TALKING ABOUT THE PAST

Reading

The History of Graffiti

The first drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient
Romans and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti
seems to have appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the late sixties it had
reached New York. The new art form really took off in the 1970s, when people began
writing their names, or ‘tags’, on buildings all over the city. In the mid-seventies it was
sometimes hard to see out of a subway car window, because the trains were completely
covered in spray paintings known as ‘masterpieces’.
In the early days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned with
marking their territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called what they did
‘writing’ – the term ‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and the novelist
Norman Mailer. Art galleries in New York began buying graffiti in the early seventies. But
at the same time that it began to be regarded as an art form, John Lindsay, the then mayor
of New York, declared the first war on graffiti. By the 1980s it became much harder to
write on subway trains without being caught, and instead many of the more established
graffiti artists began using roofs of buildings or canvases.
The debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone,
a New York city councilor, thinks that graffiti done with permission can be art, but if it is
on someone else’s property it becomes a crime. ‘I have a message for the graffiti vandals
out there,’ he said recently. ‘Your freedom of expression ends where my property begins.’
On the other hand, Felix, a member of the Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that
artists are reclaiming cities for the public from advertisers, and that graffiti represents
freedom and makes cities more vibrant.
For decades graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-
Michel Basquiat began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected
artist in the ’80s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy have achieved
international fame by producing complex works with stencils, often making political or
humorous points. Works by Banksy have been sold for over £100,000. Graffiti is now
sometimes big business.

Task: List the verb with “past” tenses and mention its “present” verb.
Example:
1. appeared – appear
2. wrote – write
3. ………………………….
4. ………………………….
5. ………………………….

1|P age
 Past event - something that has already happened and is "behind the horizon".
Past events are often captured in timetables and chronologies, which are most helpful to
identifying patterns and trends for projecting future events.

TYPES OF TEXT

A. RECOUNT
A recount is the retelling or recounting of an event or a experience. Often based on the
direct experience of the writer, the purpose is to tell what happened. Daily news telling
in the classroom is a useful precursor to this particular writing genre. Recounts though
often personal, can also be factual or imaginative.
A recount retells an experience or an event that happened in the past. The purpose of
a recount can be to inform, entertain or to reflect and evaluate. A recount can focus on a
specific section of an event or retell the entire story. A recount should always be told in
the order that things happened.

Generic Structure of Recount Text

a) Orientation: It gives the readers the background information needed to understand
the text, such as who was involved, where it happened, and when it happened.
b) Events: A series of events, ordered in a chronological sequence.
c) Re-orientation: A personal comment about the event or what happened in the end.

Language Feature of Recount Text

a) Using the simple past tense, past continuous tense, past perfect tense, and past
perfect continuous tense.
b) Using temporal sequence, e.g. On Saturday. On Monday, On Sunday
c) Focus on specific participant, e.g. I (the writer)
d) Using the conjunctions, such as: then, before, after, etc.
e) Using action verb, e.g. went, stayed

There are five types of recount to consider.

1. PERSONAL RECOUNT
Retells an activity the writer has been personally involved in and may be used to build
the relationship between the writer and the reader e.g. anecdote, diary journal,
personal letter. These usually retell an event that the writer was personally involved
in.
Example:
Mr. Richard’s family was on vacation. They are Mr. and
Mrs. Richard with two sons. They went to London. They
saw their travel agent and booked their tickets. They
went to the British Embassy to get visas to enter
Britain. They had booked fourteen days tour. This includes
travel and accommodation. They also included tours around
London.

2|P age
 They boarded a large Boeing flight. The flight was nearly fourteen hours. On the
plane the cabin crews were very friendly. They gave them newspaper and magazine to
read. They gave them food and drink. There was a film for their entertainment. They
had a very pleasant flight. They slept part of the way.
On arrival at Heathrow Airport, they had to go to Customs and Immigration. The
officers were pleasant. They checked the document carefully but their manners were
very polite. Mr. Richard and his family collected their bags and went to London Welcome
Desk. They arranged the transfer to a hotel.
The hotel was a well-known four-star hotel. The room had perfect view of the
park. The room had its own bathroom and toilet. Instead of keys for the room, they
inserted a key-card to open the door. On the third floor, there was a restaurant
serving Asian and European food. They had variety of food.
The two week in London went by fast. At the end of the 14-day, they were quite
tired but they felt very happy.

