AUTHOR: Danah Trish Ruiz

PARTS OF SPEECH
HOW ILANG-ILANG GOT ITS NAME
BOASTFUL TURTLE
THE BLIND MAN AND THE HUNCHBACK
THE FIGURES OF SPEECH
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
IDIOMS
PAST TENSE
PERFECT TENSE
HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY
THE PART TO EFFECTIVE WRITING
HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A
WIFE
VERBALS
1. Noun

This part of a speech refers to words that are used to name

persons, things, animals, places, ideas, or events. Nouns are the
simplest among the 8 parts of speech, which is why they are the
first ones taught to students in primary school.

Examples:

Tom Hanks is very versatile.

The italicized noun refers to a name of a person.

Dogs can be extremely cute.

In this example, the italicized word is considered a noun

because it names an animal.

It is my birthday.

The word birthday is a noun which refers to an event.

There are different types of nouns namely:

Proper proper nouns always start with a capital letter and

refers to specific names of persons, places, or things.

Examples: Volkswagen Beetle, Shakeys Pizza, Game of

Thrones

Common common nouns are the opposite of proper nouns.

These are just generic names of persons, things, or places.
 Examples: car, pizza parlor, TV series

Concrete this kind refers to nouns which you can perceive

through your five senses.

Examples: folder, sand, board

Abstract- unlike concrete nouns, abstract nouns are those

which you cant perceive through your five senses.

Examples: happiness, grudge, bravery

Count it refers to anything that is countable, and has a

singular and plural form.

Examples: kitten, video, ball

Mass this is the opposite of count nouns. Mass nouns are

also called non-countable nouns, and they need to have
counters to quantify them.

Examples of Counters: kilo, cup, meter

Examples of Mass Nouns: rice, flour, garter

Collective refers to a group of persons, animals, or things.

Example: faculty (group of teachers), class (group of

students), pride (group of lions)

This great list of nouns can help you explore more nouns.

2. Pronoun

A pronoun is a part of a speech which functions as a replacement

for a noun. Some examples of pronouns are: I, it, he, she, mine,
his, hers, we, they, theirs, and ours.

Sample Sentences:
 Janice is a very stubborn child. She just stared at me and
when I told her to stop.

The largest slice is mine.

We are number one.

The italicized words in the sentences above are the pronouns in

the sentence.

3. Adjective

This part of a speech is used to describe a noun or a pronoun.

Adjectives can specify the quality, the size, and the number of
nouns or pronouns.

Use this link to get a list of adjectives.

Sample Sentences:

The carvings are intricate.

The italicized word describes the appearance of the noun

carvings.

I have two hamsters.

The italicized word two, is an adjective which describes the

number of the noun hamsters.

Wow! That doughnut is huge!

The italicized word is an adjective which describes the size of

the noun doughnut.

4. Verb

This is the most important part of a speech, for without a verb, a

sentence would not exist. Simply put, this is a word that shows an
action (physical or mental) or state of being of the subject in a
sentence.
Examples of State of Being Verbs : am, is, was, are, and were

Sample Sentences:

As usual, the Stormtroopers missed their shot.

The italicized word expresses the action of the subject

Stormtroopers.

They are always prepared in emergencies.

The verb are refers to the state of being of the pronoun

they, which is the subject in the sentence.

5. Adverb

Just like adjectives, adverbs are also used to describe words, but
the difference is that adverbs describe adjectives, verbs, or
another adverb.

The different types of adverbs are:

Adverb of Manner this refers to how something happens

or how an action is done.

Example: Annie danced gracefully.

The word gracefully tells how Annie danced.

Adverb of Time- this states when something happens or

when it is done.

Example: She came yesterday.

The italicized word tells when she came.

Adverb of Place this tells something about where

something happens or where something is done.

Example: Of course, I looked everywhere!

 The adverb everywhere tells where I looked.

Adverb of Degree this states the intensity or the degree

to which a specific thing happens or is done.

Example: The child is very talented.

The italicized adverb answers the question, To what degree

is the child talented?

6. Preposition

This part of a speech basically refers to words that specify

location or a location in time.

Examples of Prepositions: above, below, throughout, outside,

before, near, and since

Sample Sentences:

Micah is hiding under the bed.

The italicized preposition introduces the prepositional phrase

under the bed, and tells where Micah is hiding.

