Grade 7 English TRAVEL – READING:POETRY Notes
READING: POETRY — Travel (English)
For learners aged 12 (Kenya). These notes focus only on grammar you meet when reading poems about travel — verbs, tenses, prepositions, pronouns and more.
- Identify verbs and tenses in travel poetry.
- Use correct subject–verb agreement and pronouns.
- Recognise prepositions and adverbs of place and movement.
- Understand sentence fragments in poems and how to make full sentences.
1. Verbs and Tenses
Poems about travel often use different tenses. The tense tells you when the action happens.
- Past — action already happened.
Example line: "We climbed Mount Kenya at dawn." → verb: climbed (past)
- Present — happening now or general truth.
Example line: "She walks along the Mombasa shore." → verb: walks (present)
- Future — will happen later.
Example line: "They will cross the bridge tomorrow." → verb: will cross (future)
- Change to past: "We climb the dusty road." → We climbed the dusty road.
- Change to future: "The matatu stops at the market." → The matatu will stop at the market.
2. Subject–Verb Agreement
The verb must match the subject (who or what does the action).
- If the subject is singular, use a singular verb:
"The bus moves slowly."
- If the subject is plural, use a plural verb:
"The buses move slowly."
- With I and you: use base form in present: "I walk", "You walk". For he/she/it add -s: "He walks".
3. Pronouns and Perspective
Which pronoun the poet uses changes who we imagine travelling.
- I — speaker is travelling. Example: "I watch the sunrise."
- We — group travelling together. Example: "We cross the Rift Valley."
- He/She/They — someone else travelling. Example: "They reach the coast."
Change this line to they: "I ride the matatu." → They ride the matatu.
4. Adjectives and Comparatives
Adjectives describe nouns. Comparatives compare two things; superlatives show the most.
- Adjective: "a dusty road"
- Comparative: "a dustier road"
- Superlative: "the dustiest road"
5. Adverbs (how, when, where)
Adverbs often end in -ly and modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
6. Prepositions of Place and Movement
Prepositions show location or direction. Common ones in travel poems:
- Place: in, on, at, by, near — "in Lamu", "on the shore"
- Movement: to, into, through, across, along — "to Mombasa", "through the market"
- "We walked ____ the Rift Valley." (answer: through)
- "The fishermen sat ____ the beach." (answer: on)
7. Sentence Fragments in Poetry
Poets often use fragments (no subject or verb). Learn to add missing parts to understand meaning.
Make full: "We walked at dawn on the dusty track." (adds subject and verb)
8. Modal Verbs (ability, possibility, certainty)
Modals change the meaning of travel actions.
- can (ability): "We can find shelter."
- might/may (possibility): "We may arrive by night."
- will (certainty): "We will reach the town."
9. Punctuation and Line Breaks
Punctuation shows sentence ends and pauses. In poetry, line breaks can pause thoughts but grammar still matters.
- Identify the verb and its tense: "They sail to the island."
- Correct the agreement: "The travelers walks slowly."
- Fill preposition: "The boat sailed ___ Lamu." (to/in/at)
- Is this a fragment? "Sunset over the plains."
- sail — present tense.
- Change to: "The travelers walk slowly." (travelers = plural)
- Correct: "to Lamu."
- Yes — it's a fragment. Make full: "The sun set over the plains." or "We watched the sunset over the plains."
- Underline verbs and note their tense.
- Circle prepositions to find places and directions.
- If a line is a fragment, add a subject and verb in your head to understand it.
Happy reading — spot the grammar, and the poem's travel story becomes clearer! ✈️🚌🏞️