English ECLPE

Key Unit Competence: To use language learnt in the context of 

people and places

Introductory Activity

Picture observation and interpretation

Observe the above pictures and respond to the following questions: 1. Describe what is taking place in different figures from the pictures above. 2. Which places do you think people of different ages mostly like to visit and why? 3. What makes people different? Give a reason

4. Describe people in your home using present simple tense. 5. How do you differentiate nuclear family and extended family? Provide some examples. 6. If you were a parent, would you spend money to take your children to explore new places where they play with toys or see interesting animals? Justify the relevance of your choice.

1.1. Introducing oneself and others

1.1.1. Learning activities:

Reading and Textt analysis

Observe the pictures and discuss. 

1. Answer these questions:1) What is taking place in fig 1-2? 2. Why is it important for your head teacher/mistress to introduce a new nursery school teacher or any other new employee to other staff members? 3. Is it necessary to talk about your personal life information or your friend’s personal life during introduction? If yes or no, give a reason. 4. Suggest some pieces of advice to the people who forget to introduce their friends when together they meet new people.

Text 1. Audio script between two teachers of nursery school Read the dialogue below and answer the questions that follow: MONICA AND LUCILLE

 Monica: We’re talking today with Lucille; she comes from a family of three kids. Lucille, I hear you have a younger sister.

 Lucille: Right. Five years younger? Monica: And a sister? Lucille: That’s right.

 Monica: And you and your sister are twins. Is that right? 

Lucille: That’s true. She was born eight minutes before me. I was the little one. 

 Monica: Well, tell us a bit about her name, by the way?

 Lucille: Her name’s Laura. Monica: Laura! So, Lucille, do you both resemble? Lucille: We do, actually. A lot of people can’t tell us apart. Monica: Really? 

Lucille: But I wear glasses all the time. She only wears them for reading. Monica: I see. Some people say twins like the same things. Is that true for you two? 

 Lucille: Well, we both love Mexican food. We always have the same thing when we go to restaurants. And let’s see… we like the same kinds of movies. Monica: Anything else? 

Lucille: Well, this is kind of funny. Sometimes we buy almost the same clothes. Not because we want to. It just happens by accident. I go to visit her and she’s wearing a shirt like mine. It’s always a surprise. 

 Monica: So how are you different from each other?

Lucille: Well, Laura’s a great dancer. And me, I can’t dance at all. 

 Monica: Anything else? Let’s see… her favourite colour is green; mine’s blue. She loves football and I love baseball… I could go on and on. 

 Monica: Well, how about musical tastes? Lucille: Oh yeah, I love classical music. But she really prefers pop. I actually play piano, but she doesn’t play any musical instrument. I’d say she’s really more of a dancer than a musical person. 

 Monica: And how about your own marriages and families? Are they similar in any way? Lucille: Well, we both have two kids. I’ve got a boy and a girl. She has got two boys and they are all studying in the same nursery school. But our husbands are completely different, not at all alike. 

Monica: Really! Well, thank you, Lucille Kennedy, for talking with us today about you and your twin sister. 

Lucille: Thank you. That was fun! Adopted from: https://dl.pearson.co.jp/resources/9780133810516/ teachers.pdf

• Comprehension questions 

1. How many people are speaking in the audio dialogue?

2. Does Lucille have a brother? Is he older than her or younger?

3. What is the name of the twin sister of Lucille?

4. Which things do those twins have in common?

5. Do you think the above conversation helped Monica to know 

Lucille? Why?

Text 2. Two different dialogues in two different situations

Provide the meaning of the words highlighted as instructed below:

In these two situations, people are introducing themselves to each other. 

In the first situation, it is two strangers at a conference. In the second 

situation, an employee is introducing himself to a new employee in an 

office. From the context, find those which are formal and informal among 

the words/phrases in bold.

Situation 1

David: ‘It’s a very good conference this year.’

Lisa: ‘Yes, I’m really enjoying it. I think it’s better than last year’s. Did 

you come last year?’

