Unit 4

Being You
Objectives:

❏ Read a text about the assests of youth.

❏ Review and expand vocabulary related to youth.
❏ Learn about countable and uncountable nouns, and
coumpound nouns.
❏ Discuss the ideal life you want to live as a teenage.
❏ Form sentences using wish+past simple tense .
1. As a Moroccan teenager, what are the things that you
are cabale of doing?

2. Do you think that you can help your community grow?

In what way?

3. Do you think you should be given more freedom and

independence as a teenager so that you can discover your
abilities and face life alone?
Read the whole text and check if your beliefs
match with the text.
 Gifts of Youth
Youth is considered as the nicest time of one's life. By nature, as a young person, you are fit, strong, sociable, enthusiastic,
creative, ambitious and perseverant. Moreover, you have enough energy to face problems and you look forward to every day
on which you may try something new and challenging. You are endowed with many more gifts that can make you so special
and important as well, but you should just discover your strong points and use them the right and best way possible. Some
people around you just blame you and describe you as naughty, immature, careless and irresponsible whereas others tend to
tolerate your faults because of your lack of experience. But no one can deny that the young are the lifeblood of any society. In
fact, they’re a great treasure to be invested. If they are involved in serving their country, if they are motivated by all means
possible to use the power of their mind and body positively, if they are properly valued and well-estimated as active citizens
who can voice their opinions freely and show their talents, our country will surely prosper and become much better than it is
now. When speaking about young people we should be aware of the fact that there are two different groups of young people:
teenagers (between 13 to 19 years old) and those between twenty and thirty. Both groups have something in common, but
there are also differences between them. Teenagers are a special group. They are not children anymore, but they are not yet
adults. They are strongly influenced by their friends as well as mass media. But they are still influenced by their parents and
partly by their teachers … As teenagers grow up, they interact with people outside their homes, each becoming an individual
person with his/her own ideas and unique personality. Teenagers oppose the older generation and want to live
independently; so they often have conflicts with their parents and teachers. Most of them attend secondary schools and
prepare themselves for their future profession. They spend most of their time at school or studying for the following school
day. In their leisure time they like getting together with friends, listening to music, playing computer games and going to
parties. Most of them live with their parents, have to help around the house and are given some pocket money to spend on
study, hobbies, and small luxuries. Those teenagers who want their own money try to find a part-time job, especially during
school holidays. Working in the afternoons or at weekends could be very useful since it may help them to prepare for their
future (adulthood) and get much more life experience and wisdom. Some teenagers, especially in the USA, but also in other
European countries, leave their family at the age of eighteen and live with their friends in rented flats. Their parents do not
usually object because they see that living on one's own can help young people become responsible and mature, and enable
them to develop their personality. Some people say this is better than any parental advice.
Source: [Link]
 COMPRHENSION QUESTIONS:

A. Are these statements True or False? Justify your answer:

1. The two groups of young people have similarities and

differences.

1. 2. Only American teenagers leave their family once they are 18.

3. Young people are a pillar of their society.

 COMPRHENSION QUESTIONS:

B. Answer the following questions about the text:

1. What are some assets and qualities of young people?

2. What should it be done for young people so that they can

contribute to the development of their country?

3. Do parents in the USA approve of their young children's living

on their own? Justify
 COMPRHENSION QUESTIONS:

C. Find in the text word or expressions that mean the same

as:

1. In paragraph 1 a) Mistakes: ______________ b) to encounter:

________
2. In paragraph 2 a) a pillar: ________________ b) skills:
________
3. In paragraph 5 a) freely: _________________ b) oppose:
______________
4. In paragraph 6 a) allow: _________________ b) strengthen:
___________
 Open discussion:

Some adults and parents blame today’s generation (=the youth of

today), saying that they want to get everything quickly and easily

(without any effort), and that they are reluctant, rebels,

disrespectful, disobedient, and good for nothing (passive)…The

question is: How would you react to this claim?

Vocabulary related to
Youth
 Can you define the following?

1. Teenagers :________________________

2. Adolescence:______________________

3. Health issues:______________________

4. Antisocial:_________________________
 Match the words with their corresponding definitions:

1. Teenagers a. A period of physical and psychological development between

childhood and adulthood.

2. Adolescence b. Concerns or conditions affecting the well-being of individuals, such

as physical or mental illness.

