Contents

English Home Language Grade 5

End of year grammar revision

A. Simple present tense and simple past tense 2

B. Relative and reflexive pronouns 3

C. Comparison of adjectives 4

D. Subject-verb agreement 4

E. Direct and Indirect Speech 5

F. Similes, proverbs and idioms 6

G. Colons, semi-colons, inverted commas, capital letters 8

H. Infinitive verbs 10

I. Onomatopoeia and Homophones 10

J. Gerunds 11

K. Simple sentence and compound sentences 12

L. Subject, predicate and object 12

M. Clauses and phrases 14

N. Antonyms and synonyms 15

O. Stems, Prefixes and Suffixes 16

A. Simple present tense and simple past tense

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 1&2: simple present tense, simple past tense

The simple present tense es pla ce in th e pre sen t time. It also refers to
n th at tak
This is used to express as actio all th e tim e, or a da ily event. For example: I
ce oft en or
a habitual action that takes pla
speak English.
The simple past tense th at an ac tio n started and finished at a
ses th e ide a
The simple past tense expres
mple: She washed her bicycle.
specific time in the past. For exa

1. Write these sentences in the present simple tense by changing the verb in
brackets.
a) The train (leave) every morning at six o’ clock.


b) I don’t like winter in Cape Town because it always (rain).


c) Once a week Sipho (clean) and (wash) his father’s car.

d) He (like) to play football and he (play) tennis every Monday.

e) The school (open) at 7 ó clock on weekday mornings.

2. Complete these sentences by choosing verbs from the wordbox and writing them in the
simple past tense.

play finish live enjoy tidy

a) My sister her room.

b) We in Durban.
c) The film at 10pm.
d) I the walk in the mountains.
e) The boys games on the computer.

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B. Relative and reflexive pronouns

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 1&2
un. For example: he, she, it, th
ey,

th at tak es th e pla ce of a no
a) A pronoun is a word
we.
rd th at joi ns a cla use or ph rase to a noun or pronoun.
b) A relative pronoun is a wo gh that door is my brother. Exam
ples of
Th e bo y wh o wa lke d th rou
For example.
, whose, which and that.
relative pronouns are who, whom bu t inc ludes the word -self or -selves
at
als o rep lac es a no un
c) A reflexive pronoun
the end. For example: The girl
saw herself in the mirror.

1. Underline the relative pronoun that introduces the clause and circle that noun that it
refers to.
a) The book that I got from the library is due tomorrow.
b) My teacher, whom I respect, congratulated me on a job well done.
c) Her first book, which was published last year, was about her trip to India.
d) The reckless driver who crashed into the wall didn’t have a license.
e) Mrs Johnson, whose son teaches Grade 5, also teaches at the school.

2. Use a relative pronoun to join these sentences.

a) We walked past the church. I got married in that church.

b) That hit song has been playing all day. The composer won an award.

c) The singer is very talented. She won the talent show competition.

d) Spiders build beautiful, intricate webs. They catch insects to eat in their webs.


e) I ride that bicycle to school. It is very old and needs a new saddle.

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C. Comparison of adjectives

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 3&4; comparison of adjectives

en an ad jec tiv e com pa res no uns we call this degrees

Wh
An adjective describes a noun.
all, smaller, smallest
of comparison. For example: sm
parison:
There are three degrees of com
ive de gre e ref ers to on e th ing . e.g. This story is good.
a) Posit
tiv e de gre e com pa res tw o th ings. e.g. That story is better.
b) Compara
mo re th an tw o th ing s. e.g . Those stories are the best
c) Superlative degree compares

1. Complete these sentences using a comparative adjective

a) My sister is than yours. (short)
b) My washing is than yours. (dry)
c) Our car is than his. (old)
d) My brother is than yours. (handsome)
e) Tonight’s sunset is than last night’s sunset. (beautiful)

2. Complete these sentences using a superlative adjective.

a) My grandfather is the person that I know. (wise)
b) That was the film I have ever seen. (sad)
c) The way to the shop is down that road. (quick)
d) This is the bag in the bus. (heavy)
e) This is the cake I have ever eaten. (delicious)

3. Give the degrees of comparison for each adjective.

a) many
b) little
c) bad
d) generous
e) shallow

D. Subject-verb agreement
Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 3&4; subject-verb agreement
Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 7&8; subject-verb agreement

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 English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision
eth er in a sen ten ce, If th e subject is singular, the verb is
Subjects and verbs work tog
the verb is plural.
singular. If the subject is plural

Complete these sentences using the correct verb form.

a) Only the best coffee beans (is/are) ground to make Ermia
Select coffee.


b) Advertisers always (guarantees/guarantee) their
products.


c) Propaganda techniques (is/are) a useful tool for
advertisers.

d) The car (stay/stays) in the garage during the week.

e) The flower (smell/ smells) beautiful.

