1

Guide For English I

(Prepared by professor Ligia Álvarez)

PRONOUNS

Personal Pronouns Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns
subject form object form possessive adjective possessive pronoun

I me My Mine myself

You you Your Yours Yourself

He him His His Himself

She her Her Hers Herself

It it Its - Itself

We us Our Ours Ourselves

You you Your Yours Yourselves

They them Their Theirs Themselves

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PREPOSITIONS

About Below excepting Off toward

Above Beneath for On under

Across beside(s) from onto underneath

After Between In out until

Against Beyond in front of outside up

Along But inside over upon

Among By in spite of past up to

Around Concerning instead of regarding with

at Despite into since within

because of Down like through without

Before During near throughout with regard to

Behind Except of to with respect to

(Taken from https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/prepositions.htm)

Identify prepositions and pronouns in the following text.

What kind of text is this?

Hi Lucia

How are you? It was so nice to meet you last week in Sydney at the sales meeting. How was the rest of
your trip? Did you see any kangaroos? I hope you got home to Mexico City OK.

Anyway, I have the documents about the new Berlin offices. We're going to be open in three months. I
moved here from London just last week. They are very nice offices, and the location is perfect. There are
lots of restaurants, cafés and banks in the area. There's also public transport; we are next to an U-Bahn
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(that is the name for the metro here). Maybe you can come and see them one day? I would love to show
you Berlin, especially in the winter. You said you have never seen snow – you will see lots here!

Here's a photo of you and me at the restaurant in Sydney. That was a very fun night! Remember the
singing Englishman? Crazy! Please send me any other photos you have of that night. Good memories.

Please give me your email address and I will send you the documents.

Bye for now

Mikel

Taken from: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/pre-intermediate-a2-reading/message-new-friend

CONJUNCTIONS TABLE

Identify conjunctions and pronouns in the following text.

Hi Samia,

Just a quick email to say that sounds like a great idea. Saturday is better for me because I'm meeting my
parents on Sunday. So if that's still good for you, why don't you come here? Then you can see the new
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flat and all the work we've done on the kitchen since we moved in. We can eat at home and then go for
a walk in the afternoon. It's going to be so good to catch up finally. I want to hear all about your new
job!

Our address is 52 Charles Road, but it's a bit difficult to find because the house numbers are really
strange here. If you turn left at the post office and keep going past the big white house on Charles Road,
there's a small side street behind it with the houses 50–56 in. Don't ask me why the side street doesn't
have a different name! But call me if you get lost and I'll come and get you.

Let me know if there's anything you do/don't like to eat. Really looking forward to seeing you!

See you soon!

Gregor

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/pre-intermediate-a2-reading/email-friend

Nouns

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, ideas and states of being. Certain nouns re -
fer to things that are able to be counted, for example, ten toys. Some nouns refer to uncount-
able things, for example, air, research, happiness, snow, hair, traffic and so on. There are diffe-
rent types of nouns: (Los sustantivos son palabras que sirven para nombrar personas, lugares,
cosas, ideas y estados. Ciertos sustantivos se refieren a cosas que pueden ser contadas, como
por ejemplo juguetes, se puede decir diez juguetes. Algunos sustantivos nombran cosas que no
se pueden contar como el aire, la investigación, la felicidad, la nieve, el cabello, el tráfico etc.
Existen varios tipos de sustantivos.

 common nouns (the vast majority) are the names of classes of things and begin with a
lower-case letter, for example, boy, girl, name, verb, biography, computer.
 (los sustantivos comunes (la mayaría) son aquellos que nombran tipos de cosas o perso -
nas, por ejemplo, niño, niña, nombre, biografía, computadora)
 proper nouns name specific people, places, things and acronyms and begin with a cap-
ital letter, for example, Cathy Freeman, Sydney Harbour, Olympic Games. (los sustanti-
vos propios especifican a las personas, lugares, cosas y acrónimos y comienzan con
una letra mayúscula, por ejemplo, Cathy Freeman, Sydney Harbour, Olympic Games.)
 abstract nouns name concepts or things that cannot be seen, for example, democracy,
hate, joy, honesty, hypothesis.(los sustantivos abstractos nombran conceptos o cosas
que no podemos ver, por ejemplo, democracia, odio, disfrute, honestidad, hipótesis)
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 collective nouns name groups of things, for example, team, family, committee, flock,
bunch. (los ustantivos colectivos nombran grupo de cosas o individuos, por ejemplo,
equipo, familia, comité, rebaño, racimo.)
 mass nouns name things that you cannot count, for example, gold, milk, sunshine, fur-
niture, traffic, information. (los sustantivos de masa nombran cosas que no pueden con-
tarse en el idioma inglés como por ejemplo oro, leche, brillo del sol, mueble, tráfico, in -
formación-)

