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

Modal certainty: will, must, be bound to

Assumption or prediction: will

Logical necessity: must

Probability or ‘reasonable inference’: should, ought

Extrinsic possibility: may, might, could

Summary of extrinsic modal

He will be there by now. (assumption/prediction based on experience or common sense)

I shall probably be back before you (prediction)

He must be there by now. (logical necessity, deduction based on evidence)

He can’t be there yet. (logical necessity negated)

He’s bound to be there. (modal certainty + inevitability)

He has to be there by now. (logical necessity, objective)

He’s likely to be there by now. (probability)

He should be there by now. (reasonable inference based on deduction)

He could be there by now. (tentative possibility)... Continue reading "Modal Certainty, Probability, and Obligation: Understanding Modal Verbs" »

SONG: TEARS IDLE TEARS

Tone: sadness, grief, nostalgia, uncertainty. “Idle”: not based on a good reason-the poetic voice does not know why he is crying

First stanza

“I know not what they mean”: uncertainty tone. “Divine despair”: oxymoron à concern of accepting the passage of time. “Divine”: inexplicable, a more religious issue, beyond human understanding. “Happy Autumn-fields”: personification à bittersweet feelings of the persona when thinking about the past. “The days that are no more”: refrain à the poem is about memories, feeling nostalgia about past life. It is repeated at the end of each stanza

Second stanza

“fresh as the first beam”: simile à he remembers memories about childhood and his friends who are now... Continue reading "Analysis of Tears Idle Tears Poem: Themes and Tone" »

Grandpa was always on the move, and once he decided to go, he didn't waste time looking back. He was only four when his mother died, and as soon as he was old enough, he left Irwin, Missouri, and traveled the world before settling in Kansas City in the early 1920s.

"Okay, good night, God bless you, see you tomorrow, Della Kay." Curiosity got the best of him, and he decided to pay her a surprise visit.

For 60 years.

I'm the firstborn child of that marriage.

Because we were always together, I was quickly dubbed his "little buddy." My sister arrived five years after I did, and things seemed to fit perfectly when she and my grandmother bonded in much the same way.

My sister and I tried to fill the void in their lives and became even richer for it.

The... Continue reading "A Grandfather's Journey: Love and Resilience in Kansas City" »

Samuel Beckett: A Nobel Laureate with a Rebellious Spirit

Early Life and Education

Born into an Anglo-Irish upper-class family in Dublin, Samuel Beckett studied French at Trinity College. He also served as a teaching assistant in Paris, where he encountered literary giants like James Joyce.

Return to Dublin and Career Change

After returning to Dublin, Beckett became a professor. However, the discipline required for the job proved unsuited to his temperament, leading him to resign.

European Travels and Resistance

Beckett embarked on a journey across Europe, eventually settling in France. During World War II, he joined the French Resistance movement and later hid on a farm for safety.

Post-War Success and Nobel Prize

After the war, Beckett returned to... Continue reading "Samuel Beckett and Shelagh Delaney: Challenging Conventions" »

Vocabulary: Health and Feelings

Complete the exercise with one of the words given.

1. There are specific departments in hospitals to treat chronic illness.
2. My back pain is getting worse. I'll have to go to the doctor.
3. He hurt her feelings and she doesn't want to see him anymore.
4. She can hardly speak. She has a sore throat.
5. He loves eating hearty meals, but afterward, he often has stomach ache.
6. Mary is pregnant and she often feels sick in the mornings.
7. Mental disorders are quite dangerous for our health.

Grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives

Complete the following sentences using the comparative and superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.

1. This computer is newer than your computer.
2. Lucy is the youngest in the class.
3. This house is bigger than my house!

1- The lottery is conducted on June 27th around ten o’clock. The titular lottery chooses one person from the town to be stoned to death every year for no other reason than tradition.

All the people of the town gather together and the heads of the extended families each draw one slip from the black box, but they do not unfold them until all the slips have been drawn. The one with the black dot on it goes to a second round of drawing to choose one household within the family. For the final drawing, one slip is placed in the box for each member of the household and the person with the black dot is stoned to death. In the story, this person is Tessie Hutchinson.

2- Old Man Warner responds to Mr. Adams who tells him that another village had given... Continue reading "Purpose and content of" »

Francois is awoken in the middle of the night by his sister, who calls him to the factory. There, he finds her husband dead, and she confesses to killing him. It is discovered that Helene had operated a machine that smashed down upon Andre's head and arm. Commissioner Charas, who is investigating the case, attempts to get an answer from her about what happened, but her only response to "why" is that she cannot say. Her actions land her in an insane asylum as the case is sorted out, where she spends her time catching flies and examining them closely. Regular visits from Francois and the Commissioner ensue, but to no progress. One day, Francois is talking to Helene's son, who explains about a fly Helene was obsessed with finding that had a white... Continue reading "The Fly: A Tale of Science, Obsession, and Tragedy" »

Life and Legacy of George Bernard Shaw

George Bernard Shaw was born in July 1856 in Dublin. As the youngest child of the family, he was first tutored by his uncle. Although his education was irregular and he was not a successful novelist, he became a highly successful playwright. Shaw was a dramatist, literary critic, and social propagandist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 and died in 1950.

Plot Summary: Mrs. Warren's Profession

Mrs. Warren's Profession consists of four acts, with just a single scene making up each act. Miss Vivie Warren, an intelligent, strong, and confident young woman of 22, has just finished college and comes home to get acquainted with her mother for the first time in her life.

Conflict and Relationships

Her... Continue reading "George Bernard Shaw: Mrs. Warren's Profession Analysis" »

Verb Infinitive with 'to'

agree offer refuse advise ask forbid warn admit recommended

instruct invite remind suggest

Verb Object Infinitive with 'to'

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb Preposition Gerund

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb Object Preposition Gerund

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

Verb That Should

boast of insist on congratulate sb on insist propose request

suggest recommend advise

pres perf(have/has)/pas simpl = past perfe(had)

past perfe=past perfe

have to /has to=had to

would=would

should=should

will=would

GLORY BE

can=could

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,... Continue reading "Verb Infinitive with 'to' and Verb Object Infinitive with 'to'" »