Grammar: Primary Auxiliary Verb – JSS2 English Lesson Note (Third Term)

A primary auxiliary verb is one of the three verbs (be, do and have) that can work as a main verb or as a helping verb.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. identify has, have and had in sentences and state whether each is a main verb or a helping verb;
2. give the meanings of scold, civilisation and restrict;
3. state the roles and duties of parents given in the reading passage;
4. write a narrative essay with an introduction, a middle section and a conclusion;
5. distinguish the sounds /ʧ/ and /ʃ/ in words;
6. explain what an ode is and point out figures of speech in “The Love of Mathematics”.

What topics are covered in this lesson?

This lesson covers six topics.

1. Grammar: Uses of the Form of the Verb Have
2. Vocabulary Development: Preparation for the Reading Passage
3. Reading: Parents Responsibilities
4. Writing: Pride Goes Before a Fall
5. Speech Work: Distinguish /ʧ/ and /ʃ/
6. Literature, Sunrise Poetry: The Love of Mathematics

What are the primary auxiliary verbs?

There are three primary auxiliary verbs: be, do and have.

• Be: am, is, are, was, were, been, being. Example: “She is singing” (helping verb); “She is a teacher” (main verb).
• Do: do, does, did. Example: “Do you know him?” (helping verb); “I did my homework” (main verb).
• Have: has, have, had. Example: “He has dug deep” (helping verb); “He has a shovel” (main verb).

• Main verb: the verb that carries the meaning of the sentence.
• Helping verb: a verb that comes before a main verb to help it show tense, questions or negatives.

Grammar: how is the verb “have” used as a primary auxiliary?

The verb “have” is a primary auxiliary that can stand on its own as a main verb or help another main verb.

What are the forms of the verb “have”?

The verb have has three common forms: has, have and had.

• Having: the -ing form of have, as in “Having eaten, he left”.

When is “have” a main verb?

“Have” is a main verb when it stands alone and carries the meaning of the sentence.

• Meaning: it shows that someone owns, possesses or experiences something.
• Position: no other verb follows it in the verb group.

1. He has a shovel.
2. I had the book years ago.
3. Kenya has a hot and humid climate.
4. They have a party this afternoon.

When is “have” a helping verb?

“Have” is a helping verb when it comes before another verb, usually a past participle.

• Present perfect: has or have plus a past participle, as in “He has dug quite deep”.
• Past perfect: had plus a past participle, as in “It had been copied”.

1. He has dug quite deep.
2. The pieces have cut her fingers.
3. Our little sister has broken a glass.
4. Bimpe has left the door open.

How can you tell a main verb from a helping verb?

How are questions and negatives made with “have”?

• Question: put have, has or had before the subject, as in “Have people ever swum across this canal?”
• Negative: add not after the verb: has not, have not, had not.
• Short forms: hasn’t, haven’t, hadn’t.

Vocabulary development: what do the words in the reading passage mean?

These three words prepare students for the reading passage.

• Scold: to tell a person, usually angrily, that he has done something wrong.
• Civilisation: higher standards of behaviour and understanding.
• Restrict: to hold back or limit. To restrict the speed of a car is to keep it below a certain speed.

Reading: what does the passage say about parents and their children?

The passage explains the meaning of the word parents and the roles they perform.

• Feeding: parents provide food for their offspring.
• Clothing: parents provide clothes for their offspring.
• Educating: parents send their offspring to school and teach them good behaviour.

Writing: what is a narrative essay?

A narrative essay is a piece of writing in which a story is told, so the past tense is used.

• When and where: it says when and where the events happened.
• Why: it says why the events occurred.
• Characters: it says what the main characters were doing before the event.
• Other people: it says whether other people were involved.
• Consequences: it says what the results of the events were.

What are the kinds of story in a narrative essay?

A narrative essay can contain a factual story, an imagined story or a combination of the two.

• Factual: the story really happened.
• Imagined: the writer creates the story.
• Combination: real events mixed with made-up details.

What are the parts of a narrative essay?

