GRADE 8 English RELATIONSHIPS:PEERS β READING:SHORT STORY Notes
English Notes β READING: SHORT STORY
Topic: RELATIONSHIPS: PEERS (Age 13, Kenya)
Focus: Important grammar used in short stories about friendships and school peers. These notes explain the grammar you meet when reading or writing short stories and give simple examples from Kenyan school life.
1. Narrative Tenses (telling the story)
- Simple Past: for finished actions. Example: "Amina helped her friend with homework."
- Past Continuous: for actions happening at a specific time in the past. Example: "While Amina was helping, Samuel was writing notes."
- Past Perfect: to show one past action happened before another. Example: "Amina had finished the exercise before the bell rang."
2. Direct and Reported Speech (dialogue)
- Direct speech shows exact words with quotation marks: "Can you help me?" asked Wanjiru. - Reported (indirect) speech tells what was said (often shifts tense back): Wanjiru asked if I could help her. (present β past) - Common changes: present β past, will β would, can β could.
3. Pronouns and Agreement
- Use correct pronouns for people: I, you, he, she, we, they.
- For groups of students use 'they' or 'the students'. Example: "The students put their books on the desk." (NOT "students puts")
- Use 'they' as a gender-neutral singular pronoun if you do not know the person's gender. Example: "If a pupil forgets their pen, they can borrow one."
4. SubjectβVerb Agreement
- Singular subject β singular verb. Example: "The class is noisy."
- Plural subject β plural verb. Example: "The girls are laughing."
- Watch tricky subjects: "Each student is responsible." "Some of the milk has spilled."
5. Adjectives, Adverbs and Descriptions
- Adjectives describe nouns: "a caring friend", "a busy classroom".
- Adverbs describe verbs: "She spoke softly", "They played happily".
- Use description to show feelings between peers: "He felt proud", "She looked worried".
6. Cohesion: Linking words (show sequence and cause)
- Sequence: first, then, next, finally. Example: "First they read, then they discussed the problem."
- Cause / result: because, so, therefore. Example: "She missed class because she was sick. Therefore, she asked a friend for notes."
7. Punctuation in Dialogue
- Use quotation marks and a comma before the speech tag: "I'm ready," said John.
- New speaker = new paragraph. Example:
"Yes, I will," answered Asha.
Short Story Example (with grammar highlighted)
"Please be quiet," the teacher said. (direct speech + comma)
Wairimu whispered, "I forgot my exercise book." (dialogue)
She had left it at home, so her friend offered to share notes. (past perfect + cause)
They worked together and finished early. (plural subject + past)
Short Exercises (try them)
- Underline the tense in: "They were practising for the match."
- Change to reported speech: He said, "I will come tomorrow."
- Choose correct verb: "The team (is / are) ready for the match." β which fits school English?
- Punctuate the dialogue: Maria asked Are you okay
- Correct the sentence for agreement: "Each of the students have a pen."
Answers
- "They were practising for the match." β Past continuous.
- Reported: He said that he would come the next day. (will β would; tomorrow β the next day)
- Use "is" for a collective noun in this context: "The team is ready for the match." (School English usually treats team as singular)
- Punctuated: Maria asked, "Are you okay?"
- Correct: "Each of the students has a pen."
Tips for Reading Short Stories about Peers
- Spot the tenses to know when events happened.
- Notice how dialogue shows character feelings or actions.
- Look for linking words to follow the sequence of events.
- Check pronouns and verbs to make sure they agree with the subject.
Good luck! Practice by reading simple school stories from Kenyan contexts (school, play, matches) and identify these grammar points.