Functional Skills English - The Learning Curve …...Functional Skills English Level 1 Learning Resource 2 Grammar and Syntax Rs/L1.1 Ws/L1.1 Ws/L1.2 GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX LEVEL 1 ©West

Functional SkillsEnglish

Level 1

Learning Resource 2Grammar and Syntax

Rs/L1.1 Ws/L1.1 Ws/L1.2

GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX LEVEL 1

©West Nottinghamshire College 1

Excellence in skills development

2

Contents

2a Predicting Meaning Rs/L1.1 Pages 2 - 3 2b Understanding Adverbs Rs/L1.1 Pages 4 - 5 2c Understanding Negatives Rs/L1.1 Page 6 2d Understanding Verb Tenses Rs/L1.1 Pages 7 - 8 2e Sentence Pattern and Word Order Rs/L1.1 Pages 9 - 10 Ws/L1.1 2f Complex and Compound Sentences Rs/L1.1 Pages 11 - 15 Ws/L1.1 2g Subject - Verb Agreement Ws/L1.2 Page 16 – 17 2h Using the Correct Verb Tense Rs/L1.1 Pages 18 - 22 2i Glossary Page 23


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Excellence in skills development Information Predicting Meaning Don’t worry if you don’t immediately understand every word you come across in your reading. Understanding how word order and sentence patterns in English work can often help you read and predict the meaning of words you have not met before. Example Read this sentence. Because he was in a hurry, he grampled over the pile of bricks and hurt his foot. You will not understand the word grampled because it is not a real word but you can make an informed guess it means something like tripped simply from your understanding of the way English works:

• because of its order in the sentence (the fact it comes after the word ‘he’ and before the word ‘over’) the word is likely to be a verb (a doing word);

• because of the word ending, -ed, the word is likely to be a verb; • because of the meaning of the rest of the sentence (i.e. because he was in a

hurry and because he hurt his foot as a result of this action) the verb is likely to mean he fell or tumbled;

• because of the position of the verb before the word over, tripped seems a plausible meaning.

In order to make good use of these strategies, you need to appreciate that some sentence structures and forms of words occur more in some kind of texts than others. Examples

• instructions often begin with imperative verbs e.g. place the fish in the pan, boil the kettle, stop doing that;

• descriptive or persuasive texts usually contain an unusual amount of adjectives (describing words) e.g. the modern, well equipped hotel is situated in an excellent situation overlooking the beautiful, awe-inspiring Bay of Naples.



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2Excellence in skills development

Exercise 1 In each of these sentences, replace the nonsense word in bold with a more sensible option. 1) Since her memory had begun to deteriorate, Claire was always blogging what she

had gone shopping for.

………………………………………...............................................................................

2) Linda found doing her job difficult because she didn’t always remember the

drobbles she had been given.

…………………………………………............................................................................

3) Bob mobbled his job. It was the kind of work he had always wanted to do.

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

4) Shirley was an krittilent worker. She was enthusiastic, reliable and hard working.

………………………………..........................................................................................

5) The force ten gring howled around the chimney pots and through the cracks in the

window frames.

…………………………………......................................................................................

6) Margaret reversed her car badly, catching the wall and wretting all the paintwork

on the off-side wing.

……………………………………...................................................................................

7) The weather was prondly hot, hot enough to melt the tarmac on the roads.

.………………………………………………………………………………………………...

8) Unwrap the fragile crockery very trugfully.

……………………….....................................................................................................

9) Gruppy did you want to know where I was going? Were you going to follow me?

…………………............................................................................................................

10) The teacher gave the young child a game which would give him vrimpice in

counting. ………………….......................................................................................


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Excellence in skills development Information Adverbs An adverb is a word that adds to the meaning of another word, particularly to a verb. Many adverbs are formed by adding “ -ly “ to adjectives.

quick-ly slow-ly quiet-ly loud-ly careful-ly clear-ly Adjectives which already end in “y”, e.g. happy, angry, change the “y” to “i” first before adding “ -ly “. Example

“happy” becomes “happily” “angry” becomes “angrily” Exercise 2 Form adverbs from each of these adjectives, taking care with those ending in “y”.

adjective adverb brave bravely serious faithful sad greedy thankful final easy



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Excellence in skills development Information Adverbs Adverbs often add meaning to verbs by telling us how something is done. Example Spot ate his food greedily. The adverb “greedily” adds to the verb “ate” by telling us how Spot ate his food. Exercise 3 Read these recipe instructions and highlight all the adverbs that add meaning to verbs.

