Goal: talk about Sri Lankan healthy food, use the right connective (although / in spite of / while / whenever), form irregular & compound plurals correctly, describe a bar or pie chart. Examined in Test 9 (connectives), Test 14 (graph), Test 16 (healthy-food essay).
📐 Connectives
- although / even though + clause (S+V)
- in spite of + noun / -ing
- while + clause (at the same time)
- whenever + clause (every time)
Although kurakkan takes time, it is worth it.
In spite of being sick, he came.
Sing while you cook.
I drink king coconut whenever I feel tired.
📐 Irregular & compound plurals
- -us → -i: fungus → fungi · nucleus → nuclei · alumnus → alumni
- -um → -a: bacterium → bacteria · datum → data
- -on → -a: phenomenon → phenomena · criterion → criteria
- -is → -es: analysis → analyses · crisis → crises
- -ix / -ex → -ices: appendix → appendices · index → indices
- -a → -ae: vertebra → vertebrae · formula → formulae
- Compound: fathers-in-law · passers-by · commanders-in-chief
- Odd ones: child → children · tooth → teeth · foot → feet · goose → geese
🥗 Healthy-food vocabulary
- Nutrients: vitamin · iron · calcium · protein · carbohydrate · fibre · mineral.
- Adjectives: nutritious · wholesome · organic · low-fat · high-fibre · gluten-free.
- Benefits: aids digestion · boosts immunity · lowers blood sugar · strengthens bones.
- Sri Lankan staples: rice · curd · finger millet (kurakkan) · gotu kola · king coconut · samaposha.
🍽 Countable vs uncountable
- Countable (apples, eggs): many · few · a few · fewer · how many.
- Uncountable (rice, sugar, water): much · little · a little · less · how much.
- Quantities: a cup of tea · a slice of bread · a spoonful of sugar · a kilo of rice.
✍️ Writing — graph description shape
- Title: "The chart shows..."
- Most: "...is the most popular at X%, followed by..."
- Middle / equal: "...comes second / third / equal to..."
- Least: "...is the least popular at only Y%."
- Closing insight: "In summary, [pattern noticed]."
- Word counts: notice 40–50 · paragraph 50–60 · graph / letter ~100 · essay / article ~200.