UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND

ARTS OF BYUMBA (UTAB)

Educatio – Scientia – Ministeria
FACULTY OF EDUCATION

INTENSIVE ENGLISH COURSE

Academic year: 2021-2022

Prepared by Dr Niyonzima Eliezer

Table of Contents
Lesson 1: Greetings and Farewells ........................................................................................... 3
Lesson 2 : Introductions ............................................................................................................. 4
Lesson 3: Where are you from? ................................................................................................. 5
Lesson 4: Phonetic Transcription.............................................................................................. 6
Lesson 5 What is this? .............................................................................................................. 8
Lesson 6: What is that? .............................................................................................................. 9
Lesson 7 : There is…/ There are…/Prepositions of place .......................................................... 9
Lesson 8: Plural of nouns........................................................................................................ 10
Lesson 9: Is there… Are there……? .................................................................................... 12
Lesson 10: Some, any, no ......................................................................................................... 13
Lesson 11: Have and have got .................................................................................................. 14
Lesson 12: Articles ................................................................................................................... 15
Lesson 13: Imperative ............................................................................................................... 16
Lesson 14 : Personal pronouns : subject and object .................................................................. 16
Lesson 15: The Present simple tense ........................................................................................ 17
Lesson 16: Reading Practice: Identifying referents ................................................................. 19
Lesson 17: Test yourself ........................................................................................................... 21
Lesson 18: Yes/no questions and question-word questions...................................................... 23
Lesson 19: Telling the age ........................................................................................................ 24
Lesson 20: Ordinal numbers ..................................................................................................... 25
Lesson 21: Expressing possession ............................................................................................ 26
Lesson 22: Whose…..?/What colour….? ................................................................................ 27
Lesson 23: Countable and uncountable nouns .......................................................................... 28
Lesson 24: Much, many, a lot of, a few, a little....................................................................... 29
Lesson 25: Telling the time...................................................................................................... 30
Lesson 26: Prepositions of time; Days of the week; Months of the year; Dates. .................... 32
Lesson 27: The present continuous (progressive) tense .......................................................... 33
Lesson 28: The present simple and present continuous tenses ................................................ 34
Lesson 29: Family relationships .............................................................................................. 36
Lesson 30: How to buy things and to order meals .................................................................. 37
Lesson 31 The simple future tense......................................................................................... 39
Lesson 32: Can, may, must ..................................................................................................... 40
Lesson 33: Reading Practice: Guessing the meaning of words from context......................... 42
Lesson 34: Test yourself ......................................................................................................... 44
Lesson 35 Parts of the body ................................................................................................... 47
Lesson 36: Use of ‘the’ ........................................................................................................... 47
Lesson 37: The simple past tense of verbs to be and to have .................................................. 49
Lesson 38: Talking about the weather and the seasons .......................................................... 50
Lesson 39: The past tense of ‘can, may, must’ ....................................................................... 51
Lesson 40: Adverbs................................................................................................................ 52
Lesson 41: The Simple past tense of regular verbs................................................................ 53
Lesson 42: Talking about travelling and booking.................................................................. 55
Lesson 43 The Past tense of irregular verbs ......................................................................... 56

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Lesson 44: Expressing requests, permission, offers and invitations....................................... 59
Lesson 45: Comparative adjectives and adverbs .................................................................... 61
Lesson 46: Talking about diseases .......................................................................................... 63
Lesson 47: Reflexive pronouns............................................................................................... 64
Lesson 48: Superlative adjectives and adverbs ....................................................................... 65
Lesson 49: The Simple past tense and the past continuous tense ......................................... 68
Lesson 50: Prepositions of movement and position ............................................................... 69
Lesson 51: More Reading Practice ......................................................................................... 70
Lesson 52: Test yourself .......................................................................................................... 72
Lesson 53 The past habitual tense .......................................................................................... 75
Lesson 54: Comparative and superlative without adjectives nor adverbs ............................... 76
Lesson 55: The Present perfect tense ....................................................................................... 78
Lesson 56: Modification of comparatives / Comparison of equality and inferiority.............. 79
Lesson 57: Use of the present perfect tense ............................................................................. 80
Lesson 58: More about Prepositions ........................................................................................ 82
Lesson 59: The Present perfect progressive tense ................................................................... 84
Lesson 60: Conjunctions .......................................................................................................... 86
Lesson 61: Other uses of both, either, neither ......................................................................... 87
Lesson 62: More about conjunctions ...................................................................................... 88
Lesson 63: The Past perfect tense ............................................................................................ 90
Lesson 64: Agreeing and Disagreeing: so/neither/nor/not either ........................................... 91
Lesson 65: More about subordinating conjunctions ............................................................... 92
Lesson 66: The past perfect progressive tense ......................................................................... 94
Lesson 67: Relative pronouns and clauses............................................................................... 95
Lesson 68: Writing a friendly letter ......................................................................................... 98
Lesson 69: Conditional sentences ............................................................................................ 99
Lesson 70: The passive .......................................................................................................... 101
Lesson 71: Direct and indirect or reported speech................................................................. 103
Lesson 72: Tag questions ...................................................................................................... 106
Lesson 73: Punctuation .......................................................................................................... 107
Lesson 74: Writing an application letter ................................................................................ 110
Lesson 75: Test yourself ........................................................................................................ 112

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Lesson 1: Greetings and Farewells
1. - How do you do?
- How do you do?

2. - Hello (Hi)
- Hello (Hi)

3. - How are you?

- I am fine, thank you. And you?
- I am fine, thank you.

4. - Good morning.
- Good morning.

5. - Good afternoon.
-Good afternoon.

6. - Good evening.
- Good evening.

7. - Goodbye. ( Bye )
- Goodbye. (Bye )

8. - See you later.

- See you later.

9. - Good night.
- Good night.

Exercise

Practice these greetings

1. ‘How do you do? My name is Peter Mugabo.’
‘How do you do? My name is Sam Manzi. I’m glad to meet you.’
‘I’m glad to meet you too.’

2. ‘Hello, Mark.’ ‘Oh, hi, Kathy. How are you?’

‘I’m fine, thanks. And you?’ ‘I’m very well, thanks.’

3. ‘Good morning, Mr Habimana.’ ‘Good morning, Mrs Mukagatare. How are you?’
‘I am fine, thank you. And you?’ ‘I am fine, thank you.’

4. ‘See you tomorrow.’ ‘See you.’

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Lesson 2 : Introductions

1. ‘What’s your name?’ ‘My name’s Mary Uwimana.’

2. ‘Is your name John?’ ‘Yes, it is.’

‘Is your name Jane Uwamahoro? ‘No, it isn’t. It’s Uwingabire Jackie.’
‘Are you Tom Muhire?’ ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Are you Joseph Mutabazi?’ ‘No, I’m not. I’m Joel Mukama.’

3. ‘Mark, this is Dr Mushimire.’ ‘How do you do, Dr Mushimire. I’m glad to meet you.’
‘How do you do? I’m glad to meet you, too.’

4. ‘What’s his name?’ ‘His name’s Gasana.’

‘What’s her name? ‘Her name’s Murekatete.’

5. ‘What’s your first name?’ ‘My first name’s Agatha.’

‘What’s your surname?’ ‘My surname’s Murebwayire.’
‘What’s your nickname?’ ‘My nickname’s Kadogo.’

6. Learn the titles

Mr Murekezi (Mr is used for men)
Mrs Abeza (Mrs is used for married women)
Miss Murorunkwere (Miss is used for girls)
Ms Mukarukundo (When she doesn’t want to be called Mrs or Miss)
Dr Ingabire , Prof. Dukundane, etc

7. Marital status :
Single, married, widow, widower, separated

Exercises
1. Ask other students their names.
2. Ask your neighbour the names of other students.
3. Copy and complete the following table

Surname First name Nickname

1.Niyitegeka Emmanuel Rasta
2.
3.
4.
5.

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Lesson 3: Where are you from?

1. Origin
‘Where do you come from?’ ‘I come from Kigali.’
‘Where are you from?’ ‘I’m from Congo.’
‘Where is he from?’ ‘He is from Uganda.’
‘Where does she come from?’ ‘She comes from Musanze.’

2. Nationality
‘Are you Rwandan?’ ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Is she Congolese?’ ‘No, she isn’t. She is Burundian.’

Learn:
Country Adjective/Person Country Adjective/person
Tanzania Tanzanian France French
Kenya Kenyan America American
Senegal Senegalese Japan Japanese
Sudan Sudanese China Chinese
Somalia Somali Germany German
Chad Chadian India Indian

Complete these (use a dictionary)

1. Italy … ……………….. 6. Britain ……………………
2. Iraq ………………… 7. Egypt ……………………
3. Gabon …………………… 8. Ghana …………………….
4. Cameroon …………………… 9. Greece ……………………
5. England …………………… 10. Australia …………………….

3. Job/Profession
‘What do you do?’ ‘I am a teacher.’
‘What does she do?’ ‘She’s a student.’
‘Are you a doctor?’ ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Are you a secretary?’ ‘No, I’m not. I’m a librarian.’
‘Is he a farmer?’ ‘Yes, he is.’
Is she a photographer?’ ‘No, she isn’t. She is an artist.’

Learn these words:

accountant, engineer, musician, electrician, driver, pilot, mechanic, shoe maker,
dress maker, tradesman, tradeswoman, shopkeeper, shop assistant, architect,
policeman, soldier, typist, cook, fisherman, carpenter, tailor, cashier, nurse.

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Exercise

Choose a partner and ask him/her his/her job and some other persons’ jobs.
Example:
- ‘What do you do?’ ‘I’m a secretary.’
- ‘What does Agnes do?’ ‘She’s a nurse.

Lesson 4: Phonetic Transcription

A. English vowels

1. Short vowels Long vowels

[ɪ ] big, fish, sit [iː] tree, sheep, see

[e] bed, ten, help [ɑː] calm, arm, art
[æ] bad, man, sad [ɜː] girl, bird, shirt
[ɒ] hot, pot, dog [ɔː ] lord, all, short
[ʊ] put, book, bull [uː] moon, pool, prove
[ʌ] cut, son, gun
[ə ] an, under, teacher

Exercise: 1. Read these words aloud.

2. Learn them.

B. English diphthongs and triphthongs

1. Diphthongs

[eɪ] make, cake, pay

[əʊ] note, home, show
[aɪ] like, bite, why
[ɔɪ] boy, soil, toy
[aʊ] now, how, mouse
[ɪə] here, fear, dear
[eə] there, chair, hair

Exercise 1.Read these words aloud

2. Learn them

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C. English consonants

[p] pen, pray, push

[b] back, bring, brave
[t] tea, tell, teach
[d] day, dry, dig
[k] key, catch, kill
[ɡ] great, grow, get
[tʃ] chalk, change, church
[dʒ] jump, judge, major
[f] few, follow, find
[v] view, vain, value
[θ] thing, throw, thank
[ð] then, this, mother
[s] soap, still, stand
[z] zero, zoo, zebra
[ʃ] ship, shake, shine
[ʒ] pleasure vision
[h] high, hard, hello
[m] sum, map, mango
[n] sun, night, near
[ŋ] sing, bring, gang
[l] lead, light, leg
[r] red, right, ring
[j] yellow, yes, young
[w] wet, woman, world

Exercise 1.Read these words aloud.

2. Learn them.

D. Stress
When a word has more than one syllable, it has a syllable which is pronounced with more force.
There is a stress on that syllable.

Examples

1. se – vere se – lect ex – plain pre – sent

2. tea – cher pro – blem sen – tence en – ter

3. re- fu-gee re-co mend gua-ran-tee re-fe-ree

4. re-li-gion im-por-tant na-tio-na-li-ty o-bli-ga-tion

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 Exercises

1. Write these words phonetically and mark the stresses. (The stress can distinguish two words)
Read the words aloud.
1 .import (verb) 6. permit (noun)
2. import (noun) 7. escort (noun)
3. record (verb) 8. escort (verb)
4. record (noun) 9. export (noun)
5. permit (verb) 10. export (verb)

2. Write phonetically and mark the stress. Read the words aloud.
1. listen 7. allow
2. animal 8. correct
3. problem 9. receive
4. question 10. personnel
5. repeat 11. understand
6. police 12. opposite

Lesson 5 What is this?

‘What is this?’ ‘This is a chair.’

Learn these words and ask this question to your neighbour.

1. chair 11. wall

2. able 12. picture
3. desk 13. calendar
4. cupboard 14. door
5. drawer 15. window
6. box 16. floor
7. blackboard 17. ceiling
8. piece of chalk 18. book
9. duster 19. pen
10. broom 20. pencil

‘What are these?’ ‘These are boxes.’

Put those nouns in plural and ask the question above to your partner.

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 Lesson 6: what is that?

‘What is that?’ ‘That is a tree.’

Exercise
Learn these words and ask the question above to your neighbour.
1. tree 6. church
2. stone 7. car
3. sand 8. bicycle
4. road 9. garden
5. house 10. playground

‘What are those?’ ‘Those are trees.’

Exercise: Ask questions like this with the following words. They are in plural.
1. dogs 6. snakes
2. cats 7. birds
3. cows 8. sheep
4. goats 9. fishes
5. hens 10. ducks

Lesson 7 : There is…/ There are…/Prepositions of place

1. There is a picture on the wall.

2. There are boxes on the table.

Learn the prepositions of place: on, in, under, near, behind, in front of, along, around,
above, opposite.

Read these sentences aloud and learn the new words.

1. There are words on the blackboard.
2. There is a book in the bag.
3. There is a duster under the table.
4. There is a tree near the house.
5. There is a church near the school.
6. There is a sheep behind a cow.
7. There is a blackboard in front of the students.

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8. There are trees along the road.
9. There are clouds above the mountain.
10. There is a fence around the house.
11. There is a bank opposite the post office.

Exercise
Make sentences with these nouns and prepositions. Use: ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.
1. a pen the book
2. a pencil the notebook
3. shoes the table
4. a chair the door
5. a bird the house
6. clock the wall
7. a car the garage
8. flowers the garden
9. flowers the table
10. children the classroom.

Lesson 8: Plural of nouns

Regular plural

1. Add ‘s’ to the singular noun

book books
chair chairs
pen pens
fence fences
table tables

2. Nouns ending in -s, -ch, -sh, -x : add –es

bus buses
bush bushes
church churches
box boxes

3. Nouns ending in –y : Change -y to –i and add -es

secretary secretaries
baby babies

4. Nouns ending in –f or -fe change –f or fe to –ves

knife knives

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 shelf shelves
thief thieves
leaf leaves
wife wives
But there are many exceptions to this:
chief chiefs
proof proofs
roof roofs
gulf gulfs

5. Irregular nouns
child children
man men
woman women
sheep sheep
mouse mice
foot feet
tooth teeth
ox oxen

6. Nouns ending in -o
Some nouns ending in –o take the plural by adding –es
potato potatoes
tomato tomatoes

Others take –s
radio radios
photo photos

Exercise
Practice these:
hen hens For most nouns ‘s’ is pronounced /z/
table tables
spoon spoons
word words
tree trees
picture pictures

fork forks stick sticks ‘s’is pronounced /s/ after /k/, /t/, /p/, /f/
shirt shirts pot pots
group groups trip trips
proof proofs chief chiefs

boss bosses The pronunciation here is / /

beach beaches
tax taxes

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kiss kisses
calabash calabashes

Lesson 9: Is there… Are there……?

‘Is there any water in the bottle?’ ‘Yes, there is.’
‘Is there any milk in the jug?’ ‘No, there isn’t.’
‘Are there any chairs in the room?’ ‘Yes, there are.’
‘Is there any meat in the fridge?’ ‘No, there isn’t.’
‘Are there any pictures on the wall?’ ‘Yes, there are.

Exercise
1. Practice these sentences.
1. Is there any children in the house?
2. Are there any shoes in the shop?
3. Is there any water in the calabash?
4. Is there any money in the pocket?
5. Are there any students on the playground?
6. Is there any food in the house?
7. Are there any trees in the garden?
8. Are there any pieces of chalk in the box?
9. Is there any beer at school?
10. Are there any mistakes in the sentence?

2. Use these words and make sentences:

1. chair
2. table
3. armchair
4. sofa
5. bed
6. cupboard
7. bench
8. stool
9. mattress
10. wardrobe
11. pillow
12.sheets

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 Lesson 10: some, any, no
1. There are some armchairs in the sitting room.
2. There isn’t any sofa in the bedroom
There is no sofa in the bedroom.
3. There is some cheese in the fridge.
4. There aren’t any eggs in the kitchen.
There are no eggs in the kitchen.
5. There no stools in the bathroom.
There aren’t any stools in the bathroom.

Some and any mean unspecified quantity of something.

Use: -some in affirmative sentences
-any in interrogative and negative sentences
(any is used with a negative verb)
-no is used with an affirmative verb but it has a negative meaning.

Exercise
1. Read these sentences aloud and make others.
1. There are some potatoes in the kitchen.
2. There aren’t any shirts in the wardrobe.
3. There is no food on the table.
4. There are some books in the classroom.
5. There isn’t any tea in the pot.
6. There are no sheets on the bed.
7. There are some flowers in the garden.
8. There aren’t any pens in the bag.
9. There is no sugar in the tea.

2. Put in some, any, no.

1. There are……………….cars on the road.
2. There is…………………bus at the station.
3. There isn’t ……………..coffee in the cup.
4. There is…………………beer in the bottle.
5. There aren’t ………………bags on the table.
6. There are…..……………… .clothes in the shop.
7. There are…. ………………fishes in the market.
8. There aren’t …………… …trees near the school.
9. There isn’t …………………salt in the soup.
10. There are…………………..stones on the playground.

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 Lesson 11: Have and have got
Verb to have in the present simple tense

Affirmative form Interrogative form Negative form

I have (I’ve) Have I…? I have not (haven’t)
You have (you’ve) Have you…? You have not (haven’t)
He/She/It has (He’s) Has he/she/it…? He/She/It has not (hasn’t)
We have (we’ve) Have we…? We have not (haven’t)
You have (you’ve) Have you…? You have not (haven’t)
They have (they’ve) Have they…? They have not (haven’t)

I have a car = I have got a car

You have a book = You have got a book
He has a pen = He has got a pen
We have a child = We have got a child
You have cows = You have got cows
They have pencils = They have got pencils

Exercise
1. Practice these sentences with a partner.
‘Have you got any brothers?’ ‘Yes, I’ve got two.’
‘Have you got any water?’ ‘Yes, I’ve got some in the bucket.’
‘Have you got any sisters?’ ‘No, I haven’t got any.’
‘Have you got any pens in your bag?’ ‘Yes, I have.’
‘Has Peter got any house?’ ‘No, he hasn’t got any?’
‘Have the children got any food?’ ‘Yes, they have.’

2. Make 10 sentences with have got.

Examples:
1. Mary has got a hen.
2. We have got a house in the town.

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 Lesson 12: Articles
Indefinite article : ‘a’ before a consonant : a house, a book
‘an’ before a vowel : an animal, an artist
‘a/an’ are used with singular nouns. In plural they become (Ø)
Singular Plural
A pen Ø pens
An umbrella Ø umbrellas

Definite article: the : it doesn’t change in plural

The tree the trees
The end the ends
Pronunciation of the : After vowels : we pronounce : / /
The animal/ /
The answer/ /
The opposite/ /

Use of a/an
I. with professions after the verb ‘to be’
1. Mugabo is an engineer.
2. Mutesi is a housewife.
3. Jack is a teacher.
4 Suzan is an artist.

No article in plural
1. Robert and Max are Ø farmers.
2. We are Ø students.

II. when we talk about things in general.

1. A cat is a domestic animal. Ø Cats are domestic animals.
2. A radio is useful. Ø Radios are useful.

Exercise
I. Put these sentences in plural (Adjectives don’t change)
1. A computer isn’t expensive.
2. A sheep is a good animal.
3. She is a nurse.
4. A bus is important.
5. You are a child.

II. Put in singular.

1. They are architects.
2. Restaurants are always clean.
3. Pens are kept in bags.
4. Knives are dangerous.
5. Secretaries are careful.

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 Lesson 13: Imperative
Affirmative Negative
1. Stand up. 1. Don’t sit here.
2. Answer the question 2. Don’t make noise.
3. Come here. 3. Don’t trouble me.
4. Speak aloud. 4. Don’t use my pen.

Exercise
I. Give orders to other students.
Learn and use these expressions.
1. to post the letters
2. to turn on the lights
3. to turn off the radio
4. to go back
5. to write quickly
6. to be careful
7. to keep quiet
8. to revise the lesson
9. to bring water
10. to clean the blackboard

II. Learn these phrases and give negative orders to other students.
1. to listen to him
2. to tell her
3. to pass there
4. to invite them.
5. to drink it
6. to walk on the grass
7. to take it
8. to move
9. to help them
10.to explain it

Lesson 14 : Personal pronouns : subject and object

Subject Object Subject Object

I me It it
You you You you
He him They them
She her
Examples
1 Help me.

