STORY IN ENGLISH

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

     In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of Saint Nicholas, there lies a small market town which is generally known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given by the good housewives of the adjacent country from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days. Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley among high hills which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook murmurs through it and, with the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks the uniform tranquillity.
     From the listless repose of the place, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow. Some say that the place was bewitched during the early days of the Dutch settlement; others, that an old Indian chief, the wizard of his tribe, held his powwows there before the country was discovered by Master Hendrick Hudson. Certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power that holds a spell over the minds of the descendants of the original settlers. They are given to all kinds of marvelous beliefs, are subject to trances and visions, and frequently hear music and voices in the air. The whole neighborhood abounds with local tales, haunted spots, and twilight superstitions.
     The dominant spirit that haunts this enchanted region is the apparition of a figure on horseback without a head. It is said to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannonball in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever seen by the countryfolk, hurrying along in the gloom of the night as if on the wings of the wind. Historians of those parts allege that the body of the trooper having been buried in the yard of a church at no great distance, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head; and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow is owing to his being in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak. The specter is known, at all the country firesides, by the name of the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.

to be continued...

                                                                                                                                         

TUGAS BAHASA INGGRIS (Article)

ARTICLE

An article (abbreviated ART) is a word (or prefix or suffix) that is used with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and (in certain contexts) some. 'An' and 'a' are modern forms of the Old English 'an', which in Anglian dialects was the number 'one' (compare 'on', in Saxon dialects) and survived into Modern Scots as the number 'ane'. Both 'on' (respelled 'one' by the Normans) and 'an' survived into Modern English, with 'one' used as the number and 'an' ('a', before nouns that begin with a consonant sound) as an indefinite article.

Traditionally in English, an article is usually considered to be a type of adjective. In some languages, articles are a special part of speech, which cannot easily be combined with other parts of speech. It is also possible for articles to be part of another part of speech category such as a determiner, an English part of speech category that combines articles and demonstratives (such as 'this' and 'that').
In languages that employ articles, every common noun, with some exceptions, is expressed with a certain definiteness (e.g., definite or indefinite), just as many languages express every noun with a certain grammatical number (e.g., singular or plural). Every noun must be accompanied by the article, if any, corresponding to its definiteness, and the lack of an article (considered a zero article) itself specifies a certain definiteness. This is in contrast to other adjectives and determiners, which are typically optional. This obligatory nature of articles makes them among the most common words in many languages—in English, for example, the most frequent word is the.^[1]
Articles are usually characterized as either definite or indefinite.^[2] A few languages with well-developed systems of articles may distinguish additional subtypes. Within each type, languages may have various forms of each article, according to grammatical attributes such as gender, number, or case, or according to adjacent sounds.

Example:

The children know the fastest way home.

The sentence above refers to specific children and a specific way home; it contrasts with the much more general observation that:

Children know the fastest way home.

The latter sentence refers to children in general and their specific ways home. Likewise,

Give me the book.

refers to a specific book whose identity is known or obvious to the listener; as such it has a markedly different meaning from

Give me a book.

which does not specify what book is to be given.

The definite article can also be used in English to indicate a specific class among other classes:

The cabbage white butterfly lays its eggs on members of the Brassica genus.

However, recent developments show that definite articles are morphological elements linked to certain noun types due to lexicalization. Under this point of view, definiteness does not play a role in the selection of a definite article more than the lexical entry attached to the article.

TUGAS BAHASA INGGRIS (Determiner)

DETERMINER

A determiner is a word, phrase or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. That is, a determiner may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class, to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc. Common kinds of determiners include definite and indefinite articles (like the English the and a or an), demonstratives (this and that), possessive determiners (my and their), and quantifiers (many, few and several).

Example:

• The girl is a student.
• I've lost my keys.
• Some folks get all the luck.
• Which book is that?
• I only had twenty-seven drinks.
• I'll take this one.

·         Both windows were open.

for example:

"The dog barked at the boy."
"These apples are rotten."
"Their bus was late."
"Have you seen my keys?"

You use general determiners to talk about how much stuff or how many people or things you are talking about.

More general determiners are quantifiers:

a few a little all another any both each either enough every few fewer less little many more most much neither no other several some

For example:-

"Have you got any English books I could borrow?"
"There is enough food to feed everyone."
"I don't teach online every day."

Numbers act as determiners too, they show how many things or people there are: 1, 2, 3...

For example:-

"I teach online for 3 days a week."

Either and Neither

Either and neither are used in sentences concerning a possible choice between two items.

Either can mean one or the other (of two) or each of two.

For example:-

I've got tea and coffee, so you can have either. (One or the other)
The room has a door at either end. (Both)

Neither means not the first one and not the second one.

For example:-

Neither of the students were listening.

Function of a Determiners

A determiner can take on a number of different meanings and roles in a sentence. The determiner is used in every case to clarify the noun.

• They may be used to demonstrate or define something or someone.

Quantifiers state how many of a thing, in number or expression. A determiner is used to show that the noun indicated is a specific one (that one), not an unspecific one (any).

• They may also state the differences between nouns.

While determiners may have a number of other functions, most of them are related to these two key areas. The list of determiners only numbers about 50 words, and all of these words are commonly used by most individuals. Determiners are not difficult to get the grasp of when contrasted with adjectives, and do not take too long for native English speakers to grasp. After all, how many times have you had trouble deciding whether to say “the” or “a”?