How to use the word with

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I’m struggling to understand how to use «with» to combine two clauses in a sentence. Is this sentence below grammatically correct and why?

Yemen’s population is estimated to age even further by 2050, with 57.3% of the population over the age of 60.

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Glorfindel

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asked Apr 24, 2017 at 5:14

Florence's user avatar

Yemen’s population is estimated to age even further by 2050, with
57.3% of the population over the age of 60.

This is correct and stylistically appropriate. The first clause states a bald fact, with the second providing additional or clarifying information.

A less stylish approach might be to break the sentence and use «In fact» or «Actually» or «Indeed» in place of the «with». In fact, you can do this both with my paragraph and the original quote. Note that when using «with» in these examples there is clear anaphora (backward referencing) — the example picks up on ‘the’ population (definite article because already mentioned) while my paragraph picks up on ‘first’ clause and elides the word «clause» when referring to the ‘second’ [clause]. The word «with» introduces the anaphorical noun phrase.

answered Apr 24, 2017 at 6:49

David M W Powers's user avatar

1

Which one is correct:

(1) I will provide you with a car. OR
(2) I will provide a car to you.

Does Sentence 1 mean that the person and the car will be provided together?

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J.R.

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asked May 4, 2017 at 14:54

1

Both are correct. «Provide» as a transitive verb can act both ways and mean the same thing — ‘to give someone something that they want or need‘ (Macmillan Dictionary):

  • provide someone with somethingThe lecture provided him with an opportunity to meet one of his heroes.
  • provide something for someoneThe hotel provides a playroom for children.
  • provide something to someoneWe provide legal advice and services to our clients.

The difference is only between placing either the direct or the indirect object first.

You may find this topic about the difference between prepositions with the word «provide» interesting — Prepositions with the verb «provide»

answered Oct 10, 2017 at 11:43

SovereignSun's user avatar

SovereignSunSovereignSun

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You are being confused by the nature of the objects. In both sentences, the meaning is the same. But look closely, the first sentence has a clear direct object. What is provided? A car. Who is it provided to? You. The car is the direct object and «you» is the indirect object. In the case of the first sentence, because you use with, the car becomes the object of preposition but is still the direct object.

answered May 4, 2017 at 15:09

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      Respected Professor,

      I have a question about one sentence from the quiz. I feel “the” article should have been used before north of Poland.Awaiting your reply.

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very useful…..the lesson is very clearly and help me very much.

thucloi

    You’re welcome!

    Just remember: we say, “The lesson was very clear.”

    Clear is an adjective. It can modify a noun.
    Clearly is an adverb. It can modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

    “I can see clearly” is okay because “see” is a verb.

    “The lesson is clearly” is not okay because “the lesson” is a noun and it needs an adjective.

    Alex

      Thank you Alex, I hope this is not the last lesson, you know, tomorow is 12/21/2012. :)

      willdinh

      that`s right, i have a mistake.Thank you ,Alex

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Thank you Alex;)

From Shibuya.

tomoebi

Dear Alex,
I am a Pharmacist. Actually I live in the USA but I am in back and forth,despite my country where I am very busy in, when I am in the USA I do have a lot of time and I fill mostly my free time with completing my English considering that’Sky’s the limit’.
I owe a big thank you to all your cast, the lessons are useful and personally I learned a lot from this site, you are very polite and you have a down to earth personality which is very appreciable. Good luck for what you are doing and thanks again

Sharareh

Very good lesso , thank you

dinasoraya

nice one! new learning! its a necessity to know it..

euryjhin

Did you get my message?

sharareh

Do we use the on beach like virgia beach or the virginia beach?beach is a part of ocean so acording to the lesson obove we should say ( the virgiia beach)but it sounds very weird.

Cuong ta

MANY THANKS. I WOULD LIKE TO EXPLAINE LOOK FOR, LOOK AFTER AND LOOK OUT PLEASE IF DO NOT MINDE.

khalid

    Look for = to search (“I’m looking for a new apartment.”

    Look after = to take care of (“I’m looking after my baby brother tonight.”

    Look out = pay attention (usually used as an imperative…”Look out for that car!”)

