Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 1
It's personal!
Textbook English Download B1+ Student's Book Form 5 (KSSM, Hamilton House / KPM 2020), pages 5-16
What this chapter covers
- I can name different kinds of families and talk about relationships with relatives, peers, colleagues and strangers (Unit 1 opener, Vocabulary 1)
- I can read an article about household chores and put missing sentences back into a gapped text (Reading)
- I can use the present simple, the present continuous and stative verbs correctly (Grammar 1)
- I can use do and make, phrasal verbs and adjective endings (-y, -ic, -al) about home life (Vocabulary 2)
- I can use defining and non-defining relative clauses with who, which, that, whose, where, when and why (Grammar 2)
- I can listen for the quality each speaker admires and give polite advice (Listening, Speaking)
- I can read an email task carefully and write an informal email of 140-190 words with paragraphs and linking words (Writing)
This unit is about personal relationships: family, friends, peers and colleagues, and who does the chores at home. You revise the language of the unit (grammar and vocabulary), a gapped-text reading task, listening for qualities, polite advice, and how to read an email writing task before you write. Page numbers are from the Form 5 English Download student's book (pp. 5-16).
1.1Families and the people around you
Photo: English Download B1+ Form 5 textbook, p. 5.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| traditional family | mother, father and their children living together |
| single-parent family | one parent brings up the children alone |
| blended family | a parent remarries, so there are stepparents and stepbrothers or stepsisters |
| extended family | several generations or relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) who meet or live together |
| adoptive family | children who are not the biological children of the parents, but have been adopted |
Peers: people of your own age and social group. Colleagues: people you work with. Strangers: people you do not know. Relatives: members of your family.
Words for behaviour in relationships come in pairs that are easy to confuse.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| argue / discuss | argue = quarrel; discuss = talk about something calmly | Let's discuss it. Why must we argue? |
| criticise / advise | criticise = say what is wrong; advise = suggest what to do | I advise you not to criticise him all the time. |
| grumble / gossip | grumble = complain; gossip = talk about other people's private lives | Dad grumbles about the weather. |
| accuse / praise | accuse = say someone did something wrong; praise = say someone did well | She accused him of lying. They praised her. |
Feelings words are adjectives that often appear in vocabulary tasks: frustrated, ashamed, respectful, cheerful, calm, guilty, miserable, proud. Learn the spelling (the unit's task has you restore the missing vowels).
Choose the correct word: (a) The teacher (praised / accused) the class for working hard. (b) Don't (gossip / discuss) about your neighbours.
Show answerHide answer
(a) praised, because working hard is good. (b) gossip, because it means talking about other people's private matters.
1.2Reading: helping out at home (gapped text)
The article on pp. 6-7 is about teenagers and household chores. Jessica Stilwell's three daughters never helped, so she went on strike and stopped doing the chores. After a few days the girls finally cleaned up. The writer's message: teenagers are not too busy to do simple chores.
Gapped text: sentences have been removed from an article and you put each one back in the right gap. There is one extra sentence.
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Read the whole text once for the general idea. |
| 2 | In each missing sentence, underline linking words: they, these, this, such, nowadays, however. |
| 3 | Find what each word refers to in the text before and after the gap. |
| 4 | Check the order of events and the tense. Read the paragraph again with your choice. |
| 5 | The extra sentence will look right but will not fit any gap. |
Worked example
Text: "Her three daughters did not lift a finger at home. ___ Incredibly, they did not even notice." Missing sentence: "She didn't actually tell her children; she just stopped doing the chores."
"She" links to Jessica; "stopped doing the chores" explains how the strike began; "Incredibly, they did not even notice" then follows the idea that she did not tell them.
Useful expressions from the article
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| do your fair share | do the amount of work you should do |
| lend a hand | help |
| not lift a finger | do no work at all |
| be sick and tired of | be very annoyed because something has gone on too long |
| put your feet up | sit down and rest |
| run errands | go out to do small jobs such as shopping or posting |
Common mistake: choosing the extra sentence because it shares words with the text. Always check that its pronouns (they, these) have something to refer to.
Use the correct expression: "While Mum cooked, my brother watched TV and did not ___ ." Then explain what "go on strike" means in the article.
Show answerHide answer
lift a finger. To go on strike means to refuse to do the chores (as a protest) until the children help.
1.3Grammar 1: present simple, present continuous and stative verbs
| Tense | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | facts, permanent situations | I live in a big house with my extended family. |
| general truths | Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius. | |
| habits, routines | We always visit Grandma at Hari Raya. | |
| timetables (future) | Her plane arrives at three o'clock. | |
| stories, reviews, commentaries | In this story, Papa Bear sits in his chair first. | |
| Present continuous | happening now | Dad is making dinner. |
| temporary or changing situations | My cousin is staying with us for the holidays. | |
| annoying habits (with always) | My coach is always criticising me. | |
| plans and arrangements (future) | We are having a get-together on Sunday. |
Stative verbs describe states, not actions: feelings (love, hate, like), senses (look, smell, sound), thinking (know, believe, understand, seem), possession (have, own, belong). We do not use them in continuous tenses.
Some verbs are stative with one meaning and an action verb with another meaning.
| Verb | Stative (simple) | Action (continuous) |
|---|---|---|
| appear | He appears to be asleep. (seems) | They are appearing in a play. (performing) |
| have | She has two brothers. (possess) | She is having lunch. (eating) |
| see | I see what you mean. (understand) | I am seeing my friends tonight. (meeting) |
| think | I think it is a good idea. (opinion) | I am thinking about my future. (process) |
Common mistakes.
- "I am knowing the answer" is wrong. Say "I know the answer".
- Do not use the present continuous for a habit without an annoying feeling: "I usually ask my coach" (not "I am usually asking").