During the game, the audience never stopped cheering for

their team.

The italicized preposition introduces the prepositional phrase

during the game, and tells when the audience cheered.

7. Conjunction

The conjunction is a part of a speech which joins words, phrases,

or clauses together.

Examples of Conjunctions: and, yet, but, for, nor, or, and so

Sample Sentences:

This cup of tea is delicious and very soothing.

 Kiyoko has to start all over again because she didnt follow
the professors instructions.

Homer always wanted to join the play, but he didnt have the
guts to audition.

The italicized words in the sentences above are some examples of

conjunctions.

8. Interjection

This part of a speech refers to words which express emotions.

Since interjections are commonly used to convey strong
emotions, they are usually followed by an exclamation point.

Examples of Interjections:

Sample Sentences:

Ouch! That must have hurt.

Hurray, we won!

Hey! I said enough!

HOW ILANG-ILANG GOT ITS NAME

In the town of Tayabas, the prettiest was Ilang. She was adored
by suitors who promised her all the comforts of life but she gave
her heart to a poor farmer named Edo.Ilangs parents did not like
Edo. They did not want their beautiful daughter to marry a poor
farmer and so they forbade her to see Edo. They told her to
choose a husband among her rich suitors.Ilang and Edo devised a
way to see each other. They secretly met at the edge of the
forest when Ilang fetched water from the stream. At these
meetings, they always vowed to love each other come what may.
At home, Ilang remained silent whenever her parents talked about
her wealthy suitors. Her silence made her father suspicious.
Perhaps she still loved Edo? One day, her father followed her
when she went to fetch water. He saw Edo waiting near the
stream.That was the last time Ilang and Edo saw each other.
From that day on, Ilangs parents forbade her to leave the house.
Ilang felt very lonely and dejected. She refused to eat and
became sick. She would rather die than marry one of her rich
suitors.She thought only of Edo as she got weaker and weaker.
Before she died, she begged her parents to bury her at the edge
of the forest near the stream. She wanted to rest in the place
where she and Edo met.Edo tended her grave everyday. He never
married and always yearned for Ilang. Then one day he saw a
little plant growing in her grave. He immediately knew it was
Ilangs spirit.Edo turned his love to the plant until it grew into a
tall and graceful tree. Each day Edo caressed and talked to the
tree. Oh, how happy he was visiting Ilangs grave and the
tree.One morning, the people woke up to the scent of perfume. It
came from the edge of the forest near the stream. They went to
look for the source of the scent and found the strange leaflike
blossoms of the tree. Then, they noticed Edo crumpled at the foot
of the tree and crying, Ilang, Ilang, Ilang Edo died that
morning. The people remembered his last words and from then
on called the tree and its fragrant flowers ilang-ilang.

THE BOASTFUL TURTLE

Some animals are more fortunate than others. The Tamaraw

buffalo are strong, the Calamian deer have antlers to fight off
predators, and the crocodiles of the Agusan marsh are stealthy.
But many would say that birds are the most fortunate creatures of
all. Turtle certainly thought so. He was unlike the others. Where
most turtles were grateful that their flippers meant they could
swim in the sea, this turtle moaned that they were not wings.
Where most turtles knew that their hard shells would protect
them from predators, this turtle felt only a weight on his back that
meant he would never be light enough to take to the skies. Flying
was all he talked about, and he bored the other animals to tears
by talking about it all of the time. When he wasnt talking about
flying, he was talking about himself. This particular turtle was not
exactly good company.

You should be happy with what youve got, one of the elders
told him after he had been on an especially long rant about flying.
This elder was a wise and ancient beast with many scars upon his
shell and many lines upon his face. The young turtles claimed the
elder had once met Bathala, the caretaker of the earth. This had
happened many, many years ago when Bathala had first created
life. The wise elder would neither confirm nor deny this rumour,
but Turtle did not care. All he cared about was flying.

Turtles obsession meant that he had few friends. He did not much
care for the other turtles who just wanted to swim and eat. And
he resented all of the birds because they could fly and he could
not. But he knew that if he ever was going to fly, he would need a
bird to help him. It was that or ask one of the Monsters of the
Philippines, and he was smart enough to know not to interfere
with them. The only creatures stupid enough to ask favours of the
Aswangs and the Wakwaks were the humans, and those who
asked were never seen again.

