Reading For Understanding: Vocabulary English: Class 3

1 Why was the question asked?
Reading for Understanding: Vocabulary English: Class 3 The English language has a special way of referring to groups of people,
things, animals, etc. through collective nouns. Sometimes, these collective
nouns are distinctive identities for certain groups, e.g. a pride of lions.
Knowing these words, embellishes the joy of language and adds spunk to
the written/printed text. This question assesses if students have gained a
Question basic vocabulary of collective nouns.
Which word will you use to complete this sentence?

I bought a ________ of playing cards.
2 What did students answer?
A. 15% 51% of 10,749 students chose the correct option, D, “pack”. But 21%
of students chose the common wrong answer, B, “bundle” and 15%
chose A, “bunch”.
Options No. of students Possible reason for choosing A: Students possibly chose the most
PD. 51% common word for a group that they knew. The word “bunch” is one of the
10749 B. 21.2%
A bunch first collective nouns students learn in school, e.g. a bunch of flowers. They
may have not realized that the word 'bunch' refers to things which are
B bundle
C. 4
connected, e.g. a bunch of grapes, a bunch of bananas, etc.
.2%
C heap Possible reason for choosing B: Students would have probably heard this word
used in different situations e.g. teachers saying 'bundles of papers to be corrected'.
P
D pack
Only 51% answered correctly Not having sufficient knowledge of collective nouns, they have chosen this option, to
refer to 'papers' and 'cards'.
Possible reason for choosing C: Very few students have chosen this option and it is possible
that they made a random guess.
3 Learnings
Remembering unique collective nouns is difficult. However, if we can visualize different things – living and non living, in large
numbers, and think about how we can refer to them as one group, we will come to know the specific words we need for this from the
association of that word with the word group. For example, a collection of cards can be called a pack as they can be neatly piled one on top of another in "a pack" with a specific number of cards. Similarly a
collection of clothes/ papers/ books that are tied together or bundled together is referred to as 'a bundle' and so on. The same collection loosely arranged with the clothes not tied to each other, would become a
'heap' of clothes or a 'pile' of clothes.
Students could have answered this question by prior knowledge ,or by eliminating the wrong options. But for that, they would have had to think of different groups that could be described by the same word and
the commonalities in those groups. For e.g. heap/pile of dirty clothes, a heap/pile of dirt, a heap of toys, pile of books, pile of bricks – give us the feeling of things in mounds or put one on top of another.
Students who answered correctly may have realized that 'bunches' and 'bundles' usually have things which are 'connected' with each other. Also, the word 'pack' could have led them to think of a 'packet' in which
the set of cards could be encased, and they chose D.
4 How do we handle this?

Simple exercises can be used to help students learn collective nouns in a fun and interesting way. You can use visual aids like pictures, slides.
Exercise 1: What is common to these groups? Q – a bunch of grapes, a bunch of flowers, a bunch of bananas Exercise 2: Find another group that can be described by the
Q – a pack of wolves, a pack of hyenas, a pack of hounds (wild A – They are all joined to each other same word.
dogs) Q – a pile of bricks, a pile of books, a pile of ironed clothes Q – a bundle of pencils
A – They are all hunting animals, and they hunt in groups A – They are all organized and put one on top of another A – a bundle of sticks, crayons, pens, foot rulers, etc
These exercises can be made more complex or varying in difficulty as students learn. You can make up more exercises like these by looking up the internet. Some sources are suggested below.
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://bogglesworldesl.com/collective_nouns.htm (a game to play and learn collective nouns, lists common collective nouns)
2. http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/collectif.htm (different games to learn collective nouns through games and visuals)
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ASSET Reading for Understanding: Poetry English: Class 3
Insects are Funny! Question

-Aileen Fisher At the end of the poem, we can say that
the child in the poem _________.
It’s funny how beetles
and creatures like that
Options
can walk upside down A is able to stand with his head on the floor
as well as walk flat; B is able to walk with his head on the floor
C is still trying to walk with his head on the floor
They crawl on a ceiling
and climb on a wall P
D is still trying to stand with his head on the floor
without any practice

or trouble at all,
While I have been trying

for a year (maybe more)
and still I can’t stand
with my head on the floor. A. 28.6%
No. of Students
D. 47.5%
P 6991
Word Meaning:
beetle: insects with hard, shiny wing cases B. 7.8%
C. 11.4%
Only 47.5% answered correctly

Poetry is a wonderful and exciting way to communicate ideas, themes and feelings and should be a source of delight for students in Class 3. They should be allowed to experience
and enjoy the rhyme and rhythm of the language in the poem, feel the movement created by the poet's words and become one with the events in the poem. This question is aimed
at finding out if students are able to understand the main idea the poet is trying to convey- that he's still struggling to stand with his head on the floor, and is not able to do so.
P.T.O.
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Out of 6,991 students, 48% chose the correct answer D, “is still trying to stand with his head on the floor” and 29% chose the common wrong answer, A, “is able to stand with his head on the
floor”.
Possible reason for choosing A: Students seem to be convinced that A is the answer on seeing the image of the boy standing with his head on the floor. Once they decided on this option, they did not
seem to have read any of the other options, or the poem itself which clearly states “I still can't stand”.
Possible reason for choosing B & C: Students choosing these options seem to be making a random guess. Apart from the fact that the poem does not point to these options, it has not struck them that
walking using the head would be almost impossible for us.
3 Learnings
In stanzas 1 and 2, the child compares himself with the beetle and wonders why he cannot walk on the wall or crawl on the ceiling etc. And in the last stanza he is puzzled as to why he is still not able to
stand on his head, let alone walk, although he has tried for more than a year. This is confirmed by the lines:
While I have been trying
for a year (maybe more)
and still I can't stand
with my head on the floor.
Good readers have gone through all the options, read the poem carefully and have identified with the feelings of the child. However, the response data show that many students have failed to do this,
indicating that they are not comfortable with reading and interpreting poems.
If students are encouraged to enjoy a poem by reciting it repeatedly with actions, enacting it, and most importantly, visualising it, they will easily understand such simple poems. And if they are asked to
narrate or act them out like a story, it's not hard for them to appreciate the key points. In this poem, they would have been able to see that the child was fun-loving, and curious, and fascinated by the way
insects walk, crawl or climb, and so tried to copy them.
4 How do we handle this? Things the Things the How does the child Things the What does the child
Collect short poems of about 4-5 lines and allow students to recite, sing, act beetle can do beetle and the feel about the child cannot do feel in the end? why?
out, narrate them like stories, feel the poet's views in the poems and do child can do beetle’s actions
anything that excites them about the poem. Then, ask them simple questions
like: What/Who is this poem about? What is happening in the poem? Can you walk on the walk surprised walk on the ceiling puzzled
tell me that in sequence? What kind of person is mentioned in the poem? What ceiling upside down
happens in the end? Why do you think that happens? … For this poem, ask
students to list the information as shown in the table below. Then ask them to
answer the question in this teacher sheet. walk on the floor run wonder limb a wall because he has practiced
without any effort for more than a year but
he is still not able to stand
on his head.
climb a wall eat happy crawl on the ceiling
Continuous exposure to various poems will help students discover the poems crawl etc. hide curious
they enjoy, write and want to share with others
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/3933 (a lesson plan to teach poems)
2. http://www.proteacher.org/c/39_Poetry.html (a few ideas to teach poems) Educational
E3-0109-08 INITIATIVES
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ASSET Reading for Understanding: Literal Comprehension English: Class 4