1) Whisk two eggs lightly in a mixing bowl. 2) Gently add the sugar and stir. 3) Fold the flour carefully into the mixture. 4) Add the orange rind and the raisins and mix thoroughly. The mixture should drop

easily off the spoon. 5) Pour the mixture gently into the tin and put into the centre of the oven to bake.

Now read the recipe instructions again but this time underline the verbs that are described by the adverbs.



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Excellence in skills development Information Negatives Negatives are often used on warning notices. They are usually followed by the verb to which they refer. Example • No smoking • No exit • Do not park in front of these gates • Children under 8 years should never be left alone on this playground Make a list of other examples you may have seen. Exercise 4 Read the following paragraph from a motor car insurance renewal and underline all the negatives – This temporary cover note is not an insurance certificate. It is only valid for a short period of time as long as you renew your policy but does not provide a period of grace in which to pay your premium. It is not an authentic document if cover has been arranged with another insurance company. In the event of any change of circumstances of which you have not informed us this cover note is no longer valid. It should never be used as a permanent replacement for a full insurance certificate. Now read the paragraph again and highlight the verbs to which these negatives refer. Are there any words or phrases that you do not fully understand? By looking closely at the remaining words in the sentence try to work out what they might mean. Work with a partner if you are able. After all two heads are supposed to be better than one! Write down any words or phrases that are new to you.



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Excellence in skills development Information Verb Tenses Verbs are written in different forms to tell us more about the time at which the action of the verb takes place - in the past, the present or the future. Example She came home at midnight. came is in the past tense

because the action has already taken place. Look! He is coming down our street. is coming is in the present tense

because the action is happening now. They will come by train. will come is in the future tense because

the action will take place later. Exercise 5 Read the following football match report and try to work out which tense is used for the main part of the report. Even though City were without their main striker, Bowen, they easily overcame their opponents at the Trade Stadium on Saturday. Town went into an early lead after Himpey put Jingles through to score with only thirteen minutes on the clock. The remainder of the first half was scrappy with City almost equalising just before half time when Town’s goalkeeper, Dobbs, was left stranded but Peskey’s shot was just wide of the post. The second half started well for City with Goates scoring from a free kick and six minutes later Peskey made sure of his second attempt with a header after a perfectly taken corner by Anklemann. After sixty-five minutes Himpey was again in action for Town but this time he was adjudged to have fouled Pupson, the City goalkeeper, and the referee had no hesitation in sending him off. Himpey will now miss next week’s home tie against United and the mid-week cup-tie away to Rangers. Goates scored from the resulting penalty and the match finished with the score 3-1. After the match City’s manager, Alf Wince, said, “I am worried about Pupson’s injury. It was a bad tackle and his back is giving him a lot of pain. He will continue to have treatment on it for a few days but we will probably have to play our reserve keeper in our mid-week game.



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Excellence in skills development Exercise 6 Most of the verbs in the report were used in the past tense. Can you think why? A few verbs were in other tenses. Read through the report again, highlighting any verbs you find that are not written in the past tense. Make a list of these verbs and alongside put the correct tense of the verb. You should have two verbs in the present tense and three in the future. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………



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Excellence in skills development Information Sentence Pattern and Word Order Look at the words and phrases that are highlighted at the beginning of each sentence in the following advertisement. Each one helps to make a link between its sentence and the previous sentence. Linking words help to create an order in a passage such as this. There are other words or phrases that are used to link sentences together:

unless therefore because of in order to

except that although consequently

Example Read through this travel agent’s advertisement for a holiday in Paris. If sightseeing, fun and gourmet food are your idea of a good holiday then look no further. Whatever you want to do, be it climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, stroll along tree-lined boulevards, shop until you drop or wander through one of Europe’s best art galleries, you have the freedom to choose. As a result of many years providing excellent accommodation in central locations, we know that we can suit your needs. In addition we can suggest daily itineraries, provide local guides and recommend places to eat. However, if you need time just to chill out and soak up the atmosphere of this romantic city then we will help you do that too. Finally, however long your stay and whatever you choose to do, enjoy your holiday.



