COMPLETE GUIDE TO GRAMMAR RULES

COMPLETE GUIDE TO GRAMMAR RULES
TOPIC SLIDE NUMBER

NOUN 1
PRONOUN 50
TENSES 103
VERBS 209
MODIFIERS 286
SPEECH 357
VOICE 384
PREPOSITIONS 410
CONJUNCTIONS 447
CONDITIONALS 473
SENTENCES, CLAUSES AND 497
PHRASES
PUNCTUATIONS 514
NOUN
Holla Amigos! It gives But, before moving to details, I would

me an immense like to know, do you like cricket? Yes,
pleasure welcoming I am talking about that bat and the
you to be a part of ball. I know that your answer will be
this exciting journey. I
believe in two words:
Faith and Hard Work. Cricket is the most sought after sport in india. So, lets
Have this two things talk about VIRAT KOHLI.
with you and the
world will be yours.
There is no substitute
for hard work. All
those great people
out there are great
because they had
faith in themselves.
So, lets begin our
journey with the first
stop called as
“NOUNS”
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Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is an Indian cricketer and the Virat Kohli is currently the best
current captain of the India national team. batsman in the world.
Virat Kohli was born on 5 November
1988 in Delhi .
Virat Kohli scored huge amount of runs in IPL and overseas tour in
2016. He also took few wickets with the ball.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli’s bat has bagged a lot of Virat Kohli displays a great
sponsorships over the past few years. sportsmanship.
Kohli first played for Delhi

Under-15 team in October
2002 in the 2002–03 Polly
Umrigar Trophy. He was
the leading run-scorer for
his team in that
tournament with 172 runs
at an average of 34.40.
For the first Test of the Australian tour in

December 2014, Dhoni was not part of the Indian
team at Adelaide due to an injury, and Kohli took
the reins as Test captain for the first time.
In all the above mentioned sentences, I have highlighted some words in red.
If we look carefully, we will get to know that all those highlighted words are actually
names.
All the naming words are called as ‘NOUNS’.
Let us try to categorize these words.
PEOPLE OR IDEA, QUALITY

THINGS OR STATE
PLACES
BAT NOVEMBER
VIRAT KOHLI
WICKET SPORTSMANSHIP
CAPTAIN
BALL
TEAM YEARS
DELHI TOUR
2016
WORLD
BATSMAN
A noun is a word that indicates the name of a specific object or set of objects,
such as living things, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
Remember that everything we can see or discuss is represented by a word that
names it. That word is called a noun.
All the words categorized above are examples of nouns.
More Examples:
• Living things – Man, animal, Plants, Michael, Tiger, etc.
• Places – Country, town, India, Australia, etc.
• Actions – Movement, Play, Jump, Eat, etc.
• Qualities – Honesty, Sincere, Loyal, etc.
• States of existence – Encouraged, Motivated, etc.
• Ideas – Intuition, Logic, etc.
TYPES OF NOUNS
PROPER
NOUN
NOUN
COUNTABLE COMMON
NOUN
NOUN
COLLECTIVE
NOUN
UNCOUNTABLE
NOUN
MATERIAL
NOUN
ABSTRACT
NOUN
COUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns indicate the things that can be counted. These nouns can be
used with articles such as a/an and the or quantifiers such as a few and many.
Example:
The Starks have a wonderful collection of cars.
(‘Cars’ here is a noun and we can count cars which makes it a countable noun)
Types of countable nouns:

➢ Proper Noun: A proper noun is the name given to something to make it more specific.
It denotes a proper person, place or thing.
Example: Krishna has his eyes all over this world and listens to everyone’s prayers.
(‘Krishna’ here is the name of a specific person which makes it a proper noun.)
➢ Common Noun: A common noun is the name given to a class of objects or entities. It
is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea.
Example: The English teacher has contributed a lot to the success of so many
students. (‘Teacher’ here refers to class of people and has been used in general
sense which makes it a common noun.)
➢ Collective Noun: A collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as
a whole. It represents a group of people, animals, or things.
Example: A gang of thieves robbed the bank yesterday.
(‘Gang’ here refers to a group of persons which makes it a collective noun.)
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Uncountable nouns are materials, notions etc. that we cannot divide into separate
elements and therefore we cannot "count" them. We do not usually use the
indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns.
Example:
The news related to the prime minister went viral at once over the internet.
(‘News’ here is an uncountable noun because we cannot count it.)
Types of uncountable nouns:

➢ Material Noun: A material noun is simply the names of various raw materials or
elements which exist in nature or the environment. These nouns are not countable
means we cannot count them because they are in the forms of liquid, semi-liquid or
solid.
Example: Joey bought a diamond ring to propose Rachael. (‘Diamond’ here refers to a
material that is found naturally in our environment which makes it a material noun.)
➢ Abstract Noun: An abstract noun is a noun that indicates an intangible thing such as
an emotion, a feeling, a quality, or an idea. In other words, an abstract noun does not
refer to a physical object. you cannot see, hear, touch, smell, or taste such things.
Example: Leonardo Di Caprio displays love at an excellent level in all of his movies.
(Here ‘love’ is an emotion which makes it an abstract noun.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 1: AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE.
The subject is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea of a sentence. It shows
what the sentence is about, or who or what is performing an action in the
sentence. That action is called as verb. The subject is the noun that is doing or
being something.
EXAMPLES:
Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all times.
(Now, the answer to the question ‘who is the greatest batsman of
all times?’ is Sachin Tendulkar. So, the answer to the ‘who’
question is always the subject.)
Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level.

(Now, the answer to the question ‘what is the highest
mountain above sea level?’ is Mount Everest. So, the answer
to the ‘what’ question is the subject.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 2: AS THE DIRECT OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE.
First of all, an object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. It is the who
or what that the subject does something to.
Now, there are two types of Objects i.e. ‘Direct’ and ‘Indirect’ object.
Direct object is the thing being acted upon i.e. the receiver of the action. A direct object
answers the question 'what' or 'whom.' Finding the direct object is simple if we identify the
subject and verb in a sentence.
EXAMPLES:
The engineer built a marvelous house.

(Here, engineer is the subject and built is the verb. Now, the
answer to the question ‘what did the engineer built?’ is house.
Therefore house is the direct object.)
The detective questioned the criminal continuously for 6

hours. (Here, detective is the subject and questioned is the
verb. Now, the answer to the question ‘whom did the detective
question?’ is the criminal. Therefore, criminal is the direct
object.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 3: AS THE INDIRECT OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE.
The indirect object of a sentence is the recipient of the direct object. In effect, the
action moves from the subject, through the verb, to the direct object and then the
indirect object. An indirect object answers the question ‘for whom’, ‘for what’, ‘to
whom’, ‘to what’.
EXAMPLE:
My father built a tree house for me when I was a child.

(Here, father is the subject, built is a verb and tree house is the
direct object. Now, the answer to the question ‘For whom did
my father build a tree house?’ is ‘me’ and therefore ‘me’ is the
indirect object.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 4: AS THE SUBJECT COMPLEMENT.
A subject complement is the noun that follows a linking verb.

The following verbs are linking verbs: any form of be (am, is, are, was, were, has
been, are being, might have been, etc.), become, and seem. Linking verbs do not
express any action.
A subject complement is something that completes our idea of the subject of a
sentence by giving us more information about it.
EXAMPLE:
Ms Dhoni is an excellent cricketer.

(Here, Ms Dhoni is the subject of the sentence and ‘is’ is the
linking verb. ‘Cricketer’ here tells us something about the
subject Ms Dhoni and therefore is the subject complement.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 5: AS THE OBJECT COMPLEMENT.
An object complement is a noun that follows a direct object to indicate what it has
become. It may be a word that gives further meaning to the direct object. An
object complement completes our idea of the direct object of a sentence by giving
us more information about it.
EXAMPLE:
The music makes Alice happy.