David: ‘No, I didn’t. But I came the year before and that was good, but 

not as good as this year.

Lisa: ‘It was good last year, but the speakers this year are a much better.’

David: ‘Allow me to introduce myself. My name’s Gary Smith.’

Lisa: ‘Pleased to meet you Gary. My name’s Lisa Rodgers.’

(Handshake)

David: ‘Pleased to meet you too. For how long are you at the 

conference?’

Lisa: ‘I’m here for 5 days. And you?’

David: ‘I’m here for only 3 days. I’m leaving the day after 

tomorrow.’

Lisa: ‘What do you do?’

David: ‘I’m a sales manager at Time box plc. And yourself?’

Lisa: ‘I’m the director of marketing for an internet company 

called ‘Travelquick.com.

Situation 2

Christine: Hi

Paul: Hello

Christine: ‘I don’t think we’ve been introduced. My name’s 

Christine.’

Paul: ‘Nice to meet you Christine. My name’s Paul.’(Handshake)

Christine:’ Hello Paul, nice to meet you too. How is everything?’

Paul: ‘It’s going very well. There is a lot to learn, but this job seems 

similar to my last job. The people here seem very friendly. Do you work 

in the sales department?’

Christine: ‘Yes, I do.

1.1.2. Application activity: Essay writing

Write a one-page essay explaining the importance of self-introduction 

and introducing other people.

1.2. Describing people and places

1.2.1. Learning activity: Reading andText analysis

• Text: A good friend 

I have a friend with a beautiful name Lucy. She is low on growth, browneyed and black-browed. She has on her pale face barely visible freckles. 

Big brown eyes are framed with long fluffy eyelashes. She always grins 

with her amazing smile. When she laughs, her little nose wrinkles so 

funnily. She is very tidy. Her dresses are always ironed. Lucy is a sincere 

friend. Between us, there are never secrets. Together we read books, go 

to the library, prepare home tasks. When I am sick, she always comes to 

me after classes, talks about school and about her adventures. But the 

most interesting she talks about the new books she read. I want to listen 

to her every day, listen without end. Lucy doesn’t avoid work. She just 

comes home from school immediately and cleans up the room. I love my 

friend for her sensitivity, kindness and spiritual purity.

Recently, my friend wanted to know about a very important place to me 

and of course what came to my mind was a place which is meaningful to 

me because it is part of the county I loved, is part of the country where I 

grew up and is part of my childhood. This place is in the country in an old 

region named Appalachia, a small piece of the Appalachian Mountains, 

in a town named Pikeville. Pikeville is a polluted town because of the coal 

industry. 

People live in apartment or condominium buildings because of its little 

space available. I grew up in one of the many buildings in Pikeville 

admiring from my bedroom window the beauty of the mountains, always 

exploring with my eyes the forest or the meadows, looking for a clean and 

quiet place. And, I found one on a hill in the back of the town. It is about 

100 feet square, it has seven old trees, wild flowers and a lot of bugs and 

ants during summer time. I used to go there to sit down on a rock and 

watch the town and my trees. There was a very old tree, a maple tree, 

with a huge trunk. 

The others were smaller, three in the back, three on my left side and 

the old maple tree on my right. There were flowers, many kinds, white, 

yellow, purple and blue. It was nobody’s place. Nobody owned that hill, 

but it was beautiful and peaceful and I dreamed many times about a 

white house over there. Let us not deceive each other and love others 

as they are, because we are not all the same. And finally, not forget to 

beautify our places to attract other people.

Adopted from: http://bigessaywriter.com/blog/descriptive-essay-on-aperson-my-perfect-essay

• Comprehension questions

1. What is the name of a person who is being described in the 

passage?

2. Describe her the way the author did it in the passage.

3. Why does the author love her friend?

4. Give reasons why the author likes the old region named 

Appalachia.