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Excellence in skills development Exercise 7 Use appropriate linking words to join these sentences together to create a complete paragraph from a letter to Social Services. I wish to inform you of problems we have concerning my mother’s meals on wheels

service. …………………….. maintain as much independence as possible she agreed to

receive lunchtime meals. ………………….… the service has now started to deliver these

meals long after most elderly people like to have their lunch. …………………….

reorganisation, the meals are now distributed from a centre more than twenty miles from

my mother’s home. ………………….. my mother now receives her “hot” meal at 1.30,

some two and a half hours after it has left the distribution centre. ……………………. her

dementia she is already confused about time and ……………………. having meals at

times which are suitable for her is important in keeping her day in some sort of order.

……………………. I appreciate that you have to make savings in your budget, I think that

there may be other ways you may wish to consider rather than this basic provision of

midday meals.



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Excellence in skills development Information Joining Sentences In order to make writing more interesting to the reader, short sentences can be joined together using linking words or phrases. Look at this pair of sentences.

We left the pub early. We didn’t see them. We can join these two sentences in several ways –

Because we left the pub early, we didn’t see them. We left the pub early so that we didn’t see them. As we left the pub early, we didn’t see them. We left the pub early even though we didn’t see them.

You can probably think of other ways of joining them. Look at the words that are bold: these are the joining or linking words. Look also at the way the punctuation has changed: the full stop in between the pair of sentences has disappeared. Exercise 8 Joining Sentences Join these pairs of sentences together using one of the words or phrases written at the end of the exercise. Write new sentences underneath each pair. Try to use a different linking word or phrase in each new sentence.

• I got wet through. I forgot to take my umbrella.

• …………………………………………………………………………………….........



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• Sarah went into town. She didn’t buy anything.

• …………………………………………………………………………………………..

• Tom missed the bus. He was late.

• …………………………………………………………………………………………..

• I enjoyed the film. It was too long.

• …………………………………………………………………………………………..

• He’s learning to drive. He can’t afford a car.

• ………………………………………………………………………………………….. Choose from these words and phrases.

although but because

since as therefore however until

while even though in order that



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Excellence in skills development Information Compound Sentences A complete sentence must start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. It must also make sense. A simple sentence contains just one single statement. Example

He is a good-looking guy. A compound sentence contains more than one statement but all the statements are concerned with one main idea. Example Even though he has no dress sense and he needs a haircut, he is a good-looking guy. In this second sentence there are three separate statements but they all concern “the guy” who is the main idea in the sentence. If it were written in simple sentences it could look like this. He has no dress sense. He needs a haircut. He is a good-looking guy. Exercise 9 Compound Sentences This paragraph is written in simple sentences. Some of them can be joined together to make compound sentences because they are concerned with the same idea. Put brackets round any sentences that you think could be put together into one compound sentence. You will probably have five longer sentences. On Saturday afternoon, a little girl was playing in our street. It was busy. Her ball rolled into the middle of the road. She ran after it. At that moment, a car screeched round the corner. A passer-by saw the girl. She was in danger. He ran quickly to help her. Fortunately he was able to save her from serious injury. Rewrite the paragraph using the compound sentences you have created.



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Excellence in skills development Information Complex Sentences Simple sentences can also be joined together by using “who”, “which” and “that” to make sentences with more than one clause. Who must always be used to refer to people never which. Look at these examples of how two simple sentences can be joined in this way.

• That is the man. He stole my purse. That is the man who stole my purse.

• She opened the cupboard. It was full of books. She opened the cupboard which was full of books.

• I admit it. I have made a mistake. I admit that I have made a mistake.

• The girl rang for the doctor. She lives next door. The girl who rang for the doctor lives next door.

Exercise 10 Rewrite these sentences by joining them together using “who”, “which” or “that” to make one complex sentence out of two simple sentences.

