Real ESL

Ha ha! Got you! (got you = I tricked you, I got your attention) I thought I’d get your attention if I put sex in the title. (to get someone’s attention = to make someone listen to what you are saying) I’ll give you some juicy examples later, so keep reading!! (juicy examples/details = examples/details about sex or gossip or something exciting)

I’ve covered a lot of the rules about articles, but I’ve still got another two video blog posts I’ll put up this weekend and on Monday about articles. For now, I want to respond to a question from Nafis about articles. He asks why you should say “a million years.”

Always use “a” with “hundred, thousand, million, billion, trillion”. It’s a single period of time. So, “a” is not going with “years”, but rather, it is going with “million”.

One other note about this - they love to trick you on the TOEFL. If the word is “hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions”, DON’T use “a”. These words have an “S” at the end and are not singular. Also, follow these words with “of” before the noun.

For example, we say:

Hundreds of women go topless on Brazilian beaches. (to go topless = to have nothing covering your breasts)

Thousands of people shake their booties in the streets during Carnival. (to shake one’s booty = to move your behind, to dance)

Millions of men want to cheat on their wives. (to cheat on someone = to have sex with someone who is not your husband or wife)

Go ahead, practice both “a hundred” things and “hundreds of” things. (Go ahead = Do it) When you write practice sentences, make them funny or crazy. You’ll remember the rule better. If you want, post your crazy examples in the comments.

For example, write:

I’m going to stare at hundreds of boobs at Carnival. (boobs = breasts)

I want to get laid a hundred times at Carnival. (get laid = have sex)

No, you won’t see those examples in any textbook! This is Kim Purcell at RealESL.com!