5. How did the author describe that place?

6. Which advice did the author give to people who are friends?

1.2.2. Application activity: Word meanings and paragraph writing

Find the meaning of the following words as they were used in the above 

text using your dictionaries:

• Deceive

• Beautify

• Huge 

• Cheerful person

• Childhood

• Freckles 

• Adventures

• Brown eyes

2.Write a paragraph describing the people you love and important places 

to you.

1.3. Talking about people at home

1.3.1. Learning activity: Reading and Text analysis

• Text 1

Look at the picture, and read the passage below. and answer the questions 

that follow. 

 My family

There are 6 people in my family. I have two brothers and one sister. I am 

the second born. My Dad goes to work every day from 8 am to 8 pm. His 

job is to communicate with Vietnamese people. My mom doesn’t work 

outside the home. She stays at home and takes care of the house. She 

also raises the kids and cooks every day. My oldest brother is 23 years 

old. He doesn’t work or go to school. He just stays at home and only does 

what he wants. He also spends a lot of money from what our dad earns. 

My younger brother is just the opposite. He is 18 years old. Every day he 

goes to school and sometimes he goes to work. He also helps my parents 

when he has free time. He got a diploma from high school and now he 

is enrolled at the University. My parents are proud of him very much. 

Finally, my sister is 11 years old and a cute girl. She is in the fifth grade. 

I think she is a very smart girl. I love her and my parents very much.

It was at 2.00 o’clock in evening on January 6th 2000. I came to the U.S. 

When I got off the airplane I entered the airport and looked around, Oh!

It looked big and very luxurious! I had never seen that before and all 

the words were in English, no more Vietnamese. And also, the people 

were strangers. It made me a little scared because I didn’t speak English 

well. After one hour waiting for the customs officer to process my paper, 

I met my husband and my parents–in-law and also my two uncles; they 

welcomed me to the U.S. I felt happy but a little tired, because I didn’t 

sleep very well on the plane.

After that, my husband drove me home. On the way home, I saw the big! 

big! streets with a lot of cars. They did not look like those in Vietnam 

where you find motorbikes and motorcycles. They drive there with no 

lanes. Also, the trees had no leaves “What happened “that I thought. So, 

I asked my husband. He said “Because in the winter time the weather is 

cold, and snow makes all the leaves fall off. “Oh, I see “Isaid.

Adopted from: http://www.instruction.greenriver.edu/esol/activities/

projects/families/xuyenproject.htm

• Comprehension questions

1. How many members does the above family have? How many boys 

and girls?

2. What does the father and the oldest brother do and when?

3. Which challenge did the author face in the journey?

4. Why parents are proud of the young brother of the author?

5. What did her husband comment on the reason why trees had no 

leaves?

1.3.2. Application activity: Paragraph writing

Write a short paragraph explaining how a good family would look like. 

(Refer to notes on paragraph writing in unit 5, page….)

1.4. Narrating about different places

1.4.1. Learning activity: Reading and Text analysis

Read the following text and answer questions that follow:

• Text: Visit to an exhibition of Birds

Last Sunday, an exhibition on birds was held in our locality at Salt Lake. 

I visited the exhibition with my parents. The exhibition started from 11 

a.m. in the morning. It was held in the Salt Lake Stadium. One part of 

the ground was surrounded with barricade made of tin. The ground was 

decorated with colourful lights. Many stalls were set up for displaying 

the birds. 

These stalls were made with wooden frames. The main attraction of the 

exhibition was our Chief Minister. She came and cut the ribbon in the 

opening ceremony. There were many species of birds. Birds like sparrows, 

parrots, kakatua, 

pigeon and many more were kept there for display

From the afternoon people crowded all over the stalls. Some of them were 

buying birds, some were only watching and some were busy bargaining 

with the bird sellers. It was quite exciting to see the reactions of the 

children in the fair. They were so thrilled that they were running all 

over the ground. They were very happy to see so many colourful birds 

together. It was very nice to see the talking parrot. A bird trainer was 

making the parrot talk. There were many food stalls. Different types of 

snacks were also sold at the fair. 