    Alex

      Dear ALEX! It is very good explanation. SHORT AND CLEAR

      yury1

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Evaldo Goncalves Jr

Thanhks Mr.Alex. I like you

Huyền

Thanks!

Anna

like

lin siew ong

Hi Alex! Thanks for video! Lake Geneva goes without articles, but If I mentioned about Lake Geneva before in conversation! Can I say?: I saw Lake Geneva yesterday. The/… Lake Geneva is beautiful.

serykbolsin92

    You can simply say:

    “I saw Lake Geneva yesterday. The lake is beautiful.”

    I checked it on eng wikipedia, and there is no such a thing like “the lake Geneva” — there is only “the lake” or “lake Geneva”. xD

    morfik

Interesting topic, instead.

Berber

yes i did it

stela13

That was a piece of cake.
Thanks.

bonhob

thank mr allex , for your lesson

Eng Adam

Thanks Alex, the video are very interesting.

feli

gorgeous Alex ,,,, extremely informative
thanks a bundle xD xD

hisham77

Hi Alex, I don’t understand one thing about a question in the Quiz. If the Caspian Sea isn’t is a sea, and I knew it, then, why I must say “The” Caspian Sea?
Regards from Tenerife,

Carmen

Thank you so much Alex! I have know more English now..

somonia

Hi Alex, as usual, you are very kind and your lesson is clear. You have helped me a lot! I like your way of teaching. Thank you very much!

Sally S

    Not a problem! Thank you very much!

    Alex

You got 10 correct out of 10.
:D
thanks

Samer

Good,thank you very much

aslanzade

Thank you teacher Alex.

adrian

It’s very clear so I can understand easily..thank you so much

Supj San

Thank you, Alex!

Alex, it would be nice if you added a lesson on using “the” or zero article with posts, for example, President, Director, Director General and so on.

alice12

very helpful thanks!!

bigboy85

tank you for all teachers because lessons are very good

rachid

No problem with this lesson.
Only Lakes and waterfalls without the, but why?
That’s English.

ramoncarrasco

hello DR alex
for this lesson but I don’t understand why you don’t use “the ” in lakes and waterfall I wante to understand the cause of useing and don’t useing ” the” in this words

basma

Thanks

ubiracymafra

wohoooooooo, I got 100 :D thanks!

maryam83

thanks, Alex. very helpful lesson. bye

Daniel C Herculano

Thanks a lot, Alex, with this lesson I want to improve each time my English…..

henry24

hisham77

    engVid Moderator

Is there any rule to not use “the” before lakes and waterfalls names?

nane09

    We can use “the” if we’re talking about a body/group of lakes. For example, “the great lakes” in Ontario, Canada. Generally, if the lake has a proper name, we omit “the.” For rivers with proper names, we keep “the.”

    The Mississippi/The Nile/The St. Lawrence/The Seine/The Ganges/The Thames/The Amazon/etc.

    Alex

      ALex did ^^the^^ with oceans and river and sea
      consider as determiner ,, or it`s a part of the name .

      hisham77

      gooooooood lesson. you’re the best teacher. you can explane very clearly

      google4747

Thanks Alex for this lesson.
It was very clear and helpfull…….

Amarsohal

it seems im perfect at this.

martin

thanks for your replay Alex , i want you to make lessons for TOEFL if you can because i am so confused and nervous for the test please try to help me .
have a good day mister

asala

Dear Alex!

Could you tell if the following sentence is correct?
“I’ve already visited Ontario two times.”

I shouldn’t use “the” before Ontario, should I?

johnmckho

    That’s correct. :)

    Alex

Thanks Alex for this lesson and we look forward for the follow up on the street names, shops so on so forth. I’ve noticed that you have very few ads on your site. You should increase the revenue from this site, since you are creating a lot of value for us, meaning we will always come back!! Regards!

Crashbandicoot

Thank you very much Alex.
This lesson was very useful because it talked about a very important rule in English.
catch you later.

yazan

thanks alot

salma

Thanks Alex you’re a good teacher ,have a great day .

Momndad

The article’s lesson was useful. I learnt one more thing. Thank you.

Silva

It was a lesson of useful. Thanks.