Identify if these are common, proper, abstract , collective or mass nouns:

Team

Anger

Teacher

Fleet

Student

committee

fear

Mary

air

choir

Tiger

People

Staff

Salesperson

minister

Bread

Milk
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Team

Caracas

Articles

In English, there are two types of articles:

Definite article: The. Example: The teacher (el artículo the significa el, la, los, las)

Indefinite article: A/ An: Example: A house, an apple. (el artículo a o an significa un o

una. Se usa solamente con sustantivos singulares. A se emplea cuando la palabra que si -
gue tiene un sonido consonante. An se emplea cuando la palabra que sigue tiene un so -
nido vocal.)

Important information: A or an are used only with singular nouns.

Exercise: Complete using a or an when necessary.

1:_______computer

2:_______table

3:_______three unhappy tigers

4:_______ European man

5:_______outcomes

6:_______orange

7:_______easy exam

8:_______children

9:_______ honest woman

10:_______ paints

WHAT IS A SENTENCE?
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(¿Qué es una oración?)

A group of words expressing a statement, a question or an order, containing a subject

and a verb. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a period. (Un grupo de palabras
que expresa una declaración, una pregunta o una orden. Contiene un sujeto y un verbo.
Comienza con una letra mayúscula y termina en punto.

Types of sentences: (tipos de oraciones)

Declarative: Mary understands the grammar exercises.

Interrogative: Does Mary understand the grammar exercises?

Imperative: Do the grammar exercises, please.

Exclamatory: She likes doing the grammar exercises!

EXERCISE

Identify and label each sentence as declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclama -

tory. (Identifica y etiqueta si la oración declarativa, interrogative, o exlamativa)

1. Have breakfast.
2. Will you go to the beach next weekend?
3. What a lovely baby!
4. She prefers to eat some cereal for breakfast.
5. Did Helen do the shopping?
6. Make a copy of this letter.
7. He likes doing nothing.
8. Read an invitation to an office event to practice.

9. Improve your reading skills.

10. Dino will provide the yoga mats.

VERBS
Verb to be
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El verbo to be en presente

El verbo to be es uno de los más importantes de la lengua inglesa. Su significado equi-

vale a los verbos ser y estar del español, por lo que dependiendo del contexto de la fra-
se se interpretará con un significado u otro.

PRONOMBRE To Be Ser / Estar

Am soy / estoy
I (Yo)

You (Tú/Usted) Are

eres / estás

Is es / está
He (Él)

Is es / está
She (Ella)

It (Eso)
Is es / está

We (Nosotros) Are
somos / estamos

They (Ellos) Are

son / están
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El verbo to be en pasado

PRONOMBRE To Be Ser / Estar

Was era / estaba

I (Yo)

You (Tú/Usted) Were

eras / estabas

Was era / estaba

He (Él)

Was era / estaba

She (Ella)

It (Eso)
Was era / estaba

We (Nosotros) Were
éramos / estábamos

They (Ellos) Were

eran / estaban

EXERCISE
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Complete the following sentences using to be in present or past tense. (complete las siguien-
tes oraciones usando el verbo to be en presente o pasado, según convenga).

1.- She ( ) in Brazil last year.

2.- They( ) good students in 2020.

3.- we ( ) artists.

4.- Lucy ( ) in her bedroom right now.

5.- Mum and Dad( ) happy about the gift.

