© 2007 Brian Boyd · e Whoever catches the thief will get five hundred dollars. f It takes a long...


Dial ‘G’ for Grammar

Story by Brian Boyd

Illustrations by Pao

Colours by Pao, Namhom, Pan, Asma,

Fai, May, Pam, Ming & Cherry

Pao also illustrated CRAZY HEROES. You can read it online at

www.grammarmancomic.com/comic/crazy.php 1


2


superhero – a hero with special (sometimes magical) powers

to protect – to defend, to keep something or someone safe

amazing – surprisingly great, wonderful

3


luggage – bags and suitcases, the belongings of a traveller

criminal – someone who breaks the law

4


reward – money offered for the capture of a criminal

clue – anything which helps guide toward the answer to a problem

head of security – the person in charge of security, the boss of

security

5


serious – thinking deeply about something important

robbery – taking someone else’s property using violence

6


QUICK CHECK - Are these sentences true or false?

a Grammarman lives in Gotham City.

b Grammarman is married.

c Syntax likes playing basketball.

d Some bags and suitcases are missing.

e Whoever catches the thief will get five hundred dollars.

f It takes a long time for them to get to the airport.

g Grammarman talks to the head of security.

h Alpha-bot answers the phone.

Match these words with the correct pictures.

Head of security

The Vocabu-lair

Alpha-bot

Grammarman

Verbo City

A newspaper

The Airport

Syntax

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VOCABULARY

Use words from pages 2-6 to complete these sentences.

a Grammarman’s job is to stop … . head of security

b We took a lot of … on our holiday. serious

c Spider-man is a famous … . robbery

d The detective found an important … . criminals

e Stay close to me. I’ll … you. superhero

f My money is gone. This is a … problem. reward

g There’s a … for anyone who finds my cat. luggage

h “Give us all your money! This is a … .” amazing

i That film was … . I enjoyed it so much. protect

j “It looks like a bomb! Let’s call the … .” clue

Before you read the next part, try to guess what happens.

a The thief is …

b Alpha-bot makes …

c Grammarman has …

d They use …

e They find useful …

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Alpha-bot. too clever. a student.

some coffee. a mistake. a big problem.

a snack. a party. an idea.

a telephone. a computer. an ATM.

websites. equipment. information.


mysterious – unknown or difficult to understand

to strike – to attack, to commit a crime

appear – come into view, turn up, show up

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to rush – to hurry, to move quickly or do something quickly

identify – to recognize, to verify the identity of someone or something

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confused – bewildered, perplexed, unable to understand

jewelry – ornaments such as bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings

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QUICK CHECK – number these sentences in the correct order.

___ Alpha-bot offers to make some coffee.

___ Grammarman runs to his computer.

___ The newspapers report the thief’s crimes.

___ They find out who the criminal is.

_1_ The thief steals many things.

___ Grammarman is too slow to catch the thief.

___ Grammarman has an idea.

Find the words for these pictures in the word square.

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What happens next? Join these words to make five sentences

about the next part of the story. Try to guess – don’t look!

1. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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Uncle Uncountable

uses glue to

escape

on television.

Alpha-bot

hides a big jelly

for the thief.

Uncle Uncountable

sees an interesting

report

inside a bag.

Grammarman and

Alpha-bot

gets stuck

from Grammarman

and Alpha-bot.

Uncle Uncountable

make a trap

to a wall.


telly – an informal British word for television

bulletin – a short news item

chef – the chief cook in a restaurant

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pinch – slang word, meaning ‘to steal’

unexpected – surprising, not expected

to yell – to shout loudly

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stick around – stay here, don’t go away

sticky – having the property of adhering, adhesive

villain – a bad person, often involved in wickedness or crime

break free – get loose, escape

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CAN YOU REMEMBER? TRY TO ANSWER WITH FULL SENTENCES

a Why does Uncle Uncountable decide to watch telly?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

b What has Zoltan Pepper done?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

c Who surprises Uncle Uncountable at Zoltan Pepper’s kitchen?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

d What is inside Uncle Uncountable’s gun?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

e How long does Grammarman need to escape from the glue?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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FIND SEVEN WORDS. THEY ARE ALL IN THE PART OF THE

STORY YOU HAVE JUST READ.

NOW PUT THE WORDS INTO THESE SENTENCES.

a Peter works as a ………… in a famous restaurant.

b My fingers are ………… because I have glue on them.

c There’s an interesting ………… on the BBC at the moment.

d I can hear you, you know. There’s no need to ………… so loud.

e I hope the police catch that ………… and put him in jail.

f Did somebody ………… the last piece of cake?

g I wonder if there are good programmes on ………… tonight.

GUESS WHICH OF THESE THINGS HAPPEN IN THE NEXT PART.

a Uncle Uncountable plans to sell the jelly for a lot of money.

b Syntax jumps out of the jelly.

c Alpha-bot eats all of the jelly.

d Syntax and Grammarman work together.

e Uncle Uncountable covers Syntax with glue.

f Uncle Uncountable escapes again, using a helicopter.

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Hideout – a safe place for hiding, especially from the police

to examine – to look at something closely and carefully

fool – an idiot, a stupid person

cash – money, coins and banknotes

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transmit – send out, communicate information

signal – a sign, usually a message of warning, direction or command

deal with – take action against someone or something

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to grab – to seize suddenly or quickly, to snatch

to escape – to get away, to avoid being caught

plenty – a good supply or amount, more than enough

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ARE EACH OF THESE THINGS COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE?

a ice

b people

c bottles of water

d land

e information

f song

g money

h coin

i computer

j rain

FINISH THESE SENTENCES USING SOME OR ANY.

1 Have you got ………… money?

2 I don’t want ………… dinner. I’m not hungry.

3 Here are ………… new books for you.

4 She needs ………… help with her homework.

5 Do we have ………… eggs?

6 Yes, we have ………… eggs, but there isn’t ………… milk.

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FINISH THESE SENTENCES USING MUCH OR MANY.

1 Have you got ………… free time this weekend?

2 I don’t have ………… DVDs. Only three or four.

3 Are there ………… temples in your city?

4 How ………… sugar do you want in your tea?

5 I haven’t met ………… people from South Africa.

6 There isn’t ………… time. We have to hurry.

FINALLY, TRY UNCLE UNCOUNTABLE’S CHALLENGE. LOOK

AROUND YOU. WHAT CAN YOU SEE? TRY TO MAKE SENTENCES

AND QUESTIONS USING SOME, ANY, MUCH AND MANY.

There is/are some … There isn’t/aren’t any …

Is/Are there any …? There isn’t much …

There aren’t many … Is there much …?

Are there many …?

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© 2007 Brian Boyd · e Whoever catches the thief will get five hundred dollars. f It takes a long...

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