eGuide Content.

Unit 2: Texts and co-text

Recommended time to master the outcomes of this study unit: 25
hours
Overview of the study unit
We construct discourse through the use of morphemes, words, phrases
and sentences. In the previous study unit, we dealt with words, their
meanings, the categories they belong to and criteria for classifying them
accordingly. In this study unit, we will use this knowledge to learn more
about the formation of coherent sentences, paragraphs and texts. In
order to do so, it is necessary to gain insight into co-textual elements,
such as lexical relations and text cohesion (e.g. linking words;
semantically related words). We also consider how they relate to the
correct use of punctuation as tools to effectively formulate sentences.
Learning outcomes
After engaging with the materials and activities in this study unit, you
should be able to:

 Understand and apply basic elements of lexical relations and text

cohesion: linking words; semantically related words.

Study material

 Collins, UK. 2017. The Cobuild English Grammar. 4th ed. Harper
Collins (Refer to the detailed work plan on eFundi for the
relevant sections).
 The eGuide
 Material made available on eFundi
 A good dictionary
Assessment
You will complete at least one formative assessment activity, as well as
one summative assessment related to this study unit. Some exercises
that count towards participation will also relate to this unit.

Unit 2.1 Introduction to Context & Co-text

Humpty Dumpty's Philosophy of Language
By: Emrys Westacott

Updated January 06, 2020

In Chapter 6 of Through the Looking Glass, Alice meets Humpty Dumpty, who she
recognizes immediately since she knows about him from the nursery rhyme.
Humpty is a bit irritable, but he turns out to have some thought-provoking notions
about language, and philosophers of language have been quoting him ever since.

Must a Name Have a Meaning?

Humpty begins by asking Alice her name and her business:
‘My name is Alice, but––‘
‘It’s a stupid name enough!’ Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently. ‘What
does it mean?’
‘Must a name mean something?’ Alice asked doubtfully.
‘Of course it must,’ Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh: ‘my name
means the shape I am–and a good handsome shape it is too. With a name like
yours, you might be any shape, almost.’
As in many other respects, the looking glass world, at least as described by
Humpty Dumpty, is the inverse of Alice’s everyday world (which is also ours). In
the everyday world, names typically have little or no meaning: ‘Alice,’ ‘Emily,’
‘Jamal,’ ‘Christiano,’ usually do nothing other than denoting an individual. They can
certainly have connotations: that’s why there are so many more people called
‘David’ (the heroic king of ancient Israel) than are called ‘Judas’ (the betrayer of
Jesus). And we can sometimes infer (though not with perfect certainty) incidental
acts about a person from their name: e.g. their sex, their religion (or that of their
parents), or their nationality. But names usually tell us little else about their bearers.
From the fact that someone is called ‘Grace,’ we can’t infer that they are graceful.

Apart from the fact that most proper names are gendered, so parents don’t usually
call a boy ‘Josephine’ or a girl ‘William,’ a person can be given pretty much any
name from a very long list. General terms, on the other hand, cannot be applied
arbitrarily. The word ‘tree’ can’t be applied to an egg, and the word ‘egg’ can’t mean
a tree. That is because words like these, unlike proper names, have a definite
meaning. But in Humpty Dumpty’s world, things are the other way round. Proper
names must have a meaning, while any ordinary word, as he tells Alice later,
means whatever he wants it to mean–that is, he can stick them on things the way
we stick names on people.
Playing Language Games With Humpty Dumpty
Humpty delights in riddles and games. And like many other Lewis
Carroll characters, he loves to exploit the difference between the way words are
conventionally understood and their literal meaning. Here are a couple of
examples.
‘Why do you sit out here all alone?’ said Alice…..
‘Why, because there’s nobody with me!’ cried Humpty Dumpty. ‘Did you
think I didn’t know the answer to that?’
The joke here stems from the ambiguity of the ‘Why?’ question. Alice means ‘What
causes have brought it about that you sit here alone?’ This is the normal way the
question is understood. Possible answers might be that Humpty dislikes people,
or that his friends and neighbors have all gone away for the day. But he takes the
question in a different sense, asking something like: under what circumstances
would we say that you (or anyone) are alone? Since his answer rests on nothing
more than the definition of the word ‘alone,’ it is completely uninformative, which
is what makes it funny.

A second example needs no analysis.

‘So here’s a question for you{says Humpty]. How old did you say you were?
Alice made a short calculation, and said ‘Seven years and six months.’
‘Wrong!’ Humpty Dumpty exclaimed triumphantly. You never said a word
like it.’
‘I thought you meant “How old are you?”’ Alice explained.
‘If I’d meant that, I’d have said it,’ said Humpty Dumpty.
How Do Words Get Their Meaning?
The following exchange between Alice and Humpty Dumpty has been cited
countless times by philosophers of language:
‘…and that shows that there are three hundred and sixty-
four days when you might get un-birthday presents––‘
‘Certainly,’ said Alice.
‘And only one for birthday presents, you know. There’s
glory for you!’
‘I don’t know what you mean by “glory”,’ Alice said.
‘Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. ‘Of course you
don’t–till I tell you. I meant “there’s a nice knock-down argument
for you!”’
‘But “glory” doesn’t mean “a nice knock-down argument”,
Alice objected.
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a
scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean–neither more
nor less.’
‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words
mean different things–that’s all.’
‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be
master–that’s all’
In his Philosophical Investigations (published in 1953), Ludwig
Wittgenstein argues against the idea of a “private language.” Language, he
maintains, is essentially social, and words get their meanings from the way they
are used by communities of language users. If he is right, and most philosophers
think he is, then Humpty’s claim that he can decide for himself what words mean,
is wrong. Of course, a small group of people, even just two people, could decide
to give words novel meanings. E.g. Two children could invent a code according to
which “sheep” means “ice cream” and “fish” means "money." But in that case, it is
still possible for one of them to misuse a word and for the other speaker to point
out the mistake. But if one person alone decide what words mean, it becomes
impossible to identify mistaken uses. This is Humpty’s situation if words simply
mean whatever he wants them to mean.

So Alice’s skepticism about Humpty’s ability to decide for himself what words mean
is well-founded. But Humpty’s response is interesting. He says it comes down to
‘which is to be master.’ Presumably, he means: are we to master language, or is
language to master us? This is a profound and complex question. On the one
hand, language is a human creation: we didn’t find it lying around, ready-made.
On the other hand, each of us is born into a linguistic world and a linguistic
community which, whether we like it or not, provides us with our basic conceptual
categories, and shapes the way we perceive the world. Language is certainly a
tool that we use for our purposes; but it is also, to use a familiar metaphor, like a
house in which we live.

(Source:[Link]: [Link]
philosopher-of-language-2670315 Accessed 11/02/2020)

Points for Discussion:

Do you think meaning is something that is inherent in a word? Or do
you think that meaning is something that society attributes to a word?
Argue your point, using examples to motivate.
Your thoughts to the Forum linked below:

Unit 2.1 Introduction to Contexts & Co-texts_ How is meaning determined?

2.1.1 Contexts & Co-texts

Thus far we've been focusing on words and how they derive meaning
within a particular context of use. In Study Unit 2, we explore texts at
sentence and at paragraph level. You will learn more about how words
work together to create larger meaning entities or chunks and how
punctuation is used to help shape this meaning.
First, we will revise clauses and phrases as an extension of word
classes by looking at how these function in relation to co-text and in
context. Then you will investigate different types of sentences and learn
how and when best to use them. Once you have a better understanding
of how clauses and phrases work to make sentences, you will learn
more about punctuation and how to use them appropriately to
communicate a meaning accurately and clearly. You will be required to
produce short passages to apply this knowledge and also demonstrate
your understanding of punctuation.
To get started, read the following article from the INDEPENDENT and
consider the selected passages as a refresher on Clauses and
Phrases.
BILINGUAL SPEAKERS EXPERIENCE TIME DIFFERENTLY
FROM PEOPLE WHO ONLY SPEAK ONE LANGUAGE,
STUDY FINDS
Researchers suggested being bilingual may also bring long-term benefits for mental
wellbeing

 Olivia Blair
 @livblair
 Wednesday 3 May 2017 11:00
 Available online; [Link]
different-people-one-language-study-swedish-spanish-
[Link] [Accessed 26/02.2020

For those who can speak only one language, people who have the ability to speak several
are often a source of fascination. What language do they think in? Can they switch mid-
way through? Do they dream in one language or both?
It turns out these questions are not without merit as people who can speak two languages
actually experience time in a different way.
A study from Lancaster University and Stockholm University, published in the Journal of
Experimental Psychology, found that people who are bilingual think about time differently
depending on the language context in which they are estimating the duration of events.
Linguists Professor Panos Athanasopoulos and Professor Emanuel Bylund explained
that bilinguals often go back and forth between their languages consciously and
unconsciously.
Additionally, different languages often refer to time differently. For example, Swedish and
English speakers refer to physical distances: ‘Taking a short break’ while Spanish
speakers refer to physical quantities and volume: ‘Taking a small break’.
The researchers asked native Swedish speakers who also spoke Spanish to estimate
how much time had passed while watching either a line growing across a screen or a
container being filled. Participants were prompted to use the word ‘duracion’ (Spanish for
duration) or ‘tid’ (the Swedish equivalent).
When prompted by Spanish words, bilinguals based their estimates on volume relating to
a container being filled. When prompted by Swedish words they switched their behaviour
and suddenly gave time estimates in distance, referring to the lines travelled, rather than
volume.
Professor Athanasopoulos said the results showed our language creeps into our
everyday emotions and perceptions more than we realise.
“The fact that bilinguals go between these different ways of estimating time effortlessly
and unconsciously fits in with a growing body of evidence demonstrating the ease with
which language can creep into our most basic senses, including our emotions, visual
perception, and now it turns out, sense of time,” he said.
Professor Athanasopoulos also suggested the results show that bilinguals are more
“flexible thinkers” than those who just speak one language.
“There is evidence to suggest that mentally going back and forth between different
languages on a daily basis confers advantages on the ability to learn and multi-task, and
even long-term benefits for mental well-being,” he said.