6.- The books ( ) on the shelf.

7.- The weather( ) really nice last year.

8.- They ( ) interesting people.

9.- She ( ) in the classroom yesterday.

10.- My son ( ) in his office last Friday.

REGULAR VERBS IN ENGLISH

Find the regular verbs listed below the puzzle. (Encuentra verbos regulares en la sopa de letras)

S E D D R C D R W E T L N T M

T K M K A E E T V G I U E R A

A I H R I B C I C N A A T A E
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R L R S M H L E E E W R S V R

T Y L E A R N S I O R R I E D

N T M N F R L Z E V E I L L T

Q E G E D I C E D A E V D H S

R E V F R C R O S H R E O T S

S I K E H I X T N U O C O D H

M S T P A Z U L L A C P H R O

W N I P A D S E P A R A T E W

E T E K Y I N W Y O K L A T K

L R L O V E N R O S P S W L V

W A N T M R E T U R N E A A G

U J G L Y B D Y J T K W N J P

ARRIVE CALL CARRY

CHANGE COUNT CRASH

DECIDE DIRECT DREAM

ENTER KISS LEARN

LIKE LISTEN LIVE

LOVE OPEN PAINT

RECEIVE REMEMBER REPAIR

RETURN SEARCH SEPARATE

SHOW START STOP

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STUDY TALK TRAVEL

TURN WAIT WALK

WANT WORK

IRREGULAR VERBS
Find the irregular verbs listed below the puzzle. (Encuentra verbos irregulares en la sopa de letras)

E B W V V W T F K T S E E V K

Y S R U F O E I X N T M Y G E

T C O I E R G G D N I F Y V E

A O E O N G R H F X K H A U P

E M I W H G O T S N C H T X B

L E A F E C F E O I E S I N G

O K V Q X W H W K T X L P W G

E A O F Q R L I I A K U B S G

K B B R E A K B D B M N G N U

K Q U L E V A W K E L N U O T

E S W I N E E I L E I R Z F E

J D W I L T T V A R G D A L L

S J G I I I E V I J L L V I L

H E A R M R E O M G L E S O L

B L O W D W M J X T H G I L N
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BEGIN BITE BLOW

BREAK BRING BUIL

BUY CHOOSE COME

EAT FALL FIGHT

FIND FORGET GIVE

GROW HAVE HEAR

HIDE KEEP KNOW

LEAVE LIGHT LOSE

MAKE MEET RING

RUN SEE SING

SWIM TELL THINK

WAKE WAVE WRITE

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

A prefix is a letter or a group of letters that we add to the beginning of a word. Prefixes change
the meanings of words. For example, the prefix un- (or u-n) can mean "not," "remove," or "oppo-
site." Adding un- to the word "happy" gives you the word "unhappy," which means not happy.
(Un prefijo es una letra o grupo de letras que se agrega al principio de una palabra. El prefijo
cambia el significado de las palabras. Por ejemplo el prefijo un- significa no u opuesto. Si a la
palabra happy (feliz) le añadimos ese prefijo, obtenemos unhappy que significa infeliz.)

PREFIXES
PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE

UN- The opposite of Unnecessary

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IN- The opposite of Invalid

IM- The opposite of Imposible

IL- The opposite of Ilegal

IR- The opposite of Irreverent

NON- Not non-toxic

MIS- Bad, incorrect Misunderstand

DIS- Opposite Dissatisfy

ANTI- Opposed to, against Antisocial

DE- The oppositte of, Decode

UNDER- Below, beneath Underestimate

RE- Again Reorganize

OVER- Too much Overconfident

SEMI- Half, partly Semiconductor

EQUI- Equal Equidistant

MAXI- Large Maximum

MINI- Small Minicomputer

MACRO- On a large scale Macroeconomics

MEGA- Very large or great Megalomania

INTER- Between Interactive

SUPER- Extremely, more or better tan Superhuman

noorma.

TRANS- Across, beyond Transmit

EX- Former Exclude

EXTRA- More thaan is usual, expected Extracurricular

or than exists already

SUB- Under Subgroup

INFRA- Below or beyond a particular Infrahuman

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limit

PERI- Not ass important as the Peripheral

main aim, part, etc. of some-
thing.

