The comparative forms of many adjectives of two syllables and all adjectives of more than two syllables are formed by using ‘more’ before the positive form. The superlative degree is formed by using ‘most’ before the positive form. Examples: Positive degree Comparative degree Superlative degree beautiful more beautiful most beautiful difficult more difficult most difficult important more important most important Irregular adjectives Irregular adjectives do not follow any set rules or patterns to form their comparative and superlative degrees. Sometimes, a whole new word is used. Example: good, better, best. Such adjectives are known as irregular adjectives. Examples: Positive degree Comparative degree Superlative degree good better best far little farther/further farthest/furthest bad less least worst much/many worse most more Exercise 1: Sort the adjectives into the correct rows. One is done for you. more useful largest merrier most anxious abler smooth dearest ignorant delightful Positive a) smooth b) c) Comparative d) e) f) Superlative g) h) i) Adjectives 47
Exercise 2: Complete the table with the correct positive, comparative and superlative degrees of the given adjectives. One is done for you. Positive degree Comparative degree Superlative degree a) tall taller tallest b) nicest c) expensive d) worse e) most interesting f) far Exercise 3: Complete the table with the correct positive, comparative and superlative forms of the given adjectives. One is done for you. Positive degree Comparative degree Superlative degree a) enjoyable more enjoyable most enjoyable b) strange c) holier least d) more qualified truest e) f) Exercise 4: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate degrees of comparison of the adjectives given in brackets. Then, sort the adjectives into the given table. One is done for you. a) The Shanghai Maglev is the fastest (fast) train in the world. 48
b) T he South Pole is the __________________________________ (cold) place on Earth. c) I find home-cooked food __________________________________ (delicious) than restaurant food. d) T he __________________________________ (soon) you reach, the __________________________________ (good). e) This dress is __________________________________ (clean) than the one on the bed. f) This is the __________________________________ (difficult) decision that anyone has ever had to make. Comparative degree Superlative degree a) b) fastest c) d) e) f) g) h) Exercise 5: Complete the dialogue using the appropriate degrees of comparison of the adjectives given in brackets. One is done for you. Neera : I am bored. Shall I ask my uncle to take us for a movie? Shalini : No, the tickets are too expensive. Let’s ask if we can go to the town instead. It’s cheaper (cheap). Adjectives 49
Neera : But the cafe there isn’t very Shalini ________________________ (good). The food at the cinema is ________________________ (good) than the cafe. : Maybe we should go to the museum. It’s the ________________________ (close) of all, and I am too tired to walk. Neera : Yes, that’s true, and it’s ________________________ (hot) today than it was yesterday. Let us just play a game of carrom at home. Shalini : Yes, that’s the ________________________ (good) idea. Exercise 6: Underline the adjectives and change the degrees of comparison in the context of the sentences. Make other necessary changes so that the sentences are grammatically correct. One is done for you. a) My father bakes the better cookies in the world. Ans. My father bakes the best cookies in the world. b) One kindest deed goes a long way. Ans. c) Use the longest of these two ropes to scale the wall. Ans. d) A dog is a faithful pet than a bird. Ans. e) I am the elder sibling in my family of five. Ans. f) The Taj Mahal is a more splendid example of Mughal architecture. Ans. 50
W5 Writing Formal Writing E-mail writing with hints E-mail means electronic mail. It is a means of communicating with people over the internet. We write informal or friendly e-mails to our family members and friends to ask how they are, invite them over and to congratulate them. How do we write an e-mail? We all enjoy reading anything that is well written. Writing is a creative act. It is said that the more you write, the better you get at it. Writing is also a process. No one – not even the best of writers – can write the best-finished product in the first go. There are various steps involved in the process of writing an e-mail. When we follow these steps, the final written piece is much more complete and enjoyable to read. Look at the steps involved, and try to follow them whenever you write something. Pre-write – Brainstorm on the main points that you wish to include in the form of keywords and phrases. Do this in rough and don’t worry too much about the order in which you write the points. Then, organise the points that you have listed in a logical manner. Rough draft – Write your e-mail carefully. Take care of your spellings, punctuation and sentence construction. Edit – Once you are done, reread what you have written to check for any mistakes. Also, see how the ideas flow and how the e-mail reads. Have you missed out any important information or anything that should be part of the format? Final copy – Rewrite the e-mail in fair. 51
Read the sample e-mail given below to understand the various elements of an e-mail. To Hi everyone, Subject The e-mail id or address A one-line gist of of the person or persons I have very exciting news for you! This Saturday the contents of whom you are sending will see the grand opening of my new studio, EC the e-mail. the e-mail to. photography! Greeting and Body of the e-mail I’d love it if you guys could come. It will be from 10 sign off The main idea of your a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be entertainment and lots These can be e-mail. An informal or of food, so come out and enjoy the festivities! informal in nature. friendly e-mail does not need to have an Hope to see you there! Tools introduction, body or Elena You can edit and conclusion. The ideas style your e-mail can flow as you want with the help of them to. these. You also send your e-mails by clicking on the blue ‘Send’ button on the left. Exercise 1: Write an e-mail to your cousin about a hobby that you have picked up over your winter break. You can take the help of the following hints to write your e-mail. Hints: • Write an e-mail address. • Write an introductory sentence as the subject of your e-mail. • Write about the hobby that you picked up. • Write what or who influenced you to take up this hobby. • Describe your hobby further. • Greet and sign off as shown in the sample. 52