Task: Clause or Phrase?

Consider the following paragraph from the passage above and then
choose which examples are clauses and which one/s are phrases.
A study from Lancaster University and Stockholm University,
published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, found that
people who are bilingual think about time differently depending on
the language context in which they are estimating the duration of
events.

A study from Lancaster University and Stockholm University

1 : Clause
2 : Phrase
3 : A sentence

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology

1 : Phrase
2 : Clause
3 : A sentence

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that

people who are bilingual think about time differently
1 : Phrase
2 : Clause
3 : A sentence

The researchers asked native Swedish speakers who also spoke Spanish
1 : Phrase
2 : Clause
3 : A sentence
4 : [The researcher asked native Swedish speakers] clause [who also spoke Spanish] clause
5 : [The researcher asked native Swedish speakers] clause [who also spoke Spanish] phrase
6 : [The researcher asked native Swedish speakers] phrase [who also spoke Spanish] clause
7 : [The researcher asked native Swedish speakers] phrase [who also spoke Spanish] phrase

What is the main subject of this sentence? The researchers asked native
Swedish speakers who also spoke Spanish to estimate how much time
had passed while watching either a line growing across a screen or a
container being filled.
1 : The researchers
2 : native Swedish speakers
3 : native Swedish speakers who also spoke Spanish
4 : how much time had passed

Which option identifies the main object and the main verb of the following
sentence most correctly?: The researchers asked native Swedish
speakers who also spoke Spanish to estimate how much time had passed
while watching either a line growing across a screen or a container being
filled.
1 : Object: The researcher ; Verb: asked
2 : Object: native Swedish; Verb: had passed
3 : Object: native Swedish speakers; Verb: asked
4 : Object: time; Verb: had passed
5 : Object: time; Verb: growing

So, what is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

Could a phrase be a sentence? Why/ why not?
Could a clause be a sentence? Why/ why not?
Not sure?
[Link] explains the difference as follows:

There are many different types of phrases and clauses. The first step to identifying
the different types, though, is to understand the difference between a phrase and
a clause.

A phrase is a related group of words. The words work together as a "unit," but they
do not have a subject and a verb.

Examples of Phrases and Clauses:

Examples of Phrases

1. the boy on the bus (noun phrase)

2. will be running (verb phrase)
3. in the kitchen (prepositional phrase)
4. very quickly (adverb phrase)
5. Martha and Jan (noun phrase)

A clause is a group of words that does have both a subject and a verb. Some
clauses are independent, meaning that they express a complete thought.
An independent clause is the same as a complete sentence. Some clauses
are dependent, meaning that they cannot stand alone. They do have a subject and
a verb, but they do not express a complete thought. Another word
for dependent is subordinate.
Examples of Clauses

1. When I get home (dependent or subordinate clause)

2. The lights are not on. (independent clause)
3. When you wake up (dependent or subordinate clause)
4. Put it on the shelf. (independent clause-understood subject "you)
5. Since it fell on the floor (dependent or subordinate clause)

Practice:

1. The table has four chairs _____

2. Because we were late for the party _____
3. The cat on the front porch _____

Answer:

1. The table has four chairs __I___

2. Because we were late for the party _D____
3. The cat on the front porch __P___

Still not sure?

Ask Margie at

Is It a Phrase or a Clause? It Matters

MARGIE WAKEMAN WELLS SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 Available
online: [Link]
A dependent clause has a subject and a verb; a phrase does not.
…after lunch (phrase)
…after we ate lunch (clause)
…since Friday (phrase)

…since I left Friday (clause)

…before the session (phrase)

…before the session ended (clause)

The difference matters. For example, at the beginning of a sentence,
the phrases above do NOT take a comma; the clauses do.
…After lunch we got down to the business at hand.

…After we ate lunch, we got down to the business at hand.

Happy punctuating!
Margie

2.1.2 Who cares? Phrases & Clauses in Context

Why does it matter whether a chunk is a phrase or a clause? What
difference does it make in your everyday environment?
Study the text from a risk management context, and then consider the
blog post to the right. Once you have read these posts, discuss how
phrases and clauses may make a difference in your imagined working
environment one day.

Does the ordering of relative clauses matter?

Asked 1 year, 5 months ago Active 1 year, 5 months ago Viewed 59 times
1
Is this sentence correct with respect to the parts in italics? Is there a better way of saying
it?

The only person who I know of who speaks English fairly well is my cousin.
Here I have two relative clauses that modify the same noun (person). Is that valid in
English? Also does the ordering matter here? I think if I make it

The only person who speaks English fairly well who I know of is my cousin.

the meaning might change.

Are there any rules concerning the place of the modifiers in places such as this one or is
it simply an instinct?
difference word-order relative-pronouns relative-clauses
share [improve this question]
[edited Sep 7 '18 at 20:08]

userr2684291
2,89344 gold badges1717 silver badges3232 bronze badges
asked Sep 7 '18 at 19:54

F0rg1v3n
3944 bronze badges

I edited your question, deviating slightly from the original meaning. I hope you're still
happy with it, but if not, feel free to [edit] it. Note that we don't do proofreading here, but
asking whether a part of a sentence sounds natural or whether it's best rephrased is fine.
Great first question, by the way. – userr2684291 Sep 7 '18 at 20:14

add a comment
1 Answer
activeoldestvotes
1
It's absolutely valid - although if you find yourself piling up too many relative clauses on
top of each other, it's probably best to rewrite the sentence so that it doesn't get too wordy.
In general, the order of relative clauses does matter - the one closer to the main clause
modifies the main clause, and the one separated from the main clause modifies both the
main clause and the first relative clause. Consider the following two sentences:
Bill was the only one who took part in the robbery who got arrested.
Bill was the only one who got arrested who took part in the robbery.
In the first sentence, multiple people have taken part in the robbery, but out of them only
Bill got arrested. In the second sentence, multiple people got arrested, but Bill was the
only one who actually took part in the robbery.
In your example there's much less of a difference, as "out of all the people I know of, my
cousin is the only one who speaks English well" and "out of all the people who speak
English well, the only one I know of is my cousin" are more or less interchangeable
statements. Still, depending on whether the context is "people you know of" or "people
who speak English well", you may opt for one or the other.
share [improve this answer]
[edited Sep 8 '18 at 14:48]
answered Sep 7 '18 at 20:19

Maciej Stachowski
5,69711 gold badge1616 silver badges2121 bronze badges

 I don't think I actually understand the difference between your two

sentences. They both have the same meaning to
me. – F0rg1v3n Sep 8 '18 at 8:04
 Note the distinction between people you know (those you personally
are acquainted with) and people you know of (those who have come
to your attention). – Ronald Sole Sep 8 '18 at 13:47
 @F0rg1v3n the first sentence claims that there are people who took
part in the robbery and didn't get arrested. The other claims there are
people who got arrested and didn't take part in the robbery. Not sure
if anything else is unclear? – Maciej Stachowski Sep 8 '18 at 14:48

Now that you have revised the basic difference between clauses,
phrases and sentences you can study the complexities of these units in
more detail in 2.1 Co-text: Clauses in use. Return to Unit 2 and
navigate using the buttons provided.

Note: if any part of the content covered in this introduction was

unfamiliar or challenging, please contact your SI facilitator for
assistance on revising phrases, sentences and clauses.

2.2. Co-text: Syntax in use

In the Introduction you revised the basic distinction between clauses,
phrases and sentences. Just to be sure, here is a definition:
In this section, we focus on the different types of clauses and the
functions they fulfill in sentences. In other words, we will explore clauses
in relation to co-text.
In the Introduction, we've already seen that the order in which we place
phrases and clauses matter, because this communicates a particular
emphasis. It makes a difference whether we say:
[1]

A : A quiet little girl was sitting in a taxi with her father driving through
the busy traffic.

B : A quiet little girl was sitting in a taxi driving through the busy traffic
with her father.

or
[2]
A : She held his arm as her big eyes watched all the people moving
along outside the window.

B : She held his arm as her big eyes watched all the people outside the
window moving along.
For [1] consider: A quiet little girl was sitting with her father in a taxi that
was driving through the busy traffic. How does this sentence differ in
meaning from both A [1] and [2]?
Consider the discussion in this regard on the Language Forum in
[Link]: [ [[Link]
order-of-phrases-in-the-sentence.3026394/] ]
Note also the possible different interpretations provided for Example 2:
2A says the people being watched are "moving along", and the
place where they are moving is "outside the window".
2B says the people being watched are outside the window. They
are "moving along", but they could be going in any direction.
2A emphasizes that the people are moving; 2B emphasizes that
they are outside the window.
Could you imagine any other interpretations? These examples
demonstrate the difference word order makes in sentence construction.
For centuries authors have manipulated SYNTAX to emphasise a
particular aspect or issue in the form of an object, a subject or a verb,
or to create an effect such as suspense.