E. Direct and Indirect Speech

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 5&6; direct and indirect speech

Direct Speech
of th e spe ak er. Th e wo rds are surrounded by inverted
rds
Direct Speech uses the exact wo
a new speaker:
commas. A new line is used for
For example:
?” asked Mary”.
“How long is it until break, John
d Mary.
“It is only ten minutes to go,” sai
Indirect Speech h to Indirect Speech: Most of the inv
erted
we ch an ge Dir ect Sp eec
Changes occur when an d th e ca pital letters are changed.
exc lam ati on ma rks
commas, question marks,
The pronouns change. uced.
The word ‘that’ is often introd
The tense changes.
For example: Speech)
t my books?” (Direct
Kumari asked, “Where have I lef
ri ask ed wh ere sh e ha d lef t he r books. (Indirect Speech)
Kuma

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The following sentences are written in Direct Speech. Change them to Indirect Speech.

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

1. The boy said, “I have got a sore back”.

2. The teacher said, “I am very busy now”.

3. The traffic officer said to us, “Hurry up and cross the road.”


4. “Please get me a glass of water,” he told her.


5. Raju said, “My father is a dentist.”

The following sentences are written in Indirect Speech. Change them to Direct Speech.
1. James asked Lindi where she was going.

2. She told her teddy bear that he was her favourite toy.


3. He told me that I am his best friend.

4. She thanked me for bringing her flowers.

5. The teacher told her that she had passed her History test.

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F. Similes, proverbs and idioms

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 1&2; similes, proverbs and idioms
Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 5&6; metophors, similes, idioms, proverbs, homophones
Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 5&6: metophors, similes, idioms, proverbs

wh ere on e th ing is com pa red to another thing that is of

A simile is a figure of speech lik e to make the comparison. For
example.
A sim ile oft en use s as or
a different kind.
She is as beautiful as a rose at sta tes a general piece of truth. It is
ll- kn ow n say ing th
A proverb is a short, we Do n’t tak e on more than you can chew.
gin . Fo r exa mp le:
usually of an unknown ori
a gro up of wo rds est ab lish ed by cultural tradition where the
An idiom is wo rds. For example: She was
en t to th e no rm al use of
meaning is differ
her matric results.
over the moon when she heard the use
tap ho r is th e com pa ris on of one thing to another without
A me r example:
of like or as. A metaphor say s that one thing is another. Fo
You are a blooming flower.

1. Identify the simile in these sentences and say which two things are being compared.
a) She is as musical as a hummingbird and can sing every song in tune.

b) John is as smart as a fox when it comes to Maths tests.


c) Her father was as hungry as a bear at dinner.


d) The football player slithered like a snake through the
players to the goal post.


e) She cried like a baby when her friend went to live in another city.

2. Explain the meanings of these well-known proverbs.

a) The pen is mightier than the sword.

b) Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.


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 c) When the going gets tough the tough get going.

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

d) No man is an island.

e) Better late than never.

3. Match the correct idiom to its meaning. After that create sentences with each idiom to
bring out its meaning.
A. A penny for your thoughts This item is extremely expensive
B. An arm and a leg It is up to you to make the next move
C. At the drop of a hat Looking in the wrong place for an answer.
D. The ball is in your court. Without any hesitation; instantly
E. Barking up the wrong tree A way of asking what someone is thinking.

4. Underline the similes in these sentences and circle the metaphors.

a) That boy is as sly as a fox.
b) You are a bright shining light.
c) That girl’s smile is as sweet as sugar.
d) Reading is a key that opens the mind.
e) Lisa’s cream made her skin as smooth
as a baby’s skin.
f) This computer is as heavy as an elephant.
g) My diary is my best friend.
h) The glue was as sticky as syrup.

