Grammar (All Topics)

1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

A verb must agree with its subject in number and person.

Read the following sentences to understand the relationship between the number of subject in a sentence and the
verb.
1. The class captain marks the attendance in the absence of class teacher.
2. My sister doesn't know swimming.
3. We were filling in the forms when the explosion took place.
4. All the boys have assembled in front of the NCC Room.

Singular subject - Singular verb

1. A dog barks at the sight of a stranger.
2. The principal is inaugurating the exhibition.

Plural subject - Plural verb

1. They are planting saplings.
2. The students are sitting in the hall.

The following nouns are taken as singular subjects. Such nouns are used as plurals also. They are used with singular
verbs as shown below:
1. Public knows the secrets.
2. A group of workers is working in the factory in spite of the declared strike.
3. My family is suffering due to floods.

Uncountable nouns such as water, furniture, stationary, information, advice, news, luggage, weather, are singular
subjects.
1. My classroom furniture is under repair.
2. Filtered water is good for stomach.

2. VERBS AND ITS DIFFERENT FORMS AND KINDS

Read the following sentences.

1. My father is a doctor.
2. He is a physician.
3. He was born in Lahore in the year 1948.

The underlined words "is, was" tell us the status of people. They are status verbs and brefer to Present and Past
Tense.
Has, Have and Had: These verbs tell the position of a thing or a person. For example:
1. Ravi has a beautiful watch.
2. He had a similar watch last year.

Present Tense

Read the following sentences.

1. Kenny loves flowers. She waters all flower plants regularly
2. Now-a-days she is learning classical Indian music.
3. She has joined a coaching class for right directions and excellence.
4. She has cleared the first stage exam in classical music.
All these sentences and the words refer to present time and action is either in progress or has recently been
completed.
Past Tense

Read the following sentences.

1. I slept at about 10:00 p.m. last night. I had slept before my favourite TV serial at 10.00 p.m. started.
2. My sister was sleeping when I switched on the A.C. She had been sleeping since 8.00 p.m.

There are 3 past tense references.

 Action performed in recent past (last night- verb past form with 'ed' or irregular form)
 Action performed before that comparatively longer past, had + verb + ed )
 Action in continuation at a particular time of reference in the past (was/were + verb + ing)

Future Tense

Read the following sentences.

1. Deep will join NCC next year.
2. He intends to join Air Force later on.
3. He is preparing for NDA entrance exam right from this time.
 All these sentences tell about action to be performed later in the time to come.
 Certain programmes are fixed to be performed in future.
 Sentences with simple present are preparing to talk about possibility of some action in future.

Kinds of Verb
(a) Finite and Non-finite Verbs;
The main verb in a sentence without which a meaningful sentence cannot be constructed is called a finite
verb. For example:
1. Mustafa posted the letters immediately
2. Peter delivers sermons every Sunday.
Finite verbs have roots in verbs but act as adjectives or nouns.

(b) Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

Read the following sentences.
1. Sandy has bought a new pen for her exams.
2. She threw away her old pen.
3. She slept for a long time.
4. He loves adventurous stories.
In sentences 1, 2 and 4, each verb requires an object as an answer to question "what". These sentences have
transitive verbs.
Sentence 3 does not need any object to complete the sentence. It has an intransitive verb.

3. CONNECTORS

Read the following sentences.

1. This is a book. It has been written by our principal.
This is a book which has been written by our principal.
2. You may borrow this book from the library. You may buy it from the market.
You may either borrow the book from the library or buy it from the market.
In these sentences, we notice that certain words join two sentences. These are called connectors. They join
two/three sentences or words. And, but, as, are also connectors.
They join two words or two sentences.
There is a long list of such connectors which are either relatives or conjunctions.

1. Relatives: Who, which, that, whom, whose, what

For example:
The table which has glass top was recently bought by us.
 The girl who leads the morning prayer chorus is my sister.

2. Conjunctions: They join two or more words and sentences.

Types of Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions: These connectors join names and nouns. For example:
1. It rained cats and dogs.
2. I called up John but he was absent.

Correlative Conjunctions: These conjunctions are in pairs. For example:

1. Mr. Bush is both rich and generous,
3. Matthew not only plays piano but guitar also.
4. He had hardly closed his eyes when the telephone rang.
5. My sister speaks so loudly that she doesn't need microphone.

