Münchner Volkshochschule CELTA Course

The Pre-Course Assignment

Congratulations on having been accepted on the CELTA course. We hope you

will enjoy it, but you will have to work hard throughout the course as there
will be a lot of new information for you to absorb. To make this work-load a
little easier, we are giving you this pre-course assignment. It doesn't form part
of the assessed component of the course, but it aims to be of benefit in the
following ways:

a) it will get you thinking about what, in your experience

"good teaching" is.
b) it will help you with written assignments, in which you
have to show an understanding and use of basic ELT
terminology relating to form, meaning and language
use.
c) it will help you familiarise yourself with some of the
terminology used during input sessions on language
awareness that might be unfamiliar to you.
d) it will attempt to demystify phonemic script and finally
to give you some pronunciation rules.

In designing the first part of this assignment it is assumed that you have the
book: Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener published by Macmillan. The Key
Terminology Section on page 397 will be particularly useful when using the
book for support during the course.

DON'T TRY TO DO ALL THIS IN ONE SITTING. Do one section at a time.

It would probably be best to do each on a separate day so that you have time
to mull over the ideas.

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Part A. The Teacher and the Learner

A1. The role of the teacher

Think of a learning experience you have had in the past. It doesn't necessarily have to be one of
learning a new language; it could be learning to swim, to play the violin, to use a new mobile phone.
Can you think of why it was a positive or frustrating experience for you? Now have a look at Task 1.3
in Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener on page 13.

Bearing your own learning experiences in mind do Task 1.5 on page 16.

Have a look at “Three kinds of teacher” starting on page 17 and do Task 1.6 page 19.

Now read pages 19 to 23 and do Task 1.7 on page 23.

So you have thought about the classroom from the teacher’s perspective. Now look at it from the
learners’ perspective by reading pages 82-89 of Scrivener. If there are any serious discipline problems
in the teaching practice classes your tutor will talk to the student involved, but the TP students will be
YOUR students for the duration of the course. One class will be at A2 level and the other will be at B2
level.

A2. An introduction to classroom management

- Read chapter 3 (pages 54-81) in Learning Teaching and do the tasks as you read through.

There are many things to consider when you are standing in front of a class, but if you have never
done this before, there is no need to be overwhelmed by the information in this chapter. Over the
period of this CELTA course, you will be learning what techniques can be useful in the classroom, how
to organise them and, equally importantly, why using them is considered helpful in the learning
process.

One important section to bear in mind is on page 55:

“No-one can tell you the ‘right’ way to do something. There is

no perfect lesson, no single correct answer, no single route
through a lesson, though some routes may in the end prove
to be much more effective than others. Different people or
different situations create different solutions. Your total lesson
is created by your choices.”

There is no single correct way of working with language in the classroom. The criteria according to
which your tutors judge your performance are laid down by Cambridge, but the way you achieve the
aims of your lessons is not. You need to bear these two facts in mind in feedback sessions so that you
get the maximum benefit from them.

- Now read pages 31-53 in Scrivener to make the sessions in week one of the course more
accessible. Do the tasks as you read through.

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Part B: Language Awareness

In this section you will get to know more about language – how to describe it and how it functions.

Below, you will find some examples of different English tenses, the name of which are at the end of
each sentence. Read the examples and do tasks B1 and B2.

The Tenses

Most children eat a lot of ice-cream in the summer. present simple

The children are eating ice-cream and have got it all over present continuous
their faces.

The children ate too much ice-cream and were sick. past simple

The children were already eating ice-cream when I past continuous

arrived at the party.

The children have been eating ice-cream since the party present perfect
began. continuous

Barbara has eaten her second helping of ice-cream and present perfect simple
has started on the cake.

“What a waste of food.” will future

“Don’t worry, I(will)’ll eat the leftovers, if there are any!”

I’m going to eat cake as well as ice-cream! going to future

If you have already done some teaching, you will realise that there are forms missing from this list,
but for the purposes of this assignment the above examples are sufficient.

Task B1 The Tenses: meaning

Now, referring to the forms of the verb as exemplified above, say whether the following statements
are true or false.

