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Voice of America
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Voice of America
Grammar Games at Home: Jeopardy
Hi, everyone! You might be reading or listening to this Everyday Grammar program from your living room or bedroom. In fact, you might be even wearing pajamas, no matter the time of day. If you are like us here in Washington, D.C. and many other places, health officials have asked you to stay at home for now. And with so many people at home for long periods, people are looking for activities to keep their minds occupied. Too much time on social media can be a problem. Even binge-watching movies and television shows loses its appeal after a while. With this in mind, we will be offering ideas for games that you can play with your family or housemates in the coming weeks to practice your English. What is Jeopardy? On today's program we will talk about Jeopardy, a favorite game of English learning classrooms. The idea comes from the American television game show in which players give their answers in the form of a question. You may have even seen the show in your country. In Jeopardy, players choose from categories and try to win money, like this: (Player) I'll take Countries for $100. (Host) This Asian country is famous for its high-quality motorcycles (Player) What is Japan? (Host) That is correct! Notice that the answer came in the form of a question: 'What is Japan?' You will also note the host read a fact in statement form. We will call those facts clues. Playing Jeopardy at home is a good way to get experience forming questions in English. It also can improve your speaking and listening skills, and help expand your vocabulary. Now, let's talk about how to play the game. You will need three or more English learners – one person to serve as host and the others to play.* There are two ways to play the game: the traditional way (with answers in question form) and the easier way, which you can find on our website at How to play - traditional Here is how to play the traditional way. The first step is to decide who the host will be. His or her job is to gather clues for the game. The host also reads clues to the players, and keeps a record of points won. To play the game, you will need five separate categories. For example, you might choose: Countries, Animals, Foods, Sports and Actors. For each category, choose six clues, from easy ($100) to difficult ($600). The host will need to keep the clues on a computer screen or write or print them on a small piece of paper. To set up the game, you will need a board or large piece of paper. (If using paper, put it on a wall for all the players to see.) On the large paper or board, make a grid like the simple design shown on our website. Write the categories on the left of the grid and the money amounts across the top. For the full directions on how to play the game, to see how to make the grid, and for links to clues that are already prepared, go to our website. And join us again soon for more grammar games you can play at home. I'm Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. For Jeopardy game directions , click here. *If you are the only English speaker in your home, you can play the game in your native language. _____________________________________________________________ Jeopardy Clues Click the links below for Jeopardy clues that have already been prepared. The host can print them or write them on pieces of paper. Jeopardy Cards, Set 1 Jeopardy Cards, Set 2 Jeopardy Cards, Set 3 Jeopardy Cards, Set 4 Jeopardy Cards, Set 5 Jeopardy Cards, Idioms These card sets are borrowed from _____________________________________________________________ _ Words in This Story pajamas – n. clothing that people wear in bed or while relaxing at home binge-watching – n. watch multiple episodes of (a television program) in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming housemate – n. a person who lives in the same house with another person but is not a part of that person's family practice – v. to do something again and again in order to get better at it category – n. a group of things that are similar in some way host – n. a person who talks to players on a game show clue – n. something that helps a person find an answer to something vocabulary – n. all of the words known and used by a person board – n. a large, flat surface attached to a wall or supported on an easel and used for writing on with chalk or markers, especially by teachers in classrooms
Voice of America
07-02-2025
- General
- Voice of America
Academic Writing: Common Sentence Patterns, Part Three