Silva

This is “the” exact problems I have for many years and I couldn’t figure it out. I can imagine if I’m master in “the”, then I am confident English writing. Pls, Alex help us to master in the article “the”, this is very very complicated and hard. This is always confused. Please bring more examples and explanation on this topic and help us to clear 100%, and teach us how to improve / master in this topic.
Thanks.

Tamil EElavan

thank you
j’m new

gerardo

Thanks a lot for your explaination. Making the quizz I saw something. You write Indian ocean but not Geneva lake… So, when it is Indian ocean you have to put “the” before an when you write lake Geneva you needn’t “the”. It’s because lake is before Geneva.
I don’t know if I am clear…

jg94110

Thank you for this lesson

aliataf

This is it! an easy and simple way to master English!

phael2472

Thanks for the class…

Victor

It has always been my weak point, but thanks to your lesson it is clear for me now! Thank YOU, Alex, very much! Best regards!

katerynakoziar

Thanks!
I’m from Poland. I like THE Baltic Sea ;)

carramba

hello Alex, I’m new here, I just want say thank you for wonderful lessons

alifromrussia91

Thank you all teachers of EngVid, I enjoy your lessons

alifromrussia91

Thanx for information

TEREBIN

tks Mr. Alex, interessting class

abdelouahab

I have a problem with the words who and whom i do not know when to use one of them could you help me please I am waiting for answer

anais13

    The rule is that you use “whom” when you’re talking about the object of the sentence. The quick way is to see if “he” or “him” sounds right. If it’s “him”, you should use “whom”.

    For example: “I got a letter!” “From who/whom?” You’d say “from him”, not “from he”—so it should be From whom?

    In spoken or casual English, or if you’re not sure what to use, just say “who”. Chances are that someone will correct you if you’re wrong, and end up sounding pedantic because *whispers* most people don’t really care. “From who?” is technically wrong, but to a native speaker it sounds normal.

    Here’s a more detailed lesson on pronouns like who and whom.

    engVid Moderator

    I don’t use “whom” at all. :)

    morfik

Articles are always very troublesome. We can only build up a little at a time. Whenever I watch engvid I can add some to my English. Thanks endvid and all the teachers and staff. Happy holidays.

endeavor

thank you for your teaching. very useful for me.

zoe

You got 10 correct out of 10.
:D

iloveooz

Thank you!

mihahunter

Thanks, your lessons are very clear…

samuel

(First time posting)
Hello Mr. Alex.
First of all, I wanna thank u for all work u’ve made. it’s awesome. i daresay u’re the best teacher on engvid, i mean the way explain is the best one. but anyway…

I looked for anything that relates “Can’t help” in grammar section but didn’t find anything
My groupmates and I were discussing how to use “can’t help” with gerunds and infinitives.
While browsing the web, I’ve mostly encountered the gerund usage.
However, I happen to see a discussion thread from one website stating infinitive uses.

I am confused
I can’t help doing
means I cannot refrain/prevent myself from doing… (this one I am sure)

I need help with these 7 sentences
1) I can’t help do the dishes (means – i can’t help with this action?)
2) I can’t help to do the dishes (is this even legal?)
3) I can’t help her do the dishes (I can’t help her with doing the dishes?)
4) I can’t help her to do the dishes (not legal right?)
5) I can’t help but to do the dishes
6) I can’t help but doing the dishes
7) I can’t help but do the dishes

Which of these sentences are legal and what do they mean?

Please help me with this. (personally, I prefer using gerund with can’t help or use [can’t help but + V])

By the way it’d be nice if u make a lesson on it with title like:

Can’t help doing vs Can’t doing

peple

    morfik

Hey!! Great Class! I want to be a great teacher like you !

mhouse35

I got 100%

thank you very much mr.Alex

hamody97

I got 100

Your accent is best such as emma, rebecca, john and adm.

Thank you teacher i love you.

pranav9061

thank mr allex , for your lesson

ahmed

Please,
How can I get the had copy of your lesson?

KARAMAGE Claude

Hi Alex. I have a doubt about the following: Why I use the word lake before the name of the lakes, but I use the words ocean or river after the name of them? Thanks Alesx.

Elisa

I’ve got 10 correct out of 10, yes!

rafael710

9/10 :)

chanchal17

Thanks for the useful lesson. I’ve got 10/10. Don’t you mind if I ask you when to use “bored” and ” boring”? Thanks again!

badien

I have 10 correct out of 10

omar

muchas gracias!