Instead, Turtle decided to ask a goose. This was long ago you
understand, back in the days when animals asked each other
questions. He knew that geese were very fussy birds. But they
were also not particularly bright, and so Turtle thought that he
would have no problem getting them to help.

The goose that Turtle chose to approach was, at the time, off to
meet her flock and did not relish the thought of trying to teach a
turtle how to fly - especially this turtle. It seemed like an awful lot
of work.
My flock is migrating for the cold season and I am very busy, the
goose told Turtle. This was partly true, but the goose also hoped
to avoid hurting his feelings. After all, everybody knew that turtles
could not fly no matter how determined they were.

I really dont care about how busy you are, whined Turtle,
selfishly. I want to fly and I want to fly now!

It was obvious to the goose that the insistent turtle would not take
no for an answer.

Let me first ask my flock, she said, knowing full well what they
would say. She could have flown off then and there, but she had
either a big heart or a small brain.

The response she got from her flock was just what she expected,
and the air filled with loud, derisive honks as the geese all
laughed at Turtles ridiculous demand. Once the laughter had
subsided, one goose who was more thoughtful than the others
voiced an unconventional idea.

If two of us held a strong stick between us, he said, then Turtle

could hold on while we flew. He does have a strong beak and
could surely hold the stick while in flight. He would have to be
very careful, he added. If he let go, even for a second, he would
fall and he would be too heavy for us to catch.

The goose didnt fancy this idea very much and hoped that the
thought of falling to the ground would be enough to put Turtle off
the plan altogether. But, being a very selfish and single minded
sort of creature, Turtle was determined to go ahead.Well, Just
remember to hold on as tightly as you can and never let go, said
the goose, otherwise you will fall and we will not be able to save
you. You look very heavy with that shell of yours.Yes, yes, of
course, said Turtle, utterly distracted by his own excitement. He
was too busy picturing himself flying with the geese to pay heed
to any warnings. He was also busy thinking how jealous his
friends would be when they saw him flying high up in the sky
above their heads.

THE BLIND MAN AND THE HUNCHBACK

There sprang up a friendship between a blind man and a

hunchback. And one day they said to one another "We shall get
more if we beg in some other village than our own." The
hunchback made the blind man hold his stick, and so dragged him
along. And as they went, the blind man trod upon an old elephant
rope which lay upon the road, and said to his friend "Ah! Friend,
what is this thing like a long snake which I am treading upon?"
The hunchback said "Why, it is only an old elephant-rope." But the
blind man said "Take it, my friend, take it." But, as the hunchback
refused, the blind man bid his friend hand it to him, and so they
went their ways thence.

And presently they came to a river; and as they were wading

across it, the blind man trod upon a tortoise and told his friend
that he had trod upon something living; but the hunchback said it
was only a stone, and asked what was the use of standing there
talking. But the blind man begged him to feel and see. And when
the hunchback announced that it was a tortoise, the blind man
begged his friend to take that, too; and on the hunchback
declaring that it was too heavy, he finally carried it himself.

Then they went their ways and came to a meadow, and heard a
drum being beaten. And the blind man asked what that was, and
where the drumming was going on. On which the hunchback said
it was only cowherds drumming. On which the blind man was for
sending the hunchback to fetch the drum.

But the hunchback said "How shall I fetch it? They will be too
strong for me, for they are many." Then the blind man devised a
plan, and bade the hunchback crawl through the jungle and roar
like a tiger. Which the hunchback did; and the cowherd boys, on
hearing his roaring, ran away headlong and left the drum, which
the hunchback gave, as before, to the blind man to carry.Then the
friends went through the forest, until they came to some houses.
On which the hunchback said "My friend, the sun has set, and
evening has come. How much further are we to go? Here are
houses, let's stop here." But the blind man said he did not think
very well of houses in the jungle, and sent his friend to have a
good look at them.Presently the hunchback returned and said
"There are two or three houses and a granary." On this, the blind
man decided that they would stay in the granary, and so was
dragged into the granary, where they carefully fastened the doors
and prepared to stay for the night. And while they were there,
Rakshashas came and said--

"Fine rice, fine rice, I can smell;

"And better things to eat as well."

