Shurley Grammar Unit 4

Shurley GrammarUnit 4

Lesson 100

Predicate Noun Jingle1. A predicate noun is a noun or pronoun.2. A predicate noun means the same thing as

the subject word.3. A predicate noun is located after a linking

verb.4. To find the predicate noun as WHAT or WHO

after the verb.

Lesson 100

Earlier you learned that nouns can have different jobs or functions in a sentence. You have studied four of these jobs already:

1. A noun can be a subject.2. A noun can be an object of a preposition.3. A noun can be an indirect object.4. A noun can be a direct object.

Lesson 100

• Name the 4 jobs of nouns we have learned so far.

• subject noun (SN), object of the preposition (OP), indirect object (IO), direct object (DO)

Lesson 100

• Pattern 4 has only two nouns in the basic sentence pattern: N LV N

• The first noun is the subject noun (SN).• The second noun is called a predicate noun

and is abbreviated as PrN.• Notice that the verb in this pattern is a

different type—the linking verb.

Lesson 100

• How do we abbreviate predicate noun?• PrN• What kind of verb is used in Pattern 4?• linking verb

Lesson 100

• The fourth pattern in the Shurley Method is subject noun / linking verb / predicate noun / Pattern 4.

• It is written SN LV PrN P4.

Lesson 100

• What is the fourth pattern?• subject noun / linking verb / predicate noun /

Pattern 4

Lesson 100

5 things to know about a predicate noun1. A predicate noun is a noun or pronoun after the

verb that means the same thing as the subject.2. A predicate noun is labeled as PrN.3. To find the predicate noun, ask WHAT or WHO

after the verb.4. A predicate noun is often called a predicate

nominative.5. A predicate noun is always after a linking verb.

Lesson 100

• A predicate noun is always what part of speech?

• a noun or a pronoun• A predicate noun always comes after what

type of verb?• linking verb

Lesson 100

The rhinoceros is an animal.

Lesson 100

The rhinoceros is a large,

thick-skinned animal

in Africa and Asia.

Lesson 100

My sister is a very agreeable person.

Lesson 100

During the weekends my mother

is an elevator operator

at an expensive hotel.

Lesson 100

Squirrels and chipmunks

are industrious animals.

Lesson 101

In this lesson you will learn• how to identify regular and irregular verbs,• how to identify the simple verb tenses,• and how to identify tenses of helping verbs.

Lesson 101

• Most verbs are regular verbs.• Regular verbs form past tense merely by adding

–ed, -d, or –t to the main verb.• Example: race, raced• Verbs that do not form past tense in this regular

way are called irregular verbs.• Most irregular verbs form the past tense by

having a vowel spelling change in the word.• Examples: sing, sang, sung or eat, ate, eaten

Lesson 101

• Regular verbs are made past tense by adding...?

• -ed, -d, -t• Irregular verbs usually require this kind of

change.• vowel spelling change

Lesson 101

Identify each verb as regular or irregular and then determine the past tense of the verb.danceregular, dancedgrowirregular, grewshootirregular, shottryregular, tried

Lesson 101

Identify each verb as regular or irregular and then determine the past tense of the verb.driveirregular, drovebuildregular, built

Lesson 101• When you are writing paragraphs, you must use

verbs that are in the same tense. • Tense means time.• The tense of a verb shows the time of the action.• There are three basic tenses that show when the

action take place:1. present tense2. past tense3. future tense

Lesson 101

• The simple present tense shows that something is happening now, in the present.

• The present tense form usually has no ending unless it ends in –s or –es.

• Regular present tense form: race, races• Irregular present tense form: fall, falls• Example: The cars race toward the finish line.• Example: The snow falls silently.

Lesson 101• The simple past tense shows that something

has happened sometime in the past.• The regular past tense form ends in –ed, -d, or

–t. Most irregular past tense forms should be memorized.

• Regular past tense form: raced• Irregular past tense form: fell• Example: The cars raced toward the finish line.• Example: The snow fell silently.

Lesson 101

• The future tense shows that something will happen sometime in the future.

• The future tense always has the helping verbs will or shall before the main verb.

• Regular tense form: will race• Irregular tense form: will fall• Example: The cars will race toward the finish

line.• Example: The snow will fall silently.

Lesson 101

• This tense references something happening now.