True / False

a) The auxiliary verb "will" is used to express

spontaneous decisions made at the time
of speaking.

b) The present continuous always expresses

something to do with now.

c) The past tense always refers to the past.

d) The present perfect continuous is used to

express an action that hasn't finished.

e) The present simple tense is always used

to talk about the present.

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 f) The going to future expresses a plan.

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Task B2 The Tenses: names

First of all read the following sentences and decide which tense is underlined in each case. Having
done that, decide if you have modified your opinion regarding their meaning from task B1 above.

Name of the tense

a) He has been sitting at his computer all

afternoon. present perfect continuous

b) He has finished ten pages of the

document he is working on. present perfect simple

present continuous

c) There's been an accident. Don't worry.

I'll phone for an ambulance

d) He's always losing his key and waking up

his landlady to let him in.

e) He always leaves a key with a neighbour

when he goes on holiday.

f) The next train to Paris leaves in fifteen

minutes.

g) He's having singing lessons.

h) What on earth have you been doing?

Playing football.

i) Unemployment in Germany is still rising.

j) I can't make the meeting next Monday

as I'm flying to Rio.

k) Kidnappers are still holding the bank

manager hostage at an undisclosed
location.

l) There's going to be an accident. Why on

earth can't drivers reduce their speed in
foggy weather?

m) Can you get on to the New York office

for me?
Yes, I'll do it right away.

n) She had a yacht a few years ago, but

she sold it to pay her debts.

o) I wish I had a yacht.

p) It will be bright at first with rain

gradually coming in from the west.

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 q) I never leave my house key in the
garage. It's too risky.

r) It's getting more and more difficult to

find an affordable flat in Munich.

s) He was wearing a blue T-shirt, dirty

jeans and trainers.

t) Where's Bill?
He's washing the car.

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So the same tense of the verb can refer to a different time, to present and future, for example. To
clarify this, let's look back at the questions from Task B1 above. The answer is often "True, but..."

a) The auxiliary verb "will" is indeed used to express a spontaneous decision made at the time of
speaking but it is also used:

- in future predictions It will be bright at first (sentence p)

- to say what we think is probably the case (The door bell rings) “That'll be the

postman.”

- for the neutral future She'll be forty next birthday.

It can also be used to express various language functions:

- threats I'll take if off you if you don't stop it!

- promises I'll be there, don't worry.

- an order Will you shut up!

- an offer I'll take the children to the park if you like.

b) The problem here is the inclusion of the adverb of frequency "always". Yes, the present
continuous DOES express something that is happening now as in the children and ice-cream
example. However, it doesn't always do so. It also expresses:

- a trend Unemployment is rising.

- with a time adverbial the future I'm fl y i n g to the S t a t es next

Wednesday.

- a temporary habit He's having singing lessons.

- it can also express an irritating habit He's always forgetting his key.

Again the past tense DOES, of course, refer to the past. But what about: I wish I had a yacht?
This is the hypothetical use.

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 c) Again this is true but an over simplification. The present perfect continuous can express an

action that has just stopped but that has present results: What on earth have you

been doing, you're filthy? Playing football. It can express repeated actions and

events if we don't say how often they have happened: I've been having a lot of

headaches recently.

NB the present perfect is a complicated piece of grammar and you need to be very clear what aspect
you want your learners to focus on when you are teaching it:

Indefinite past: Have you ever eaten snails.

I have never been to Corfu.

I have visited the USA several

times.

The unfinished past: I have lived here all my life.

The present result of a finished action: Shares have fallen on the New

York Stock Exchange.

Hurricane Henry has caused a lot

of damage in the Caribbean.

Use to describe past actions using time adverbs: Have you phoned your mother yet?

He has just finished reading a

novel by Henry James. (These two

sentences are, of course, different in

American English.)

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Task B3
Now what would you write as a commentary on statements e and f in task B1 above? Look in the key
at the end of this assignment to check your answers.

e)

f)

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Task B4

Now look back at the sentences a-t in task 2. Which three pairs of sentences contain the same form of
the verb and express the same meaning? What do these pairs of sentences express? (Refer to the key
to check your answers.)

