Reading and Grammar Exercise (27 July 2015, Monday)

Ms Victoria Galvez

A) Learning Pronunciation: Phonics

1. Words with silent e and long o sound
Doe, Foe, Hoe, Toe
Joke, Woke, Poke, Broke, Smoke
Hole, Mole, Pole, Sole
Cone, Tone, Zone
Cope, Hope, Rope, Slope
Dose, Nose, Hose, Rose
Lets practise: 1. Although Jane looks as gentle as a doe, dont forget that shes your foe!
2. The heavy hoe fell on his toe.
3. My poke was meant as a joke, but it broke him.
4. Dont smoke when you have just woken up!
5. Tom is so ashamed
of his mole that he wants to use a pole to dig a hole, and bury himself in it.
6. The melodious tone of her voice told us that she
is in the zone.
7. To cope with difficulty, you must always have hope and never reach for the rope to take your life!
8. The heavy dose of medicine made her nose drip. 9. Hose the rose with water!
2a. Words with silent e and long u sound. U = name of the letter u
Cube, Tube
Cue, Due, Hue
Rule, Mule
Dune, Tune
Use, Fuse
Cute, Mute
Lets practise: 1. The cube is a square but the tube is like a long hose. 2. Please take your cue where it is due.
3. Pretty hues
of red, green and blue decorated the evening sky.
4. The mule is the last creature that would rule the animal kingdom.
5. Mary is such a poor singer that she can hardly hold a tune. 6. Sand dunes are aplenty in the desert.
7. Dont use the light!
The bulb has fused.
8. Tom becomes mute every time he spots a cute girl.
2b. Words with silent e and long u sound. U = oo sound in zoo
June
Prune
Plume
Rude, Crude
Clue, Sue, True
Ruse
Lets practise: 1. In Singapore, it is exceeding warm in June. 2. Prunes are sour, so dont eat them unless you can stomach the
taste.
3. The feathers of a bird are also known as plume.
4. The rude girl put her feet on the table. How crude! 5. I dont have
a clue why I am being sued when the claim I made was true. 5. Dont ruse her temper, for she has a short fuse.
3. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; a peak of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers, wheres the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
B) Reading Aloud
1 Art Leisure
2 Michael Lau is a well-known sculptor, and many viewers have praised his artworks. Michael Lau was born in Australia but was
raised and schooled in England. Thus, his masterpieces have been heavily influenced by many European scholars.
3 Art is my soul, Michael revealed, in response to a question about his passion for art. It is a way of life, a means of leaving
something for mankind. Michael relishes leaving his personal touch on the collection of sculptures in the museum.
4 Michaels artistic talent has culminated in many exhibitions. A record 500, 000 people have graced his recent show so far. Two
million more are expected before the show concludes in two months. My work is my life, explained the 55-year-old, whole
endless love for sculpture began while he was being educated in England. Michael has a degree in fine art from the University of
London.
5 Michaels hands are full at the moment as he is preparing for another exhibition which will be open to the public at the end of
2015.
C) Grammar 1: Definite and Indefinite Articles
- A, an and the are Articles. A and an are Indefinite Articles, and are used before SINGULAR COUNTABLE nouns. A is
used before a noun which begins with a consonant sound. An is used before a noun which begins with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u)
or a silent h.
- Indefinite Articles are used when particular or specific things are NOT referred to.
E.g.s She has put on a hat.
He rode an elephant at the zoo.
You had better take an umbrella or a raincoat with you.
- There are a few exceptions when a is used instead of an, and when an is used instead of a
E.g.s a European country, a united nation, a uniform, a unique painting, a university NO vowel sounds
He left an hour ago with a stranger.
David is an honest boy. Silent h

- There are five uses to the Definite Article The:

1. The is used when a particular or specific thing or person is referred to.
E.g.s The house he lives in is very small. refers to the specific house he lives in
He has been wanted by the police for a long time. refers to a specific group of people
2. The is used before a superlative (e.g. the most).

E.g.s She is the most attractive girl I have ever seen. He had the most frightening experience of his life.
3. The is used to express a particular thing or person that has been mentioned before.
E.g.s He does not have many friends. The only friends he seems to have are the few of us.
She threw away an apple just now. The apple was rotten.
4. The is used to refer to things which have only one of its kind: the world, the earth, the sun, the sky, the north, the south etc
5. The is used before certain nouns such as names of oceans, seas, rivers, mountain ranges, certain places and certain countries.
E.g.s The water in the Red Sea is very salty.
She returned to the Philippines after her work contract expired.
- However, the is NOT used before the name of a game, a road or a mountain.
E.g.s I enjoy playing tennis.
The hawkers stall is along Sisowath Quay.

- Articles are NOT needed in three situations:

1. When Plural Countable Nouns are expressed in a general way.
E.g.s Cows eat grass.
Children below the age of five are not allowed to ride on the roller-coaster.
2. When Uncountable Nouns are used.
E.g.s Flour is used to make bread.