And while they were gliding round the house, the blind man
shouted loudly "Here am I!" "Who are you?" said the Rakshashas.
"Who are you?" shouted the blind man. "I am a Rakshasha," said
one of them. "And I am a Zakshasha!" said the blind man.
Whereupon they all got very angry. Then the blind man said "You
need not get angry and you need not get noisy. I can't see you
and you can't see me. Let us make an expedient by which you
can be satisfied." So saying, the blind man bade the Rakshasha
show him a lock of his hair. On this a Rakshasha tore out a bunch
of hair and showed it to him. On which the blind man said "Now
see mine!" And so saying, thrust out of a chink the elephant rope.
And on seeing it, the Rakshasha became very afraid. Then the
blind man demanded to see a flea (from his body). And when the
Rakshasha had shown him one, the blind man put forth his
tortoise. Then the Rakshasha thought "This must indeed be a
Zakshasha," and was greatly afraid. Then the blind man bade him
beat his breast. And, on his doing so, cried "Well done, well done!
I have heard you. Now hear me!" and straightway began to beat
his drum "rub-a-dub-dub." On which the Rakshashas were greatly
frightened and ran right away.

Then the blind man said to his friend "Take any good things that
there are, and tie them up. You take some and give me some, and
let us go;" and, so saying, they went away together. And when
they were come to a far place, the hunchback began dividing the
spoil. And, when that was done, he bade his friend take which
share he would. But the blind man groped about and found that
the share nearest to the hunchback was the biggest. So the
hunchback said "How did you, without seeing, find that out? Now I
have got to divide it all over again!" So he made a fresh
division.And the same thing happened again, and the blind man
turned everything topsy-turvy. And, when this had occurred four
or five times, the hunchback became angry, and taking sand in
his hand rubbed it into the blind man's eyes, saying "Now we shall
see if you are really blind or not;" whereby the blind man
recovered his sight. But he, too, was angry and said "What a
hideous thing you are, and hateful to look upon." And he jumped
on the hunchback's back and belaboured his hump till he made
him straight and well. And when the two were hale and well, they
divided their spoil fairly and went home happily. And that's all!

THE FIGURES OF SPEECH

Simile- a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing
with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description
more emphatic or vivid

Metaphor- a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied

to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

EX. She is fixing in troubled waters

Persinification- a figure intended to represent an abstract quality.

EX. My car was happy to be washed.

Hyperbole- exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be
taken literally.

EX. Im so hungry I could eat a horse

Synecdoche- a figure of speech in which a part is made to

represent the whole.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Although you are probably already familiar with basic subject-verb
agreement, this chapter begins with a quick review of basic
agreement rules.

Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another

in number (singular or plural). Thus, if a subject is singular, its
verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also
be plural.

In the present tense, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite

ways: nouns ADD an s to the singular form; verbs REMOVE
the s from the singular form.

The agreement rules do, however, apply to the following helping

verbs when they are used with a main verb: is-are, was-
were, has-have, does-do.

The agreement rules do not apply to has-have when used as the

SECOND helping verb in a pair.

They do NOT apply to any other helping verbs, such as can, could,
shall, should, may, might, will, would, must.

The subject-verb agreement rules apply to all personal pronouns

except I and you, which, although SINGULAR, require PLURAL
forms of verbs.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing
or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite
pronouns are:

The following indefinite pronouns are singular.

Another anything everybody neither one
Anybody each everyone nobody somebody
Anyone either everything no one someone

The words both,few,many, and several are plural indefinite

pronouns.
Both students are sent to the principals office.
Several have signed up for the traning.

The words some,all,and most are singular when they refer to

a singular word.They are plural when they refer to plural
words of words.
SINGULAR PLURAL
All the water all of the books
Most of the day most of the children

IDIOMS
a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not
deducible from those of the individual words

EX.Break a leg
Bring home the bacon
A slap on the wrist

Cloud nine- very happy

One in a million times- jack of all trades
In a nutshell- describing something in a few words
Bookworm- someone who likes reading
On the ball- always ready
Another laurel on my shoulder- achieved something cold feet-
nervous
Crocodile tears- plastic/ deceiving sympathy
Fish out of water-not expert of a certain thing
Dress to kill- faboulous attire

TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

Narrative
Exposition
Descrpitive
Persuasive

Narrative
-tells a story
-uses specific details
-Is not a mere listing of events. It has
characters,setting,conflict,and resolution
-Time and place are usualy established
-Usually chronologically organized

