YOUNG MAIL, Thursday, May 11, 2017 FEATURES • Page III

EPHAT MUDENDA

Explore the language: Transitive, intransitive verbs

S HE laughed.Elijah cut the

cake.Each of these

sentences has a subject (she, Elijah) and a verb (laughed, cut)

In the first sentence, the

verb laughed stands alone. Such verbs are called intransitive verbs.

In the second sentence, the verb cut is used with an object (cake). Verbs like this are called transitive verbs.

In this lesson, we shall deal with how these verbs differ grammatically.

Transitive verbs are defined as action verbs that have an object to receive (or ‘suffer’) that action. In the second sentence, for example, the direct object cake received the action of the verb cut.

More examples of transitive verbs:

Jane cooked some vegetables. (The object, vegetables, is receiving the action of the verb cooked.)

Titus drove the car. (The word car, which is

the object in this case, is receiving the action of the verb drove.)

I moved the table. (The object, table, is receiving the action of the verb moved.) The pupils climbed the mountain. (Here, the object is mountain; receiving the action of the verb climbed.) He tore the book. (The object, book, receives the action of the verb tore.)

NB: Transitive verbs are categorised into two types: monotransitive and ditransitive:

1. Monotransitive verbs are verbs that require one object.

The girl writes poems. (The object is poems while the verb is writes.)

2. Ditransitive verbs are those that require two

objects, a direct object and an indirect object.

She gave him a flower.(him is the direct object

while flower is the indirect object)

He bought Susan a necklace.

(The direct object is necklace, which ‘suffers’ the action of being bought. Susan is the indirect object.)

Intransitive verbs are also action verbs, but, unlike transitive verbs, they do not have an object receiving the action. Look at the first example we had:

She laughed.Notice that there is

no object after the verb laughed.

More examples of intransitive verbs:

The children cried.Bertha slept.

The pens fell.She died.The birds chirped.It rains.The sun set.They run.In these sentences, the

verbs cried, slept, fell, died, chirped, rains, set and run have no objects. They are intransitive.

Now, look at the following sentence:

Mum drove to the market today.

In this sentence, is the verb drove transitive or intransitive?

Take note that the phrase to the market is a prepositional phrase and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of the verb drove in this sentence. So, the verb drove is intransitive.

ExerciseIn the following

sentences, identify transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. In the case of transitive verbs, identify the object/ objects that follow the verbs as well.

1. They slept in the street.

2. I ate the oranges.3. He laughed at the

joke.4. The teacher showed

them the answers.5. The rider fell off the

horse and broke his leg.6. You must sing loudly.7. The driver stopped

the car.8. She gave a biscuit to

the child.9. Birds fly in the sky.10. Ian wrote a letter.

emudenda@daily-mail.co.zm/ ephatm@yahoo.com

Jeweller: Tasks, dutiesJ OB DESCRIPTION

Fabricates and repairs jewelry articles.

Duties 1) Cuts and

shapes metal into jewelry pieces, using cutting and carving tools.

2) Estimates wholesale and retail value of gemstones, following price guides and market fluctuations.

3) Grades stones for colour, perfection, and quality of cut.

4) Immerses gemstones in chemical solutions to determine specific gravity and key properties for identification and appraisal.

5) Examines gemstone surfaces and internal structure to evaluate genuineness, quality, and value, using polariscope, refractometer, and other optical instruments.

6) Pours molten metal into mould, or operates centrifugal casting machine, to cast article.

7) Forms sand or rubber mould from model for casting article.

8) Places model in casting ring, and pours plaster into ring to form mould.

9) Forms model of article from wax or metal, using carving tools.

10) Repairs, reshapes, and restyles jewelry by

replacing broken parts or using hand tools and machines.

11) Ties or twists gold or silver wires together, and bends to form rings.

12) Immerses jewelry in cleaning solution or acid to remove stains, or in solution of gold or other metal to colour jewelry.

13) Smooths soldered joints and rough spots, using hand file and emery paper, and polishes with polishing wheel or buffing wire.

14) Arranges jewelry pieces into specified design, softens metal by heating with gas torch, and shapes using hammer and die.

Grade stones for colour, quality

S OME kids and teens are so extremely shy and so fearful about talking to others, that they don’t

speak at all to certain people (such as a teacher or students they don’t know) or in certain places (like at someone else’s house). This form of social phobia is sometimes called selective mutism.

