be in the same vessel. An idiom is used as a ready-made figurative pattern for some typical situations.



The meaning of the expression about the boat can probably be guessed, primarily when heard in context, but there are idioms whose purpose is impossible to imagine.



"I want to buy a Saturday night special, but I'm scared to own it."



Idioms are called stable, indecomposable combinations because they are used in a fixed form. For example, no one says to sit together in the same boat or be in the same vessel. An idiom is used as a ready-made figurative pattern for some typical situations.



"A rolling stone gathers no moss."



The meaning is a person who often changes his place of residence, occupation, never settles down, does not settle down. Accordingly, the equivalent would be: "he who does not sit still will not make a good living."



How many idioms are there in the English language?



There are thousands of idioms in English, but it is impossible to tell the exact number, just as it is impossible to say the precise number of words in the language. For example, the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms (M. McCarthy, 1998) has 5782 dictionary entries, but that number doesn't say much.



English idioms are as much living units of speech as words, and their numbers are constantly changing. Some idioms live for centuries, while others quickly go out of use.



English idioms, proverbs, colloquial formulas, phrasal verbs, and other similar units of speech



Idioms can easily be confused with proverbs, various speech patterns, phrasal verbs. Even scientists sometimes find it difficult to distinguish them.



Idioms are a type of formulaiс language - stable, indecomposable expressions that should be understood and taught as a single unit of speech, rather than a group of words.



These patterns include:



1. Greetings and good wishes



How are you? 

Have a good day!



2. Prepositional groups or prepositional phrases



In a minute 

Once in a while



3. Proverbs, sayings, proverbs, quotations.



Bad news travels fast 

Buy the best, and you only cry once 



4. Phrasal verbs.



To look for

To sign in



5. To look for, to look for, sign in, and register. 5.



Blond hair 

Deeply disappointed



6. Conversational speech formulas



You have to be kidding!

Do you see what I'm saying?



7. Idioms



A penny for your thought

To give the green light



As you can see, the line between idioms and similar expressions is sometimes tough to draw. For example, the phrasal verb to look for cannot be called an idiom - there is nothing conversational about it, that is, any symbolic meaning. But the phrasal verb to sail through can easily be confused with an idiom because it has a symbolic meaning.



В idioms, and even more so in various collections of phrases on the Internet, are often found not only in dictionaries but in everything that remotely resembles them. It has at least a hint of idiom, including individual words with symbolic meanings.



How much knowledge of English idioms is necessary?



Sometimes I think that English idioms are almost the first necessity because they are ubiquitous in English.



Honestly, not that often.



It is beneficial and exciting to know idioms, but there is no point in learning them on purpose. Let's consider two cases: knowing idioms for their use in speech and understanding speech or text.



1. Use of idioms in speech



Many idioms have a stylistic coloring, are used in informal speech, are characteristic of some social or age groups. 



2. Understanding idioms



In my experience, I can say that when speaking to native speakers, idioms are rare. Often there are:



colloquial clichés,

phrasal verbs,

sentence groups.



But idioms, that is, turnips with symbolic meaning, like it rains cats and dogs when pigs fly, are rare. Your interlocutors understand that English is not your native language and try to speak without much difficulty.



By the way, many have noticed that when you talk to a foreigner in the company, you understand him well, but when they talk to each other, nothing is understandable. People talk to each other in their everyday language without making allowance for the "foreignness" of the interlocutor, so their speech can be dotted with slang and incomprehensible jokes.



Do I need to learn idioms?



If you have recently started studying English, you still have a small vocabulary, and reading a page of English text gives you a headache. You do not need to learn, memorize English idioms by heart actively. Idioms are quite an advanced part of the language, not a priority initially. If you discover a list of 100 or 200 idioms, in practical terms, it will give you very little because they are not so common, but your head will be scored thoroughly.



But idioms are perceived by many as an attractive, curious part of language, something like amazing facts or "did you know that...?" In that case, idioms can just be read at your leisure as something entertaining.



But if you're actively reading and listening in English, you'll sometimes encounter idioms. I think you should memorize them at a comprehension level, but there is no point in learning them so solidly that you can use them freely in speech - they are not such ordinary and necessary expressions.



Fortunately, memorizing idioms at the comprehension level is relatively easy, thanks to their vividness, imagery, and sometimes an entertaining origin story. The unusual and vivid things are best imprinted on the memory.



Popular English idioms with translation - a selection from personal experience



In conclusion, here is a selection of idioms that I have encountered in practice: I have not read them out of a textbook, but heard them from someone, met them while reading, and for some reason, they stuck in my memory. Here is my list of popular idioms.



Piece of cake - easy as pie, like a piece of cake.



It's an expression I learned as a kid. In Terminator 2, John Connor, the future savior of humanity, hacks into an ATM with some electronic device and steals money from it. "Piece of cake," John says and runs away.



To ring a bell - to remind you of something, to ring a bell.



The idiom has been seen several times in movies and detectives and is remembered because of the imagery. The ringing of a bell symbolizes a sudden thought.



Rule of thumb - A simple rule of thumb, an approximate way of judging letters.



The rule of thumb is a simple, practical method of not measuring something accurately. Linguist Paul Nation likes to use the expression in scientific papers and lectures.



The origin of the idiom is not precisely established. One version says that the "rule of thumb" came from the old carpenters' way of measuring - with a finger, not a measuring instrument. Everyone's fingers, of course, are different, so such a "tape measure" was not distinguished by accuracy but was easy to use. According to another version, the expression came from an alleged law in England, according to which the husband was allowed to beat his spouse with a stick, but not thicker than his thumb.



To have a crush on someone.



The expression is often found in youth comedies, teen literature, and sitcoms such as "The Friends" or "How I Met Your Mother.



Different ball game 



It's an expression I've only heard from one person, but many times. Do you know how some people have favorite words and phrases? Just such a case in point. An acquaintance of mine in America, a kindly elderly uncle who loved to spout wisdom and talk about the old days, used to say things like.



Jumpscare, in horror movies: a sudden frightening of the viewer, literally: a jump scare.



One of the essential and most effective scare tools in the horror movie and game makers' arsenal, which is why I don't like the genre. In its most primitive form, it looks like this.



The hero sneaks down the dark hallway of a vampire castle with a flashlight, the music building up a tense atmosphere. He approaches a large mirror on the wall, and then there is a rustle, and a shadow flashes behind him. The hero sharply turns around and sees that it is just a mouse. He exhales and says, "It's just a damn mouse!" and turns to the mirror, AND THERE!!! Plus a robust and squealing sound effect. Such scares make the viewer jump on the spot (apparently, hence the name).



The device is hackneyed among genre fans who have resorted to it in a cheap horror movie. In good horror, scare in much more subtle, profound ways, forcing not just the occasional jumping out, dropping popcorn, and the entire film to sit in suspense, and by the end just burning your nervous system to the ground.



I was introduced to this cinematic term when I watched the walkthrough of the super scary game PT on YouTube. Someone wrote in the comments that the frequent use of jump scare frustrated him - such a good game and such a cheap trick.



The bottom line is the gist, summary, lit.: bottom line, bottom line, bottom line.



This idiom means approximately the same: inference, conclusion. For example, a long article may end with a paragraph called "Conclusion" or "The Bottom Line. 



Street smart 



I heard the expression in a conversation with an American journalist, John Alpert. He said he had never been super bright, except for being street smart.



Street smart is a smartness acquired not at school and over books, but on the street, in life, in everyday life. It is also understood in a narrower sense: the ability to survive on the street.

13 A an articles determiners English ESL worksheets pdf & doc