Shing mang tun

thank you so much Alex

iliass

Alex, I learned a lot with your lessons…I made all exercices…thanks

Homero

thank you xo xo much

lapyae

You got 10 correct out of 10.
:D

Student

I like the way you teach because you are naturally talented

camilos556

THanx a lot, Alex. But I’ve got a question about THE with THE NAMES OF lakes. When we say ‘Lake Bajkal’ we don’t use the article, but we say ‘Baikal is the deepest lake in th world’? should we use THE BAYKAL?

juliastrekoza

    You used `the` to modify the adjective `deepest,` which just makes a superlative and does not relate to the lake.

    Alex

      Hello, Alex! I`m from Russia. Maybe my question is similar to juliastrekoza`s one, but nevertheless can we say the Baikal, the Ontario etc.? E.g. There are a lot of beautiful lakes in the world. They are the Baikal, the Superior, the Loch Ness and so on…
      Thank you!

      Anastassija

I really enjoyed your way of teaching and gave all correct answers.Please send the feedback to encourage me for English is not my native tongue.I am glad to be encouraged and helped at the same time Mr.Alex.
Regards.
Fazl-e-Rabbi

Fazl-e-Rabbi

thank you for explaning “THE” I got 10 correct out of 10

Can DEMİRCİOĞLU

I don’t know why Ican’t receive your lessones ? could you help me ?

mehri

i usually say Toba Lake, a famous lake in Indonesia. I just know that Lake Toba. Is it correct?

arunha310

Hey alex, thank you very much.
i got 9, hehe

muzafar

Thanks Alex, you expain very clear.

Ozzy

thank you. very well explained!

hoda

Thank you very much for the information.

hedaya

Dear EngVID it is really nice thanks a lot for your support

mh.kotb

Alex, thanks a lot. The use of THE articule in this context is now very clear for me.

Carlos

Thanks you all lesson

Try

thanks Alex for this short and sweet lessons.I’ve got 10 correct out of 10 .

sadeqsadeq

thank you so much you a best teac me perfect

cenk

thank you; you are really a great teacher

Hamza

Thank you ^^

sweetrose77

I´m very satisfied with these lessons, for I have improved a lot. just to assess my progress I made a test in the site of Englishtown and got the grades: 70 for grammar, 80 for listening and 80 for reading. next time I try I hope to get grades enough to be considered advanced.

jorge luiz

:( Sorry, Mr.Alex, I haven’t got this lesson, I’ll watch it again and again until I understood.

vuinguyen169

Hi, Alex – thank you so much at the lessons. But I am a beginner and wery slowly /old/ E.student. God bless You and God bless the Queen ! bye Steve

smreky

Thank you so much,Alex! It’s very useful.

hameii

Thanks Alex for this useful lesson.
I am learning a lot with the remarks made by the students. All The comments are helping me to increase my knowledge.

anselmo

That was a good lesson! Tks, teacher Alex

gabchris

hello sir , i am always confuse about the word ” would” could you advice me about it sir please.

nishen

Dear mam..
i hope you’d like to help me with this prob which is irrelevant to this lesson..this is a very important grammar point which nobody of my friends could explain of…

mam i know how to use ”where”with other ways..

how to use where with words like these??

1 That is the RELATIONSHIP where one thing makes a change in another.

2 if you have gone to a WEBSITE where you have to create an account for yourself..

3 This procedure should be followed in CASES where dishonesty has been alleged.

4 Due to the volume of emails we receive we are unable to respond to the EMAILS where the answer can be found on our web site itself.

5 I got to the STAGE where I wasn’t coping any more.

These are a few sentences i have a lot..please explain to me with some of your own sentences how to use ”where” with these words.

THANKING YOU

ROYSTAN

roystanbonzo

Hi Alex,
There is one exception of the rules inside the test which mislead the person who makes the test. Actually The Dead Sea is not a sea. It’s a lake near Jordan and Israel. If we follow the rules we shouldn’t put “The” in front of The Dead sea :)

hypnotic

    You’re right, it isn’t really a sea! But because we call it a sea, we have to follow the rules.

