Improve your English Grammar in One Hour | Basic English Grammar
A2
hey guys welcome to a very very very
important class today we're going to
talk about grammar I know it is your
favorite topic and this is why we're
going to start with prepositions then
we're going to talk about some basic
grammar rules and of course we're going
to talk about articles is it ah or is it
the we're going to talk about that and
we're going to wrap up this class by
talking about tenses in English so if
you're learning English this class is
for you let's start when I first arrived
in the US I was super confused about
some prepositions like am I at the
farmer's market or in the farmer's
market my billboard was on Times Square
or in Times Square I am at the hotel or
I'm in the hotel these prepositions are
very confusing but first of all
whichever preposition you decide to use
native speakers are going to understand
you no one's going to tell you no no
this is the wrong preposition like if
you're talking to Native speak Acres
normally no one would tell you that
something is wrong but if you're taking
a test yes this is where problems might
start because this is where you will get
lower points if you make mistakes so
let's start with prepositions in English
okay let's start with at versus in the
rule that you have to remember in is
used with major big things like
countries cities continents
I was born in Europe well St Petersburg
is kind of Eastern Europe I consider it
Europe he was born in Italy he was born
in Rome I was born in Liverpool in a
railroad switch house we use at with
smaller
insignificant kind of places so I'm at
the farmer's market because Farmers
Market is relatively small same with
buildings I'm at the airport I'm gonna
meet you at the restaurant with small
insignificant things we're using at work
at the University Stadium
security guard the next set of rules is
regarding all versus all of so we use
all of when we have pronouns pronouns
are us they them me you those are all
pronouns so we say all of us are going
to Malibu next week all of them have
completed their TOEFL test so whenever
it's a prona we have Olive all of me
however in all other cases we have all
all the people are forced to stay at
home all the students have to wear masks
all the children need to stay at home
all the gods All The Heavens by the way
guys if you're looking for a manual or
like a book for grammar my team and I
have created a grammar book with all the
necessary rules that you need we have
prepositions we have tenses we have
conditionals oh my God I hate
conditionals what would have happened if
he had to come five minutes earlier like
all of those Clauses and consequences
all of that is explained in a very
simple manner it's a very very visual
grammar book that you can use every
single day when you are doing something
in English when you have this question
oh my God what do I use here our grammar
book would be there to help you moreover
if you want more practice we have a
special practice exercise book created
specifically for this grammar book so
you can read the topic on a specific
grammar Rule and then practice that
grammar rule it's a very affordable
manual created by me and my team it's
brand new it's fresh no old-fashioned
words no old-fashioned rules I use it
all the time with my students when I'm
creating different classes the link will
be below please make sure to download it
print it out or you can use a PDF on
your computer or your iPad I by the way
love using iPad Pro where you can buy
things inside the PDF with a pen but
it's up to you whatever you have at home
or just print it out and have it on your
desk at all times because this is
something you can consult when you have
any questions regarding grammar again
the link will be below thank you so much
for downloading it and it would really
help you go through my videos as well
the next section in versus on versus at
when we're talking about time so when we
talk about General measurements like
I'll be there in two minutes I'll see
you in two days we're gonna travel
abroad into months so this in is used
with general measurements I'll be there
in 20 minutes
however when we have a specific date and
time we use on and at I will see you on
Monday at 12 pm the classes start on
September 21st I'll go now if I may
we'll see you on Friday and remember
that in is also used with a year I was
born in 1990. he will come back in 2025.
that was in 1994.
