http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20181024-the-best-age-to-learn-a-foreign-language
Don’t use a/an before the names of meals:<o:p></o:p>
We had lunch at noon.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Don’t use a/an before words like school, prison, or college when talking about them in a general way:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I hope to go to college.<o:p></o:p>
He spent three years in prison.<o:p></o:p>
She goes to church every Sunday.<o:p></o:p>
He believes that after he dies he will go to heaven.<o:p></o:p>
He is a football player. He came home late after practice.
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p>I have to go to work this Saturday. </o:p>
Use “the” before the names of shops or places where you go
for services when they are the ones we usually go to:
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I need to go to the supermarket.<o:p></o:p>
She went to the doctor’s.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
In certain cases you would leave off an article:<o:p></o:p>
Do you need time to do this?<o:p></o:p>
There was space in his suitcase for an extra sweater.<o:p></o:p>
Bribery is a crime.<o:p></o:p>
Crime doesn't pay.<o:p></o:p>
Music makes my heart sing.<o:p></o:p>
Thunder keeps me awake at night.<o:p></o:p>
Candy often goes on sale after Halloween.<o:p></o:p>
/Alcohol/Booze/ is not good for you.
I ran out of ... salt, sugar, milk, beer, breath.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>If you put the word "some" in front of time or space, it still makes sense, so you can leave the article off. I'm not sure if this works in every case, but it may be helpful.
<o:p></o:p>
There is an exception to my "some" test. Even if a noun passes the "some" test, if you can replace the noun with "someone," you still need to use an article: <o:p></o:p>
… guy came up to me and asked me a question. A guy came up to me... or The guy came up to me... would be correct. In informal English, you could also say Some /guy/dude/ came up to me...I think this is a useful phrasebook for high-beginner/low-intermediate students of English. It's free:
www.espressoenglish.net/wp-content/uploads/free/500-Real-English-Phrases.pdf
I have been to this website a number of times, but today it occurred to me that this street photography website would be a great place for English learners to read short and very interesting articles... with a picture too! You can even access this material on Instagram - it is called Humans of New York (HONY):
http://www.humansofnewyork.com/
Get an account on vocabulary.com (it's free). Sign in to vocabulary.com, click on "Lists" on the menu bar. Then click on the green button labeled, "Start a new list." Then copy up to 100 pages of text that you will be reading into the box for input. vocabulary.com will then give you a list of vocabulary words that it extracts from your reading text. Mark the box for each word you do not know and wish to learn. Then use vocabulary.com to study the meanings of these words. You will get a definition and a paragraph or so about how to use the study word. Now, you can read your text without having to stop and look up words so often.
I tried this with an article from The Atlantic Magazine and came up with a number of words that I was not totally sure about that I could study further. I am a native speaker, a college graduate, and someone who reads a lot.
