NARRATIVE TEXT

A Narrative is a piece of writing that tells an imaginary story. The story can also be based on a real incident but has been made up in the purpose of entertaining.

Communicative purpose:

To entertain or to amuse the readers

Examples of narrative texts:

Short stories, folklores, legend, fable, and myth.

The Organization of a narrative text:

A narrative text can have as many paragraphs as the writer want. However, it mainly consists of three parts: orientation, sequence of events/complications and resolution.

This is example of narrative text…..

Fox and a Crow

            One morning a fox was returning to his lair after a night’s hunting. He had not caught anything and he was feeling very hungry. As he passed the farmer’s house he saw a crow stealing a delicious looking piece of cheese that the farmer’s wife had left in the window. His mouth watered and he thought to himself how he could get the crow to give him the cheese.

            The crow flew off and perched far above his head in a nearby tree. The fox ran to the foot of the tree and started flattering the crow.

            “Oh, beautiful bird,” said the fox, “so graceful, so delightful and so well loved by everyone. What lovely feathers you have,  and how lucky you are to be able to see into the future. Truly you are possessed of all the virtues and I cannot think of any bird so blessed.”

            “However, I don’t think I have ever heard you sing. If your singing is even half as good as all your other qualities, there cannot be another creature in the whole world so fabulous.”

            The crow was flattered by this and to show the fox that his voice was as beautiful as the rest of him he opened his beak and started singing so that the fox might hear him. But of course, as he opened his beak the cheese dropped out and the fox snapped it and ate it up in two gulps. Ah ha, said the fox, “ I spoke of your beauty, but you will notice I said nothing about your brains.”

Adapted from “Favorite Fables and Fairy Tales”

Advantages / Disadvantages of Watching Television

Nowadays , television has become the most popular media of mankind. It’s also the indispensable device in our daily life. By watching TV, we can see many things happened in the entire world. It helps us to catch and avoid being dropped back from the world of information. Everyone agree that television is one of the most important inventions in transforming information history. When the first television program was broadcasted, a new age era had begun, the age of image transformations. Television nowadays has been very popular, and almost every family has the access to it. By sitting ideally at home, we can get a whole look all over the world. The appearance of television and television broadcasting enriches our entertainments. Many events and competitions can be watched “live” and many exclusive movies are presented as well (although it’s a bit late in comparison with seeing those movies in the cinema), but all are legal and you’re free to enjoy them. In addition, if you want to travel but do not have enough money, you can enjoy traveling by watching TV (for example watching the discovery channel or national geography channel).

            Furthermore, the television is considered as the unlimited source of information. There are a lot of scientific channels which are fitting for all ages. Those are the fastest and cheapest way to improve your knowledge. Today , television provides many channels, each channel shows different program such as news, sport, film, etc.

            Without good time management, we may waste lots of time watching TV. If one day, a person spends an hour watching TV without gaining any useful information, then in one year he will waste 365 hours and in 10 year is 3605 hours. Instead, he/she can use that time to learn several languages as well as finish some studying course. Moreover, television programs sometime are not always appropriate for all ages. There are some movies contain sexual stuff and violence which affects the stormy phase of growing children and teenagers and even it should not be watched by some adults as well. It will be extremely dangerous if parents neglect their children to view the TV program themselves as they will immediately take influence of what they see. It is suggested that parents must supervise their children while watching TV. Spending hours watching TV especially in a very close distance is harmful to our eyesight.

            In conclusion. It can be stated that Television program gives us many advantages but it will harm our adolescent life if they do not have sufficient control from Parents or adults.

Adapted from “Road to Succed National Exam English Subject”

NOUN CLAUSE

A noun clause is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone as a sentence.  It must be connected to an independent clause, a main clause. A noun clause has its own subject and verb. It can begin with a question word. It can begin with if or whether. And it can begin with that. 

a) Noun clauses with question words: 

The following question words can be used to introduce a noun clause: when, where, why, how, who, whom, what, which, whose. 

