English

‘O’ Level Revision

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• With summ
bus objectives
covering sylla
SEC questions
• Model ZIM
and answers
English
‘O’ Level Revision
ring
h su m m ar y notes cove
• W it
ives
syllabus object and
SEC questions
• Model ZIM
answers
Published by:
Secondary Book Press Private Limited
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Cnr Jason Moyo & 2nd Street
Harare, Zimbabwe
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Website: www.secondarybookpress.co.zw

A Practical Approach to English | ‘O’ Level Revision Book

ISBN: 978-0-7974-8271-5

First Published in 2020

Revised in January 2023

Copyright © Secondary Book Press

Editor in Chief: Munyaradzi Gunduza

Development Editor: Munyaradzi Gunduza
Text and design layout: Nesbert T. Gotekote
Cover design: Parsons P. Makombore

The publisher would like to express heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the following contributor; Dennis
Gumi. His contribution and devotion is recognised in making this publication a success.

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders. In the event of unintentional omissions or errors,
any information that would enable the publisher to make the proper arrangements will be appreciated.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without prior permission of the copyright owner.
 CONTENTS

Part A: Basic language aspects

Chapter 1: Nouns................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2: Pronouns........................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 3: Adjectives........................................................................................................... 22
Chapter 4: Verbs.................................................................................................................. 30
Chapter 5: Adverbs.............................................................................................................. 51
Chapter 6: Prepositions....................................................................................................... 54
Chapter 7: Conjunctions..................................................................................................... 58
Chapter 8: Articles............................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 9: Punctuation....................................................................................................... 62
Chapter 10: Sentences........................................................................................................ 70

Chapter 11: Test Yourself................................................................................................. 79

Part B: Comprehension summary, and supporting language structures

Chapter 12: Comprehension.............................................................................................. 86
Chapter 13: Writing a summary......................................................................................... 101
Chapter 14: Supporting Language Structures.................................................................. 112

Chapter 15: Test Yourself................................................................................................. 115

Part C: Free Composition

Chapter 16: Narrative/descriptive compositions............................................................. 121
Chapter 17: Discursive compositions................................................................................ 131
Chapter 18: Argumentative compositions........................................................................ 134
Chapter 19: Descriptive compositions.............................................................................. 137

Chapter 20: Test Yourself................................................................................................. 140

Part D: Practical writing skill

Chapter 21: A report............................................................................................................ 144

Chapter 22: Writing a speech............................................................................................. 146
Chapter 23: Writing an article............................................................................................ 149
Chapter 24: Writing a formal letter................................................................................... 152
Chapter 25: Writing a friendly letter................................................................................. 155
Chapter 26: Picture stories................................................................................................. 158

Chapter 27: Test Yourself................................................................................................. 162

Part E: Examination Practice
Set A
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 167
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 170
Set B
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 175
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 176
Set C
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 181
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 183
Set D
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 188
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 190
Set E
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 196
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 198
Set F
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 202
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 204
Set G
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 209
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 211
Set H
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 216
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 218
Set I
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 223
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 225
Set J
Paper 1.................................................................................................................................. 230
Paper 2.................................................................................................................................. 231

Answers................................................................................................................................. 236
 PREFACE
A Practical Approach to English “O” Level Revision is a wholesome revision textbook covering
all the co-components of the updated Zimbabwean curriculum for Ordinary Level English
Language. With so much uncertainty having been voiced over the requirements of certain
issues in the examination of some of these co-components, it has become necessary to come
up with a textbook that quenches all the curiosity about those aspects in question. The book is
therefore solely designed for “O” Level Revision and practice both for the sole learner and for
the teacher and his class.

This revision book mainly does two things: clarification of all grey areas for learners who might
be in doubt over one issue or the other; and giving adequate examination practice to those
preparing to sit for their final examinations. This is the perfect textbook for syllabus coverage
and examination practice.

The revision textbook comprises a well-arranged series of topics ranging from chapters which
deal with the usage of a single word, the part of speech, the phrases, the clauses, and the
sentences in the grammar section, well-arranged in their developmental stages. The other
sections then look at the co-components of the English Language syllabus mainly detailed for
helping out on the proper approach for the examinations.

The last part of the revision book has been set aside for examination practice. The examinations
which have been set for this practice adopt the true examination structure of the papers
the learners are going to encounter in their live examinations in both quality and variety of
questions. These examinations are given strategically after the exhaustive explanations have
been given item by item on how a learner tackles each one of them, making the textbook a
handy referencing and resource book.

For better results, learners who are going to use the revision book are hereby advised to time
themselves when taking those examinations. They should do so honestly in order to measure
their progressive success stages towards building their capability for the real examinations. The
assumption is that the examinations are taken after a learner has gone through the preliminary
concept-building chapters prior to the practice examinations.

It is therefore hoped that the learner’s confidence in taking his or her final exams after using A
Practical Approach to English O Level Revision Book will be boosted; given the specific treatment
of every co-component, the provision of exemplified answers, the exhaustive explanations, the
enjoyment of real examination practice environment and the provision of satisfactory answers
to all the exercises, tests and examinations. This should tell a success story for those who get
hold of this textbook.
 Part A:
Basic language aspects
CHAPTER
1 NOUNS

1.1 Types of nouns

In this chapter, we will look at the preliminary aspects of nouns, the types of nouns. But before
we can do that, it is important to clarify what a noun is.

A noun is a name of anything that has to have a name.

From this definition, we see that in English, part of the language are names. Look at these
nouns and try to visualise what these things are;

chair car land

man laziness pig
crop anger town

Have you noticed that two of these nine nouns are slightly different from the rest? These are:
laziness, anger.

These two nouns are names of things we can neither touch nor see. They are just feelings. This,
then, leads us to another stage of classifying nouns.

(a) Common nouns

These are names of common things we see around.

pen boy tree

cat jug mat
corner dish fish

(b) Abstract nouns

These are names of things that we can neither touch nor see with our own eyes. They are
names of things which exist as ideas, concepts, feelings or states. Look at the following nouns,
and then look around to see if you can see them in the same way as the nouns above:

selfishness ignorance bravery

hatred growth independence
freedom love righteousness

(c) Proper nouns

Proper nouns are the actual names by which certain common nouns are called. Look at the
following examples and take note that we always write an initial capital for every proper noun:

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Common noun Proper noun
city Harare, Bulawayo, Chicago, Dubai, Havana, Masvingo, Newcastle.
boy John, Simba, Zenzo, Collins, Sililo, Tinyiko Chauke, Lufuno Ndou, Robert.
dog Bhoki, Bingo, Sniper, Tiger, Roger, Ranger, Sport.
subject Geography, History, Mathematics, Geology, Anthropology, Pneumatics.
title Doctor Chaitezvi, Professor Murapa, Sir Henry Rider Hagard, Bishop Ton.
day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
language Shona, Ndebele, Venda, Tonga, Finish, French, Swahili, Yoruba, Tswana.
brand Peugeot, Mazda, Mazoe, Colgate, Cobra, Coca-Cola, Madison, Econet.
organisation Standards Association of Zimbabwe, National Aids Council.

(d) Collective nouns

Collective nouns are a different category of nouns. These are names given to a group of items
together. For example:

A group of insects swarm

A group of baboons troop
A group of learners class
A group of worshipers congregation
A group of beautiful girls bevy
A group of lions prying the forest pride
A group of muggers gang
A collection of vehicles fleet

The list is long. Can you think of more collective nouns and tell your partner?

Exercise 1.1

1. From the following list of words, select nouns only and write them down.
water noise play Gabriel
funny honesty cruelly appreciate
Brian jealous dirt pure
2. From the following sentences, identify nouns and underline them.
(a) A teacher has a diverse range of duties to perform in his job.
(b) Arrange your books in an easy-to-use manner.
(c) Africa has all sorts of leadership there can ever be.
(d) 
The International Monetary Fund has the sole responsibility to bail out failing
economies.
(e) Jealousy is the freedom of fools.
3. In the following table, Column A contains common nouns while Column B contains
collective nouns. For each of the following nouns, pair a related noun in A with the one in
B.

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 A. Common noun B. Collective noun
pupils orchestra
pens furniture
pastors delegation
goats fleet
tables stationery
musicians audience
guests litter
vans flock
piglets church
spectators class

4. Pair the nouns in column C and those in column D according to their relationship, this time
between a common noun and a proper noun.
C. Common noun D. Proper noun
period Second Chimurenga
pet Statistics
war Binga
subjects The Blues
music Roger
place Early Stone Age

5. Use the following abstract nouns correctly in your own sentences: hatred, nervousness,
dislike, comfort, drunkenness, wisdom.
6. Write the proper nouns in the following sentences correctly.
(a) Is gweru the third largest city?
(b) My favourite subject is computer science.

1.2 Noun plural rules

One area in which students studying English as a second language err is on plurals of words.
Although there are no absolute rules on establishing plurals for different nouns, there are
guidelines which can be studied and can significantly improve their perception on writing
correct plural forms of different nouns.

(a) Adding ‘s’

Most words simply require an ‘s’ at the end to make them plural. Consider the following
examples:

hut – huts dog – dogs train – trains

garden – gardens market – markets action – actions
virtue – virtues house – houses creature – creatures

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(b) Adding ‘es’
Nouns which end with a double consonant such as ‘-sh’, ‘-tch’, ‘-ss’; and nouns which end in ‘-x’
or ‘-o’ require ‘-es’ to make them plural. Study the examples below and think of more examples
to this list:

match – matches stitch – stitches watch – watches

dish – dishes clash – clashes brush – brushes
ditch – ditches church – churches boss – bosses
fox – foxes box – boxes tomato – tomatoes

(c) Nouns ending with a vowel + y

All nouns that end with y which is immediately preceded by a vowel just need an ‘s’ to make
them plural. Look at the following examples:

donkey – donkeys key – keys monkey – monkeys

bay – bays tray – trays spray – sprays
ploy – ploys holiday – holidays ray – rays

(d) Nouns ending with a consonant + y

However, for most nouns ending in y which is immediately preceded by one or more consonants,
in plural the ‘y’ is dropped and replaced by an ‘i’ plus ‘-es’. This should help learners to spell
words in these two categories (c) and (d) correctly. Study the following examples:

lady – ladies story – stories party – parties

pharmacy – pharmacies country – countries berry – berries
dormitory – dormitories laboratory – laboratories battery – batteries

(e) Nouns ending with ‘f’ which require ‘-ves’

There is a small group of nouns ending with the letter ‘f’ which require the ‘f’ to be replaced by
‘-ves’ when changed to plural form. A few examples are given below:
loaf – loaves shelf – shelves thief – thieves
elf – elves leaf – leaves calf – calves

(f) Nouns ending with ‘f’ which require ‘s’

There is another small group of nouns ending with the letter ‘f’ which just require ‘s’ when
changing to plural form although some of them look very much like those in (e) above. These
are few examples of such nouns:
chief – chiefs belief – beliefs roof – roofs
handkerchief – handkerchiefs cliff – cliffs gulf – gulfs

(g) Some nouns undergo a slight change

Some nouns pose problems for unwary learners when they use them in plural form. Such
nouns take a slight transformation such that learners who lack much exposure make ridiculous
blunders in changing the words to their plural forms.

