UNIT 2 TELL ME THE DETAILS

A. TELLING THE TIME AND DATE

Telling Time

Important verbs for asking about and telling time:

have, know, be, tell

 

Questions:	Answers:
Do you have the time?	Sure, it's 6:00.
Do you know what time it is?	Sorry, I'm not wearing a watch.
What time is it?	5:50
Can you tell me what time it is, please?	It's a quarter after two.

Important vocabulary

• o'clock = :00 ( 7:00 = seven o'clock )
• a quarter after = 15 minutes after the hour ( 3:15 = It's a quarter after three.)
• a quarter past = 15 minutes after the hour (3:15 = It's a quarter past three.)
• a quarter before = 15 minutes before the hour( 3:45 = It's a quarter before four )
• a quarter to = 15 minutes before the hour (3:45 = It's a quarter to four.)
• half past = 30 minutes after the hour ( 11:30 = It's half pasteleven)
• thirty = 30 minutes after the hour. (11:30 = It's eleven thirty.)

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The easiest way to tell someone the time is to use a digital format. For example, when someone asks you what time it is, you can say, "It's 5:30." Instead of, "It's half past five." "It's 5:13." = (five thirteen) or "It's 5:02." (five o two)* or "It's 5:50." (five fifty) *Note: 0 is pronounced "O" not "zero."

Giving the Date

Question:	Answers:
What's today? or What day is it today?	Today's Tuesday, June 6. (June sixth)
What's the date?	It's June 6. or It's the 6th of June.

 There's a difference between "day" and "date"

• day: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.
• date: June 6

 When someone asks you the date, it's not necessary to give the year. For example:

• What's the date? ----> It's June 6.  (Not It's June 6, 2005)

Make sure you use ordinal numbers when you say the date. You can listen to the way I say the date every day on my blog. When someone asks about time in the future or the past, use the year.

• When were you born? ----> March 25, 1965
  When did you arrive in the U.S.? ----> In 2002.
• When is the next election? ----> In November of 2010
  
  
  B. PLURALS FORM IRREGULAR PLURALS
  
  
  
  
  US -> I

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  alumnus	alumni
  cactus	cacti
  focus	foci/focuses
  fungus	fungi/funguses
  nucleus	nuclei
  radius	radii
  stimulus	stimuli

  IS -> ES

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  axis	axes
  analysis	analyses
  basis	bases
  crisis	crises
  diagnosis	diagnoses
  ellipsis	ellipses
  hypothesis	hypotheses
  oasis	oases
  paralysis	paralyses
  parenthesis	parentheses
  synthesis	syntheses
  synopsis	synopses
  thesis	theses

  IX -> ICES

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  appendix	appendices
  index	indeces/indexes
  matrix	matrices/matrixes

  EAU -> EAUX

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  beau	beaux
  bureau	bureaus/bureaux
  tableau	tableaux/tableaus

  *** -> EN

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  child	children
  man	men
  ox	oxen
  woman	women

  *** -> A

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  bacterium	bacteria
  corpus	corpora
  criterion	criteria
  curriculum	curricula
  datum	data
  genus	genera
  medium	media
  memorandum	memoranda
  phenomenon	phenomena
  stratum	strata

  NO CHANGE

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  deer	deer
  fish	fish
  means	means
  offspring	offspring
  series	series
  sheep	sheep
  species	species

  OO -> EE

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  foot	feet
  goose	geese
  tooth	teeth

  A -> AE

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  antenna	antennae/antennas
  formula	formulae/formulas
  nebula	nebulae
  vertebra	vertebrae
  vita	vitae

  OUSE -> ICE

  SINGULAR	PLURAL
  louse	lice
  mouse	mice