2. FACTUAL / NEWSPAPER RECOUNT

Reports the particulars of an incident by reconstructing factual information e.g. police
reconstruction of an accident, historical recount, biographical and autobiographical
recounts. A factual recount is an objective recount of a true event by someone not
personally involved in the situation. Its purpose is either to inform, entertain or both.
Example:
Killer Cyclone Wrecks 4 Town
Troops started moving into
devasted northern Queensland last
night to help clean up after Cyclone
Avivu left a toll of misery with one
man dead, 40 injured, more than a
hundred homes destroyed and cane
fields flattened.
Helicopter, Trucks, sandbags,
tarpaulins and electric generators
were rushed into declared disaster areas immediate response to reports of widespread
damage. Winds of up to 210 km/h just as intense as Cyclone Tracy which devastated
Darwin ripped through the towns of Ayr, Home Hill, Brandon and Clare in the Burdekin
District yesterday. At least 100 homes in the tiny sugar town of Ayr were uprooted.
An elderly man who was sheltering in his caravan near Ayr drowned when a huge
gust picked up the van and hurled it into a creek. Another man was reported missing,
feared drowned, at Bowen. At nearby Home Hill, Peter and Jennifer Dennis watched in
horror as their home collapsed around them and their babies.
Gino Pegoraro, 53, of Home Hill, wept as he surveyed his ruined house. Gino
thought he heard his shed falling apart. “I put my head around the bathroom
door…and I knew it was my house that had gone.”

3|P age
3. IMAGINATIVE RECOUNT
Applies factual knowledge to an imaginary role in order to interpret and recount
events. An imaginative recount is the re-telling of events, usually in the first person.
This style of recount allows for embellishment beyond facts and events- perfect for
creative writing.
Example:
Today I woke up at 5:00am in the morning. I put on my
loose fitting shirt, trousers, sturdy black boots with little
holes in them, wide brimmed hat and a plastic bag with
spare dry clothes in case it rained so I didn’t get a cold.
When I got out of the four-wheel drive I could feel the
refreshing cool air, it smelt like it had been raining for ages
before I came to the rainforest. I decided to explore the forest floor.
The first animal I saw was a magnificent, giant eastern brown snake. I was so
scared I felt like I wanted to run but that would be really dangerous!
The second animal I spotted was a beetle eating a rotten berry. I bent down to
have a closer look but it stank like rotten eggs and onion mixed together.
Then I turned to the right and saw a bowerbird collecting lots of blue stuff like
wrappers and blue flowers. It had beautiful, magnificent, midnight-blue eyes and it
looked very graceful.
By now I had seen enough on the forest floor so I decided to go to the understorey.
So I went to the bridge in the understorey 20m high off the forest floor.
The first animal I saw in the understorey was a massive, graceful, blue butterfly
sucking pollen off a beautiful orchid. That was my favourite animal so far of all the
animals I saw.
The second animal I spotted was a black bat hanging upside down on the branch
near me. Before I arrived at the rainforest I thought we wouldn’t see a bat because
I was going in the day and bats are nocturnal.
The third animal I spotted was a grey Boyd’s dragon it was eating lots of bugs
and beetles. I looked down to the forest floor and saw a little stream, it had a cute,
little platypus looking after her five tiny, mini babies.
By now I had had enough of the understorey so I decided to go up the ladder to
the canopy. I already knew that we would see lots of brightly coloured birds in the
canopy.
I went up the ladder and on the way up I already saw lots of birds and lots of
berries and colourful, beautiful, rainbow flowers. When I got to the canopy I was 30m
high.
The first animal I saw in the canopy was a Crimson Rosella it was eating seeds
off some beautiful flowers. The Crimson Rosella was dark red and midnight-blue on its
tail and wings.
I could see the emergent trees 50m tall off the ground. I saw a wedge-tail eagle
looking for food and other little animals.

4|P age
 I had a great time because I liked the rainforest. The most terrifying animal was
the eastern brown snake. I liked the blue butterfly the best of all the animals.

4. PROCEDURAL RECOUNT
Records the steps in an investigation or experiment and thereby providing the basis
for reported results or findings. A procedural recount records events such as a science
experiment or cooking. Procedural recounts present the events chronologically (in
the order in which happened). The purpose of procedural recounts is to inform the
audience.
Example:
Last Sunday as soon as I woke up I realized I was home alone. My parents had gone
to Los Incas to watch my brother’s tennis tournament and would not wake me up as
they knew I was very tired from the night before. I woke up very hungry and had to
cook myself something to eat. As every Sunday there was very little food and due to
my cooking abilities, the only thing available for me to do was scrambled eggs. I had
to follow some steps to achieve my goal and please my tummy.
First, I took out the tools and ingredients; 2 eggs, Milk,
Salt, Pepper, A fork, A Bowl, A saucepan, and Butter. Next,
I broke the two eggs into the bowl. Then, I shook them
continuously with a fork until they were evenly mixed. After
that, I poured some milk into the bowl and mixed them with a fork. Furthermore, I
added some salt and pepper. After all the mixture was evenly mixed, I turned kitchen
on and put the butter in the saucepan for it to melt. When the butter had melted, I
poured the whole mixture into the saucepan and kept mixing it until it was successfully
cooked. Finally, I put the scrambled eggs into a plate and enjoyed them greatly.