2.2.1 Defining Syntax

[Link] gives the following explanation of
syntax in action.
[ Available online: [Link] Accessed 25/02/2020 ]

Syntax

Syntax Definition
Syntax is a set of rules in a language. It dictates how words from different parts of
speech are put together in order to convey a complete thought.

Syntax and Diction

Syntax and diction are closely related. Diction refers to the choice of words in a
particular situation, while syntax determines how the chosen words are used to form
a sentence. More often than not, adopting a complex diction means a complex syntactic
structure of sentences, and vice versa. In combination, syntax and diction help writers
develop tone, mood, and atmosphere in a text, along with evoking readers’ interest.

Examples of Syntax in Literature

Syntax in Poetry
The general word order of an English sentence is Subject+Verb+Object. In poetry,
however, the word order may be shifted to achieve certain artistic effects, such as
producing rhythm or melody in the lines, achieving emphasis, and heightening
connection between two words. The unique syntax used in poetry makes it different
from prose. Let us consider the following examples of syntax:

Example #1: Beyond Decoration (By P. J. Kavanagh)

In casual conversations, we can simply say, “I cannot go out” to convey our inability to
go out. P. J. Kavanagh’s poem Beyond Decoration does not rely on merely stating a
prosaic “I cannot go out.” Rather, he shifts the syntax and says “Go out I cannot,” which
lays a much stronger emphasis on the inability to go out conveyed by the word “cannot.”

Example #2: Lycidas (By John Milton)

Similarly, John Milton shifts words in his poems frequently. Let us analyze lines from
his poem Lycidas:
“Thee, Shepherd, thee the woods and desert caves,With wild thyme and the
gadding vine o’ergrown, And all their echoes mourn”
The modified word order in the above lines is Object+Subject+Subject
Complement+Verb.

Syntax in Prose
Syntax affects the nature of a prose text as well. It enhances its meanings, and
contributes toward its tone. Quickness, decisiveness, and speed are added to a text by
using short phrases, clauses, and sentences. Whereas, in a text where the subject
matter is serious, requiring contemplation, long, convoluted sentences are used to slow
down the pace of a prose text. The two syntax examples below show a distinct use of
syntax:

Example #3: The Joy Luck Club (By Amy Tan)

“That night I sat on Tyan-yu’s bed and waited for him to touch me. But he didn’t.
I was relieved.”
Here, Amy Tan uses short sentences to communicate in a powerful and concise
manner.

Example #4: A Farewell to Arms (By Ernest Hemingway)

“They left me alone and I lay in bed and read the papers awhile, the news from
the front, and the list of dead officers with their decorations and then reached
down and brought up the bottle of Cinzano and held it straight up on my stomach,
the cool glass against my stomach, and took little drinks making rings on my
stomach from holding the bottle there between drinks, and watched it get dark
outside over the roofs of the town.”
Ernest Hemingway uses long and complex structures to emphasize the laziness of
his character.

Syntax in Shakespeare
Writing all of his plays and sonnets in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare habitually
reversed the general order of English sentences by placing verbs at the ends of the
sentences.

Example #5: Romeo and Juliet (By William Shakespeare)

“What light from yonder window breaks?”
Instead of using the common expression, “What light breaks from yonder window,”
Shakespeare emphasized his meaning by using different syntax.

Example #6: Richard III (By William Shakespeare)

In Richard III, Shakespeare deliberately reverses the word order of a sentence, turning
a common description: “And all the clouds that lowered upon our house buried in the
deep bosom of the ocean,” into:
“And all the clouds that lower’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean
buried.”

Function of Syntax
To convey meaning is one of the main functions of syntax. In literature, writers utilize
syntax and diction to achieve certain artistic effects, like mood, and tone. Like diction,
syntax aims to affect the readers as well as express the writer’s attitude.

2.2.2 Mastering Syntax

Now that you've seen how syntax can be manipulated to create an
impact, it is important that you develop the skill of structuring sentences
that express your meaning most accurately and effectively. To do this,
you need to be able to identify meaningful phrases and clauses, in order
to know what phrase or clause can be moved elsewhere in a sentence
to express a different meaning.
The next series of clips introduce more complex distinctions of phrases
and clauses, followed by an opportunity to practice. Work through these
before doing the quiz that follows.

Now practice here:

[Link]

Now practice Dependent and Independent clauses here:

[Link]

Also practice phrase and clause placement here:

[Link]

Now practice Relative Clauses here:

[Link]

From Phrases and Clauses to Sentences

Now that you understand phrases and clauses better, it is important to
recognise the variety of sentence types that you can create. Formal,
professional and academic writing often uses longer, more complex
sentences to give a lot of information in a compressed message.
Otherwise message simply get too long and less effective. Instead, we
string together clauses. Some of these depend on other clauses to be
meaningful. We also use noun phrases, verb phrases, adverbial and
adjectival phrases to elaborate on certain aspects in the sentence. First,
explore the relationship between dependent and independent clauses,
and then consider the different types of sentences.
TASK
Using your prescribed text as a reference, complete the following
quizzes, based on what you have learnt so far:
Unit 2.2.1 Relative Clauses - focusing on relative clauses.
Unit 2.2.1 Complex Sentences
These are compulsory and count toward your class participation.

2.2.3 Syntax Masterclass

In this section, you will explore how to reduce wordiness. Wordiness is
one the most problematic features of student writing, often resulting
from students writing as they speak. This manifests in, for example, run-
on sentences or fragments that hamper effective and successful
communication.
Study the lesson below from and then do the practice provided at the
end. Note that there are 2 practice tasks. Do both. Use your prescribed
text as a reference guide throughout.

Class Discussion - The magic of syntax

Seeing sentences in action and thinking about how the different parts
relate helps to raise awareness about how you can express yourself
most effectively. In this powerpoint presentation, you will look at
sentences used in a newspaper article. Play around with rewriting the
sentences to distinguish meanings of the phrases and clauses, and to
see what different effect you can create by shuffling the sentence
organisation.

Time to Write
Language can paint wonderful pictures. Explore this Showcase
of Beautiful Photography posted by Smashing Magazine (click the link
below).
Choose ONE picture and write TWO drafts of the same paragraph in
which you describe the photograph in as much detail as
possible. Construct your sentences in ways that emphasise different
aspects of that picture. Vary sentence length, voice (active /passive),
aspect (simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive), tense (past
and present) and mood (indicative, subjunctive, imperative) to change
the effect of your description.
Identify the picture in your topic. Then write one paragraph and then
start again to rewrite it, editing it as you go along. Then exchange your
'best' or preferred paragraph with a peer.
Once you have received a paragraph from your peer, rewrite that
paragraph in short and separate sentences to make the basic meanings
clear (as you did in the PowerPoint activity above). Return the
paragraph and your answers to the author for evaluation. Then submit
this written task for participation here (either electronically, or take a
photo of your handwritten classwork to upload):
The link to Showcase of Beautiful Photography

[Link]
Add your completed descriptive paragraph here. Remember to include
or identify the photo you are responding to.
Student Pages

Now, return to the first page of Unit 2 and then navigate

to section 2.3: Tenses, to revise.

2.3 Syntax and Tenses

In this unit, we revise tenses by using them to make conversations
sensible and grammatically accurate. So the focus is not so much on
learning how different tenses work, but more so on developing your
intuition for the appropriate tense to express information correctly.
Please refer to the relevant sections in CEG for guidance:
R89-R123
Chapter 4
Also, you may want to revise some aspects about verbs in Unit 1.
Use your knowledge of parts of speech and of sentence construction to
complete the excerpts below.

Excerpt #1 James Bond

Excerpt # 2: Incident on a plane
([Link]

Excerpt #3: Narrative tenses exercise: past perfect

simple and continous; past simple

Unit 2.3 Excerpt #3: Narrative tenses exercise: past perfect simple and continuous; past
simple
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Excerpt #4: Narrative tenses - Pakistan to China by

bike
Unit 2.3: Excerpt #4 Pakistan to China by bike
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Need some Help?

You can practice more
here: [Link]
one
Please contact your SI facilitator to revise tenses. If you
score less than 65% on the extracts above, you should
revise using tenses carefully.

2.4 Active and Passive Voice

Using active and passive voice sentences also has a profound effect on
a text. It changes the pace of the text, the focus of the text, as well as
the formality of the text. Generally, we try to avoid using passive
constructions, because they tend to be heavy. Active sentences are
faster and more direct. Therefore, their cognitive load is lighter - i.e. our
brains process them more easily. However, formal writing sometimes
requires the use of passive construction. In this section we explore and
practice using active and passive voice.
Refer to your prescribed text, CEG:
3.207
3.208
9.3
9.8-9.24
R109-R119
R129.
News Media, the Passive Voice, and the
Problem with Saying They 'Were
Radicalized'
By Steven Lloyd Wilson | Think Pieces | December 9, 2015 | 55 Comments
Available online: [Link]
[Link]
FacebookTwitterFlipboardRedditCopy Link
Every news article about the San Bernadino killings for the last week has been
focused on exactly one thing: when, where, and how were the shooters
“radicalized.” Here’s a sampling of headlines and quotes:

“FBI director: Calif. killers radicalized before meeting”

“San Bernardino shooters radicalized ‘for some time’”
“investigators believe Tashfeen Malik, Farook’s wife and the
other shooter who opened fire Wednesday, was radicalized at
least two years ago”
“CA couple radicalized ‘for quite some time’”
“Federal investigators now say the attackers in San Bernardino
were radicalized sooner than previously thought”

Do you happen to recall back in junior high or high school english classes, the
way that the teacher bled red ink all over your papers because you used the
passive voice over and over again? Use the active voice. Don’t waffle about: get
right to the jugular of the matter and just say who did what instead of whom
had what done to them.

