1. A preposition is placed before a noun or pronoun. It shows the relationship between nouns and / or pronouns in the same sentence. 介词置于名词或人称代词前。它显示同一个句子里名词和/或人称代词的关系。
2. A preposition of position show the location of a person, a place or an object in relation to another person, place or object. 表示位置的介词显示一个人、地方或东西的位置，并显示他/它和另一个人、地方 或东西之间的关系。
e.g. The goats are under the tree.
(The preposition "under" shows the relation between the goats and the tree.) Put the ladder against the wall. (The preposition "against" shows the relation between the ladder and the wall.)
3. Examples of prepositions of position are 表示位置的介词有
in（里面）
on （上面）
under（下面）
at（位于）
near（附近）
beside（旁边）
next to（旁边）
behind（后面）
between（之间）, etc等
4. A preposition of direction shows which direction the subject is going to or coming from. 表示方向的介词显示主语来或去的方向。
e.g. The dog ran across the field.
My uncle will be going to Australia soon.
5. Examples of prepositions of direction are 表示方向的介词有
1. Conjunctions are used to link words, phrases and sentences. 连词用来连接词、词组和句子。
2. "And" links two parallel ideas. “And” （和）连接两个并列的概念。 e.g. He has a cup of coffe. He has a doughnut.
He has a cup of coffee and a doughnut.
3. "Or" links ideas where choices are given. “Or” （或）连接显示选择的概念。
e.g. Do you want a slice of butter cake?
Do you want a slice of cheese cake?
Do you want a slice of butter cake or cheese cake?
4. "But" links contrasting ideas. “But” （但是）连接相对的概念。 e.g. She can read. She cannot write.
She can read but she cannot write.
5. "Because" shows reason for an action or situation. “Because” （因为）显示某动作或状况的原因。 e.g. The man lives in a hut. The man is poor.
The man lives in a hut because he is poor.
6. "So" shows the result of an action. “So” （所以）显示某动作的结果。 e.g. I was hungry. I ate the cake onthe table.
I was hungry so I ate the cake on the table.
Exercise 1
1. Do you prefer sweets _______ chocolates? 2. Razak is a class monitor _________ a school prefect. 3. It was raining heavily __________ we stayed at home. 4. We Are wearing sweaters __________ it is cold. 5. Jude likes pizza ______ dislikes spaghetti. 6. They could not lift the box ________ it was heavy. 7. The telephone rang ________ nobody answered it. 8. I have to walk faster ________ I will miss the bus. 9. Would you like a kitten ______ apuppy for a pet. 10. The baby cried ________ it was hungry. 11. I have two pencils ________ a few erasers. 12. She was absent from school _______ she was ill. 13. The carpenter needs a saw _________ a hammer to work. 14. My little brother can read __________ he cannot write. 15. Ali was late _______ the bus broke down. 16. She felt sleepy ________ she went to bed early.
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
"Some", "a lot of" and "plenty of" are word used to descibe both countable and uncountable nouns.
2.We use ”a”and “an” to talk about a singular
countable noun.The countable noun can be a person, an animal or a thing. 我们用“a”和“an”来指单数可数名词。可数名词可以是一个人、动物或东西。
a teacher, a market, a tiger, a cup
an apple, an eagle, an actor, an umbrella
3.We use “the” when: 我们用“the”来指：
a)We speak of the same thing again; 之前提过的同一件物件；
e.gHe gave her a ring. The ring was
made of gold.
She has an apple. The apple is
juicy.
b)We are clear about the person or thing that we
are talking about; 确定的人或东西
e.g The cheese cake
was tasty.
I threw away the old shirt.
c)There is only one such thing. 独一无二的东西
e.gThe sun rises in the east.
The moon shines at night.
Articles are not used: 在以下的情况下，我们不用冠词“：
a)before an uncountable noun when we are talking
about something in general; 一般性的不可数名词之前；
e.g.
I like (-) coffee.
b)before the name of a game; 游戏或运动项目之前；
e.g.
The girls play (-) netball in the evening.
c)before
the name of a meal; 三餐的名称之前；
e.g.
I had fried rice for (-) dinner.
d)before proper nouns. 专有名词之前。
e.g.
(-) Ahmad won the first prize.
Exercise 1 : A or An?
In the following phrases, supply either a or an:
1.
____ bingo game 2.
____ idiot 3.
____ good job 4.
____ rotten plum 5.
____ used fork 6.
____ uncle 7.
____ historian 8.
____ apple 9.
____ hair 10.
____ artichoke 11.
____ horrible movie 12.
____ opera 13.
____ fine opera 14.
____ television 15.
____ earthquake 16.
____ icicle 17.
____ plant 18.
____ eggplant 19.
____ honorable discharge 20.
____ intelligent man 21.
____ table 22.
____ up stairway 23.
____ paper clip 24.
____ animal 25.
____ usual feeling 26.
____ interest 27.
____ alibi 28.
____ early bird 29.
____ couch 30.
____ airplane 31.
____ grade 32.
____ pair 33.
____ idea 34.
____ energy level
Answer of exercise 1: A or An?
Correct answers are in bold. 1. a bingo game
2. an idiot
3. a good job
4. a rotten plum
5. a used fork
6. an uncle
7. a historian
8. an apple
9. a hair
10. an artichoke
11. a horrible movie
12. an opera
13. a fine opera
14. a television
15. an earthquake
16. an icicle
17. a plant
18. an eggplant
19. an honorable discharge
20. an intelligent man
21. a table
22. an up stairway
23. a paper clip
24. an animal
25. a usual feeling
26. an interest
27. an alibi
28. an early bird
29. a couch
30. an airplane
31. a grade
32. a pair
33. an idea
34. an energy level
Exercise 2
Directions: Fill in
the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the,
or leave the space blank if no article is needed.
1. I want ____ apple
from that basket.
2. ____ church on
the corner is progressive.
3. Miss Lin speaks
____ Chinese.
4. I borrowed ____
pencil from your pile of pencils and pens.
5. One of the
students said, "____ professor is late today."
6 Eli likes to play
____ volleyball.
7. I bought ____ umbrella
to go out in the rain.
8. My daughter is
learning to play ____ violin at her school.
9. Please give me
____ cake that is on the counter.
10. I lived on ____
Main Street when I first came to town.