beside versus besides so beside is a
preposition that that means nearby we
work camping beside the river we were
camping on the shore right we're really
close to the river and we're camping
there beside the white chickens
besides as an adverb and preposition
that means in addition to besides we
need your support in this Venture so
this is something you would start your
sentence with besides two suitcases I'm
taking three boxes with me so it means
in addition to my boxes I'm taking my
suitcases you mean besides my marriage
among versus between a monk is used when
you have a group of objects or people
usually three or more she is very
popular among her classmates she's a
very popular girl right I can choose
among all your t-shirts you have like 30
in your closet oh my God among our homes
between is when you have two objects I
can't decide between going to the cinema
and staying at home between us
on versus upon they're actually
interchangeable you can use both but a
pawn is really formal and old-fashioned
remember this once upon a time there was
this little girl who lived in the forest
blah blah all the fairy tales will start
like that put your book on a table we
would usually just use on in this
context two versus then there are
several words that can only be followed
by two and these words are senior Junior
prefer prior Superior inferior
preferable he is senior to me in service
right we're using two I prefer coffee to
tea I like coffee more he is superior to
me in terms of grades which means he's
higher than me is Matthew Superior to me
so with these we used to in other cases
we used them he's better than me she's
more beautiful than me Etc you're no
better than he is
in versus into we use in when we have a
person an animal or an object located in
a location I was sitting in the
classroom he was in the house when the
policeman came here he is in your office
we use into in a sense of coming toward
something he he came into my office so
he was kind of entering a closed space
and he was moving toward me so he came
into my office we're driving into garage
so this is this movement inside then we
use into came into the store
for versus since four measures a period
since Marks the start date I've been
vlogging for five years already I've
been blogging since 2014. it's actually
six I've been following lingua Marina
wow this is a great example for you to
practice write this down below two
sentences I've been following lingual
Marina for two years I've been following
lingual Marina since 2018 when I first
saw her video about TOEFL by the way
guys let me know when did you first
start watching me and why what was that
video that grabbed your attention and
made you subscribe and made you follow
me this would be really useful for my
future videos because I would make sure
I produce more content that attracts
people's attention please comment down
below and thank you so much for doing
that and thank you so much for
practicing your English down in comments
below agree with versus agree too agree
with is used for agreement with a person
I agree with you we need to practice
English daily I agree with our president
that we need to support our economy I
agree with Dinesh read two is used for
agreement to a plan proposal or idea I
agree to your proposal let's start a
company together I agree to your idea to
share this video with all of my friends
you'll agree to anything
now let's talk about two versus four the
first thing that we're gonna do we're
going to talk about when we use two the
first case when we used to is when we're
talking about a destination I am going
to Germany to Germany at the end of
April I'm going to Munich by the way or
there is another example we are going to
a restaurant tonight to a restaurant
because this is a direction I'm not
going to back out of that I want to go
to Spain second case
if we're talking about time and if we're
talking in British English what they
love to say it's a quarter to two which
means 145. like Americans well I've
never heard Americans sink quarter to
two or Twenty to two and uh when I first
heard in Great Britain I was a little
confused but they say that a lot it's
quarter to two Americans would say it's
1 45 because squatter is 15 minutes and
there is a second case of using two with
time for example the restaurant is open
from Monday to Friday so we can kind of
replace two with until and this is
another way to use it so for example the
address is open until 5 PM or the
restaurant is open from 9am to 5 PM and
this is when we use two but I do Monday
Wednesday Friday from seven to nine when
we compare something I prefer traveling
to sitting at home I prefer sleeping to
working I prefer watching Marina's
videos to uh setting by myself I prefer
metaphysics to theology the next type of
use is when we're talking about a
receiver of an action I gave my book to
my follower I sent a letter to my friend
I wrote an email to my colleague can you
give it to me and last but not the least
when you want to express a reason for
your action for example I came here to
see you I did it to make more money I've
started learning English to get a job
promotion so we're explaining why we've
started doing something and this is when
we use two I came to see you now let's
move on to talking about four you see
what I've just used let's move on to
talking because what it is this is our
direction we're moving to the next
section of our class we're talking about
four now when we talk about benefits we
use four so for example you're doing
something for your health or for the
benefit of be a parent
I bought a gift for my friend I stopped
eating gluten for the benefit of my
health am I even get for my health four
also indicates periods of times I've
been living in the U.S for four years
I've been learning English for several
months now I've been watching lingua
Marina channel for over two years and I
love her content she's amazing she's the
best influencer out there oh you are
being modest
also when we talk about schedule we use
four I made an appointment with my
doctor for March 13th March 13th is my
birthday I'd rather reschedule it for
March 14th your flight is scheduled for
May 31st again we're talking about
schedule a hearing is scheduled for
today we also use four to express a
reason he was fired from job for being
constantly late he has been late so many
times and he's been fired for that or
she's been promoted
for her good English because her English
reached a certain level and she
qualified for a promotion and we also
use four to express a purpose of
something Marina creates videos for
improving your English you watch my
videos for improving your language
travel a lot for works there are also
cases when two and four can be both used
let's talk about some examples so I can
illustrate this better let's compare two
