ARTICLES Where is the Polynesia? How large is the area it includes? How were the ancient Polynesians Polynesians able to navigate the large distances between the islands?
The Polynesians
The people of Oceania were an extremely adventurous group. As a distinct popula populatio tion n with with commo common n origi origins, ns, The The Polyn Polynesi esians ans were were the most most widely widely spread people on the earth before 1500 A.D. few other groups in history have traveled so much much while taking so few material material possessions possessions with them. The The Polyn olynes esia ians ns sett settle le the the isla island nds s of the the vast vast tria triang ngle le form formed ed by the the Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island, and New Zealand. With sides approximately 6,500 kilometers in length, this triangle covers almost twice the area of the United States. The Polynesians began their expansion through the South pacific around 2000 B.C., and by the time of Marco Polo’s Polo’s visit to China, they had settled all of its major islands
ARTICLES
An article is an element, which precedes a noun. It has no lexical meaning; but is necessary because it contributes to imply the definite or non-definite status of the noun it determines.
KINDS OF ARTICLES I. – Non-definite A/an A/an is pronounced [a] before before consonan consonantt sounds sounds and [an] before vowel sounds. The non-definite article “a/an” is used:
Before a singular count noun which is countable (i.e., of which there is more than one), when it is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or thing. Examples:
A dog is an animal. There is a man asking for work.
With a noun complement. This includes names of professions. Examples:
He is a doctor. He became a great man. She will be a dancer.
In certain expressions of quantity: a lot of, a couple, a great many of, a dozen, a great deal of. Examples:
A dozen of apples. A lot of cars.
II – Definite Article: “the” The definite article “the” is pronounced / / before vowel sounds and / a/ before consonant sounds If we want to draw attention to the noun that follows, we pronounce the definite article as / i/. i/. The definite article is used:
Before nouns of which there is only one. Examples:
The Sea The Sun.
The monkey is i s lazy. lazy.
Before an adjective used to represent a class of persons. Example: together.
The Earth The North Pole
Before singular nouns used to represent a class or objects. Example:
The The old old and and the the youn young g shou should ld be able able to live live
Before musical instruments. Example:
I learned to play the violin.
EXERCISES
I. - Try to imagine what the first voyage to Hawaii was like. Complete the following passage by using a, an, the or X (to indicate that no article is necessary). For _______ centuries, the people of ________ Marquesas Islands had noticed that _________ birds flew north from the islands in _______ and returned in ________ spring. The islanders knew that _______ birds must be flying to ________ piece of land where they spent ________ the winter.
Finally, in about 500 A.D., _________ young chief decided to search for _________ land to the north. He recruited both _________ men and _________ for __________ journey. He also recruited _______ experienced navigator who knew how to follow _________ steady course even though the Polynesians didn didn’t ’t have have ____ ______ ____ ____ __ comp compas asse ses s or ____ ______ ____ __ othe otherr equi equipm pmen ent. t. For _____ ________ _____ __ centur centuries ies,, ______ _________ ____ _ Polyn Polynes esian ians s naviga navigator tors s had had been been using using _________ _________ birds, birds, _______ _______ cloud formati formations, ons, _________ _________ stars, stars, _________w _________wave ave patterns, and _________ sun to guide them in their voyages. As the the explo xplorrers ers made made ____ ______ ____ __ prep prepar arat atio ions ns for for this this voya voyage ge northward, ________ food and _______ water were the major problems. They knew that they would be able to catch ________ fish along ________ way. But they would need _________ fresh water supply that would last throughout ________ trip. In addition, they prepared _________ dried bananas, _________ coconut, ________ fish, ________ large bag of taro root, and _______ cooked breadfruit breadfruit for each canoe.
Finally, Finally, dozens of ______double canoes were packed and ready to begin this voyage. After at least _______ month on the open ocean, these explorers spotted _____land birds, ______signal to any navigator that _____island or other land mass was near. They had completed ______voyage of over fifteen hundred miles and had discovered the Hawaiian Islands.
II. II. – Read Read the the conv convers ersat atio ions ns.. Comp Complet lete e it with with the the appropriate article. •
A: _________ A: _________ car just pulled up. Are you expecting someone? B:
•
No, I’m not. I wonder who it is.
A: Do you see the video store? I was sure it was on Main Street. B: I think it’s on ________ side street, but I’m not sure which one. A: There A: There it is. B:
Good, you can park right across _______ street from the store.
•
A: Can we use _______ car? B:
•
A: Let’s turn off _______ game system before we leave. B:
•
Yes, I do. I just bought a Nintendo Cube.
A: Excuse me; do you have any new games? B:
•
We don’t have. We can just leave it on Pause.
