NO ARTICLE

We don't usually use an article to talk about things in general:-

Inflation is rising. People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)

You do not use an article when talking about sports.

For example:

My son plays football. Tennis is expensive.

You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.

For example:

Information is important to any organisation. Coffee is bad for you.

You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the following words: state(s), kingdom, republic, union...

For example:

No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), the Irish Republic Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles

DEFINITE ARTICLE - THE

You use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

For example:

"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

For example:

the North Pole, the equator

We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

For example:

the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.

For example:

the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..

ARTICLES

First the good news:There are only three articles in English: a, an and the.

There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not to use an article.

The bad news is that their proper use is complex, especially when you get into the advanced use of English. Quite often you have to work it out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a learner.

INDEFINITE ARTICLES - A AND AN (DETERMINERS)

A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you are communicating with.

A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-

Adverbs of Time

Some adverbs tell us when something happened or will happen.

These include:afterwards, later, now, soon, yesterday etc.

For example:-

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. - In this sentence yesterday shows us when the singers troubles seemed so far away..

Other adverbs of time include:-

Time	Example
Saturday, Sunday ...	I am going to the shops on Monday.
Today	I've been to the shops today.
Yesterday	I went yesterday.
Next week/month/year	I am going next week.
Last week/month/year	I went last year.
Finally	I finally went.
Eventually	I eventually went to the shops.
Already	I've already been to the shops.
Soon	I'm going to the shops soon.
Just	I'm just going to the shops.
Still	I'm still at the shops.

Superlative form of Adverbs

The superlative form of an adverb is used to say what thing or person does something to the greater degree within a group or of its kind. Superlatives can be preceded by 'the'. In general the superlative forms of adverbs are the same as for superlative forms of adjectives.

The rule for forming the superlative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective add the suffix -est to the end.

Adverbs of Manner

Some adverbs tell us how an action is or should be performed.

Often these adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective.

Adjectives ending -l add -ly ; careful-carefully.

Adjectives ending -y change to -ily ; lucky-luckily

Adjectives ending -ble change to -bly ; responsible-responsibly

adjective	adverb
anxious	anxiously
bad	badly
beautiful	beautifully
capable	capably
lucky	luckily
quick	quickly
weak	weakly

For example:

The little girl ran quickly. In this sentence quickly modifies the verb ran (to run).

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of place indicate where something happens.

These include; abroad, anywhere, here, outside, somewhere, there, underground, upstairs etc.

For example:

My passport is here in my bag.

Place	Example
Upstairs	The children were playing upstairs.
In London	The people demonstrated in London.
Outside	The children were playing outside.

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something is done.

Adverbs of frequency include; always, constantly, continually, frequently, infrequently, intermittently, normally, occasionally, often, periodically, rarely, regularly, seldom, sometimes etc.

For example:

I always do my homework on time. - In this sentence always shows us the frequency (how often) I do my homework on time.

She goes out occasionally. - In this sentence occasionally shows us the frequency (how often) she goes out.

Most frequent	always
	constantly
	nearly always
	almost always
	usually
	generally
	normally
	regularly
	often
	frequently
	sometimes
	periodically
	occasionally
	now and then
	once in a while
	rarely
	seldom
	infrequently
	hardly ever
	scarcely ever
	almost never
Least frequent	never

Adverbs of frequency appear between the subject and the verb in a sentence:-

For example:

I always update the calendar at the beginning of the month.

Poetria often takes notes during the Skype sessions.

ENGLISH ADVERBS

Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of degree tell us the strength or intensity of something that happens. Many adverbs are gradable, that is, we can intensify them. Basically they answer the sort of question that asks How much ...? or How little...?

Adverbs of degree include; adequately, almost, entirely, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, immensely, moderately, partially, perfectly, practically, profoundly, strongly, totally, tremendously, very, virtually etc.

For example:-

The man drove badly. = The man drove really badly. - In this sentence really shows us just how badly he drove.

They enjoyed the film. = They enjoyed the film immensely. - In this sentence immensely shows us how much they enjoyed the film.

These intensifiers are not gradable though, you cannot say The man drove extremely very badly.

Adverbs of Duration

Adverbs of duration tell us how long something happened.

They include; briefly, forever, long, shortly, permanantly, temporarily etc.

For example:

"They were occupied." = "They were briefly occupied." - In this sentence briefly shows us the duration.

"The phone was out of order." = "The phone was temporarily out of order." - In this sentence temporarily shows us the duration.

Adverbs

Adverbs can tell you where, when, how, why and to what extent something happens.

There are several different classes of adverb (see above).

They are often formed from adjectives or nouns by adding the suffix -ly.

For example: Quick becomes quickly, sudden becomes suddenly, intelligent becomes intelligently.

To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -y change the y to i before adding the -ly.

For example: angry becomes angrily, busy becomes busily.

To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -e drop the -e before adding the -ly.

For example: feeble becomes feebly, true becomes truly.

Some adjectives ending in -ly need no changes.

For example: heavenly.

However there are exceptions.

For example: sly becomes slyly, shy becomes shyly.

Some adverbs do not end in -ly.

For example: fast, hard, straight.

Adjective	Pretty	Serious	Fast	Quiet
Example	She was a pretty girl.	He was a serious boy.	It was a fast car.	They were quiet children.
Adverb	Prettily	Seriously	Fast	Quietly
Example	The bird sang prettily.	The policeman spoke seriously.	Schumacher drives fast.	The woman spoke quietly.

Adverbs can modify adjectives

An adjective can be modified by an adverb, which precedes the adjective.

For example:-

That's really nice.

Adverbs can modify adverbs

Some adverbs can modify others. As with adjectives, the adverb precedes the one it is modifying.

For example:-

She did it really well.

Adverbs can modify nouns

Adverbs can modify nouns to indicate time or place.

For example:-

The concert tomorrow.

The room upstairs.

Adverbs can modify noun phrases

Some adverbs of degree such as quite, rather, so, such ... can modify noun phrases.

For example:-

We had quite a good time.

They're such good friends.

Adverbs can modify determiners, numerals and pronouns

Adverbs such as almost, nearly, hardly, about, etc., can be used:

For example:-

Nearly everyone, who was invited, came to the party.

Adverbs can modify sentences

Some adverbs modify a whole sentence, not just a part of one.

For example:-

Luckily the car stopped in time. In this sentence luckily modifies the whole sentence, it shows that it was good luck that the car stopped in time.

Adverbials

Adverbials modify or tell us something about the sentence or the verb. It may be a single adverb, a phrase, or a prepositional phrase, or clause element.

When an adverbial modifies a verb, it changes the meaning of that verb.

For example:-

The students looked at me.

The students looked at me anxiously. (The verb looked suddenly has a very different meaning).

When an adverbial modifies a sentence, the meaning of the sentence changes.

For example:-

I passed all of my exams.

Surprisingly, I passed all of my exams.

Word groups that are also considered to be adverbials can also modify verbs: a prepositional phrase, a noun phrase, a finite clause or a non-finite clause.

Multi-word adverbials are sometimes called adverbial phrases.

For example:-

I ran as quickly as I could, but I missed the bus.

If a whole clause acts as an adverbial, it's called an adverbial clause.

For example:-

I'll go to bed when the film ends.