examples he's studying English for work
he is studying English to be able to
talk to his American friends so what
we'll notice here is that we use four
with a noun he learns English for fun he
learns English will work he learns
English for his master's degree but when
we have a verb we say to he learns
English to talk to his friends in the
U.S he learns English to get a job
promotion he learns English to study
abroad see the difference now let's move
on to another example when both 2 and 4
can be used my friend brought lunch to
me
my friend brought lunch for me
now both are correct but they have
slightly different meanings my friend
brought lunch to me we're talking about
Direction he brought lunch to my
apartment put it on my table and I
started eating but when we say my friend
bought lunch for me we really want to
emphasize that he's doing something nice
for me he thought about me when he was
getting lunch so he got one for me
apologize can be used with both two and
four because you apologize for something
for something that you've done I
apologize for breaking your cup I
apologize for this video being too short
but you apologize to someone I apologize
to you for this video being too short I
apologize to my friend for forgetting
about her birthday I apologize for the
language apologize to you travel to and
travel 4. I travel to Russia I traveled
to Paris I traveled to Germany but I
travel for work I travel to Russia for
lingua Fest which is a festival Bowman
Company I traveled to Germany for
meetings you see so four is for the
reason two is for the destination
because you must travel to France
immediately and put that directly into
the hands of the king and him alone men
can travel for work families unite wait
for all wait two wait for someone or
something I'm waiting for the concert
tonight I am waiting for my dad to come
and visit us in California but you wait
to do something I cannot wait to see my
family in Russia or I cannot wait to
travel this summer
I cannot wait to show you this when we
use ask we normally use for ask for
something can I ask you for a cup of tea
please uh can I ask you for a favor
don't ask for permission ask for
forgiveness when we talk about belonging
we normally say two it belongs to me it
belongs to you and never belongs for so
don't say that she belonged to me
when we say care we care for somebody I
care for my dog I care for Alex I care
for my family you care for him
and the last but not the least when
we're saying prepare we always say
prepare for something I will need to
prepare for the festival
let's do a quick quiz he lives 13 Long
Street and you have to select either in
on or at I'm visiting my grandma on and
at a hospital
I like traveling too and at a train
now you're gonna get the right answers
at the end of this video but make sure
you write your answers down so you can
check yourself later now let's talk
about some rules the first rule is when
we use at at is used with a very exact
place think small building like
something that is small you would always
use at at the door at the hospital at
school at the University at the table at
the door so something specific would
always be at but when you're thinking
about big things like I don't know
Panama or Guatemala or St Petersburg or
London you would never say at because at
only applies to smaller things and
London Panama Guatemala those huge
geographical locations so you can be at
London you're in London in London yeah
but I'm at the desk I'm at home I'm at
my studio I am at the bus stop Etc at
this University it the door that's cool
we use on
with streets and avenues I live on Park
Avenue on North Avenue I live on Green
Street so on is always with the street
but please remember there are always
exceptions like if you're talking about
University and you're talking about
campus you say I live on campus on
campus campus is this location where you
have your dorms you have your classes
you have your restaurants cafeterias Etc
so on campus would be an exception but
normally on is only used with streets
now when we're talking about the street
there is another thing to remember when
we have a number then we use add I live
at 13 Green Street at 45 Dunston street
but when we don't have a number like I'm
asking where are you right now and
you're answering I'm a Market Street you
don't give me a number and the news on
on Green Street so at is used when we
give the full address Street number Etc
on is when we just mentioned the stream
and when we talk about something bigger
than the street we use the preposition
in so for example you have different
parts of town we are having lunch in
Chinatown or we are having lunch and Nob
Hill this is like a district here in San
Francisco with cities as I already
mentioned I live in London I live in
London I live in New York 11 New York we
have been in New York for two weeks we
are in Los Altos Hills with States I
live in California I live in California
with parts of countries my friends spent
vacation in the south of India with
countries I used to live in Russia in
Russia with continents my sister is in
Africa I love being in Africa so to sum
things up we use at with specific
locations on with less specific
locations like streets and in with
bigger locations like cities towns
countries parts of countries if you're
already feeling overwhelmed with what's
going on and we haven't yet started the
most interesting part of the video where
I'm going to explain more things about
prepositions I would highly recommend a
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trip by certified teachers this is a
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it's not just rules we all get bored by
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like in all of my videos we try to come
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also it's not just you reading the
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forget what's the right way to use
prepositions in English the link is
below now let's move a little further
with our prepositions I gave you some
basic rules but now we're gonna explore
more examples in is also used when we
are talking about an enclosed space
something that has a roof something that
has walls in a car in a box in a
building I am waiting for you in my car
they're in a car can you please help me
find a pen in this box in a box don't
put your wallet in a pocket now listen
carefully right now we're moving to on
and uh we use on with a bus on a bus and
you might ask Marina but why in a car
but on a bus wait a minute I'm gonna
explain the other words that we use on
with are words that represent surface
like this table is a surface on a table
your floor is a surface on the floor
wall behind me is also surface on the
wall we also use on one with talk about