(Here, Alice is the direct object and ‘happy’ describes the direct
object which makes it the object complement.)
USES OF NOUNS
USE 6: AS THE OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION.
Prepositions are followed by a noun which acts as their object. Prepositions

indicate relationships between other words in a sentence. Many prepositions tell
you where something is or when something happened. above, across, against,
along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by,
down, from, in, into, near, of, off, on, to, etc. are examples of prepositions.
EXAMPLE:
This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.
(Quote of Niel Armstrong)
(Here, ‘for’ is the preposition and ‘a man’ is the object and
therefore the object of the preposition.)
USAGE OF ARTICLES
WITH NOUNS
THE GAME OF ARTICLES
An article is a word
that defines or
modifies a noun. We ARTICLES
INDEFINITE
DEFINITE
are also aware that ARE OF TWO
each noun is either a TYPES
countable noun or an
uncountable noun.
The definite article THE is used when the noun is either

singular or plural, and it indicates a particular sense.
The indefinite articles “a” and “an” are articles that are
used when the noun is not specific and used in a
general sense.
THE GAME OF ARTICLES
THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

• ‘A’ is used when the noun is • The function of Definite
singular and begins with a Article ‘The’ is to limit the
consonant or with a vowel that meaning of a noun to one
sounds like a consonant.
particular thing.
Example: The local people say,
• The definite article can be
the earth is guarded by a warrior.
Warrior is the noun which starts used with singular, plural, or
with a consonant sound. uncountable nouns.
• An is used when the noun is Example: Kanhu and Arun
singular and begins with a vowel went mango picking in early
sound or with a silent “h” (as in June. Just before Halloween,
“hour”). they decided to make mango
Example: It was an honor to pie out of the mangoes.
receive the academic In this sentence, the noun is
achievement award. “mangoes.” The definite article
“Honor” is the noun in this the is used because the reader
sentence and starts with a vowel knows these are specific
sound. mangoes, not just any mangoes.
USAGE OF ARTICLES WITH
PROPER NOUNS
We never use an Indefinite article with a proper noun.

Example: It is incorrect to say ‘A Michael’ or ‘A Ravi’.
The Definite article ‘The’ can be used in certain places as follows:

• We seldom use ‘The’ with a proper noun that refers to geographical terms such as river,
ocean, bridge, region, or building: the Indian Ocean, the Howrah Bridge, etc.
• We use ‘The’ with the names of plural mountains, lakes, and islands but not with singular
names: It is correct to say ‘the Hawaiian Islands, the Rocky Mountains, etc.’ but it is
incorrect to say ‘the Mount McKinley’.
• We do not use ‘The’ with the names of countries, continents or states. However, we use
‘The’ with the name of a country if it is plural or if it contains the word united or union.
Example: the Philippines, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc.
• We Do not use ‘The’ with the names of streets, parks, or squares.
• We do not use ‘The’ with the name of a college or university . However, we use it if it
contains an ‘of’ phrase. Example: The University of British Columbia.
• We Do not use ‘The’ with the name of a company unless the name includes the word
association, company, corporation or foundation: Example: The Hindustan company.
USAGE OF ARTICLES WITH
COMMON NOUNS
We can use an article with a Common noun.
• It is mandatory to use an article before a common noun when it is in singular

form. But it is not mandatory to use an article before a common noun when it is
in plural form. A plural common noun can have the article ‘the’ if we want to
make the noun specific or particular.
Examples:
I saw a tiger. (Refers to a random tiger)
I saw tigers in a zoo. (No article is required)
I have seen the tiger again. (Refers to the tiger I have already seen earlier)
• A or an - sometimes make a Proper Noun a Common Noun. Proper nouns
generally do not take any articles, but when a proper noun needs to be used as
a common noun, you must bring a or an - for it.
Examples:
He thinks he is a Virat Kohli. (Here, ‘Virat Kohli’ does not refer to the actual
person but someone like him.)
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
From the point of view of nouns, ‘Number’, generally, refers to the count.
Based on numbers, Nouns are divided in to two types.
If a noun tells about only one or if it refers to

the count of one, it is called a singular noun.
SINGULAR
Example: A teacher.
NOUN
If a noun tells about more than one or if it

refers to the count of more than one, it is PLURAL
called a Plural noun. Example: The teachers.
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
Let us take a look on various rules that govern the change of singular nouns to
plural forms.
RULE - 1
Singular nouns, In general, are

transformed to plural forms by
adding “s” at the end.
SINGULAR PLURAL
PEN PENS
DOG DOGS
RIVER RIVERS
SHIRT SHIRTS
COMPUTER COMPUTERS
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 2
If the Singular common noun ends

with s, ss, sh, ch, x and z, we add
‘-es’ at the end to make it plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL
BUS BUSSES
GLASS GLASSES
BUSH BUSHES
MATCH MATCHES
BATCH BATCHES
TAX TAXES
QUIZ QUIZES
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 3
When the pronunciation of ‘ch’ sounds like ‘K’, we just add ‘S’ at the end to make it
plural.
Examples: Monarch – Monarchs ; Stomach – Stomachs.
when there’s a “y” in the end and a when there’s a “y” in the end and a
Consonant before that “y”, “i” vowel before that “y”, we just add ‘s’
substitutes it and an “es” thereafter to make it plural.
to make it plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL
STORY STORIES DONKEY DONKEYS
HOBBY HOBBIES TOY TOYS
FLY FLIES DAY DAYS
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 4
When the noun ends with ‘F’ or ‘FE’, it is replaced by ‘V’ and ‘ES’ added at the end
to make it plural.
Examples: Thief – Thieves ; Wife – Wives.
We add “es” to the noun if the noun We add “s” to the noun if the noun is
is finished by “o” and a consonant finished by “o” and a vowel placed
placed before that ‘o’. before that ‘o’.

HERO HEROES BAMBOO BAMBOOS
MANGO MANGOES STUDIO STUDIOS
ZERO ZEROES PORTFOLIO PORTFOLIOS
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 5
Some Nouns require only their middle-vowel to be changed to become plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL
MAN MEN
WOMAN WOMEN
FOOT FEET
MOUSE MICE
TOOTH TEETH
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 6
Some Nouns just require only en, ren and ne at the end to become plural.
if “man” means human being in a when “man” is just a part of the

compound, “men” replaces that word, or it refers to any ethnic
“man”. group, race or civilian, we add “s” at
the end to make it plural.
SINGULAR PLURAL
SINGULAR PLURAL
FISHERMAN FISHERMEN
GERMAN GERMANS
BOATMAN BOATMEN
MUSSALMAN MUSSALMANS
SALESMAN SALESMEN
NORMAN NORMANS
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 7
When the noun ends with ‘FUL’, ‘S’ is added at the end to make it plural.
Example: Handful – Handfuls ; Mouthful – Mouthfuls.
If compound noun contains several Sometimes, in a compound noun, ‘S’

words, “s” is added to the main part is added to every part to change it to
of that noun to change it in to plural. plural.

BROTHER-IN- BROTHERS-IN- LORD-JUSTICE LORDS-JUSTICES
LAW LAW MAN-SERVANT MEN-SERVANTS
STEP- STEP-
BROTHER BROTHERS
NOUN AND THE NUMBER
RULE - 8
Some nouns do not change at all when they are pluralized.

Examples: Series – Series ; Deer - Deer
RULE - 9
Some singular nouns have no plural form, only used in singular.

Examples: Furniture, Scenery, etc.
RULE - 10
• some nouns are always used as a plural form. Example: Scissors, Trousers,
etc.
• Some nouns seem like singular, but actually they are plural. Example:
Government
• some nouns seem like plural though they are singular. Example: Physics,
Politics etc
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
THE POWER OF BEING

COLLECTIVE
Allow me to invite you to have a glance through the journey of Indian Freedom
Struggle.
Just imagine! If i ask you to give me an example in

history that would display the strength of Indians being
together, then what would be your answer?
I guess, your answer would be the Indian Freedom

Struggle because it was the first time, our country came
together to defeat the Britishers. That is the power of
collective, being together!
INDIAN FREEDOM
STRUGGLE
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 marked the first indian

uprising against the Britishers in which the indian
soldiers fought merely with swords against a squad of
British soldiers equipped with modern arms.
The Indian independence movement was a series of

historic events with the ultimate aim of ending the
British rule in India.
The British had come to india with an agenda of tasks to

derail the indian nation with ‘Divide and Rule’ policy.
INDIAN FREEDOM
STRUGGLE
Some nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh

and Lal Bahadur Shastri came upon the British rule like
an ambush of tigers.
If unity can come alive, then it would like the Indians of

