Gerard 't Hooft
How to become a
GOOD Theoretical Physicist
English is a prerequisite. If you haven’t mastered it yet, learn it. You must be able to read, write, speak and understand English, but you don’t have to be perfect here. The lousy English used in this text is mine. That’s enough. All publications are in English. Note the importance of being able to write in English. Sooner or later you will wish to publish your results. People must be able to read and understand your stuff.
French, German, Spanish and Italian may be useful too, but they are not at all necessary. They are nowhere near the foundations of our sky-scraper, so don’t worry. You do need the Greek alphabet. Greek letters are used a lot. Learn their names, otherwise you make a fool of yourself when giving an oral presentation.
If you have managed to read and follow this webpage so far, you probably don't need a first course in English. However, you want to be precise in your academic publications. You never want to be misunderstood, after all. Below, you will find several resources that are intended to be helpful for readers of various levels and with various requirements.
Grammar Information
Grammar Monster Free online English grammar lessons and tests. Glossary of grammatical terms and common grammar errors.
An Online English Grammar An abundance of information on grammar, though the site sometimes suffers from too much linguistic jargon. But if you have a question about grammar, you will find the answer here.
The Internet Grammar of English University College London site with loads of information and exercises on grammar.
Conditional If… clauses and conditions. Tutorial with interactive exercises to follow.
“When” and ”If” confusion When to use “if”, and if to use “when”. Clear up this common confusion.
Tenses
Present Simple versus Present Continuous Sort out the confusion of when to use the Present Simple and the Present Continuous tenses. Two interactive exercises follow an explanation.
Gerund When to use the ‘to’ form of the verb (to use) and when to use the ‘-ing’ form (using). Tutorial and interactive exercises
Video Tutorial 10-minute video tutorial on simple past and present perfect tense use. Watch the video, listen to the audio only version or download the transcript. Particularly helpful are the study notes. You can also practise and consolidate your learning by completing the activities (banner menu) which have answers provided.
Simple Past or Present Perfect? A tutorial and two verb tense exercises (exercises 5 & 6) to clarify the confusion between the Simple Past and the Present Perfect tenses.
Prepositions
Direction (to, on, in) Direction (to, on, in).
Time, Location, Direction and Position Time, Location, Direction and Position.
Spacial relationship Spacial relationship.
Prepositions Prepositions.
Complete tabular explanation A tabular explanation with 12 interactive follow-up exercises.
Common Irregular Verbs Common Irregular Verbs.
Grammar Practice
Interactive Grammar Quizzes Hundreds of interactive quizzes to stretch and tease your English in a relaxed way.
English Exercises EFL Exercises & Quizzes Pretty straightforward site: not many frills, but with loads and loads of exercises: grammar, collocations, phrasal verbs, you name it. Don’t be put off by the title ‘Business English’!
Articles
Use of ‘the/a’ Practice when to use ‘the/a’.
Use of ‘the’ Practice when to use ‘the’.
Articles: A Basic Quiz Test your knowledge of articles.
Exercise on Choosing Articles II Test your knowledge of articles further.
Articles: Health Clubs Test your knowledge of articles III.
Using Articles This handout discusses the differences between indefinite articles (a/an) and definite articles (the).
Quantifiers: Much, Many, Little, Few, etc.
Quantifiers: A Basic Quiz Test your knowledge of quantifiers.
Quantifiers: Fill in the gaps Test your knowledge of quantifiers II.
Word Order
Word order 1 Practice word order (rather easy).
Word order 2 Practice word order.
Word order 3 Practice word order (many exercises).
Tenses
Present forms Present forms Exercises.
Verb Tense Exercise 1 Simple Present / Present Continuous Exercises.
Verb Tense Exercise 2 Simple Present / Present Continuous Exercises.
Past Simple or Present Perfect Past Simple or Present Perfect Exercise.
Simple Past or Present Perfect Simple Past or Present Perfect Review Quiz
For/Since For/Since Exercises.
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous? Present Perfect/Present Perfect Continuous Exercises.
Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous? Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous Exercises.
Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement.
A Second Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement A Second Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement.
Third Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement Third Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement.
Work-related phrasal verbs Matching exercise.
Prepositions
come + preposition Choose the right preposition.
fall + preposition Choose the right preposition.
get + preposition 1 Choose the right preposition.
get + preposition 2 Choose the right preposition.
go + preposition Choose the right preposition.
keep + preposition 1 Choose the right preposition.
keep + preposition 2 Choose the right preposition.
pull + preposition Choose the right preposition.
set + preposition 1 Choose the right preposition.
set + preposition 2 Choose the right preposition.
take + preposition Choose the right preposition.
Verbs with ‘about’ Choose the right answer.
Verbs with ‘in’ Choose the right answer.
Verbs with ‘up’ 1 Choose the right answer.
Verbs with ‘up’ 2 Choose the right answer.
Practice your prepositions! Lots of exercises here with different levels of difficulty.