left and right on the left on the right
oh vice versa depending on whatever you
see I think it's on the left foot you're
on the right for for you next two or
along the side of a river for example
Cambridge is on the River cam now
interesting fart why in a car but on a
bus and it's used with means of
transportation where you can't stand up
oh my God English you're so complicated
so you can stand up in the car so you
say in a car you can't stand up in a
helicopter but you can stand up on an
airplane so on an airplane in a
helicopter
on a bus in a car on the bus in a car in
a taxi because you can't send off in a
taxi I know guys this is why I recommend
having something like a grammar book so
you can refer to things or at least have
a script of this video in front of your
eyes on a ship on a boat on a plane on a
train we use on with a means of
Transport where we can stand up
we can stand up on a plane we can stand
up on a bus we can stand up on a boat
and also maybe another hint uh we use on
with a means of transportation where
there is no roof
on a horse on a Boat Boat doesn't have a
roof normally you can have both but on a
boat so normally you don't have a roof
on top of you when you're on the upper
deck on a bike you can't really stand up
on a bike but it doesn't have a roof so
it's on a bike on your bike on a boat
another thing that can be super super
confusing for you guys sometimes you
hear in a hospital and sometimes you
hear at a hospital both of those are
grammatically correct but guess what
they have a different meaning so when
you're saying I'm in a hospital that
means you're a patient you're actually
receiving treatment I don't remember the
accident I just remember waking up in a
hospital my uncle is in the hospital
right now receiving treatment for his I
don't acne I don't know if you go to the
hospital for that but he broke a leg
he's in a hospital let's do that I'm
giving birth in a hospital but you can
also say I'm at the hospital but that
would mean that you're just doing
something there that you're not a
patient I am visiting my uncle at the
hospital because you're at the hospital
not as a patient receiving treatment
you're a guest visiting your uncle in
college my brother volunteered at a
local hospital again he wasn't a patient
this is why we use at the hospital the
same goes for school Museum library or
any other institution and we also use at
with events I'm at this Lady Gaga
concert okay guys I hope it wasn't super
confusing for you again if you want to
make sure you remember all the
prepositions make sure to follow the
link below and download the free chapter
of the grammar book and if you feel like
you are willing to invest in your
education just a little sum of money
using 66 percent off the grammar book
will be even cheaper for you because
you're watching this video and now let's
check your test I guess you already know
everything but let's do it anyways he
lives at 13 Long Street because we give
the full address we give the number and
the street address I'm visiting my
grandma at the hospital why because I'm
not a patient she's a patient my grandma
is in the hospital receiving treatment
and I'm visiting her at the hospital
because I am not a patient I like
traveling on a train you can also say I
love traveling by train but this is
another topic for another video here
because we remember that we can stand up
on the train we use on I like to travel
on a train this class is going to be
about basic grammar something that you
should have learned while back at school
you might have forgotten basic grammar
but this is why I am here because we're
gonna talk about really important things
parts of speech noun pronoun verb what
does that mean basic tenses that you
have to know and third is word order and
if you watch this video up to the very
end if you understand the concepts if
you learn them there is 99 chance that
you would be able to speak English at a
level where you can explain what you
need explain what you're doing for life
or even work with people because what
we're gonna talk about creates
foundation for your language so please
make sure you listen carefully let's do
it first of all let's talk about parts
of speech we have nouns
these are our objects or subjects cat
dog
mom
table
these are all nouns pronouns these are
words that substitute a noun to avoid
repetition cat
he dog let's say she mom she table it
then if we have plural they
we
Etc verb we use verbs to express actions
go read eat
adjective now here listen carefully
adjectives I used to describe nouns
because we're going to talk about
adverbs later and those are used to
describe actions or adjectives this is
where it gets a bit complicated but I
really want you to understand the
difference between adjectives and
adverbs because sometimes you use them
in a wrong way and I use them in the
wrong way sometimes but we want to be
grammatically correct so adjective is
used to describe nouns or pronouns right
we use adjectives to answer questions
like which one
what kind of how many how much and the
examples are old new
beautiful smart
Etc
adverbs
describing actions right adverbs answer
questions like when where
how and very often are adverbs end with
li
here fully
slowly but not always fast
it's also an adverb
finally now fast can be both adjective
and adverb if we look at a couple of
examples he is fast we use fast to
describe a pronoun
then it's an adjective but if we say he
runs really fast we're actually
describing a verb and in this case it's
a network
just so you know then we have our
prepositions we place a preposition
before a noun to modify the phrase about
above across on
Etc conjunction this is a joining word
that we use to connect
sentences or different parts of one
sentence but and however after
although
Etc and the last but not the least
articles a and the I know that you mix
them up if you do mix them up I have a
video explaining how to not mix them up
a or n and the basically we use a or n
to mention a thing that we haven't
talked about before
there is a mug on my desk but if I'm
talking about one particular mug that
I've already mentioned in the
conversation I would say
there is black tea in the mug in the mug
that I mentioned before a lot of people
are telling me Marina I want this one
resource where I can go and answer all
of my questions regarding English
grammar or Marina can you recommend a
book that I can have on my desk and
whenever I have a question whenever I
have an idea oh my God I want to learn
this I go to the spot my team and I have
created a grammar book that covers the
most important aspects of English
grammar it has a chapter on articles
nouns prepositions adjectives and it's
not just a book with a set of rules we
tried and gathered the life hacks that
we use that our students use to memorize