G. Colons, semi-colons, inverted commas, capital letters

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 5&6; colons, semi-colons, inverted commas, capital letters

Colons (;)
of pu nc tua tio n th an a com ma . We use a colon in the
A colon is q stronger form
following ways: Nelson Mandela said: “Educatio
n is the
es a qu ota tio n. Fo r exa mp le:
• It introduc .”
u can use to change the world
most powerful weapon which yo le: Mo ther asked me to buy the follow
ing
wil l follow . For exa mp
• It shows that a list
and butter.
items: cheese, bread, sausages
writing.
• It is used in dialogue in script .
ke, Mr Smith
For example: John: It was a mista
sive, John.
Mr Smith: Mistakes can be expen

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 English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision
Semi-colons (;) sto p in a sentence like a full stop does.
A
e to a com ple te
A semi-colon doesn’t com clo sel y rel ate d meanings where there is no
sen ten ces wi th
semi-colon separates two e stu die d ha rd for her test: she knew she
exa mp le: Sh
conjunction joining them. For
would do well.
marks (“ ”)
Inverted commas or quotation ow exa ctl y what someone says. Commas
and
pa irs an d th ey sh
Quotation marks come in
tions marks.
full stops go inside of the quota seph said.
time at the zoo,” Jo
For example: “I had a fantastic
sunny day today.”
Wendy said, “It is such a lovely,

1. Add colons to the following:

a) Bring these things with you on the trip a towel, a swimming
costume, a lunch pack and a drink.
b) Albert Einstein said “Anyone who has never made a mistake
has never tried anything new.”
c) I bought the following a big bag of juicy apples two lemons
and a grapefruit.

2. Add semi-colons to the following sentences by removing the conjunction joining them.
a) We worked non-stop and we didn’t even stop for a lunch break.

b) You tried your best and second place is a good achievement.

c) My puppy does not like dog pellets because he likes to eat my food.

d) I live on a farm so I am not a city dweller.

e) I don’t like oranges I much prefer naartjies

3. Add quotation marks, commas, full stops question marks where necessary in the correct
places in these sentences.
a) Have you seen the latest Disney movie asked Andile
b) Marie said Kim wants to play at my house and not her house today

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 c) Did the teacher say our poetry assignment is due on Monday asked Jim

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

d) You’re next to bat said Sam
e) Where will you go on your holiday she asked

H. Infinitive verbs
Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 5&6; infinitive verbs
m
ive is a ph ras e con sis tin g of the word ‘to’ and the basic for
An infinit
en we use th e wo rd ‘to ’ be fore a verb in a sentence, we
of a verb. Wh le: She put out her hand to
nit ive ver b for m. Fo r exa mp
are using the infi
catch the ball.

1. Underline the infinitive and the verb in each sentence below.

a) My dog wants to run with me.
b) I am training my new puppy to sit.
c) My cat loves to play with my sister and brother.
d) John’s dream is to be a famous singer one day.
e) Sipho hopes to win the long distance race
f) Mom said she couldn’t afford to buy the dress.
g) We decided not to go out in the rain.
h) We would like to thank you for the lovely gifts.

i) When something is difficult the most important thing is not to give up.
j) We are all ready to go.

2. Underline the infinitives in this extract.

It was supposed to be a sign of bad luck, particularly for sailors to catch a

glimpse of the Flying Dutchman ship. The ship seems to appear suddenly
from nowhere and then it seems to disappear again just as fast. I would
not like to see a ghost ship!

I. Onomatopoeia and Homophones

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 7&8; onomatopoeia, homophones

G ! Onom ato po eia ref ers to wo rds th at suggest a sound! For examp
le: bzzz
ether) and kerplunk (making
a

N kss sh h (b an gin g sym bo ls tog

(buzzing)

B A noise when dropping).