Subordinating Conjunctions: These conjunctions join a subordinate clause to a principal clause and form a
complex sentence. For example:
1. James will be punished if he doesn't prove 'not guilty'.
6. We were playing football while our parents were cooking our lunch on the picnic spot.
7. Let's windup the discussion as it is getting very late.

Some other conjunctions:

To express time: after, before, when, while, till, since, for, as soon as, unless, as long as, until
To express inferences: that, so that, in order that, last

4. REPORTED SPEECH

There are two ways to report any statement or question:

1. One is to quote the actual words of the speaker as they were said without any addition. Such statements
or questions or exclamations are called Reported Speech. For example:
Joseph said to Caria, a! am going to Paris tomorrow."
This is called Direct Speech. Here, the words spoken have been put within inverted commas (“ “). Also, no
change of person and tense has been made by the reporter, reporting verb has not been changed and the
statement, question etc., are not altered.
Look at this reporting:
Joseph told Caria that he would go to Paris the next day.
This is called Indirect Speech or Reported Speech.

5. PREPOSITIONS

Read the following sentences.

1. I had kept my book on the shelf.
2. My sister put it in the drawer of the shelf
3. My driver comes from Shalimar Bagh.
4. He lives in front of the Green Valley School.
5. My brother pushes his bag under the study table.

In these sentences, the words on, in, under, from, in front of show the relation/position of two nouns or pronouns.
They are prepositions. They tell about places.
1. Our school starts at 7:30 a.m.
2. I go to visit the temple on Saturday
3. He had shifted to this place before we bought this house.
 4. Mr. Matthew can wait for his turn till the doctor arrives.
In these sentences the words at, on, before, till tell about the time of action. They are Prepositions of time.

Various other uses

My sister goes to school by the school bus. (Means of transport)
I write with my left hand. (Means of agent)
Weekly marked is held on Monday. (Means of time)
Harry sits between Toshi and John. (Means of place)
Certain prepositions are used for place as well as time or directions of movement.
For example:
(i) We stayed there from 2nd October to 9th October. (Time)
(ii). Some of our teachers come to school from U.R (Place)

Some Other Prepositions:

• of (possession)
• within (time)
• in/at about (time)
• during (time)
• among (position/place)
For example:
(i) Nathan is the brother of Johnson.
(ii) John will return in about 10 minutes.
(iii) Distribute the sweets among the students of Class X.
(iv) I can meet the principal only during the lunch break.

6. MODALS

A. Use of 'Will'
Read the following sentences.
(i) I'm afraid he will die of hunger.
(ii) Our school children will plant about 100 saplings during the Van Mahotsav week.
(iii) We will see you during the next summer, (promise, intention)
(iv) I will fight for the poor. (determination)
(v) I will appear for the interview.
In these sentences, 1 and 2 speak about the future programmers of people. Other sentences express willingness,
intention, determination and promise made by first person.
Note: Will is used with first person.

B. Use of 'Shall'
Read the following sentences.
(i) Shall I get you a cup of coffee? (request, offer)
(ii) Shall we sit in the lawn? (suggestion)
(iii) All the class captains shall attend the meeting in the Principal's office. (command/order)
(iv) He shall be punished if he cheats in the examination, (threat or warning)
These sentences express request, offer the first person convey commands, orders and threats about second and
third person.

C. Use of 'Would/Wouldn’t’
Read the following sentences:
(i) I would love to visit America, (wish)
(ii) Would you post these letters? (request)
(iii) I would like to accompany him. (wish, proposal)
(iv) She would go for morning walk with her mother, (habit, routine in the past)
(v) She won't go there tonight, (decision)
(vi) She would be here soon. (expectation)
 All these sentences express different moods of would such as to make request, wish, routine, proposal and decision.

D. Use of 'May’
(i) He may be busy in a meeting with his clients. (possibility)
(ii) He might miss our company at lunch as he is busy in a meeting. (a real situation)
(iii) We might/may book a hotel as we don't have any friend over there. (real possibility)
These sentences with may/might express possibility of some actions.
May: To accord or seek permission
For example:
(i) May I post these letters tomorrow'?
(ii) May I change my seat, madam?

