CXC ENGLISH

Hello there! So you are back at school again! This is an important term for those of you who will be writing your CSEC exams this year, so make up your minds to settle down to steady work from now. We’ll be working on Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat for a while, and today we revise verb tenses to help you with English A. Stay with us, and we’ll do our best to help you get that Grade 1 that you want so badly. Read on now, and enjoy your CXC page.

ENGLISH B: Breath, Eyes, Memory (Chapters 1-9) In Part 1 of this novel we are introduced to the two main characters: Sophie Caco and her mother, Martine. The narrative begins in Haiti, but moves to New York The contrast between these two settings is significant in understanding the struggles of the two women. We also meet Marc, Sophie’s boyfriend, and we are taken on a tour of the neighbourhood in New York where Haitians hang out, so we see a little of Haitian culture. Finally, we watch as Sophie tears herself away from her beloved aunt, Atie, and how she tries to relate to her mother, Martine. Martine, for her part, tries to help Sophie feel at home in New York, but is not very successful. In Chapter 9, Martine has a serious talk with Sophie in which she tells her two very important things: first, Martine reveals that she was raped back in Haiti when she was only a little older than Sophie. She is not surprised that Sophie does not resemble her because, as she says, ‘a child out of wedlock always looks like its father’. Secondly, she informs Sophie about the practice of ‘testing’, when the mother checks her daughter to see if she is still virgin. Aunt Atie, she admits, used to ‘scream like a pig in a slaughterhouse’ when the ‘testing’ took place. Sophie, then, can expect Martine to carry out the same ‘testing’ on her. father. (You will find that story in Chapter 6.) Reference to Haitian customs and cuisine can be found in the novel, along with mention of Erzulie, an African goddess worshipped alongside the Virgin Mary.

Finally, although the novel is written in English, the reader frequently comes across phrases in French creole. The shifts in language remind us that Sophie is straddling two worlds: she is not fully at home in New York. Metaphorically she ‘speaks a different language’ to the people she meets there. Citizens of New York can never fully understand this girl whose cultural background is so different from theirs—and she will never fully understand them. Danticat celebrates the ‘otherness’ of Haitian immigrants, and asserts the richness of Haitian culture.

To form the past perfect tense of the verb, use the past tense of the verb have plus the past participle: e.g. I had taken, you had spent, he had walked.

We use this tense to indicate an event that took place before the time in the past that you are referring to: e.g. I had learnt to count before I began kindergarten. As soon as she had stepped into the shower, the telephone rang. Use the appropriate tense in the following sentences taken from English for

by Clive Borely and Hazel Simmons: When the police arrived the burglars (leave) already the premises. Peter already (receive) the good news of his appointment when I spoke to him this morning. The children questioned him about the countries he (visit). My father was sorry that he not (meet) a competent mechanic when his car (break) down. Paula (not see) her cousins for five years when she (meet) them yesterday. Nicola (relate) all the stories she (learnt) after her first week at school. The house already (burn) to the ground when the fire brigade (arrive). He (lose) his spectacles and (not able) to read without them.

USING THE SIMPLE PAST AND PRESENT PERFECT We use the SIMPLE PAST tense of the verb when we are thinking of a specific time in the past: My father spoke to the head teacher last Monday.

We use the PRESENT PERFECT tense to talk about something that has already happened and is affecting the present in some way. This tense if often used with the words already or yet: I haven’t been paid yet. Mum has finished the housework already.

It is incorrect to say: to him yet.

It is incorrect to say: Our neighbour has died last week. neighbour died last week. Now look at these three sentences: Did Carmen take the garbage out. Yes, she TOOK it out a few minutes ago. No, she HASN’T TAKEN it out yet. In this exercise, we will give you type A sentences. Your job is to supply type Band type C. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. I didn’t speak to him yet. Instead, say: I haven’t spoken Instead, say: Did the team win a medal? Did Kevon write to his aunt? Did Marcia wear her new dress? Did the loud music wake the baby up? Did the seafood upset your stomach? Did the class understand the theorem? Did the technician throw away the syringe? Did the philosopher think about global warming? Did Wendy tell him about the postponement? Did the professor tear his hair out? Did the alligator swim after the deer? Did your boyfriend swear to love you forever? Our