Language
Nouns
Nouns are words, which name people, places and things. There are four main types of
nouns:
Common nouns
These are names, which are given to all people, places
and things of the same kind. For example: man, woman,
child, teacher, town, street, country, beach, car, radio,
computer and book.
My name is Sarah
Smith. I live in
Bethal and go to John
Calvin School.
Proper nouns
These are the special names given to particular people, places
and things. Most proper nouns begin with capital letters. For
example: Monday, April, Pluto, Peter Pan. The following
proper nouns do not usually begin with a capital letter: moon,
sun, summer, winter, autumn, spring, north, south, east,
west.
Collective nouns
These are names given to groups or collections of things of the
same kind. For example: a flock of birds, a pack of cards and a
flight of stairs.
My family gave me
a bouquet of flowers
and a set of glasses
for my birthday.
Abstract nouns
Some feelings and qualities cannot be seen, heard, tasted or smelt.
The names we give such things are all abstract nouns. For example:
naughtiness, sorrow, ambition and understanding.
Collective nouns
Choose the most suitable collective noun from the list below to complete the following
sentences:
1. The ... of dancers was more popular than the ... of singers.
2. The archives have an extensive ... of books.
3. One great fear the Karoo farmer had was of a ... of locusts.
4. During the ceremony, a ... of aircraft flew overhead while a ... of musicians played.
5. The gifts for the royal couple included a ... of diamonds in a necklace and a ... of silver
cutlery.
canteen
band
22
troupe
squadron
library
plague
cluster
choir
Abstract nouns
1. Identify the abstract nouns in the following sentences:
a. Everyone praised the sailors for their courage.
b. Solomon is admired for his wisdom.
c. Pride comes before a fall.
d. Greed and envy are two qualities which no one likes.
e. My grandfather always reminded me of the importance of courtesy and obedience.
2. By filling in the missing letters, form abstract nouns from the following words:
a. cruel - cruel**
e. friend - friend****
b. coward - coward**e
f. stupid - stup***t*
c. hungry - h****r
g. deceive - dece*t
d. poor - po****y
h. vain - van**y
23
Comprehension
Listen carefully to the following transcript of a news bulletin and then answer the
questions.
2.
1.
Cape Town fi
skies
remen battled
Africa’s
th
u
for four hours
o
S
n
6
ig
3
h
t
to
to
in
co
r
o
n
last
tr
ol a blaze whic
isit
nce
h
b
A rare v its first appeara Comet,
roke out in a pai
store of a war
nt
ehouse in Woo
e
’s
dstock. They
will mak t. Van Rensburg
h
am
r
u
p
er
te
ed
a
w
by a stiff nort
ere
am
igh
hwesterly win
years ton fter the Gauteng
caused the fire
,
1
2
d
,
9
w
1
h
ic
a
h
in
to
spread to the re
sighted it
so called
st
t
s
F
o
f
ir
ir
th
ef
f
e
e
ig
b
o
h
th
u
ti
h
il
ng units from
ding.
er w
low in
Salt River and
astronom
a faint g
w
er
s
e
a
g
W
al
in
so
y
le
r
n
berg
u
ca
ib
lled in to pre
D
is
10 p.m.
v
will be v
en
t
t
u
sp
th
o
re
e
b
ad
a
s
fi
in
re
e
g to neighbouri
from
from
proach
ng factories. N
southeast
s, as it ap cular
injured, but dam
k
e
e
o
o
w
n
e
o
was
tw
age to the build
s specta
t’
the next
e
in
g
m
is
an
o
es
d
c
it
ti
s
m
contents
ated at over R4
ent
, the
million. It is th
ost promin r
the earth
m
e
th
e
th
fi
o
e
re
u
ght that
w
m
as
o
caused by an el
eco
ess
ectrical fault.
tail will b e night sky. Prof
th
rland
feature in
e Suthe
th
f
o
y,
vited
Dunwidd
ape, has in omers to
C
e
th
in
y
r
on
observato nal panel of astr
will be
o
ti
a
h
n
rs, w ich
e
v
r
an inter
e
s
g
b
o
am of
f increasin
o
y
d
tu
s
join her te
e
d
n intensiv e movements an
making a
th
ly
f
ledge o
s heaven
our know of these mysteriou
ion
composit
bodies.
3.