• simple present tense• This tense shows something that happened

before now.• simple past tense• This tense requires a helping verb.• future tense

Lesson 101

Identifying Simple Present TenseLook for: one verbwith s, es, or plain endingExample: He walks to the car.Example: They drive the car.

Lesson 101

Identifying Simple Past TenseLook for: one verbwith –ed, -d, -t or irregular spelling changeExample: He walked to the car.Example: They drove the car.

Lesson 101

Identifying Future TenseLook for: will or shallwith a main verb.Example: He will walk to the car.Example: They will drive the car.

Lesson 101

Identify the verb tense as present, past, or future.1. My sister swims every weekend.

present tense2. We had laughed at his funny jokes.

past tense3. Were you painting the house?

past tense4. I will be leaving soon.

future tense

Lesson 101

• In a sentence with a helping verb and a main verb, the tense of both verbs will be determined by the helping verb (not the main verb).

• Present tense helping verbs: am, is, are, has, have, does, do

• Past tense helping verbs: was, were, had, did, been

• Future tense helping verbs: will, shall

Lesson 101Determine the tense of the helping verb.ampresent tensearepresent tensehadpast tenseshallfuture tensedoespresent tensedidpast tense

Lesson 101

• Sometimes a present tense helping verb will be paired with a regular verb that has an –ed ending; the verb tense is still present since the helping verb determines the verb tense.

• Example: I have walked to school.present tense

• Example: She has cried every day.present tense

Lesson 101

Practice Sentence

A Adj SN LV PrN P A Adj OP.

Lesson 103

Copper is an excellent conductor

of heat and electricity.

Lesson 103

Stacey’s husband was

a hysterical man

at the press conference.

Lesson 103

His command was a ridiculous joke.

Lesson 103

The general from the military base

is a generous and kind man.

Lesson 103

Wheat, gold, and clothes

are commodities.

Lesson 103

• Every main verb has four principal parts.• These parts are:– present– present participle– past– past participle

• These parts are the same for regular and irregular verbs.

Lesson 103

• Present participle part has a present tense main verb and no helping verb.

• Examples: He walks home. He grows fast. They grow fast.

• Past participle part has a past tense main verb and no helping verb.

• Examples: He walked home. He grew fast.

Lesson 103

• Past participle principal part has a past tense main verb and a present or past tense helping verb.

• Examples: He has walked home. He has grown fast.

• Present participle principal part has a main verb ending in –ing and a present or past tense helping verb.

• Examples: He is walking home. He is growing fast.

Lesson 105

The weasel is a deadly enemy

of small animals in the forest.

Lesson 105

A periodical is a magazine

in the magazine section

of the library.

Lesson 105

A desert is an arid region.

Lesson 105

The earth’s largest land areas

are continents.

Lesson 105

A revolver is a pistol with a supply

of bullets in a revolving cylinder.

Lesson 107

• Why do we study verb tenses?• It is very important to study verb tenses,

because you will use it in your writing.• Verb tenses in sentences tell the reader the

time period an event takes place.• Mixing verb tenses, a common mistake, can

make your writing awkward and confusing to your reader.

Lesson 107

• Example of mixed verb tenses:– The door opened, and my sister comes into the

kitchen and grinned.• In this sentence, opened and grinned are past

tense and comes is present tense.• The shift from past to present to past leaves

your reader wondering about the time these actions take place.

Lesson 107

• Bessie kicks over the milk pail every morning. The warm, white milk spills upon the ground. Mama talks angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolls her eyes at Mama. Mama stands up, and she calls for Papa. Papa gets Bessie. Then he sits down and milks her without any trouble. Bessie just grins at Mama.

• Identify all the verbs.

Lesson 107

• Bessie kicks over the milk pail every morning. The warm, white milk spills upon the ground. Mama talks angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolls her eyes at Mama. Mama stands up, and she calls for Papa. Papa gets Bessie. Then he sits down and milks her without any trouble. Bessie just grins at Mama.

• Looking at the verbs, what is the tense of this paragraph?

• present tense

Lesson 107

• We will now change the paragraph to past tense.• To do this, we must change each verb to past tense

one at a time.• Bessie kicks over the milk pail every morning. The

warm, white milk spills upon the ground. Mama talks angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolls her eyes at Mama. Mama stands up, and she calls for Papa. Papa gets Bessie. Then he sits down and milks her without any trouble. Bessie just grins at Mama.

