4. Menggunakan Action Verbs

Narrative text in English merupakan salah satu jenis teks dalam bahasa Inggris. Biasanya, narrative text in English berupa cerita, seperti cerita fiksi, non-fiksi, dongeng, cerita rakyat, atau cerita binatang (fabel). Jenis narrative text in English ini berfungsi buat memberikan hiburan bagi pembacanya. Selain buat memberi hiburan, narrative text English juga memberikan nilai moral bisa dipetik oleh para pembaca.

Sebuah teks biasanya memiliki struktur generik atau generic structure , pun demikian dengan narrative text in English. Secara umum, generic structure dari narrative text in English ialah orientation , complication , solution , dan re-orientation .

Orientation merupakan bagian awal dari narrative text in English. Pada bagian ini, tokoh-tokoh dalam cerita diperkenalkan. Selain itu, waktu dan loka terjadinya cerita juga dijelaskan.

Complication merupakan bagian dari narrative text in English nan mengungkapkan masalah atau konflik nan terjadi pada tokoh primer dalam teks.

Resolution merupakan bagian dari narrative text in English nan berisi tentang penyelesaian masalah nan terjadi pada tokoh primer dalam teks. Bagian ini bisa berupa akhir nan baik, atau sebaliknya.

Setiap jenis teks dalam bahasa inggris bisa dikenali dalam penggunaan bahasanya. Demikian pula dengan narrative text in English. Berikut ini language features dari narrive text in English.

Noun phrases (frasa kata benda) biasa digunakan dalam narrative text in English. Misalnya, a beautiful princess , a cruel witch , dan a huge temple .

Adverbial of time or place (kata keterangan waktu atau tempat) digunakan dalam narrative text in English buat memberikan klarifikasi tentang waktu dan loka terjadinya cerita. Misalnya, last year , two days ago , in the castle , atau in a jungle .

Simple past tense merupakan pola kalimat nan digunakan buat menyatakan suatu peristiwa nan terjadi pada masa lampau. Cerita biasanya berupa suatu peristiwa nan terjadi di masa lampau. Jadi, pola kalimat ini digunakan dalam narrative text in English. Contohnya, A mouse was having a very bad time .

Actions verbs (kata kerja nan berupa kegiatan) biasa digunakan dalam narrative text in English buat menjelaskan kegiatan nan dilakukan oleh para tokoh dalam cerita. Misalnya, walked , slept , dan ran .

Adjective phrases (frasa kata sifat) merupakan frasa nan digunakan buat menjelaskan kata benda dalam kalimat. Dalam narrative text in English, frasa ini digunakan buat menjelaskan tokoh atau benda nan terdapat dalam cerita. Misalnya, long black hair , bad time , dan small hole .

Berikut ini beberapa contoh narrative text in English.

Kite's Tale

The sun shone brightly and the west breeze blew. The kite was flying this way and that way tied to her string.Suddenly the string snapped. The kite was free. She soared high in the air until she could see far, far away.The kite followed some parrots who took her to see the rainforests. The air was cool and the kite got wet.

The kite followed some crocodiles who took her to see the rivers. The air was misty and the kite caught a fish.The kite followed some wallabies who took her to see the deserts. The air was hot and the kite got tired.So the kite followed the sun who took her back home, right to her string.

The Hungry Mouse

A mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin.At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole.Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that she had had enough.

When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not. She was too fat to pass through the hole."How shall I climb out?" said the mouse. "Oh, how shall I climb out?"Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse."Mouse," said the rat, "if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in."

The Legend of Rawa Pening

Once upon a time, there was a little poor boy came into a little village. He was very hungry and weak. He knocked at every door and asked for some food, but nobody cared about him. Nobody wanted to help the little boy.Finally, a generous woman helped him. She gave him shelter and a meal. When the boy wanted to leave, this old woman gave him a "lesung", a big wooden mortar for pounding rice. She reminded him, "please remember, if there is a flood you must save yourself. Use this "lesung" as a boat". The "lesung" was happy and thanked the old woman.

The little boy continued his journey. While he was passing through the village, he saw many people gathering on the field. The boy came closer and saw a stick stuck in the ground. People challenged each other to pull out that stick. Everybody tried, but nobody succeeded. "Can I try?" asked the little boy. The crowd laughed mockingly. The boy wanted to try his luck so he stepped forward and pulled out the stick. He could do it very easily. Everybody was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, from the hole left by stick, water spouted out. It did not stop until it flooded the village. And no one was saved from the water except the little boy and the generous old woman who gave him shelter and meal. As she told him, he used the "lesung" as a boat and picked up the old woman. The whole village became a huge lake. It is now known as Rawa Pening Lake in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia.

Romeo and Juliet

In the town of Verona there lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets', a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo's eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.

The vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet's bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a "Montague", a name behind his own. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.

Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That qurreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake.

Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.In the other hand, Juliet's father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.Unfortunately, the Friar's letter failed to reach Romeo.

Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet's tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died.