INSPIRING A LIFELONG LOVE OF LEARNING

PRIVATE SCHOOL
ENGLISH
SUPPLEMENTAL BOOK FOR
GRADE 6

Secretery
[COMPANY NAME] [Company address]
NAME ______________________________________
SECTION____________________________________________
 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

UNIT ONE
NOUNS
Unit objective: At the end of this unit, the students should
be able to:
 define noun
 explain the use of nouns
 mention kinds of nouns
Definition
Nouns are words that are used to name persons, places,
things qualities, or activities.
Examples
Person: Fanuel wont take any non sense or excuses.
Place: My older sister moved to Georgia because of her
job.
Thing: The cheese on this cracker tastes delicious.
Quality: A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Activity: Swimming has become a major sport.
Exercise one
Decide whether the underlined noun is used as name of
person, place thing, quality or activity.
1. Does Ali know the title of that song? Person.
2. Alaska and Hawali are the newest states?——————-
3. A man’s house is his castle?——————-
4. I admire her childhood innocence?——————-
5. One of the best books on studying is now out of print?—

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1.1 The Use of Nouns

A noun can have many functions in a sentence.
1.1.1 Subject
Examples
 Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
 Mother just came.
1.1.2 Direct Object of a Verb
Example
 The children love their parents.
 The university has graduated many noted scholars.
1.1.3 Object of a Preposition
Examples
 The students are waiting for their teacher.
 We went to the apartment the first Sunday of the month.
1.1.4 Object of a Verbal
Examples
I fail to see the advantages of Kana Channel.
 Fighting the lion, he slowly escaped.
1.1.5 Indirect Object of a Verb
Examples
 The children gave their father a hug.
I will knit Abel a sweater.

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1.1.6 Predicate and Object Complement

Examples
 Nathnael is my cousin. (predicate)
 Tamerat never called her step father, father. (object)
 The director appointed her secretary. (object complement)
1.1.7 Modifier of Another Noun
Examples
 Stone walls were built throughout Britain.
Stone modifying walls
 John collected postage stamps.
Postage modifying stamps
Exercise two
Write whether the underlined noun is used as subject,
direct object of verb, object of preposition, indirect
object of verb, predicate and object complement or
modifier of another noun.
1. Gebrehana is a wise man. ———————
2. He feeds the poor. ———————
3. Up and down the river, there was solid ice. ——————.
4. Thomas tried hard to become a teacher, but only succeed
in becoming an accountant. ———————
5. Semir gave all his admirers a brief talk. ———————
6. Mikias was my student. ———————
7. The committee represented her monitor. ———————
8. Glass doors were installed in the kitchen. ———————

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1.2 Noun phrases

A phrase is a group of related words used as a single part
of speech and does not contain a verb and its subject.
Examples
1. Life is not a bed of roses.
2. He found the shoes under a bag.
 There are nine kinds of phrases. From those kinds of

phrases noun phrase is the one.

A noun phrase is made up of a noun and its modifiers.
The words in a noun phrase together do the same work
as a noun. They name someone or something.
Examples
The small, dusty shoe lay in the closet. (shoe is a noun. It
is modified by the words the and small and dusty. Together
they make a noun phrase).
2. The first car that I bought has crashed.
The above underlined words in the sentence are noun
phrases.
A noun phrase can be the subject or object of a verb.
Example: My father wants to buy a new car.
Exercise three
I. Underline the noun phrase in each sentence given
below.
1. The football coach got very upset with his team.
2. I hope to win the first prize.
3. I went to watch the beautiful play.

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4. Has anyone seen my big brown dog?

5. She is my favorite English teacher.
6. The kids were surprised by the summer rain.
7. We are excited about the championship game.
1.3 Noun Clauses
Clause is a word or group of words containing a verb and
its subject/predicate and is used as a part of a sentence. A
clause may stand by itself to express a complete thought;
or a clause may depend on some additional words to
complete its meaning.
 There are different kinds of clauses: noun clause is one of

it. A noun clause is a dependent clause used as a noun.

 In most cases a noun clause begins with one of the

following pronouns: that, what, whatever, whichever,

who, whom, whenever, whomever.
Examples
 That you have come pleases me.
The underlined noun clause is used as subject.
 She knew what he had really said. (noun clause as
object)
 People are often influenced by what they see in
commercials. (noun clause as object)
Exercise four
I. Identify and circle the noun clause in the following
sentence
1. He said that he would not go.
2. If was fortunate that he was present.
3. I don’t know where he has gone.
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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

4. I cannot reply on what he says.

5. the belief that the soul is immortal is almost universal.
6. If is certain that we will have to admit defeat.

7. He asked whether the servant had polished his shoes.

II. Label whether the underlined word is noun clause or

noun phrase

1. I fear that I shall fail.

2. How she did it was a mystery.

3. I understood what they wanted.

4. Ignorant people have some amazing home remedies.

5. The sad looking climber had nearly fallen off the steep
hill.

6. He replied that he would come.

7. I want to know how far it is from here.

8. I went to see what had happened.

9. It grieved me to hear that she was ill.

10. The coach predicted that the game would be canceled.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Kinds of clauses
There are two kinds of clauses.
 Independent clauses
 Dependent clauses
1. Independent clauses
An independent clauses or main clause expresses a
complete thought and can stand by itself as sentence.
Examples
 Since a lot of people like swimming, the government
built a swimming pool.
 If you study hard, you can pass the test.
2. Dependent clauses
A dependent clause also called subordinate clause depends
on other words to complete its meaning. It can’t stand
alone.
Example
 The crowds gathered to greet Haile when he landed in
Addis Ababa.
 Independent clause: the crowds gathered to greet

Haile.

 Subordinate (dependent) clause: when he landed in

Addis Ababa.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Exercise five

I. Identify the underlined clause as dependent or

independent clause.

1. The traffic police shouted at bus driver to stop for him.

2. I wonder how you are getting on.

3. Because you have done this, I shall punish you.

4. Will you wait till I return?

5. I fear that I shall fail.

6. When we saw the game, we sat in the bleachers?

7. They went where living was cheaper.

8. She behaved as if she was my boss.

9. After my father had eaten, I took him for a walk.

10. I do it because I choose to.

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1.4 Possessive forms of nouns

 Pronouns have special possessive forms.
 But nouns do not have any such forms.

 Nouns make their possessive forms by adding a special

case –ending called apostrophe. Its sign is ( ’ ).

The apostrophe

Examples

A B

1. Mac’s book A. Jesus’ birthday

2. The boy’s tie B. Girls’ ribbons

3. The beggar’s bowl C. Beggars’ bowls

4. Men’s hats D. Keats’ poems

A) To nouns, singular or plural not ending in s, the

apostrophe and s (’s) are added to make their possessive
forms (see examples under column A above).

B) To nouns, singular or plural ending in s, only the

apostrophe (’) is added to make their possessive forms.
(see examples under column B).

C) Compound nouns, use the a apostrophe as shown below.

1. My father in law’s house

2. The passerby’s shout for help

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

D) With titles, the apostrophe is used as shown below

1. Alexander, the Great’s policy

2. Hennery II’s reign

E) The apostrophe is used with many nouns when they are

followed by the word worth; as:

1. Four rupee’s worth of rice

2. A rupee’s worth of butter

The use of - OF

A) The preposition -of– is also used to make possessive

forms of nouns; as:

1. The toys of the children = children’s toys

2. The stripes of the tiger = Tiger’s stripes

B) The apostrophe is not used with lifeless things as:

1. Chair’s legs
incorrect
2. Room’s floor

But

1. the legs of the chair

Correct
2. the floor of the room

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Exercise six

I. Correct each phrase using - of -

1. The cot’s legs ———————————————

2. The house's owner ——————————————

3. The table’s drawer ——————————————

4. The school’s gate——————————————

5. The farm’s owner——————————————

II. Rewrite each phrase using an “apostrophe”.

1. The horns of a bull.——————————————

2. The playthings of a child.——————————————

3. The daughter of the principal. —————————————

4. The hammer of the carpenter.—————————————

5. The club of the postman. ——————————————

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

UNIT TWO
PRONOUNS
Unit objective: At the end of this unit the student would be
able to:
 define the term pronoun
 differentiate between personal, possessive, interrogative
and demonstrative pronouns
 be familiar with the rules for using pronouns
 understand the order of personal pronouns
Definition
The word pronoun means supporter of a noun.
 It is clear that pronouns are words that stand for nouns.
 Pronouns are useful words which prevent people from
having to use the same nouns over and over again.
Examples
1. Marta is a girl, she is in grade VI.
2. Daniel owns an ox, but he needs a log splitter.
Rules for using pronouns
1. Each pronoun must be of the same number and gender
as its noun.
A. Children are playing with their bats.
B. She is doing her homework.
2. A pronoun should not be used unless its noun has been used.

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This rule is to be more carefully followed while expressing sentences in

passive voice, as:
Example
1. Eden reads her book. active
2. Eden’s book is read by her. passive
2.1 Kinds of pronouns
Pronouns fall into eight classes.
1. Personal pronoun
2. Reflexive pronoun
3. Interrogative pronoun
4. Relative pronoun
5. Demonstrative pronoun
6. Indefinite pronoun
7. Distributive pronoun
8. Possessive pronoun
1. Personal pronouns
Nouns name person, places, animals and objects. Pronouns can also be
used for all of them. But some pronouns are used for persons only.
They are:

Cases

Number Person Subject Object Possessive Possessive

pronoun adjective

Singular First I me mine my

Second you you yours your
Third he, she, it him, her, it his, hers his, her, its

Plural First we us ours our

Second you you yours your
Third they them theirs their

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Three persons
In English grammar, there are three persons.
1. The first person: the person who speaks
2. The second person: the person who is spoken to (listener)
3. The third person: the person who is spoken of (other than
both)
Order of personal pronouns
If pronouns of different persons are used in one and the
same sentence, their order should be as under:
(a) Correct (b) incorrect
1. You, I and he I, you and he
2. You and I I and you
3. He and I I and he
4. You, he and I he and you
2. Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are in fact personal pronouns. But they
are called so as they reflect (turn back) the action of the
doer to him or her. In other words, the doer of the action is
both the subject and the object of the action.
Examples
1. The queen saw herself in a mirror.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

2. I hurt myself.

3. God helps those who help themselves.

Note: reflexive pronouns end in self or selves.

Reflexive pronouns are used for emphasis also. In that

case, a reflexive pronoun is called an emphasizing
pronoun.

Examples

1. I myself cooked my meal.

2. We ourselves saw the robbers kill him.

Exercises one

I. Underline the personal pronouns in the following

sentences and write for what each stands.

1. He is handsome but his wife is ugly.——————-

2. I was ignorant of your illness. ——————-

3. The horse fell down and broke its leg.——————-

4. Birds build their nests in trees.——————-

5. You will be rewarded for this achievement.——————-

6. She invited us to her wedding.——————-

7. We are not in a position to help you.——————-

8. We eat food so that we may live.——————

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II. Complete the following sentences by using either

reflexive or emphasizing pronoun.

1. It is important for all of us to be honest with—————.

2. I am not angry with you. I am angry with ——————.

3. “You——————- have to make that decision”, Ruth ——

——suggested this.

4. You may think she is telling the truth, but I ——————-

don't believe her.

5. I can’t help you, Eyoel. You will have to solve your

problem by ——————.

6. When people are alone, they often talk to ——————.

7. We convinced——————- that we needed a new car.

8. He fell off the ladder, but he didn't hurt——————.

3. Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask question about the

nouns which they stand for.

Example:

1. Who has made my bed?

2. What brings you here, Mary?

4. Relative pronouns

A relative pronouns, as its name shows, stands for a noun

mentioned before it and also relates two sentences; as:

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

1. We went into a room which was very dark.

2. I saw a robber who had a revolver.

3. She is the girl whom I will marry.

4. Here is the man whose wife died yesterday.

The noun to which a relative pronoun is related is called its

antecedent.

In the above sentences, the underlined words are relative

pronoun and the word room, robber, girl and man are
antecedents.

Exercise two
I. Sort out interrogative and relative pronouns and
name them in the blanks.
1. Who is jumping on the roof?——————-
2. She has a parrot that talks like men. ——————-

3. What made you weep, my son?——————-

4. What is your father, Robins?——————-

5. I know the boy who broke your slate. ——————-

6. Whose are these red ribbons?——————-

7. I greeted the woman whom I saw in the garden. ————

8. The man whose opinions I respect the most is my father.

9. I know the man whose bicycle was stolen. ——————-

10. The girl who spoke to me has just won a scholarship.—.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

5. Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point out specific

people, places and things.

