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HOW MANY LETTERS ARE THERE IN THE ENGLISH ALPHABET? 

There is a total of 26 letters in the English alphabet. Starting from ‘A’ and ending at ‘Z.’ 

  • Initially, English Alphabets has only 23 letters, including (A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z). 
  •  Later in the 16th Century, letters J, U, and W were added to form a complete structure of 26 alphabets. 
  • In English Alphabet, we have 5 vowels (A, E, I, O, U) and the rest of the letters are consonants. 

How To Encourage Reading in Your Child?

Encouraging your child to read and build their reading skills is indeed an intricate task. Making reading fun requires a lot of effort. But adopting a few tips can change the whole scenario and make your child get more engaged in the reading activities. Here are a few tips to encourage your child to read.

  • Make reading a routine.

Encourage your child to read books every day. If not for the entire day, make them read their books for at least 45 minutes each day. This will develop a habit of reading, and after reading a book, it will encourage them to know the meanings and understand what they are reading. This will also build confidence and allow them to think differently.

  • Make reading real

Connecting what your child reads with what exactly is happening in the real-life can be a great way of making reading a fun activity. Look for some follow-up activities, create stories and associate them with real life. Make references, connect things, and help your child build reading skills.

  • Dig a little deeper into the story

Engage your child in reading by asking questions about the book’s characters, thoughts, feelings, or actions. Encourage them by connecting to a story through the experiences you may have had altogether and help them understand more about it.

  • Make reading a free time activity.

Gone are the days when TV was a reward and reading a punishment. There is a lot more fun in reading rather than performing it as a tedious task. Set a good example by spending some of your free time reading books instead of watching TV or doing some lazy thing. Read a book in front of them and talk with them about how and why you enjoyed it.

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  • Take a chill pill

Do not push your child to study or read books even when they are not interested. Pushing the child will lose their interest in reading, and you have to encourage your child instead of discouraging them. Tell them to study and give them some time to develop their interest in reading. Praise their little efforts and treat their mistakes as an opportunity for some scope of improvement.

  • Pick the books at the right level.

Here comes an essential thing to consider, make sure that the book you choose for them to read is not too difficult or not too easy. The book must be adequate according to their age and level. Choose a book and check if your child struggles with the words mentioned in it or is okay with reading the book. If they struggle, then try a different book.

  • Play word games

Using word games can help your child to get aware of more words and their pronunciation. Choose some tongue twisters and let them practice and learn them. Also, there are several wordplay games that you can choose where they need to make new words with the existing tones on the board. This will enhance their interest in reading to get familiar with new words for their moves within the game and improve their vocabulary simultaneously.

  • Choose a series of books.

Choosing a series of books will maintain the interest and suspense about knowing what comes up in the next part. Reading a series of books will also help the child get familiar with themes, tone, and characters to make it easy for them to grasp.

  • Let them decide

Do not put your interest in them; instead, ask for theirs. Let your child decide what they want to read. Some like fantasy novels and some prefer audiobooks; whatever their choice is, let them decide what they want to read.

To help your child succeed, be a part of their learning phase and help them build a strong foundation for the subsequent study levels. Develop a daily routine and good reading habits by applying the tips mentioned above.

 

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What is a determiner in English?

A determiner, also known as a pronominal modifier, is a word or a group of words that identifies, quantifies, or specifies the noun phrase or noun that follows it. A determiner generally comes at the beginning of a noun phrase and tells more about what comes after it.

Determiners contain articles (a, an, the), ordinal numbers (first, second, third), cardinal numbers (one, two, three), quantifiers (most, all, others), demonstratives (this, that these, those), partitives (a piece of, some of, others), possessive determiners (my, his, her, your, our, its, their) and difference words (other, another)

Robert Funk and Martha Kolln describe determiners as

Determiners signal nouns in several ways like

  • They may define noun’s relationship to the listener, speaker, or reader
  • They may qualify it specifically to quantity in general.
  • They may identify nouns as general or specific.

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The two main kinds of determiners include specific and general.

Using a specific category refers to something specific like his, my, his, her, etc.

For instance,

My dog was sleeping all day.

While talking about the general ones, these do not refer to the specific ones and include general only. Some general words are many, a, an, what, other, etc.