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2. Give me a pen.
3. Send him a letter.
4. Tell her a story.
5. Explain us this word.
6. I love you.
7. You hate it.
8. It bites them.

Remember that a pronoun is used in the place of a noun.

Examples
1. I like the children. I like them
2. Paul is intelligent. He is intelligent.
3. Mary has got a car. She has got it.
4. Sam works with Judy. He works with her.

Exercises
Replace nouns by pronouns.
1. The girl sits in front of the boy.
2. The dog runs after the students.
3. The farmer keeps cats.
4. The boy loves the mother more than the father.
5. I sell books.
6. Correct the sentence.
7. Speak to the teacher.
8. The book is expensive.
9. Those stories are interesting.
10. The teachers punish the students.

Lesson 15: The Present simple tense

Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form

I speak I do not speak (don’t speak) Do I speak?
You speak You do not speak (don’t speak) Do you speak?
He/she/it speaks He does not speak (doesn’t speak) Does he speak?
We speak We do not speak (don’t speak) Do we speak?
You speak You do not speak (don’t speak) Do you speak?
They speak They do not speak (don’t speak) Do they speak?

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Spelling of the third person singular
Verbs ending in –y:
To fly It flies
To cry She cries

Verbs ending in –o
To do He does
To go She goes

Verbs ending in –ch, -s, -sh

To teach He teaches
To watch She watches
To address He addresses
To wash He washes

Pronunciation of the third person singular

He speaks
He sits -s is pronounced after
She stops
She laughs

He sends
She travels -s is pronounced after most sounds.
She wears
He stays

He teaches
She washes -es is pronounced after
Exercises
a) Give the third person forms of the verbs in these sentences.
b) Show whether you pronounce the third person form as.
1. They cough a lot. He coughs a lot
2. I often drop things
3. We drink a lot of tea.
4. I often forget things
5. They manage all right.
6. I often pass your house.
7. I rush around a lot.
8. I always saw the wood.
9. I wear old clothes at home.
10. I love sweets.
11. I often see them
12. I cry at sad films.

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Lesson 16: Reading Practice: Identifying referents
A referent is a noun that a pronoun or some expression refers to. The referent is not always the
noun that is closer to the pronoun in the passage.

Example

Read the following passage and answer the questions.

There is a poisonous, plant-like animal called the anemone that lives among the coral reefs.
When small fish venture too close to the tentacles of these “living flowers”, they are stung and
eaten. For unknown reasons, the anemone makes exception of the clownfish, which swims
through its deadly tentacles in safety. When in danger, the clownfish dashes among the
anemone’s tentacles where other fish are afraid to follow. The clownfish even builds its nest
where the anemone can protect it.

1. The word “they” in line 2 refers to:

a) coral reefs c) tentacles

b) small fish d) flowers
 b) small fish (small fish are stung and eaten)

2. The word “it” in the last line is a reference to the

a) clownfish c) anemone
b) exception d) nest
 c) nest (the anemone can protect the nest)

Exercise

Read the items and decide which choice is the correct referent for the underlined
expression, and mark the answer.
1. Detergents clean clothes by first removing particles of dirt from the fabric, then suspending
the particles until they can be washed away.
a) clothes b) particles of dirt c) detergents

2. Leaves are found on all deciduous trees, but they differ greatly in size and shape.
a) trees b) leaves

3. Wooly mammoths were hunted by big cats called saber-toothed tigers that also became
extinct by the end of the last Ice Age. They were also hunted by early men armed with spears
and clubs.
a) saber-toothed tigers b) early men c) wooly mammoths

4. Yusuo Kuniyahi was born in Japan in 1883 and studied art at Los Angeles School of Art
Design. He also studied art in New York City, where he gave his first one-man show. In 1925

19
 he moved from there to Paris where he was influenced by the works of Changall and other
artists.
a) Japan b) Paris c) Los Angeles d) New York City

5. X rays allow art historians to examine paintings internally without damaging them.
a) x rays b) art historians c) paintings

6. In the past, biologists considered mushrooms and other fungi as a type of non-green plant.
Today, however, they are most commonly regarded as a separate kingdom of living things.
a) biologists b)mushrooms c)living things

7. There is a New England influence in South Ohio, manifesting itself in white churches and
village greens.
a) a new England influence b) South Ohio

8. William Dean Howells, a contemporary and friend of Mark Twain, wrote a number of books
that realistically portrayed life on farms in Midwestern America. One of his followers,
Hamlin Garland, was even bitterer in his criticism of rural America than his mentor.
a) William Dean Howells b) Mark Twain c) Hamlin Garland

9. Florists often refrigerate cut flowers to protect their fresh appearance.

a) florists’ b) flowers’

10. A flat kite needs a tail to supply drag and to keep the kite pointed toward the sky. A simple
one consists of cloth strips tied end to end.
a) kite b) tail c) sky

11. A number of sculptors have rejected the abstractions of minimalist artists. These sculptors
have developed a style of extreme realism involving ordinary subjects.
a) extreme realists b) minimalists

12. The Wisconsin dell is a region where the Wisconsin River cuts through soft sandstone. The
strange formations that have been curved out of the rocks are a delight to tourists. They have
names such as Devil’s Elbow, Grand Piano and Fat Man’s Misery.
a) strange formations b) tourists c) rocks

13. Water is an exception to many of nature’s rules because of its unusual properties.
a) nature’s b) water’s

14. The lives of beetles are divided into four stages, as are those of wasps, ants and butterflies.
a) lives b) stages c) insects
15. Compound bows are popular with bow hunters but they are not permitted in international
archery competition.
a) bow hunters b) compound bows

16. Ropes are cords at least. Fifteen inches in diameter and are made of three or more strands

20
 which are themselves formed of twisted yarns.
a) yarns b) ropes c) strands d) cords

17. After electron microscopes were invented, scientists found many new viruses. Some of them
were round, some oval and some corkscrew-shaped.
a) electron microscopes b) viruses c) scientists

18. Grocers slice sides, quarters and what are called primal cuts of beef into smaller pieces.
These pieces are called retail cuts.
a) smaller pieces b) sides, quarters and primal cuts
19. The detailed information in maps is now produced almost entirely from satellite photography
rather than by ground surveying because this method is faster, cheaper and more accurate.
a) satellite photography b) ground surveying

20. An elephant is bigger than a mouse because it has trillions more cells, not because its cells
are any bigger.
a) a mouse’s b) an elephant’s

Lesson 17: Test yourself

I. Complete these conversations.

1. ‘.......................................?’ ‘How do you do?’
‘I’m glad to meet you.’ ‘I’m glad to met you too.’
2. ‘............................................................’ ‘I come from Gabon.’
3. ‘See you later.’ ‘........................................’
4. ‘..................................................’ ‘No, she isn’t. She is Zambian.’
5. ‘Excuse me. .............................................................’
‘It’s over there on the right.’
‘ Thank you.’
‘.................................................’

II. Add 4 words of the same kind

1. Rwandan, Senegalese,.............................................................................................
2. secretary, teacher, .....................................................................................................
3. dog, goat, ..................................................................................................................
4. chair, cupboard, ......................................................................................................
5. milk, meat, ...............................................................................................................

III. Ask questions for these answers.

1. ........................................................................? Yes, there are two.
2..........................................................................? No, there aren’t.
3. .........................................................................? Yes, there is.
4............................................................................? No, there isn’t.

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IV. Change these sentences: a) to negative form.
b) to interrogative form
1. He works at the bank.
2. Martha has got some brothers.
3. She washes the baby.
4. They are teachers.
5. I drink tea every morning.

V. Put these sentences in plural.

1. My knife is sharp.
2. That sheep is eating the bush.
3. A baby is crying in the church.
4. His tooth is loose.
5. A bus is a heavy vehicle

VI. Write in words.

1. 37 + 62 = 99 .............................................................................................................
2. 81 - 35 = 46 ..............................................................................................................
3. 22 X 4 = 88 ..............................................................................................................
4. 77 : 7 = 11 ................................................................................................................
5. 11th .......................................................
6. 22nd ......................................................
7. 8th ........................................................
8. 41st .......................................................

VII. Order these words to make meaningful sentences.

1. Malawi-come-from-I.
2. are-on-there-the desk-pencils.
3. room-is-my-a wardrobe-there-in.
4. brothers-one-she-got-sister-two-has-and.

VIII. Put in negative form.

1. Touch that picture.
2. Remove that chair.
3. Use my pen.
4. Lie on my bed.

IX. Which word is pronounced differently?

1. glad, name, thank, sad
2. fine, night, knife, fish
3. come, some, sofa, son
4. lord, all, water, calm

X. Underline the stressed syllables

morning, later, tomorrow, complete, Congolese, American, Italy, Cameroon,

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secretary, photographer, electrician, mechanic, understand, police, potato.

XI. Ask questions for underlined words as answers

1. They study at Byumba.
2. We go to school on foot.
3. Habinshuti reads a newspaper every day.
4. The students eat potatoes and beans five times a week.
5. Uwera washes the dishes after eating.
6. Ange visits Emma because he likes her.
7. My brother is ten.
8. She phones her aunt on Sunday.

XII. Put in a/an/Ø(no article).

1. His father is .........farmer.
2. George is .........engineer.
3. ..........cow produces ...............milk.
4. ..........bananas produce wine.
5. ..........children like...........juice.

Lesson 18: Yes/no questions and question-word questions

Yes/No questions

‘Do you like music?’ ‘Yes, I do.’

‘Do you play football?’ ‘No, I don’t.’
‘Does Musoni drink beer?’ ‘Yes, he does.’
‘Does Amina eat meat?’ ‘No, she doesn’t.’
‘Do your parents speak French?’ ‘Yes, they do.’
‘Do your friends visit you everyday?’ ‘No, they don’t.’

Exercise
Write down five questions like those above and ask them other students.
They answer negatively and positively.

Question-word questions

‘How do you go to school?’ ‘I go to school by bus.’

‘When do muslims go to the mosque?’ ‘They go to the mosque on Friday.’
‘Why do you come to school?’ ‘I come to school to study.’ (Don’t say: for to study.)
‘Where does Emile live?’ ‘He lives at Rukomo.’
‘What do they have in their hands?’ ‘They have pens in their hands.’
‘Who cultivates this garden?’ ‘It’s Karangwa.’
Note that with who you don’t use ‘do or does’

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‘Whom do you see outside?’ ‘I see my sister.’
‘Which book do you prefer?’ ‘I prefer the English one.’

Exercise
Ask questions to other students using: how, when, why, where, what, who, whom, which.
Others must answer.

Lesson 19: Telling the age

‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m twenty-five years old.’ Or

‘I’m twenty-five.’ Don’t say: *‘I have twenty-five years.’
‘How old is your brother?’ ‘He’s ten.’
‘How old are your children?’ ‘The first is four, the second is two.’

Learn the numbers

Cardinal numbers.
1: one 30: thirty
2: two 31: thirty-one
3: three 35: thirty-five
4: four 38: thirty-eight
5: five 40: forty
6: six 50: fifty
7: seven 60: sixty
8: eight 70: seventy
9: nine 80: eighty
10: ten 90: ninety
11: eleven 100: one hundred or a hundred
12: twelve 101: one hundred and one
13: thirteen 110: one hundred and ten
14: fourteen 200: two hundred
15: fifteen 300: three hundred
16: sixteen 800: eight hundred
17: seventeen 900: nine hundred
18: eighteen 1,000: one thousand
19: nineteen 9,000: nine thousand
20: twenty 10,000: ten thousand
21: twenty-one 20,345: twenty thousand three hundred and forty-five

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22: twenty-two 68,971: sixty-eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-one
22: twenty-two
23: twenty-three
29: twenty-nine

Exercises
1. Read the numbers above aloud.
2. Ask other students their ages.
3. Ask other students the ages of other persons.
Example: the age their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters…

Lesson 20: Ordinal numbers

1st: first 13th: thirteenth 35th: thirty-fifth

2nd: second 14th: fourteenth 40th: fortieth
3rd: third 15th: fifteenth 50th: fiftieth
4th: fourth 19th: nineteenth 60th: sixtieth
5th: fifth 20th: twentieth 70th: seventieth
6th: sixth 21st: twenty-first 80th: eightieth
7th: seventh 22nd: twenty-second 90th: ninetieth
8th: eighth 23rd: twenty-third 100th: one hundredth
9th: ninth 24th: twenty-fourth 101st: one hundred and first
10th: tenth 29th: twenty-ninth 110th: one hundred and tenth
11th: eleventh 30th: thirtieth 123rd: one hundred and twenty-third
12th: twelfth 31st: thirty-first

Exercises
1. Read the numbers above.
2. Make sentences like these:
1. The first is Uwamahoro.
2. The second is Gapira.
3. This is the twenty-first lesson.
4. This is the thirtieth person.

Pronunciation of /ð/, /θ/

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Practice these words and write them phonetically.
1. third 1. this
2. fourth 2. than
3. ninth 3. mother
4. thank 4. then
5. thin 5. thus
6. three 6. clothes

Telling directions
Practice these conversations with a partner.

A: Excuse me. Where’s the bank, please?

B: Go straight on for a hundred metres, take the first left, then the second right. There you are.
A: Thank you very much.
B: Not at all.

A: Excuse me. Where’s the post office, please?

B: I’m sorry, I don’t know.
A: Thank you anyway.

Lesson 21: Expressing possession

1. My book is on the table, yours is in the drawer.
2. His shirt is red, mine is white.
3. Our house is small, theirs is big.
4. This is ours, yours is over there.

Personal Pronoun Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronoun

I My Mine
You Your Yours
He His His
She Her Hers
It Its -
We Our Ours
You Your Yours
They Their Theirs

Exercise
I. Choose the correct possessive adjective.
1. John and his/her daughter are outside.
2. Mary and her/his father are ill.
3. The children and their/his father are happy.

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4. The hunter and his/its dog are running.

Note that the possessive adjective refers to the possessor not to the thing possessed.

II. Supply the missing possessive adjectives and pronouns

1. What a beautiful baby girl! What’s ……..name?
2. This car isn’t ………… My car has a different registration number.
3. That umbrella doesn’t belong to you. …….has a leather handle.
4. Has the cat been given ………milk yet?

Nouns showing possession

1. The book of Patricia Patricia’s book
2. The shoes of the players The players’ shoes
3. The career of an actress The actress’s career
4. The games of the children The children’s games
5. The address of Charles Charles’s address

Exercises
Rewrite these sentences using ’s, s’ or just an apostrophe (’)
1. This bicycle is for a child…………………...................................................
2. This pen belongs to the teacher………………………………………………
3. That’s a job for the stewardess………………………………………………
4. This a club for women………………………………………………………
5. It’s a school for girls………………………………………………………..
6. That hat belongs to Doris……………………………………………………

Lesson 22: Whose…..?/What colour….?

1. Whose book is this? It’s mine.

2. Whose shoes are those? They’re Joseph’s
3. Whose house do you live in? I live in my parents’ house.
4. Whose dictionary does Uwera use? She uses hers.

Exercise
I. Make four questions with ‘whose’ and ask them to other students.
Examples
1. What colour are your trousers? They’re grey.
2. What colour is Murenzi’s house? It’s blue and yellow.

II. Learn these words for clothes and colour and make sentences.
1. shirt, sweater, jacket, dress, blouse, skirt, pants, trousers, socks
2. red, orange, pink, green, blue, purple, brown, black, white, yellow,
light green, dark green, light blue, dark blue…

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III. Can you find something red, green, yellow… in the classroom?
For example: 1.This is red.
2. That’s blue.
3. These are pink.
4. Those are green.

Lesson 23: Countable and uncountable nouns

Examine words in each column.

Column 1 Column 2
a man - men water
a book - books sugar
an elephant - elephants money
a student - students air
a cupboard - cupboards sand
a sheep - sheep milk
an idea - ideas bread
an activity - activities rice

In column 1: we have nouns of things (or people) that we can count. They have the plural
form. They are called countable nouns.

In column 2: we have nouns of things that we cannot count. They have no plural.
They cannot be used with a/an. They are called uncountable nouns.

Exercises

Sort these nouns and arrange them as countable or uncountable. Put a/an before countable
nouns:

photo, oil, shirt, hope, flour, tree, stone, leaf, buffalo, coffee, rain, snow, information,
beer, juice, eggs, mouse, dog, fish.

Countable and uncountable nouns with articles

1. Uncountable nouns cannot be used with a/an. They can be used with the or without
article.
Example
The water is clean. Or Water is clean. But don’t say: *A water is clean.

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 2.-Countable nouns cannot be used without articles in singular.
A student must always be on time. Don’t say: *Student must always be on time.
A dog is a domestic animal. Don’t say: *Dog is a domestic animal.

- In plural countable nouns can be used without articles when they refer to things in general.
Examples:
1. Potatoes are expensive today.
2. Fishes live in water.

Exercises
Put in a/an or Ø(no article)

1………radio is a very useful tool.

2……….cow is kept for milk.
3……….trees produce oxygen.
4……….alcohol may be harmful.
5……….goats do not like to stay in one place.
6……….computer helps us in most works.
7……….cheese is not available in the grocery.
8……….men are physically stronger than women.
9……….fish cannot live out of water.
10……...teacher should be well paid.

Lesson 24: much, many, a lot of, a few, a little

Read these sentences and study the use of much, many, a lot of, a few, a little.

1. There aren’t many books in this library.

2. This suit doesn’t cost much money.
3. There is a lot of sugar in the tea.
4. There are a lot of people in the room.
5. Have you got much beer in the fridge?
6. Have you got many pens in your bag?
7. How much milk do you drink every day?
8. How many eggs do you want?

Use: -much with uncountable nouns in negative and interrogative sentences.

-many with countable nouns in negative and interrogative sentences.
-a lot of with both countable and uncountable nouns in affirmative sentences.

Note that it is also possible to use many and much in affirmative sentences like a lot of.

Exercises
Put in much or many.
1. It’s not good to eat too……………salt.
2. They produce…………….milk in this area.

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3……………….teachers retire early.
4……………….time is spent on unnecessary discussions.
5. There are ……………….stones on the playground.
6. That student is carrying …………..pieces of chalk.

A few and a little

1. There are very few scholarships in this university.

2. I’ve got only a little time.

Use: -(a) few with countable nouns.

-(a) little with uncountable nouns.

Exercises
Put in a few or a little
1. Give me………..more time to pay this bill.
2. Explain this in …………….words.
3. There are ………..people in this town.
4. There is …………..sugar in the bowl.
5. Only…………students have registered.

Lesson 25: Telling the time

‘What time is it?’ 1:00 ‘It’s one o’clock?’

1:10 It’s ten past one.

2:15 It’s a quarter past two.

3:30 It’s half past three.

4:38 It’s twenty-two to five.

5:45 It’s a quarter to six.

12:00 It’s twelve o’clock.

13:00 (or 1:00 pm) It’s one pm.

Exercises

I. Read the time

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1. 2:19
2. 3:24
3. 4:00
4. 9:57
5. 11:28
6. 10:15
7. 24:00
8. 1:30
9. 12:45
10. 5:51

II. Complete with the time (in words) and read your sentences aloud.
1. I get up at……………………….
2. I make my bed at…………………………
3. I pray at……………………………….
4. I wash myself at……………………………
5. I comb my hair at………………………….
6. I dress myself at……………………………..
7. I have breakfast at…………………………..
8. I go to work at………………………………….
9. I finish work at…………………………….
10. I have lunch at…………………………….
11. I have lunch at……………………………..
12. I go back to work at………………………….
13. I have supper at…………………………………
14. I got o bed at…………………………………..

III. Ask other students what time they (or other people) do the following activities:
1. to prepare breakfast
2. to have a bath
3. to iron clothes
4. to leave for school
5. to wash up (to wash the dishes: plates, knives, forks, spoons…)
6. to clean the house
7. to sweep the room
8. to brush one’s teeth
9. to go shopping
10. to watch the news on television
Examples
-‘What time do you get up?’ ‘I get up at thirty past five.’
-‘What time does your brother revise his lessons?’ ‘He revises his lessons at six o’clock.’

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 Lesson 26: Prepositions of time; Days of the week;
Months of the year; Dates.

Prepositions of time: at, on, in

1. We use at : -for exact time: at ten o’clock, at lunch time, at twenty to three…
-with festivals : at Christmas
-with age : at the age of fifteen.
+ time : at that time
+ weekend : at the weekend

2. We use on : -with the days of the week: On Monday, on Friday…

Learn the days of the week:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Sunday.

-with dates: I will visit you on 18 July 2007.

Learn:

1. Months of the year

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October,
November, December

2. Reading the year

In 1600: In sixteen hundred
In 1753: In seventeen fifty-three
In 1997: In nineteen ninety-seven
In 2001: In two thousand and one

3. Reading the dates

What you write What you say
1 January 2006 - the first of January two thousand and six
- January the first two thousand and six.

