g8 English Notes
g8 English Notes
g8 English Notes
History of Africa
1. Europeans arriving to Africa was the only part of African History known to
most people.
2. European states heralded their exploration of Africa in the 15th century.
3. The slave trade is notoriously the highlight of this encounter.
4. Before the slave trade was known, Europeans traded produced goods and
resources with Africans.
5. The Portuguese were the first to officially ship African slaves overseas around
1444.
6. The interaction of Europeans with Africa had a massive impact to the
Africans.
7. Even though Africans were took to slavery, many prestigious African families
got their children to study abroad.
Topic 2: Literature
Literature
- A collection of oral and written works of a society
- Depicts the people’s beliefs, values, morals, aspirations, and life struggles
- Expresses ideas of permanent or universal interest
→ Types of Literature
a. Prose - In the form of sentences and paragraphs
b. Poetry - In the form of lines and stanzas
→ Kinds of Prose
a. Fiction - Created with the writer’s imagination
b. Non-fiction - Based on facts
→ Kinds of Fiction
1. Prose Allegory - The characters, ideas, and actions stand for something else
or a system of ideas with implied meaning (symbolic)
a. Fable - Characters are usually animals talking like human beings but
keeping their animal traits; moral is conveyed in the form of a proverb
b. Myths - Explains the origin of the world and humankind
c. Legends - A non-historical/unverified story handed by tradition from
earlier times and popularly accepted as historical
2. Prose Romance - Stories of high culture, chivalric, magical, and unrealistic
a. Fairy Takes - Commonplace expression and typical themes are those
which develop from stock characters such as a cruel king, cruel
stepmother, naughty sister, magic, supernatural changes, and
restorations
3. Prose Narratives
a. Short Story - A brief narrative that concentrates on the situation and
involves 2 or 3 characters
b. Novel - An extended narrative that includes more characters and a
complicated plot
c. Novelette - Intermediate between a short story and a novel read in
one sitting
4. Prose Drama - Written in dialogues and intended for presentation by actors
a. Comedy - Amused by its humorous speech and ends happily
b. Tragedy - Morally significant struggle which ends disastrously
→ Kinds of Non-Fiction
1. Essays - A short piece of writing that tells a person’s thoughts or opinions
about a subject
2. Journals - A book where you write down your personal experiences and
thoughts
3. Memoirs - A written account in which someone (such as a famous performer
or politician) describes past experiences
4. Diaries - A book where you write down your personal experiences and
thoughts each day
5. Documentaries - A movie or TV program that tells the facts about actual
people and events
6. Scientific Papers - Done in an organized way that agrees to the methods and
principles of science
7. Biographies - An account of a person’s life written by someone else
8. Autobiographies - An account of a person’s life written by that person
→ Kinds of Poetry
1. Narrative Poetry - Tells a story in richly imaginative and rhythmical language
a. Epic - A long narrative poem divided into distinct parts and episodes
bound together by a common relationship to a great hero
b. Ballad - A short narrative poem intended to be sung
2. Lyric Poetry - Expresses personal thoughts and feelings
a. Ode - A poem that deals with a serious theme such as immortality
b. Elegy - A poem that can be distinguished by its subject—death
c. Song - Melodious quality required by the singing voice
d. Sonnet - A poetic form of fourteen rhymed lines producing a single
emotional effect
3. Dramatic Poetry - Portrays life and character through action in powerful and
emotion-packed lines
Context Clues
- Hints found within a sentence, paragraph, or passage that a reader can use to
understand the meanings of new or unfamiliar words
Topic 1: Modals
Modals
- Specific types of helping verbs
- Joined with the simple form of the verb
- Gives additional information about the function of the main verb that follows
it
- Used to express functions such as:
- Ability
- Probability
- Permission
- Obligation
- Advice
- Possibility
- Prohibition
- Lack of necessity
➔ Use can and cannot or can’t in expressing ability for both general ability (something
that once you have learned you can do any time you want, like being able to read or
swim or speak a language, for example) and specific ability (something that you can
or can’t do in one particular situation like being able to lift something heavy or find
somewhere you are looking for).
➔ Use could and could not/couldn't for general ability in the past.
Examples: Jan could speak Japanese when he lived in Japan, but he’s forgotten most
of it now.
We couldn’t get to the school on time yesterday because the train was
delayed by one hour.