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Compiled by Mrs L. McLaren
Spring 2014
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Text types
Narrative
Key elements
Presents events in chronological order – but can also
move back and forth in time. Usually written in the
past tense – but can also be written in the present
tense or shift between multiple tenses. Can have a
third-person voice or a first person narrator.
Basic structure: opening, complication, resolution.
Usually has: settings, plot and characters.
Has connectives that signal the passing of time (first,
next, later, then, afterwards …)
Examples
Fairy tales or folk tales (e.g. in Western Europe
different versions of Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin,
Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pea)
Historical fiction (e.g. Goodnight Mister Tom,
Magorian, 1981)
Narrative poems (e.g. The Highwayman, Noyes,
1913)
Recount
Key elements
A story, either fictional or real, often related in the
form of a journal, and in past tense, written in first
person. Can take the form of a dramatic monologue
recounted in the form of a letter in which case the
reader becomes an eavesdropper to events retold.
Biographies and autobiographies are recount texts as
they recount past events that happened in a person’s
life.
The pronouns ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘you’ and ‘they’ are features, as
are chronological connectives such as ‘then’, ‘later’
and ‘when’ (Eyres, 2011)
Examples
Fictional Journal (e.g. Pirate Diary, The Journal of
Jake Carpenter, Platt, (2001)
Historical Journal (e.g. The Diary of a Young Girl,
Anne Frank, 2008)
Autobiography (e.g. Lancaster Target, Currie, 2004)
Explanation
Key elements
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A statement may be made, or a question asked, to
which an answer is then given in the form of
explanatory facts. ‘How To’ books fall into this
category, containing instructions in step-by-step
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order.
Explanatory texts are usually written in present tense
and use causal connectives such as ‘because’, ‘so
that’, and chronological connectives such as ‘next’,
‘then’, ‘after’
Examples
How to…support and teach children with Special
Educational Needs (Birkett, 2007)
Magazine ‘how-to’ article (e.g. Chase the Blues Away!
Huddart, 2014)
Report
Key elements
Examples
A report is informative and organised under headings
and sub-headings; it contains facts rather than
opinion; often contains diagrams, charts or labelled
pictures; text contains technical words related to the
subject matter of the report; contains few connectives
as the text is usually a series of statements of fact.
Trust or business reports (e.g. State of Nature Report,
Marshall [Ed.] 2013)
Magazine articles (e.g. What Price More Food?,
Webb [Ed.] 2008)
Newspaper reports (e.g. Rosetta Spacecraft wakes
up and sends messages to Earth, The Telegraph,
2014)
Discussion
Key elements
Usually a balanced argument, stating a position both
for and against and citing evidence to support each
viewpoint. Begins with an opening statement of the
issue under discussion, or a question to which there
may be more than one opposing answer, and ends
with a paragraph summing up and balancing the
evidence given in the preceding paragraphs.
Connectives are logical (‘however’; ‘on the other
hand’; ‘it might be said’ ) or causal (‘because’; ‘so
that’) (Eyres, 2011). The tense is usually present (‘it
appears’; ‘as X states’), and the point of view third
person (using the pronouns he, she, they, it).
Examples
Editorial opinion pieces in magazines and
newspapers (e.g. The Greater Good, Campbell [Ed.]
2014)
Magazine ‘for and against’ articles (e.g. Hot topic:
Dogs, Sugden and Napier, 2014)
Persuasion
Key elements
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Usually written in present tense for its immediacy and
impact, and in second person using the pronouns
‘you’, ‘I’ and ‘we’ to make the argument sound
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personal to the reader, together with third person to
distance the reader (who is to be persuaded) from the
‘others’ (who are missing out by not following the
advice in the text). Often uses questions to draw
people in (‘Are you ready for a change?’; ‘Is your hair
lacking bounce?).
Repetition of key statements are often a feature, as
are the use of positive adjectives and statements
such as ‘the best’; ‘marvellous’; ‘excellent’; ‘the only
way to go’.
Examples
Advertisements and advertising features and
promotions (e.g. Wake up to great taste, Rice, 2008)
Political pamphlets and websites (e.g. Yes Scotland,
2014)
Procedural
Key elements
Examples
Sentence length is short and to the point, often
missing out irrelevant pronouns (it; they), determiners
(the, a) and unnecessarily descriptive adjectives and
adverbs (e.g. ‘beat the mixture’ rather than ‘beat the
thick, rich and creamy mixture) . Sentences follow a
chronological order from start to finish. May be
presented as bullet points or numbered list. Often
contain technical words relating to the procedure
being described. Sentences often begin with a verb
(screw; cut; slice) since procedural writing is telling
how to carry out an activity.
‘How-to’ manuals and instruction leaflets (e.g. Ford
KA Owners Workshop Manual, Storey & Legg, 2012)
Cookery Books (e.g. Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery
Course, 2001)
Craft or knitting instruction books (e.g. In Stitches,
Stubbs, 1985)
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3. Linguistic terminology
For the following linguistic terms:

