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5 Verb Mistakes You Should Stop Making Today

   1)      I seen vs. I saw
Incorrect: “I seen the movie last week.”
Correct: “I saw the movie last week.”

  2)      I been vs. I have been
Incorrect: “I been there!”
Correct: “I have (I’ve) been there!”

  3)      I done vs. I did
Incorrect: “I done the homework.”
Correct :”I did the homework.”

  4)      We was vs. we were
Incorrect: “We was just about to start the reading.”
Correct: “We were just about to start the reading.”

  5)      I would of vs. I would have
Incorrect: “I would of gone with you if I knew.”
Correct: ”I would have (would’ve) gone with you if I had known.”

 Bonus: Be careful with past simple (I knew) and past perfect (I had known) constructions. Though they have similar meanings, it’s best to use the tense that matches the tense in the first part of the sentence (I would have). Match have/had constructions with have/had in clause pairs.

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech

part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	English is my favourite subject. I like English.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.
Adjective	describes a noun	a/an, the, 2, some, good, big, red, well, interesting	I have two dogs. My dogs are big. I like big dogs.
Adverb	describes a verb, adjective or adverb	quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really	My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Spanish. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	joins clauses or sentences or words	and, but, when	I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.
Interjection	short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence	oh!, ouch!, hi!, well	Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know.

 VISUAL TEXT

Carefully study the advertisement below before answering the questions set on it (Sunday Sun newspaper, August 2011)

The way to cruise through life

                                                                                 By NJABULO NGCOBO

ARE YOU bored of the crowded coast in the summer? If you are then try a sea cruise! For couples, families and friends, there are special offers for holidays on the sea. MSC Starlight Cruises have come up with best packages to get more people onboard which are also cheaper than a hotel. The nice thing about cruise holidays is that you pay only one price for the nights and activities that you enjoy on the ship. And MSC boasts about 11 modern fleet ships giving cruises a variety of relaxing areas to satisfy their needs. And specifically cater to adults and children in very separate areas too! Marketing director for MSC Starlight Cruises in South Africa, Allan Foggitt, said for three years now more black people are turning to sea cruises for their holidays! Bookings for the 2011/2012 season aboard MSC Sinfonia and MSC Melody are ready open with over 31 departures listed as “Prima Specials” – the earlier you book the more money you save; 36 partner specials departures, in which partner pays half price, and 36 departures as the special “buy-two get two free” for couples sharing a cabin. 2.1 Name the company that placed this advertisement in the newspaper.                  .(1) 2.2 Give the type of transport which is used on the sea.                                            .(1) 2.3 What do you think the word “cruise” means?                                                     (2) 2.4 Who is the targeted in this advert? Write any TWO targets.                                (2) 2.5 Mention the nice things about sea cruise holidays that attract people.                     (2) 2.6 Who is Allan Foggit?                                                                                            (1) 2.7 How many ships does MSC have?                                                                        (1)                                                                                                                                     [10]

  TRANSACTIONAL WRITING

 DIARY ENTRY

Write a diary entry (80 – 100 words) on ONE of the following topics:

1. The night before I received my Grade 8 or 9 report.

2. The day before going on holiday

.

Remember the following when writing your diary entry:

 Write the day and date at the top.

 Start your entry with “Dear Diary”.

 Write in the first person (I).

 Write in the present tense.

 Describe your thoughts and feelings.                                                                  [20]

 POETRY

THE Eagle                                                                                  Alfred, Lord Tennyson He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.

        

4.1  Who is the author of “The Eagle” ?                                                                              (1)

4.2  What is the poem about? Complete the following sentence to answer this question.

        The poem is about an eagle which …                                                                         (1)

4.3  Explain why the alliteration in line 1 is effective.                                                           (1)

4.4  Quote and explain the effect of another example of alliteration in the first verse.            (2)

4.5  How do you know that very few creatures live where the eagle is sitting on the

       mountain. Quote to prove your answer.                                                                       (2)  

4.6  Quote two phrases from the poem to show that the eagle is sitting very high up on

        the mountain.                                                                                                              (2)

4.7  Why does the eagle fall?                                                                                              (1)                  

                                 Total 10

Question 1: TEXTUAL EDITING

                                                                    

Read the diary entry below and then answer the questions that follow:

                                           Saterday 20 November 2011

Dear Diary

I feel so embarrased! Me and my girlfriend went to the Mall this afternoon cos

we were gonna watch a movie. Then I realised that I did’nt have enough bucks

with me! I had to ask my girlfriend to borrow me R50. She was like so

dissappointed with me. It was a complete disaster!

1 Identify THREE spelling errors and write out the words correctly.            (3)

               

2 The underlined words are slang. Suggest more acceptable words or

phrases to replace them.                                                                                (3)

                                                                                   

3 Rewrite “Me and my girlfriend” correctly.                                                  (1)

                                                     

4 Rewrite “I had to ask my girlfriend to borrow me R50” correctly.             (1) 

       

5 Rewrite the word “did’nt” using the apostrophe correctly                         (1)

6 Which word should be omitted from this sentence: “She was like so

disappointed with me”?                                                                                  (1)

                                                                                                                [10]

Wow guys, I'm impressed at the number of you who accessed the blog. Remember use it as a source of revision and consolidation.

PARTS OF SPEECH
Read the passage below and answer the questions which follow.
GRANNY (106) LEARNS TO USE COMPUTER NEW DELHI – She saw the introduction of cars and television, and now 106-year-old Rosakutty is getting into technology.  She is familiarising  herself with the computer mouse and keyboard.  After watching her grandson tap away at the computer, curiosity got the best of Rosakutty.  She enrolled at a government computer literacy class in Ernakulam, Kerela.  She is the oldest student by more than  four decades.  A student in her class said Rosakutty was afraid to touch a mouse at first, but now she sends e-mails to her grandchildren.  While India has a growing reputation as a high-tech centre, access to computers remains very low.
1	Write down the verbs contained in the first two sentences of the above news report.		(3)
2	Look at the underlined words in the fourth sentence.  Are they functioning as nouns, adverbs or adjectives?		(1)
3	How long is a “decade”(sentence 5)?		(1)
4	What is the function of the hyphen in the word “high-tech” (sentence 7)?		(2)
			[7]
PUNCTUATION
Rewrite the following sentences placing colons and semi-colons in the correct places, and explain the function that it serves in each instance.
1	After all the hard work I’ve done this term there is only one thing left to do relax.		(2)
2	The boy doesn’t like me right now nevertheless I believe I can make him change his mind someday.		(2)
			[4]
PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES
1	What do the following prefixes and suffixes mean?
	1.1	para (e.g. paralegal)	(1)
	1.2	com (e.g. compact)	(1)
	1.3	graph (e.g. polygraph)	(1)
2	Create a word using one of the above choices and write a sentence that will show its meaning.		(2)
3	Rewrite the following sentences correcting the mistakes each one contains:
	3.1	The three boys was great friends all threw school.	(2)
	3.2	We will only no tomorrow if we is going to Cape Town.	(2)
4	Read the following puns and identify the literal and figurative meanings in each.
	4.1	To write with a broken pencil is pointless.	(2)
	4.2	A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to hospital . When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said, “No change yet.”	(2)
			[13]