Welcome to Clay Lane
Clay Lane is inspired by textbooks written by NL Clay, used in English schools before the educational changes of the 1960s.
It is for people who appreciate our heritage of strong, plain-spoken English from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to Austen, Dickens and Kipling, and who enjoy playing with words, sentences and ideas.
“The course should train pupils to observe, learn more of the world they live in, think clearly, use the imagination and to speak clearly.”
NL Clay, Think and Speak (1929)
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New and archive material, updated frequently. Passages for reading, brainteasers for solving, and music for listening.
Latest • December 21
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Latest • December 20
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From The Tale of Robert Tomson
In this story, we have all the characteristics of the modern Englishman — an adventurous spirit, practical sagacity, a resolve to succeed, a willingness to seek his fortune in any way, courage to face dangers, cheerfulness under disaster, perseverance in the sphere which he has chosen.
Read
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
1 Quarter. 2 Pressure. 3 Influence. 4 Mortgage. 5 Face. 6 Finger. 7 Tear. 8 Brush. 9 Season.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.