What are the qualities of a good narrative essay?

1. It must contain a clear and interesting introduction.
2. It must have a well-developed middle section.
3. Events are narrated sequentially and in well-laid paragraphs.
4. It must have a brief and satisfying conclusion, which should bring out the points of the narration or express the writer’s final feelings.

How do you write “Pride Goes Before a Fall”?

The saying means that being too proud leads to failure or disgrace.

1. Bring your creative imagination into focus so that the story is systematic and attractive.
2. Create a character who is very proud of himself or herself.
3. Show that the character does not take advice and overlooks other people.
4. Show that this flaw of pride leads the character to his or her downfall.
5. End briefly with the lesson the story teaches.

Speech work: how do /ʧ/ and /ʃ/ differ?

/ʧ/ is the sound at the start of “chop”, and /ʃ/ is the sound at the start of “shop”.

• /ʧ/: the air is stopped briefly, then released with a hiss. Often spelt ch or tch.
• /ʃ/: the air flows out smoothly without a stop. Often spelt sh.

Listen for the differences in the pronunciation of these words.

• More /ʧ/ words: chair, church, watch, much, rich.
• More /ʃ/ words: she, fish, wish, push, fresh.

Literature, Sunrise Poetry: what is “The Love of Mathematics” about?

“The Love of Mathematics” is an ode, a poem that appreciates or addresses a subject, here mathematics.

What is the theme of the poem?

• Subject: the poet praises mathematics.
• Personification: the poet speaks of mathematics as if it were a person.
• Message: he encourages us to see mathematics as the pivot of ‘rosy’ or ‘choices professions’.

What are the common figures of speech?

A figure of speech is a way of using words to give a meaning beyond the plain one.

Evaluation

1. Underline the have verb in each sentence and state whether it is a main verb or a helping verb.
   1. We have begun to move at last.
   2. My friend has a cute mole on her face.
   3. Have people ever swum across this canal?
   4. It had been copied.
2. Write the correct form of the verb in parentheses.
   1. We have (began, begun) to move at last.
   2. He has (left, leaved) early several times.
   3. I wish my sister had (come, came) too.
   4. I have (wrote, written) several postcards.
   5. We (ran, run) twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
3. Write a story that justifies the saying, ‘Pride Goes Before a Fall’.
4. Write ten words for each sound: /ʧ/ and /ʃ/.
5. Do the textbook practice.
   1. Vocabulary: Effective English JSS 2 p. 182.
   2. Reading: Effective English JSS 2 p. 183, Practice 3 (1-6).
   3. Poetry: write out examples of the figures of speech used in “The Love of Mathematics”.
   4. Poetry: P 18 Activities (1-3) Sunrise Poetry (2).

Assignment

Reading assignment

Read College Essays for Basic Class 8.

Weekend assignment

Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with the most appropriate option from the alternatives given.

1. These books are ______________. A. theirs B. their’s C. them D. theirs’
2. The two ruffians were hitting wildly at ______. A. theirselves B. themselves C. one another D. each other
3. The other books are ______. A. Chief Chukwuma’s B. Chief’s Chukwumas C. Chief Chukwuma D. Chief Chukwumas
4. The ______ for the selection of winners were unfair. A. criterion B. criterium C. criteria D. criterions
5. These girls are the ______ daughters. A. Commander-in-chief’s B. Commanders-in-chief’s C. Commanders-in-chiefs D. Commanders-in-chief
6. ______ is the arrangement of events in a work of art. A. Setting B. Diction C. Characterization D. Plot
7. A story that ends on a sad note is ______. A. prose B. comedy C. drama D. tragedy
8. “The sun peeped at me” is an example of a/an ______. A. personification B. alliteration C. assonance D. metaphor
9. A figure of speech in which a speaker says the opposite of his intention is ______. A. alliteration B. assonance C. irony D. metaphor
10. Which of the following is not a figure of speech? A. Simile B. Metaphor C. Adjunct D. Irony

Theory

Exam Focus: JSCE p. 82. Revision Exercise (c) 1-10.