everything better to understand
everything better so it's not just you
reading you're only like how does that
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real life explanations and students have
left the most amazing reviews about this
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you learn something new and then you
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and answers to check yourself we made
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real value for money the link will be
down below thank you so much for
upgrading your English language skills
and buying this One-Stop shop book that
would answer all of your questions now
let's talk about basic tenses we're
going to talk about three tenses present
past and future some people would argue
these three tenses are enough to speak
English they are kind of enough but of
course native speakers use all the
tenses doesn't mean they understand the
construction because they learn
everything as kids but I'm gonna explain
the basic structure to you because you
know we're not native speakers and we
don't have this Advantage now present
simple tense is used to describe habits
I drink coffee every morning schedules
the train leaves at 5 pm and general
truths ice is cold one thing to remember
is that in English
there should always be noun a pronoun in
a sentence and there always should be a
verb so for example if we say I drink
coffee every morning then the action is
drink sometimes we don't have actions
sometimes we just describe something and
uh in this case ice is cold a verb is is
we use past tense to describe something
that happened in the past so basically
your verb gets either Ed on the end I
walked or if it's an irregular verb then
you just have to learn it
she went home
he drank a glass of beer and the future
tense is of course used to describe our
future in this case we just put will
before a verb she will come back let's
talk about word word word let's talk
about word order in a sentence in
English first of all we have a subject
which is a noun a pronoun then we have a
verb or action and then if we need it we
have an object which is normally a noun
or pronoun as well so let me give you a
quick example she
subject smiled at a boy and then if we
need to describe our action with an
adverb remember adverbs describe verbs
we put it right before the verb for
example she briefly smiled at a boy so
the adverb comes here and then if we
have adjectives that describe a noun
then they come right before the noun
she smiled at a little boy of course
this rule is very basic the more you
learn the better you become there is one
last thing I wanted to tell you don't
make this mistake
let's look at these three sentences
they often play tennis
correct
they play tennis often also correct they
play often tennis this is incorrect
because adverb
can never be put between a verb and an
object so this is wrong just remember
because this sounds this sounds a little
weird alright guys I have a question for
you do you have articles in your
language my language is Russian and in
Russian we don't have any articles we
don't say ah we don't say the we don't
say anything when we refer to nouns it's
just the noun right
in English we have articles and my
problem and I I still think I have it I
miss articles sometimes sometimes I just
avoid them in general just because they
do not exist in my native language and I
remember when I was 16 and I thought I
was like super advanced in English when
I came to the UK my friend said you know
Marina I understand everything that
you're saying but you are not using
articles at all and that makes you sound
really weird to a native speaker and uh
he actually he he was a really good
friend so he spent like an hour with me
explaining all the Articles so please do
not forget about articles when you speak
English let's talk about them when and
how you use them there are two articles
a and the and we use a we use it to talk
about objects that we encounter for the
first time in our speech for the first
time in this conversation and we use the
we mean something specific so let's
start with the first rule something
specific is always the for example Arena
where did you get the dress that you
wore yesterday this is a very specific
dress I only have one dress and I'm
pretty sure she means the dress that I
was wearing yesterday and that was the
specific white dress whatever so this is
a very specific thing but if I'm asking
somebody can you get me a dress when you
go shopping I'm not asking for a
particular dress I just need a dress and
whatever dress you can find that suits
me just get it so could you get me a
dress when you go shopping so see the
differences in the first example with
the specific dress I wore yesterday I
meant that dress that I wore yesterday
when I'm asking to buy a random dress
this is a dress another thing to
remember we only use a uh when we talk
about single objects we cannot say a
dresses this is wrong worm don't do that
but um if a word starts with a vowel a e
o u okay you know wow is right right we
replace a with n and apple an eggplant
an elephant another general rule is when
you talk about something for the first
time you say a When you mention it in
your conversation for the second time
you use the for example yesterday I went
to a party I mentioned it for the first
time but in the second sentence I would
say the party was amazing because I've
already stated that I will be talking
about a specific party and in the second
sentence I'm referring to that specific
party so it's the body now okay or
another example yesterday I bought an
apple
you know just a random Apple that Apple
turned out to be rotten so I'm taking it
back to the store today okay so first
I'm not mentioning a particular Apple I
just bought an apple it doesn't matter
which Apple it doesn't matter if it's
baked doesn't matter if it's small just
an apple but then when I'm talking that
it's rotten I already mean that Apple
that it's in my fridge so the Apple okay
however if we're talking about an object
that is one of a kind we always use the
the Moon the Sun
the Black Sea The Simpsons so we know
that there is only one one that's why we
always say the moon we know that there
is one Sun so say that sun again we only
know that there's just one family when
we're talking about we know that we're
talking about The Simpsons right this is
the movie so whatever it's something one
of a kind it's the uncountable nouns
what are uncountable nouns porridge
oatmeal milk uh whatever you cannot
count because uh when we're talking
about porridge you cannot really count
all the seeds that are there and when
we're talking about milk you cannot
really count the cells yes you can
measure volume but that's different
we're talking about counting so
uncountable nouns means you cannot count
