Goal: talk about civic responsibility & vandalism, use the four past tenses correctly, build noun / verb / adjective from a root via suffixes, write an informal letter, a notice and a 200-word civic essay. Examined in Test 9, Test 12, Test 14, Test 16.
📐 The four past tenses
- Past simple (V2): completed action at a point.
- Past continuous (was/were + V-ing): action going on at a point.
- Past perfect (had + V3): the EARLIER of two past events.
- Past perfect continuous (had been + V-ing): action stretched up to a point.
I donated books. (simple)
I was waiting when the postman delivered it.
He had visited the library a week before he organised it.
He had been waiting for a long time.
🔤 Word-class suffixes
- vandal → vandalism (n) · vandalize (v) · vandalistic (adj)
- real → realism · realize · realistic
- terror → terrorism · terrorize
- safe → safety (n) · safeguard (v)
- responsible → responsibility (n)
- punish → punishment (n) · punishable (adj)
🏛 Civic vocabulary
- vandalism · graffiti · litter · pollution · curfew
- responsible citizen · community service · public property
- respect · discipline · awareness · law-abiding · punctual
- imprisonment · monetary fine · punishable crime
📝 Informal letter layout
- 1. Address top-right (3 lines)
- 2. Date
- 3. "Dear ...,"
- 4. ¶ thank / opening news
- 5. ¶ main update
- 6. ¶ news of family / question
- 7. "Love, [name]"
✍️ Writing — official word counts
- Notice (Test 6): 40–50 words. HEADLINE + date + activity + signature.
- Short paragraph (Test 8): 50–60 words.
- Informal letter (Test 14): ~100 words. 3 paragraphs.
- Civic essay (Test 16): ~200 words. Hook → definition → 3-step action plan → close.
- SPELLING TRAP: principle (rule) vs principal (school head). Watch the apostrophe in parents\'.