Diary of a Nobody - New Oxford Modern English - Class 8 - English

What is Pooter’s wife’s name, and how does he refer to her?

What do Pooter and his wife do in the evenings?

What is their son’s name and occupation?

Who does Pooter blame for the double order of mutton?

Who is Gowing, and why does Pooter get irritated by him?

What jokes does Pooter tell?

Write lists under the following headings: Pooter’s friend, Pooter’s colleagues, tradespeople.

Look at the passages about Pooter at work. What kind of relationship does he have with his colleagues? Explain why what happens with Pitt is embarrassing for Pooter.

Farmerson is mentioned five times on four different days. Write down, in order, the dates with a brief explanation of the interaction between CP and Farmerson on each date. How and why does Pooter’s view of Farmerson change?

Which details from the diary reveal that Pooter is a show-off?

Mr Gowing must have took it by mistake last night as there was a stick in the ‘all that didn’t belong to nobody.

i. Whose speech is Pooter reporting?
ii. What has gone missing?
iii. Write the sentence out correctly by replacing the words in bold.

I consented but felt I had been talked into it.

i. Who does Pooter consent to?
ii. What does he consent to?
iii. What does ‘talked into it’ mean?

Underline the adverbial clauses in the following and say whether each is an adverbial clause of concession, purpose, manner or comparison.
a.    She let the bird out of the cage so that it might fly around the room.
b.    though he is only four, he speaks English very well.
c.     She works as hard as her sister.
d.    I did not buy the bicycle although it was being sold at half price.
e.    Do this exercise as I have shown you.
f.     He looks as though he is ill.
g.    They came early in order that we might talk.
h.    The man came though we asked him not to.

Complete the following, using the instructions in brackets. Take care of the changes in punctuation.
a.    A note had to be sent. It had to first be inserted into an envelope. (Combine the sentences
        and start with ‘if’.)
b.    Expenditure tends to be too high. A purchase price of 100 is considered the maximum.
        (Combine the sentences using ‘otherwise’; start with ‘A purchase price…’)
c.     This proved extremely difficult. It was finally accomplished by the Chief Executive.
        (Combine the sentences. Start with ‘Although’)
d.    The opposition seems politically reliable. It has certain limitations as a governing party.
        (Combine the sentences. Combine the sentences; use ‘though’.)
e.    A horse can carry a rather heavier load of items. These are spread over the back. A rider is
        carried at one point in the saddle. (Combine the sentences using two commas. Use the
        words ‘since’ and ‘whereas’.)
f.     The Top travels up and down the wooden plank. It spins round and round. (Combine the
        sentences. Use ‘as’.)
g.    A broken vase is repaired and polished within a few minutes. It will appear to the owner that
        it has never been damaged. One can imagine that this trick will not always work. (Combine
        the sentences. Use ‘if’ and ‘but’.)
h.    The manager could not get rid of the salesman. Such an action would be criticized by the
        Union. He would suffer for it. (Combine the sentences. Use ‘for’ and ‘and’.)

Charles Pooter likes gardening but does not seem to know much about it. Growing mustard and cress is a good way to begin because the seeds sprout very quickly and you can usually see some growth after a week. People eat the leaves in salads or with eggs.

In a pair, discuss the pictures on the next page. Plan how you would write a set of instructions to go with them. Think about who you are writing the instructions for and how you will make each stage clear to the reader.

Use your notes to write the instructions