CHAPTER XI

BIOGRAPHY
WHAT’S ON THIS CHAPTER?

Biography text

Grammar
Focus

Cultural
Awareness
 BIOGRAPHY
• Biography or bio is a detailed description or
account of a person’s life
• A simple bio consists of three main parts:

Introduction Explanation about who the person was

Information about him/her

• Place of birth, date of birth, education and
Body career
• Things that made him/her special
• Achievements

Conclusions The importance of his/her contribution

 Tens
es Fou
Grammar Focus Biog
In A nd
raph
y
Simple Present Tense

The pattern:
• Positive Statement:
Subject + Verb 1 (Verb 1 s/es)

• Negative statement:
Subject + don’t/doesn’t + Verb 1
Examples:
• She likes spending her time in library.
• Jonathan doesn’t enjoy smoking at all.
 en s e s F o u nd
Present Continuous T
In A
The pattern: Biography
Subjects + am/is/are + present participle (verb-ing)

Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express

the idea that something is happening now, at this very
moment. It can also be used to show that something is not
happening now.

Examples:
• You are learning English now.
• You are not swimming now.
• I am sitting.
• He listens to radio when he’s driving
Simple Past Tense en s e s F o u nd
T
In A
The pattern: Biography
Positive:
Subject + Verb 2 or Subject + was/were
Negative:
Subject + did not + V1
Passive
Subject + was/were+ Verb 3

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action

started and finished at a specific time in the past.

Examples:
•He started the company in 1954.
•He traveled to Japan
•He didn’t leave until the war ended.
 F o u nd
Past Continuous Tense Ten s e s
In A
The pattern: Biography

Subjects + was/were + verb-ing

Use the past continuous tense to show our interest in

the action itself as it is actually taking place.

Examples:
•He was starting his company when all his brothers
were still busy with their study.
 Tens
es F
The Past Perfect Tense In A
oun
d
Biog
raph
• Pattern: y

S + had + past participle (of the main verb)

• The past perfect tense shows action that happened

in the past.
• Adverbs that can follow: already and all adverbs that
can be used with the past tense.

• Examples:
 He had established five education centers in 1985.
She had earned more than fifteen journalistic
awards within 12 years.
 Grammar Focus

Auxiliary verbs
• Auxiliary verbs are additional
verbs that maybe used in
main verbs to add meanings

• Auxiliary verbs are all forms

of be, have, do, and modals
• Biography presents a subject’s life story, Cultural
highlighting various aspects of his/her
Awaren
life, the details of experience and even the
analysis of personality. ess
• Along with the development of
technology, multimedia biography
became more popular than the traditional
literary form.

• Some of the biographies were also

represented in major motion pictures

• An authorized biography is written with

the permission, cooperation, and at times,
participation of a subject or a subject’s
heirs

• An autobiography is written by the person

themselves, sometimes with assistance of
a collaborator or ghostwriter