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Grade 5 English First Additional Language

Term 3 CAPS Language Concepts Framework. A colourful learner-friendly study hub for building vocabulary, grammar, sentence construction, reading skills, writing confidence and everyday communication.

Grade 5Term 3English FALCAPS-aligned

Term 3 Language Concepts Overview

In Term 3, learners continue to strengthen their English First Additional Language skills through vocabulary development, sentence work, grammar, punctuation, reading comprehension and short writing tasks.

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1. Verbs and Tenses

Action wordsPresentPastFuture

Verbs tell us what someone or something does. Learners use verbs to write clear sentences and to show when an action happens.

Key idea: Tense shows time. Present tense happens now, past tense already happened, and future tense will happen later.

Examples

  • I walk to school.
  • I walked to school yesterday.
  • I will walk to school tomorrow.

Common helping verbs

  • am, is, are
  • was, were
  • has, have, had
  • will, shall, can, must
Study task

Write five sentences in the present tense and then change them to the past tense.

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2. Nouns, Singular and Plural

Naming wordsOneMore than one

Nouns name people, places, animals and things. Learners identify nouns in sentences and use correct singular and plural forms.

Examples: learner → learners, box → boxes, baby → babies, child → children.
  • Common nouns name general things: school, river, teacher.
  • Proper nouns name specific people or places: Thabo, South Africa, Cape Town.
  • Plural nouns show more than one.
Quick practice

Find the nouns in this sentence: The children played soccer near the big tree.

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3. Adjectives and Degrees of Comparison

Describing wordsComparingDetail

Adjectives describe nouns. They make sentences more interesting by adding information about size, colour, shape, number or feeling.

Adjective examples

  • a small puppy
  • a bright light
  • three green apples

Degrees of comparison

  • fast, faster, fastest
  • big, bigger, biggest
  • beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful
Writing task: Rewrite a plain sentence by adding two suitable adjectives.
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4. Pronouns and Articles

IYouHe/Shea/an/the

Pronouns are words used in the place of nouns. Articles are small words used before nouns.

Pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
Articles: Use a before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound, and the when we mean something specific.
Example

Nomsa has a pencil. She writes with the pencil.

5. Adverbs and Prepositions

HowWhenWherePosition

Adverbs add more information to verbs. Prepositions show position, direction, time or relationship between words.

Adverbs

  • She sings beautifully.
  • They arrived early.
  • He ran quickly.

Prepositions

  • under the table
  • behind the door
  • before school
  • next to my friend
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6. Sentence Types and Sentence Structure

SubjectVerbObjectStatements

A sentence must express a complete idea. Learners practise building sentences with correct word order and punctuation.

Basic pattern: Subject + Verb + Object. Example: The girl reads a book.
  • Statement: The boy is happy.
  • Question: Is the boy happy?
  • Command: Open your book.
  • Exclamation: What a wonderful day!
Study task

Write one example of each sentence type.

7. Questions, Negatives and Direct Speech

Question wordsNotSpeech marks

Learners ask and answer questions, change positive sentences into negative sentences, and use direct speech correctly.

Question words

  • Who?
  • What?
  • Where?
  • When?
  • Why?
  • How?

Direct speech

Use quotation marks to show the exact words someone says.

Example: “I am ready,” said Ben.

Negative example: She likes apples. → She does not like apples.
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8. Vocabulary: Synonyms, Antonyms and Homophones

MeaningOppositesSound-alike words

Vocabulary work helps learners understand texts and choose better words when speaking and writing.

Word relationships

  • Synonyms: words with similar meanings, such as happy and glad.
  • Antonyms: words with opposite meanings, such as hot and cold.
  • Homophones: words that sound the same but have different meanings, such as sea and see.

Learning tip

Always use the word in a sentence to show that you understand its meaning.

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9. Word Building: Prefixes, Suffixes and Compound Words

Root wordsPrefixesSuffixesCompounds

Word building helps learners work out the meaning of unfamiliar words and expand their vocabulary.

Root word: the main part of a word. Prefixes come before the root word and suffixes come after it.
  • Prefix: unhappy, rewrite, dislike.
  • Suffix: helpful, quickly, teacher.
  • Compound word: toothbrush, classroom, playground.
Practice idea

Choose five root words and add a prefix or suffix to each one.

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10. Spelling and Punctuation

Capital lettersFull stopsCommasQuotation marks

Correct spelling and punctuation make writing easier to read and understand. Learners edit their own work to improve accuracy.

Punctuation focus

  • Capital letters for names and sentence beginnings
  • Full stops at the end of statements
  • Question marks for questions
  • Commas in lists
  • Quotation marks for direct speech

Spelling habits

  • Look carefully at word patterns
  • Break longer words into syllables
  • Use a dictionary when needed
  • Proofread before submitting
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11. Reading and Viewing Skills

ComprehensionVisual textInference

Learners read stories, poems, information texts, dialogues, instructions and visual texts. They answer questions by finding information, making inferences and giving reasons.

  • Identify the main idea and supporting details.
  • Use context clues to understand new words.
  • Sequence events in the correct order.
  • Explain characters, setting and message.
  • Read pictures, headings, captions, labels and diagrams.
Reading task: After reading a text, write three facts, two new words and one question you still have.
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12. Writing and Presenting Skills

PlanDraftEditPresent

Learners practise short writing tasks such as paragraphs, dialogues, descriptions, diary entries, letters, instructions and summaries.

Writing process: Plan your ideas, write a first draft, edit for mistakes, improve word choice, and publish or present the final version.

Good writing includes

  • A clear topic
  • Correct sentence structure
  • Interesting vocabulary
  • Correct punctuation
  • Logical order

Speaking skills

  • Speak clearly
  • Use eye contact
  • Stay on topic
  • Listen respectfully
  • Answer questions politely

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