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Add onomatopoeia words to these sentences. Choose from: waaah, boink, swoosh, squish,

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

z.z.z.z.z, bam, slurrp.
1. The baby yelled .
2. The soft ball hit the dog on the head and he ran off howling.
3. We watched her in disbelief as she drank her tea .
4. The tennis ball went from one side to the other with a ,
.
5. I could hear that John was fast asleep .

different
th at sou nd th e sam e bu t are spelt differently and have
Homophones are words
s. Fo r exa mp le: He wa s ill an d his face was pail/pale
meaning

Underline the homophones in these sentences:

1. Nowadays we receive our male/mail electronically.
2. We searched and searched but couldn’t find/fined the lost cat.
3. The fierce winds blue/blew so hard that the fires spread fast.
4. This is the month that we start to sew/sow/so the seeds.
5. Glass containers have been band/banned from this room.

J. Gerunds
Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 7&8

at ac ts as a no un . A ge run d can function in all the same

A gerund is a verb form th
on , suc h as be ing th e sub jec t of a sentence, being the
ways that a noun can functi ion , be ing a dir ect object, or being a subject
object of a pre po sit
d in –ing. For example:
complement. Gerunds usually en
.
Bongani enjoys listening to music

1. Underline the gerunds in these sentences.

a) Reading is a very important skill.
b) Running is one way to get good exercise.
c) They called her flute playing brilliant.
d) His favourite sport is swimming.
e) He was punished for laughing so loudly.

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2. Complete each sentence by using the verb in brackets as a gerund.

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

a) I intend (go) to Thailand on a holiday with a friend.

b) We haven’t started (pack) for our holiday yet.

c) I don’t like (get) my photos taken for a passport.

d) I didn’t mind (pay) the R200 fee.

e) (Play) rugby is difficult when there are strong opponent.

K. Simple sentence and compound sentences

Grade 5 EHL Term 3 Weeks 7&8
er the
s a sub jec t an d on ly on e ver b: For example: The dog ran aft
A simple sentence ha
cat.
d when you join two
A compound sentence is forme
main clauses with a connective. ng.
For example:I like running and I like swimmi

State whether the following sentences are simple sentences or compound sentences.
a) Rugby players are careful but they still get hurt often.
b) Players obey the rules or they receive penalties.
c) We bought tickets to the rugby game.
d) John printed his tickets but sold them after school.
e) Teachers, students and friends came to our first rugby game.

L. Subject, predicate and object

Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 1&2

a) Subject and predicate d com ple te pre dicate. The complete subject
te sub jec t an
Every sentence has a comple ten ce is ab ou t. Fo r example; The house; The
at th e sen
(naming part) tells whom or wh ate (d oin g pa rt) tel ls what the subject is or
ple te pre dic
red car or The teacher. The com red ca r belongs to John. The teacher
went to
e ho use is old . Th e
does. For example: Th e ver b plu s the rest of the sentence.
e pre dic ate is th
the shop after school. Th
b) Subject and object eth ing an d th e object is having something
ing do ing som
The subject is the person or th th e ba nanas. To find the object ask wh
at
mp le: Th e mo nk ey s ate
done to it. For exa
after the verb.

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1. Circle the subject and underline the predicates in these sentences.

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

a) Jabu lay listening to the cars whizzing past.
b) She worked in a big house.
c) He longed for his village school.
d) Jabu watched and listened.
e) The elephant slowly collected up bunches of hay

2. Circle the subject and underline the object in each sentence.

a) Jabu’s mother bought an ice cream
b) He recognised the animal sound.
c) The girls like chocolate.
d) John plays football with his friends.
e) Samuel sold his guitar.

3. Change these jumbled sentences into proper sentences. Then circle the subject and
underline the object.
a) lost / his / schoolbag / Andile


b) won / the team / match / the football


c) her / pocket money / Cindy / on the table / left


d) like to / a book / I / read/ sleeping / before


e) eats/ every / vegetables / he/ day

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M. Clauses and phrases

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 1&2, 5&6, 7&8

le:
Clause
t (n ou n or pro no un ) an d a verb with a predicate. For examp
A clause has a subjec jec t: Jo hn ; Predicate: walked to the office)
.
ipa l’s offi ce. (S ub
John walked to the princ
There are two kinds of clauses, wh ich exp res ses a complete thought and can
ma in cla use
a) an independent clause or
stand by itself as a sentence t express a complete thought an
d cannot
subord ina te cla use does no
b) a dependent or
stand alone as a sentence. to catch the train. (Main clause
: he
t, he managed
For example: Because he ran fas cla use : because he ran fast.
tch th e tra in; sub ord ina te
managed to ca

