Topic: Analysing grammatical structure

Englicious has a strong focus on the grammar of English and in this topic we look at how writers' grammatical choices influence how readers can interpret texts.

KS1 noun phrase generator

Use the interactive whiteboard to generate weird and wonderful noun phrases.

Nonfinite clauses in literature

In this activity, students look at how nonfinite clauses might be used in their own writing and that of others to vary the structure of a text. On one level, this is about creating something that people like to read: something that is interesting, varied and engaging and designed to hook the reader or suit the style you are hoping to adopt. On another level, it’s about students showing teachers and examiners that they know about different forms and can use them in their writing.

Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses

In this lesson, we look at the difference between two kinds of relative clause. A relative clause is a special kind of subordinate clause, and like other subordinate clauses it is introduced by a subordinating conjunction. More specifically, the introduction of a relative clause can be carried out by a relative pronoun.

The two types of relative clauses we will be looking at are:

Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses: Activity 1

In what situation would somebody use the clause the car which is yellow?

For example:

The car which is yellow is mine, the car which is blue is yours, and the car which is red is John’s.

If I say the car which is yellow, am I giving you more information about a particular car we were already talking about by telling you its colour, or am I helping you to identify the car by telling you that it is the yellow one I want to discuss, rather than a red or blue one?

Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses: Activity 2

Sort these examples of relative clauses from the ICE-GB corpus according to whether you think they are restrictive (identifying) or non-restrictive (adding). Were there any cases where you had difficulty deciding which reading to choose? What clues did you use to help you decide?

Restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses: Activity 3

Non-restrictive relative clauses are often – although not always – surrounded by commas, which separate the additional information that the relative clause contains. In the following examples, see if you can put the commas in the right place to separate out the restrictive relative.

Words

This lesson looks at words and word-formation and is designed for KS1 students.

Goals

To explore the definition of the notion 'word'.
To explore how words are formed and understand some word-formation processes.
To explore how words create meaning.

Lesson Plan

Start the lesson by asking your students to discuss what a ‘word’ is. It's a surprisingly tricky thing to define!

Next, display the following words on the board:

Y2 GPaS Test: Coordinating or subordinating conjunction?

In each of the following sentences a conjunction is highlighted. Is it a coordinating conjunction or a subordinating conjunction?

Y2 GPaS Test: Identify the adjectives

Identify the adjectives in each of the following examples. Click on the word (or words) to select or deselect them.

Y2 GPaS Test: Identify the adverbs

Find the adverbs in a range of examples

Identify the adverbs in each of the following examples (there may be more than one). Click on a word to choose it.

Y2 GPaS Test: Identify the noun phrase

Find the noun phrase in a range of examples

Identify the noun phrase, consisting of several words, in each of the following clauses.

Click on the words that comprise the noun phrase to select or deselect them.

Y2 GPaS Test: Identify the nouns

Identify the nouns in each of the following examples. Click on the word (or words) to select or deselect them.

Y2 GPaS Test: Identify the verbs

Find the main verbs in a range of examples

Identify the main verb in each of the following examples. Click on the word (or words) to select or deselect them.

Y2 GPaS Test: Present or past tense?

In each of the following examples, indicate whether the highlighted verb is in present or past tense:

A framework for language analysis

This page includes a handout on which you will find a framework for language analysis, developed over time through our Teaching English Grammar in Context course.

Starting to analyse a text can be a rather intimidating task. Where to start? What to include/not include? And how to do this systematically, rather than simply pulling out grammatical features at random and trying to write some kind of cohesive analysis?

Englicious contains many resources for English language in schools, but the vast majority of them require you to register and log in first. For more information, see What is Englicious?

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