Larisa English Club #1 Audio Version

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Thank you for joining us today. Larisa English Club is created for learners of a second language! My name is Bill. Our format is quite simple. We encourage everyone to take notes and participate with the dialog portion. We call it “Speaking Practice”. Listen and practice speaking with Bill.

“Larisa English Club” is full of knowledge to study, learn and practice. This English tutorial is a natural extension of my teaching experience. Teaching over 15,000 hours of English as a second language has afforded me the opportunity to teach and learn at the same time. Our recorded episodes can be listened to as many times as you wish. Our tutorial is designed as a supplement to your daily dose of English. I hope you enjoy “Larisa English Club”.

This document is created with a Creative Commons license 4.0. More information can be found on our website. Download the PDF version and share it with your friends. Teachers may share it with students as well.

What’s in Todays Lesson?

What’s New? New English Words.

History Topic! Color Photography.

Conversation Topic. At The Restaurant.

Dialog Practice. Ask and Answer Questions.

Basic Grammar Review. The Indefinite Article.

English Grammar. Present Simple Tense.

What’s New?

I love this question when it refers to English. What’s new? English is new! That’s right! In the English language, there is a new word created every 89 minutes. The reality is that no single person knows the English language. The facts are simple, the English language is constantly evolving.

The truth is that, although one in seven people around the world speak English, nobody actually knows the entire English language. Millions know how to use the English language and they might be fluent. Just know that daily study, new vocabulary and practice speaking will help you attain your English goals.

History Facts!

Color Photography…

The foundation of virtually all practical color processes today. The three-color method was first suggested in an 1855 paper by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, with the first color photograph produced by Thomas Sutton for a Maxwell lecture in 1861. Color photography has been the dominant form of photography since the 1970s, with monochrome photography mostly relegated to niche markets such as art photography.


RGB ColorsTodays technology uses the same light spectrum as in the 1800‘s. Creating colors by mixing colored lights (usually red, green and blue) in various proportions is the additive method of color reproduction. LCD, LED, plasma and CRT (picture tube) color video displays all use this method.


Thank you Wikipedia!

Find more on this subject by going to

Conversation Topic

At The Restaurant

Today’s conversation topic is “At The Restaurant”. Being polite is always best with friends and family. What about with coworkers, shopping or dining? Of course, being polite is important everywhere. When should we use “Modal Auxiliary Verbs? Another favorite subject of mine. Politeness is always a good practice. If we are polite, others, hopefully, will return the politeness. Modal Auxiliary Verbs are often used with requests and offers.

Here are a few examples a waiter at a cafe might say;


At the cafeMay I seat you near the window?
Would you like a seat near the window?
Could I seat you near the window?


Notice how we use Modal Auxiliary Verbs as offers. Remember Modal Verbs can be used many different ways. They can be used for the present, past and future. Modal Verbs also have an important distinction; They are always used with another verb. “Would and could” are very common at the dinner table as well as “May”. “May” is at the top of the list for politeness. It can often be interchanged with “Could, Would and Might” in various forms.


May I help You?
Can I help you?
Could I help you?


Notice how we use all three Modal Verbs. “May” is considered as the most polite while “Can” is more direct. “Could” is also considered polite as well as less direct with less urgency.


A waitressMay I take your order?
Can I take your order now?
Would you like to order soon or now?


Notice how we use “Would” with “Like”. This usage is extremely common in English. Do not confuse with “Do you like”. This is used to ask about everyday preferences. A simple question might be “Do you like pizza?”. “Would you like some pizza?” is about right now, not everyday.


Making an orderCould I get you something?
What can I get you today?
Would you like to order now?
What would you like to order?


As you can see, these Modal Verbs are interchangeable. They are all used to offer help or assistance. In this case, they are being used as “Offers”.

Be Careful! When asking for something at a cafe or anywhere at a dining setting, remember not to use the word “Give”. Instead, use the word “Hand”. “Would you “give” me the butter?” is very direct and might be considered impolite. “Would you “hand” me the butter? is much more polite.

Remember that most nouns are verbs and many verbs are used as nouns. A word is just a word until it has a specific job in English. Also remember that Modal Verbs are not used the same as irregular or regular verbs in third person singular positive. In other words, we do not place the “S” at the end of the modal verb in positive statements.

Dialog Practice

Ask and Answer Questions

This is where we speak as if we were in a conversation. I will give you examples using the statement and response. Then I will read the statement giving you the opportunity to read out loud. Practice speaking both the statement and response.

Speaking practice. At the restaurant.

Larisa English Club #1 Audio Version

Speaking practice. At the restaurant.

Larisa English Club #1 Audio Version

In the examples, I am using the Modal Verbs “May, would and can”. Remember “May” is considered very polite while “Can” is considered direct. “Could and would” are also considered polite and less direct. All of the examples are used for present time.

Basic Grammar Review

The Indefinite Article

The Indefinite article in EnglishSometimes, we need to go back in time and rethink basic grammar. Most students need to review basic grammar at some point. Each time you review the basic parts of English, it is common to learn something new.

Today’s basic grammar review is about the letter “A”. In grammar it is the “Indefinite article”.

A few reminders. The letter “A” always means “1“. “One” cup of tea or “A” cup of tea. They both mean the same thing. Although we learn that “Nouns” are both countable and uncountable, actually, just about everything is countable in English.

A cup of teaRemember that when we refer to an uncountable noun we can refer to it as a complete unit. An example is “A cup of tea” or “One cup of tea”. Another example would be “A pound of coffee” or “One pound of coffee”. Of course, liquid is considered uncountable until we refer to it as a unit of some kind.

Many years ago, the letter “A” was referred to as a “Determiner”. Determiners are words we use to determine the limits of something. Actually, all words we use to determine the limits of a noun phrase are “Determiners”. Other words are used the same way as well. Po adjectives and numbers are also good examples of “Determiners”.

The letter “A” is often used when something is referred to for the first time. This is particularly true when we are speaking with someone about something never mentioned before. An example might be “I went to “a” friends house yesterday”. This is a general statement.

If more details are needed, the person speaking might be more specific. The person might use someone’s name or more specific information. A question might be “What friend did you visit?” or “Who did you visit?”. An answer might be “I visited Sally next door”. Now we have identified who and where.

English Grammar

Present Simple Tense

The Present Simple Tense is used in six different ways in the English language.

Statements that are always true: “Five plus five equals ten”.

Permanent situations: “I live in California”.

Short actions: “She throws the basketball and makes the shot”.

Habits: “I drink coffee everyday”.

Future timetables: “My plane leaves at 7 tonight”

Time clauses for the future: “When it stops raining, we will go for a walk”.
Note; This statement is “First Conditional”.

Until next time…

That’s all for Larisa English Club number ONE. Thank you for listening to our broadcast. Join us again for more Larisa English Club and remember, “Life is an Adventure! Live it to fullest each and every day!

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