Course for absolute beginners (A1)English words

*Welcome to the course for complete beginners!* This course will guide you through the basics of English. It will help you understand fundamental grammar while introducing useful phrases and key vocabulary for everyday situations. We'll start with essential expressions, such as greetings and thanking others. Let's go!

*Where are you from?* It is important to know how to say where you are from. You can answer in two ways: "I am from..." "I come from..." "Where are you from?" "I am from Spain." or "I come from Spain."

*The verb TO BE* Take a look at the forms of the verb "TO BE" in the first three persons: Here is how it goes: "I am" "you are" "he/she/it is" Notice that "I" is *always capitalized.*

*One coffee, please!* Did you come across a cozy café on your travels? Let's learn how to order coffee or ask for the bill.

*Indefinite and definite articles* "a dog" - We use the indefinite article when we're not talking about a specific thing. We also use the indefinite article when we are talking about something for the first time. For example: "There is a dog." Indefinite articles are only used for singular words, *plurals do not have an indefinite article.* "the car" - We use the definite article when we refer to something or someone we have already mentioned before or when it is clear from the context what or who are we talking about. For example: "The car is big." "The dog that attacked me ran away."

*When do we use AN instead of A?* If a word begins with a consonant, we use the form "a". If a word begins with a vowel sound, we use the form "an". "a pen" "an apple"

*Present simple* Usage: When we want to express habits, repeated actions, general truths, emotions, and wishes. In English, all persons have the same form, except for the 3rd person singular. In most cases, the suffix *-s* is added in the 3rd person singular: "I live in Prague." "My sister lives in London."

*Endings change sometimes* If the verb ends with *-y* which follows a consonant, for the 3rd person singular we remove *-y* and add *-ies*: "I study English." "He studies English." We add the suffix *-es* in the 3rd person singular if the verb ends in *-sh*, *-ch*, *-x*, *-o*, *-ss*, *-zz*: "I wash my hands." "He washes his hands."

*Asking for directions* If you get lost while traveling or are unsure about something, don’t hesitate to ask the locals. It’s a great way to practice the language. Here are a few phrases to help you handle it with ease.

*Time expressions in present simple tense* Use these expressions to specify when or how often you do something. "often" "usually" "sometimes" "always" "never" "every day/week/year/"

*The verb TO HAVE* Since this verb is irregular, there are two ways of writing it in the present: "have" or "has", and deciding to use one or the other depends on the subject of the sentence. "I have" "you have" "he/she/it has" "we have" "you have" "they have"

*Three main auxiliary verbs* "Do", "be" and "have" are three main *auxiliary verbs* in English. You already know the verb "to have" and the singular of "to be". For the *plural subject pronouns* you only need to remember one form of the verb "to be" which is "are". That's easy, right? "I am" "you are" "he is" /"she is"/"it is" "we are" "you are" "they are"

*The verb TO DO* The verb "to do" can function as an auxiliary verb as well as a main verb! Here is how we conjugate the verb "to do": "I do" "you do" "he/she/it does" "we do" "you do" "they do"

*Meeting new people* In this section, we’ll explore how to introduce ourselves and ask questions to learn more about others.

*Questions* We can use "do" to make *question forms*. When the subject is *he, she* or *it*, we add *DOES* at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that *the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question.* Here are some examples: "Do you work here?" "Do you like chocolate?" "Does she speak Spanish?" "Does it work?" These questions can be answered with *yes or no*. In questions that use *do/does* it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows: "Do you speak English?" - "Yes, I do."

*Questions with TO BE* Most questions are formed by *changing the word order* in the sentence. Basic sentence: subject + am/is/are "She is from Spain." Question: am/is/are + subject "Is she from Spain?"

*WH questions* These questions cannot be answered yes or no. The rules of question formation are the same like those above, except that an extra question word appears at the beginning ("what", "why", "where", "when", "whom", "whose", "how") "Where is he?" - "He is here." "What do they like?" - "They like pizza"

*HOW questions* "How" can be used with other words to make different types of questions, for example: "how far", "how long", "how many". Besides those, how can be used *with adjectives* to make questions for example: "How difficult is it?" "How old is he?"

*Negatives* We make negatives by putting "not" after the verb. If there are two verbs in the sentence, we always put "not" after the first one. Just like in these example sentences: "We do not work here." "She does not speak English." "They are not here." "I am not your friend." *Hint: don't is the short form of do not*, just like *aren't* is a short form of *are not* and *isn't* of *is not*.

*Describe a person* Let’s learn how to describe a person using the verbs "to have" and "to be" that you already know, along with some practical adjectives.

*Plurals* The plural is mostly formed simply by adding the ending *-S* to the noun. For example: "a girl" - "girls" "a song" - "songs" If the word ends in ‑s, ‑sh, ‑ch, ‑x, or ‑z, we add *-ES* "a bus" - "buses" If the word ends in a *Y* following a consonant, we change the *Y* to an *I* and add *-ES* "a strawberry" - "strawberries" There are also some irregular plurals, for example: "a child" - "children" "a woman" - "women" "a man" - "men"

"There is" / "There are" These phrases express that something is somewhere: A positive sentence: "There is a dog." "There are two boys." Question: "Is there a house?" Answer: "Yes, there is./No there is not." Question: "Are there trees in the garden?" Answer: "Yes, there are./ No, there are not." Negative: "There is not a problem." "There are no trees in the garden."

"SOME" / "ANY" We use "some" in positive sentences for countable plural nouns (when we don't know the exact amount) and for uncountable nouns. "I have some flowers" "There is some milk in the fridge" We use "any" in negative sentences and questions. "I do not have any flowers." "Is there any milk?"

*Demonstrative pronouns* "THIS/THESE" - Used when the object being pointed to is close. "this book" - singular "these books" - plural "THAT/THOSE" - Used when the object we are pointing at is farther away. "that book" - singular "those books" - plural

*Weather talk* Weather is a topic that's often discussed, as it changes almost every day. Let's look at some useful phrases so you can talk about what's happening outside!😉

*Possessive pronouns* *Dependent* - they stand before the word they are connected to and they never occur independently. "my", "your", "his", "her", "its", "our", "your", "their" "This is my car." *Independent* - can stand alone in a sentence or behind a noun "mine", "yours", "his", "hers", "its", "ours", "yours", "theirs" "This car is mine."

*Expressing possession:* We add *'s* when the things are owned by people, but it can also be used with animals, organizations, and even some time expressions. "This is my sister's dog." "What are the government’s plans?" "Today’s news." In plural we add only apostrophe (*'*) without *s*: "Our sisters' dresses are long."