English Grammar Book

English Grammar 5: foreword Over the years, controversy about the value of teaching grammar concepts to pupils has challenged teachers and, to some degree, led to an uncertainty in this area of the curriculum. However, there has been a resurgence of interest in grammar and a recognition of the need for teachers and pupils to share a common language which allows them to talk about language and how it operates as a resource for making meaning. This seven book series has been written in response to this need: to provide teachers with a practical teaching resource that can add to their knowledge of how the English language functions and how it is organised to serve those functions. It recognises that basic to any teacher’s effort to help pupils improve their grammar is the teacher’s own understanding of how the English language works. Detailed teachers notes have been included in the answer pages providing explanations and extra activity ideas where appropriate. This series includes English Grammar books 1 – 7.

Contents Teachers Notes ................................................................................... ii

Using conjunctions ............................................................................. 17

National Curriculum Links ............................................................ iii

Understanding noun-verb agreement – 1 .................. 18

Using sentences:

Understanding noun-verb agreement – 2 .................. 19

sentence structure ......................................................................... 1

Subject-verb agreement ............................................................... 20

Identifying sentence parts ............................................................... 2

Revising past, present and future tenses ....................... 21

Adding noun groups to the subject ...................................... 3

Using verb tenses: shall and will ............................................ 22

Noun groups and meanings ......................................................... 4

Tenses in report writing ............................................................... 23

More about noun groups:

Using verb tenses

writing descriptions ....................................................................... 5

present continuous – 1 ......................................................... 24

Adding adverbial groups to the subject ............................ 6

present continuous – 2 ......................................................... 25

Phrases and clauses:

Past continuous tense ..................................................................... 26

using conjunctions .......................................................................... 7 More about adverbs:

Using verb tenses: the past perfect ............................................................................. 27

revision ....................................................................................................... 8 Adding adverbs to the subject and verb .......................... 9 Comparative, superlative, degree and conjunctive .. 10 Parts of speech:

More about the past perfect tense ................................... 28 Using punctuation: revision ................................................................................................... 29 Commas, dashes and parentheses ..................................... 30

collective nouns ............................................................................ 11 More about collectives .................................................................. 12 Abstract nouns ...................................................................................... 13 Parts of speech:

More about parenthetical expressions .......................... 31 Using words: homophones .................................................................................... 32 Making use of words:

adjectives ............................................................................................. 14

linking words .................................................................................... 33

Using adjectives in descriptions ............................................. 15

Teachers Notes and Answers .................................... 34 – 39

Conjunctions and connecting phrases ............................ 16 Prim-Ed Publishing

English Grammar

i

National Curriculum Links English Grammar Book 5 covers the following National Literacy Strategy objectives: Pupils should be taught:

Activities:

Year 4 Term 2

Sentence 1: • revise and extend work on adjectives…␣ link to work on expressive and figurative writing.

Parts of Speech – adjectives pp14–15

Year 4 Term 3

Sentence 4: • use connectives, e.g. adverbs, adverbial phrases, conjunctions, to structure an argument

Conjunctions and connecting phrases p16 Using conjunctions p17

Year 5 Term 1

Word 10: • use adverbs to qualify verbs

More about Adverbs pp8–10

Sentence 2: • agreement between nouns and verbs

Understanding noun-verb agreement pp18–19

Sentence 6: • understand the need for punctuation as an aid to the reader

Using punctuation –␣ revision p29

Sentence 8: • revise and extend work on verbs… tenses, past, present and future; investigating how different tenses are formed

Speech –␣ revising past, present and future tenses p21 Using verb tenses pp24–28

Sentence 9: • identify the imperative form

Identifying sentence parts p2

Word 6: • distinguish between homophones

Using words –␣ homophones p32

Sentence 4: • revise the different kinds of nouns (e.g. collective and abstract)

Parts of speech –␣ nouns pp11–13

Sentence 8: • construct sentences in different ways, while retaining meaning

Adding noun groups to the subject p3 Making use of words p33

Text 15: • read a range of explanatory texts, investigating and noting features of impersonal style

Tenses in report writing p23

Year 5 Term 3

Sentence 7: • use connectives to link clauses within sentences

Phrases and clauses –␣ using conjunctions p7 Comparative, superlative, degree and conjunctive p10

Year 6 Term 1

Sentence 6: • secure knowledge and understanding of more sophisticated punctuation marks… parenthetic commas, dashes, brackets

Commas, dashes and parentheses p30 More about parenthetical expressions p31

Year

Year 5 Term 2

Prim-Ed Publishing

English Grammar

iii

did you know

Using sentences: sentence structure Did you know that earthquakes are measured on a special scale called a Richter scale? The Richter scale tells how strong an earthquake is and how much it will affect people.

1. If a Richter scale for writing existed, how would your stories rank? Circle the number on the scale below. dull

exciting

0

1

did you know

No effect felt

2

3

An o ccasi o n a l tremor

A slight tremble

a goo d shake some t i mes

4 arthshatte g er in

If you are unhappy with your ranking, you could improve it by knowing more about sentences and how to make them more interesting and exciting.

2. Read this sentence that Grace wrote and answer the questions that follow. John planted the tree. (a)

How would you rank it on a Richter scale for sentences? Why?

(b)

How do you know it is a sentence?

(c)

The action part of the sentence is called the verb. Which part of Grace’s sentence tells about the action?

(d)

The naming part of the sentence that tells who carried out the action is called the subject. Which part of Grace’s sentence is the naming part?

(e)

The part that tells more about the situation is called the object. Which part of Grace’s sentence tells more about the situation?

(f)

Add an adjective to describe the tree.

(g)

Add an adjective to the end of the sentence to describe how John planted the tree.

Prim-Ed Publishing

English Grammar

1

Identifying sentence parts John is always asking questions. When his teacher told the class they were going to learn sentence parts, John had plenty of questions to ask. Here are some of his questions. Why do we have to learn about sentence parts?

How can knowing about them help our writing?

Why is it important for us to know about them?

1. If you were John’s teacher, what answers would you give him?

2. Read the following. Put a cross next to the ones that are not sentences. (a)

In summer we like to go.

(b)

In winter, the rain beats down on our tin roof and makes a loud noise.

(c)

The cat and the dog played together happily in the garden.

(d)

Lions and tigers live.

(e)

Mr Green, our next-door neighbour.

(f)

Dinosaurs were huge creatures that roamed the earth long ago.

3. Were you able to identify them correctly?

did you know

4. Explain to your teacher why they are not sentences. Write down your reasons.

If you can identify the subject, verb and object of each sentence it is easy to discover whether it is a complete sentence or not.

5. Read the following. (a) ‘Come here!’ (b) ‘Stand up straight!’ (c) ‘Well done!’ (d) ‘Stand still!’

6. Are they sentences? Prim-Ed Publishing

English Grammar

2