Crazy About Fish Question
The king was fed up of hearing about hilsa.
It was the season for hilsa, Bengal's favourite fish. The king 'Was it because __________________
was fed up of hearing about the fish all the time. One day, he
told Gopal that he would reward him richly if he could carry
a big hilsa, which no one would notice or talk about.
Options
Some days later, Gopal went out of the house. He looked A he disliked hilsa?
strange because he had forgotten to shave half his face and B hilsa were very big fish?
was dressed in rags.
C everyone spoke about hilsa all the time?
P
D hilsa were expensive and not available easily?
Gopal's wife thought he must be crazy to go out like that. But
he didn't heed her words. He went straight to the market
and bought the biggest hilsa he could find and started walking
to the court with that.
Everyone recognised Gopal but was surprised at his
D. 3.5%
appearance. Some remarked that he looked ill; others that A. 8.9%
he must be overworked and some even thought that he was
mad. The king was also shocked at his appearance and
shouted at him for coming shabbily to court. Gopal then No. of Students B. 27%
C. 58.8% 3603
said, “Your majesty, I bring you the biggest hilsa in town and P
no one has even noticed it!”

Sometimes the motives of people’s thoughts and actions are not explicitly stated; rather they have to be understood from clues based on the context. To infer these implied motivations,
one needs to follow all the facts and events carefully. After this, even simple processing, like thinking -‘why’ and ‘what can this situation lead to’ - can help in understanding the implied. This
question assesses if students are able to infer the king’s reason of being fed up of hearing about the hilsa.
P.T.O.
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Out of the 3,603 students who took the test, 59% chose the correct option C, “everyone spoke about hilsa all the time?” But 27% of students chose the most common wrong answer B, “hilsa were very big fish.”
Possible reason for choosing A and D: Only 9% of students chose A and 4% chose D. Students choosing A, may have simply thought that the king may have been fed up of hearing about the hilsa since he did
not like it! Students choosing D may have just chosen any option randomly without reading the passage.
Possible reason for choosing B: The adjective ‘big’ or ‘biggest’ has been used to describe the hilsa thrice in the passage. This may have influenced students to choose this option.
3 Learnings
Two issues may have led students to answer incorrectly:
i) Inability to understand the term 'fed up of' in the stem – as a result they may have randomly chosen an answer.
ii) Skimming through the passage - picking up stray pieces of information like – 'big', 'biggest' which are used to describe the hilsa, or that the king told Gopal to walk about with a hilsa unnoticed, or that
Gopal went and bought the biggest hilsa. They may have not been able to string all this information coherently as they may have missed some important aspects like the first line that says – "It was the
season for the hilsa…" – which builds up the story, giving a feel of the atmosphere, (where everyone constantly discusses it) which may have led to the king getting tired of it.
Students who answered correctly have probably understood the entire scenario clearly – the season for the hilsa meant that people were constantly talking about it – tastes, recipes, experiences, prices,
etc.; this annoyed the king for all he ever heard during this time was, hilsa!
Relating their personal experiences to the story, would have helped students realise that experiencing the same thing repeatedly could lead to boredom with the very thing that was a favourite earlier. E.g.
Too much of the same computer game, would be monotonous as the novelty and thrill of the game would be lost!

There are two aspects to this question – i) understanding the question ii) relating to situations based on personal experiences.
• Present the same passage and question to students. Ask them if they understood what the question is all about. (Here, see if they are able to understand that they have to identify the reason the king
was fed up of hearing about the hilsa. If not, help them to break down the question.)
• Then ask them to answer the question. You may notice that many of the students answer correctly, but there will be some who do not.
• Ask them what their favourite movie is. Ask them if they would enjoy watching the same film everyday for months together. Ask them if that movie is likely to remain their favourite in such a scenario.
Then bring them back to the story and ask them to imagine the entire season of hilsa. You can ask them to enact it or you can create an aura through your narration of how people obsessed over the
hilsa during the season!
• Then ask them - how do you think the king felt when he was surrounded by people’s conversation about the hilsa for a few months (as a season lasts a few months)! Then present the question again
and ask if anyone wants to change their answers.
In this way, use short passages from new lessons of the textbook to allow students to engage and relate with them.
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://www.abcteach.com/free/r/rc_sweetadventure_elemupper.pdf (an example of a simple story and related questions which require children to infer and analyse)
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2. http://www.rhlschool.com/read7n5.htm (example of another story and a related exercise – this story can be used to frame a simple exercise by teachers for their classes) E4-0109-08 INITIATIVES
Reading for Understanding: Grammar English: Class 4 Sentences are formed by putting words together in the right order and
context to convey an idea, event or description. The verb is the
fundamental part of the sentence. Each verb either works with or
without certain prepositions. And most verbs can work with several
Question different prepositions, each of which differently affects the meaning of
what is said. This question assesses if students are able to choose the
The number of books in my room has ______________ correct verb to match the preposition ‘to’ and complete the sentence in
to nearly five hundred. a grammatically correct manner.
P
D. 27.5%
No. of students A. 34.0%
Options Out of the 3,903 students, 27% of them chose the correct answer; D,
10749 ‘increased’ and 34% of them chose A, ‘reached’, the common wrong answer.
A reached Possible reason for choosing A: Students may have found that ‘reached’
B raised C. 13.1% sounds correct to their ears because contextually it means to arrive at
B. 11.9% something or a place. However, they seemed to have missed the ‘to’ next to the
C become blank which makes the expression ‘reached to nearly five hundred’ incorrect
D increased Only 27.5% answered correctly grammatically. It is also likely that once students found this suitable, they did not read
P the other options to check out their suitability.
Possible reason for choosing B & C: Both ‘raised’ and ‘become’ are clearly mismatched
in the sentence, because of the ‘to’ following the blank in the sentence. So those selecting these
two options may have merely guessed and chosen any option they fancied. Although ‘raised’ may be
correct in meaning, the form of the word is grammatically incorrect.
3 Learnings
Colloquial expressions seem to be influencing students so much that most of them do not think twice about the relevance of the chosen word in the given sentence. In addition, students seem to translate from
the vernacular when working on a sentence in English. Consequently they select their answers on the basis of superficial meaning and not in relation to the other words in the sentence.
In the given sentence all the words in the options refer to a changing state but only one among them will match with the word ‘to’ immediately after the blank to make correct grammatical sense. For options A
and C to be correct, the word ‘to’, is unnecessary. For B to be correct, the form of the word should have been ‘risen’ to combine with ‘to’ to be grammatically correct.
In a sentence, the preposition ‘to’ with a verb indicates ‘a result of change’- what somebody or something is changing into. e.g. Their excitement soon turned to gloom when they saw what they had to
climb. Similarly, in the given sentence, ‘The number of books in my room has increased to nearly five hundred.’ the original number of books changed to another number indicated by the word ‘increased’ in
combination with ‘to’ Those who chose option D, have been able to understand this connection.