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For instance, they may use “mans” or “mens”, “womans” or “womens” or “childrens” thinking
that they are the plural forms of the nouns they know very well. Study the examples below:

foot – feet tooth – teeth bacterium – bacteria

mouse – mice stadium – stadia (but ‘stadiums’ also acceptable)
formula – formulae curriculum – curricula locus – loci

(h) Unchanging nouns

Some nouns never change when they are in plural form. Some learners, however find
themselves trying to put the plural forms which are not necessary. Examples of such nouns
are:

sheep – sheep fish – fish (fishes - a special case referring to varieties)

deer – deer moose – moose hair – hair
grass – grass mud – mud

(i) Always in plural form

A few nouns are never used in singular form. This is mostly because one item in each case
exists in pair or combined form. See the examples below:
trousers spectacles callipers binoculars
scissors shorts secateurs dividers compasses

(j) In plural form but singular

A few nouns appear to be in plural form but they are used as singular nouns.
Examples: a series of attacks
a rare species
a means of production

Exercise 1.2

Rewrite each sentence putting each word in brackets in its plural form.

1. The young man was arrested after stealing (jean) from shop.
2. The world football governing body found (stadium) in Zimbabwe to be quite deplorable.
3. We used to play at the dam chasing wild (goose) with home-made bows and arrows.
4. At that time, people were faced with two (crisis); starvation and the deadly pandemic.
5. If you are a parent, you have a multiple of (focus), the main of which is bringing food on
the table.
6. There was no need for the lioness to kill two (elephant) since it was a lone predator.
7. The three (vertex) of the triangle touch the circumference of the circle.
8. One person can go fast, but as a group of (person), we can go far.
9. (Volcano) normally occur in places where there are large ranges of mountains.
10. Two male (wolf) were in a conflict over a mated female wolf.
11. This insecticide kills all other pests except (fly).

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12. A legion of demons was cast into a herd of about 2000 (swine) by our Lord Jesus Christ.
13. We fooled (ourself) with the notion that black people do not contract coronavirus.
14. The trading (index) on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange showed that the economy was
generally on the decline.
15. A journalist and an economist may come up with two different (analysis).
16. The two (batch) of deliveries were both smuggled to the officer’s residence.
17. The few (oasis) that used to be found in this desert have since dried up.
18. Vegetables and (potato) soon became very expensive after the old man’s remarks.
19. The ancient (journey) of discovery must have been very tiresome undertakings.
20. All religions have (belief) that are central to their worship.

1.3 Formation of nouns

In speech or in writing, one may find oneself shifting from using a verb or adjective to a noun.
Consider the following example: The coronavirus related diseases are quite devastating. The
devastation resulted in loss of hundreds of thousands of in just three months.

In the example above, we can see that from the root word ‘devastate’ we can form a noun
‘devastation’ by simply adding a suffix ‘-ion’ to the root word.

Here are some examples of suffixes with which we form nouns. These nouns are mostly
abstract nouns.

(a) ‘-ion’; ‘-tion’ or ‘-ation’

precise – precision decide – decision distribute – distribution
oppose – opposition add – addition compete – competition
satisfy – satisfaction admire – admiration form – formation

(b) ‘-ment’ (verb-noun)

disburse – disbursement treat – treatment replace – replacement
equip – equipment involve – involvement deploy – deployment

(c) ‘-ness’
fair – fairness persuasive – persuasiveness awkward – awkwardness
appropriate – appropriateness quiet – quietness backward – backwardness

(d) ‘-ity’
responsible – responsibility sane – sanity authentic – authenticity
vain – vanity cruel – cruelty stupid – stupidity

(e) ‘-al’
refuse – refusal reverse – reversal acquit – acquittal
propose – proposal remove – removal accrue – accrual

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(f) ‘-acy’
supreme – supremacy adequate – adequacy diplomatic – diplomacy
intimate – intimacy obdurate – obduracy delicate – delicacy
(g) ‘-ance’; ‘-ence’; ‘-ancy’
important – importance significant – significance relevant – relevance
deliver – deliverance depend – dependence revere – reverence
pregnant – pregnancy infant – infancy deficient – deficiency
(h) ‘-ship’
relation – relationship censor – censorship partner – partnership
friend – friendship entrepreneur – entrepreneurship member – membership
(i) ‘-hood’
child – childhood priest – priesthood brother – brotherhood
neighbour – neighbourhood parent – parenthood girl – girlhood
NB: The abstract nouns formed in (h) and (i) are formed from nouns.
(j) ‘-dom’
bore – boredom wise – wisdom free – freedom

Exercise 1.3

1. Write down the abstract nouns that we form from the following adjectives and verbs:
(a) credible (f) convince
(b) include (g) penitent
(c) benevolent (h) survive
(d) fragrant (i) anticipate
(e) recruit (j) diligent.
2. Write down abstract nouns that we form from the following nouns:
(a) boy
(b) intern
(c) father
(d) chairman
(e) life.
3. Rewrite the following sentences, changing the words in brackets into abstract nouns by
adding appropriate suffixes.
(a) The members of staff exercised a lot of (prudent) in selecting the new team of prefects.
(b) There is a high (likely) of cholera outbreak in the high-density areas as residents still
practice their primitive waste disposal methods.
(c) The (dispose) of waste material is the sole responsibility of the municipal department.
(d) Honesty starts with the (fulfil) of simple promises.

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 (e) Correct (pronounce) of English words can be learnt, but many learners just ignore this
rule.
(f) The downfall of the political party was a result of a (conspire) by power-hungry people.
(g) Child (delinquent) has made authorities consider reverting back to corporal
punishment.
(h) Without much (interfere) of politics, the media department can still function well.
(i) I went to the service provider to ask for the (retrieve) of the money deducted from my
account.
(j) His (reluctant) to answer questions greatly angered the police.

(a) Countable and uncountable nouns

The term ‘countable noun’, just as it suggests, means that it is possible to determine the
quantity or numbers of a particular noun. On the contrary, uncountable nouns cannot possibly
be quantified into numbers either because of the abstract or complex nature of the noun.
Owing to the complex nature of uncountable nouns, many have erred in the usage of such
nouns. A few guidelines provided here will make it easier for learners to use countable and
uncountable nouns.

Distinguishing countable from uncountable nouns

Countable nouns Uncountable nouns

1. Have singular or plural forms. 1. Have no plural forms.
Examples: book – books Examples: bread, sand, money, rice,
information
2. We can quantify them using
numbers. 2. We cannot quantify them into numbers. We
Examples: two days can rather use the determiner ‘some’.
twenty farmers Example: some rice, some bread, some
money.
3. We can use them with indefinite 3. We cannot use them with indefinite articles
articles ‘a’ or ‘an’ in their singular ‘a’ or ‘an’. We can only use the articles
form. if expressing the nouns in measurable
Examples: a train quantities.
an idiot Examples: a pint of milk
4. When referring to small quantities a slice of bread
of countable nouns, we use ‘few’ or 4. When referring to small quantities of
‘a few’. uncountable nouns, we use ‘little’ or ‘a little’.
Examples: few people were selected Examples: little knowledge
a few days later a little time is required
5. When referring to large quantities of 5. When referring to large quantities, we use
countable nouns, we use ‘many’. ‘much’.
Examples: many parents Examples: much information
many politicians much satisfaction

8
(b) Further guidelines
Most foodstuffs are uncountable nouns: rice, bread, meat, sugar. All liquids fall in the category
of uncountable nouns: beer, water, milk, wine, vinegar. Most substances that exist in granular
form are uncountable: sand, gravel, concrete, salt. Here are a few other examples of uncountable
nouns commonly mistaken for countable nouns:

(a) time (however, minutes and seconds are countable).

(b) money (however, dollars and cents are countable).
(c) material (materials can be used in very special cases).
(d) Equipment.
(e) Advice.
(f) Furniture.
(g) Property (however, ‘properties’ may refer to a number of units such as houses).
(h) Luggage.

Exercise 1.4

Rewrite the following sentences choosing the correct word from those in brackets.

1. (Many / Much) days were spent in preparation for the actual day.
2. A concerned parent gives sound (advice / advices) to his misbehaving child, not just
punishment.
3. Many people lost their (property / properties) in the fire which consumed the whole
building.
4. (A few / A little) time is left before the end of the lesson.
5. (Much / Many) of the information you get from WhatsApp is false.
6. The boys drank lots of (beers / beer) before they attended the lecture.
7. She could not prepare tea because there was (a few / little) sugar left in the basin.
8. At the party we ate a lot of (meat / meats) of different kinds.
9. (Many / Much) of his (luggage / luggages) was inside the boot.
10. I bought two (breads / loaves of bread) at the shops.
11. Mr Kangausaru bought all his building (material / materials) on credit.
12. She managed to get only (a few / a little) information from the internet.
13. (A freedom / Freedom) of worship is sometimes a bad concept.
14. The car engine is making (a strange / strange) noise and we could be grounded.
15. The teacher gave me (a permission / permission) to go out of the classroom.

1.5 Noun roots and prefixes

English Language is very interesting to learn if a learner puts adequate concentration. The
learner will take note of the fact that certain words (nouns, verbs and adjectives) share common
roots or prefixes. This is because in ancient times, the English speakers borrowed certain parts
of words from traditional languages such as Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French and Spanish, which

9
CHAPTER
3 ADJECTIVES

As examining of parts of speech continues, we are now going to look at adjectives. Adjectives
are words we use to describe nouns. When we describe something or someone, we want
to qualify what type, what kind, what nature, what quality, what number, what colour, what
material and what origin.

Examples:

• A new book (nature of the book).

• A blue bus (what colour).
• Twenty boys (what number).
• A woolen hat (what material).
• French sausages (what origin).
• A Chinese restaurant (what origin).
• Exotic trees (what type).
• Fresh vegetables (what quality).

Use of adjectives
We use adjectives to distinguish, clarify or specify what we are describing.

We place the adjective just before the noun we are describing, for example, a deciduous forest,
or we link the noun to the adjective using linking verbs: am, is, are, was, were.

Examples:
• She is not naive.
• I am a bit sceptical.
• The gathering was massive.

3.1 Hard (Natural) adjectives

These are words which are naturally meant to be adjectives in their role as parts of speech.
Here is a short list of some of the natural adjectives: big; cruel; new; large; wise; bright; hard;
dry.

