CAFE VIII

Subject: English

Class: VII

Figure of speech

Allegory: This figure of speech is an extended metaphor where the characters or actions in a literary work have a more imaginative meaning. The examples of allegory are;

·        I feel like a dog today. I rolled out of my basket and munched on some biscuit-like cereal. Scratching as I got on the train, I sniffed a passing female. Aruooo!! Down boy! - Animal Farm, George Orwell

·        By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects; for all that country is mine, and I am the Prince and God of it. How is it then that thou hast run away from thy King? - The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan

Alliteration: A repetition of particular consonant sound in the beginning of each word in close succession. Though alliteration is mainly consonant sounds, sometimes vowel sounds are also repeated. This figure of speech is mainly used in poetry. A few examples of alliteration:

·        I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet. - Acquainted with the Night, Robert Frost

·        Those tidal thoroughbreds that tango through the turquoise tide. - Dancing Dolphins, Paul McCann

Antithesis: An antithesis is a figure of speech where there is a juxtaposition of two contrasting ideas in a balanced clause or sentence. Some illustrations of antithesis:

·        It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. - A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

·        If, as our dreaming Platonists report,
There could be spirits of a middle sort,
Too black for heav'n, and yet too white for hell,
Who just dropp'd halfway down, nor lower fell. - The Hind and the Panther, John Dryden

Climax: In climax, the words or clauses are arranged in ascending order of importance. These phrases have a similar theme and arranged in increasing order according to the impact they create on the reader. A few illustrations;

·        Love creates happiness, happiness creates joy, joy creates enlightenment.

·        We'll collect pennies in tens, hundreds and millions! Power starts small, becomes significant then becomes unstoppable.

Euphemism: A figure of speech where an offensive or rude word is substituted by a polite and gentle word. The technique is to use a neutral language so as not to sound offensive to the receiver. Like for instance:

·        Differently abled instead of disabled.

·        Put to sleep instead of euthanasia

Hyperbole: It is used while exaggerating something. This figure of speech is mainly used in several jokes or as a way of insult. It is to dramatize a normal situation or to make it look worse. Some hyperbole examples:

·        The whole world was staring at me.

·        It is going to take a zillion years to get through medical school.

·        My backpack weighs a ton.

Irony: Irony is used to convey the opposite meaning of a word. It is usually used in sarcasm or in humor. It is also used to convey an ugly truth in a subtle manner. Some examples of irony are:

·        "Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink." (Situational Irony) - The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, S. T. Coleridge

·        The boy is so intelligent that he failed in all the subjects. (Verbal Irony)

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Metaphor: Metaphor is used for the purpose of comparison with a thing which is not applicable to it literally. It is an indirect comparison of two unrelated things. Some examples of metaphors include:

·        He was a lion in the battlefield.

·        He is the apple of my eye.

Onomatopoeia: This figure of speech imitates the sounds produced by the objects or actions. Examples of onomatopoeia:

·        The buzzing of bees.

·        The whirring of the washing machine.

Oxymoron: Using a contradictory term to define a situation, object or event is oxymoron. Some oxymoron examples are:

·        Clearly misunderstood

·        Exact estimation

Personification: Associating an inanimate object to human quality. A few personification examples are:

·        The haughty lion surveyed his realm.

·        My car was happy to be washed.

Simile: Simile is a figure of speech where two essentially unlike things are compared with each other, using 'as', 'than' or 'like'. Simile examples are:

·        O my love is like a red, red rose.

·        Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep.

Punctuation:

Sentences that lack punctuation can be difficult to read. Consequently knowing how to use punctuation is extremely important. Punctuation marks are signals that are designed to help the reader to understand your intentions.

A Full Stop(.)

1. Marks the end of a sentence.

2. Marks an Abbreviation.

 Abbrev.   Diff.

A Comma(,)

1. Separates items in a list.

The colours of the flowers were red, yellow, blue and green.

2.Separates the main statement from  other parts  of the sentence. Addition information can come before, or after the main character.

The temperature is usually around 20 degree Celsius, although today it is 28 degrees.

3.Sets off extra information in the main statement:

His sister, a marathon runner, is often overseas.