A: Do you have _________ game system? B:
•
OK, but bring it back by 11:00 o’clock.
_________ newest games are in the front of the store.
A: We’d better go. We’ve been here for ________ hour. B:
That was ________ fastest hour I’ve ever spent.
III. –Fill in the blanks with a, an, the, or X . San Francisco is in ______West, ______West, in _____California. This lovely city is located l ocated on ______ Pacific Coast, on _____ beautiful bay. _____famous Golden Gate Bridge crosses this bay. Seven highways and two railroad bridges cross San Francisco Bay. ______San Francisco Francisco is also _____main seaport. Because of its location, there are some wonderful views from _____city. _____city. _____scenery is truly magnificent. In addition, _____city has some good climate. There is ______ little rain most of the year. San Francisco Francisco is _____city of many hills. Some of the world’s steepest streets go up these hills. In _____center of _____city are some tall office buildings. Other important landmarks include _____University of San Francisco and _____Palace _____Palace of Fine F ine Arts.
IV. - Circ IV. Circle le the the corr correc ectt artic rticle les s to com complet plete e this his paragraph.
Board games are popular all over (a / the) world. Mah Jong is (an / the) example of (a / an) very old one. I had (a / an) uncle who had (an / the) old set from Singapore. Singapore. He kept (a / the) set in (the / a) beautiful box in (a / the) living room. He used to open (the / a) box and tell me about (the / a) pieces. They were made of bamboo, and each one had (a / the) Chinese character on it. To me, they were (the / a) most fascinating things in (a / the) world.
THE VERB “BE” USEFUL WORDS professor professor _______________ instructor _______________
teacher
_______________ stud stude ent ____ _____ ____ ______ _______ ______ __ clas lassma smate ___ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___
cla class
_________________ blackboard blackboard ______________seats ______________seats ___________________ ___________________ notebook _____________ depa depart rtme ment nt ____ ______ ____ ____ ____ ___ _ assi assign gnme ment nt ____ ______ ____ ____ ____ ____ __
text textbo book ok
______________ test test ________ ___________ ______ ______ _____ __
quiz quiz ________ ___________ ______ ______ ______ ___ notes notes _______ __________ ______ ______ ___
econ econom omic ics s ____ ______ ____ ____ ____ ____ __ midt midter erm m test test ____ ______ ____ ____ ____ ___ _
sche schedu dule le
______________ tutor __ ___________________ advisor __ __________________
ink
__________________
Read the following conversation. Then answer true or false to the statements about the conversation.
CARLOS:
Hi! I’m Carlos Torres.
HIROSHI:
I’m glad to meet you, Carlos. My name is Hiroshi Watanabe.
CARLOS:
Nice to meet you, Hiroshi! Are you a visa student?
HIROSHI: Yes, I am. I’m from Japan. How about you? CARLOS:
I’m from Mexico, but I’m a permanent resident. How are your
classes? HIROSHI: CARLOS:
Great! How about your classes? They’re They’re not too bad. The economics department is pretty good.
Are you an undergraduate? HIROSHI: Yes. I am. I’m a sophomore. And you? CARLOS:
I’m in my junior year. Is economics your major?
HIROSHI: Yes, it is. I’m interested in business. CARLOS:
I am too. Oh, here’s the professor. Let’s talk later.
1. The last names of the people in the dialogue are Carlos and Hiroshi. _________ 2. The instructor isn’t in the class at the beginning of the conversation. _________ 3. Carlos and Hiroshi are citizens of the United States. _________ 4. They’re graduate students. _________ 5. Carlos is Japanese and Hiroshi is Mexican. _________
EXERCISES
1. - Circle the correct words or word phrase. DAVE:
Hi. I (am / is) Dave.
MARY:
Hello. We (is / are) Mary and Helen Johnson.
DAVE:
Oh, you (are / is) twins!
MARY:
No we (aren’t / isn’t) twins. But we (am / are) sisters.
DAVE:
But you (is / are) exactly alike!
ELLEN:
No, I (am / is) nineteen years old, but Mary
(isn’t / aren’t) aren’t) even eighteen yet. DAVE:
Oh. Well, I (am / are) glad to meet you!
DAVE:
Mary and Helen, this (is / He’s) Carlos.
MARY:
Hi, Carlos.
HELEN:
Hello, Carlos.
CARLOS:
Hello. (to Dave) They (am / are) twins!
2. - Comp Comple lette the sent senten ence ces s with with affir ffirma mati tive ve or nega egative tive form forms s of the verb verb be. be. Use Use cont contra ract ctio ion ns when possible. TONY: MING:
Hi. ________ you a new student? Yes, I _______. My name ______ Liu Ming Ren.