ANTE- In front of Antecedent

PRE- Before Preschool, prefix

PRIME- Main, most important Primary

POST- After Postgraduate

RETRO- Back, backwards Retroactive

MONO- One, single Monothematic

BI- Two, twice, double Binary

TRI- Three, having three Triangle

QUAD- Four Quadruple

PENTA- Five Pentagon

HEX- Six Hexagon

OCT- Eight Octopus

DEC- Ten Decimal

MULTI- Several Multiple

PRO- In favor of Promotion

AUTO- Self, relative to vehicles Automatic

CO- Together with Cooperation

NEO- New Neoclassical

PAN- Panamerican

An important part of the information of the chart above was taken from the book Introduc-
ción a la lectura en inglés by Rebeca Beke (2002). Cuaderno de Postgrado n• 30. Comisión
de Estudios de Postgrado, Facultad de Humanidades y Educación, UCV. (Parte de este cua-
dro fue tomado del libro Introducción a la lectura en inglés de Rebeca Beke (2002). Cua-
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derno de Postgrado n• 30. Comisión de Estudios de Postgrado, Facultad de Humanidades y

Educación, UCV)

SUFFIXES

A suffix is a letter or group of letters added to the end of a word. Suffixes are commonly used to
show the part of speech of a word. For example, adding "ion" to the verb "act" gives us "action,"
the noun form of the word. Suffixes also tell us the verb tense of words or whether the words are
plural or singular. (Un sufijo es una letra o un grupo de letras que se añade al final de una pala-
bra. Los sufijos por lo general muestran la clase a la que la palabra pertenece. Por ejemplo el su-
fijo “action” nos indica que la palabra es un sustantivo. El sufijo también ayuda a identificar el
tiempo del verbo y si la palabra es singular o plural. Por ejemplo “ed” nos puede mostrar que el
verbo está en pasado y/o en participio pasado. Ojo “ed” también puede indicar que la palabra es
un adjetivo. El sufijo”s” nos indica el plural en algunos casos, por ejemplo en apples.Aquí estu-
diaremos los sufijos que nos ayudan a identificar si la palabra es sustantivo, verbo, adjetivo o ad-
verbio.)

SUFFIX EXAMPLE
NOUNS (sustantivos)
-ment Payment, movement, government, agree-
ment
-ion Correction, discussion, information, addition
-tion/-ation/-ition
-sion Decision
-ance/-ence Silence, distance
-ty/-ity Nationality, royalty
-ness Happiness, illness
-ing Bulding, feeling
-er/-or Walker, doctor, teacher, editor
-ist Journalist, tourist
-ant/-ent Applicant, assistant, student, servant
-an/-ian Electrician, Brazilian, historian
-ess Waitress, actress, princess
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-ee Employee
VERBS
-ize Modernize
-en Shorten
-ify Specify
-ate Calculate
ADJECTIVES
-al National
-ic Artistic
-ive Active
-less Careless
-ful careful
-ous Dangerous
-y Salty, wealthy
-able/-ible Eatable, defensible
-ing Exciting, fascinating
-ed Excited, fascinated
ADVERBS
-ly Quickly

(Parte de este cuadro fue tomado del libro Introducción a la lectura en inglés de Rebeca
Beke (2002). Cuaderno de Postgrado n• 30. Comisión de Estudios de Postgrado, Facultad de
Humanidades y Educación, UCV)

EXERCISE

Identify prefixes and suffixes in the following sentences.

1. We watched a PREVIEW of the new Pixar movie.

2. The DANCING cat was seen by more than two-million
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3. YouTube VIEWERS.
4. The teacher handed out paper hearts to the students who had done EXTRA WORK. The
magician made the rabbit DISAPPEAR.
5. At the end of his performance, the MAGICIAN made a GRACEFUL bow to the audi-
ence.
6. Shyla asked the magician for his AUTOGRAPH.
7. Because of the lightness of the breeze, the sailboat moved quite SLOWLY.
8. Despite the heaviness of his backpack, Jack raced up the hill.
9. Some dogs are shy or UNFRIENDLY, and they might bark or snap if you try to pet
them.
10. Esther QUICKLY reopened the door and called for her cat.

