Answer - Activity 5.2

Transcription

1 Answer Activity 5.2 Hi New year s greetings! I ve had quite an adventurous time out in the Andaman Islands at a time when nature was creating history of sorts. It s made me believe in a providence that works in a way we have no control over. After a long [one year, we were supposed to go last year but couldn t get the bookings on the flight] we finally managed to reach there on 23rd morning. Spent the whole day in the sea swimming pretty far out as the sea was calmer than I had ever seen a sea before. On 24 Th we decided to hire a speedboat to drop us off at a coral island and spend the day snorkelling. It was an amazing experience. As the sea was so calm I ventured out farther than I would normally and swam on the outer edge of the reef. I must have spent about three and a half hours literally combing the reef.the colours, shapes and range of life down there is indescribably beautiful! We left Port Blair about 9pm and took a small ship, which turned out to be a government medical ship, to an island called The Little Andaman s. If you look it up on the map you ll see it marks the end of the Andamans, after which there s a stretch of sea leading to Car Nicobar. We reached the island on 25th morning, and decided to take a bus to a beach that is actually golden! Can you imagine stretches of golden sand?! The road behind led to a tropical forest and plantations of various spices. The very air seemed different, almost gentle. We spent the evening walking through a tropical forest and then visited a tribal reservation. [Andamans has six ancient tribes that still live in very primitive ways.] This was a quaint experience because their houses were on stilts and really quite primitive, but missionaries had obviously reached them because they were all celebrating Christmas! We met their Captain and had fresh, coconut water [sweeter then anything I ve ever tasted!] I was sorely tempted to stay on another day to get permission to visit another tribe that is Negroid in descent. However, since we had the offer of a lift back in our ship [fitted with comfortable cabins] we decided we would return to Port Blair. And that decision probably saved our lives! We set sail at about midnight and reached Port Blair at 5.30 on 26th morning. At 6.30 all hell broke loose the quake seemed like it would never end. W heard later that the very places we had been in that morning just an hour earlier were damaged and the beaches were completely destroyed. The Tsunami had hit the tribal settlement as well. The coral island was badly hit, and the jetty from which we had sailed had sunk into the water. What can one call it but providence? After that we were relatively privileged because our discomforts were limited to no electricity and very limited water but we were safe on a hilltop. The after shocks, some of which were 6 on the Richter scale were unnerving though. They continue for all the three days that we were there. It took the government three days to be able to airlift us out of the island. I have come back a bit shaken but ok otherwise. What is frightening is the short span of time it took and the suddenness with which it happened. Nature really does have the last laugh doesn t it?

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3 Answer - Activity 5.2 For an overall review of the use of finite verb forms, read the below from an Indian schoolteacher to her friends. (As you would expect in an , it contains the occasional typing error). Look at each of the highlighted verb forms, identify what form it is (present or past, modal, perfect, progressive or passive), and try to account for the way it is used in this context. Click on the verb to see the feedback. Hi New year s greetings! I ve had quite an adventurous time out in the Andaman Islands at a time when nature was creating history of sorts. It s made me believe in a providence that works in a way we have no control over. After a long [one year, we were supposed to go last year but couldn t get the bookings on the flight] we finally managed to reach there on 23rd morning. Spent the whole day in the sea swimming pretty far out as the sea was calmer than I had ever seen a sea before. On 24 Th we decided to hire a speedboat to drop us off at a coral island and spend the day snorkelling. It was an amazing experience. As the sea was so calm I ventured out farther than I would normally and swam on the outer edge of the reef. I must have spent about three and a half hours literally combing the reef.the colours, shapes and range of life down there is indescribably beautiful! We left Port Blair about 9pm and took a small ship, which turned out to be a government medical ship, to an island called The Little Andaman s. If you look it up on the map you ll see it marks the end of the Andamans, after which there s a stretch of sea leading to Car Nicobar. We reached the island on 25th morning, and decided to take a bus to a beach that is actually golden! Can you imagine stretches of golden sand?! The road behind led to a tropical forest and plantations of various spices. The very air seemed different, almost gentle. We spent the evening walking through a tropical forest and then visited a tribal reservation. [Andamans has six ancient tribes that still live in very primitive ways.] This was a quaint experience because their houses were on stilts and really quite primitive, but missionaries had obviously reached them because they were all celebrating Christmas! We met their Captain and had fresh, coconut water [sweeter then anything I ve ever tasted!] I was sorely tempted to stay on another day to get permission to visit another tribe that is Negroid in descent. However, since we had the offer of a lift back in our ship [fitted with comfortable cabins] we decided we would return to Port Blair. And that decision probably saved our lives! We set sail at about midnight and reached Port Blair at 5.30 on 26th morning. At 6.30 all hell broke loose the quake seemed like it would never end. W heard later that the very places we had been in that morning just an hour earlier were damaged and the beaches were completely destroyed. The Tsunami had hit the tribal settlement as well. The coral island was badly hit, and the jetty from which we had sailed had sunk into the water. What can one call it but providence? After that we were relatively privileged because our discomforts were limited to no electricity and very limited water but we were safe on a hilltop. The after shocks, some of which were 6 on the Richter scale were unnerving though. They continue for all the three days that we were there. Comment [s1]: The present perfect is used here retrospectively. The writer is updating her friends and from the vantage point of the present (new year s greetings!) looks back to what has happened earlier. Notice that most verbs in this paragraph are present simple or present perfect. The paragraph forms an introduction to the narrative which follows. Comment [s2]: This is a past modal form. The modal indicates inability, and the past tense here relates to past time rather than to hypothetical or tentative meaning. Comment [s3]: A past simple form, that relates a past event. The majority of verb forms in this paragraph are simple past, used as part of a narrative, either to relate an event, or to describe the background to the events. Comment [s4]: A past perfect form, used within the narrative to refer back to an earlier period of time. Comment [s5]: A past modal form, with the lexical verb ellipted: would <venture>. The modal will is here used to indicate willingness, and the past tense conveys a hypothetical meaning: what I would normally be willing to do, if the situation arose. Comment [s6]: A modal perfect form. Must is used here with an epistemic meaning, indicating a logical deduction. The logical deduction is valid now, but the event took place in the past. In this case,... [1] Comment [s7]: A present simple form. Although the paragraph as a whole forms a narrative, at times the writer provides... [2] Comment [s8]: A present modal form, using will with the epistemic meaning of predictability. (Some linguists regard... this [3] Comment [s9]: Another present modal form, this time using can with the deontic meaning of ability. Again the writer... [4] Comment [s10]: A past simple form, providing background description within a narrative. The description is still true,... so [5] Comment [s11]: A past perfect form, indicating an event that took place earlier. Comment [s12]: A past progressive form, indicating something that was in... [6] Comment [s13]: A typical retrospective use of the present perfect,... [7] Comment [s14]: A past modal form. The modal will is used to indicate... [8] Comment [s15]: A past passive form. The past is used because this is still part of the narrative. A passive form is used... three [9] Comment [s16]: A present modal form, using can with the epistemic meaning of possibility. As with can... you [10] Comment [s17]: A past simple form. The pace of the narrative slows down in this paragraph, and instead of verbs... [11]