16 April 1998 -the sixteenth of April nineteen ninety-eight

-April the sixteenth nineteen ninety-eight

28 June 2007 -the twenty-eighth of June two thousand and seven

-June the twenty-eighth two thousand and seven
I will go abroad on 30 July 2007.
They will come on 11 May 2007.

3. We use in with : - parts of the day: in the evening, in the morning…

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 - months: in August, in October, in November…
- years: in 1789, in 2005…

Exercise
Complete with at, on, in
1. I’ll meet you ………10.30………Monday, June 14.
2. We’re taking our holiday ……..July.
3. I always finish work early…….Fridays.
4. Who knows what the world will be like………the year 2030?
5. You don’t want anything to go wrong ……….your wedding day.
6. We get up…………dawn and reach the summit………….noon.
7. The birds don’t find much to eat in our garden……….winter.
8. What do you do ……….. holidays?
9. What do you do ………..New Year’s Day?
10. I’ll see you ………..ten days’ time.

Lesson 27: The present continuous (progressive) tense

Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form
I am (I’m) working I am not (I’m not) working Am I working?
You are (You’re) working You are not (aren’t) working Are you working?
He/She/It is (he’s) working He is not (isn’t) working Is he working?
We are (We’re) working We are not (aren’t) working Are we working?
You are (You’re) working You are not (aren’t) working Are you working?
They are (They’re) working They are not (aren’t) working Are they working?

Spelling: How to add -ing to verbs

1. We add –ing to most verbs without changing the base form:

wait - waiting
speak - speaking

2. If a verb ends in –e, we omit the –e and add –ing.

use - using
change - changing

3. If we have a single (one) vowel followed by a single (one) consonant, we double the
final consonant.
sit - sitting stop - stopping
drop - dropping plan - planning

33
4. When the last syllable is stressed, we double the final consonant.
begin beginning prefer preferring
Regret regretting permit permitting

5. When a verb ends in –ie, we change –ie to –y and add –ing

lie - lying

Exercise
Add –ing to the verbs in the following sentences.
1. I’m……………….the verbs (make)
2. I’m ………………a letter (write)
3. I’m always …………..things (forget)
4. I’m……………….abroad (travel)
5. I’m ………………..of thirst (die)
6. I’m ………………on my coat (put)
7. I’m ……………..your case (carry)
8. I’m……………..the students (group)
9. I’m……………..the thief (grab)
10. I’m……………my friends (greet)

Lesson 28: The present simple and present continuous

tenses

I. The present simple tense

We use the present simple tense to talk about regular activities.

Examples:
1. I always get up at 5:30.
2. Senzoga usually walks to school.
3. We go to school every day except Sunday.
4. Dusabe often drinks beer.
5. He rarely eats fish.
6. Priests never forget to pray God.
7. I come here once a week.
8. She goes to market twice a week.
9. Rurangwa travels overseas three times a year.
10. I sometimes walk to work.

Note that we often use the present simple tense with frequency adverbs: always, usually, often,
sometimes, every day, every week, every year, once a week, twice a month,

34
 four times a year…

Exercise
Make ten sentences with these frequency adverbs.

II. The present continuous (progressive) tense

We use the present progressive tense to describe activities happening now.

Examples
1. We are studying English now.
2. My mother is cooking now.
3. Anna is driving from work now.

We also use this tense to talk about a period around the present. For example, today, this week, this
year, these days, these months…

Example
1.You are working hard this week.
2. Semana isn’t playing football this season.

Exercise
I. Think of any persons and say what they are doing now. Make ten sentences.
Use verbs like to think, to know, to hope… to begin your sentences.
Example
1. I think my wife is washing the baby now.
2. I know Karera is drinking beer now.
3. I hope my students are revising their lessons now.

II. Put in the correct tense.

1. ‘Can you help me for a minute?’ ‘I’m sorry, I……………………(am working / work)
2.……………………………..on Saturdays? (Are you working / Do you work)
3. ‘Have you got a light?’ ‘Sorry, …………………….’ (I’m not smoking / I don’t smoke)
4. How many languages ………………………..(are you speaking / do you speak) ?
5. Why…………………..a sweater? It’s not cold. (are you wearing / do you wear)
6. My father…………………August in South Africa. (is always spending / always spends)
7. Robert…………………..football most weekends. (is playing / plays)
8. ‘Where’s Lucy?’ ‘She……………………..(’s shopping / shops)
9. ‘What ……………………..?’ ‘Biscuits.’ ( are you eating / do you eat)
10. ‘…………………………….English?’ ‘Yes, a bit.’ (Are you speaking / Do you speak)
11. The children ……………….with Granny this week. (stay / are staying)
12. ‘Is John in the bathroom?’ ‘No, he is outside. He …....................the car.’ (is cleaning/cleans)

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 Lesson 29: Family relationships

Patrick is married to Violet. He is her husband and she is his wife. They have two children: Sara
and David. Patrick and Violet are the parents of these children: Patrick is their father and Violet
is their mother. The children call Patrick Dad, Daddy, Father… and they call Violet Mum,
Mummy, Mother…Sarah is Patrick’s and Violet’s daughter and David is their son.

Patrick has a brother, James, and a sister, Christine. Violet has a sister, Margaret, and a brother,
Fred. James is David’s and Sarah’s uncle ( the brother of their father) and Fred is also their uncle
(the brother of their mother). They call them Uncle James, Uncle Fred or just Uncle.

Christine is David’s and Sarah’s aunt (the sister of their father) and Margaret is also their aunt (the
sister of their mother). David and Sarah call them Aunt Christine, Aunt Margaret or just Auntie.

Sarah is James’s, Fred’s, Christine’s and Margaret’s niece and David is their nephew. James, Fred,
Christine and Margaret have children. These children call Sarah and David their cousins (the
children of their aunts and uncles).

Sarah and David have two grandfathers: Adam (the father of their father) and Daniel (the father
of their mother). They call them Grandpa, Granddad, Grandfather…Adam and Daniel call
Sarah their granddaughter and David their grandson.
They also have two grandmothers: Eileen (the mother of their father) and Suzan (the mother of
their mother). They call them Grandma, Granny, Grandmother…Adam, Daniel, Eileen and
Suzan are the grandparents of Sarah and David.

Patrick has a father-in-law, Daniel (his wife’s father). He also has a mother-in-law, Suzan (his
wife’s mother). Patrick is Daniel’s and Suzan’s son-in-law (the husband of their daughter).
Violet is the daughter-in-law of Adam and Eileen (the parents of her husband). Adam is her
father-in-law and Eileen is her mother-in-law.
Patrick has a sister-in-law, Margaret (his wife’s sister) and a brother-in-law, Fred (his wife’s
brother).

Sarah’s and David’s father has been married twice. His second wife, Anne, is the stepmother of
Sarah and David. Sarah is Anne’s stepdaughter and David is her stepson. Anne’, Sarah’s and
David’s father has two children: Robert and Alison. Robert is Sarah’s and David’s half-brother
and Alison is their half-sister. (They share one parent).

Anne has also been married twice. Her second husband, Paul is the stepfather of Sarah and David.
Anne and Paul have two children: Douglass and Jessica. Douglass is the stepbrother of David and
Sarah and Jessica is their stepsister. (They do not share either parent).

Exercise
Complete.
1. Your uncle is your father’s or your mother’ brother

36
2. Your cousin is your uncle’s or your aunt’s child.
3. Your aunt is………………………………………………………………………..
4. Your niece is……………………………………………………………………….
5. Your nephew is …………………………………………………………………….
6. Your grandfather is…………………………………………………………………
7. Your grandmother is ………………………………………………………………..
8. Your grandson is……………………………………………………………………..
9 Your granddaughter is……………………………………………………………….
10. Your father-in-law is…………………………………………………………………..
11. Your mother-in-law is…………………………………………………………………
12. Your son-in-law is…………………………………………………………………….
13. Your daughter-in-law is……………………………………………………………….
14. Your stepmother is……………………………………………………………………
15. Your stepfather………………………………………………………………………..
16. Your half-brother is……………………………………………………………………

Lesson 30: How to buy things and to order meals

Find a partner and read these dialogues with him/her. Learn to receive customers or to buy things.

1. Visiting a shop.

Shop assistant: Can I help you?

Customer : I’m just looking.

2. In a clothes shop.

Shop assistant: Can I help you?

Customer: Yes, I’m looking for a shirt.
Shop assistant: What size?
Customer: Fourteen.
Shop assistant: Here’s a lovely one.
Customer: Well, red doesn’t really suit me.
Have you got anything in blue?
Customer: Here’s a nice one in blue. And here’s another one.
Customer: Can I try them on?
Shop assistant: Yes, of course.
Customer: How much are they?
Shop assistant: Four thousand francs.

37
3. In a shoe shop

Customer: These are a bit small. Have you got them in a larger size?
Shop assistant: No, I’m afraid I haven’t. Would you like to try these?
Customer: Yes, these fit very well. I’ll take them.

4. Ordering meal and drinks.

Waiter: Can I help you?

Man: Yes, have you got a table for two?
Waiter: Yes, sir. Over here by the window.
Woman: I’ll start with soup, please and then I’ll have roast beef
and chips.
Waiter: I’m sorry, madam, there’s no more roast beef.
Woman: Oh, all right then. I’ll have a rump steak.
Waiter: How would you like your steak?
Woman: Rare, please.
Waiter: And for you, sir?
Man: Chicken for me, please.
Waiter: Vegetables, sir?
Man: Mushrooms and a green salad, please.
Waiter: Would you like something to drink?
Woman: Just some water, please.
Man: I’ll have a wine. And will you bring me some water, too?
Waiter: Yes, of course, sir.
Woman: Can you give us the bill, please?
Waiter: Yes, madam.
Woman: Is service included?
Waiter: No, madam.

Learn these words and use them in sentences.

1. breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper
2. chips, beans, potatoes, rice, bananas, cabbages, carrots, peas, cassava, maize, rice, tomatoes,
onions, bread, sauce, soup, cheese, butter, jam, salt, oil, salad
3. meat: pork, beef, mutton, chicken, fish, rabbit.
4. water, tea, coffee, milk, beer, juice, porridge
5. fruit, avocado, orange, pineapple, lemon, papaya, mango, apple
6. How to cook:- to boil ( boiled meat, boiled fish, potatoes…)
-to fry (fried meat, fish…)
-to grill (grilled meat…)
-to roast (roast potatoes, meat…)

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 Lesson 31 The simple future tense

Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form

I will (I’ll) go I will not (won’t) go Will I go?
You will (You’ll) go You will not (won’t) go Will you go?
He/She/It will(He’ll) go He will not (won’t) go Will he go?
We will (We’ll) go We will not (won’t) go Will we go?
You will (You’ll) go You will not (won’t) go Will you go?
They will (They’ll) go hey will not (won’t) go Will they go?

With the first person, we can also use shall

I shall go I shall not (shan’t) go Shall I go?

We shall go We shall not (shan’t) go Shall we go?

Different ways of talking about the future

I. We use will (and shall) to talk about predictions: when we think that something will happen.

Exercise
What presents do you think people will give you next Christmas, or on your next birthday?
Use: I (don’t) think, I’m sure, perhaps, probably…and make 5 sentences.

Examples
1. I think my father will give me a book
2. Perhaps somebody will give me perfume.
3. My boyfriend will probably give me a telephone.

II. When we talk about plans for the future, we usually use the present progressive tense.

Examples
1. I am leaving on Monday.
2. Stephen is visiting us tomorrow.
3. Gakwaya and Mukaneza are wedding in July.

Exercise
Write 5 sentences about what you (or other persons) plan to do in the future.

III. We can also talk about the future using going to + infinitive.

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Examples
1. I am going to build a new house.
2. He is going to fall.
3. Mark is not going to help his relatives.
4. Are you going to be an engineer.

Exercise
I. What are you going to do this evening? Tomorrow? The day after tomorrow? Next weekend?
Next year? Write at least eight sentences.

II. Make sentences with is/are going to.

1. What time/you/be/home tonight?
Answer: What time are you going to be home tonight?
2. When/your parents/move to Kigali?
3. Why/your son/study engineering?
4. How/we all/ travel to Gisenyi?
5. Where/Alice/buy her new car?
6. Who/ cook supper?

Lesson 32: Can, may, must

I can drive I cannot (can’t) drive Can I drive?
You can drive You cannot (can’t) drive Can you drive?
He can drive He cannot (can’t) drive Can he drive?
We can drive We cannot (can’t) drive Can we drive?
You can drive You cannot (can’t) drive Can you drive?
They can drive They cannot (can’t) drive Can they drive?

I may go out I may not go out May I go out?

You may go out you may not go out May you go out?
He may go out He may not go out May he go out?
We may go out We may not go out May we go out?
You may gout You may not go out May you go out?
They may go out They may not go out May they go out?

I must go I must not (mustn’t) go Must I go?

You must go You must not (mustn’t) go Must you go?
He must go He must not (mustn’t) go Must he go?
We must go We must not (mustn’t) go Must we go?

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You must go You must not (mustn’t) go Must you go?
They must go They must not (mustn’t) go Must they go?

Use of these auxiliary verbs

1. Can

We use can to express our capacity to do something.

Examples
1. I can run ten kilometers in an hour.
2. I can draw very well.
3. I can’t swim.
4. Can you type?

Exercise
Write 5 sentences about activities that you (or other persons) can do and 5 sentences about what
You (or other persons) can’t do.

2. May

We use may to say that we have permission or possibility to do something.

Examples
1. I may use my father’s car.
2. I may drink beer.
3. Children may not visit their friends without their parents’ permissions.
4. You may not enter this compound without the owner’s authorization.

Exercise
Write 5 sentences about things that you (or other persons) may do and 5 sentences about what
You (or other persons) may not do.

3.Must

We use must to talk about obligation or necessity.

Examples
1. You must go to work every day except on Sunday.
2. Students must pay tuition fees in order to have access to the university.
3. We must eat varied foods in order to be healthy.
4. Students must revise their lessons every day.
5. You mustn’t remove the seat belt while driving.

Exercise
Write 5 sentences about what you (or other persons) must do and 5 sentences about you (or other
persons) must not do.

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Lesson 33: Reading Practice: Guessing the meaning of words from context

When you read a text, it is difficult to know every word in sentences. This is why you should
consider the context in which a word is used and try to guess its meaning in order to get the
general meaning of the sentence.

Exercises

Read the following texts and answer all the questions without using a dictionary.

Text A
The civil war created feverish manufacturing activity to supply critical material, especially in the
North. When the fighting stopped, the stage was set for dramatic economic growth. Wartime
taxes on production had vanished, and the few taxes that remained leaned heavily on real estate,
not on business.
The population flow from farm to city increased, and the labour force it provided was buttressed
by millions of newly arrived immigrants willing to work for low wages in the mills of the North
and on the railroad crews of the Midwest and West.
Government was nothing if not accommodating. It established tariff barriers, provided loans and
grants to build a transcontinental railroad, and assumed a studied posture of non-intervention in
private enterprises. The social Darwinism of the British philosopher Herbert Spencer and the
American economist William Graham Summer prevailed.
The theory was that business, if left to its own devices, would cull out the weak and nurture the
strong. But as business expanded, the rivalry heated up. In the 1880s, five railroads operating
between New York and Chicago were vying for traffic, and two more were under construction.
As a result of the battle, the fare between the cities decreased to $1. The petroleum industry
suffered from similar savage competition, and in the 1870s, many oil industries failed.

1. Give a title to this text.

2. Give a short summary of the text above.
3. The word “feverish” in line 1 is closest in meaning to:
a) extremely rapid c) very dangerous
b) sickly and slow d) understandable
4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “critical” in line 1?
a) industrial c) crucial
b) serious d) insulting
5. The phrase “the stage was set” in line 2 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
a) The play was over c) The foundation was laid
b) The progress continued d) The direction was clear
6. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “posture” in line 9?
a) stature c) position
b) predicament d) situation
7. The phrase “real estate” in line 4 refers to:
a) tools and machines c) new enterprises

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 b) actual income b) land and buildings
8. The word “prevailed” in line 11 is closest in meaning to
a) influenced c) premiered
b) triumphed d) evolved
9. The word “buttressed” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
a) concerned c) restructured
b) supplemented c) enriched
10. The phrase “left to its own devices” in lines 13, means
a) forced to do additional work c) made to change its plans
b) allowed to do as it pleases d) encouraged to produce more goods
11. The word “accommodating” in line 8 is closest in meaning to
a) persistent c) balanced
b) indifferent d) helpful
12. The word “vying” in line 14 is closest in meaning to
a) competing c) arranging
b) hoping d) caring

Text B
All birds have feathers, and all animals with feathers are birds. No other major group of animals
is so easy to categorize. All birds have wings, too, but wings are not peculiar to birds.
Many adaptations are found in both feathers and wings. Feathers form the soft down of geese
and ducks, the long decorative plumes of ostriches, and the strong flight feathers of eagles and
hawks. Wings vary from the short, broad ones of chickens, which seldom fly, to the long, slim
ones of albatrosses, which spend almost all their lives soaring on air currents. In penguins, wings
have been modified into flippers and feathers into a waterproof covering. In kiwis, the wings are
almost impossible to detect.
Yet diversity among birds is not so striking as it is among mammals. The difference between a
humming bird and a penguin is immense, but hardly as startling as that between a bat and a
whale. It is variations in details rather than in fundamental patterns that has been important in the
adaptation of birds to many kinds of ecosystems.

1. Give a title to this text.

2. Give a short summary of the text above.
3. The word “categorize” in line 2 is closest in meaning to:
a) appreciate c) classify
b) comprehend b) visualize
4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “diversity” in the passage?
a) function c) speciality
b) heredity d) variety
5. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase “peculiar to” in line 2?
a) unusual for c) necessary for
b) common to d) unique to
6. The word “hardly” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) definitely c) possibly
b) not nearly d) not always
7. The word “slim” in line 7 is closest in meaning to:

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 a) slender c) graceful
b) powerful d) soft
8. The word “startling” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) initial c) tremendous
b) exciting d) surprising
9. The word “detect” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) utilize c) observe
b) extend d) describe
10. The word “fundamental” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) basic c) predictable
b) shifting d) complicated

Lesson 34: Test yourself

I. Order these words to make meaningful sentences.

1. colour-your-what-trousers-are?
2. lunch-half-we-twelve-every-at-day-have-past.
3. a few-this-are-in-there-house-beans.
4. pot-a little-there-in-is-coffee-the.
5. my-supper-is-think-cooking-I-now-mother.
6. like-you-vegetables-would-some-please?

II. Complete with possessive pronouns.

1. This is my shirt. It’s ......................
2. That’s Paul’s book. It’s........................
3. That’s the children’s room. It’s ...................
4. That’s Angela’s sweater. It’s ........................
5. This is your watch. It’s ..........................

III. . Make sentences with, can , may, must.

-3 sentences with ‘can’.
-3 sentences with ‘may’.
-3 sentences with ‘must.’

IV. Put in a/an or Ø(zero article)

1. I eat........bread every morning.
2. You can eat ........apple after ........lunch.
3. ........elephant is not ..........dangerous animal.
4. .........sugar is very expensive today.
5. .........trees produce wealth.
6. You can eat ........cake and drink...........milk.

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V. Write the dates in words.
1. 02/03/1985
2. 27/11/1864
3. 12/08/2003
4. 20/06/1910

VI. Ask questions for underlined words as answers.

1. That ball is Michel’s.
2. Felix’s shirt is white.
3. This toy is my baby’s.
4. His house is yellow.
5. They begin work at seven o’clock.
6. Mary arrives home at five o’ clock p.m.

VII. Complete these conversations.

A. ...................................................................?
B. Yes, I’m looking for pants.
A. ...................................................................?
B. Thirty four.
A. ........................................................................?
B. RWF five thousand.

VIII. Put in at, on, in.

1. We will end this course ............December.
2. I always get up ..............six o’clock.
3. He was born ..........25/10/1980.
4. We always have a feast .................Christmas.
5. I’ll see you ..........two weeks.
6. They married ............2003.

IX. Put in much, many, a lot of.

1. I don’t like .............sugar.
2. Have you got .............salt in your food?
3. Have you got ..................books in your library?
4. We have ...............cows in our farm.
5. They buy .................beer for the party.
6. I don’t have .......................students in my class

X. Put the verbs between brackets in correct tenses.

1. I (prepare) an English examination this week.
2. Who (sit) in my place?

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3. We generally (begin) work at 7:00.
4. I rarely (eat) meat.
5. He sometimes (drink) wine.
6. Salomon (plan) to build a new house.

XI. Write the time in words.

1. 2: 17 4. 10: 38
2. 5: 15 5. 3: 45
3. 11: 30

XII. Add five words to each list.

1. rice, beans, ...................................................................................................
2. nephew, aunt, ............................................................................................
3. chicken, mutton, ..........................................................................................

XIII. Make sentences about the future. Don’t forget to tell the time.
-3 sentences with ‘will’
-3 sentences with ‘going to’
-3 sentences with ‘present continuous’

XIV. Put in a few or a little

1. I’ve got ....................books for my son.
2. I need ................water to wash my face.
3. There is ................salt left.
4. There are ...............children in the room.