Children were mostly buying ice-creams and popcorns. Many people were 

seen carrying cages in their hands on their way home. It was truly a nice 

exhibition to visit. It is becoming more and more popular every year. We 

saw so many rare birds from close but I prefer to see them in their natural 

habitat. When I go for holidays with my parents, we watch out for birds 

all around us. In my next trip, I wish to request my parents to permit me 

to go to a place heard from my classmates called safari of Nandankanan 

from Purithat isalso wonderful. They told me that they went to Chilka 

which is famous for dolphins. They sat in a boat and went a far distance 

into the sea. They have heard that dolphins are human’s friends, so they 

also wanted to make friends with them. But unfortunately, they could 

not see a dolphin. In Chilka red crabs and prawns are found. This is 

about all their experience in Puri which they think is the ideal place for 

all visitors. They plan to go to Puri this year again and hopefully, I will 

go with them and have lots and lots of fun.

Adopted: http://www.arked.co.in/birds-in-an-exhibition.html

• Comprehension Questions

1. Vocabulary

Using dictionary and thesaurus, find the meaning of the following words 

as they are used in the above passage. (the words are highlighted in the 

text):

a. exhibition

b. habitat

c. stalls

d. crowded 

e. barricade

f. ribbon

g. species 

h. snacks

i. popcorns

j. bargaining

2.When did the exhibition of birds take place?

3. Where is the story/exhibition happening?

a. Mention who the main guest in this exhibition was.

b. Why were the children much attracted by this exhibition?

c. What made this fair become more and more popular?

4. Which place was the writer planning to visit during her next free time?

5 .Why were the writer and mates intending to visit a new site?

1.4.2. Application activity: Sentence writing

Use each of the above words from the vocabulary in your own sentences.

1.5. Comparing people according to their gender and 

occupation

1.5.1. Learning activity: Reading and Text analysis

• Text: A man in the kitchen

In Rwanda, a man in the kitchen is an unusual sight in most places, 

be it urban or rural. This is often accompanied by sarcastic comments, 

mocking laughter or shaking of heads in disapproval, from men as well as 

women. Patriarchy has been a widely accepted social norm; gender roles 

are clearly divided into how men are supposed to act and how women 

have to behave. However, in most rural areas in Rwanda all this has 

started to change and men have miraculously accepted to step foot into 

the kitchen to cook and serve their children and wives.

In the village of Kayonza, a group of men were found preparing beans 

together with women in the kitchen. “It is so surprising to see my husband 

assist me in sorting out beans for cooking. This has never happened 

since we were married 32 years ago,” said Gertrude Mukagatare, a 

56-year-old resident of Rwinkwavu in Kayonza district. Jean Damascene 

Ntabanyurwa is the 60 year-old husband of Mukagatare who has become 

a role model and earned respect for his change in attitude. “I was initially 

ridiculed by other men for doing work traditionally reserved for women,” 

said Ntabanyurwa, “but I have quickly become a role model, earned 

respect and courage to do things differently.”

Hile Jennifer in her book, ‘Stereotypical Naturism: Understanding 

Discrimination Based on Stereotypes Prejudice,’ noted the impeccable 

need to understand the nature of stereotypes. “Understanding the 

nature of stereotypes, generalizations, prejudice and discrimination is 

the first step in cultivating tolerance. Every person has prejudices since, 

it is simply human nature. People should, however, in the interest of 

intellectual honesty, consider that fairness is compromised when they 

discriminate against others because of personal prejudices.”

“Many people believe that every human being deserves respect and 

freedom to practice unhindered, activities that make life more meaningful 

for them as long as there is no harm done to others. After all, personal 

freedom is one of the hallmarks of democracy,” Hile stated. Rwandan 

women have been an important and increasingly visible part of the 

modern Rwandan society. Women are successfully and continuously 

fighting patriarchy and discriminative male dominance. Claudette 

Nyiramasoni is a 38-year-old local leader in Kirehe district who said 

that through involving a change in attitude and perception, they crossed 

over the very boundaries which had constructed leadership as a male 

preserve.

