Tag: John

At the zoo

At the zoo

Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions given below:

Mary and John went to the zoo with their father. They first entered the animal section. They saw a number of wild animals. Some animals like monkeys, rabbits and squirrels were in cages. Others like deer, tiger, lion and bear were in large, fenced areas. It allowed them some space to move about. The monkeys were eating bananas and groundnuts.

Next, they went to the birds-section. Mary and John were very happy to see different species of birds. They saw parrots, ducks, swans, cranes, cuckoos and also some white peacocks. They also saw a python. It was kept in a strong chamber. They saw the python through glass only.Their father explained the features of all birds and animals to them.

They enjoyed their trip to the zoo very much.

Q.1. Who went to the zoo?

Q.2. With whom did Mary and John go to the zoo?

Q.3. Which animals did they see?

Q.4. What were the monkeys eating?

Q.5. Which birds did they see?

Q.6. Did they enjoy their trip to the zoo?

Q.7. Consult a dictionary and give the meanings of the following words:

  1. Wild
  2. Fenced
  3. Species
  4. Strong

Q.8. Find the word in the text that means the same as:

  1. a place where we can see many birds and animals : _ _ _
  2. an animal with a long tail: _ _ _ _ _ _
  3. the king of the jungle: _ _ _ _
  4. a fruit with a yellow or green skin: _ _ _ _ _ _
  5. a long snake: _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Q.9. Composition: Have you ever been to the zoo? If yes, then describe the different birds and animals you saw there.

Capital letters and Punctuation

  • Read the following passage carefully:

Sara is six years old. She goes to Dolphin School. Her father, Mr. David Brown is a doctor. Her mother, Mrs. Emily Brown is a nurse. They run a clinic together. Sarah has a kitten. She calls her Silky. Sara has many friends. Her friends Lucy and Mary like Silky very much. On Sunday, they all go and play in the park.

  • Now notice that some words begin with a capital letter:
  1. The first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter.
  2. All special names begin with a capital letter (names of people, places, pets, days and months, festivals etc.).
  3. The word I is written in the capital form.

 

  • Punctuation is the use of full stops (.), commas (,) and question marks (?).

1.  All sentences end with a full stop.

2. We use a comma to show that there is a pause. It is used in place of ‘and’.

3. If we have more than two similar words, we separate them by commas; as,

Tom has two toasts, two eggs and a glass of milk every morning.

4.We separate a noun of address by a comma; as,

 John, please meet me after the class.

5. Commas are used after yes and no; as,

Yes, I am going to the market. No, you are not coming with me.

6. We put a question mark at the end of every question; as,

What is your name?

How are you?

Comparisons

  • Study the following sentences:
  1. John is a tall boy.
  2. John is taller than Jack.
  3. John is the tallest boy in the class.

 

  • The first sentence is a statement. We are not comparing John with any other boy. We simply say that John is a tall boy.
  • In the second sentence, we use the word taller. It shows comparison between two boys John and Jack. We show that one is taller than the other.
  • In the third sentence, we use the words the tallest. It shows that no one in the class is as tall as John. He is the tallest boy in the class.

 

  • Let us look at some more examples:
  1. Grandfather is older than grandfather.
  2. Fanny is prettier than Lizzy.
  3. The poor are happier than the rich.
  4. Tina’s dress is more beautiful than Kuku’s dress.
  5. An elephant is bigger than a lion.

These sentences show comparisons between two things. We use the -er form of the word or we use more. We also use the word than.

 

  • Now look at these sentences:
  1. The whale is the largest animal.
  2. This is the finest silk.
  3. Sam is the fastest child I have ever seen.
  4. The giraffe has the tallest neck.
  5. He is the most intelligent boy in the class.

 

We show comparison among more than two objects by using the –est form of an adjective – smallest, shortest, bravest. Sometimes, we use most with the adjective – most beautiful, most interesting. We also use the with the –est form.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions: Joining Words

  • Read the following sentences:

1.  Jack and Jill went up the hill.

2.  Bill is a clever but lazy boy.

3.  Work hard or you will fail.

4.  They are poor yet happy.

5.  I like John because he is intelligent.

6.  I will not go to see the film if you do not come.

In the above sentences the words and, but, or, yet, because and if join words or sentences together. Such words that join words or sentences together are called Conjunctions.

  • Some common Conjunctions:

And, but, or, nor, therefore, because, if, both, only, that, after, before, unless, as, else, till, until, whether, though, although, than, yet, etc.

is, am, are + ing form of the Verb

  • Read the following sentences:
  1. I am watching television.
  2. My sister is playing outside.
  3. Father is reading a newspaper.
  4. Mother is cleaning the cupboard.
  5. He is watering the plants.
  6. They are playing football.
  7. The bees are buzzing.
  8. The dog is barking.
  9. The cat is running after a mouse.
  10. The children are praying to God.