Exercise 3.1

Underline all the hard adjectives in the following sentences.

1. The long holiday enabled us to complete building our new block.

2. The fat pig could not cross the small trench.
3. The lazy student could not hand in his work in good time.
4. It is very cruel to send a retiree home with empty hands.

22
5. The news that circulated in the entire media was false.
6. The old adage says “The evil that men do will follow them.”
7. The dry airflow from the south east brought with it a cold spell that finished off the crops.
8. Feeding the patient with soft porridge was just a futile exercise.
9. The doctor told him that he was sterile, but his wife said that she was heavy with pregnancy.
10. Old age can make one senile at times.
11. Adjectives are very useful words which help in vivid description that is required in
composition. Peruse from your dictionaries for the meanings of the following adjectives:
(a) inept (f) humane
(b) indiscreet (g) coy
(c) lenient (h) vain
(d) bizarre (i) sacred
(e) convivial (j) gaunt.

3.2 Formed adjectives

These are adjectives formed from nouns or verbs by adding suffixes to the nouns or verbs.
Below is a list of some of the suffixes and the adjectives that are formed.

• –ous: 
famous; pompous; dangerous; rigorous; porous; sagacious; luxurious;
perilous; scrupulous.
• –ive: talkative, excessive, administrative, decisive, relative, defensive.
• –al: personal, informal, critical, digital, clinical, initial, referral, eternal.
• –ic: economic, historic, cyclic, holistic, fantastic, terrific, scholastic, didactic.
• –y: watery, baggy, stony, icy, windy, sandy, showy, dirty, juicy, saucy.
• –ent: dependent, independent, prudent, reticent, recurrent, penitent.
• –ant: important, repentant, debutant, redundant, jubilant, conversant.
• –ful: beautiful, stressful, colourful, faithful, powerful, thankful, resourceful.
• –able: enjoyable, malleable, available, enumerable, unable, approachable.
• –less: fruitless, clueless, senseless, powerless, baseless, flawless, homeless.
• –like: warlike, statesmanlike, sportsmanlike.
• –ish: sheepish, boyish, squeamish, foolish, stylish, bookish, yellowish.
• –some: quarrelsome, loathsome, wholesome, gruesome, awesome, tiresome.

Exercise 3.2

In each of the following sentences, form an adjective out of the verb or noun in brackets
and complete the sentence.

(a) The criminal was (evade) in answering police questions.

(b) Most women are generally perceived as verbally (abuse) by their husbands.

23
CHAPTER
4 THE VERB

In this chapter, we are going to look at yet another part of speech which is very important in
English Language; that is the verb.

A verb is a word which;

(a) shows action performed.
(b) expresses the state of being.

Verbs which denote action are, therefore, called action verbs. Examples of such verbs are:
jump, talk, cut. Verbs which express the state of being are called linking verbs. Examples are:
am, is, are, was, were.

4.1 Verb categories

There are a few other verb types that learners must be familiar with.

(a) Transitive and intransitive verbs

Transitive verbs

These are verbs which definitely need objects to make them complete.

For example:

(a) We enjoyed the music.

(b) She congratulated me.
(c) The secretary delivered all the letters.

Intransitive verbs

These are verbs which do not need objects in certain particular contexts.

For example:
(a) My mother wept.
(b) Guilt hurts.
(c) The story begins with a young schoolboy deciding to drop out of school.

Exercise 4.1
Decide whether the verbs in italics in the sentences below are transitive or intransitive.

1. The learners arranged their desks into three neat rows.

2. The storm subsided after having destroyed a sizeable portion of the building.
3. We immediately reported the matter to the police.

30
4. Uncle Ephraim invited all family members to the house-warming party.
5. The soldiers shot the civilians and denied responsibility.
6. The patient began to recuperate after the treatment with herbs.
7. When a thin layer of oxide forms on the surface, you know it is not genuine.
8. The freedom fighters encountered several challenges in travelling across the borders.
9. The government spent a lot of money on disaster alleviation programmes.
10. The situation which is obtaining in the country requires unity of purpose.

(b) Stative verbs

These are verbs which sound queer if used in the progressive tenses. For example:
Wrong: I am liking your dress.
Correct: I like your dress.

Wrong: We are understanding what you teach us.

Correct: We understand what you teach us.

List of other stative verbs: believe, know, doubt, love, remember, want, recognise, hate,
wish, consist, mean, taste, please, agree, have.

Exercise 4.2

Rewrite the following sentences adjusting stative verbs in them so that they sound
correct.

1. The people are agreeing with the government on the issue of staying at home during the
lockdown period.
2. If you are believing in the power of Jesus’ resurrection, you do not need any other power.
3. The government is knowing the drivers of this inflationary environment.
4. I am doubting if there are ever going to be any further deaths from this deadly virus.
5. Everyone in our class was liking my presentations, except my desk mate.
6. The pastor is meaning that polygamy is not permissible in the church.
7. We were having a great time at the gorge viewing the smoking waterfalls.
8. We are remembering the day when we attained our independence when we meet here.
9. The child is pleasing his parents by working hard at school.
10. The snake meat was tasting between fish and chicken, but when we realised it was snake
meat, some of us vomited.

(c) Auxiliary verbs

These are verbs which help the action verbs as they are used in the various tenses. These are:
am, is, are, has, have, had, was, were and will. Read the following examples to acquaint
yourself with how auxiliary verbs work:
(a) I am contemplating to take up farming for a profession.
(b) The SADC Organ or Politics and Defence is mediating talks in the war-torn country.

31
 (e) rob (present perfect continuous)
(f) die (future tense)
(g) gut (past perfect continuous tense)
(h) cast (present perfect tense)
(i) plan (past continuous tense)
(j) write (present continuous tense)

4.4 Subject–verb agreement

Subject-verb agreement refers to the agreement in person and number between the noun or
pronoun that is the subject of the sentence and the verb that is in the sentence. That is, a plural
noun goes along with a plural verb. Consider the examples given below:
(a) The man is innocent.
(b) One of the children was kidnapped last night.
(c) The nature of politics in Zimbabwe makes one puzzled.
(d) Either Chido or her sisters were set to visit us this weekend.

Problem areas to look out for

1. The simple present tense

As we have observed on the simple present tense above, we should add an ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ for the
singular action verb to be grammatically correct. The verb working with a plural noun needs no
‘-s’ or ‘-es’. The singular nouns work along with these linking verbs: is, am, was and has. Plural
nouns work along with are and have. Study a few examples below:
(a) The teacher arrives early for his lesson every day.
(b) A fool has no sense of saving for future use.
(c) In a restaurant, meals are prepared by appropriately qualified personnel.
(d) Farmers deliver milk to the dairy board daily.

2. Identifying the subject

In a lengthy noun phrase which acts as the subject of a sentence, it is important for the learner
to identify the subject and hence determine whether it is singular or plural. When that happens,
the learner correctly decides to use a singular or plural verb as required by a particular sentence.
Here are two examples of sentences with lengthy noun phrases acting as subjects of sentences:
(a) The official launch of the games was quite fantastic.
(b) A phrase of five consecutive words in the first paragraph which tells us that they were
poor is ‘live on next to nothing’.

42
3. Some indefinite pronouns

Certain indefinite pronouns should be treated as singular subjects. Many learners err by treating
them as plural subjects. These are every, none, no one and each. See examples below:
(a) Every student is entitled to a grant which is to be used for research expenses.
(b) None of the surviving brothers knows where the money was hidden.
(c) Each of the four wheels is powered to propel the engine forward.

4. Either … or…; Neither … nor…

Very often, in speech or in written communication, we use the subject of a sentence in an

optional sense by using “either … or…”; or the negative form of the same: “neither ... nor …”. In
doing so, we create two slots to place a noun or a pronoun.

If the noun which comes in the second slot is singular, we need a singular verb; and if the noun
which comes in the second slot is plural, we need a plural verb. Carefully study the examples
below:
(a) Either Chido or her sisters visit us today.
(b) Neither the students nor their teacher has an idea.
(c) Either blue or green is going to be the main colour for the wedding.
(d) Either a goat or several chickens are going to be slaughtered for the party.

5. Study areas ending in ‘s’

Study areas for schools, colleges or varsities should be treated as singular subjects if used
alone. Subjects such as Mathematics, Statistics, Homiletics, Fashion and Fabrics, are treated as
singular. See examples below:
(a) Mathematics is an essential subject.
(b) Electronics has become a major requirement in industry more than ever before.

Exercise 4.7

Rewrite the following sentences choosing the correct word from those in brackets.

1. Women (know / knows) how to make a man fall.

2. His arrival at the barracks (were / was) marked with complete silence.
3. A basketful of tomatoes (is / are) sufficient for the whole function.
4. Either the driver or the passengers (was / were) to blame for the accident.
5. Didactics (is / are) a learning area for teachers which teaches them methods of teaching.
6. The establishment of these centres (hinge / hinges) on the quality of administration we
have.
7. The children (were / was) fascinated by the dramatisation.
8. Nothing (is / are) more important than self-confidence.
9. People in my neighbourhood (like / likes) to play music at high volumes.
10. Builders (demand / demands) cash upfront before they can start work.
11. A woman (look / looks) after her children with greater care than a man.

43
CHAPTER
5 ADVERBS

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. An adverb of manner
describes a verb and tells us how action was done.
For example:He spent his money recklessly.
An adverb of degree describes an adjective and tells us the degree or intensity of a certain
quality.
For example: This internet is quite fast.
An adverb of degree also describes an adverb and tells us the extent of the quality described
about the action.
For example: The verification process progressed very slowly.
We have various other forms of adverbs and so we are going to make comprehensible analysis
of these adverbs.

5.1 Adverbs of manner

These tell us the manner in which the action is or was done. Most of these adverbs are formed
by adding ‘-ly’ to adjectives. Study examples given below:
(a) She dressed up slowly.
(b) The panel carefully selected the candidates.
(c) The injured man faintly spoke to us.
(d) The wedding venue was beautifully decorated.
(e) The government turned the tables secretly against the perpetrators.
(f) She closed the door noiselessly.
In the examples above, the adverbs of manner and the verbs being described have been
highlighted. In (a), (e) and (f), the describing adverb comes after the verb. In (b), (c) and (d), the
adverb comes just before the verb being described. This is how adverbs of manner are used.