11. We stood on a bluff OVERLOOKING the ocean.

12. In today's world, no part of the globe is UNREACHABLE.
13. My father never let anyone see him dressed INFORMALLY.
14. Everyone thought that Mr. Darcy was the most DISAGREEABLE man in the world.
15. PRESCHOOLERS should have plenty of opportunities to run, play, and listen to stories.
16. The SPEAKER pointed out the UNFAIRNESS of blaming high schools for the poor
preparation of college freshmen in reading, writing, and math.

COGNATES AND FALSE COGNATES

Cognates are also calls "True friends". That is, words un two different languages that look the
sale and have the same meaning. (Cognados o amigos verdaderos son palabras en ingles que se
parecen a palabras en español y que además tienen el mismo significado)

Examples:

Computer, products, television, company, etc.

False cognates are words that are very similar to words in Spanish but they are not related, that
is to say, they do not have the same meaning than in Spanish. When words are similar to words
in our language it does not mean that they have the same meaning. (Falsos cognados o falsos
amigos son palabras en inglés que se parecen a palabras en español, pero que no significan lo
mismo.)
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EXERCISE

Complete the following chart. Follow the example. Indicate when a false cognate can also have
another meaning.

FALSE COGNATE INCORRECT MEANING CORRECT MEANING

(Significado incorrecto) (Significado correcto)

Relate

LECTURE

L ECTURER

ACTUAL

ACTUALLY

S IGNATURE

D IRECTION

SUCCESS

PARENTS

L A R G E

COMPREHENSIVE

ASSIST

ATTEND

C OLLEGE

RESIGN

FASTIDIOUS

A PPARENT
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REPORT

E X I T

SUBJECT

R A R E

REALIZE

LIBRARY

DESIGN

PATTERN

SUPPLY

L ITERACY

L ITERATE

RESUME

SUPPORT

POLICY

G R A S S

FIGURE

A R M

A R M Y

S A L E

S ENSIBLE

R ELATIVE

INDUSTRIOUS

ASSIST

ATTEND
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C OLLEGE

PREVIEWING

You will be given a list of content of an article. You have to guess the title of each article and its
topic. (Se te da una lista de palabras claves. Debes inferior o adivinar de que trataría un artículo
de revista o periódico que contenga dichas palabras claves. Dale un título a ese supuesto
artículo.)

1. Title:____________________

Contents: -Heavy duty unit.

- Images on the left side.

- One piece long wall plate.

-Upgrade viewing experience.

- Easy installation.

-Post-installation adjustment.

Topic:_____________________

2. Title:______________________

Contents: -Beauty.

- The process of creating.

- Beautiful sculpture.

- Special gifts for pregnant wives.

- Beautiful Robin Bird which matches.

- The bird on the music box.

Topic:____________________________
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3. Title: ______________

Contents: - everyone loves music.

- Musical instruments.

_ Keyboard.

- Piano.

- Recorders.

- Classical guitar.

- Drum set.

Topic:_____________

4.Title:_______________

Contents: -Indoor gardens.

- Mirrors.

- Frames and pictures.

- Home fragance.

- Clocks.

- Decorative accesories.

- Flower pots and planters.

- Noticeboard.

- Vases and bowls.

Topic:__________________

5. Title:___________

Contents: -Etymology.

- Origins.
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- Birth of Athens.

- Masks.

- Scenic elements.

- Orchestra.

- Skené.

- Actors.

Tragic playwrights.

- Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides.

- Dionysia.

