Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ghazie]

I want to know when to use a/ an/ to me/ for me/ many/ a lot/ in/ an/ at/ on.

Actually there's a lot more but I forgot it, I will ask again next time.
I want to know the answers for that because I'm really confused, I'm having a headache!

Please include some examples for each, and please explain it in a very simple way. Thanks a lot for helping.

[pugachevV]

You need to go back to your grammar primer and carefully study it again.
This is far too broad a question to answer in a post on this forum.

[redset]

It would help more if you posted some examples of things you're having difficulty with! We use these words in many different ways, and going into too much detail could just confuse you. I'll explain some basics though:

a / an - which one you use depends on the sound of the next word. If the next word starts with a vowel sound use an, otherwise you use a.

an orange ('orange' starts with an 'o' sound), an event ('event' starts with an 'e' sound), an idea, an hour (the 'h' is silent, so the word sounds like 'our')

a cat, a meal, a university ('university' starts with a vowel, but not a vowel sound - it starts with a 'y' sound)

Try saying those first examples (an orange etc.), and then say them with a instead of an. 'A orange' is harder to say than 'an orange' right? That's the only reason we use two different words, to make things easier to say.


many / a lot - we use many for countable nouns and a lot for both countable and uncountable nouns. In case you don't know the difference, countable nouns are separate objects like books, friends, bottles. Uncountable nouns are things which aren't separate, so you can't count them! Things like water, flour, time etc.

So many is for countable nouns only - you have many friends, I have read many books. (We use much for uncountable nouns - we don't have much time etc.) But native speakers often say a lot instead of 'many' or 'much', and using much without a negative feels very formal.

You have a lot of friends, I have read a lot of books, we don't have a lot of time. Be sure to include the of before the noun, but if the noun is missing you don't need it:

'Have you read a lot of books?'
"Yeah, I've read a lot."


The others you mentioned are all prepositions, and unfortunately there are a lot of different rules you'll need to learn. The best thing to do would be for you to post some example sentences you're not sure about, and we'll explain which word you should use and why.

[ghazie]

Hello, thank's for your reply pugachevV and redset.

I'm aware with the use of a/an but the thing is I'm kinda confused on when to put them in a sentence.

Ex. I went to a good place / I went to good place.
It's a really nice thing to happen / It's really nice thing to happen.
(thing's like that.)

[ghazie]

And how about this one,....


Ex. In the bookstore
At the bookstore


Which one is right? Thank's

[redset]

Indefinite articles (a/an) go before singular noun phrases. Basically if a noun is singular, you put a or an before the noun and its adjectives:

Place is a singular noun, so we say 'a place'. (Never 'a places'. A/an implies you're talking about one thing.)
'I went to a place.'
'I went to a good place.' (The article goes before the noun and its adjectives.)

Thing is a singular noun, so we say 'a thing'. The thing is also nice, so we say 'a nice thing'. In fact the thing is really nice, so we say 'a really nice thing.'

(By the way, you said thing's like that at the end of your post. It should be things - never use an apostrophe to make a plural! You probably know this but I just wanted to make it clear, many many people (including native speakers) make that mistake so you might see it a lot.)

For in/at, in implies being inside a building or area (and not outside of it), while at is used to talk about a general location, usually where some activity is taking place. So 'he's in the bookstore' means he's inside it. 'She's at the bookstore' could mean she's inside the bookstore (shopping for example), or it could mean she's outside the bookstore (maybe waiting for you).

Unfortunately there are many different prepositions in English, and you really need to learn the rules for each situation. This is how native speakers learn to use them - just pay attention to which words are used in each situation and you'll build an understanding. There are a few examples here:
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions

And if you ever need help with any of these, just ask!