Grammar And Vocabulary

In this lesson, we will learn about: grammar and vocabulary.

Grammar refers to the rules and structures of a language. Every language has its own grammar structures and set of rules. In this lesson, we will learn about some English grammar rules. 

Vocabulary means words. You can say some things in many different ways using the same word. For example, the word “sweet” refers to taste. Now the sweetness of watermelon is very different from the sweetness of orange or the sweetness of mango. In the same way, the same word may have different meanings.

Grammar concepts: Vowels and Consonants

The English alphabet comprises 26 letters. Just to clarify, the whole collection of 26 letters together is called the alphabet. 

Out of these 26 letters:

• 5 are called vowels, and they are: a, e, i, o, and u.
• The rest of the 21 letters are called consonants: b, c, d, g, f…..and so on.

Each vowel can have many different sounds. Let’s take “a” for example. 

A boy

Apple 

Same vowel, different sound in both the above examples. 

Can you list other words where the “a” is pronounced the way you say apple?

Below are a few examples to help you:

Alligator, And, Alphabet, Ant, Enjoy 

Question 1: 

There are 26 __________ in the English alphabet. 

1. Alphabets
2. Letters

Answer: 

Alphabet is the whole collection of letters. The correct answer is 2) Letters. 

(Hint: Do “letter” and “alphabet” mean the same thing?)

Question 2: 

Pick the word where the ‘e’ sound is the same as the ‘e’ sound in period.

1. Honey 
2. Pen 

Answer:

e in pen rhymes with a in the apple. The correct answer is 1) Honey where the ‘e’ sound is the same as ‘e’ sound in period.

(Hint: Pick the word that rhymes with when you say period.)
 

Question 3:

Letters that are not vowels are called __________.

1. Consistent
2. Consonants 

Answer:

Consistent means doing the same thing regularly. The correct answer is 2) consonants.

English concepts: Silent letters

Silent letters are the letters that are used in forming the word, but not used in pronunciation. 

Pronounce these words aloud without the silent letter on the right side in the table below, you will get the correct English pronunciation.

Question 4:

If you owe someone money, then you have a __________.

1. Doubt
2. Debt
3. Deck
4. Desk

Answer: 

2) Debt

Explanation:

Let’s understand these words to find the correct answer. 
Doubt means something that you are not sure about. 
Debt means when you owe someone something. 
Deck can mean many different things. Like a deck of cards or floors on a ship that’s called a deck.
Desk means table. 
So the correct answer is 2) Debt.

Question 5:

If something happens all the time, then you could say it happens __________.

1. Never
2. Rarely
3. Sometimes
4. Often 

Answer: 

4) Often

Explanation:

To find the correct answer, let’s find what these words mean. 
Never - not at all. 
Rarely - very infrequent. 
Sometimes - very few times.
Often - all the time. 
So the correct answer is 4) Often.

Question 6: 

The word sword has a silent __________.

1. Vowel
2. Consonant
3. Consent
4. Alphabet 

Answer:

2) consonant. 

Explanation:

Sword has a silent letter - w. W is consonant. So the correct answer is 2) consonant. 

By now you know the meaning of vowels and alphabet, and consent means permission. 

Question 7:

The ph in phoenix sounds like which letter in perfect? 

1. p
2. r
3. f
4. t

Answer:

3) f

Explanation:

ph in English is pronounced as f. So the answer is 3) f.

Question 8:

We managed to catch the train. I feel so __________. 

1. Frustrated
2. Nervous
3. Upset
4. Relieved 

Answer:

4) relieved

Explanation:

If you miss the train, then you will feel frustrated or nervous or even upset. You managed to catch the train, so you feel relieved. The answer is 4) relieved. 

Question 9:

I watched with curiosity as the tiny beetle __________ across the kitchen floor.

1. Slithered
2. Scuttled
3. Somersaulted
4. Swam

Answer:

2) scuttled  

Explanation:

So these are different ways by which animals move around.
A snake slithers. Shuttle means to make tiny movements, typically done by insects. Somersault means to do a flip. Water creatures swim, actually even human beings can swim by learning how to. The answer is 2) scuttled.  

Question 10:

Monica loves fish. She has a huge __________ at home.

1. Cage
2. Kennel
3. Aquarium
4. Ocean

Answer:

3) Aquarium

Explanation:

Ocean is too large to fit in anyone’s home. Cage is for small animals. Kennel is for dogs. So the correct answer is 3) Aquarium - fishes are kept in it. 

Question 11:

Timothy designs and creates the plans for buildings. He works as an __________.

1. Architect
2. Janitor
3. Tailor
4. Stylist

(Hint: An is used before words that begin with a vowel sound.)

Answer:

The correct answer is 1) Architect.

Explanation:

A janitor is a cleaner.
A tailor makes clothes. 
A stylist can style anything like clothes or hair. 

Summarising learnings from this lesson:

• The English alphabet contains 26 letters
  • There are 5 vowels
  • Rest are consonants
• There are certain silent letters we don't pronounce in words. For example - wrap (silent “w”) and hour (silent “h”).
• Vocabulary bank: architect, tailor, janitor, stylist, kennel, aquarium, slither, scuttle, somersault, famished, satisfied, and starving.