provide a definition

give two examples in sentences you write yourself. You must highlight
or make bold the term in the sentence to show your understanding

where an example from practice is called for, this can be something
you see or do yourself, something you see a teacher or other adult do,
something a child says or writes, or something you read with or to a
child. You can also propose a scenario from practice e.g. ‘A
teacher/practitioner could … ’.
We have done the first term for you, as an example.
Example: Adjective
Definition
Examples of adjectives
Words that modify, add detail and tell us more about
nouns.
(1) My hair is short, red and curly.
(2) The mysterious lake shimmered in the misty light.
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
A teacher/practitioner could ask children (age 4) to
describe (orally) the weather: ‘It’s a sunny, warm day
today’, record this information with words and pictures
every day for a week on a weather chart, and draw
the children’s attention to the changing adjective.
OR
Alex (age 7) told me: ‘At the funfair I went on a
massive, scary, twisty slide.’ (19//01/2011)
OR
Sophia (age 9) wrote in her ‘News’ book: ‘I love my
Nan because she is kind and generous.’ (11/11/2011)
OR
I support Arthur (age 11, from Poland) who is learning
English. He was reading the poem ‘Eat your words’
(Zephaniah, 2001, p. 16). We read the lines:
Life is hard
But so are plates
I explained that the adjective ‘hard’ can describe
something you can see and touch – like a plate – and
it can also describe something that is ‘difficult’, a
feeling that is something you can’t see. (14/10/2010)
OR
The teacher highlighted how an author uses
adjectives to create a mood: ‘Beyond the railing …
lay a vast slow-swirling lake of dark mud, which
here and there bubbled up in ponderous burps like a
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gigantic, simmering cauldron.’
(Nicholson, 2000, p. 53)
(a) Word classes
Concrete noun
Definition
Examples
Words that relate to physical things, people, animals
and places before which the articles ‘a’ or ‘the’ can be
used.
(1) The man put the apple on the table.
(2) Dogs are not allowed in school.
Activity, observation or
evidence from practice
Abstract noun
Definition
Examples
Today, Julia, a year 6 girl, came into the library to
borrow a book about tree-frogs. I found a suitable
book for her about the rainforest and used the
scanner to register her choice onto the computer.
(22/01/14)
Non-physical nouns, such as feelings or concepts.
(1) Reading for pleasure is a skill children need
encouragement to learn.
(2) The sight of all the colourful balloons rising into
the sky filled me with elation.
Activity, observation or
evidence from practice
Noun Phrase
Definition
Examples
A cross-curricular activity to demonstrate abstract
nouns could be getting upper junior children (ages 911) to list and discuss the ‘seven deadly sins’ in their
Religious Education lesson – wrath; greed; sloth;
pride; lust; envy and gluttony are all examples of
abstract nouns.
A noun, plus any modifiers to the noun such as
articles, adjectives or prepositions.
(1) The black and white dog was a Border Collie.
(2) The small boy in the highchair was drinking a cup
of milk.
Activity, observation or
evidence from practice
I asked the children in my literacy group to extend the
noun phrase ‘a chicken’ by adding an adjective to
describe the chicken, a preposition to tell where it
was, and a verb to tell what the chicken was doing.
Together, the group of six 7-year-olds came up the
sentence, ‘The plump, brown, chicken on the nest laid
three large eggs.
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Pronoun
Definition
Examples
A pronoun is used in place of a noun, especially
where repetition of the noun would become tedious
(e.g. ‘John went to John’s house to see John’s
mother’ becomes ‘John went to his house to see his
mother’ by using the pronoun ‘his’ instead of
repeating John’s name).
