WELCOME!

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.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions on how to improve this site!

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.

Assignments marked with asterisks (*.*) are mandatory for ENGL140 students (Assignment 9).

For information on how to participate, please visit the instructions page or contact the administrator.

IMPORTANT: This blog site is open to the public; do not post personal information that could identify you--first name and the initial of your last name are the only personal information you should post. Please watch this video from the Canadian Government explaining privacy issues and social networking. 

Also, be sure to let your tutors know the nickname you have chosen for this blog; otherwise, they will not be able to give you the marks/bonus marks that you have earned for your participation.

Next blog: Thursday, August 4, 2016

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, you need to say "every one" -- or just 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 you use "every one", which is singular, the verb must be singular, too. That means you need to change "are" to "is". If you use "all" (instead of "every one"), you 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, you should just 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 you should use the definite article ("the") instead of the indefinite "a".

7. Punctuation: 

When a coordinating conjunction such as "but" separates two independent clauses, you should 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 blue:

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 participants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/theteacher/2009/05/090507_teacher_colour_blue_v1.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.

Participants who make all 7 changes will receive 2 bonus marks for their efforts.

When all 7 changes have been made, do not repeat the original sentence; return to the top of the list, but keep building on the changes made by the previous participant.

Here is the sentence:

The doctor broke the bad news to patient's worried family.

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 -corp- (meaning "body") occurs in many words. 

1. Add an affix to this stem to make another word.
2. Explain the meaning of the word and use it in a complete sentence.

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:*

... It has been a cool summer ...

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) and do not use a semi-colon to join your independent clause.

*NUMBER CHANGE*

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

The first participant to make the correct changes will receive the bonus mark.

The baseball players were anxiously waiting for the games to start, but they were also nervous because they knew that a scout from the major league was there, and every player 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).

proclivity (noun) and obsess (verb).

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/wordoftheday/


You can also test your skills while contributing to the World Food Programme here:
http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1498

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

We can describe something gained as an transgression. 

First, write a sentence that uses this word.

Then rewrite the sentence, first using a synonym and then using an antonym for this word. 

Each participant should suggest a different synonym and antonym.


Example: easy.

Answer: 
This exercise is easy.

Synonym: simple. This exercise is simple.

Antonym: difficult. This exercise is difficult.

*ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE*

Write two sentences using the verb buy.

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.

This weekend, I will go down town 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 think 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. Do not use a semi-colon.

Sentence 1: Because the price of gasoline has increased so much in the past few years, more people are now using public transport.
Sentence 2: Many blame the increase in the cost of gas this week on the upcoming long weekend, when many people will be travelling.
Sentence 3: There always seems to be an excuse to raise the price of gas, which impacts so many other costs.

BUILD-A-SENTENCE

Write a sentence using the vocabulary and grammar indicated. Do not use a semi-colon.

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.