“Our presence in administration and general politics indicates our 

rejection of the women’s traditional and marginalized status which has 

been met with resentment and resistance. Rwanda’s development is 

bound to change as the society recognizes that women are a driving force 

that is needed to change the course of this country”.

Adopted from: https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/16632

• Comprehension questions 

1. What caused sarcastic comments, mocking laughter or shaking 

of heads in disapproval, from men as well as women?

2. What is gender according to the text?

3. Compare people’s perception of gender in both rural and urban 

places.

4. Who stated that personal freedom is one of the hallmarks of 

democracy?

5. What shows marginalization status among women today than in 

the past?

6. Suppose you are a head teacher in a school x, what will you do to 

change people’s prejudice on women?

1. Question related to gender awareness

a. At what extent do you think gender awareness has reached?

b. Where do you find areas of improvement?

c. What is your role?

1.5.2. Application activity

Debate on the following topic, “Women occupations should be the same 

as men’s occupations.” Read the instructions on how to carry out a debate 

activity in unit five of this book.

1.6. Language structure

• A. Present simple tense

Present simple tense, also known as simple present tense or present 

indefinite tense is used to describe an action that is regular, true and 

normal. It could equally be used to describe what is happening currently. 

Present simple tense can be used for the following:

1. Repeated actions- For example:

- She walks to work every day.

- The train leaves the railway station daily.

 2. Habits,

 - They swim every evening.

 - I get up early every day.

 3. Things that are generally true.

 - They speak Ikinyarwanda at home.

 - It shines a lot in summer.

 4. Facts

 - They come from Rwanda.

 - Birds have wings.

 5. Something fixed in the future.

 - The school choir leaves at 7:00pm in the evening.

 - She performs her traditional song tomorrow morning.

6. Some time to talk about past actions when we are summarising a 

book, film or play

Example: 

Okwonko is moved although he remains unstoppable with his mission to 

become a Lord of his clan. He is disappointed by Nwoye but maintains 

great love for his daughter Ezinma, his child by his second wife Ekwefi. 

Ekwefi has begotten ten children but only Ezinma has survived. He 

lovesthe girl so much… 

(Extract from Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe)

The table below shows how the simple present tense can be used.

Rules:

• We use do/does for questions in the present simple and we specifically 

employ does for the third person singular.

• For third person singular, (she, he, it) we add ‘s’ to the verb.

• Often, adverbs of frequency such as sometimes, usually, seldom etc. 

are used with the present simple. 

• We also use do/does to make interrogative clauses and negative 

sentences in the present simple.

• Do and does can be used with some of the ‘WH’ words such as where, 

when, what. Example, when does Nzeyi clean his room?

However, who does not use do or does as seen in the example below:

Who lives in Huye?

Exercises

1. Construct (10) grammatically well-structured sentences using 

the present simple tense.

2. Narrate an experience you encountered at college using the 

present simple tense.

B. Past Simple tense

The past tense is formed by adding ‘ed’ at the end of the verb. This is 

very applicable for only regular verbs in their past form. Such verbs in 

their base include play, laugh, clean, pray etc. while the irregular verbs 

like catch, sweep, bring, carry have no defined formula to include for 

their past form.

Uses of the past tense:

 To talk about something that happened once in the past

Examples:

1. We met at the market last evening.

2. We carried the books back to the library yesterday.

 When talking about a thing that happened several times in 

the past.

Examples:

1. We sung a lot while we were in school.

2. They always enjoyed playing the piano.

 For expressions with ago, we also use simple past

Examples:

1. I met my family twenty years ago.

2. Kevine finished her assignment two days ago.

 When something was true for some time in the past

Examples:

1. She prayed a lot when she was sick.

2. I worked in Rwanda for fifteen years.

Examples of verbs with their past form.

