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© Joy Goodwin

‘How to be Top’
English Work Book

CHAPTER 3

ANSWERS

 PUNCTUATION

 Sentence & Full stop

 Abbreviations & acronyms

 Commas
 Colon
 Semi-colon
 Exclamation mark
 Question mark
 Inverted commas
 Ellipsis

 COMPREHENSION (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi)

 Apostrophe – omission and possession

 READING (The Elephant’s Child)

 SUMMARY

 Revision Tests

 WRITING – a short story

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PUNCTUATION

The SENTENCE
1. Begins with a capital letter.
2. It ends with a full stop.
3. It must contain a subject (or an implied on) e.g John sits down.
Sit down. (You is understood subject.)
4. It must contain a finite verb. (Remember what a finite verb is?)
5. Do not begin with and unless for a specific effect. (He shouted at me. And he threatened me.
And he put his fist in my face.)

The FULL STOP

1. End a sentence. [Sentences cannot end with a comma. A comma splice is when a comma
is incorrectly used in place of a full stop.] John went to the shop, he bought cigarettes. (wrong)
John went to the shop. He bought cigarettes. (correct)
2. Are used in abbreviations. (We shall deal with these later)

Exercise I This passage has not been punctuated. Decide which words make up the 5 complete
sentences and then write them down, punctuating them correctly. No mark if there is any mistake
whatsoever.

he trudged wearily along the road his feet hurt and his head throbbed there was not a soul for miles and
he wondered what to do next then he saw someone waving at the top of the hill it was a tall man in a
large hat

a. ____________________________________________________________________

b. _____________________________________________________________________

c. _____________________________________________________________________

d. _____________________________________________________________________

e. _____________________________________________________________________
[5]
ABBREVIATION and ACRONYMS
Abbreviations RULE
 If the abbreviation ends with the same letter as the word that is shortened - NO full stop
Mister = Mr Missus = Mrs street = St road = rd
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 If the abbreviation ends with a different letter it needs a full stop.
Limousine = limo. Especially = esp. General = Gen. exempli gratia = e.g. (given example)
South Africa = S.A. professor = prof.

Acronyms The initial (first) letters of a name or phrase formed a pronounceable word. NO FULL
STOPS are used.

 University of South Africa = UNISA (here Uni is a common abbreviation for a university.)
 self contained underwater breathing apparatus = SCUBA
 National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa = NUMSA
 radio detection and ranging = RADAR
 Australian and New Zealand Army Corps = ANZAC
 Port out, starboard home = POSH (This refers to return sea voyages through the Red
Sea. Cabins on the port side (left) were cooler on the way out and on the starboard side
(right), cooler on the way home. Only rich people could book these sought after cabins.
 Congress of the People = COPE
 South African Development Community = SADEC

Exercise 2 Say whether the following are abbreviations or acronyms? After each answer write
yes or no to indicate whether full stop(s) are needed.
h. COSAS _________ ______
a. ref ____________ ____
i. Rev ____________ ______
b. Ave __________ ____
j. IOC ____________ _______
c. Mrs __________ _____

d. USA ___________ ______

e. NATO ___________ _____

f. Gen ____________ _____

g. Dr ____________ ______

COMMAS are used:

 to separate items in a list My shirts are blue, green, beige, white and black.
 to give extra information My shirts ,which are very expensive, are imported.
 to separate clauses and phrases. (NB clauses contain one finite verb each – phrases have
no verb)
The men, who broke into my house, have been arrested.(Cl)
The men were arrested, after breaking into my house. (P)
 to indicate a pause around people’s names, and words like yes, no, please, thank you]
Joe, why are you here?
I was wondering, Rachel, if you’d like to come with me?
Yes, please, I would.
No, thank you, I would not.
 before question tags It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
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Exercise 3 Why have these commas been used?

a. Good morning class, sit down and open your books, please. ___________________________

b. The book was, without doubt, the best she’d ever read. _______________________________

c. He stayed late, until he had finished. _________________________________

d. You don’t know what I’m talking about, do you? ______________________________

e. For Christmas he asked for a model boat, an electric train and a bugle.___________________
[5]
COLON :

It introduces a list, or an explanation or expansion of the first part of the sentence. It is followed by a
small, lower case letter NOT a capital letter.

Karen said, “ Go out and buy: pens, kokis, jotters and a ruler.”
Eventually, he told us his secret: the old bergie was in fact, a millionaire.

SEMI-COLON ;

 joins 2 closely linked sentences replacing a conjunctions and, but, for.