XV. Put in a/an, the, Ø

1. Yesterday I was going ............home and found .........pen on .........road. ..........pen belonged to my
colleague Mugeni.
2. Mother is preparing .............lunch in ........kitchen.
3. If you are ............babysitter, you often go into............bathroom to wash ............children.
4. ...........vegetables are good for .........health.

XVI. Change these sentences:

a) to negative form.
b) to interrogative form.
1. Kamali was in secondary school last year.
2. She had a car two years ago.
3. Manzi and his parents were here yesterday.
4. They had something to drink this morning.

XVII. Add 3 words to each list.

1. winter, ...............................................................................
2. lunch, ...............................................................................
3. sunshine, ..........................................................................

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XVIII. Which word has an underlined part pronounced differently?
1. colour, country, sunshine, colder.
2. begin, temperature, weather, never.
3. umbrella, pull-over, sunshine, tongue.
4. mouth, shoulder, about, aloud.

XIX. Underline the stressed syllable.

except, remove, revise, stomach, elbow, human, forehead, engineering, tonight,
telephone, probably, July, abroad, regret, January, September.

Lesson 35 Parts of the body

Learn the parts of the human body.

Head : forehead, hair, eye, nose, mouth, cheek, chin, teeth, neck, throat,
tongue, lip

Arm: shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, finger, nail,

Chest, stomach, belly, waist, hip

Leg, thigh, knee, calf, heel, foot, ankle, toe

Exercise

1. Write these words phonetically and read them aloud.

2. Draw the human body and show the parts above.

Lesson 36: Use of ‘the’

1. Pronunciation: read these phrases aloud.

1. the orange 5. the aeroplane 9. the aspirin

2. the information 6. he train 10. the pull-over
3. the tree 7. the object 11. the umbrella
4. the man 8. the ball 12. the bottle

1. Use

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I. Use ‘the’ when you think that the person to whom you address already knows the thing (or the
person) you are talking about.

Example: Examine these sentences.

-A book is on the table. – The book is on the table.

When you say ‘A book’ the person you speak to does not know that book. But when
You say ‘The book’, this means that he already knows that book.

II. Use ‘the’ when you talk about something for the second time or when there is only one thing
of that kind.

Examples

1. I was walking in a village and saw a very big house. The house belonged to the chief of
the village.

A village and a very big house are not yet known. (We talk about them for the first time.)
The house and the village are referred to for the second time.
The chief: We use ‘the’ because a village has one chief. We do not have a problem of
knowing which chief.

2. Umutoni is in the kitchen, while Nirere is in the bathroom.

We use the (kitchen) and the (bathroom) because, in general, there is one kitchen and one
bathroom. So we have no problem of knowing which kitchen and which bathroom.

Exercises
Put in ‘a/an, the or Ø (zero article)’.
Remember that a/an becomes Ø (zero article) in plural.

1.Every day Kagabo and his wife work in …..farm. They get up early and take
….hoe, …..machete, …..wheelbarrow, and …..spade. Kagabo cuts …….bush with
……machete, while his wife tills …..soil with ….hoe. They use …..wheelbarrow to
carry the dung that they use to fertilize …….soil.

2. When you want to receive……..guests, you must clean all your house paying special attention
to…..hall, …..sitting room and …..toilets.

3. If you are …..cook, you must work in …….kitchen all day long.

4. This garage has …….competent mechanics and ……drivers like it so much.

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 Lesson 37: The simple past tense of verbs to be and to have

To be
I was I was not (wasn’t) Was I?
You were You were not (weren’t) Were you?
He was He was not (wasn’t) was he?
We were We were not (weren’t) Were we?
You were You were not (weren’t) Were you?
They were They were not (weren’t) Were they?

To have
I had I had not (hadn’t) Had I?
You had You had not (hadn’t) Had you?
He had He had not (hadn’t) Had he?
We had We had not (hadn’t) Had we?
You had You had not (hadn’t) Had you?
They had They had not (hadn’t) Had they?

Exercises

I. Make these sentences negative

1. I was in secondary school in 2000.
2. My father had a lot of cows before the 1990 war.
3. My brother was good at languages when he was in primary school.
4. We had a good harvest last year.
5. You were happy yesterday.
6. The children had new shoes last week.

II. Make these sentences interrogative.

1. Gatesi was always happy when she was young.
2. Our country had bad leaders before the genocide.
3. We were very tired yesterday.
4. Monica had a lot of work last month.
5. They were at home last weekend.
6. You had a bicycle two years ago.

III. Say something you (or other people) had in the past. Say when. Make 5 sentences.
Examples
1. We had good teachers when we were in primary school.
2. Kayumba had a lorry four years ago.

IV. Say how or where you (or other persons) were in the past. Make 5 sentences.
Examples
1. Tereriyo was poor in 2002.
2. I was at Kigali last week.

49
 Lesson 38: Talking about the weather and the seasons

I. Read this text: A journalist is asking a weatherman about the weather today and tomorrow.
Learn new words.

“What’s actually going to happen today, then?”

“Well, today is another good day. Much the same as yesterday, with the mist and fog clearing in the
next hour or so; and then everywhere should have prolonged sunshine throughout the day.
Tomorrow morning bright and dry, but it’ll cloud over gradually during the day, and there is a threat
tomorrow evening and tomorrow night of some showers. I think it’ll be small amounts, but one or two
of the showers could be a bit heavy tomorrow night. Temperatures a bit cooler, but not much, probably
about 26-27 maximum tomorrow, with a light southerly wind.”

“Briefly Sunday and Monday?”

“Sunday, a rather cloudy day in this area I think, with a few showers, not much sunshine, much cooler,
maximum 23…But dry on Monday I think with a fair amount of sun, but again rather cool with, well,
normal temperature 22 or 23 centigrade.”

II. Read this conversation between a Rwandan ands a British talking about weather and seasons
in their countries.

Munyaneza: How are the seasons in your country, Mr Smith?

Smith: We have four seasons in Britain: The first season is autumn which begins in
September and ends in November. Then the winter begins in December and ends
in February. The spring begins in March and ends in May. Finally, we have the
summer from June to August.
Munyaneza: And how is the weather in those seasons?
Smith: The weather changes a lot from one season to another. In autumn, it becomes
colder, the leaves change colour or fall off the trees. And in the winter, it is
extremely cold. We sometimes have -10 degrees centigrade! It snows most of the
time and all the land is white with snow. Some lakes and rivers freeze.
When the spring begins, we have sunshine, the snow melts and the grasses grow.
Finally, in the summer, we have a lot of sun.
And what about Rwanda, Mr Munyaneza?
Munyaneza: We also have four seasons in Rwanda: two rainy seasons and two dry ones.
the temperature does not vary a lot from one season to another. For example,
we never have snow.

50
 Lesson 39: The past tense of ‘can, may, must’

1. can

The past tense of can is could.

Examples
1. I could run twenty kilometers in two hours when I was younger.
2. I could not drive when I was 15.
3. Could you speak English when you were in primary school?

Exercises
I. Say a number of things that you (or other persons could do in the past. Make 4 sentences.
II. Say a number of things that you (or other people) could not do in the past. Make 4 sentences.
III. Ask other students if they could do certain things in the past. Make 4 sentences.

2.May

May does not have the past tense. We use was/were allowed to + infinitive.

Examples
1. I may visit my grandmother once a month.
In the past tense: I was allowed to visit my grandmother once a month.

2. The children may got to school in their father’s car.

In the past tense: The children were allowed to go to school in their father’s car.

3. Must

Must does not have the past tense. We use had to-infinitive. (must = have to-infinitive)
Examples
1. You must have a visa to travel in a foreign country.
In the past: You had to have a visa to travel in a foreign country.

Exercises
Put these sentences in the past.

1. Festus can drive very well.

2. Leaders must listen to their people.
3. People may smoke in this room.
4. Can you see the man standing at the gate?
5. You mustn’t wear uniform at this school.
6. We may live anywhere we want in our country.
7. Primary school children can draw very well.
8. Mukaneza may leave the house without her father’s permission.
9. Students must always be on time.

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 Lesson 40: Adverbs

I. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.

Examples

1. Advrbs modifying verbs.

-Karekezi runs quickly.
-Jackson speaks English very well.
-Mutesi has answered correctly.

2. Adverbs modifying adjectives

-Those plates are very fragile.
-Honeybone was incredibly beautiful.
-After waiting for an hour, Butera became extremely annoyed.

3. Adverbs modifying other adverbs

-Kagenza was smiling rather sadly.
-The train was going very slowly.
-The car was running extremely fast.

II. Formation of adverbs

Many adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding –ly.

Examples
slow - slowly clever - cleverly bad - badly
quick - quickly careful - carefully loud - loudly

Note that there are words that can be used as adjectives or adverbs without adding –ly.

Examples
1. The train was fast. (Adjective) - The train was running very fast. (Adverb)
2. Mugabo is a hard worker. (Adjective) - Mugabo works hard. (Adverb)

Other examples are: better, best, early, high, last, late, monthly.

Exercises
I. Rewrite these sentences using adverbs.
1. He is a bad driver. He drives...…………………

52
2. She is glad to help. She helps ……………………
3. The train will be early. It will arrive……………………
4. I get a monthly bill. I pay……………………
5. He is a quick thinker. He thinks ……………………….
6. I am a better player than you. I play ………………………….
7. My name is last. I come ………………………….
8. She gives a rude reply. She replies ……………………..

II. Make sentences with adverbs:

a) Modifying adjectives (4 sentences)
b) Modifying verbs (4 sentences)
c) Modifying other adverbs (4 sentences)

Lesson 41: The Simple past tense of regular verbs

a) Form

Affirmative form Negative form Interrogative form

I played I did not (didn’t) play Did I play?
You played You did not (didn’t) play Did you play?
He played He did not (didn’t) play Did he play?
We played We did not (didn’t) play Did we play?
You played You did not (didn’t) play Did you play?
They played They did not (didn’t) play Did they play?
Exercises

I. Make these sentences negative

1. I cooked lunch myself yesterday.
2. The children arrived home late yesterday.
3. Rayon Sport played well last weekend.
4. Mihigo cultivated beans on two hectares last season.
5. We watched TV for three hours last night.

II. Make these sentences interrogative

1. Serge visited his girl friend last weekend.
2. You planned your activities very well last term.
3. The government increased taxes last year.
4. I reported the accident to the police three days ago.
5. She answered all the questions correctly.

III. Ask questions for underlined words as answers

1. Joseph worked in the garden yesterday.
2. They visited the National Park last month.
3. A lorry destroyed the bridge because it was too heavy.

53
4. Sonia embellished her sitting room by papering it.
5. Sibomana prepared the report of the committee.
6. Frank invited his classmates to his birthday party.
7. The guests arrived at the hotel at 3:30.
8. The storm destroyed Karangwa’s house last night.
9. He walked to school five times a week last month.
10. The children played handball the day before yesterday.

Pronunciation of the past tense of regular verbs.

Regular verbs always end in –ed but there are three different pronunciations.

1. For verbs ending in -d is pronounced

Examples 1.packed 3.watched 5.laughed
2. passed 4.washed 6.dropped

2. For verbs ending in and , we pronounce

Examples: 1. added 2. shouted

3. For other verbs, we pronounce

Examples: opened stayed encouraged
Arrived allowed traveled

Exercises

I. a) Write the past tense forms of these verbs.

Remember that you double the final consonant when you have a single consonant followed by
a single vowel in a one-syllable verb.

b) Show whether you pronounce the part in –d as /d, it, id/

1 .We ………..an hour yesterday. (wait)

2. Joan ………..her room on Friday. (clean)
3. I ………………the guitar last night (play)
4. She …………the letters yesterday (post)
5. Jasper ………….at Judy three times (smile)
6. She…………….when she saw me (stop)
7. I ………….of you last night (dream)
8. Who …………..the cakes. (burn)
9. He …………like a baby (cry)
10. The patient ……………terribly (cough)
11. The soldiers ……………the commander’s order (obey)
12. We …………..into the house (hurry)
13. You ………….to me (lie)
14. We ……………early yesterday (finish)

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15. They ………………it in the bill. (include)
16. I ……………..the door before I left (lock)

Lesson 42: Talking about travelling and booking

Read these dialogues and learn new words. Practice them with a partner.

1. Traveller: What time is the next bus to Kigali, please?

Clerk: It leaves at 9:30.
Traveller: I’d like two singles, please.
Clerk: That’s RWF 1,200.
Traveller: Thank you.
Clerk: Thank you.

2. Receptionist: Can I help you?

Traveller Yes, I’d like a room, please.
Receptionist: Single or double.
Traveller: Single, please.
Receptionist: How many nights?
Traveller: Two nights, please.
Receptionist: With bath or with shower?
Traveller: With shower, please. How much is the room?
Receptionist: RWF 10,000 including breakfast.
Traveller: Here you are.
Receptionist: Thank you. Could you register, please?
Traveller: Pardon?
Receptionost: Could you fill in the form, please?
Traveller: Oh, yes.
Receptionist: Your room number is 18. Have a good stay.
Traveller: Thank you.

3. Read this letter and learn the different parts of a letter.

Byumba Sector
Gicumbi District
P.O.Box 25 Byumba

20 June 2007

Dear Mr Anderson.

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 I am coming to Nairobi with Kenya Airways on Wednesday 24 June 2007.
Can you meet me at Nairobi Airport?

I am sorry that I have not got a photograph. But here is a description. I am

28, tall, with dark short hair and a small beard. I will be wearing a light blue
shirt and a grey suit.

I look forward to seeing you.

Yours sincerely,

Alan Manzi

Exercise
You are going on a holiday or a business trip. Write a letter to a person you don’t know asking him/her
to meet you at the station or airport and giving a description of yourself.

Lesson 43 The Past tense of irregular verbs

To facilitate the study of irregular verbs, we are going to put them in small groups.
Read them over and over again. Learn the past participle at the same time because it will help you
when you study the present and the past perfect as well as the passive.

Infinitive Past tense Past participle Meaning

Group 1

To beat beat beaten battre

To become became become devenir
To begin began begun commencer
To bite bit bit mordre
To blow blew blown soufler
To break broke broken casser
To buy bought bought acheter
To catch caught caught attraper
To choose chose chosen choisir
To come came come venire
To cost cost cost coûter
Group 2
To do did done faire

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To draw drew drawn dessiner
To drink drank drunk boire
To drive drove driven conduire
To eat ate eaten manger
To fall fell fallen tomber
To fight fought fought batter
To forget forgot forgotten oublier
To freeze froze frozen geler
To fly flew flown voler

Group 3
To get got got obtenir
To give gave give donner
To go went gone aller
To grow grew grown croître
To hurt hurt hurt blesser
To know knew known savoir
To lay laid laid deposer
To lead led led diriger
To leave left left quitter
To lie lay lain être couché
To pay paid paid paid

Group 4
To ride rode ridden aller à cheval/vélo
To rise rose risen se lever
To ring rang rung sonner
To put put put mettre
To run ran run courir
To say said said dire
To see saw seen voir
To shake shook shaken secouer
To show showed shown montrer
To sit sat sat s’asseoir
To speak spoke spoken parler

Group 5
To steal stole stolen voler
To swear swore sworn jurer
To swim swam swum nager
To take took taken prendre
To teach taught taught enseigner
Tot ear tore torn déchirer
To throw threw thrown jeter

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To wear wore worn s’habiller
To write wrote written écrire

Please, find a complete list of irregular verbs on page……….

Exercises
I. Put these sentences in negative form
1. The teacher became angry at seeing some students late.
2. The police caught the criminal and put him in prison.
3. Semana drank a lot of beer yesterday.
4. Two children fell off a mango tree this morning.
5. Mugisha drove his car fast yesterday.
6. The plane took off at 5:00.
7. Gahigi wrote a letter to his girl friend last week.
8. You wore those trousers for the first time three days ago.

II. Change these sentences to interrogative form

1. Mukamana beat her daughter this morning.
2. He began a new job two weeks ago.
3. Sayinzoga flew the helicopter for the first time in 2001.
4. Rukundo tore his book yesterday.
5. You forgot your appointment with the doctor last week
6. A dog bit a thief last night.
7. The wind blew for hours last night.
8. Kamanzi led the football team last year.

III. Ask questions to have underlined words as answers.

1. A television set of that kind cost RWF 120,000 two years ago.
2. We ate chips and fish last night.
3. Karenzi drank two bottles of beer yesterday.
4. Caroline’s father built that house in 1998.
5. They chose Muhire’s group to represent their zone.
6. Mother paid the hairdresser RWF 6,000.
7. The driver said that he had left the car keys at home.
8. Sadam fought his enemies with chemical weapons.

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 Lesson 44: Expressing requests, permission, offers and
invitations

I. Asking people to do things (requests)

We often use can, could or would when we ask somebody to do something.

Examples
1. Can you wait a moment, please?
2. Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get to the bus station?
3. I wonder if you could show me the way to the post office.
4. Can you open the door, please?
5. Would you wait here, please?
6. I am short of money. Would you lend me RWF 1,000?

II. To ask for something you can say:

Can I…?
Could I…?
May I…?

Examples
1. (In a gift shop) Can I have these postcards, please?
2. (At the dinner table) Could I have the salt, please?
3. (In an office) May I have the forms for the job application, please?

III. Asking for and giving permission

We use can, could, may or the expression do you mind if… to ask permission to do something:

Examples
1. ‘Can I speak to Grace, please?’ ‘Yes, you can.’
2. ‘Could I use your pen?’ ‘Yes, please, do’ (you cannot use could to give permission)
3. ‘Could I borrow your bicycle?’ ‘No, I’m afraid you can’t.’
4. ‘May I come in?’ ‘Yes, of course.’
5. ‘Can I use your dictionary?’ ‘I’m sorry. I’m using it myself.’
6. ‘Could I smoke?’ ‘Yes, you can smoke if you like.’
7. ‘Do you mind if I sit here?’ ‘Not at all.’
8. ‘Do you mind if I open the window?’ ‘Well, it’s a bit cold.’
9. ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’ ‘No, please do.’
10. ‘Do you mind if I look at your paper?’ ‘No, go ahead.’

IV. Offering to do something / Accepting the offer or rejecting it.

We use can, may or shall to offer to do something for somebody.

Examples

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1. ‘Can I get you a cup of coffee?’ ‘That’s very kind of you.’
2. ‘Can I help you?’ (In a shop) ‘No, thanks. I’m just looking.’
3. ‘May I clean your room?’ ‘It’s very kind of you.’
4. ‘Shall I carry your bag?’ ‘If you really don’t mind?’
5. ‘Shall iron your shirt?’ ‘No, I’d rather you didn’t.’
6. ‘May I open the door for you?’ ‘Yes, please, do.’

V. Offering and inviting / Accepting or rejecting offers and invitations

To express offers and invitations, we use would you like…?

Examples
1. ‘Would you like something to drink? ‘Yes, a cup of tea.’
2. ‘Would you like to go to the cinema tonight?’ ‘I’d love to.’
3. ‘Would you like to play basketball this evening?’ ‘I’m sorry. I’m not free this evening.’
4. ‘Would you like to have lunch with us?’ ‘I’ve just eaten.’

Exercises

I. Write what you would say in these situations.

1. You want to borrow your friend’s camera.
2. You have a car and you want to give somebody a lift.
3. You have to go to the airport but you don’t know how to get there.
4. You want to leave work early because you have some important thing to do.
5. You want to invite somebody to come and stay with you for the weekend.
6. You want your neighbour to turn the music down.

II. Decide how to say what you want.

1. You want your friend to show you how to change the film in your camera.
2. You are having a party next Saturday. Invite your friend.
3. You are sitting on a crowded bus. There is an old lady standing. Offer her your seat.
4. You are in the post office. You want an airmail stamp. What do you say?
5. You need a match to light your cigarette. You don’t have any but the man next to you has some.
What do you say?
6. You have to carry some heavy boxes upstairs. Ask someone to help you.

III. Complete these conversations.

1. ‘Would you sit down?’ ‘……………………………………………..’
2. ‘May I borrow your jacket?’ ‘……………………………………….’
3. ‘Shall I give you a lift to the hospital?’ ‘…………………………………………’
4. ‘Do you mind if I smoke?’ ‘………………………………………………..’
5. ‘Can I have a bottle of Primus?’ ‘………………………………………………’
6. ‘………………………………………..’ ‘I’d rather stay at home this evening.’
7. ‘……………………………………….’ ‘It’s very kind of you.’
8. ‘………………………………………..’ ‘Not at all.’
9. ‘………………………………………..’ ‘I’m afraid I don’t know.’
10. ‘………………………………………..’ ‘Here you are.’

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 Lesson 45: Comparative adjectives and adverbs

I. Study these cases:

1. - Umulisa got 68% in the last examination.

- Gatare got 65% in the same examination.
Compare these students using the adjective intelligent.
→ Umulisa is more intelligent than Gatare.

