Pres. Obama's Inaugural Speech 1-20-09

January 20, 2009
(SOURCE PHOTO NEW YORK TIMES & TEXT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE 20/01/2009)
President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address

Inaugural Address
By President Barack Hussein Obama

“. . . We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week, or last month, or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.”
http://zebrambizi.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/president-barak-obamas-inaugural-address/

GRAMMAR

1. Please write down every verb you see in the excerpt of President Obama’s Inaugural Speech. Also tell me what the SUBJECT of each VERB is. Make a √ under the tense.
SUBJECT VERB Present Tense Past Tense Present Perfect base form
a. We remain √ to remain

b. ___________________________________________________________
c. ___________________________________________________________
d. ___________________________________________________________
e. ___________________________________________________________
f. ___________________________________________________________
g. ___________________________________________________________
h. ___________________________________________________________
i. ___________________________________________________________
j. ____________________________________________________________


2. to pass Present tense Past Tense past participle
pass/es passed passed
Examples:
a. I want to pass my {citizenship, driver’s license, typing,______________ test.
b. I never pass any tests the first time I take them.
c. She always passes her tests with “A”s.
d. He passed the math test, but he didn’t pass the English test.
e. I have not passed my driving test yet.
YOUR TURN
f. (pass or passes)
_______________________________________________________
g. (passed) ________________________________________________________

3. must is a modal. Use modals with base form verbs (but NOT with infinitives!)
“Must” means It is necessary or essential.
Examples:
a. We must pick ourselves up. We must dust ourselves off. We must begin again.
b. I must learn English grammar before I can speak the language well.

YOUR TURN What is essential or necessary for you to do? Answer with MUST.

______________________________________________________________________


2
VOCABULARY

Find words in the story and fill in the blanks with the word (using good grammar – nouns, verbs, adjectives).

1. I don’t want to go back to China. I want to ________________ here.

2. He is a rich man. He is ____________________.

3. May went to the market, did her laundry, and cooked lunch – all before noon. She was very _____________________________ .

4. The economy is bad. People have lost their jobs. There is a _____________ in the country.

5. She always has new and good ideas. She’s very creative and _______________ .

6. All the merchandise they sell comes from China. I like their ________________ .

7. The hotel provides meals in your room (room service), does your laundry, and shines your shoes. We like their ______________________ .

8. We are able to do a lot of things. We even have the _________________ to do more.

9. I believe as I have always believed. I’m going to do as I have always done. I’m not going to change and do something else. I’m going to __________________ .

10. Some streets are wide and others are ______________________. (So are shoes.)

11. There is no question that I will come to your party. I will ____________ be there.

12. She fell down but wasn’t really hurt, so she ______________ herself ______
and walked home.

13. He fell down and got his clothes dirty. He then stood up and ____________
himself _______.

14. You can make yourself a better person. You can redo your image so people see
you differently. You can ___________ yourself.



15. Prefix “un” means NOT and makes the adjective negative
undiminished unpleasant unnecessary
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3


CONVERSATION (Please talk to your partner first. Then write your answers in complete sentences.)

1. What is the President’s full name? ____________________________________

2. What’s his wife’s name? ___________________________________________

3. In the picture, why is he raising his right hand? ________________________________________________________________

4. What is he doing with his left hand? ________________________________________________________________

5. This is an excerpt from what speech? ________________________________________________________________

6. When did he give this speech? ________________________________________________________________

7. Where did he give this speech? ________________________________________________________________

8. Why did he give this speech? ________________________________________________________________

9. Why did President Obama say, “We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off,
and begin again the work of remaking America”?