As elements of the eleven plus revert back to the `old days’,
children are finding that they need to be a little more aware of nuances of the
English language. We may tell our children, for example, that `shall’ is used
in the first person and `will’ in the second and third.
I shall go.
You will go.
He will go.
But suppose that one day the eleven plus is taken up by
different nations? The Scots, for example, say: “I will go.” We can recall the story
of the Scot who was drowning. The English people watching him struggle did
little to help as he called out:
“I will drown, and no one shall save me!”
Should we expect our eleven plus to know the difference between
`nauseous’ and `nauseated’? A sentence could read: “I feel nauseous.” A different
sentence could read: “I feel nauseated.” Both meanings revolve around feeling
sick or disgusted but one is a figurative meaning and the other literal.
Is there time to explain the difference to an eleven plus
child?
No comments:
Post a Comment