• Tom lost his bus ticket. It had been in his pocket. • ………………………………………………………………………………………….

• The old lady fell heavily. She hurt her leg.

• ………………………………………………………………………………………….



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• The football supporters had no tickets. They were not allowed into the ground.

• …………………………………………………………………………………….........

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

• The barman dropped a glass. It shattered into tiny fragments. • …………………………………………………………………………………………..

• I had the book. She wanted to use it.

• …………………………………………………………………………………….........



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Excellence in skills development Information Subject Verb Agreement The subject of a sentence is the noun or pronoun (the person or thing) which performs the action in a sentence. The subject can be either singular or plural, but in either case the verb must agree with its subject. Look at these examples. The subject of each sentence is in bold; the verb is underlined.

• James and his mum spent three hours in casualty. • James had fallen off his skateboard. • The doctor told him that he had broken his arm. • A nurse plastered his arm for him. • They left the hospital and went home.

Exercise 11 Choose the correct verb to fit with each subject in the sentences below by crossing out the verb that does not fit.

I (go, goes) to school. He (go, goes) to college. I (come, comes) home at 4 o’clock. He (come, comes) home at 5 o’clock. I (catch, catches) the bus. He (catch, catches) the train. I (reach, reaches) home at 4.30. He (reach, reaches) home at 5.45. I (have, has) my tea at 5 o’clock. He (have, has) his tea at 6 o’clock. I (am, is) in bed by 9 o’clock. He (stay, stays) up until 11 o’clock.



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Exercise 12 Read the paragraph below and underline the subject of each verb in the sentences. Highlight the correct verb from inside each of the brackets so that the verb you choose agrees with the subject of the sentence. You may need to read the whole of the sentence in order to work out which verb is correct.

On Saturday, Darren (play, played) basketball for his local college team. They

(meet, met) in the car park and (was, were) (took, taken) by minibus to their match

at the leisure centre. We (follow, followed) them in our car so that we (don’t, didn’t)

get lost. The game (was, were) very exciting because Darren’s team, The Codders,

(win, won) by only two points. After the match we (met, meet) the team at the pub

for a drink. It (were, was) a good night because The Codders (had, has) defeated

the League Champions and (was, were) in line for promotion.


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Excellence in skills development Information Verb Tenses In writing, different verb tenses are used to inform the reader when an event has taken place. We use three main tenses – present, past and future. The present tense is used when the action is taking place as the writer is actually writing. It is often used in letters or in an autobiography, when the writer is writing about his or her own experience. Example

I am writing this letter as I watch my daughter playing happily.

The past tense is used in newspaper and magazine reports, in stories or narratives or when the writer is writing about an event that has already taken place. Example

The Stags were relegated to Division 3 after a disastrous season.

The future tense is used when the writer is writing about something that will take place in the future. Example

Next season we hope they will improve.



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Exercise 13 Most of this report has been written in the past tense because the action has already taken place. However the writer has made several mistakes, putting some verbs in the wrong tense. Can you spot the mistakes? Underline the verbs that you think are in the wrong tense and write the correct verb underneath the paragraph. The first one has been done for you. You should be able to find 8 more. During the summer holidays I went to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland to spend a week with some renowned archaeologists digging at a Roman site. We will spend the first few days clearing the land, taking up the grass turfs and digging a deep trench. We had to use a machine to dig the trench until it is about 5 feet deep. The Roman historian, who was in charge of the dig, then asks us to carefully scrape away the mud that was surrounding some old stones. He says that these stones were part of a Roman fort where Roman soldiers kept guard and watch for enemy soldiers coming to plunder their villages. One of the diggers find some Roman coins but they were not in very good condition. However, we did find some old pieces of pottery but we were told that they were not Roman. On the last day, we discover a gold bangle. It is very dirty when it was taken out of the earth but after it had been cleaned up it will look beautiful. e.g. will spend - spent 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)


