Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for English

Present Simple, Past Simple, and Future with Will

Present Continuous and Past Continuous

Irregular Verbs

1. August gets hearing aids in this section. How does he feel about them in the beginning and towards the end of pages in this section?

In the beginning, August didn’t want to wear them, but when the doctor turned them on, he stopped hearing the noise of the ocean that lived inside his head, and he began to hear perfectly. In his ears, there was quiet. In the end, he was very happy to take them.

2. Daisy is August’s dog, who has been sick for a while. Why hasn’t August noticed this?

Because his parents had hidden it from him; they didn’t want to worry him. She had been throwing up, and his mother had taken her to the vet three times in the last two months, but August didn’t know she was sick.

3. Miranda and Via used to be friends. Why

An Unsettling Encounter

The novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde begins with a lawyer, Mr. Utterson, taking a walk with his friend and relative, Mr. Enfield. They walk past a mysterious door, prompting Mr. Enfield to recount a disturbing incident: a brutal man knocked down a little girl, drawing the ire of onlookers. The man offered a substantial payment, disappearing through the door only to return with a large check drawn from Dr. Jekyll’s bank account. The perpetrator was none other than Mr. Hyde.

The Lawyer's Growing Suspicion

Mr. Utterson, who serves as Dr. Jekyll’s lawyer, discovers a peculiar clause in Jekyll’s will: in the event of Jekyll’s death or disappearance, his entire estate is to be bequeathed to Mr. Hyde.... Continue reading "Jekyll and Hyde: The Dual Nature Unveiled" »

When I was on the train yesterday, I heard someone say this: “Someone left their bag on the train.”

Can you find anything wrong with the sentence?

If you looked in a traditional English grammar book, you would learn that the sentence should be, “Someone left his bag on the train.” The rule is to use the singular pronoun “he” when the gender of a person is not known.

But, if you asked native English speakers if there is something wrong with the sentence, many would probably answer no.

The pronoun “their” is generally plural. The speaker was talking about just one person. However, American English speakers use “their” and “they” as singular pronouns all the time in spoken English. They use it when the gender of a person is... Continue reading "The Evolution of 'They': A Singular Pronoun's Journey" »

Gulliver's Travels (1726), a prose satire by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan

Chapter 1: Pirates and the Floating Island

Gulliver prepares to set out for the East Indies. On the voyage, pirates attack the ship. Gulliver hears a Dutch voice among them and speaks to the pirate in Dutch, begging to be set free. A Japanese pirate tells them they will not die, and Gulliver tells the Dutchman that he is surprised to find more mercy in a heathen than in a Christian. The Dutchman grows angry and punishes Gulliver by sending him out to sea in a small boat. Gulliver finds some islands and goes ashore on one of them. There he sees a landmass dropping down from the sky and notices that... Continue reading "Gulliver's Travels Part 3: Laputa Summary" »

Tom King is a big brute of a man who looks every inch the champion prizefighter he was twenty years ago. Times are harder now. He seldom gets a good match and even has trouble finding work on the docks. As the story opens, Tom is finishing a meager meal of flour gravy and bread. He had been craving a piece of steak since the morning, and his poor wife had tried to get meat from the local butchers, but they refused her credit. She purchased the bread with their last few shillings and borrowed the flour from a neighbor. There is no food in the house. She eats nothing herself and has sent their two children to bed without supper. She knows that Tom needs all the nourishment he can get. In less than two hours, he will be fighting a younger man... Continue reading "The Aging Boxer's Last Stand" »

Understanding Tense Changes in Reported Speech

When converting direct speech to reported (or indirect) speech, verb tenses often shift backward. This process is known as "backshift." Below are common tense transformations:

The Pit and the Pendulum

PREGUNTA A

Prince Prospero

1. Prince Prospero invited... C. He thought that they would
2. When the stranger arrived... A. the guests were horrified
3. When the prisoner in The Pit... B. He could see nothing because
4. At the very end of The Pit... B. Was saved from death at the last moment
5. Monsieur Dupin knew... C. The fingerprints and hair that were found
6. When the orangutan saw... A. He suddenly became scared.

PREGUNTA B

1. Reading
2. Evil
3. Dizziness
4. Was held
5. Struck
6. Has been condemned
7. Slimy
8. Glimmer
9. Grope
10. Fate
11. Skills
12. Which
13. Scratches
14. Bruised
15. What makes of it all?

PREGUNTA C2

The Theme of The Pit and the Pendulum

The theme of The Pit and the Pendulum is man's inhumanity to man. How is this theme shown in the story? Quote examples from the text to support your answer.... Continue reading "The Pit and the Pendulum: Analysis & Comprehension" »