20th century against the Britishers, that shattered them
as a herd of elephants.
Subhas Chandra Bose, whose defiant patriotism made

him a hero in India, stood tall against the British by
forming The Indian National Army in 1942.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Let us list all the words and that I have made bold in all
those sentences mentioned above also categorize them as
follows.
INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIVE
1. Soldier 1. A squad of British

soldiers
2. Event 2. A series of historic
events
3. Task 3. Agenda of tasks
4. Tiger 4. An ambush of tigers
5. Elephant 5. Herd of elephants
6. Fighter 6. Army
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
If we carefully look at those six words, then we would be able to know that those
words indicate a collection or a group.
Collective nouns are words that refer to a group or collection of people or things in
a way that the group is discussed as a single entity. Basically, it is a word referring
to a collection of things taken as a whole.
For example, the word Army is a collective

noun. There are more soldiers in an Army but
when discussing something that happens to ARMY
the Army as a whole, the Army would be
referred to as a single thing.
SOLDIER
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
Nouns in the collective class can be used in either the singular or plural form,
depending on the context of the sentence.
EXAMPLES:
The Family that resides along the coast of Port Blair is a

native of Kashmir.
All the families that live along the coast have been
evacuated successfully as there is a warning of cyclone.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
USING COLLECTIVE NOUNS CORRECTLY IN SENTENCES
Using collective nouns in sentences can be perplexing as it is very often difficult to

judge whether to use plural or singular verbs and pronouns with them. It is
important to identify whether the collective noun refers to the group working in
unison as a unit, or to members of the group acting on their own.
When the unit is acting in unison, When the members of the unit are acting as
it is appropriate to use the individuals, it is appropriate to use plural
singular form of verbs and forms of verbs and pronouns. For example:
pronouns. For example, The The class (collective noun) members
class (collective noun) waits (added for clarity) began their (plural verb
(singular verb) for its (singular and pronoun) homework assignments while
pronoun) teacher quietly. waiting for their (plural pronoun) teacher.
Here, the class is referred to as a The class of students is a unit, but the
unit acting in unison; the students are acting as individuals. Each
students are all doing the same student is doing his or her own homework
thing at the same time. assignment.
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR PEOPLE .
• A circle of friends • A morbidity of • A patrol of

• A class of pupils majors policemen
• A horde of savages • A mug/A reflection of • A peck of
• A host of angels narcissists Frenchmen
• A house of senators • A multiply/An • A picket of strikers
• A joint of osteopaths unhappiness of • A pint of Irishmen
• A lie/An equivocation of husbands • A pity/A gang of
politicians • A wisdom of prisoners
• A line of kings/rulers grandparents • A plush/A rascal of
• A melody of harpists • A number/A set of boys
• A mess/An execution mathematicians • A pomposity of
of officers • A pack of Brownies professors
• A meter of • A pack of thieves • A posse of police
percussionists • A pan of reviewers • A posse of sheriffs
• A mob of rioters • A panel of experts • A pound of
• A party of friends Englishmen
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR THINGS.
• A piece of jewellery • A deck of cards • A ream of paper

• A pile of money • A fleet of ships • A roll of film/cloth
• A drop of rain • A fleet of vehicles • A series of events
• A ray of sunshine • A flight of stairs • A set of books
• A pinch of salt • A gallon of gasoline • A set of tools
• A bar of soap • A group of friends • A shelf of books
• A tube of toothpaste • A group of islands • A stack of chairs
• A ball of wool • A grove of trees • A suite of furniture
• A bar of soap • A hedge of bushes • A suite of rooms
• A battery of tests • A library of books
• A bolt of lightning • A pack of cards
• A bunch of books • A pair of shoes
• A bunch of keys • A piece of furniture
• A bunch of keys • A piece of paper
• A chest of drawers • A quiver of arrows
• A clump of reeds
ABSTRACT NOUNS
THE INVISIBLE YET POWERFUL
Let us observe some facts regarding the legendary indian, Swami Vivekananda.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of

Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality.
He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from

whom he learnt that all living beings were an
embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God
could be rendered by service to humankind.
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private

lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu
philosophy in the United States, England and Europe.
Vivekananda blended humor with his teachings, and

his language was lucid. His Bengali writings testify to
his belief that words (spoken or written) should clarify
ideas, rather than demonstrating the speaker (or
writer's) knowledge.
After the Parliament of Religions at the US, he toured

many parts of the US as a guest. His popularity opened
up new views for expanding on "life and religion to
thousands".
ABSTRACT NOUNS
those sentences mentioned.
Spirituality philosophy knowledge humor

Religions belief ideas embodiment
divine service
Now, what do you mean by Spirituality? It is the quality of being concerned

with the human spirit or soul. Tell me, Can you see or touch Spirituality? No!
Is it possible to say ‘Give me one kilogram of spirituality’? Obviously No!
Similarly all the words mentioned above indicate the same purpose as
Spirituality.
The type of noun that you can’t see or touch is called as Abstract Noun.
Generally, a noun is a person, place or thing. However, in many cases, that
'thing' may be an intangible concept, or an abstract form of noun.
ABSTRACT NOUNS
In this instance, abstract refers to something that exists apart from concrete
existence. An abstract noun may include an aspect, concept, idea, experience,
state of being, trait, quality, feeling, or other entity that can’t be experienced with
the five senses.
Recognizing an Abstract Noun.
Concrete nouns are people, places, or things that we can experience with our five
senses. Abstract nouns are the opposite. We can’t experience them with our senses.
If a noun is abstract, it describes something you can’t see, hear, touch, taste, or
smell.
A word can function in more than one way. Therefore, It can be difficult to recognize
when a noun is abstract. Examples:
I love my son. [In this sentence, the word love expresses an action and is, therefore,
acting as a verb.]
Send them my love. [In this sentence, the word love functions as an abstract noun
because it is a thing that exists beyond the five senses.]
ABSTRACT NOUNS
FORMING ABSTRACT NOUNS
Abstract forms are derived by adding a suffix or alteration to the base word. Child is
a concrete noun, for example, but childhood is an intangible state, so it is abstract.
Nouns with the following suffixes are often abstract:

• -tion
• -ism
• -ity
• -ment
• -ness
• -age
• -ance
• -ence
• -ship
• -ability
• -acy
ABSTRACT NOUNS
Abstract forms are also derived from Adjectives, Nouns and Verbs
MATERIAL NOUNS
THE MATERIAL OF ALL
Let us observe some facts regarding our planet EARTH.
Earth, as a matter of fact, has been bestowed with lots

of natural resources such as Oil, coal, natural gas,
metals, stone and sand.
Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless,

and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the
main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids
of all known living organisms.
EARTH AND NATURAL
RESOURCES
As a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely

consumed staple food for over half of the world's human
population, especially in Asia and Africa.
Copper is one of the few metals that can occur in nature

in a directly usable metallic form
Coal is primarily used as a fuel. While coal has been

known and used for thousands of years, its usage was
limited prior to the Industrial Revolution.
MATERIAL NOUNS
those sentences mentioned above.
If we look carefully, these are nouns that indicate names

Water Copper
of materials or substances out of which things are made.
Fluids rice
Coal Fuel
Material nouns are not countable means we cannot Oil coal
count them because they are in the forms of liquid, natural gas
semi-liquid or solid. metals stone
sand.
This noun is especially called as material noun because nouns in this class are
almost materials like cloth, air, metal, gold, salt, iron, silver, steel, brass, bronze,
copper, aluminium, lead, coal, coral, gem, diamond, glass, fibre, calcium, plastic,
rubber, paper, cement, paint, plywood, synthetics, shampoo, soap, perfume, wine,
tar, chemical, rexene etc. Sometimes we cannot make the plural forms of material
noun.
MATERIAL NOUNS
Following are the rules you need to remember in order to make use of material
nouns in the sentence.
Rule 1 - Generally, articles (a, an or the) are not used with material nouns
when they are uncountable such as:
Honey is wholesome food and beneficial to health.
Water boils only at 100°C temperature.
Rule 2 - Articles (a and an) may be used with material nouns when they
are countable (denoting types of material or showing helping nature) such
as:
I would like to eat a Dutch cheese.
It is a very healthy wine.
Rule 3 - Use of 'the' and 'some' can also be done in the following way:
The honey in the bottle is mine. Don’t give it others!
I saw there is some milk in the glass.
COMPOUND NOUNS
A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more words. Each word makes up
part of the meaning of the noun.
Compound nouns can be written three ways:
A single word Two words Hyphenated

haircut rain forest self-esteem
toothpaste ice cream brother-in-law
Compound nouns can be

formed in following ways.
PRONOUN
Hello! We graciously introduce you to one of

the important constituents of English Language
called as ‘PRONOUN’.
I am pretty sure that most of you

will say ‘BHISMA’.
BHISMA
Bhishma was born as Devevrata .

