Beginner Course

The 26 Letters

English uses the Latin alphabet with 26 letters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z.

Letters are divided into vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and consonants (all the rest).

Vowel Sounds

Letter	Short Sound	Example	Long Sound	Example
A	/æ/	cat	/eɪ/	cake
E	/ɛ/	bed	/iː/	tree
I	/ɪ/	sit	/aɪ/	kite
O	/ɒ/	hot	/oʊ/	go
U	/ʌ/	cup	/juː/	cute

Common Greetings

Formal	Informal
Good morning.	Hey!
Good afternoon.	Hi there!
Good evening.	What's up?
How do you do?	How's it going?

Introducing Yourself

Key Phrases

• My name is... / I'm... — to say your name
• Nice to meet you. — when meeting someone new
• Where are you from? — to ask about someone's country
• I'm from... — to say your country
• How are you? — to ask about someone's wellbeing
• I'm fine, thank you. — a polite reply

Numbers 1-20

Tens: 10-100

Tip

For numbers 21-99, combine the tens and ones: twenty-one (21), thirty-five (35), ninety-nine (99).

Present Tense Forms

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	I am	I am not	Am I...?
You	You are	You are not	Are you...?
He/She/It	He is	He is not	Is he...?
We	We are	We are not	Are we...?
They	They are	They are not	Are they...?

Contractions

I'm = I am • You're = You are • He's = He is • She's = She is • It's = It is • We're = We are • They're = They are

isn't = is not • aren't = are not

Examples

• I am a student. → I'm a student.
• She is happy. → She's happy.
• They are not tired. → They aren't tired.
• Is he a teacher? — Yes, he is.

Rules

Article	When to Use	Examples
a	Before consonant sounds (singular, non-specific)	a book, a car, a university
an	Before vowel sounds (singular, non-specific)	an apple, an hour, an egg
the	Specific thing (both know which one)	the sun, the book on the table

Important Notes

• "a university" — "university" starts with a /juː/ sound (consonant sound), so we use "a"
• "an hour" — the "h" is silent, so it starts with a vowel sound
• Use no article with plural general nouns: "I like dogs." (dogs in general)

Structure

Use the simple present for habits, routines, and facts.

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I / You / We / They	I work	I don't work	Do you work?
He / She / It	He works	He doesn't work	Does he work?

Third Person -s Rule

• Most verbs: add -s → play → plays
• Verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -o: add -es → go → goes, watch → watches
• Verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to -ies → study → studies

Examples

• I eat breakfast every morning.
• She studies English on Mondays.
• They don't like coffee.
• Does he play football? — Yes, he does.

Days of the Week

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Days are always capitalized in English.

Months of the Year

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Telling Time

Time	How to Say It
3:00	It's three o'clock.
3:15	It's quarter past three.
3:30	It's half past three.
3:45	It's quarter to four.
3:10	It's ten past three.
3:50	It's ten to four.

Common Food Vocabulary

Ordering at a Restaurant

Useful Phrases

• I'd like... — polite way to order
• Can I have...? — to request something
• The bill, please. — to ask to pay
• Could I see the menu? — to ask for the menu