them right so with uncountable nouns we
don't use any articles it's always I
like oatmeal can you get me some oatmeal
can you make some porridge for breakfast
use some right can I have some milk I
drink milk for breakfast the only way
you would be able to count milk is by
adding glasses so can you give me a
glass of milk and then you have this a
okay but this a refers to Glass not to
milk and the second stereo when we don't
use an article we announces when we have
plural countable nouns bicycles
computers cameras bloggers so whenever
these words appear in a sentence we do
not use any articles I have three
computers at home I like watching
bloggers I love bicycles but
why articles are so confusing because
they're always always always exclusions
for example there is a store in your
house and they sell specific milk and
you want to highlight that you like the
milk from that store because it's one of
a kind you really mean that milk and you
cannot get it anywhere else then you can
say oh my God I love the milk from that
store because you're being specific and
again I just mentioned that with milk we
don't use anytha but we don't use any
the or a when we don't mention specific
milk we just mentioned milk as food but
if we mean some kind of milk that it's
only sold in a store that's uh one block
away or in your house
say the same applies to countable nouns
in plural forms if that shop also sells
apples that you love you can say oh I
love the apples from that store they are
the best in the world and people realize
that you mean specific apples that are
only sold there and uh they're one of a
kind okay please remember that and uh
feel free whenever you're watching this
video if it's confusing feel free to
stop feel free to open your exercise
book rewind the video and write
everything down again because I know
it's super confusing and I know even
like super Advanced students make
mistakes in articles so this topic is
very important it's crucial but I'm here
to help there's a quite similar rule for
abstract nouns and when you're talking
about something in general you don't
need an article for example
um information on the Internet is very
useful so information is this abstract
noun you don't mean any specific
information you just mean that
information that available to everyone
on the Internet is very useful but again
just to compare when you use particular
information that you receive the
information that I've read on Wikipedia
regarding YouTube is super useful then
you need to insert up the definite
article the because you mean some
specific information but when you're
talking about information in general you
don't use articles at all okay never use
articles with proper nouns Tuesday
Monday New York you can distinguish
those proper nouns by the capital letter
that they start with New York is with
capital letters Washington DC Russia
London uh Tuesday Monday Wednesday
February March all of those nouns do not
require an article okay never use
articles with the names of the countries
Dimitri makes this mistake all the time
and I keep correcting him Russia France
Monaco all of those countries do not
require an article but of course us
there are exclusions to this rule if a
country's name consists of several words
the United Kingdom because that refers
to kingdom here so the United Kingdom
the United States of America so whenever
the name consists of
several nouns you use
also no articles when you speak about
languages and remember at the beginning
of this video I asked you to write a
comment below what language you speak
and if you have articles in that
language so you can say I speak French
and there is no article I speak Russian
and there are no articles in Russian so
we don't have any article before the
name of the language and the last but
not the least when you're talking about
meals don't use articles I've already
had lunch today I've already had
breakfast let's head out to dinner but
again uh we're just talking about
non-specific meals just you know stating
that we had meal but if you want to say
that you are sick from the dinner you
had yesterday then you need definite
article because you mean that specific
dinner we probably ate uh Sushi and you
got food poisoning so when you mean a
specific dinner it would probably be
something in the past uh you use the so
articles are very confusing and uh as an
English language learner I think I have
worked and learned about them maybe like
10 times in my life I just keep coming
back to this I think of course it's the
matter of practice but this repetition
constant repetition of a topic that is
confusing for you I think it's really
helpful for you as an English language
learner if you want another class from
me on articles
please let me know in comments down
below and I will be happy to make
another video and now let's move on to
another topic that is kind of endless in
English and the topic is tenses today
I'm going to teach you which terms to
use when you see certain words in the
sentence we call them marker words so
sometimes you see them and you're like
oh when people use this word they would
typically use this particular tense and
I'm going to teach you those words so if
you're interested continue watching
before I start quick disclaimer English
evolves all the time yes there are
grammar rules and for some tenses
especially like present perfect if a
test taker creates a sentence for you
puts one of those marker words in that
sentence there's like 99 chance he wants
you to use present perfect because he
wants to know whether you've learned
those words by heart but when you talk
to a native speaker when you're in this
relax relaxed environment people use
these words with other tenses as well so
there is no like 100 guarantee if you
see one of the words that I've mentioned
they use like that particular tense but
if it's a test I would say it's like 90
plus guarantee that you should use this
particular tense but I would always look
at the context okay so you see the word
and then you look at the context we'll
explain you when we use certain tenses
so always always pay attention to the
context let's start with the simplest
tense ever present simple present simple
as attempts that is used for regular
actions something that happens to you
every day every night every month so
something that you do regularly and also
for some things that are pre-scheduled
like the airplane arrives at 5 PM the
marker words for this tense usually
every day every week so whenever you see
every that's probably present simple
often seldom or the synonym for for it
is really and really is more Americans
for actions that don't happen too often
always never sometimes as a rule hardly
ever hardly ever is like very very
rarely hardly ever do I get 12 hours of
sleep per night today on Sunday from
