Clay Lane is inspired by educational materials created NL Clay, and used in English schools and homes from the 1920s to the 1960s. The Blog is a newsletter of recent additions and some selections from our archive, including brainteasers in grammar and vocabulary, and brief passages from history and literature.
You are welcome to ask for my help with any of the materials on Clay Lane. Drop me a line via email to: nicholas@claylane.uk.
Add Vowels
How many words can you make just by adding vowels to these consonants? See if you can get at least 5.
prm
Spinner
Make a sentence that uses ALL THREE of these words:
Studio. String. Version.
These words are served randomly.
You can change e.g. go → went,
or quick → quickly.
Use each of the following words in sentences. Try to use your word as a verb in at least one of them.
IPalm. IISaddle. IIIWeed.
Card. Coin. Debt. Garden. List. Responsibility.
The British Empire held out against the Nazis almost alone for two years. The arrival of the Americans in 1942 was a blessed relief, but it was the Russians (also somewhat late to the party) who bore the brunt of the Nazis’ hatred, and whose sacrifices and determination finally broke the vast German military machine.
In the sentence below, it is possible to replace the verb can with other verbs, e.g. must, should, won’t. How does your choice of verb affect the meaning or mood of the sentence? Illustrate your ideas by using the sentence in a little dialogue.
I can talk to him.
Must. Ought to. Shall. Should. Will. Would.
Mustn’t. Oughtn’t to. Shan’t. Shouldn’t. Won’t. Wouldn’t.
Based on an exercise in English Exercises 12-13 (1933) by NL Clay.
This translation of St Mark’s breathless account of the resurrection of Jesus was made in the reign of King James VI and I, and published in 1611. The language was deliberately archaic, even for William Shakespeare’s time, and translated the traditional ‘Byzantine’ text of the New Testament rather than the academic reconstructions preferred since the 19th century.
