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Listed under:  Language  >  Language conventions  >  Grammar
Video

How misused modifiers can hurt your writing

A short video for secondary students which explains what modifiers are, and how it's important to clearly link them to the words they're actually referring to, in order to avoid unintentional ambiguity.

Video

When to use 'me', 'myself' and 'I'.

This short video for secondary students explains the different roles in a sentence that 'me', 'I' and 'myself' play, and where each belongs.

Video

Can We Help?: 'Bought' or 'brought' and radio code

Changes in the use, pronunciation, and meaning of common everyday English words happen all the time. Professor Kate Burridge explains that we can see this in the way people increasingly switch the past tense of the verbs 'buy' and 'bring'. She also answers a viewer's question about why 'Roger' is used on two-way and CB radios.

Video

Can We Help?: Challenging grammar rules, darlings and crowbars

Find out that what appears to be a straightforward grammar rule behind the use of the words 'fewer' and 'less' may not be as straightforward as it seems! Professor Kate Burridge explains that this grammar rule has been under challenge for centuries. She also explains the origins of the word 'darling' and why the 'crow' ...

Video

How to Build Stories, Ep 4: Exploring genre and setting of your story

Every genre has different rules. But once you know them, you can choose which rules you want to break. Find out how you can mix and match genres to create unique, interesting stories!

Video

Heywire: Razia's refuge

Australia welcomes thousands of refugees from around the world every year, and Razia Gharibi is one of them. Her Heywire audio story about a journey from Afghanistan to Shepparton provides a personal perspective on Australia's refugee program. You could consider it in any discussion about whether or not Australia should ...

Video

ABC Open: Using descriptive language to evoke mood and feeling

Is there a particular place or time of day that you love? How would you describe this place and time to someone to convey how you feel? What sort of mood would you want to create? The narrator in this video tells us she loves sunrise. How does she communicate this through the language she uses? What is the mood created?

Video

Narrative structure with Gary Crew

Listen as Gary Crew talks about the narrative structure of his book, Strange Objects. What are the reasons he gives for incorporating so many different sorts of texts (from newspaper articles to diaries and archeological reports) into his narrative?

Text

Tales of Terror

This text for students contains short answer questions on four short stories - 'The Landlady', 'Lamb to the Slaughter', 'The Monkey's Paw' and 'Cold Reading'. It describes how to write short answers, as well as how to use textual evidence.

Video

Can We Help?: Words and sayings over time

Have you ever wondered where sayings like 'hanging by the skin of your teeth' come from? Professor Kate Burridge explains the origin and meaning of this saying. She also explains the opposite word (antonym) to 'misogynist' (someone who hates or has a long and deep prejudice against women) and the origins of the word 'goodbye'.

Interactive

Writing a feature article

The resource contains information, activities and tasks on how to write a feature article. It includes writing and publishing templates for students for a print and online contexts. This resource supports the Australian Curriculum in English K–10.

Interactive

A New Kind of Alchemy

'A New Kind of Alchemy' is an interactive online graphic novel about a future world threatened by extinction. It is based on a short story by Australian writer, James Roy. The graphics can be downloaded and used to create your own story.

Interactive

Super stories: The Sea Cave: nouns and adjectives

Help a publishing director create a bestselling horror story. Read the story. Choose effective nouns and adjectives to increase the impact of the story and make it scarier. Select illustrations that highlight the horror of the events. This learning object is one in a series of four objects.

Interactive

Super stories: The Abandoned House: nouns and adjectives

Help a publishing director create a bestselling horror story. Read the story. Choose effective nouns and adjectives to increase the impact of the story and make it scarier. Select illustrations that highlight the horror of the events. This learning object is one in a series of four objects.

Interactive

My day: Li: level 1

Help Li by selecting the best texts for different parts of his day. Choose the correct text in a range of activities such as helping Li make up his mind about which bus to take to school, and what to choose for a healthy lunch from the menu. This learning object is one in a series of six objects.