Man needs food to stay alive.

We saw smoke rising up from the chimney.

3. For most nouns like names of people, languages, months, festivals, roads and most countries.
E.g. I am migrating to Cambodia.
He only speaks English.
Christmas is celebrated in December.

Exercise 1.1: Fill in the blanks with a or an.

1. a ear
2. ________ eye 3. ________ hair 4. ________ heel 5. ________ ankle 6. ________ hand 7. ________ elbow
8. ________ hour 9. ________ horse 10. ______ heir 11. _____ honour 12. ________ ant 13. ________ eagle 14. _______ ostrich
15. ______ uniform 16. ____ umbrella 17. _____ year
Exercise 1.2: Fill in the blanks with a or an.
1. an American
2. ________ Arab3. ________ Englishman 4. ________ Eskimo
6. ________ Singaporean 7. ________ Cambodian 8. ________ Indonesian

5. ________ European

Exercise 1.3: Fill in the blanks with a or an.

1. a juicy apple
2. ________ unique painting 3. ________ uncommon flower 5. ________ talent artist
6. ________ adventurous person 7. ________ unskilled worker
8. ________ busy ant
9. ________ ugly dress
Exercise 1.4: Fill in the blanks with a, an or the.
1. She bought a doughnut from the bakery near her school.
2. ________ Royal Palace is very crowded today.
3. Marina reads one storybook ________ day.
4. Jane took ________ orange from ________ refrigerator and began to peel it.
5. ________ boy over there is selling balloons. I think I shall buy ________ red one for little Sam.
6. The school has declared tomorrow ________ holiday.
7. He plays football in ________ evening.
8. She has four sons and ________ daughter.
9. You will need ________ umbrella in this scorching weather.
10. Use ________ dictionary to find out ________ meaning of that difficult word.
Grammar 2: Some and Any
- Some is used with a Plural Countable Noun to indicate a small number. It can also be used with an Uncountable Noun to
indicate a small amount. It is usually used in a positive sentence.
E.g.s There are some apples in the refrigerator.
Some boys are playing out in the rain.
She drank some water just now.
- Some is also used in a question when it is a request or an invitation.
E.g.s Could you give me some sugar, please?
Would you like to have some bananas?
- Any is used with either a Singular or Plural Countable Noun. It can also be used with an Uncountable Noun.
E.g.s I have not found any present for her yet.
There arent any eggs left in the refrigerator.
- Any is also used in questions and negative statements.
E.g.s Is there any question that you do not understand?

Is there any money left in your wallet?

- ***Some and Any form compound words with thing, one and body: something, someone, somebody; anything, anyone,
anybody. The above rules apply to these compound words. Also, compound words are used in questions where the answers are
usually yes.
E.g.s I just saw a moving shadow. Do you think somebody is behind those bushes? (Answer: Yes.)
Did you steal something from the shop? You walked out in a great hurry. (Answer: Yes.)
Exercise 2.1: Turn each positive statement into a negative one.
1. She cooked some food.
She did not cook ANY food.
2. He has some bruises on his arm.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
3. The children are applying with some clay.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
4. She wants to borrow some money from you.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
5. They are asking someone to do the job.
They are not asking ANYONE to do the job.
6. We want to do something to help them.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
7. He did some work while waiting for you.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
8. I know some of your secrets.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
9. She has some of my books.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
10. She knows somebody who can repair the car.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
Exercise 2.2: Turn each statement into a question.
1. There are some ants on the floor.
Are there ANY ants on the floor?
2. You have some coffee stains on your shirt.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
3. She is waiting for someone.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
4. He is looking for something.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
5. She wants some sugar in her coffee?
___________________________________________________________________________________.
6. There is somebody in the room?
___________________________________________________________________________________.
7. There were some footprints along the path.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
8. There is someone waiting for you.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
9. They bought some fruits.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
10. He borrowed some books from the library.
___________________________________________________________________________________.
Exercise 2.3: Fill in the blanks with some or any.
1. Is there any use trying to convince him not to do it? I dont think there is anything else we can say to make him change his mind.
2. You may take ________ of these doughnuts but you cant have ________ of the fried bananas.
3. I havent ________ potatoes left. Do you have ________ to spare? If you dont, Ill go to the market to buy ________.
4. Would you like ________ milk in your coffee? I usually dont like ________ in mine.
5. Please eat these cakes and give ________ to your brother but dont leave ________ for me.
6. If you are not sure of ________thing, you must ask ________one to help you.
7. He has been very silent the whole morning. Is there ________thing bothering him? Is there ________thing I can do to help him?
8. There isnt ________ rice left but there are ________ noodles.
9. I smell smoke. Is there ________thing burning? I didnt do ________ cooking in the kitchen just now.
10. You should not take ________ of his belongings without asking him first. Hasnt ________one ever taught you that?