    (I have always wanted to swim in the Dead Sea, which I’ve read is so salty that you just float on top.)

    engVid Moderator

thank you, Alex,I’ve enjoyed watching this video. By the way, it was a discovery for me, that we should use the names of waterfalls without any articles, as I thought we considered them to be a part of the water surface, so thanks for the clarification. By the way, could you help me, what if when naming a lake we omit this very word “lake”, like : “I’ve never swimmed in the Baikal”. In this case should we put the article? thanks for your respond in advance:)

dasha22

grrrr.. i got 8 out of 10 . i’m poor for english language

joyalisoso

Yes Alex,sure I got 100 % and I am enjoy because have finished Gjeography University.

alpido24

geography….(sorry)

alpido24

thanks i am getting confident… thanks a lot..

lakshu008

100% Thank you teacher!!

pafsilipoclub

Hello teacher I had a doubt about this, since today I don’t have more!I thank you for that great job!

bezerra

Thank you! Articles are always confusing for me ((

kenzoll

5. Which sentence is correct?
1.Toronto overlooks Lake Ontario.
2.Toronto overlooks the Lake Ontario.
how “the” used above 2nd sentence?
sir reply must

sachin5454

Thanks Alex. good work…

wiltoncleiton

as usually – many thanks for teacher and all team of ENGVID

yury1

hmmmm good job,,, Gb ^_^

sundu

that was a very good lesson! i got 10 :) thanks teacher Alex..

DesM

thanks…we use ‘the’ very popularly. i think your lesson help me very much.

haituan1001

hi, I like your lesson but I have a question.
The deepest lake in the world is THE Lake Baikal in Russia.
don’t we use THE+adjective+est with superlative? why it’s wrong??

gbvrnee

My score was 100%. Ya~y! Thank you Alex :D

Happy04

thx Alex ,the lesoon was very clear

biila

I got 10 correct out of 10. :D

liona

Thanks sir I got 90% because I do not know about Nile. It is a river in northeastern Africa. Now I have known.

Abdul Qayum

I’ve got almost 9 out of 10.
Aha! We use ‘Dead sea’ without THE.
Thanks Alex! ;-D

Matilda03

Thank u Alex, I’ve got 9 out of 10…… get in progress!!

luis123

I had a dificult to write a email today with this exaclty problem. It help me so muck. Thank you Alex :D

danielecunha

thank you))))

Faridka

thanks a lot Alex, I got 90% from 10 question

yusuf-nabotov

Thanks Alex!!!!!

Tomas1010

Hello Alex may I say I would like to visit Geneva laks or Geneva,s lake ?????

preemy

informative lesson, i have 100%

moezbesbes

I like that you don’t complicate information

Yakushina

Thank you. It’s useful

Nadir

i got full mark:P
thank you alex:D

emilo

Hi Alex. The use of the article “the” in reference to rivers and streams came up in conversation this morning. We are in Maine, USA.

We will say “The Kennebec” in reference to the Kennebec River, or we might say “the Kennebec River”, but we don’t say Kennebec River without the article “the”.

However, we never say “The Lemon” in reference to Lemon Stream, nor do we say “The Lemon Stream”, but when referring to it, we will say “Lemon Stream” (without the article).

To complicate matters, though, for some of the larger streams, we do just refer to them as “The Kenduskeag” in reference to Kenduskeag Stream. But we’d never say The Kenduskeag Stream.

Is there a rule here? Thanks!

LisaSaint

    Now that I think of it, Toronto’s main rivers are often called “the Humber” and “the Don”, but Taddle Creek is always just Taddle Creek. Perhaps it’s the relative size of the river/stream?

    engVid Moderator

I was thinking it might have to do with relative size. I thought I caught a Canadian twang in your video!

Nice job on that. I can see how some of this can be confusing to people for whom English is not their first language. (or is that confusing for people…)? Good to have a resource like this.

LisaSaint

done it! 10 correct out of 10 :)

Turana

I got 100 great ! thank you very much. I just discovered you was born in Poland, great I was too. But I’m living in France and I’m learning English. So thank you very much, very good job.

Arthur

Thanks. I got 100%

Avinash

thankyou sir

sushilguptadit

Thank you.

avelyza

Hi Alex. Thank you very much!