Lesson 107

• Bessie kicked over the milk pail every morning. The warm, white milk spilled upon the ground. Mama talked angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolled her eyes at Mama. Mama stood up, and she called for Papa. Papa got Bessie. Then he sat down and milked her without any trouble. Bessie just grinned at Mama.

• Let’s read these both again to compare.

Lesson 107• Bessie kicks over the milk pail every morning. The

warm, white milk spills upon the ground. Mama talks angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolls her eyes at Mama. Mama stands up, and she calls for Papa. Papa gets Bessie. Then he sits down and milks her without any trouble. Bessie just grins at Mama.

• Bessie kicked over the milk pail every morning. The warm, white milk spilled upon the ground. Mama talked angrily to Bessie. Bessie rolled her eyes at Mama. Mama stood up, and she called for Papa. Papa got Bessie. Then he sat down and milked her without any trouble. Bessie just grinned at Mama.

Lesson 108

• My two-year old sister is a demolition squad. She smears syrup on her pancakes, on the table, and on her hair. Then she rolls the dog’s hair, her doll’s hair, her hair, and the kitchen tablecloth. She does not know the meaning of nap time. She cries until Mom picks her up. The rest of the day she is grumpy and gets into everything. Poor Mom! By supper time our little demolition squad sleeps in her highchair, and no one even blinks hard!

• Identify all the verbs.

Lesson 108• My two-year old sister is a demolition squad. She

smears syrup on her pancakes, on the table, and on her hair. Then she rolls the dog’s hair, her doll’s hair, her hair, and the kitchen tablecloth. She does not know the meaning of nap time. She cries until Mom picks her up. The rest of the day she is grumpy and gets into everything. Poor Mom! By supper time our little demolition squad sleeps in her highchair, and no one even blinks hard!

• Looking at the verbs, what is the tense of this paragraph?

• present tense

Lesson 108

• We will now change the paragraph to past tense.

• To do this, we must change each verb to past tense one at a time.

Lesson 108

• My two-year old sister is a demolition squad. She smears syrup on her pancakes, on the table, and on her hair. Then she rolls the dog’s hair, her doll’s hair, her hair, and the kitchen tablecloth. She does not know the meaning of nap time. She cries until Mom picks her up. The rest of the day she is grumpy and gets into everything. Poor Mom! By supper time our little demolition squad sleeps in her highchair, and no one even blinks hard!

Lesson 108

• My two-year old sister was a demolition squad. She smeared syrup on her pancakes, on the table, and on her hair. Then she rolled the dog’s hair, her doll’s hair, her hair, and the kitchen tablecloth. She did not know the meaning of nap time. She cried until Mom picked her up. The rest of the day she was grumpy and got into everything. Poor Mom! By supper time our little demolition squad slept in her highchair, and no one even blinked hard!

Lesson 108

The clock on the mantle

is an antique

from my grandfather’s collection.

Lesson 108

The mink is a slender, aggressive,

water-loving member

of the weasel family.

Lesson 108

Joey was an ace at tennis

during his youth.

Lesson 109

The school children are

honorary members

of the fire department.

Lesson 108

Our dog is a champion collie.

Lesson 109

• Today we are going to fix paragraphs with mixed tenses.

• This means that some verbs are in present tense and others are in past tense.

• We will change all the verbs to the past tense in our example.

Lesson 109• I did not understand my neighbor. He has an okay

yard. It never grows very much unless it rained a lot. Then he decides to sod his yard. The sod looked like square of carpet. He places them carefully in his front lawn. He waters and fertilized his lawn quite often. His beautiful lawn now had growing problems. It grew too well because he had to mow it every week. That is his problem, right? Wrong! My dad bought sod for our okay yard. Right! I had to mow it.

• Identify all the verbs.

Lesson 109

• I did not understand my neighbor. He has an okay yard. It never grows very much unless it rained a lot. Then he decides to sod his yard. The sod looked like square of carpet. He places them carefully in his front lawn. He waters and fertilized his lawn quite often. His beautiful lawn now had growing problems. It grew too well because he had to mow it every week. That is his problem, right? Wrong! My dad bought sod for our okay yard. Right! I had to mow it.

• Change all present tense verbs to past tense.

Lesson 109

• I did not understand my neighbor. He had an okay yard. It never grew very much unless it rained a lot. Then he decided to sod his yard. The sod looked like square of carpet. He placed them carefully in his front lawn. He watered and fertilized his lawn quite often. His beautiful lawn now had growing problems. It grew too well because he had to mow it every week. That was his problem, right? Wrong! My dad bought sod for our okay yard. Right! I had to mow it.