Example Sentences What they express

sentences c and m both express a spontaneous decision

– There’s been an accident. about a future action made at the time of speaking.

Don’t worry, I’ll phone for

an ambulance.

- Can you get on to New

York for me? Yes, I’ll do it

right away.

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Task B5 Functional Language

The reference to function (e.g. requesting) in the commentary on the will future above brings us on to
another aspect of meaning that you need to be aware of.

Let's take the language function of making an offer:

I'll take the children to the park if you like.

The will future is not the only language that can express the language function of making an offer:

Shall I take the children to the park?

Can you add more ways of expressing the same function? (Look in the answer key for some
examples).

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

Look at sentence m) below and decide on its function and think of other ways to express the same
function

- Can you get on to New York for me?

- Yes, I’ll do it right away.

Function:
___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

NB You will not be expected to have all this information at your finger-tips at the beginning of the
course. There will be input sessions on meaning. What you do need to be aware of, is that in your
teaching you need to make learners aware of the form AND meaning of the language you are
introducing. In chapter 7 on page 156-184 Scrivener gives you some practical ideas for HOW to teach
grammar. These pages will be useful to you when the course begins.

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Part C Phonology

The term phonology encompasses the correct pronunciation of individual sounds, stress and
intonation.

You can only, of course, give your students your model of spoken language. After all, why should a
Spaniard speak like an American or a South African like a German? You need, however to be
consistent in the model of language that you give and to be aware of questions that might arise
because of differences in the model your learners hear from you and the model they hear from a CD,
both with regard to stress patterns and sounds. Having said that, CDs that accompany modern course
books usually include speakers with a variety of accents from both within the UK, from other parts of
the English speaking world and from non-native speakers using English.

C1 Sounds and the Phonemic Script.

There are certain sounds that many learners of English get wrong without suffering any loss of
intelligibility.
"She vent to Holy Mess on Sunday:" /ʃi: vent tu: hʊli: mes ɒn sʌndeɪ/
can probably be interpreted as, "She went to Holy Mass on Sunday." /ʃi: wen tə həʊlɪ mæs ɒn
sʌndɪ/

“I av a leetel car.” /aɪ æv eɪ li:tel kɑ:/

will be understood as, 'I have a little car.' /aɪ hæv ə lɪtəl kɑ:/

(the second versions are how a native speaker would pronounce the sentences)

Why do some sounds (phonemes) pose problems? Because as in the /æ/ phoneme there is no
equivalent in German or because as in the phonemes /i:/ and / ɪ/ a French speaker finds it hard to
tell the difference as there is only one sound for the letter i in French, or because one letter is silent in
one language and not in the other.

Pause for a moment and think of some possible areas of difficulty for learners using examples from a
language other than English that you know. Make a note of them here:

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

(This may be useful for one of your written assignments if you have learners who speak a variety of
mother tongues).

There is no reason why we should aim to eradicate any trace of a foreign accent in our learners, so
why do we pay attention to sounds? Because sometimes choosing the wrong sound does make
comprehension difficult.

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Harassed Henry from “The Ultimate Guide to CELTA” had an amusing experience:

“I was teaching a group of elementary students, there were about 12 of them from
all over the place. I taught food items, you know the sort of thing – vegetables, fruit,
types of meat and so on. This Japanese girl, Kaori I think her name was, kept asking
me about males. She asked me “You go with wife to males?” and she was really
insistent on geGng an answer from me. The other students all looked like they
thought it was a perfectly reasonable quesIon but I found myself geGng quite
angry………… Unfortunately, it wasn’t unIl I taught an upper-intermediate class a few
months later and had another Japanese student who I told this problem to, that I
finally realised what she meant. He also couldn’t understand my problem with the
quesIon, except he was able to correct it slightly to “Do you go with your wife for
males?”. It then dawned on me that she was just struggling with the pronunciaIon
of meals. Haha, sIll makes me laugh when I think about it.”