Galina502

hi i have question about this lesson please tell me about when we talk about part of continent we use the or not thanks

baraet

I think the printable list should include these important rivers: the Rio de la Plata River ,the Parana River ,the Iguazu River

dahliaflower

Thanks!

Lfabian2013

I got 9/10 not bad. thanks sir!

Tirzy

The lesson was very clear. Thank you.

Vivimi

Hellow Alex. Thank you very much! I got 10/10.

J.A.N.O

Very nice teacher…thanks

barros

Je vis près du lac de Serre Ponçon mais loin de la mer Méditerranée.
Merci Alex.

beernaard

Great class!

RaquelTeacher

The seventh question about the Caspian sea was very interesting.
I had made a mistake in it. ))))

SamuilovaKate

easy and good lesson
i got 100%

k.abed

thanks engvid namaste from india

nituu31

Thanks for this lesson.
I sometimes get confused how to use”the” in front of the names’ of seas,rivers and lakes.

SourBest

Thanks a lot, My first lesson with degree 10

RENATO

Great lesson! Thanks!

Jonathas Wilhem

Thanks!

shihai182

Thank you Mr. Alex.

Alex-1956

Thank you so much sir!It was so clear.

Prasunan

Wow, I got 10 out of 10. Thank you, teacher Alex!

markmyname

I watched this video twice on June 06, 2021, and took the quiz after watching it once. I got ten correct out of 10.

ergn

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    • Share — Click this to view sharing options for this document, including email and cloud options.
    • Export — Click this to quickly create a PDF or change the file type.
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    2

    Click in the top left corner of your screen. If you’re using a Mac, you won’t have this option—simply click your document to exit the «File» menu.

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    3

    Review the Home tab to see your formatting options. At the top of your screen—from left to right—are five sub-sections of this tab:

    • Clipboard — Whenever you copy text, it is saved on your clipboard. You can view copied text by clicking the Clipboard option here.
    • Font — From this section, you can change your font style, size, color, formatting (e.g., bold or italic), and highlighting.
    • Paragraph — You can change aspects of your paragraph formatting—such as line spacing, indentation, and bullet formatting—from this section.
    • Styles — This section covers different types of text for various situations (e.g., headings, titles, and subtitles). You’ll also see the popular «No Spacing» option here, which removes excess spaces between lines of text.
    • Editing — A couple of commonly-used tools—such as «Find and Replace», which allows you to quickly replace all appearances of one word with another—live here.
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    Click the Insert tab to review the types of media you can place in your document. Insert is to the right of the Home tab. The Insert tab allows you to add things like graphics and page numbers to your document. From left to right, a couple of notable options include the following:

    • Table — Clicking this option will allow you to create an Excel-style table right in your document.
    • Pictures — Use this feature to insert a picture into your document.
    • Header, Footer, and Page Number — These options are all essential for writing in MLA- or APA-style formatting. The Header places a space at the top of the document for comment, while the Footer goes at the bottom—page numbers are customizable.
    • Equation/Symbol — These options use special formatting to accurately display simple equations. You can select these equations or symbols from the pertinent drop-down menu.
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    Click the Design tab to create your own template. It’s to the right of the Insert tab.

    • The Design tab contains pre-designed themes and formats listed across the top of the page.
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    Click the Layout tab to customize your page’s formatting. This tab contains options for changing the following aspects of your document:

    • Margins
    • Page orientation (vertical or horizontal)
    • Page size
    • Number of columns (defaults to one)
    • Location of page breaks
    • Indentation
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    Click the References to manage your citations. If you have a bibliography page, you can also manage it from here.

    • For quick bibliography formatting, click the Bibliography drop-down menu and select a template.
    • In the «Citations & Bibliography» group of options, you can change your bibliography formatting from APA to MLA (or other citation styles).
    • The «Captions» group has an option to insert a table of figures. This is useful for scientific review papers or similar documents in which statistical data is prioritized over quotations.
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    Click the Mailings tab to review your document sharing options. You can review your email settings and share your documents from within this section.

