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Learning more about English

Nouns

a. The teacher is pointing to a map of a country.

The naming words teacher, map and country are common nouns because there are many teachers, maps and countries.

Mrs Kleyn is pointing to a map of South Africa.

The naming words Mrs Kleyn and South Africa are proper nouns because they are the special names of a particular teacher and country. Proper nouns begin with capital letters.

b. Pieter and Sam bought a present for their mother.

All the words in darker print in the sentence above are nouns.

Name the different things or people that you can see in the picture below:The ordinary names we give to people, places and things are called naming wordsor common nouns.

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1. Make two columns headed common nouns and proper nouns. Write the following words in the correct columns, remembering to use capital letters to begin the proper nouns.

a. I made a funny ... at ...... at ...at ......b. We saw ... and ... at the ...... and ... at the ...and ... at the ...... at the ...at the ......c. A ... is made of ...... is made of ...is made of ......d. They went to ... in a ...... in a ...in a ......e. There is a ... in my ...... in my ...in my ......f. She likes ... better than ...... better than ...better than ......

3. Rewrite the following sentences, using capital letters where necessary.a. last tuesday I went to see docter theron.

c. my birthday is in october and lee-anne’s is in january.d. liezl’s favourite english soccer team is manchester united.e. I go to merridale primary school and my teacher is miss fritzgerald.f. they are moving to margate in natal next monday.

4. Write suitable endings for these sentences.a. I love the creamy taste of ... d. My father’s hands felt...b. With a deafening roar... e. The delicious smell...c. The mountain looked... f. A dreadful crash...

5. Write the following lists in alphabetical order:a. Ten things that you like to eat.b. Five things that you like to smell.c. Seven things which are pleasant to touch or feel.

town boy woman johannesburg book atlantic oceanking saul mrs nel river bart simpson in america

queen elizabeth planet beach road mars day monthchurch easter saturday april

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Vocabulary practice1. Opposites

Match the words which are opposite in meaning, and use them in sentences of your own.smooth sweet stale coarse tender glossy

2. Use the following phrases in sentences to show their correct use.irritated by anxious about jealous of sorry fordelighted with worried about impatient to interested in

3. How many words of three or more letters can you make using only the letters in the squares? Score one point for a three-letter word, two for a four-letter word, and so on. There is one nine-letter word which names a good feeling. Can you

Spelling1. Soft c and g

I ate a slice of the delicious sausage.

In the above sentence, the letter c sounds like an s and the g sounds like a j. These are soft sounds. C and g have a soft sound when they are followed by e, i or y.

soft c: silence sauce spice scent scenery innocent success delicious excited cinders city precious recipe decide spicy

scene saucy icy

soft g: courage gentle strange angel germ danger giraffe imagine gigantic engineer pigeon gymnastics

2. Complete the following words by using one letter for each #.

#edge #edge #udge #udge##udge ##idge #ancy ##ance

E I P

N A S

P S H

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What’s the opposite?

opposites are. Fill in the blanks to the right with those words, then unscramble the circled letters to help you complete one of Jesus’ famous mealtime quotes.

Peace ___ ___ ___

City ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Dry ___ ___ ___

Back ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Shy ___ ___ ___ ___

Light ___ ___ ___ ___

Under ___ ___ ___ ___

Fast ___ ___ ___ ___

Hot ___ ___ ___ ___

Man shall not live by ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ alone, but by every ___ ___ ___ ___ of God.Luke 4:4

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person on the moon?

It was the man in the moon.

No. It was Neil Armstrong.

Parts of speech

Sentences

The teacher and the learners are using different kinds of sentences. A sentence is a group of words which makes sense and which carries a message from one person to another. The teacher has asked his learners a question, and the learners’ answers are in the form of statements. Questions and statements are types of sentences.

Exercise 1

Read through the following sentences carefully and say which are statements and which are questions:a. Which child knew the answer?b. The goalkeeper made a brilliant save.c. There were eleven players in a soccer team.d. Who took the ruler from my desk?e. Sam found

The words in bold are called verbs. Every sentence must have a verb. Most verbs show action - with somebody or something doing something.

Exercise 2

Read through the following groups of words and say which are sentences and which are not. Discuss the reasons for your answers with your classmates.a. The man next door.b. The hen laid two brown eggs.c. Caught the ball.d. John ran fast.e. The thief caught the policeman.f. Thunder, lightning and hail.

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Exercise 3

Each of the following groups of words is a muddled sentence. Can you write the words in the correct order? Remember to begin with a capital letter and end with a full stop.a. has no lights my bicycleb. out of telephone is the orderc. teeth are bad for too many sweetsd. character is my television Bart Simpson favouritee. for boiled breakfast a egg had If. fastest Mavis is the runner school at

Exercise 4

Complete the following sentences by adding your own verb (an action word):a. I have ... my pocket money.... my pocket money.my pocket money.b. My mother ... a pretty dress for me.... a pretty dress for me.a pretty dress for me.c. The two boys ... the tree.... the tree.the tree.