1. Circle the main clause and underline the subordinate clause in these sentences.
a) I will stay with you until the sun sets.
b) If he asks me, I will tell the truth.
c) If you come, I will pay for your plane
ticket.
d) Because it poured with rain, we all got
soaking wet.
e) When she started talking the learners
listened attentively.

stand
Noun clause
ord ina te or de pe nd en t cla use that acts as a noun. It cannot
A noun clause is a sub th wo rds suc h as how, that, what, whatever
,
cla use s be gin wi
alone in a sentence. Noun o, wh oev er, wh om, whomever, and why.
wh ich eve r, wh
when, where, whether, which, them in the exam.
the lesson helped
For example: What they learnt in

2. Underline the noun clauses in these sentences.

a) Whichever dress you choose, it will look great.
b) I don’t know who left their jacket here.
c) Ask your teacher if this is the correct answer.
d) What she said made a lot of sense.
e) Whoever plays soccer must be able to run fast.

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 English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision
Phrase
up of wo rds th at sta nd tog ether but have no verb. For
A phrase consists of a gro
e pri nc ipa l’s office wi th th e big, brown dog. (‘with the big
example: John walked to th
brown dog’ has no verb)

3. Underline the phrases in these sentences.

a) The retired principal was an elderly man with a
friendly disposition.
b) The lady wore a necklace that was made from real
gold.
c) He ran to catch the bus with great speed.
d) He spoke to the teacher in a very respectful
manner.
e) The car was yellow with a green stripe on the side.

N. Antonyms and synonyms

Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 7&8
other.
wo rds th at are th e op po sit e or nearly the opposite of each
Antonyms are
For example: happy, sad

1. Underline the antonyms in these sentences.

a) Rhinos are wild animals but cats are tame.
b) Giraffes have long legs but rhinos have short legs.
c) Monkeys are noisy but snakes are silent creatures.
d) The peacock has a beautiful tail while the donkey has an ugly tail.
e) The parrot has a strong beak but the sparrow has a weak beak.

other.
are wo rds th at are th e sam e or nearly the same as each
Synonyms
For example: happy, joyful

Choose the best synonym for the sentence. Rewrite the sentence.
1. Her dad gave her mom a beautiful bunch of roses.
i) ugly ii) old iii) lovely iv) perfumed

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2. The teacher asked the class to be silent while the visitors were there.

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

i) noisy ii)rude iii) quiet iv)thoughtful

3. The girls were hungry when they came back from the movies.
i) thirst ii) happy iii) full iv) starving

4. She found the Maths extremely difficult.
i) easy, ii)interesting iii)upsetting iv)hard

5. When they were doing cross country they had to jump over a stream.
i) climb ii) run iii) leap iv) crawl

O. Stems, Prefixes and Suffixes

Grade 5 EHL Term 4 Weeks 7&8
added
an ing ful sec tio n of a wo rd that can have additional parts
The stem word is the me ed to a root or a base word.
tio n is als o som eti me s ref err
to it. This sec
For example – respect

1. Look at the following words in the wordbox. Underline the stem words.

careful unhappy walking faithful incorrect unlucky careless

remark unsuitable insincere

at is ad de d to th e fro nt of a stem word to change the

A prefix is a word part th ct.
exa mp le: dis (p refi x th at me ans not) + respect = disrespe
meaning of the word. For e en d of a ste m word. When you add a suffix
ad de d to th
A suffix is a word part that is
ges the meaning of the word.
to a stem word, it usually chan ‘full of’) = respectful
h means
For example: respect + ‘ful’ (whic

2. Some common prefixes and their meanings are:

re: again or back dis: not
pre: before un: not, opposite
mis: wrong under: below
non: not, opposite

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Add prefixes to the following stem words to change their meanings:

English Home Language Grade 5 End of year grammar revision

agree sense turn
willing worthy school
appoint negotiable stand
water behave play
heat match view

3. Some common suffixes and their meanings are:

able: can be done ful: full of

est: most less: without
er: more er: one who

Add suffixes to the end of these stem words.

prob soft slow

joy comfort care
fear brave care
young read break
sing loud worth

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