5.2 Adverbs of degree

An adverb of degree tells us the degree or intensity of a certain quality being described. Hence
an adverb of degree describes an adjective or an adverb. Here are a few examples of adverbs
which describe adjectives:
(a) The gesture of charity is just good.
(b) It is quite hot today.
(c) The sight was so amazing.
(d) Smoking is extremely dangerous.
51
Exercise 5.1

1. Change the adverbs in each of the following sentences and use them correctly in the
sentences.
(a) The man conducted his business. (expeditious)
(b) The electoral board verified the harmonised election results. (meticulous)
(c) The supervisor worked with his subordinates. (good)
(d) You are advised to present matters of employee welfare. (professional)
(e) Nonceba sneaked into her bedroom and collected a suspicious bottle of love portion.
(surreptitious)
2. Use an appropriate adverb of degree from the answer box below in each of the following
sentences:
so; quite; rather; just; extremely; too; only; very
(a) The sermon was inspiring.
(b) The elephants were close and we could not immediately make a U-turn.
(c) Matinetsa was the perfect class monitor everyone relied on.
(d) Our presentations were carefully arranged and the teacher marvelled.
(e) Martha sang well and a unanimous agreement was made to make her the winner.
3. Construct grammatical sentences correctly using adverbs of frequency you get from the
answer box below:
sometimes; normally; scarcely ever; hardly; seldom

(a) Members of a sect criticising their leader.

(b) Teachers working outside their normal working time.
(c) Talkative people putting into practice what they speak.
(d) Politicians listening to advice given by poor people.
4. Use appropriate adverbs of time to fill in the blanks in the following sentences:
(a) The use of manual documents will ________ become a thing of the past.
(b) Neighbouring countries have _______ spoken against the country’s move to ban imports.
(c) Wheat is _______ grown by irrigation.
(d) The president has flown into the neighbouring country_____ for bilateral talks on trade.
(e) The pastor has________ finished giving out the holy communion.

53
CHAPTER
6 PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word which (a) tells us the position of something, or (b) shows the relationship
of other words in a sentence. We, however, have prepositions with special purposes, including
idiomatic expressions. Many errors students make in relation to prepositions are caused by
interference of the vernacular language.

We are going to look at prepositions in two segments: those which tell us the time, place and
direction where something happens; and those which have special roles used in certain phrases.

6.1 Place, time and direction

1. Prepositions of place

These prepositions show us where something is or where a certain action is happening. Study
the examples provided below:
(a) The baboon was sitting on a roof in the CBD.
(b) The memory card was under the dirty carpet.
(c) The helicopter flew over the bandit-infested area.

Some of the prepositions may be small phrases:

(a) The witchdoctor was sitting in the middle of the football pitch.
(b) The elephant was relaxing at the side of a huge boulder.
(c) The dog was running in front of the bicycle.
(d) The announcer was standing on top of an anthill.

2. Prepositions of time
These prepositions tell us when something happens. Study the examples given below:
(a) The recruitment exercise will take place on Saturday.
(b) The guests will arrive here before lunch hour.
(c) The voting process will start at exactly seven o’clock in the morning.
(d) The free kick was taken near the centre.
(e) The huge ward of freshly-printed notes was hidden under the bed.

3. Prepositions of direction
These show us the direction taken by someone or something. Here are a few examples
illustrating these prepositions:
(a) The cyclone was rapidly moving from the Mozambique Channel towards Beira and Mutare.
(b) The criminal drove fast past a group of police officers at a roadblock.

54
CHAPTER
7 CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions are words which join sentences, clauses or words. In this chapter, we are going to
look at three main types of conjunctions and their uses.

7.1 Coordinating conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join two parts of a sentence that complement each other. Study the
examples blow and learn how coordinating conjunctions work:
(a) He got extremely drunk and could not drive his car home.
(b) The MP donated his own money to the orphans for the national coffers were dry.
(c) In the early church, women were not allowed to speak, so they asked their husbands at
home to ask questions on their behalf.
(d) We had to take with us our umbrellas because it looked like it was going to rain.
(e) It meant that we were either going to lose all our cattle to the floods, or we risked our lives
rescuing them.

7.2 Contrasting conjunctions

Contrasting conjunctions, as the name suggests, are used to join two parts of a sentence that
oppose each other or have differing expressions. Study the examples given below to learn how
contrasting conjunctions work:
(a) I studied very hard but I failed the test.
(b) He was allowed to sing in the choir although he had a hoarse voice.
(c) Even if he had wasted much of his father’s wealth, the prodigal son was received warmly
by his father.
(d) Tinotenda was making the fire while Tatenda was chopping the vegetables.
(e) Knowing what God desires of you is a privilege whilst doing what he requires you to do is
a great honour.
(f) The government is going to implement price controls though they have failed to work
before.
(g) Despite being bulky, the parcel was sent by Swift.
(h) In spite of its bulky size, the parcel was sent by Swift.
(i) During the early 1980s, you would get a high-profile job even if you had received no
training.

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CHAPTER
8 ARTICLES

Articles are words that introduce nouns. Very few words in English fall under this category.
However, many learners wrongly use these small words. In this chapter, we are going to look
at definite and indefinite articles.

8.1 Indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’

We use the article ‘a’ with countable nouns. Countable nouns stand for things which we can
count, for example, one car, two dresses, ten men, twenty buses. As we have learnt earlier, not
all nouns can be used in this way. Uncountable nouns cannot be used in this way.
We should use the article ‘a’ (or ‘an’) with the singular form of a countable noun, unless it
is replaced by a pronoun. If we are referring to a noun for the very first time, we have got to
use the article ‘a’ or ‘an’. We call ‘a’ or ‘an’ indefinite articles. The omission of an indefinite
article constitutes an error in English. For instance, we cannot say, “I met man with one eye.”
We should say, “I met a man with one eye.” ‘An’ is used with a noun starting with a vowel or a
consonant with a vowel sound. Also, if an adjective preceding a countable noun starts with a
vowel, or a letter with a vowel sound, we use ‘an’. Study these examples:
• an ape - an innocent child
• an owl - an honest boy
However, if expressing the countable nouns in plural form, we may use the determiner ‘some’.
For example: “some oranges”, “some youths”. Study further examples below:
• He has brought some specimen textbooks. He has brought a specimen textbook.
• They showed me some anomalies. He showed me an anomaly.
• Those gentlemen are spies. That gentleman is a spy.

8.2 The definite article ‘the’

The definite article “The” can be used with all kinds of nouns that we know of, countable or
uncountable; abstract or concrete; common or proper; plural or singular. See the examples
below:
(a) The risk of shunning other people is that when trouble comes, the people just watch.
(b) The information I got from the social media was misleading.

When using the definite article ‘the’ as we have done above, we are suggesting that the reader
knows that ‘risk’ is a well-known noun, or the reader knows the risk we are talking about. The
same applies to the people, the information, and the social media.

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CHAPTER
9 PUNCTUATION

Wrong punctuation resulting from wrongly placed punctuation marks or omission of necessary
end punctuation marks, or others, may completely distort meaning of a sentence or create
confusion. In this chapter, we are going to look at the uses of punctuation marks so that we do
not just know the appropriate uses, but also feel obliged to use them where and when they are
necessary.

9.1 End punctuation

End punctuation marks such as the question mark, the exclamation mark and the full stop are
often neglected or wrongly used by learners. If the end punctuation is neglected, the sentence
means something completely different. If wrongly used, there is inaccuracy in communication,
resulting in misunderstanding of a concept, an idea or a fact.

(a) The question mark (?)

We use a question mark to show that we have asked a question. It is placed right at the end.
Some questions may begin with interrogative pronouns, but without question marks they
could read differently. Some statements may also read differently with and without question
marks. For example: Your car. Your car?
Between these two statements one is a mere statement, a phrase, and the other is a question
and should have to be read with a raised voice.
Questions beginning with interrogative pronouns.
• What is your status?
• Who is your next of kin?
• Where do you learn?
• How do we know the truth?

Questions without interrogative pronouns.

• Really?
• At home?
• Yours?

Some other questions begin with verbs.

• Are we there yet?
• Does she know the answer?
• Were we forgiven?
• Has it started?
• Did she bring the relish?

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CHAPTER
10 SENTENCES

From the opening of this book up to this stage, we have been looking at the individual words
that constitute English Language. These are the various parts of speech. Now it is time to look
at the sentence, which is built by correctly putting together the words in order to communicate
and make sense to the next person. But before we get into details of how various sentences
are constructed, we are going to look at phrases and clauses, which are parts of a sentence.

10.1 Phrases and clauses

A phrase is a group of words which has meaning but does not make up a complete sentence.
It neither has a subject nor a verb, but just words from other parts of speech. Below is a list of
a few examples of phrases:
• Some hardworking women (a noun phrase).
• A love-starved husband (a noun phrase).
• Along the road (prepositional phrase).
• In the august house (prepositional phrase).
• Very badly (adverbial phrase).
• Quite normally (adverbial phrase).

A clause is a group of words which conveys full meaning. It may either be a complete or
incomplete sentence, but it differs from a phrase in that it has a subject and a verb.

Clauses which can stand on their own as complete sentences are referred to as independent
clauses. But clauses which cannot stand on their own as complete sentences are called
dependent clauses or subordinate clauses.

Examples of independent clauses;

(a) The floods caused a lot of deaths.
(b) Blood is thicker than water.
(c) Love hurts.
(d) Violence begets violence.
(e) Freedom works together with responsibility.

Examples of dependent clauses;

(a) When I arrived at home.
(b) Making up my mind.
(c) As I followed the activities of the young children.
(d) Not knowing that I was wrong.

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CHAPTER
11 TEST YOURSELF

Find out how much you have grasped the concepts you have learnt on the various language
aspects by answering the questions in each of the following short tests.

11.1 Parts of speech

Exercise 11.1
Use each of the words in brackets in the appropriate way which su

its the context of the sentence.

1. (Stupid) is when you defeat your own set goals.

2. The election board said they were (meticulous) verifying the election results.
3. Without a calling, you will just think of (rich) yourself with your job.
4. Is it (desire) for farmers to use chemicals to weed their crops?
5. You should always carry your bible with you for you to (eloquent) explain the biblical
truths.
6. The (resume) of the meeting was dependent on the number of people who attended.
7. (Jealous) leads a man to do the unthinkable.
8. The government was urged to (priority) the welfare of the common man in the street.
9. Some of the young man’s answers to the police were (evade).
10. Sometimes we sin by (omit) or by (commit).

11.2 Subject-verb agreement

Exercise 11.2
In each of the following sentences, use the appropriate verb which agrees with the
subject in person and number.

1. Both Jordan and Jacqui (is / are) going to miss the concert.
2. Every citizen (has / have) been stripped off of a sound personal psychological development.
3. One of my sisters (work / works) for the freight company in Nevada.
4. The whole convoy of cars (were / was) allowed to pass without further interrogation.
5. Either Nomagugu or Sichelesile (is / are) going to be our spokesperson at the hearing.
6. The announcement which was made by the city fathers (has / have) shocked us.
7. The vicissitudes of time (has / have) left a mark on the enduring home equipment.