4.Separates two main statement joined by a conjunction.

You may leave at 2 pm, but only today.

5.Follows an adverbial used at the beginning of a sentence:

Many people enjoyed the music. However, some felt it was a disappointment.

Separates a non-defining clause from the rest of the sentence. If there is no comma, the clause will be a defining relative clause. A defining relative clause (without a comma) identifies a person or a thing in the main clause(sometimes called an identifying clause), provides essential information about the subject or object without which the sentence would  make no sense. The clause is introduced by a relative pronoun: who or that for people, and which or that for things.

A non defining  relative clause (without a comma) provides extra information not essential  to the sentence. The comma separates the non essential  information from the main clause.

E.g; My mother, who lives in Paro, is 79 years old.

      The weather, which had been  hot for weeks, suddenly turned bitterly cold.

       Peter,whose flight had been delayed, arrived at the conference two days late.

So in a sentence such as;

A child who screams for attention  is being ignored ,

Then this sentence would mean that we should ignore all children which is probably not good advice to give to the children.

A Colon(:)

Is used to indicate that an explanation, example, or a list follows, Can replace expressions like namely, for example, such as. 

1.Introduce a list or a series of examples:

You’ll need three things for your exam: a pen, a ruler and a calculator.

2.Introduces a quotation or  lines of a dialogue:

Kinley: Will you be gone for a long?

Om     : Not very long.

Semicolon(;)

1.Acts as a weak form of the full stop.

I found it hard to sleep last night; it must have been all the coffee and wine I drank.

2.Acts as a strong form of a comma to separate items in a series:

The members of the sub-committee are Dawa Lhamo, Personnel; sangay Om, Marketing; and a representative from education media.

Parenthesis()

Are used for extra, non-essential material included in a sentence. They enclose material which is not part of the flow of thought in a sentence or  a paragraph.

Dates,source or ideas that are subordinate to the rest of the sentence are set apart in parenthesis.e.g

To moderate the amount of fat you eat, you should use salad and vegetable dressing, and sauces sparing (many of these are high in fat) or choose low fat varieties.

Ellipsis(…)

An ellipsis may be used in a assignment when you are quoting references or other material and you want to omit some words. The ellipsis consists of three evenly spaced dots (full stop) with spaces between the ellipsis  and surrounding letters or other marks. Example:

Full text

During the growing years, physical activity is an important factor if normal development  of the child is to be maintained. The fact is now well accepted. However, in recent years,  a debate has arisen  regarding the potential benefits  or risks of excessive physical training on the physical growth and development of children.

Text with ellipsis

During the growing years, physical activity is an important factor if normal development  of the child is to be maintained. … The fact is now well accepted. However, in recent years,  a debate has arisen  regarding the potential benefits  or risks of excessive physical training on the physical growth and development of children.

Note:

1.If the omission comes at the end  of a sentence as in the sentence above, the ellipsis will be replaced after the full stop, making a total of four dots. …

Notice that there is no space between  the full stop and the last character of the sentence.

2.In mid-sentence, a space should appear between the first and last ellipsis marks and the surrounding letters.

3.The ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in the flow of a sentence and is especially useful  in quoted speech.e.g

Alice thought and thought … and then thought some more.  

Quotation Marks(“ “)

1Set off spoken words from the rest of the material:

We all shouted,”Come on!”

2.Indicate a title, or a word or idea being discussed:

Have you read Kunzang Choden’s  “Dawa: The story of a stray dog in Bhutan?”

What’s your understanding of the word,”Irony?”

3.Used when quoting material from a text:

As Bouchard  states “… failure to exercise is dangerous.”(1975:26)

4.Single quotation marks are used  to indicate quotes within quotes:

“Do you know what ‘love ‘really means?’ he asked.

The Apostrophe (‘)

The apostrophe is probably the most misunderstood punctuation mark. If you are unsure about how to use it, check your understanding against the following examples.

To show ownership

The student’s books are on the table. (One student)

The students’ books are on the table.(more than one student)

The students’ flat is always a mess.(more than one)

 In the case of plural with no ’s’  on the end(e.g. women,children,geese) the apostrophe goes before the ‘s’ , (Ask yourself , who is the owner? If the answer does not have ’s’ put the apostrophe before the ‘s’) e.g.

