#readingskills — Public Fediverse posts

“Idyll” by Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) was one of the leading British poets of the 20th century, one of the famous “war poets” and a decorated World War 1 veteran. His sobering wartime verses, stripped of patriotic illusions, exposed the horrors and brutality of war, countering the prevailing narratives of the time.

You might not immediately associate the poem presented here with war, but it helps to have some context. Sassoon originally wrote it in his poetry notebook in February 1918, while the WW1 was still ongoing. Unlike most of his war poems, the verses of this one have a calming and reassuring effect, leaning on lovely pastoral imagery. But there’s also a lingering sense of loss and sorrow throughout — subtle yet deep and unsettling. 

While not dedicated to anyone in particular, one might easily see it as referring to a close friend — or, rather, to the hope of a reunion with the unnamed fallen comrade, in the great and idyllic hereafter. At this point, it might also be helpful to note that Sassoon was a deeply spiritual man, not always in a conventional sense. Many of his poems, even the early ones, contain recognisably Christian themes, as seen in this poem.

In the grey summer garden I shall find you   
With day-break and the morning hills behind you.   
There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings;   
And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings.   
Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep
Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep:   
And I shall know the sense of life re-born   
From dreams into the mystery of morn   
Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there   
Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share
The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are   
Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn’s one star.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Siegfried Sassoon (an Encyclopedia Britannica entry)

Intro to WW1 Poetry: Siegfried Sassoon

Rediscovering Siegfried Sassoon by Brooke Allen

Siegfried Sassoon: The reluctant hero by Michael Morpurgo

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Image by Alicia Christin Gerald via Unsplash.

“Idyll” by Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) was one of the leading British poets of the 20th century, one of the famous “war poets” and a decorated World War 1 veteran. His sobering wartime verses, stripped of patriotic illusions, exposed the horrors and brutality of war, countering the prevailing narratives of the time.

You might not immediately associate the poem presented here with war, but it helps to have some context. Sassoon originally wrote it in his poetry notebook in February 1918, while the WW1 was still ongoing. Unlike most of his war poems, the verses of this one have a calming and reassuring effect, leaning on lovely pastoral imagery. But there’s also a lingering sense of loss and sorrow throughout — subtle yet deep and unsettling. 

While not dedicated to anyone in particular, one might easily see it as referring to a close friend — or, rather, to the hope of a reunion with the unnamed fallen comrade, in the great and idyllic hereafter. At this point, it might also be helpful to note that Sassoon was a deeply spiritual man, not always in a conventional sense. Many of his poems, even the early ones, contain recognisably Christian themes, as seen in this poem.

In the grey summer garden I shall find you   
With day-break and the morning hills behind you.   
There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings;   
And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings.   
Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep
Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep:   
And I shall know the sense of life re-born   
From dreams into the mystery of morn   
Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there   
Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share
The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are   
Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn’s one star.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Siegfried Sassoon (an Encyclopedia Britannica entry)

Intro to WW1 Poetry: Siegfried Sassoon

Rediscovering Siegfried Sassoon by Brooke Allen

Siegfried Sassoon: The reluctant hero by Michael Morpurgo

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Image by Alicia Christin Gerald via Unsplash.

“Idyll” by Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) was one of the leading British poets of the 20th century, one of the famous “war poets” and a decorated World War 1 veteran. His sobering wartime verses, stripped of patriotic illusions, exposed the horrors and brutality of war, countering the prevailing narratives of the time.

You might not immediately associate the poem presented here with war, but it helps to have some context. Sassoon originally wrote it in his poetry notebook in February 1918, while the WW1 was still ongoing. Unlike most of his war poems, the verses of this one have a calming and reassuring effect, leaning on lovely pastoral imagery. But there’s also a lingering sense of loss and sorrow throughout — subtle yet deep and unsettling. 

While not dedicated to anyone in particular, one might easily see it as referring to a close friend — or, rather, to the hope of a reunion with the unnamed fallen comrade, in the great and idyllic hereafter. At this point, it might also be helpful to note that Sassoon was a deeply spiritual man, not always in a conventional sense. Many of his poems, even the early ones, contain recognisably Christian themes, as seen here.