79
8. Neither the social media nor the newspapers (have / has) reported on the nefarious act.
9. Homiletics (deal / deals) with how sermons are prepared and delivered in the best way.
10. There (is / are) juice and margarine in the fridge.

11.3 Punctuation

Exercise 11.3
Punctuate each of the following sentences correctly.

1. Although she is very beautiful she has not yet secured a man to marry her.
2. The capital city of the south-east Asian country of Nepal is Kathmandu.
3. In Shangaan, speed is called kuhahla.
4. We badly needed the money for payment of bills purchase of food payment of school fees
and sending home to our parents.
5. The professor said this is what we call politics of the stomach.
6. The following is the warning I was given by the robber before he left possession is cool
joint possession is cooler.
7. Before she worked for the non-governmental organisation called world vision she had
worked for another called plan international.
8. A man approached me and asked may you show me how I can get to Kwekwe street.
9. The Minister of Primary and Secondary Education who acts as the chairperson of the
committee will make the announcement soon.
10. The church which Jesus Christ left for us which was one has now been subdivided a million
times into loveless denominations.

11.4 Joining sentences

Exercise 11.4
Examine how the three sentences are joined below and then do the same for numbers
1 to 10 below.

Example:

(a) The supervisor divided the labourers into groups. He gave each group a portion to work
on. He went to the office to attend to other matters.
(b) Dividing the labourers into groups and giving each group a portion to work on, the
supervisor went to the office to attend to other matters.
1. The president cleared his throat. He scanned the attentive crowd before him. He began
reading his speech.

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 Part B:
Comprehension, Summary
and Supporting Language
Structures

85
 CHAPTER
12 COMPREHENSION

12.1 General comprehension

When we talk of comprehension in English Language, we refer to perfectly getting what a piece
of communication is saying. Comprehension testing, therefore, is designed to find out if a
person is linguistically fluid so that when every instruction, explanation or order is made, say,
at a workplace, in a lecture or in everyday social communication, he or she gives the desired
response or outcome. There are several inhibitions to perfect comprehension, some of which
are: little exposure to the language, poor reading skills, poor attention on the part of the reader
or the listener and, most commonly, fear of big words. These problems cut across all languages,
but in English, all the problems are worsened by the fact that passing English examinations is
a pre-requisite for one to proceed with further professional studies.

(a) Reading
The following are a few dos and don’ts for you to perfect your reading skills so as to improve
the quality of comprehension:

(i)  void using your fingers to follow the lines of the comprehension passage. This
A
distracts your attention in getting meaning of the written material.
(ii) A
 void constantly repeating certain words or phrases, or going back to check on
something because this disrupts meaning.
(iii) Good reading does not necessarily mean reading very fast; but read in such a way that you
eloquently bring out the sounds of words and you do not break the relationships that
words have in a sentence to bring out meaning.
(iv) If a word is unfamiliar to you, do not stop over it. Rather, say out the syllables that you
see on the unfamiliar word. By doing that, you will quickly learn the meaning of the word
before you can probably learn how to pronounce it.
(v) When reading, obey all the punctuation marks that you come across. Some punctuation
marks require that you stop completely. Others require that you pause a bit. Others, still,
require that you raise your voice. Even when you are reading quietly, you raise the quiet
voice. Punctuation clarifies meaning in any given situation it is used well.
(vi) For better understanding, as a reader who is still learning to read, you are advised to read
a group of words at one time. A group of words stringed together make meaning, but if
you read words individually, it may be difficult for you to comprehend.

86
most convincing explanations, you are easily made to see that the word ‘convincing’ means
the explanation which makes the most logical sense, since no one knows the exact truth.
Now you need more practice with comprehension and this new art of looking for contextual
meanings of words. Attempt the exercise below:

Exercise 12.3
Determined to go
1. As he walked, he kicked little clouds of dust with his worn-out tennis shoes through
which his toes protruded. Only his determination to go away kept him moving on. He
was determined to run away. Although his feet ached and his bowls complained, he
would not dare to go back to school to face Mr Chitiyo’s wrath.
2. As the sun sank deeper into the horizon, the June evening began to remind him that he did
not even have a jersey. His threadbare uniform alone would not help much to keep off the
harsh June night’s cold. Once again, he remembered that he did not have a place to lay his
head when nightfall was finally upon him. Little birds chattering their bed time songs also
reminded him of his loneliness. Though cold, hungry and stranded, he was still determined
not to nurse the thoughts of going back to school again. The city would be it.
3. Yet it was not his fault. It was Mr Chitiyo’s. How could he have decided to be so stern? The
events of that morning’s encounter with the English Master began to resurface freshly in
his mind.
4. “Themba, why did you not write the composition?” his voice echoed characteristically
through the classroom. His classmates laughed mockingly. But Themba saw nothing funny.
He eyed Sipho threateningly.
5. “My mother hasn’t bought an exercise book for me,” Themba whimpered, seeking refuge
from his own mouth. Mr Chitiyo, who always wanted to know the way of things, paced
menacingly towards him. Themba raised his head and, with eyes half-filled with tears, he
saw a grotesque figure of Mr Chitiyo approaching. His lips were shivering with fury such
that his bushy moustache was also shivering like that of a tiger.
6. “What?” his voice boomed. “And you never gave any explanation. Can you bring your
mother here, now?”
7. “Bringing Mother to school! Never!” He thought to himself. He knew that would be like
adding salt to injury. His mother would be more furious than Mr Chitiyo, the English
Master. She would want to know where he had put the two exercise books she had bought
for him the previous weekend. Would he be audacious enough to tell her that he had sold
the exercise books to Dubekile and bought a bottle of soft drink and some scones? No, he
would have to run away. Not to his uncle Jinkala’s place nor his aunt, Maria’s. They would
all demand to know why he was not at school, the first thing on his arrival. He opted to go
to the big city, Bulawayo and get lost there.
8. The thought of going to Bulawayo had, on several occasions, gripped him like a demon. His
friends Nelson and Mtabisi, he had been told, were already making a killing with the sale
of bread in trolleys, in a suburb called Gwabalanda. He was more energetic, if not smarter,
than both of them. Hadn’t he won all the fist-fighting bouts in the river? Hadn’t he made

91
10. The two Europeans did not turn their heads. The policeman went on taking notes while the
other stared at the dying man and murmured something. The African constable moved
round keeping the crowd well back from the road and the victim. He was not saying anything
since somebody had told him to remember that he did not drink with the Europeans.
11. There was another shriek and, emergency light blipping on the roof the ambulance
stopped on the other side of the victim.

Questions
From Paragraph 1

1.(a) ‘The faintest rustle’ refers to

(i) a soft sound
(ii) speed
(iii) dirt.
(b) Another word you could give for ‘gust’ is
(i) wind
(ii) temperature
(iii) heat.

From Paragraph 2

2. What method is the man using to the people to do something?

From Paragraph 5

3. What did the people see which showed that the white man was now a bit nervous?
From Paragraph 6

4. The shrill shriek was actually

(a) The voice of a woman hit by a car.
(b) The sound of a startled bird.
(c) The siren of a police vehicle.
(d) The voice of an angry old woman.

Choose the correct answer.

5. What tells you that people in the crowd were afraid of the police.

From Paragraph 7

6. Write down one word (a noun) which refers to a police rank.

7. Suggest two different reasons why the white policeman and the European looked at the
victim in silence.

From Paragraph 8

8. When somebody in the crowd said “Blood is thicker than water”. What did they imply?

99
From Paragraph 9

9. Why was there ‘a dangerous rumble’ from among the crowd?

10. Explain fully how the statement “You don’t drink with them. Remember that,”
(a) Could be a threat.
(b) Could be a piece of advice.

From Paragraph 10

11. Give two different reasons (one commendable and another deplorable) why the black
constable was keeping the crowd away from the road and the victim.

Word and phrase study

12. Give one word or a short phrase of your own which explains the meaning of any five of the
following words as they are used in the passage.
(a) maniac (paragraph 2)
(b) get away with (paragraph 4)
(c) temple (paragraph 5)
(d) skidded (paragraph 6)
(e) confirm (paragraph 8)
(f) rumble (paragraph 9)
(g) murmured (paragraph 10)
(h) blipping (paragraph 11)

12.4 Common errors in comprehension

Here are some of the weaknesses displayed by candidates in attempting comprehension

questions.
1. Struggling with reading – mainly caused by fear of unfamiliar words.
2. Failure to answer directly and precisely; copying the whole sentence including irrelevant
parts.
3. Giving ungrammatical answers, sometimes beginning answers with ‘because’.
4. Giving meanings out of context, which are not worked out from the context. (It does not
matter if you know the word from elsewhere).
5. Where only one word is required, many candidates write several words.
6. Leaving out some quotation marks used in the question for reference.
7. Poor punctuation of answers.
8. Many candidates cannot construct two or more separate sentences from an answer found
in one sentence in the passage containing two or more facts or items.
9. Generally, the weak candidates either look for answers elsewhere, not from the passage,
or they just copy statements from the passage not linked to the question.

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CHAPTER
13 WRITING A SUMMARY

The skill of writing a summary is partly a comprehension skill and partly an art of selecting
useful detail from the given information. With the former skill, you are demonstrating that
you perfectly understood the comprehension passage, the summary writing task, or question,
and the details which you are dealing with. The latter skill demonstrates that in selecting your
points, you only take what you require for the summary task at hand. Apart from that, you
discard the other details which are not required by the summary task. In doing so, certain
grammatical adjustments need to be done. Thus, making summary writing a peculiar art.

We are going to analyse the skills you need to learn in detail and the stages that you need to
take in writing a summary, especially at initial learning level.

13.1 Summary writing skills

Summary writing is a special skill which requires a student to be alert and well-conversant with
English Language. Below is the list of the summary skills that should be mastered by a student.

(a) Understanding the summary task

As proof of good mastery of English, students should demonstrate that they have grasped the
summary instruction and are able to do exactly as instructed to do.

(b) Selecting the relevant points

If a student comprehends what he or she is reading, he or she can extract any material he or
she requires. The skill is, precisely, the ability to select what he or she wants without changing
meaning or making grammatical mistakes in the process of discarding what he or she does not
want. When selecting points, a student sticks to the demands of a specific instruction.

(c) Remaining within the word limit

Part of what a student needs to learn to do is to pride himself or herself in selecting a certain
number of points or ideas and remain within the prescribed word limit. This would show that
he or she has achieved great success in the two skills above.

(d) Grammatical sentences

The major skill in learning English is the ability to express oneself grammatically. Students
are therefore obliged to use complete and grammatical sentences and not phrases. This is
particularly important when they have to discard information from the passage that they do
not need, which often leaves some of their sentences ungrammatical. It means they would
have to paraphrase some of the points to make them grammatical.