This isn’t just a grammatical complaint, or even a stylistic complaint, it’s one
that derives from the heart of our coverage of this matter. By repeatedly using
the passive voice to say that they were radicalized, without ever identifying an
object, we are implicitly passing off all responsibility.
These murderers had agency. They bought guns and killed people. They are
responsible for their actions. They didn’t just go online one day, click on the
wrong popup and “get radicalized.” That’s not to say that hate speech and
literature don’t influence people, but that the people themselves are still
responsible. They choose to seek it out. They choose to read it. They choose to
listen to it. They choose to kill.

It’s an easy way out for us because it allows us to completely dismiss any factors
that led to that decision, from either side of the political spectrum. Because if
it’s just an external factor that magically causes things to happen, if there’s just
some evil cancer that radicalizes people, then we don’t have to confront any of
the other factors that lead to people making these decisions. Because we’ve
already found the real cause and it has nothing to do with anything we have
control over, it’s just a symptom of those people.

And it certainly isn’t simply this specific case, though it is more crystallized and
apparent here. It’s always easier to find an external cause, because then we don’t
have to change. We don’t have to accept responsibility.
But agency is a funny thing. Because if we’re not responsible for our atrocities,
neither do we get credit for our heroisms.
Steven Lloyd Wilson is the sci-fi and history editor. You can email him here or follow
him on Twitter.
Points to ponder:
Come up with other examples where the use of passive constructions
can be problematic (think: medicine pamphlets; legal bills and acts...).
Discuss why, and consider how to rephrase examples to improve them.

2.4.1 Understanding Active & Passives

First, let's take a look at when to use passive constructions. The writing
advice below is from Torronto University and can be accessed
here: [Link] and
from Mr Wheeler's page
here: [Link]

The British Council gives the following breakdown of active and passive
voice constructions. Note the reference to different types of
verbs: transitive and intransitive; phrasal verbs; and infinite forms.
(Refer back to Unit 1 if you need to revise these concepts)
Active and passive voice
Level: beginner

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active passive
The hunter killed the lion. >The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows. >The windows have been cleaned.
Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:
be past participle
English is spoken all over the world.
The windows have been cleaned.
Lunch was being served.
be past participle
The work will be finished soon.
They might have beeninvited to the party.

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by:

She was attacked by a dangerous dog.

The money was stolen by her husband.

Follow the links to the online exercise: Active and passive voice 1
Follow the links to the online exercise: Active and passive voice 2
Follow the links to the online exercise: Active and passive voice 3
Level: intermediate

The passive infinitive is made up of to be with a past participle:

The doors are going to be locked at ten o'clock.

You shouldn't have done that. You ought to be punished.

We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:

Be careful with that glass. It might get broken.

Peter got hurt in a crash.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active passive
I gave him a book for his birthday. >He was given a book for his birthday.
Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros.>She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active passive
They called off the meeting. >The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him. >He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school.>He will be sent away to school.

Follow the links to the online exercise: Active and passive voice 4
Follow the links to the online exercise: Active and passive voice 5
Level: advanced

Some verbs which are very frequently used in the passive are followed by
the to-infinitive:

be supposed to be expected tobe asked to be told to

be scheduled tobe allowed to be invited tobe ordered to

John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.

You are supposed to wear a uniform.

The meeting is scheduled to start at seven.

Sentences written in the active voice are easier to understand than

sentences written in the passive voice. Switching the passive voice into
the active voice is straightforward, but it requires a bit of practice. In the
equivalency table below, notice that the tense of the verb to be in the
passive voice is always the same as the tense of the main verb in the
active voice. In order to use the active voice, you will have to make the
subject of the action explicit (See the following table online
at: [Link]
grammar/passive-voice-active-voice)
TO KEEP, ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES
Active Passive
Tense Active sentence Passive equivalent
voice voice
The butter is kept in the
Simple present keep is kept I keep the butter in the fridge.
fridge.
Active Passive
Tense Active sentence Passive equivalent
voice voice
Present is is being
John is keeping my house tidy. My house is being kept tidy.
continuous keeping kept
Mary kept her scheduleMary's schedule was kept
Simple past kept was kept
meticulously. meticulously.
was was beingThe theater was keeping a seatA seat was being kept for
Past continuous
keeping kept for you. you.
have been All your old letters have been
Present perfect have kept I have kept all your old letters.
kept kept.
had beenHe had kept up his training His training regimen had
Past perfect had kept
kept regimen for a month. been kept up for a month.
will be
Simple Future will keep Mark will keep the ficus. The ficus will be kept.
kept
Conditional would would beIf you told me, I would keep If you told me, your secret
Present keep kept your secret. would be kept.
would Your bicycle would have
Conditional would I would have kept your bicycle
have been been kept here if you had left
Past have kept here if you had left it with me.
kept it with me.
Present
to keep to be kept She wants to keep the book. The book wants to be kept.
Infinitive
Perfect to haveto haveJudy was happy to have kept The puppy was happy to have
Infinitive kept been kept the puppy. been kept.
Present
I have a feeling that you may beI have a feeling that a secret
Participle &keeping being kept
keeping a secret. may be being kept.
Gerund
Having kept the bird in a cageThe bird, having been kept in
Perfect having having
for so long, Jade wasn't sure it a cage for so long, might not
Participle kept been kept
could survive in the wild. survive in the wild.

Active and Passive Practice

These exercises progress from an intermediate level to advanced.
Simply scroll down on the website below. Work through all of them to
practice and to determine where you may need some help. Then
contact your SI facilitator to discuss this further.
If you are unsure, watch the following video to refresh your memory
before continuing.
Now complete the following exercises.
Why does it matter?
Below we see how the use of active and passive voice impacts just one
aspect of our everyday lives. By understanding how language works,
we get insight into what people intend to do by formulating their
messages in a particular way.
NOTE: Active and passive voice also relates to whether we use direct
and indirect speech acts (See 2.5)

Class discussion / Final Exercise: Active and

Passive Voice Constructions
The following exercises
are from at [Link]

Egad! Some grammatical vandal has converted E. B. White's active voice

sentences into passive voice structure. Rescue his writing! Convert the passage
to active voice, and compare the two.
Exercise A:
One summer, along about 1904, a camp was rented by my father on a lake in
Maine, and we were taken there for the month of August. Ringworm was gotten
from some kittens, and Pond's Extract had to be rubbed on our arms and legs
night and morning, and a canoe was rolled over in by my father with all his
clothes on; outside of that the vacation was thought to be a success, and from
then on it was thought that there was no place like that lake in Maine. It was
returned to summer after summer--always on the first of August for one month.
Since then a saltwater man has been made out of me, but sometimes in summer
I am made to wish for the placidity of a lake in the woods by the restlessness
of the tides and the fearful cold of the sea water in the afternoon and evening,
which is blown across by the incessant wind. A few weeks ago this feeling was
experienced by me so strongly that a couple of bass hooks and a spinner were
bought and the lake that used to be visited by us was returned to by me for a
week's fishing to be done and for old haunts to be revisited.
--adapted from "Once More to the Lake," by E. B. White.
(Forgive, me, Mr. White, for the stylistic blasphemy I have made of your
work.)
Exercise B:
Convert the following to active voice and hear how much easier it is to
understand!
My dating life has been ruined by my new room mate, Joey. Joey's not a rude
guy, or anything. Far from it, he's actually friendly and good-natured. Women
are driven from my life by his lack of house cleaning. Our apartment is the
social equivalent of a cancerous tumor. When the building is entered by one of
my dates, the first object that is noticed by her is that a trashcan is moldered
in by an apple half-eaten by someone. The edge of the television is drooped
over by a slice of week-old pizza. She is buzzed at angrily by a swarm of flies,
before a pile of unwashed socks is settled back down on by them. Perhaps those
socks gleamed white in some distant age, fresh from K-Mart, but no longer.
Visitors are nauseated by the smell; the coup de grace is administered by that
part. When the apartment is entered by a woman, the girl is fought back against
by the apartment. Invaders are driven off by Joey's slovenliness far more
effectively than any security system. Sure, small talk will be made by the girl
for a while, whose nose is wrinkled up by her. Sure, a drink or two will be had,
and the bottle and glass eyed suspiciously for unidentifiable stains. The
problem is that the apartment is never stayed in long by her, and my phone
calls are never returned by her afterward. A new room mate is needed by me.
Otherwise, my love life will be destroyed by Joey.
Next, navigate to 2.5 Direct and Indirect sentences

Unit 2.5 Direct and Indirect Speech

We often repeat what others have said. We use indirect or reported speech to do this. In
this unit we explore how to do this correctly.

Refer to the relevant sections in CEG:

Direct Speech: 7.16-7.26
Indirect speech: 5.113, 7.27-7.85
Reporting verbs: 3.24-3.25, 7.5-7.15, 7.33-7.34

Class Activity
After reading the activity above, add your contribution in the
forum. Provide one another with sentences to respond to.