time to time I go to swimming pool from
time to time the next tense that is also
simple past simple and this is the tense
that we use to describe actions in the
past and it doesn't really matter what
kind of result we have right now because
that's present perfect for past simple
think of it as telling a story telling a
story about something that happened to
you last year in 1994 so you're just
describing the series of actions or just
one action or something that you were
doing back then so just think of it this
way you are describing something that
happened into you something you did a
year ago two years ago
Etc yesterday the day before yesterday
last week month year Etc whenever you
see last that's really past simple a
goal is also a great marker word so
whenever you see a go again ninety
percent plus it's going to be past
simple a week ago a month ago a year ago
the other day which means on one of the
days that have passed in 1994 or any
year in the past once once upon a time
there lived an elephant in Africa when
and you would insert something in the
past at three o'clock yesterday or at
three o'clock
the day before yesterday that day by the
way guys if you want these words but
written down something that you can
print out something that you can have in
front of you on your desk we have
created a memo for you where we have all
of those marker words you also have a
test which is divided by certain levels
of English so you can check where you're
at right now with your tenses there is
also a table that describes how to build
different tenses and there's also a
table with irregular verbs remember
we're talking about past simple right
now when we're talking in the past a
verb goes into the second form and there
are regular verbs like I walked in the
park I published this video but there
are also irregular verbs like I put my
phone on the table yesterday whatever I
drove five miles an hour irregular verbs
are formed in a different way it's not
just booty doing a D in the end it is
something else and we have created a
table for you with these verbs and also
how to learn them easily there is a
small fee to download this table it's
one dollar fee just to support our
designers and us so it's me and Vania
who created this table and also my team
the link is below you're gonna have it
all in front of you you can have all the
words so you can just print them out
hang them in front of you and always
have them in front of your eyes so
whenever you have questions you can just
refer to that memo um by the way in this
video what I'm going to talk about all
the 12 tenses we're going to talk about
person simple past simple future simple
present progressive and present perfect
but in the table we have more tenses we
have seven tenses in total in terms of
this marker words future simple future
simple talks about future actions and
something for you to remember future
simple is when you're not 100 sure about
something for example you have a
appointment with your friend and he says
I will come in an hour so that means
he's 90 sure that he will come in an
hour maybe he won't come because he
can't control other people but if you
have an airplane that leaves at 5 PM you
see I'm already using present simple so
when it's something that you're 100 sure
of it's present simple it's like for
timetables opening schedules and stuff
the store opens at 9am the store closes
at 9 00 PM that's all present simple but
when we're talking about actions we're
not sure about like 90 well we are sure
90 sure but we're still kind of guessing
that's future simple and the marker
words are tomorrow the day after
tomorrow next week month year
Etc in an hour in a second in a minute
Etc in the 22nd century soon later
someday and someday course meaning
someday in the future in a day in a week
in five years so whenever you sit in
plus and according to the context you're
100 sure that's future sinful in the
future one of these days present
progressive and in British English you
would call it present continuous it also
depends on the textbook that you're
using but it's pretty much the same in
America would say present progressive or
present continuous the test that is used
to describe something that is happening
right now so the word the first marker
word obvious now right now at the moment
today to other marker words and look
listen like for example if you're trying
to pay somebody's attention something
like look they are fighting we need to
stop them we are paying somebody's
attention to an action that's happening
right now still they are still fighting
at this very moment currently these days
this week this month month this year
constantly I'm constantly hearing Sirens
when I'm recording videos in this
apartment because we're very close to
the center and something is constantly
going on you see how I'm using this
constantly and stuff and the last but
not the least we're gonna talk about
present perfect and I know you mix it
with fast simple very often so present
perfect focuses it's a present tense
okay it's not a past tense because it's
present perfect and it focuses on the
result you have right now come on guys
present perfect is a present tense it
focuses on the result that you have
right now it does not focus on the
details of a past action because for
that we have past simple for results
right now we have present perfect so for
example I have eaten this means that
you're not hungry if you're kind of
translating explaining if you say I ate
pizza yesterday for lunch that means
you're telling a story about what
happened yesterday you're not really
focusing on something that you have
right now this is a way for you to
determine which tense to use in marker
words of course like for this tense
marker words that you've probably
learned to school ever and ever since
already yet whenever you see them on the
test oh my God I think that's like 95 97
chance that the test takers want to test
you whether you've learned those marker
words or not ever never just already yet
recently lately lay greatly means you've
started doing something recently again
I've started walking every night lately
before always so far at last it's the
first time it's the first time since
we've known each other so
all my life
all morning
about English students least favorite
tense which is present perfect because
it is so confusing I was taught at
school that present perfect is a past
tense which is not because if we look at
its name it says present perfect which
means that yes we're talking about our
actions in the past but their result is
still here with us in the present this
is why it's present perfect it's a
present tense and it's really important
not to mix it up with a past tense it's
really important to use it in the right
way so today we're gonna talk about
present perfect one of the most