C. Nouns

1. Definition

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or an idea. 

2. Types of Nouns

There are different types of nouns: Proper nouns, Common nouns, 

Collective nouns, Abstract nouns, Countable and Uncountable nouns.

Our focus will be on proper, common, abstract, collective (also known as 

mass nouns), countable or uncountable nouns

a. Abstract nouns 

These are nouns that.

Examples could be habits such as politeness, intelligence

b. Collective nouns

These are used to represent a group of things, people and animals. 

Examples include a flock of sheep, a gang of thugs, a crowd of people, a 

fleet of trucks etc.

c. Common nouns

A word used to name general thing, people, places, ideas, events, or 

people: class, tables, desk, board

d. Proper nouns: 

The name of a particular person, place animal or thing and some events.

They always begin with a capital letter.

e.g. Gatesi, Nyanza, Rwandair, January, Friday, Easter, Christmas, Id 

El Fitr, etc.

e. Countable and uncountable nouns

• Countable nouns

They are nouns we use to name people, animals or things that can be 

counted using numbers: e.g. bottles, books, cups, boys, girls, etc. 

• Uncountable nouns

They are noun used to name people, animals or things that cannot be 

counted like air, sand, wind, crowd, herd, etc.

D. Pronouns

I. Definition

Pronouns are words that are used to replace nouns. They act like 

nouns; they are nouns substitutes.

We normally use pronouns to limit repetition of the nouns that they refer to.

Types of Pronouns

The types of pronouns include personal, indefinite, reflective, 

demonstrative, relative, reflexive, reciprocal and possessive pronouns. 

This unit will however exploit personal, possessive and demonstrative 

pronouns.

1. Personal pronouns include:

They replace names of people, animals, things or ideas acting as 

subjects or objects within sentences.

Examples: Mutesi likes wild animals. She visits them during holidays.

2. Possessive pronouns.

They show that something or someone belongs to something or someone 

they include: mine, yours, hers, his, ours, theirs.

e.g. Elisabeth and Catherine have their books. 

Mine is on the desk. Jacob left his home. 

Rosemary gave hers to Noah.

Samuel and colleagues, do you have yours?

3. Demonstrative pronouns

They are words that are used to designate something specific within a 

sentence. They are very few and include: this, that, those, these, none, 

neither, such, etc.

e.g. a. Neither of you did the homework.

 b. None knew about the road. 

c. Students from poor families drop out of school so early.

 Such students need help.

E. Articles

I. Definition

An article is a word that accompanies a noun to specify its grammatical 

definiteness. Articles include a, an and the. 

II. Types of Articles

There are two main types of Articles: the definite and the indefinite. 

a. Indefinite Articles

Indefinite articles include a and an. They are used in several ways:

1. We use the indefinite articles (a and an) when we refer to any 

person or thing and not a particular one; i. e. a/an means any.

Example: - She gave me a radio. 

 - Kamali is afraid to use an escalator.

 Note: Here the words “radio” and “escalator” in the examples 

above are referring not to particular but to general items. 

2. We also use indefinite articles when we mention something for the 

first time: a/an means a certain.

Example: A farmer approached an orange tree with an axe.

3. We use the indefinite article an when the word that follows it 

begins with a vowel sound. A is used when the word that follows it 

begins with a consonant sound.

Examples: -Her fiancé gave her a ring. 

- The girl gave an answer. 

 - I prefer working in a university. 

III. Pronunciation of articles: 

The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation not on spelling. 

Therefore, we say a university, a useful thing, an hour, an honest man… 

and indefinite articles are only used with singular count noun

IV. Definite articles

The definite article the is used to refer to particular things or persons. It 

is used in the following ways:

1. It can be used with both singular and plural nouns, unlike the 

indefinite articles. 

2. It is used when we mention something that we had mentioned 

before.

