All About English Creative Writing

[The Alternative Story]

Hi parents,


The reported speech kind of questions in Synthesis & Transformation
is one where children make a lot of mistakes. We will show
what are some of the more difficult aspects of reported
speech here

Reported Speech (S & T)

When the tense is past tense, it should be changed to the past
participle tense in the reported speech.

QN: \"Did you swim last week?\" I asked

ANS: I asked Tim if he had swum the previous week.

Mistake: I asked Tim if he swam the previous week.

Many children would focus on 'swim' in the question and not 'did'
and forget that the tense is past tense in the question and hence
should be changed to the past perfect - had swum.

Mistake 2: I asked Tim if he had swam the previous week.

Some children are not too sure of their past participles and so they
think 'swam' is the past participle of 'swim'. They would need to
revise on their past participles.

QN: \"He went to town just now and is still
shopping there,\" my mother told me.

ANS: My mother told me that he had gone to town just then and was still shopping there.

Mistake: My mother told me that he went to town just then and
was still shopping there.

Sometimes, where there are several verbs in the sentence, and one
verb is in the present tense and another is in the past, they get confused
or careless and forget to change the verb that is in the past tense
to the past perfect tense.

Another common mistakes for reported speech is reported questions
and we will show some common mistakes related to that as we go on.

TAS

[Herbie]

Hi TAS


Thanks for the info on reported speech. Can also provide info on common mistake for reported qn?

I have one S&T qn.

Sam likes to swim in the ocean, but Samuel likes to lie on the beach.

_________________________ unlike ____________________.

Tx

[The Alternative Story]

Herbie:

Hi TAS


Thanks for the info on reported speech. Can also provide info on common mistake for reported qn?

I have one S&T qn.

Sam likes to swim in the ocean, but Samuel likes to lie on the beach.

_________________________ unlike ____________________.

Tx

Hi Herbie,

For reported qns, I will divide them into 2 types:

(a) 'Yes'/'No' questions (the answer can be only 'yes' or 'no')

- For such questions, the word 'if' or 'whether' has to be
put in front.

- When there are the verbs 'did'/'do'/'does' as the first word
of the question, they should not appear in your reported speech form.

Eg: \"Did you go out?\" I asked

Ans: I asked Tim if/whether he had gone out.

Common mistake: I asked Tim did he go out. (the child does not
put 'if'/'whether' and forgets to remove the verb 'did')

(b) 5 'W's and 1 'H' qn

These questions start with 'where', 'what', 'why', 'when', 'which' or
'how'.

- For such questions, there is no need for 'if' or 'whether'.

- It is important to take note that the verb is at the back of the noun-
(when in reported speech form) and not in front- (when in question form)

Eg: \"When are you going out?\" I asked.

Ans: I asked Tim when he was going out.

Common mistake: I asked Tim when was he going out.

Eg2: \"How much is the deposit for the car?\" Joan asked.

Ans: Joan asked how much the deposit for the car was.

Common mistake: Joan asked how much was the deposit of the car.


Some words that children forget to change when it comes to reported speech:

- 'must' is changed to 'had to'
- 'come' is changed to 'go'

Eg: \"I must go now,\" I said.

Ans: I told my mother that I had to go then.

Eg: \"Come here now!\" my teacher ordered.

Ans: My teacher ordered me to go there then.
(imagine you going home to tell your mother what your teacher
had said, you cannot say that your teacher ordered you to
come here (because 'coming here' is your home but
at that time, your teacher was talking about going to stand
where she was in the classroom)

The answer for the 'unlike' question is:

Sam unlike Samuel likes to swim in the ocean

However, this question is flawed in the sense that 'lying on the beach'
is not an opposing idea to 'swimming in the ocean'. I can both like to swim in the ocean and lie on the beach.

When you use the linking word 'unlike', it should be to connect 2
opposing ideas.

TAS

[The Alternative Story]

Hi parents,


A query was sent to us about the use of 'and', 'but' and 'because'.

The question was is it alright to use these words to start a sentence,
we have been taught not to but you see them often in storybooks and
in some writing in comprehension texts.

It is usually not accepted to do so. However this rule
is used more for formal writing- for eg: an argumentative essay on the
belief that the internet can corrupt young minds. In narratives (fiction),
the rules are not as strict as the main emphasis is on the story.

However, many teachers have grown up knowing that we should not
start a sentence with 'and' 'but' and 'because' and although this rule
is more relaxed for narratives, it is better to advise your child not to
do so as he would probably get marked down for it.

For authors, they can get away with doing so as they can use what is
called a narrative license when an author can distort the use of grammar
to improve his work of art or writing.

However, our kids are not authors yet, so they have to follow the
standard rules

TAS

[jesschan]

The Alternative Story:

Hi parents,


A query was sent to us about the use of 'and', 'but' and 'because'.

The question was is it alright to use these words to start a sentence,
we have been taught not to but you see them often in storybooks and
in some writing in comprehension texts.

It is usually not accepted to do so. However this rule
is used more for formal writing- for eg: an argumentative essay on the
belief that the internet can corrupt young minds. In narratives (fiction),
the rules are not as strict as the main emphasis is on the story.

However, many teachers have grown up knowing that we should not
start a sentence with 'and' 'but' and 'because' and although this rule
is more relaxed for narratives, it is better to advise your child not to
do so as he would probably get marked down for it.

For authors, they can get away with doing so as they can use what is
called a narrative license when an author can distort the use of grammar
to improve his work of art or writing.

However, our kids are not authors yet, so they have to follow the
standard rules

TAS

What if it is just a direct speech in the composition writing?

[The Alternative Story]

jesschan:

What if it is just a direct speech in the composition writing?

Hi Jess,

For direct speech, the rules are more relaxed, you can start the
speech with 'because', 'and' and 'but'.

Eg:

\"Why did you destroy my art work?\" screeched my sister.

\"Because you lost my ipod!\" I hollered, anger making my voice
shake.

With my hands clenched at my sides, I advanced towards her.
Fury, raw and intense, filled my entire being. She was going to get
what she deserved.

TAS

[jesschan]

thanks, TAS.

[The Alternative Story]

Hey Jess,


You are most welcome

TAS

[Herbie]

Hi TAS,


I have some questions on S&T and grammer qns

1. I kept sneezing as the room was dusty.

__________________________ so __________________ that ______________.

Ans: The room was so dusty that I kept sneezing.


2. "What did you do in school yesterday?" Karen asked Mark.

Ans: Karen asked Mark what he had done in school the day before.

3. The sums were difficult. I could not solve them.

Ans: The sums were too difficult, , I could not solve them.




a. Will you jump _____ the chance to climb Mount Everest?

at/on/into/over

b. The family of threes always _____ at Woodland Stadium

Ans : joys

c. I witnessed the robber _____ the security guard at the bank.

Ans: stab

d. The three dollars that you see on the table now ____ to Seta.

Ans: belongs

Btw, can continue on giving the example for S&T and common mistakes?

Many Thanks!

[relaxedmom]

Hi TAS, can I ask you about this sentence that I read from a fiction book:


The teacher had insisted that she have her own space.

Shouldn't it be \"The teacher had insisted that she has her own space\"??

Thanks so much in advance!