Page 35 - Grammar_Programme

Target 5: Verbs and the Three Persons
2 points

Task 3 Find your own evidence:
Two examples of writing that are usually in the third person are reports or
instructions. We also use third person when we ‘write up’ experiments in Science.

Look at the correct and incorrect examples below:

The apparatus was I set up the

set up as shown in apparatus as shown in
the diagram. The the diagram. I lit the
Bunsen burner was lit Bunsen burner and I
and the temperature recorded the
of the water was temperature of the
recorded every two water every two
minutes.
minutes.

CORRECT!
INCORRECT!
This is written This is written
in ‘third person’. in ‘first person’.

(I).
 Find a sample of work that you have written in the ‘third person’.
 If you cannot find an example from your previous work, then write a new
example, using third person, for this assessment. Possible topics: instructions
for making a cup of tea, instructions for washing a car, etc.

Teacher’s comment on work samples:

Summary: Verbs and the Three Persons

 The subject of a sentence is who or what is doing
the action.
 ‘First person’ is ‘I’ (singular) or ‘we’ (plural).
 ‘Second person’ is ‘you’ (singular or plural).

 ‘Third person’ is ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘it’ (singular) or ‘they’
(plural).

 Make sure you use the correct form of the verb for
the subject of the sentence (subject-verb
agreement).

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