2. - Mike is 1.82 metres

- Geofrey is 1.69 metres.
Compare these people using the adjective tall.
→ Mike is taller than Geofrey.

3. - A hare runs 70 km an hour.

- A hyena runs 50 km an hour.
Compare these animals using the adverb fast.
→ A hare runs faster than a hyena.

4. - Ruth types three pages an hour.

- Anna types two pages an hour.
Compare these typists using the adverb quickly.
→ Ruth types more quickly than Anna.

II. Formation of comparative adjectives and adverbs

1. For short (one syllable) adjectives and adverbs, we add –er to form the comparative.
Examples: short - shorter cold - colder
Fast - faster cheap - cheaper
Quick - quicker tall - taller
Strong - stronger long - longer

2. For long adjectives (more than one syllable), we use more to form the comparative.
Examples: intelligent - more intelligent slowly - more slowly
quickly - more quickly expensive - more expensive
beautiful - more beautiful serious - more serious
interesting - more interesting carefully - more carefully

3. Adjectives ending in –y form the comparative adding –er.

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 Examples happy - happier hungry - hungrier
easy - easier heavy - heavier

4. Irregular comparatives
Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative forms.
Good - better bad - worse far - farther
Well - better badly - worse

5. Remember the spelling rule: when you have a single vowel followed by a single consonant
(one syllable word), you double the final consonant before adding –er
Examples: hot - hotter fast - faster
thin - thinner slim - slimmer

III. Use of comparatives

We use comparative adjectives or adverbs when we compare two things (or two people).
In (I) above, we compare Umulisa and Gatere; Mike and Geofrey; a hare and a hyena; Ruth and Anna.

Exercises

I. Put adjectives and adverbs in parentheses in correct forms of comparative.

1. This jacket is (small) than Janet’s.
2. This armchair is (comfortable) than that one.
3. Today the weather is (warm) than yesterday.
4. Your house is (big) than mine.
5. Mathew lives (far) than Sosten.
6. You look (happy) now than this morning.

II. Join each pair of sentences using words in parentheses in appropriate forms of comparative.
Make necessary changes.
1. Agatha jumped 1.20 metres. Violet jumped 1.25 metres. (high)
2. Joseph scored two goals. Oliver scored 1 goal. (play / well)
3. A cow weighs 250 kg. A pig weighs 150 kg. (heavy)
4. Malaria kills 200 persons a year. AIDS kills 300 persons a year. (to be bad)
5. Serge works 10 hours a day. Luke works 9 hours a day. (hard)
6. A night in a hotel is RWF 15,000. In a guest house, it is RWF 6,000. (expensive)

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 Lesson 46: Talking about diseases

Learn how to talk about diseases and other situations related to health.

1. I’ve got a headache.

2. I’ve got toothache.
3. She’s got backache.
4. I’ve got a sore throat.
5. He’s got stomachache.
6. I have a pain in my eye.
7. I feel a pain in my knee.
8. I have a pain in my stomach.
9. My ears ache.
10. My head aches.
11. My leg hurts.
12. He is suffering from malaria.
13. She is suffering from pneumonia.
14. I have an appointment with a physician.
15. You should have a medical check-up.
16. You must take medicine (tablets/pills, capsules, injection…)
17. I’ve broken my arm.
18. He’s got a temperature (a fever (American English))
19. I’ve been coughing and sneezing all day.
20. He began feeling ill Friday afternoon and was diagnosed as suffering from a minor
heart attack.
21. Here is a prescription.
22. Here is medicine. Take one spoon morning and evening.
23. You’ll find it at the chemist’s.

Learn also these words:

operation, patient, doctor/physician, a thermometer, roundworm, diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera,

tuberculosis, hepatitis, gout, blood pressure, cancer, cough, to cough, to vomit, to sneeze,
to be on a diet/to go on a diet, to limp, crutch, bandage, ointment, an arm in a sling, a leg in plaster

Read this conversation between a doctor and a patient and practice it with a partner.

Doctor: Good morning. What’s the problem?

Patient: I have a pain in my throat.
Doctor: I see does it hurt very badly?
Patient: Yes.
Doctor: When did you begin to feel that?
Patient: Last night.
Doctor: Yes, right. I’m going to examine you then.
Open your mouth wide. Again. Mmm…Mmmm.
Patient: Is it too bad?

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Doctor: No, it doesn’t look too bad. Here’s a prescription for some medicine.
Come and see me if you’re not better the day after tomorrow.
Patient: Thank you, Doctor.
Doctor: You’re welcome.
Patient: Goodbye.
Doctor: Goodbye.

Lesson 47: Reflexive pronouns

Personal pronouns Personal Pronouns Reflexive / emphatic

Subject Object Pronouns

I me myself
you you yourself
he him himself
she her herself
it it itself
one one oneself
we us ourselves
you you yourselves
they them themselves

Use of reflexive pronouns

We use reflexive pronouns when someone/something does an action and he/it is affected by that
action.

Examples:
1. Simon washes himself.
2. I cut myself.
3. You serve yourself first.
4. A dog is licking itself.
5. We look at ourselves in a mirror.
6. The children hurt themselves while playing.

Emphatic use of reflexive pronouns

We can also use myself, yourself… to emphasize. It means that someone does an action without
asking someone else to do it for him.

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Examples
1. ‘Who repaired your bicycle?’ ‘I repaired it myself.’
2. ‘Who typed John’s letter?’ ‘He typed it himself.’
3. ‘Who hurt that dog’ ‘It hurt itself.’
4. ‘Who ironed Barbara’s clothes?’ ‘She ironed them herself.’

Exercises

I. Complete these sentences with the correct reflexive pronouns.

1. I enjoyed ………………very much at the party.
2. I see you’ve cut……………..again. Won’t you ever learn how to shave?
3. ‘How did Tom dry……………..?’ ‘He used your towel.’
4. She has no reason to blame ………………for what has happened.
5. Our new neighbour knocked at our door and introduced ………………..

II. Complete these answers using myself, yourself …and other necessary words.
1. ‘Who cut your hair for you?’ ‘Nobody. I cut ………………….’
2. ‘Who told you Linda was getting married?’ ‘Linda………………….’
3. ‘Do you want me to mail that letter for you?’ ‘No, I’ll……………………………………………..’
4. ‘Can you clean the windows for me?’ ‘Why don’t you……………………………………………..’
5. ‘Do you always wash your parents’ clothes?’ ‘No, they sometimes ………………………………..’

III. Complete these sentences with verbs below. This time use reflexive pronouns only where
necessary.
Dry, concentrate, feel, enjoy, relax, wash, shave, meet,
Example
James is growing a beard because he doesn’t like ………………………

1. I really…………………………well today – much better than yesterday.

2. She climbed out the pool, picked up a towel, and……………………………………
3. I tried to study but I just couldn’t …………………………………….
4. Jack and I first …………………………….at a party five years ago.
5. You’re always rushing around. Why don’t you ………………………….more?
6. It was a great vacation. We really ……………………………….. very much.
7. I overslept this morning. I didn’t have time to…………………………….or have breakfast.

Lesson 48: Superlative adjectives and adverbs

I. Formation of superlative adjectives and adverbs.

1. For adjectives and adverbs of one syllable, we add -est to form the superlative.

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 Examples
young - youngest long - longest
old - oldest slow - slowest
big - biggest fast - fastest

2. For long adjectives and adverbs, we use most to form the superlative.

Examples
exciting - most exciting
interesting - most interesting
dangerous - most dangerous
boring - most boring

3. For adjectives ending in -y, we add -est to form the superlative.

Examples
happy - happiest
dry - driest
busy - busiest

4. Irregular superlatives
good - best
well - best
bad - worse
badly - worse
far - farthest

II. Use of superlative adjectives and adverbs

When we compare one person (or one thing) with a group, we use the superlative.

Examples
1. There are three children in my family:
- Kagabo: 9 years old
- Furaha: 6 years old
- Mutesi: 11 years old.
→ Mutesi is the oldest child in my family.

2. These students got the following marks:

- Serge: 81%
- Veronica: 63%
- Dan: 79%
- Steve: 82%
→ Steve is the most intelligent student.

Exercises

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I. Complete the sentences with a superlative and a preposition (in or of)
Example
It’s a very nice room. …………………………………………………….
1. It’s a very cheap restaurant. …………………………………………………….
2. It was a very happy day. ……………………………………………………….
3. She’s a very intelligent student. ……………………………………………….
4. It’s a very valuable painting. ………………………………………………….
In the following sentences use one of the + superlative.
Example
It’s a very nice room. It’s one of the nicest room in the hotel.

5. He’s a very nice man. …………………………………………………………..

6. It’s a very old house. …………………………………………………………..
7. It was a very bad experience. ………………………………………………….
8. He’s a very dangerous criminal. ………………………………………………

II. Here are some questions to answer. But first write the questions using the words in parentheses,
then answer them.
1. (What / large / city/ your country?) ……………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. (Who / famous /singer / your country) ……………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. (What / popular / sport / your school?) …………………………………………..........
………………………………………………………………………………………..
4. (What / expensive / thing / have you ever bought?)………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. (What / happy / day / your life?) …………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. (What / stupid / thing / have you ever done?) ………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. (Who / clever / person / do you know? ) ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. (What / exciting / place /do you know?)………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………

III. Put the bracketed adverbs and adjectives into the comparative or superlative forms
according to contexts. Add the where necessary
1. This is one of (beautiful) cities in the world.
2. Gasana plays quite well, but Sibomana is (good) player in the team.
3. Who is (young) of you’re the seven children?
4. Which town has (high) building of all?
5. He is (interesting) person I have ever met.
6. Which is (big) tribe in DRC?
7. Rwanda is one of Africa’s (small) countries.
8. I shall buy the car that goes (fast).

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9. This car can go (fast) than all the others.
10. It was (exciting) match of the term.
11. It was (exciting) than any match I have ever seen.
12. Which of all these people is (important)?
13. The world’s three (long) rivers are the Nile, the Amazon and the Mississippi.
14. He is (skilful) politician in the country.

Lesson 49: The Simple past tense and the past continuous tense

I. Form of past continuous.

Simple past of be + verb in –ing form

I was reading I was not (wasn’t) reading Was I reading?

You were reading You were not (weren’t) reading Were you reading?
He was reading He was not (wasn’t) reading Was he reading?
We were reading We were not (weren’t) reading Were we reading?
You were reading You were not (weren’t) Were you reading?
They were reading They were not (weren’t) reading Were they reading?

II. Use of simple past

We use the simple past to talk about actions which happened in the past and are now finished.
When we use the simple past tense, we always say (or imply) when the action happened.
This is why we often use the time expressions like:
yesterday, the day before yesterday, a combination of ago: two days / three weeks /ten years…
ago, a combination of last: last week / month / year, with dates: on 20 May 2004, with years: in
1998, when I was younger, etc.

Examples
1. Munyaneza went to Gisenyi last week.
2. I finished my homework at midnight.
3. Agnes last saw her aunt two years ago.
4. The guests arrived at their hotel yesterday.
5. When did they phone you?
6. Zaninka told me about her engagement last week.

III. Use of past continuous tense.

We use the past continuous tense to describe an action which was in progress at a certain time in the
past.

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Examples
1. At 11:00 Mother was cooking lunch.
2. What were you doing at 20:00?

IV. The past continuous tense and the simple past tense used together.
We often use the past continuous tense and the simple past tense together to show that something
happened in the middle of something else.
We use them with while or when.
Examples
1. Solange burned her hand while she was cooking dinner.
2. I arrived at home while they were eating.
3. The burglar broke into the house while everyone was sleeping.
4. It was raining when I woke up.
5. I was looking at my girl friend’s photograph when she called me.
6. I was reading a novel when the baby began to cry.

Exercises
Put the verbs into the correct form: past continuous or simple past.
1. George (fall) off the ladder while he (paint) the ceiling.
2. ( you / watch) the TV when I (call) you?
3. Ann (wait) for me when I (arrive).
4. He (not / drive) very fast when the accident (happen).
5. I (break) a plate last night. I (wash) the dishes when it (slip) out of my hand.
6. Ben (take) a picture of me while I (not / look).
7. We (not / go out) because it (rain).
8. What (you / do) at this time yesterday?
9. I (see) Carole at the party. She (wear) a new dress.
10. I ( take) a shower when the phone (ring).

Lesson 50: Prepositions of movement and position

1. We use to/from and into/out of to show direction with movement.
- to/from: - She has gone to Nyagatare.
- She has just come from Nyagatare.

- into/out: - A cat ran into the house.

- A cat came out of the house.

2. We use at, in, on to show position: at a point, in an area, on a surface.

- I met her at the bus stop.
- I found her in the bar.
- Your keys are on the table.

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3. We use at mainly with:
- public places/buildings: at the airport, at the bus stop, at the butcher’s, at the bank…
Note some nouns with zero article: at home, at church, at college, at school, at university.

4. We use in mainly with:

- large areas: in Africa, in Europe, in America…
- towns: in Kigali, in Paris, in Washington…
- outside areas: in the garden, in the park, in the desert…
- rooms: in the bathroom, in the kitchen, in the waiting room…
Note some nouns wit zero article: in bed, in church, in hospital, in prison, in chapel.
Note also that we say: in an armchair (but on a chair), in a photograph, in a picture,
in a mirror, in the sky.

Exercise
Fill in the gaps with: to, from, into, out of, at, in, on.
1. He’s gone……..the station. He’s probably …….the station now.
2. After many years overseas, he arrived back……..London three days ago.
3. When we arrived ………the theatre, there was a long line outside.
4. What time do you usually arrive……home in the evening?
5. It’s a strange feeling when you arrive …….. a foreign country for the first time.
6. He jumped ……the river and swam to the other shore.
7. There are a lot of pictures ……….the wall.
8. She was taken …….. hospital. She is ………..hospital now.
9. Pour the milk………the jug.
10. Your pen is ………the desk drawer.
11. The children went ……. school late yesterday.
12. The kids are ……….school now.
13. The mouse got ……..the hole and ran ……..the garden.
14. He was sent……….. prison. He is probably …….. prison now.
15. Don’t sit ………that armchair. It’s broken.
16. Who is that woman ………..the photograph?
17. There was no cloud ………the sky.

Lesson 51: More Reading Practice

Text C
Manufactured in the tranquil New England town of Concord, New Hampshire, the famous
Concord Coach came to symbolise the Wild West. Its rugged body and a suspension system of
leather straps could handle the hard jolts from rough roads. A journalist in 1968, describing a
railroad shipment of thirty coaches bound for Wells, Fargo and Company, wrote, “They are
splendidly decorated…the bodies red and the running parts yellow. Each door has a handsome
picture, mostly landscapes, and no two coaches are exactly alike.

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Wells, Fargo and Company was founded in 1952 to provide mail and banking services for the
gold camps of California and later won a monopoly on express services west of the Mississippi.
A Wells, Fargo and Company Concord Coach carried nine to fourteen passengers plus baggage
and mail. The accommodations were by no means plush. However, the stagecoach was the
swiftest method of travel through much of the Far West.

1. Give a title to this text.

2. Give a short oral text of the text
3. The word “tranquil” in the text is closest in meaning to:
a) peaceful c) industrial
b) bustling d) tiny
4. The phrase “bound for” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) belonged to c) built by
b) destined for d) paid for
5. The word “symbolize” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) recollect c) deny
b) fulfil d) represent
6. The word “splendidly” in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) superbly c) specifically
b) deliberately d) slightly
7. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “rugged” in the passage?
a) streamlined c) sturdy
b) roomy d) primitive
8. The word “plush” in the passage is closest in meaning to
a) normal c) memorable
b) luxurious d) unpleasant
9. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “jolts” in the passage?
a) signs c) sights
b) shocks d) shots
10. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “swiftest” in the passage?
a) most comfortable c) most direct
b) cheapest d) fastest

Text D
The Hopi people of Arizona stress the institutions of family and religion in a harmonious
existence that makes the self-sacrificing individual the ideal. The Hopi individual is trained to
feel his or her responsibility to and for the Peaceful People – the Hopi’s own term for
themselves. Fighting, bullying, or attempting to surpass others bring automatic rebuke from the
community.
Implicit in the Hopi view is an original and integrated theory of the universe. With this they
organize their society in such a way to obtain a measure of security from a harsh and hazardous
environment made of human foes, famine and plagues. They conceive of the universe – humans,
animals, plants and supernatural spirits – as an ordered system functioning under a set of rules
known to them alone. These rules govern their behaviour, emotions and thoughts in a prescribed
way.

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 1. Give a title to this text.
2. Give a short oral text of the text
3. The word “stress” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) emphasize c) describe
b) define d) persuade
4. Which of the following can replace the word “rebuke” in the passage with the least change in
meaning
a) prestige c) reaction
b) criticism d) acknowledgment
5. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “harmonious” in the passage?
a) cooperative c) philosophical
b) dangerous d) exclusive
6. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “hazardous” in the passage?
a) changing c) familiar
b) random d) dangerous
7. The word “term” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) era c) area
b) name d) law
8. The word “foes” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) fears c) enemies
b) needs d) failures
9. The word “bullying” in the passage is closest in meaning to:
a) lying c) entertaining
b) organizing d) tormenting
10. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “prescribed” in the passage:
a) set c) legal
b) disorderly d) compatible

Lesson 52: Test yourself

I. Put adjectives and adverbs between brackets in comparative or superlative forms depending on
contexts. Add than or the where necessary.
1. Rugira’s poem is (short) Zaninka’s.
2. Ships are (heavy) vehicles.
3. These shoes are (expensive) those ones.
4. Libya is (warm) Rwanda.
5. Whales are (big) animals.
6. Tony plays (well) Steve.
7. AIDS is (bad) disease in the world.
8. Kamembe is (far) town from Byumba.

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II. Order these words to make meaningful sentences.
1. throw-his-they-house-on-didn’t-stones.
2. you-me-switch-off-show-phone-to-could-how-the?
3. beautiful-continent-is-on-the-the-Rwanda-most-country.
4. dangerous-leopard-lion-as-as-a-a-isn’t.
5. worked-three-firm-for-for-a-Dorothy-years-has-Congolese.
6. building-since-she-house-been-2003-that-has.

III. Imagine the missing elements of comparison and complete the sentences.
Example:
A lorry has got more............................................
1. Nirere has got...............................................
2. A ship can carry more...............................................
3. Shakespeare wrote more...................................................
4. A man can eat more................................................
5. Mother works more..................................................

IV. Change these sentences:

a) to negative form
b) to interrogative form.
1. I drank beer yesterday.
2. She drove into the river.
3. They increased taxes.
4. You forgot to remind him.
5. The children tore their books.

V. Fill in the gaps with to, from, into, out of, at, in, on.
1. At ten o’clock, the children come............the classroom and ran ...................the playground.
2. The thief jumped ..............the water and swam ..........the other shore.
3. Vestine came back............America last year and began work...........the bank immediately.
4. I live..........Gicumbi District.
5. When I was going .........school, I found a strange bird perching ...........a tree.
6. Pour the porridge .............the jug.
7. Greg is ...........home now.
8. It suddenly began to rain and people hurried ...........their houses.
9. As it was raining, all the people were ................their houses.
10. Max lives .........Gikondo.........Kigali.

VI. Write what you would say politely in each situation.

1. You want to look at the newspaper of your fellow traveler.
2. You want to give something to drink to your guest.
3. You want to invite a friend to dinner.
4. You want someone to show you the way to hospital.
5. You want to carry someone’s bag.
6. You want to ask permission to use someone’s phone.
7. You want someone to open the door for you.

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8. You want to ask if you can open the window.

VII. Put these sentences in the past

1. I can draw very well.
2. I may go swimming three times a week.
3. He must go to church every Sunday.
4. She can’t speak Japanese.
5. Children may not go out at night.
6. You mustn’t wear uniform.
7. Can you write a letter.
8. May you drink beer.
9. Must you ask permission to visit your grandmother?

VIII. Fill in the blank spaces with reflexive pronouns

1. I cook supper............................
2. Mother washes ............................before preparing breakfast.
3. Please, look after................................
4. The dog wounded .............................running after the thief.
5. The children were looking at..............................in a mirror and smiling.

IX. Choose the correct form.

1. I (was revising/revised) my lesson when Bruce (was coming/came) to see me.
2. The rabbit (was running/ran) into the house while the children (were eating/ate).
3. We (were watching/watched) TV when the fuses (were blowing/blew).
4. Father (was digging/dug) a hole in the garden when the messenger (was arriving/arrived).
5. Theo (was drowning/drowned) while he (was swimming/swam) in the river.

X. Ask questions beginning with words in brackets.

1. She went to Butare last month. (where)
2. The bell rang at 7:00. (what time)
3. He spoke to the manager. (whom)
4. Rwamanywa taught us French last year. (who)
5. He bought three books two days ago. (how many)
6. We played football three times a week. (how often)
7. Simon lost his father’s watch. (whose)
8. They ate chips and fish. (what)

XI. Make five sentences with used to-infinitive.

XII. Make adverbs from these adjectives and use them in sentences.
1. easy
2. sincere
3. fast

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4. early

XIII. Which word is stressed differently?

1. heavy, equal, sorrow, begin.
2. expensive, bicycle, potato, unkindness.
3. forget, freedom, arrive, describe.
4. homework, yesterday, restaurant, expensive.