Example: The farmer approached the pine tree with the axe he bought 

yesterday.

3. We don’t put an article before the name of a country unless it 

starts with united, for Example, the United States of America or 

the United Kingdom; or its name contains the word Republic or 

Union, for example, the People’s Republic of China.

4. When referring to languages, we use the in the following ways: 

we say the English language and not English language; We say 

fluent in English and not fluent in the English

5. Pronunciation of the:

- ‘the’ is pronounced |Òe| before nouns beginning with a 

consonant sound or articulated/sounded letter like ‘h’.

Example: the climate, the beach, themuseum, the trade-fair, the 

lake, the harbour, the hotel, the hyena

- But the is pronounced |Òi| before nouns beginning with a vowel 

sound and silent letters like h.

Examples: the exhibition, the orange, the honest man,

III. Zero article

We call Zero article the non expression of either a definite or indefinite 

article before a noun phrase.

1. Generic/indefinite reference (mass and plural nouns)

(1) generic mass noun: Happiness is contagious.

(2) generic plural noun: Parks are beautiful places to visit.

 They (People) want equal rights.

2. Indefinite reference with both plural and mass nouns.

(1) indefinite mass noun: I drink coffee.

(2) indefinite plural noun: I saw cars.

B. Conjunctions: Whereas, While, When, Where

The sentences below have been taken from the text above. Read them 

carefully and explain the role of the words highlighted. 

1. A home is generally defined as a place where one lives permanently

2. The term nuclear family refers to the family group consisting of 

parents and children, while extended family includes all those 

with kinship ties. 

3. Nuclear family is composed of parents and siblings, whereas

extended family is made up of all people from the same ancestors.

Notes: 

A conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect words, phrases, 

clauses, or sentences. Conjunctions do not change in number, neither do 

they in person. They are invariable grammar particles. Below are some 

conjunctions that are used to contrast two similar things. 

a) Whereas 

Whereas is a conjunction which is used to highlight an important 

difference between two similar things or facts.

When whereas comes at the beginning of a subordinate (dependent) 

clause, we put a comma before it. 

Examples

1. Nuclear family is composed of parents and siblings, whereas 

extended family is made up of all people from the same ancestors.

2. The term nuclear family refers to the family group consisting of 

parents and children, whereas extended family includes all those 

with kinship ties

3. People say ‘fries’ in America, whereas in Britain they call 

them‘‘chips’’. 

Notes:

When the clause with whereas comes before the main clause, we put a 

comma after that main clause.

Examples: 

1. Whereas extended family is made up of all people from the same 

ancestors, Nuclear family is composed of parents and siblings.

2. Whereas Bugesera has very hot summers, Musanze summers are 

sometimes quite cold. 

3. Whereas street children don’t get affection, children in families 

get enough care. 

b) While 

While can be used instead of whereas

Examples 

1. Nuclear family is composed of parents and siblings, whereas/

while extended family is made up of all people from the same 

ancestors. 

2. Children in orphanages are sometimes sad, whereas/while 

children in families are usually happy. 

While can also be used to express time. In that case it introduces a 

time clause and means at the same time or during the time. 

Examples 

1. While the kids were having a nap, the mom could have a relaxing bath.

2. I remembered I had forgotten to buy food while I was just leaving the 

market. 

c) When 

When can be used in different ways, but when it is used as a conjunction 

it means at the time that. The clause with when is a subordinate 

clause and needs a main clause to complete its meaning. If the when 

clause comes before the main clause, we use a comma. When can be 

used to talk about the past, present or future as explained below.

 Talking about the past

Examples:

1. When I was younger, there were no houses here. 

2. Nobody spoke when she came into the room. 

 Talking about the present 

Examples:

1. When a new child is born, there is a lot of joy in family.

2. There is a lot of joy in family when a new child is born. 

 Talking about the future

Notes:

In references to the future with when, we use the present simple or the 

present perfect in the when-clause, not the future with shall and will:

Examples:

1. When the new park opens, my father will take me there.

Not: When the new park will open, my father will take me there.

