Grammar Quiz

Section 1

Can you correct these 14 basic grammar mistakes?

Question 1 of 14

1. Question

Which of these is not a word or phrase?

•  a lot
•  alot
•  allot

Question 2 of 14

2. Question

Which word means “feeling great appreciation”?

•  Greatful
•  Grateful
•  Gratefull

Question 3 of 14

3. Question

You’ve probably heard the phrase “i before e except after c”… but which of these words defies this rule?

•  Species
•  Science
•  Policies
•  All of them

Question 4 of 14

4. Question

Fill in the blank. “I consulted an attorney _____ I met in Miami.”

•  who
•  whom

Question 5 of 14

5. Question

Which phrase is erroneous?

•  Should've
•  Should have
•  Should of

Question 6 of 14

6. Question

Fill in the blank. “Bad weather can ________ people’s ability to work.”

•  affect
•  effect

Question 7 of 14

7. Question

What is the past tense of the word “lie” as in “lie down”?

•  Lay
•  Laid

Question 8 of 14

8. Question

If someone says “I’m sorry,” you can _______ their apology.

•  except
•  accept

Question 9 of 14

9. Question

Fill in the blank. “_____ so hot outside!!”

•  It's
•  Its

Question 10 of 14

10. Question

Who is the person in charge at a high school?

•  Principle
•  Principal
•  Princepal

Question 11 of 14

11. Question

Which of these words means “to praise someone”?

•  Compliment
•  Complement

Question 12 of 14

12. Question

Which word means: unaware or ignorant?

•  Obvious
•  Oblivious

Question 13 of 14

13. Question

When your team doesn’t win the game, they most definitely…

•  Loose
•  Lose

Question 14 of 14

14. Question

Fill in the blank. The U.S. ________ building is in Washington DC.

•  capital
•  capitol

Section 2

Identify the word or phrase that needs to be removed from the sentence to make it grammatically correct.

1. He called me as a fool.

a) called

b) as

c) a

2. This is the house where Jack was born in.

a) where

b) was

c) in

3. I have visited them a couple of times during my stay in Mexico.

a) have

b) couple

c) of

4. I live half of a mile from here.

a) half

b) of

c) a

5. I don’t think so that I will have time.

a) so

b) that

c) will

6. Despite of having a headache I enjoyed the film.

a) despite

b) of

c) having

7. He asked to her why she was angry.

a) to

b) why

c) was

8. He was very kind enough to invite me.

a) very

b) enough

c) to

9. I have bought a chicken in case of Peter stays to lunch.

a) in case

b) of

c) to

10. I want to know as to why I have been detained.

a) as to

b) why

c) been

Revision: Devices

Pollution 

Pollution is a term which even kids are aware of these days. It has become so common that almost everyone acknowledges the fact that pollution is rising continuously. The term ‘pollution’ means the manifestation of any unsolicited foreign substance in something. When we talk about pollution on earth, we refer to the contamination that is happening of the natural resources by various pollutants. All this is mainly caused by human activities which harm the environment in ways more than one. Therefore, an urgent need has arisen to tackle this issue straightaway. That is to say, pollution is damaging our earth severely and we need to realize its effects and prevent this damage. In this essay on pollution, we will see what are the effects of pollution and how to reduce it.

Pollution affects the quality of life more than one can imagine. It works in mysterious ways, sometimes which cannot be seen by the naked eye. However, it is very much present in the environment. For instance, you might not be able to see the natural gases present in the air, but they are still there. Similarly, the pollutants which are messing up the air and increasing the levels of carbon dioxide is very dangerous for humans. Increased level of carbon dioxide will lead to global warming.

Further, the water is polluted in the name of industrial development, religious practices and more will cause a shortage of drinking water. Without water, human life is not possible. Moreover, the way waste is dumped on the land eventually ends up in the soil and turns toxic. If land pollution keeps on happening at this rate, we won’t have fertile soil to grow our crops on. Therefore, serious measures must be taken to reduce pollution to the core.

After learning the harmful effects of pollution, one must get on the task of preventing or reducing pollution as soon as possible. To reduce air pollution, people should take public transport or carpool to reduce vehicular smoke. While it may be hard, avoiding firecrackers at festivals and celebrations can also cut down on air and noise pollution. Above all, we must adopt the habit of recycling. All the used plastic ends up in the oceans and land, which pollutes them.

So, remember to not dispose of them off after use, rather reuse them as long as you can. We must also encourage everyone to plant more trees which will absorb the harmful gases and make the air cleaner. When talking on a bigger level, the government must limit the usage of fertilizers to maintain the soil’s fertility. In addition, industries must be banned from dumping their waste into oceans and rivers, causing water pollution.

To sum it up, all types of pollution is hazardous and comes with grave consequences. Everyone must take a step towards change ranging from individuals to the industries. As tackling this problem calls for a joint effort, so we must join hands now. Moreover, the innocent lives of animals are being lost because of such human activities. So, all of us must take a stand and become a voice for the unheard in order to make this earth pollution-free.