Unit 2.5 Direct and Indirect Speech

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Need to slow down? Here is Ganesh to revise reported speech:

Rules for using direct and reported speech

Direct and Indirect Speech With Examples and Explanations

Updated on December 8, 2019
Available online: [Link]

Muhammad Rafiq
Muhammad Rafiq is a freelance writer, blogger, and translator with a Master's degree in English
literature from the University of Malakand.
Definition of Indirect Speech
Indirect speech is also known as reported speech, indirect narration, or indirect discourse. In grammar,
when you report someone else’s statement in your own words without any change in the meaning of
the statement, it is called indirect speech. Quoting a person’s words without using his own word and
bringing about any change in the meaning of the statement is a reported speech. Look at the following
sentences:
Direct Speech: She says, “I am a little bit nervous.”
Indirect Speech: She says that she is a little bit nervous.
In the first sentence, the reporter conveys the message of the girl using her actual words (e.g., “I am
a little bit nervous.”) In the second sentence, the reporter conveys her message but in his own words
without any change in the meaning. Thus, both direct and indirect speeches are two different ways of
reporting a statement of person. In simple words, quoting a person using your own words is called an
indirect speech.

Key Terminology
During the process, you will come across many important terms that you need to know better so that
you can convert any direct speech into indirect speech easily and without any hassle. Consider the
following sentences:

 Direct Speech: She says, “I am a little bit nervous.”

 Indirect Speech: She says that she is a little bit nervous.

Now consider the different grammatical aspects of both.

 Reporting Speech: The first part in the direct speech is called reporting speech.

 Reported Speech: The second part of the sentence, which is closed in inverted commas or
quotation marks, is called reported speech.

 Reporting Verb: The verb of the reporting speech is called the reporting verb.

 Reported Verb: The verb of the reported speech is called the reported verb.
Basic Rules
Before proceeding ahead, it is mandatory to memorize these rules:

Changes in Person of Pronouns:

 1 Person pronouns in reported speech are always changed according to the subject of the
st

reporting speech.
 2 Person pronouns in reported speech are always changed according to the object of the
nd

reporting speech.
 3 Person pronouns in reported speech are not changed.
rd

Changes in Verbs:

 If the reporting speech is in present tense or future tense, then no change is required to be
made in the verb of reported speech. This verb could be in any tense i.e., present, past, or
future. For example:

Direct Speech: He says, “I am ill.”

Indirect Speech: He says that he is ill.

Direct Speech: She says, “She sang a song.”

Indirect Speech: She says that she sang a song.

Direct Speech: You say, “I shall visit London.”

Indirect Speech: You say that you will visit London.

 If the reporting verb is in past tense, then reported verb will be changed as per the
following criterion:
 Present indefinite tense is changed into past indefinite tense. For example:

Direct Speech: They said, “They take exercise every day.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they took exercise every day.

 Present continuous is changed into past continuous tense.

Direct Speech: They said, “They are taking exercise every day.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they were taking exercise every day.

 Present perfect is changed into the past perfect tense.

Direct Speech: They said, “They have taken exercise.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken exercise.

 Present perfect continuous tense is changed into past perfect continuous tense.

Direct Speech: They said, “They have been taking exercise since morning.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had been taking exercise since morning.

 Past indefinite is changed into past perfect tense.

Direct Speech: They said, “They took exercise.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken exercise.

 Past continuous tense is changed into past perfect continuous tense.

Direct Speech: They said, “They were taking exercise.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they had been taking exercise.

 No changes are required to be made into past perfect and past perfect continuous
tenses.

Direct Speech: They said, “They had taken exercise.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken exercise.

 In Future Tense, while no changes are made except shall and will are changed
into would.

Direct Speech: They said, “They will take exercise.”

Indirect Speech: They said that they would take exercise.
Important Word Changes
Words Changed Into Direct Speech Indirect Speech
He says, “He wants to buyHe says that he wants to buy
This That
this book.” that book.
Words Changed Into Direct Speech Indirect Speech
He says, “He wants to buyHe says that he wants to buy
These Those
these books.” those books.
She says, “EverybodyShe says that everybody was
Here There
was here.” there.
They say, “It’s tenThey say that it’s ten o’clock
Now Then
o’clock now.” then.
They said, “Sir, the time They said respectfully that the
Sir Respectfully
is over.” time was over.
They said, "Madam, the They said respectfully that the
Madam Respecfully
time is over." time was over.
She said, “I am going toShe said that she was going to
Today That Day
London today.” London that day.
She said, “I visited She said that she had visited
Yesterday The Previous Day Oxford UniversityOxford University the previous
yesterday.” day.
Following Day orShe said, “I am going toShe said that she was going to
Tomorrow
Next Day London tomorrow.” London the next day.
She said, “I am going toShe said that she was going to
Tonigh That Night
see him tonight.” see him that night.
Good Morning, Good She said, “Good morning,
Greeted She greeted Sir David.
Evening, Good Day Sir David.”

The rules above are mandatory for converting direct speech into indirect speech. Hence,
they should be memorized thoroughly. The following examples cover all the
aforementioned rules. So, focus on every sentence to know how the above-mentioned
rules have been used here.

Examples of Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Indirect Speech
She says, “I eat an apple a day.” She says that she eats an apple a day.
He will say, “My brother will help her.” He will say that his brother will help her.
We said, “We go for a walk every day.” We said that we went for a walk every day.
You say, “I went to London yesterday.” You say that you went to London the previous day.
He said that his father was playing cricket with
He said, “My father is playing cricket with me.”
him.
They said, “We have completed ourThey said that they had completed their
homework.” homework.
She said, “I have been waiting for him since last She said that she had been waiting for him since
morning.” last morning.
She said, “I bought a book.” She said that she had bought a book.
They said, “We were celebrating Eid They said that they had been celebrating Eid the
yesterday.” previous day.
We said, “We had been waiting since
We said that we had been waiting since morning.
morning.”
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
He said to me, “I will not give you anyHe said to me that he would not give me any
medicine without prescription.” medicine without a prescription.
Rafiq said, “I shall leave for LondonRafiq said that he would leave for London the next
tomorrow.” day.
She said, “I shall be visiting my collegeShe said that she would be visiting her college the
tomorrow.” following day.
They said, “It will have been snowing since They said that it would have been snowing since
morning.” morning.

Assertive Sentences
Sentences that make a statement are called assertive sentences. These sentences may
be positive, negative, false, or true statements. To convert such sentences into indirect
narration, use the rules as mentioned above except said is sometimes replaced with told.
Look at the following examples:
Direct Speech: She says, “I am writing a letter to my brother.”
Indirect Speech: She says that she is writing a letter to her brother.
Direct Speech: She says, “I was not writing a letter to my brother.”
Indirect Speech: She says that she was not writing a letter to her brother.
Direct Speech: She said to me, “I am writing a letter to my brother.”
Indirect Speech: She told me that she was writing a letter to her brother.

Imperative Sentences
Imperative sentences are sentences that give an order or a direct command. These
sentences may be in the shape of advice, entreaty, request, or order. Mostly, it depends
upon the forcefulness of the speaker. Thus, a full stop or sign of exclamation is used at
the end of the sentence. For example:

 Shut the door!

 Please shut the door.
 Repair the door by tomorrow!

To convert these types of sentences into indirect speech, follow the following rules along
with the above-mentioned rules:

 The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into order in case the
sentence gives a direct command. For example:

Direct Speech: The teacher said to me, “Shut the door.”

Indirect Speech: The teacher ordered me to shut the door.
 The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech
into a request in case the sentence makes a request. For
example:

Direct Speech: He said to me, “Shut the door.”

Indirect Speech: He requested me to shut the door.
 The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into advise in case
the sentence gives a piece of advice. For example:

Direct Speech: He said to me, “You should work hard to pass the exam.”
Indirect Speech: He advised me that I should work hard to pass the exam.

 The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into forbade in case
the sentence prevents someone from doing something. For example:

Direct Speech: He said to me, “Not to smoke.”

Indirect Speech: He forbade me to smoke.

Examples
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
We said to him, “Mind your own business.” We urged him to mind his own business.
She said to him, “Consult a doctor.” She suggested him to consult a doctor.
He said to me, “Write it again.” He asked me to write it again.
You said to your father, “Please grant him leave forYou requested your father to grant him leave
some time.” for some time.
My mother said to me, “Never tell a lie.” My mother forbade me to tell a lie.

Interrogative Sentences
Those sentences, which ask questions, are called interrogative sentences. Every
interrogative sentence ends at a sign of interrogation. For example:

 Do you live here?

 Have you ever watched Terminator III movie?
 Is it raining?

To convert interrogative sentences into indirect speech, follow the following rules along
with the above-mentioned rules:

 The reporting verb said to is changed into asked.

 If the reporting speech is having the reporting verb at it its start, then if is used in
place of that.
 If the reporting speech is having interrogative words like who, when, how, why,
when then neither if is used nor any other word is added.
 A full stop is placed at the end of the sentence instead of a mark of interrogation.

Examples:
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
I said to her, “When do you do your homework?” I asked her when she did her homework.
We said to him, “Are you ill?” We asked him if he was ill.
You said to me, “Have you read the article?” You asked me if I had read the article.
He said to her, “Will you go to the Peshawar He asked her if she would go to the Peshawar
Radio Station?” Radio Station.
She says, “Who is he?” She says who he is.
Rashid said to me, “Why are you late?” Rashid asked me why I was late.

