Contents:
- Speech Work: Vowel sound /a: /
- Grammar: Preposition
- Reading and Comprehension
- Composition
Speech Work: Vowel sound /a: /
This is long vowel sound, it longer than the /ae/ sound that we discussed earlier in this lesson. In pronouncing this sound, the mouth is partially opened when articulating the sounds. Below are some examples of words that we can find the sound /a: /.
- Part
- Cart
- Dart
- Fart
- Tarred
Grammar: Preposition
A preposition is a word such as after, in, to, on, and with. Prepositions are usually used in front of nouns or pronouns and they show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.
A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence. In itself, a word like “in” or “after” is rather meaningless and hard to define in mere words. For instance, when you do try to define a preposition like “in” or “between” or “on”, you invariably use your hands to show how something is situated in relationship to something else. Prepositions are nearly always combined with other words in structures called prepositional phrases. Prepositional phrases can be made up of a million different words, but they tend to be built the same: a preposition followed by a determiner and an adjective or two, followed by a pronoun or noun (called the object of the preposition). This whole phrase, in turn, takes on a modifying role, acting as an adjective or an adverb, locating something in time and space, modifying a noun, or telling when or where or under what conditions something happened.
Consider the professor’s desk and all the prepositional phrases we can use while talking about it.
You can sit before the desk (or in front of the desk). The professor can sit on the desk (when he’s being informal) or behind the desk, and then his feet are under the desk or beneath the desk. He can stand beside the desk (meaning next to the desk), before the desk, between the desk and you, or even on the desk (if he’s really strange). If he’s clumsy, he can bump into the desk or try to walk through the desk (and stuff would fall off the desk). Passing his hands over the desk or resting his elbows upon the desk, he often looks across the desk and speaks of the desk or concerning the desk as if there were nothing else like the desk. Because he thinks of nothing except the desk, sometimes you wonder about the desk, what’s in the desk, what he paid for the desk, and if he could live without the desk. You can walk toward the desk, to the desk, around the desk, by the desk, and even past the desk while he sits at the desk or leans against the desk.
All of this happens, of course, in time: during the class, before the class, until the class, throughout the class, after the class, etc. And the professor can sit there in a bad mood [another adverbial construction].
Those words in bold blue font are all prepositions. Some prepositions do other things besides locate in space or time — “My brother is like my father.” “Everyone in the class except me got the answer.” — but nearly all of them modify in one way or another. It is possible for a preposition phrase to act as a noun — “During a church service is not a good time to discuss picnic plans” or “In the South Pacific is where I long to be” — but this is seldom appropriate in formal or academic writing.
Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in
- We use at to designate specific times.
The train is due at 12:15 p.m. - We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We’re having a party on the Fourth of July. - We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
She likes to jog in the morning.
It’s too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He’s going to quit in August.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in
- We use at for specific addresses.
Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham. - We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.
Her house is on Boretz Road. - And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Durham.
Durham is in Windham County.
Windham County is in Connecticut.
| Prepositions of Location: in, at, and on and No Preposition | |||
| IN (the) bed* the bedroom the car (the) class* the library* school* | AT class* home the library* the office school* work | ON the bed* the ceiling the floor the horse the plane the train | NO PREPOSITION downstairs downtown inside outside upstairs uptown |
| * You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations. | |||
Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition
- We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
They were driving to work together.
She’s going to the dentist’s office this morning. - Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
We’re moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project’s completion. - With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.
Prepositions of Time: for and since
- We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
He held his breath for seven minutes.
She’s lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries. - We use since with a specific date or time.
He’s worked here since 1970.
She’s been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.
Reading and Comprehension: Application of the reading technique (SPQ3R) to a given passage.
The SPQ3R Technique
S– Survey or preview the material you want to study, notice the title, pictures, charts, graphs etc.
P– Predict what you think you are going to learn from the passage.
Q– Write questions you expect to be answered, and the best way to do this is by turning headings
Into questions.
R– Find the answers to the questions, read it carefully, you can use a pencil to mark out if you wish.
R– After reading, you can write out your answers recite them in your mind and try putting them in your own words as far as possible.
R– Read through what you have written down, repeat this several times, that way, you get used to what you have written and it helps you remember it easily.
Composition: Introduction to Letter Writing
A written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail. There are broad
- Formal Letter: The letter which is written according to the formal rules and regulations of an organization is called formal letter. This type of letter always maintains the formalities of the office strictly. Institutional and business letter fall in this category.
- Informal or Personal Letter: The letter which does not follow any formal rule and contains personal information is known as informal or personal letter. This type of letter is written to relatives and friends for exchanging news or feelings or to seek favors. The basis of writing personal letter is personal relationship.
- Semi-formal letter is type of the letter usually being sent to people we do not know very well or in situations which require more polite and respectful approach (e.g. a schoolteacher, school principal, etc.).
It is useful to distinguish between the three types of letter:
a. Formal (Official or Business)
b. Semi-formal (Personal, but the writers are not to on very close terms)
c. Informal (very personal; the writers are very well known to each other)
One of the most important differences between these three kinds of writing is the style of language you use. Discuss these examples:
1. Grammar
Formal: I shall be going to Jos next month
Semi-Formal: I’ll be going to Jos next month
Informal: I’m off to Jos next month
2. Idioms
Formal: Idioms are best avoided in formal letters. ‘I fully agree with your proposal.’
Semi-Formal: ‘What a great idea!’
Informal: ‘Cool!’ Your use of informal idioms very much depends on whom you are writing to. What is ‘cool’ for a classmate may be unsuitable for an older relative.
3. Vocabulary
Formal: How appointment was terminated
Semi-Formal: He was fired
Informal: He got the sack
4. Layout
Formal Letters: These have to be laid out properly.
Semi-Formal Letters: These should be laid out in the same way as the letters between Eddie and Taiwo.
Thus, these letters are written in a more polite tone than informal letters. Here are some tips of what a semi-formal letter should consist of the introduction , the body, and the conclusion.
Literature: Introduction to Folktales
Folktales are stories that grew out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk. They have always been children’s favorite type of folk literature. Folktales (or folk tales) are stories passed down through generations, mainly by telling. Different kinds of folktales include fairy tales (or fairytale)Folktales are stories that grew out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk. They have always been children’s favorite type of folk literature
Characteristics of Folktales
- Settings:Most folktale settings remove the tale from the real world, taking us to a time and place where animals talk, witches and wizards roam, and magic spells are commonplace.The settings are usually unimportant and described and referred to in vague terms.
- Themes: In folk literature are usually quite simple, but serious and powerful. Folktale themes espouse the virtues of compassion, generosity, and humility over the vices of greed, selfishness, and excessive pride.
- Style: The style of language is economical, with a minimal amount of description and a heavy reliance on formulaic patterns, e.g., conventional openings and closings. Some folktales have powerful visual image.
Assessment
Identify the prepositions and types
- She has been barren for eight years
- She stays on pepple street
- Hurricane Irma moved towards the North
- Her street is at the corner