In English, some verbs require specific prepositions while some others don’t. Since prepositions following the verb affect the verb’s meaning, writers must use proper verb-preposition combination in order to
communicate clearly.
Saying, “Ravi believed Suresh.” means something entirely different from saying, “Ravi believed in Suresh.” Using the wrong preposition may lead to confusing or awkward prose. Demonstrate this difference
with 2-3 more verbs in sentences. To help students understand and apply this learning, encourage them to do the exercise given below: 1. Ask students to choose 3-4 verbs. Divide the class into pairs. Ask
the ones on your left to write a sentence with the verb and without a preposition. Ask the ones on your right to write a sentence with the same verb followed by a preposition. Ask each pair to show each other
their sentences and discuss how the meaning is different. Ask a few pairs to come to the front of the class and explain their sentences by writing them on the board. 2. Do a follow up of this exercise with ‘fill
in the blank’ exercises using verbs with and without prepositions.
Websites: 1. http://www.english-zone.com/preps/vp-a.html (a quiz on phrasal verbs)

Useful resources:
2. http://www.ehow.com/how_2120196_explain-prepositions.html (How to explain prepositions)
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ASSET Reading for Understanding: Grammar English: Class 5
Question
Which sentence has a mistake?
Options
A Sunil dug a hole to fit the pole.
B She said she would meet us at the club.
C They went home in there friend's car. D. 23.9% A. 21.7%
P
D We knew what to write in the long test. No. of Students
3605
B. 15.6%
C. 26.8%
P

There are some words in English which have the same (or similar) pronunciations, but have different spellings and meanings. Sometimes these differences do not register in the minds of students and they
end up making grammatical mistakes. This question checks if students are able to identify a grammatical mistake in the usage of the word ‘their’, which is a possessive pronoun.

Only about 27% of 3,605 students chose the correct answer C, “They went home in there friend’s car.” Almost 24% of students chose option D, “We knew what to write in the long test.” 22% of
students chose option A, “Sunil dug a hole to fit the pole.”
Possible reason for choosing A: Students may have felt that ‘a’ before ‘hole’ is used incorrectly, since many of them tend to omit articles when speaking or writing as this structure does not exist in the
vernacular.
Possible reason for choosing B: It is possible that these students chose this option because of ‘at the club’. They may have thought that the correct way of saying it should have been ‘in the club’.
Possible reason for choosing D: The cause for the error seems to be in the use of the word ‘knew’. Students may have thought that the sentence should actually have been ‘We know what
to write in the long test’, because it is a habitual action of knowing what to do in a test, rather than talking about a past event. It is also possible that students felt that the word ‘long’ is incorrect
as only objects can be described as long or short
P.T.O.
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3 Learnings
Students do not seem to be very clear about grammar mistakes in sentences, when they see all the four sentences together. Every sentence probably appears to be correct. The common reasons for not
being able to identify errors is probably because they are not exposed to such exercises, do not register such corrections made by the teacher with regards to their writing in their notebooks, or are quite
confused about the usages of structures and different parts of speech in a sentence.
The issue of not understanding the subject-verb agreement in the use of infinitives may be arising mainly due to lack of oral fluency. Owing to this gap, students may not have clearly understood the
difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’.
Students who answered correctly may have read all the options and then chosen C because they realised that the sentence was demanding a possessive pronoun to indicate ‘whose’ friend’s car. These
students clearly know the difference between ‘there’ and ‘their’.

It is possible that ‘their’ is confused with more words, for instance, ‘they’re’. Even though ‘they’re’ is a short form of saying, ‘they are’, and its pronunciation is the same as ‘their’.
Exercise 1 Exercise 2
• Tell them this information for ‘Their/There/They’re’ • State the rule clearly:
1. ‘Their’ is used to describe what belongs to someone. o An action word (verb) after ‘to’ will always remain in present tense.
eg. The boys are playing with their toys. o E.g. I had gone to the market to buy milk. But without ‘to’, this verb will also
Meaning: The boys are playing with the toys that belong to them. become past tense. E.g. I went to the market and bought milk.
2. ‘There’ is used to show a location. • Give enough practice to reinforce this rule in students.
eg. It is over there. o E.g. (make up more like these)
3. ‘They're’ is a short-form for 'they are’. The number of people who wanted to ____________ the book was very large.
eg. They're going out. (purchased /purchasing/ purchase)
You can teach to confirm their answers as demonstrated with the examples stated above. To ensure that these issues do not occur, create opportunities for students to talk in
• If you think the answer is ‘their’ – say the sentence with ‘our’ E.g. The boys are playing English as much as possible in simple tenses at this level.
with our toys. (This makes sense.) It is over our. (This is wrong.)
• If you think the answer is there – say the sentence with ‘here’ E.g. It is over here. (This
makes sense.) The boys are playing with here toys. (This is wrong.)
• If you think the answer is ‘they’re’ – say the sentence with ‘they are’. E.g. They are
going out. (This makes sense.) The boys are playing with they are toys. (This is wrong.)
(Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-There,-Their-and-They%27re)
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/threepigsthere.txt (an exercise in their, there, they’re’ using the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’)
2. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/03/ (only for teachers: rules related to infinitives and verbs in sentences) Educational
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Question
Which of these BEST answers the question:
What happened today?
Options
A The chain snapped.
P
B I will watch a movie. D. 12.2%
C We are making a scrap book.
D They laugh at me always. C. 20.7% No. of Students
6660
A. 43.8% P
B. 21.4%

Perfecting grammar skills helps students develop fluency in oral and written expression. Grammar is most often taught and learnt as a set of rules and terms with their usage in isolated sentences. But it is
important to know how these grammar concepts are used, naturally, in normal day-to-day language. This question checks whether students are able to select the most natural and correct response to a
question, in keeping with the tense of the question.