He is the grand sire of the heroes
and villains of the epic
Mahabharata.
'Bhishma' means 'He of

the terrible oath', referring In the process of finding a
to his vow of life-long bride for the young king
celibacy.
Vichitravirya (son of
Shantanu and Satyavati) for
whom he was the regent,
Bhishma challenged the
assemblage of suitors at the
swayamvar of princesses
Amba, Ambika and Ambalika
of Kashi (Varanasi) and
defeated all of them.
BHISMA
In the great battle at Kurukshetra,
Bhishma, bound by his oath to
serve the ruler of Hastinapura or
the Kauravas , fought very
reluctantly on their side.
There were many great

warriors on Kauravas
side, but they got
shadowed by the
greatness of Bhishma.
Bhishma was finally

Bhishma also admitted he
grievously wounded on
had been wrong to fight for
the tenth day of the battle
Duryodhana even though he
by Arjuna, who hid behind
was the king's employee
another warrior Shikhandi,
since one's only allegiance
and rained arrows on the
is towards righteousness.
grandsire.
In all of the above sentences, I have made some words Bold.
Let us mention those words here:- He, His, Whom, Them, His,
Their, There, Many, They , One’s, Who, and Another.
Don’t you
think, these
words have
actually taken
the place of
some names?
I, me, he, she, herself, you,

it, that, they, each, few,
Pronouns are those words
many, who, whoever,
which can be used to
whose, someone,
replace Nouns.
everybody, etc. are
examples of pronouns.
For example, just go through the following sentence:
Krishna was teaching Krishna’s students in Krishna’s
house.
Now, go through another sentence:

Krishna was teaching his students in his house.
Its definitely the

Using nouns in all the places, makes our reading as well second one.
as writing awkward.
A word that replaces, indicates a noun or similar is called Pronoun. It also

functions as a subject, object (Direct and Indirect), Subject or Object
complements and objects of prepositions.
Pronouns are different from common Pronouns are the same as nouns
nouns because pronouns normally do because they both change for
not come after articles or other number, case and gender. Nouns
determiners. For example, people do and pronouns can be used in almost
not say "the it". all the same places in sentences.
Basically, there are three types of persons, that we need to learn before going in
detail about Pronouns. Following are the types of pronouns.
When we talk about The third-person

ourselves, our The second-person belongs to the
opinions, and the belongs to the person (or people)
things that happen to person (or people) being talked about.
us, we generally being spoken to. The third-person
speak in the first you, your, yours, pronouns include he,
person. I, me, my, yourself, yourselves, him, herself, it, its,
mine, us, our , etc. etc. are Second - itself, they, them,
are first-person person pronouns. their, theirs, and
pronouns. themselves.
FUNCTIONS OF PRONOUNS
Pronouns function in three ways namely, Subject, Object and Possession. Lets get
in to detail of each function.
FOLLOW
THE TABLE
PRONOUNS AS SUBJECTS
Subject pronouns are used when the pronoun is the subject of the sentence.
For example: He did the work in an excellent way.
If we observe, then I, he, she, we, they, who, whoever, etc., all qualify for the place
of ‘He’ in the sentence and are, therefore are subject pronouns.
FUN FACT
In informal English, most people tend to follow to be verbs
with object pronouns like me, her, them. Many English scholars
tolerate this distinction between formal and casual English.
Example: It could have been them.
Technically correct: It could have been they.
Subject pronouns are also used if they rename the subject. They will follow to be
verbs, such as is, are, was, were, am, will be, had been, etc.
For example: It is you who are responsible for success of the project.
PRONOUNS AS OBJECTS
An object pronoun is a type of pronoun that is used as an object, either as the

direct or indirect object of a verb, or as the object of a preposition. These
pronouns always take the objective case, whether they are indirect object
pronouns or direct object pronouns. For example:
❖ Krishna saw him.

Him is the direct object of the verb saw.
❖ Give her the pen.
The direct object of give is book, and her is the indirect object. Indirect objects
always have an implied to or for in front of them: Give [to] her the book. Do [for]
me a favor.
❖ Are you talking to me?
Me is the object of the preposition to.
PRONOUNS AS POSSESION
The possessive pronoun is used for showing possession . The possessive case
relates to nouns, pronouns, and determiners.
For example:
❖ Possessive Nouns: With a noun, the possessive case is usually shown by

preceding it with "of" or by adding 's (or just ') to the end.
For example – The King’s crown is made of gold.
❖ Possessive Pronouns: The possessive-case pronouns are "mine," "yours,"

"his," "hers," "its," "ours," and "theirs.“
For example: The book is mine.
❖ Possessive Determiners: The possessive-case determiners are "my," "your,"

"his," "her," "its," "our," and "their."
For example: Your cat always makes my lawn dirty.
PRONOUN
TYPES OF PRONOUNS
PRONOUN
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
A personal pronoun is a word that replaces a proper name of a person.
These kinds of pronouns are generally associated with a particular person –
first person (as I), second person (as you), or third person (as he, she, it,
they). [Refer to Pronoun-1 for explanation of different ‘persons’]
Different forms of Personal Pronouns are depicted in the following Table
E 1. Krishna looks cute, but she thinks he is evil.

X 2. I walk around the park at 6 PM.
3. They are looking forward to the banking
A
examinations.
M
All the bold words are personal pronouns.
P
L
E The issue with personal pronouns is that they change depending on how
S they're used. Let's start by looking at all the forms.
PRONOUN
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Let’s have a look on different forms of Personal Pronouns.
Subjective Objective Possessive Possessive

Person Reflexive Pronouns
Case Case Determiner Pronouns
First I me my mine myself

Person Singular
Second you you your yours yourself
Person Singular
Third he/she/it him/her/it his/her/its his/hers/its himself/herself/itself
Person Singular
First we us our ours ourselves
Person Plural
Second you you your yours yourselves
Person Plural
Third they them their theirs themselves
Person Plural
PRONOUN
IMPERSONAL PRONOUNS
The pronoun which describes a particular thing or a verb or any non-living thing but
not for a person is called as Impersonal Pronoun.
E 1. It is snowing.
X Here ‘it’ describes the verb snowing.
A
M 2. It is a tasty pasta.
Here ‘it’ describes the food item, pasta.
P
L 3. I could not see the spider, but it bit me.
E Here ‘it’ describes the insect ‘spider’.
S
Impersonal Pronouns are also called as Indefinite pronouns because these

pronouns do not refer to particular people or things in the way that you, me, it,
they, them, ourselves etc. do.
PRONOUN
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
Demonstrative Pronouns, such as this and that, are used to indicate which things
are being referred to and to distinguish those things from others.
A demonstrative pronoun represents a noun and expresses its position as near or

far (including in time). The demonstrative pronouns are "this," "that," "these," and
"those."
PRONOUN
Like all pronouns, demonstrative pronouns replace nouns . It stands in for
something that has been previously mentioned which is also called as its
antecedent.
E 1. Do you remember the pen with the blue cap? Can I have that please?
X (Here, "that" stands in for something previously mentioned. The antecedent
A of "that" is the noun phrase "the lobster with the blue claw.")
M 2. This is beautiful.
P (Here, the context tells us what "this" represents. The antecedent of "this" is
pen.
L
3. Do you remember the two pens with pointed caps? Can I have those
E please?
S (The antecedent of "those" is shown in bold.)
4. These are beautiful.
(Remember that, with demonstrative pronouns, the antecedent does not
always appear in nearby text. The antecedent is often understood from the
context of the speaker's surroundings.)
PRONOUN
SOME EXCEPTIONS
A demonstrative pronoun doesn't always stand in for something known to audience.