Questions

1) What is the purpose of the passage above? (2 marks)

2) Discuss three organisational strategies in the passage above. (8 marks)

3) Discuss three language techniques in the passage above. (8 marks)

Characteristics of Creole

 

Consonants

ü    In Creole English the th in the words thief and teeth would be pronounced like a t;

ü    Loss of s at the beginning of words like strong, string, and split.

 

Morphology (word-endings)

ü    Creole English shows much less dependence on morphology. Many of the grammatical inflections which characterize standard English are either not part of Creole English or are inconsistently used.                      

Double marking for comparative and superlative are both natural in Creole English.

    Big (more) bigger       (most) biggest             /           tall    (more) taller     (most) tallest

Plural

ü    Unlike standard English, the Creole does not mark the plural in the noun phrase unless the context of the utterance is not clear, in which case it uses the third person before or after the noun 

e.g. di dog dem/dem dog

 

Juxtaposition

ü    Creole, like standard English uses juxtaposition, but unlike standard English uses it generally. Creole English does not depend on morphology for indicating possession, but solely on juxtaposition of nouns. The Creole also hardly (if at all) makes use the apostrophe to show possession 

e.g. trunk of tree/tree’s trunk/ tree trunk

ü    Juxtaposition is also used to indicate gender and possession e.g. man book, girls school, girl child, bull cow, woman doctor, man tree.

Absence of Verbs/Shorter Sentences

ü    The Creole uses shorter sentences and tends to omit verbs e.g. The cat is fat =Di cat fat

Smaller Vocabulary

ü    Creole English has a much smaller vocabulary than the standard because it is characteristic of fewer societies.

Excessive Use of Object Pronoun Me

ü    The Creole makes great use of pronoun me instead of subject pronoun I e.g Me (instead of I) feel sleepy.

ü    Some Rastafarians, on the other hand, make excessive use of I e.g. Give I (instead of me) di bread.

 Negation

ü    The Creole allows double and triple negation e.g Me nah no noting (instead of anything)

Variations

 Degrees of dialect

Is Dialect a Language?

Many people do not view dialect as a language like standard English?
Well, I believe it is a language even though it does not have a lot of rules like the standard.

• Now first of all, linguists are people who study language and they believe that all languages are dialects, whether they be Standard English, French or even what we call dialect or broken English.

• However, Hazel Simmons McDonald et al (1997) in Writing in English noted that even though the linguist considers all varieties as dialects, the standard nevertheless is “a special variety.” It is accorded special privileges and as“a result of its use as an instrument of mass education, it will have acquired a greater amount of rigidity/uniformity to ensure wider comprehension, than any other variety.” (page 61)
 
• Standard English has more privileges because it is the language largely used in schools, at work (for example in the banks and at Courts). In this case dialect refers to 'broken English', also known as Creole or dialect. Many people feel that when you use dialect you are talking badly but that is not always the case. Dialect is just another way we Caribbean people communicate and sometimes it is 'sweeter' to give a joke or tell a story in dialect than in Standard English. Do you agree?
• Many people tend to 'look down' on people who speak dialect. Examine the differences between Standard English and dialect in the table below.



STANDARD ENGLISH	CREOLE ENGLISH
1) Accepted and recognized as a language     globally	Accepted and recognised only in few  regions
2) Well-structured: Complex system of rules	Accused of lacking structure / Simplified Rules
3) The language of the education system	Marginalised in the education system
4) Deemed as indicator of civilization and prestige	Deemed as an indicator of backwardness
5) Purportedly associated with people in urban areas	Purportedly associated with people in rural areas
6) Usually good writers of English	Usually poor writers of English

Can you think of any other reason why some prefer the Standard?

ACROLECT

The variety of speech that is closest to a standard prestige language, especially in an area in which a creole is spoken. For example, Standard Jamaican English is the acrolect where Jamaican Creole is spoken. For example, "I want it."

MESOLECT
A variety of speech that is midway between the acrolect and the basilect (somewhere between Standard English and what some people call the "raw form" of dialect/Creole--the basilect). For example, "Me want it."

BASILECT
The variety of speech that is most remote from the prestige variety, especially in an area where a creole is spoken. This is the "raw" dialect, as some people call it. It is the politically and economically weakest dialect becomes the basilect, and often vanishes beneath the pressures of the acrolect.For example, "Me want um."

Jamaican examples 

• "im ah wok oba deh suh" (basilect)
• "im workin ova deh suh" (low mesolect)
• "(H)e (h)is workin' over dere" (high mesolect)
• "He is working over there." (acrolect)

Argument: Logical/Persuasive Devices

The purpose of an argument is to  convince or persuade...

Logical Argument (R-E-A-P)

• Refuting or acknowledging the opponents' argument (counterargument)

Evidence: factual evidence is the strongest type since they can be verified (facts, statistics etc.)

• 

• Authoritative opinions: opinions of experts or authorities are also valid (quoting/making references to experts)

• Personal experience (I had an abortion so I know it was painful)

    

Persuasion or persuasive type of argument (E-R-R)

• Emotional appeal (conscience, health, safety etc.)

• Repetition (of important words, not words like it, have etc.)

• Rhetorical question (does not require an answer)