Out of the 6,660 students, 44% chose A, the correct answer, ‘The chain snapped.’, 21% chose B, ‘I will watch a movie.’ And another 21% chose B, ‘We are making a scrap book.’
Possible reason for choosing B and C: Students may have related the facts in these sentences to occurrences in their lives and may have thought 'Nothing happened today.' Since they felt that nothing has
happened that day, they may have chosen the next best thing that they may do, which is, [So, 'I will watch a movie.'] Or [So, 'We are making a scrap book.'] Both look like events connected to today’, unlike
Option D. Some students may also not know the meaning of ‘snapped’, and therefore have not considered Option A.
Possible reason for choosing D: Students may not have understood the question and so randomly chosen D.
P.T.O.
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3 Learnings
1. Students may know all about 'tenses' and their usages but seem to respond to any question on tenses only if the terms like ‘Simple Present/ Past Tense etc’ are used in the question. They don’t seem to
be able to apply the usage of the tense in question. Had the question been framed as 'Choose the response that is in the Simple Past Tense.', more students would have chosen the correct answer.
2. Students do not seem to look at the question as a query and response together, but are probably looking at both these in isolation. So they haven’t seen that different responses to the question ‘What
happened today?’ are already given and they needed to only choose the one that matched in tense with the question. The ability to respect grammatical rules in spoken and written English is far more
important than the knowledge of terminology and English teachers must make sure their instruction focuses on this.

It is important that students first understand what tenses are, through natural activities or games, and then arrive at the concept of tenses on their own, which is when the terms can be introduced. If it is
done in the reverse way, students will be dependent on the terms when doing any Grammar exercise and will continue to speak and write incorrectly.
1. Ask questions like: What did you eat for breakfast? What did you see on the way to school today? How did you come to school? What did you do in the previous class? Mention anything that happened
today. etc.
Then, tell students that all the verbs they used are actions that took place at a definite time in the past and are known by the term ‘Simple Past Tense’. Familiarise them with the forms of common verbs in
the past tense. Then do the other activities given below:
2. Piling up events: Give each student a verb in the past tense, like ‘stand/stood/gave/went’. Then start a simple chain of events with the sentence: ‘Yesterday I went to town and stood near the market,
The first student continues, repeating your sentence but adding his action like:
“Yesterday I went to town and stood near the market, I bought a loaf of bread and sat on a bench,…. ..
The second student continues with another verb and so on until about 10 students have contributed. Then start another chain with another 10 students till the whole class has participated. This will help
them recall and use different verbs in the past tense.
3. Write down all that you did before coming to school today. Then underline the words that denote actions.
4. Describe in a paragraph, any procedure like: how you made a sandwich/ how you studied for your last test/ what you did for the holidays/ how you drew a triangle etc.
5. Describe in a paragraph any incident that you witnessed.
Useful resources:
Website: http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAPastTenseVerbs2.html ( a lesson plan in the simple Past Tense) Book: Penny Ur, ‘Grammar Practice Activities- A Practical Guide for Teachers’, Cambridge University Press
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TM

Question
Choose the correct sentence
Options
P
A The Hawa Mahal is a unique structure.
B The Hawa Mahal is an unique structure.

C The Hawa Mahal is the unique structure.
D. 17.1%
D The Hawa Mahal is unique structure. A. 27.8% P
C. 8.7% No. of Students
1131
B. 45.4%

Sentence construction is an important aspect of learning language. It determines fluency levels which in turn impact presentation and written skills in the long run. There are certain rules to be followed
while using different articles, pronouns etc. These rules can be understood and mastered with practice and exposure. This question assesses if students are able to understand the usage of articles in
different situations.

Only about 28% of 1131 students chose the correct option A, “The Hawa Mahal is a unique structure.” But more than 45% of students chose the most common wrong answer B, “The Hawa Mahal is an
unique structure.”
Possible reason for choosing B: Students may have misinterpreted the rule of using “a/an”. “An” is an indefinite article used before words beginning with the sound of a vowel. But these children may
have thought that it appears before a vowel. It is also possible that some of these students may have known the rule correctly, but they may have merely ‘read’ the sentence and not ‘spoken’ it in their
minds. Had they ‘spoken’ the words of option B in their minds, they may have been able to realise that ‘unique’ is pronounced with a ‘you’ and not with an ‘oo’.
Possible reason for choosing C: Very few students have chosen this option and it is possible that they are confused about the rules of using determining articles. They may have thought that since
the question is about a particular structure called the Hawa Mahal, anything related to it, would have to be specific and therefore ‘it is the unique structure’.
Possible reason for choosing D: Some students tend to omit articles when speaking and so may have felt that this option sounds perfectly correct without an article. This is probably
because they have not realized the need to speak in correct grammatical English, with or without the articles in the correct places.
P.T.O.
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3 Learnings
Students seem to learn the usage of articles as rules and use them in isolated phrases or sentences since Grade 1, but rarely apply them when speaking, reading or writing anything. This could be due to:
• Inadequate practice in corroborating words and letters with their sounds mentally.
• Not knowing the complete rule of when to use a/an/the, clearly.
• Not being able to use articles appropriately in the absence of the term 'articles' in the instruction.
Students who answered correctly may have done so because:
• They may have been aware that ‘a’ is used before a singular noun (in this case, the word ‘structure’).
• They may have easily eliminated B simply by ‘speaking’ the words in their mind and realised that ‘unique’ begins with a ‘you’ and therefore realised that ‘an’ is incorrectly used.
• They may have eliminated C because they found that ‘the’ was incorrectly used – ‘the’ is used only before a noun which names a specific member of a group and the reader/writer know the identity of
this noun. But in this case, the question is about the Hawa Mahal and not structures, so a definite article is not required.

Practice and regular exposure will help students internalize the rules of grammar. You can reiterate the rules of when to use a/an/the and then give sufficient practice to use them. These rules can be found
at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/ and other websites. You can bring them to class, and discuss with students before giving them practice exercises. Examples are given below. Please
refer to books and websites for the rules.
Sentence Article Why this article?

