NEWS ITEM

Definition
News item is factual text which informs the readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important. Social function of news item is to informs readers, listeners, or viewers about event of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

Generic Structure of News Item:

• Newsworthy event: recount the event in summary form
• Background event: elaborate what happened, to whom, in what, circumstances.
• Sources: comments by participants in witnesses to and authorities expert on the event.

Significant Grammar Features:

• Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline
• Generally using simple past tense
• Use of material priocesses to retell the event
• Using action verbs
• Using saying verbs
• Focus circumstances
• Use of projecting verbal procccess in sources stages

There are some rules that can help to make newspaper headlines more comprehensible:

1. It is unusual to find complex forms, generally the simple present form is used
2. The present progressive tense is used,usually to describe something that is changing or developing, but the auxiliary verb is usually left out
3. To refer to the future, headlines often use the infinitive
4. Headlines are not always complete sentences
   
5. The passive voice i sused without the appropriate form of "be"

Introductory "It"

Introductory "It"

When the subjective is an infinitive phrase:
We begin a sentence with it when the real subject is an infinitive phrase.
So instead of saying, ‘To accept your advice is difficult’, we say, ‘It is difficult to accept your advice’.

Structure: It + verb + subject complement + infinitive phrase (real subject)

• It is easy to learn English. (To learn English is easy.)

• It is easy to find fault with others. (To find fault with others is easy.)

• It is difficult to know his motive. (To know his motive is difficult.)

• It is difficult to find a good job during these troubled times.

• It is dangerous to play with fire.

• It could be dangerous to drive so fast.

Note:
That when we wish to emphasize the infinitive phrase, it may be put at the beginning, especially when it is short

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

Definition
Descriptive text is to describe a particular person, place, thing or event.
Sometimes in a spoken text, you may use fillers, such as, er, um,...etc

Stucture of the text:

1. Identification: identifies the phenomenon to be describe
2. Description: describes parts, qualities and the characteristics of the person, place, thing or event to be described.
   

Dirrect and Indirrect Speech

Definition
Dirrect speech refer to reproducing another person's exact words or saying exactly what someone has said.

Indirrect speech refer to reproducing the idea of another person words that doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.

Here a the backshift of tenses:

FROM TO
Simple Present Simple Past
Simple Past
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Past Perfect
Will Would
am/is/are was/were
Was/were
has been Had been
had been

Time Signal:
Dirrect Speech Indirrect Speech
Now Then
Today That day/that night
Yesterday The day before/The previous day
Tomorrow The next day/following day
Last week The previous week
Next week The following week
A year A year before

There are three kinds of dirrect and indirrect speech:

1. Statement

• Dirrect speech (Present Tense): The students go to the library once a day
• Indirrect speech (Past Tense): The students went to the library once day
• Dirrect speech (Present Countinous Tense): The students are reading books now
• Indirrect speech (Past Countinous Tense): The students were reading books then
• Dirrect speech (Past Tense): The students borrowed books last week
• Indirrect speech (Past Perfect Tense): The students had borrowed books the previous week
• Dirrect speech (Present Perfect Tense): The students have returned the books
• Indirrect speech (Past Perfect Tense): The students had returned the books
• Dirrect speech (Future Tense): The students will borrow novels tomorrow
• Indirrrect speech (Future Tense): The students would borrow novels the following day
• Dirrect speech: The girls say, "We like reading een magazines."
• Indirrect speech: The girls say that they like reading teen magazines.
• Dirrect speech: Woody says,"I am on my way home."
• Indirrect speech: Woody says that he is on his way home.
  
• Dirrect speech: Riana says, " I can do this myself."
• Indirrect speech: Riana says that she can do that herself.

2. Question

• Dirrect speech: Peter asked me,"Do you play football?"
• Indirrect speech: Peter asked me whether I played football.
• Dirrect speech: Peter asked me,"When do you play football?"
• Indirrect speech: Peter asked me when I play football.

3. Command

• Dirrect speech: Mother said to me, "Turn off the TV and preapare yourself."
• Inddirect speech: Mother told me to turn off the TV an preapare myself.
• Dirrect speech: Nollan said to me, "Don't go anywhere after tou have done our homework."
• Indirrect speech: Nollan told me not to go anywhere after I had done my homework.
  

NARRATIVE TEXT

Definition
Narrative is an imagine story. It's purpose is to entertain or amuse the listeners or readers.

