Some people don’t mind the
rain, but I do. The skies are grey, and the constant drizzle makes me
want to stay inside. Driving is more difficult because the streets are
wet and slippery. The traffic is always worse. Plus, it is harder to see
out of the car windshield when the rain is smashing against it. It is also
harder to see pedestrians who are frantically trying to cross the busy
streets. They should definitely carry colorful umbrellas and wear bright
raincoats, so they can be seen more easily. Too many accidents occur as a
result of wet weather. I know the rain makes everything green, but it
seems to linger too long for my liking especially in November.
1.What is the topic sentence? Some
people don’t mind the rain, but I do.
2.How many supporting detail
sentences are there? There are seven supporting detail sentences that tell
about the problems with rain.
3.What is the closing sentence? The
closing sentence is I know the rain makes everything green, but it seems
to linger too long for my liking especially in November.
4.How many compound sentences are
there? There are four compound sentences: The first, second, sixth and
last sentences are compound sentences. They are two sentences that are
joined by these coordinators: but, and, so.
5.How many complex sentences are
there? There are two complex sentences. The third sentence uses “because”
as a subordinating conjunction and the fifth uses “when”.
6.In the second sentence, what is
another word for rain? Another word for rain in the second sentence is
drizzle.
7. Is there any repetition of
initial consonant sounds in this paragraph?
Yes, the (d) sound is repeated in
the third sentence, the (c) sound is in the seventh, the (w) sound is in
the eighth and the (l) sound is in the last..
8. What adverbs are used? Inside,
always, frantically, definitely, more easily, too long, and especially are
all adverbs that are used.
The word “rain” can be either a noun
or a verb. In the above paragraph, it is a noun. Like many common nouns,
it is preceded by the definite article (the) when it is referring to a
specific thing: The heavy rain caused flooding on the highway. The
indefinite article “a” can be used if it not specific: A light rain in the
morning is good for the garden. Sometimes, neither the definite or
indefinite article is necessary: Rain is expected over the next few days.
However, we also often use the word “rain” to describe an action or what
it is doing especially in Vancouver. Here are some examples of “rain” as a
verb:
Verb Tenses
It rains regularly in Vancouver.
(simple present)
It is raining heavily now. (present
progressive)
It has rained on this day every year
for the past four years. (present perfect)
It has been raining for
hours.(present perfect continuous)
It rained steadily last
night.(simple past)
It was raining for a while
yesterday. (past progressive)
It had rained for three hours before
the wedding.(past perfect)
It had been raining lightly that
day. (past perfect continuous)
It is going to rain for the next two
days. (future using present continuous)
It might rain tonight. (conditional
future)
The meteorologist said that it will
rain tomorrow. (simple future)
Because there are so many different
kinds of rain, we have different words for each of them. A light rain
could be called a drizzle or a sprinkle. A moderate rain could be called a
shower, and a heavy rain could be called a downpour. Drizzle and sprinkle
can be used as verbs but shower cannot. Downpour should be changed to just
pour. Now try the following quizzes to see if you can match the sentences
to the verb tenses.
Verb
Tenses Quiz 1
Verb
Tenses Quiz 2
Vancouver Forecast (pray for sun!)
November
Rains
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