There are four demonstrative pronouns. They are this, that,

these and those.

Examples

1. This is a new invent.

2. That is her sharpener.

3. Those are expensive cars.

4. These are ripe sweet mangoes.

Note: Be careful not to use a noun after a demonstrative

pronoun. The pronouns stand for nouns.

- If a noun is used after a demonstrative pronoun, it

will become a demonstrative determiner; as:

Demonstrative pronouns Demonstrative

determiners

- These are ripe mangoes. - These mangoes are ripe.

- This is a very fine pen. - This pen is very fine

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Exercise three

I. Choose the correct demonstrative pronoun or

demonstrative determiner to complete the sentences.

1. (This, These) car is very fast.

2. (This, These) are some of the things I don't like.

3. My mittens are (them, those) on the top shelf.

4. (This, These) is my sister;(those, this) are my friend’s

sisters.

5. (This, Those) islands used to be inhabited.

6. Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places or things in

general

They do not refer to specific person or thing.

The following are commonly used indefinite pronouns.

all each more one someone

another either most others many

any everybody something anyone neither

any body every one much somebody nobody

anything everything no one some

both few nothing enough several

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Uses of indefinite pronoun

A) Singular indefinite pronouns.
We use singular verb with the following indefinite
pronouns.
any body either neither one

anyone everybody no one other

anything everyone nobody

somebody

each everything nothing someone

something

Examples

 I hope someone answers my questions.

 Everybody joins in the chorus.

B) Plural indefinite pronouns.

We use plural verbs with the indefinite pronouns: both,

few, many and several.
Examples
 Both of the boys are clever.
 Several students pass the test.

C) Singular or plural indefinite pronouns.

The following pronouns may be singular or plural

depending on the use.
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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

 If they are used with plural countable nouns, they take

plural verbs.

 But if they are used with uncountable nouns, we use

singular verbs. They are:

All some most none any more

Examples

 Some of the mail has arrived.

 Most of the milk has been spilled.

Exercise Four

I. Use the correct indefinite pronouns to complete the

sentences.

1. Did you talk to————————— about your problem?

2. Hana didn't give me ———————for my birthday.

3. My sister is sitting at the desk. She is writing a letter to

———————.

4. Henok told——————— about his problem.

5. ———————was at home last night. Both my roommate

and I were out.

7. Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns stand for their nouns and also

indicate their possession.
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Each personal pronoun has two possessive forms as

Possessive form
Pronouns Possessive adjectives Possessive pronouns

I my mine
we our ours
you your yours
he his his
she her hers
it its ——-
they their theirs

 Possessive pronouns are never followed by nouns

Example: This book is mine and that is your.

 Possessive adjectives are followed by nouns.

Examples: my book, your shirt, their school

8. Distributive pronouns

Distributive pronouns refer to their nouns separately.

Examples

1. The two soldiers have a gun each.

2. Each of them is bold and strong.

3. Either of the two sisters is pretty.

Neither o f the two sisters is fat.

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Exercise five
I. Sort out distributive and possessive pronouns in
these sentences. Write the kind of each pronoun in the
blank.
1. Each of the girls has a hair-pin. ————————————
2. All of us shall go boating on Sunday. ————————
3. Either of them has his own bat. ————————
4. The two sisters love each other dearly. ————————
5. I met a friend of mine in the market. ————————
6. He has taken his book, you can take yours. ——————.
7. Are these towels ours or theirs?————————
8. Neither of the answers is correct. ————————

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

UNIT THREE
THE ADJECTIVE
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to
 define adjective as a describing word

 generate a list of common adjectives

 identify adjectives in sentences

 use the various kinds of adjectives in their own sentence

Definition
 The word adjective is pronounced as ajektive (d being

silent). Adjectives are words that modify a noun or

pronoun.
 Adjectives are called modifiers because they limit, or

modify the meaning of the word they describe.

Example
1. Ezana drives a small van.
2. An honest man is praised by all.
Small and honest describe the nouns Van and man
respectively.
 Adjectives tell what kind, which one, how many or how

much about nouns and pronouns.

 Adjectives can come before or after the words they

modify.
Adjectives tell what kind
 Some adjectives tell what kind of person, place or thing.

 The adjectives in the following sentences tell “what

kind”.
1. The doctor wore woolen gloves and a colorful scarf.
2. Abenezer flies a bright, graceful kite.

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Adjectives tell how many

Adjective can tell how many persons, places or things
you are talking about. The adjectives in the following
sentences tell how many.
Examples
1. Alamudin owns twenty trucks.
2. Some trucks have frequent breakdowns but few
accidents.
Adjectives tell which ones
Some adjectives tell which person, place or thing you are
talking about. The adjectives in the following sentences
tell which ones.
Example
1. Those trees have grown two feet this year.
2. These trucks hold nine rooms of furniture.
Adjectives tell how much
Examples
1. There is little time for preparation. (how much time?)
2. I showed much patience.
Exercise one
I. Underline the adjective in the following sentence.
1. which road should I take to Jimma.
2. He has written several stories.
3. John won the second prize.

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4. He is a man of few words.

5. The car sustained heavy damage in the accident.
6. She was absent from her class.
7. She calls me every day.
3.1 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
The following are the main kinds of adjectives.
1. Adjectives of quality
2. Adjectives of number
3. Demonstrative adjectives
4. Adjectives of quantity
5. Interrogative adjectives
6. Emphasizing adjectives
7. Exclamatory adjectives
8. Possessive adjectives
9. Distributive adjectives
3.1.1 Adjectives of quality
 Adjectives of quality or descriptive adjectives show the
kind or quality of a person or thing.
 Proper adjectives are generally grouped with adjectives
of quality. Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from
proper nouns.
Example
1. I love the Ethiopian music.
2. Good students attend to their lessons.
3. His father is a renowned lawyer.
4. The beggar was wearing a torn shirt.

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3.2 Order of adjectives

When a number of adjective are used together, the order

depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order
is:

Quantity, value/opinion, size, Temperature, Age, shape,

color, origin, Material

What the adjective expresses Example

Quantity two, thirteen, a few, many

Value/opinion tasty, beautiful, smart

Size tall, huge, short

Temperature hot, cold

Age old, young, 6 years old, new

Shape circle, oval, triangle

Color blue, yellow, red

Origin American, Ethiopian, Dutch

Material wooden, golden, glass

Example
She has a lovely new yellow dress.
We bought a beautiful Victorian golden ring.

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Exercise one
I. Choose the most natural sounding order of
adjectives to complete the sentences.
1. He was wearing a _________ shirt.
A. dirty old flannel
B. flannel old dirty
C. old dirty flannel
2. Pass me the __________ cups.
A. plastic big blue
B. big blue plastic
C. big plastic blue
3. He recently married a _________ woman.
A. young beautiful Ethiopian
B. beautiful young Ethiopian
C. beautiful Ethiopian young
4. This is a ________ movie.
A. new Mexican wonderful
B. wonderful Mexican new
C. wonderful new Mexican
5. He sat behind a _________ desk.
A. big wooden brown
B. big brown wooden
C. wooden big brown

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II. Most of these sentences have adjectives in the wrong

position. Tick “” or “” and then rewrite them
correctly.

Example

I was looking for plastic little spoon. 

I was looking for a little plastic spoon. 

1. There are excellent indoor facilities here.

2. The German entire team played well.

3. There’s new nothing in the Christian main value.

4. You’ll need hiking leather comfortable boots.

5. The wine made a red small stain.

6. The window are in circular wooden huge frames.

7. They are the northern industrial major nations.

8. I like those marvelous new Ethiopia designs.

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9. We like economic recent American polices.

10. Her mother was in the chaos total.

3.2.2 Adjectives of quantity (quantitative adjectives)

Quantitative adjectives show the quantity or degree of a

thing. They show how much of a thing is meant. The
most common adjectives of this class are: much, little, no
or none, some, any, enough, all etc.

Example

1. She has little intelligence.

2. She didn't eat any food.

3. I am good enough to help you.

4. All her life, she has worked hard.

3.2.3 Adjectives of number (numeral adjectives)

Numeral adjectives show how many person or things are

meant, or in what order a person or thing stands.
Numeral adjectives are divided into two main classes.

i. Definite

ii. Indefinite

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i. Definite Numeral Adjectives:

 Express some exact number. Those which show how
many persons or things (as one, two, three etc) are
called cardinals.
 Those which show the serial order in which a person or
thing stands (as first, second, third, etc) are called
ordinals.
ii. Indefinite numeral adjectives:
 Denote number of something without specifying the
exact number.
 Some of them are: all, some, enough, none, many, few,
several etc.
Examples
 Our hand has five fingers.
 He has eaten some mangoes.

 September is the first month of the year.

The same adjective may be classed as of quantity or

number according to its use.
Adjective of quantity Adjective of number
- I ate some rice . - Some boys are clever.
- She has worked hard all - She has got insured all
her
her life. belongings.

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- Is there any jam in the jar? - Are there any

students
- I have enough sugar. in the class?
- There are not enough
spoons.
3.2.4 Demonstrative Adjectives
 Demonstrative adjectives point out which person or
thing is meant. They answer the question which? The
most common demonstrative adjectives are: this, that,
these and those.
 This and that are used with singular nouns.
 These and those are used with plural nouns.
Example
1. That girl is industrious.
2. These mangoes are ripe.
3. Those trees were planted by our fore fathers.
3.2.5 Interrogative Adjective
1. Interrogative adjectives are adjectives which are used
with nouns to ask question.
Examples
1. What day is it today?
2. Whose bag is this?
3. Which way leads to the bus station?

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3.2.6 Distributive Adjectives

 Distributive adjectives are adjectives which refer to
each one of the numbers. The most common
distributive adjectives are the following: each , every,
neither and either.
Example
1. Each girl must take her turn.
2. Either pencil will do.
3. Neither boys are liar.
4. Ethiopia expects every citizen to do their duty.
3.2.7 Possessive Adjectives
 The genitive forms: my, their, his, her, its, our, your,
when used attributively before nouns are called
possessive adjective.
Example
1. My school is far from our house.
2. Her father is ill.
3. The tree is a gift from God. Its shade protects us
against the sun.
3.2.8 Exclamatory Adjectives
 An exclamatory adjective is a word that modifies a noun
and expresses strong feeling/emotion/. What is the
common word used in an exclamatory adjective.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Examples

1. What an idea!

2. What a blessing!

3. What a genius!

4. What a folly!

3.2.9 Emphasizing Adjective (Empathic Adjective)

 Emphatic adjectives are adjectives that emphasis the

particular object: “own” and “very” are the common
emphasizing adjectives.

Examples

1. This is the very dog that bit me.

2. It is the same story as I told you.

3. This is my own car.

Two ways of using adjectives.

 Adjectives are mostly used before their nouns. But

sometimes they are used after the verb as a part of the
predicate.

Adjectives used before noun Adjective used after verbs

1. Tewodros was a noble king. 1. The king was noble.

2. She is a graceful lady. 2. The lady is graceful.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Note:

[Link] adjective used before its noun is called an

attributive adjectives.

2. An adjective used after the verb is called a predicative

adjectives.

Exercise two

I. Identify the adjective of quality in each sentences

and write in the blank space.

1. Our soldiers are really very brave.————————

2. They are living in a grand house.————————

3. Both the sisters are intelligent.————————

4. Solomon was a very wise king.————————

5. A sick child does not like to play.————————

6. Beware of silent dogs!————————

II. Write in the blank whether the adjective in the

sentence is emphatic, interrogative or proper.

1. What time is it by your watch?————————

2. He is a strict vegetarian.————————

3. Chinese soldiers are not very brave.————————

4. Which period is going on?————————

5. English ladies kept pet dogs in the past.———————

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

III. Underline the adjective in each sentence and

write its kind in the blank.
1. A cool breeze was blowing.———————
2. Dark clouds had covered the sky.———————

3. This is the pen that I lost on Monday.———————

4. Which T-shirt do you want to buy.———————

5. I believe that he is an absolute idiot.———————

6. The Australian team lifted the world cup.——————

7. Your son is a promising lad.———————

3.3 More about adjectives

 We have learnt that adjectives are describing words.

They are used to qualify nouns and pronouns. In this
chapter, we shall learn some more important facts
about adjectives.