5. LITERARY RECOUNT
Retells a series of events for the purpose of entertainment. A literary recount is like a
factual recount. Both provide details about what happened, including who was
involved, when and where the event took place, and what may have resulted. A
literary recount can be about real or fictional events and characters.
Example:
A Trip to the National Zoo and Aquarium
Yesterday, my family and I went to the National Zoo and Aquarium to
visit the new Snow Cubs and the other animals.
In the morning, when we got to the Zoo and Aquarium there was
a great big line, so we had to wait awhile to get in.
After we entered the zoo, we went straight to the enclosure for
the Snow Cubs. My brother and I were so excited to see them. They
were so cute and playful.
At lunchtime Dad decided to cook a BBQ. He cooked sausages so we could have
sausage sandwiches. Mum forgot the tomato sauce so we had to eat them plain.

5|P age
 In the afternoon, we visited the aquarium. My brother was excited to see the
sharks and the tropical fish. At the end of the day when we left we were going to go
and get ice cream but we decided we were too tired so we drove straight home.

B. NARRATIVE
Narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain people (imaginative narrative text is a
story that aims to entertain people).
If you look at the English dictionary, literally meaningful of narrative:
1. A spoken or written account of connected events of a story.
2. The narrated part of a literary work, as distinct from dialogue.
3. The practice or art of narration.
So it can be concluded that a narrative text is a text which contains a story either
written or unwritten, and there is a series of connected events. And the social function is
to entertain or amuse the reader or listener.
The purpose of a narrative is to entertainment. Narratives often contain a moral or a
message, thus, it also educates the readers.

Generic Structure of Narrative Text

a) Orientation: It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the story are
introduced.
b) Complication: Where the problems in the story developed.
c) Resolution: Where the problems in the story is solved.
d) Coda/ reorientation (optional) – lesson from the story.

Language Feature of Narrative Text

a) Past tense (killed, drunk, etc)
b) Adverb of time (Once upon a time, one day, etc)
c) Time conjunction (when, then, suddenly, etc)
d) Specific character. The character of the story is specific, not general. (Cinderella, Snow
White, Alibaba, etc)
e) Action verbs. A verb that shows an action. (killed, dug, walked, etc)
f) Direct speech. It is to make the story lively. (Snow White said,”My name is Snow
White”). The direct speech uses present tense.

Example:
Androcles
A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was
wandering about there he came upon a Lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he
turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up
to him. As he came near, the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and
Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled
out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the
hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used
to bring him meat from which to live.

6|P age
 But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave
was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been kept without food for
several days. The Emperor and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was
led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the Lion was let loose from his den, and rushed
bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he
recognised his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.
The Emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the
whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his
native forest.

GRAMMAR FOCUS

Past Tenses

Types of Past Tenses

7|P age
1) Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the
past. In other words, it started in the past and ended in the past.

Example
Here are some examples of the simple past tense:
 The Martians landed near the aqueduct.
 The burglar considered using the fire escape.
Of course, you can also have the negative version, which is formed "did not" + "[verb in
base form]":
 The Martians did not land near the aqueduct.
(We could have used didn't instead of did not.)
 The burglar did not consider using the fire escape.
And the question versions:
 Did the Martians land near the aqueduct?
 Why didn't the burglar consider using the fire escape?

Exercise
Last year I (go) _______ to England on holiday. It (be) ______ fantastic. I (visit) _______ lots of
interesting places. I (be) ______ with two friends of mine. In the mornings we (walk) _______
in the streets of London. In the evenings we (go) _______ to pubs. The weather (be) ______
strangely fine. It (not / rain) _______ a lot. But we (see) _______ some beautiful rainbows.
Where (spend / you) ________ your last holiday?

8|P age
2) Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
The past progressive tense is used to describe an ongoing activity in the past. Often,
it is used to set the scene for another action.

Example
The past progressive tense can be used to describe an activity in the past which was
interrupted:
 He was painting the door when a bird struck the window.
 They were sleeping when the alarm went off.
You can also have a negative version:
 He wasn't painting the door when a bird struck the window.
 They weren't sleeping when the alarm went off.
And the question version:
 Was he painting the door when a bird struck the window?
 Were they sleeping when the alarm went off?