The Ultimate Guide to CELTA, Jones & Momeni 2013

To help learners overcome problems they have in producing correct sounds in English we use the
phonemic script. You will be given a copy of it on the course (as on page 274 in Scrivener).

Task C1 Phonemic Script

As some practice in recognising the phonetic symbols see if you can "read" the following short
messages. The answers are in the key. The /ə/ phoneme is the schwa (see section C3 weak forms).
If you don't pronounce the words exactly as shown in the phonemic script don't worry, regional
accents mean that not many people do!

/gʊd lʌk wɪðə kɔ:s/

/dəʊn (t) pænɪk/

/si:jə su:n/

/bi: ʃɔ: tə hæv ə rest wen ju:v fɪnɪʃt ðɪs/

/triːt jɔːself tuːwə kʌp əv tiː ɔːrə strɒŋ kɒfɪ/

You can also look in Scrivener on page 274 and the DVD that came with the book.

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Task C2 Word stress

The boxes here represent ways to indicate which syllable is stressed in a word. There is an o for every
syllable and a stressed syllable is indicated by a large 0.
e.g.
oo0o
sentimental

Put the words below into the correct box. There are five words for each box*.
*This assumes British English stress patterns (see comments below).

The words below have been chosen because learners with German as their L1 (first language) may
have difficulty with them.

oo0 0oo

o0oo oo0o

0ooo o0o

personnel, personal, photographer, promotion, invitation, organiser, advertising, investment, refugee,

optimist, electrician, solicitor, impossible, programmer, heroin, lemonade, sentimental, interviewer,
competitive, committee, develop, questionnaire, emergency, conversation, presentation, journalism,
election, tolerant, ceremony, cigarette.

Why do we bother to draw learners' attention to the correct word stress?

Because being aware of how a word is pronounced is all part of "knowing" it. If taught from the
beginning of a course, an awareness of stress encourages learners to distinguish patterns for
themselves and helps in the fostering of learner autonomy.

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C3 Weak forms

In which of the two sentences below would the speaker get his or her meaning across?

1) I'd like some ... er...

2) Apples, kilo please.

Meaning in a sentence is carried by content words (nouns and verbs) and not by grammatical words
like "would" "a" "from" "of" "the". So in a sentence these little grammatical words often don't carry
stress and so are what is known as "weak." Opinions are divided, but modern research suggests that
learners - particularly those who interact not with native speakers but with other non-native speakers
- may not WANT to sound like a native speaker and so insisting that your students use weak forms
may not be useful. This may be true as far as productive skills is concerned. However, an
understanding of them, will help learners to interpret fast connected speech if they DO interact with
native speakers. The unstressed vowel sound in English is called schwa and is written like this /ə/

In the words below the underlined letters would have the schwa

- a farmer
- another
- the car
- A glass of lemon and lime juice, please.
- time for tea
- the bus to the school
- a green umbrella

Task C3 Weak forms

How many examples of schwa are there in each of the following? Underline them.

- A cup of tea please.

- It's ten to two.

- Could I have some more bread and butter, please?

- Five minutes from the station.

- We need some garlic.

- I'm sorry but I can't.

- I'll meet you at two o'clock at your sister's.

- She can speak Russian but not Italian.

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Part D Punctuation

You have almost certainly come across incorrect punctuation usage, especially with the apostrophe.

Task D1 Punctuation

Decide whether the following are good English phrases or not. Then check in the key.

We must’nt trifle with our childrens’ education.

Mens clothing on the first floor.

Ladies’ hairdresser

Pupil’s entrance

It’s got very cold.

Cyclist’s only

All employees have to give two weeks’ notice.

New members welcome drink.

Your twenty one today.

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Task D2 Punctuation

There is, however, a lot more to punctuation than the humble apostrophe.
In this text all the punctuation has been removed. Your task is to re-write the text with punctuation
and in appropriate paragraphs. One sentence does not constitute a paragraph!
You might like to read the notes on punctuation at the end of this assignment before you begin.
Alternatively, you can check your answers in the key when you have finished.