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. English has many patterns. Basic grammatical patterns can explain the structure of around 95 percent of sentences in English, says Martha Kolln, a grammar expert. Learning and mastering these patterns can help you improve your writing and speaking skills. We have discussed three common patterns in previous Everyday Grammar stories. Today we will explore another common pattern: the intransitive verb pattern. To start you thinking about intransitive verbs consider this passage. It is from the poem "The human family" by famous writer and poet Maya Angelou. We love and lose in China, we weep on England's moors, and laugh and moan in Guinea, and thrive on Spanish shores. By the end of this story, you will be able to recognize and understand the intransitive verb pattern that Angelou uses many times in the stanza. The intransitive verb pattern: The intransitive verb pattern is unusual. It is unusual because, unlike other verb patterns, the predicate requires only the verb: Subject + Intransitive Verb (Predicate) Common intransitive verbs include action verbs – go, come, walk, cry, or laugh, for example. In these verbs, the subject's action is not applied to an object. In other words, most intransitive verbs can end sentences; they do not need nouns or adjectives to their right.* The lines from the classic American song "Just Friends" give an example of the intransitive verb pattern in its most basic form: We loved, we laughed, we cried However, sentences with just the subject and intransitive verb are not very common in writing or speaking. Usually, the sentence has more information: an adverbial structure. Adverbials: Adverbials are words or phrases that give information about time, place, manner, or reason. Adverbials answer questions like How often? Where? Why? When? The two most common adverbial structures you will find are adverbs and prepositional phrases. Adverbs, such as suddenly, quickly, here, soon, or sometimes, modify a verb. Prepositional phrases are groups of words that begin with a preposition and are followed by an object, usually a noun phrase. Common prepositions include in, on, at, between, above, and below. Adverbs and prepositional phrases often follow intransitive verbs. Think back to the basic intransitive verb pattern. Subject + Intransitive verb It is grammatically correct to say a simple sentence like this: We laughed. Subject + Intransitive Verb You can put more information into the sentence by adding an adverb: We laughed loudly. Subject + Intransitive Verb + Adverb Or you could give even more information by adding a prepositional phrase: We laughed at the man's silly jokes. Subject + Intransitive Verb + Prepositional Phrase In intransitive verb patterns, adverbs or prepositional phrases are often referred to as "optional." In other words, a sentence is still grammatical without them. You, as the speaker or writer, choose how much information you want to include in the sentence. What does this have to do with the poem? Now, think back to the part of Maya Angelou's poem: We love and lose in China, we weep on England's moors, and laugh and moan in Guinea, and thrive on Spanish shores. You can see that every single line uses an intransitive verb paired with a prepositional phrase. Consider the first line: We love and lose in China. The subject is 'we' and two intransitive verbs 'love' and 'lose'** are paired with the prepositional phrase, in China. The two verbs are joined by a conjunction, and. The second line follows the basic intransitive verb pattern, but it has an optional prepositional phrase: The second two lines follow the same patterns as the first two lines. This series of patterns is an example of parallelism, which you can read about in an earlier Everyday Grammar story. What can you do? To practice using the intransitive verb pattern, try writing four lines of poetry in the style of Angelou's poem. Post your writing in the comments section of this story, or on our Facebook page. We/I ______ in _______ We/I ______ on _______ And ____ and ____ in/on _____ And _____ on/in ________ Remember, you should not use Angelou's exact words; rather, you should choose your own noun phrases, intransitive verbs, and prepositional phrases. Just put your own words into the pattern we discussed today. Learning this pattern, and other patterns discussed in previous grammar stories, will not only help you study the writing of great authors. These patterns will help you write and speak in your own clear, concise sentences, too. I'm Jill Robbins. I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor. *There are hundreds, if not thousands, of intransitive verbs. As with many grammar rules, there is a small number of exceptions to the intransitive verb pattern. A few intransitive verbs require adverbial information. ** In many contexts, love and lose operate as transitive verbs. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. _______________________________________________________ Words in This Story stanza – n. a group of lines in a poem pattern – n. something that happens in a regular and repeated way intransitive – adj. not taking or having a direct object weep – v. to cry because you are very sad or are feeling some other strong emotion moor – n. a broad area of open land that is not good for farming — used especially to refer to land in Great Britain — usually plural moan – v. to make a long, low sound because of pain, unhappiness, or physical pleasure thrive – v. to grow or develop successfully
