NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/
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NarrativeLanguageStructures:WritingWorkshopfromReadingWork:ByMF(2019)
DedicatedtoToniMorrisonActivitybasedonquotes&passagesfromToniMorrison'sAMercy(2008).
Teacher'scopy(Vintage2009)
AboutToniMorrison&C1sIdonotthinkC1learnerscanreadToniMorrison'snovelsoressays,really,notyet,butsheisanextraordinarywriterineverysense,andIhopesomedaysomeofyouwill.Inanycase,allofyou,forhuman,languageandsocioculturalreasons,canenjoyhervideointerviewsontheNetandevenplungeintoreadingherchildren'sstories(whicharehardenoughtoread,fornon-natives),whichsheco-wrotewithhersonSlade,e.g.TheBigBox.
NarrativeLanguageStructuresBeginningofchapter2,p.7
[SomeoneDIDsomething,doINGsomethingINSOMEWAY]
1. ThemanMOVEDthroughthesurf,steppINGcarefulLYoverpebblesandsandtoshore.
Meaningof"grammar"• Pastsimpleforsomethingdoneinapointinthepast• -ingforahowthatisdone• adverbformoredetailonthathowMeaningoftextualmatters• Cohesion/Coherence:Thisistheopeninglineinachapter.Beginningsarevery
informative/descriptive,generallyestablishingthetopicoftheparagraph.Theyhelpusunderstandthesetting,whereweare.Webeginwithafullnounphrase,notwithapronoun.Thisis(general)goodadviceforbeginningparagraphs(exceptwith"it"asin"Itwasanunrewardinglife.p.48)
Vocabulary,Etymology&Culture• TheSurfhere,anoun,means'thetopsofthewavesontheseawhentheyareneartothe
coastorhitagainstrocks'(CambridgeDictionary),sowecansayitmeans,'crashingwaves.'• Surfisalsoaverbmeaning'toridewaveswithasurfboard'.Whenyousurf,youstand
uprightonaboardandrideoverbreakingwavesintotheshore.• Amorefigurativemeaningofsurfis'searchcasually,'asin"channelsurf,"clickidly
betweenTVstations,or"surftheNet,"ornavigatetheInternet.• Theoriginofthewordisamystery,thoughit'sthoughttohavefirstbeenusedinthe1680s,
whenToniMorrison'snovelisset,atimewhenracismwasnotinstitutionalizedassuch.(Sources:vocabulary.com&etymonline.com,adapted&expandedbyMF)
Let'scontinue...Imagine.Novelsincludedescriptions,notonlynarratives.Descriptionsportraypeople,things,landscapes,events...Narrativesdescribeactions,events,too!See?Theymingle![SomethingWASandeffectoncharactersforcohesion--descriptions]
2. Fog,Atlanticandreekingofplantlife,BLANKETEDthebayandSLOWEDhim.
[SomeoneCOULD...BUTNOT...NOR...]
3. HeCOULDseehisbootssloshingBUTNOThissatchelNORhishands.
NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/
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[WHENsthHAPPENED,sbDIDsth+BUTBECAUSE*sthHADHAPPENED,sbCOULDNOT...]>WHEN+PAST+BUTBECAUSE+PASTPERFECT+COULD(NOT)Note:Makingourverbalrangericher!Includingdifferenttensesandmodals!
4. WHENthesurfWASbehindhimandhissolesSANKinmud,heTURNEDtowavetothesloopmen,BUTBECAUSEthemastHADDISAPPEAREDinthefogheCOULDNOTtellwhethertheyremainedanchoredorriskedsailingon--huggingtheshoreandapproximatingthelocationofwharvesanddocks.
Noteonalternativestructure:wecouldalsohave"BUTBECAUSEOFthewind,"forinstance(withanoun,insteadofaS+V.Findyourexamples!
Noticehownarrativesusethepast(pastsimple,pastcontinuous,pastperfect,modalsinthepast,futuresinthepast)tolearntocheckyourtenseswhenyoufinishwritinganarrativeforclass,workorexams!Sometimesyourmistakeisyouswitchtousingthepresent!Thisispossible,butforareason,likeinSpanish.Soyouneedtomonitorthisduringthecourse.
Syntax&Meaning.Readallthesentencesagainandtrytosimplifystructureusingboxessoyouknowwhicharethemainstructuresorboxes.Letmeshowyou.I'musingboldforkeywordsanditalicsforkeylinkingdevices.Thisexerciseisaboutsyntax,andsyntaxiscrucialfororderingourthoughtsandgrammar,aswellasforunderstandingifit'sproblematicwhetherweknowordon'tknowwhatthemeaningofthisorthatwordis.1. Themanmovedthroughthesurf,steppingcarefullyoverpebblesandsandtoshore.