important things to remember about
present perfect is that we don't really
care when exactly something happened for
example I say I've lost my keys I don't
really care if I lost them yesterday I
don't really care if I lost them a week
ago I care about the result I've lost my
keys and I can't get into my house this
is the result and so it doesn't matter
when exactly quickly the action happened
it matters that the result is still here
it's my present I can't get into my
house the way we form this tense is that
we use either have or has I have you
have they have we have
it she he has after that we use our verb
in the third form and here please pay
attention we have regular verbs where
the third form is the same as second and
is easily formed by adding e d play
blade blade stop stopped stopped and we
have irregular verbs that you have to
learn run run run bring broad broad rise
Rose resin so we use the third form and
please remember that some regular verbs
actually change the way they're written
so for example say sad sad we get rid of
Y in the second and third form and we
add i d study studied studied so just
pay attention to the spelling of those
words so we have has or have we have a
verb in the third form and if it's a
regular verb we add Ed if it's irregular
verb we just learn the third form and
very often we have a word that tells us
that we have to use present perfect ever
never since already yet remember what I
told you we don't really care about the
exact timing of an action so whenever
you have a year ago in 1990 T in March
2015
that means that you would probably need
to use past simple because again in
present perfect we don't care about the
exact point at time we don't care about
the exact day or exact year we just care
about the result so I have never eaten
Pizza in my life
okay the result if I try Pizza it's
going to be something new for me I've
never eaten a taco I've been to Great
Britain once that means if I go now it
wouldn't be a new country for me but it
doesn't really matter whether I've been
in Great Britain in 2015 or 2020 in this
case we would use past simple since I've
been to Italy many times also when you
are taking your TOEFL test when you're
taking your IELTS test or whatever test
that you're taking please do not
contract your verbs
don't say I've been there don't write
I've been there please say and write I
have been there this is formal academic
English and this is what's required from
you when you're taking a formal test
when you're writing a formal essay of
course when you're chatting to your
friends to your classmates when you're
recording a video on YouTube or watching
my videos you're free to comment below
oh my God I was scared by the slaps
when you're commenting on this video you
can totally contract your verbs and say
I've been there I've enjoyed this video
so much I've learned so much from this
video marina you're an amazing teacher
you are being too modest so feel free to
contract below this video but please
don't use contractions when you are
taking an academic test the negative
form in this tense is formed by adding
not I have not done this I have not seen
this before
or if you want to make it shorter you
can say I haven't done this before I
haven't seen this before when you're
forming a question in present perfect
this half goes into the beginning of the
sentence have you ever been to the
United States if you want to add wh
question
your wh word comes first who what when
whatever what have you done today this
wh comes first and then you have your
have or has and then you have your verb
or how many times have you been to the
UK again your question comes first then
you have has a have and then you have
your verb it is really important to
learn the word order because when you
are speaking to a native speaker and
when your intonation isn't right when
your word order is not right people
might not understand you at all because
when you're talking to native speakers
they are used to talking to other native
speakers and it might be a little hard
for them to understand you if you have
an accent or if you're mixing up word
order this is why whenever you're
learning something please make sure
you're learning everything accent word
order pronunciation that's really
important in any language okay when do
we use present perfect we use present
perfect to talk about actions that
started in the past or happened in the
past and still have effect on our
present I've lost my keys I can't enter
the house they've missed the bus that
means they will be late I've already
eaten means I'm not hungry so we don't
care about when exactly the action
happened we care about the result in
present I've lost my money I've lost my
club but now I've lost my guests we also
use present perfect when we talk about
our life experiences I've been to the UK
I've studied in Germany I've done this
so many times before when you talk about
your experiences about things you've
done before you use present perfect I've
never driven before also if you have an
unfinished time word for example this
year this week today I want to talk
about actions that have happened in the
period that is still ongoing you use
present perfect let me give you a couple
of examples we've already prepared our
car twice this year oh my God and there
might be another repair coming up you've
already done so many things today
you've accomplished so much during this
day and you still have time to do
something else you've already slept for
five hours today stop sleeping come on
time to work so whenever we have this
ongoing timestamp we use present perfect
I've already seen someone cry today also
a quick difference between present
perfect and past simple if you say I
worked here for five years that means
you're still working here if you say I
worked here for five years that means
you're no longer working here you see
the subtle difference in using off
tenses makes everything completely
different and gives a completely
different context to a person you're
talking to and let me give you a quick
exercise he
hungry
in 1990 which tense would you use here
another example
he
hungry
two times
so in the first example you have past
simple because it has a timestamp 1990.
he visited Hungary in 1990 but in the
second sentence you don't have a time
stamp you just have a number of times he
has visited hungry so he has visited
Hungary
two times guys if you like how I teach
your tenses I have a whole course on
English language dances it's really
detailed really interactive with a lot
of exercises because once you got
information about tenses you really need
to practice them it has a lot of
additional materials for you to practice
to learn to print out and put on your
desk only for you guys because you're
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