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 13.2 Stages of summary writing

Stage Activities
1. Ascertaining Underlining key words of the summary task.
By underlining key words of the summary question, you are ascertaining
yourself of the exact task you are supposed to do.
2. Selecting points Picking points from the passage and discarding irrelevant details.
As you are selecting the points that are relevant to your task, and
discarding the points you do not want, you are also minding your
expressions. You are making sure that your points do not remain mere
phrases; that unnecessary lists and examples have been paraphrased;
that some points which exist as subtle or indifferent expressions are
rephrased to make them relevant; and that dialogue is rephrased.
3. Working out Paraphrasing lengthy points.
The skill of paraphrasing is very simple. You demonstrate that you
perfectly understood the passage by putting across the lengthy
statements into your own simpler, shorter expression which is
relevant to the summary task. For this task, you will be working with
your selected points in an effort to be brief. You cannot afford to be
a slave to the passage for all the relevant points you encounter in the
comprehension passage. Where necessary, you paraphrase.
4. Final draft Writing summary.
After you have ascertained yourself that you have brought in all the
relevant points and that you have corrected all the grammatical errors,
you can now neatly write your final draft of the summary.

Exercise 13.1

Here is a summary task you should attempt to see if you have done well in following the
summary writing procedure. Go back to Chapter 12 and read Comprehension Passage A for
you to complete the following exercise.

Part of the passage describes the actions done by the white man after knocking down a man
on the street. Write a summary of what the people saw him do and how they felt.

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Use only the material from paragraph 5 to paragraph 10

Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not in note form), must not be more than
160 words in length, including the ten (10) opening words given below. Begin your summary
as follows:

In the corner of his eye,

the impala saw the
[20]

13.4 Common errors in summary writing

Here are the most common errors made by candidates in summary writing.

1. A few candidates totally neglect to read the summary question resulting in them writing
their summaries anyhow.
2. Some other candidates neglect to follow the guide given by the opening sentence, thus
erring on the gender, he, she or I.
3. The most common error among the weak candidates is filling up their summary space with
irrelevant details. They fail to decide on demarcations of the relevant and the irrelevant
points.
4. Other weak candidates break up sentences at unsuitable places leaving some ideas
incomplete or hanging.
5. Very weak candidates have a weird notion of summarising. They just remove small words
such as ‘the’, ‘a’ and others.
6. A good majority cannot find points from the direct speech which is in the passage.
7. Some fail to paraphrase lengthy sentences to make them relevant points.
8. Some candidates write very short summaries. This is caused by poor comprehension.

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CHAPTER
14 SUPPORTING LANGUAGE
STRUCTURES

In this component of English Language, we are now putting into practice the language skills
that we learnt from Chapter 1 up to Chapter 10. By looking at some constructions of English
in reading passages that we are working with, we are reminded to test ourselves on the same
various skills we have learnt and, perhaps, consolidate our understanding of the same language
concepts.

Below are questions based on the three passages that we read in Chapter 13. After the three
exercises, we will have a whole Paper 2 with Comprehension, Summary and Supporting
Language Structures. We will also have a full paper in Chapter 15 where you are going to give
yourselves good practice on the 4005/2 (ZIMSEC Paper).

Exercise 14.1

From passage A: Face-to-face with fate

(a) (i) Write down the noun from which the adjective ‘populous’ (line 1) is formed.
(ii) Taka said that he had not had a decent meal for the past week. (Rewrite this
sentence in direct speech). [2]
(b) (i) “How far is this pittance going to take me?” Taka asked himself. (Rewrite this
sentence in reported speech).
(ii) In the fourth paragraph, we have four verbs: raced; thrust; began; snarled.
These verbs belong to two categories. Which are they? [2]
(c) (i) Taka was brandishing his usual machine gun. He paced up and down the gate
area with an air of nonchalant defiance. Join these two sentences beginning
with “Brandishing …”
(ii) 
Stashed between a pack of newspapers, the silencer was lying beside the metal
chair. Transform this sentence into a compound sentence whose two parts
are joined by a coordinating conjunction. [2]
(d) (i) Write down the adjective from which the noun ‘humility’ has been taken.
(ii) Write down the verb from which the noun ‘assignment’ has been taken. [2]
(e) Correct an error in each of the following sentences:
(i) Opportunity knock at a man’s door once.
(ii) The job of a soldier requires someone who have a calling. [2]

112
 Part C:
Free Composition

120
 CHAPTER
16 NARRATIVE/DESCRIPTIVE
COMPOSITIONS

16.1 Introduction

The free response compositions that we often write are very interesting work of art which we
have to endeavour to excel in. Firstly, we excel because we are giving ourselves the opportunity
to be creative in our own unique way. We should always give ourselves the freedom to present
the best pieces of writing that no other person has ever presented. Secondly, writing in English
should be enjoyed as it is an opportunity to use the best English words and phrases that can
ever be used.

Although we say that writing is a unique work of art, we can also learn how to write the best
essays. In Section C, we are going to look at some of the recommended ways that can be learnt
of presenting our essays of the different genres in the best ways.

16.2 Narrative/descriptive essays

By narrative/descriptive essays, we are referring to the essays in which you write your stories
in the best way that makes the readers enjoy reading. The readers do not only enjoy the story
line, but they also enjoy the fantastic and effective use of English Language expressions.

(a) Important elements

(i) creativity
(ii) style
(iii) detail
(iv) characterisation
(v) mood
(vi) pace

(b) The elements in detail

To help explain the important elements required in writing narrative/descriptive essays, we will
constantly refer to Charles Mungoshi’s story, ‘The Accident’ which we read in Chapter 13.

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 16.4 Common errors on narrative/descriptive essays

Here is a list of some of the errors made by candidates who opt for narrative/descriptive essays:
1. They make countless grammar and punctuation errors: verb tenses, subject-verb
agreement, misspelling of basic words, faulty sentence construction, misuse of parts of
speech, improper use of articles, improper use of connectives such as ‘in addition’, faulty
paragraphing, poor punctuation and confusion of homonyms. (some weak candidates
have all these grammar errors in one essay.)
2. Many candidates simply narrate. The element of description is absent in most essays.
3. The essays lack the pace, characterisation, style, mood and detail. The essays taste bad.
4. Many candidates are not imaginative enough to come up with amazing stories. They are
just not creative.
5. The lack of creativity results in many candidates resorting to inclusion of irrelevant details
in the openings of their essays just to lengthen them.
6. Some essays have inadequate number of words resulting in them being penalised.
7. Some candidates have extremely poor handwriting resulting in their essays being difficult
to read.
8. Many candidates divert from writing about what is asked by the question and resort to
writing about something different. This also is subject to penalisation.
9. A few blatantly reject the set question to bring in memorised essays. As a result they do not
score marks because this is a serious offense of cheating.
10. Some of the minor errors are:
(a) poor paragraphing.
(b) poor choice of words.
(c) unacceptable length.
(d) poor presentation.

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CHAPTER
18 ARGUMENTATIVE COMPOSITIONS

18.1 Introduction
Another type of essay which learners are expected to learn is the argumentative essay. The
argumentative essay has two sides on which you are supposed to argue for or against. You
may choose to argue for one side, either for the motion or against. However, you may also
choose to raise ideas on the two sides in a well-balanced manner. You may have more facts on
the assertive side and less on the opposing, or vice-versa. But this does not mean that in your
essay you are going to contradict yourself. Rather, you are going to present the other part of
the notion in a way which makes your reader aware of the other view of the matter which must
be borne in mind even if you greatly subscribe to moving the motion.

Here is a typical topic you can get for an argumentative essay.

The death penalty should be abolished in our country. Do you agree?

18.2 Setting out

The first and most important stage is the planning stage. At this stage, you set out what ideas
possibly come out on the particular topic you have at hand. It does not matter which side of the
topic the ideas are, but this helps you to make a final decision on which side to write about. This
you can tell by the number of ideas which are inclined to the supporting side and those inclined
to the opposing side. After jotting down your ideas in that way, that is when you will make your
decision to move the motion or oppose or strike a balance with those ideas.
For the topic above you may come up with the following ideas:

Ideas for
• There is always room for repentance.
• It should be made somebody’s responsibility to rehabilitate.
• Biblically, forgiveness is stressed more than retribution.
• A family pillar would have been broken.
• Unrepentant criminals can be made productive while in custody.
• Who would want to be an executioner and live a normal life?
• The side of the criminals sentenced to death needs to be heard.

Ideas against
• Some people are incorrigible, better to lose one life than several.
• The executioner does not act on his own accord.

136
 Part D:
Practical Writing Skills

143
CHAPTER
21 A REPORT

21.1 Important definitions

A report is the documentation of an assessment made on a situation at a particular institution

or organisation. It is put into writing because of the fact that it is always referred to when
needed. Thus, a report is kept in a file and only made available to persons who are involved in
the matters of the organisation. Otherwise a report is a confidential document. In some cases,
a report is written by way of filling in a form with structured questions or titles which guide
those in authority to obtain specific relevant information.

21.2 Report format

Here is a simple report format that is basic to report writing.

Title: (what the report is about)
To: (if you are required to indicate to whom you are to address the report)
Date: (a date is required as some reports may become outdated)
Written by: (the name of the writer and the official designation)

21.3 Inside the report - The body

These are the things to remember when you are writing your comprehensive report:

(a) You need to open with an introduction which highlights what the report is all about. For
example:
This report serves to explain how effective the three anti-malarial drugs, mefloquine, fansidar
and chloroquine have been in combating malaria in the past rainy season from November 2020
to February 2021. Generally, the drugs have proved to be effective as seen in the decline in the
number of people who returned to the hospital for further treatment.

(b) You need to break down ideas into units for which you can build up paragraphs as you
have already been taught, paragraphs comprising topic sentences and developers.
(c) You need to monitor your language so that it does the following:
(i) It does not insult anyone even if the matter you are reporting angers you.
(ii) When suggesting solutions to certain problems, be as courteous as possible. Use the
passive voice rather than giving impolite commands.

144
CHAPTER
23 WRITING AN ARTICLE

23.1 Introduction

Another mode of communication that is commonly used at professional level is writing articles
through various media that are at our disposal. These are newspapers, magazines and journals.
Of late, we have seen articles on television and some are read over the radio. There are so
many advantages that can be attributed to this form of communication.

Advantages of communicating using an article:

(a) You can reach out to as many people as possible, in spite of their geographical location.
(b) You can provide visual evidence of authenticity in case some people doubt originality.
(c) On radio and television, an article may be repeated to reach more and more receivers.
(d) In a newspaper or a magazine, a catchy heading can do the trick, to draw the attention of
readers.
(e) An article represents authentic information. All other rumours will be dismissed after the
article.

23.2 The article format

The format of an article is not complicated at all. An article needs a heading, which quickly
attracts the attention of a reader. Such a heading competes with other headings in the
newspaper, magazine or journal.

