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السبت، 11 فبراير 2012

PUNCTUATION

بتاريخ 9:19 م بواسطة talal


PUNCTUATION



                One of the biggest problems you students have with English is punctuation when you write and intonation when you  speak. You should bear in mind that when we speak, we  use intonation, it’s that musicality which makes you give meaning to your sentences. With no intonation, you cannot be understood by anyone. Do you remember the game we had in class ? Have a look at it again:

Ready?
No.
Why?
Problems.
Problems?
Yes.
What?
Money.

If you don’t use intonation correctly, the conversation loses its meaning and you cannot be understood. Do never forget that you are speaking  , or writing , to convey a message to someone else who has to understand you. If the addressee doesn’t understand you, it doesn’t mean he or she is stupid but simply that you were not able to make them get you idea.
             This very  intonation which gives meaning to your sentences when speaking , is what we mean by punctuation when we write. I have seen students who write one loooooong sentence in a paragraph. I guess  it’s illogical and unconceivable  too.
My advice to all of you is to write short sentences first. The easiest way is to start with        sb + vb + C. then with time you learn how to stretch your sentences by adding adjectives, ad verbs………the best writers are those who know how write clearly and easily so that they can be understood and therefore have a large audience.

You should first know that:           

1- A – B – C  :  Every sentence begins with a capital letter. Capital letters are also used for personal names, Countries, names of languages, nationalities……

2-  ,    :  commas are used    in writing   at places where  , in speaking , we  pause.

3-  “      ” : quotation  marks show the words someone said or when a world is not English such as “Melwi” or  “Harira”.

4- ?   : question marks are put at the end of all questions.

5-  !  : exclamation marks are put at the end of  exclamations.
6-  ’  :  an apostrophe is always  used with possessives and with contractions. e.g Ali’s   book   or        Ali’s       a student.



THE ENGLISH TENSES


                Another problem is tenses. I always wonder why,  as  I think that  English is much easier  than  Arabic  or French  which students can speak quite well . There is no “premier,deuxième or troisième groupe” . There is only one infinitive in English and from that infinitive we can  have all the forms easily. Eg I  play. (the same as the infinitive)   I played  (infinitive  + ed)   I am playing  (infinitive  +  ing) ……………………
           
Remember the chart bellow whenever you are speaking or writing:



Simple present tense:

I      play      soccer every week-end.
                     ( REPETITION )
To show how often it is repeated, we can use
-  always    (100% repetition)
-  usually
-  sometimes
-  rarely
-  never     (0% repetition)
Questions:
Do  you  understand ? (Do + sb + infinitive)
Negation:
No,  I don’t understand. (sb +  do not + infinitive)
Simple past tense:

I      played     tennis      yesterday.
        (finished)        +        (time expression :
1-       yesterday
2-       last……..
3-       …….ago
4-       In + date
5-       When…….(time-clause

Questions:
Did   you    do   it ?  ( did  +  sb     +  infinitive)

Negation:
No, I  didn’t  do it.  (sb  +  did  not    + infinitive)
Present continuous:

1-  I  am  playing      now/ at this moment.
2-  I  am  playing       tomorrow/ next……
Future tenses:

1-       I      shall    play tomorrow.
2-       I      will     play   tomorrow.
3-       I’ll    play   tomorrow.
4-       I    am   playing    tomorrow.
5-       I    will   be   playing    tomorrow.
6-    I   am   going   to   play tomorrow.
7-     I   will   have   played by tomorrow.
Present perfect tense:

1-   I   have   played     tennis       since 1994.
      I   have   played     tennis       for     ten years.
          (not finished: I still play tennis)

2-  I   have   just   played    tennis.
     I   have   already    played   tennis.
     I   have   not     played    tennis    yet.














LINKING WORDS

            Most students don’t use any linking words when they are writing as they give more importance to their ideas not the way those ideas should be conveyed , supported or opposed …..  In other words, they don’t make their writing look beautiful as they don’t know what a good style looks like. Please, do use linking words whenever you write. You’ll see the difference and will savour the beauty of your style once you manage to use them correctly.


Addition:

1- I speak French      and      English    too.
     I speak French     and      English    also.
     I speak French     and      English   as well.
     I speak French     as well as     English.

2- I speak French. What’s more,  I write it   as well.
I speak French  .  Furthermore,      I write it too.
I speak French . Moreover,    I also  write it l.
I speak French. Besides (this),  I write it well.
I speak French  . In addition to this, I write it well.
3- I speak  not only French but English too.
I speak  not only French but also English .
Not only do I speak French but also English
contrast

1- I Speak Berber    but       I don’t write it.
    I speak  Berber  . Yet,      I don’t write  it.
    I speak  Berber  . However, I don’t write it.
    I speak  Berber    but   I don’t write it,   however.