Anxious Annie: Day 1

phew im exhausted theres so much to take in we started off with a

fairly relaxed geGng to know you session where all the trainees as
were called did some acIviIes that we could use in class with our
students there are some really good acIviIes and the other trainees all
seem really nice i worked with fasIdious felicity for a while she seems
really friendly if not a liTle scary to someone like me she studied to be
a high school teacher so is quite confident in the classroom and doesnt
feel at all daunted by the idea of standing up in front of a class next up
was a lesson in arabic the idea was that we get to feel what its like to
be a student in a language classroom this was great fun although i was
rubbish at the pronunciaIon i just couldnt get my mouth round some
of the sounds they have i thought itd be awful to have the other
students laughing at my pronunciaIon but because the tutor had
created a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom and we were all in the
same boat i didnt mind as much as id thought at Imes we all got a bit
lost which must be how students feel in an english lesson too so it was
a really useful experience ill also know how to say i like swimming in
arabic if im ever in that part of the world im really glad i spent the
weekend preparing for the course there was an awful lot of
administraIve work to take care of and don’t think my brain would
have coped if i hadnt thought about things before we started

The UlImate Guide to CELTA by Jones & Momeni 2013

Bibliography
Jones & Momeni 2013 The Ultimate Guide to CELTA ISBN 9783000446412
Scrivener, J 2011 Learning Teaching 3rd Edition Oxford: Macmillan
Jenkins, J 2000 The Phonology of English as an International Language Oxford: OUP
Underhill, A 1994 Sound Foundations Oxford: Macmillan
Swan, M 2005 Practical English Usage Oxford: OUP
Parrots M, 2000 Grammar for English Language Teachers Cambridge: CUP
http://static.neatorama.com/images/2007-01/wrong-use-apostrophe.jpg
https://twitter.com/bendoscopy/status/342926469816799233

Answer KEY
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Task B2
Name of the tense

a) He has been sitting at his computer all

afternoon. present perfect continuous

b) He has finished ten pages of the

document he is working on. present perfect simple

present continuous

c) There's been an accident. Don't worry.

I'll phone for an ambulance present perfect simple

will-future

d) He's always losing his key and waking up

his landlady to let him in. present continuous, present continuous

(verb to be omitted with 2nd verb)

e) He always leaves a key with a neighbour

when he goes on holiday. present simple

present simple

f) The next train to Paris leaves in fifteen

minutes. present simple

g) He's having singing lessons.

present continuous

h) What on earth have you been doing?

Playing football. present perfect continuous

i) Unemployment in Germany is still rising.

present continuous

j) I can't make the meeting next Monday

as I'm flying to Rio. present continuous

k) Kidnappers are still holding the bank

manager hostage at an undisclosed present continuous
location.

l) There's going to be an accident. Why on

earth can't drivers reduce their speed in going to future
foggy weather?

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 m) Can you get on to the New York office
for me? will-future
Yes, I'll do it right away.

n) She had a yacht a few years ago, but

she sold it to pay her debts. past simple

past simple

o) I wish I had a yacht.

past simple

p) It will be bright at first with rain

gradually coming in from the west. will-future

q) I never leave my house key in the

garage. It's too risky. present simple

r) It's getting more and more difficult to

find an affordable flat in Munich. present continuous

s) He was wearing a blue T-shirt, dirty

jeans and trainers. past continuous

t) Where's Bill?
He's washing the car. present continuous

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Task B3

e) An over-simplification.
It is true in sentences such as: He works for BMW.
However, in the sentence: "Most children eat a lot of ice-cream in the summer" the
use of the present simple is not time specific it is more a general truth.
It is used for future meaning when something is written down on a timetable as
in : The next train to Paris leaves in fifteen minutes.
It can be used in commentaries: Change comes into the net and puts away a clean
volley.
Used in a time clause it refers to the future: When I grow up I'm going to be an
astronaut.

f. In the example of the ice-cream and the cake at the party it does indeed express
a plan or an intention. This form can also be used to express a prediction on the
basis of present evidence: Look at those big black clouds. It's going to rain.