The women own the house >the women’s house.

The children own the toys > the children’s toys.

The honking of the geese > the geese’s honking

To indicate possession when the plural already ends in “s”, just put the apostrophe on the end:

The lions’ water source has dried up. The wolves’ howling kept me awake.

the Jones’ house is on the corner.

When the word is contracted:

It is > it’s; Do not > don’t; they are > they’re; you are > you’re

The cheque is in the mail > The cheque’s in the mail.

She has got a lot of study to catch up on > She’s got a lot of study to catch up on.

Do not use the apostrophe for possessive pronouns:  ours, yours, hers, its, whose, theirs

Ours is the tidiest in the block.  Herd is always untidy.   Theirs is ok.     Whose book is it anyway?

The case of “its”:

The words its and it’s are usually the most confused.  Only put an apostrophe in its when it is an abbreviation for ‘it is’, and remember possessive pronouns do not take an apostrophe:

It is terribly hot > it’s terribly hot.

It is a good house but its roof leak.> It’s a good house but its roof leak.

Do not put an apostrophe in plurals just because they end in an ‘s’,

Please buy some potatoes and  tomatoes, and order some pizzas.

NOT: potato’s, tomato’s, pizza’s.

Possessive forms of compounds.

Single compounds: before ‘s’  her daughter-in-law’s gift, a friend of mine’s car. (only one daughter-in-law)

Plural compounds after ‘s’; the daughter-in-law’s gift. (more than one daughter-in-law)

Friends of mine’s car (bit silly and clumsy – use  “the car of my friends instead”)

Dorji’s and pem’s new cars are in the parking lot.

(Each of them has a new car and ownership is a separate matter.)

Dorji’s and pem’s new car is in the parking lot.

(They share ownership;the possessive belongs to the entire phrase.)

Sumchu’s and Drugay’s study found that.(there was one study.)

 Sumche’s and Drugay ‘s studies found that.(Each did a study.)

INDENTED LETTER FORMAT

Formal  Indented Format

5, Hill Street

Madison, Winconsin 53700

March 15,2014

Ms. Helen Jones

President

Jones, Jones and Jones

Boston, Massachusetts

Dear Ms. Jones:

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cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc.

Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.

Sincerely,

John Doe

Administrative Assistant

Personal  Indented Format

5, Hill Street

Madison, Winconsin 53700

March 15,2014

Dear Ms. Jones,

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc.

Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Your friend,

Dorji

Leave application  Indented Format

Shop No. 6

Samchi, Bhutan

March 15,2014

Ms. Sangay

Class teacher

Samchi Primary School

Samchi, Bhutan.

Dear Ms. Sangay:

I am sorry I cannot come to the school today. I am afraid my mother is sick and I have to take her

To the BHU. Please excuse me.

Sincerely,

Jigme Dorji

VI A

Active And Passive Sentences

Common order of a sentence: Subject-verb-object

Active sentence:

Subject is the performer  of the action, object is the receiver of the action.

Subject comes first and indicates that it is the most important. The object is less important.

Active verbs

Passive sentence:

Order is changed:

Subject is the receiver of the action and it takes place first in the sentence. The performer of the action is not as important and It is most often indicated with the preposition  by.

Past Participle

The decision-active or passive –control of the speaker

Active:   The man took the picture of the deer.

Passive:The picture of the deer was taken by the man.

Active: The girls kicked the ball.

Passive: The ball was kicked by the girls.

Active and Passive pairs of sentence have essentially the same meaning,but differ in the way the relationships between the participants are presented. In active voice, the writer or speaker shows that the subject or performer of the action is most important.

In passive voice, the writer or speaker gives the receiver of the action the most importance. Active sentence have the advantage of  being clear and direct.

Examples:

Active	Passive
I will pick him up	He will be picked
The board did not show interest	No interest was shown by the board
We cannot find any record of your account
We will have to make wage cuts
	A mistake has been made.
You have overdrawn your account.

  

Grammer builder3,(pg.98), date 8-4,(pg.66),date 9- 5(66)