Exclamatory Sentences
Those sentences, which express our feelings and emotions, are called exclamatory
sentences. Mark of exclamation is used at the end of an exclamatory sentence. For
example:

 Hurray! We have won the match.

 Alas! He failed in the test.
 How beautiful that dog is!
 What a marvelous personality you are!

To change exclamatory sentences into indirect speech, follow the following rules along
with the above-mentioned rules:

 In case, there is an interjection, i.e., alas, aha, hurray, etc. in the reported speech,
then they are omitted along with sign of exclamation.
 Reporting verb, i.e., said is always replaced with exclaimed with joy, exclaimed
with sorrow, exclaimed joyfully, exclaimed sorrowfully or exclaimed with great
wonder or sorrow.
 In case, there is what or how at the beginning of the reported speech, then they
are replaced with very or very great.
 In an indirect sentence, the exclamatory sentence becomes an assertive sentence.

Examples
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
He said, “Hurray! I have won the match.” He exclaimed with great joy that he had won the match.
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
She said, “Alas! My brother failed in the She exclaimed with great sorrow that her brother had
test.” failed in the test.
They said, “What a beautiful house this is!” They exclaimed that that house was very beautiful.
I said, “How lucky I am!” I said in great wonder that I was very lucky.
You said to him, “What a beautiful drama You said to him in great wonder that he was writing a
you writing! beautiful drama.

Optative Sentences
Those sentences, which express hope, prayer, or wish, are called optative sentences.
Usually, there is a mark of exclamation at the end of optative sentence. For example:

 May you succeed in the test!

 May you get well soon!
 Would that I were rich!

To change optative sentences into indirect speech, follow the following rules along with
the above-mentioned rules:

 In case, the reported speech starts with the word may, then the reporting
verb said is replaced with the word prayed.
 In case, the reported speech starts with the word would, then the reporting
verb said is replaced with the word wished.
 May is changed in might.
 Mark of exclamation is omitted.
 In indirect speech, the optative sentences become assertive sentences.

Examples
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
He said to me, “May you live long!” He prayed that I might live long.
My mother said to me, “May you succeed in the My mother prayed that I might succeed in the
test!” test.
She said, “Would that I were rich!” She wished she had been rich.
I said to him, “Would that you were here on
I wished he had been there on Sunday.
Sunday!”
You said to me, “ May you find your lost camera.” You prayed that I might find my lost camera.
© 2014 Muhammad Rafiq
Listening activity
Listen to the audio clip and then report what was said. Focus on using
the correct tenses. Your answer will be in audio as well, so you might
want to plan on paper first.
([Link]
_C1_Talking_about_a_trip.mp3 )
Unit 2.5 Direct & Indirect speech Activity

Practice Reporting

#1 Report a Dialogue
Read the following dialogue and report it.
Example:Mike: "What are you doing here, Liz? I haven't seen you since June."

Liz: "I've just come back from my holiday in Ireland."

Mike: "Did you enjoy it?"

...

Mike: "What are you doing here, Liz? I haven't seen you since June."
Liz: "I've just come back from my holiday in Ireland."
Mike: "Did you enjoy it?"
Liz: "I love Ireland. And the Irish people were so friendly."
Mike: "Did you go to the Wicklow Mountains?"
Liz: "It was my first trip. I can show you some pictures. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"
Mike: "I must arrange a couple of things. But I am free tonight."
Liz: "You might come to my place. What time shall we meet?"
Mike: "I'll be there at eight. Is it all right?"

Mike asked Liz . And he said since June.

Liz explained that back from her holiday in Ireland.

Mike wondered if it.

Liz told him that she Ireland and that the Irish people so friendly.

Mike wanted to know to the Wicklow Mountains.

Liz said that it first trip and that she some pictures.

And then she asked him if he .

Mike explained that he a couple of things.

But he added that he free at night.

Liz suggested that he place and asked him what time .

Mike said he there at eight.

And then he asked all right.

#2 Direct into Indirect or Reported speech

Read the direct speech and correct errors in the indirect speech.

"I am not going to tolerate this any more," said Sarah.

Sarah said she was not going to tolerate this any more.
Sarah said she was not going to tolerate any more.
"You have always been my friend," said Joe.
Joe said I was always his friend.
Joe said I his friend.

"We never eat meat," claimed Bill.

Bill claimed that they had never eaten meat.
Bill claimed that they meat.

"I will talk to Sam soon," she told me on Sunday.

She told me on Sunday she will talk to Sam soon.
She told me on Sunday she to Sam soon.

"Mary used to exercise every day," he said.

He said Mary had used to exercise every day.
He said Mary to exercise every day.

"I wish I was twenty years younger," said Linda.

Linda said she wished she had been twenty years younger.
Linda said she twenty years younger.
"Answer the phone!" he told me.
He told me I answered the phone.
He told me the phone.

"Where is Alex?" she asked me.

She asked me where was Alex.
She asked me where .

"Don't shout at me anymore," he told me.

He told me I didn't shout at him anymore.
He told me at him anymore.

#3 Rewrite sentences

Change the following sentences from indirect to direct speech.

Example:Liz said she didn't speak Greek. - I don't speak Greek.

He admitted that he had never met us. - I .

They told us they would start the following day. - We tomorrow.

We called them that we were walking in the park. - We in the park.

She said she worked for Ford. - I for Ford.

I replied that I had been trying to mend it since the morning. - I to mend it since
the morning.

He said that at one o'clock he had been doing nothing. - At one o'clock I nothing.

They explained that they had closed down the previous year. - We down last year.

Neil said he wished he could be independent. - I wish I independent.

She told us we had better accept it. - You it.

He claimed that someone had screamed in the garden. - Someone in the garden.

Moira admitted that she would rather stay at home. - I at home.

#4 Correct the sentences

Read the direct speech and correct errors in the indirect speech.

"I am not going to tolerate this any more," said Sarah.

Sarah said she was not going to tolerate this any more.
Sarah said she was not going to tolerate any more.

"You have always been my friend," said Joe.

Joe said I was always his friend.
Joe said I his friend.
"We never eat meat," claimed Bill.
Bill claimed that they had never eaten meat.
Bill claimed that they meat.

"I will talk to Sam soon," she told me on Sunday.

She told me on Sunday she will talk to Sam soon.
She told me on Sunday she to Sam soon.

"Mary used to exercise every day," he said.

He said Mary had used to exercise every day.
He said Mary to exercise every day.

"I wish I was twenty years younger," said Linda.

Linda said she wished she had been twenty years younger.
Linda said she twenty years younger.

"Answer the phone!" he told me.

He told me I answered the phone.
He told me the phone.
"Where is Alex?" she asked me.
She asked me where was Alex.
She asked me where .

"Don't shout at me anymore," he told me.

He told me I didn't shout at him anymore.
He told me at him anymore.

Final Exercise: Direct & Indirect Speech

Complete the following test om Direct and Indirect speech to complete
this unit:

Unit 2.6 Punctuation

([Link]

Activity
Find examples in your everyday surroundings that would be funny if
punctuated otherwise. Provide the example, say where you found it and
say how the meaning would change if the punctuation were left out, or
different. You need to provide at least 3 examples. Add your examples
as a COMMENT below.

If you are uncertain about the rules of punctuation, or how certain

punctuation marks are used, study the text below. Also, remember to
use your prescribed text, CEG, as a reference.
If you feel confident enough, scroll down to do the practice tasks below.
Getting to grips with punctuation

Punctuation
What is punctuation?

Punctuation is the use of non-alphabetical symbols in writing in order to make the text
clearer or easier to read. Punctuation separates text into easily recognizable blocks of
text such as sentences, clauses and lists. Punctuation is important for clarity and
meaning in a sentence. Consider this example:

'While the mother was cooking the baby her brother and the dog were sleeping.'

When punctuated, the sentence is easier to read.

'While the mother was cooking, the baby, her brother and the dog were sleeping.'
But leave out a comma and the text becomes more sinister

'While the mother was cooking the baby, her brother and the dog were sleeping.'
Clearly, punctuation is important for meaning.

English punctuation is used to control sentence timing and some word stress, so
meanings do not always change completely, but the emphasis changes with the
punctuation.

'He was only pretending to help you.'

Means he was not helping you, but trying to give the false impression that he was doing
this. Now we add a comma, and get this –

'He was only pretending, to help you.'

Now this means that he was trying to help, and he was helping by pretending to do
something else (though the sentence does not say what).

Punctuation is more than a way of keeping communication tidy - it is itself important

for communication.
Learning Punctuation

Even if you know punctuation in your native language, it is important to understand

how this is used differently in English. Unless using imported foreign words, English
does not use punctuation such as the umlaut - in German - or the tilde - in Spanish - to
show the pronunciation of a word. (It leaves you to guess instead!)
A student needs to learn how English pronunciation shows how a text should sound
when read aloud, and which words go together. 'Late-night buses are common in
London' has a very different meaning to 'Late night-buses are common in London'.
Reading a text aloud can help you to see how the punctuation controls the text, and is a
useful check on your own writing. If you find that something sounds ambiguous or (for
example) you run out of breath before the end of a sentence, then a punctuation check
is needed.

Reading a good novel aloud with a focus on the pronunciation is a useful exercise.
Comics are less useful as they have their own conventions, such as finishing even
mundane comments with an exclamation mark.

What punctuation is covered in this unit?

In this unit we will look at the comma, the semi-colon; and the full stop. You may think
you know about these already, but there are some details that will still surprise you.