I need _____ bottle of water a The author is thirsty and needs any bottle which has water to quench her thirst.
I need _____ bottle of water which is lying in my bedroom the We know which bottle the author wants!
I needed ______ umbrella urgently yesterday. an ‘umbrella’ has the sound of ‘oo’ and it was probably raining, therefore the author needed any umbrella to help her.
I needed ______ pink umbrella that mother got me for my birthday the We know which umbrella the author is looking for!
In the same way, you can discuss rules related to the use of articles and proper nouns, collective nouns, etc. and give students exercises.
Useful resources:
Website: http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei008/esl-test.php (MCQ sample questions - use of articles)
Educational
Reading for Understanding: Grammar English: Class 6 Quantifiers like, ‘a little/a few’ and ‘few/little’ are words that are used to
state a quantity or amount of something, without stating the actual
number. These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the
quantity he/she is referring to. There is an important difference between
Question "a little" and "little" (used with uncountable nouns), where the former
means ‘a small quantity’ and the latter means, ‘almost nothing’. This
Which word can fill in the blank to make a correct sentence? question checks if students are aware of this difference in usage.
You won't change my mind, so there is ______ use trying.
D. 14.2%
Options C. 9.3% 3,919 students attempted this question. Only 29% of these students
No. of students chose the correct answer, (Option B) 'little', while 46% of the students
A a little A. 45.5%
3919 chose the most common wrong answer, (Option A) 'a little'.
B little
P Possible reason for choosing A: Students who chose this answer most
C few B. 28.9% likely do not differentiate between ‘a little and ‘little’. They may have settled
P for this as it is the very first option and some students probably think that
D a few ‘little’ would be grammatically incorrect in this context.
Only 28.9% answered correctly Possible reason for choosing C & D: Students choosing this answer may have picked
on any option at random. They may not have thought that ‘few/a few’ is rarely used with
abstract nouns like ‘use’.
3 Learnings
It is clear from the data that students are not aware of the fine difference in the usage of ‘little’ and ‘a little’ in English
Grammar. Since ‘a little’ is in use much more than ‘little’, they may have thought that ‘a little’ has to be the only correct answer.
If they had looked at the sentence and questioned themselves as to why ‘a little’ and ‘little’ are in different options, they would have realised that the
phrase, ‘won’t change my mind’ and the effect of that decision indicated by ‘so’ in the sentence clearly hint at a negative meaning. Had they been aware that ‘little’ means ‘hardly’ or ‘almost nothing’ and applied
this meaning in the sentence; they would have been able to choose the correct answer. Students, who are likely to have known this difference, seem to have chosen the correct option.

Help students understand the fine difference between the quantifiers, "a little" and "little" (used with uncountable words) and between "a few" and "few" (used with countable nouns). For example, if we say
that Tarun has a little experience in public speaking, that means that although Tarun is no great expert he does have some experience and that experience might well be enough for our purposes. If we say that
Tarun has little experience in public speaking that means that he has hardly any experience or no experience. Similarly if we say that Charu owns a few movies based on Classics and Epics, that means that she
has some movies — not a lot of movies, but probably enough for our need. If we say that Charu owns few movies on Classics and Epics, that means he doesn't have enough for our need and we'd better go to
elsewhere if we want them.
Ask students to write several sentences using ‘little/a little/few/a few’. Ask them to exchange their sentences with their partners and discuss which sentences convey a positive idea and which convey a negative
idea. Ask them to identify the other words in the sentence that worked as clues to understand the correct meaning of the quantifiers. Then conduct a review of the exercise and make sure that all the students
understand the difference very clearly.
Provide students with several exercises to differentiate the usages of these words. Some exercises are there on pages 174-175 of the book mentioned in the source.
Websites: 1. http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/blquantity.htm (a lesson plan on quantifiers)

Useful resources:
2. Raymond Murphy, Essential English Grammar, Cambridge University Press, 1992 (a self study reference and practice book for elementary students of English)
Educational
TM

The passage below has some blanks. Choose the correct word or phrase that should appear in the blanks, from the options given below.
Use the numbers to match the blank and the options.
SAFETY PIN
Walter Hunt (54A) someone $15. He sat at his desk (55) a brass wire, not knowing how he would clear this debt. He coiled the wire round, for almost three hours. When he
looked down at (56), it occurred to him, that he had actually invented something of utility! He had invented the world's first safety pin! Many had used a pin before, but all pins
would prick. Here was one, (57) on clothes safely. It consisted of a pointed end, a twist in the middle (which created a spring), and a clasp that bent around the point. The bend and
the spring, created tension on the two sides, forcing the sharp end to remain within the clasp. (58) safety clasp ensured that the pin didn't come out of the fabric and poke the
person wearing it. He aptly called this the "dress pin", which we now call the "safety pin".
In 1849, Walter Hunt patented his new invention. He sold off the patent for (59) measly $400, and paid back his friend the $15. Not only would this tiny invention earn someone
millions of dollars, (60) utility would last for many, many years to come.
Question
Choose the MOST APPROPRIATE option for question 59.
Options
A a D. 15.1%
P
B an
C the No. of Students
3422 A. 45.5% P
C. 20.3%
D no article
B. 11.4%

It is important to have a firm grasp on all the grammar skills in order to understand our own language, use it, develop it, write it and speak it so that we can communicate in a meaningful
way. This question tests whether students know the correct usage of the articles in the paragraph, for which they would need to understand the passage well.
P.T.O.
Educational
A majority of the students (46% of 3,422 students) chose the correct answer ‘a’, while 20% of them chose option C, ‘the’.
Possible reason for choosing B: Students clearly do not know the simple rule that ‘an’ is used only before words starting with vowels/ vowel sounds.
Possible reason for choosing C: Students seem to have chosen ‘the’ perhaps influenced by a ‘the’ in the latter part of the same sentence before a sum of money, ‘He sold off the patent for (59) measly
$400, and paid back his friend the $15.’ They don’t seem to have realised that the article ‘the’ is used there because it has already been mentioned in an earlier part of the passage, ‘Walter Hunt owed
someone $15.’; so when it appears again in the same passage it takes a ‘the’ as we are talking about the same amount of money again.
Possible reason for choosing D: Students probably chose ‘no article’ without much thought to understanding the passage or recalling the concept of articles (see the next section for a detailed analysis).
It is also possible that students chose ‘no article’, assuming that ‘money’ is not an article in the true sense. They appear to have misunderstood that ‘no article’ refers to ‘the omission of articles’.
3 Learnings
Students do not seem to have grasped the concept of articles, ‘a/an/the’ in their writing. They may be aware of rules for the usage of articles but tend to apply this rule only in isolated sentences like: ‘Shirin
wrote an essay. Then she went through it carefully and corrected a mistake that she had made.’ This is because they do not keep track of nouns which use the articles when they appear for the first time and
when the same nouns are repeated in the passage.
Students tend to speak English without using articles, perhaps because this structure is non-existent in the vernacular. In this paragraph, since the word ‘measly’ is not a thing but is an adjective before the
noun, they may have been confused as to which article to use or felt that the article is not needed.
Had they developed the habit of speaking in correct grammatical English, they would have realised that the structure ‘a/an/the’ would be used before a noun phrase, based on the understanding that the
noun phrase ‘measly $400’ refers to a sum of money, though the word ‘sum’ is not written there. Students who speak well were able to select the correct answer easily.