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Excellence in skills development Information Present/Past Tense Verbs in the present tense are used when the writer is writing about something that is happening at the moment of writing. They can be written in various ways – e.g. I write my name. I am writing my name. She eats her dinner. She is eating her dinner. They go to the disco. They are going to the disco. The past tense of verbs is used when the action has already happened. It can also be written in various ways. e.g. I wrote my name. I have written my name. She ate her dinner. She has eaten her dinner. They went to the disco. They have been to the disco. Exercise 14 This is the script for a news reporter from a local radio station. It is about a dog show that is taking place at a country fair. The news reporter is talking about the competition as it is taking place so all the verbs are written in the present tense. Read the report and highlight all the verbs in the present tense that you can find, taking care to include the entire verb, as there may be more than one word. I am standing by the entrance to the dog ring here at the country fair in Mendham, waiting for the next group of dogs to enter. It is a lovely sunny day and a large crowd is gathering to see the climax of this exciting competition. Into the ring comes the poodle class and owners. They all line up across the middle of the ring and are asked to stand for a few moments while the three judges walk up and down the line looking carefully at the way the dogs stand and how patient they are while they are waiting. The owners are now being asked to walk their dogs individually to the edge of the circle. The crowd has become very quiet as the judges take a final look. They are conferring now and don’t seem to have much doubt which dog is the winner of this poodle class. I think that I agree with them – Mizzi is certainly a handsome animal and is a very popular winner.



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Exercise 15 The reporter has been asked to rewrite his script so that it can be put into the local newspaper. Because the event will already have happened when the newspaper is printed, the reporter will have to change all the verbs into the past tense. There will be other words in the report that will need changing too in order that it makes sense in the past tense. Can you help him to rewrite the report ready for the newspaper?


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Excellence in skills development Information Future Tense Verbs are written in the future tense when the action of the verb is still to happen sometime in the future. They can be written in different forms. I shall write to your mother. I shall be writing to your mother. It will freeze overnight. It will be freezing overnight. They will return tomorrow. They will be returning tomorrow. We shall join you later. We shall be joining you later. Exercise 16 In this advertisement for a health farm all the verbs are written in the future tense because it is telling the reader the things that will be available to them if they win the first prize in a competition. Underline all the verbs that you can find that are in the future tense. Remember that they may contain more than one word. By winning this amazing competition, you will be able to take advantage of all our facilities throughout your three-day stay. There will not only be our highly qualified staff to pamper you, but you will also be offered only the freshest, local organic produce for every meal. You and your partner will have full use of our heated swimming pool, Jacuzzis, whirlpools and spas. For more energetic types, the gymnasium will be available to you with a fully qualified trainer to help you get the most out of your exercise. We will also give you the opportunity to take part in many indoor and outdoor sports such as squash, tennis, badminton, golf or one of the many water sports that will be on offer to you during your stay. After a hard day’s workout you will be able to enjoy some time in a Turkish bath, and after a massage by one of our expert masseuses, you will be ready to enjoy your candlelit dinner in the relaxed atmosphere of our highly commended restaurant. Exercise 17 Using most of the same words, rewrite the paragraph as though you were telling a friend in a letter about your experiences at the health farm. You will need to change all the verbs from the future tense into the past tense and there will be several other alterations you will have to make too. You may find it easier to rewrite the paragraph using “we” instead of “you” as the subject of some of the verbs.



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Glossary of Grammatical Terms Used in this Workbook Adverb a word or phrase that adds meaning to another word, particularly a

verb, e.g. The sun shone brightly.

Phrase a collection of words that are not a complete sentence, but add colour or meaning to the rest of the sentence, e.g. The football team, dressed ready in their new strip, arrived at the ground.

Pronoun a word which replaces a noun, e.g. He (the goalkeeper) let in 6 goals!

Negative Verbs are verbs which tell you not to do something. They may be verbs preceded by no or don’t, e.g. No Parking, Don’t Walk on the Grass, or verbs with a negative prefix, e.g. undecided, distrust.

Tense a verb form which indicates time, e.g. I am going to college today (present tense), I was going to work yesterday (past tense), I will be going to the pub tomorrow (future tense).


Documents

Functional Skills English - The Learning Curve …...Functional Skills English Level 1 Learning Resource 2 Grammar and Syntax Rs/L1.1 Ws/L1.1 Ws/L1.2 GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX LEVEL 1 ©West