Exposition
-Informative/ explanatory
-Can be included incidentally with narrative, or descriptive, but
also stand alone.
-The challenge of writing an exposition paragraph is your
credibility- how do I know that you know what youre talking
about?
Ans: citations! (from experts)

Description
-Series of detailed observations
-usually not used by its self, but rather as a part of a whole.
-The challenge is to make it interesting
Imagery
Sensory details; five senses
Similes, metaphors

Persuasive
-uses direct approach
Believe me and do it.
-Calls reader to action or to take a stand on an important issue
-More that just opinion is needed; information, analysis, and
context must be given to the reader to let him/her make a
decision.

PAST TENSE
They name verbs that were completed in the past.
EX. They played in the playground
They ate pizza.

Forming Past Tense

Verb ending in e How to make simple Live-lived

add d past
Constonant + y Change y to I then Fly- Flied
add ed
One vowel + one Double the Trap-Trapped
constonant w & y contonant then add Commit- Committed
+ed
Anything else Add + ed Boil-Boiled
including w Show-showed

Present Tense

It is used to describe habits, unchanging situations, general

truths, and fixed arrangements.

-The simple present tense form

Just use base form of the verb

EX. I am running.
She is eating Simple present progressive tense
He is cooking
She eats apple
She cooks eggs Simple present tense

Future Tense
Indicates that an action is in the future relative to the speaker or
writer
EX. WILL/SHALL + base from of the verb > formula

Simple Tenses of the verb:

PRESENT PAST FUTURE

Talk Talked Will talk
See Saw Will see
Do Did Will do
Watch Watched Will watch
Sleep Slept Will sleep

The English language has seven coordinationating conjunctions:

FANBOYS.
For- explains reason of purpose (just like because)
I go to the park every Sunday, for I love to watch ducks on the
lake
And- adds one thing to another
Nor- used to present alternative negative idea to an already
stated negative idea.
I dont go for the fresh air nor really for the ducks honesty.
But- it shows contrast
Or- presents an alternative or a choice
The men play on tems:shirts or skins
Yet- introduces a contrasting idea that follows the preceding idea
logically (similar to but)
I always take a book to read, yet I never seem to turn a single
page
So-indicates effect, result or consequence
Ive started one of the soccer players, so now I have an excuse to
watch the game each week.

HOW TO WRITE AN ESSAY

-To show case your writing skills and ability to organize and
present material in a clear and concise fashion
-To give an insights into your personality and interest
Parts of an Essay

Introduction
Body
Conclusion

Introduction
-First Part of an Essay
-Try to capture the readers attention

Part of Thesis statement

Topic
Opinion
Reasons

Functions:
-To announce the topic to the reader
-To reflect a judgement about the topic
-To provide the reader with a blue print of what is to come in the
paper

The Body

-Is a state of paragraphs that develop the idea expressed in the

thesis statement.

THE PART TO EFFECTIVE WRITING

Verbs and Voice

-Voice is the form a verb takes to indicate whether the subject of

the verb performs or receive the action

-There are two types of Voice

-Active voice
-Passive voice
Active Voice

-indicates that the subject of the verb is acting

-Because the subject does or acts upon the verb in such
sentences the sentences are to be active voices.

Active Voice

Subj. Does Perform the Action

Ex.

The dog jumped onto the boy.

-the dog (subject) is doing the giving (verb)

Passive Voice

-in a passive voice sentence, the subject and object flip-flop.The

subject becomes the passive recipient of the action.

-Because the subject is being acted upon(or is passive), such

sentences are said to be in the passive voice.