For instance, many dogs were barking last night.

It is also common to get confused sometimes by the words that act as determiners sometimes and sometimes as pronouns. Wondering what?

For instance,

The word “that.”

– Sentence 1

That book is mine.

Here “that” is referring to a book, so it is a determiner.

– Sentence 2

Give me that.

Here that refers to a pronoun as it replaces a noun.

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Besides this, determiners are further divided into several kinds based on their meanings.

There are eight classes of determiners: This includes,

– The indefinite article

The indefinite articles are used with singular countable nouns. The indefinite article includes a or an.

For instance,

A man came into the shop.

– The Definite article

The definite article is used with both singular and plural nouns. It is not confined to countable or uncountable nouns and can be used with both of them. The definite article includes “the ” article.

For instance,

The dog chased the rabbit.

– The demonstratives

Demonstrative determiners are used to specify the distance of something in time or space concerning the speaker. The demonstrative determiners include this, that, those, these.

For instance,

This apple looks ripe.

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– The possessives

Possessive determiners are used when a person wants to indicate who owns or is associated with a particular item. The possessive determiners include my, his, her, your, our, their.

For instance,

This is my book collection.

– The quantifiers

Quantifiers are used to indicate the quantity or amount of something that is referred to by a noun. But these are different from the numbers as they do not indicate an exact amount. The quantifiers include some, enough, any, several, much, most, a few, many, half, double, both, no, all, enough, less, a little, least, fewer.

For instance,

Can I have some chips?

– The Numbers

The numbers are of two common kinds.

One is the cardinal numbers that are used in all forms of counting, which involve a total. The cardinal numbers include one, two, three.

For instance,

One chair

A hundred people

Another is the ordinal numbers that are used to talk about where something is placed in an ordered sequence. Ordinals are formed by adding the “-th” to the cardinal number.

For instance,

The company has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.

– The Distributives

The distributives are the determiners that are used to talk about something that is divided or shared out. The distributives include each, either, neither, every. These are generally used with singular nouns.

For instance,

I remember every detail about it.

– The exclamative

The exclamative are used to introduce an exclamation of admiration, surprise, or some similar emotion. The exclamative includes what, such.

For instance,

What a pleasant surprise!

Practice every type well and make examples for every type to get a stronger command over Determiners in English Grammar.

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What is Non-Standard English? 

Non-standard English is an informal version of the English language. It can be changed depending on which location it is being spoken. Non-Standard English comprises a lot of slang words that can be specific to a particular area. Slang is an informal version of some standard terms that everyone may not understand. 

Talking about non-standard English, we use slang or informal versions when communicating with people who are more relaxed or comfortable talking to each other. Like when we talk to our family or friends, we prefer talking informally, and that is when we use a lot of slang.  

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Now that you have an idea of the informal English language, let us look at some non-standard English language features.  

  1. Non-standard English includes an informal or friendly tone.  
  2. It includes most standard grammar but with some variations. 
  3. The spellings of a Non-Standard English word may vary. For instance, tonight becomes tonite or tonight and many more. 
  4. It includes simple phrases and words. 
  5. It includes lots of slang like jako for jealousy. 
  6. It includes lots of abbreviations like gonna for going to, wanna for want to, asap for as soon as possible, and many more.  

When a person meets someone in the morning, the formal people usually use standard English by saying, “Good Morning. How are you doing? “.” In contrast, coming to the informal meet-up, people typically start by saying, “Hey, Wassup?” This includes slang language that is more direct and informal.  

Did you find it interesting in learning with us? Don’t forget to reach out to other English blogs and master your subject with the desired skills.  

Stay connected for more!! 

Read Also What is Standard English & How to Revise It?

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How To Write An A-Level English Literature Essay?

Writing and structuring an English literature essay is essential. Using the appropriate structure is an integral part of writing an essay and achieving the top marks. Even if you have written the whole essay fine and have fulfilled all the requirements, but if you didn’t follow the structure right, this could cost you a lot, and you have to compromise with your marks.

There is a thin line between a good essay and an excellent one that makes a huge difference. At A-level, you have probably taught about the essay structure, and students still get confused about it as they don’t remember the importance of it. Let us dive into writing an A-level English literature essay.

