House and Things
Articles (Lesson Plan)
Beginner ESL students can hear two people speaking natural English using articles. Recommended study plan:
- Watch the video
- Take the quiz
- Listen again and read the script
- Learn the grammar with the notes
- Download the free book
Aimee: So, Todd, do you like your house?
Todd: I do. It's a nice house, but it's an old house. It's very old.
Aimee: How many rooms are in your house?
Todd: My house has four rooms, a living room, a sleeping room, a study room, and a kitchen.
Aimee: That sounds big. How about bathrooms? How many bathrooms do you have?
Todd: I have two bathrooms or toilets, and then I have one washing room to take a shower.
Aimee: Oh, nice. Do you have a TV?
Todd: I do have a TV in the living room, and I have a big couch and a nice table, and I have cable TV.
Aimee: Wow.
Todd: I have cable, but I don't watch TV much.
Aimee: Oh, well, what about your kitchen. Do you have a kitchen?
Todd: I do. I have a very small kitchen. My kitchen has one stove, a small stove, a table, and a refrigerator, and a microwave. I can cook, but it's not easy.
Aimee: Oh, how many chairs do you have in the kitchen.
Todd: We only have two chairs. It's very, very small.
Aimee: Do you have a kettle?
Todd: I do have a kettle. Do you want coffee?
Aimee: No. It's an important, important kitchen appliance.
Todd: It is. It is. I like that kettle. I think, in American English, we say "Coffee pot."
Aimee: Really?
Todd: Yeah. Do we say, "Kettle?" Maybe. I don't know. I don't know American English. I need to learn.
Aimee: For me, a kettle is something you use to boil water, so you could be making tea or coffee.
Todd: True.
Aimee: It doesn't matter.
Todd: Maybe we do say kettle. We say kettle. Sorry.
Aimee: How about books, Todd? Do you have many books?
Todd: No. I have a rule. I only keep two books.
Aimee: What?
Todd: Yeah. If I want a new book, I must get rid of a book.
Aimee: Wow.
Todd: Only two. Never three. I don't like having three, four-
Aimee: hat is so strict.
Todd: It is. It is very strict. My rule, strange rule.
Aimee: How about clothes? Do you have a lot of clothes?
Todd: No. I am a minimalist. That means I have few items of clothing. I think I have maybe five shirts and three pairs of pants-
Aimee: Wow.
Todd: And two pairs of shoes.
Aimee: Wow. It sounds great.
Todd: It is, kind of, but I'm 47. I'm old, so it's okay. I can wear the same clothes every day. It's okay.
Aimee: In your house, do you have a patio?
Todd: I do, but it's really old, and it's not safe. It can fall. It's old, so I don't use it, but I have a small area to go outside, a small garden. It's nice.
Aimee: Sounds nice. Sounds like a great house.
Todd: It is, it is. Old, but nice.
Singular vs Plural Nouns with Articles
- I have many books.
- I don't have a history book.
- I have a cat and two dogs.
- I have an old computer.
- She has a nice house.
- I have a big kitchen.
- I don't have an umbrella.
- To make an omelet, crack an egg. Then whisk the egg.
- Then get a pan. Cook the egg in the pan.
- Then get a plate. Put the egg on the plate.
- Then get a fork. Use the fork to eat the omelet.
- Books are important.
- Do you like apples?
- Everybody needs friends.
- I don't like watching movies.
- I bought the books you asked for.
- The streets in my town are very clean.
- I love the cookies my mother makes.
- The students in my class like to play games.