ARTICLES

Articles in English are very important, as we use them all the time. The three articles in English are a, an, and the. Here are some basic rules for understanding how to use these articles:

The is the definite article. It is used before singular or plural nouns that are specificor particular. Here are some examples:

"The girl who lives next door to me is really cute." This refers to a particular girl: the girl who lives next door.
"The president is a busy man." There is only one president, so we are referring to aspecific noun here.
"I love the books you gave me." Again, we're talking about particular books, the ones you gave me.


A/an are the indefinite articles. We use a/an before general, non-specific nouns or to indicate membership in a group. A/an can only be used with countable, singular nouns. Here are some examples of how to use a/an:

"Let's go see a movie tonight." Here we aren't talking about a specific movie, as we haven't said which movie we want to see.
"Cassie is an interpreter." Here, Cassie belongs to a group: interpreters. We use "an" instead of "a" because "interpreter" begins with a vowell.
"I hope I get a car for my birthday." This refers to any car. We don't know which car yet because we haven't gotten the car.
Finally, all articles in English are invariable, meaning that they do not change if the noun is singular or plural, male or female. There are no other forms of the, an, or a. 
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EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3
EXERCISE 4

HAVE SOMETHING DONE

Have something done  

(from www.englishgrammarsecretes.com)

If you 'have something done', you get somebody else to do something for you.

• I'm going to have my hair cut.
• She's having her house redecorated.
• I'm having a copy of the report sent to you

In informal English, we can replace 'have' by 'get'.

• We're getting a new telephone system installed.
• They will be getting the system repaired as quickly as they can.
• I got the bill sent direct to the company.

We can also use 'have/got something done' in situations where something bad has happened to people or their possessions. This is not something they wanted to happen.

• John had all his money stolen from his hotel bedroom.
• We had our car damaged by a falling tree.
• I got my nose broken playing rugby.

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES.

Here is a brief review of the differences between gerunds and infinitives. 

	Gerunds are formed with ING:	walking, talking, thinking, listening
	Infinitives are formed with TO:	to walk, to talk, to think, to listen

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Gerunds and infinitives can do several jobs: 

	Both gerunds and infinitives can be the subject of a sentence::
Writing in English is difficult. To write in English is difficult.
	Both gerunds and infinitives can be the object of a verb::
I like writing in English. I like to write in English.
BUT...
	Only gerunds can be the object of a preposition::
We are talking about writing in English.

It is often difficult to know when to use a gerund and when to use an infinitive. These guidelines may help you:

	Gerunds are often used when actions are real, concrete or completed::
I stopped smoking. (The smoking was real and happened until I stopped.)
	Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future::
I stopped to smoke. (I was doing something else, and I stopped; the smoking had not happened yet.)     Copyright Englishpage.com exercise 1 exercise 2 exercise 3 exercise 4