(1) Claudette wore her best dress to Tom’s party as it
was his birthday.
(2) James said he would get to work on his bike as it
was faster than the bus.
Activity, observation or
evidence from practice
I used a sentence building activity during a speech
and language session with a girl of 5 in order to teach
her how to use the possessive pronouns ‘his’, ‘hers’
and ‘theirs’.
The 4-word sentence was built up using colour-coded
cards; yellow for the article ‘the’, ‘a’ or ‘an’; peach for
the nouns; green for the linking verbs ‘is’ and ‘are’;
blue for the possessive pronouns ‘his’, ‘hers’ and
‘theirs’. The child and I took turns to take a card from
a feely-bag and then arrange them in such a way as
to make a grammatically correct sentence.
One of the sentences the child made was, ‘The cake
is hers.’
Verbs
Definition
A verb is an action word when it tells what a thing or
person is doing (walking, talking, falling), and
sometimes changes to show when the action took
place (past, present or future tense). The change to
past tense can be made with the suffix –ed (e.g.
walked, talked) in which case it is known as a regular
past tense verb, or the verb changes in which case it
is known as an irregular past tense verb (e.g. fell).
Present tense verbs usually have the suffix –ing (e.g.
reading, looking), whilst the root of the verb is usually
the future tense (e.g. read, look).
There are also auxiliary verbs which are used to link
the main verb to the subject and also denote the
tense of the sentence. Examples of these are ‘is’,
‘has’ and ‘did’.
Modal auxiliary verbs are used with action verbs to
define the mood or imperative of the action. These
include ‘can’, ‘will’, ‘might’, ‘must’. (Vorderman, 2013)
Examples of an action
verb
(1) Peter climbed the tree.
Examples of a non
action verb
(1) Aunt Margaret may arrive this afternoon.
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(2) Louise was riding her bike down the hill.
(2) I will vacuum the carpet later.
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Activity, observation or
evidence from practice
A verb tense game I play during speech and
language interventions with children having difficulty
with expressive language involves individual action
picture cards; a die and counters. The picture cards
are arranged in a circle and a start/finish point
marked with an arrow card. The child and I take turns
to throw the die and move around the circle following
the direction of the arrow card. If the arrow sends us
clockwise, we must make up a sentence using the
future tense of the action verb pictured on the card. If
the arrow is pointing anti-clockwise, however, we
move backwards round the circle and have to make
up sentences using the past tense of the action verb
pictured.
For example, if the child were to move clockwise and
land on a picture of a girl riding a bike, he might say,
‘She will ride her bike tomorrow.’ Were he going anticlockwise, the sentence might be, ‘She rode her bike
yesterday.’
Connective
Definition
There would appear to be some debate over the
validity of the word ‘connective’ in relation to
grammar; for example, the term (according to Seely)
having come into dubious grammatical use in schools
via the Department for Education’s National
Strategies document (not in use since 2011) (Seely,
2006, p.157). Indeed the new Primary National
Curriculum document (DfE, 2013a) does not mention
‘connectives’, using instead the grammatical term
‘conjunctions’.
Others use the term ‘connective’ interchangeably with
‘conjunction’ – for example, Vorderman (p.58, 2013)
and Eyres (p.137, 2011), although Eyres uses the
term as an umbrella, taking in conjunctions (e.g. but,
and while); adverbials (e.g. secondly; moreover);
temporal links (e.g. previously; later); pronouns (e.g.
these; those; he; she); and comparatives (e.g. other;
or). Still other volumes on grammar do not mention
connectives at all, only using the term ‘conjunctions’
(for example, Collins Complete Writing Guide,
