GRADE 9 English TOURIST ATTRACTION SITES:WORLD – INTENSIVE READING:POEMS Notes
English — Intensive Reading: Poems
Topic: Tourist Attraction Sites — World (notes for Year 9 / age 14, Kenya)
This sheet looks only at grammar that appears in short poems about famous places. Poems often use unusual grammar (fragments, commas, verb forms) to create effect. Learn to spot and explain these features.
Eiffel leans in silver, greeting the Seine.
The Great Wall winds — a dragon asleep.
Mount Kilimanjaro wears its crown of snow.
Pyramids keep stories of the sand.
On Table Mountain, clouds wear aprons.
Maasai Mara: dawn runs in gold.
Key grammar points in poems
- Verb forms and tense: Poems often use the present simple to describe general truths or ongoing action. Example: "Eiffel leans", "The Great Wall winds".
- Subject–verb agreement: Singular subjects take singular verbs (Mount Kilimanjaro wears), plural subjects take plural verbs (stories keep).
- Sentence fragments and line breaks: Lines like "Maasai Mara: dawn runs in gold." are fragments or short clauses used for effect. They are acceptable in poetry but still follow grammar rules inside them.
- Present participles (-ing) as adjectives/verbs: "greeting the Seine" uses an -ing form to describe what the Eiffel is doing (a participle phrase).
- Apposition and metaphor: "a dragon asleep" renames the Great Wall (grammar: noun phrase used for description).
- Prepositions of place: "On Table Mountain" uses 'on' to show place. Poems may choose different prepositions for rhythm but meaning must stay clear.
- Relative clauses: Poems can use short relative clauses to add information: "the tower that sparkles" — "that sparkles" describes the tower.
- Passive and active voice: Poets sometimes use passive to shift focus: "stories are kept" vs "people keep stories".
Examples and short explanations
1. Verb tense (present simple)
"Mount Kilimanjaro wears its crown of snow." — 'wears' is present simple. It tells us a regular or general truth (Kilimanjaro usually has snow at the top).
2. Subject–verb agreement
"Pyramids keep stories..." — 'Pyramids' (plural) + 'keep' (plural verb). If the subject were singular: "The pyramid keeps..."
3. Participles and -ing forms
"greeting the Seine" — 'greeting' describes what Eiffel is doing. It can form part of a clause: "Eiffel leans in silver, greeting the Seine." (main verb: 'leans'; participle phrase adds detail)
4. Fragments
"Maasai Mara: dawn runs in gold." — This is a short clause after a colon. It has subject 'dawn' and verb 'runs' so it's grammatical even if short.
Practice exercises (try these)
- Underline the verbs in the poem lines above and write their tense. (Answers follow.)
-
Change the verb tense of these lines to past simple (rewrite the line):
a) "Eiffel leans in silver." → ______________________
b) "Pyramids keep stories of the sand." → ______________________ -
Correct subject–verb agreement if needed:
a) "The pyramids keeps stories." → ______________________
b) "A wall wind like a dragon." → ______________________ - Turn the fragment into a full sentence (add words if needed): "Maasai Mara: dawn runs in gold." → ______________________
- Identify the preposition of place and write its function: "On Table Mountain, clouds wear aprons." — preposition: ______ ; function: ___________________
- Rewrite the line in passive voice: "Pyramids keep stories of the sand." → ______________________
- Add a relative clause to give more detail: "Eiffel leans in silver." → "Eiffel leans in silver, _____."
Answer key
1. Verbs and tense (from poem)
Eiffel leans — present simple.
greeting — present participle (participle phrase).
The Great Wall winds — present simple.
Kilimanjaro wears — present simple.
Pyramids keep — present simple.
dawn runs — present simple.
clouds wear — present simple.
2. Past simple changes
a) "Eiffel leaned in silver."
b) "Pyramids kept stories of the sand."
3. Subject–verb agreement corrections
a) "The pyramids keep stories."
b) "A wall winds like a dragon." (or better: "The wall winds like a dragon.")
4. Fragment to full sentence
"Maasai Mara: dawn runs in gold." → "In the Maasai Mara, dawn runs in gold across the plains." (added preposition & object; several correct answers possible)
5. Preposition of place
Preposition: "On" — function: shows location (where the clouds are).
6. Passive voice
Active: "Pyramids keep stories of the sand."
Passive example: "Stories of the sand are kept by the pyramids." (or "Stories are kept in the pyramids.")
7. Add a relative clause
Example: "Eiffel leans in silver, which sparkles above the city." (many correct options; grammar: 'which sparkles...' is a non-defining relative clause adding information)
Tips for exam work and reading poems
- When asked about grammar in a poem, name the feature (e.g., present simple, participle, fragment) and give a short reason why the poet uses it.
- Check subject–verb agreement carefully — poets may drop helping verbs but the main verb still agrees with its subject.
- For tense questions, decide whether the poet describes a general truth (use present) or a past event (use past).
- Practice rewriting lines into full sentences to show you understand the grammar behind poetic compression.
Good study! Try writing two lines of your own poem about a world site (Eiffel, Grand Canyon, Pyramids, Mount Kenya) and underline the grammar feature you used.