2. Fog,Atlanticandreekingofplantlife,blanketedthebayandslowedhim.
3. Hecouldseehisbootssloshingbutnothissatchelnorhishands.
4. Whenthesurfwasbehindhimandhissolessankinmud,heturnedtowavetothesloopmen,
butbecausethemasthaddisappearedinthefoghecouldnottellwhethertheyremainedanchoredorriskedsailingon--huggingtheshoreandapproximatingthelocationofwharvesanddocks.
Now,ifyouunderstandthis,doesitreallymatteryouunderstandsomeofthewordsthatarenothighlighted?,likereeking,sloshing,satchel,sloopmen,orwharves?Doyouthinkbasingyourcomprehensiononsyntaxyoucouldworkoutwhatthesesentencesdescribeinspiteofnotknowingallthewords?Youneedtopracticethisonceinawhilewithyourreadingathome.Usingsyntaxtounderstandmeaningisveryhelpful,notonlyforclozetests.Anditiswhatnativesdowhentheyreadbooksandfindwordstheydon'tunderstand.Youknowitasanativespeaker,too!ReadingAloud&Punctuation.Tohelpyoulearnsyntax,remembertoreadaloud.Ithelpsalot.Intonationandpunctuationhelpalot.Soyouwillalsobeimprovinginspeaking(stressandintonation)andwriting(punctuation)!Wecanhavesmallerboxesinsidelargerboxes,yes!
NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/
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HOWTOACHIEVEVARIEDSENTENCESTRUCTURE(Richlanguagerange)Connectorsandtransitions(understoodherearepartsofasentence,notwholesentences)canhelpyoudothat,whilecaringforcohesion&coherence!❤Sonoticethisissueaswemoveon.NounphrasesasAppositives5. Aquickthinker,heflushedwithpleasurewhenacrisis,largeorsmall,neededinventionandfastaction(p.10)Prepositionalphrases6. Onthewayhesawamanbeatingahorsetoitsknees(p.26)7. BymoonlightIamhappytofindahollowlog,butitiswavywithants(p.65)-alsoTimephrase8. Withinminutestheywerebackinthewagonsteepedinanticipationofafreshbountifullife(p.84)Timeclausesassentenceinitiatorsandtypicaltransitionsopeningparagraphs,too,becauseoftheirpowertoofferasettingwecanpartfrom!9. WhenIarrivehereIbelieveitistheplacehewarnsagainst(p.6)+endingprepositions10. Oncebeyondthewarmgoldofthebay,hesawforestsuntouchedsinceNoah,shorelines
beautifulenoughtobringtears,wildfoodforthetaking(p.10)11. Uponlandingtheymadenopretenseofmeetingagain(p.83)12. Beforehecouldknock,thedoorwasopenedbyasmall,contradictoryman(p.13)13. Afteraleisurelymealofoysters,veal,pigeon,parsnipsandsuetpuddingrestoredhis
tastebuds,hereservedbedspacewithjustonemaninitand,strollingoutside,thoughtaboutthedisappointingdayandthehumiliationofhavingacceptedthegirlaspartpayment.(p.30)
14. Sinceyourleaving*withnogoodbye,summerpasses,thenautumn,andwiththewaningofwinterthesicknesscomesback(p.34)
15. Asthesonsdiedandtheyearspassed,Jacobbecameconvincedthefarmwassustainablebutnotprofitable(p.85)
Participleclauses(pastparticiple&presentparticiple)tostartdescriptivesentencesTypicalinnarrativesandreviews!Please,findexamplesinyourReadingathome&bringtoclass!Participleclausesareaformofadverbialclausewhichenablesustosayinformationinamoreeconomicalway.Wecanusethemwhentheverbwecanuseintheparticipleandtheverbinthemainclausehavethesamesubject.
16. Seatedatatableclutteredwiththeremainsofearliermeals,helistenedtothetalkaroundhim,whichwasmostlysugar,whichwastosay,rum(p.27)
17. Reassured,shewentbackintothesickroomwheresheheardMistressmumbling.(p.64)18. Comparedtothat,deathbyshipwreckortomahawkpaled.(p.74)
19. PickINGhiswaywithgrowingconfidence,hearrivedintheramshacklevillagesleepingbetweentwohugeriversideplantations(p.8)
• Mainsentence:Hearrivedin....Hepickedhisway...=S+V.S+V• Transformation:Wemergethetwosentencesintoone(oneS+V)!turningoneoftheS+VintoanING
verb!ThenewsentencewillbeaHow?phrase(sintagmaadverbialdecómo)intheglobalsyntaxofthemainsentenceHE=SubjectARRIVED=Verb+alltherestasitsaccompanyingpredicate.