The structure of an English literature essay has three parts

  • Introduction
  • Body
  • Conclusion

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Students frequently find themselves questioning “what should go into the introduction”, “what constitutes the essay’s body”, or “is my conclusion suiting the whole essay?”

So let us break it down and check how we can end up writing an impactful essay.

Introduction: Introductory part of the essay is the key to set the tone of an essay. This can be the deciding factor whether the reader gets interested in it or not. Try to be concise and clear about what you are trying to target in your essay. It would be best to show what your essay’s ultimate picture will be and what threads you will be using. In your essay’s introduction paragraph, make sure that you answer the questions the right way and provide an overview to the users to generate their interest.

The Body: The boy is the lengthiest part of the essay. An excellent method for arranging your thoughts well into a coherent structure is to dedicate a paragraph for each essential point or idea. You can add 3 to 6 diverse areas that you want to cover in your essay, and each of these must be divided into paragraphs. Further, this can be divided into points, examples, or explanations.

Conclusion: While talking about A-level essays, you don’t need to write a long conclusion. You can conclude your essay well with a few lines only. However, summarizing the essay is essential, and a good conclusion leaves the reader with a sense of closure.

Pro tip: Whatever your approach is, the more you practice essay writing, the better your structure and outcome will be.

What is Standard English & How to Revise It?

What is Standard English?

Standard English is described as a form of English Language with substantial regularization associated with formal schooling, official print publications, and language evaluation. The term “Standard” refers to the regularization of grammar, language usage, spellings, and not too minimal interchangeability. In contrast, the term Standard English referred to the British English, Vocabulary, and grammar of the UK standard English and received a pronunciation accent. 

 Standard English is associated with education and sociolinguistic prestige. In everyday usage, Standard English is the most widely accepted and understood throughout the English-speaking world. It is free of regional, class, and other shibboleths. 

Though the issue of standard accent often causes tension and trouble. Sometimes it’s presented as a common core where a view that remains controversial is challenging to decide where the core ends and the peripheries begin. 

Linguistics usually agree on the following three things: 

  1. The standard is most easily identified in print, whose conventions are less or more uniform throughout the world. Some people often use standard print for that medium. 
  2. Standard English forms are often used by the presenters of news on most English-language television or radio networks, including some regional and other variations, especially in accent. 
  3. Standard English is used to associate with the social class and educational level to match the average level of achievement of students who have completed secondary level schooling.   
  4. Standard English is a widely used term that is considered self-evident in its meaning, stating as it is both the ideal and usage of educated or good English users. However, apart from its several implications, including general or negative, some geographical limitation often has been imposed on its definition.   

How to Revise for The English Language?

If your English language GCSE level exam is approaching, then you need to get geared up with the last moment revision of your subject’s syllabus. If you are preparing for your GCSE level exam, then the revision approach compiled here can be a savior for you. Without revision, you won’t be able to perform better.  

We have just compiled a small selection of last-moment revision approaches and a quick checklist. So, follow the below-mentioned approach that will help you revise the data efficiently.  

1.  Make a plan: -

Revision plans play a crucial role in exams. Even if you have read it once or twice, you won’t be able to write appropriately without revision. To start with an effective revision strategy, you need to generate a revision routine and don’t forget to follow it.  

2.  Consistent and Quality Revision: -

Students often consider that they don’t need to revise the English language. But it is one of the biggest misunderstandings with the GCSE exams. The English language is a scoring subject, but who said that you don’t need to revise it consistently. Revise the contents of the subject topic-wise and don’t just readout. Practice well while revising the syllabus and give a quality performance in your exams.  

3.  Review your class notes: -

While revising the syllabus, don’t forget to review your class notes. Expand the notes with your ideas and practice writing essays and other stuff. Reviewing the notes will undoubtedly remind you of something imperative mentioned by the teacher while teaching in the class.  

4.  Practice Past Papers:-

People often believe that you don’t need to practice English due to a lack of knowledge. Practicing past papers can be a beneficial strategy for you as it will give you an idea of questions and introduces you to the exam structure.  

Follow these simple steps, and you will be on the way to pass your GCSE English Language exam with a remarkable score.  

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