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Showing posts with the label English A

Revision of Grammmar rules | Grade 9

 There is/are  &  There was/were Rules:  1. "There is" is used with singular nouns (e.g: bread, Sun, James). "There are" is use with plural nouns (e.g: pans, dancers, Stars). 2. "There was" (singular form) & "There were" (plural form), are used as the past tense forms of "is" and "are". When a sentence starts with or includes the word " There ", the auxhilary verb that follows it (i.e: is, are, was, were ) must agree with the main noun in the sentence. See two examples below -  A) There was no bread left in the house. B) There are two packs of biscuits in the cupboard "House" and "Cupboard" are nouns too, but they are not the main nouns; the verbs in each sentence does not connect to those nouns since they are too far away from it. Here are some more examples: There is a cake in the oven. There are many mangoes on the tree. There was one customer in the store. Practice: Se...

Transitive & Intransitive verbs | Grade 9 | Week 2

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So, verbs, remember how there are different types of them?  Can you name any of the types? Think about that... then take a look down below. Now that your memory is refreshed, let's go into the topic for today - Transitive & Intransitive verbs. What are transitive and intransitive verbs? If you took the time to read the information in the picture above, you'll have read something about transitive verbs needing an object in the sentence to "transfer" it's action to; whereas an intransitive verb does not need an object, it does not have to link the "action" that it does to the subject/object of the sentence. Confused? Let's look at some examples, beginning with the TRANSITIVE VERBS 1. The speaker examined the iPhone 13 in the video. This the verb in this sentence (examined) is Transitive, see how it links to the object of the sentence? The object or objects in a sentence with a transitive verb (usually) directly follows the verb. A transitive ve...

Phrases and Clauses | Grade 8 | Week 1

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Clauses and Phrases ; sounds like they can be easily mixed up, right? They both are parts of a sentence, and phrases can be found within clauses.  Confusing? Let me put it this way, it's all about making sense . Sentences as a whole, must make sense grammatically ; that means the order and type of words, as well as the punctuation used, must obey the rules of English grammar. Within a sentence there are clauses and these come in two categories : Dependent and Independent . Basically, Independent clauses make sense on their own, when separated from their original sentence. Dependent clauses cannot stand by themselves, when you read them they sound wrong... like they're missing something. As for phrases, they too have different types . When a phrase is separated from it's original sentence we can identify what type it is based on what kind of word they begin with (think Noun, Verb, Preposition, etc.). However, when a phrase is identified within a sentence, it's type can...

Active & Passive verb Voice | Week 3 | Grade 8

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Active vs. Passive Voice GRAMMAR Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb . Passive voice means that a subject is a r ecipient of a verb’s action.  Some writers may say that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine. In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and number; here, we are concerned with voice . The two grammatical voices are active and passive.

Letter to the Editor | Week 3, Lesson 1 | Grade 9

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Letter to The Editor But first, let me tell you a story. Last week friday, I was in New Amsterdam to buy some textbooks. After I bought what I needed and, walking back down N/A stelling road to the bus park, I decided to go visit an old friend of mine. Her snackette was located close to the stelling itself.  When I used to go to High School, my friends and I would be at her snackette every afternoon, rain or shine. The food was great, the place was well kept and always busy. Aunty Jenny and her husband ran that snackette and bar and they are very nice people.  This was during the time the Pontoon was operating, this big, long ferry that would be packed every morning and afternoon with school children from Multi, BHS, and NATI. This pontoon and the presence of so many school-going customers kept all the businesses alive and prosperous down that stelling road. Flash forward to 2020, the boats have stopped carrying passengers between Rosignol and New Amsterdam, stelling road gets...

Assonance & Alliteration | Week 5, Lesson 3 | Grade 9

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  Assonance and Alliteration are two features of language that writers, especially poets, use.  They are meant to engage a reader’s auditory (i.e, listening) skills while also making the writing they are used in sound musical and fun to read. Assonance and Alliteration are mainly different in terms of what letter type is repeated and where.  Since poetry and prose use them heavily, they can be a little hard to distinguish to most people. What is Alliteration? Alliteration is a literary style that deals with the repetition of similar or identical consonant sounds. (All letters of the Alphabet, other than Vowels, are consonants) It makes a line fun to read and usually repeats the consonant sounds in a word, usually in the beginning those words, but may occur at any point. You may be familiar with this famous example of Alliteration from the old tongue-twister "Peter the piper".   E.g #1 - " P eter p iper p icked a p epper; p ut it in a p epper p ot", is the Guyanese ...

Clichés - Week 2, Lesson 3 | Grade 10

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  What is a Cliché? A cliché is a word or phrase that has been overused in writing. Clichés such as “leave no stone unturned” have been used so much in writing that they have lost all their effectiveness. These phrases have become weak and meaningless. They usually contribute nothing to the message you are trying to convey and will be viewed, by the reader, simply as padding. A text full of clichés makes the writer appear lazy and uncreative and will, for many readers, kill the significance of the writing. As a young person reading through textbooks or stories, you'll come across certain old, almost meaningless phrases, that are used in an effort to express the writer's ideas. "Time heals all wounds." - This is a true statement, but it's been used so many times in books, movies, articles, etc - that it becomes boring and tired.  "Don't put all of your eggs in one basket." - You have probably heard this one before from your mother or grandmother. I...