Passive Voice

Subj. receiver of the action

The boy was jumped on by the dog

Verb b (be,is,are,am,was,were,has/have,had)

Preposition by

Plus the past participate of the verb

Jump Jumped

The dog jumped onto the boy

Present is,am,are,has,have

Past- was,were,had

The dog is jumping onto the boy

Correct answer:
The boy is being jumped on by the dog

Verbs be + being + past participate

HOW MY BROTHER LEON BROUGHT HOME A WIFE

She stepped down from the carretela of Ca Celin with a quick,

delicate grace. She was lovely. SHe was tall. She looked up to my
brother with a smile, and her forehead was on a level with his
mouth. "You are Baldo," she said and placed her hand lightly on
my shoulder. Her nails were long, but they were not painted. She
was fragrant like a morning when papayas are in bloom. And a
small dimple appeared momently high on her right cheek. "And
this is Labang of whom I have heard so much." She held the wrist
of one hand with the other and looked at Labang, and Labang
never stopped chewing his cud. He swallowed and brought up to
his mouth more cud and the sound of his insides was like a
drum. I laid a hand on Labang's massive neck and said to her:
"You may scratch his forehead now."She hesitated and I saw that
her eyes were on the long, curving horns. But she came and
touched Labang's forehead with her long fingers, and Labang
never stopped chewing his cud except that his big eyes half
closed. And by and by she was scratching his forehead very
daintily. My brother Leon put down the two trunks on the grassy
side of the road. He paid Ca Celin twice the usual fare from the
station to the edge of Nagrebcan. Then he was standing beside
us, and she turned to him eagerly. I watched Ca Celin, where he
stood in front of his horse, and he ran his fingers through its
forelock and could not keep his eyes away from her.
"Maria---" my brother Leon said. He did not say Maring. He did not
say Mayang. I knew then that he had always called her Maria and
that to us all she would be Maria; and in my mind I said 'Maria'
and it was a beautiful name. "Yes, Noel."Now where did she get
that name? I pondered the matter quietly to myself, thinking
Father might not like it. But it was only the name of my brother
Leon said backward and it sounded much better that way. "There
is Nagrebcan, Maria," my brother Leon said, gesturing widely
toward the west. She moved close to him and slipped her arm
through his. And after a while she said quietly. "You love
Nagrebcan, don't you, Noel?"Ca Celin drove away hi-yi-ing to his
horse loudly. At the bend of the camino real where the big duhat
tree grew, he rattled the handle of his braided rattan whip against
the spokes of the wheel. We stood alone on the roadside.

The sun was in our eyes, for it was dipping into the bright sea.
The sky was wide and deep and very blue above us: but along the
saw-tooth rim of the Katayaghan hills to the southwest flamed
huge masses of clouds. Before us the fields swam in a golden
haze through which floated big purple and red and yellow bubbles
when I looked at the sinking sun. Labang's white coat, which I had
wshed and brushed that morning with coconut husk, glistened like
beaten cotton under the lamplight and his horns appeared tipped
with fire.

He faced the sun and from his mouth came a call so loud and
vibrant that the earth seemed to tremble underfoot. And far away
in the middle of the field a cow lowed softly in answer.

"Hitch him to the cart, Baldo," my brother Leon said, laughing,

and she laughed with him a big uncertainly, and I saw that he had
put his arm around her shoulders.

"Why does he make that sound?" she asked. "I have never heard
the like of it."

"There is not another like it," my brother Leon said. "I have yet to
hear another bull call like Labang. In all the world there is no
other bull like him."
She was smiling at him, and I stopped in the act of tying the sinta
across Labang's neck to the opposite end of the yoke, because
her teeth were very white, her eyes were so full of laughter, and
there was the small dimple high up on her right cheek.

"If you continue to talk about him like that, either I shall fall in
love with him or become greatly jealous."

My brother Leon laughed and she laughed and they looked at

each other and it seemed to me there was a world of laughter
between them and in them.

I climbed into the cart over the wheel and Labang would have
bolted, for he was always like that, but I kept a firm hold on his
rope. He was restless and would not stand still, so that my brother
Leon had to say "Labang" several times. When he was quiet
again, my brother Leon lifted the trunks into the cart, placing the
smaller on top.

She looked down once at her high-heeled shoes, then she gave
her left hand to my brother Leon, placed a foot on the hub of the
wheel, and in one breath she had swung up into the cart. Oh, the
fragrance of her. But Labang was fairly dancing with impatience
and it was all I could do to keep him from running away.

"Give me the rope, Baldo," my brother Leon said. "Maria, sit down
on the hay and hold on to anything." Then he put a foot on the
left shaft and that instand labang leaped forward. My brother Leon
laughed as he drew himself up to the top of the side of the cart
and made the slack of the rope hiss above the back of labang.
The wind whistled against my cheeks and the rattling of the
wheels on the pebbly road echoed in my ears.