Grammar instruction should be tailor-made to meet the needs of students, and should be woven into relevant, meaningful instruction in reading, writing and speaking. Begin building your grammar
instruction plan by comparing what students must know with what they already know, through assessments which test the true understanding of ‘articles’, rather than a surface knowledge of the concept
in isolated sentences or sentence fragments.
Some ideas are mentioned below:
1. Write two short paragraphs of about 20-30 words, with the articles inserted unnecessarily or wrongly, on the board, and ask students to rewrite it making the necessary corrections, to practice the
correct and incorrect applications of the concept. Do this till students are clear with the concept of articles.
2. Collect a pile of English newspapers or headlines cut out from them. Ask students to go through the headlines they have, inserting ‘a/an/the’ where necessary. Do a few examples with them, and then
let them carry on alone, in pairs or in small groups. Conduct a review asking students to justify their answers. In some cases any of the three alternatives or nothing is possible. Discuss what difference
these variations make.
3. Ask students to search for examples of ‘articles’ in a piece of literature or nonfiction being read or studied by the class. Turn this into a contest by having pairs or small groups skim to locate examples of
the concept to point out to the class. Ask students to write short descriptions of anything they know followed by a peer correction, to check if articles are used correctly, incorrectly or are omitted.
Useful resources:
Website: http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/ (Quizzes on different grammar concepts) Book: Ur, Penny, ‘Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical guide for Teachers, Cambridge University Press.
Educational
TM

The passage below has some blanks. Choose the correct word or phrase that should appear in the blanks, from the options given below.
Use the numbers to match the blank and the options.
SECURITY INKS Question

Choose the MOST APPROPRIATE phrase for question 56.
Some types of ink help to stop important documents (51) with or copied and have
become an important part of the printing industry. Today, the widespread use of colour
Options
photocopiers, scanners and printers enables forgers and counterfeiters to copy important
A in it is place,
documents quite easily. (52) of security inks has been developed to help combat
P
B in its place,
forgery and fraud.
C in it’s place,
Disappearing Ink D in its’ place,

Plastic cards (53) for goods, like credit cards and
debit cards, have a special panel on the back for the
cardholder’s signature. This signature is (54)
D. 6.8%
A . 5.1%
shop and bank staff that the person using the card is its real
owner. This panel is usually overprinted using special ink
that (55) if the card has been tampered with. If No. of Students
anyone tries to remove the signature on the panel and
4861 B. 41.6% P
C. 39.8%
write another one (56) the overprinting
disappears, or changes to read ‘Void’.

A common mistake that many students make is the mix-up between the words "its" and "it's." While the difference may not seem significant to the average writer, using the words correctly
can help instil confidence in him. Since first impressions are formed simply by reading someone's writing, it is best to make the writing as accurate as possible. This question assesses if
students are able to understand this difference between the use of “it’s” and “its” in a passage.
P.T.O.
Educational
Out of a total of 4,861 students, 42% chose option B, ‘in its place,’, while another 40% chose option C, ‘in it’s place,’.
Possible reason for choosing A and D: As low as 5-7% of the students chose options A and D, showing that they were randomly guessing.
Possible reason for choosing C: Students who chose this option are probably not able to differentiate the usage of these two words and may have thought that both the words are the same.
3 Learnings
A large percentage of students choosing option C, indicates that students probably do not know that the two forms are different from each other in meaning. The confusion between it's (the contraction
for ‘it is’) and its (the possessive form of it) probably arises out of two problems.
• They are homonyms (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings).
• ‘Its’ is a possessive, and we expect possessives to have apostrophes.
Students who know this difference very well have been able to choose the right option, based on their understanding of the context in the given passage. Students may feel possessives need to have
apostrophes just like it is used with nouns. For example, Ashish's book - they think that since it is a pronoun, the same rule will be used here also.

Tell students the difference between these two forms. First give them two sentences with each of these words in separate sentences. Tell them that:
1. "It's" is always the abbreviation of "it is" as in "It's (= it is) a nice day, isn't it?"
2. We should return a thing to its original place, so that it is easily traceable when needed.
Then give them a sentence where both “It’s” and “its” are used in the same sentence.
Example: It’s Montu’s puppy but I don’t know its name.”
In this sentence, “It’s” actually means “It is” and “its” means, “belonging to it”. (Its” is the possessive of “it”). If the first word is expanded, the sentence would be this way “It is Montu’s puppy but I don’t
know its name.”
Ask them to read their lessons in their text book or any passage from story books or children’s newspapers and identify sentences where either of these words are used and talk about the significance of
these words in those texts.
Once they are clear about this, encourage them to do a number of practice exercises where they would be required to use or not use the apostrophe for ‘its’.
Useful resources:
Website: 1. http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~csk/its.html (difference between ‘its ‘and ‘it’s’)
2. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/its_there_quiz.htm (worksheets in the use of ‘its’ and ‘its’) Educational
TM
ASSET Reading for Understanding: Vocabulary English: Class 8

ENTERTAINMENT
- by Nissim Ezekiel
The monkey-show is on: Question
patient girl on haunches
''Some, in shame, part with the smallest coin..''
holds the strings.
In this line the word 'part' refers to:
a baby in her arms.
Two red monkeys
in red and purple pantaloons
Options
prepare to dance.
Crowd collects, P
A separation
forms a circle. B change
Naked to the waist,
the Master of Ceremonies' C a piece
drums frenzy, cracks whip, D completion
calls the tricks
to earn applause and copper coins.
The circle thickens as the plot thicken,
children laugh, the untouchable women
smooth their hair. A coolie
grins at me, his white teeth D. 11.9%
gleam in the sunlight.
Only the monkeys are sad,
and suddenly
C. 23.9% No. of Students A. 45.4% P
the baby begins to cry. 3077
Anticipating time for payment,
the crowd dissolves.
Some, in shame, part
B. 17.5%
with the smallest coin they have.
The show moves on