XIV. Underline the stressed syllables.

exciting, dangerous, interesting, around, concentrate, emphasize, hepatitis, diarrhoea,
physician, appointment, tonight, basketball, invitation, compare, hairdresser.

Lesson 53 The past habitual tense

Form: used to + infinitive.

I used to smoke I did not (didn’t) use to smoke Did I use to smoke?
You used to smoke You did not (didn’t) use to smoke Did you use to smoke?
He used to smoke He did not (didn’t) use to smoke Did he use to smoke?
We used to smoke We did not (didn’t use) to smoke Did we use to smoke?
You used to smoke You did not (didn’t) use to smoke Did you use to smoke?
They used to smoke They did not (didn’t) use to smoke Did they use to smoke?

Use of the past habitual tense

We use this tense to describe an activity that you did regularly in the past but today you
no longer do it.

Examples
1. Dennis gave up smoking two years ago. He no longer smokes. But he used to smoke.
He used to smoke forty cigarettes a day.
2. I used to play tennis a lot but now I am too lazy.
3. We used to live in a small village but now we live in Kigali.
4. Martha used to have long hair, but she cut it some time ago.
5. Did you use to eat a lot of candy when you were a child?
6. Gasore didn’t use to drink much beer until he met Minani.

Note that used to does not have the present tense.

Exercises

I. Complete each sentence with used to…

1. The baby doesn’t cry so much now, but she ……….every night.

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2. She …………………..my best friend, but we aren’t friends any more.
3. Now there is only one pub in the village, but there ……………………………three.
4. When I was a child, I ………………………..biscuits but I don’t like them now.
5. Now Tom has a car. He ……………………………a motorbike.

II. Write sentences about the present.

Example
Salim used to study hard, but now……………………………………………………

1. Charles used to dance a lot, but now…………………………………………………..

2. Margaret never used to drink coffee, but now ……………………………………….
3. Jonas didn’t use to be fat, but now…………………………………………………….
4. Jackie didn’t use to go out much, but now……………………………………………..

III. Mr Rurinda is an old man now. Ask someone what he used to when he was younger.
Example
I know he doesn’t smoke, but ………………………………………………….
1. I know he doesn’t play the piano now, but……………………………………………………
2. I know he is very rich now, but………………………………………………………………
3. I know he doesn’t go out very often these days, but………………………………………………
4. I know he doesn’t dance these days, but ………………………………………………………….
5. I know he doesn’t have many friends now, but……………………………………………………

Lesson 54: Comparative and superlative without adjectives nor

adverbs

Study these cases.

I. - A bicycle has got two wheels.

- A car has got four wheels.
- A truck has got ten wheels.

→ Remember that when you compare two things, you use the comparative:
- A car has got more wheels than a bicycle.
- A bicycle has got fewer wheels than a car.

→ When we compare one thing with a group, we use the superlative.

- A truck has got the most wheels.
- A bicycle has got the fewest wheels.

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II - Patrick drinks 2 litres of water every day.
- Valens drinks 1 litre of water every day.
- Daniel drinks 1.5 litres of water every day.

→ Daniel drinks more water than Valens.

→ Valens drinks less water than Daniel.
→ Patrick drinks the most water.
→ Valens drinks the least water.

Remember: We use: (a) little with uncountable nouns

(a) few with countable nouns

Comparative Superlative:
- (a) little less (the) least
- (a) few fewer (the) fewest
- much more (the) most
- many more (the) most
- a lot of more (the) most

Other examples

1. There are four cattle breeders in the village:

- Mutabazi owns 3 cows.
- Karemera owns 8 cows.
- Gahima owns 21 cows.
- Murekezi owns 16 cows.
→ Karemera owns more cows than Mutabazi.
→ Mutabazi owns fewer cows than Karemera.
→ Gahima owns the most cows.
→ Mutabazi owns the fewest cows.

2. Four employees earn money as follows:

- Uwimana: RWF 500
- Murenzi: RWF 800
- Baziki: RWF 600
- Sakindi: RWF 1,000
→ Uwimana earns less money than Murenzi.
→ Murenzi earns more money than Baziki.
→ Uwimana earns the least money.
→ Sakindi earns the most money.

Exercises
Complete these sentences with comparatives or superlatives with nouns. Add ‘than’ or ‘the’ where
necessary.

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I. Karangwa works 8 hours. Maniriho works 7 hours. Muteteri works 10 hours.
1. Maniriho works…………………………………Karangwa.
2. Maniriho works…………………………………Muteteri.
3. Karangwa works …………………………….
4. Muteteri works……………………………….

II. Agatha has sold 260 kg of meat. Madaleine has sold 235 kg of meat.
Gapira has sold 270 kg of meat. Simon has sold 220 kg of meat.
1 .Madaleine has sold………………………………..Agatha
2. Agatha has sold…………………………………….Simon.
3. Simon has sold……………………………….
4. Gapira has sold………………………………

III. Peruth reads 3 books a month. Dorothy reads 4. Joseph reads 2.

1. Dorothy reads……………………….Joseph.
2. Peruth reads ………………………..Dorothy.
3. Joseph reads……………………………
4. Dorothy reads………………………….

Lesson 55: The Present perfect tense

I. Form: Simple present of have + past participle.

The past participle of a regular verb is the same as the past tense.
See irregular verbs on Appendix 1 on page……

I have finished I have not (haven’t) finished Have I finished?

You have finished You have not (haven’t) finished Have you finished?
He has finished He has not (hasn’t) finished Has he finished?
We have finished We have not (haven’t) finished Have we finished?
You have finished You have not (haven’t) finished Have you finished?
They have finished They have not (haven’t) finished Have they finished?

Exercises
Change the following to the present perfect.
1. Mary bears her sorrows like a saint.
2. Now I begin to understand everything.
3. That dog bites all the children.
4. It bleeds quite often.
5. The wind blows out the lamp.
6. The headmaster chooses somebody to represent the school.
7. The house costs more than they expected.

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8. The workmen dig holes in the road.
9. Janet draws it all from memory.
10. Mr Mbabazi drinks too much.
11. He doesn’t drive to school.
12. We don’t eat potatoes instead of cassava.
13. We don’t fight for our rights.
14. I don’t forget your name.
15. Joyce doesn’t grind the peanuts for the soup.
16. They don’t hide their money under the floor.
17. The priest doesn’t kneel down to pray.
18. These hens don’t lay plenty of eggs.
19. You don’t lie on my bed quite often.
20. We don’t light a fire to keep ourselves warm.
21. Does John’s unkindness to her mother hurt her deeply?
22. Does your brother mend your shoes?
23. Do the nations rise to the call of freedom?
24. Does the messenger run all the way?
25. Do they break the furniture for firewood?
26. Do you shake the mats instead of sweeping them?
27. Do girls show great intelligence?
28. Do you spill your soup quite often?
29. Does the news spread quite often?
30. Does the child wet the bed?

Lesson 56: Modification of comparatives / Comparison of

equality and inferiority

I. We can modify comparatives using much / far, a bit / a little.

Examples

1. Sandra is 1.85. Her mother is 1.50.

→ Sandra is much taller than her mother.

2. A motorbike costs RWF 1,000,000. A bicycle costs RWF 40,000.

→ A motorbike costs far more than a bicycle.

3. This box weighs 5 kg. That one weighs 4.8 kg.

→ This box is a bit heavier than that one.

4. Gabriel’s poem is 34 verses. Theresa’s is 35.

→ Gabriel’s poem is a little shorter than Theresa’s.

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Exercise

Make 8 sentences in which you have comparatives modified by much/far, a bit/a little.

II. Comparison of inferiority

Look at the prices of some fruits in the supermarket.

- Oranges: RWF 400
- Pineapples: RWF 380.
- Bananas: RWF 320
Compare them (comparison of inferiority) using the adjective expensive.
→ Pineapples are less expensive than oranges.
→ Bananas are the least expensive.

Exercise
Make your own sentences with the comparison of inferiority.
-5 sentences with less
-5 sentences with least

III. comparison of equality.

When we compare two things that are equal or similar, we use as……..as. We can also say that two
things are no equal using not as………..as.

Examples

1. Camille is as intelligent as his father.

2. A boy isn’t as wise as an old man.
3. A hare is as fast as a gazelle.
4. A hippopotamus isn’t as big as an elephant.

Exercises

Make your own sentences.

- 5 sentences with as……….as.
- 5 sentences with not as………..as.

Lesson 57: Use of the present perfect tense

I. We use the present perfect tense to give new information or to announce a recent happening.
(We don’t generally say when something happened).

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 Example
1. I have lost my keys.
2. The President of the Republic has left the country for a four day visit to China.
3. The guests have arrived.

II. We use it with just, already, yet, ever, never

Example
1. Diana has just gone. (just = a short time ago)
2. Paul has already arrived (already = before expected)
3. I haven’t told my parents yet (yet = until now. It is usually placed at the end of the sentence.)
4. Have you started your new job yet?
5. Have you ever seen a lion?
6. I have never eaten mushrooms.

III. This tense is also used to describe an action that began in the past and continues now.
In this case, we use it with since, for, how long?
Examples
1. My family has lived in Byumba since 1980.
2. I have worked in this school for five years.
3. I have had this coat for 2 years.
4. How long have you known each other?

IV. have been to and have gone to

Pamela has gone to Rwamagana. ( This means that she is still there or maybe on here way there.)
Japhet has been to Kibuye. (this means that he was there but now he has come back.)

Exercises

I. Make your own sentences using the present perfect tense.

- To give new information or to announce a recent event. (5 sentences)
- To describe an action that began in the past and continues now. (5 sentences)

II. Choose the right tense (present perfect or simple past). Explain your choice.
1. All the cultivators (have planted / planted) beans.
2. I (have bought / bought) new shoes.
3. When we were on holiday, the weather (has been / was) terrible.
4. I (have written / wrote) to my cousin two weeks ago.
5. He (has started / started) a new job in April.
6. The king (has died / died) in a car accident.
7. He (has thrown / threw) the letter into the fire.
8. The students (have revised / revised) this lessons for two hours.
9. I (have been / was) in France before.
10. The policeman (has taken / took)him to the station yesterday.

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Compare the present perfect and present simple tenses

Present simple Present perfect

1. Mugabo lives in Byumba Mugabo has lived in Byumba for three years.
2. Sebastian has a car Sebastian has had a car for 4 months.
3. Do you work here? How long have you worked here?
4. I know Monica. I have known Monica since 2005.

Exercises
Which is right?
1. Mark (is / has been) in Congo since April.
2. Jane is a good friend of mine. I (know / have known) her very well.
3. Jane is a good friend of mine. I (know / have known) her for a long time.
4. Martin (works / has worked) in a hotel now.
5. How long (do you have / have you had) those shoes?
6. (Do you learn / Have you learned) French?
7. (Do you learn / Have you learned ) French for a long time?
8. Samuel (is / has been) in Burundi at the moment. He (is / has been) there for the last three days.

Use of for and since with the present perfect.

1. Since yesterday = for 24 hours
2. For 200 years = since the 19th century.
3. Since last Monday = For………………
4. Since 1990 = For …………………………...
5. ..................................I was born = all my life.
6. Since 9 o’clock = ............................................
7. Since last April = ............................................
8. My aunt has lived in Uganda...............15 years.
9. Rwanda has been independent ....................1962.
10. Mike has been ill....................a long time. He has been in hospital......................October.

Lesson 58: More about Prepositions

Some words require specific prepositions. Read the following over and over until they are
familiar to you.

1. to accuse of They accused Salomon of murder.

2. afraid of Alice is afraid of the cat.
3. to aim at The soldier aimed the gun at the enemy and shot.
4. angry with ( also at) The teacher was angry with the latecomers.
The teacher was angry at Ben’s disturbance.
5. to arrive at Emmanuel arrived at school late.

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6. ashamed of Penny was ashamed of her daughter’s behaviour.
7. to believe in Christians believe in one God.
8. to travel / to go by boat, by plane, by bus... He travelled by bus yesterday.
9. to complain about (also to) Annette complained about the weather.
I’m going to complain to the manager about this.
10. composed of Our class is composed of forty students.
11. confidence in I have no confidence in you.
12. To congratulate on He congratulated her daughter on her success.
13. to consist of A year consists of twelve months.
14. covered with The mountain was covered with snow.
15. to depend on / upon It depends on her.
16. to deprive of Nelson Mandela was deprived of his freedom.
17. to die of Many people die of malaria in Africa.
18. different from This book is different from ours.
19. dressed in She was dressed in black trousers.
20. full of The bottle was full of oil.
21. good at Francis was good at maths but bad at English.
22. guilty of He was found guilty of stealing.
23. independent of Clare is independent of her parents.
24. to insist on Kimonyo always insisted on his opinion.
25. interested in I’m not interested in politics.
26. jealous of Don’t be jealous of your brother.
27. to live on He lives on his sister’s salary.
28. to look at (also after / for) Look at that beautiful picture.
Mother looks after me and my brother.
When I was younger, I looked after the cattle.
29. married to My sister is married to a white man.
30. pleased with Karenzi was pleased with his son’s work.
31. popular with John is popular with his colleagues.
32. to prefer sth to sth else I prefer mutzig to primus.
33. to preside at / over The secretary presided over the meeting.
34. proud of He is very proud of his daughter’s promotion.
35. to rejoice at We all rejoiced at her success.
36. related to Are you related to her in any way?
37. to repent of You must repent of your crime.
38. satisfied with Who is not satisfied with his marks?
39. similar to Your jacket is similar to mine.
40. to sit at a desk / a table The bank manager was sitting at his table.
to sit on a chair / on a bench / a sofa / but in an armchair / in a tree.
41. to spend on I spent a lot of time on the first question.
42. to succeed in I hope I will succeed in the test.
43. surprised at They were surprised at my arrival.
44. to suspect of I suspect Sam of robbery.
45. tired of They were tired of waiting.
46. to translate into Translate this passage into French.
47. fond of She is fond of talking.

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48. to prevent from The rain prevented me from going out.
49. tired of The customers were tired of waiting.
50. used to + -ing form She is used to getting up early.

Exercises
I. Fill in the gaps with suitable prepositions
1. I wasn’t pleased .......... her behaviour.
2. That child isn’t afraid .........the dog.
3. The little girl is looking...........herself in a mirror.
4. They’re proud .......... their achievements.
5. He’s ashamed ..........his low marks.
6. We arrived ............school late.
7. Naphtal is very different.............his brother.
8. Are you satisfied .......... your wage?
9. I am not accustomed .............this kind of food.
10. Many students complain ........their new teacher.

II. Rewrite the following sentences using the correct prepositions.

1. They were accused for lying.
2. We were surprised by the news.
3. Most Rwandans are not interested for sports.
4. Water is composed from oxygen and hydrogen.
5. Are sure for his honesty?
6. They are very good in history.
7. When are you leaving to England?
8. It depends entirely for her.
9. He is dressed with a yellow shirt.
10. Mary’s composition is similar with Carherine’s.

III. Make your own sentences showing clearly the difference between the following:
1. angry with / angry at
2. pleased with / pleased at
3. look at / look after
4. sit at / sit on
5. write with / write in

Lesson 59: The Present perfect progressive tense

Form: have / has + been + verb – ing

I have been working I have not (haven’t) been working Have I been working?
You have been working You have not (haven’t) been working Have you been working?
He has been working He has not (hasn’t) been working Has he been working?

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We have been working We have not (haven’t been) working Have we been working?
You have been working You have not (haven’t) been working Have you been working?
They have been working They have not (haven’t) been working Have they been working?

Use of present perfect progressive tense

We use the present perfect progressive tense in the place of the simple present perfect tense when we
want to emphasize that something has been in progress throughout a period.

Instead of saying: I’ve read all day we can say: I’ve been reading all day.

Remember that there are non-progressive verbs: verbs which refer to states and cannot be used in
progressive forms.
Here are some of them: like, love, think, believe, understand, want, prefer, own, appear, seem,
belong...

Exercises
Put verbs in parentheses in present perfect progressive tense
1. I’m tired. I (dig) all day.
2. How long (you / sit) here?
3. I (stand) here since six o’clock.
4. How long (your friend / learn) Chinese?
5. We (live) here for twelve years.
6. What (you / do) all afternoon?
7. You’re out of breath. (you / run)
8. Your eyes are red. (you / cry).

Compare the present perfect progressive tense and the present progressive tense.

Present progressive Present perfect progressive

1. I am waiting for my father I have been waiting for my father for an hour.
2. It’s raining It has been raining since ten o’clock.
3. Are you writing a letter? How long have you been writing a letter?
4. The children are singing. The children have been singing for hours.

What is the different between the present simple tense and the present perfect tense?

Exercises
Which is right?
1. I (have been painting / am painting) this room for six hours.
2. I (have been studying / am studying) in this school since 2005.
3. Nyirimbibi (has been looking / is looking) for a job.
4. Traders (have been experiencing / are experiencing) losses due to fuel shortage.
5. We (have been working / are working) restlessly these days.

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6. The students (have been waiting / are waiting ) for their marks since last week.
7. The baby (has been sleeping / is sleeping) now.
8. Gaspard (has been building / is building ) a new house for two years.
9. (Have you been playing / Are you playing) cards for a long time?
10. (Is she sitting / Has she been sitting) outside?

Lesson 60: Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that is used to join two other words, phrases or clauses.

Definition of key words

1. a word: it is a single unit of language. Examples: pen, book, good, singing, on...

2. a phrase: it is a group of words without a finite verb.

Examples: a man, a very beautiful girl, early in the morning, has spoken...
3. a clause: it is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb and forms a sentence or is part of a
sentence.
Examples: -I am a student. This a sentence made of one clause.
-I wash the dishes but I don’t cook the meal. This sentence is made of two clauses:
‘I wash the dishes’ and ‘I don’t cook the meal.’

Coordinating conjunctions
These are conjunctions like and, but, or, both.......and, either.......or; neither.....nor, not only .....but
also used to join two words, two phrases or two independent clauses.

1. Joining two words or two clauses.

Examples
1. A man and a woman are sitting on a bench.
2. You can drink tea or coffee.
3. I got it wrong, it wasn’t the red one but the blue one.
4. Both Suzan and Celine study at the National University of Rwanda.
5. She wants both potatoes and rice.
6. Either Kanimba or Karangwa works in the garden.
7. I will eat either fish or meat.
8. Neither Laurent nor Theodore plays football.
9. We have neither food nor drinks in this house.
10. He is not only a priest but also a teacher.

Exercises
Make your own sentences with: and, or, but, both.......and, either.......or, neither........nor, not
only.......but also connecting single words or phrases.

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2. Joining two clauses
We can join two independent (subordinate) clauses with and, but, or, either......or, neither......nor /
not........nor, not only ......but also.
Examples
1. He wrote a letter and posted it.
2. She washed her clothes and ironed them.
3. I asked him but he didn’t answer.
4. Margaret works hard but she doesn’t succeed.
5. You must refund my money or I will take you to court.
6. We will hire a car or go by taxi.
7. They will either use their old car or borrow their neighbour’s.
8. I either listen to music or play cards with a friend.
9. He said he would contact me, but he neither wrote nor called.
10. Paul is very lazy, he neither revises his notes nor reads books.
Note that we can use not.....nor instead of neither.......nor.
11. Paul doesn’t revise his notes nor does he read books.
12. Joyce doesn’t have a job nor does she look for one.
13. Martin not only works in a shop but also studies at university in the evening programme.
14. She not only supervises the works but also writes daily reports for his boss.

Exercises
Make clear sentences with these conjunctions joining two clauses.
And, but, or, either.....or, neither......nor, not only........but also.

Lesson 61: Other uses of both, either, neither

I. We use both, either, neither when we are talking about 2 things.

Examples
1. Both books are interesting.
2. Neither story is exciting.
3. You can read either newspaper.

II. We can also use both, either, neither, with of. In this case we always need the, these, those, my,
your, his, etc., us, you, them.

Examples
1. Both of these cars belong to Mr Mugisha.
2. Both of them were very tired.
3. Can either of you type?

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4. We can go to either of those restaurants.
5. I invited Tom and Sue but neither of them came.

