Month: August 2010

Will

Will

Look at the following sentences:

  1. Tia is five years old. She will be six next year.
  2. Tia’s grandfather is 58 years old. He will retire at 60.
  3. Teacher to students: Tomorrow, we will go for a picnic. We will go to the fort by bus. But once at the fort we will walk around and see all the old buildings, the museum and even the ruins.  It will be a long walk. We will start at 8 o’clock, so be sure to reach the school in time. And we will be return by 5 o’clock. Breakfast and lunch will be provided by the school. You must remember to bring your water bottles with you. We will have a great time there.

Will in these sentences denotes simple future.

Let us look at some other uses of will:

Will is used in the sense of a request:

  1. Will you keep these fruits in the refrigerator, please?
  2. Will you help me clean the house today?

Will is used to denote invitations:

  1. Will you have dinner with us, tonight?
  2. Will you come with us to Goa?

Will is used to express determination/intention/promise/ threat:

  1. I will clear my Civil Services Exam this year. (Determination)
  2. I will go to Delhi on Sunday. (Intention)
  3. He will be rewarded for his bravery. (Promise)
  4. Stop teasing or I will report you to the officer. (Threat)

Will is used to express command:

  1. “You will finish this work before you go”, said the officer to the clerk.
  2. “All the students will reach the school by 7.30 a.m. tomorrow”, said the teacher.

Will is used to indicate characteristic habits:

  1. When they got a new telephone, their son will talk for hours on the telephone.
  2. They will sit for hours in the garden on sunny days.

 Will in conditional sentences:

  1. You will fail, if you do not work hard.
  2. You will be late for school, if you do not hurry up.

Use of Let

Use of Let
  • When we want to do something, or we want to be allowed to do something, we may start the sentence with Let me……
Example:
1.  Tina wants to carry her mother’s purse.
Tina: Let me carry your purse.
2.  Jack wants to go for a picnic with his friends.
Jack: Let me go for a picnic with my friends.
3.  Sheena wants to learn music.  
Sheena: Let me learn music.
4.  Ron is bored with his toys and wants to play outside.
Ron: Let me play outside.
  • We use Let to offer to do something for others.
Example:
5.  Mark to his teacher: Let me carry your books.
6.  A blind man is trying to cross the road. Ruth comes to his aid: Let me help you cross the road.
7.  Mark’s friend has a bad cold. He offers to take her to the doctor: Let me take you to the doctor.
8.  Rita’s grandmother is looking for her  knitting needles. She offers to find them: Let me find your needles.
  • We use let’s to suggest an idea or a plan that includes the speaker. Let’s is a short form of Let us.
1.  I am tired. Let’s rest for sometime.
2.  I am hot. Let’s have a cool drink.
3.  I am hungry. Let’s have some cookies.
4.  The car is very dirty. Let’s clean the car.

William Wordsworth’s “She was a Phantom of Delight” – Audio Analysis

William Wordsworth’s She was a Phantom of Delight – Audio Analysis

She was a Phantom of delight
When first she gleamed upon my sight;
A lovely Apparition, sent
To be a moment’s ornament;
Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;
Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;
But all things else about her drawn
From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;
A dancing Shape, an Image gay,
To haunt, to startle, and waylay.

I saw her upon nearer view,
A Spirit, yet a Woman too!
Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin-liberty;
A countenance in which did meet
Sweet records, promises as sweet;
A Creature not too bright or good
For human nature’s daily food,
For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene
The very pulse of the machine;
A Being breathing thoughtful breath,
A Traveller between life and death;
The reason firm, the temperate will,
Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;
A perfect Woman, nobly planned,
To warn, to comfort, and command;
And yet a Spirit still, and bright
With something of angelic light.

The Tiger by William Blake – Audio Lecture 1

     TheTiger by William Blake – Audio Lecture 1

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water’d heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?