She sat up straight on the bottom of the cart, legs bent togther to
one side, her skirts spread over them so that only the toes and
heels of her shoes were visible. her eyes were on my brother
Leon's back; I saw the wind on her hair. When Labang slowed
down, my brother Leon handed to me the rope. I knelt on the
straw inside the cart and pulled on the rope until Labang was
merely shuffling along, then I made him turn around.

"What is it you have forgotten now, Baldo?" my brother Leon

said.

I did not say anything but tickled with my fingers the rump of
Labang; and away we went---back to where I had unhitched and
waited for them. The sun had sunk and down from the wooded
sides of the Katayaghan hills shadows were stealing into the
fields. High up overhead the sky burned with many slow fires.

When I sent Labang down the deep cut that would take us to the
dry bed of the Waig which could be used as a path to our place
during the dry season, my brother Leon laid a hand on my
shoulder and said sternly:

"Who told you to drive through the fields tonight?"

His hand was heavy on my shoulder, but I did not look at him or
utter a word until we were on the rocky bottom of the Waig.

"Baldo, you fool, answer me before I lay the rope of Labang on

you. Why do you follow the Wait instead of the camino real?"

His fingers bit into my shoulder.

"Father, he told me to follow the Waig tonight, Manong."

Swiftly, his hand fell away from my shoulder and he reached for
the rope of Labang. Then my brother Leon laughed, and he sat
back, and laughing still, he said:

"And I suppose Father also told you to hitch Labang to the cart
and meet us with him instead of with Castano and the calesa."

Without waiting for me to answer, he turned to her and said,

"Maria, why do you think Father should do that, now?" He laughed
and added, "Have you ever seen so many stars before?"
I looked back and they were sitting side by side, leaning against
the trunks, hands clasped across knees. Seemingly, but a man's
height above the tops of the steep banks of the Wait, hung the
stars. But in the deep gorge the shadows had fallen heavily, and
even the white of Labang's coat was merely a dim, grayish blur.
Crickets chirped from their homes in the cracks in the banks. The
thick, unpleasant smell of dangla bushes and cooling sun-heated
earth mingled with the clean, sharp scent of arrais roots exposed
to the night air and of the hay inside the cart. "Look, Noel, yonder
is our star!" Deep surprise and gladness were in her voice. Very
low in the west, almost touching the ragged edge of the bank,
was the star, the biggest and brightest in the sky. "I have been
looking at it," my brother Leon said. "Do you remember how I
would tell you that when you want to see stars you must come to
Nagrebcan?""Yes, Noel," she said. "Look at it," she murmured, half
to herself. "It is so many times bigger and brighter than it was at
Ermita beach.""The air here is clean, free of dust and smoke."
"So it is, Noel," she said, drawing a long breath.
"Making fun of me, Maria?"

She laughed then and they laughed together and she took my
brother Leon's hand and put it against her face.

I stopped Labang, climbed down, and lighted the lantern that

hung from the cart between the wheels.

"Good boy, Baldo," my brother Leon said as I climbed back into

the cart, and my heart sant.

Now the shadows took fright and did not crowd so near. Clumps of
andadasi and arrais flashed into view and quickly disappeared as
we passed by. Ahead, the elongated shadow of Labang bobbled
up and down and swayed drunkenly from side to side, for the
lantern rocked jerkily with the cart.

"Have we far to go yet, Noel?" she asked.

"Ask Baldo," my brother Leon said, "we have been neglecting

him."

"I am asking you, Baldo," she said.

Without looking back, I answered, picking my words slowly:

"Soon we will get out of the Wait and pass into the fields. After the
fields is home---Manong."

"So near already."

I did not say anything more because I did not know what to make
of the tone of her voice as she said her last words. All the laughter
seemed to have gone out of her. I waited for my brother Leon to
say something, but he was not saying anything. Suddenly he
broke
out into song and the song was 'Sky Sown with Stars'---the same
that he and Father sang when we cut hay in the fields at night
before he went away to study. He must have taught her the song
because she joined him, and her voice flowed into his like a gentle
stream meeting a stronger one. And each time the wheels
encountered a big rock, her voice would catch in her throat, but
my brother Leon would sing on, until, laughing softly, she would
join him again.

Then we were climbing out into the fields, and through the spokes
of the wheels the light of the lantern mocked the shadows.
Labang quickened his steps. The jolting became more frequent
and painful as we crossed the low dikes.

