Grade 7 English NATURAL RESOURCES:FORESTS – READING:CHARACTERS IN CLASS READERS Notes
English Notes — Reading: Characters in Class Readers (Topic: Forests)
These notes focus only on English grammar used when we read about characters in class readers about forests. Examples use names and scenes you might meet in Kenyan stories.
1. What is a character?
A character is a person, animal or thing that takes part in a story. Grammatically, characters are usually nouns or proper nouns.
- Proper noun: Mwangi, Amina, Ruth (names).
- Common noun: ranger, elephant, monkey, tree.
- Pronouns: he, she, they, it — used instead of repeating a name.
2. Pronouns and subject–verb agreement
When you replace a character's name with a pronoun, the verb must agree in number (singular/plural).
| Singular: Mwangi (he) - Mwangi walks into the forest. - He walks into the forest. |
Plural: The rangers (they) - The rangers patrol the forest. - They patrol the forest. |
Note: For past tense use "walked" and "patrolled". Example: He walked into the forest.
3. Describing characters: adjectives and adverbs
Use adjectives to describe a character (their appearance or feelings). Use adverbs to describe how they act.
- Adjective: The ranger is brave. (brave describes the ranger)
- Adverb: The ranger walks carefully. (carefully describes how he walks)
- Adjectives often come before nouns: a young girl, an old tree.
4. Direct speech (dialogue) — punctuation and structure
When a character speaks, use quotation marks. Use a comma before the closing quote if a tag follows.
Example:
"Why not?" asked Mwangi.
Note: If the question or exclamation mark is part of the spoken words, it stays inside the quotation marks.
5. Reported (indirect) speech — changing tenses
When we report what a character said later, we often change the tense (backshift).
- Direct: Amina said, "I will plant trees tomorrow."
- Reported: Amina said (that) she would plant trees the next day.
Common changes: will → would, today → that day, now → then, can → could.
6. Tenses used to tell stories
Most class readers use past tenses to tell what characters did.
- Simple past: Mwangi climbed the hill. (completed action)
- Past continuous: He was climbing when he heard a shout. (ongoing action)
- Past perfect: By then, Amina had already left. (action completed before another past action)
7. Using relative clauses to describe characters
Use who/that/which to add information about a character.
- The ranger who protects the forest is brave.
- The elephant that walked to the river drank water.
- If the extra information is not essential, use commas: Mwangi, who loves trees, planted a sapling.
8. Active and passive voice in character actions
Active: The ranger planted a tree. (subject performs action)
Passive: A tree was planted by the ranger. (action happens to the tree)
Use active when you want the character to be the focus. Use passive to focus on the event or object.
9. Modal verbs for characters' ability, permission and advice
Examples in forest stories:
- can/could — ability: The boy can identify trees. / He could climb the hill.
- must — obligation: Rangers must protect the forest.
- should — advice: You should plant more trees.
10. Short practice (try these)
- Change to reported speech: Amina said, "I will watch the forest tomorrow."
- Write pronoun + correct verb: Mwangi and Ruth (to listen) to the birds. → _____
- Complete with who/that: The guard _____ saved the seedlings is kind.
- Choose tense: (past simple / past continuous) He (search) for water when he saw the elephant.
- 1) Amina said (that) she would watch the forest the next day.
- 2) Mwangi and Ruth listen to the birds. (or listened — based on present/past)
- 3) The guard who/that saved the seedlings is kind.
- 4) past continuous: He was searching for water when he saw the elephant.
- Underline character names and replace them with pronouns to check agreement.
- Find all the speech marks and practice changing direct speech to reported speech.
- Look for verbs that show time (walked, was walking, had walked) to understand sequence.