The door swung open and a man strode in.
The door swung open; a man strode in.
Joe went to school but his sister stayed at home.
Joe went to school; his sister stayed at home.
 used in a list to separate phrase rather than single words.
At the circus we saw a dwarf, a man juggling with knives; an eight-year-old lion
tamer; a fire-eater and a clown.

EXCLAMATION MARK ! [Use only one – never more. Wow!!!! is incorrect.]

Used to express emotion. Thank goodness! (relief) Aw! (disappointment) etc.

QUESTION MARK ?
 must be used when a question is asked. “Where have you been?”
 is NOT used in an indirect question – indirect speech. I wondered where I was.

INVERTED COMMAS ‘….’ “…”

 used to show the exact words someone has spoken. Fred said, “You have won the car.”
 single inverted commas used to indicate irony – something which is not true or should not
be true..
According to him it is ‘illegal’ to look for work here.
 single commas indicate a speech within a speech.
Joe said, “I could not believe what I heard on television last night. The president said,
‘Schools will close on 24 December next year.’”

Exercise 4 Name the missing punctuation marks and then place them in their correct positions.
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a. So, said he, here’s Jim Hawkins dropped in to see us. _________

b. “Shiver my timbers” ________

c. The parrot sat preening her plumage on Long John’s shoulders. ____

d. The sixth pirate had risen on his elbow he was deadly pale. _______

e. “Why have you come to see us ______________________________

f. The pirates had a cask of rum pork and bread a barrel of dynamite
and guns.________

g. His clothes were the worse for wear They were dirty and torn. _____________________

h. “Long-John-Silver you’re the most dastardly scoundrel I have ever met.” ________________

[16]
ELLIPSIS … These 3 dots show:
a pause
words have been left out
an incomplete sentence

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi – Rudyard Kipling (adapted)

Rikki-tikki held on with his eyes shut, for now he was

quite sure he was dead; the head did not move and the
big man picked him up and said, “It’s the mongoose
again, Alice; the little chap has saved our lives now.”
Then Teddy’s mother came in with a very white face
and saw what was left of Nag, and Rikki-tikki
dragged himself to Teddy’s bedroom and spent half the
rest of the night shaking himself tenderly to find
out whether he really was broken into forty pieces, as he fancied.

When morning came he was very stiff, but well pleased with his doing s. “Now I have Nagaina to settle with, and she will be
worse than five Nags, and there’s no knowing when the eggs she spoke of will hatch. Goodness! I must go and see Darzee,”
he said. Without waiting for breakfast, Rikki-tikki ran to the thorn-bush where Darzee was singing a song of triumph at the
top of his voice. The news of Nag’s death was all over the garden, for the sweeper had thrown the body on the rubbish -heap.

“Oh, you stupid tuft of feathers!” said Rikki-tikki angrily. “Is this the time to sing?”
“Nag is dead---is dead---is dead!” sang Darzee. The valiant Rikki-tikki caught him by the head and held fast. The big man
brought the bang-stick, and Nag fell in two pieces! He will never eat my babies again.
“All that’s true enough, but where’s Nagaina?” said Rikki-tikki, looking carefully around him.
“Nagaina came to the bathroom sluice and called for Nag,” Darzee went on, “and Nag came out on the end of a stick - the
sweeper picked him up on the end of a stick and threw him upon the rubbish -heap. Let us sing about the great, the red-eyed
Rikki-tikki,” and Darzee filled his throat and sang. …

“Where is Nagaina, for the third time?’

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“In the melon-bed, on the end nearest the wall, where the sun strikes nearly all day. She hid them there weeks ago. Rikki-
tikki you are not going to eat her eggs?”
“Not eat exactly, no. Darzee, if you have a grain of sense you will fly off to the stables and pretend that your wing is broken,
and let Nagaina chase you away to this bush. I must get to the melon-bed and if I went there now she’d see me.”