 Some rules regarding the use of adjectives:

Rule 1

Adjectives of quality have the same form to be used with

nouns in both the numbers and in all the genders as well
as persons, as:

1. A good boy good boys

2. A good girl good girls

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Rule 2

If two or more adjectives qualify the same noun, they

should not be separated by commas or by and etc. as:

1. A tall thin figure

2. A big round rubber ball

3. Curly golden hair

4. A fat stocky policemen

Rule 3

If an adjective of quality is preceded by “the”, it becomes

a common noun of plural number; as:

1. The poor = poor people

2. The brave = brave people

3. The wicked = wicked people

4. The dead = those who have died

These nouns always take plural verbs.

1. The poor are often generous and merciful.

2. The brave deserve to be honored.

3. The wicked have to pay for their misdeeds.

4. The dead are either burnt or buried.

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Rule 4
When a word or a phrase is linked to an adjective, it is
put after its noun; as:
1. He is a man true to his word.
2. Japan is a land rich in resources.
3. She is a wife faithful to the backbone.
3.4 Other parts of speech as adjective
3.4.1 Participle as adjectives
 Present and past participles are often used as
adjectives.
 We use adjective derived from present participle to
describe the source or cause of an action or feeling.
 We use adjectives derived from past participles to
describe the one affected by the action or feeling.
Examples
 The news was surprising.
 My parents were surprised.
 The teacher drew a very confusing diagram on the
board.
 The confused students said that they couldn't
understand it.
 We can treat people and other thing as the source of a
feeling. (He’s boring.) or the one affected by it (I am
bored).

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Exercise three

I. Fill in the blank space with the following words.

disappointing disappointed excite fascinating surprised confused

1. I was ———————————.

2. Dawit was a —————————-person.

3. The —————————-students said that they

couldn't understand it.

4. The news was —————————.

5. Why is the dog getting too —————————.

6. My parents were —————————.

3.4.2 Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives can consist of an adjective, verb or

noun and either a present participle or a past participle.
Compound with present participles are often based on
active verb compounds with past participles are often
based on passive verb.

Examples

1. I am in slow moving traffic.

2. Was it a well planned trip?

3. It is a house cleaning service.

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Exercise four
I. Make an appropriate compound adjective from
each pair of words and add them to the sentences.
distance /long end /never
grow/fast
Keep/peace educate/well home/make
Wash/write gunny/ lock
Example
 Ghana had to increase food imports to meet the needs

of a fast growing population.

1. Burtukan offered us scones with cream and her ———
——-jam.
2. Please don't use this phone to make any
calls.
3. Soldiers have to learn to talk rather than fight when
they are sent on a ———————-mission.
4. The president’s wife seemed to have a——————-
supply of new shoes and hand bags.
5. That ———————piece of cloth at the end of each
selves is called a frill.
6. We rented a small cottage in Adama, with a red tilled
roof and walls.
3.4.3 Adjective as nouns
Nouns often function as adjectives.
Example
1. Give me the bachelor life.
2. Farmer cheese is no longer made daily in our area.
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UNIT FOUR
SYLLABLE
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to
 define syllable and syllabication
 count the number of syllables in words
 understand the rules of syllabication
Syllable
What is syllable?
 Is a basic unit of speech generally containing only one
vowel sound.
A unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with
or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole
or a part of a word.
Example: water= has two syllables
Wa + ter = water
4.1 Syllabication
 Syllabication is the process of dividing a word into its
component sounds called syllables.
 Syllabication is necessary in pronouncing words
correctly
4.2 Rules of syllabication
1. Recognize that a syllable involves a single vowel
sound.
Example: “Flat” has one vowel sound and therefore
only one syllable.
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Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

2. Divide doubled consonants in the middle to make

syllables.
Example: silly - sil - ly
letter - let – ter
marble - mar – ble
The only exceptions to this rule are consonant digraphs
which are single sounds represented by two
consonants.
Common consonant digraphs include: ph, sh, th, wh,
wr, ck, ng and ch sounds.
These should be treated like a single consonant and
should not be divided.
Example: rather = rath - er not rat-her
Ti – ger, fi - ber
3. Divide words with single consonants sandwiched
between vowels before the consonant.
This does not work for all words but it will work most of
the time.
Example: Ha- bit
Cab-in
Sec-ond
4. Divide the word after the middle consonant only if
dividing before the consonant doesn`t sound right.
This method works for about 45% of words.
Example: habit = ha-bit

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Exercise one
I. Find the correct syllabication of the given words.
Example: Teacher A. t-eacher
B. tea-cher
C. teach-er
D. te-acher
Teacher sounds like tea-cher.
1. Happy A. ha-ppy C. hap-py
B. happ-y D. h-appy
2. Grammar A. gram-mar C. gramm-ar
B. gr-ammar D. gra-mmar
3. Disease A. dis-ease C. di-sease
B. disea-se D. diseas-e
4. Giant A. gian-t C. gi-ant
B. gia-nt D. g-iant
5. Arrive A. a-rrive C. arr-ive
B. ar-rive D. arriv-e
II. Syllabicate the following words.
1. important 6. another
2. suddenly 7. property
3. Advantage 8. alphabet
4. government 9. equipment
5. direction 10. possible

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UNIT FIVE
VERB
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to:
 define verb with examples

 identify action words, facts and happenings

 list and describe kinds of verbs

 determine the use of verbs

 construct sentence using verbs

Definition
A verb is a word that tells or asserts something about the
subject. It is the most important word in a sentence. It
affirms or predicates an action, a fact or a happening. It
is through the verb that a thought becomes known
without it, a sentence cannot make any sense. All the
other words of the sentence revolve around it. So, it is
considered to be the chief word of a sentence.

A. Actions 1. The farmer is reaping the crop.

2. The cat chased the rat.

B. Facts 1. Food is our chief basic need.

2. Plants are also living things.

C. Happenings 1. Suddenly the roof collapsed.

2. It rained heavily and through the night.

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The underlined words in the sentences A show actions, in

the sentences B show facts and in the sentences C show
happenings.

5.1 Kinds of verbs

There are four kinds of principal verbs

1. Transitive verbs

2. Intransitive verbs

3. Di transitive verbs

4. verbs of incomplete predication

5.1.1 Transitive verbs

A transitive verb is a verb that denotes an action which

passes over from the subject to an object.

Example

 Alemitu spilled the milk on the table.

 Divorce hurts many children.

 The player kicked the football very hard.

 He called the barber for a hair-cut.

In these sentences

 The action of spilled passed on from Alemitu to the milk.

 The action of hurts passed on from divorce to children.

 The action of kicking passed on from the player to the

football.

 The action of calling passes on from he to the barber.

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5.1.2 Intransitive verbs

The word intransitive means “not crossing over”. No

person or thing receives the action of an intransitive
verbs. There is no object of the verb.

Examples

 The old man laughed aloud.

I slept very soundly at night.

 The hen kept hopping in the compound.

 It rained heavily all the day long.

 Birds fly to their nests after sunset.

The words in Italic in the above sentences are subjects;

doers of actions. They are: man, I, hen, it, birds.

The words in bold types in the above sentences.

Laughed, slept, kept, rain, fly are verbs. The action
expressed by each of these verbs stops with the subject.
It does not pass on to any other noun or pronoun. So,
such verbs are called insensitive verbs.

5.1.3 Di-transitive verbs

We know that a transitive verb takes an object after it.

Generally there is only one object for a transitive verb.
But there are verbs that may take two objects each.

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Examples

I gave her a gold ring.

 Miss asked me a question.

 My aunt sent me a present.

 The president gave me an award.

Each sentence has a transitive verb which is followed by two

objects. One of these objects is a person while the other is a
thing. Such verbs are called Di-transitive verbs.

 Di-transitive verb takes two objects: one a person and the

other a thing.

Remember that incase of a di-transitive verb:

A) The object, that is a thing, is the direct object of its verb.

B) The object, that is a person, is the indirect object.

Exercise-one

I. Write in the blank whether the verb is transitive,

intransitive or Di-transitive.

Kinds of verb

1. The teacher is teaching the lesson. —————————

2. The sun is setting. —————————

3. She reads a story for them. ————————

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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

4. The fish swims in the pond. ——————————

5. My mother talks to me today.——————————

6. All plants keep growing. ——————————

7. The teacher checked their exercise books.——————.

8. She offered me a cup of tea.——————————

9. My uncle sent me a fine present.——————————

10. A cobra runs very fast.——————————

11. Our school is over at 3:30 pm. ——————————

12. How did you solve this sum?——————————

13. The farmers reaped the harvest last week.—————.

II. Sort out the objects in each sentence and write

which is the direct object and which is the indirect
object.

1. I have paid him his salary.

Direct Indirect
2. The king rewarded me a gold medal.
Direct Indirect
3. The juggler showed her wonderful feats.
Direct Indirect
4. The father left his children a huge property.
Direct Indirect
5. Grandpa sent his love for all the children.
Direct Indirect
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UNIT SIX

ADVERB

Unit objective : At the end of this unit the students would be able
to:

 define the role/function of adverbs.

 articulate that adverbs modify verbs.

 differentiate the types of adverb.

 use adverbs in sentence correctly.

Definition

An adverb is a word used to qualify a verb, an adjective or

another adverb.

A) Adverbs are used to qualify verbs.

1. The hare ran fast.

2. She walked slowly.

3. A child is sitting there.

4. He went away.

B) Adverbs are used to qualify adjectives.

1. I am extremely sorry for my mistake.

2. The child is very lazy indeed.

3. It is quite fair and just

C) Adverbs are used to qualify other adverbs.

1. She behaved quite politely towards us.

2. Why did you go so far?

3. You have acted very foolishly.

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D) Adverbs give answers to the questions:

1. How ?

2. When?

3. Were?

4. Why?

5. How much/ often?

6.1 Kinds of adverbs.

There are five kinds of adverbs.

1. Adverb of time

2. Adverb of manner

3. Adverb of frequency

4. Adverb of place

5. Adverb of degree

A) Adverbs of time: Change or qualify the meaning of a

sentence by telling us when something happen. They are
usually placed before the main verb but after auxiliary
verbs.

 Observe these sentences.

1. Do it now before my eyes.

2. I shall be back soon.

3. We shall go to the movies today.

 The underlined words in the above sentences are all

adverbs of time because each of them indicates the time
of the action denoted by the verb.

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 An adverb of time is the adverb that indicates the time

of the action or happening.
B) Adverbs of place: Talk about the location where the
action of the verb is being carried out. They are normally
placed after a sentence’s object or main verb.
Example
1. Come in.
2. The lift is going up.
3. The gun went off.
4. What are you doing here, mister?
5. A suit case is lying there.
6. You had better get away at once.
The underlined words qualify verbs. So, they are adverbs
but each of them denote a place or direction, so they are
adverbs of place.
An adverb of place is the adverb that points to the place
or direction of an action.
C) Adverbs of manner: Used to tell us the way or how
something is done. They usually come after the main
verb.
Examples
1. The boy ran fast.
2. The baby slept soundly.
3. The servant works hard.

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Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

Underlined words qualify verbs, so they are adverbs.

Each of them denotes the manner of doing the action
expressed by the adverbs. An adverb of manner is the
adverb that denotes the manner of doing an action.

D) Adverbs of degree or extent: Tell us the intensity or

degree of an action, an adjective or another adverb. They
are usually placed before the word that they modify.

Examples

1. Lunch is almost ready.

2. I am fully prepared.

3. It is very strange on your part.

E) Adverbs of frequency: Describe how often something

is done. They may come after the verb to be, before the
main verb or between the auxiliary and the main verb.

Examples

1. I always try to do my best.

2. Barking dogs seldom bite.

3. I have told you twice.

The underlined words in the above sentences qualify

verbs. So, they are adverbs. Each of them denotes the
frequency of an action.

Adverbs of frequency answer the question how often or

how many repeated times.

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Exercise one
I. Identify the kinds of the underlined adverbs then
write in the given place.
Kinds of adverb
1. I looked for you every where.
2. She will reach here tomorrow.
3. I can dance perfectly.
4. She comes here daily.
5. Walk backward.
6. The horse galloped away.
7. I hurt my knee yesterday.
8. The station is quite near.
9. The principal came in quietly.
10. Our soldiers fought bravely in the war.
II. Sort out the adverb and write it in the blank. Also
write its kind.
Adverb Kind
1. We arrived earlier than you.
2. He can speak English well.
3. I have been there twice.
4. She hasn't turned up yet.
5. You are often late for office.
[Link] usually get up late.

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7. It is too hot to drink.