Lesson 110

• Sarah hurried to the window and looked outside. Her feet flew over the floor as she rushed out and made a dash for the four clotheslines full of clothes. The sheets slapped and twisted around her as she grabbed and pulled clothes frantically off the lines. She smelled the rain even before the full blast of it splashed her in the face. As Sarah trudged inside, the wet clothes trailed behind her.

• Identify the verbs.

Lesson 110• Sarah hurried to the window and looked outside.

Her feet flew over the floor as she rushed out and made a dash for the four clotheslines full of clothes. The sheets slapped and twisted around her as she grabbed and pulled clothes frantically off the lines. She smelled the rain even before the full blast of it splashed her in the face. As Sarah trudged inside, the wet clothes trailed behind her.

• What is the tense of this paragraph?• past tense

Lesson 110

• Change the paragraph to present tense.• Sarah hurried to the window and looked

outside. Her feet flew over the floor as she rushed out and made a dash for the four clotheslines full of clothes. The sheets slapped and twisted around her as she grabbed and pulled clothes frantically off the lines. She smelled the rain even before the full blast of it splashed her in the face. As Sarah trudged inside, the wet clothes trailed behind her.

Lesson 110

• Sarah hurries to the window and looks outside. Her feet fly over the floor as she rushes out and makes a dash for the four clotheslines full of clothes. The sheets slap and twist around her as she grabs and pulls clothes frantically off the lines. She smells the rain even before the full blast of it splashes her in the face. As Sarah trudges inside, the wet clothes trail behind her.

Lesson 110

Leopards and panthers

are big cats from the jungle.

Lesson 110

The blade on Dad’s tractor

is a handy tool for road work.

Lesson 110

California is a state along the coast

of the Pacific Ocean.

Lesson 110

Yes! My class is the winner

of the candy contest!

Lesson 112• Jamie loved popcorn. He ate popcorn all day

long. He even told his mom to buy popcorn in large sacks. He finally invented a popcorn machine. This machine popped lots of popcorn at one time. While all his friends watched, Jimmie started his popping machine. Soon everyone had plenty of popcorn. In fact, popcorn was all over the kitchen. Jamie and his friends picked up the popcorn and sacked it. Then they sold the popcorn to the kids in the neighborhood.

• Identify the verbs.

Lesson 112• Jamie loved popcorn. He ate popcorn all day long.

He even told his mom to buy popcorn in large sacks. He finally invented a popcorn machine. This machine popped lots of popcorn at one time. While all his friends watched, Jimmie started his popping machine. Soon everyone had plenty of popcorn. In fact, popcorn was all over the kitchen. Jamie and his friends picked up the popcorn and sacked it. Then they sold the popcorn to the kids in the neighborhood.

• What is the tense of this paragraph?• past tense

Lesson 112

• Change the tense of the paragraph to present.• Jamie loved popcorn. He ate popcorn all day long.

He even told his mom to buy popcorn in large sacks. He finally invented a popcorn machine. This machine popped lots of popcorn at one time. While all his friends watched, Jimmie started his popping machine. Soon everyone had plenty of popcorn. In fact, popcorn was all over the kitchen. Jamie and his friends picked up the popcorn and sacked it. Then they sold the popcorn to the kids in the neighborhood.

Lesson 112

• Jamie loves popcorn. He eats popcorn all day long. He even tells his mom to buy popcorn in large sacks. He finally invents a popcorn machine. This machine pops lots of popcorn at one time. While all his friends watch, Jimmie starts his popping machine. Soon everyone has plenty of popcorn. In fact, popcorn is all over the kitchen. Jamie and his friends pick up the popcorn and sack it. Then they sell the popcorn to the kids in the neighborhood.

Lesson 112

That oak table is

a priceless antique.

Lesson 112

Fried okra and black-eyed peas

are popular dishes in the South.

Lesson 112

My sister is a talented gymnast.

Lesson 112

The telephone is

a very useful invention.

Lesson 113

Give me two sacks of popcorn.

Lesson 113

People lined the streets

of the town for the parade.

Lesson 113

Patty’s cousin was the queen

at the carnival.

Lesson 113

Are you going to the prom tonight?