For example:
1. Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.
2. That which is unjust can really profit no one; that which is just can really harm no
one.
In the examples above, we don't know what "those" or "that" stands for.
In some cases, the thing the demonstrative pronoun indicates comes after the
demonstrative pronoun. When this happens, it's called a "postcedent") not an
antecedent. For example:
1. That is why every politician fights elections – so there may be order.
The phrase in bold is called as postcedent.
PRONOUN
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS
Distributive pronoun is a pronoun which denotes persons or things of group
separately, rather than collectively.
This pronoun is used to indicate all the members of representative group. Some of the
distributive pronouns are like each, either, neither, everyone, any, none, no one, etc.
These kinds of pronouns are always singular in nature and are always followed by singular
verbs.
E 1. Each new day is different. (NOT Each new days are different.)
X
A 2. Either girl can do that. (NOT Either girls can do that.)
M
P 3. Neither answer is correct. (NOT Neither answers is correct.) (NOT Neither
answers are correct.)
L
E
PRONOUN
DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS
Each of, neither of and either of are followed by plural nouns and singular verbs.
1. Each of the solutions is correct. (NOT Each of the solution is correct.)
2. Neither of the boys can do that. (NOT Either of the boy can do that.)
Either and neither should be used only in speaking of two persons or things. When more
than two persons or things are spoken of, any, no one or none should be used.
1. None of the three answers is correct. (NOT Neither of the three answers is correct.)
2. We invited several friends, but none came. (NOT … but neither came.)
3. You can take any of the three shirts. (NOT You can take either of the three shirts.)
Each is used to refer to every one of two or more people or things of a group.
For Example: Each car is custom-manufactured. (here we are thinking of every car
individually.)
Every is used with singular nouns to refer to all the members of a group of things or
people collectively.
For Example: Every applicant for the job was interviewed. (Here, we are thinking of
all the people that applied for the job.)
PRONOUN
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
The term ‘RECIPROCAL’ means bearing on or binding each of two parties equally.
Therefore, we use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting
in the same way towards the other.
For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:

A and B are talking to each other. - The action is said to be "reciprocated".
Krishna and Arjhun hate each other.

(Note that Krishna hates Arjhun, and Arjhun hates Jack. The action is reciprocated.)
There are only two reciprocal pronouns,

and they are both two words:
each other
one another
PRONOUN
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
Each Other
Use each other when there are two things.
1. They gave each other presents.
2. Have you seen each other 's solution?
(Note: Each other is treated as singular. Therefore, the possessive apostrophe is
placed before the s.)
Each Other
Use one another when there are two more than things.
1. The crayfish started eating one another.
2. The competitors were deliberately blocking one another's view to gain an
advantage.
(Note: One another is treated as singular. Therefore, the possessive apostrophe is
placed before the s.)
If you need the possessive form, write each other's and one another's (not each
others' and one anothers').
PRONOUN
RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
PRONOUN
REFLEXIVE AND EMPHATIC

PRONOUNS
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Reflexive pronouns are used when the action of the verb done by the subject turns
back on the subject.
Reflexive pronouns are usually objects of the verb.
For Example:
1. I fed myself the mangoes.
2. Why do you always cut yourself while cooking?
EMPHATIC PRONOUNS
When Reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize the noun, they are called
Emphatic pronouns.
They are compound personal pronouns such as 'himself', 'myself' and 'yourself'
used for emphasis.
For Example:
1. I will build the house myself.
2. We will watch the show ourselves.
PRONOUN

PRONOUNS
Difference between reflective and emphatic pronouns
Reflexive pronouns show that the action of the subject reflects upon the Subject.
However, an Emphatic pronoun simply emphasizes the action of the subject.
For Example:
1. He cut himself. – Himself is a reflexive pronoun since the subject's (the boy’s) action
(cutting) refers back to the subject (the boy).
2. He himself cut the cake. – Himself is an emphatic pronoun because it is emphasizing the
subject (the boy).
Reflexive pronouns are formed by the addition of the suffix self (singular) or selves
(plural) to personal pronouns such as my, your, her, him, it, them and our.
For Example:
My + self = Myself
Your + self = Yourself
Our + self = Ourselves
When self is used independently, it is a noun and not a pronoun.
For Example: An honest man keeps his self free from all vices.
PRONOUN

PRONOUNS
The Emphatic Pronouns cannot be used as subjects. It is therefore wrong to say:
1. John and myself went there.
2. Herself swam in the river.
The correct sentences are as follows:
1. John and I went there.
2. She swam in the river.
An Emphatic pronoun can be removed from the sentence and the meaning would
not be affected. A Reflexive pronoun, however, cannot be removed. The sentence
wouldn’t make complete sense if you remove the reflexive pronoun.
For Example:
1. He himself cut the cake. He cut the cake.
2. He cut himself. He cut …what?
You will notice that in the first sentence, the meaning doesn’t change when the
emphatic pronoun himself is removed from the sentence. In the second sentence,
the meaning becomes incomplete when the reflexive pronoun is removed.
PRONOUN

PRONOUNS
If the Reflexive pronoun in a sentence is replaced by the reciprocal pronoun ‘each
other’, the meaning of the sentence changes drastically.
Compare:
1. Krishna and Arjhun blamed themselves for the loss. (Krishna blamed himself and
Arjhun blamed himself.)
2. Krishna and Arjhun blamed each other for the loss. (Krishna blamed Peter and
Arjhun blamed Krishna.)
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
A Relative pronoun is one which is used to refer to nouns mentioned previously,

whether they are people, places, things, animals, or ideas.
A Relative Pronoun is introduces a relative clause.
Who, whom, what, which, and that are all relative pronouns.
Relative clauses are also sometimes referred to as adjective clauses, because they
identify or give us additional information about the subject of the independent clause
they relate to.
Relative pronouns, like conjunctions, are words that join clauses—in this case, a
relative clause to its main clause.
Who: Refers to a person (as the verb’s subject)

Whom: Refers to a person (as the verb’s object)
Which: Refers to an animal or thing
What: Refers to a nonliving thing
That: Refers to a person, animal, or thing
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
The Function of Relative Pronouns

A Relative pronoun introduces an adjective clause. An adjective clause follows a
noun:
(1) To identify it.
For example:
1. The man who stole the purse is outside.
(The adjective clause (highlighted) identifies the man.)
(2) To tell us something interesting about it.

For example:
Inspector Krishna, who solved the case, is outside.
(The adjective clause (highlighted) tells us something interesting about Inspector
Krishna.)
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
The Story of “COMMA”

There are two situations. Observe the below two sentences:
1. The boy who stood first in the class gave a beautiful speech in the farewell.
2. The boy, who stood first in the class, gave a beautiful speech in the farewell.
Both of the above sentences are identical but the second sentence has comma
and the first one doesn’t. Both are correct.
We use comma when the adjective clause (the highlighted text) doesn’t specify its
noun and just gives additional information.
If we observe the first sentence, then the adjective clause specifies "the boy“ and
the same adjective clause in the second sentence gives additional information
about “the boy“.
"Who" is used for people. "Which" is used for things. "Whose" is used for people
and things. For Example: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
When to use ‘”Who” and When to use “Whom”.

We use Who when it is the subject of the verb.
For Example:
Do not advise anyone who disrespects you..
("Who" is the subject of the verb " disrespects.").
Now, observe the following sentence:

Do not advise anyone whom you do not know well.
("Whom" is not the subject of a verb.)
Therefore we use whom when it is not the subject of the verb.
That and Whose can be used for people or things. For Example:
1. The cat that bit the maid.
(Here, "that" is used with a thing (“cat").)
2. The maid that hit the cat.
(Here, "that" is used with a person (“maid").)
PRONOUN
RELATIVE PRONOUNS
That vs. Which
“That” introduces a restrictive clause, and “Which” introduces a nonrestrictive clause.
A restrictive clause is an important Which introduces a nonessential