Example: 

Answer this question using 'I don't know...'

Where does Maria live?

I don't know -------------.

It is incorrect to say, "I don't know where does she live."

Notice that "does she live" is a question form.  Noun clauses cannot be in question form; it has to be a statement.

"I don't know where she lives" is the correct answer.

Example: these questions using I don't know... 

·         How old is Kate?

 I don't know how old she is.

·         Where did Juan go?

I don't know where he went.

·         Why did Maria leave?

I don't know why she left.

·         What did she say?

I don't know what she said.

·         When is she going to leave?

I don't know when she is going to leave.

·         What country is Maria from?

I don't know what country she is from.

·         What is that girl's name? 

I don't know what her name is.

Noun clauses with who, what, whose + be:

A noun or pronoun that follows main verb 'be' in a question comes in front of 'be' in a noun clause. 

Example:
--> Who is that boy? I don't know who that boy is.

--> Whose pen is this? I don't know whose pen this is.

A prepositional phrase does not come in front of 'be' in a noun clause. 

Example:
--> Who is in the office? I don't know who is in the office.

--> Whose pen is on the desk? I don't know whose pen is on the desk.

Notice that usual word order is not used when the question word is the subject of the question as in 'who' and 'what'.  In this case, the word order in the noun clause is the same as the word order in question.

Be sure to complete the exercises in the assignments.

b) Noun clauses, which begin with if or whether:

When a yes/no question is changed to a noun clause, if is usually used to introduce the clause.  

Example:
--> Is Maria at home?

               I don't know if Maria is at home.

--> Does this bus go to Los Angeles?

               I don't know if this bus goes to Los Angeles.

--> Did Juan go to Mexico?

               I wonder if Juan went to Mexico.

Frequently, speakers may add 'or not'.  This comes at the end of the noun clause in sentences with 'if' and immediately after 'whether' in sentences with 'whether'.

Example:
--> I don't know if Maria is at home or not. 

--> I don't know whether or not Maria is at home.

Notice that we cannot use 'or not' immediately after 'if'.

c) Noun clauses which begin with that: 

A noun clause can be introduced by the word 'that'.

--> I think that Ms. Weiss is a good teacher.

In the sentence above, 'Ms. Weiss is a good teacher' is a noun clause. It is the object of the verb 'think'.

That clauses are frequently used as the object of verbs which express mental activity. Here are some common verbs followed by 'that clauses'. 

Assume that   believe that  discover that dream that

Guess that    hear that     hope that     know that

Learn that    notice that   predict that  prove that   

Realize that  suppose that  suspect that  think that

There are many more verbs that can be followed by "that" clause.

Example:

·         I feel that she will do well on the test.

·         I wonder if she is coming to the part.

·         You are lucky that won the lottery.

·         It is a fact that Mr. Lopez is a good teacher.

·         I doubt that she will come today.

·         I am worried that they won't win the game.

·         I don't know when she will come.

·         I regret that she failed the test.

·         I don't know if she lives in New York or not.

·         I am amazed that we made it to the airport on time.

source: 

http://www.testyourenglish.net/english-online/subjects/nouncl1.html

http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/noun-clauses.html

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Do you understand what these sentences imply?

Do you know what they mean?

·       If I had had enough time in that test, I would have checked my paper again

·       I would buy you some stamps if I went to the post office

They are called conditional sentences. A conditional sentences consists of two clause, they are the if-clause and the main clause. The if-clause can come first or second. When it comes first, we usually put a comma between the two clauses.

There are 4 types of conditional sentences, including mixed conditional.

Ø TYPE 1

The if-clause is in the present tense, the main clause uses will and

the infinitive, or simple present.