Task B4

Example Sentences What they express

sentences c and m both express a spontaneous decision

– There’s been an accident. about a future action made at the time of speaking.

Don’t worry, I’ll phone for

an ambulance.

- Can you get on to New

York for me? Yes, I’ll do it

right away.

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 e) He always leaves a key with a sentences e and q both express a regular habit
neighbour when he goes on holiday.

q) I never leave my house key in the

garage. It's too risky.

sentences i and r both express a trend

i) Unemployment in Germany is still

rising.

r) It's getting more and more difficult

to find an affordable flat in Munich.

sentences k and t both express an unfinished action still

going on at the time of speaking

k) Kidnappers are still holding the bank

manager hostage at an undisclosed
location.

t) Where's Bill?
He's washing the car.

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Task B5

• Would you like me to take the children to the park?

• Let me take the children to the park.
• Do you want me to take the children to the park?

sentence m) is a polite request, other ways of saying it would be:

Would you mind ringing New York for me?
Could you ring New York for me?
I’d like you to ring New York for me?

Task C1

Good luck with the course.

Don't panic.
See you soon.
Be sure to have a rest when you've finished this.
Treat yourself to a cup of tea or some strong coffee.

Task C2

oo0 personnel, refugee, cigarette, lemonade, questionnaire

0oo personal, optimist, heroin, tolerant, programmer
o0oo photographer, impossible, emergency, solicitor, competitive,
oo0o invitation, electrician, conversation, sentimental, presentation
0ooo organiser, interviewer, journalism, advertising, ceremony
o0o promotion, investment, committee, develop, election,

Task C3

A cup of tea please.

It's ten to two.
Could I have some more bread and butter, please?
Five minutes from the station.
We need some garlic.
I'm sorry but I can't.
I'll meet you at two o'clock at your sister's.
She can speak Russian but not Italian.

Section D punctuation

Task D1

We must’ nt trifle with our childrens’ education. Mustn’t children’s

Mens clothing on the first floor. Men’s
Ladies’ hairdresser Correct
Pupil’s entrance Only one pupil in the school! Pupils’
It’s got very cold. Correct (It has….)
Cyclist’s only The cyclist’s only what? Cyclists only.
All employees have to give two weeks’ notice. Correct. Notice of two weeks.
New members welcome drink. Members’
Your twenty one today. You’re

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Task D2

Phew! I’m exhausted. There’s so much to take in! We started off with a fairly relaxed “getting to know
you” session, where all the trainees, as we’re called, did some activities that we could use in class
with our students. There are some really good activities, and the other trainees all seem really nice. I
worked with Fastidious Felicity for a while, she seems really friendly, if not a little scary to someone
like me. She studied to be a high school teacher, so is quite confident in the classroom, and doesn’t
feel at all daunted by the idea of standing up in front of a class.

Next up was a lesson in Arabic!! The idea was that we get to feel what it’s like to be a student in a
language classroom. This was great fun, although I was rubbish at the pronunciation; I just couldn’t
get my mouth round some of the sounds they have. I thought it’d be awful to have the other students
laughing at my pronunciation, but, because the tutor had created a relaxed atmosphere in the
classroom, and we were all in the same boat, I didn’t mind as much as I’d thought. At times, we all
got a bit lost which must be how students feel in an English lesson, too, so it was a really useful
experience- I’ll also know how to say “I like swimming” in Arabic, if I’m ever in that part of the world!

I’m really glad I spent the weekend preparing for the course. There was an awful lot of administrative
work to take care of, and I don’t think my brain would have coped, if I hadn’t thought about things
before we started.

Some rules for punctuation

1. Apostrophe

a. Indicates possession in a singular noun

Bob’s bicycle..
b. Indicates possession in a plural noun.
The pupils’ entrance.
The children’s books.
Women’s rights.
c. It indicates quantity.
In one week’s time.
d. It indicates that something is missing
The summer of ’68.
It isn’t fair.
It’ll end in tears.
It’s your turn.
e. It indicates the plural of letters.
“How many r’s are there in Mediterranean,” he asked.