E. Use of "Can/Could"
Can: To express ability or inability of the person concerned
For example:
(i) I can speak many languages.
(ii) Sharon can dance wdth her sprained foot.
(iii) My grandfather cannot speak English fluently.
(iv) John can face fastest ball with ease.

Can: To accord/grant permission/possibility

For example:
(i) You can stay back for practice.
(ii) John can again score a century

Could: To show ability/inability in the past, to make a polite request, to express possibility
For example:
(i) He could solve all the questions.
(ii) Rahul couldn't answer all the questions in 10 minutes.
(iii) Could you post these letters?
(iv) The investigator could be prejudiced.

F. 'Must' is used to express strong possibility/assumption.

For example:
(i) It is lunch time. Children must be on the play fields.
(ii) He took a taxi. He must have caught the train.

G. Should: To give an advice or an opinion To express expectation of something to happen

For example:
(i) Sherry should opt a foreign language as her third language.
(ii) You shouldn't tire yourself You are aging, "Papa."
(iii) Shine shouldn't be playing at this time.

H. Ought to: Ought to can be used instead of should

For example:
(i) Do you think Sachin should play with his broken elbow bone?
(ii) Sachin ought not to play with his broken elbow bone.
These sentences mean the same.

7. VOICE

Read the following sentences to note the construction of sentences and their function.
1. A medical store has been started in this colony.
2. Girls are not allowed to stay in the school's hostel.
3. Many saplings have been planted by our school children.
 4. Some of the lessons were not taught by the same teacher.
In these sentences note that the focus is on the object/action performed and NOT on the subject/doer. The focus is on the
action.
____ starting of a new medical store.
____ not allowing the girl
____ planting of saplings
____ non teaching of some of the lesson.
All these sentences are written in passive.
All these sentences can be written with stress on the 'doers /subjects' also.
For example:
(i) Our teacher did not teach some of the lessons.
(ii) A retired eminent teacher teaches us English.
These sentences are written in Active voice.
The focus is on the doer.

FORM

Active Voice:
Subject + verb (according to the tense) + object
Passive Voice:
Object (new subject) + Helping verb + Verb (Past participle form) + by followed by the subject (doer)

Helping verbs used are:

Simple Present: is, am, are
For example:
(i) (a) The head boy commands the morning assembly.
(b) The morning assembly is commanded by the head boy.
(ii) (a) Do the NCC cadets do firing practice every Friday?
(b) Is firing practice done by the NCC cadets every Friday?

Present Continuous: is/am/are 4- being

For example:
(i) (a) The senior students are singing National songs.
(b) National songs are being sung by the senior students.
(ii) (a) The girls of our class are decorating the display board.
(b) The display board is being decorated by the girls of our class.

Present Perfect: has/have been:

For example:
(i) (a) The principal has awarded the Best Students Prize to Arnab.
(b) Arnab has been awarded the Best Students Prize by the principal.
(ii) (a) She has not stolen the book.
(b) My book has not been stolen by her.

Simple Past: was/were:

For example:
(i) (a) Did Gunjan present her research paper in the seminar?
(b) Was a research paper presented by Gunjan in the seminar?
(ii) (a) The cat drank all the milk.
(b) All the milk was drunk by the cat.

Past Continuous: was/were + being

For example:
(i) (a) The teacher was calling the rolls.
(b) The rolls v/ere being called by the teacher.
 (ii) (a) Was he revising his books?
(b) Were his books being revised by him.

Past Perfect: had + been

For example:
(i) (a) They had bribed the clerk.
(b) The clerk had been bribed by them.
(ii) (a) I had not tasted this dish before.
(b) This dish had not been tasted by me before.

Future Indefinite: Will/shall be:

For example:
(i) (a) I shall not speak a word to you.
(b) Not a word will be spoken to you by me.
(ii) (a) My uncle will give me an award for my stage performance.
(b) I shall be given an award by my uncle for my stage performance.

Future Perfect: Will/shall have been

For example:
(i) (a) We shall have done our homework.
(b) Our homework will have been done by us.

(ii) (a) He will not have abused me.

(b) I shall not have been abused by him.

Passive with Modals: (Modals + be)

For example:
(i) (a) I can do this work.
(b) This work can be done by me.
(ii) (a) May I help you?
(b) May you be helped by me?

