1. The Narrative Present
Notice the incomplete sentences in the following paragraphs. Here the writer is using incomplete sentences in the narration to make the incident more dramatic or immediate. Can you rewrite the paragraph in complete sentences?
(You can begin: The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering…)
(i) A dash back to car. Bruno still floundering about on his stumps, but clearly weakening rapidly; some vomiting, heavy breathing, with heaving flanks and gaping mouth.
Hold him everybody! In goes the hypodermic – Bruno squeals – 10 c.c. of the antidote enters his system without a drop being wasted. Then minutes later: condition unchanged! Another 10 c.c. injected! Ten minutes later: breathing less stertorous – Bruno can move his arms and legs a little although he can not stand yet. Thirty minutes later: Bruno gets up and has a great feed! He looks at us disdainfully, as much as to say, ‘What’s barium carbonate to a big black bear like me?’ Bruno is still eating.
(ii) In the paragraphs above from the story the verbs are in the present tense (eg. hold, goes, etc.). This gives the reader an impression of immediacy. The present tense is often used when we give a commentary on a game (cricket, football, etc.), or tell a story as if it is happening now. It is, therefore, called the narrative present.
You will read more about the present tense in Unit 10
2. Adverbs
Find the adverbs in the passage below. (You’ve read about adverbs in Unit 1.)
We thought that everything was over when suddenly a black sloth bear came out panting in the hot sun. Now I will not shoot a sloth-bear wantonly but, unfortunately for the poor beast, one of my companions did not feel that way about it, and promptly shot the bear on the spot.
(i) Complete the following sentences, using a suitable adverb ending in –ly.
(a) Rana does her homework _______________.
(b) It rains ___________ in Mumbai in June.
(c) He does his work _____________.
(d) The dog serves his master _____________.
(ii) Choose the most suitable adverbs or adverbial phrases and complete the following sentences.
(a) We should ____________get down from a moving train. (never, sometimes, often)
(b) I was ___________ in need of support after my poor performance. (badly, occasionally, sometimes).
(c) Rita met with an accident. The doctor examined her ______________. (suddenly, seriously, immediately)
3. Take down the following scrambled version of a story, that your teacher will dictate to you, with appropriate punctuation marks. Then, read the scrambled story carefully and try to rewrite it rearranging the incidents.
A grasshopper, who was very hungry, saw her and said, “When did you get the corn? I am dying of hunger.” She wanted to dry them. It was a cold winter’s day, and an ant was bringing out some grains of corn from her home. She had gathered the corn in summer.
“I was singing all day,” answered the grasshopper.
“If you sang all summer,” said the ant, “you can dance all winter.”
“What were you doing?” asked the ant again.
The grasshopper replied, “I was too busy.”
“I collected it in summer,” said the ant. “What were you doing in summer? Why did you not store some corn?”
1.(i) The vet and I made a dash back to the car. Bruno was still floundering about on his stumps, but clearly he was weakening rapidly. There was some vomiting and heavy breathing. His flanks were heaving and his mouth was gaping.
Everybody was asked to hold him. The hypodermic medicine went into Bruno, who squealed. 10 c.c. of anecdote entered his system without a drop being wasted. Even ten minutes later, the condition was unchanged. Another 10 c.c. was injected into him. Ten minutes later, his breathing became less stertorous. Bruno could move his arms and legs a little although he could not stand yet. Thirty minutes later, Bruno got up and had a great feed. He looked at us disdainfully, as much as to say, ‘What’s barium carbonate to a big black bear like me?’ Bruno was still eating.
2.We thought that everything was over when suddenlya black sloth bear came outpanting in the hot sun. NowI will not shoot a sloth-bear wantonlybut, unfortunatelyfor the poor beast, one of my companions did not feel that way about it, and promptlyshot the bear on the spot.
(i)
(a) Rana does her homework timely.
(b) It rains heavilyin Mumbai in June.
(c) He does his work properly.
(d) The dog serves his master faithfully.
(ii)
(a) We should never get down from a moving train.
(b) I was badly in need of support after my poor performance.
(c) Rita met with an accident. The doctor examined her immediately.
3. It was a cold winter’s day, and an ant was bringing out some grains of corn from her home. She had gathered the corn in summer. She wanted to dry them. A grasshopper, who was very hungry, saw her and said, “When did you get the corn? I am dying of hunger.” “I collected it in summer,” said the ant. “What were you doing in summer? Why did you not store some corn?” The grasshopper replied, “I was too busy.” “What were you doing?” asked the ant again. “I was singing all day,” answered the grasshopper. “If you sang all summer,” said the ant, “you can dance all winter.”