My lesson "F"

This shirt is made from beautiful soft fabric.

Fabric is cloth that you use for making things like clothes and bags.

Rafael works in a carpet factory.

Don't confuse fabric and factory. A factory is a building where machines are used to make things.

The report is full of facts and figures.

A fact is a piece of knowledge or information that is true.

He tried to hide the fact that he had failed.

You can talk about a whole situation with the phrase the fact that.

I don't watch television, in fact, I no longer own a TV.

You use in fact if you want to give more information about a statement, especially if the new information is surprising.

I wanted everyone to get fair treatment. It's not fair - she's got more than me!

If you say that something is fair, you mean that everyone is treated in the same way.

We solved the problem quickly and fairly.

The adverb form of fair is fairly.

The information was fairly accurate. I wrote the first part fairly quickly.

Fairly also has a completely different meaning. It can mean to quite a large degree.

Golf's a bit more expensive. The results were somewhat lower than expected.

Don't use fairly in front of a comparative form. In conversation, say The train is a bit quicker than the bus. In writing, use The train is somewhat quicker than the bus.

He felt and hurt his leg. A cup fell on the floor.

When something or someone falls, they move quickly towards the ground by accident. The past tense form of fall is fell. The past participle is fallen.

She fell down in the mud. A tree fell over in the storm.

When you are talking about people or tall objects, you often use fall down or fall over instead of fall.

Rain was beginning to fall.

When rain or snow falls, it comes down from the sky.

Careful! Don't drop it!

Don't say that someone falls a something. Say She screamed and dropped the tray.

I got knocked over by a car when I was six.

Don't say that someone falls a person. Say: He bumped into the old lady and knocked her down or He bumped into the old lady and knocked her over.

There was something familiar about him.

If someone or something is familiar, you recognize them because you have seen or heard them before.

Her name is familiar to millions of people.

If something is familiar to you, you know it well.

I am familiar with his work.

If you are familiar with something, you know or understand it well.

What is your favourite film? Her favourite writer is Hans Christian Andersen.

Your favourite thing or person is the one you like more than all the others.

I can feel a pain in my foot.

If you can feel something, you are aware of it through your body

The doctor felt his pulse.

When you feel an object, you touch it in order to find out what it is like.

The blanket felt soft. How does it feel? Warm or cold?

The way something feels is the way it seems to you when you hold it or touch it.

I feel lonely. I'm feeling terrible. She was feeling hungry.

You can use feel with an adjective to talk about experiencing an emotion or physical sensation. When you use feel like this, you use either a simple or a progressive form.

I'm having a dinner party for a few close friends. Here are a few ideas that might help you.

You use a few in front of a plural noun to show that you are talking about a small number of people or things.

I have a few friends/I have few friends.

You can also use few without a in front of a plural noun, but it has a different meaning. It emphasizes that there is only a small amount of something.

They haven't got many books. I don't have many visitors.

In conversation, people do not usually use few without a. Instead they use not many. Instead of saying: I have few friends, people usually say: I haven't got many friends or I don't have many friends.

Would you like a little more milk in your tea?

Don't use few or a few with uncountable nouns.

The police searched the house and found a gun.

If you find something you have been looking for, you see it or learn where it is. The past tense form and past participle of find is found.

I think I'm lost - I can't find the bridge.

If you cannot see the thing you are looking for, you say that you cannot find it or that you can't find it.

Look what I've found!

You can use find to say that you notice an object somewhere.

I find his behaviour extremely rude. I found it easy.

You can use find to give your opinion about something. For example, if you think that something is funny, you can say that you find it funny.

Have you found out who broke the photocopier? I found out the train times.

You use find out to talk about learning the facts about something.

From the top there is a fine view of the countryside.

You can use fine to say that something is very good.

Would you like more milk in your coffee? - No, this is fine.

You can also use fine to say that something is satisfactory or acceptable.

How are you? - Fine, thanks.

If you say that you are fine, you mean that your health is satisfactory.

Everything is just fine.

When you use fine to mean satisfactory, don't use very in front of it. You can use just instead.

We got on fine.

In conversation, you can use fine as an adverb to mean satisfactorily or well.

She has very fine hair.

You can also use fine to say that something is very thin, or has very thin parts.

finely chopped meat.

You can use finely as an adverb with this meaning.

The concert finished at midnight.

When something finishes, it ends.

She finished her dinner and went to bed.

When you finish what you are doing, you reach the end of it.

I finished reading your book last night.

You can say that someone finishes doing something.

January is the first month of the year.

The first thing of a kind is the one that comes before all the others.

Ralph spoke first.

If an event happens before other events, you say that it happens first.

First, mix the eggs and flour. There are two reasons why I'm angry. Firstly you're late, and secondly, you've forgotten your homework. First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming.

You can use first, firstly or first of all to introduce the first thing that you want to say or the first thing in a list.

At first I was surprised. At first I thought that the shop was empty, then I saw a man in the corner.