 

When we use is/am/are + doing word (Verb) + ing, we tell what is happening now i.e. at the time of speaking, as:

Mother: What are you doing, John?

John: I am reading a story, mother.

 Activity: Look around you and describe what different people are doing.

Kinds of Nouns

Kinds of Nouns

There are four kinds of nouns:

  1. Proper Nouns
  2. Common Nouns
  3. Abstract Nouns
  4. Collective Nouns

 

Notice the difference between these two lists of nouns:

  1. Jack   Mary   London   India   The White House   Alice in Wonderland
  2. Boy     girl         city          country          building                            book

 

The nouns in list 1. are special names of persons, places and things. They begin with a capital letter. They are called Proper Nouns.

 

The nouns in list 2. are Common Nouns, as they are not special names. They can be used for any person, place or thing. ‘Boy’ can be any boy –Alec, Bob, George, John, William etc.  

A noun which names a particular person, place or thing is called a Proper Noun.

 Proper Nouns include the names of persons, cities, towns, villages, countries, parks, libraries, historical buildings, streets, schools, colleges, universities, hills, mountains, days of the week, months of the year, books, festivals, newspapers, etc.

A proper noun always begins with a capital letter.

 

A noun that gives a common name to persons, places, or things of the same kind is called a Common Noun.

The words city, country, school, river, mountain, book, boy, girl, woman, man, bird, animal, are all common nouns. England, France, India, China, Japan are the names of countries. The word country is a common noun. It is common to all the five named here. But the words England, France, India, China, and Japan are particular names. They are Proper Nouns.  

 

Now look at the following sentences:

  1. Honesty is the best policy.
  2. Laughter is the best medicine.
  3. Poverty is a great curse.   
  4. The soldiers were awarded for their bravery.

The words in bold italics name Quality (honesty, bravery), Action (laughter), and State (poverty). Such a name given to some state, quality, feeling, or action that we can only think of is called an Abstract Noun.

Abstract Nouns are formed:

  1. From Adjectives, as Kindness from kind, Bravery from brave.(Most abstract nouns are formed thus.)
  2. From Verbs, as Obedience from obey, Laughter from laugh, Growth from grow.
  3. From Common Nouns, as Childhood from child, Slavery from slave.

 

Now read the following sentences:

  1. Our team won the match.
  2. The army fought bravely.
  3. Our class consists of fifty students.
  4. A flock of sheep was grazing in the field.
  5. She gave me the bunch of keys.

The words team, army, class, flock and bunch are used for a collection of persons or things. Such a name given to a collection of things taken as a whole/ group is called a Collective Noun.

Crowd, mob, team, army, family, committee, flock, herd, swarm, fleet, jury etc are some Collective Nouns.

Nouns – Gender

Gender (He and She)

  • Look at the following sentences:
  1. Joe is a boy. He is Helen’s brother.
  2. Helen is a girl. She is Joe’s sister.
  3. David is a man. He is their father.
  4. Alice is a woman. She is their mother.
  5. John is their uncle. Mary is their aunt.
  • The words boy, brother, man, father, uncle, belong to the he-group.
  • The words girl, sister, woman, mother, aunt, belong to the she-group.
  • Nouns in the he-group are the names of male persons or animals. They are said to be of the Masculine Gender.
  • Nouns in the she-group are the names of female persons or animals. They are said to be of the Feminine Gender.

 

  • Now look at the following sentences:

       1.  The table is made of wood.  

       2.    The purse is made of leather.

  • Table, wood, purse, leather are things without life. They are neither males nor females. They are, therefore, said to be of the Neuter Gender, that is, of neither gender.

 

  • Now read the following sentences:
  1. This child is very active.
  2. Students should work hard.
  • The nouns child and students can be used for both males and females. They are, therefore, said to be of the Common Gender.
  • So nouns in English may be Masculine, Feminine, Common or Neuter. People and animals are male or female. Their names or the nouns have Masculine and Feminine Gender.