Conditional Senteces Type 1
Type	If Clause	Main Clause	Meaning
Type 1	Simple Present If you work hard,	Simple Present You succeed Simple Future You will succeed	True in the present or possible in future It’s possible to happen in the future

When do we use conditional sentences type 1?

a.     We use conditional sentence type 1 to talk about possible situations in the present or future.

o    If you leave earlier, you will not be late.

o    If you open the windows, the room will get some fresh air.

o    If you invite me, I will come to your party

b.    We often use conditional type 1 to talk about facts or processes:

o    If you heat water to 100 degrees, it will boil.

o    If we stare into the sun, we will hurt our eyes.

Note:

Other modal verbs can also be used in place of will and would.

o    If it rains like this all day, the river might flood. (might = will possibly)

o    If it rains like this all day, the river could flood. (could = will be able to)

Ø Type 2

The if-clause is in the simple past or the past continuous tense. The main clause uses would and the infinitive, or would be and the present participle (verb-ing).

Conditional Senteces Type 2
Type	If Clause	Main Clause	Meaning
Type 2	Simple Past If you worked hard, Past Continuous If it were not raining now,	Would + simple form You would succeed. Would be + present participle I would be going out for a walk	Untrue in the present Fact: you don’t work hard, so you don’t succeed Fact: it’s raining now, so I’m not going out for a walk

         

          When do we use conditional sentences type 2?

Conditional sentences type 2 is used to talk about actions or situations that are not talking place in the present or future, but we can imagine the probable  result.

o   If we didn’t live in a big city, we would not have to breathe polluted air everyday. (in truth, we live in a big city)

o   If he were here, I would tell him about my plan. (in fact, he isn’t here)

o   If I were you, I would accept him. (in fact, I’m not you, so I will not accept him)

Note:

·       Were’ is used for both singular and plural subjects.

·       The use of type 2 conditional in “if  I were you, I would…….. “ is a common form of advice.

Ø Type 3

The if-clause is in the past perfect or the past perfect continuous tense, the main clause uses would have and past participle (verb 3), or would have been and present participle (verb-ing).

Conditional Senteces Type 3
Type	If Clause	Main Clause	Meaning
Type 3	Past Perfect If you had worked hard, Past Perfect Continuous If it had not been raining yesterday afternoon,	Would have + past participle You would have succeeded. Would have been + present participle I would have been going out for a walk.	Untrue in the past Fact: you didn’t work hard, so you didn’t succeed. Fact: it was raining yesterday afternoon. I was not going out for a walk.

When do we use conditional sentences type 3?

Conditional sentences type 3 is used to talk about actions or situations that did not take or were not taking place in the past, but we can imagine the probable result.

o   If you had come to the party last night, you would have met my cousin. (in truth, you didn’t come to the party last night)

o   If he had not been late this morning, his teacher would not have punished him. (in truth, he was late)

o   If I had studied hard, I would have passed the exam. (in fact, I didn’t study hard, so I would not pass the exam)

Ø Type mixed

Mixed conditional sentences is a combination of conditional sentences type 2 and conditional sentences type 3.

Conditional Senteces Mixed Type
Type	If Clause	Main Clause	Meaning
Mixed Type	Simple Past If I were a bird, Past Perfect If you had worked hard,	Would have + past participle I would have flown to your place last night. Would + simple form You would succeed.	Untrue in the present or future Fact: I am not a bird, so I didn’t fly to your place. Fact: you didn’t work hard. Now, you don’t succeed.

          When do we use mixed conditional sentences?

Mixed conditional sentences is used to talk about actions or situations that did not take or were not taking place in the past, but we can imagine the probable result in the present, or actions or situations that do not take place in the present, but we can imagine the probable result in the past.

o   If you lived near the factory, you would have heard the sound of the explosion. (in truth, you don’t live near the factory. Therefore, you didn’t hear the sound of the explosion.)

o   If he had not been late this morning, he would be permitted to join the test. (in truth, he was lat. Therefore, he is not permitted to join the test.)

Source :  

http://www.misterguru.web.id/2011/09/conditional-sentences-type-1-type-2.html

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conditional2.htm