Worked example
"My colleagues and I ___ (discuss) the new project right now." Right now means the action is happening: are discussing. "At what temperature ___ water ___ (freeze)?" A general truth: does ... freeze.
Correct the sentence: "Mum is always cooking on Sundays; she is loving it." and give the reason.
Show answerHide answer
"Mum always cooks on Sundays; she loves it." Always cooks is a habit (present simple), and love is a stative verb, so it is not used in the continuous.
1.4Vocabulary 2: do or make, phrasal verbs and adjective endings
| Use do with | Use make with |
|---|---|
| do the housework, do the laundry, do the washing-up, do chores | make the bed, make time, make lunch (a meal), make trouble |
Phrasal verbs
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get along (with) | have a good relationship |
| get together (with) | meet socially |
| go away | leave the house to go somewhere |
| fall out (with) | quarrel and stop being friendly |
| pile up | increase to a large amount |
| get by | manage with difficulty |
| get back at | take revenge on |
| fall apart | break into pieces |
Word formation: adjectives
| Ending | Examples (noun to adjective) |
|---|---|
| -y | dust to dusty, filth to filthy, smell to smelly |
| -ic | apology to apologetic, fantasy to fantastic, reality to realistic |
| -al | biology to biological, option to optional, person to personal |
Fill in with do or make: (a) Who will ___ the washing-up? (b) I always ___ my bed before school.
Show answerHide answer
(a) do. (b) make.
1.5Grammar 2: relative clauses
| Pronoun | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who / that | people | The girl who I look after is adopted. |
| which / that | things | The laundry which is in the basket is filthy. |
| whose | possession | This is the woman whose daughter does our housework. |
| where | places | That is the place where my father met my stepmother. |
| when | times | That was the time when I argued with my brother. |
| why | reasons | That is the reason why Joe is grumbling. |
Defining clause: essential information, no commas, may use that, and the pronoun can be omitted when it is the object. Non-defining clause: extra information, put in commas, never uses that, and the pronoun cannot be omitted.
Worked example
(a) The men who/that/- I invited are my uncles. (object, so the pronoun can be left out)
(b) Molly, who often gossips, does not get along with her peers. (extra information, commas, who not that)
(c) My brother who has written a book lives in Scotland: I have more than one brother. My brother, who has written a book, lives in Scotland: I have only one brother.
Prepositions: usually at the end ("the project which you won the prize for"). Before the pronoun it is very formal ("the project for which you won the prize"), and then the pronoun cannot be omitted.
Common mistake: using that after a comma, or leaving out the pronoun when it is the subject ("The girl lives next door is my cousin" is wrong; it needs who).
Join with a relative clause: "Kumar is my cousin. His father is a pilot."
Show answerHide answer
Kumar, whose father is a pilot, is my cousin. (Kumar is named, so the clause is non-defining and uses commas.)
1.6Listening and speaking
In the listening task (p. 12) five speakers describe someone they admire and you match each to a quality (A-G, two extra). You will often hear different words from the ones you read, and a speaker may mention another quality first. Listen to what each speaker really says about the person.
When a friend asks your opinion about a worry, be polite and understanding (p. 13).
| Polite and understanding | Not polite |
|---|---|
| If I were you, I'd ... I think it might be best to ... In my opinion, you should ... It's a difficult decision, but ... | Well obviously you should ...! ... is a terrible idea. I can't believe you're considering ... You're not really going to ..., are you? |
In the speaking task, ask: what is the problem, what are the solutions, what are the disadvantages of each? Then give your advice and explain why you did not choose the other solution.
Rewrite politely: "You're not really going to quit the team, are you?"
Show answerHide answer
For example: "It's a difficult decision, but I think it might be best to talk to the coach first."
1.7Writing: an informal email
First read the task carefully (p. 14). The details tell you the situation, reason, topic and language.
| Ask yourself | For the task "Mary needs information for a class project on personal relationships" |
|---|---|
| Situation: who wrote, what must they do? | Mary; she must write about personal relationships for a class project |
| Reason: why do you reply? | To give her information (she asked you to help) |
| Topic: what to write about, which points? | Your most important relationship: who with, what he or she is like, why it matters |
| Language: relationship, style? | Friend, so an informal style |
Structure and language (p. 15)
| Part | What to do | Useful phrases |
|---|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Comment on the email you received and say you are happy to help | It was great to get your email. I hope ... |
| Paragraphs 2-4 | One topic each, introduced in the first sentence, with linking words | To start with, ... / As for ..., / When it comes to ... / Lastly, ... |
| Last paragraph | Comment on the project and close | I hope I've helped. / I look forward to your reply. |
| Informal linking | Formal linking |
|---|---|
| as well (as), also, too, besides, apart from that, though | in addition, moreover, furthermore |
Common mistakes.
- Starting to write before underlining the points you must include.
- Using formal linking words (moreover, furthermore) in an email to a friend.
- Putting everything in one paragraph.
Which closing is suitable for a friend's email? (a) "I look forward to your reply." (b) "I remain yours faithfully." Give one routine adverb you can use.
Show answerHide answer
(a). (b) is for formal letters. Routine adverbs: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, hardly ever.
Summary
- Family types: traditional, single-parent, blended, extended, adoptive. Pairs to separate: argue/discuss, criticise/advise, grumble/gossip, accuse/praise.
- Gapped text: use pronouns and linking words, and expect one extra sentence.
- Present simple for facts, habits and timetables; present continuous for now, temporary change and annoying habits; stative verbs are not used in continuous.
- do the chores/housework/laundry; make the bed/time/a meal.
- Relative clauses: defining (no commas, can use that, can omit object pronoun) and non-defining (commas, no that, no omission).
- Email task: read for situation, reason, topic and language; informal style; one topic per paragraph; informal linkers.