21 January 2016

WELCOME!


Welcome to the English Skills blog for English 140 (Grammar), English 143 (Writing for Academic Purposes), and English 146 (Reading for Academic Purposes) at Athabasca University. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program. The goal is to increase communication between students and instructors, and to provide students with an opportunity to communicate with each other and to practice the skills taught in these courses. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be addressed in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions on how to improve this site!

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!

A hearty welcome to all the new students joining these courses. We hope you enjoy your studies and have fun participating in this blog.


Assignments marked with asterisks (*.*) are mandatory for ENGL140 students (Assignment 9).

For information on how to participate, please visit the instructions page or contact the administrator.

IMPORTANT: This blog site is open to the public; do not post personal information that could identify you--first name and the initial of your last name are the only personal information you should post. Please watch this video from the Canadian Government explaining privacy issues and social networking. 

Also, be sure to let your tutors know the nickname you have chosen for this blog; otherwise, they will not be able to give you the marks/bonus marks that you have earned for your participation.

Next blog: Friday, February 5, 2016

PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

The silver, new, shiney car was drove by Tim and I when we  had gone to Western Canada seeing the Rocky mountains and some of tourist traps along the Highway; but we seen little wild animals and not a single bear: however the wild flowers had been blossoming.

1. Adjective word order:

Adjectives usually occur in the following order: (1) evaluation or opinion, (2) appearance, (3) age, (4) colour, and (5) origin. This  gives us: shiny, new, silver (see the on-line resources page in the sidebar for more information).

2. Spelling:

Words that end in “e” usually drop that letter before adding a “y” to form an adjective.

3. Verb tense and form:

The correct form of the passive voice in the simple past tense is “was driven”. Also, we should be consistent with the verb tense when possible, so the past perfect “had gone” should be changed to “went”. Also note that “seen” is the past participle; the simple past is “saw”. Finally, instead of the past perfect progressive, we need the past progressive: “had been blossoming”  should be changed to “were blossoming” (or “were blooming” or “were in bloom”).

4. Pronoun usage:

When the verb is in the active voice, the construction is “Tim and I,” as it forms the subject of the verb; however, in the passive voice, these become the object, and must therefore take the objective case, “Tim and me”. If this sounds awkward, it might be best to abandon the passive voice altogether.

5. Infinitive/gerund:

The phrase “go somewhere” needs the infinitive, not the gerund.

6. Idiomatic usage:

The phrase “tourist trap” is an idiom that refers to places that attract a lot of tourists.

7.  Few/Little:

We use the word “little” with uncountable nouns; with countable nouns (such as “animals”), we should use “few”.

8. Punctuation:

We need a comma, not a semi-colon before the coordinating conjunction when it separates independent clauses. Unless we are expanding on an idea, we do not use a colon. Wild flowers are not a type of animal, so we need a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses.

9. Capitalization:

“Western” is not part of a proper name, so it should not be capitalized; nor should “highway” unless we are referring to a specific highway. For the same reason, we should capitalize “mountains” here, as it is part of the official name of the mountain chain.


Suggested solution:

Tim and I drove the shiny, new, silver car when we went to western Canada to see the Rocky Mountains and some of the tourist traps along the highway, but we saw few wild animals and not a single bear; however, the wild flowers were in bloom.

*GRAMMAR QUESTION*

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

I am always eating my dinner late while I get home at 8:00 pm but the food is warmed quick in a microwave we brought at a neighbours garage sale.

The solution will be posted in the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Solution to the previous puzzle:  

As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven cats
Each cats had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks and wives

How many were going to St. Ives?


One, assuming you just crossed paths with the man and his enormous entourage. 

New Puzzle:

What are the blended words that come from the following pairs.

Example:    flutter + hurry
Answer:     flurry.

1.  blank out + beep
2.  pain + sting
3.  haggle + tussle
4.  dumb + confound
5.  bold + rash
6.  chuckle + snort
7.  internal + communication

8.  blow + spurt

*Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word whte:


Watch this video, and then write a sentence that uses one (or more) of these three idioms.

Try not to use the same idiom as the other participants.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/02/090226_teacher_white.shtml

*ALL CHANGE!*

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated.

Please change only the exact word in the sequence given. Each participant should build on the changes made by the previous participant.

For instance, if the original sentence is "Benson hurriedly told the bad news to his friends":


participant 1 could write "#1 Subject Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad news to his friends";


participant 2 could then write "#2 Direct Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his friends";


participant 3 could then write "#3 Indirect Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his wife";

etc.


You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.


Participants who make all 7 changes will receive 2 bonus marks for their efforts.

When all 7 changes have been made, return to the top of the list and continue.


Here is the sentence:


The helpful, young instructor eagerly taught his students the basic rules of grammar

Changes:                                                                                                                          

1. subject noun

2. direct object noun          
3. indirect object noun                  
4. adjective(s)
5. adverb(s)    
6. verb name      
7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem pan- (meaning "all") occurs in many words. 