"But it is so very wide here," she said. The light of the stars broke
and scattered the darkness so that one could see far on every
side, though indistinctly.

"You miss the houses, and the cars, and the people and the noise,
don't you?" My brother Leon stopped singing.

"Yes, but in a different way. I am glad they are not here."

With difficulty I turned Labang to the left, for he wanted to go

straight on. He was breathing hard, but I knew he was more
thirsty than tired. In a little while we drope up the grassy side
onto the camino real.

"---you see," my brother Leon was explaining, "the camino real

curves around the foot of the Katayaghan hills and passes by our
house. We drove through the fields because---but I'll be asking
Father as soon as we get home."
"Noel," she said.
"Yes, Maria."
"I am afraid. He may not like me."
"Does that worry you still, Maria?" my brother Leon said. "From

the way you talk, he might be an ogre, for all the world. Except
when his leg that was wounded in the Revolution is troubling him,
Father is the mildest-tempered, gentlest man I know."

We came to the house of Lacay Julian and I spoke to Labang

loudly, but Moning did not come to the window, so I surmised she
must be eating with the rest of her family. And I thought of the
food being made ready at home and my mouth watered. We met
the twins, Urong and Celin, and I said "Hoy!" calling them by
name. And they shouted back and asked if my brother Leon and
his wife were with me. And my brother Leon shouted to them and
then told me to make Labang run; their answers were lost in the
noise of the wheels.

I stopped labang on the road before our house and would have
gotten down but my brother Leon took the rope and told me to
stay in the cart. He turned Labang into the open gate and we
dashed into our yard. I thought we would crash into the camachile
tree, but my brother Leon reined in Labang in time. There was
light downstairs in the kitchen, and Mother stood in the doorway,
and I could see her smiling shyly. My brother Leon was helping
Maria over the wheel. The first words that fell from his lips after
he had kissed Mother's hand were:

"Father... where is he?"

"He is in his room upstairs," Mother said, her face becoming
serious. "His leg is bothering him again."
I did not hear anything more because I had to go back to the cart
to unhitch Labang. But I hardly tied him under the barn when I
heard Father calling me. I met my brother Leon going to bring up
the trunks. As I passed through the kitchen, there were Mother
and my sister Aurelia and Maria and it seemed to me they were
crying, all of them.

There was no light in Father's room. There was no movement. He

sat in the big armchair by the western window, and a star shone
directly through it. He was smoking, but he removed the roll of
tobacco from his mouth when he saw me. He laid it carefully on
the windowsill before speaking.

"Did you meet anybody on the way?" he asked.

"No, Father," I said. "Nobody passes through the Waig at night."

He reached for his roll of tobacco and hithced himself up in the

chair.

"She is very beautiful, Father."

"Was she afraid of Labang?" My father had not raised his voice,
but the room seemed to resound with it. And again I saw her eyes
on the long curving horns and the arm of my brother Leon around
her shoulders.

"No, Father, she was not afraid."

"On the way---"

"She looked at the stars, Father. And Manong Leon sang."

"What did he sing?"

"---Sky Sown with Stars... She sang with him."

He was silent again. I could hear the low voices of Mother and my
sister Aurelia downstairs. There was also the voice of my brother
Leon, and I thought that Father's voice must have been like it

when Father was young. He had laid the roll of tobacco on the
windowsill once more. I watched the smoke waver faintly upward
from the lighted end and vanish slowly into the night outside.
The door opened and my brother Leon and Maria came in.
"Have you watered Labang?" Father spoke to me.
I told him that Labang was resting yet under the barn.
"It is time you watered him, my son," my father said.
I looked at Maria and she was lovely. She was tall. Beside my
brother Leon, she was tall and very still. Then I went out, and in
the darkened hall the fragrance of her was like a morning when
papayas are in bloom.

VERBAL

A verbal is a verb that is being used as another part of speech

rather than a verb

Gerund is a verbal that ends in ing and functions as a noun.

Gerund as subject:
EX. Travelling might satisfy your desire for new experience

Gerund as direct object:

EX. They do not appreciate singing

Gerund as a subject complement:

EX. My cats favorite activity is sleeping.

Gerund as a object of preposition

EX. The police arrested him for speeding.