Writing 5 53
Creative Writing Biography writing A biography is an account of a person’s life written by someone else. How do we write a biography? Remember the steps involved in the process of writing. Ensure that you follow them whenever you write. Pre-write – Brainstorm on the main points that you wish to include in the form of keywords and phrases. Do this in rough and don’t worry too much about the order in which you write the points. Then, organise the points you have listed in a logical manner. Rough draft – Write your biography carefully. Take care of your spellings, punctuation and sentence construction. Edit – Once you are done, reread what you have written to check for any mistakes. Also, see how the ideas are flowing and how the biography reads. Have you missed out any important information or anything that should be part of the biography? Final copy – Rewrite the biography in fair. Exercise 2: Interview your favourite teacher. Write a short biography of him or her. Use the hints given below to help you write. Hints: • Where and when was she or he born? • Describe her or his childhood. • Give a few details of her or his childhood. • What kind of a person is she or he? • Why do you admire her or him? 54
Writing 5 55
6 Articles Articles Fill in the blanks with the correct articles to complete the paragraph. A frog can live in water and on land. It is called ___________ ‘amphibian’. ‘Amphibian’ is ___________ Greek word, which means ‘having a double life’. Its wet skin holds the secret of ___________ frog’s double life. It can breathe only when its skin is wet. If ___________ skin dries out, ___________ frog cannot breathe. Isn’t that ___________ interesting piece of information? Remember • Articles are words used before nouns. • There are three articles in English: ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. • ‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles, while ‘the’ is called the definite article. • W e use the article ‘a’ before words like ‘unicorn’ because the first sound is that of a consonant. Similarly, we say ‘an’ hour because it begins with a vowel sound. 56
Examples: A: used before singular, countable nouns that begin with consonant sounds Tejas is a little boy. She is wearing a uniform. Gagan has a red car. An: used before singular, countable nouns that begin with vowel sounds An old man sat on the We will go in an aeroplane. They have an hour left to bench. catch the train. The: used before singular/plural and countable/uncountable nouns that have been mentioned earlier • U se ‘the’ before particular (definite things, such as names of rivers, lakes, oceans, holy books, newspapers, well-known buildings and a few countries such as the USA and the UK. • U se ‘the’ while mentioning something unique like ‘the Sun’, ‘the Moon’ and so on. • ‘The’ is pronounced ‘thee’ when used before nouns that begin with vowel sounds. The Ganga is the longest I have read the Ramayana. I liked the bag that you river in India. gave me. Articles 57
Zero articles Remember • D o not use articles while saying general things about plural and uncountable nouns. Examples: I hate sweets made of sugar. I am afraid of heights. • D o not use articles before abstract nouns. Examples: I have confidence in you. My parents give good advice. • D o not use articles before names of people, countries, towns, subjects or languages. Examples: Sudeep is from Bangladesh. Raza is fluent in Spanish. We are studying Botany. Exercise 1: Look at the pictures and fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’. One is done for you. a) b) c) an ant and an apple _ _______ hour and _ _______ giraffe and ________ minute ________ umbrella 58
d) e) f) ________ cupcake and ________ Sun and ________ owl and ________ candle ________ Moon ________ pussycat Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the correct articles from the brackets. One is done for you. a) She is a (the/a) famous movie star. b) That is _____________ (the/an) excellent book on animals. c) Would you like to drink _____________ (an/a) cup of tea? d) Riyaz wants to go to __________ (the/a) Himalayas in December. e) Did you read _______________ (the/an) newspaper that I gave you? f) He is ___________ (a/an) honourable and kind-hearted man. Exercise 3: Fill in the blanks with the correct articles. Put where no article is needed. One is done for you. a) Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh. b) My mother is __________ nurse, and my father is ___________ architect. c) Ravi works at ____________ airport every night. d) Do you have __________ dictionary with you? e) Do not worry about ____________ Mehak’s illness. She will be fine. f) She was faint with ____________ thirst. Articles 59
Exercise 4: Look at the pictures and fill in the blanks with ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’. One is done for you. a) You can see the Arabian from Mumbai. b) I love to sip on ____________ of grape juice in the morning. c) My sister attended ____________ class at school today. d) Raima has ____________ injury from playing tennis. e) I gifted my father ____________ for his birthday. ____________ is green in colour. f) This is ____________ . I wear it to school. Exercise 5: Complete the paragraph by filling in the missing articles. One is done for you. I go to a school in the city. _____________ school has many classrooms and labs. It also has _____________ huge assembly hall and _____________ auditorium. Our teachers teach us to be honest and hard working in our daily lives. They say _____________ honest person is of great value to _____________ growing society. 60
