Some, any or a?

Do you know how to use the words some, any and a in English? Put the correct word into the gaps in these sentences.

1. I've got _____ new shirt.

2. The shop didn't have _____coffee, so I bought _____ tea instead.

3. I'm busy now, but I might have _____ time tomorrow morning.

4. I saw _____ books on the table.

5. Excuse me, I'd like _____ of those apples, please.

6. I'm sorry, but I haven't got _____ information about your brother.

British geography quiz

London

Powys

Belfast

Dublin

Clyde

Edinburgh

Yorkshire

Ballymena

Co. Down

Cardiff

Swansea

Severn

Thames

Glasgow

Birmingham

Lagan

Stratchclyde

	TOWNS	RIVERS	COUNTIES	CAPITALS
ENGLAND
SCOTLSND
WALES
N IRELAND

Conditional sentences

There are three types of conditional sentences in English:

Type 1: If it is sunny, we will go to the park.

Type 2: If I had more time, I would travel round the world.

Type 3: If I had arrived on time, I would have met her.

Can you make the conditional sentences beginning with if ………... from the following sentences?

1. Maybe it will be a nice day tomorrow. Then we'll go swimming.

2. I ate too much last night, and I felt sick.

3. I haven't got any money, so I can't buy a new car.

4. Why don't you go to bed?

5. I got up late and missed the train.

6. You must take your umbrella. Then you won't get wet.

Pronunciation: words that rhyme

One of the most difficult things about the English language is that the written word is not always pronounced as it looks. Indeed, two words can look similar but be pronounced completely differently. Some of the following words are spelt in a similar way. Which words rhyme with each other?

bough, rough, plough, tough, through, though, enough, so, two, grow, cow, low, sew, stuff, owe.

Lost in the jungle

The following sentences tell a story, but their order has become mixed up. Can you put them in the correct order? Then solve the explorer's problem.

1. But he didn't know whether the friendly village was to the right or left.

2. He also knew that if he went in the other direction, he would come to a hostile village where he would be killed.

3. But he didn't know which man came from which tribe.

4. An explorer was walking down a path in the jungle.

5. While he was thinking about this, he noticed that there were two men standing at the fork.

6. He knew that one came from a tribe that always told the truth.

7. He knew that if he went in one direction he would come to a village of friendly people.

8. The other came from a tribe that always lied.

9. He came to a fork in the path.

Problem: If the explorer can ask just one question to one of the men to discover the path to the friendly village, what is the question? And how does he knew which way to go?

Festivals in Britain (1)

Nick McIver continues his series of articles on British institutions by looking at some of the national annual holidays, celebrations and festivals. This, the first of two articles, examines those holidays which fall in the first half of the year, from January to June.

As you read the article, find out the answers to these questions:

1. When might you receive something from an unknown person?

2. What is the connection between George and a rose?

3. Who stays in bed late a few weeks before Easter?

4. When did spaghetti grow on trees?

5. When do rabbits lay eggs?

6. When is the first holiday in May?

St Valentine's Day

St Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, and on 14 February young men and women declare their feelings for each other. But the tradition is to do so anonymously. Valentine's Day cards and romantic flowers such as red roses are sent which, although they carry messages of undying love, are always left unsigned. Indeed, some people go to great length to disguise their handwriting in order to maintain their anonymity. Many people hope for cards on St Valentine's Day and failure to receive any can cause great disappointment.

National saints' days

The patron saint of Wales, Ireland and England are, in order, St David, St Patrick and St George. Their days are celebrated on 1 March, 17 March and 23 April respectively. National symbols depicting the Welsh dragon or leek, the Irish shamrock and the English rose are worn on the appropriate days, and you will see small gatherings of the various nationalities having a drink together or celebrating in the streets - particularly when they are living away from their native country.

St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, has his day later in the year on 30 November. Scotland's national symbol is the thistle.

Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday, or Mother's Day as it is usually called, falls three weeks before Easter Sunday. On this day, mother is rewarded for all her work looking after the house and family during the rest of the year. her husband and children usually buy her a card and a small gift, and traditionally bring her breakfast in bed. Sometimes she will also be taken out for lunch.

Father's Day, as the name implies, is when Dad gets his treats. Father's Day is on the third Sunday in June but is less widely celebrated than Mother's Day. Perhaps this is because fathers are seen to be less deserving than mothers!

All Fools' Day

Normally called “April Fools' Day”, this day falls on 1 April. It is the day when you can light-heartedly make fools of your family, friends and colleagues by playing tricks on them. People send messages intended to mislead, offer take food, create realistic-looking blood stains and devise a host if other descriptions to full the gullible.

The joke, however, must be received or believed by midday otherwise it is the joker and not the victim who becomes the fool.

Even newspapers, television and radio programmes join in the fun, publishing and broadcasting amusing and unlikely tales. A few years ago, The Guardian newspaper published a whole supplement about a fictitious group of islands called San Serif, with articles on the economy, climate, political situation, weather, etc. But the most famous April Fools' joke was perpetrated by the BBC's highly regarded television documentary programme, “Panorama”. The programme presented an apparently serious report about spaghetti growing on trees in Italy. It examined the problems of cultivating and harvesting spaghetti and included interviews with spaghetti farmers.

Easter

The build-up to Easter begins on Shrove Tuesday. This is the day before Ash Wednesday - the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. On Shrove Tuesday it is the custom to cook and eat pancakes. This is symbolic of using up left-over food - eggs, milk and flour in this case - in readiness for Lent, traditionally a time of fasting and abstinence. Nowadays very few British people actually fast at Lent, but many use it as a time to try to give up something they know is bad for them, such as chocolate, alcohol or cigarettes.