1. Who were Nag and Nagaina? (The picture will give you the answer.) /1/
2. How had Rikki-tikki saved the lives of the man and his wife, Alice? /2/
3. Why did Rikki-tikki feel sure he was dead? What had happened do you think? Quote
from the text to support your theory. /3/
4. Where in Teddy’s house were Nag and Riki-tikki-tavi when Rikki killed Nag?
Explain your answer. /3/
5. Why is ‘our’ in ‘our lives’ written in italics? /1/
6. Whose life do you think Rikki-tikki has saved before this? /1/
7. Why does Rikki-tikki say that Nagaina is five times more dangerous than Nag?
Give two reasons. /2/
8. Why have I used ellipsis in the middle of this text? /2/
9. Give a synonym for valiant. /1/
10. Rikki-tikki wanted Darzee to lure Nagaina away from the melon-bed.
He want Darzee to act as a d____________________ (Fill in missing noun). /1/
11. If he wasn’t going to eat the eggs, what was Rikki-tikki going to do in the
melon-bed? Explain why. /3/
[20]

APOSTROPHE

 Omission There is = there’s (the i has been omitted)

 Possession Teddy’s mongoose. (The mongoose belongs to Teddy.)

RULES and EXCEPTIONS for possession

* singular noun s add ‘s (The girl’s toy.)

* plural nouns ending in s add s’ (Wynberg Boys’ High but.)
* plural nouns not ending in s add ‘s (children’s names)
* Nouns ending with a buzz sound add ‘ (Jesus’, Charles’, Moses’ etc)
* Nouns ending in ss Follow rules above. A princess’s palace. (singular)
Three princesses’ palaces. (plural)
Exception

The cat licked its paws. (no apostrophe - possession)

BUT It’s a sunny day. (use the apostrophe for omission)

Exercise 5 Insert the apostrophe (where it is needed) in the

correct place.

a. The childrens parents. f. The animals foot.

b. A monkeys tricks. g. The princes home.
c. Four lions home. h. Siphos clothes.
d. Jesus stories. j. Its a good idea.
e. The stations names. k. The dog wagged its tail.
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l. The ladys husband.
m. The ladies husbands.
[12]
Exercise 6 Read Rudyard Kipling’s story of The Elephant’s child at the back of this chapter.

Write out the words that have been contracted in full. Many of them come from the story.

a. I could’ve done that. _______________________

b. I’ll see to it. ______________________

c. “’Vantage number one……” __________________________

d. The Elephant’s child was full of ‘satiable curtiosity. ___________________

e. “’Scuse me,” said the Elephant’s Child. ______________________ [5]

RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI cont.
“I was not a day too soon,” he said, for he could see the baby cobras curled up inside the skin, and he kne w that the minute
they were hatched they could each kill a man or a mongoose. He bit off the tops of the eggs as fast as he could, taking care
to crush the young cobras and turned over the litter from time to time to see whether he had missed any. At last there were
only three eggs left and Rikki-tikki began to chuckle to himself, when he heard Darzee’s wife screaming:
“Rikki-tikki, I led Nagaina toward the house, and she has gone onto the veranda, and ---- oh, come quickly ---- she means
killing!”

Rikki-tikki smashed two eggs and tumbled backward down the melon -bed with the third egg in his mouth, and scuttled to
the veranda as hard as he could put foot to ground. Teddy and his mother and father were there at early breakfast, but Rikki-
tikki saw that they were not eating anything. They sat stone-still and their faces were white. Nagaina was coiled up on the
matting by Teddy’s chair, within easy striking distance of Teddy’s bare leg and she was swaying to and fro singing a song
of triumph.

“Son of the big man who killed Nag,” she hissed, “stay still. I am not ready yet. If you move I strike and if you do not move
I strike. Oh, foolish people, who killed my Nag.” Teddy’s eyes were fixed on his father, and all his father could do was to
whisper, “Sit still, Teddy. You mustn’t move. Teddy, keep still.” Then Rikki-tikki came up and cried, “Turn round,
Nagaina. Turn and fight!”
“All in good time,” she said, without moving her eyes. “I will settle my account with you presently. Look at your friends,
Rikki-tikki. They are still and white. If you come a step nearer, I strike.”
“Look at your eggs,” said Rikki-tikki, “in the melon-bed near the wall. Go and look, Nagaina.”
The big snake turned half round and saw the egg on the veranda. “A -ah! Give it to me,” she said.
Rikki-tikki put his paws one on each side of the egg and his eyes were blood -red. “What price for a snake’s egg? For a
young cobra? For a young king-cobra? For the last --- the very last of the brood? The ants are eating all the others down by
the melon-bed.”

