Grade 7 English HEROES AND HEROINE – WRITING:NARRATIVE COMPOSITIONS Notes
English – Writing: Narrative Compositions
Subtopic: Heroes and Heroines (Grammar focus) — Age: 12 (Kenya)
These notes explain the important grammar points you must use when writing narrative compositions about heroes and heroines. Always remember: correct grammar helps your reader understand the character clearly.
1. Main tense for narratives
- Use the simple past for most stories: "Kiptoo rescued the child." (habit)
- Use past continuous to show ongoing actions: "He was running when the roof fell."
- Keep tense consistent. Do not jump between past and present.
2. Point of view and pronouns
- First person: I, we (closer, personal): "I lifted the injured boy."
- Third person: he, she, they (more like a storyteller): "She climbed the tree."
- Stay with one viewpoint in a paragraph unless you clearly switch.
3. Subject–verb agreement
- Make the verb match the subject in number: "The hero runs" (singular), "The heroes run" (plural).
- Example error: "The heroine were brave." → Correct: "The heroine was brave."
4. Using adjectives and adverbs
- Adjectives describe nouns: brave hero, tall woman, kind neighbour.
- Adverbs describe verbs: bravely rescued, quietly walked, quickly ran.
- Place adverbs correctly: "He bravely climbed" (not "He climbed bravely" sometimes both OK — choose the natural one).
5. Show, don’t just tell (grammar tools)
- Use action verbs and adjectives to "show": Instead of "He was strong", write "He lifted the car."
- Use sensory words (saw, heard, smelled) to describe scenes.
6. Direct speech and punctuation
- Use quotation marks for exact words:
"I will help you," Amina said.
- New speaker = new paragraph. Comma before closing quote if a tag follows: "Stop!" he shouted.
- Example:
"Come," Juma called. "Hurry!"
7. Reported (indirect) speech
- Change tense back when reporting: Direct: "I am tired," she said. → Reported: She said (that) she was tired.
- Change pronouns and time words: "today" → "that day", "now" → "then".
8. Sequence words and connectors
- Use words to show order: first, next, then, after that, finally.
- Use connectors for reason and effect: because, so, therefore, however.
9. Sentence variety and length
- Mix short and long sentences for effect.
- Use compound sentences (and, but, or) and complex sentences (because, when, which) correctly.
10. Active vs passive voice
- Active is stronger for heroes: "Amina saved the goat." (Good)
- Passive used when focus is on action, not doer: "The goat was saved." (Use sparingly.)
11. Modals to show ability, duty and possibility
- Ability: can / could — "He could climb the cliff."
- Obligation: must / had to — "She had to act fast."
- Possibility: might / may — "He might be hurt."
Example paragraph (labelled for grammar)
Juma saw smoke coming from the school kitchen. He ran quickly (adverb) and pushed open the door (simple past, active). Inside, the cook was coughing (past continuous). Juma grabbed a wet blanket and smothered the flames (action verbs). "Are you all right?" he asked (direct speech). After that, the children cheered (sequence word + simple past).
Notes: verbs are in past; viewpoint stays third person; direct speech is punctuated correctly; strong action verbs show heroism.Practice (short exercises)
- Change this direct speech to reported speech:
"I will stay and help," the heroine said.
- Fix the tense errors:
He sees the snake and then he ran away.
- Rewrite in active voice:
The village was saved by Amina.
- Write one sentence showing an ongoing past action (past continuous) when the hero arrives.
Answers (click to reveal)
- She said (that) she would stay and help. (Will → would; pronoun and tense change.)
- Correct: He saw the snake and then he ran away. (Keep past tense for both verbs.)
- Active: Amina saved the village. (Make Amina the subject doing the action.)
- Example: He was running toward the river when he heard the shout. (Past continuous = was running.)
Quick grammar checklist before you hand in
- Tense consistent (usually past).
- Correct subject–verb agreement.
- Clear viewpoint (first or third person) and correct pronouns.
- Direct speech punctuated and started on a new line per speaker.
- Use action verbs, not too many weak verbs.
- Use sequence words to show the order of events.
- Check commas, full stops and question marks.