English
Pronunciation and Grammar: Speak Method|
The year 2011 has brought extreme weather. There were record-setting snowstorms in the midwest and northeast last winter. Tornadoes devasted parts of the central plains during the spring. In August, there was a 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia. There has not been an earthquake of that magnitude in Virginia since 1897. On top of this, Hurricane Irene struck the east coast from North Carolina to New England and shut down the New York subway system. Will this harsh weather continue into the fall? Long range weather forecasts indicate that early-season snowfall is expected in the midwest and there could be particularly severe weather in the central part of the country, from Kansas to Texas, during the second half of September. |
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| Phrases |
Explanation |
| the year |
always use "the" with a phrase that involves the year's number, i.e. the year 2011, the year 2009, the year 2020 |
| the midwest, the central plains, the east coast |
use "the" before a region of the country |
| during the spring, into the fall or during spring, into fall |
with seasons, many people use "the," but not all the time; using "the" is optional with seasons |
| a 5.9 magnitude earthquake |
"a"
comes before "five," so we do not use "an;" use "a" or "an" to refer to
a single object for the first time or to a single unknown object |
| an earthquake |
use "an" before a vowel sound; in this case, "an" indicates "any" or "any single earthquake" |
| the New York subway system, the central part, the country, the second half of September |
use "the" to refer to a single known object--all of these phrases represent things that most people know about |
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