8. DETERMINERS

Read the following sentences.

1. Kamal has bought a book. It was packed in an envelope. The book has many pictures of beautiful lakes
of Srinagar. Some pictures show different moods of the Dal Lake.
2. Some ideas of our cricket coach can be tried to improve performance. Some players have supported the
coach. No one can have any doubt about his intentions.
3. My class teacher didn't pay much attention to the disturbance on the road.

In these sentences the words are:

1. A book, an envelope, the book many pictures, some pictures, Dal Lake
2. Some ideas, our cricket coach, some players the coach's, any doubt, no one, .
3. My class teacher, much attention, the road

Use of determiners for countable as well as uncountable:

(i) Countable: a book, a coach, some pictures/players, envelope, the road Some of these determiners determine
other names (uncountable as well as countable):
(i) some, much, any, many

Remember: Some, much, and any, are used for countable as well as uncountable.
They are also determiners:
one, two, 1st, IInd
Used for countable: my his, own, your, her, their, the, each, every, another
Articles: (a, an, the) their uses
A, an, and the are determiners.
(i) A is used with words starting with consonant.
For example: - a boy, a car, a man, a pot, a nest, a road, a question, a valley, a toy, a well, a Yacht, a zebra
(ii) An is used with words starting with vowels.
For example:- an, hour, an M.A., an heir, an honest person, an upper class, an egg, an aunt, an undertaking.

Note: They are not used before uncountable persons or things. We do not say a water, a sugar, etc.
(iii) 'The is used with the name of the rivers, mountains, seas, religious books, names of the hotels, banks,
buildings, newspapers, magazines, countries in plural, the names of family or dynasty, etc.

For example:- the Ganga, the Himalayas, the Arabian Sea, the Gita, the Ashoka Hotel, the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar,
the Central Bank, the India Today the Outlook, the USA, the UK, the Gandhis and the Johns.

Other Determiners:
(i) Use of Some: Some is used with affirmative sentences.
For example:
(i) Some books are to be read thoroughly.
(ii) I had some coffee before I slept.

(ii) Use of Any: Any is used with assertive as well as negative and interrogative sentences.
For example:
(i) She hasn't attended the class.
(ii) Does Damini have any idea about computers?
(iii) But one can learn such things any time.

(iii) More and/or less: More and/or less are used before plural uncountable nouns.
For example:
(i) Gaurav has more information than his elder brother has.
(ii) He has less time to play.
(iii) Shruti needs more money to buy her sports kit.

(iv) All, everyone (Everyone, Each and Every):

For example:
(i) All boys have opted for functional English.
(ii) Each book has been sent for binding.
(iii) Every child will participate in the competition.

Note: Each and every are followed by a singular noun and singular verb.

(v) Use of much, many, few:

For example:
(i) A few years ago, Yash shifted to India.
(ii) Many people have applied for KBC 2.
(with countable)
(iii) I don't have much interest in gold.
(iv) My sister doesn't have much idea about modern English usage. (with countable)
Many few, a few are used before plural countable nouns. A few mean more than few.

9. CONDITIONALS

I. Read the following sentences.

(i) Had you told him, he would have delivered the parcel at your home. (Past Tense)
(ii) If you go there, you will meet my father. (Future Time reference)
 All these sentences refer to a condition for an unfulfillment of an action or a desire. The part of the sentences
starting with 'if or had' lays down the condition for fulfillment of an action or desire. It must be satisfied before an
action is performed.

Read the following sentences.

(i) (a) If he asks me,
(b) I will return his notes.
(ii) (a) If she submits the application before 10th August,
(b) She can get scholarship.
A part of these sentences is a condition. If the condition is fulfilled the proposed action will follow. These two parts
show cause and effect relationship.

II. Condition can be conveyed in the following ways also.

(i) When it rains, the subsoil water is enough for the year.
(ii) When I work for more than 8 hours a day, my performance improves.
All these conditionals start with either if, had or when.

III. Read the following sentences also,

(Future Time Reference)
(i) If he hires a taxi, he may catch the train.
(ii) Unless I ask him, he will not agree.
Here the future action seems to be certain if the condition is fulfilled.

Read the following sentences.