Although Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, the majority of the British public pay much more attention to Christmas with its traditions of present giving, eating and drinking. Good Friday (three days before Easter Day) and Easter Monday are bank holidays, and the banks and other financial institutions, offices and shops are closed on these days.

Gift giving is more restricted than at Christmas although most children are given an Easter egg - made of chocolate and often filled with sweets or a small gift. Tradition says that these eggs are delivered by the Easter Bunny (rabbit) and it is popular game for the children to hunt for small eggs concealed around the house or garden.

Fish is traditionally eaten on Good Friday and Easter cake is an iced fruit cake with a marzipan ring on the top.

May Day

May Day is not celebrated in Britain to the same extent that in many other countries. It became a public holiday only in relatively recent years and falls on the first Monday of May (and not on 1 May).

In previous centuries, May Day, which marked the Spring festival, was a potent pagan symbol and was widely celebrated. Today, in many towns and villages you can still find remnants of the old traditions. Often a local girl is chosen and crowned “Queen of the May”, and people dance round a May Pole - a tall pole with coloured ribbons attached to the top - on the village green. However May Day is chiefly celebrated as simply a day off work by the majority of the working population.

At the end of the month there is another public holiday called Whitsun which was originally a holiday to celebrate the religious festival of Pentecost.

Crossword

^1		^2		^3		^4			^5		^6
				^7		^8			^9
^10						^11
				^12			^13		^14
	^15
^16						^17
^18											^19
				^20	^21			^22
^23		^24		^25			^26
^27				^28

Across clues

1 Times off work (8)

5 Wet, soft earth (3)

7 A bit or section; to separate from (4)

9 A small, spherical, green vegetable (3)

10 A covering for the head and face of a bride (4)

11 To be active, to perform (2)]

13 An indication of what something is - stuck on a jamjar for instance (5)

15 A race run in teams; to transmit by radio (5)

17 Jolly - especially at Christmas (5)

18 One who gets up, possibly early, from bed (5)

20 Preposition meaning “belonging to” or “from” (2)]

22 Hit or killed with a bullet or arrow (4)

23 Not well (3)

25 Finger protector; carpenter's pin (4)

27 A collection of several (3)

28 An expression denoting favouritism or popularity, as in “He's teacher's …… - …… boy” (4-4)

Down clues

1 Weighty, not light (5)

2 Disinclination to do anything (8)

3 To immerse for a short while - take a swim (3)

4 There feet (4)

5 It will show you how to get there and where you are now (3)

6 Likely to kill (6)

8 How the big bell sounded (6)

12 A regular customer; someone who supports or encourages another (6)

14 The day you were born (8)]

16 Vehicles travelling on rails (6)

19 Don't sit, stay upright (5)

21 To fall short, miss or not pass (4)

24 A large quantity - at the auction house? (3)

26 Tell an untruth - from a supine position? (3)

Answers

Some, any or a?

Do you know how to use the words some, any and a in English? Put the correct word into the gaps in these sentences.

1. I've got a new shirt.

2. The shop didn't have any coffee, so I bought some tea instead.

3. I'm busy now, but I might have some time tomorrow morning.

4. I saw some books on the table.

5. Excuse me, I'd like some of those apples, please.

6. I'm sorry, but I haven't got any information about your brother.

British geography quiz

	TOWNS	RIVERS	COUNTIES	CAPITALS
ENGLAND	Birmingham	Thames	Yorkshire	London
SCOTLSND	Glasgow	Clyde	Stratchclyde	Edinburgh
WALES	Swansea	Severn	Powys	Cardiff
N IRELAND	Ballymena	Lagan	Co. Down	Belfast

Conditional sentences

1. If it's a nice day tomorrow, we'll go swimming.

2. If I hadn't eaten too much last night, and I wouldn't have felt sick.

3. If I had some money, I could buy a new car.

4. If I were you, I'd go to bed.

5. If I had got up earlier, I would have caught the train.

6. If you take your umbrella, you won't get wet.

Pronunciation: words that rhyme

The following words rhyme:

bough, plough and cow

rough, , tough, enough and stuff

though, so, grow, low, sew and owe

through and two

Lost in the jungle

The correct order is D, I, G, B, A, E, F, H, C.

The question (which he can ask of either man) is: “If I asked the other man the way to the friendly village, which way would he tell me to go?” Whatever the answer, the explorer would go in the opposite direction. For instance, if the man said “He'd say go right'”, then the explorer would know to go left.

Festivals in Britain (1)

1. St Valentine's Day

2. George is the patron saint and the rose is the national emblem of England

3. Mothers

4. 1 April, April Fools' Day

5. Easter Day

6. On the first Monday of the month.

Crossword

H	0	L	I	D	A	Y	S		M	U	D
E		A		I		A			A		E
A		Z		P	A	R	T		P	E	A
V	E	I	L			D	O				D
Y		N		P			L	A	B	E	L
	R	E	L	A	Y		L		I		Y
T		S		T		M	E	R	R	Y
R	I	S	E	R			D		T		S
A				O	F			S	H	O	T
I	L	L		N	A	I	L		D		A
N		O			I		I		A		N
S	E	T		B	L	U	E	E	Y	E	D

Contents A / 3 / 1991 / 119

Some, any or a?

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A / 3 / 1991 / 119

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