When you are contrasting something at the beginning of an event with something that happened later, you say at first.

Do all your students call you by your first name?

Your first name is the name that you were given when you were born, that comes before your surname.

forename

On official forms, forename is sometimes used instead of first name.

What is your given name?

In American English, given name is sometimes used instead of first name or forename.

Christian name

In British English, some people use Christian name instead of first name. However, this can be offensive to people who are not from a Christian family.

The dress fits her well.

If clothes fit you, they are the right size.

The boots fitted James perfectly. The pants fit him well and were very confortable.

In British English, the past tense form of fit is fitted. In American English, the past tense form is fit.

You look great in that dress, it really suits you.

If clothes make you look attrative, don't say that they fit you. Say that they suit you.

The book felt to the floor.

The floor of a room is the flat part that you walk on.

My office is on the second floor.

A floor of a building is all the rooms on a particular level. You say that something is on a particular floor.

In British English, the floor that is level with the ground is called

the ground floor. The floor above it is called the first floor, the floor above that is the second floor, and so on.

In American English, the floor that is level with the ground floor is called

The first floor, the flor above it is the second floor, and so on.

a house with four storeys.

Storey is also used for a level of a building. It is usually used to talk about how high a building is.

The ground was very wet.

Don't call the surface of the earth the floor. Call it the ground.

Sorry to disturb you - I forgot my key.

If you forget something such as a key or an umbrella, you do not remember to take it with you when you go somewhere.

I left my bag on the bus.

You cannot use the verb forget to say that you have put something somewhere and left it there. Instead you use the verb leave.

I have forgotten his name.

If you have forgotten something that you knew, you cannot remember it.

He helped me to forget about my problems.

If you forget something, or forget about something, you stop thinking about it.

She forgot to lock her door one day and two men got in. Don't forget to call me.

If you forget to do something, you do not do it because you do not remember it at the right time.

The coffee was free... free school meals.

If something is free, you can have it or use it without paying for it.

They spend most of their free time reading. Are you free on Tuesday?

If you are free at a particular time, you are not busy. Free time is time when you are not busy.

They are free to bring their friends home at any time.

You use free as an adjective to describe activities that are not controlled by rules or other people.

They all express their opinions freely in class.

Don't use free as an adverb with this meaning. Use freely.

He's a good friend of mine. A close friend told me about it.

Your friends are people you know well and like spending time with. You can call a friend who you know very well a good friend or a close friend.

I went to visit an old friend from school.

If someone has been your friend for a long time, you can call them an old friend.

You used to be good friends with him, didn't you? I also became friends with Melanie.

If someone is your friend, you can say that you are friends with them.

The staff are very friendly and helpful.

A friendly person is kind and pleasant.

The women had been friendly to Lyn.

If you are friendly to someone or friendly towards someone, you are kind and pleasant to them.

She smiled at him in a friendly way.

Friendly is never an adverb. He behaved in a friendly way.

When I told her how I felt, she was very sympathetic.

Don't confuse friendly and sympathetic. If you have a problem and someone is sympathetic, they show that they care and would like to help you.

He received a message from his boss.

When you are talking about the person who wrote you a letter or sent a message to you, you say that the letter or message is from that person.

I come from Scotland.

If you come from a particular place, you were born there, or it is your home.

How far is the hotel from here?

You can use from when you are talking about the distance between places.

Breakfast is available from 6 a.m.

If something happens from a particular time, it begins to happen at that time.

He has been a teacher since 1998.

Don't use from to say that something started to happen at a particular time in the past and is still happening now.

We knocked on the front door.

The front of a building is the part that faces the street or that has the building's main entrance.

People were waiting in front of the art gallery.

If you are between the front of a building and the street, you say that you are in front of the building.

The hotel is opposite a railway station.

If there is a street between you and the front of a building, don't say that you are in front of yhe building. Say that you are opposite it.

stinson has rented a home across from his parents.

Speakers of American English usually say across from rather than opposite.

Fresh fruit and vegetables provide fibre and vitamins... fruit imported from Australia.

Fruit is usually an uncountable noun. Oranges, bananas, grapes, and apples are all fruit.

a table with some fruit on it. I'm going to the market to buy some fruit.

Don't use fruits to talk about several oranges, bananas, etc. Use some fruit.

... a garden full of pear and apple trees. His office was full of people.

If something is full of things or people, it contains a very large number of them.

The course is interesting and it's also fun.

If something is fun, it is pleasant, enjoyable, and not serious.

The children had fun at the party.

If you have fun, you enjoy yourself.

The game was great fun.

If you want to say that something is very enjoyable, you can say that it is great fun or a lot of fun.

He told funny stories.

If something is funny, it is amusing and makes you smile or laugh.

Have you noticed anything funny about this plane?

You can also say that something is funny if it is strange or surprising.

She arranged the furniture.

Furniture is the large objects in a room, such as tables and chairs.

Each piece of furniture matched the style of the house.

Furniture is an uncountable noun. You can talk about a piece of furniture.