III. We can use both, either, neither alone.

Examples
1. It was difficult for me to choose one shirt. Both were lovely.
2. ‘Do you want tea or coffee?’ ‘Either. It doesn’t matter.’
3. ‘Is that woman Congolese or Burundian?’ ‘Neither. She is Tanzanian.’
Exercises
Complete these sentences with both, either, neither. Add of where necessary.
1. After the accident.............cars stopped. ...............drivers got out and started shouting at each other.
....................them were very angry.
2. It wasn’t a very good soccer game. ..................team played well.
3. ‘Which of the two movies did you prefer? The first or the second one?’
‘Actually, I didn’t like ............ them.’
4. There are two ways to get downtown. You can take the local street, or you can take the highway.
You can go ........way.
5. ..........................these sweaters are very nice. I don’t know which one to buy.
6. ..........................these friends of mine are Rwandans. This one is Kenyan and that one is Burundian.
7. ‘Do you care which pen I take?’ ‘No, take ....................’
8. ‘Is today the 20th or the 21st ?’ ‘....................It’s the 22nd.’
9. Jack and I hadn’t eaten for a long time, so ..................us were very hungry.
10. When the boat started to sink, we were really frightened because ..............us could swim.

Lesson 62: More about conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions
Some conjunctions are used to connect subordinate clauses to main ones.
Examples
I went to see the doctor because I had a pain in my stomach.
-I went to see the doctor: main clause (it contains the essential part of information I want to convey.)
-because I had a pain in my stomach: subordinate clause (it gives additional information or completes
the main clause.)
→Subordinate clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions.

I. Subordinating conjunctions of time: when, after, as soon as, before, once, since, until/till, while.
Examples
1. When I arrived at the bus stop I phoned my brother.
2. I will tell you after I’ve got all the necessary information.
3. Mother serves lunch as soon as the youngest child arrives home.
4. Sibomana had got a job in the insurance company before he finished his studies.
5. You’ll get a surprise as soon as you open that box.

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6. I have never drunk milk since I was a child.
7. You must stay here until I come back.
8. The burglar broke the back door while it was raining.

II. Subordinating conjunctions of place: where, wherever

Examples
1. This is the exact spot where the accident happened.
2. That dog follows Mark wherever he goes.

III. Subordinating conjunctions of reason/cause: because, as/since

Examples
1. I asked Jennifer to translate this document into English because I don’t speak French.
2. Since/As it rained all day yesterday, the students did not go to school.
Note: Since/As is generally placed at the beginning of a sentence and it introduces a known
reason.

Exercises
Find suitable conjunctions and join each pair of sentences. You can change the order of sentences.
There may be more than one possibility.
1. I lost a lot of weight. I was ill.
2. I phoned home. I arrived at the airport.
3. She had already opened the letter. She realized it wasn’t addressed to her.
4. The building had almost burnt down. The fire brigade arrived.
5. We realized that something had gone wrong. We saw him run towards us.
6. She is never in when I phone him. I’ll have to write to her.
7. I sold the computer. I had no further use of it.
8. The air traffic controllers are on strike. We cancelled our trip.
9. You have to continue to do that job. You find a better one.
10. You finish your studies. You must work hard.

II. Find a conjunction of place and complete these sentences.

1. You are not allowed to park............................................................
2. Some television programmes are familiar........................................................................
3. Please sit.......................................................................
4. Let’s put the television set.......................................................................
5. This is the school.....................................................................

III. Make your own sentences in which you have two clauses joined by the following conjunctions:
because, where, while, when, before, until, as soon as, after, wherever, as.

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 Lesson 63: The Past perfect tense

I. Form: had + past participle

I had finished I had not (hadn’t) finished Had I finished?

You had finished You had not (hadn’t) finished Had you finished?
He had finished He had not (hadn’t) finished Had he finished?
We had finished We had not (hadn’t) finished Had we finished?
You had finished You had not (hadn’t) finished Had you finished?
They had finished They had not (hadn’t) finished Had they finished?

II. Use

We use the past perfect tense to describe an action that took place before another action in the past.

Examples
1. I went to visit my friend Erick yesterday. When I arrived at his home he had already gone to the
theatre.
2. When she rang the office this morning, the manager had already left.
3. Read also this paragraph and study the use of the past tense and the past perfect tense.
We arrived at the town at midday, and Ben took me straight to his house. When I saw it I was
astonished. Ben had often told me about the importance of his family. I had met his rich brother, and
had red about his father, the chief. His sister had been to Oxford University, and his uncle had bought
ten lorries. I had expected to see a palace. Then all I could see was a thatched hut.

(Adapted from P.A Ogundipe et al, Practical English 2, Pearson education Limited, 1972, p.14)

Exercises
I. Each of the following sentences contains 2 verbs in brackets. Put one in the past simple and the
other in the past perfect.
1. James (receive) a prize because he (show) a great improvement in all subjects.
2. I (see) him after he (return) from Nairobi.
3. I (speak) to him but he (fall) asleep.
4. After the battle, many people (find) that they (lose) their homes.
5. A man (arrive) at the hospital saying that there (be) an accident.
6. When she finally (return) to her husband, she found that he (marry) somebody else.
7. I (come) to tell him it was poisonous, but he (eat) already.
8. The bus (break) down because they (forget) to put oil in the engine.
9. They already (have) dinner when I (arrive).
10. I (be) there before, so that time I (want) to go somewhere different.

II. Make five sentences of your own using the past perfect tense.

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 Lesson 64: Agreeing and Disagreeing: so/neither/nor/not either

I. Agreeing.
We use so + the subject and auxiliary inverted to agree with an affirmative statement or to say ‘also’
Examples
1. ‘I’m thirsty.’ ‘So am I.’ (= I am also thirsty.)
2. ‘I like swimming.’ ‘So do I.’ (= I also like swimming.) When there is no auxiliary, we use the one
that we could use to ask a question or to put in negative form.
3. ‘I can drive.’ ‘so can I.’ ( =I also can drive.)
4. ‘Salomon reads a newspaper every day.’ ‘So does Maurice.’
5. ‘Sheila got a letter yesterday.’ ‘So did Sylvie.’
6. ‘I’ve read that book.’ ‘So have I.’

To agree with a negative statement, we use neither/nor + the subject and the auxiliary inverted or
not either.
Examples
1. ‘I’m not tired.’ ‘Neither am I.’ Or ‘Nor am I.’ Or ‘I’m not either.’ (= I am also not tired.)
2. ‘He can’t type.’ ‘Neither can his brother.’ Or ‘Nor can his brother.’ Or ‘His brother can’t either.’
(= His brother can’t also type.)
3. ‘Theresa hasn’t written a letter.’ ‘Neither have I.’ Or ‘Nor have I.’ Or ‘I haven’t either.’
4. ‘I didn’t go to church today.’ ‘Neither did I.’ Or ‘Nor did I.’ Or ‘I didn’t either.’

Exercises
Write sentences to agree with these statements.
1. ‘I like basketball.’
2. ‘She doesn’t want anything to drink.’
3. ‘Veronica has finished her homework.’
4. ‘I haven’t seen her for weeks.’
5. ‘He did well in the test.’
6. ‘I don’t like having a cold.’
7. ‘I’ve never been overseas.’
8. ‘I’m good at mathematics.’

II. Disagreeing
To disagree we just use the opposite of the given statement.
Examples
1. ‘I’m hungry.’ ‘I’m not. I’ve just eaten.’
2. ‘I’m not tired.’ ‘I am. I am exhausted.’
3. ‘I’ve seen a lion.’ ‘I haven’t. I’ve never visited a park.’
4. ‘I haven’t done my homework yet.’ ‘I have. I did it at school.’
5. ‘I can’t play a musical instrument.’ ‘I can. I can play the guitar.’
6. ‘I’ll go swimming tomorrow.’ ‘I won’t. I don’t like swimming.’

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Exercises
I. Write sentences to disagree with these statements.
1. ‘I love reading the newspapers.’
2. ‘I’m so hot.’
3. ‘I haven’t seen that film yet.’
4. ‘I didn’t sleep well last night.’
5. ‘I’m allowed to go on the school trip.’
6. ‘I can’t do the homework.’
7. ‘I saw the accident.’
8. ‘I’ve got Michael Jackson’s latest record.’

II. Write sentences to agree and to disagree with these statements. Add an extra sentence to explain
your answer like the example
1. ‘We haven’t got a television at home.’ ‘Neither have we. But we’ll get one very soon.’
‘We have. Father bought it last year.’
2. ‘I’m not allowed to go out during the night.’
3. ‘He can run very fast’
4. ‘We’ve got a car.’
5. ‘I like all kinds of fruit.’
6. ‘I’d like to visit Tanzania.’
7. ‘I’m not very good at science.’
8. ‘I’ve never been in an aeroplane.’

Lesson 65: More about subordinating conjunctions

I. Subordinating conjunctions of contrast: although, even though, even if, while, whereas.
Examples
1. Although Manzi studied day and night, he has failed the exam.
2. Even if that house is very expensive, I’m determined to buy it.
3. Tom is going to spend the evening dancing while his sister is going to revise her lessons.
4. Mucyo gets lots of homework from school whereas Gasana gets very little.

Exercise
Find appropriate conjunctions of contrast and join each pair of sentences.
1. I’m going to buy a computer. I haven’t got enough money.
2. I intend to go for a walk this morning. It’s raining.
3. Your design is excellent. It isn’t suitable for our purpose.
4. The play was wonderful. The film was a commercial failure.
5. It’s difficult to find a work these days. Joe has just given up his job.

II. Subordinating conjunctions of purpose: in order to/so as to/to, in order that/so that
To talk about the purpose of an action, we can use in order/so as + to-infinitive or simply

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to-infinitive.
Examples
1. He took the course in order to get a better job.
2. They are planting a lot of trees so as to protect the soil against erosion.
3. I have written a letter to my father to ask for extra money.

We can also use in order that / so that to talk about the purpose of an action. So that / in order that
are generally followed by modals such as can, may, will, could, would, might, etc.

-If we have a present tense verb in the main clause, we use can, may, will after in order that / so that.
-If we have a past tense verb in the main clause, we use could, would, might, etc. after in order that /
so that.
Examples
1. She stayed at work late in order that she could complete the report.
2. We give advice to students so that they may choose the best courses.
3. He is learning English so that he can study in the United States.
4. I hurried so that I wouldn’t be late.

Exercises
Rewrite these sentences using in order that or so that. Make any necessary changes.
1. I spoke slowly and clearly because I wanted the audience to understand me.
2. Mr Manirakiza bought a second car for his wife to learn to drive.
3. We stood up in order to get a better view of what was happening.
4. I arrived at the cinema early so as not to miss the beginning of the film.
5. I bought that piano for my children to learn to play it.

III. Subordinating conjunctions of result/consequence: so.....that / such ......that.

We can describe results or consequences with:

1. so + adjective / adverb + that

Examples
1. We were very tired. We went to bed. → We were so tired that we went to bed.
2. Mukamurenzi ran very fast. She won the medal. → Mukamurenzi ran so fast that she won the
medal.

2. such + ((a) + adjective) + noun + that

Examples
1. He is a fool. He believes anything. → He is such a fool that he believes anything.
2. Marcus was a very good orator. Everyone stopped to listen to him.
→ Marcus was such a good orator that everyone stopped to listen to him.

Exercises
I. Join each pair of sentences using so / such.....that
1. She felt very ill. She went to see the doctor.
2. He loved her very much. He could not live without her.

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3. He looked very differently. I didn’t recognize him.
4. Agnes wore very expensive clothes. I thought she was rich.
5. I had a very interesting book. I forgot the time.

II. Make your own sentences using these conjunctions.

Although, even if, whereas, in order that, so as to, such.....that, so......that.

Lesson 66: The past perfect progressive tense

I. Form: had + been + verb-ing

I had been writing I had not (hadn’t) been writing Had I been writing?
You had been writing You had not (hadn’t) been writing Had you been writing?
He had been writing He had not (hadn’t) been writing Had he been writing?
We had been writing We had not (hadn’t) been writing Had we been writing?
You had been writing You had not (hadn’t) been writing Had you been writing?
They had been writing They had not (hadn’t) been writing Had they been writing?

II. Use of the present perfect tense

This tense describes an action that was in progress before another action in the past.
Examples
1. I was very tired when I arrived home. I had been working hard all day.
2. When I looked out through the window, I realized that it had been raining.
3. Kamali had been smoking for thirty years when he finally gave it up.
4. When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was a mess, and one of them
had a red eye. They had been fighting.

Exercises
I. Write a sentence from each situation
Example
The two boys came into the house. One had a red eye and the other had a cut lip. (they / fight)
.........................................................................................
1. When I walked into the room, it was empty. But it smelled of cigarettes. (somebody / smoke / in the
room.
....................................................................................................................
2. When Mary came back from the beach, she looked very red from the sun. ( she / lie / in the sun too
long.
...................................................................................................................

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3. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn’t know where she was.
( she / dream)
.....................................................................................................................
4. I had arranged to meet Sue in a café. I arrived and began waiting. After twenty minutes I realized
that I had come to the wrong café.
I...............................................................when...........................................................................
5. The orchestra began playing at a concert. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly
began shouting.
The orchestra.......................................................when............................................................

II. Put the verbs into the correct forms: past perfect progressive or past progressive.
-Bella was leaning against the wall, out of breath. (run)
............................................................................................................

-I tried to catch Bella but I couldn’t. She (run) very fast.

.........................................................................................

1. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He (look) for his contact lens.
2. We (walk) along the road for about twenty minutes when a car stopped and the driver offered us a
lift.
3. When I arrived, everyone was sitting around the table with their mouths full. They (eat).
4. When I arrived everyone was sitting around the table and talking. Their mouths were empty but
their stomachs were full. They(eat)
5. When I arrived, Alice (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I was late. She (wait) for a very long
time.

Lesson 67: Relative pronouns and clauses

I. Relative pronouns.

Who: It is used for people. Its function is subject.

Whom: It is used for people. Its function is object.
Which: It is used for animals and things. Its function is subject or object.
That: people and things(animals included). Its function is subject or object.
Whose: people and animals: It has a possessive function.

II. Use of relative pronouns

We use relative pronouns when we want to define or to give more information about something.
Relative pronouns begin relative clauses.

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Examples
1. The man is outside. (Which man?) It is necessary to give more information about him.
→ The man who is looking for the director is outside.
• ‘who is looking for the director’: relative clause
• ‘who’ is subject of is. It stands for ‘the man’ (a person).
2. The girl works in the bank. (Which girl?)
→ The girl whom I love works in the bank.
• ‘whom I love’ is a relative clause.
• whom is the object of love. It stands for girl (a person)
3. The book belongs to the teacher. (which book?)
→ The book which is on the table belongs to the teacher.
• ‘which is on the table’: relative clause
• which is the object of killed. It stands for the book (a thing)
4. The cow was very fat. (which cow?)
→ The cow which they killed yesterday was very fat.
• ‘which they killed yesterday’ is a relative clause.
• which is the object of killed. It stands for the cow (a thing)

Note that we can use ‘that’ wherever we have used who, whom, which.

5. The boy was punished. (Which boy?)

→ The boy whose clothes were dirty was punished.
• ‘whose clothes were dirty’ is a relative clause.
• whose has a possessive function: his clothes

Exercises

I. Underline relative clauses and say the function of relative pronouns. Give initial sentences from
Which each sentence was made.
Examples
1. The men who are building the new classroom are lying in the shade.
• who: subject of are building.
The initial sentences are: -The men are lying in the shade
-The men are building the new classroom.

2. The book which every student should have is not expensive.

• which: object of should have.
The initial sentences are: -The book is not expensive.
-Every student should have the book.

3. That man whose shirt is white is the French teacher.

• whose: possessive → his shirt.
The initial sentences are: -That man is the French teacher.
- His shirt is white.

1. The policeman who arrested John’s brother has been transferred.

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2. The driver who killed Alexis’s goat is at the police station.
3. The boy whom they gave the scholarship has written from India.
4. The strangers whom we showed the way are probably miles away.
5. The house which was struck by the lightning fell down.
6. The bus that you saw yesterday was bringing the tourists back from the park.
7. The duster which was on the table has disappeared.
8. The food which Mother left in the cupboard has gone bad.
9. The cow whose horns are very short belongs to Minani.
10. The trader whose car made an accident looks very sad.

II. Fill in the gaps with who, whom, which, whose.

1. Show me the shoes .........your father sent you from London.
2. He is still talking about the girl .........he met last month.
3. The boy ........killed Martha’s cat ran away.
4. The girls ............have won the prizes are sitting on the platform.
5. The dog ............tail was cut by a trap is hiding behind the house.
6. Some flowers.............grew in the garden have been picked up.
7. That is the customer............address I lost.
8. Those are the workmen ...........I paid for mending my house.
9. Here are the children ..............team won the match.
10. The secretaries ...........work in our office have arrived.

III. Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns.

Examples
1. Some chickens are now dead. They ate our seeds.
→ Some chickens which ate our seeds are now dead.
2. That’s the woman. Her son fell into the river.
→ That’s the woman whose son fell into the river.
3. A leopard killed the sheep. It is still somewhere in the bush.
4. The woman is ill. She sells vegetables.
5. The teacher offered us tea. We visited him at the weekend.
6. She is the novelist. Her book won the first prize.
7. My friend sent me the postcard. He is studying engineering in Manchester.
8. That’s the magazine. It arrived this morning.
9. I’m the witness. My evidence led to his arrest.
10. Some young men beat Joseph’s sister. They are now drinking beer.
11. Some houses caught fire. They covered them with grass.
12. You are the expert. We want your advice.

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 Lesson 68: Writing a friendly letter

Look at the following letter and learn its different parts.

Byumba Secondary School

P. O. Box 20 Byumba

20 June 2007

Dear Dad,

I’m glad for this opportunity to write you this letter in order to tell you my news
here at school. I hope that Mum as well as my brothers and sisters are o.k.

As for me, everything is all right, I am studying very well and I hope that I will
succeed brilliantly as I did last term. We have done a number of tests in different subjects
and I got more than 7/10 in all of them.

I hope that you have received my letter in which I told you that the trip to school
was nice and that the term began very well. However, now I’m short of pocket money and
I wonder if you can send me some more to use in the remaining days. I also don’t have
the money for transport to come on holiday which is beginning on 20 July. In fact we are
starting the end-of term exams in a fortnight. I’m already well prepared to sit them.

Let me stop here. I hope that I’ll get the money soon. Give my greetings to
everybody at home. See you soon.

Your son,

Munyaneza aimable

Parts of a friendly letter

The following parts must always appear in a friendly letter.

1. The address: Example: Byumba Secondary School
P. O. Box 20 Byumba

2. The date: Example: 20 June 2007

3. The salutation: Example: Dear Dad,

Generally we use Dear + first name:
Dear John, Dear Mary, etc.

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4. The body (or development): this is the main part of the letter which contains all the necessary
information.

5. The closing: Examples: Your son,

Yours,
Love,
Friendly to you,
Etc.

6. The signature

7. The full name of the writer.

Exercise
Write a letter to any of your former classmates telling him/her about your new school, the conditions
of life, the activities, etc.

Lesson 69: Conditional sentences

Conditional sentences contain conditional clauses beginning with if.

There are three types of conditional sentences.

A. Conditional sentence type I: If + present tense → future

Examples
1. If I have money, I will go to see gorillas in Volcano Park in August.
2. If you work hard, you will pass the final exam.
3. We will have a good harvest if it rains.

In this type of conditional sentence, we have present tense in the subordinate clause (after if) and
future in the main clause.
This type of sentence describes a possible condition.

Exercises
I. Put verbs between brackets in present tense or future.
1. I (visit) you if you (invite) me.
2. If you (speak) slowly, everyone (catch) your message.
3. If the phone (work) properly, our friends (contact) us.
4. The teachers (be) happy if all the students (succeed).
5. If your father (mend) his house, he (find) a new tenant.

II. Make 5 personal conditional sentences, type I.

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B. Conditional sentences: type II.

Examples
1. If I were rich, I would help all the poor.
2. If you made your boss angry, you will be sorry.
3. If Susan borrowed your book, she would return it.

In this type of conditional sentence, we have if + simple past in the subordinate clause and would in
the main clause.
Note that we use were (for be) for all persons in conditional sentences.
Sentences of this type describe imaginary ideas.

Exercises
I. Write type II conditionals to match these situations.
Example
I don’t have a spare ticket. I can’t take you to the concert.
→ If I had a spare ticket, I would take you to the concert.
1. You don’t drink this poison. You won’t die.
2. They don’t understand the problem. They won’t find a solution.
3. She is not in your position. She is not able to advise you.
4. I am in a hurry. I won’t stay for dinner.
5. I won’t see her tomorrow. She won’t tell me what happened.
6. Cars are not cheap. Everyone can’t have one.
7. You don’t open the bottle. The ink can’t come out.
8. The weather isn’t sunny. We won’t go out.
9. He can’t type. He isn’t able to operate a computer.
10. He sits around too much. He isn’t fit.

II. Write 5 personal conditional sentences type II.

C. Conditional sentences type III.

Examples
1. If I had known about it, I would have come earlier.
2. If the car hadn’t broken down, we wouldn’t have come by bicycle.
3. If he had studied hard, he would have passed the exam.

We use conditional sentences type III to express regret.

The tense pattern is: if + past perfect → would + have + past participle

Exercises
I. Comment on the following situations with if (expressing regret)
Example

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Protais made an accident because he wasn’t watching the road.
→ If Protais had been watching the road, he wouldn’t have made an accident.