8. The films are fairly good.
9. The oranges are absolutely delicious.
10. I rarely go to bed at 4:30 pm.
11. He looked admiringly at us.
12. What did you go there for?
13. I shall look into this matter then.
III. Define the following kinds of adverbs.
1. An adverb

2. An adverb of degree

3. An adverb of frequency

4. An adverb of manner

5. An adverb of place

6. An adverb of time

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6.2 Position of Adverbs

As a general rule, an adverb should be placed next to

the word that it modifies.

Note the different meanings given to the sentences by

using “only” in different position.

Examples

 Only he lent me 10 birr.

i.e Only he and no body else lent me 10 birr.

 He only lent me 10 birr.

i.e he only lent me the money and did not give me the
money as a free gift.

1. Adverbs of manner like quickly, fast, well, bad, etc.

are usually placed after the verb or after the object if
there is one or before the past participle in a passive
verb.

Example

 The bus is going slowly. (after the verb)

 She does her work carefully. (after there object)

 My brother speaks English well. (after the object)

 The trip was well organized. (before the past participle

in a possessive verb)
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Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

2. Adverbs of place such as away, every where, here,

there, etc. are usually placed after the verb or after the
object if there is one.

Example

 She will live here.

 They went away.

3. Adverbs of time such as afterwards, eventually, lately,

now, recently, soon, then, today, tomorrow etc. are
placed either in front position or end position.

Examples
 Then I went home. I went home then.
4. Adverbs of frequency such as always, never, often,
rarely, usually, frequently, once, twice, sometimes, ever,
never, rarely, scarcely, seldom are normally placed after
the auxiliary verbs and before the main verbs.

Examples
 He always comes late.
 The students sometimes stay up all night.

5. Adverbs of degree like absolutely, almost, barely,

completely, enough, entirely, extremely, fairly, far,
hardly, just, much, nearly, only, quite, rather, really,
scarcely, so, too, very are placed before the adjective or
adverb.
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Examples

 You are absolutely wrong.

 Butenough is always placed after the word which it

modifies.

Examples

 The box is big enough.

 He didn’t work quickly enough.

6. Order of adverbs: When there are two or more adverbs

after a verb, the normal order is adverbs of manner,
adverb of place and adverb of time.

Examples

 They worked hard in the garden today.

 He spoke earnestly at the meeting last night.

Exercise two

I. Insert the given adverbs (or adverb phrases) in

their normal position.

1. That is not good. (enough)

2. She goes to the cinema. (seldom)

3. We should come. (here, one morning)

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4. He has been in time for meals. (never)

5. Almaz arrives. (always, at 9 o’clock, at the office)

II . Decide whether each underlined modifier is an

adverb or an adjective.

1. Do you use your imagination well when you read?

2. When a writer uses good descriptive language, read

slowly.

3. Don’t feel bad if this isn't easy at first.

4. Is this good soil.

5. She did extremely well in the course.

6. The train runs fast.

7. The baby is fast asleep.

8. Tariku is a hard worker.

9. The train was late.

10. Your English is good.

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UNIT SEVEN
TENSE
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to:
 define tense (present, past and future)

 identify the verb and tense in a sentence by circling and

labeling
 write sentence using the present, past and future tense

Definition
Tense is a word that tells the time of action.
7.1 types of tenses
Tense is divided in to four categories. They are:
 Present tense
 Past tense
 Perfect tense
 Future tense
1. Simple present tense is used to express:
A. Repeated or habitual actions.
Example: He goes to school everyday.
B. General truth or fact
Example: Hydrogen and oxygen give water.
C. Predetermined event in the future or future time when used with verbs
like sail, leave, go….
Example: Our new ship leaves for Spain tomorrow.
D. After when, where, as soon as, before, till, until, while, directly, since
and unless; In cases when we are thinking of the future.
Example: I will wait for him till he comes.
2. The present continuous (present progressive)
A. am, is, are, + ing form of the main verb
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Example: write – writing

Run – running
The present continuous expresses an action or process which is going on
now, at the time of speaking.
 It tells us that the action is in progress; that it has begun but not ended.
 It often goes with words and phrases like; now, at this moment, today,
this month, this week. etc.
Example:
I am reading this book, (I`ve started reading; I`m in the middle of reading;
and I haven`t finished it yet.)
B. The present continuous tells the beginning of the progression, or the
end of an action.
 My backache is getting worse; it wasn’t that bad in the morning.
C. Like the simple present it also tells of future action.
Example:
 She is going to study French next year.
 There are a few English verbs which are usually (if not always found
without a continuous -ing) form.
 They can be grouped as:
A. State verbs or verbs of the senses.
 Feel, hear, see, smell, taste….
B. Verb of emotion
 Hate, distrust, forgive, love......
C. Verbs of mental processes
 Agree, believe, doubt, forget…..
Example:
 This year, I`m studying hard to pass my exam.
 At the moment, my wife is doing all the house work.
 HIV/ AIDS is spreading here very fast.

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Exercise one
I. Change the verbs in parentheses into either the simple present or
present continuous tense whichever is appropriate.
1. We (listen) to the radio, please don`t disturb us.
_______________________________________________
2. My sister (prepare) lunch and I (read) this book.
________________________________________________
3. The earth (revolve) around the sun.
_________________________________________________
4. He usually (type) slowly, but today (type) rapidly.
_________________________________________________
5. I (speak) two foreign languages and I am now (learn) French.
_________________________________________________
6. The book which Jerusalem (read) (belong) to the school.
_________________________________________________
7. You (believe) what they (talk) about?
_________________________________________________
8. Getachew and his wife (not agree) about the schooling of their children
__________________________________________________
3. The present perfect
 Have / has + past participle form of the main verb.
have brought have studied...
has helped
 The present perfect expresses an activity which begun at sometime in
the past and is going on up to the present. The result of the action is
either relevant now or has an effect on the present.

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 The teacher has opened the window.

 The present perfect looks back into the past from a present view point

that is, it has a connection with the present.

 I have finished the letter. (=it is now been completed).

The present perfect may show an event has taken place at least once with
in an existing experience.
 I have been to Axum twice.

 The present perfect may help to answer the question “how long” up to

now?
How long have you been a teacher?
 I have been a teacher since 1975. (I`m still a teacher.)

 Adverbs such as already, ever, ever since, never, for, just, lately, often,

recently, since, until, and yet are usually used with the present perfect.
Example:
 Would you like something to drink? No, thanks. We have just had a lot.

 Please wait outside. We haven`t finished talking yet.

 The present perfect is also used to describe an action which doesn’t refer

to a specific time.
 Have you ever seen Lalibela? (= Do you know the place?)

 Have you read War and Peace? Yes, I read it when I was in Moscow.

Exercise two
II. Write the correct form of the words from the bracket.
1. She (has, have) known him all her life.
2. They have (wrote, written) all the books.
3. He (has, have) just come back.
4. I have (has, had) my dinner.
5. We have (saw, seen) the film.
Example: I went to Lalibela last year.
I was in wollo during the famine.
B. In situations where the time of action is undefined or not mentioned.
Example: They robbed the city and ran away.
- The child died of hunger.
C. To express an activity that occurred for a short or long period in the past
and then stopped.
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III. Rewrite the sentences with the present perfect forms of the
words in the parentheses.
1. How many times you (see) that film since last year?
_____________________________________________
2. I (see) that film but I don`t understand it.
______________________________________________
3. Have you (ever be) to Gondar?
______________________________________________
4. Mr. Sisay (write) many books since he left school.
______________________________________________
5. How often you (visit) her?
______________________________________________
6. Mr. Yared (lived) in Addis Ababa for thirty years.
______________________________________________
4. The present perfect continuous
 Have has + ing form
 Have been listening
 Have been writing
 The present perfect continuous is used in the same way as the
present perfect, but it shows the idea of a continuous or
progressive action.
 The main interest here is not on the result or effect of the action but
on the duration or length of the time taken to do the action or to
accomplish the task.
Example: -They have been digging for oil for many years.
I have been teaching for the whole day and I`m now tired.
Present perfect continuous present perfect
- She has been cooking Doro wat. - She has prepared doro wat.
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The following are the major differences between these two tenses.
A. The present perfect continuous is not used in the passive .
B. He has been ill since the beginning of this year cannot be expressed in the
continuous form.
C. The present perfect often has time phrases which tell us the beginning and duration
of the action; but this is less common in the case of the present perfect continuous.
Exercise three
I. Change the following sentences into present perfect continuous
1. I (be) the manager of this company for the last ten years.
___________________________________________
2. I (not buy) any new shoes since I came here.
____________________________________________
3. You (ever be) to New York?
____________________________________________
4. How many times I (tell) you that I love you?
____________________________________________
5. I (be) a lecture since then.
____________________________________________
6. Look! I (find) some money.
____________________________________________
7. They are tired because they (just, run) eight kilometers.
_____________________________________________
8. Bring a cloth! Hanna (drop) a dish of soup on the floor.
_____________________________________________
9. Selhadin (buy) one pen already. So he doesn`t need another.
_____________________________________________
10. The team (play) five matches without defeat.
_____________________________________________

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II. Change the following sentences into questions using “How long”.
Example: How long have you been writing to her?
1. She has been teaching English for ten years.
___________________________________________
2. He has been ill since the beginning of this year.
___________________________________________
3. I`ve been reading novels since I left school.
___________________________________________
4. They`ve been playing tennis since morning.
___________________________________________
5. The simple past
do = did sleep= slept
go= went work= worked
We use the simple past form:
A. When we want to express (or want to know about) an action which
stared and finished in the past,
 Usually time indicators like yesterday, last week, years ago, etc.
Example: I went to Lalibela last year.
I was in wollo during the famine.
B. In situations where the time of action is undefined or not
mentioned.
Example: They robbed the city and ran away.
- The child died of hunger.
C. To express an activity that occurred for a short or long period in the
past and then stopped.
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Example:
I was sick while I was in Jimma.
 She studied English when she was in Sudan.
Note: In the simple past the verb normally takes “-ed”.
 Kill- killed
 Work- worked
 Start- started
But if the verb ends in “e”, add “d”
 Taste- tasted
 Arrive- arrived
If the verb ends in consonant- vowel- consonant (CVC), double the last
consonant.
- Drop- dropped - fit- fitted
- Slip- slipped
If the verb ends in “y”, the “y” changes to “i” and add “- ed”
- Copy- copied - Cry- cried
But there are a lot of exceptions to this rule. For irregular verbs you need
to study them individually.
-Eat- ate - ride- rode
-Write- wrote - cut- cut
Exercise four
I. Put the verbs in brackets into either the simple present or simple past
whichever is appropriate
1. Ghana (be) once called the Gold Coast.
______________________________________
2. The world’s largest ocean (be) the pacific.
______________________________________
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3. The first white men (come) to Africa to teach the Bible

_______________________________________
4. The nineteenth century (bring) great progress.
_______________________________________
5. Muslims often (go) to Mecca.
________________________________________
6. The simple past continuous
 Was, were + ing of the verb.
I was reading.
She was cooking.
The simple past continuous expresses an activity or activities which
took place for some period in the past.
A. One long continuous action such as:
 Last year we were all watching the world cup.
B. Two long actions taking place simultaneously.
 Tedi was studying while his sister was singing.
C. An action taking place for some time until it was interrupted by
some other action or event.

I was peeling orange when my child came.

Past continuous simple past
When they came, we were having a meeting. - When they came, we
had a meeting.
(= They came in the middle of the meeting.) (=They came before we
started the meeting)
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7. The past perfect

 Had + past participle

- Had studied - had reached

- Had taught - had brought
 The past perfect is used when we want to refer to an activity which

took place in the past before another past action began.

It is sometimes called before tense.
Example
Police: Tell me what happened?
Office boy: I arrived at work early in the morning and found that
someone had broken into the casher`s office during the night
 The past perfect is commonly accompanied by such expressions as

the day before, the previous month, a long time before,

previously….
 The past perfect is also used with the verbs hope, intend, suppose,

think, want, expect.