2. Hyphens
a. Generally hyphenate between two or more adjectives when they come BEFORE a noun and
act as the same idea.
Be careful not to drive down the one-way street. (Compare: Traffic is diverted one way down
this street.)
b. An adverb that doesn't end in ly followed by an adjective in front of a noun should be
hyphenated.
This is a very well-known piece of music. (Compare: He chose a piece of music that was very
well known.)
c. Hyphenate all words beginning with self except selfish and selfless
She was becoming more and more self-confident.
d. Hyphenate re words only if:
the re means again AND
omitting the hyphen would cause confusion with another word.
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 3. Commas – generally reflect pauses in speech

a. Introducers.
A comma is used after introducing words, phrases and clauses.
No, you can't stop now.
Having studied very hard, he passed his exams.
To my surprise, I began to enjoy it.
b. Clauses connected with and, but or or are usually separated by commas unless they are
very short.
Jane decided to try the homemade steak pie, and Andrew ordered dover sole with boiled
potatoes
Jane had pie and Andrew had fish
c. Inserter
The computer, for example, has made life much easier.
I enjoy classical music. My children, on the other hand, are Hip Hop enthusiasts.
His partner, who used to weigh thirty stone, has lost weight recently. ( a non-defining relative
clause – it provides extra information, but is not vital to understanding who her partner is.
Compare: Her partner is the man who is wearing glasses and has a moustache.)
d. Linkers
in a list: She enjoys hockey, badminton, tennis and swimming
She swept the floor, cleaned the windows, polished the silver and then went shopping.
e. Before direct speech
In a quavering voice she whispered, “I love you.”
e. When subordinate clauses begin sentences they are often separated by commas.
If you’re ever in London, come and see me.
(Come and see me if you’re ever in London.)

Note how a comma can help us to make sense of a piece of writing and how the misplacement of
it or the use of it where it is not appropriate can cause confusion

Leonora walked on her head, a little higher than usual.

Leonora walked on, her head a little higher than usual.

Don’t guess, use a timer or a watch. (Don’t do any of these things.)

Don’t guess. Use a timer or a watch. (Don’t do the first thing. Choose an alternative given)

Two separate main clauses with no conjunctions are NOT separated by a comma, but by a full
stop.
NOT: She was studying at Hull University, she had completed her second year.
BUT: She was studying at Hull University. She had completed her second year.

4. Colons

a. To introduce a list
The reasons for the success of the project were as follows: the timing, the dedication of the
team and the adequate funding. (Compare: the reasons for the failure were lack of money
and time factors.)

5. Semicolons

a. To join two simple sentences if the following sentence is loosely connected in meaning.
Computer use is increasing; computer crime is, too.

6. Quotation marks

a. Use quotation marks for foreign words or words that are used in an uncommon way.
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 The "banquet" turned out to be a meal at McDonald's.
b. Full stops and commas go inside quotation marks:
"I am giving a presentation in a few weeks," she told her boss.

7. Capital letters

a. Proper nouns – people, organisations, places

Tower Bridge
She studied at Oxford University but her brother didn’t go to university.
b. Family relationships if they are used as a proper name
I wrote a thank you note to Aunt Abigail but not to my other aunts.
I bought present for Mother but John didn’t buy anything for his mother.
c. Titles preceding names but not titles that follow.
She worked as an assistant to the Lord Mayor, Boris Johnson.
She met Boris Johnson, the lord mayor.
d. Days of the week, months of the year, holidays
e. Countries, nationalities, languages
The United States, British, French
f. Titles of books, and songs but not the articles and conjunctions
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
g. National and political groups
Afro Americans, Conservatives
h Trademarks and abbreviations
Rolls Royce, Microsoft Word, IBM, UN
i Periods of time (but not centuries)
The Victorian Era, The Great Depression
BUT: the twentieth century

8 Dashes

Use a dash before and after an interrupting word, phrase, clause, or sentence when you want to give
extra emphasis to the interrupting words.

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© Sue Morris 2011 – updated by Jones/Momeni 2016