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5ème Translation Programme from September to November : Focus on Narrative writing.
Topic One: Direct Speech and Punctuation in a Narrative
1. When speech is written down, it has punctuation which is different in English and
French.
English
"How are you?" he asked. The spoken words are surrounded by speech marks.
French
- Comment ça va ? demanda-t-il. The spoken words are preceded by a dash (-)
2. When the words in speech marks are accompanied by words like he said, we have
to change the punctuation slightly.
"I love chocolate bars," said Samantha.
"You won't when all your teeth fall out," replied her mother.
"My teeth won't fall out!" squealed Samantha.
"Did you brush your teeth?" asked mother. "It's important."
A comma is used at the end of the sentence instead of a full stop. Exclamation marks
and question marks remain the same.
Now that we know that the two people speaking are Samantha and her mother, we do
not need to continue using their names...
3. If words like he said come before the words in speech marks, we punctuate like this:
Peter said, "I have eaten an apple a day for a week, and no chocolate."
Samantha replied, "Creep!"
There is a comma before the speech marks.
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1-Read the story and add the correct punctuation to the highlighted section :
The story so far …
Simon Dodds, an archeologist, has joined Sir Harry Lancaster’s expedition to Egypt. They
have been looking for the tomb of Toutmosos III. Sir Harry’s daughter, Caroline , is with
them. After months searching, they discover the entrance to the tomb…
In spite of the terrible heat, the men worked all day. By nightfall, the stairs had been cleared.
The huge stone door leading to the tomb stood before us.
We’ll have to wait until tomorrow before we enter the tomb
decided Sir Harry. We’ll clear the sand around the door first
thing in the morning he added.
But Sir Harry I protested. It’ll only take us an hour or two. Why
wait
Caroline took my arm and smiled. Because of the poor light she
explained. We can’t work in the dark
Patience, Simon laughed Sir Harry. It can wait another day
Reluctantly I had to agree and we all retired to our tents. Although it had been an
exhausting day, I couldn’t sleep. My mind was full of the problems we had had over the last
ten months.
2- Translate the highlighted section into French and underline the verbs that tell us
why a person speaks or how someone speaks to replace the verb “said” :
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Topic 2 Past tenses
Although it had been an exhausting day, I couldn’t sleep. My mind was full of the problems
we had had over the last ten months. A sudden noise interrupted my thoughts. Someone had
entered my tent.
“Simon are you asleep?” whispered Caroline in a breathless voice. I sat up in surprise.
“Caroline,” I replied. “Whatever’s the matter?”
“The tomb,” she explained. “Someone’s opened the tomb!” In a minute I had dressed and lit
a lamp.
“Don’t you think you should take your gun?” suggested Caroline. ”You’re right,” I agreed.
We crossed the sand in silence. When we reached the top of the staircase, we could see that
the door had been forced open. We descended and entered the tomb. In the first chamber we
found several wooden chests lying, overturned on the floor.
“Someone’s been here before us,” remarked Caroline.
“Yes, but this could have happened thousand of years ago,” I assured her.” The real treasure
might still be safe in the burial chamber.” It seemed mad to go on alone. However, in spite of
our fear, we continued down a long staircase which led us to a larger room full of magnificent
statues. A small, square door caught my attention.
“Look,” I cried. “That must lead to the burial chamber!”
I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Someone had followed us into the tomb. Because
of the echo, it was impossible to tell whether the steps came from above us or behind us.
“Simon!” screamed Caroline in terror. “Look out!” But it was too late. Before I could turn
around…
Exercice 1 :
Past perfect :
Look at the underlined verbs and translate the sentences in italics. What tense did you use in
French ?
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Exercice 2 : Finish the story : Remember to use past tenses.
Remember to use all the elements of the story to come to a
satisfying resolution for the reader.
Include some dialogue in your narrative.
Max: 15 lines
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Topic 3 :
Tenses in a narrative
The past tenses are the usual tenses of narratives.
However in a dialogue embedded in a narrative you can use all the
tenses you need. There are some differences between French and
English so be careful !
The Present Perfect
In English, the Present Perfect tense is used to connect the past and the
present. We use it especially for finished actions that are important
now.
e.g. I can't swim. I've never learned.
Look Mum, he hasn't eaten all his cabbage.
PAST --------------------------------- PRESENT
Look at the three examples of the Present Perfect below :
1. I have seen this film three times already.
2. Have I ever seen this film?
3. I have not seen this film before.
*How do we make the Present Perfect tense? (Use examples 1,2 and 3
to help you answer this question.)
Attention l’auxiliaire et le verbe peuvent vous faire confondre ce
temps avec le passé composé en français. On traduit parfois par le
passé composé mais PAS TOUJOURS !!!
Savez-vous dire : je suis à Bilingue depuis la maternelle ?
The Present Perfect, since or for
Look carefully at the six sentences below :
1. He's been here since six o'clock. (bonus : why o' ?)
2. We've had our dog since September.
3. I've known her since university.
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4. He's been here for two hours.
5. We've had this car for six months.
6. I've known her for a very long time.
*We use SINCE ____________________________ and FOR
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Why can this be confusing for a French speaker ?
Present Perfect, Past Simple or Past Perfect ?
Translate the following sentences into English :
1) Quelle réussite ! Nous avons découvert la tombe de Toutmosis III.
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2) Nous sommes dans le désert depuis dix mois.
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3) La tombe de Tutankhamun fut découverte en 1922
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4) La momie avait disparue !
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5) Quelqu’un est venu ici avant nous !
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6) Nous sommes épuisés. Nous travaillons depuis des heures.
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7) Il n’avait pas eu le temps de se retourner et d’empêcher la momie de refermer la porte.
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8) L’escalier nous menait jusqu’à la chambre funéraire.
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9) Les hommes avaient creusé un trou au bon endroit et nous découvrîmes un petit coffre
en bois.
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10) Nous avions eu d’énormes problèmes au cours des derniers mois.
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