🎯 Learning Objectives
- Read and understand a story and identify feelings expressed
- Use vocabulary words that express positive and negative feelings
- Make polite and rude requests and understand the difference
- Use adverbs and adverb phrases correctly
- Write a well-structured paragraph with a topic sentence
3.1 Warm Up — Understanding Your Self-Concept
💡 What is Self-Concept?
Self-Concept is made up of ALL the beliefs and attitudes you have about yourself. These beliefs determine
who you are, what you do, and what you can become.
Good news: You CAN change your self-concept if you work on yourself!
3.2 Reading — 'Love': A Story by Guy de Maupassant
📚 Story Background
Author: Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) — famous French writer known for short stories about human nature and emotions.
Theme: Love, grief, nature, sensitivity, and guilt
Narrator: An unnamed man who loves nature but also hunts — a contradiction that becomes the heart of the story.
Scene-by-Scene Summary:
| Scene | Summary |
|---|
| The Narrator | A simple man born in the countryside who loves nature, fresh air, animals. He enjoys hunting but is troubled by the sight of wounded or dying animals. |
| The Invitation | Cousin Karl invites him duck-hunting on the marshes. They set out at daybreak in bitterly cold winter weather. |
| Cousin Karl | A stout, red-faced, jolly, good-natured but rather dull country gentleman. Lives in a house half farmhouse, half castle. |
| The Hunting | They wait in a hut. Dawn breaks. Birds fly up. Shooting begins. Dogs Plunger and Pierrot bring back bleeding birds. The narrator feels uneasy seeing dying birds look up at him. |
| The Teal's Death | The narrator shoots a female teal. Immediately from above comes a heartbreaking sound — the short, repeated, grief-filled cry of the male teal, whose mate has just been killed. The male circles round and round, crying, seeking its dead companion. |
| The Narrator's Emotion | The narrator feels tears stinging his eyes. The male bird comes closer, careless of danger, driven by love. |
| Karl Kills the Male | Karl fires. The male bird falls. Karl holds the game bag open. The narrator refuses to put the birds in the bag. |
| The Burial | The narrator digs a large hole himself and buries both birds together in the same grave — under the sky, in their own home, at the heart of the cold marshes. A quiet act of respect, compassion, and guilt. |
❤️ Understanding the Ending
The narrator feels
GUILTY for killing the female and causing the male such grief. He is deeply moved by the male's love — flying back again and again despite danger, just to be near its mate. Burying them together is his way of saying sorry and showing respect for their love.
3.3 Vocabulary — Positive and Negative Feeling Words
| ✅ POSITIVE FEELINGS | ❌ NEGATIVE FEELINGS |
|---|
| amusing, brilliant, enjoyable, fascinating | awful, boring, disappointing, dull |
| terrific, entertaining, exciting, wonderful | dreadful, terrible, indifferent, suspicious |
| blissful, sympathetic | miserable, sad |
Feelings in Situations:
| Situation | Feeling |
|---|
| Chatting with friends after a hearty meal | Relaxed / Blissful |
| Someone punctured your car tyres | Angry / Frustrated |
| You introduced a friend with the wrong name | Embarrassed |
| You have lost your train ticket | Worried / Panicked |
| You are about to make a speech for the first time | Nervous / Excited |
| Your neighbour borrows things from you every day | Annoyed |
3.4 Grammar — Adverbs and Adverb Phrases
📚 What is an Adverb?
An
adverb is a word that describes or modifies a
verb. It answers the questions:
HOW? WHEN? WHERE?
| Type | Answers | Examples |
|---|
| Adverb of Manner | HOW? | eagerly, confidently, melodiously, slowly, quickly |
| Adverb of Time | WHEN? | suddenly, soon, late, yesterday, now, then, already |
| Adverb of Place | WHERE? | downstairs, outside, here, there, inside, upstairs |
📖 Adverb Phrases — More Than One Word
Sometimes an adverb is a
group of words working together, usually beginning with prepositions like
in, on, under, from, to, at:
• "I was born
in the countryside." (WHERE?)
• "We were soon
on the edge of the marsh." (WHERE?)
• "He left
at three in the morning." (WHEN?)
3.5 Speaking — Being Polite vs Being Rude
When we speak English, we can accidentally sound rude by using a direct form instead of a polite form. Compare:
| Situation | ❌ Rude / Direct | ✅ Polite / Correct |
|---|
| Getting a key | Get me the key fast! | I'm afraid this door is locked, could you please get me the key? |
| Borrowing money | Give me some money, I need it. | Could you please lend me some money? |
| Asking for a lift | Give me a lift, will you. | I'd be grateful if you could give me a lift today. |
| Cancelling dinner | I can't come for dinner. | I'm sorry I won't be able to come for dinner. Please excuse the inconvenience. |
🌟 Magic Phrases for Politeness
Could you please... |
Would you mind...
