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Welcome to the English Skills blog for English 140 (Grammar), English 143 (Writing for Academic Purposes), and English 146 (Reading for Academic Purposes) at Athabasca University. These courses may be taken separately or as part of the English Language Proficiency Program. The goal is to increase communication between students and instructors, and to provide students with an opportunity to communicate with each other and to practice the skills taught in these courses. If you post general questions about the assignments or the course, they will be addressed in the blog. If you have detailed questions you want answered, then e-mail your instructor.

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WELCOME NEW STUDENTS!

A hearty welcome to all the new students joining these courses. We hope you enjoy your studies and have fun participating in this blog.

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Next blog: Friday, August 14, 2015.

PREVIOUS GRAMMAR QUESTION

Everyone of the runners who are in the race are here but we can't get started with the first ones until you line up on a starting line.

1. Word form:

In this case, we need to use two words: "every one" -- or use "all" instead.

2. Redundant information:

The word "runners" refers to people who are in a race, so we don't need to repeat that information.

3. Subject-verb agreement:

If we use "every one", which is singular, the verb must be singular, too. That means we need to change "are" to "is". If we use "all" (instead of "every one"), we can keep the plural verb.

4. Pronoun reference:

Who or what does "ones" refer to? Presumably, it refers to the "race", so to avoid confusion, we should say that.

5. Pronoun reference:

Who does "you" refer to? The context of the sentence points to the runners. We can keep the pronoun, but the runners are "they" (not "you").

6. Article use:

There is only one starting line in a race, so we should use the definite article ("the") instead of the indefinite "a".

7. Punctuation:

When a coordinating conjunction such as "but" separates two independent clauses, we need to insert a comma before the conjunction.



Possible solution:

All the runners are here, but we can’t get started with the first race until they line up on the starting line.

*GRAMMAR QUESTION*

Correct the errors in the following sentence:

A visitor to southeast asia must to remember taking their anti-malaria medicine regular to be affective preventing them from sickness and it would spoil the trip.

The solution will be posted in the next edition of the blog.

PUZZLE

Solution to the previous puzzle:  

Rod - Cane
Front - Face
Story - Tale
Die - Crash
Shelf - Sill

New Puzzle:

Hint: Find the two words that fit the definitions below. The two words will be the same except for the extra letter at the beginning of the first word.

Example: A. Begin  B. Sour
Answer: Start and Tart.

	Word A	Word B	Answer
1.	stop doing	that thing	?
2.	peculiar behaviour	annoy	?
3.	subatomic particle	large boat	?
4.	small game bird	to be unwell	?
5.	large feather pen	unwell; faulty	?
6.	nausea; uncomfortable	simple	?
7.	unit of liquid measure	product of creativity	?
8.	misgivings; scruples	donations to the poor	?

*Note, the first person with the correct answer gets the bonus point.

IDIOMS

There are three idioms that use the word insect:

Watch this video, and then write a sentence that uses one (or more) of these three idioms.

Try not to use the same idiom as the other posters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/03/090311_teacher_animal_insect.shtml

*ALL CHANGE!*

Change the words in the sentence below as indicated.

Please change only the exact word in the sequence given. Each participant should build on the changes made by the previous participant.

For instance, if the original sentence is "Benson hurriedly told the bad news to his friends":

participant 1 could write "#1 Subject Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad news to his friends";

participant 2 could then write "#2 Direct Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his friends";

participant 3 could then write "#3 Indirect Object Noun: Michael hurriedly told the bad joke to his wife";

etc.

You are free to make as many changes as you wish. Just remember to number each change (and indicate the part of speech) so it is clear to everyone where we are on the list.

When all 7 changes have been made, return to the top of the list and continue.

Here is the sentence:

The happy little boy gave his father a big smile. 

Changes:                                                                                                                          

1. subject noun
2. direct object noun          
3. indirect object noun                  
4. adjective(s)
5. adverb(s)    
6. verb name      
7. verb tense

AFFIXES

The word stem super- (meaning "above") occurs in many words. 

Add an affix to this stem to make another word. 

Each participant should add a different word to the list.

*COMPLETE THE SENTENCE*

Follow the instructions below to create three different sentences from the following clause:*

... football season has just begun ...

Sentence 1. Add a phrase      
Sentence 2. Add a dependent clause
Sentence 3. Add an independent clause


*Add your words to the beginning or end of the clause (but not both).

*NUMBER CHANGE*

If the sentence is singular, change it to the plural; if it is plural, change it to the singular.

The football players were anxiously waiting for the games to start, but they were also nervous because they knew that scouts from the major leagues were there, and all the players wanted to make a good impression.

*VOCABULARY*

Vocabulary building is important for both reading comprehension and writing. 

Use the following two words in one sentence (note the parts of speech).

malaise (noun) and insidious (adjective).

To further improve your vocabulary, remember to check out the Word of the Day. 

The site also has word games and puzzles.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe something unnecessary as superfluous.

Provide a synonym and an antonym for this word. Each participant should suggest a different word.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb catch.

In the first sentence, use the word in the active voice; in the second sentence, use it in the passive voice.

*TIME CHANGE*

Change the time in the following sentences by using a different verb tense and replacing any necessary time clues. Each student should choose a different verb tense.

Next weekend, I will go downtown and watch the Cariwest parade.  I will follow the parade route, listen to the music, and admire the fantastic costumes. With all the music and dancing, I'm sure it will be a fun-filled day!

*SENTENCE COMBINATION*

Learning to combine ideas into more complex sentences is an important writing skill. There are many ways to do this. Try to combine the following three sentences.

Sentence 1: Western Canada is in the midst of a significant drought.

Sentence 2: The dry weather has contributed to many wildfires.
Sentence 3: Many people are hoping for rain.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated.

Write a sentence with a dependent clause in the present progressive tense and an independent clause with the word "like" in the simple present tense.