The date of the article may be required by the writer of the article for his or her own records,
but the publishing house may have their own date of publicising the article. In brief, a date
should be written.

Finally, the writer should be known for two important reasons:

(a) A communication written at professional level may have legal implications. So, both the
publishers, readers and other stakeholders need to know who posted the article, in case
of any eventuality.
(b) A communication authored by a known person is more credible than one whose authorship
is unknown.

149
CHAPTER
24 WRITING A FORMAL LETTER

24.1 Introduction

Another prominent mode of communication is a formal letter, which some people may refer to
as a business letter. A formal letter may be written to an individual directly or an organisation. If it
is written to an organisation, it should be addressed to a person in authority in the organisation,
such as The Human Resources Manager, The Head or The Senior Assistant Registrar.
In olden days it would then have to be posted to the recipient via the post office. For a letter to
reach the correct recipient, it should be addressed to the correct person. So, a formal letter has
to have two addresses: your address and the recepient’s address.
Although the addresses are meant for accurate sending of information, they also act as
information to locate a person where necessary. Business letters are filed if they are sent in
small numbers. They may act as reference material. So, these letters have distinct headings
which guide organisations to file them and use them accordingly.

24.2 Formal letter format

Format of a formal letter:

House Number 4994
Muchakata Way
Mkoba 15
Gweru

08 August 2020

The Human Resources Director

Architectural Aluminium
Number 4 Lyton Road
P. O. Box 1492
Workington
Harare

Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Application for a job as Personnel Officer.

Body of letter
Hoping to hear from you soon.

152
 Part E:
Examination Practice

166
SET A

EXAMINATION PRACTICES
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Paper 1
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Read the paper carefully before answering questions.

Answer two questions.

Answer one question from Section A and one from Section B.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question.

You are advised to spend 50 minutes on Section A and 40 minutes on Section B.

SECTION A (30 MARKS)

Write a composition on one of the following topics. You should not treat Question 7 as a
character’s name. Your answer should be between 350 and 450 words in length. You are
advised to spend 50 minutes on this section.

1. Describe your favourite place where you wish to spend a holiday. [30]
2. Write a story based on one of the following statements:
Either (a) We were all surprised by what this world has come to. [30]
Or (b) She regretted for having said it in the first place. [30]
3. In your own opinion, how can people avoid deception and abuse in bogus
churches? [30]
4. Many who are poor have caused poverty on themselves. Do you agree? [30]
5. Describe how a small incident stirred the whole of your community. [30]
6. ‘Being poor and loving is better than being rich and selfish.’ Discuss. [30]
7. Temptations. [30]

167
 SECTION B (20 MARKS)
EXAMINATION PRACTICES

8. Answer the following question. You are advised to spend 50 minutes on this section. Begin
your answer on a fresh page.
Your friend wrote a letter to you seeking advice on certain problems she is facing where she is
staying. Read her letter below and respond to it advising her accordingly.
Kuzondidini Secondary School
Private Bag 9048
Masvingo
22 March 2020
Dear Sostina

I am very glad to write you this letter. It is not that I’m living comfortably here in Zaka, but I
feel greatly elated by having someone to always share my difficult moments with. You are the
friend I have put all my trust and confidence in.

Sostina, this time I have a number of issues I want you to assist me with. The first one is that
I am being forced to marry Madzibaba Jerminus by my step-mother. I’m sure you remember
him, the one I told you about in one of my letters; who spent a couple of years in prison for
attempted rape. He is the one my step-mother is persuading father to connect me to. You know
I really do not want that kind of arrangement. Besides, I am only sixteen and want to complete
my education. At Kuzondidini, everyone is already calling me “Madzimai Sylvia.” I don’t know
how the news spread to everyone. It’s quite appalling.

The second issue is that my step-mother is forcing me to go with her to the annual conference
which is going to be held at Nyika Growth Point. I told her that I do not belong to her church,
and that ever since my mother died, I have been a member of Reformed Church in Zimbabwe.
I showed her my church’s girls uniform which Mother had sewn for me. But she insists that I
cannot do what I want in her home. Tell me, what must I do? Should I run away from home?
I have at one moment contemplated getting lost in the big city of Harare, maybe my miseries
might end.

Thirdly, I want to inform you that through the grapevine, I have heard that at Nyika Growth
Point is where Madzibaba is planning to reveal a prophecy purported to be coming from God
saying that I should become one of his many wives. I do not like that old man and I don’t want
to go to Nyika. He will take advantage of us being away from home to force me to accept his
ungodly advances. He is promiscuous and besides, he is sickly. What should I do, now that the
money for transport has already been paid, including mine?

I would also like to seek your advice on my choice of subjects. Since you know that my father
is no longer working, he said he can pay for only three subjects for my November examinations
registration. Two teachers at our school sacrificed to pay for two other subjects for me, to make
them five. Now, my dilemma is, I do not know which ones I should drop. I have been doing eight
subjects, which are English Language, Mathematics, Combined Science, Geography, History,
Commerce, Agriculture and FRS. I loved all the subjects that I studied and all my teachers are
generally very good teachers.
168
Lastly, I have thought of confiding in you on the matter concerning Charles. When he heard
the news spreading around about Madzibaba Jerminus, he stopped communicating with me. I

EXAMINATION PRACTICES
think he has turned his heart away from me. What do you think I should do? Approach him and
explain that I do not go for the old man, or just let him slip away? You know how much I love
him. But your advice will count on this matter. Feel free.

I think I should pen off now. Before I go, I pass my greetings to our friends Theresa, Respina,
Nancy, Otillia and Nakai. Do not forget to greet your dad, your step-mother and your brother
Albert.

Lots of love from

Sylvia

169
 ENGLISH LANGUAGE
EXAMINATION PRACTICES

Paper 2
Time: 2 hours

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

You are advised to spend 1 hour 30 minutes on Section A and 30 minutes on Section B.

SECTION A (40 MARKS)

Read the following passage carefully before you attempt any questions.

Answer all questions on the spaces provided on the question paper.

McCurry’s photographic dexterity

1. Steve McCurry never realised, when he heard young voices in a refugee tent at Nasir Bagh,
near Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1984, that the picture he was about to take would be on the
cover of National Geographic and be named the magazine’s “most recognised photo” ever.
He stepped into the tent and saw almost instantly that Sharbat Gula, the twelve-year old
Afghan girl with piercing green eyes sitting in the corner, was the image key to his refugee
story. She had never been photographed.
2. McCurry clicked his shutter, immortalising her for ever and catapulting himself to greater
fame. It is this kind of serendipity that led McCurry to become one of the world’s most
famous documentary photographers. He began taking photos as a journalist in 1974 and
in 1979 was working his way around Asia, selling photographs to small magazines to keep
himself travelling.
3. It was a year after the Soviet-backed coup in Afghanistan. A group of warlords, nationalists
and Islamic fighters known as the mujahideen were on the Pakistani border, fighting back.
McCurry was in the small town of Chitral, watching thousands of refugees arriving from
Afghanistan. Some of them asked him to document what had turned into a civil war. The
insurgents dressed him in old Afghan clothes and he trekked with them for several days,
over a pass in the Hindu Kush. This was his first war zone. All he had was a Swiss army
knife, a cup, two cameras, four lenses, a bag of film and some packets of airline peanuts.
4. A month later, the US began to offer secret arms and funding to the mujahideen. The
conflict would later escalate into a full-scale proxy war between the US and the Soviets,
but McCurry didn’t know that. He only knew he was crossing a border without a passport.
Going into a forbidden area and then a war. It was tough and dangerous, but he stuck it
out for three weeks, surviving on sign language and Afghan hospitality. He photographed
people’s daily lives, using black and white film, often considered to embody the “essence”
of a photographic image.
5. McCurry smuggled the rolls of film back across the border, sewn into his clothing and three
months later, his first image appeared in the New York Times, just as the Soviet involvement
was becoming a massive international story. The editors of the Associated Press and the
New York Times knew they had found a brilliant new documentary photographer.

170
6. McCurry returned to Afghanistan in 1980 for Time magazine. The war was considerably
“hotter” with US military backing. It helped, of course, that he had dark hair and a thick

EXAMINATION PRACTICES
beard and blended in with the Afghan people. He later covered the Iran-Iraq war, the civil
wars in Lebanon and Cambodia, the Islamic insurgency in the Philippines and the Gulf War.
McCurry was driven to show the devastating toll war takes on humans, animals and the
landscape. He almost drowned in India and survived a plane crash in Slovenia. Renowned
for his ability to photograph difficult subjects, he often had to shoot in extreme conditions
such as monsoon rain (India), snow (Afghanistan), dust storms (India), oil mist (Kuwait), and
extreme cold (-50 degrees Celsius in Pakistan). He braved dangerous situations such as
landmines in Kuwait, hijacking and hostage-taking in Yemen, ice crevasses in Pakistan, and
the collapse of the World Trade Centre twin towers in the 9/11 attacks. He also faced more
than his fair share of the bureaucratic obstruction that appears to confront anyone who
lifts a camera to their eye.
7. The trauma of what he sometimes had to witness is made easier by the distance created
by the viewfinder, the knowledge that he is documenting “the story”, so that the world will
know. Keeping a dispassionate eye while maintaining an emotional connection with your
subject is a tough line to tread, but McCurry mastered it. In Kuwait, embedded with the
US forces during Operation Desert Storm, he traversed the “Highway of Death”, saw the
desert sands turned from yellow to black and witnessed what he calls a “scene of the end
of the world” – an apocalypse of 600 oil well set on fire by the retreating Iraqi forces.
8. His lyrical, sombre photographic style is deliberate. “I like rich, dark look,” he says. His
talents include intuition, perseverance and the patience he learnt from the long-held
fascination with Buddhism (“the picture will come to you”).
9. When that Afghan girl cover of the June 1985 National Geographic struck a chord with
millions of people around the globe, McCurry did not even know her name. Nearly two
decades later he returned with a National Geographic TV crew to try to find her.
10. It was not easy. Sharbat, who was twelve and a Pashtun orphan when he took her portrait,
is in her forties today, with four children. McCurry says: “Her skin is weathered; there are
wrinkles now, but she is as striking as she was all those years ago.”
11. He says each individual picture’s own light, tone and structure are key to his work. “I tell
stories, but I strive for individual pictures that will burn into people’s memories.”
(By David Forbes in Sunday Times: December 2, 2018)

Questions
Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

You are advised to answer them in the order set.

Mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar may be penalised on any part of the paper.

