I like the detailed info you give and the story is useful, however, I saw a couple of mistakes in the text:
“One of the main differences between the two is that Charlie has no imagination well perhaps a little whereas Maria has the most vivid imagination you could think of.”
I’d say this sentence needs some commas, before (and perhaps after) “well” and before “whereas”. Right now there’s no natural pause.
The audio file just had too many small mistakes to overlook. In the following sentence the dash to suggest the lack of an article is read as a pause: “but sometimes it can lead to — problems”
I also completely agree with the various responses on the unrealistic pronunciation of “ey” and “thee”. It’s confusing. It should always be “the book”, “thee apple” and I would want my students to hear “It was just a bat”. It’s supposed be a very flippant passing comment, Charlie is making out that it was nothing.
Later on in the recording she stutters a couple of times and there is a computer beep.
It’s also a very fast pace for a lot of learners to take in so much detailed information about all the many and varied uses of articles. I would suggest leaving thinking space. I myself needed a little more time to think on one of the examples, but the audio raced on ahead. I couldn’t quickly press stop because I was half way down the page and the audio is at the top. I’m an English teacher and native English secretary from London. I needed a little more time.
Hey, it’s a tough job to get such a long recording perfect, however, reading it slower will make it easier for the speaker as well as making it easier for the listener to follow and understand. That way it would also be a more accessible tool for people of different learning levels.
I’m good at criticism - of course it’s wonderful work that you’re doing and none of what I’ve said cancels out the value of the document/audio. Please keep it up!
Hello. Your opinion about pronunciation of a is interesting! I didn’t know there were such a tendency on pronunciation. To people like us, who study English as a 2nd language, we naturally can’t find out the difference until someone tells us. We, Japanese have used many wrong usage of Japanese language while we knew the way of using is grammatically wrong.
Why is the article “the” put before jacket on the 1 sentence that referes to “jacket”, and “a” put before “jacket” on the 2nd sentence?
1 sentence;
she replied that there was a strange thing on “the” jacket that was hanging in the bedroom.
2nd sentence;
He could see “a” jacket hanging in the bedroom and went up to it to have a closer look at the"thing".
Am I right to think it’s because on the 1 sentence “jacket” she was referring was definite to two of them, so “the” were used here before “jacket”,
and on the 2nd sentence, there were other jackets in the bed room besides “jacket” mentioned on the 1st sentence, so “a” was put here?
But, “jacket” on the 1st sentence wasn’t definite to reader even if so to the two. I am confused.
If because “jacket” on the 1st sentence is made definite by the additon of a phrase, “the” must come before “jacket” ,as the explanation of article “the”,that is, “Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause.The woman dressed in black.”, then "jacket"on the 2nd sentence should be put “the” before it.
To English learner, the difference between "a"and “the” is the most difficult grammar of all the grammars in Englsih.
Someone says “to master the difference, it takes 50 years.”
Thank you for reply, but it is too hard to understand, and what makes it difficult is that they are explained in English
But your comment"to save waiting 50 years" got my laughter. You have a wit.
Hello dear Torsten,
The story is interesting as the other ones as well written by Allan. One thing is: Could the story reader pronounce the sentences little bit slower? We are non-natives and try to catch every single sound in the speech… Thank you and hope my comment will reach you!
Dear Alan,
Would you please explain me about abstract nouns in English language? I know its definition in my mother language but in English I cannot understand it.
Like this “Fear is natural.”
With regard
Mitra
Dear Roman,
I did it but I could just open link and again could not download Audio. Thanks a lot for your practical and kind guidance.
Sincerely yours
Mitra
Dear teachers,
Would you please explain me is 'usage’ synonym with these words these are employment, handling, custom, practice and convention?
I know that it is out of our subject but if you can please explain me.
With regards
Mitra
This is a very useful lesson for the new learners of English. but I think we will make some mistakes and don’t know it. maybe have a friend, he can tell me where is my mistake, and correct it, I feel it better. And this is a good way to improve the English skill.
I am very happy that at least I have opportunity to systematize the grammar what I learned till now. I love the grammar and I was very good at Hungarian,French and Latin grammar. But I think I know the English grammar but I have very big deficiency / phrasal verbs, harmonizing of the different tenses etc. I am afraid I will never learn it/
You wrote: “One thing at a time. Gradually bit by bit…”
Now I begin with the articles.
I would like to write what happened to me.
I had to say Henry VIII and I didn’t know how is the spoken form. Now I know: Henry the eighth./with definite article/ It doesn’t go without saying because every language use different rule. For example the French say Louis XIV / Louis quatorze/ they didn’t put the definite article. Hungarian use the ordinal number before the king name.
-Date:written forms: June 1; June 1st; 1 June; 1st June
spoken form only: the first of June-with definite article
-The English don’t use article when we say ]est-west etc. Hungary but when we say the west of Hungary we have to use definite article.
-abstract nouns are not always without article in a particular sense we put article:
The death of my mother left an irreplaceable lack in my soul.
-I go to school to learn.-without article
-She goes to the school to speak the teacher. -with definite article
The same rule is with:church,college,bed,sea,market,hospital,prison,court,work.
We make a difference why do we go there, using it or for arranging something.
These are what I met during learning English. If I read your text well these things are not included in it.
I am sorry that I omitted the gist that I was amazed that you had to smuggle in every interesting article using in this text without coming in my mind that I read a grammar text. It was very amusing, when I read it for the second time I underlined the articles so that I could meditate on their using.
Now I read my last letter and I was taken aback that I always make some mistake. I would like to correct it:
Of course I would like to write: it is fantastic you could smuggle in all the articles what about this grammar say and not: you you had to smuggle in etc./ in that way this was so totally unmeaning/
In this text (One of the main differences between the two is that Charlie has no imagination well perhaps a little whereas Maria has the most vivid imagination you could think of.)
I didnt understand why THE have been used before TWO? I thought that you must use it without THE.
There is writed “Definite — the,” but one of examples is: "Before a noun which, by reason of locality, can represent only one particular thing. “There’s A bee in the kitchen.”
Is it mistake or why this example is in “The” section ?
He asked her what the matter was and she replied that there was a strange thing on the jacket that was hanging in the bedroom. THE JACKET.
Some sentences down: He could see a jacket hanging in the bedroom. A JACKET.
We´ve already mentioned jacket, why have we to use A article ?