TONY:
I ________ sorry. Please say that again. Is your name Lou or Ron?
MING:
(speaks slowly) It ______ Liu Ming Ren.
TONY:
Oh. Um . . . _______ Lou your first name?
MING:
No, it _________. My first name ______ Ming Ren. Just call me
Ming. TONY:
Well, OK . . . um . . . ________ this your first day here?
MING:
Yes, it _______.
TONY:
________you from China?
MING:
No, I ________. I ______ from Vietnam. Wow! Look at that
beautiful woman over here! here! ________ she a student in this class? TONY:
No, she __________ a student. She __________ the professor!
3. - Arrange the words into sentences or questions. 1. / my girlfriend / Helen / not / is / _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _______________ 2. / ? / from / Peter Peter / Mexico / Is / ______________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ______________ 3. / now / in the classroom / are / not / we / ______________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ______________
4. / Cathy Cathy / from / is / Where Where / ? / _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _______________ 5. / the dogs / black / Are / ? / ______________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ______________
4. - Insert Am – Is – Are , in the sentences.
She _________ happy about her birthday.
I ________ Henry and, He _______ William.
My hair _______ black.
_______ you Arnold? No, I ________ not. I ________ John. She ________ a good friend, but Peter and Clark _______ not.
5. - Answer the following questions. •
Where are you from? ________________________________________________
•
What is your age? ________________________________________________
•
Are you from the U.S.A? ________________________________________________
•
When is your birthday? ________________________________________________
•
Is your English teacher funny? ________________________________________________
6. - Change these sentences int into negat gative and Interrogative. •
She is a wonderful woman. ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
•
They are in my house now. ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
•
You You are an old man. ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
•
I am the new student. ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________
REVIEW EXERCISES
I. - Complete the conversation with statements and yes/no questions questions with be. Use words in parenthese parentheses. s. Complete the short answers. TONY: .
Ming,
this
is
Hiroshi
(this / Hiroshi) Hiroshi,Ming. Hiroshi,Ming. ______________________________________ __________________________________________________. ____________. (Ming / a new student in i n our history class) HIROSHI: _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _________________________. _____. (I / glad to meet you) MING: Happy to meet you, too, Hiroshi._______________________ Hiroshi.____________________________________? _____________? (you / from / Japan) HIROSHI: Yes, ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________? _? (your family / here) MING:
No, ______________________________________ _________________________________________________________ _____________________. __. (I / alone)
HIROSHI: _____________________________________ _________________________________________________________ __________________________? ______? (your classes / good) MING:
Yes, ___________________________________________________________. (they / fantastic)
____________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ____________________________. ________.
(Our history teacher / beautiful) HIROSHI:
Ms. Stein?
TONY:
Yeah, I think __________________________________________________. (I / in love)
HIROSHI:
Forget it, Tony. _______________________________________________. (She / married)
II. – Complet Complete e the conversa conversatio tion n with with the the verb be in present. You You can use contractions. ANDRE: ANDRE:
People and Places . My name _________ Welcome to the show, People
Andre Andre Perou Perout, t, and
I __________ __________ your host today today. Meet Meet Player Player
One. ELLA:
Hi, Andre. I ___________ Ella Dodge.
ANDRE:
It ________ nice to meet you, Ella. Where ____________ you from?
ELLA:I ELLA: I ____ ______ ____ ____ ____ __ fro from the the Unite nited d Stat States es,, Andr Andre. e. But But my fami family ly _________not. ANDRE:
Where ____________ they from?
ELLA:Oh, ELLA: Oh, they _________ from Peru. ANDRE:
How How inte intere rest stin ing! g! And And Kim Kim Lui ____ ______ ____ ____ ___n _not ot you you from from the the
United States? KIM: ANDRE: KIM:
Yes, I _________, Andre. And your family? Where ____________ they from? Japan.
III. - Look at the picture. Read the answers. Write the questions.
1. Is she a bus driver? Yes, she is.
4. _______________
Yes, they are. 2. ________________ No, they’re not.
5. _______________ No, she
3. ________________ No, he’s not.
6. _______________ Yes, he
isn’t. is.
IV.. - Complete the conversation with the words IV word s from the box.
ANTONIO: HI! My name is Antonio What’s your _______________? OLGA:
_________________ name is Olga?
ANTONIO: Nice to __________ you, Olga. OLGA:
Nice to meet ___________ too, Antonio.
ANTONIO: ___________ are you from? OLGA:
I’m _________ New York. Where ________ you from?
ANTONIO: ____________ from Brazil.