2001/2009).
A typical dictionary definition of the term ‘connective’
would be ‘…a word, such as a conjunction, that
connects, words, phrases, clauses and sentences’,
whilst the definition of a ‘conjunctive’ in the same
dictionary would be ‘…a connective word’ (Reader’s
Digest Universal Dictionary, 1987), thus linking the
two linking terms by definition.
In summary, I would say that a connective is a word
that joins together sentences within a piece of text in
such a way as to make them hang coherently
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together. Examples of connectives would be
‘however’, ‘but’, ‘suddenly’, ‘next’ or ‘finally’. But then,
these examples are also conjunctions, hence the
confusion.
Examples
(1) I felt I needed to make the various definitions of
connectives clear. However, the conclusion I
reached failed to clear up the debate over the
validity of the term.
(2) It is necessary to look at both connectives and
conjunctives so they can be properly understood.
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
In order to teach how different connectives bring
different meanings to a sentence, I play a game
called ‘Clever Connectives’ (Rhodes, 2001) with the
KS2 children needing speech and language
interventions. The game involves a set of six
numbered cards, each number relating to a
connective (e.g. 1= and; 2= because; 3= so; 4= but;
5= although; 6= yet); plus a set of sentence starters
(e.g. ‘Bob walked to the park…’ or ‘Grandma opened
the cupboard…’). The game is played with a die.
Taking turns, each player takes a card from the
sentence starter pack, throws the die and then
matches the number on the die to a connective. The
player then has to complete the sentence using the
connective appropriately. For example, if the player
threw a 5 and had the sentence starter about
Grandma opening the cupboard, he might complete
the sentence as, ‘Grandma opened the cupboard
although she knew it would be empty.’ If the player
threw a 2 with the same sentence starter, he might
say, ‘Grandma opened the cupboard because she
wanted to get the cereal out of it.’
Coordinating conjunction
Definition
Connective words used to link two or more words or
clauses of equal importance, e.g. bread and butter,
where the conjunction and is used to link the equally
important nouns in the sentence.
Examples
(1) I like tuna, but not salmon.
(2) ‘Would you like tea or coffee?’
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
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Using the coordinating conjunction or is a useful way
of getting reluctant talkers to speak, since giving them
a choice prevents them using a nod or pointing with
their finger. For example, Kayden, aged 4, was
reluctant to speak in class. Instead of telling him to go
and choose an activity, he was asked, ‘Do you want
to paint or go outside?’ Kayden answered, ‘Go
outside.’
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Subordinating conjunction
Definition
A subordinating conjunction is used to join two
clauses of unequal importance, or to add information
to the main clause of a sentence such as why, where
or when an activity is happening. Subordinating
conjunctions such as because, while, if, before and
although can also begin a sentence.
Examples
(1) Ellie decided to go for a run although she was
tired.
(2) I like to listen to talking books whilst I walk the
dog.
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
Preposition
Definition
Examples
Children in KS2 could practice using subordinating
conjunctions both at the beginning and then in the
middle of a sentence in order to see which words
need to change, and which punctuation to use,
dependent on where the conjunction goes. For
example, they could be given two related statements
such as ‘She fetched her purse.’ and ‘She bought an
ice-cream.’ By adding the subordinating conjunction
‘before’ in different places, two compound sentences
could be made:

Before she bought the ice-cream, she fetched
her purse.

She fetched her purse before she bought the
ice-cream.
These are words in a sentence that identify where
something is in relation to something else (e.g. on,
under, through, around, by, with)
(1) Jane went into the garden with David.
(2) Bob the dog enjoyed his long walk by the river.
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
An online activity for teaching the prepositions in, on
and around based on the story of The Three Little
Pigs can be found at
http://www.senassist.com/sample2.html (nd). The
child has to answer the question, ‘where is the wolf?’
by ticking the appropriate box. If the child gets three
correct answers he can print off a certificate.
This activity can be taught just as well using puppets
and a doll house, especially since the question,
‘Where is the wolf?’, as asked in the online version,
can then be asked by one child of another, thus the
child is learning from teaching another.
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Adverb
Definition
Examples
An adverb is used to modify a verb by telling how,
when or where the verb, as an action, took place. The
word adverb is self-defined since its main job is to
‘add’ something to a verb. Many adjectives can be
converted into adverbs by changing the word ending
to –ly (e.g. happy – happily), although some common
adverbs do not end this way (e.g. very, rather and
quite) and are used to modify other adverbs by
intensifying their meaning. Adverbs can also be used
to tell where an action took place (e.g. outside or
downstairs).
(1) Jenny strode very quickly down the path.
(2) Robin was playing quite happily outside.
An activity, observation
or evidence from
practice
I admonished Alfie for running in the corridor. He
replied, ‘I wasn’t running, Miss, I was walking very
fast.’ (22.01.2014)
(b) Sentence structure
For definitions of these terms, use appropriate vocabulary from the Word
Classes section. Give at least two examples in sentences you write yourself.
We have done the first one for you and provided some examples.
You do not need to provide observations or activities from practice, but you
can add these if you wish.
Subject
Definition
Examples
The subject of a sentence or a clause is who or what
performs the action (the verb). The subject is usually
a noun, a pronoun, or a noun phrase.
Tom danced on the table.
Why do we never go dancing?
Vikki’s dog jumped onto the table.
Who’s for going out dancing?
The very hungry caterpillar nibbled the leaf.
Object
Definition
Examples
The object of a sentence or clause is the person or
thing (noun or noun phrase) receiving the action
(verb).
(1) James picked up the heavy rucksack.
(2) Ellie will be driving home in the car.
(3) I hope Robin turns the music down soon.
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Clause
Definition
A clause has a subject (who or what – noun) and a
verb (action). Sometimes it also has an object (noun
or noun phrase).
Examples
(1) The fish swam. (noun – verb)
(2) The dog growled at the jogger. (noun – verb –
object)
(3) I walked to the river. (pronoun – verb – object)
Main (or independent) clause
Definition
A main (or independent) clause contains a subject
(noun) and a verb (action), and makes sense (is
complete) on its own (e.g. 1).
More information can be added to the main clause
subject by adding a subordinate clause (e.g. 2).
A sentence can have more than one main clause, for
instance, in a comparative sentence in which the
main clauses are joined with a coordinating
conjunction such as ‘and’; ‘but’; ‘or’; ‘nor’ (e.g. 3).
Examples
(1) The boy ran.
(2) The boy ran quickly down the street.
(3) The boy ran, but the girl walked down the street.
Subordinate clause
Definition
Examples
A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as an
independent sentence even though it has a verb
(action) and a subject (noun) as its purpose is to add
information to the main clause. A subordinate clause
on its own would usually generate a ‘what?’ or ‘who?’
question since the main subject of the sentence is left
unspoken. For instance, in example (1), we would
want to know what wagged its tail; in example (2), we
would want to know while who waited for what?; and
in (3) we would want to know what had gone cold.
The use of the pronouns ‘its’, ‘she’ and ‘it’, do not give
enough information on their own as they are
subordinate terms to the concrete nouns ‘dog’, ‘Janet’
and ‘Iain’ (Janet and Iain are also proper nouns
because they are names).
(1) The dog sat down and wagged its tail.
(2) Janet bought a magazine to read while she
waited.
(3) Iain drank his coffee although it had gone cold.
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Phrase
Definition
A phrase (a group of words used together) is part of a
sentence or clause and is used to add more
information. It cannot stand alone as it does not
contain a verb. The extra information can be in the
form of an adjective, an adverb, or a noun. According
to Vorderman (2013) there are four types of phrases:
(1) Adjectival phrase – a group of words that
together describe a noun
(2) Adverbial phrase – a group of words that
together describe a verb more fully as to where,
how, why or when the action took place
(3) Noun phrase – a group of words (such as
articles [the, a, an], determiners, adjectives or
adjectival phrases) that together modify (add
information to) a noun.
(4) Prepositional phrase – a group of words that tell
where the noun is, or how the verb is being
carried out.
Examples
Using the following sentence as an example -The
lazy black cat stretched luxuriously as she lay in
the cool shade beneath a gently swaying pink
