LANGUAGE ANALYSIS TASK
Name:
You will need to complete this language analysis task and send it in with your
application. Please answer the questions by making notes in blue font on the sheet or by
submitting a separate answer sheet. You may like to refer to a grammar book or the
internet to help you with certain sections of this task. Suggested book titles are:



Practical English Usage, M Swan, OUP
How English Works, M Swan & C Walter, OUP
English Grammar in Use, R Murphy, CUP
Suggested websites are:




http://esl.about.com/cs/grammar/
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/links/ESL/
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms.htm
1. NAMING THE PARTS OF SPEECH
Identify the part of speech in the words underlined in the sentences below:
e.g. Please give me the pen.
= definite article
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
What beautiful weather!
I’m going to Italy.
I saw James yesterday.
Why are you talking so quietly?
That’s my pen.
He’s away today because he’s ill.
I met him by chance yesterday.
Jim said he might come later.
/8
-1Lisa Manogg 2014
2. STRUCTURE AND MEANING
2.1 In each of the following sentences, identify the verb forms and the form /
tense used:
e.g. I was living in Italy in 1998. = was living, past continuous
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
We never go to the theatre these days. =
,
We’re saving up to travel abroad. =
,
We’ve already been to Europe. =
,
We’ve been going on holiday to Italy for years. =
,
We had spent all our savings by the end of the summer. =
,
We’d been sleeping rough for several weeks when the weather turned
colder. (x 2 verb forms) =
,
and
,
g. This year I’ve been awarded a travel scholarship. =
,
/8
2.2 Explain the difference in meaning between the phrases underlined in each
pair of sentences below:
a. I read the report this morning.
I’ve read the report this morning.
b. They might have written to us after all the trouble we went to preparing for
their visit.
They might have written to us but our filing system is a mess, so I have
no record of it.
c. If we booked our tickets earlier, they’d be cheaper.
If we had booked our tickets earlier, they’d have been cheaper.
d. I remember locking the door.
I remembered to lock the door.
/8
-2Lisa Manogg 2014
3. LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS
Here are two language forms used to request others to perform an action:
a. Pass me the paper, will you?
b. Can you pass me the paper, please?
Give three further examples of forms which might be used to ask for the paper
and say which factors should be taken into consideration when deciding which
form to use.
1.
2.
3.
Additional factors:
/4
4. PRONUNCIATION
4.1 Why do you think students might have difficulty pronouncing the following
words?
a. Crisps
b. Thought
c. Walked
d. Row
a.
b.
c.
d.
/4
4.2 State how many syllables each word below contains and show the syllable
which carries the main stress:
e.g.
Interview = In, 3 syllables
a. Politics
a.
,
b. Political
c. Record
d. Communication
b.
c.
d.
,
,
,
/4
4.3 What do you notice about English word stress?
/2
-3Lisa Manogg 2014
5. VOCABULARY
Analyse the meaning of the words in italics, think about how you would present
and explain them to students and then answer the questions:
a. How would you help students understand the word ‘frightening’?
b. How would you explain what the underlined word means in this sentence:
‘It was a very awkward situation’.
c. The phrase ‘cockroach-infested kitchen’ comes up in a reading text. How
would you explain it?
d. An intermediate learner asks you to explain the difference in meaning
between the following pairs of words. What would you say?



Lend / borrow
Look into / investigate
Old / elderly
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Overall score
-4Lisa Manogg 2014
/50