1. Add an affix to this stem to make another word.

2. Explain the meaning of the word in a complete sentence.

Each participant should add a different word to the list.

*COMPLETE THE SENTENCE*

Follow the instructions below to create three different sentences from the following clause:*

… a gentle snow fell on the quiet streets…

Sentence 1. Add a phrase      
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause


*Add your words to the beginning or end of the clause (but not both) and do not use a semi-colon to join your independent clause.

*NUMBER CHANGE*

If the sentence is singular, change it to the plural; if it is plural, change it to the singular.

The first participant to make the correct changes will receive the bonus mark.

The players in this year's Super Bowl will not have to contend with the cold and snow as the game is being held in sunny Santa Clara, California.

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the parts of speech).

democracy (noun) and demagogue (noun).


To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day
The site also has word games and puzzles.

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/


You can also test your skills while contributing to the World Food Programme here:
http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1498

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe something superficial as analogous

First, write a sentence that uses this word.

Then rewrite the sentence, first using a synonym and then using an antonym for this word. 

Each participant should suggest a different synonym and antonym.


Example: easy.

Answer: 

This exercise is easy.
synonym: simple. This exercise is simple.
antonym: difficult. This exercise is difficult.


*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb wake.

In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.

*TIME CHANGE*

Change the time in the following sentences by using a different verb tense and replacing any necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.

Today we are taking our family to see the Black History exhibit at the mall. It is open between 10 AM and 9 PM. The children are already excited and looking forward to learning more about this aspect of history.

*SENTENCE COMBINATION*

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important writing skill. There are many ways to do this. Try to combine the following three sentences. Do not use a semi-colon.

Sentence 1: The snow lay heavily on the ground.
Sentence 2: People were shoveling the driveways and sidewalks.
Sentence 3: There was little traffic on the roads until the plows had cleared the major routes.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated. Do not use a semi-colon.

Write a sentence using a dependent clause in the past perfect progressive tense and an independent clause in the simple past.

8 January 2016

WELCOME


Welcome to the English Skills blog for English 140 (Grammar), English 143 (Writing for Academic Purposes), and English 146 (Reading for Academic Purposes) at Athabasca University. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program. The goal is to increase communication between students and instructors, and to provide students with an opportunity to communicate with each other and to practice the skills taught in these courses. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be addressed in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions on how to improve this site!

WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!

A hearty welcome to all the new students joining these courses. We hope you enjoy your studies and have fun participating in this blog.


Assignments marked with asterisks (*.*) are mandatory for ENGL140 students (Assignment 9).

For information on how to participate, please visit the instructions page or contact the administrator.

IMPORTANT: This blog site is open to the public; do not post personal information that could identify you--first name and the initial of your last name are the only personal information you should post. Please watch this video from the Canadian Government explaining privacy issues and social networking. 

Also, be sure to let your tutors know the nickname you have chosen for this blog; otherwise, they will not be able to give you the marks/bonus marks that you have earned for your participation.

Next blog: Friday, January 22, 2016

PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

On those short winter days over the Christmas and new year holiday, much people enjoying resting at home and eat traditionally foods; turkeys and all trimmings, the fruit cakes, the plum pudding, and minced meat pies. To sit by the fire is also a benefit as the weathers usually cold than but some people are liking participating in winter sport.

1. Determiner error:

As it is currently wintertime, the short days are close at hand, so we should use "these" instead of "those". Some people may not have taken this paragraph to be about this winter in particular. In that case, "those" may be correct.

2. Capitalization:

New Year is a proper noun, so it needs capital letters.

3. Quantifier error:

 "Much" is used with uncountable nouns. Since "people" can be counted, use "many" instead.

4. Verb form:

For typical or repeated activity, use the simple present tense. People "enjoy" things. And since they enjoy things, we need a noun as the object. In this case, we can use the gerund: "resting" and "eating".

5. Word form error:

We need an adjective, not an adverb, before the noun, so "traditionally" should be changed to "traditional".

6. Punctuation:

We often use a colon to introduce a list. In this case, "traditional foods" is followed by a list of examples, so a colon would be appropriate here. A dash ("—") could also be used; just don’t confuse it with a hyphen ("-").

7. Plural or singular:

When we are referring to types of food, "turkey" and "fruit cake" are not usually countable, so these nouns should be singular.

8. Article use:

"All the trimmings" is an idiom that takes the definite article ("the"). "Fruit cakes" and "plum puddings" may also use the definite article (to indicate that these are familiar kinds of foods), but the result is a little stiff.

9. Word form:

This is tricky. The correct word is "mincemeat". It sounds like "minced meat" but is quite different. Mincemeat is a mixture of fruit in a sweet sauce.

10. Gerund or infinitive:

"To sit" is grammatically correct, but it is more usual to say "sitting" in this context.

11. Noun or adjective:

"A benefit" is grammatically correct, but the adjective "beneficial" sounds more natural here.

12. Word form:

"Weathers" is not a plural; here the meaning is "weather is", which can be contracted to "weather's."