Nagaina spun clear round, forgetting everything for the sake of the one egg and Rikki-tikki saw Teddy’s father shoot out a
big hand, catch Teddy by the shoulder and drag him across the little table with the tea -cups, safe and out of reach of
Nagaina.
“Tricked! Tricked! Tricked! Rikk -tck-tck! Come then, Nagaina. Come and fight with me. You shall not be a widow long.
Rikki-tikki was bounding all round Nagaina, keeping just out of her stroke, his little eyes like hot coals. Nagaina gathered
herself together and flung out at him. Rikki-tikki jumped high and backward. Again and again she struck and each time her
head came with a whack on the matting of the veranda, and she gathered herself together like a watch-spring. Rikki-tikki
had forgotten the egg. It s till lay on the veranda and Nagaina came nearer and nearer to it, till at last, she caught it in her
mouth, turned to the veranda steps and flew like an arrow down the path, with Rikki-tikki behind her. When the cobra runs
for her life, she goes like a whip-lash flicked across a horse’s neck. …

She plunged into the rat-hole where she and Nag used to live and Rikki-tikki, his little white teeth clenched on her tail, went
with her. Very few mongooses, however wise and old they may be, care to follow a cobra into its hole. It was dark in the
hole and Rikki-tikki never knew when it might open out and give Nagaina room to turn and strike at him. When the grass at
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the mouth of the hole stopped waving, Darzee said, “It’s all over with Rikki-tikki. We must sing his death-song for surely
Nagaina will kill him underground.” Just as Darzee got to the most touching part of his song, the grass quivered again and
Rikki-tikki dragged himself out of the hole, leg by leg, and licked his whiskers. “It is all over,” he said. “The widow will
never come out again.” He curled himself up in the grass and slept ‘till it was late in the afternoon for he had done a hard
day’s work.

1. How did Rikki-tikki get his name do you think? Support your answer by quoting from the text.
/3/
2. What are mongooses good at doing? /1/
3. Name fully the following parts of speech: a. third egg, b. Nag, c. he bit, d. to chuckle,
e. veranda, f. melon-bed, g. was swaying h. are eating, i. my Nag, j. the last of the brood.
/10/
4. Name this punctuation mark: … /1/
5. Explain the use of the apostrophe (simply answer omission or possession) in: a. ‘till,
b. It’s all over c. horse’s neck, d. Teddy’s chair, e. day’s work. /5/
6. Explain why the following punctuation marks are used:
a. Tricked! (exclamation mark) b. Oh, foolish people (comma) c. Rikki-tikki-tavi (hyphens)
d. For a young king-cobra? (question mark) e. He had done a hard day’s work. (full stop)
/5/
[25]

SUMMARY
 This is a very short version of the original containing only the most important points.
 Examples, repetition and direct speech are never used.
 Style is factual, unemotional, precise, fluent and interesting.
 Full, correct sentences must be used.
 No abbreviations such as couldn’t.
 The number of words used must be written at the end of the summary.

Exercise 1 Having read the two extracts of Rikki-tikki-tavi, write the story of the little mongoose’s
bravery in your own words. Read through what you have written, removing any sentences, words or
phrases that are not essential in giving the facts and then write it gain using as close to 100 words as
possible. You may have no more than 5 words too few or too many.
[10]
Exercise 2 Repeat this exercise with regard to the story of The Elephant’s Child.
[10]

Exercise 3 The cartoons below are summaries because they sum up a situation without wasting
words. Write, as briefly as you can, what each cartoon is saying. Notice that each one is being critical
of people’s attitudes.
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REVISION

Exercise 1 Complete these proverbs:

a. Actions speak louder than ________________

b. His bark is worse than his __________________

c. Set a thief to catch a ______________________

d. Where there’s a will there’s a ___________________

e. None so blind as those who _____________________ [5]

Exercise 2 Answer the questions by writing: 1st 2nd or 3rd.

That is the best performance seen all season?

That is the best performance seen all season.

That is the best performance seen all season!

a. Which sentence is spoken with disappointment? ____________

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b. Which sentence is spoken with the most enthusiasm? __________

c. Which sentences simply states a fact? __________

d. Which two sentences are spoken by someone who has seen every match so far? ________

e. Which sentence is probably spoken most loudly? ____________

f. Which sentence is probably spoken most softly? ______________

g. Which sentence suggests that the next best performance was nowhere near
as good as this one? _______________ [7]

The Elephants’s Child Rudyard Kipling

Read this story on the next page.

WRITING Tell your own story.

Remember stories always have titles. [When you tell your story
use only standard English – full sentences, correct punctuation,
grammar and spelling – no abbreviations or slang.]

Use your imagination and think of an explanation, that would appeal to

children and that would explain:

1. how the rainbow got its colours (red, orange, yellow,

green, blue, indigo and violet).
OR
2. why Manx cats have no tails. [20]