The Comma
The comma is the most common form of punctuation after the full stop. As the name
says, it tells you where a meaning or a phrase finishes. (Koma is old Greek for 'chop
off'). So with the example 'While mother was cooking, the baby slept.' The comma cuts
off the meaning of 'cooking' from what would otherwise seem to be the object noun,
'the baby'.

In a defining relative clause, the comma cuts out and defines the extra information, and
clarifies the information given. For example:

''The house, which is on your left, is mine.'

might be the only house in a forest.

'The house which is on your left is mine.'

is the house on the left side among a number of houses.

This use is not only in relative clauses. For example:

'Use pasta if you can't use rice.'

means that rice is preferred and pasta should only be used if rice is not available.
However, we can cut the conditional from its natural subject with commas and reverse
the meaning so that pasta is preferred and rice should only be used if pasta is not
available
'Use pasta, if you can't, use rice.'

The Comma Splice

The second example above comes close to an error called a comma splice. A comma
splice is when two clauses with separate grammar and meaning are joined by a comma
when they might do better as individual sentences. Sometimes a comma splice is a
grammatical error. In the example below a comma joins what should be two sentences.

'It was raining and I did not feel well, I did not go to the party.'

However, a comma splice is grammatical with a co-ordinating conjunction. A co-

ordinating conjunction is a word which has precisely the job of explaining why an extra
phrase belongs with the preceding material. So

'It was raining and I did not feel well, so I did not go to the party.'

is a grammatical use of a comma splice.

The Oxford Comma

The Oxford comma is another use of the comma of which the advanced student should
be aware. Usually a list is written in the following form

Knives, forks and spoons.

However, the Oxford comma insists on extra punctuation for clarity

Knives, forks, and spoons.

Usage can be consistent or used only when necessary to avoid confusion. If a speaker
says:
'You should meet my parents, Janet and Bob Smith'

we can assume the speaker is the child of Janet and Bob.

But if the person says 'I'd like you to meet my parents, Rihanna and George Bush'
we must decide whether the speaker is the unlikely love-child of a popular singer and
an ex-president or would like you to meet four different people.
The Oxford comma does the comma's job of cutting off implied meaning by doing so
at the end of the list.

'My parents, Rihanna, and George Bush'

is clearly four people.

Gapping Commas

Gapping commas have rather the same role as apostrophes in that they warn you that
a part of a sentence is implied, and it is for the reader to fill in the missing information.
With gapping commas we can shorten this example
Some people carried books and clothing, while others carried their children and pets.
to
Some people carried books and clothing, others, their children and pets.

Numbers
The comma is sometimes used to separate numbers into hundreds thousands and
millions, while an alternative style uses a gap. So for example

1,002,432 and 1 002 432

are acceptable, so long as the style is consistent.

Telephone numbers are individual digits, so never use commas as the left hand numbers
do not represent larger amounts.

The Semi-colon
Even native speakers sometimes get confused as to when a semi-colon should be used.
The main uses of the semi-colon are listed below.

Avoiding run-on sentences

A run-on sentence is one which cannot be understood without the preceding sentence
and which continues with the idea of the preceding sentence. For example:
Cooking food is fun. But eating it is better.'

can be improved with a semi colon to make a single sentence.

Cooking food is fun; but eating it is better.

So semi-colons can be used to join sentences where, because the ideas in each part are
very different, a comma splice would be ungrammatical even with a co-ordinating
[Link] example:

I disagree with everything you say; although I respect your right to say it.
Semi-colons can also be used to link related ideas into a single sentence if the 'follow-
on' is clear enough. For example:

Call me tomorrow; I'll know what to do by then.

Lists

Like commas semi-colons can be used with lists. Commas are best with simple lists,
and semi-commas with complex lists where some items have their own punctuation.
For example:

Bring Janet and the kids; Fred, his mother, and their dog; enough for everyone to eat;
and the plane tickets, your passport and the hotel reservation.

Quite often semi-colons start a list with an explicit 'introducer'. (Words that tell you a
list or example is coming, such as; 'for example', 'namely' or 'that is.')
'There are some things that do not belong on an aeroplane, namely; explosives, firearms
and screaming babies.'

The introducer is needed because otherwise the semi-colon should not be used to join a
phrase with its definition. In the example below a colon is appropriate.
He chose a place with warm nights, lovely beaches and great cooking: southern Italy.

The Full Stop

This is also known as the 'period' in north America, and as the 'dot' then used in internet
addresses. In fact, in modern English an internet-based business is called a 'dotcom'.
The 'period' comes from the Greek 'periodos' meaning a complete unit, of either time or
grammatical meaning. This item of punctuation is known as the 'point' in the decimal
system. All of the following punctuations use the same symbol in different ways.

 [Link]
 26.5 kilometers
 This is a sentence.

As with the full stop, this symbol is also used elsewhere in written English in places
where it is silent in spoken English.

With prices and currency the point is silent.

For example something costing $2.50 in written English is spoken as 'two dollars fifty'.

With some other measurements, for example: 'kg' for 'kilograms' and 'oz' for 'ounce' the
point is neither written nor spoken.
Recently it has also become acceptable to write other abbreviations in this way. For
example:
'mph' for 'miles per hour' and 'psi' for 'pounds per square inch'.

Measurements of time such as GMT (Greenwich mean time) and AM (morning) no

longer use stops, and they are becoming less common for years dated AD or BC.

In American English, a full stop is used to mark both contractions and abbreviations.
British English does not put a full stop after a contraction. An abbreviation is when the
last letters of a word are cut off. A contraction removes words from the middle. So
Doctor William Smith's address on Birch Avenue, Miami, Florida is written on the left
in British English and on the right in American:

Dr W. Smith Dr. W. Smith

Birch Ave Birch Ave.
Miami Miami
Fla Fla.
USA USA

Short abbreviations where confusion is possible should always have stops. For example:
'e.g.' 'i.e.'

as should abbreviations where confusion is possible. For example:

U.N. for 'United Nations'to avoid confusion with the prefix 'un-'; and W.H.O. to avoid
confusion with the pronoun 'who'.

With commas, semi-colons and full stops, a space should be left before the start of the
next word. Where a full stop would occur twice because a sentence ends in an
abbreviation, the second stop is omitted. For example:

At Cambridge he studied for a B.A.

However commas and semi-colons are used together.

At Cambridge he studied for a B.A.; his M.A. in drama; and a [Link].; the latter in
performing arts.
What you have read here deals with only some of the uses of the comma, semi-colon
and full stop. Other uses have been covered in the Elementary and Intermediate sections
of this course. If you want to know more, you are advised to read these sections as well.
Otherwise, it is time to put what you have learned into practice!

Advanced Quiz on Punctuation

([Link]

More Resources
Try out these sentences. If you get stuck follow this
link: [Link]
the-comma-and-the-apostrophe/introduction-to-
commas/e/punctuating-lists to a helpful video or to get a hint.

Practice Punctuating

Put in semicolons, colons, dashes, quotation marks, Italics (use an underline), and
parentheses where ever they are needed in the following sentences.
1. The men in question Harold Keene, Jim Peterson, and Gerald Greene deserve awards.
2. Several countries participated in the airlift Italy, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.
3. There's no room for error, said the engineer so we have to double check every
calculation.
4. Judge Carswell later to be nominated for the Supreme Court had ruled against civil
rights.
5. In last week's New Yorker, one of my favorite magazines, I enjoyed reading Leland's
article How Not to Go Camping.
6. Yes, Jim said, I'll be home by ten.
7. There was only one thing to do study till dawn.
8. Montaigne wrote the following A wise man never loses anything, if he has himself.
9. The following are the primary colors red, blue, and yellow.
10. Arriving on the 8 10 plane were Liz Brooks, my old roommate her husband and Tim,
their son.
11. When the teacher commented that her spelling was poor, Lynn replied All the
members of my family are poor spellers. Why not me?
12. He used the phrase you know so often that I finally said No, I don't know.
13. The automobile dealer handled three makes of cars Volkswagens, Porsches, and
Mercedes Benz.
14. Though Phil said he would arrive on the 9 19 flight, he came instead on the 10 36
flight.
15. Whoever thought said Helen that Jack would be elected class president?
16. In baseball, a show boat is a man who shows off.
17. The minister quoted Isaiah 5 21 in last Sunday's sermon.
18. There was a very interesting article entitled The New Rage for Folk Singing in last
Sunday's New York Times newspaper.
19. Whoever is elected secretary of the club Ashley, or Chandra, or Aisha must be
prepared to do a great deal of work, said Jumita, the previous secretary.
20. Darwin's On the Origin of Species 1859 caused a great controversy when it appeared.

Fragments
A fragment is a group of words that is punctuated as if it were a
complete sentence, but it is not a complete idea. It doesn't form a
sentence. Sometimes it is only part of an idea; sometimes it is missing
necessary a word or words. When we write using fragments instead of
full sentences we do not communicate logically and comprehensively.
This may cause miscommunication and it comes across as
unprofessional. When we speak we often use fragments in a sensible
way, because we relate what we say to various contextual cues.
However, when we write, using fragments suggests an inability to use
a language proficiently. These exercises will help you to become more
aware of when a written sentence is a fragment and is therefore not
appropriate to use in written communication.