13. Word confusion:
When you are referring to a time, you need to use "then". The word "Than" is used in comparisons.

14. Verb tense:

This is similar to (4) above. When something is generally true, use the simple present tense ("like"), not the present progressive ("are liking").

15. Punctuation:

"But" introduces an independent clause, so we should put a comma before it.


Suggested solution:

On these short winter days over the Christmas and New Year holiday, many people enjoy resting at home and eating traditional foods: turkey and all the trimmings, fruit cake, plum pudding, and mincemeat pies. Sitting by the fire is also beneficial as the weather’s usually cold then, though some people like participating in winter sport.

*GRAMMAR QUESTION*

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

The silver, new, shiney car was drove by Tim and I when we  had gone to Western Canada seeing the Rocky mountains and some of tourist traps along the Highway; but we seen little wild animals and not a single bear: however the wild flowers had been blossoming.

The solution will be posted in the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Solution to the previous puzzle:  

1. Gesëende Kersfees - Afrikaans
2. Boas Festas - Portuguese
3. Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok - Czech and Croatian
4. Glaedelig Jul - Danish
5. Hyvää Joulua - Finnish
6. Joyeux Noël - French
7. Fröhliche Weihnachten - German
8. Kala Christouyenna - Greek
9. Mele Kalikimaka - Hawaiian
10. Bada din Mubarak - Hindi
11. Nollaig Shona Dhuit - Irish
12. Buon Natale - Italian
13. Shinnen omedeto - Japanese
14. Kuwa na Krismasi njema - Swahili
15. Sung Tan Chuk Ha - Korean
16. Linksmų Kalėdų - Lithuanian
17. Feliz Navidad - Spanish
18. Natale hilare - Latin
19. Maligayang Pasko - Tagalog
20. Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia - Polish
21. Feliz Natal, Gajan Kristnaskon - Portuguese, Esperanto
22. S Rozhdestvom Kristovym (С Рождеством Христовым) - Russian
23. Suksun Wan Christmas - Thai
24. Chuc Mung Giang Sinh - Vietnamese
25. Nadolig Llawen - Welsh


New Puzzle:

Let's start off the new year with an easy one. Here is a classic riddle:

As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives
Each wife had seven sacks
Each sack had seven cats
Each cats had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks and wives

How many were going to St. Ives?


*Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.



I will also award a bonus mark for any Christmas/New Year greeting in a language not listed here.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word body:

Watch this video, and then write a sentence that uses one (or more) of these three idioms.

Try not to use the same idiom as the other participants.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090306_teacher_body_hair.shtml

*ALL CHANGE!*

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated.

Please change only the exact word in the sequence given. Each participant should build on the changes made by the previous participant.

For instance, if the original sentence is "Benson hurriedly told the bad news to his friends":


participant 1 could write "#1 Subject Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad news to his friends";


participant 2 could then write "#2 Direct Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his friends";


participant 3 could then write "#3 Indirect Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his wife";

etc.


You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.


Participants who make all 7 changes will receive 2 bonus marks for their efforts.

When all 7 changes have been made, return to the top of the list and continue.


Here is the sentence:


The judge angrily handed down a long sentence to the unrepentant criminal.

Changes:                                                                                                                          

1. subject noun

2. direct object noun          
3. indirect object noun                  
4. adjective(s)
5. adverb(s)    
6. verb name      
7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem -cur- (meaning "to run") occurs in many words. 

1. Add an affix to this stem to make another word.

2. Explain the meaning of the word in a complete sentence.

Each participant should add a different word to the list.

*COMPLETE THE SENTENCE*

Follow the instructions below to create three different sentences from the following clause:*

... I have many plans for the new year ...

Sentence 1. Add a phrase      
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause


*Add your words to the beginning or end of the clause (but not both) and do not use a semi-colon to join your independent clause.

*NUMBER CHANGE*

If the sentence is singular, change it to the plural; if it is plural, change it to the singular.

The first participant to make the correct changes will receive the bonus mark.

For dessert, I would like to have a large glass of milk, peppermint tea, two peanut butter cookies, and some cheesecake!

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the parts of speech).

concur (verb) and curriculum (noun).


To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day
The site also has word games and puzzles.

http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/


You can also test your skills while contributing to the World Food Programme here:
http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1498

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe something superficial as cursory

Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word, using each one in a complete sentence

Each participant should suggest a different word.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb fly.

In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.

*TIME CHANGE*

Change the time in the following sentences by using a different verb tense and replacing any necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.

Last month, I was waiting outside for my friend to arrive so we could go to the park together, when the clouds suddenly gathered and the rain started coming down, and I had to run for shelter.

*SENTENCE COMBINATION*

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important writing skill. There are many ways to do this. Try to combine the following three sentences. Do not use a semi-colon.

Sentence 1: Stores are now getting ready for Valentine’s Day.
Sentence 2: Christmas decorations are finally being taken down.
Sentence 3: No sooner is one festival over than the next one begins.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated. Do not use a semi-colon.

Add an independent clause with a modal in the present tense to the following:

... now that 2016 is finally here ...