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Charles Evans

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Sentences

Nouns and verbs, she said, we use them to express thoughts
As I came in and sat down
For instance, give me a group of words that makes sense
And someone said, time for tea
What if we put in a verb, she said, and looked round
And I said sentence

Noun, a naming word, she said, a label for a person or thing
As I looked at her earnest face
How about something smaller than a matchbox, she said
And someone said pin
Now an object larger than a book, she said, and pointed at me
And I said gun

Verb, it’s a doing word, she said, an action that gets done
As I stared out the window
Give me an activity you do in the kitchen, she said
And someone said, cook
Now what a footballer does, and turned to me
And I said shoot

I should also mention pronouns, she said, they’re used in place of nouns
As I watched the wire fence
What can you say instead of the man did it, she said
And someone said he
And who teaches a lesson, pointing to herself
And I said we

All together, she said, make a complete sentence
Just use nouns, pronouns and verbs
Like the ones we discussed
You do it, she said
And smiled at me, and I said no problem
I killed the bastard

 

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