Example:
 The men had hoped that they would be released (but they aren`t

released)
 The walls were dirty. They hadn`t painted them for years. (this is a

long time ago and by now they may have painted them)
Exercise five
I. Choose the correct answer from the given alternatives.
1. I still (not /get) ______ any information about it.
a. hadn`t gotten c. hadn`t gotted
b. hadn`t getted d. hadn`t got

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2. Natan (not/ speak) _______ to Victoria before because he was too shy
to start a conversation.
a. hadn`t speaked c. hadn`t speaken
b. hadn`t spoken d. hadn`t speaks
3. Was your sister still waiting for you?
No, she (already / go out) _________.
a. had already gone out c. had already going out
b. had already goes out d. had already went out
4. I told my teacher that I (leave) ________ my homework at home.
a. having leaving c. had left
b. has leaves d. have leave
5. I (study) _________ a little English before I went to Gondar .
a. had studied c. have study
b. having study d. has studies
6. Esmael fell into the mud after Mohammed (over take) _______ him.
a. had overtook c. had over taken
b. have overtook d. have over talked
II. Change the past continuous into past perfect.
1. It was raining when I left home.
__________________________________________
2. My brother was shopping when I called him.
__________________________________________
3. The children were running around the house.
__________________________________________
4. I was cleaning my room.
_________________________________________
5. I wasn`t wearing my new shoes.
_________________________________________
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8. The past perfect continuous

 Had been + - ing form
Had been painting
Had been waiting
 This tense expresses the duration of a past action up to the time of some other
past action.
 It is different from the past perfect only in that action is continuous
Example:
 She had been working as a shop keeper before she started her own business.
 The farmers had been looking for new method of farming before they visited
the state farms.
Compare
 When I came home, my children were sitting in front of the TV. I then saw piles
of banana skin. They were eating banana. (simple past continuous)
 When I came home, my children were sitting in front of the TV. I saw no
banana skin, but there was a smell of banana. They had been eating banana
(past perfect continuous)
 In the above sentence, we can also use the past perfect had eaten.
Exercise six
I. Put the verbs in past perfect continuous from.
1. I (wait) for her impatiently for almost two hours when at last she (come) with
her younger brother.

2. I (take) malaria tablets even before I (leave) for Gambella.

______________________________________________
3. . He (be, work) in that job for ten years before he (leave) it in 1980.
_______________________________________________

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4. The child (cry) when I (see) him.

________________________________________________
5. Sirak (learn) French for two years before he (go) to Addis Ababa.
________________________________________________
9 The simple future
- Will come - Will attend
- Will go - Shall respond
The simple future can be expressed by using will or shall.
Shall is used for first person singular and plural. This role works mainly for
British usage while the American usage permits the use of will for all per sons.
I shall let you know by tomorrow.
I will let you know by tomorrow.
I shall be thirty years old next month.
 The short form is I`ll = I will or I shall.
 The short form negative of will not is won`t.
Note: It is a must to use “shall” in question with the first persons: I and we
Affirmatives
 I`ll = I will/ I shall
 you`ll = you will
 it`ll = it will
We can often use “going to” instead of will to refer to the future
Example:
 The price of petrol will go up 5% next year.
 The price of petrol is going to rise by 5% next year.
 There will be an election soon. (simple future)
 There is going to be an election soon. (more sure to happen)

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Exercise seven
I. Change the verbs in parentheses into the simple future. (use the
most appropriate word or phrase)
1. Are you sure she (come)? Yes.
________________________________________
2. When he (come)? Tomorrow.
________________________________________
3. He (come) tomorrow? No , he won`t.
________________________________________
4. Where you (eat) lunch today?
________________________________________
5. He is (give) a lecture this afternoon.
________________________________________
II. Re – write the following sentences changing the verbs into future
tense.
1. Do you think she (bring) the baby?
___________________________________________
2. I (stay) here until he (return).
___________________________________________
3. He (not come) until you (phone) him.
___________________________________________
4. They (go) by bus.
___________________________________________
5. We (begin) our work.
___________________________________________
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10. The future continuous

- will be watching - shall be writing
- will be working - shall be sleeping
The future continuous is used for an action which will begin sometime in the
future and is going to last for a long time in the future.
Example:
A) will you help me this afternoon?
B) will you be helping me this afternoon?
Sentence A is most naturally understood as a request. Here, will you? Means are
you willing?
Exercise eight
I. Write the correct future continuous for the given sentence.
1. It (rain) ________ tonight.
______________________________________________
2. I (walk) _________ to school tomorrow morning.
_______________________________________________
3. She (not see) _________ her doctor tonight.
______________________________________________
4. __________ your mother (sleep) ___________ when your father arrives?
_________________________________________________
5. I (not/ fly) ___________ to America at this time tomorrow.
_________________________________________________
11. The future perfect
 Will have gone
 Will have stopped
 Will have finished
 It is used to express an action which is expected to complete by a certain point
of time in the future.

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 It is always used with a time adverbs.

 It is formed as will / shall + have + v3.
Exercise nine
I. Put the verbs in parentheses into either future perfect or future
continuous
1. We (wait) for them when they come out.
_______________________________________________
2. By the end of the typing course, she (type) for 360 hours.
_______________________________________________
3. I (finish) reading the new book by dinner time tomorrow.
________________________________________________
4. It`s eleven o`clock; the plane (land) by now.
________________________________________________
5. She (become) an old woman by the time her husband gets out of
prison.
________________________________________________
II. Decide which one of the choices (A, B, C, D) is the best to
complete the sentence.
1. The old school is likely _________ by time.
A. to have torn down
B. to tear down
C. to be tearing down
D. to have been torn down

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2. I _________ when my mother came to wake me up.

A. slept C. have slept
B. was sleeping D. am sleep
3. This work ________ be finished not later than this afternoon.
A. may C. might
B. could have D. must
4. Belayneh _________ to his office nearly everyday.
A. walks C. is walking
B. walk D. has walked
5. The books ________ here for sale since last week.
A. were C. have been
B. are D. had been
6. It is the bandits who __________ for all the damages.
A. has to blame C. is to be blamed
B. have to blame D. are to be blamed
7. She was watching TV when she ________ the bad news.
A. heard B. hear C. had heard D. was hearing
8. Lazy student seldom, if ever, ________ tests.
A. have passed C. pass
B. had passed D. passed
9. There is always danger of panic when a theatre _______ fire.
A. catch C. caught
B. catches D. is catching
10. He mounted his horse and ______ away.
A. rode B. ride C. has ridden D. was riding
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UNIT EIGHT
GERUND AND INFINITIVE
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to:
 identify the function of gerunds and infinitive in sentence.

 use a variety of gerund and infinitive structure in sentences.

 distinguish gerunds from infinitive
 use gerunds as subjects, objects of preposition and phrasal
verbs.
Definition
 An infinitive or an- ing form may be used as the subject or

object of a sentence or a clause.

A Gerund is a verb in the “ -ing” form acting as a noun.
Example:
 Swimming is a good exercise
 Racing is a common sport in highland Ethiopia.
The verb swimming and racing are serving as subjects of the
sentences.
Example:-
I enjoy staying here.
 Children are fond of going to the cinema
The verb staying and going are gerunds serving as direct
objects.
Note: When a prepositional phrase modifies the noun, the
may be used with the ing.
Example:
 The reading of medical descriptions requires knowledge of
technical terms.

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 The making of pottery is an art.

In such sentences, you cannot leave out the, and in many

cases the addition of the + of to the gerund would sound
very strange.

Certain verbs can be followed by either gerunds or

infinitives. Some of these verbs are.

Advise Begin decide Happen learn offer Pretended remember

Agree Cease Dislike Permit Promise Choose Intend Regret
Aim hate Leave prefer Propose expect hope Prepare
Allow fail study love continue hesitate Try Mange
Attempt forget commence tend Wish refuse
mean train
plain

From these verbs, forget, mean regret, remember and

try often show a slight difference of meaning between the
gerund and the infinitive forms.
Example:
I forgot going there.
 (I didn’t remember whether or not I had been there)
I forget to go there.
 (I should have gone there, but I forgot to do so.)
I remember going there.
(I went there before, and I still remember having done so.)
I must remember to go there.

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 (I must not forget to go there.)

I remembered to go there.( I didn't forget to go.)

I. Verbs followed by either the infinitive or gerund with

practically little or no differences of meaning

Begin like

Continue neglect

Dislike plan

Dread prefer

Intend star

Example:

 The workers began to work.

 The workers began working.

 The soldiers continued to shoot.

 The soldiers continued shooting.

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II. Verbs often followed by gerund.

admit imagine
appreciate keep (on)
avoid mind
consider miss
delay postpone
deny practice
dislike quit
enjoy resist
escape suggest
finish worth
give up stop

Example:
 The student admitted cheating in the examination.
 The villagers resisted being vaccinated.
 Your suggestion is not worth mentioning here.
 The thief escaped being beaten by the (rowed).
III. Verbs often followed by the infinitive

care promise hope arrange

decide want seem learn

mean wish refuse suggest

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Gerunds and infinitives with perception verbs.

feel look at see recognize
hear observe smell watch
listen to perceive notice
All these verbs except smell and recognize can be
followed by the gerund or by the infinitive form. We use
the gerund form when we want to show that the result of
the action continues even after the time of the condition
started. The infinitive implies that the action of the verb
is not yet complete.
Exercise one
I. Put an appropriate verb form (to or ing).
1. When Almaz get tired, she stops ___________.( work)
2. Instead of____, Esmael went to a ball game with some
friends. (study)
3. He prefers _______ television to _____ to the radio.
(watch, listen)
4. I enjoy _______ through the garden every morning.
(work)
5. What did he agree ________? (do)
6. We cannot leave until it stops_______. (do)
7. The children promised _______ more quietly.( play)
8. I wouldn`t mind _________ a political. (be)
9. I got Hana ________ me to the post office. (take)
10. The ring is too expensive for me _________. ( buy)
II. Change the verbs in parentheses into either a
gerund or an infinitive.
1. I suggest (do) more exercises in this lesson.

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2. I finally got her (accept) to my love.

3. It has stopped (rain), so you can go now.

4. The students from the country side asked (leave) directly at the
end of school.

5. She promised (invite) me to her new villa.

6. The prime minister has decided (go) to New York next week.

7. The thief admitted (steal) the money.

8. She told us (read) a love poem.

Gerund as subject Gerund as object

Pacing is fun He `s doing cooking
Painting the Cleaning
Ironing

Verb + Gerund

enjoy
Prefer taking train

don`t mind working an Sunday

They
avoid

stopped

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Verb + object + gerund

I Remember her talking about her husband

the children playing in the streets

don`t like
her using my towel

Before + Gerund _______________________

I got dressed

I took a shower before getting

After + Gerund

She left the school

She went home after leaving

Be used + Gerund

Working at night

I `m not used to drinking alcohol

living alone

Get + used to+ Gerund

Working at night

You`ll get used to drinking alcohol

living alone

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Gerund after prepositions

He is interested in tired of calling long distances

Writing letters

I `m afraid of losing my job

worried about being late

Mom believes in getting up early

Insists on studding every day

Exercise two
I. Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs given in
brackets.
Example: I`ve given up ________ .(smoke)
I`ve given up smoking.
1. I`m not going ________ (take) you money.
2. Do you mind________ (open) the window?
3. They`ve two letters________ (write) this evening.
4. Are you___________ (watch) TV or ___________( listen) to the
radio.
5. Do you always ________ (wait) for him so long.
6. He insisted on _________ (pay) the bill.
7. What do you like ________ (do) during your free time?
8. He always likes __________(drink) late evening.
9. I would love _________ (go) with you.
10. Did you remember _________(post) the letters?

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UNIT Nine

PREPOSITION

Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be able to

 State the definition of a preposition and object of a preposition

 Recognize preposition and their objects

 Recognize preposition phrases and state that they are composed

of preposition and their objects.

 Use preposition and prepositional phrases in sentence

Definition

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show

in what relation the person or thing denoted by it stands in regard
to something else.

Relating to verbs

Example

She found the wallet in her bedroom. (where did she find her
wallet?)

They hide their money under the coach. (where did they hide their
money?)

Relating to nouns and pronouns

Examples

She felt the love of the entire family. (whose love? the love of the
entire family)

I want something by that author. (What do I want by that author?)

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Relating to adjectives
Example
The trees are alive with color in the autumn.
She was young in heart.
Prepositional verbs
The smell word in a two – word verb maybe a preposition or an
adverb particle.
Verb + preposition Verb+ adverb particle
- Look at this. - Look out!
- Don`t sit on that chair. - Sit down.
- We ran out of the house. - Come back.
- She climbed up the ladder. - She cut the wood up/cut
- - I fell in the river. up the wood.
- I got off the bus. - I filled the form in/ I filled
in the form.
- Switch the light off / Switch
off the light.
Verbs with adverb particle are often called phrasal verbs;
 The meaning of a prepositional verb may be idiomatic.
 We only use a preposition when there is an object.
Example
I don`t believe in ghosts.
 She insisted on paying.
I thought of resigning.
Note: the object may be an – ing form.