4 It took the government three days to be able to airlift us out of the island. I have come back a bit shaken but ok otherwise. What is frightening is the short span of time it took and the suddenness with which it happened. Nature really does have the last laugh doesn t it? (Author s data) Comment [s18]: The present perfect is used retrospectively to look back on the past from the perspective of the present. It often occurs at the beginning and end of a narrative, as the writer moves from where she is now, into the past time of the story, and then back again to the present. Comment [s19]: Present simple. Many narratives end with a comment from the speaker or writer that relates the events of the past to the present, or to a timeless truth.

5 Page 1: [1] Comment [s6] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A modal perfect form. Must is used here with an epistemic meaning, indicating a logical deduction. The logical deduction is valid now, but the event took place in the past. In this case, the perfect is needed to provide a retrospective angle. Page 1: [2] Comment [s7] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A present simple form. Although the paragraph as a whole forms a narrative, at times the writer provides descriptive information relating to the present. It would be possible use a past tense verb here (was), but since the description is still true now, the writer also has the option of using present tense. There are several other present simple verb forms used in a similar way. Page 1: [3] Comment [s8] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A present modal form, using will with the epistemic meaning of predictability. (Some linguists regard this as a future tense.) The writer leaves the narrative at this point to make a comment directly to the reader. Page 1: [4] Comment [s9] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 Another present modal form, this time using can with the deontic meaning of ability. Again the writer interrupts the narrative to make a direct comment to the reader, in this case using an interrogative form that draws the reader in more closely. Page 1: [5] Comment [s10] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A past simple form, providing background description within a narrative. The description is still true, so the writer could also have used present simple here, as she did in some other clauses. Page 1: [6] Comment [s12] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A past progressive form, indicating something that was in progress, rather than a completed action in the narrative sequence of events. Page 1: [7] Comment [s13] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A typical retrospective use of the present perfect, looking back at the past from the perspective of the present time. Page 1: [8] Comment [s14] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A past modal form. The modal will is used to indicate willingness, and the past tense here simply indicates past time. Page 1: [9] Comment [s15] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A past passive form. The past is used because this is still part of the narrative. A passive form is used three times in this paragraph to indicate the effects of the tsunami. It doesn t seem likely that the writer wants to downplay the tsunami as an agent and she uses it as the subject of an active clause in the next sentence. But the point of this narrative is that the writer was there, in that actual place, and this may be the reason for giving more prominence to the places that had been affected by the tsunami. Page 1: [10] Comment [s16] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A present modal form, using can with the epistemic meaning of possibility. As with can you imagine?, the interrogative draws the reader more closely into the narrative. Page 1: [11] Comment [s17] spn34 05/10/ :15:00 A past simple form. The pace of the narrative slows down in this paragraph, and instead of verbs conveying actions, the writer uses the lexical BE to indicate the state they were in..