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.

  1. Fun with suffixes
  2. Bushisms I
  3. Bushisms II
  4. Headlines

Activity: the suffix –ery

 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?

 

Activity: Bushisms

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.

 

Activity: More Bushisms

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.