(i) If I won a lottery, I would buy a Ford Car.
(Remote possibility)
(ii) Had you proposed, he would accompany you. (Unlikely condition)
These are imaginary conditions.

Read the following sentences also.

(i) Harsh: Have you seen my library books?
Manu: No, but I'll have a look. If I find them, I'll tell you.
(ii) If I found a wallet in the running train, I would deposit with the Railway Police.
Here, it is not a real possibility. The speaker is imagining the situation and doesn't expect to find a wallet.

Form- For sentences conveying imagination:

Here we can use 'could or might' also.
For example:
(i) If you took more sugar in your diet, you might suffer due to obesity.
(ii) If it stopped raining, they could come for the evening tea.
It is, however, called a Relative Pronoun because it refers or relates some noun going before which is called its
Antecedent.

Interrogative pronouns:
The pronouns which are used for asking questions are, therefore, called Interrogative Pronouns.
For example:
(i) Which is the house?
(ii) What do you want?
(iii) What is the matter?
(iv) About whom are you talking?

10. TENSES

In grammar, to show the time of an event or action we use 'tense\ Tense is the form of verb which shows the time of an
action or a state of being.
Kinds of Tense
Tense is divided into three categories:

PRESENT TENSE

Any action or event that takes place at present is called the present tense.
For example:
1. He makes an appeal.
2. She is learning computer.
There are four kinds of present tense.

1. Present Indefinite or Simple Present Tense- This tense is used to express the habitual actions, general truths,
planned activities and quotations. It shows an action done in general way in the present time.
For example:
1. The sun rises in the east.
2. My mother drinks fruit juice daily.

2. Present Continuous Tense- This tense is used to express an action or event taking place. It shows an action
going on at the time of speaking. For example:
1. The teacher is explaining the facts.
2. The children are enjoying the show.

3. Present Perfect Tense- This tense is used to express the actions just completed, and past actions whose time is
not specific. It shows an action started in the past and completed at the time of speaking. For example:
1. Robin has passed the entrance test.
2. I have revised the lesson properly.

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense- This tense shows an action that was started at some time in the past and
continuing up in the present time. For example:
1. I have been living here since ten years.
2. Jennifer has been waiting for her father since Monday.

2. PAST TENSE

When a verb indicates a completed action, it is said to be in the past tense.

For example:
1. Maria played chess.
2. Jenny was laughing
3. Serena had completed her work.
There are four kinds of past tense.

1. Past Indefinite or Simple Past Tense- This tense is used to express past habits, and completed actions. It also
shows an action done in the past time. For example:
1. I bought a pencil.
2. He taught the girls.

2. Past Continuous Tense- This is used to express the continuity of some past actions. It shows an action going on
in the past and not completed. For example:
1. Jack was celebrating his victory.
2. Daisy was looking at the stars.
3. Past Perfect Tense- This tense is used to express an action completed before a certain moment in the past. It
shows an action which had been completed before another action took place. For example:
1. Harrison had taken his meal before I arrived.
2. Brad had cooked the food before I reached home.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense- This tense shows an action starting before a certain point in the past and
continuing up to that time. For example:
1. Matt had been reading since morning when Edward rang him up.
2. She had been playing chess since.

3. FUTURE TENSE

In future tense, a verb indicates that an action will take place in future.
For example:
1. I will go to zoo tomorrow.
2. Serena will have eaten the mango before she sleeps.
There are four kinds of future tense.

1. Future Indefinite or Simple Future Tense- This tense is used to express a supposed action and determination.
It shows an action to be done in general way in the future time.
For example:
1. Liam will know his result soon.
2. George will go home tomorrows. Future

2. Future Continuous Tense- This is used to indicate the continuity of a supposed action. It shows an action that
will go on at some point of time in the future.
For example:
1. Denzel will be reaching to his native place.
2. Russell shall be making a project at that time.

3. Future Perfect Tense- This tense is used to indicate the completion of a supposed action or an action that starts
earlier but still continues. It shows an action to be completed before another action takes place in future time. For
example:
1. Harrison will have bought a bike before he gets a job.
2. Laurence will have finished her cooking before the maid servant comes.

4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense- This tense shows an action starting before a certain point in the past and
continuing up to that time. For example:
1. Sylvester will have bought a bike before he gets a job.
2. She will have been studying for four hours.