 

Nouns – Common and Proper

  • Look at the following sentences:

 

  1. Jack is boy.
  2. Tom is a boy.
  3. John is a boy.
  4. Dick is a boy.

 

  • The word boy occurs in all the four sentences. It is a common name used for all the boys. But all boys have special names too. Jack, Tom, John and Dick are special names of these four boys.
  • Pets and places also have special names. Cat and dog are common names used for all cats and dogs. But we often give special names to our pets:

       1.   My cat’s name is Silky. 

      2.   I call my dog, Naughty.

  • Jackie, Jimmy, Buddy, Molly, Rover, Rustam, Rosebud, Tiger, Pussy, Snowy, Snowball, Rocky, Jumbo, Appu, are some special names of our pets.
  • Places also have both common and special names. The words village, city, town, country, school, college, hospital, park, street are common names. But India, Australia, Delhi, Aton School, Sony Hospital, White Park are special names of places.
  • Similarly books, newspapers, magazines, days, months, festivals, institutions, companies, products etc. also have special names .The Bible, The Gita, Great Expectations, Harry Potter, The Times, Femina, Sunday, January, Christmas, Diwali, are all special names.
  • These special names are called Proper Nouns and common names are called Common Nouns.
  • Special names or Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
  • Some examples:
  1. Susan is a good girl.      
  2.  Peter is a smart boy.
  3. Bombay is a big city.
  4. Jackie is my dog.     
  5. Ganga is a holy river
  6. Femina is a woman’s magazine.

 

Susan, Peter, Bombay, Jackie, Ganga and Femina are Proper Nouns and girl, boy, city, dog, river, woman, magazine are Common Nouns.

 

  • A Proper Noun is the special name of a particular person, place or thing.
  • A Common Noun is a name given in common to all persons or things of the same class or kind.

 

 

 

Nouns

Nouns – Naming Words

  • Look  at the following words:

Apple, airplane, bat, ball, butter, bread, balloon, bus, banana, bag, car, cat, crow, cow, cap, chair, chocolate, doll, dog, donkey, egg, elephant, fan, fish, flower, goat, grass, gun, hen, helicopter, ice-cream, ink, jam, jug, kite, kangaroo, lion, lamp, monkey, mango, orange, owl, parrot, peacock, park, queen, rat, shoes, school, ship, tap, tiger, umbrella, van, watch, zoo, mummy, papa, uncle, aunt, Mary, John, etc.

 

  • All these words are names of something, somebody or someplace.
  • Names are usually the first words which small children learn.
  • These naming-words are called Nouns.

 

  • Read the following  sentences carefully:

 

  1. James is a good boy.
  2. The cat ran after the rat.
  3. India is in Asia.
  4. The book is on the table.
  • The words James and boy are the names of persons.
  • The words cat and rat are the names of animals.
  • The word India and Asia are the names of places.
  • The words book and table are the names of things.
  • Words which are used as the names of persons, animals or birds, places or things are called Nouns.

 

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative Sentences – Asking Questions

  • Compare the following sentences:
  1. I am happy.                                                          1. Am I happy?
  2. She is sad.                                                             2. Is she sad?
  3. John is absent.                                                     3. Is John absent?
  4. It is cold.                                                                4. Is it cold?
  5. David’s clothes are dirty.                                   5. Are David’s clothes dirty?
  6. The children were playing in the park.            6. Were the children playing in the park?
  7. These grapes are sour.                                       7. Are these grapes sour?
  8. You have a watch.                                                8. Do you have a watch?
  9. They will come tomorrow.                                  9. Will they come tomorrow?
  10. She can drive a car.                                              10. Can she drive a car?
  • The sentences on the left-hand side tell something. They are called statements.
  • The sentences on the right-hand side ask questions. They are called interrogative sentences.
  • A sentence that asks a question is called an interrogative sentence.
  • We put a question mark (?) at the end of an interrogative sentence.

  • Formation of interrogative sentences:

  1. In sentences beginning with I am/He is/You are/John was, we put am, is, are, was etc. before the subject.
  2. In sentences beginning with He has/You have/I had, etc. we put has/have/had, before the subject.
  3. If the Verb is made up of two words, we put the first word before the subject.
  • Now study the following sentences carefully and see which words change their place:

  1. I am reading a book.                                              1. Am I reading a book?
  2. He is busy now.                                                       2. Is he busy now?
  3. The windows are open.                                         3. Are the windows open?
  4. Jane and Jenny are sisters.                                    4.  Are Jane and Jenny (they) sisters?
  5. She was absent yesterday.                                    5. Was she absent yesterday?
  6. You were not well yesterday.                                6. Were you not well yesterday?
  7. He had no money in his wallet.                             7. Had he no money in his wallet?
  8. Rita has a doll.                                                           8. Has Rita a doll?
  9. The students will go for a picnic tomorrow 9. Will the students go for a picnic tomorrow?
  10. The basket is full of red apples.                              10. Is the basket full of red apples?
  • Questions also begin with words like who, what, why, when, where, how, how many do/does, did, can, will, shall etc. For example:

  1. What is your name?
  2. How old are you?
  3. How many books do you have?
  4. Why is the market closed?
  5. What is Sheela doing?
  6. Where has father gone?
  7. Who is singing?
  8. Did you go to school?
  9. Did the teacher give you a test?
  10. Can you drive car?
  11. Will you come tomorrow?
  12. Shall I meet you at the station?