Comprehension entails understanding the contents thoroughly. In English, it is known that many words can be used to denote different things in different contexts. And the intended
meaning can be gauged only by reading carefully and understanding the contextual clues. This question assesses if students are able to understand the intended meaning of a commonly
used word, ‘part’ in the poem.
P.T.O.
Educational
Only 45% of 3,077 students chose the correct option A, “separation”. The common wrong answer, option C, “a piece” was chosen by 24% of students, whereas 18% of students chose B, “change”.
Possible reason for choosing B: These students may have understood that the word meaning has to be deduced based on the context, but may have skimmed through the poem. The subsequent line
has the words ‘smallest coin’ which they may have interpreted as change, not realizing that ‘part’ has been used as a verb here!
Possible reason for choosing C: These students are not likely to have read the question or the poem carefully. The most common meaning of the word ‘part’ is ‘a piece’ belonging to a whole – therefore
these students have chosen C, probably without reading the lines where ‘part’ is used.
Possible reason for choosing D: Few students chose this option and it’s probably a random guess.
3 Learnings
Students need to be encouraged to read and interpret the question, then return to the passage before answering the question. Practice on questions based on unseen passages or sentences will help them
to sharpen these skills.
Students seem to forget that each word can not only change in meaning, but also in the part of speech it is used as! e.g. I love to eat pizzas. (Love is a verb here) My love for my dog is genuine. (Love is a
noun here.)
Students who answered correctly may have read the poem carefully. The word ‘with’ which follows ‘part’ and the words ‘they have’ may have helped them to understand that ‘part’ here refers to the act
of ‘giving’ and therefore the word ‘separation’ is the correct answer.

It is important that students learn to play with words and use them in different ways. If they are able to internalize this, then they may try to read carefully when trying to understand the contextual
meanings of words that can be used differently.
Exercise 1
- Make chits with words having multiple meanings or words that can be used as different parts of speech and put them in a bowl.
- Ask students to come up in pairs and pick up a chit each and make up sentences using the word differently.
- Ask them to read out these sentences in class.
e.g. handle (knob/deal), tear (rip – verb/noun), trip (journey/fall), light (brightness/weight/shade)
Exercise 2
- Use the same words in different sentences to mean different things.
- Ask students to guess the meaning of the word in the each sentence.
- Similarly, ask students if they can think of words that can be used differently.
e.g. “free”
I want to be free of all tensions for just one day. (free refers to freedom here)
I bought toothpaste and I got a toothbrush with it for free. (free refers to without cost here)
Useful resources:
Website: 1. http://eslsite.com/rd/Vocabulary/same_spelling_different_meaning.html (same word, different meanings – exercises and list of words)
2. http://cwabacon.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/seyler_ab/chapter1/deluxe.html (exercises - vocabulary in context) Educational
One of the ways to understand sentence structure is to identify equivalent
Reading for Understanding: Grammar English: Class 8 sentences with the same meaning but a different structure. The ability to rewrite
sentences so that they have the same meaning as the original is often required in
written English and is also an important skill which can help improve our
Question understanding of similar English expressions and vocabulary.
This question tests the students’ ability to understand the meaning of a given
D. 3.9%
A . 5.2%
Choose the correct representation of the given sentence when it is presented with a different structure.
sentence without any change in meaning.
The month of May presents one of the hottest

seasons in India. No. of Students The majority of the 4,211 students who answered this question - 47% chose the most
C. 43.4%
P 4211 B. 46.7%common wrong answer, option B, while 43% chose the correct answer option C.
Options Possible reason for choosing A & D: A minority of students – about 9% chose
Most months present a hotter season than the month the wrong answers, options A and D, both of which have a similar meaning. This is
A
of May, in India. due to their not having understood the meaning of the given sentence in the first place.
Either they did not read the sentence carefully or merely chose their answers randomly.
B No other month presents a hotter season than the month
of May in India. Possible reason for choosing B: Students who chose this option seem to have focused on
Only 47.8% answered correctly the word ‘hottest’ to the exclusion of ‘one of the’ which qualifies it, leading them to interpret
P
C Very few months present as hot a season as the month the sentence to mean no other month is hotter than May.
of May, in India.
Every month other than May presents a hot season,
D
in India. 3 Learnings
To correctly answer this question, students have to follow a two step process: (i) Understand the meaning of the given
sentence clearly; and (ii) identify the sentence from the options given, that has the same meaning as the given one. Unless the first
step is completed successfully, the second step is difficult; this is especially so in sentences of comparison, as the shades of meaning have to be
understood to identify the correct answer that is presented in a different sentence structure.
Most often, students do not read the sentences carefully, and assume the meaning based on clues – as in this case, the word ‘hottest’. Another reason could also be that they are not familiar or are not exposed to
different sentence structures and become confused when encountering them in a multiple choice context.

Take the sentences in each of these options and break them into different parts and ask the students simple questions to help them understand the meaning of each sentence. For example: What is the meaning
of the sentence in Option A? Which place is being talked about? What is the extent of heat mentioned? Ask them the significance/meaning of the expressions: ‘Most months/ No other month/Very few months/
Every month other than’. In this way, work with the other sentences and ask them to answer the given question now.
Besides this, give students practice in understanding and using different sentence structures, and using equivalent sentences – those with the same meaning but different structures. A few examples of the type of
questions that can be used are given below:
(I) From the given passage, identify the sentence that has the same meaning as the one given here: (Give a sentence that is written with a different structure than the one in the passage but with the same
meaning)
(ii) Rewrite the given sentence with a different degree of comparison, without any change in meaning.
(iii) Identify from the given options, the sentence that has the same structure as the one given below:
(iv) Rewrite the given sentence using the words given in brackets (Give words like ‘no sooner than’, ‘more’, ‘but’, very few etc. appropriately)
(v) Identify the sentences in the passage that have the same structure as the one given below:
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bltransform1.htm (This website has some useful exercises in sentence transformation.)
2. http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/grammar/transformation-sentences-2.htm (Some examples and explanations for sentence transformation using ‘degrees of comparison)
Educational
TM

Question
Which of these words from the passage belongs to
the same part of speech as the underlined word
in the expression, '……. that is of utmost
importance to the victim.'?
Options
A suddenly
B interval
C difference
D medical
P
A. 29.6%
D. 46.4% No. of Students

P 6988
B. 12.2%
C. 9.6%

Traditionally, students are taught to memorise the definitions of the parts of speech along with some examples. Later on they are assessed for their knowledge in the parts of speech by
means of recall of the same definitions and similar examples. But as a language is really learnt when it is used, they should understand the parts of speech in terms of their function, the clue
for which is most often its position. This question checks the students’ understanding of the function of a word in its context.
P.T.O.
Educational
About 46% of the 2,956 students who answered this question chose the right answer – Option D, ‘medical’, while 30% chose the most common wrong answer Option A, ‘suddenly’.
Possible reason for choosing A: Students who chose this option seem to have mistaken ‘utmost’ for an adverb without interpreting the word as qualifying the noun ‘importance’. Based on this surmise,
they have chosen option A which is an adverb.
Possible reason for choosing B & C: Students who have chosen options B and C do not seem to have understood the difference between nouns and adjectives or adverbs. These choices, by about
22% could also have been a random choice, probably due to inertia or unwillingness to grapple with a grammar question.
3 Learnings
Beyond definitions of parts of speech, students should learn to apply them in a context, which is what will help them in using the parts of speech correctly and appropriately. In this question, the position of
the word ‘utmost’ indicates that it qualifies a noun and therefore is an adjective. Once this logic is followed, it is easy to find the answer – ‘medical’ – as it is the only word that is an adjective.
It is the memorising habit followed by most students with regard to grammar that creates confusion when they encounter a question where they are required to exercise their logical ability to arrive at the
answer.