Structure of the text:

1. Orientation
2. Complication
3. Resolution
4. Re-Orientation (Optional)

Language Features:

• Focus on specific prticipants
• Use of past tense
• Use of temporal conjuction and temporal circumstances
• Use of material proccesses

Modals In The Past Form

When do we use modals?

1. To talk about someone's ability (or inability) to do something
   Example: "We can find your house without the street plan."
   "She can't have a daughter that old!"
2. To talk about an action that is necessary (or impossible, or not necessary)
   Example: "You must always have your driver's licence when you are driving your car."
   "You needn't carry your passport around with you."
3. To talk about a situation that is possible (or impossible)

Example:"Do be careful with that glass, the baby might knock it over"

Modals in the Past Form

can't have	could	could have	couldn't	couldn't have
didn't need to	had to	may have	may not have	might have
might not have	must have	needn't have	ought not to have	ought to have
should have	shouldn't have	would have	would not

can't have

certainty e.g. I can't have lost my keys! (I'm sure I didn't)

could	permission e.g. When I was a teenager, I could go out as late as I wanted.
	general ability e.g. Tom could walk by the age of 8 months.

could have	possibility, but did not happen e.g. I could have passed my driving test if I'd really tried.
	uncertainty e.g. I guess it could have been Sandra on the phone.

couldn't	permission e.g. When I was a teenager, I couldn't stay out as late as I wanted.
	general ability e.g. I couldn't walk until I was 2.
	ability in a particular situation e.g. I tried hard but I couldn't persuade him to go to the party with us.

couldn't have	possibility/ability e.g. I couldn't possibly have passed my driving test, even if I'd tried harder.
	uncertainty e.g. It couldn't have been Sandra on the phone, could it?
	with comparative adjectives e.g. I couldn't have asked for better weather on my wedding day.
	unwillingness e.g. I couldn't have left the dog in the car for long (so I didn't).

didn’t need to

unnecessary action not done e.g. As I was alone this weekend, I didn't need to do any cooking (so I didn't).

had to

obligation (past form of must) e.g. I couldn't go out last night because I had to do my homework.

may have

uncertainty e.g. I guess I may have been a bit hard on her when she came home an hour late.

may not have

uncertainty e.g. He may not have found out yet that he has passed the test.

might have	possibility (didn't happen) e.g. You might have been killed!
	uncertainty e.g. I guess I might have been a bit hard on her when she came home an hour late.
	annoyance at someone's failure to do something e.g. You might have told me that you had invited all your colleagues round for dinner!
	might have known + would (idiom to ironically express that somebody's action was typical) e.g. I might have known that he would finish with me as soon as he found out I wasn't wealthy!

might not have

uncertainty e.g. He may not have found out yet that he has passed the test.

must have	certainty e.g. He must have known how much it was going to cost. (I'm sure he knew.)
	with surely in exclamations e.g. Surely he must have known how much it was going to cost!

needn't have

unnecessary action that was actually done e.g. Oh, you needn't have done the washing up!

ought not to have

criticism (more common is shouldn't have) e.g. You ought not to have been so frank with him.

ought to have

expectation (should have is more common) Why is she late? She ought to have arrived by now!

should have	expectation Why is she late? She should have arrived by now!
	should have + verbs of thinking e.g. I should have thought you knew.
	with be and adjectives, describing chance e.g. It was weird that you should have been staying in the same hostel last month.
	criticism (you didn't do something, but it would have been the right thing to do) e.g. The party was such fun last night! You should have come!

shouldn't have	criticism e.g. You shouldn't have been so frank with him.
	polite expression of thanks on receiving a gift or favour "Here's a bottle of wine for you" "Oh, you really shouldn't have!"

would have	events in the past that did not happen e.g. I wouldn't have gone out with him, but he didn't ask me.
	assumptions e.g. Oh, that would have been Sarah on the phone just now.

would not

unwillingness e.g. I asked Tom to close the window, but he wouldn't do it.

PRESENT FORM	PAST FORM
can	could
may	might
will	would
shall	should
must	-
ought to	-
need	-

Asking for Information

There are a number of formulas when asking for information:

• Could you tell me...?
• Do you know...?
• Do you happen to know....?
• I'd like to know...
• Could you find out...?
• I'm interested in...
• I'm looking for...
• Could you give me some information about...
• Is it true that...
• Have you got an idea of...

These two forms are used for asking information on the telephone:

• I'm calling to find out...
• I'm calling about...