part of its sentence; if it were taken clause that can be removed from a
out of the sentence, the sentence’s sentence without changing the
meaning would change. sentence’s meaning.
Example: The car, which has four wheel drive,
The car that has four wheel drive goes the fastest.
goes the fastest. Here, if we remove the clause (bold
If we remove the clause (bold part) part), then the meaning would not
then meaning of the sentence would change materially.
change. We would no longer know Nonrestrictive (or nonessential)
which car goes the fastest. This kind clauses are set off with commas.
of clause gets a that.
PRONOUN
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
PRONOUN
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS
“Who” vs “Whom”.
you can only use "who" when it is the subject of a verb. "I," "he," "she," "we," and
"they" are just like "who" because they are also used as the subjects of verbs.
"Me," "him," "her," "us," and "them" are just like "whom" because they are not used
as the subjects of verb.
question answer
Who told you? John told me. subject
Whom did you tell? I told Mary. object
What's happened? An accident's happened. subject
What do you want? I want coffee. object
Which came first? The Porsche 911 came first. subject
PRONOUN
POSSESIVE PRONOUNS
A possessive pronoun replaces a noun and shows ownership. The possessive
pronouns are "mine," "yours," "his," "hers," "ours," and "theirs."
PRONOUN
POSSESIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive pronouns can take the following forms.
Number Person Gender (of "owner") Possessive pronouns
singular 1st male/ female mine
2nd male/ female yours
3rd male his
female hers
plural 1st male/ female ours
2nd male/ female yours
3rd male/ female/ neuter theirs
PRONOUN
POSSESIVE PRONOUNS
Here are some examples in possessive pronouns .
1. The Americans are the only people who love bread in breakfast with the
exception of Latin people who like to eat theirs.
(Here, "theirs" replaces the noun phrase " Latin people")
2. A wife should no more take her husband's beating than he should hers.
(Here, "hers" replaces the noun phrase "wife's beating.")
Don't put an apostrophe in "yours," "hers," "ours," or "theirs."
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 1 - When the subject becomes the receiver of the action, then the verb
becomes reflexive. In case a verb is being used reflexively we use reflexive
pronouns.
Example:
1. We enjoyed ourselves during the picnic.
2. He applied himself to the job.
List of reflexive and non reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs: Acquit, Absent, Avail, Amuse, Avenge, Apply, Adapt, Adjust, Enjoy,
Exert, Overreach, Pride, Resign, Revenge.
Non reflexive verbs: Keep, Stop, Turn, Hide, Rest, Move, Qualify, Bathe.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 2 - Reflexive pronouns can’t be used as the subject of a sentence.
Example:
1. I cut myself so deep that I could not sleep at all.
2. I whistled to myself to calm down.
3. She cannot teach herself.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 3 - If there is a complement in the sentence then the verb ‘to be’ is followed
by the subjective case pronoun.
Example:
1. It was he who caught the winning touchdown Friday night.
2. It was we who are dancing.
In the above example sentences:

“who caught the winning touchdown Friday night” is the complement of the
sentence. ‘”to be” verb here is “was” and hence the subjective case pronouns are
“he” and “we”.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 4 - Verbs and prepositions are followed by the objective case of pronoun.
Example:
1. Let them play.
2. Between you and me, he is intelligent.
3. I am teaching you and he.
4. He wanted her to drive the car.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 5 - When all the three pronouns are used altogether in singular number, then
we observe following order.
[231] = [2nd person, 3rd person, 1st person]
Example:
1. You, jack and I will go for a movie.
2. You, Sam and we go for a tour.
3. You, Tina and we are to perform.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 6: When all the three pronouns are used altogether in plural number or if
there is an unpleasant act to be mentioned then we observe following order.
[123] = [1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person]
Example:
1. I and you will go for a movie.
2. You and he are the toppers.of duty.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 7: Possessive case of pronoun will be used according to the first subject if
the two subjects are joined by the followings.
As well as, Together with, Along with, Like and not, in addition to, Rather than,
Except, No less than, nothing but, More than one.
Example:
1. Krishna as well as his wife has returned to his village.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 8: Possessive case of pronoun is used according to the nearest subject if two
subjects are joined by the following:
Either – or, Neither – nor, not only – but also, none-but.
Example:
1. Neither the principal nor the students were in their uniform.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 9: Possessive case will be third person singular if the following pronouns are
used as subject.
Each, Every, Either, Neither, Anyone, Many a, More than one.
Example:
1. Anyone can donate his blood to me.
2. Each boy is supposed to be disciplined.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 10: When a pronoun is used for more than one noun or pronouns of different
persons then the possessive case is in the form of first person plural (our) and
second person plural (your).
Example:
1. You and she completed your assignment.
2. Only you and I have brought our projects.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 11: Pronouns such as
Either, Neither, Each other are
used for two persons or things.
Pronouns anyone, none, one
another are used for more than two
persons or things.
Example:
1. People love one another
unconditionally.
2. The two sisters fight each
other.
3. Anyone from the team is to be
appointed as a leader.
4. Either of the two men is a
dancer.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 12: Subject of a question tag
is always a pronoun agreed to the
number, gender and person.
Example:
1. They were not playing, were
they?
2. she is writing, isn’t she?
3. He has not slept, has he?
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 13: If the subject of the
sentence contains ‘Both’ then
it will be followed by ‘And’.
Also, negatives are avoided
with ‘Both’.
Example:
1. Both the boys are not
sleeping, [wrong]
2. Neither of the boys is
sleeping. [correct]
3. Both Krishna and Arjhun
are cricketers.
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 14: We generally use
[who, whom and whose] for
person and [which] for things.
[That] is used for persons
and things. But, if we refer to
choice between two or
among more than two ‘which’
will be used.
Example:
1. Of the two teams which is
the best team?
2. Which is your best dress
in this shop?
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 15: ‘But’ can be used
as a relative pronoun.
Example:
1. There is nothing but
dresses.
2. There is no men but lies.
3. There is a pant but fixed
rate.
After a negative, the word but
is used as a relative pronoun
in the sense of who…not or
which…not.
There is no rose but has
some thorn. (= There is no
rose which does not have
some thorn.)
PRONOUN
RULES RELATED TO
USAGE OF PRONOUNS
RULE 16: ‘But’ can be used
as a relative pronoun.
Example:
1. There is nothing but
dresses.
2. There is no men but lies.
3. There is a pant but fixed
rate.
After a negative, the word but
is used as a relative pronoun
in the sense of who…not or
which…not.
There is no rose but has
some thorn. (= There is no
rose which does not have
some thorn.)
TENSE
Bonjour et
Before going in to the
bienvenue I bet you
topic, let me ask you
aspirants! We know!
a question. Who is
appreciate
Steve Jobs?
your
determination
to learn and Let us have a look in to the life of one of the
allow us greatest Entrepreneur of all time, “STEVE
today to JOBS”
introduce to
you, one of
the most
important
topic called
‘TENSES’
JOBS
Let us have a look in to the life of one of the
greatest Entrepreneur of all time, “STEVE Jobs is recognized as
JOBS” a pioneer of the
personal computer
Jobs was raised by revolution of the
adoptive parents in 1970s and 1980s.
California, located in
what is now known as In 1976, when Jobs was
Silicon Valley. Though just 21, he and Wozniak
he was interested in started Apple Computer
engineering, his in the Jobs’ family
passions of youth garage.
varied. He dropped out
of Reed College, in
Jobs is credited with
Portland, Oregon, took a
revolutionizing the
job at Atari Corporation
computer industry
as a video game
with Apple by
designer in early 1974,
democratizing the
and saved enough
technology.
money for a pilgrimage.
Try to observe the commonness between all
the words that are made bold in the above
slide.
Look carefully and you

will get to know that the
words are actually
helping us to know about
‘time’.
Tense expresses time
It is important to reference. It is a method
know the that indicates the time,
connection and sometimes the
between two or They can be used
completeness of an action to create different
more time periods in relation to the time of
or the exact time meanings from the
speaking. The concept of same verbs and
an activity tense is a method that we help to anchor the
occurred. use to refer to time - past, listener understand
present and future. the meaning
behind your story.
Since, Tense is all about time, there can be
only three different times i.e. Present, Past and
Future.
What is a verb? A verb is a word that denotes

action. For Example: Swimming, Walking, Hit,
Fight, etc.
Now, how do the tense denote or indicate time?