20. WalkINGinthewarmnightair,hewentasfaraspossible(p.32)+placingadjectives&comparisons21. GallopINGalong,hewassweatingsoheavilyhiseyessaltedandhishairmattedonhisshoulders(p.9)• [-ing...,S+Vinpast:washappening+SO+adv+(that)+S+Vinpast:happened]• Rephrasing:Ashewasgalloping,hewassweating...=S+V,S+V22. BarelylisteningtoD'Ortega'spatter,sly,indirect,insteadofstraightandmanly,Jacobneared
thecookhouseandsawawomanstandinginthedoorwaywithtwochildren.(p.21)
NarrativeLanguageStructures.ToniMorrison.AMercyMF’sC1courseathttp://www.talkingpeople.net/tp/ra/c1/
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Rephrase...
23. WatchINGthecouple,Jacobnoticedthathusbandandwifeneverlookedateachother,exceptforastolenglancewhentheotherlookedelsewhere.(p.17)
24. RockINGinthepoorlymadesaddle,hefacedforwardwhilehiseyessweptthesurroundings(p.10)
INGNOUNSareNOTthesamecase...
25. PenetratING[thefog]waslikestrugglingthroughadream
ThisisanINGnounoperatingasthesubject!Nowmyownexamples...26. Litteringisnotallowed27. Lookingatphotosforhoursonendistoomuch!28. Waitingforpeople,whentheweatherisbad,particularlyifit'swindy,issomethingIhate.
Question.Nowanalyze...What'sthis?
29. Seededresentmentnowbloomed.(p.15)30. Breathingtheairofaworldsonew,almostalarminginrawnessandtemptation,neverfailed
toinvigoratehim(p.10)31. Seatedatasmalltablesurroundedbygravenidols,thewindowsclosedtotheboilingair,he
dranksassafrasbeeradagreedwithhishostabouttheweather(p.14)32. Farawaytotheright,beyondtheironfencesenclosingthepropertyandsoftenedbymist,
hesawrowsofquarters,quiet,empty.(p.12)33. Turningprofitintouselessbaubles,unembarrassedbysumptuary,silkstockingsandan
overdressedwife,wastingcandlesinmidday,hewouldalwaysbeunabletorideoutanysetback,whetheritbelostshiporruinedcrop.(p.17)
SomeotherC1languageitemsyoumightwanttohuntexamplesof!(UsefulLanguage)34. UNLIKEtheEnglishfoghehadknownsincehecouldwalk,orthosewaynorthwherehelived
now,thisonewassunfired,turningtheworldintothick,hotgold.(p.7)Thisstructureisgreatforcomparisons!Tryadrillingexercisetolearntousethestructurelikethis:35. Unlikemymother,Iwasshy.36. Unlikelifeinthecity,rurallifeisslow-pacedandeasy-going.37. Inspiteofhisdirtyhandsandsweat-limphair,Jacobpresseddownhisannoyanceandchose
tofocusonthefood(p.15)cf.Despite38. Yethecontinuedtofeeladisturbingpulseofpityfororphansandstrays,rememberingwelltheirand
hisownsadteeminginthemarkets,lanes,alleywaysandportsofeveryregionhetraveled(p.31)39. Still,atthishost'sinsistence,hetrailedhimtothelittleshedswhereD'Ortegainterrupted
theirhalfday'srestandorderedsometwodozenormoretoassembleinastraightline,includingtheboywhohadwateredRegina(p.20)
40. Probablybecausehisdreamswereofagrandhouseofmanyroomsrisingonahillabovethefog(p.33)41. Whateveritwas,hecouldn'tstaytheresurroundedbyapasselofslaveswhosesilencemade
himimagineanavalancheseenfromagreatdistance(p.20)
InversionQuestions42. Nowherehewas,arattyorphanbecomelandowner,makingaplaceoutofnoplace,a
temperatelivingfromrawlife(p.10)43. Notonlybecauseonehadtoholdtheheadwhiletheothertiedthetrotters.Mostlybecause
neitherknewpreciselywhattheyweredoingorhow.(p.51)-??
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