Exercise 6: Rewrite the paragraph after correcting the articles used. Put where no article is needed. One is done for you. I found that a money does not buy as much as it used to. I have been living in the city of Mumbai for two years and have not bought a house of my own. Then, I finally moved into an small house with the garden in the back. On the first day, I wanted to get a milk, the small loaf of bread and a orange. I had twenty rupees only. The amount was not enough. Ans. I found that money does not buy as much as it used to. Articles 61
W6 Writing Formal Writing Editing exercise Exercise 1: The paragraph given below has mistakes such as incorrect spellings, punctuation, capitalisation and grammatical errors. Rewrite the paragraph after correcting as many errors as you can. Animals We Love We loves animals, especially the ones mentioned here. A elephant is the biggest living animal on land. It is grey big and extremely heavy. Elephants love to eat Bananas. They carry loads from one place to another, horses are farm animals. They have hard hoofs that protect their legs. They help their masters by carrying loads. A dog is a person’s best freind. Dogs are obedient and loyal. They helps protect our homes from thiefs and burglars. The police use dogs to catch crinimals! Now, write the correct paragraph here. 62
Creative Writing Story writing Remember the steps involved in the process of writing. Ensure that you follow them whenever you write. Pre-write – Brainstorm on the main points that you wish to include in the form of keywords and phrases. Do this in rough and don’t worry too much about the order in which you write the points. Then, organise the points you have listed in a logical manner. Rough draft – Write your story carefully. Take care of your spellings, punctuation and sentence construction. Ensure that your story makes sense. The events of the story should take place in a logical manner. Edit – Once you are done, reread what you have written to check for any mistakes. Also, see how the ideas are flowing and how the story reads. Have you missed out any important information or anything that should be part of the story? Final copy – Rewrite the story in fair. Exercise 2: Create a story based on the prompts given below. Give the story a suitable title. a member of a group slips and falls while mountain climbing – gets stuck on a ledge and twists his or her ankle – the group members are horrified – start rescue operations – a group member climbs down to the ledge with some medicines – the others make a stretcher – put the person on the stretcher – take to the hospital – the group members are relieved Writing 6 63
64
R3 Reading Comprehension Passage 1 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. The history of Chinese tea is a story of gradual refinement. Generations of growers and producers have perfected the Chinese way of manufacturing tea and its many unique variations. The original idea is credited to the legendary Emperor Shennong. His orders required that all drinking water be boiled. A story goes that one summer day, while visiting a distant part of his kingdom, he and the court stopped to rest. According to his ruling, the servants began to boil water for the court to drink. Dried leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water, and a brown substance soaked into the water. As a scientist, the emperor was interested in the new liquid. He drank some and found it very refreshing. And thus, according to the legend, tea was created in 2737 BC. Tea is an important part of the Chinese tradition. The main varieties of Chinese tea are green tea, red tea(black tea), Wulong tea, white tea, yellow tea and reprocessed tea. 1) W hat happened when the emperor’s servants were boiling water for the court to drink? Ans. 65
2) Which are the main varieties of Chinese tea? Ans. 3) Fill in the blanks with appropriate adjectives from the passage. a) Milk is ______________________ for growing babies. b) I want a ______________________ cup of tea. c) He has a ______________________ voice. 4) The meaning of ‘reprocessed’ is . 5) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) gradual A) special b) refinement B) happening over a long period c) unique C) improvement Passage 2 Read the passage and answer the questions given below. Once upon a time, a smart boy from the city was travelling in a train. The only other person in the compartment was a boy who looked like a simpleton. The city boy, Akshay, thought he would have some fun at the other boy’s expense. ‘Hi, what is your name?’ he asked. ‘Ram’ was the reply. ‘Well, we have a long journey ahead of us. To make it more interesting, I suggest that we ask each other questions to pass the time’, he said. 66
‘All right’, said Ram. ‘Let us decide on a penalty. If the answer is wrong, the person has to pay 50 rupees’, said Akshay. ‘Fair enough! However, you are well educated, knowledgeable and smart, whereas I am a simple village dweller. My penalty should be half of yours’, said Ram. Akshay agreed to this condition. Ram suggested that Akshay should ask the first question. ‘What is the latest technology by which seeds can produce stronger plants?’ asked Akshay. ‘I don’t know’, said Ram and handed 25 rupees over. ‘Your turn now’, said Akshay. ‘Why is it that when a handful of seeds are sown, a few germinate faster and a few don’t germinate at all?’ asked Ram. Akshay was stumped. He thought for a long time. Finally, he said, ‘I give up’ and handed Ram 50 rupees. ‘Tell me the answer’, said Akshay, watching Ram put the money into his wallet. ‘I don’t know either’, answered Ram. 6) Name the two boys in the story. Ans. 7) Who ended up with more money in the end? Ans. 8) Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verb ‘to be’. a) What ____________________________ the answer to this question? b) We ____________________________ travelling by train. c) I ____________________________ Ram. Reading Comprehension 3 67
9) The antonym of ‘half’ is . 10) Match the words with their correct meanings. Column A Column B a) stumped A) begin to grow b) simpleton B) did not know the answer to something c) germinate C) a foolish person 68
Search