9|P age
The past progressive tense can also be used for describing an action taking place when
another occurred.
 While they were painting the door, I painted the windows.
 While they weren't painting the door, I painted the windows.
 Were they painting the door when I painted the windows?
 Weren't they painting the door when I painted the windows?
And, it can be used for describing an action which was taking place at the same time as
another:
 While they were painting the door, I was painting the windows.

Exercise
1. I (watch) ________ a mystery movie on TV when the electricity went out. Now I am never
going to find out how the movie ends.
2. The Titanic (cross) _________ the Atlantic when it (strike) __________ an iceberg.
3. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch,
also) __________ television. That's all she ever does!
4. He nearly (have) _______ a heart attack when he (see) ________ the bear.
5. She (fill) _______ in a questionnaire when the pen (run) _______ out of ink.

3) Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to emphasize that an action was completed before
another took place.

10 | P a g e
Example
Here are some examples of the past perfect tense (shaded):
 Silverfinger had taken the pill before the team reached him.
(First: He took the pill. Next: The team reached him.)
 I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
(First: I called the police. Next: I investigated the noise.)
 The weather changed, but the team had planned its next move.
(First: The team planned. Next: The weather changed.)
Of course, you can also have the negative version, which is formed "had not" + "[past
particple]":
 Silverfinger had not taken the pill before the team reached him.
 I had not called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.
 The weather changed, and the team had not planned its next move.
And the question versions:
 Had Silverfinger taken the pill before the team reached him?
 Had the team planned its next move before the weather changed?

Exercise
1. After Fred (spend) his holiday in Italy he (want) to learn Italian.
2. Jill (phone) Dad at work before she (leave) for her trip.
3. Susan (turn on) the radio after she (wash) the dishes.
4. When she (arrive) the match already (start).
5. After the man (come) home he (feed) the cat.

11 | P a g e
4) Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous) Tense
The past perfect progressive tense is used to show that an ongoing action in the past
has ended.

Example
Here are some examples of the past perfect progressive tense (shaded):
 She had been painting the door before the dog scratched it.
 The jury had been considering its verdict for several hours when the judge
effectively ordered them to find Jones guilty.
 He just couldn't summon the energy. He had been working at the dock all
afternoon.
Of course, you can also have a negative version:
 She had not been painting the door.
 The jury had not been considering its verdict for very long when the judge
effectively ordered them to find Jones guilty.

12 | P a g e
  He had plenty of energy. He had not been working at the dock at all that afternoon.
And the question version:
 Had she been painting the door?
 Had the jury been considering its verdict for very long when the judge ordered
them to find Jones guilty.
 Why was he so tired? Had he been working at the dock all afternoon?

Exercise
1. My grandpa (sleep) for three hours when I woke him up.
2. A young boy (stand) at the door until a policeman arrived.
3. Daniel (not work) for months before he was offered a management position.
4. My father (try) to fix the broken pipe for an hour before we eventually called a
plumber.
5. The baby (cry) for fifteen minutes before her mother heard her cry.

ASSIGNMENT
Direction:
Choose and watch ONE of the following short movies.
After that, identify:
1. What is the type of the story? Is it recount or narrative?
2. Explain the 5W + 1 H (what, when, who, where, why, how) of the story.
3. Describe the generic structure of the story.

List of the short movie.

1. The Translator
https://youtu.be/PA8HTX6CXBs
2. Listen To Me
https://youtu.be/ctbI3RftTNk
3. The Most Beautiful Thing
https://youtu.be/IP8psM4LWXk
4. Is This Free?
https://youtu.be/sxCWB47ZCLQ
5. Fuel
https://youtu.be/r0TVvuDUuho
6. Hello, Again
https://youtu.be/h21uXo1_Iz4
7. Morning After
https://youtu.be/QvQi0z3fAjA

13 | P a g e
REFERENCES
https://assetinsights.net/Glossary/G_Past_Event.html
http://britishcourse.com/recount-text-definition-purposes-generic-structures-
language-features.php
https://freeenglishcourse.info/vacation-to-london-the-clear-example-of-recount-text/
https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/simple_past_tense.htm
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/upper-intermediate-b2-
reading/history-graffiti
https://www.literacyideas.com/recounts
https://literarydevices.net/narrative/
https://www.nurdiono.com/generic-structure-of-narrative-text.html
https://pdst.ie/node/585
http://quipa565.blogspot.com/2006/08/procedural-recount-text-scrambled-eggs.html
http://www.salisburyhigh.sa.edu.au/writing/toolbox/Example_Recount1.html
http://understandinggenre.blogspot.com/2017/05/example-of-news-item-text-news-
story.html
https://www.write4fun.net/view-entry/153240

14 | P a g e