People with selective mutism can talk. They have completely normal conversations with the people they’re comfortable with or in certain places. But other situations cause them such extreme anxiety that they may not be able to bring themselves to talk at all.

Some people might mistake their silence for a stuck-up attitude or rudeness. But with selective mutism and social phobia, silence stems from feeling uncomfortable and afraid, not from being uncooperative, disrespectful, or rude.

Why do some people develop social phobia?

Kids, teens, and adults can have social phobia. Most of the time, it starts when a person is young. Like other anxiety-based problems, social phobia develops because of a combination of three factors:

• A person’s biological makeup. Social phobia could be partly due to the genes and temperament a person inherits. Inherited genetic traits from parents and other relatives can influence how the brain senses and regulates anxiety, shyness, nervousness, and stress reactions. Likewise, some people are born with a shy temperament and tend to be cautious and sensitive in new situations and prefer what’s familiar. Most people who develop social phobia have always had a shy temperament.

• Behaviours learned from role models (especially parents). A person’s naturally shy temperament can be influenced by what he or she learns from role models. If parents or others react by overprotecting a child who is shy, the child won’t have a chance to get used to new situations and new people. Over time, shyness can build into social phobia.

• Life events and experiences. If people born with a cautious nature have stressful experiences, it can make them even more cautious and shy. Feeling pressured to interact in ways they don’t feel ready for, being criticized or humiliated, or having other fears and worries can make it more likely for a shy or fearful person to develop social anxiety.

The good news is that the effect of these negative experiences can be turned around with some focused slow-but-steady effort. Fear can be learned. And it can also be unlearned, too.

http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/social-phobia.html#

Health tips: Selective mutism W ARTHOG is

a member of pig family. This animal can be

found only in Africa, in areas located south of Sahara.

Warthog lives in arid and moist savannas, in open plains and grasslands.

Unlike most animals, warthogs can survive in areas without water supply from several months to up to one year.

The greatest threats to the survival of warthogs are droughts and hunting. At the moment, warthogs are not listed as endangered species.

Warthog facts:1. Warthogs can reach

4 to 6 feet in length and between 110 and 260 pounds of weight. Males are 20 to 50 pounds heavier than females.

2. Warthogs are named that way because of the wart-like bumps on their large, elongated face.

3. Warthogs can be grey to black in colour. Their skin is covered with sparse bristles. Just like horses, warthogs have manes.

4. Warthogs have 2 pairs of tusks. Upper tusks are longer and they curve toward each other. They are used in the fights during the mating season and for the protection against predators.

5. Warthogs have a long tail that ends with tuft. Warthogs keep their tails in the upright position when they are running. In that position, the tail looks like a flag on the wind.

6. Although they look like slow animals, warthogs can run up to 30 miles per hour.

7. Main predators of

warthogs are lions and leopards. In the case of predator attack, warthogs will hide in the underground hole and expose their sharp tusks to protect themselves against predators.

8. Warthogs have scary appearance, but they are very peaceful and they will avoid confrontation whenever possible.

9. Warthog eats grass and uses its long snout to dig in the ground in search for underground tubers, bulbs and roots. Warthogs have padded knees that enable them to eat grass in the kneeling position.

10. Warthog has poor eyesight, but excellent senses of smell and hearing.

11. Warthogs produce

different types of sounds (depending on the occasion). During mating season, males produce grunting sounds. When threatened, warthogs squeal to inform other members of the group about the upcoming danger.

12. Warthogs live in smaller groups composed of female and her offspring. Group of warthogs is known

as sounder. Males are solitary. They join the group only during mating season.

13. Warthogs mate at the end of the rainy season, or at the beginning of dry season. Pregnancy lasts 5 to 6 months and ends with 4 babies. Females have 4 teats, but each baby uses exclusively its own teat. Even if one baby dies, “a free” teat

cannot be taken by other babies.

14. Young warthogs drink milk 4 months, but they will enrich their diet with grass as soon as they reach the age of two months. Youngsters will stay with their mother until the birth of the next litter.

15. Average lifespan of warthog is 15 years in the wild.

Interesting animal facts: Warthog

A WARTHOG