And now for the sports news... The national selectors have announced only two changes
in the South African cricket team to play Australia in the second test match at Newlands
on Thursday. Justin Novella of Western Province will keep wicket in place of the injured
Michael Harrison of Transvaal; and the Natal leg spinner, Kapil Naidoo, replaces Malan
Rietveld, the Free State all-rounder, who has been named twelfth man. Australia won the
first test by three wickets.
Questions
Say whether the following statements are true or false. Justify your answers by quoting
from the passage.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
24
Van Rensburg’s comet was first sighted in Gauteng.
Binoculars or a telescope will be needed to see the comet clearly.
The comet will be clearly visible all over the world.
There were two main reasons why the warehouse fire spread so quickly.
Little damage was caused by the blaze.
The fire was started accidentally.
Justin Novella must be South Africa’s best wicket keeper.
Using your dictionary
A dictionary is more than just an alphabetical list of words and
their meanings. It often provides other information about words
and helps with spelling.
Read through the entry below to find out some of the information
provided by most good dictionaries.
Apart from the definition, or meaning, of the word, this entry contains quite a bit of additional
information:
identity:
(i-den’ti-ti):
n.:
(pl. -ies):
-adj.:
-adv.:
-card:
[L. idem]:
the main entry; the correct spelling of the word
the phonetic pronunciation of the word
this tells you that the word is a noun
the plural form of the word
the adjective formed from identity is identical
the adverb formed from identity is identically
a word which can be added to identify to form a new word.
the origin of the word. It comes from the Latin (L) word for the same.
Exercise 1
Explain the contents of the following
dictionary entry.
Guidewords
The words in a dictionary are arranged in alphabetical order. At the top of each page you will
find two words printed in bold. These are the first and last words to be found on that page.
They will help you to find the page, which contains the word you are looking for.
For example, would the words mission and mixer be found on this page?
mishap
moan
25
Exercise 1
If the words in bold were guidewords at the top of a dictionary page, which of the words in
brackets would you find on that page?
a. freedom
fungus
(frighten, freckle, frame, frozen, freight)
b. plunge
poison
(poacher, pneumonia, plural, polar, plunder)
c. dark
deciduous
(decision, deduct, dawdle, debate, dangerous)
d. neutral
nostril
(nickname, nocturnal, notion, nervous, nimble)
e. toast
tractor
(tomahawk, tornado, torture, toad, tradition)
Practise using your dictionary
Exercise 1
Use your dictionary to match the words in bold with the correct meanings in the second
column.
castaway
decrepit
exquisite
lethal
pious
rectify
scuttle
subterranean
translucent
masticate
allowing light to pass through
very religious
under the ground
chew
shipwrecked person
capable of causing death
old and broken down
put something right
sink a ship on purpose
very beautiful
Exercise 2
Make a habit of using your dictionary to look up the spelling of words you are not sure of.
It will help if you know at least the first two or three letters of the word.
In the following exercise, the first three letters of each word have been provided. Use your
dictionary to decide which version of the word in brackets has been correctly spelt.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
26
mis (mischievious, mischievous)
may (mayonnaise, mayonaise)
Med (Meditteranean, Mediterranean)
emb (embarrass, embarass)
par (paraffin, parrafin)
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
dev (develope, develop)
ski (skillful, skilful)
def (definite, definate)
cem (cemetary, cemetery)
hum (humorous, humourous)
Oral communication
Speaking before an audience
E
C
PA SE
PAU CH
PIT
Whether you are giving an individual talk or are
taking part in a group presentation, you should aim
to capture and keep the interest and attention of the
audience. The following hints will help you to do this.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Preparation is the secret of a successful presentation. Being prepared
means having a good understanding of your topic and confidence in your
ability to put it across to the audience in an interesting and spontaneous
way.
Speak clearly and vary the tone of your voice and speed of delivery.
Remember the three Ps: Pace, Pitch and Pause. If the speed and tone
of your voice remain the same throughout your talk, it will become
monotonous and boring.
If you sound enthusiastic about your topic, you will transmit this
enthusiasm to your audience, and hold their interest.
Do not stare fixedly at a spot on the wall opposite; make eye contact with
the audience. At some point in your talk, every member of the audience
should feel that you are addressing him or her individually.
If you are reading aloud, practise your reading and mark words you want
to emphasise, or places where you need to pause. If you are giving a
talk, do not read from notes. Jot down headings, or main points on cards,
and refer to these instead of writing out your whole speech on a sheet of
paper.
When reading from a book, hold it up at chest level and glance at the
audience from time to time. Do not hold it at waist level, so that you have
to look down.
27