In the grey summer garden I shall find you   
With day-break and the morning hills behind you.   
There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings;   
And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings.   
Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep
Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep:   
And I shall know the sense of life re-born   
From dreams into the mystery of morn   
Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there   
Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share
The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are   
Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn’s one star.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Siegfried Sassoon (an Encyclopedia Britannica entry)

Intro to WW1 Poetry: Siegfried Sassoon

Rediscovering Siegfried Sassoon by Brooke Allen

Siegfried Sassoon: The reluctant hero by Michael Morpurgo

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Image by Alicia Christin Gerald via Unsplash.

“Idyll” by Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) was one of the leading British poets of the 20th century, one of the famous “war poets” and a decorated World War 1 veteran. His sobering wartime verses, stripped of patriotic illusions, exposed the horrors and brutality of war, countering the prevailing narratives of the time.

You might not immediately associate the poem presented here with war, but it helps to have some context. Sassoon originally wrote it in his poetry notebook in February 1918, while the WW1 was still ongoing. Unlike most of his war poems, the verses of this one have a calming and reassuring effect, leaning on lovely pastoral imagery. But there’s also a lingering sense of loss and sorrow throughout — subtle yet deep and unsettling. 

While not dedicated to anyone in particular, one might easily see it as referring to a close friend — or, rather, to the hope of a reunion with the unnamed fallen comrade, in the great and idyllic hereafter. At this point, it might also be helpful to note that Sassoon was a deeply spiritual man, not always in a conventional sense. Many of his poems, even the early ones, contain recognisably Christian themes, as seen in this poem.

In the grey summer garden I shall find you   
With day-break and the morning hills behind you.   
There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings;   
And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings.   
Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep
Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep:   
And I shall know the sense of life re-born   
From dreams into the mystery of morn   
Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there   
Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share
The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are   
Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn’s one star.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Siegfried Sassoon (an Encyclopedia Britannica entry)

Intro to WW1 Poetry: Siegfried Sassoon

Rediscovering Siegfried Sassoon by Brooke Allen

Siegfried Sassoon: The reluctant hero by Michael Morpurgo

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Image by Alicia Christin Gerald via Unsplash.

“Idyll” by Siegfried Sassoon

Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) was one of the leading British poets of the 20th century, one of the famous “war poets” and a decorated World War 1 veteran. His sobering wartime verses, stripped of patriotic illusions, exposed the horrors and brutality of war, countering the prevailing narratives of the time.

You might not immediately associate the poem presented here with war, but it helps to have some context. Sassoon originally wrote it in his poetry notebook in February 1918, while the WW1 was still ongoing. Unlike most of his war poems, the verses of this one have a calming and reassuring effect, leaning on lovely pastoral imagery. But there’s also a lingering sense of loss and sorrow throughout — subtle yet deep and unsettling. 

While not dedicated to anyone in particular, one might easily see it as referring to a close friend — or, rather, to the hope of a reunion with the unnamed fallen comrade, in the great and idyllic hereafter. At this point, it might also be helpful to note that Sassoon was a deeply spiritual man, not always in a conventional sense. Many of his poems, even the early ones, contain recognisably Christian themes, as seen in this poem.

In the grey summer garden I shall find you   
With day-break and the morning hills behind you.   
There will be rain-wet roses; stir of wings;   
And down the wood a thrush that wakes and sings.   
Not from the past you'll come, but from that deep
Where beauty murmurs to the soul asleep:   
And I shall know the sense of life re-born   
From dreams into the mystery of morn   
Where gloom and brightness meet. And standing there   
Till that calm song is done, at last we'll share
The league-spread, quiring symphonies that are   
Joy in the world, and peace, and dawn’s one star.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Siegfried Sassoon (an Encyclopedia Britannica entry)

Intro to WW1 Poetry: Siegfried Sassoon

Rediscovering Siegfried Sassoon by Brooke Allen

Siegfried Sassoon: The reluctant hero by Michael Morpurgo

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Image by Alicia Christin Gerald via Unsplash.

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous imagination and recognisable style made him one of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era. Still widely read, he is nowadays best known for classic works of literature such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In this post, however, we’ll get acquainted with one of his poems: “Summer Sun” was first published in 1885, as part of his collection titled A Child’s Garden of Verses. In it, the poet personifies the Sun, presenting him as “the gardener of the World” — a kind presence that brings life, warmth, and gladness to all living things.