Topic:___________________

GETTING TO KNOW NEW WORDS

Look up the following words in the dictionary. Indicate the part of speech they belong to and
give synonyms and antonyms of each of them. (Busca en el diccionario las siguientes palabras.
Indica si las palabras son sustantivo, verbo, adjetivo, adverbio. Da su significado, un sinónimo
en inglés y un antónimo en inglés)

W O R D PART OF SPEECH MEANING IN SPANISH SYNONYM IN ENGLISH ANTONYM IN ENGLISH

(Noun, verb,

adjective, adverb)

Acquiesce

AMASS

EFFACE

CASTIGATE
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MATRIARCHAL

L A U D

BANAL

EUPHEMISM

RACONTEUR

SUCCINCT

LAMPOON

HERETIC

CHARLATAN

LISTLESS

PRIDE

MEDICORE

MALICE

REMORSE

RANCOR

FINDING THE ODDBALL

In each word group, cross out the oddball-the one unrelated word or phrase. (Escoge la palabra
que no tenga relación en cada grupo numerado)

1. bigot- phony- hypocrite- heretic- fake.

2. ridicule- derision- hauteur- disdain- derogation

3. insist- assent- comply- yield- acquiesce

4. clamorous- noisy- vociferous- persistently- vocal- nasty

5. articulate- hyperbole- lucid- effective- clear

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6. relevant- pernitent- germane- interesting- related to

7. provoke- preclude- forestall- hinder- prevent

8. proud- inevitable- arrogant- haughty- supercilious

9. flatterer- toady- sycophant- brownnoser- hedonist

10. hackneyed- terse- clipped- concise- succinct

POETRY READING

EXERCISE

Reflexing about the following poems

What are these poems about?

Reflexiona sobre el contenido de los siguientes poemas: ¿De qué tratan?

¿Cuál es tu opinión sobre cada poema?

‘Your Children Are Not Your Children’ — Kahlil Gibran

Escuchar el poema en el siguiente enlace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK2zDPyVzaE

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
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You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

I´m NOBODY by Emily Dickinson

Escuchar en el enlace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev15wAJkzwM

I'm nobody! Who are you?

Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.
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How dreary to be somebody!

How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

Raindrops and umbrellas by Ligia Álvarez

(Escuchar en el video preparado por la profesora en el siguiente enlace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaWhI6yW3r4&feature=youtu.be)

A wet sky above,

Coloured umbrellas below

Raindrops coming down.

My kitten by Ligia Álvarez

When my kitten dreams, she is a girl.

Daylight by Ligia Álvarez

Dawn knocked on the window.

She asked my wandering soul to abandon dreamlike fantasies and mysteries.

She begged my sleepy body to move away from my silken and woolen bed

To search for Daylight

Far from

My spider´s web.
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Afternoon kites by Ligia Álvarez

Afternoon…

September…

Four o´clock

Multicolored kites flying

Above my head

Filling the heavenly frame

My sun watching them

Enjoying their

Sweet and melodious songs

Your moon

Imagining them

Our stars

Looking forward to meeting them.

SHORT STORY READING

Escuchar el cuento en el siguiente enlace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=GG6ktTFrkAY

Identify in the following short story:

Characters, plot, setting, conflict, theme, resolution.

Take out key words.

Why is Cat in the rain the title of this short story?

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What is your opinion about this short story?

Who is Ernest Hemingway? Find out about him! Look for his biography.

(Identifica en el siguiente cuento:

Personajes, trama, lugar y tiempo, tema, conflicto y desenlace.

Extrae palabras claves.

¿Por qué este cuento se titula como se titula?

¿Cuál es tu opinión sobre este cuento?

¿Quién fue Ernest Hemingway? Investiga sobre su vida y obra. Coloca una breve biografía en
inglés con tus propias palabras)

Ernest Hemingway – ‘Cat in the Rain’