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Exercise one
I. Identify the underlined preposition as preposition (pr) or adverb
particle (AP)?
1. I fell off the chair.
2. I looked up the street to see if Andy was coming.
3. I`ll think about your suggestion.
4. She turned up the next card.
5. Can you look after the kids for a few minutes?
6. Nobody understood why she broke off their engagement.
7. We drove around the town looking for a hotel.
8. She cut it up.
II. Put “in” four times, “about” five times, and “at”, “for”
and “to” once each.
1. Have you heard _____________ Mary? She`s getting married
in June.
2. Some English children have never heard ____________
Shakespeare.
3. Don`t shout _____________ me; I don`t appreciate it.
4. Could you shout _______________ Lucy and tell her lunch
is ready?
5. I dreamed _____________ horses again last night.
6. I dream _____________ making enough money to stop
working.
7. That boy only thinks _____________ food.
8. What remind me _____________ my new idea?
9. You remind me ______________ one of my old school
friends.
10. Can you remind Hana__________ the meeting?
11. Geriatric nurses care ____________ old people.
12. I don`t think she cares ___________ anybody except
herself.

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UNIT TEN
WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be able
to:
 define sentence.

 identify the various sentence problems

 differentiate between the different types of sentence problems.

 write simple, compound, complex and compound complex

sentence correctly.

Definition

A sentence is a group of related words that express a

complete thought. A group of words is not a sentence unless
it expresses a complete thought.

 When you are writing, make sure your sentences answer

these two questions.

 What happened?

 Who or what did it?

 Inthe previous grade, we read about four kinds of sentences:

simple, compound, complex and compound complex

 Now in this chapter, we will learn about problems of different

sentence structure.

Sentence problems

 There are many ways in which sentences are different from

each other.

 They may have different purposes.

 They may express different ideas.

 All sentences, however, have one thing in common.

 Every sentence expresses a complete thought.

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 Some groups of words do not express a complete

thought. So writing often fails to communicate what the
writer means.
Most errors in sentence construction are four kinds.
Fragments. Run-on, dangling or misplaced modifiers and
non parallel structure. But in this level we will learn two of
them. Fragment and run –on.
Sentence fragments
A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not
express a complete thought. A sentence that is missing key
words cannot complete its thought.
Examples
 My parents
(this group of words is a fragment. It lacks predicate)
 Complete sentence: My parents live in Addis Ababa.
- Lived on a farm. (fragment)
 My family lived on a farm. (complete)
To avoid fragments, ask these questions:
 Does this group of words have subject?
 Does this group of words have a predicate?
 Does this group of words express a complete thought?
Run on sentence
A run on sentence is two or more sentences written as one
or incorrectly joined.
Examples
 It was a foggy night everything was still.
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 Merion Private School English Supplemental book for grade 6

 Alex promised to help she worked on fixing it up.

In the above two sentences, the appropriate conjunctions and

punctuation marks are left out.

The correct form of the sentence are:

 It was a foggy night, so everything was still.

 Alex promised to help; she worked on fixing it up.

In general there are three basic ways of correcting run on

sentences.

Method 1. Write a run on sentence as two separate sentences

Example

Run - on sentence: Ayele wandered into the desert, nobody

could find him.

Separate sentences: Abebe wandered into the desert. Nobody

could find him.

Method 2. Join the parts of a run on sentence by adding a

comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Examples

Run on sentence: The continent of Europe covers over four

million square miles it is the second smallest continent.

Correct sentence: The continent of Europe covers over four

million square miles, and it is the second smallest continent.

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Method 3. Join the parts of a run on sentence with a

semicolon

Examples

Run on sentence: It was a pleasant drive the sun was

shining.

Correct sentence: It was a pleasant drive; the sun was

shining.

Exercise one

Write “F” for fragment and “R” for run-on sentences.

1. The German army had conquered most of Europe by

1941 it then invaded Russia.

2. Ran back to the house.

3. Africa a long and interesting history.

4. Since he studied hard.

5. They are winners they are standing at the gate.

6. When the time being.

7. You know how.

8. Followed Netsanet to her school.

9. Look through the window you can see the rain.

10. It was delicious food every body finished it.

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11.2 Sentence patterns

The pattern of a sentence means the order of its words and

word groups.

There are basically five sentence in English grammar. They

are:

SV Subject + verb
SVO Subject + Verb + object
SVIODO Subject + Verb + Indirect object + Direct object
SVC Subject + Verb + Complement
SVOC Subject +Verb + Object + Complement

Note: Adjective, conjunctions or adverbials could be added

to all these five patterns.

Sentence pattern 1

 Sentence pattern 1 is made up of a subject and an

intransitive verb.

Subject + verb (SV)

Example: The woman walked away.

The girl hurried to school.

Sentence pattern 2

 Sentence pattern 2 is made up of subject, verb and object

Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)

Example: I finished the word.

David scold the boy.

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Sentence pattern 3

 Sentence pattern is made up of subject, verb, direct

object and indirect object .

Subject + Verb + Indirect object + Direct object (SVIODO)

Example: We wish you a happy new year.

The principal gave him the medal.

Sentence pattern 4

 Sentence pattern 4 is made up of subject , verb and

complement .

Subject + Verb +Complement (SVC)

Example: They are players.

The class became noisy.

Sentence pattern 5

 Sentence pattern 5 is made up of subject , verb, object

and complement .

Subject + Verb + Object +Complement (SVOC)

Example: They made him captain.

She learnt music last year.

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Exercise two
I. Identify the pattern of the following sentences.
1. They did a lot of work.
2. She sold him her house.

3. I enjoyed a lot.

[Link] leaves turn yellow.

5. He made his son a doctor .

[Link] resembles her father.

7. the doctor gave her medicine.

8. The baby cried.

9. They elected him president.

10.I am an Indian.

Any sentence pattern in a statement form can be turned

into a question. To form a question, change the place of
the subject and the verb in the statement.

Examples

 Statement: Abebe is laughing.

 Question: is Abebe laughing?

A statement without an auxiliary verb can be made into a

question by adding a verb to do (do, does, did) in front of
the subject.
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Examples

Statement: She had what she wanted.

Question : Did she have what she wanted?

II. Using sentence pattern, write two sentences for each

of the following sentence patters.

1. SV

2. SVOC

3. SVO

4. SVC

5. SVIoDO

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UNIT ELEVEN
ARTICLE
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be
able to
 Define definite and indefinite articles
 Determine the difference between the use of definite and
indefinite article
 Understand the rules of omitting articles
There are three basic articles in the English Language; these
are:
a

 an

 the

The first two “a” and “an” are referred to as indefinite

articles. The last one, “the” is known as the definite article.
12.1 Indefinite article /a/ an/
 Used with singular countable nouns
They point to any member of group of similar people, places
or things.
Article `A`
Before nouns that start with consonant sound or before
words starting with vowel letters but are pronounced as
consonants.
Examples
 Hana is a university student.
I met a European girl yesterday.
 `An` before nouns which start with vowel sounds or those
that start with consonant letters but are pronounced as
vowels.

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Examples
 Yonas is an honest boy.
I am an optimist.
 They were here an hour ago.
Uses of the indefinite article A or An
1. To refer to a thing or person for the first time
Examples
 There is a police woman outside.
 There is an old man at the door.
2. To express somebody`s job.
Examples
 Mulu is a nurse.
I am an engineer.
3. A/An in descriptions
Example
 She has got an oval face.
4. Before a predicate noun after a verb to be
Examples
 Aster Awoke is a famous singer.
 She is a dedicated teacher.
5. In exclamation before a singular countable noun
Examples
 What a smart boy!
 What a pity!
Omitting A/An
1. Before plural countable nouns
Examples
 Girls are good at language.
A girls are good at language. Not

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2. Before uncountable nouns such as advice, information,

news, homework, water, coffee, milk, oil , bread, mail,
furniture, machinery, luggage etc.
Example
 My friend gave me a piece of advice.
My friend gave me advice. Not
 Can you give me a bit of information about this matter?
Nati can you give me an information about this matter? Not
3. Before names of meals except when preceded by an
adjective
Examples
 Have you had your dinner?
 We were served a good dinner.
Exercise one
I. Fill in the blank spaces in each of the following
sentence with “a” or “an”.
1. Britain is ____________ island.
2. I have ____________ idea, let`s go on ___________ picnic on
Saturday.
3. Would you like to have ______________ apple for breakfast?
4. Hana has _____________ part – time job.
5. Quite _____________ unknown person until very recently,
Mr. Otombe is ____________ Ugandan professor lecturing,
in ____________ university in Kenya.
6. I trust him very much because he is ___________ honest
man.
7. I spent half ____________ hour at ____________ hostel near
the municipality.
8. My friend is married to _____________ European girl.
9. She has _____________ unusual job.
10. She is reading ______________ article of clothing
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12.2 Definite article ‘the’

 Used with both singular and plural nouns
 Used with both countable and uncountable nouns
 Used for the second mention of an indefinite noun
Examples
 There are a pen and a book on the table. Please give me
the book.
Before a noun if it is modified by a phrase or phrases
follow ing it
Examples
 The girl at the door wants to speak to you
I like the people I work with
 For adverbial superlative
Examples
 She is the best student in the class.
 She is the most devoted teacher.
For adverbials function before comparative
Example
1. The sooner, the better.
2. The more he gets, the more he wants
With some adjectives to talk about groups of people. In this
case, the adjectives function as nouns.
poor sick blind rich healthy
bad weak deaf good strong
dead old dumb Living young

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Examples
 He helps the poor. But we can`t say:
 He helps the poor's
Note: - if these adjectives are the subject of the sentence,
the verb must be in the plural.
Examples
 The poor need help.
Before singular countable noun which is used as a
representative of a class of things of travel.
Example
 The train is one of the fastest means of travels.
 To talk about compass directions.
Example
 The north, the south, the, east, the west.
Examples
 They are building a road in the south of Ethiopia to
Kenya.
 The + nationality.
 The with some nationality adjectives to mean the people
of that country.
Examples
 The Ethiopians are famous for their hospitality.
 The Chinese invented printing.
With musical instrument the guitar, the piano, the
trumpet etc.

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Examples
I am learning to play the trumpet.
 Before names of seas, rivers, ocean, islands, canals,
newspapers, mountains, deserts and plural names of
people and countries.
Examples
 The Sahra
 The Atlantic
 The Philippines
 The alps
 The Addis zemen
 The awash
 With cinema , theater, radio and sometimes television
when we refer to the television set only
Examples
I often listen to the radio.
I often go to the cinema.
 Can you turn off the television, please? (television set)
I often watch television.
We also use the before nouns which are considered as one.
Examples
1. The earth 4. The sea 7. The weather
2. The sun 5. The sky 8. The country
3. The moon 6. The world [Link] environment

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Omitting definite article

We omit “the” in the following situations.

School, church, market, prison, hospital, college, university

chapel, court, table and take no article when we are thinking of
the general idea of these places and what they are used for. But
when the reference is to the building or the place an article is
used.

Compare

- Daniel’s brother is in prison for - Daniel went to the prison to visit his
robbery. (he is prisoner) brother (he went as a visitor, not as a
prisoner)

- Elias had an accident last week. - Elias has gone to the hospital to
He was taken to hospital. (as a visit Alex. (as a visitor)
patient)

- When I leave school, I want to go - Excuse me, where is the university?

to university. (building)

- I am getting old. Bed is the place - The bed was a big four poster.
for me.

Titles like Mr./Mrs./captain, doctor etc. with name we do

not use the

Example

 Mr. Rick is a doctor. But it is used before the title alone.

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Examples
 The doctor seemed happy with his job.
For languages or academic subject
Examples
 There are a lot of English speaking countries in the
world.
I am studying chemistry.
Concrete nouns like heaven, hell, paradise, parliament,
congress and abstract nouns like fortune, fate, nature
providence, take no definite article.
Examples
 The road to hell is paved with good intentions
 Die and go to heaven.
Names of companies, airlines etc without ‘the’
Example
 Fiat, Sony, Kodak.
Games and sports without ‘the’
Examples
 Swimming is a good sport.
 He plays tennis.
 Plural count nouns or non-count nouns without ‘the’
when they are making generalization
Examples
 Gold is a metal.
 Doctors are paid more than teachers.

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Exercise two

I. Fill in the blank spaces with “a”, “an”, “the” where

necessary.

1. _________ Soviet Union was ________ first socialist country in

_________ world.

2. I play _________ guitar very well.

3. _________ woman you have just greeted is my aunt.

4. I lay down on ground looked up at ___________ sky.

5. Abebe spends most of his time watching _________ television.

6. _________ television was on, but nobody was watching it.

7. ________ moon goes around _________ earth every 27 days.