3. Health issues c. Behavior that violates social norms or goes against the interests of
society.
4. Antisocial d. Individuals aged between 13 and 19 years old.
1. Do you think being YOU is being antisocial?

2. In your opinion, what should you do to avoid health

issues as a teenager?
Grammar:
Countable and
Uncountable Nouns
 What are nouns?

Nouns, as you already know, are words that are used to

name a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Having learnt
about the types of nouns, singular nouns and plural nouns,
you might be wondering what countable and uncountable
nouns are. Is it any different from singular and plural nouns?

Ex: Dog, Rice, Students, Teenager.

What Is a Countable Noun? – Definition
A countable noun, according to the
Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as “a
noun that has both a singular and a
plural form and names something that
can be counted because there can be
one or more of it”
Ex: Dog (singular)>>>> Dogs (plural).
A countable noun is a noun that has singular and plural
forms. In the plural, countable nouns usually add an ‘s’ or
‘es’, for example ‘mistakes’, ‘problems’, and ‘buses’. When it
is singular, a countable noun usually comes after
a determiner such as ‘a’, ‘this’, ‘any’, or ‘a lot of’, for example
‘this house, ‘a week’, and ‘the way’.”
 Give the plural of the following nouns:

1. University :_____________
2. Computer :_____________
3. Professor :_____________
4. Orange :_____________
5. City :_____________
6. Country :_____________
7. House :_____________
8. Book :_____________
9. Umbrella :_____________
 What is an Uncountable Noun?

Any noun that cannot be counted can be classified as an

uncountable noun. Nouns like water, rice, oil, etc. belong to this
category. Unlike countable nouns, uncountable nouns do not have
a plural form. If the noun in a sentence does not have a specific
quantity and answers the question ‘how much’, then it can be
considered an uncountable noun.
The definition of an uncountable noun according to the Cambridge
Dictionary is “a noun that has one form with no plural and names
something that there can be more or less of but that cannot be
counted”. According to the Macmillan Dictionary, an uncountable
noun is “a noun that has no plural form” and also those that “usually
refer to abstract things such as ‘advice’, ‘luck’, and ‘information’, or
to substances such as ‘milk’, ‘blood’, and ‘smoke’.”
A list of uncountable nouns:
Go through the following sentences and identify if the underlined nouns are
countable or uncountable.
● 1. All successful candidates will be notified within a week.
● 2. I don’t prefer to have tea in the morning.
● 3. Does anyone have an extra blue pen?
● 4. The students who had not completed their homework were asked to stay back
after class and complete it.
● 5. My mom’s watch stopped working.
● 6. The soil used has to be really fertile if you want the plants to grow well.
● 7. Chitra broke her spectacles while playing volleyball.
● 8. You have to saute all the vegetables and add rice only after the vegetables are
half cooked.
● 9. How many apples did you buy?
● 10. Will the food be enough for our guests?
What is a compound
noun?
 What is a compound noun?

A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A

compound noun is usually [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there
are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand and
recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit
and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns

There are three forms for compound nouns:

1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)

2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)

3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)

 Here are some examples of Compound nouns:

{Noun} + {Noun}= bus stop

Ex: Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?

{Noun} + {Noun}= fire-fly

Ex: In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.

{Noun} + {Noun}= football

Ex: Shall we play football today?

Speaking: The world
young people want to
live!
 Work in pairs and discuss the following questions.

1. What does the ideal world look like to you as a young person?

2. How do you envision the future in terms of education and employment?

3. What is your dream job?

4. What are the most important qualities that youth must possess?

5. Do you want to live in big cities or small ones? Why?

Writing: sentences with
wish+ past tense
Use:

wish + past simple is used to express that we want a situation in

the present (or future) to be different.
Examples:

I wish I spoke Italian. (I don’t speak Italian)

I wish I had a big car. (I don’t have a big car)

I wish I were on a beach. (I’m in the office)

I wish it were the weekend. (It’s only Wednesday)

Use ‘I wish+past simple’ with regard to the following sentences.

1. I don’t know how to use a computer.

____________________________________________________________

2. I cannot play the piano.

____________________________________________________________

3. I am at work.

____________________________________________________________

4. It is winter.

____________________________________________________________

5. I don’t have new shoes.

____________________________________________________________
Based on the discussion you had
above about the life young people
want to live, write a small paragraph
of no more than five lines about your
ideal life in the future.