There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they
passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor
facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and the war monument. There were big palms and
green benches in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel.
Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the gardens and
the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war monument. It was made of
bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees. Water
stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in the rain and slipped back down
the beach to come up and break again in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from
the square by the war monument. Across the square in the doorway of the café a waiter stood
looking out at the empty square. The American wife stood at the window looking out. Outside
right under their window a cat was crouched under one of the dripping green tables. The cat was
trying to make herself so compact that she would not be dripped on. ‘I’m going down and get
that kitty,’ the American wife said. ‘I’ll do it,’ her husband offered from the bed. ‘No, I’ll get it.
The poor kitty out trying to keep dry under a table.’ The husband went on reading, lying propped
up with the two pillows at the foot of the bed. ‘Don’t get wet,’ he said. The wife went downstairs
and the hotel owner stood up and bowed to her as she passed the office. His desk was at the far
end of the office. He was an old man and very tall. ‘Il piove,1 ’the wife said. She liked the hotel-
keeper. ‘Si, Si, Signora, brutto tempo2 . It is very bad weather.’ He stood behind his desk in the
far end of the dim room. The wife liked him. She liked the deadly serious way he received any
complaints. She liked his dignity. She liked the way he wanted to serve her. She liked the way he
felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands. Liking him she
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opened the door and looked out. It was raining harder. A man in a rubber cape was crossing the
empty square to the café. The cat would be around to the right. Perhaps she could go along under
the eaves. As she stood in the doorway an umbrella opened behind her. It was the maid who
looked after their room. ‘You must not get wet,’ she smiled, speaking Italian. Of course, the
hotel-keeper had sent her. With the maid holding the umbrella over her, she walked along the
gravel path until she was under their window. The table was there, washed bright green in the
rain, but the cat was gone. She was suddenly disappointed. The maid looked up at her. ‘Ha
perduto qualque cosa, Signora?’3 ‘There was a cat,’ said the American girl. ‘A cat?’ ‘Si, il
gatto.’ ‘A cat?’ the maid laughed. ‘A cat in the rain?’ ‘Yes, –’ she said, ‘under the table.’ Then,
‘Oh, I wanted it so much. I wanted a kitty.’ When she talked English the maid’s face tightened.
‘Come, Signora,’ she said. ‘We must get back inside. You will be wet.’ ‘I suppose so,’ said the
American girl. 1 ‘It’s raining.’ 2 ‘Yes, yes Madam. Awful weather.’ 3 ‘Have you lost something,
Madam?’ They went back along the gravel path and passed in the door. The maid stayed outside
to close the umbrella. As the American girl passed the office, the padrone bowed from his desk.
Something felt very small and tight inside the girl. The padrone made her feel very small and at
the same time really important. She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance.
She went on up the stairs. She opened the door of the room. George was on the bed, reading.
‘Did you get the cat?’ he asked, putting the book down. ‘It was gone.’ ‘Wonder where it went
to,’ he said, resting his eyes from reading. She sat down on the bed. ‘I wanted it so much,’ she
said. ‘I don’t know why I wanted it so much. I wanted that poor kitty. It isn’t any fun to be a
poor kitty out in the rain.’ George was reading again. She went over and sat in front of the mirror
of the dressing table looking at herself with the hand glass. She studied her profile, first one side
and then the other. Then she studied the back of her head and her neck. ‘Don’t you think it would
be a good idea if I let my hair grow out?’ she asked, looking at her profile again. George looked
up and saw the back of her neck, clipped close like a boy’s. ‘I like it the way it is.’ ‘I get so tired
of it,’ she said. ‘I get so tired of looking like a boy.’ George shifted his position in the bed. He
hadn’t looked away from her since she started to speak. ‘You look pretty darn nice,’ he said. She
laid the mirror down on the dresser and went over to the window and looked out. It was getting
dark. ‘I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I can
feel,’ she said. ‘I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her.’ ‘Yeah?’
George said from the bed. ‘And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles.
And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of a mirror and I want a kitty
and I want some new clothes.’ ‘Oh, shut up and get something to read,’ George said. He was
reading again. His wife was looking out of the window. It was quite dark now and still raining in
the palm trees. ‘Anyway, I want a cat,’ she said, ‘I want a cat. I want a cat now. If I can’t have
long hair or any fun, I can have a cat.’ George was not listening. He was reading his book. His
wife looked out of the window where the light had come on in the square. Someone knocked at
the door. ‘Avanti,’ George said. He looked up from his book. In the doorway stood the maid. She
held a big tortoiseshell cat pressed tight against her and swung down against her body. ‘Excuse
me,’ she said, ‘the padrone asked me to bring this for the Signora.’