Lesson 114• My brother is a student of the martial arts. He

loves it and practices all the time. He shouts and kicks his bare foot high in the air. I shout at him to stop, but he goes right on. I glare at him and his black belt. This constant practice has to stop! I kick my chair out of the way and jump in front of him. I dare him to practice one more time in front of me. He grins at me and bows. Then he walks out and leaves me in peace.

• Identify the verbs.

Lesson 114• My brother is a student of the martial arts. He

loves it and practices all the time. He shouts and kicks his bare foot high in the air. I shout at him to stop, but he goes right on. I glare at him and his black belt. This constant practice has to stop! I kick my chair out of the way and jump in front of him. I dare him to practice one more time in front of me. He grins at me and bows. Then he walks out and leaves me in peace.

• What is the tense of this paragraph?• present tense

Lesson 114

• Change the verbs so that the paragraph is in past tense.

• My brother is a student of the martial arts. He loves it and practices all the time. He shouts and kicks his bare foot high in the air. I shout at him to stop, but he goes right on. I glare at him and his black belt. This constant practice has to stop! I kick my chair out of the way and jump in front of him. I dare him to practice one more time in front of me. He grins at me and bows. Then he walks out and leaves me in peace.

Lesson 114

• My brother was a student of the martial arts. He loved it and practiced all the time. He shouted and kicked his bare foot high in the air. I shouted at him to stop, but he went right on. I glared at him and his black belt. This constant practice had to stop! I kicked my chair out of the way and jumped in front of him. I dared him to practice one more time in front of me. He grinned at me and bowed. Then he walked out and left me in peace.

Lesson 115

• The verbs went and gone, was and were, done and did, and come and came are often used incorrectly.

• Fix the incorrect sentences.• INCORRECT: I have went.• Correct: I have gone.• INCORRECT: I done my work.• Correct: I have done my work.

Lesson 115

• INCORRECT: I have did my work.• Correct: I did my work.• INCORRECT: We was watching television.• Correct: We were watching television.• INCORRECT: You was our favorite teacher.• Correct: You were our favorite teacher.• INCORRECT: I have came early for this meeting.• Correct: I have come early for this meeting.

Lesson 116• My mom and dad invited their best friends to our

house for the weekend. They hadn’t seen them for years. They recruited me for major cleaning chores. I kept telling my mom that I did not understand all this fuss just because some people were coming to visit. I cleaned and grumbled all week. As their friends were getting out of their car, I caught my breath. They had a good-looking son, and he was just my age! I raced into the house and changed into something more becoming. Then I quickly checked my hair again. Mom said that she did not understand all this fuss just because a boy came to visit.

• Identify the verbs.

Lesson 116• My mom and dad invited their best friends to our house

for the weekend. They hadn’t seen them for years. They recruited me for major cleaning chores. I kept telling my mom that I did not understand all this fuss just because some people were coming to visit. I cleaned and grumbled all week. As their friends were getting out of their car, I caught my breath. They had a good-looking son, and he was just my age! I raced into the house and changed into something more becoming. Then I quickly checked my hair again. Mom said that she did not understand all this fuss just because a boy came to visit.

• What tense is this paragraph?• past tense

Lesson 116• Change the tense of the paragraph to present tense.• My mom and dad invited their best friends to our house

for the weekend. They hadn’t seen them for years. They recruited me for major cleaning chores. I kept telling my mom that I did not understand all this fuss just because some people were coming to visit. I cleaned and grumbled all week. As their friends were getting out of their car, I caught my breath. They had a good-looking son, and he was just my age! I raced into the house and changed into something more becoming. Then I quickly checked my hair again. Mom said that she did not understand all this fuss just because a boy came to visit.

Lesson 116• My mom and dad invite their best friends to our house

for the weekend. They haven’t seen them for years. They recruit me for major cleaning chores. I keep telling my mom that I do not understand all this fuss just because some people are coming to visit. I clean and grumble all week. As their friends are getting out of their car, I catch my breath. They have a good-looking son, and he is just my age! I race into the house and change into something more becoming. Then I quickly check my hair again. Mom says that she does not understand all this fuss just because a boy comes to visit.

Lesson 116

That soda pop is

a good thirst quencher.

Lesson 116

The tired baby cried and rubbed

her eyes.

Lesson 116

My grandmother bought me

a new bicycle.

Lesson 116

The horses were galloping wildly

down the street!

