Unit 4 (From the Diary of Anne Frank)
Pronouns, idioms, contractions and editing
Choose correct word forms and edit a passage.
Pronouns.
- With one, use oneself: 'One should learn to defend oneself.'
- Possessive pronouns take no apostrophe: 'They are yours' (not yours').
- who for people: 'The girls who were helping you...'
Choosing the right noun. Damage is for things, and here it has no plural: 'serious damage to the houses'. Injury is for people and animals. 'The board was concerned with plans' means it was dealing with them.
Idioms.
- quake in one's boots: shake with fear; not lose heart: not give up hope;
- call the shots: be the one in charge; nothing happens without their permission;
- chalk and cheese: completely different (two brothers, one loves sport, one loves singing);
- icing on the cake: a pleasant extra; raining cats and dogs: raining very hard;
- break the ice: start talking and ease an awkward silence, like the child at a wedding who speaks first.
Contractions. Drop letters and add an apostrophe: should not → shouldn't; they have → they've; let us → let's; did not → didn't; could not → couldn't; here is → here's; I would → I'd; are not → aren't. The full form of isn't it? is is it not?, not 'is not it?'.
Phrasal verbs in the story: go out, broke down, look for, checked out, found out.
Editing Max Müller. Read each line and fix the one error:
- If I was → were asked (an imagined case takes were);
- some for → of its choicest gifts;
- has find → found solutions;
- even of them → those who have studied Plato;
- I should pointed → point (after should, the base verb);
- ask me → myself; we who has → have; most want → wanted; most truly human → more.
'Has most deeply pondered on' is Müller's own wording and is correct: leave it.
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