They do so through verbs. Tense represents what Tense shows when
forms the verbs take in order to understand the the work is done.
situation referred to in time.
Some Key Terminologies:

Main Verbs: Also called as lexical verbs, this is the important verb in the sentence
which shows the action or state of being of the subject. Main verbs can be used
alone or with an auxiliary verb.
Auxiliary verbs: Also called as helping verbs, their name suggests their function.
They help or support the main verbs. One of the ways, in which they help is by
showing the tense. For example: I am driving to the school. Here, ‘am’ is the
helping verb and ‘driving’ is the main verb.
TENSE
Let’s have a look on the following sentence:
Krishna studied for science but in the exams, questions came from mathematics.
The words ‘studied’ and ‘came’ are past tense verb forms which indicate the time of
the actions in the past. So, in this way tense functions.
Lets hop in to some more details.
Tenses, like time, are divided in to three parts:
PRESENT TENSE
What is ‘PRESENT’? It is nothing but a time existing or occurring now. So,
‘PRESENT TENSE’ is used to describe a current activity or state of being.
It is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in
the present time.
For example: I swim in the sea every Saturday. (This is a current activity.)
The present tense is categorized further depending on

whether the action is in progress or completed.
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
Simple Present Tense indicates an action which happens in the present or when it
happens regularly. It also helps to identify unchanging situations, general truths,
scientific facts, habits, fixed arrangements and frequently occurring events.
FORMATION OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Broadly, There are three ways in which the Simple Present Tense is formed.
POSITIVE FORMS (+) :

❖ Subject ( I, You, We, They ) + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
❖ Subject ( He, She, It ) + VERB – S / ES / IES
NEGATIVE FORMS (-) :

❖ Subject ( I, You, We, They ) + do not / don’t + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
❖ Subject ( He, She, It ) + does not / doesn’t + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
QUESTION FORMS (?) :

❖ Do + Subject ( I, You, We, They ) + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
❖ Does + Subject ( He, She, It ) + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE VERSION
❖ I walk along the park everyday at 5

P.M.
❖ You try so hard but at the end, it is
the luck that matters.
❖ We long for happiness so much that
it seems vague now.
❖ They look in to your eyes and tell
the truth
❖ He writes so well that all the
newspapers ask him to write
articles.
❖ She cares for you.
❖ It looks interesting.
EXAMPLES OF NEGATIVE VERSION
❖ I do not like sleeping.

❖ You do not think while dreaming.
❖ We do not shower at 10 A.M in the
morning.
❖ They do not look so well.
❖ He does not care for anyone while
being hungry.
❖ She does not go to school anymore.
❖ It does not look like raining.
EXAMPLES OF QUESTION VERSION
STRUCTURE: "do" or "does" +

subject+ base form of verb STRUCTURE: question word + "do"
or "does" + subject + base form of
❖ Do you like pasta? verb
❖ Does Krishna run the club? ❖ Why does Krishna eat so much
❖ Do we live near the graveyard? curd?
❖ When do the teachers hold the
meeting?
STRUCTURE: "do" or "does" +
subject + base form of verb +
choice A + or + choice B
❖ Does Krishna study or sleep?
❖ Do they want rice or roti?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
As the name suggests, the PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE indicates an action
which is continuing at the present moment or at the time of speaking.
For Example:
❖ Krishna is looking for the soap.
❖ Krishna and Arun are playing badminton.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
USES OF PRESENT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
Present Continuous Tense highlights the idea that something is ongoing or

happening now, at this moment.
EXAMPLES:
❖ She is listening the music
now.
❖ We are learning English at this
moment.
❖ My mother is cooking dinner in
the kitchen now.
❖ The gardener is working in the
garden at this time.
❖ At present, children are doing
a lot of things that can not be
done before.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
Also called as present progressive, Sometimes Present Continuous Tense

expresses longer actions not at the moment but in progress .
EXAMPLES:
❖ She is studying to become a
physics teacher.
❖ We are working on a new
assignment.
❖ I am learning to play violin.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
Present Continuous Tense is used to indicate that something will or will not happen
in the near future.
EXAMPLES:
❖ You are helping me tomorrow.
❖ My brother is coming with us to
the church tonight.
❖ I am talking to the professor
after this class.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
Present Continuous Tense used with “always’’, ‘’constantly’’, ‘’ forever’’ expresses

the idea that something often happens in a negative sense. In other words, we use
it to complain.
EXAMPLES:
❖ She is always sneezing.
❖ These students are constantly
talking through out the class.
❖ You are always coming to work
late.
❖ He is forever speaking.
Someone should silence him.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FORMATION OF PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Present Continuous Tense is formed.

❖ Subject + BE (am / is / are) + Verb-ING (Present Participle)

❖ Subject + BE ( am / is / are ) + NOT + Verb-ING (Present Participle)

❖ BE ( am / is / are ) + Subject + Verb-ING (Present Participle)
The verb be is used as an auxiliary verb and it can also be used as a main
verb.
It has eight different forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
Choose "am," "is," or "are" ❖ She is running through

based on the following table: the woods.
❖ I am helping my mom in
SUBJECT Verb "to be" Present Participle the kitchen.
I AM ❖ You are being late
everyday.
YOU ARE
HE/ SHE/ IT (OR IS
SINGULAR NOUN)
[verb] + "ing" THE FORMATION
WE ARE OF PRESENT
PARTICIPLE IS
YOU ARE
COVERED IN
THEY (OR PLURAL ARE NEXT SLIDE
NOUN)
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FORMATION OF PRESENT PARTICIPLE
1. In most cases, simply ‘-ing’ is attached to the verb without changing it:
talk → talking
spy → spying
2. However, if the verb ends with an ‘-e’, the same is omitted:
take → taking
Be careful: If there is a double ‘e’ at the end of the verb, the vowel stays:
see → seeing
3. If the verb ends with a stressed vowel + consonant, the consonant is doubled:
run → running
fit → fitting
prefer → preferring
Be careful: Verbs whose last syllable is not stressed are not subject to a doubling of the
consonant (for exceptions see differences in American and British English below):
render → rendering
Similarly, after a double vowel, the consonant is not doubled either:
conceal → concealing
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FORMATION OF PRESENT PARTICIPLE
4. For verbs ending in ‘-ie’, the ‘-ie’ is replaced by ‘-y’ in order to avoid three vowels in a
row:
tie → tying
lie → lying
5. Verbs that have an ‘-ic’ at the end get an additional ‘-k’ inserted before the ending ‘-
ing’:
panic → panicking
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
❖ She is not running

through the woods.
❖ I am not helping my
mom in the kitchen.
❖ You are not being late
everyday.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
TENSE
STRUCTURE: "am," "is," or "are" +

subject + present participle STRUCTURE: question word + "am,"
❖ Am I disturbing you? "is," or "are" + subject + present
❖ Is Krishna doing the assignment? participle
❖ Are you going to the class? ❖ Why am I listening to you?
❖ Why is Krishna doing the
assignment?
❖ Why are you going to the class?
STRUCTURE: "am," "is," or "are" +
subject + present participle + choice
A + or + choice B
❖ Is Caroline looking for the latest
brochure or her chair?
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE refers to an action that occurred in the recent past
or began in the past and continued to the present time. It can also be the fact
that, the event might have started in the past and the impact of the event is now
continuing.
For Example:
❖ I have done my dinner. (It means this action happened today only)
❖ My brother has broken his arm. His arm is still broken. (The impact of this
event is now continuing)
❖ The student has studied history for six months. (It means this action began in
the past and continued to the present time.)
USES OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
Present Perfect Tense is used to express an action that happened at a recent time
in the past and the impact of the event is still continuing.
EXAMPLES:
❖ He has lost his dog. (he can’t
find it)
❖ We can’t reach Krishna by
phone. Have you seen him?
❖ Krishna isn’t at school. I think
he has gone to the park.
❖ My brother has broken his arm.
His arm is still broken.
Present Perfect Tense is used to express an event that ended recently. We often
use words like “just” or “recently” for the events taking place a very short time before
now.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I have just finished my
assignment.
❖ My father has just cleaned the
house.
❖ We have recently eaten supper.
Present Perfect Tense is used to talk about unfinished actions or habits that started
in the past and still continue in the present. In such sentences, it is important that
how long the action has continued. So we usually use ‘since’ or ‘for’ to express
“how long”.
EXAMPLES:
❖ The student has studied Hindi for six
months.
❖ I have lived in kolkata for five years.
❖ My son has been sick since Thursday.
❖ He has worked in Delhi since he
graduated from the university.
❖ She hasn’t been calm since the
accident.
Present Perfect Tense is used to express repeated actions in an unspecified time

between the past and now.
For Example:
❖ We have watched that movie three times.
Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about life experiences.

For Example:
❖ I have never been to England in my life.
Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about accomplishments.