    • You can also print an envelope or label template by clicking the pertinent option in the top left corner of your screen.
    • The Select Recipients drop-down menu allows you to choose Outlook contacts as well as an existing contact list within Word.
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    Click the Review tab. The Review section is geared towards editing, so it includes options for marking up documents and proofreading. A couple of important options include:

    • Spelling & Grammar — Click this option (far left corner) to underline any spelling or grammatical errors.
    • The «Changes» section — This is to the far right of the toolbar. From here, you can enable the «Track Changes» feature which automatically formats any additions or deletions you make in a document to appear in red print.
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    10

    Decide on the set of options that best apply to your work. If you’re a student, for example, you’ll likely use the Insert and References tab often. Now that you’re familiar with the toolbar options, you can format your first Word document.

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    Open a new Blank Document in Word. If you have an existing document, you can open that instead.

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    2

    Enter text. Do this by clicking on the blank section of the document and typing away.

    • If you opened an existing document, be sure to save your work before re-formatting.
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    Highlight a section of text. To do this, click and drag your cursor across your writing, then let go when you’ve highlighted the section you wish to edit.

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    4

    Consider what you want to do to the writing. Some potential options include:

    • Quickly format your writing. Do this by right-clicking (or two-finger clicking) your highlighted text and then selecting an option from the right-click menu.
    • Change the font of your selection. You can do this by clicking the drop-down bar at the top of the «Font» section (Home tab) and then selecting a new font.
    • Bold, italicize, or underline your highlighted section. To do this, click the B, I, or U in the «Font» section of the Home tab.
    • Change your document’s spacing. This is easiest to accomplish by right-clicking your selected text, clicking Paragraph, and modifying the «Line Spacing» value in the bottom right corner of this window.
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    Continue working with Word. Your preferred options for your documents will differ based on the intention behind creating them, so the more you work within your own particular format, the more proficient you’ll become.

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    To copy a certain piece of text, highlight it and press Ctrl + C. Then click the spot you want to place the copied text and press Ctrl + V to paste.

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    Community Answer

    Press the Insert tab and then press the Pictures button. You will then be allowed to select the image.

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  • A red line under a word means the word is misspelled, a green underline suggests a grammatical error, and a blue underline pertains to formatting.

  • If you right-click (or two-finger click) an underlined word, you’ll see a replacement suggestion at the top of the right-click menu.

  • You can quick-save your document by holding down Control (or Command on Mac) and tapping S.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Create blank documents or from templates.
2. Format text colors, fonts, and sizes.
3. Insert media like photos and animations.
4. Insert data like tables, page numbers, headers, and equations.
5. Customize the on-screen and print layouts.
6. Add references and citations.

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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 213,472 times.

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by Liz Walter​
articles_in_English
Many learners of English have problems with articles (the words a, an and the), especially when they don’t exist in their own language. This blog looks at some of the basic rules.

The number one rule is this: if a word is countable (e.g. one book, two books), you must always use an article (or my, his, etc.):

I read a book.

I read book.

This is true even if there are adjectives before the noun:

He drives an old car.

He drives old car.

Never use a or an with a word that is plural (e.g. books, trees) or uncountable (e.g. water, advice):

I asked her for advice.

I asked her for an advice.

Note that we use a in front of words that start with a consonant sound (a horse, a carrot) and an in front of words with a vowel sound (an apple, an elephant).

The next most important thing to understand is the difference between a/an and the. Basically, we use a/an when we don’t need to say which thing we are talking about. We use the to talk about a specific thing:

I caught a train to London. (it doesn’t matter which train)

The train was late. (that particular train was late)

We often use a when we mention something for the first time, and then change to the when it is clear which thing we are talking about:

He was talking to a man. The man was laughing.

She gave him a present. The present was very expensive.

We also use the when it is obvious which thing we are talking about or when there is only one of something:

Could you shut the door, please?

I cleaned the bathroom this morning.

He travelled around the world.

The sun is hot today.

If you stick to the rules above, you will be correct in almost all cases. However, there are a few exceptions, and the following are the most useful ones to learn:

We don’t use a/an before the names of meals:

We had lunch at noon.

We don’t use a/an before words like school, prison, or college when we are talking about them in a general way:

I hope to go to college.

He spent three years in prison.

With the word ‘hospital’, there is a difference between British and American English:

My brother’s in hospital (UK) / in the hospital (US).

We use the before the names of shops or places where we go for services when they are the ones we usually go to:

I need to go to the supermarket.

She went to the doctor’s.

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