hibiscus.- the various phrases could be dissected
as:
(1) Adjectival phrases – lazy black – describing the
cat (noun); gently swaying pink – describing the
hibiscus bush (noun)
(2) Adverbial phrases - stretched luxuriously as
she lay in the cool shade beneath the pink
hibiscus bush – describes how and where the
cat (noun) lay; gently swaying pink hibiscus –
describes how the hibiscus (noun) was moving.
(3) Noun phrases - The lazy black cat stretched
luxuriously as she lay in the cool shade – the
noun ‘cat’ and its modifiers in the form of an
article ‘the’, the adjectival phrase, ‘lazy black’
and the adverbial phrase telling how and where
the cat was and what it was doing; the cool
shade beneath a gently swaying pink hibiscus –
the noun ‘hibiscus’ and all its modifiers in the
form of adjectives, adverb and verb.
(4) Prepositional phrases – she lay in the cool
shade beneath the pink hibiscus bush – telling
where the pronoun ‘she’ was, and also where
the noun ‘shade’ was in relation to each other.
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For the following definitions, use appropriate terms e.g. ‘subject’, ‘verb,
‘noun’, ‘clause’:
Simple sentence
Definition
Examples
A simple sentence can be made up of a subject
(noun) and a verb (action) and must form a complete
thought. It can also have an object (noun) that is
receiving the action being carried out by the subject.
(1) The cat pounced. (article, noun, verb = subject,
verb = main clause)
(2) The cat pounced on the mouse. (article, noun,
verb, preposition, article, noun = subject, verb,
object = main clause)
Compound sentence
Definition
Examples
A compound sentence consists of two or more main
clauses linked with either a coordinating conjunction,
a comma, a semi-colon or a colon depending on the
relationship of the clauses to each other. A comma
can be used to separate two or more main clauses
from a final main clause which is linked with a
conjunction. A semi-colon can be used between two
main clauses instead of a conjunction, and a colon
can be used between two main clauses where the
second clause is an explanation of the first.
(1) James can fly an aeroplane and he can ride a
motorbike.
(2) James prefers riding a motorbike; Robin prefers
driving a car.
(3) James hasn’t flown for a while: his pilot’s licence
lapsed.
Complex sentence
Definition
Examples
A complex sentence consists of one main clause and
one or more subordinate clauses related to the main
clause.
(1) Gillian, who lives next door, had a new boiler
fitted.
(2) Peter adopted a rescue dog, but it doesn’t have a
name yet.
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(c) Punctuation
For these terms, provide definitions and give at least two examples in
sentences you write yourself. You do not need to provide observations or
activities from practice, but you can add these if you wish.
Comma
Definition
1. A pair of commas can be used to separate a
subordinate clause from a main clause where
the subordinate clause comes in the middle of
a sentence;
2. a single comma can be used to separate a
subordinate clause from the main clause
when it comes at the end of a sentence;
3. a comma can be used to separate the various
clauses contained in a complex sentence;
4. a pair of commas should enclose the name of
the person being addressed, or spoken of, in
a sentence, or the title of a person or object
referred to in the sentence if they are one of a
kind.
(Bryson, 2002)
Examples
1. Irvine, who was a big dog, needed the largest
size bed.
2. Joe comes from Stockport, just south of
Manchester.
3. Jess rode, Tom ran, and Peter drove to work.
4. So, Jane, what have you got to say for
yourself?
Semi-colon
Definition
Examples
A semi-colon provides a longer, stronger, pause than
is given with a comma, and also acts as a subject
break in a sentence containing lists. (Collins, 2009)
1. I am not just an idiot; I am a complete
idiot.
2. There were three families who got
together on that fateful day: the Williams’;
Jake, Mia and Tom; the Palfreys; Peter
and Norah; and the Hunts; Joe, Sylvia and
Dougie.
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Colon
Definition
There are at least nine main uses for a colon:
(1) Introducing a list, such as this one.
(2) To give emphasis to a point being made.
(3) To give an explanation regarding the main
clause.
(4) To introduce a quote.
(5) To separate the title and subtitle of a piece of
work
(6) To introduce questions.
(7) As a substitute for a conjunction.
(8) To present an explanation or example.
(9) With numbers, to express a ratio.
(Collins, 2009)
Examples
(1) see definition.
(2) There is only one sure thing in this life: death.
(3) A Ducatti should be one of two colours: red or
yellow.
(4) It was Oscar Wilde who said: ‘Always forgive
your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.’
(5) Letters and Sounds: Principles and Practice of
High Quality Phonics (DfES, 2007)
(6) The question is this: Should phonics be the only
way of teaching reading in schools, or do other
methods have their place?
(7) It wasn’t that David didn’t want the car: he
wanted the same car in a different colour.
(8) The reasons for Jack’s current dilemma were
simple: he did not like change and he did not
like Anna.
(9) The vote was 2:3 against.
Apostrophe showing possession
Definition
Possession (ownership) of something is shown by
placing an apostrophe after the owner noun, either
before the addition of ‘s’ in the case of a singular
noun, or after the ‘s’ in the case of a plural noun, or in
the case of a proper noun that ends in an ‘s’.
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English Workbook
Examples