Lesson 117

• The verbs sit and set, lie and lay, and rise and raise are often confused.

• To avoid using these words incorrectly, it is important that we know two things:– the meanings of the verbs– and whether or not the verbs are followed by

direct objects.

Lesson 117• The verb sit (sit, sat, sat sitting) means to rest in a

seated position.• Sit has no direct object.• Example: The exhausted shoppers sit on the mall

bench.• Example: The vase of roses sits on the piano.• The verb set (set, set, set, setting) means to put

something down.• Set has a direct object.• Example: Mother set a vase of roses on the piano.• Example: The server was setting our food on the table.

Lesson 117• The verb lie (lie, lay, lain, lying) means to rest in a

reclining position.• Lie has no direct object.• Example: The cows lie in the pasture every day.• Example: An old hat has lain on the porch for weeks.• The verb lay (lay, laid, laid, laying) means to put

something down.• Lay has a direct object.• Example: Please lay your pencils on your desk.• Example: The workers laid the asphalt in one

afternoon.

Lesson 117• The verb rise (rise, rose, risen, rising) means to get up

or go higher.• Rise has no direct object.• Example: We rise early every day at camp.• Example: Smoke was rising from the demolished

building.• The verb raise (raise, raised, raised, raising) means to

lift something up.• Raise has a direct object.• Example: The boys raise the flag each morning.• Example: Students were politely raising their hands.

Lesson 117

• Which of these verbs (sit, set, lie, lay, rise, raise) does not have a direct object?

• sit, lie, rise• Which of these verbs (sit, set, lie, lay, rise,

raise) has a direct object?• set, lay, raise

Lesson 117

• Indentify the correct verb choice in each sentence by first determining if the sentence has a direct object.

• Bradley is (sitting, setting) in the swing on the porch.• No direct object, sitting• Our chickens are (laying, lying) many eggs.• Direct object, laying• My best friend has (raised, risen) above difficult

circumstances.• No direct object, risen

Lesson 117

• The verbs bring and take, can and may, and learn and teach are often confused.

• Bring indicates movement toward you.• Take indicates movement away from you.• Determine which is correct.• Please (bring, take) me the book on the counter.• Please bring me the book on the counter.• Remember to (bring, take) the dog for a walk.• Remember to take the dog for a walk.

Lesson 117

• Can refers to ability.• May refers to permission.• Determine which is correct.• (Can, May) I have a ride on your motorcycle?• May I have a ride on your motorcycle?• (Can, May) you swim the length of the pool?• Can you swim the length of the pool?

Lesson 117

• Learn means to obtain knowledge.• Teach means to give instruction.• My dad (learned, taught) me the value of

money.• My dad taught me the value of money.• The new teacher (learned, taught) a lot from us.• The new teacher learned a lot from us.

Lesson 118

The tiny gray mouse ate a raisin

from the floor.

Lesson 118

Gas light is the brightest kind

of artificial light.

Lesson 118

Many things are now made

of synthetic rubber.

Lesson 118

My aunt gave me a warm blanket

for my bed.

Group 11 Editing Test• Edit the rough draft below.

Weather is so fickle and nature gets first hand experence in dealing with it’s moods. For example, during a quite afternoon shower, rain drizles softly on the grass it caress the soil and plants and it quenches there thirst. The light shower is refreshing, and cools the air. The flowers lifts its blooms while they drank in the delicious, wet water. Suddenly the weather changed. The wind start to howl and the sky darkened. A storm begins. The wind and rain now beats the flowers and plants without mercy. The leaves of tree shred, and tear off. The plants bows its heads and wait for the pounding to cease. The storm finally stopped. The tired plants does not notice in there weakness there is no one to view the destruction and no one to care. The weather went on

Edited Draft

Weather is so fickle, and nature gets first hand experience in dealing with its moods. For example, during a quiet afternoon shower, rain drizzles softly on the grass. It caresses the soil and plants, and it quenches their thirst. The light shower is refreshing and cools the air. The flowers lift their blooms while they drink in the delicious, we water. Suddenly the weather changes. The wind starts to howl, and the sky darkens. A storm begins. The wind and rain now beat the flowers and plants without mercy. The leaves of trees shred and tear off. The plants bow their heads and wait for the pounding to cease. The storm finally stops. The tired plants do not notice in their weakness. There is no one to view the destruction and no one to care. The weather goes on.