2. When I’ve finished my homework, I’m going to phone my dad.

Not: When I’ll finish my homework, I’m going to phone my dad.

We can also use when to mean “considering that”.

Example:

What’s the point in going out when we have to be home by eleven o’clock?

d) Where 

Where is used as a conjunction to mean in the place that or in situations 

that. The clause with where is a subordinate clause and needs a main 

clause to complete its meaning. If the where clause comes before the 

main clause, we use a comma.

Examples:

1. Where you find a lot of water, you will also find these beautiful insects.

2. Where you have to pay a deposit, be sure to get a receipt.

Exercises

Using conjunctions and articles in sentences

i. Choose the right words from the brackets to fill in gaps in each of 

the sentences below.

1. Kariza, will you lay the table……. I help your sister with her 

maths exercise, please. (whereas/while)

2. The twins are very different: Kalisa is shy and reserved……. 

Kamana is outgoing. (whereas/while)

3. My aunt Sophie is a doctor…Uncle Pete is a dentist. (whereas/

where)

4. I remembered my keys…I had left. (while/when)

5. Dad would like to have a holiday in Spain… Mom would prefer 

Italy. (whereas/when)

6. Why carrying bed covers in Musanze…we have to sleep in a hotel. 

(where/when) 

7. A home is generally defined as a place…one lives permanently. 

(where/when)

8. When my mother … I will tell her that you didn’t mop your room. 

(comes, will come) 

ii. Use a, an or the to fill the blanks in the following sentences. The 

first one has been done for you. 

1. My mother considered it an hour to receive the reward promised 

by the President. 

2. Your car is very nice. Does it have … DVD player?

3. Kamali rested at home in … garden …whole morning. 

4. Kalisa found … cat. … cat belongs to his neighbour. 

5. Keza has got … job in … bank in Kigali. 

6. She is … useful person most of … time. 

 Notes

Vocabulary is the basis for the development of all the other skills: 

reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, 

spelling and pronunciation. This is the main tool that will help you 

attempt to use English effectively. You will first find meanings of words 

and then use them in your own sentences. 

Copy words in column A in your exercise book and match them with 

their meanings in column B

1.8. End unit assessment

a. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Kamali and Kalisa often… to parties yesterday. (go)

2. Jenny sometimes …Monica. (meet)

3. In summer, children usually… in the garden. (play)

4. Kalisa …the board every day. (clean) 

5. My sister…blue eyes. (have)

6. Bill…the window at night for it is always hot here. (open)

7. They all…dark blue pullovers when it is cold. (wear) 

8. He always…the housework himself. (do)

9. My mum…shopping every Friday. (go)

10. I never…TV in the morning. (watch)

11. Fred…football last week. (play)

12. Hannah and Betty often…pizza. (eat) 

13. Frank …Watching TV. (like)

b. Decide whether to use a, an, or the for each of the following 

sentences.

1. _____ flowers he gave me are beautiful. 

2. Her dad sings her _____ song each night before she goes to bed.

3. Have you ever eaten _____ raw egg before?

4. Excuse me, do you have _____ time?

5. He had _____ exciting day today.

6. Bob forgot to bring _____ cake he baked.

7. Can you please return _____ records you borrowed?

8. Fred met _____ wonderful group of people last night.

9. _____ people Scott met were also nice. Tell me _____ story!

c. Re-arrange the following conversation about self-introduction and 

others to be meaningful.

• Nice to meet you too.

• I’m an engineer.

• Mrs. Smith, what do you do for a living?

• I work for Pentax International. What do you do?

• Oh. Where do you work?

• I teach English.

• Hi. Nice to meet you.

• Thank you. It was nice to talk to you!

• What do you teach?

• I’m a teacher.

• Robert, this is my friend, Mrs. Smith.

d. Write a 100 word composition explaining why living in a family is 

better than living in an orphanage.