I'm afraid... |
I'm sorry, but...
I'd be grateful if... |
May I request you to...
3.6 Writing — How to Write a Good Paragraph
📝 Paragraph Structure
1. Topic Sentence — States the MAIN IDEA (usually first)
2. Supporting Sentences — Give details, examples, explanations
3. Concluding Sentence (optional) — Wraps up the idea
✍️ Sample Paragraph — My Closest Friend
My closest friend is Freda Swaminathan. [TOPIC SENTENCE] I have known her since my school days. She is someone I can trust completely. She lives at quite a distance but we try to meet about once a week. Sometimes we just go to the Barista for a cup of coffee and a chat. She's really witty and intelligent and fun to be with! Even though we do not meet so often, we speak on the phone every day.
Practice Questions & Answers
Q1. In what way is the narrator in 'Love' a 'simple man'?
The narrator describes himself as simple because he was born in the countryside and never left it. He loves the earth, fresh air, everything that grows, animals, the wind, and the sky. He enjoys simple pleasures like hunting and being in nature — close to nature, without the complications of city life.
Q2. How did killing the female teal affect the narrator?
Killing the female teal affected the narrator very deeply. He felt tears stinging in his eyes when he heard the male's heartbreaking cries. He was overcome by guilt and grief. He refused to put the birds in the game bag. He dug a hole himself and buried both birds together — a deeply compassionate act.
Q3. How were the narrator and Karl different from each other?
Karl: Unmoved — shot birds as a matter of fact, wanted to put them in the bag, walked away normally.
Narrator: Very sensitive — felt the birds' pain, felt guilt, was moved to tears, took the trouble to bury both birds with respect.
The story shows two people can do the same thing (hunting) but have completely different emotional responses.
Q4. Why did the male teal ignore danger and keep coming back?
The male teal kept coming back because he was driven by LOVE for his dead mate. Even though he could see Karl's gun pointed at him, he could not fly away. His love for his partner was stronger than his instinct for self-preservation. This is what moved the narrator so deeply.
Q5. What is an adverb? Give three examples with their types.
An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a VERB. It answers HOW? WHEN? or WHERE?
- She sang melodiously. (HOW? → Adverb of Manner)
- All flights landed late. (WHEN? → Adverb of Time)
- Put the dustbin outside. (WHERE? → Adverb of Place)
Q6. Underline adverbs and identify type: a) She ran the race confidently. b) All flights landed late. c) Put the dustbin outside.
a) confidently — Adverb of Manner (HOW she ran)
b) late — Adverb of Time (WHEN they landed)
c) outside — Adverb of Place (WHERE to put it)
Q7. Rewrite these requests politely: a) Get me the key fast. b) Help me lift this heavy machine.
a) "I'm afraid this door is locked, could you please get me the key?"
b) "I'll be very grateful if you could kindly help me lift this heavy machine."
Q8. What is a topic sentence? Give an example.
A TOPIC SENTENCE is the first and most important sentence of a paragraph. It states the MAIN IDEA. All other sentences develop, explain, or give examples to support this main idea.
Example: "My closest friend is Freda Swaminathan." — Everything that follows in the paragraph gives details ABOUT Freda.
Q9. Give 5 examples of positive and 5 of negative feeling words.
Positive: amusing, brilliant, enjoyable, fascinating, terrific
Negative: awful, boring, disappointing, dull, dreadful
Q10. What is self-concept? Why is it important?
Self-concept = ALL the beliefs and attitudes you have about yourself. These beliefs determine:
• Who you are — your identity
• What you do — your behaviour and choices
• What you can become — your potential
It is important because a positive self-concept leads to confidence, better decisions, and success in life. The good news: self-concept CAN be changed and improved.
Let Us Sum Up — Quick Revision
- Story 'Love': Sensitivity, grief, compassion — narrator buries two birds as an act of love and guilt
- Positive Feelings: amusing, brilliant, enjoyable, fascinating, terrific, exciting, wonderful, blissful
- Negative Feelings: awful, boring, disappointing, dull, dreadful, terrible, miserable, sad
- Adverbs: Tell HOW (manner), WHEN (time), WHERE (place)
- Adverb Phrases: Group of words beginning with prepositions — e.g. "in the countryside"
- Polite Phrases: "Could you please...", "I'm afraid...", "I'd be grateful if..."
- Paragraph Writing: Start with TOPIC SENTENCE. All other sentences must support it.