English Language Review: Grammar, Literary Analysis, and Vocabulary

English Language Review

Grammar: Subject Pronouns (p. 158)

  • Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence.
  • Examples: I, we, you, he, she, they, it.

Literary Analysis: Analogy & Allusion (p. 158)

  • Analogy: A comparison used to describe or explain something.
  • Example: “Stinky looked like a Volcho compared with all the BMWs and Cadillacs around the pool.”
  • Allusion: A reference to a famous person, event, or character.
  • Example: “He looks like Captain America from the Avengers.”

Vocabulary (p. 162)

  • Consequence: Something that happens as a result of another action.
  • Contend: To say that you believe something is true.
  • Conviction: A strong belief.
  • Dictate: To control or determine.
  • Endeavor: A serious effort or try.
  • Momentous: An important event, a meaningful moment (e.g., getting married).
  • Profound: Filled with deep meaning.
  • Transition: A slow change.

Grammar: Action Verbs in Present Tense (p. 184)

  • A present tense action verb tells what the subject does now or does often.
  • Example: Dr. Ben Carson works as a surgeon.
  • An action verb can have a helping verb (can, could, may, might) and a main verb.
  • Example: I could be a doctor.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Literary Analysis: Author’s Purpose, Text Structure, Point of View (p. 184)

  • Author’s Purpose: The reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. The author must decide whether their purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain their ideas to the reader.
  • Text Structure: How the information within a written text is organized. This helps students understand that a text might present a main idea and details; a cause and then its effects; and/or different views of a topic.
  • Point of View: The narrator’s position in relation to the story being told.

Vocabulary (p. 188)

  • Alienation: The feeling of isolation and loneliness.
  • Commiserate: To share unhappiness with someone.
  • Empathize: To understand someone’s feelings.
  • Ethnicity: A person’s race, country of birth, religion, or family.
  • Integrate: To mix people of all races.
  • Perception: An observation or feeling about something.
  • Segregation: The separation of people of different races.
  • Tolerance: Respect for all beliefs, customs, and ways of life of people.

Grammar: Verbs in the Present Tense (p. 212)

  • The verb “have” has two forms in the present:
  • I have courage.
  • He has strength.
  • The verb “be” has three forms in the present:
  • I am brave. She is brave. We are brave.
  • Use am, is, or are plus a main verb that ends in -ing to tell about something that is in the process of happening.
  • I am reading a book.

Monday, February 13, 2017

Vocabulary (p. 242)

  • Acknowledgement: Something done to express thanks.
  • Devastating: A destructive and damaging thing.
  • Dispel: Scatter, separate.
  • Evade: To avoid something or escape from it.
  • Improvise: Create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation.
  • Opponent: Someone who competes against or fights another in a contest, game, or argument; a rival or adversary.
  • Pensively: To act quietly and thoughtfully.
  • Surge: A sudden powerful forward or upward movement, especially by a crowd or by a natural force such as the waves or tide.