Quite surely, now, it isn’t right
How pupils are not told that ‘quite’
Means ‘rather’ or ‘a little bit’;
Which, to mean silence, doesn’t fit.
I really want to start a riot
To get them teaching ‘still’ is ‘quiet’!
If one should find a peaceful spot
And call it ‘quite’ – it is quite what?
It seems that many teachers might
Tell rowdy pupils to be ‘quite’;
Quite wrong; so they should therefore try it
With pronunciation ‘kwai-yit’!
Though ‘quiet’ always means ‘be still’,
From ‘quite’ one can become quite ill
‘I’m quite annoyed’ means not too much –
But ‘he’s quite mad’ means fully such!
The tone of voice can let one know
Which meaning that you want to show:
Said loudly, fast; or softly, slow;
A lot or little? Yes. Quite so!
© Colonialist August 2012 (WordPress/Letterdash)
I quite love your really awful rhyme, Col. 🙂
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Mmmmm. quite good and i will leave fast…..
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I’m not quite sure if I commented before,
Shall quietly go off and ponder some more.
Hmmmmm?
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This is fabulous!
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Really good poem which I am sure would help pupils (sorry I am old fashioned) understand the difference. If you have not already please tackle your and you’re and lose and loose 🙂
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Hehe – the offers stands – let’s burn something down?
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Or shall we burn it up? Oh, decisions, decisions …
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Decide by drawing from a hat? Oh dear, which hat?
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Decide by drawing from a hat? Oh dear, which hat? The smart hat, the happy hat, the cap, the cow boy hat?
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Or the one with horns?
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That would be the happy hat – after all these years I still have it. It watches over my book collection in storage, ha ha. Not sure what it will do to protect my vast empire from would-be invaders, make them smile themselves silly, I guess?
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Or levitate and prod them in the – storage room?
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Yeah poke their eyes out 🙂 or swoop it from below and uppercut them with the horned bit? *jab* you’re it!
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Lovely, Col. You should publish a booklet/tome with all these little poems for English teachers 😉
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I think I have some duplication, though. I attack the same problems with different rhymes from time to time!
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Well done! Quite clever, Col. 😉
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*wondering what tone of voice that was in*
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A quite quiet one, of course. 😀
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Oh dear. Then it is only a bit clever? 🙂
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