1. We came home from holiday early because we were short of money.

2. My father didn’t earn much money, so life wasn’t easy for us.
3. I didn’t enjoy school, so I didn’t do very well.
4. Sandra walked to work in the rain and got wet.
5. He didn’t help you because you didn’t pay him.
6. Ali didn’t study at all, so he failed his exam.
7. I was sweating because it was so hot.
8. He married a Congolese because he lived in Congo for a very long time.
9. Bertrand didn’t go to university because his parents weren’t well off.
10. I didn’t know that you were going to be late, so I didn’t save any food for you.

II. Make your own sentences expressing regret with conditionals type III.
Make as many sentences as you can.

Lesson 70: The passive

I. Form: The object becomes subject + be in a given tense + past participle

Tenses Active voice Passive voice

Present simple They sell food Food is sold
Present continuous They are selling food Food is being sold
Future They will sell food Food will be sold
Past simple They sold food Food was sold
Past continuous They were selling food Food was being sold
Present perfect They have sold food Food has been sold
Present perfect continuous They have been selling food Food has been being sold
Past perfect They had sold food Food had been sold
Past perfect progressive They had been selling food Food had been being sold

Uses of the passive

We use the passive in three ways:

1. When we are not interested in the doer of the action.
Example
-The problem will be solved tomorrow. (We don’t want to say who will solve it.)

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2. When we want to focus on the happening, not on who or what did it.
Example
-The window was broken yesterday.

3. When we want to avoid vague subjects like one, someone, they, etc.
Example
Shoes are repaired here. ( Instead of saying: they repair shoes here)

Exercises
Change these sentences into the passive without changing the tenses.
1. They serve meals in the dining room.
2. They take the wood to the saw-mills.
3. Someone cuts the grass every day.
4. They are painting the door.
5. Someone is repairing my car.
6. They are using the hut as a store room.
7. They kicked me on the leg.
8. They elected him in 2004.
9. Someone did it yesterday.
10. They were interviewing me for the job.
11. Someone was chasing the chickens.
12. They were putting the furniture into the garden.
13. They have chosen us as their representatives.
14. They have accepted my letter.
15. Someone has just made tea.
16. They will promote you next year.
17. We may leave the books in the library.
18. They will steal all your money.

III. The use of by + agent (doer) after the passive.

When we want to say who or what is responsible for the action, we use by.
1. The window was broken by the children who were playing.
2. America was discovered by Christopher Columbus.

Exercise
Make five personal sentences with passive verbs and mention the agents.

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 Lesson 71: Direct and indirect or reported speech

There are two ways of reporting someone’s words:

1. To report them using exact words that he used → Direct speech
Examples
Tom said, ‘I am tired.’ Or ‘I am tired,’ said Tom.

2. To report them in a general way → Indirect or Reported Speech.

Example: Tom said that he was tired.

I. Sequences of tenses and other changes

1. When the reporting verb is in the present tense, there is no change of tense.
Examples
- ‘The children are playing,’ says Aloys. → Aloys says that the children are playing.
- Mary says, ‘I will come tomorrow.’ → Mary says that she will come tomorrow.

2. When the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tenses and other words showing the person, the
position, the time, etc. change.
Examples
- ‘I’m here in my office,’ said Gaspard. → Gaspard said that he was there in his office.
- ‘We will go to visit our friends tomorrow,’ they answered.
→ They answered that they would go to visit their friends the following day.

Here is a table showing changes that occur when we change a sentence to indirect speech with a
reporting verb in the past.

Category of word Direct speech Indirect speech

Tenses Present tense Past tense
Past tense Past perfect
Present perfect Past perfect
Future Would-infinitive

Pronouns and adjectives I , me, my, mine He/she, him/her, his/her, his/her
You, you, your, yours He /she, him/her, his/her, his/hers
We, us, our, ours They, them, their, theirs
You, you, your, yours They, them, their, theirs

this that
these those

here there
Adverbs now then
today that day

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 tonight that night
yesterday the day before
last week the previous week
three days ago three days before
tomorrow the following day
next week the following week

Note:

A. You, your, yours may become I, my, me, mine depending on the object of the reporting
verb.
Examples
1. The teacher told me, ‘Your answer is not correct.’
→ The teacher told me that my answer was not correct.

2. ‘You studied in this school two years ago,’ he told me.

→ He told me that I had studied in that school two years before.

B. The tense does not change when we are talking about something which is still true at the
moment of reporting
Examples
-‘The earth is round,’ said the teacher. → The teacher said that the earth is round.
- Our father said, ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ → Our father said that honesty is the best policy

Exercises
Change to indirect speech.
1. ‘My pen is on your desk,’ Mutoni told Karemera.
2. ‘This pen is mine,’ he said.
3. ‘You are going to stay here today,’ said the boss.
4. ‘Winter is extremely cold but summer is hot,’ said Rachel.
5. ‘These children went to market yesterday,’ he said.
6. ‘We will finish the work next week,’ they said.
7. ‘Every mother loves her children,’ said my aunt.
8. ‘Two plus two make four,’ said the boy.
9. Emmanuel said, ‘He gave me something to eat last week.’
10. ‘I can ride a bicycle,’ said the girl.
11. ‘We’re going to watch TV tonight,’ they said.
12. ‘I’m preparing an examination now,’ replied Semana.
13. ‘She will visit me next month,’ he said.
14. ‘The sun doesn’t move round the earth,’ said the lecturer.

II. Reporting questions

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A. If the question begins with the question word like who, whom, whose, where, when, how,
why, etc. these question words are used as conjunctions.
Examples
1. ‘When will he come back?’ he asked.
→ He asked when he would come back.
2. ‘Who broke the window?’ asked the teacher.
→ The teacher asked who had broken the window.

B. If there is no question word, we use the conjunction if/whether.

Examples
1. His father asked him, ‘Have you finished your homework?’
→ His father asked him if he had finished his homework.
2. ‘Do you work on Saturday?’ he asked me.
→ He asked me whether I worked on Saturday.

Exercises
Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
1. The teacher asked Mary, ‘When do you get up every day?’
2. ‘Do you speak French?’ asked the guest.
3. ‘Will you visit me next week?’ George asked.
4. ‘Can you explain me this question?’ asked Theoneste.
5. ‘Why did you change your job?’ they asked him.
6. ‘How did you go to school last year?’ Peter asked me.
7. ‘Where does your father work?’ said Steven.
8. ‘Did you visit your uncle last week?’ said Cecil.
9. ‘How much money did they pay you for the job?’ she asked me.
10. ‘May I come and see you tomorrow?’ he asked.

III. Reporting the imperative

When we report the imperative, we use reporting verbs such as ask, advise, order, tell, etc.
depending on the function of the imperative. Then they are followed by to-infinitive.

Examples
1. ‘Do it,’ he said to me. → He asked me to do it.
2. The major said to his soldiers, ‘Fire.
→ The major commanded his soldiers to fire.

When we report a negative imperative, we put not before to-infinitive.

Examples
1. ‘Don’t wait,’ he said.

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 → He told me not to wait.
2. ‘Never come here again,’ he said to us.
→He asked us never to go there again.

Exercises
Report the following using verbs in brackets.
1. ‘Wait for me,’ I said to him. (tell)
2. ‘Go on holiday when the weather gets warmer,’ she told him. (advise)
3. ‘Keep out of this room at all times,’ she said to them. (warm)
4. ‘Remember to post these letters,’ he said to me. (remind)
5. ‘Don’t go into my study,’ he said. (ask)
6. ‘Don’t use my phone,’ I said to him. (tell)
7. ‘Obey your teacher,’ the man said to his son. (advise)
8. ‘Please help me,’ she said to the old man. (request)

Lesson 72: Tag questions

A tag question is a question that follows a statement.

We form tag questions with auxiliaries: be, have, can, will, etc. and do, does, did.

If the statement is affirmative, the tag question is negative. If the statement is negative, the tag
question is affirmative.
Examples
1. You can drive, can’t you?
2. Paul will come, won’t he?
3. The children haven’t eaten, have they?
4. Margaret didn’t go to school, did she?

Intonation with tag questions.

1. If our voice goes up on the tag, we are asking a real question which needs an answer.
-You visited your aunt, didn’t you? Yes, I did / No, I didn’t.
-He didn’t shout at you, did he? Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.

2. If our voice goes down on the tag question, we want the listener to agree with us and we don’t
usually expect an answer.
- You helped your mother, didn’t you? (= I assume you did.)
- George wasn’t at school, was he? (= I assume he wasn’t.)

Exercises

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Complete the following statements with tag questions. Practice them, first asking real questions, then
seeking agreement from your listener.
1. She is late,......................
2. They’re on holiday, .............................
3. I’m early, ...............................
4. Carla wasn’t at home, .................................
5. We weren’t all ill, ...............................................
6. You’ve finished, ...................................................
7. Tony has gone out, .................................................
8. I always do the wrong thing, ..........................................
9. Penny works hard, ...............................................
10. You painted it yourself, ....................................................
11. You couldn’t give the hand, ....................................................
12. Someone broke that door, ................................................
13. You’ll give me a call, ................................................
14. They aren’t selling their house, ...................................................
15. You didn’t leave the garage open,...........................................
16. He’s resigning, .............................
17. He didn’t take it by force, ..........................
18. They won’t arrest him, ............................

Lesson 73: Punctuation

. Full stop(Br E) Period (Am E)

1. At the end of a sentence which is not a question or an exclamation.
Examples
- My son is ill. I’m going to take him to the doctor’s.
2. Sometimes in abbreviations: Aug. e.g. etc.

, Comma
1. to separate words in a list. But it is often omitted before and.
- We have tea, coffee, milk and porridge.
- I met a tall, dark, strong woman.
2. to separate phrases or clauses
-If you want to pass your test, keep calm, take your time, concentrate and think ahead.
3. to separate a tag question from the rest of the sentence
- It’s quite expensive, isn’t it?
4. before or after ‘he said, etc.’

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 - Mother said , ‘The children are hungry.’
- ‘The director isn’t coming today,’ said the secretary.

: Colon
1. to introduce a list
-To make bread, we need the following things: flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. to give more information about the main close.
- Everyone looked very sad: one member of their family had died in a car crash.

; semicolon
to separate parts of a sentence that already contain commas.
- She was wearing multi-colored clothes: a red, black and yellow shirt; grey, green and blue
pants and red, orange and purple hat.

? question mark
At the end of a direct question.
- Where do you work?

! exclamation mark (Br E) exclamation point (Am E)

At the end of a sentence expressing surprise, joy, anger, shock or any other strong emotion.
- That’s great! What a good idea!

’ apostrophe
1. with s to indicate that a thing or person belongs to somebody.
- My friend’s house A waitress’s apron.
2. in short forms, to indicate that letters have been omitted:
- I’m They’d We’ll

- hyphen
To form a compound from two or more other words.
Father-in-law well-known

– dash
It may be used instead of a colon to indicate that what follows is a summary or conclusion
of what has been said.
Men were shouting, women were screaming, children were crying – it was chaos.

... dots / ellipses

1.To indicate that words have been omitted, especially from a quotation or at the end of

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 a conversation.
‘... not recognizing the rights of his citizens... he decided to use force.’
2. To show that a list of items is not complete.
We sell different kinds of stationery: pens, pencils, paper, erasers, rulers, ink, staplers,
envelopes, files, pencil sharpener, correction fluid...

/ slash or oblique
To separate alternative words or phrases.
Are you single/married/widowed/divorced?

‘’ “” quotation marks
1. To enclose words and punctuation in direct speech.
‘Where were you yesterday?’ he asked.
He replied, ‘I was at home.’
2. to draw attention to a word for different reasons.
Thousands of people were imprisoned in the name of ‘national security’.
3. around the titles of articles, books, poems, plays, etc.
I was reading Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’.

( ) brackets / parentheses
1. to separate extra information from the rest of a sentence.
He thinks that modern music (anything written after 1950) is rubbish.
2. to enclose cross-references
This moral ambiguity is a feature of Shakespeare’s later works (see chapter 8)
3. around numbers or letters in texts
Our objectives are (1) to increase output, (2) to improve quality and (3)to maximize
profits.

[ ] square brackets
Around words inserted to make a quotation grammatically correct.
‘Rwanda in[those] years was...’

Writing a conversation
When we write a conversation, we normally begin a new paragraph for each new
speaker. Quotation marks enclose the words spoken.

‘Do you really know what happened?’ I asked him.

He nodded grimly.
‘Of course.’

Using capital letters

1. at the beginning of sentences.
A hen is a kind of bird.
2. With names of people, places, rivers, lakes...

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 - I visited Bernard.
- The longest river in Africa is the Nile.
3. With days of the week and months of the year.
- We study every day except Saturday and Sunday.
- I’ll go on holiday in August.
4. Nationality and languages
- I’m Rwandan.
- I speak three languages: French, English and Kinyarwanda.
5. With titles of books, essays, newspapers...
- I was reading ‘Betrayal in the City’.
- Write an essay on ‘ The Effects of Drugs in Byumba’.

Exercises
Rewrite the following using the correct punctuation.
1. in rwanda we grow a lot of crops potatoes bananas sorghum maize beans
2. the room was decorated in different colours red green black white blue yellow and orange
3. the lakes of africa are important for a number of reasons they provide fish they are useful for
transport they act as bird sanctuaries they attract tourists they are important in rain formation
4. i got up and had a cake tea an egg and a banana for breakfast and read the new times then
my friend buregeya knocked at the door can we go fishing he asked me other friends bahizi
turikumwe and shumbusho were waiting outside i quickly put on my boots and took some
tools a fish hook a cord a rod and a knife and got out

Lesson 74: Writing an application letter

Read the following letter and learn the main parts.

Gicumbi District
Byumba Sector
P. O. Box 13028
Byumba

30 August 2007

The Mayor of Gicumbi District

P. O. Box 23658 Byumba

Dear Sir,

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I write to you to apply for the position of Director of Human Resource Management
that I heard in your communiqué broadcast on Radio Rwanda last week.
My education and experience are well suited for this position and I would welcome
the chance to work in the civil service.

As you can see from my CV which I have enclosed, I have got a Bachelor’s Degree in Human
Resource Management from the National University of Rwanda.
I have been working as Assistant Personnel Manager in Byumba Development
Corporation for three years.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Setako Alphonse.

Parts of an application letter.

1. Address Example: Gicumbi District

Byumba Sector
P. O. Box 13028 Byumba

2. Date. The address as well as the date may be placed in the right or left corner.

3. The address of the person to whom you write.

4. Salutation - When you do not know the name of the person you write to:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sirs
Dear Sir / Madam
- If you know the name of the person you can write:
Dear Dr Nizeyimana
Dear Mrs Kawera
(Dear + title + surname)

5. Body or development: this is the main part which contains the essential information.

6. Closing: Yours sincerely,

Yours faithfully,
Yours truly,
7. Signature

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8. Full name of the writer.

Exercise
Imagine that you have got a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from Byumba Polytechnic Institute
and that World Vision Byumba ADP is looking for a Local Coordinator.
Write a letter to the Regional Coordinator of World Vision at Kigali. (Make sure your letter contains
all the necessary elements: imagine them.)

Lesson 75: Test yourself

I. Order these words to make meaningful sentences.

1. lessons-either-cards-novel-after-play-or-a-I-read.
2. nor-brother-English-Peter-the-passed-neither-his-examination.
3. only-at-at-also-works-accountancy-bank-not-studies-but-BPI-he-the.
4. the-the-because-missed-paid-tuition fees-exam-he-he-hadn’t.
5. school-he-he-near-in order that-changed-could-his-his-study-work.
6. which-exciting-I-last-was-the-read-week-book-very.

II. Put in for or since.

1. I have worked in this school..................2001.
2. She has kept that cow...................two years.
3. They have watched TV...............1.5 hours.
4. Kalinda’s family has lived in that house.............1995.

III. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.

1. Aren’t you ashamed ...........your dirty clothes?
2. Our car is different ..............his.
3. The actress was dressed ..............multi-coloured clothes.
4. It’s not good to be jealous ...........one’s neighbour.
5. Do you believe ............one God?
6. We arrived ...........school........... time.
7. He aimed the gun ..........the bird and shot.
8. My boss was satisfied ..............my work.
9. Who will look...............the cattle today?
10. Little children are often fond...............sweets and biscuits.
11. His essay was full.........spelling mistakes.
12. Bwenge is proud.........his achievements.
13. I prefer fish...........meat.
14. If you want your God’s blessing, repent.........your sins.
15. I spent two days ..........this article.

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16. His father died .............AIDS.
17. I’m used..........drinking coffee.
18. Colette is married ........a rich man from Uganda.
19. We were surprised.............his rude remarks.
20. Divide this cake..........three parts and distribute them............the children.

IV. Choose the right tense.

1. I (have been waiting/am waiting) for him for an hour.
2. We (have been sitting/are sitting) for an exam next week.
3. I (have lived/live) in this town since last year.
4. I (have worked/work) at BPI.
5. I (have finished/finished) this job yesterday.
6. I (have sent/sent) money to my son at school.
7. I (have been writing/am writing) a letter now.
8. I (have been reading/am reading) this paper for three hours.
9. I (have studied/study) in this school for three years.
10. I (have taught/teach) in a private school in Kigali.
11. The guests (have arrived/arrived) at the hotel.
12. She (has called/called) me this morning.

V. Make clear sentences with:

1. either........or
2. neither.......nor
3. both
4. not only.........but also
5. as soon as
6. when
7. in order that
8. such.......that
9. although
10. whereas

VI. Complete these sentences agreeing with the statements.

1. ‘I am hungry.’ ‘So.........................................’
2. ‘She has got a new girl friend.’ ‘So.............................................................’
3. ‘She doesn’t want anything to drink.’ ‘Neither.........................................................................’
4. ‘He didn’t pass his exam.’ ‘Neither............................................................’
5. ‘I speak French very well.’ ‘So...........................................................’
6. ‘I can’t swim.’ ‘Neither....................................................’

VII. Put verbs in required tenses.

1. She (get: past perfect) a job when she finished her studies.
2. Pamela (sleep: past perfect continuous) when I called her.
3. The workmen (begin: past perfect) digging before the boss gave new directions.
4. I (be: past perfect) there before.
5. I (teach: past perfect progressive) literature when they asked me to teach linguistics.

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6. The students (fight: past perfect progressive) when the teacher arrived.

VIII. Join each pair of sentences using relative pronouns.

1. The book is the teacher’s. The book is on the table.
2. The student was punished. He tore his neighbour’s notebook.
3. Some villagers got the government’s assistance. Their houses were destroyed by the storm.
4. The beggar was very weak. I gave him food.
5. The room was very dirty. The girls cleaned it this morning.
6. The lioness was very dangerous. Its cub was killed by a hunter.
7. The child has found his family. I looked after him for months.
8. The music was very interesting. We listened to it last night.

IX. Put verbs between brackets in correct tenses.

1. If I have time, I (visit) you next month.
2. If the farmers planted on time, their harvest (be) better.
3. If I had known that he is so dishonest, I (inform) you.
4. He would have passed his exam if he (work) hard.
5. I will write to you if you (give) me your address.
6. He would go to university if his family (be) rich.
7. If you don’t finish your work, I (punish) you.
8. I would have told the police if I (see) the criminal.
9. If I had a car, I (give) you a lift.

X. Change these sentences into the passive without changing the tenses.
1. Someone cleans this room every day.
2. They are building a new market near the bank.
3. They have told me that they will come next week.
4. We will do it tomorrow.
5. They had bought a new car last year.
6. Someone was stealing my potatoes every night.
7. We read the Bible every day in this school.
8. Joseph is teaching the new method now.
9. The students have been using this computer for two years.
10. They wounded him while playing football.

XI. Change to indirect speech. Remember to change the reporting verbs where necessary.
1. ‘I will se you tomorrow,’ Gapira said to Nyamvura.
2. ‘I finished this work two days ago,’ she said.
3. He asked her, ‘Have you changed your job?’
4. ‘I work in my field every day,’ he said.
5. ‘How did you find my address?’ he asked me.
6. ‘Go and visit your aunt today,’ she said to her daughter.
7. The man said to Agnes, ‘Your brother works here.’
8. ‘Do you study in this school?’ she asked him.
9. ‘Why are you making a mess in my office?’ he said to the boy.

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10. ‘Revise your lessons every day,’ said the teacher to his students.

XII. Which word has an underlined part pronounced differently?

1. development, resource, personal, remember
2. apply, advise, again, answer
3. succeed, study, furniture, using
4. children, arrive, describe, recognize

XIII. Which word is stressed differently?

1. intend, better, describe, protect
2. whereas, happen, very, explain
3. mathematics, television, independent, achievement
4. newspaper, sentence, statement, basketball

XIV. Underline the stressed syllables

entirely, similar, surprise, prevent, success, popular, rejoice, always,
congratulate, behaviour, yesterday, customer, already, example, disagree

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