Lesson Links by Irv Leskowitz - April 2005
Verbs: transitive/intransitive | Vocabulary | The apostrophe | An anecdote


THE ONLY WORD

Be careful when you use only in a sentence; its placement, to a large extent, determines the meaning of the sentence.  Take this sentence for example:  I hit him in his eye. 

There are six places into which the word only may be inserted; as shown by the numbered spaces below, each placement gives a different meaning to the sentence. 

_1_ I _2_ hit _3_ him _4_ in his _5_ eye _6_.

Exercise:

 Match the numbers with the meaning given by the placement of only.
Example: _4__ I didn’t hit him anyplace but there.  (I hit him only in his eye.)

____

 That’s all I did.  
____ No one else hit him, just me.  
____ I didn’t hit him anyplace but there. (A placement other than 4.)
____ I didn’t hit anyone else.  
____ There was no other eye to hit.  

Alternate exercises: Try this with some sentences selected from newspaper stories or other reading material at random (or deliberately) by you and/or your student.

back to top

 

VERBS: TRANSITIVE/INTRANSITIVE

A transitive verb is followed by an object.  (An object is a noun or pronoun.)

An intransitive verb is not followed by an object.

S
V
O
  
a. Kate
drove
her father’s
car. 
(Transitive)
b. Jeff 
was driven
there by
his brother. 
(Intransitive)

Exercise:

  Underline the verbs and identify them as transitive or intransitive.  Underline objects if present.
1. Diane spoke more than three different languages.  (Transitive)
2. Many innocent people die during a war. (Intransitive, no object)
3. Who invented the computer?  
4. At night, the walls appeared purple.  
5. The invention of the printing press changed the world.  
6. Ben talked on the phone for more than an hour.  
7. The accident happened on the Interstate highway.  
8. Mistakes were made.  
9. Dinosaurs existed millions of years ago.  
10. Sally seemed happy last night.  

Etc.  

  

back to top

 

VOCABULARY

In the exercise shown below, the words listed are those someone at a fairly high level of literacy might know.  The tutor’s job is to select words and definitions that would be a stretch for the student, but not too much of one.

Exercise: Match the words listed below with the correct definitions.

anonymous diagnosis  resolve sediment
malady vigor terrain substantial

_____________

1. a disease; sickness; or illness
_____________ 2. a region; a particular geographical area; ground
_____________ 3. solidly built; ample; actual; real
_____________ 4. the process of recognizing a disease by its symtoms; a conclusion based on analysis
_____________ 5. having an unknown or withheld name
_____________ 6. a determinationo r decision; to make a firm decision about
_____________ 7. material that settles to the bottom of a container of liquid
_____________ 8. active physical or mental strength; healthy energy
Etc.  

back to top

 

THE APOSTROPHE (*)

Using the apostrophe with possessive nouns

The teacher’s book is on her desk.

 (To show that a person owns something, add an apostrophe and –s to a singular noun.) 
The parents’ house is white. (Add an apostrophe at the end of a plural noun.)

Exercise: 

Add apostrophes to the possessive nouns.
1. Jasons last name is Smith. 6. My parents car is a Honda.
2. My friends apartment is small. 7. The bosss orders were confusing.
3. Kevins hair is brown.  8. That dogs tail is quite bushy.
4. The students reports are excellent. 9. This students work is above average.
5. Anns friends have a car. 10. The mens uniforms were a mix of colors.
Etc.  

back to top

 

AN ANECDOTE

The guy working out next to me in the gym was a tutor who had survived my last workshop.  After exchanging news and gossip, he told me that he had recently come to feel frustrated with his student’s lack of progress in speaking English.  Then he found a tape of a conversation he had had with the student shortly after they had started working together two years previously.  Listening to the tape was an eye opener - the student had made far more progress than he had thought.  He felt re-energized and enthusiastic again.  He planned to tell his student the good news, of course, and he planned also to tape their conversations at regular intervals.   

There’s a lesson link in this story, but I’m sure you’re way ahead of me on that.

back to top