Below the poem you’ll find a vocabulary exercise and discussion points designed for English language learners. For more summer-related poetry posts, please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Find the nouns in the poem with the following meaning:

• a sitting room, a drawing room
• a small, quiet space; a corner
• a period of resting and relaxation
• a small, narrow opening
• a window covering used to control light and privacy

Click here for the answer key.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What kind of mood or feeling does the poem create? Is it energetic, calm, or something else? 
• In many cultures, the Sun is presented as a “he” — a masculine figure, while the Moon is often presented as a “she”. Why is that, do you think?
• This poem is set in summer. How might the poet describe the winter sun? 

MORE SUMMER-THEMED POEMS

“Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Summer Moods” by John Clare

“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Dan Cook via Unsplash

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous imagination and recognisable style made him one of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era. Still widely read, he is nowadays best known for classic works of literature such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In this post, however, we’ll get acquainted with one of his poems: “Summer Sun” was first published in 1885, as part of his collection titled A Child’s Garden of Verses. In it, the poet personifies the Sun, presenting him as “the gardener of the World” — a kind presence that brings life, warmth, and gladness to all living things.

Below the poem you’ll find a vocabulary exercise and discussion points designed for English language learners. For more summer-related poetry posts, please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Find the nouns in the poem with the following meaning:

• a sitting room, a drawing room
• a small, quiet space; a corner
• a period of resting and relaxation
• a small, narrow opening
• a window covering used to control light and privacy

Click here for the answer key.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What kind of mood or feeling does the poem create? Is it energetic, calm, or something else? 
• In many cultures, the Sun is presented as a “he” — a masculine figure, while the Moon is often presented as a “she”. Why is that, do you think?
• This poem is set in summer. How might the poet describe the winter sun? 

MORE SUMMER-THEMED POEMS

“Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Summer Moods” by John Clare

“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Dan Cook via Unsplash

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous imagination and recognisable style made him one of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era. Still widely read, he is nowadays best known for classic works of literature such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In this post, however, we’ll get acquainted with one of his poems: “Summer Sun” was first published in 1885, as part of his collection titled A Child’s Garden of Verses. In it, the poet personifies the Sun, presenting him as “the gardener of the World” — a kind presence that brings life, warmth, and gladness to all living things.

Below the poem you’ll find a vocabulary exercise and discussion points designed for English language learners. For more summer-related poetry posts, please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Find the nouns in the poem with the following meaning:

• a sitting room, a drawing room
• a small, quiet space; a corner
• a period of resting and relaxation
• a small, narrow opening
• a window covering used to control light and privacy

Click here for the answer key.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What kind of mood or feeling does the poem create? Is it energetic, calm, or something else? 
• In many cultures, the Sun is presented as a “he” — a masculine figure, while the Moon is often presented as a “she”. Why is that, do you think?
• This poem is set in summer. How might the poet describe the winter sun? 

MORE SUMMER-THEMED POEMS

“Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Summer Moods” by John Clare

“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Dan Cook via Unsplash

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous imagination and recognisable style made him one of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era. Still widely read, he is nowadays best known for classic works of literature such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In this post, however, we’ll get acquainted with one of his poems: “Summer Sun” was first published in 1885, as part of his collection titled A Child’s Garden of Verses. In it, the poet personifies the Sun, presenting him as “the gardener of the World” — a kind presence that brings life, warmth, and gladness to all living things.

Below the poem you’ll find a vocabulary exercise and discussion points designed for English language learners. For more summer-related poetry posts, please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Find the nouns in the poem with the following meaning:

• a sitting room, a drawing room
• a small, quiet space; a corner
• a period of resting and relaxation
• a small, narrow opening
• a window covering used to control light and privacy

Click here for the answer key.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What kind of mood or feeling does the poem create? Is it energetic, calm, or something else? 
• In many cultures, the Sun is presented as a “he” — a masculine figure, while the Moon is often presented as a “she”. Why is that, do you think?
• This poem is set in summer. How might the poet describe the winter sun? 

MORE SUMMER-THEMED POEMS

“Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Summer Moods” by John Clare

“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Dan Cook via Unsplash

“Summer Sun” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer whose adventurous imagination and recognisable style made him one of the most celebrated authors of the Victorian era. Still widely read, he is nowadays best known for classic works of literature such as Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886).

In this post, however, we’ll get acquainted with one of his poems: “Summer Sun” was first published in 1885, as part of his collection titled A Child’s Garden of Verses. In it, the poet personifies the Sun, presenting him as “the gardener of the World” — a kind presence that brings life, warmth, and gladness to all living things.

