Free short notes and revision cards
Grade 6 English on Temari has 21 revision cards, arranged by the chapters of the Ethiopian national curriculum. Every card says when the rule applies, what each symbol in it stands for, and the mistake students most often make with it. They are free to read and need no account.
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When you use it
Reach for this when a question asks you to state a general fact, a habit or routine, or how often something happens.
Watch out
Place frequency adverbs such as always, usually, rarely and never before the main verb. Write 'I always call my mother', not 'I call always my mother'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 2-24, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you write a sentence with he, she or it, or when you make a negative or question in the Simple Present.
Watch out
After does, doesn't or does in a question, the main verb takes no -s. Write 'She does not work' and 'Does she work?', never 'She does not works' or 'Does she works?'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 2-24, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you talk about a present or future outcome and want to show how certain you are, for example in a weather forecast.
Watch out
May, might and could show about 50% or less certainty, and might is slightly lower than may. These modals are followed by verb 1 with no 'to' and no -s: write 'It might rain', not 'might rains' or 'might to rain'. Will is used for outcomes that are almost certain.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 25-57, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when a sentence describes an action that started and finished at a known or understood time in the past, or a past habit.
Watch out
Irregular verbs do not add -ed: write went, did, saw, built, not goed or doed. After did or did not, the verb returns to its root form: did not plough, not did not ploughed.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 25-57, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when asked how to get to a place in a street or on a map, such as the museum or the post office.
Watch out
Give directions as bare verbs (Go, Turn, Cross) with no subject and no 'to'. Writing 'to go' or 'You go' loses marks.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 58-90, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a question asks whether a traffic rule is compulsory, forbidden, or simply not required.
Watch out
Mustn't and can't both forbid an action, while don't have to only says an action is not necessary. Writing 'you don't have to stop at a red light' reverses the rule.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 58-90, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a sentence compares two things, or three or more things, and you must choose between -er/-est and more/most.
Watch out
Do not write two markers together, such as 'more bigger' or 'most fiercest'. Use only one. Put 'the' before a superlative, and use 'than' after a comparative.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 91-112, then checked twice before it went up
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| little | less | least |
| far | farther | farthest |
| much | more | most |
| many | more | most |
| late | later/latter | last/latest |
When you use it
Reach for this table when an adjective such as good, bad or far is used in a comparison, because these do not follow the -er/-est rule.
Watch out
Do not make regular forms from good, bad or far: 'gooder', 'badder' and 'more good' are wrong. With countable nouns use 'fewer', and with uncountable nouns use 'less'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 91-112, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Reach for this when a sentence needs have or has with a past participle, or when you must choose between the present perfect and the simple past.
Watch out
Do not put a finished time such as 'yesterday' or 'an hour ago' with the present perfect. 'I have finished the job yesterday' is wrong; write 'I finished the job yesterday'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 91-112, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you act out or write a dialogue about air pollution and must ask for someone's opinion or give your own.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 136-152, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when the active sentence is in the Present Continuous, such as 'Anteneh is washing the car', and you must rewrite it in the passive.
Watch out
The structure is is/am/are + being + past participle. In a negative, 'not' goes between is/am/are and 'being', as in 'A story is not being written by her'. Do not drop 'being'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 136-152, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you must change an active Simple Present sentence, such as 'She writes a story', into the passive voice.
Watch out
After is/am/are, write the past participle, so it is 'A story is written by her', not 'A story is write by her'. The object of the active sentence ('a story') moves to the front and becomes the subject.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 136-152, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use these phrases when you give your opinion in pair or class discussion, or when you respond to a classmate's statement.
Watch out
Avoid 'I totally disagree' with a classmate in class because it is the strong form and can sound rude. Begin with a softer phrase such as 'I'm afraid I disagree' or 'I don't think so'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 153-179, then checked twice before it went up
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| idle | not willing to work or do any activity that needs effort |
| procrastinate | to delay doing something until later |
| distraction | a thing that diverts someone's attention |
| optimal | best or most favourable |
| pays off | brings some benefit |
| distressed | very unhappy, worried, or upset |
When you use it
Use this list when you meet these words in the listening or reading texts on hard work and need their meaning in context.
Watch out
Read each word with its meaning in this unit, since 'pays off' means brings a benefit and not that something is paid for.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 153-179, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use the past perfect when you must show that one past action happened before another past action or before a specific past time, such as 'before the party' or 'by the time I got there'.
Watch out
Do not write both actions in the simple past. Put had and the past participle on the earlier action only, as in 'When he woke up, his mother had already prepared breakfast'.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 153-179, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when a real or likely result in the future depends on a condition, as in 'If I study hard, I will pass the exams'.
Watch out
Never put will in the if-clause. Write 'If it rains, we won't go out', not 'If it will rain'. The main clause takes will or shall with the base verb. A comma separates the clauses only when the if-clause comes first.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 180-199, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you must ask for advice, give advice or politely refuse to give advice in a dialogue or conversation.
Watch out
After 'If I were you', the main clause uses would, not will: 'If I were you, I would go to the dentist'. After 'I advise you to', use to with the base verb: 'I advise you to brush', not 'I advise you brush'. 'You'd better' is followed by the base verb with no to.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 180-199, then checked twice before it went up
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| encounter | to be faced with something difficult to deal with |
| bite | to puncture or tear the skin using fangs, teeth, mouthparts or a stinger |
| consequence | something that follows as a result |
| deficient | not having enough of what is needed |
| hazardous | dangerous and able to cause harm |
When you use it
Use these meanings when a reading, listening or vocabulary question asks you to say what a word means in this unit.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 180-199, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you talk about an unlikely or imagined situation and its result, such as 'If I were rich, I would never work again'.
Watch out
Put the if clause in the simple past and the result in would + infinitive. Never put would inside the if clause: write 'If he called', not 'If he would call'. The chapter notes that 'were' is often used instead of 'was' in the if clause.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, pages 200-222, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when you describe a past event that did not happen, or when you express regret or criticism about it.
Watch out
Type III answers take would have + past participle (for example, 'would have passed'), not 'would pass'. The if-clause must use the past perfect (had + past participle), not the simple past.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, page 223 onwards, then checked twice before it went up
When you use it
Use this when your teacher asks for a short expository paragraph on mobile phones, after you have written your answers as complete sentences.
Watch out
Each comprehension answer must be a complete sentence, as the task instructs, so a single word such as 'communication' is not a full answer.
Drafted from Grade 6 English, page 223 onwards, then checked twice before it went up
The student textbook for the new curriculum, free as a PDF. The cards on this page follow its chapters.
Ministry of Education edition, English
249 pages
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