Present your answers to A and B below in relation to the Question

boxes that follow.
A. Please identify the following as sentences (S) or fragments (F).
1. Bob sat down.
2. After the president of the company bought a new computer.
3. Several students at the college, who attended the meeting.
4. The professor teaching the philosophy course.
5. Whenever Linda wants to go home early.
B. One of the sentences in each of these items is actually a fragment.
You can either connect the fragment to the other idea or change it so
that it can stand alone.
Example:
Tomi left early yesterday. Even though I had asked her to stay.
Tomi left yesterday. I had asked her to stay.
1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees, Martha
finally went home.
2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project, Because she had
to attend another meeting.
3. Karen feels very ill. She leaving early to go to her doctor's office.
4. Bill always works late. And manages to be early every day.
5. If you ask for the day off You will need to make up the time on another
day

A. Please identify the following as sentences (S) or fragments (F). 1. Bob

sat down. (S or F) 2. After the president of the company bought a new
computer. (S or F) 3. Several students at the college, who attended the
meeting. (S or F) 4. The professor teaching the philosophy course. (S or
F) 5. Whenever Linda wants to go home early. (S or F)
1 : 1S 2F 3F 4F 5F
2 : 1S 2 F 3S 4F 5S
3 : 1F 2S 3S 4S 5S
4 : 1F 2S 3F 4S 5F
5 : 1S 2s 3F 4F 5F

B. One of the sentences in each of these items is actually a fragment. You

can either connect the fragment to the other idea or change it so that it
can stand alone.
1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees. Martha finally
went home.
2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project. Because she had
to attend another meeting.
3. Karen feels very ill. She leaving early to go to her doctor's office.
4. Bill always works late. And manages to be early every day.
5. If you ask for the day off You will need to make up the time on another
day
1 : 1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees, Martha finally went
home. 2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project, because she had to attend
another meeting. 3. Karen feels very ill. She is leaving early to go to her doctor's office.
4. Bill always works late. And manages to be early every day. 5. If you ask for the day off
You will need to make up the time on another day.
2 : 1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees, Martha finally went
home. 2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project, because she had to attend
another meeting. 3. Karen feels very ill. She is leaving early to go to her doctor's office.
4. Bill always works late. And manages to be early every day. 5. If you ask for the day off,
you will need to make up the time on another day
3 : 1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees, Martha finally went
home. 2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project, because she had to attend
another meeting. 3. Karen feels very ill. She is leaving early to go to her doctor's office.
4. Bill always works late and manages to be early every day. 5. If you ask for the day off,
you will need to make up the time on another day
4 : 1. After reviewing procedures and training new employees, Martha finally went
home. 2. The supervisor wasn't able to complete the project. She had to attend another
meeting. 3. Karen feels very ill. She is leaving. Early to go to her doctor's office. 4. Bill
always works late. And manages to be early every day. 5. If you ask for the day off You
will need to make up the time on another day
Final Exercise: Punctuation
Complete the following tasks as the final exercise on Punctuation. Note
that these tasks are part of the required formative assessment for this
module and your performance will be incorporated as part of the
continuous assessment requirement.

Remote Teaching and Learning content.

In this section, Unit 2 will be made available. To ensure that you successfully
complete this, follow the steps below:

1. Go through the content in your eGuide;

2. Work through the relevant sections in your textbook;
3. Come back to T&L, and then work through the supplemental content;
4. Double-check that you've got everything covered;
5. Complete all tasks for each unit before moving to the next.

Have fun! And remember that you can always ask us if you get stuck on
something.

Introduction to Context and Co-text

As we’ve seen from Unit 2.1 in the eGuide, language is not always as
straightforward as we think, and things can get quite complicated if we don’t
understand the meaning of something as it is intended. In this section, we’re
going to look at examples of how our brains form meaning, and how meaning
can be ambiguous.

Let's get started

Question 1
For each of the words below, write down the first meaning that pops into your
head. Try to identify the part of speech of that word as well.
1.1. Tear
1.2. Wind
1.3. Mind
1.4. Wound
1.5. Encounter

Watch, learn, and share

Watch the Crash Course (2016) video below, and answer the questions that
follow to take part in the discussion. You may contribute to the conversation by
responding to existing comments. (If you are responding to comments, please
do so in a polite and respectful manner.)

Crash Course. 2016, 29 Aug. Language & Meaning: Crash Course Philosophy #26 [YouTube
video]. [Link] Date of access: 16 Apr. 2019.

What do you really mean?

As you’ve seen from Unit 2 (eGuide), words can be misinterpreted.
Sometimes this happens because they have more than one meaning, and the
listener interprets a different meaning than what the speaker intended. This is
called ambiguity.

Study the scheme below, and answer the questions that follow.
Question 4
Give at least two examples of each of the following. Don’t use any words from
Question 1.
4.1 Homophone
4.2 Homonym
4.3 Homograph

Question 5
Think of a conversation you’ve had where a major misunderstanding was
caused by misinterpretation of a word/phrase you used. Give some context,
and then explain how you resolved the issue.
Co-text: clauses in use
As we have seen from Unit 2.2 in the eGuide, the clause is a complex, but
crucial structure to master in language. We first need to understand the
characteristics and structures of clauses, as well as the various types of
clauses, before we can put them to use in our writing. In this section, we
are going to make sure that you understand the most important bits of theory
about clauses, and are able to both analyse and utilise them in texts.

Syntax and tenses

In the previous unit we learned about how sentences are structured. We also
learned about how clauses and phrases are combined to form complete
sentences. In this unit we look at how to use verbs in a sentence in a way that
enables us to refer to actions happening at different times.

Apply what you know

As mentioned in the eGuide, this Unit is aimed at helping you to discern when
to use the correct tenses. In each question below, identify the correct verb tense
to use in the situation. Then, select the sentence that is an example of that
tense.

This tense is used to refer to something that happened regularly, but is

now over.
1 : Simple present
2 : Simple past
3 : Past continuous
4 : Past perfect

Select the sentence that is an example of your answer for the previous
question.
1 : I have always walked home after school.
2 : I was always walking home after school.
3 : I always walked home after school.
4 : I always walk home after school.
This tense is used to talk about something that is possible or likely to
happen.
1 : Simple present
2 : Simple future
3 : Future continuous
4 : Future perfect

Select the sentence that is an example of your answer for the previous
question.
1 : He called me.
2 : He has been calling me.
3 : He will have called me.
4 : He will call me.

Varieties of this tense are used to talk about actions that are completed
by the present or a particular point in the past or future.
1 : Simple
2 : Continuous
3 : Perfect

Select the sentence that is an example of your answer for the previous
question.
1 : I am always walking home after school.
2 : I have always been walking home after school.
3 : I have always walked home after school.
4 : I will always be walking home from school.
This tense is used to talk about how long something has continued up
till now.
1 : Simple present
2 : Present continuous
3 : Present perfect continuous
4 : Past perfect continuous

Select the sentence that is an example of your answer for the previous
question.
1 : I am always walking home after school.
2 : I was always walking home after school.
3 : I will always be walking home after school.
4 : I have been walking home after school this week.

This verb tense is used to talk about something which is expected to

end by a particular time in the future.
1 : Future continuous
2 : Present perfect continuous
3 : Past perfect continuous
4 : Future perfect continuous

Select the sentence that is an example of your answer for the previous
question.
1 : By then I will be walking home after school.
2 : By then I had been walking home after school for a year.
3 : By then I will have been walking home after school for a year.
4 : I have been walking home after school for a year.
Active and passive voice
As we have seen from Unit 2.4 in the eGuide, active and passive constructions
of the clause can serve different functions in a text. We first need to understand
what the form of the VERB in the clause looks like its active and passive voice
form, before we can put these constructions to use in our writing. In this section,
we are going to make sure that you are able to identify a verb in either the active
or passive voice, and can convert a sentence from active to passive (and vice
versa).

Read Sections 9.8 until 9.24 in the Textbook (pages 428-435)?

Worked through Study Section 2.4 in the eGuide?

Direct and indirect speech

So far in this unit, we have looked at how sentences are formed by putting
together phrases and clauses. In the previous lesson we focussed on the active
and passive forms of sentences, and how verbs and sentence structure change
in each case. In this lesson, we will look at direct and indirect speech.

Let’s recap
The most important part of reporting utterances is to use the correct forms of
the verbs, pronouns, and time adverbs. In addition to that, it is important that
you use the correct punctuation. Now, keeping these things in mind, complete
the exercises below.

Exercise 1
Correct the punctuation errors in each of the following sentences.

They asked, if we wanted to go to the store with them?

Answer:
She said that, we would go to the store
Answer:

She asked, “Do you want to go for pizza”?

Answer:

Exercise 2
Watch the video below and try to report the conversation. Include as many of
the details as you can. (The video is embedded, so you will not use additional
data to watch it.)
Peppa Pig Official Channel. 2020, 6 Jan. Whistling Competition Between Peppa Pig and Suzy
Sheep. [YouTube video]. [Link] Date of access: 01 May 2020.

Exercise 4
We do not always use words like said or asked to report speech. Look at the
tweet below, and report the details. You should start with "Dan Scratch tweeted
that he..." You do not have to start a new sentence for every item on the list.
You can combine sentences and use conjunctions to do so effectively.

(Yes, lecturers really feel this way right now!)

Unit 2.6 - Punctuation
For the unit, please refer to Unit 2.6 in the eGuide. It is important that you know
when and how to use punctuation marks. The only way to do that is to study the
information in your eGuide and practice, making sure you understand why we
use them in a specific way.