English grammar workouts and activities
Below are some activities and workouts that I'd used in my English grammar
classes. These are designed to be fun as well is instructive.
- Fun with suffixes
- Bushisms I
- Bushisms II
- Headlines
Some of the words below were formed by adding a suffix –ery,
which added a meaning of “place where something is done”. Connect those with
their definitions. Some of the words are end in the letters [ery] but not
because of the suffix –ery. For example, they may be formed from words ending in
[er], which might be a suffix itself, by adding a suffix –y.
Some of the words were made up for this exercise, but they
would be valid uses of the suffix –ery.
|
a |
grubbery |
1 |
items made of
clay |
|
b |
bakery |
2 |
place where nuns
live |
|
c |
apery |
3 |
place where
butter is stored |
|
d |
cocoonery |
4 |
place where
alcohol is served |
|
e |
winery |
5 |
place where beer
is made |
|
f |
smithery |
6 |
Place where lamp
extinguishers are made |
|
g |
crookery |
7 |
place where apes
live |
|
h |
brewery |
8 |
little brother or
sister’s bedroom |
|
i |
rookery |
9 |
place where
pineapples are grown |
|
j |
buttery |
10 |
place where wine
is made |
|
k |
whinery |
11 |
workshop of a
blacksmith |
|
l |
Put-Outery |
12 |
place that serves
food |
|
m |
nunnery |
13 |
place where bread
is made |
|
n |
pottery |
14 |
place where
silkworms are stored |
|
o |
boozery |
15 |
Place where owls
are kept |
|
p |
pinery |
16 |
breeding place
for seals or certain birds |
|
Q |
Owlery |
17 |
Jail |
(Invented words: g, k, l, o)
Bonus Question: If the following words really did
involve the suffix –ery, what might they mean? What do they really mean?
-
slithery
-
rhymery
-
quackery
-
peppery
-
pillery
-
mockery
-
machinery
-
surgery
Below are actual statements uttered by George W. Bush. Try to figure out what
he was trying to say and express it in a clear and articulate way.
-
Ø
"The vast majority of our imports come from outside the
country."
-
Ø
"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure."
-
Ø
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor,
and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
-
Ø
"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good
judgments in the future."
-
Ø
"The future will be better tomorrow."
-
Ø
"We're going to have the best educated American people in the
world."
-
Ø
"I stand by all the misstatements that I've made."
-
Ø
"We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We
have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe."
-
Ø
"Public speaking is very easy."
-
Ø
"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to
the polls."
-
Ø
"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not
occur."
-
Ø
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
-
Ø
"Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach
our children."
-
Ø
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the
impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
-
Ø
"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system."
-
Ø
"You never know what your history is going to be like until
long after you're gone."
-
Ø
"The point now is how do we work together to achieve important
goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany."
-
Ø
"And I want those who are questioning it to step up and
explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different
standard than a Great British company."
-
Ø
"You took an oath to defend our flag and our freedom, and you
kept that oath underseas and under fire."
-
Ø
"If you found somebody that had information about an attack on
America, you'd want to know as best as we can to find out what the facts
are."
-
Ø
"I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome."
-
Ø
"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law."
-
Ø
"Let me be very clear about this. Steroids ought to be banned
from baseball."
-
Ø
"If it were to rain a lot, there is concern from the Army
Corps of Engineers that the levees might break. And so, therefore, we're
cautious about encouraging people to return at this moment of history."
-
Ø
"I can't wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors
back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting
those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs."
-
Ø
"I was going to say he's a piece of work, but that might not
translate too well. Is that all right, if I call you a 'piece of work'?"—To
Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg
-
Ø
"We expect the states to show us whether or not we're
achieving simple objectives—like literacy, literacy in math, the ability to
read and write."
Again, your goal is to try to figure out what the American president was
trying to say, and to put it into words in a clear and coherent manner.
- "I've reminded the prime minister—the American people, Mr. Prime
Minister, over the past months that it was not always a given that the
United States and America would have a close relationship."—Washington,
D.C., June 29, 2006
- "I tell people, let's don't fear the future, let's shape it."—Omaha,
Neb., June 7, 2006
"I think—tide turning—see, as I remember—I was raised in the desert, but
tides kind of—it's easy to see a tide turn—did I say those
words?"—Washington, D.C., June 14, 2006
- "I was not pleased that Hamas has refused to announce its desire to
destroy Israel."—Washington, D.C., May 4, 2006
- "If people want to get to know me better, they've got to know my parents
and the values my parents instilled in me, and the fact that I was raised in
West Texas, in the middle of the desert, a long way away from anywhere,
hardly. There's a certain set of values you learn in that
experience."—Washington, D.C., May 5, 2006
- "You never know what your history is going to be like until long after
you're gone."—Washington, D.C., May 5, 2006
- "Finally, the desk, where we'll have our picture taken in front of—is
nine other Presidents used it. This was given to us by Queen Victoria in the
1870s, I think it was. President Roosevelt put the door in so people would
not know he was in a wheelchair. John Kennedy put his head out the
door."—Showing German newspaper reporter Kai Diekmann the Oval Office,
Washington, D.C., May 5, 2006
- "That's George Washington, the first president, of course. The
interesting thing about him is that I read three—three or four books about
him last year. Isn't that interesting?"—Showing German newspaper reporter
Kai Diekmann the Oval Office, Washington, D.C., May 5, 2006
- "I can look you in the eye and tell you I feel I've tried to solve the
problem diplomatically to the max, and would have committed troops both in
Afghanistan and Iraq knowing what I know today."—Irvine, Calif., April 24,
2006
- "I aim to be a competitive nation."—San Jose, Calif., April 21, 2006
- "I strongly believe what we're doing is the right thing. If I didn't
believe it—I'm going to repeat what I said before—I'd pull the troops out,
nor if I believed we could win, I would pull the troops out."—Charlotte,
N.C., April 6, 2006
"If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could
proliferate."—Washington D.C., March 21, 2006
- "No question that the enemy has tried to spread sectarian violence. They
use violence as a tool to do that."—Washington, D.C., March 22, 2006
- "And so I'm for medical liability at the federal level."—Discussing his
support of medical liability reform, Washington, D.C., March 10, 2006
- "I think
it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to
people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The
best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing
baseball."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006
Headlines differ from sentences by leaving out some
of the predictable words. A good headline says something that is not
obvious, and that will make the reader interested in the topic. There is
something wrong with each of the following real headlines. Besides
redundancy or obviousness, a common mistake is creating a headline that has
more than one meaning.
-
Ø
If strike isn't settled quickly it may last a while
-
Ø
Eye Drops off Shelf
-
Ø
War dims hope for peace
-
Ø
Smokers are productive, but death cuts efficiency
-
Ø
Cold wave linked to temperatures
-
Ø
Child's death ruins couple's holiday
-
Ø
Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years
-
Ø
Man is fatally slain
-
Ø
Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say
-
Ø
Death causes loneliness, feeling of isolation
-
Ø
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
-
Ø
British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands
-
Ø
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
-
Ø
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
-
Ø
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
-
Ø
Two Soviet Ships Collide, One Dies
-
Ø
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
-
Ø
Steals Clock, Faces Time (This is an example of a great
headline!)
-
Ø
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
-
Ø
Mayor Says D.C. Is Safe Except For Murders
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