Story: Neil and His Parents

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Neil was five years old, and he had no brothers or sisters. He lived with his parents in the country, and there were no neighbors near his house. One Saturday Neil’s Uncle Fred came and visited them. He had lunch with Neil and his parents, and then Neil’s mother went into the kitchen and washed the dishes, and his father went out and washed the car. 
‘Stay here and talk to Uncle Fred,’ Neil’s father said to him. ‘And show him your toys,’ his mother said. Neil showed his Uncle his toys and they talk for half an hour in the living room. Then Neil said to his uncle, I’m going to go out and play with God in the garden now.’

His uncle was surprised. ‘How do you play with God, Neil? He asked him. ‘It’s easy,’ Neil answered. ‘I throw the ball up, and then God throws it back down to me.’

Glossary

Dishes	Noun	Piring
Kitchen	Noun	Dapur
Living Room	Noun	Ruang Tamu
Lunch	Noun	Makan siang
Near	Adjective	Dekat
Neighbors	Noun	Tetangga
Parents	Noun	Orang tua (Ibu dan Bapak)
Surprised	Adjective	Kaget/ terkejut
Throw up	Verb	Melempar ke atas
Toys	Noun	Mainan
Visited	Verb	mengunjungi

Task one
Answer these questions
1.Who had lunch with Neil and his parents one day?
2.What did Neil and his uncle do in the living room?
3.What did Neil say then?
4.What did Uncle Fred ask Neil?
5.And what did Neil answer?

Task two
Which of the answers are correct? Write the answers down.
1.How many children did Neil’s parents have?
a.More than one
b.One

2.How many people lived near Neil’s house?
a.A few
b.A lot
c.None

3.What di Neil’s father do after lunch?
a.He cleaned his car
b.He sat in the living room and talked to Uncle Fred

4.What did Neil do after lunch?
a.He stayed in the living room and talked to Uncle Fred
b.He went into the kitchen and washed the dishes with his mother

5.How did Neil play with God?
a.He hit his ball and then ran and got it
b.He threw his ball up and then caught it

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Task three

Write this story. Put one word in each empty space. All the correct words are in the story above.

Joan Brown is a small girl. Her ………….. are Mr. George Brown and his wife Dorothy. They live in a nice ………. in their ……… on both sides have children. Joan is going to …………………. with them this afternoon, but first she is washing the ………………… with her mother in their small …………….. Joan has a lot of …………., but she likes playing ball with her friends in her ……. the best of all. They …………… it to each other and catch it.

Practice with “be”
In general, be can be used in five condition as it is shown In the following diagram:
be + noun
be + adjective
be + Verb + ing
be + Verb + ed
Prep. Phrase

1. Noun

Actually, a sentence must be constructed base on a very simple pattern namely Subject + Verb  + object if any. When there is no verb in a sentence, however, be can replace the position of a real verb.

Subject + be + noun

Examples:
Yusrizal is a policeman
Asoka is a flower
I am a carpenter
Murtada and Lutfi are nurses
Anto is a professional driver

2. Adjective

Like noun, adjective also has the same position in this matter. When there is no real verb in a sentence, “be” should replace it. in further study, we need to note that the adjective also modifies nouns. 

Subject + be + adjective

Example:
Razor blades are sharp.
Norman is intelligent
Gold is expensive
Rocks and metals are hard
Sugar is sweet

3.Verb + ing

As we can see from the diagram, it is exceptionally clear that if “be” is used, the verb must be changed either into verb + ing or verb + ed. Verb ing is construction of progressive (continuous) sentence. This sentence is used for a specific action that is taking place. The formula of this sentence is subject + be + verb + ing + subject.

Example:
Alias is cooking right now
Subhan and Amir are cleaning motor cycle
Rosa is helping her sister
Joni, Ari and Ahmad are walking around the house
I am studying English

4. Verb + ed (participle form)
This word formation is normally taking place in passive voice. We should remember that the subject in active sentence become the object in passive voice or verse versa. The formula of the sentence is subject + be + verb (participle form) + by + object.

Example:
The candle in the room is lit by Amir
These packs of coffee are delivered by Go-sent driver
Library of UIN Ar-Raniry is always opened at 8 o’clock in the morning on weekdays.
Her book is stolen by a thief.

5. Preposition Phrase

Prepositional phrase comparies of preposition and noun. People normally use be + preposional phrase to talk about place. The pattern of this construction is subject + be + preposition + noun.

Example:
He is at school
My pens are on the table
Tia is in her room
Masykur and Fahmi are at the bus stop.
They are at the campus now.

Exercise:
Complete the following with is or are
1.The windows ……. open.
2.Mr. Ramli …….. a teaher.
3.The weather ……… hot today.
4.My roommate ………. from Takengon.
5.The sun ………. bright today.
6.Mary and Susan ……… at school.
7.Three pencils …………. on the table.
8.My pen in …………….. my handbag.
9.My sister ……… a teacher at MAN Model.
10.Putri …………. a dentist at a hospital.

No Pain No Gain..!

Reference: Reading Two from Book English Course for Matriculation Program UIN Ar-Raniry