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GRADE V
LANGUAGE ITEMS REMARKS
FUNCTIONS AND
NOTIONS
Suggesting
I (we) suggest/think that he should ...; Why doesn’t he ...?; He
could ...; You could ...; How about ...?; There’s always ...;
Shouldn’t we ...?; Why don’t ...?; I suggest that ...; Let’s ... ; What
about ...?; Why don’t we ...?; Why don’t we/you ...?; We can
...;You can ...
Warning and giving advice Always ...; Never ...; You could ...; You might ...; Don’t ...; Be
careful ...; You should ...; Try ... -ing (e.g. try counting sheep);
Remember to ... (that); You must ...; Be sensible about ...; Just
make sure ...; I advise (you) to ...; Be careful when ...; Always ...;
Should have ...; He’s ...; He’s got ...; It’s better/best to ...
Guessing It could/it might be ...; Perhaps/Maybe it’s (a) ...; I doubt it; it
can’t be ...; So it’s not ...
Complaining Do they ever think of ...?; Why don’t ...?; How long do we have to
...?; Does ... have to ...?
Opinions I think ...
In my opinion ...
Preferences I like ... more than ...; I’d rather ...; I prefer to ...
Likes/dislikes and personal desires For or against; what are the (dis)advantages?
Where would you rather ...?
I (dis)like ...
I want; I’d like to ...
Giving reasons for decisions There’s the ...
Of course ...
I’m sure ...
Look at ... then there’s ...
Predictions You could ...
You might ...
Criticism He/she/they/we shouldn’t have
Personal emotion I regret...
I’m sorry ...
Talking about the future They’re/we’re going to ...
What will happen if ...?
Are they going to ...?
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Possibilities Talking about possibilities with first and second conditional sentences, e.g.
If I were ...
If I had ...
Describing people He had; he was wearing ...
He/she was big /fat/old/young, etc.
Also describing features:
curly/straight hair, fair/dark skin, etc.
Describing things Made of ...
Looks like ... etc.
Speculation It must be ...; it could be ...; it might be ...; perhaps it’s ...
Polite requests Excuse me ... Could I ...?; Do you mind if ...?; Would you mind if
...?
Expressing opinions You must agree ... it’s just a matter of ... etc.
LANGUAGE STRUCTURE
Present perfect and past tense
The differences between the present perfect tense (I have done) and the past
simple tense (I did), e.g.
Have you visited the Museum?
Yes I have. (present perfect)
When did you go?
I went there last year. (past simple).
Passive forms Using the present perfect and simple past.
Present perfect tense
Active:
I have painted the house.
Passive:
The house was painted. (When no time is given).
Past tense:
Active:
The fisherman caught the tuna..
Passive:
The tuna was caught by the fisherman.
Using the future tense: e.g.
The film will be shown next week.
Prizes will be awarded to all winners.
When will the film be shown? etc.
Question forms Present simple:
When does ...? What does ...?
Where does ...? What is ...?
What time does ...?
Also:
How long ...? When did ...?
How much ...? Do you ...?
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Have you ever ...? What kind of ...?
Why don’t we ...? What should ...?
Past time Present simple; used to; past perfect; simple past, e.g.
How many ... were there in 1980?
How many ... were there a year later?
There used to be many ... but now ... had been .../ had seen .../ had
grown ...
Also:
What started ...? Who won ...?
Could they ...? etc.
Habitual past Used to contrasted with to use.
E.g.
We used to walk to school.
They have to use pencils to write.
Future time Will ... going to.
Conditionals First conditional:
if ... will ...
if + present + might/could.
Second conditional:
if + past simple/past continuous ... then ... would (or could) ...
E.g.
If I were rich I would ... [(if ... would (or could) ...)]
Comparative structures E.g.
The sharper they are, the more dangerous they are.
Superlatives ...-est; most ...;
Ordinals Revise and expand on ordinals introduced in previous grades.
Present perfect continuous E.g.
They have been studying hard for three weeks.
Aysha has been living in Henveiru since 1980.
Sentence formations Sentences including subordinate clauses, e.g.
Some of my friends live in Colombo.
It is the capital of Sri Lanka.
> Some of my friends live in Colombo, which is the capital of Sri
Lanka.
Adjectives Used to further describe in writing or speaking, e.g.
an exciting football match
a traditional dress
Past continuous E.g.
What were you doing when ...?
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What was he doing when ...?
... was watching TV.
... was doing her homework. etc.
Modals The modals must to express certainty and can’t to express impossibility,
e.g.
They must be at home because the lights are on.
It can’t be Naseem because he is away in Sri Lanka.
Also: should have, e.g.
You should have locked the drawer.
Reported speech and direct speech E.g.
“Did you take the television from the shop?” asked Ali.
> Ali asked Hassan if he took the television from the shop.
“The house is on fire!” said Rania.
> Rania said that the house was on fire.
SKILLS
The teacher must try to integrate the skills, structures, functions and notions
with daily language activities.
Dictionary skills
Revise alphabetic order, i.e., arranging words using 1st three letters.
Finding the root words of given words.
Using a dictionary to obtain information.
Looking up words quickly in the dictionary.
Writing Even at this late stage children could be given handwriting exercises and
improvement activities to improve the standard of their writing.
Spelling/dictation activities.
Creative writing.
Write phrases and sentences based on visual cues.
Write about what one enjoys doing.
Describe - things/people/places.
Write about past happenings.
Develop article from a given beginning.
Compose headlines and names.
Write captions to cartoons/pictures.
Complete a gapped dialogue.
Write notes, expand notes.
Write a report.
Write a dialogue.
Write instructions - how to make something.
Write short poems.
Write a variety of letters:
of suggestion.
to friends (of persuasion).
informal.
of advice.
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