From Paragraph 1

1. (a) What made the writer see the twelve-year old girl almost instantly?
___________________________________________________________________ [1]

171
 From Paragraph 2
EXAMINATION PRACTICES

(b) (i) What evidence from later on in the passage shows that the writer ‘catapulted
himself to greater fame’?
___________________________________________________________________ [1]

(ii) made it necessary for the writer to sell photographs to small magazines?
____________________________________________________________________ [1]

From Paragraph 3

(c) Suggest a reason why insurgents dressed McCurry in old Afghan clothes.
____________________________________________________________________ [1]

From Paragraph 4

(d) (i) In what way would the conflict escalate into a full-scale proxy war between the US
and the Soviets?

___________________________________________________________________________ [1]

(ii) ‘It was tough and dangerous.’ Give two different ways in which McCurry managed
to survive the tough times.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________ [2]

From Paragraph 5

(e)
(i) Write down one word from this paragraph which shows that what McCurry did
was illegal, taking back photographs from a forbidden area.
______________________________________________________________________ [1]

(ii) What was the effect of his photograph which appeared in the New York Times?
___________________________________________________________________ [1]

From Paragraph 6

2. (a) (i) In what two ways was McCurry able to blend perfectly with Afghan nationals?
1 ___________________________________________________________________
2 __________________________________________________________________ [2]

(ii) Cite one example which supports the fact that McCurry was renowned for his
ability to photograph difficult subjects.

__________________________________________________________________ [1]

From Paragraph 7

(b)
(i) Write down a phrase of four consecutive words which tells us that McCurry had
to pretend to be unconcerned about what he intended to photograph.
_________________________________________________________________ [1]

172
 (ii) 
In your own words, explain how McCurry was able to cover the events of
Operation Desert Storm and the 600 oil wells set on fire by Iraqi forces.

EXAMINATION PRACTICES
______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ [1]

From the whole passage

(c) Choose five of the following words or phrases. For each of them give one word or a
short phrase (of not more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the
word or phrases has in the passage.

(i) immortalising (paragraph 2) ________________________________________

(ii) document (paragraph 3) ___________________________________________
(iii) escalate (paragraph 4) _____________________________________________
(iv) devastating (paragraph 6) ___________________________________________
(v) braved (paragraph 6) ______________________________________________
(vi) to confront (paragraph 6) ___________________________________________
(vii) traversed (paragraph 7) ____________________________________________
(viii) fascination (paragraph 8) _________________________________________ [5]

3. Part of the passage describes the difficult circumstances under which McCurry worked as a
photographer and journalist. Write a summary of the difficult situations he conducted his
duties and how he went around some of the difficult circumstances in his various missions.

Use only material from paragraph 3 to the end of the passage.

Your summary, which should be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer
than 160 words in length including the given ten (10) opening words.

Some refugees in Chitral asked him

to go and document
[20]

173
 SECTION B (10 MARKS)
EXAMINATION PRACTICES

Answer all questions.

You are advised to spend 30 minutes on this section.

4. (a) (i) The verbs stepped, saw, sitting and photographed in paragraph 1 represent
two categories. Classify the four verbs into the two categories.
(ii) McCurry clicked his shutter. He immortalised Sharbat forever. He
catapulted himself to greater fame. Combine the sentences above beginning
with ‘Immortalising …’. [2]
(b) (i) The insurgents dressed him in old Afghan clothes. Rewrite the sentence using
‘was dressed.’
(ii) The US began to offer secret arms. Rewrite the sentence using ‘secretly.’ [2]
(c) (i) Three months later, his first image appeared in the New York Times. Rewrite
the sentence using ‘three months’ time.’
(ii) Correct an error in the following sentence: The war was becoming
considerably more hotter. [2]
(d) (i) He was renowned for his ability to photograph difficult subjects. Rewrite the
sentence using ‘able.’
(ii) Form a verb from the adjective rich. [2]
(e) (i) The refugee girl had changed very much. McCurry could not recognise her
two decades later. Combine this sentence using ‘so … that.’
(ii) McCurry says: “Her skin is weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is as
striking as she was all those years.” Rewrite this sentence in reported speech. [2]

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 ANSWERS
Exercise 1.1
1. water; noise; play; Gabriel; honesty; Brian; dirt.
ANSWERS

2. Nouns to be underlined:
(a) teacher; range; duties; job.
(b) books; manner.
(c) Africa; sorts; leadership.
(d) The International Monetary Fund; responsibility; economics.
(e) Jealousy; freedom; fools.

3. Check for answers in the table below.

A. Common noun B. Collective noun

pupils class
pens stationery
pastors church
goats flock
tables furniture
musicians orchestra
guests delegation
vans fleet
piglets litter
spectator audience

4. Check for answers in the table below.

C. Common noun D. Proper noun
period Early Stone Age
pet Roger
war Second Chimurenga
subjects Statistics
music The Blues
place Binga

5. Learners will give varying answers, but here are typical examples:
• We are encouraged to remove hatred and start loving each other.
• She dropped a plate because of nervousness.
• My dislike for fatty food made me go to bed on an empty stomach.
• Too much comfort causes laziness.
• Because of drunkenness, he lost all his money.
• True wisdom is reflected in planning for every eventuality.
6. (a) Capital letter G for Gweru.
(b) Capital letters C and S for Computer Science.
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 PART E: EXAMINATION PRACTICE
SET A: PAPER 1
In all essay types, marking is done by impression. That is, candidates should impress well
on language and content. However, essays with very good content but with too much faulty
ANSWERS

language do not score.

1. A descriptive essay. Candidates are expected to demonstrate a keen eye for significant
details in their descriptions. Focus is on the description of a favourite tourist centre of
choice and how it is such a lovely place to visit.
2. Candidates expected to create lively, interesting and convincing accounts based on either
of the given statements. In (a) the storyline should focus on the bizarre nature of the
happening. In (b) description should be vivid around the circumstances surrounding a
regrettable utterance.
3. A factual topic. Focus is on the various ways people can avoid being deceived and/ or
abused in mushrooming bogus churches. Good essays will incorporate suitable linking
devices and varied sentence constructions.
4. A discursive essay question. Convincing and well-sustained argument is called for. Good
essays will look at both sides of the argument.
5. On this question, emphasis is on how a small incident stirred a whole large group of people
in a community. Brilliant essays will exploit to advantage the opportunity for short-story
writing, incorporating such elements as characterisation, pace, suspense, sensitivity to
detail.
6. A discursive topic. Candidates expected to examine in some depth both sides of the
argument before arriving at a reasoned conclusion. Unique ideas and advice should be
rewarded.
7. An open-ended question. Varied interpretations of temptations are acceptable.
8. This question requires the writing of a friendly letter in reply to Sylvia giving constructive
advice to the issues she has raised. It is hoped that the advice should be constructive
rather than wayward. Since Sylvia is a close friend, traces of closeness and a sense of
humour should be evident in the reply to make the letter lively. Good essays will cover all
the issues raised and some other information could be added as well.

SET A: PAPER 2
SECTION A

1. (a) She had piercing green eyes.

(b) (ii) The editors of the Associated Press and the New York Times had found a brilliant
new documentary photographer.
(ii) He wanted to keep himself travelling.
(c) They wanted to disguise him as an Afghan national. (Accept any other answers related
to ‘disguise’).
(d) (i) The US was backing mujahideen while the Soviets were backing the Afghan
government.
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 (ii) 1. He survived on sign language.
2. He survived on Afghan hospitality.
(e) (i) smuggled
(ii) The editors of the Associated Press and the New York Times knew they had found
a brilliant new documentary photographer.

ANSWERS
2. (a) (i) 1. He had dark hair.
2. He had a thick beard.
(ii) He would shoot in extreme conditions such as monsoon rains in India, snow in
Afghanistan, dust storms in India, oil mist in Kuwait, and extreme cold in Pakistan.
(Give no mark for candidates who give more than one citation.)
(b) (i) Keeping a dispassionate eye.
(ii) He was incorporated/taken in/engulfed by the US army.
(c) (i) immortalising – keeping alive.
(ii) document – record/put on record.
(iii) escalate – increase/intensify/become worse.
(iv) devastating – destructive.
(v) braved – took courage in/dared.
(vi) to confront – to face.
(vii) traversed – went through/survived the life-threatening ordeal.
(viii) fascination – interested involvement.

3. Summary points

• Some refugees in Chitral asked him to go and document what had turned into a civil
war.
• The insurgents dressed him in old Afghan clothes.
• He trekked with them for several days.
• He had very minimal resources.
• He did not know that the conflict would soon escalate into a full proxy war.
• Crossing into a forbidden area without a passport was tough and dangerous.
• He survived on sign language and Afghan hospitality.
• He photographed people’s lives using black and white.
• McCurry smuggled the rolls of film back across the border, sewn into his clothing.
• When he returned to Afghanistan in 1980, the war was “hotter.”
• With dark hair and a thick beard, he blended well with the Afghan people.
• He later covered the Iran-Iraq war.
• He covered the civil wars in Lebanon and Cambodia.
• He covered the Islamic insurgency in Philippines and the Gulf.
• He almost drowned in India.
• He survived a plane crash in Slovenia.
• He often had to shoot in extreme conditions such as monsoon rain (India), snow
(Afghanistan), dust storms (India), oil mist (Kuwait) and extreme cold (Pakistan).
• He braved dangerous situations such as landmines in Kuwait, hijacking and hostage-
taking in Yemen, ice crevasses in Pakistan and the collapse of the World Trade Centre
twin towers in the 9/11 attacks.
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 • He faced bureaucratic obstruction from taking pictures.
• The trauma was made easier by the knowledge that he is documenting a story for the
world to know.
• Keeping a dispassionate eye while maintaining an emotional connection was tough
for him.
ANSWERS

• McCurry mastered it.

• In Kuwait he was embedded by the US Army during Operation Desert Storm.
• He traversed the “Highway of Death.”
• He saw the desert sand turned from yellow to black.
• He witnessed an apocalypse of 600 oil wells set on fire by the retreating Iraqi forces.
• His talents include intuition, perseverance and patience.
• He returned nearly two decades later to look for the girl he had photographed.
• It was not easy finding her.
• He said each individual picture is unique in its light, tone and structure.
• He strives for pictures that burn into people’s memories.

SECTION B

4. (a) (i) stepped; photographed; saw; sitting

(ii) Immortalising Shabat forever, McCurry clicked his shutter and catapulted himself
to greater fame.
(b) (i) He was dressed in old Afghan clothes.
(ii) The US began to secretly offer arms. (Also accept: The US began to offer arms
secretly.)
(c) (i) His first image appeared in the New York Times in three months’ time.
(ii) The war was becoming considerably hotter.
(d) (i) He was renowned for being able to photograph difficult subjects.
(ii) enrich
(e) (i) The refugee girl had changed so much that McCurry could not recognise her
almost two decades later.
(ii) McCurry said that her skin was weathered and there were wrinkles then, but she
was as striking as she was all those years.

270