GRADE 8 English ART – READING:SHORT STORY Notes
READING: SHORT STORY — Grammar Notes (Topic: ART)
Age: 13 | Context: Kenya — examples use local places and art activities. When you read a short story about art (a painter, a mural, a gallery), focus on English grammar that helps you understand the narrator, dialogue, and events.
1. Verb tenses for telling events 🕰️
Most short stories are written in the past. Use these tenses:
- Past simple — finished actions. Example: "Asha painted a mural at the market."
- Past continuous — action in progress at a time. Example: "While she was painting, children watched."
- Past perfect — action before another past action. Example: "She had finished the sketch before the rain started."
2. Order and sequence words 🔗
Use words to show the order of events: first, then, after, before, while, later, finally.
Example: "First she drew the design, then she mixed the paint. After that, she painted the wall."
3. Direct speech and punctuation " " 💬
When characters speak, use quotation marks. Start a new paragraph for a new speaker.
- Correct: "This colour is bright," said Juma. "It will stand out."
- Correct new line for different speaker:
"Look at the pattern," Asha said.
"I like it," replied her friend.
4. Reported (indirect) speech 🔁
Change direct speech to reported speech by shifting tense back and changing pronouns/time words:
Direct: "I will paint the school," she said.
Reported: She said (that) she would paint the school.
- Present → Past: "I like it" → He said (that) he liked it.
- Will → would; can → could; now → then; today → that day.
5. Adjectives and adverbs — describe clearly 🎨
Adjectives describe nouns (a bright mural). Adverbs describe verbs (painted carefully).
Example: "The old painter slowly mixed the blue paint." (old = adjective; slowly = adverb)
6. Relative clauses — add useful details ➕
Use who/which/that to join ideas: "The artist who lives in Kisumu painted it." This tells you more about the artist.
7. Pronouns — keep meaning clear ✅
Make sure each pronoun (he, she, it, they) clearly points to one person or thing. Confusion makes a story hard to follow.
8. Subject–verb agreement ✍️
Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural take plural. Example: "The teacher explains" (singular). "The students explain" (plural).
9. Passive voice — when you do not want to name the actor 🖼️
Use passive to focus on the action, not who did it. Example: "The mural was painted by local children." (actor = local children)
10. Keep tense consistent ⚖️
If a story is in past simple, do not jump to present unless there is a reason. Wrong: "She painted the wall, and now she walks away." Better: "She painted the wall, and then she walked away."
Quick practice — try these (Kenyan art examples)
- Fill the correct tense: "By the time the rain started, they ______ (finish) the mural."
- Change to reported speech: Asha said, "I will sell the painting tomorrow."
- Fix the dialogue punctuation: he said "the colours are bright"
- Choose right pronoun: "The sculptor and her assistant carried the statue. ____ placed it on the stage." (They / She)
Answers
- had finished
- She said (that) she would sell the painting the next day. (or "the following day")
- He said, "The colours are bright." (Start with capital and comma after said if reporting first: "The colours are bright," he said.)
- They placed it on the stage. (Because two people carried it → plural)
Tips for reading short stories about art
- Watch verb tenses — they tell you when things happened.
- Notice how dialogue shows character feelings. Check punctuation to follow who speaks.
- Look for connectors (after, while, then) to understand the sequence.
- If a sentence is confusing, find the subject and verb first. That often clears meaning.
Good luck! Read short stories about Kenyan artists, galleries or murals and practise spotting these grammar points. 🖌️📚