GRADE 8 English SPORTS:OLYMPICS – READING:STUDY SKILLS Notes
READING: STUDY SKILLS — Grammar Focus
Topic: SPORTS — OLYMPICS 🏅 | Subject: English (age 13, Kenya 🇰🇪)
Learning goals
- Spot and name grammar features in reading texts about the Olympics.
- Use grammar clues (tenses, voice, speech) to understand meaning quickly.
- Practice short exercises using Olympic examples.
Study tips for reading with a grammar focus
- Skim for verb tenses: Look at verbs first to know when actions happened (past, present, future).
- Scan for signal words: Words like "yesterday", "next", "already", "since" tell you the tense.
- Find the subject and main verb: This gives the main idea of each sentence fast.
- Look for passive voice: Results and medals are often written in passive (e.g., "was awarded").
- Check speech marks and reporting verbs: To decide if it's direct speech or reported speech.
Key grammar points with Olympic examples
1. Tenses — Past, Present, Future
Past: "She won the 800m race." — action finished.
Present: "He trains every day." — habit or current action.
Future: "They will compete next year." — planned events.
Present: "He trains every day." — habit or current action.
Future: "They will compete next year." — planned events.
2. Passive voice — used to report results
Active: "Kenya won many medals." → Passive: "Many medals were won by Kenya."
Note: Reports and news use passive to focus on the result (medals, records).
Note: Reports and news use passive to focus on the result (medals, records).
3. Direct and reported (indirect) speech
Direct: He said, "I am proud."
Reported: He said that he was proud.
Tip: Change pronouns and verb tense when converting direct → reported speech.
Reported: He said that he was proud.
Tip: Change pronouns and verb tense when converting direct → reported speech.
4. Comparatives and superlatives
Use to compare performances: "faster" (comparative), "fastest" (superlative).
Example: "Eunice ran faster than the other athletes." / "She was the fastest runner."
Example: "Eunice ran faster than the other athletes." / "She was the fastest runner."
5. Relative clauses — add info about people or places
Example: "The athlete who trains in Eldoret set a new record."
"who trains in Eldoret" tells more about the athlete.
"who trains in Eldoret" tells more about the athlete.
6. Modals for ability and possibility
"can / could / may / might" — e.g., "She can win a medal." or "He might break the record."
Short exercises (use an exam-style approach)
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Identify the tense and voice: "The gold medal was won by a Kenyan runner yesterday."
(Answer below)
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Change to reported speech: Coach: "You must rest well after the race."
(Answer below)
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Fill in comparative/superlative: "This year's time is (fast) _____ than last year's." / "It is the (fast) _____ time ever."
(Answer below)
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Underline the relative clause: "The stadium that hosts the trials is full."
(Answer below)
Answers (click to view)
1. Tense: Past simple. Voice: Passive.
2. Reported speech: The coach told them that they had to rest well after the race. (Or: The coach said that they must rest well after the race.)
3. Comparatives/superlatives: "faster" and "fastest". Full sentence: "This year's time is faster than last year's." / "It is the fastest time ever."
4. Relative clause: "that hosts the trials"
2. Reported speech: The coach told them that they had to rest well after the race. (Or: The coach said that they must rest well after the race.)
3. Comparatives/superlatives: "faster" and "fastest". Full sentence: "This year's time is faster than last year's." / "It is the fastest time ever."
4. Relative clause: "that hosts the trials"
Quick practice reading activity (5 minutes)
- Skim a short news paragraph about the Olympics. Circle all verbs you see.
- Write the tense of each verb (past/present/future) beside it.
- Mark any passive verbs (was/were + past participle).
- Find one sentence in direct speech and convert it to reported speech.
Why this helps: grammar marks (verbs, voice, speech) show the timeline and main facts quickly.
Good luck! Practice these grammar checks every time you read an article about the Olympics — you will understand texts faster and more clearly. 🏃♀️🥇