Below the poem you’ll find a vocabulary exercise and discussion points designed for English language learners. For more summer-related poetry posts, please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Find the nouns in the poem with the following meaning:

• a sitting room, a drawing room
• a small, quiet space; a corner
• a period of resting and relaxation
• a small, narrow opening
• a window covering used to control light and privacy

Click here for the answer key.

DISCUSSION POINTS

• What kind of mood or feeling does the poem create? Is it energetic, calm, or something else? 
• In many cultures, the Sun is presented as a “he” — a masculine figure, while the Moon is often presented as a “she”. Why is that, do you think?
• This poem is set in summer. How might the poet describe the winter sun? 

MORE SUMMER-THEMED POEMS

“Rain in Summer” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Summer Moods” by John Clare

“In Summer” by Lord Alfred Douglas

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Dan Cook via Unsplash

Free ebook: “Squirrel” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

I’m happy to present another title in the Grammaticus Free Library series: “Squirrel” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman.

Mary E. Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930) was a prominent American writer whose finely crafted short stories set in rural New England explored themes of domestic duty and women’s struggles, while also commenting on the natural world and our intimate connection with the animal and plant life. She is still remembered as one of the leading voices of American realism of the late 19th century.

Her short story “Squirrel” tells of a devoted pair of squirrels who claim ownership of an English walnut tree, quietly harvesting its nuts each year while the elderly farmer and his wife remain puzzled by the tree’s seemingly perpetual barrenness.

Apart from the customary vocabulary notes, this ebook contains a simple exercise on some of the dialectal grammar forms used by the author and which may sound confusing to English language learners. The answer key with relevant explanations can be found at the bottom of this post, under Grammar Explainer.

To download your free PDF copy, please click on the link below:

CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

GRAMMAR EXPLAINER

At the end of the PDF file, there’s an exercise drawing the readers’ attention to some of the non-standard, dialectal grammar forms used in the story. And here’s a brief explainer on those key features:

“Seems as if them nuts must drop off that tree and be picked up,” said the Farmer, “but there ain’t no boys.”

Standard English: “It seems as if those nuts must have dropped off that tree and been picked up,” said the Farmer, “but there aren’t any boys.”

Seems < It seems…

“It” is often omitted at the beginning of a sentence in spoken English, for various reasons. Here we have an example of omission in impersonal statements introduced by verbs such as “seem” and “look.”

Looks nice!

Seems good to me.

them < those

In many dialects, such as Appalachian English and African American Vernacular English, “them” is regularly used as a demonstrative instead of “those.”

Them boys are crazy!

I don’t know him well, he’s one of them people.

must drop off… be picked up < must have dropped off… have been picked up

Tenses and structures requiring the Past Participle are often formed irregularly in spoken language. Here we have the auxiliary verb “have” completely ommitted, and then bare infinitives used after the modal verb “must.” You’ll notice the inconsistent use of past tense forms, too (it’s there in “picked” but not in “drop”). 

ain’t no < aren’t any

“Ain’t” is a commonly used informal contraction replacing various negative forms of the auxiliary verbs:

That ain’t true. = That isn’t true.

I ain’t got no money. = I haven’t got / I don’t have any money.

It goes with “no” rather than “any”, forming a double negative (which is otherwise avoided in standard English).

“What d’ye think?” he said. “It was them Squirrels that have stole all them English walnuts.”

Standard English: “What do you think?” he said. “It was those Squirrels that have stolen all those English walnuts.”

d’ye < do you

“Ye” is still used in a number of dialects as the informal plural form of “you.” Here it’s further contracted with “do.”

them < those

Same as in the previous quote.

have stole < have stolen

Another example of irregular formation of a tense formed using the Past Participle (in this case, the Present Perfect Simple tense).

“Be you the thief?” he asked.

Standard English: “Are you the thief?” he asked.

be < are

Also typical of Appalachian, as well as African American Vernacular English and other dialects, here we have the use of “be” instead of “is” or “are” in the present tenses (both Present Simple and Present Continuous).

Be he ready? = Is he ready?

I be going now. = I am going now.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the short story, and that these irregular grammar forms weren’t too confusing. They just go to show that there’s a lot more going on in the English grammar apart from what is taught in formal classes!

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the subscribe box below.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER PHOTO CREDIT

Mathew Schwartz auf Unsplash