James’ possessions were scattered randomly
about the room.

The car’s owner was a Mr Tricket from
Townley.

The children’s bikes were lying in a heap on
the grass.
Apostrophe showing contraction
Definition
An apostrophe showing a contraction takes the place
of one or more of the letters taken away when one
word is used instead of two.
Examples
(1) can’t is a contraction of ‘can not’
(2) won’t is a contraction of ‘will not’
(3) don’t is a contraction of ‘do not’
(4) we’ve is a contraction of ‘we have’
(5) I’ve is a contraction of ‘I have’
(6) they’ve is a contraction of ‘they have’
Hyphen
Definition
Examples
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A hyphen is used when two words belong together, or
when not linking the words together would lead to
ambiguity of meaning. A hyphen can also be used to
add a prefix to a word when not putting one in would
change the word meaning, or make the word difficult
to pronounce (e.g. if the prefix ends in the same
vowel that the main word begins with). A hyphen is
used to split a word (at an appropriate point) when
the word is too long for the line it is being written on.
There is no space between the hyphen and the words
it is joining indicating that the hyphenated parts
belong together.

The picture was painted by a 6-year-old child.

The machine was built on a co-operational
basis, with France building the fuselage and
the UK building the wings.

The slices of ham were made from re-formed
pork and chicken.

The reason for the discrepancy was selfevident.

The seating capacity of the bus is fifty-two.
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English Workbook
Dash
Definition
Examples
Quotation Marks
Definition
Examples
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A pair of dashes are used to parenthesise an
afterthought or aside and can be used instead of
brackets. Unlike a hyphen, there is a space before
and after the dash. If the afterthought or comment
comes at the end of a sentence, only the one dash,
separating the two parts of the sentence, is
necessary.

You can bring a partner to the dance – but
only if you want to.

You can – if you want – bring a partner to the
dance.
Quotation marks are used to indicate spoken words
(direct speech), quotations, unusual words or words
that the writer wants to highlight from other parts of a
sentence. They always come in pairs and surround
the word or words being quoted. Double quotation
marks (“_”)are usually employed, with single
quotation marks (‘_’) being used to show speech
within speech. However, this is a style choice with the
preferred style being at the discretion of the publisher
(for published works such as books, magazines and
newspapers), or at the writer’s own discretion for
personal texts. (Collins, 2009).

“Run! Run for your lives!” shouted Ben.

The word ‘jabberwocky’ has come to mean
invented, or meaningless, language.

Simon said, “I think it was Lewis Carroll who
invented the word ‘jabberwocky’; it appears in
his book, ‘Through The Looking Glass’, written
in 1871.”
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(f) Language diversity
For these terms, provide a definition and give an example from children’s
literature. Remember to include your sources in the reference section below.
You do not need to give examples or activities from practice, but you can add
these if you wish. We have done the first one for you.
Accent
Definition
Example
Dialect
Definition
Example
Pronunciation linked to: an individual person, a group
of people, a city, a region or a nation. An accent can
be geographical, and can identify a person’s ethnicity
and where they are from. An accent can be socioeconomic, and identify a person’s social class.
Dis poetry is like a riddim dat drops
De tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shots
Dis poetry is designed fe rantin
Zephaniah (1992, p. 24)
Dialect refers to the differences in language spoken
by people of different regional areas, or of differing
social class. These differences can be characterised
by pronunciation, choice of vocabulary (including
vocabulary specific to a particular area), syntax, tone
or pitch of the voice, and deviation of grammatical
structure from standard English.
“Yon’s th’Edge,” said Gowther. “Six hundred feet
high and three mile long. You’ll have some grand
times theer, I con tell you. Folks think as how
Cheshire’s flat as a poncake, and so it is for the most
part, but not where we live!”
Alan Garner (1960/1999)
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Standard English
Definition
Example
Also known as ‘The Queen’s English’ in the UK,
Standard English is the language to which the rules of
grammar, syntax, spelling and received pronunciation
have been applied. It is the language used in textbooks, and by newsreaders, and television
announcers. The pronunciation of Standard English is
based on ‘educated speech in southern England’
(Soanes & Stevenson, 2004).
“Remembered you’re not at school, have you?” said
Scrimgeour, breathing hard into Harry’s face.
“Remembered that I am not Dumbledore, who
forgave your insolence and insubordination? You may
wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a
seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job!
It’s time you learned some respect!”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling, 2007,
p.110)
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