2-( I am Zemmouri  but  I don’t speak Berber.)
 Even if            I am Zemmouri ,   I don’t speak Berber.
 Even  though  I am Zemmouri ,  I don’t speak Berber.
 Although        I am Zemmouri ,   I don’t speak Berber.
 Though           I am Zemmouri ,   I don’t speak Berber.
Expressing the cause:
1- I come to school   because  I am a student.
    Because    I am a student   ,    I come to school.

2- Amine is absent       since      he is sick.
    Since   Amine is sick   ,    he is absent.

3- I study English a lot      as       I like it.
    As     I like English    ,     I study it a lot.
Expressing purpose:
(I come to school     because I want  to     study)
1-    I come to school     to                    study.
2-    I come to school   in order to      study.
3 -   I come to school     so as to           study.

4-    I come to school  so that   I  can study.
       I come to school    in order that   I  can    study.

Neither…nor…

1- Hajar doesn’t cook.   Ikram doesn’t cook ,either.
                            Neither Hajar nor Ikram cooks.
2- Nada doesn’t sing. She doesn’t dance, either.
                            Nada neither sings nor dances.
3-Asma  doesn’t cook tajine.   She doesn’t cook couscous , either.
                            Asma cooks   neither  tajine  nor  couscous.     
                                                                            




WRITING A PARAGRAPH
                                                      ( One )
Here are some tips to help you write a paragraph:

1- Do always write a    topic sentence   that gives an idea about what  the paragraph is about.

2-Give     supporting details     i.e.  (explain the idea given in the topic sentence then add examples, statistics, facts…to clarify your idea)

3-Use     linking words     to connect your sentences and to make your style look more beautiful.
(do never forget that you are going to be penalized for not using enough liking words i.e. less marks)

4-  When you have finished, read your paragraph  through and try to correct the  mistakes you may have made in  punctuation, spelling and grammar and so on.

Read this paragraph and give names to each element:
There are three categories of offence as “war crimes”.


First, there are crimes against peace.


For example, some individuals plot war against non-aggressive countries.


Second, there are violations of the customs and laws of war.


For instance, some soldiers murder prisoners, hostages and civilians.


Finally, there are crimes against humanity.

These crimes include extermination, enslavement and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population.


…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

WRITING A PARAGRAPH
                                                      ( One )
Here are some tips to help you write a paragraph:

1- Do always write a    topic sentence   that gives an idea about what  the paragraph is about.

2-Give     supporting details     i.e.  (explain the idea given in the topic sentence then add examples, statistics, facts…to clarify your idea)

3-Use     linking words     to connect your sentences and to make your style look more beautiful.
(do never forget that you are going to be penalized for not using enough liking words i.e. less marks)

4-  When you have finished, read your paragraph  through and try to correct the  mistakes you may have made in  punctuation, spelling and grammar and so on.

Read this paragraph and give names to each element:
There are three categories of offence as “war crimes”.


First, there are crimes against peace.


For example, some individuals plot war against non-aggressive countries.


Second, there are violations of the customs and laws of war.


For instance, some soldiers murder prisoners, hostages and civilians.


Finally, there are crimes against humanity.

These crimes include extermination, enslavement and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population.


WRITING A PARAGRAPH
                                                                             ( two )

                The world Health Organization (WHO) intends to help all peoples achieve the highest possible level of health. Initially,  WHO hopes to do this through disease eradication. For example, it helps to eradicate the scourge of centuries smallpox. Second, it aims at  improving nutrition. For instance,  WHO advertises the value of breastfeeding to make women aware of the importance of giving their milk to their infants. Finally, it helps poor people to get cheap or free medicine. To illustrate this, last year it changed the pharmaceutical giants by arguing for a list of  two hundred key drugs that should be sold in developing countries, instead of the three to five thousand drugs marketed there previously. In brief,, WHO has continued actions to provide vaccinations, improved nutrition, and medicine for everybody.


Topic sentence


Supporting sentence 1


Supporting sentence 2


Supporting sentence 3


Concluding sentence



-          How do organizations fight poverty in Morocco? Give three reasons.


…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

WRITING A PARAGRAPH


                The world Health Organization (WHO) intends to help all peoples achieve the highest possible level of health. Initially,  WHO hopes to do this through disease eradication. For example, it helps to eradicate the scourge of centuries smallpox. Second, it aims at  improving nutrition. For instance,  WHO advertises the value of breastfeeding to make women aware of the importance of giving their milk to their infants. Finally, it helps poor people to get cheap or free medicine. To illustrate this, last year it changed the pharmaceutical giants by arguing for a list of  two hundred key drugs that should be sold in developing countries, instead of the three to five thousand drugs marketed there previously. In brief,, WHO has continued actions to provide vaccinations, improved nutrition, and medicine for everybody.


Topic sentence


Supporting sentence 1


Supporting sentence 2


Supporting sentence 3


Concluding sentence



-          How do organizations fight poverty in Morocco? Give three reasons.

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