In grammar lessons, provide enough exercises on identifying the parts of speech by a word’s position and its function, rather than by definition. To do this, move away from exercises which provide drill
with the same kind of questions and give them practice in using different parts of speech appropriately within the same exercise. Specific exercises to identify the parts of speech through their function
should also be given. Two examples are given below:
(I) Choose the appropriate words from those provided and fill in the blanks:
Radha ------ to go with her friends to a cinema, but then -------- realized that she did not have an excuse to give her ---------. She was --------- that he would not --------- of her going. But he was also ----
----- in finding out when she ------. She was in a -------- - should ------ should she not go? ---------- she decided to seek ------ mother’s help in getting -------- her father.
(father, best, clever, her, his, wanted, finally, suddenly, or, and, but, confusion, father, lied, consented, approved, quandary)
(Note: the number of words provided is more than necessary to make the choice more logical – students would need to understand the gist of the passage to fill the blanks.)
(ii) Read the passage given below and complete the matching exercise by finding the word that correctly does the same work as the given word.As she walked down the ramp, Amita could sense the
mood of her batch mates – they were wondering how the ugly duckling turned into a swan in such a short time. Gone were her spectacles and the mousy looking hair style! She had learnt to use
contact lenses on the suggestion of their teacher in charge of the fashion show in her college. Her hair was now wavy and left open, which made it come down in a cascade behind her. With a trendy
dress that suited her, and matching accessories, she was looking beautiful, much to the chagrin of her friends who had often teased her as a studious, village girl.
Find the words from the passage that performs the same function as each of the words given below: One is done as an example:
gone learnt
contact
fashion
matching
style
how
her
teased
Useful resources:
Websites: 1. http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/definitions.htm (Meanings of basic sentence parts)
2. http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au/english/speech.htm (Fun with parts of speech) Educational
TM

Question
''They have been reminded several times, but they have not returned the books.''
Choose the option that can BEST replace this sentence.
Options
A ‘'In spite of several reminders, they have failed to return the books.''
P
B ''Despite several reminders, they will not return the books'' D. 10.6%
C ''In spite of reminding many times, they never return the books''
A. 50.9% P
D ''They seldom return the books on time, in spite of several reminders'' C. 25% No. of Students
6988
B. 10.5%

Transform means to change. When students read something, they can embellish it, enhance it, elaborate upon it, add other information to the existing information, condense it and so on. Students use
transformational strategies to change another person’s written or spoken information into another format without losing the concept/meaning of the original. Students can demonstrate their grammar
skills by showing that they have understood the various meanings of a sentence based on the appropriate structures present in it.
This question tests students' ability to identify the correctly transformed sentence, matching in meaning with the original one.

51% of 6,988 students answered correctly, (Option A )-'In spite of several reminders, they have failed to return the books.' The common wrong answer was (Option C )-'In spite of reminding many
times, they never return the books.'
Possible reason for choosing B & D: B is a choice perhaps because it sounds colloquially correct to students. D seems correct grammatically but does not match the meaning of the sentence in the stem.
Students have not understood that the tense in the sentence in B, is incorrect and that the sentence in B denotes a habitual occurrence, while the original one is not so. Both options seem to be random guesses.
Possible reason for choosing C: Students choosing this option seem to have been influenced by a colloquial style of making a comment like this: ‘In spite of telling them many times, they
never return the books on time.’ They have missed the significance of the word ‘never’ in C, which means that the books will never ever be returned at any point of time. Although this is
correct grammatically, it does not match the original sentence, which means that the books had not been returned till the point this comment was made but were likely to be returned at
some point of time later. P.T.O.
Educational
3 Learnings
Students need to maintain the basic concept/ meaning of a sentence when trying to write it in a different way or when trying to identify different forms of the same sentence with the same meaning. This is
challenging as students face problems in understanding the exact meaning of the original sentence, keeping in mind the significance of signal words like ‘in spite of’, ‘never’ ‘seldom’ ‘failed to’ etc. as well as
transforming a negative expression (have not returned) to an expression without the ‘not’ (failed to return) while keeping the meaning intact.
Had the students analysed the meaning of each sentence as given below, they would have been able to identify the sentence with the same meaning as the original one.
Options Meaning of each option in two separate sentences

A. In spite of several reminders, they have failed to return the books. Many reminders were given. Even then they failed to return them but may return them later.
B. Despite several reminders, they will not return the books Many reminders were given. But they will not return the books
C. In spite of reminding many times, they never return the books Many reminders are given. But they never return the books.
D. They seldom return the books on time, in spite of several reminders Many reminders are given. But they are not in the habit of returning books on time.

Students need to practise expressing different sentences in different ways without any change in meaning. Some ideas are mentioned below:
1. Present some sentences using ‘not’ or ‘no’ in them and ask students to try and rewrite them without the use of ‘not’
e.g. I was not sure it was you. I was doubtful whether it was you.
No one could deny that she is pretty. Everyone accepts that she is pretty.
2. Provide sentences with the first half or the second half of the sentence missing and ask them to complete them using ‘not’ and then rewrite them without the not’.
e.g. __________________________, she still missed the bus.
They were given a lot of opportunities, ____________________.etc.
3. Divide the class into pairs. Ask each one to write a compound sentence using ‘not’ and one of the conjunctions, ‘but/and/or/ so/ in spite of, despite/ although etc.’. Ask each pair to exchange their
sentences and write it in a different way without changing the meaning. Review a few sentences on the board.
Useful resources:
Website: 1. Grammar in Use Series, by Raymond Murphy (an Oxford teacher), from Cambridge University Press. 3. http://www.raisingreaders.com.au/Resources/Activities/Transformations.htm
2. http://faculty.ccp.edu/dept/viewpoints/s01v2n3/strips.htm (Some games to teach subordinating conjunctions in sentence construction) ( a strategy to teach sentence transformation) Educational

Reading For Understanding: Vocabulary English: Class 3

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