... into the sea.into the sea.e. Ryno ... the book.... the book.the book.f. Lee-Anne ... the game.... the game.the game.

Read through the following sentences:I can swim but my brother cannot.

The sentence above is in two parts, linked by a joining word in bold print.

Exercise 5

The sentences below have been split into two parts. Join them by using one of the joining words below. Remember that the sentences must make sense.

although and but because if

a. I shall go to the beach. You come with me.b. Busi was late for school. She ran all the way.c. David is in grade four. His brother is in grade three.d. We cannot go for a picnic. Our car has broken down.d. He wanted to cut the grass. The lawnmower would not work.Sometimes, sentences begin with a joining word. In such cases, the two parts of the sentence are separated by a comma.

Example: If the sun shines, we shall play tennis. Although it was only six o’clock, Moira went to bed.

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Activities

Activity 1

Together with a partner, match the joining words with sentences from each column. Remember not to start a sentence with because or and.a. because you turn on the TV, you will win a prize.b. unless I did not study, she lost the race.c. as it rains soon, I failed the test.d. when she ran well, the crops will die.e. though it was a public holiday, use the remote control.f. if your number is drawn, the shops were closed.

Activity 2: Group activity

Learner 1: writes A or The and any describing word, such as angry, hot or funny ona piece of paper.

Learner 2: writes any naming word, such as ghost, tiger or policeman.Learner 3: writes any doing word such as ate, follows or kicked.Learner 4: writes a or the and any describing word, such as heavy, sad or happy.Learner 5: writes any naming word, such as pirate, crocodile or teacher.

No one must let the other members of the group see what he or she has written. When

starting with Learner 1. They will have written a sentence which probably will be very funny!

For example:The old fridge chased the lazy hippopotamus. 1 2 3 4 5

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OppositesHere are seven pairs of adjectives.

1 EasyRight Wrong

Big SmallFat Thin

Soft HardFast SlowTall Short

1 23

45

6 7

8

9 10

1112

1314

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Reading

What it means to be a sinner

Are you naughty sometimes? All boys and girls are naughty sometimes. Even dear little babies are naughty sometimes. Is it very bad to be naughty? Yes, to be naughty is bad, because it is sin. Do you know what that means? When we sin, we are not doing what God wants us to do. God made us. We belong to Him. We ought to do just what He tells us to do. We ought to be just what He wants us to be. We ought to love God, and obey Him, always. We ought to love Him because He is so wonderful, and because He loves us. When Adam end Eve sinned against God, when they disobeyed Him and ate the fruit He told them not to eat, sin came and spoiled God’s whole beautiful world. It spoiled Adam and Eve too. Adam and Eve became sinners. They let Satan into their hearts, and after that they could not obey God the way they should. When Adam and Eve had children, these children were sinners too. Every baby was born with sin in his heart. That is why even a little baby is naughty sometimes. Isn’t that a sad thing? When we do what God tells us not to do, that is sin. When we do not do what He wants us to do, that is sin too. Oh, yes, we sin against God very much. Many times we do not even want to obey God. We want to be naughty. Surely, God must have stopped loving Adam and Eve when they sinned against Him? Surely He cannot love us, since we all are sinners? Oh, God is very good and kind. He did not stop loving Adam and Eve. Even when He said that they would have pain and sickness and sorrow and trouble, He loved them. God took care of Adam and Eve. And do you remember that He promised them something wonderful? He promised that someday He would send a Saviour who would take away sin. God does not want boys and girls to be naughty. But He does not stop loving you when you are naughty. He does not love the naughty things you do. He hates sin, but He loves you. He loves you so much that He sent the promised Saviour. He sent Jesus, His Son, to take away your sins - and mine. Oh, we ought to love God very, very much. We ought to love Him so much that we do not want to sin. He is so good to us! We should repent our sins.

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How clever are you?Test yourself and answer these questions in your exercise book.

1. Punctuate the following sentences using either a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Put in capital letters where necessary.a. I am writing a letter to my friendb. Stop the thiefc. What is your named. Would you like to live in durbane. On sunday peter and anne are coming to visit (5)

2. Read the example and do the same with the sentences below.Example: Climb the tree

I am climbing the tree. We are climbing the tree.

a. Wash the dishesb. Set the tablec. Bath the dogd. Go to bed (8)

3. Read the example and do the same with the sentences below.Example: Peter is playing cricket.

Peter is not playing cricket. Is Peter playing cricket?

a. She is baking a cake.b. We are going on a picnic.c. The dog is chasing the cat.d. Sandy is visiting her friend. (12)

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