Using a Colon | Grade 9 - Week 3, Lesson 3

  The colon   ( : )   and semicolon   ( ; ) are frequently used incorrectly in place of each other. The two punctuation marks serve very different purposes, and should not be used interchangeably. COLON A colon is used to give emphasis, present dialogue, introduce lists or text, and clarify composition titles. Emphasis — Capitalise  the first word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence. (She had one love: Guyana, land of many waters.) Dialogue —Write the speaker's name, followed by a colon and his or her statement. (Reporter: What is the Golden Arrow of Achievement ? Dunn: It is a General Award and Guyana's fourth-highest award, to ‘any citizen of Guyana who has performed an outstanding and specific act of service or achievement of an exceptional nature'. ) Introduce lists, text or tabular material — Capitalise  the first word after the colon only if it is a proper noun or the start of a complete ...

Implicit Meaning - Week 1 Lesson 2 | Grade 9

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 An Idea like "Implicit meaning" can be hard to understand sometimes. Like any big or confusing word, there are other smaller easier words we can break it down into.  It's like talking about something without mentioning the name of that thing. Check out these examples:  1. Of the 24 hours in a day, there is none I love more than those hours when the sky becomes painted with oranges and pinks - when the air becomes cooler and the crickets start to sing. What time of day do I love the most? If you guessed "Sunset" or "twilight", you're correct. I did not tell you just like that, that I love the sunset - I told you about the colours in the sky and the coolness of the air and the crickets that start making their sounds. With this information you can then understand what time of day I am talking about. 2. As he bit into some crunchy jam and toast as he read the newspaper spread in front of him. Over on the stove, the tea he forgot to pour out was get...

Descriptive Writing - Different attitudes | Grade 9

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In the last Grade 9 English "A" post, you were asked to write a 2 paragraph descriptive story based on a picture you took or drawing you made. In today's post you can learn to describe a person from different angles of approach.  For example, we can describe a beggar in any of these ways: Illustration of a beggar in 'rags' As seen by an anonymous writer, e.g. The beggar shuffled into the shop almost apologetically, holding out half a coconut shell with sad persistence...  As a first person description, e.g.  I watched the beggar thoughtfully and wondered whether he earned more than I did from his earnest entreaties to elderly tourists...  As seen Through The Eyes of a child (by the Narrator), e.g. The scene always puzzled Mitzie, being young as she was. She watched her father take off the clean clothes he wore at home, and put on some old and dirty rags. “It’s his work”, her mother explained nervously. “He works in a very dirty place, and he doesn't want to sp...

Notices, Agendas and Minutes | Grade 10

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  A necessary ability in any business student is the ability to write up essential office documents like the ones listed in the heading. Notices: What is Notice Writing? - A notice is a written or printed announcement (Example - a notice for sale). It is written in order to inform a large number of people about something that has happened or is about to happen. It could be an upcoming event, competition, Lost, and found notice or just a piece of information to be delivered to the targeted audience. It is generally written in a formal tone. Notices are factual and to-the-point. The language used is simple and formal, not flowery. They are put up on display boards in schools or in public places. The Notice Writing Format should include NAME OF THE INSTITUTION / ISSUING AUTHORITY / NOTICE / TITLE, DATE, and WRITER’S NAME WITH DESIGNATION. A notice should contain all the necessary details such as: Name of the issuing agency (school, etc) Date of issue/release of the notice Title/Sub...

Descriptive Writing with Paragraphs | Grade 9

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I'm sure you can define the word "describe", but what exactly is descriptive writing?  To refresh your memory, let us go back to a definition of descriptive writing -  In descriptive writing, the author does not just tell the reader what was seen, felt, tested, smelled, or heard. Rather, the author describes something from their own experience and, through careful choice of words and phrasing, makes it seem real. Descriptive writing is vivid, colourful, and detailed. Good descriptive writing creates an impression in the reader's mind of an event, a place, a person, or a thing. The writing will be such that it will set a mood or describe something in such detail that if the reader saw it, they would recognise it. Descriptive Writing Techniques Here are some examples of descriptive writing techniques that you can utilise and effectively apply to your own writing. Choosing your focus: When you first begin writing, it's extremely important to decide what your topic...

Phrases - Grade 10 | December 1st 2020

Phrases - definition and types  A phrase is a group of words which has no finite verb in it and acts to complete the sentence for making it meaningful.  Certain phrases serve dual purposes in a sentence, for example a prepositional phrase can function as an adjectival phrase if it were acting to describe a noun in the sentence - e.g.:  My uncle dated the girl with the tattoos.  "With" is a preposition that marks the beginning of a prepositional phrase, but it acts as an adjective describing "the girl". Two (of Seven) types of Phrases Noun Phrase -  A noun phrase is usually assembled around a single noun and works as a subject, an object or a complement in the sentence. Examples: I like to swing the bat hard when a ball is coming my way. (An object) [ask WHAT/WHO/WHICH do "I" like] Reading novels is a good habit. (A subject) [ask WHAT/WHO/WHICH is "a good habit"] Do you like cars ? (An object, single noun) [ask WHAT/WHO/WHICH do you like...

Paragraphing - Grade 9 | 30th November, 2020

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By now you should already be aware of what a paragraph is. However, in the likely event that you forgot some of the specifics, here is a refresher of that information: What is a paragraph? A paragraph is a distinct section of writing covering one topic. A paragraph will usually contain more than one sentence. A paragraph starts on a new line. Sometimes, paragraphs are indented or numbered. (Whatever format you use, be consistent).