8. There were some people waiting outside ________ school to

meet their children.

9. In your country, do many people go to _________ university?

10. She has spent all her life caring for __________ sick.

11. I went to ___________ market to buy onions, cabbage, and

potatoes.

12. I would like to go to _________ china and see _________

great wall

13. Look at _________ apples on the tree. They are very big.

14. When Tewodros was younger, he hated __________ school.

15. This is ___________ most interesting book I have ever read.

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II. In the following sentence, “the” has been omitted.

Put “the” where it would be required to make the
sentence correct.
1. Dogs I breed are all for hunting game.

2. Camel is referred to as ship of desert.

3. Airplane is fastest means of travel.

4. Could you close door, please?

5. Have you finished with book I lent you?

6. Faith is finest of human qualities, but faiths of west

differ widely from those of east.

7. In history of Kenya, 1978 marked end of a political era.

III. Fill in the blank spaces in each of the following

sentences with “a”, “an” or “the” where necessary.
1. We saw ______ European and _______ African yesterday.
Surprisingly._______ European was driving small car
while African was a Mercedes.
2. That was ________ luggage I lost in the bus.

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3. Life is all right if you have _______ jib, but thing are not

so easy for ________ unemployed.

4. ______ letter in that envelope is ________ interesting one.

5. I was ill, so I went to _______ doctor.

6. Yesterday I bought ________ jacket and _______ shirt.

_______ jacket was cheap but ________ shirt was

expensive.

7. _______ young have the future in their hands.

8. ________ young have the future in their hands.

9._______ sky is blue and ________ sun is shining.

10. _______ aero plane flies in the air while ________ ship

sails in _______ sea.

11.________ death is _______ nature`s way of telling you to

show to slow down.

12.A banker is ________ man who lends you

________weather is fair, and takes it away from you when

it rains.

13. ________ dog is _______ only thing on earth that loves

you more than you love yourself.

14. When I was born, I was so surprised that I couldn`t

talk for _________ year.

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UNIT TWELVE
TAG QUESTIONS
Unit objective :At the end of this unit the student would be able to:
 define tag question and question tag
 understand the various forms of tag question
 give appropriate responses for question tags
Definition
Tags question are question added at the end of a sentence.
Question expected answer
- Meri is here, isn`t she? - Yes, she is or No, she isn`t.
- You like tea, don`t you? - Yes, I do, or No, I don`t.

- They have left, haven't they? - Yes, they have or No, they

- These are your books, aren`t haven’t.

they? - Yes, they are or No, they

aren’t

The other forms, of tag question

 When the subject of the sentence is a word like no – one,

someone, everyone, somebody, anyone, anybody, the tag
uses the pronoun “they”.

Example: Everyone is coming tonight, aren`t they?

Somebody told me that, didn`t they?

Someone has taken my pen, haven`t they?

 Sentences with negative subject like no one, nothing; neither,

anyone etc. behave like negative sentences and have positive
tag.
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Example: Nobody saw you, did they? (Yes, they did.)

I don`t think anyone is coming, are they?
No one tries to do that, do they?
 Imperative sentences use will in tag.
Example: Don`t do that again, will you?
- Don`t Open the windows, will you?
- Help your mom in the kitchen, will you?
1. Sentences with let (let`s) is followed by “shall” in the
tag.
(i.e let`s is followed by shall we?)
Example: let`s go there tomorrow, shall we?
Let`s start homework now, shall we?
 Negative questions can perform a similar function tags
with a falling intonation.
- It`s cold today, isn`t it?
(= isn`t it cold today?)
 Don`t forget: The question tag “am I not” is totally
incorrect always
Say! “Aren`t I”
- I am late, am not I? (wrong)
- I am late, aren`t I?(right)
Additions and responses
(So am I, so do I) neither am I) neither do I)
Form of additions and responses
These additions work with
-is - was - have - did, can
-am - were - do/does - could, will / would etc
-are

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Statement Parallel addition Contrast

-Hiwot is a teacher -So am I / I am, too. - but Selam isn`t

- Hiwot isn`t a - Neither am I. / I - but Semal is
teacher. am not either. - but Selam does.
- Hiwot speaks - So do I / I do, too. - but Selam did
Arabic. - Neither did I. / I - but Selam
Hiwot didn`t make didn`t either. shouldn`t
cakes. - So should I. / I - but Selam hasn`t
- Hiwot should go should too. - but Selam has
there. - So have I. / I have
- Hiwot has got full too.
mark. - Neither have I. / I
- Hiwot hasn`t got haven`t either.
full mark.

Note: “nor” can be used in the same way as neither.

a. I don`t know her name.
b. Neither do I = nor do I = I don’t either
 “So am I / so do I” is used in the same way as:
I am tap/ I do, too
A. I am happy today.
B. So am I = I am, too.
C. I speak English well.
D. So do I = I do, too.

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If the addition uses an affirmative word verb the response

should be affirmative (positive)

Example: - So am I. - So does /is/ can

Abebe.

- So can I. - So do they etc.

- So did I.

If the addition uses a negative word (verb) the response

should also be a negative.

Example: Neither do / can/ am/ did I

Neither is / can/ was/ did Abebe

Neither do the students, etc.

Note: the right order in response should be:

So + verb +subject

Neither + verb + subject.

Neither verb subject.

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Compare
 I went to the new hotel yesterday.

 So I did. (wrong)
So did I (right)
 I can`t play Guitar.

 Neither I can. (wrong)

Neither can I. (Right)
Exercise one
I. Write the correct response to the following questions
1. Jemal: I can ride a bicycle.
Mesfin: _______________
Clue: The sentence is affirmative/ positive. The verb is `can` so
two possible responses are there:
 So can I and I can, too (NOT:I ride, too.)
(We should depend on a verb used in a sentence.)
Answer: so can I
2. Samson: I don`t like snake.
Redwan: What a coincidence!
3. Hawa: I watched a film last night.
Sara: ____________________
4. Getu: Some people don`t eat raw meat, how about you?
Dawit: ___________________
5. Fitsum: I like our English teacher, what do you say?
Jemal: ____________________
6. Teacher: Hayat is an outstanding student
Director: Sure you are, and ________ her sister.
7. He is a good teacher, ___________?
8. They want to came, ___________?
9. A: why didn`t you come to lunch with us? Weren`t you
angry?
B: ________, I had a late breakfast.
10. Tadesse: __________?
Alemu: She lives in Canada.
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II. Choose the correct answer from the given alternatives.

1. Man: ___________?
Boy: 300 miles.
A. How far it is to Los Angeles?
B. How far is it to Los Angeles?
2. Tizita: What did you do last night?
Fasil: ________________
A. I am studying. C. I studied.
B. I do nothing. D. Why do ask me?
3. Lemlem: ____________?
Bonsa: once a week
A. How often you go to church
B. how do you often go
C. How much do you go
D. how often do you go to church
4. A: ________________?
B: He is an electrician.
A. What does your father do?
B. Do you know your father?
C. What is your father like?
D. When does your father work?
5. Boru: ______________?
Duresa: I need five dollar.
A. How much money you need
B. How many money do you need
C. How much money do you need
D. How far money do you need

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6. Let`s go there tomorrow, __________?

A. will we B. shall we C. can we

7. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, __________?

A. don`t they B. do they C. do them

8. Don`t touch that pan again, _________?

A. will you B. shall you C. do you

9. I am very happy, _________?

A. aren`t I B. am I not C. amn’t I

10. They had a nice weekend,_________?

A. hasn`t she C. didn`t they

B. hadn’t they D. aren`t you

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UNIT THIRTEEN
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Unit objective: At the end of this unit, the students should be
able to:
 define voice, active and passive voice.

 change active voice sentences into passive and vice versa.

Definition
“Voice” is the part of the verb that tells us whether the subject
is acting (the one doing the action) or being acted upon (having
the action done to him/her/it).
When the subject of a sentence is doing the action, the
sentence is said to be in the active voice.
When the subject of a sentence is being acted up on, the
sentence is said to be in the passive voice.
Here are some examples
Active voice: He served us.
Passive voice: We were served by him.
Active voice: The dog chased the cat.
Passive voice: The cat was chased by the dog.
14.1General rules
When active voice is changed to passive;
 The object of the active becomes the subject of the passive,
and
 The subject of the active may be dropped or expressed by
means of an agentive preposition ‘by’
 If the verb in the active is in the simple present form, either
am, is or are is introduced.
Active voice: The waiter brings the tea.
Passive voice: The tea is brought by the waiter.

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Active tenses and their passive equivalents

Tense Active voice Passive voice

simple present keeps is kept

present continuous is keeping is being kept

simple past kept was kept

past continuous was keeping was being kept

present prefect has kept has been kept

past perfect had kept had been kept

future will keep will be kept

perfect participle having kept having been kept

gerund keeping being kept

present infinitive to keep to be kept

Exercise one
I. Determine whether each sentence below is active or
passive.
1. This homework was done by the group.
___________________
2. This result can be achieved in several ways.
_______________
3. Dawit painted this picture. _______________________
4. These doors must/should be shut._________________
5. The cat was chased by the dog. ____________________
6. Aster was teaching this class. ______________________
7. The ball was kicked by the girl. ______________________
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II. Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice.

1. Somebody cleans the room everyday.
____________________________________________________
2. They are building a new ring road around the city.
___________________________________________________
3. They cancelled all the flights because of the fog.
____________________________________________________
4. They didn’t give me the money.
____________________________________________________
5. They have postponed the concert.
____________________________________________________
6. People do not use this road very often.
____________________________________________________
8. Genet’s college will give her present when she gets retired.
______________________________________________________
9. How do people learn language?
______________________________________________________
II. Rewrite the following sentences in Active voice.
1. The camels are being milked.
_______________________________________________
2. The Lalibela churches were built around 640-BC.
________________________________________________
3. Penicillin was discovered by Alexander in 1928.
_________________________________________________
4. The fence is being painted.
_______________________________________
5. The window has been cleaned.
__________________________________________
6. Football is played all over the world.
___________________________________________

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IV. Arrange those in brackets into passive questions.

Example: (Japan/all/in/cars/made/these)

Are all these cars made in Japan?

1. (need/workers/more/when)

____________________________________________________

2. (many/bottles/how/how/beer/everyday/of/produced)

___________________________________________________

3. (arrested/thief/the/yesterday)

____________________________________________________

4. (know/gold/in ancient times)

____________________________________________________

5. (gold/use/for/nowadays/what)

____________________________________________________

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UNIT FOURTEEN
DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT (REPORTED SPEECH)
Unit objective: At the end of this unit, the students should be
able to:
 Define reported speech
 Report some others speech using direct and indirect
reporting.
- There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct
and indirect
- In direct speech, we repeat the exact words of the speaker. It
is also called direct reporting.
Example: He said, “I am learning Amharic”.
Remarks thus repeated are placed between inverted commas,
and a comma or colon is placed immediately before the remark.
Direct speech is found in conversation in books, in plays, and
in quotations.
In indirect speech, we give the exact meaning of a remark
or a speech without necessarily using the speaker’s exact
words.
Example: He said (that) he had lost his umbrella.
There is no comma after say. In direct speech that can usually
be omitted after say and felt object, point out, protest etc.
Indirect speech is normally used when conversation is reported
verbally though direct speech is sometimes employed here to
give a more dramatic effect.
When we turn direct speech into indirect, some changes are
usually necessary. These are most easily studied by
considering statements, questions, and commands separately.
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15.1 Tense changes

Direct speech Indirect speech

Simple present Simple past
“I never eat meat;” he explained. he explained that he never ate meat.

Present continuous Past continuous

“I’m waiting for Ann;” he said. He said that he was waiting for Ann.

Present perfect Past perfect

“I have found a flat;” he said. He said that he had found a flat.

Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

He said, “I’ve been waiting for ages” He said he had been waiting for
ages.
Simple past Past perfect
“I took it home with me;” she said. She said she had taken it home with
her.
Future Conditional
He said, “I will/shall be in Paris on He said he would be in Paris on
Monday.” Monday.
Future continuous Conditional continuous
“I will/shall be using the car myself She said she’d be using the car
on the 24th;” she said herself on the 24th.

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Adverbs of time and place and a few other expressions also change. Here are
some examples.
Speaker’s words Reported statement
tomorrow The next day/ the following day
yesterday The day before
here There
today That day
this morning That morning
tonight The night
next/on Tuesday The following Tuesday
lost Tuesday The previous Tuesday
the day after tomorrow In two day’s time
ago Before/ previous…..

