English Skill Building – 108

Rewriting sentences

Exercise – 1

Join the following question sentences in any way you prefer.

1. My closest friend’s father contracted Covid. He isolated himself in his small room.

2. My closest friend’s father contracted Covid. He isolated himself in his small room. I had to curtail my visits to their house.

3. Not being able to meet her frequently as before made me sad. I guess my friend too yearned to see me.

4. I had no smart phone. She too had no smart phone.

5. We couldn’t afford smart phones. We were born in poor families.

6. I prayed to God for ending the Covid nightmare. But He didn’t heed my prayer.

7. The newspapers were awash with news about the catastrophic consequences of Covid. Patients died like rats as the hospitals were overflowing with Covid cases.

8. All sorts of transports like bus, taxi and rail had to shut down. Poor labourers from far-off places like Punjab, Delhi etc. began to walk to reach their homes in U.P and Bihar.

9. All sorts of transports like bus, taxi and rail had to shut down. Poor labourers from far-off places like Punjab, Delhi etc. began to walk to reach their homes in U.P and Bihar. It presented a heartrending sight.

10. So many volunteers and NGOs came forward to offer food and drinking water to these hordes of famished labourers. It showed the humane tendencies of ordinary Indians.

Exercise – 2

Break down these sentences into as many pieces as you can.

1. Chinese dictator Mao Zedong woke up early and got a shave and a haircut for the first time in months.

2. He put on a crisp new suit and new shoes specially made for the occasion.

3. He sat down in an armchair in the study of his home, a porcelain spittoon on the floor nearby.

4. Not far away, President Richard M. Nixon rested in a guesthouse, making notes on a legal pad.

5. He wore a dress shirt with cuff links.

6. He had just arrived in Beijing for a visit that had shocked the world.

7. He hoped to meet Mao but was not certain when, or if, the Chinese leader would see him.

8. Suddenly, the word came, as if from an emperor, aides remembered: Mao would see Nixon. Immediately.

9. It was Feb. 21, 1972, and as stunned observers looked on, the hard-line, anti-communist president was taken away in a black limousine to meet the ruthless champion of global revolution.

10. The meeting between the two arch foes, 50 years ago Monday, and Nixon’s week-long visit to “Red China,” were earthshaking, the historian Margaret MacMillan wrote in her 2006 book “Nixon in China.”

Answers

Exercise – 1

1. On contracting Covid, my closest friend’s father isolated himself in his small room.

2. I had to curtail my visits to my closest friend’s house after her father contracted Covid and isolated himself in a small room.

3. My friend yearned to see me just as I felt sad not being able to meet her.

4. Both of us had no smart phones.
Or
I had no smart phone, nor did she.

5. As both of us were born in poor families, we couldn’t own smart phone.
Or
Being born in poor families, smart phones were beyond our reach.

6. My prayers to God to banish Covid went unheeded.

7. News of patients dying like rats and hospitals overflowing with patients were all over the newspapers who vividly narrated the catastrophic consequences of Covid.

8. Poor labourers from far-off places like Punjab, Delhi etc. began to walk to reach their homes in U.P and Bihar as normal modes for transport like bus and train stopped running.

9. The sight of poor labourers trudging from far-off Punjab and Delhi to reach their homes in Bihar and U.P was heartrending.

10. The manner in which volunteers and NGOs stepped out to offer food and drinking water to the famished walkers showed the humane side of ordinary Indians.

Exercise – 2

1. a. Chinese dictator Mao Zedong woke up early.
b. He got a shave.
c. He also got a haircut after quite a few months.

2. a. He put on a crisp new suit and new pair of shoes.
b. The shoes were made specially for the occasion.

3. a. He sat down in an armchair in the study of his home.
b. A porcelain spittoon was kept on the floor nearby.

4. a. Not far away, President Richard M. Nixon rested in a guesthouse.
b. He was making notes on a legal pad.

5. a. He wore a dress shirt.
b. It head cough links.

6. a. President had just arrived on a visit.
b. The visit had shocked the world.

7. a. He hoped to meet Mao.
b. But, he was not certain when the meeting was going to happen.
c. He was not even sure if at all the Chinese leader would see him.

8. a. Suddenly, a message came.
b. It seemed as if it had come from an emperor.
c. The message was that Mai would see him immediarely.

9. a. It was Feb. 21,1972.
b. Stunned observers looked on at the unfolding events.
c. The hard-line, anti-communist president was taken away in a black limousine to meet the ruthless champion of global revolution.

10. a. The meeting between the two arch foes happened 50 years ago on a Monday.
b. The historian Margaret MacMillan wrote in her 2006 book “Nixon in China about this meeting.”
c. He said that Nixon’s week-long visit to “Red China,” were earthshaking.