4

Thinking about Language

Question 1: Look at the following words.

headmistress notebook

long-awaited stiff-backed

homework outbursts

These words are compound words. They are made up of two or more words. Compound words can be:

•      Nouns: headmistress, homework, notebook, outbursts

•      Adjectives:  long-awaited, stiff-backed

•      Verbs: sleep-walk, baby-sit

Match the compound words under 'A' with their meanings under 'B'. Use each in a sentence.

A	B
1.       Heartbreaking 2.      Homesick 3.      Blockhead 4.      Law-abiding 5.      Overdo 6.      Daydream 7.      Breakdown 8.      Output	-   obeying and respecting the law -   thin k about pleasant things, forgetting about the present -   something produced by a person, machine or organization -   producing great sadness -   an occasion when vehicles/machines stop working -   an informal word which means a very stupid person -   missing home and family very much -   do something to an excessive degree

Answer I:

A

B

1.      heartbreaking 2.      Homesick 3.      Blockhead 4.      Law-abiding 5.      Overdo 6.      Daydream 7.      Breakdown 8.      Output

-        producing great sadness -        missing home and family very much -        an informal word which means a very stupid person -        obeying and respecting the law -        do something to an excessive degree -        think about pleasant things, forgetting about the present -        an occasion when vehicles/machines stop working -        something produced by a person, machine or organization

Question II: Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb. Its meaning is often different from the meanings of its parts. Compare the meanings of the verbs get on and run away in (a) and (b) below. You can easily guess their meanings in (a) but in (b) they have special meanings.

(a)   • She got on at Agra when the bus stopped for breakfast.

•      Dev Anand ran away from home when he was a teenager.

(b)  • She's eager to get on in life. (Succeed)

•      The visitors ran away with the match. (Won easily)

Some phrasal verbs have three parts: a verb followed by an adverb and a preposition.

(c)   Our car ran out of petrol just outside the city limits.

(d)  The government wants to reach out to the people with this new campaign.

1.    The text you've just read has a number of phrasal verbs commonly used in English. Look up the following in a dictionary for their meanings (under the entry for the italicized word).

(I)   plunge (right) in

(iii) Ramble on

(ii)  Kept back

(iv) Get along with

2.    Now find the sentences in the lesson that have the phrasal verbs given below. Match them with their meanings. (You have already found out the meanings of some of them.) Are their meanings the same as that of their parts? (Note that two parts of a phrasal verb may occur separated in the text.)

(I)     plunge in (ii)    kept back (iii)   move up (iv)   ramble on (v)     get along with (vi)   calm down (vii)  stay in (viii) make up for (ix)   hand in

-        speak or write without focus -        stay indoors -        make (them) remain quiet -        have a good relationship with -        give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority (the teacher) -        compensate -        go straight to the topic -        go to the next grade -        not promoted

Answer II:

(I)     plunge in (ii)    kept back (iii)   move up (iv)   ramble on (v)     get along   with (vi)   calm down (vii)  stay in (viii) make up for (ix)   hand in

-        go straight to the topic -        not promoted -        go to the next grade -        speak or write without focus -        compensate -        make (them) remain quiet -        stay indoors -        have a good relationship with -        give an assignment (homework) to a person in authority  (the teacher)

Question III: Idioms

Idioms are groups of words with a fixed order, and a particular meaning, different from the meanings of each of their words put together. (Phrasal verbs can also be idioms; they are said to be 'idiomatic' when their meaning is unpredictable.) For example, do you know what it means to 'meet one's match' in English? It means to meet someone who is as good as oneself, or even better, in some skill or quality. Do you know what it means to 'let the cat out of the bag'? Can you guess?

1.    Here are a few sentences from the text which have idiomatic expressions. Can you say what each means? (You might want to consult a dictionary first.)

(I)   our entire class is quaking in its boots…………………..

(ii)  Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart…………………

(iii) Mr. Keesing was annoyed with me for  ages because I talked so much………………..   .

(iv) Mr Keesingwas trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I'd make sure

The joke was on him……………………………………………..

2.    Here are a few more idiomatic expressions that occur in the text. Try to use them in sentences of your own.

(I)   caught my eye (ii)  he'd had enough

(iii) laugh ourselves silly (iv) can't bring myself to

Answer III:

1.

(I) our entire class is quaking in its boots. Become nervous

(ii)  Until then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart. Not to feel troubled

(iii) Mr Keesing was annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much. For a long time

(iv) Mr Keesing was trying to play a joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I'd make sure the joke was on him. To turn the table

2.

(I)   caught my eye: Suddenly the bare electric wire caught my eyes.

(ii)  he'd had enough: When the owner have had enough we declared strike.

(iii) Laugh ourselves silly: He laughed ourselves silly on seeing me in a strange dress.

(iv) Can’t bring myself to: I can’t bring myself to speak about medicines.

Question IV: Do you know how to use a dictionary to find out the meanings of idiomatic expressions? Take, for example, the expression caught my eye in the story. Where -under which word -would you look for it in the dictionary?

Look for it under the first word. But if the first word is a 'grammatical' word like a, the, for, etc., then take the next word. That is, look for the first 'meaningful' word in the expression. In our example, it is the word caught.

But you won't find caught in the dictionary, because it is the past tense of catch. You'll find caught

Listed under catch. So you must look under catch for the expression caught my eye. Which other expressions with catch are listed in your dictionary?

Note that a dictionary entry usually first gives the meanings of the word itself, and then gives a list of idiomatic expressions using that word. For example, study this partial entry for the noun 'eye' from the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2005.

You have read the expression 'not to lose heart' in this text. Now find out the meanings of the following expressions using the word 'heart'. Use each of them in a sentence of your own.

1.    Break somebody's heart

2.    close/dear to heart

3.    From the (bottom of your) heart

4.    Have a heart

5.    Have a heart of stone

6.    Your heart goes out to somebody

Answer IV:

1.    break  somebody's heart 2.    close/dear to heart 3.    from the (bottom of your) heart    4.    have a heart 5.    have a heart of stone 6.    your heart goes out to somebody

: Overwhelm with someone with sadness. : Of deep interest and concern to one. : With sincere feeling. : show pity or have courage. : Cruel person. : To show love for someone.

Question V: Contracted Forms

When we speak, we use 'contracted forms' or short forms such as these:

Can’t (for cannot or cannot)     I'd (for I would or I had)    she's (for she is)

Notice that contracted forms are also written with an apostrophe to show a shortening of the spelling of not, would, or is as in the above example.

Writing a diary is like speaking to oneself. Plays (and often, novels) also have speech in written form. So we usually come across contracted forms in diaries, plays and novels.

1.    Make a list of the contracted forms in the text. Rewrite them as full forms of two words.

For example:

I've = I have

2.    We have seen that some contracted forms can stand for two different full forms:

I'd = I had or I would

Find in the text the contracted forms that stand for two different full forms, and say what these are.

Answer V:

1.

·      I'm  -                I am.

·      Don’t    -         do not.

·      Won’t    -        would not.

·      We'll     -         we will.

·      Who'll - who will.

2.

Its   it is, it has.

I'd   I would, I had.

Who's   who is,  who has.