Exercise one
I. Identify the direct and indirect object.
Type
1. She sent her friend an email.
2. Sally will help you with your housework.
3. Where did you put the keys?
4. He gave them a bag full of money.
5. Alice wrote a book on the French revolution .
6. I need your help.
7. He offered her a flower.
8. My father bought us a new TV set.
9. John sold me his car.
10. I wish you good luck

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II. Rewrite the following sentences putting the indirect

objects before the direct objects.
1. Jane told a secret to me.

2. John’s father left a huge property for him.

3. Call a taxi for me.

4. They promised their help for us.

5. My mother gifted a necklace to me.

6. My friend did a great favor for me.

7. She lent her necklace to me.

8. The principal granted leave for us.

9. I promised my support for him.

10. The President awarded a gold medal to him.

11. Our guest told an interesting story to us.

12. I bade a sad farewell to my friends.

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UNIT FIFTEEN
PUNCTUATION
Unit objective : At the end of this unit the student would be able
to:
 understand the importance of punctual in writing
 identify and name the common punctuation
 punctual simple sentence correctly
 write sentence of their own with the appropriate punctuation.
Definition
 Punctuation marks are symbols used in writing to ensure that
the written information is conveyed clearly. Although
punctuation is mostly used to bring out the clarity of
sentences, it is also used to bring out special meanings in
words.
 Punctuation is an essential aid to the correct interpretation of
the written message.
9.1 The most common punctuation marks
A. End punctuation marks
 The period (.)
 The question mark (?)
 The exclamation point (!)
B. Internal punctuation marks
 Comma (,)
 Quotation mark (“ ”)
 Hyphen (-)
 Apostrophe (‘ )
 Semicolon (;)
 Colon (:)
 Dash (_)
 Parentheses ()

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 Brackets []
 Italics /underlining

 Ellipsis ( . . .)

 Slash (/)

1 End punctuation marks

End punctuation marks indicate that a sentence has
come to an end. There are three ways to end a sentence:
a period, a question mark and exclamation mark.
The period
 The period, also known as “a full stop” is used at the
end of a sentence.
A sentence may be defined as a group of words which
makes a complete thought. The period, therefore,
signifies the end of this thought.
Use
 to end a declarative sentence
A declarative sentence makes a statement of fact or
expresses an opinion.
Examples
I like your bag.
 Ocean water is always moving.
 to close an imperative sentence
Examples
 Please open the window.
 to end a sentence that contains an indirect question
Examples
 Abebe asked me if I could stay.
 Sarah asked what the matter was.

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 to show decimals or dollars and cents

Examples
 In decimals, two and three quarter is written 2.75.
 His wallet costs $ 6.25.
The question mark
- A question mark follows a sentence that asks a question
Uses
At the end of an interrogative sentence.
Example: Why has he changed?
2 The exclamation mark
- An exclamation mark indicates strong feeling or emotion
such surprise, disbelief or admiration.
Use
 To end exclamatory sentence
Example
 What a wonderful idea!
 What a smart boy you are!
 At the end of an imperative sentence that expresses a
strong feeling
Examples
 Don`t move!
 Sit down!
After an interjection expressing strong emotion
Example
 Great! You did a nice job.
 Oh! Look what I found.

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Exercise one

I. Use an appropriate end mark for each sentence.

1. How far north do palm trees grow

2. Go to bed right this minute

3. Mother asked why you didn`t empty the rubbish can

4. I shall cook dinner

5. How tasty the soup is

6. How many stars are on the flag

7. Oh what a large bird that is

8. Please hand me the books

9. Abebe told me to come either at 10.30 am or at 5:00

pm

10. Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC

9.1.2 Internal punctuation marks

 Internal punctuation marks are used within the

sentence to indicate an interruption in the flow of

thought in the sentence.

3. Comma

Uses

1. to set off items in a series

A series is made up of three or more words, phrases or

clause.
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Examples
 Phrase: she lowered the shade, closed the curtain, turn
off the light and went to bed.
 Word: I need to buy paper, pencils and pens
 Clause: (if it`s clause, a comma should be used before a
conjunction)
I don`t know who runs the meeting, where it is, and what
time it is.
2. To separate two or more adjective that come before a
noun.
Examples
Abel is a tall, slim, dark- haired man.
The rabbits disappeared into the tall, thick forest.
Before a coordinating conjunction (and, or but, for, and
yet.)
Examples
1. Deliver this message immediately, and call Abera before
tomorrow morning.
2. Meron drank water, but she was still thirsty.
3. After introductory words, phrases, and clauses.
Examples
1. Yes, the newspaper has arrived (introductory words)
2. Waiting in the rain, we were furious where she was.
(introductory phrases)
3. Before she left, Almaz watered the plants.(Introductory
clauses)
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5. Commas with letter parts.

Examples
 February 15, 1987
 Dear sir / madam,
 Sincerely,

Exercise two
I. Inserting commas where needed.
1. Of course I may change my mind.
2. Mekdes has gone to town Mary is asleep and Tigist is
ironing.
3. “No never!”
4. If you study hard you can pass the test.
5. Astonished by the news Abebe stared at us.
6. No I think it is too early.
7. Sincerely yours
4. Quotation marks
Use
1. To enclose the exact words of a person
Example: 1. Alex asked, “I have a permission to
interview the coach.”
“Eat your bread,” said Abebe. “It`s good for
you.”
“Who is hungry?” asked Abel.
2. To enclose the title of a short story: an article, an
essay, a short poem, a song, a radio and TV shows.

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Examples
1. My favorite essay by Montaigne is “on silence”
2. My favorite poem story is “The Tell – Tale Heath”
Exercise three
I. Insert quotation marks and comas where necessary.
1. Where asked Abebe did you find these earrings.
2. I am sure she missed the city Abebe said.
3. The six and final episode entitled today`s environment
was informative.
4. Who said I want to go home? Asked Alex
5. Do you like farming he asked her.
6. The chapter is called your creative child.
7. I don`t think peter said their team has a chance.
8. The poem trees was written by Joyce Kilmer.
5. Hyphen
A hyphen is used mainly to connect words and words
and word elements into compounds to divide a word at
the end of a line.
Uses
1. to write compound numbers between twenty – one and
ninety- nine
Examples
1. I borrowed twenty – seven dollars.
2. Sixty – one people attended the meeting.

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2. to mean up to between numbers and dates

Examples
 There will be 10-15 people.
 1960- 1965
3. In word with the prefix all- , ex- , and self- and the
suffix elect.
Examples
 Ex-wife

 Self – American
4. after a prefix followed by a proper noun or a proper
adjective
Examples
 Pre- Columbian
 Mid – October
5. All “in- laws” take a hyphen
Examples
 Brother- in – law
 Mother – in – law
6. To write compound nouns
Examples
 He is a well- known man
 Self– supporting girl
 Half – done bread
Don`t hyphenate a compound adjective that use “ly”
before or after the word they modify.

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Example

A barely moving train – a train which is barely moving.

A highly developed muscle – his muscles were highly

developed.

7. to show a syllable division

Example

 Hyper – tension or hyper ten- sion

 Pre- paration or prepara- tion

 Note: don`t divide a one – syllable word or a proper noun.

Examples

1. Talk 3. Joint

2. Abebe 4. Washed

Don`t divide a word so that the only one letter appears at the

end or at the beginning of a line.

Example

 Enough don`t break e – nough

 Healthy don`t break – health-y

Don`t, as a rule, divide words unless at least three letters will

carry over to the next line

Examples

 Don`t break = hang- er

Part- ly

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Divide words having double consonants between the double

consonants.
Examples
 Tomor- row
 Shim- mer
 Oc-cur

Divide only a hyphenated word only after the hyphen.

Examples
 Self – conscious
 Wrong self – con– scious
Exercise four
I. Use a hyphen where necessary.
1. My mother in law has cuff links made from mother of
pearl.
2. Yes, two thirds recipe will serve twenty five people.
3. There are twenty six amendments to our constitution.
4. The president wrote a book about politics.
5. Belay is less self conscious than he used to be.
6. The social studies test was one half written and half oral.
7. There is much pro– british feeling where we spent our
vacation.
6. The semicolon
Semicolon is used to connect main clauses and to clarify
meaning in a sentence that contains a number of commas.
Uses
1. to join closely related independent clauses

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Examples

 This committee wants to know your opinions; let`s hear

from you.

 Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what
you can do for your country.

I knocked; no one came.

 To join independent clauses that are joined by a

conjunctive adverbs.

 Common transitional words that are precede by a

semicolon and followed by a comma are the following.

Accordingly further more in other word

Consequently hence In addition

For example however thus

For instance moreover other wise

In fact besides there fore

On the other hand mean while

Like wise

Instead

Nevertheless

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6. Colon
Uses
1. To introduce items when they follow such words as the
following as follows, these, those.
Examples
 We play on the following dates: May 15, May 18 or May 21.

 I need these boys: Abebe, Abel, Assefa and Yonatan.

Note: Do not use a colon after a verb or preposition

Example
 My three favorite subjects are English, History and Biology.
To separate the hour and minutes in an expression of time; the
chapter and verse in a biblical reference, the title and subtitle
of a book.
Examples
- 3:20 p.m - 9:45 a.m
- Genesis 12:2
after the salutation in a business letter
Examples
 Dear sir or madam:
 Dear beza:
to introduce a direct quotation
Examples
The school director began his presentation with these words: “I
feel honored to be speaking to such a distinguished group.”

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Exercise five
I. Insert colon for each of the following sentences
1. Ayele went to the post office with an armful of materials
to mail letters, parcels and postcards.
2. Abel grows several kinds of crops on his farm maize,
beans, potatoes, cabbages and onion.
3. The following people are likely to be chosen Abebe, Ali
and kedir.
4. The movie can be seen at the following times 145,3/30
and 5/15
5. He has three great faults bad temper, careless-ness and
selfishness.
6. These are my favorite sports tennis, soccer and boxing.
7. Dear Daniel Thank you very much for your helpful letter.
8. Choose a book about one of these topics animals,
conservation or oceanography.
7. The Apostrophe
Use
1. To form contractions and indicate that letters or figures
have been omitted.
Examples
- Can`t (cannot) - I`d (I would or I had)
- I`ll (I will) - It`s (It is or it has)

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2. An apostrophe and an “s” (’s) to form the plural of

letters, numbers, symbols, figures.
Examples
 You use too many whoever`s.
 Her 2`S always looked like her 4`s.
 With expressions of time, space and amount
Examples
I bought a dollar`s worth of candy.
I will be there in an hour`s time.
4. to indicate possession with noun “s”
- An apostrophe a lone for any singular noun if it ends ins
Example: Keats ------- Keats` poem
An apostrophe and (’s) for any singular noun if it does not
end in “s”.
Example
Men ------- men`s
Children------- children`s
The settlers` land
Use the possessive form only the last person`s name when
a thing is jointly owned.
Example
 Tommy and Linda’s puppy has been lost for two days.
 Netsanet and Helen`s country is so beautiful.
 Use the possessive form of each name when two or more
people each possess separate items.

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Example
1. Abebe`s and Kebede`s bags are exactly alike.
Note: do not add an apostrophe or`s to possessive personal
pronouns such as:
- Mine - his - its - theirs
- Yours - hers - ours - whose
They already show ownership
Exercise four
I. Use an apostrophe where necessary and re-write the
sentences
1. Lets hurry! Its after twelve o clock.

2. The childrens singing and playing were delightful.

3. I read two of Charles Dickens books.

4. How many ss are there in the word Mississippi?

5. The Childs writing had bs like ds and fs like ts

6. The class vote was tied with sixteen yes and sixteen nos.

7. The minces cages is kept in the science laboratory.

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Ellipsis(...)
It is a set of three periods or dots.
It is used to show an omission or pause in written or quoted
material.
Examples
1. “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth up on
this continent a new nation…”
2. Cats catch mice and dogs...
II. Re- write the sentences by using
Coffee machine`s broken
___________________________________
Wife`s not well.
___________________________________
I haven`t got all the papers that I expected to have.
____________________________________
Are you and Gillian getting married? We hope to get married. We
hope to get married
____________________________________
There aren`t so many butterflies as there are used to be.
_____________________________________
Exercise five
Re- write the sentences by using Ellipsis.
1. Coffee machine`s broken
_____________________________________________________
2. Wife`s not well.
_____________________________________________________
3. I haven`t got all the papers that I expected to have.
______________________________________________________
4. Are you and Gillian getting married? We hope to get married.
______________________________________________________
5. There aren`t so many butterflies as there are used to be.
_______________________________________________________

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