For Example:
❖ Scientists have found a new way to get cancer cells to self-destruct.
Present Perfect Tense is used when we talk about changes that have occurred over
periods of time.
For Example: Her behavior and attitudes have changed a lot since you last saw her.
FORMATION OF PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

The Present Perfect Tense is formed by putting “to have ( have or has )” before
the past participle of the verb. Past participle is created by adding -ed, -d, or -t to
the base form of a regular verb.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Present Perfect Tense is formed.
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + HAVE + V3 ( third form of main verb – past
participle )
❖ Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + HAS + V3 ( third form of main verb – past participle )

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + HAVE + NOT + V3 ( third form of main verb –
past participle )
❖ Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + HAS + NOT + V3 ( third form of main verb – past participle )

❖ HAVE + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + V3 ( third form of main verb – past
participle )
❖ HAS + Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + V3 ( third form of main verb – past participle )
❖ I have slept.
❖ She has worked.
❖ They have done the
project.
FORMATION OF
PAST
PARTICIPLE IS
ON NEXT PAGE
FORMING THE PAST PARTICIPLE
IRREGULAR
REGULAR VERBS
VERBS
❖ Add "ed" to most verbs: jump – jumped There is no certain set of rules to form
❖ If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant- the past participle of irregular verbs. We
vowel-consonant], double the final just need to learn them. Following are
consonant and add "ed": chat – chatted some ways to form them:
❖ If the final consonant is "w," "x," or "y," ❖ arise - arisen
don't double it: sew - sewed
❖ catch - caught
❖ If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed
and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant],
❖ choose - chosen
double the last consonant and add "ed": ❖ know - known
incur - incurred
❖ If the first syllable of a longer verb is
stressed and the verb ends [consonant-
vowel-consonant], just add "ed": open - We will learn about verbs
opened in ‘VERBS’ lesson.
❖ If the verb ends "e," just add "d": thrive -
thrived
❖ The school has not

decided to uphold the
examination.
❖ I have not taken the
leave.
STRUCTURE: question word + "has" or

"have" + subject + past participle
STRUCTURE: "has" or "have" + subject +
❖ Why have I listened to you?
past participle ❖ Why has Krishna done the
❖ Have I disturbed you? assignment?
❖ Has Krishna done the assignment? ❖ Why have you gone to the class?
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
In English, ‘Perfect’ means “complete” where as “progressive” means

“continuing”.
PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE refers to an action that started
in the past and is continuing at the present time. It indicates a continuous
action that has been finished at some point in the past or that was initiated in
the past and continues to happen. The action is usually of limited duration and
has some current relevance.
For Example:
❖ He has been sitting in the shop since early this morning. (The action, sitting,
is continuing.)
❖ I have been waiting for 20 minutes. (The emphasis is on how the finished
activity relates to the present.
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
USES OF PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
We use the present perfect continuous to show that something started in the past
and has continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since
Tuesday" are all durations which can be used with the present perfect continuous.
EXAMPLES:
❖ They have been playing for the last hour.
❖ She has been working at that project for
three years.
❖ What have you been doing for the last
50 minutes?
❖ Krishna has been teaching at
EXAMPUNDIT since April.
❖ Why has Nancy not been taking her
medicine for the last three days?
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
We use the present perfect continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two
weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We
often use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning. In other words,
it shows temporary habits or situations.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I've been going to the guitar class
a lot recently.
❖ They've been living with his
father while they look for a
house.
❖ I've been sleeping a lot recently.
❖ Mary has been feeling a little
depressed.
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
We use the present perfect continuous to refer to actions which have recently
stopped (though the whole action can be unfinished) and have a result, which we
can often see, hear, or feel, in the present. We don't use a time word here.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I'm so tired, I've been studying.
❖ I've been running, so I'm really
hot.
❖ It's been raining so the pavement
is wet.
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FORMATION OF PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

The Present Perfect Progressive Tense is formed by putting “to have ( have or
has )” before the past participle of the verb ‘Be’ i.e. ‘Been’ and the Present
Participle of the verb.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Present Perfect Progressive Tense is
formed.
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + HAVE BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE
❖ Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + HAS BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + HAVE NOT BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE
❖ Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + HAS NOT BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE)

❖ HAVE + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY ) + BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE
❖ HAS + Subject ( HE, SHE, IT ) + BEEN + PRESENT PARTICIPLE
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
❖ I have been working since

yesterday evening.
❖ She has been chewing for
two minutes.
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
❖ Julie has not been relying

on a pay rise to pay her
student loan.
❖ Mr and Mrs Cox have not
been taking the wrong
pills for years.
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
STRUCTURE: question word + "has" or

"have" + subject + Been + Present
STRUCTURE: "has" or "have" + subject + participle
"been" + present participle ❖ Why has Julie been relying on a pay
❖ Has Julie been relying on a pay rise to rise to pay her student loan?
pay her student loan? ❖ Where have Mr and Mrs Cox been
❖ Have Mr and Mrs Cox been taking the taking the wrong pills?
wrong pills for years?
It is important to remember that non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any

continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot
be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using present perfect continuous with
these verbs, you must use present perfect.
Examples:
Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
Sam has had his car for two years. Correct
PRESENT PERFECT VS PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Present Perfect Present Perfect Progressive

irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column form of 'have' + been + verb + ing
of irregular verbs
regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed
F
O Exceptions
R Exceptions when adding 'ed' : Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
M • when the final letter is e, only add d • silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply
for -ee)
• after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled • after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled
• final l is always doubled in British English
(not in American English) after a • after a vowel, the final consonant l is
consonant, final y becomes i (but: not doubled in British English (but not in
after a vowel) American English).
• final ie becomes y.
Present Perfect Present Perfect Progressive

R Result (what / how much / Duration (how long)
E how often) I have been writing for an
S hour.
U I have written 5 letters. / I
L have been to London twice.
T
O
R Certain verbs
D The following verbs are usually only used in Present Perfect Simple
U (not in the progressive form).
R ❖ state: be, have (for possession only)
A Example: We have been on holiday for two weeks.
T
I ❖ senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
O Example: He has touched the painting.
N
❖ brain work: believe, know, think, understand
Example: I have known him for 3 years.
Emphasis on completion or duration?
Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Progressive

Emphasis on completion Emphasis on duration
I have been doing my homework. (Meaning: That's
I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework how I have spent my time. It does not matter whether
is completed now.) the homework is completed now.)
Result or side effect?

desired result unwanted side effect
Why are you so wet? - I have been washing the
I have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean car. (side effect: I became wet when I was
now.) washing the car. It does not matter whether the
car is clean now.)
Permanent or temporary?

permanent temporary
James has lived in this town for 10 James has been living here for a
years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident year. (Meaning: This situation is only
of this town.) temporary. Maybe he is an exchange
student and only here for one or two years.)
Time + negation: last time or beginning of an action?

since the last time since the beginning
I haven't played that game for I haven't been playing that game for
years. (Meaning: It's years ago that I an hour, only for 10
last played that game.) minutes. (Meaning: It's not even an
hour ago that I started to play that
game.)
PRESENT TENSE
What is ‘present’? It is nothing but an action occurring or existing at the moment or
now. So, ‘PRESENT TENSE’ indicates such actions.
The present tense is a verb tense that describes a current activity or state of being.
For example: I play in the field every Saturday. – This is a current activity.
The present tense is categorized further into four parts,

depending on whether the action is completed or
progressive:
PAST TENSE
What is ‘past’? It is nothing but a time before now. So, ‘PAST TENSE’ indicates an
action event or condition that has happened in the past.
The past tense is a verb tense that describes a finished activity or state of being.
For example: I played in the field yesterday. – This is a past activity.
The past tense is categorized further depending on

whether the action was in progress or has been
completed.
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the
past. It is used to indicate or describe something that happened or existed in the
past and ended in the past.
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
USES OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE
Simple Past Tense is a basic past tense. We use it whenever we want to talk about
the past. Following are the uses of simple past tense.
Finished actions, states or habits in the past.

1. We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we have a
finished time word (yesterday, last week, etc.).
EXAMPLE: I went to the cinema yesterday.
2: We use it with finished actions, states or habits in the past when we know from
general knowledge that the time period has finished. This includes when the
person we are talking about is dead.
EXAMPLE : Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.
Unreal or imaginary things in the present or future.

We use the past simple to talk about things that are not real in the present or
future. EXAMPLE : If I won the lottery, I would buy a house.
I wish I had more time!
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
FORMATION OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE

Broadly, There are three ways in which the Simple Past Tense is formed.

❖ Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + V2 (Verb + d, ed, ied or irregular
form (second form of the verb)

❖ Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + did not / didn’t + V1 ( First Form of
Verb )

❖ Did + Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + V1 ( First Form of Verb )
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
FORMATION OF SECOND FORM OF VERB (V2)
FOR REGULAR VERBS:

1. If a verb of one syllable ends in the pattern of: consonant-vowel-consonant,
double the final consonant and add "ed":
EXAMPLE: chat > chatted
2. If the final consonant is w, x, or y, don't double it:
EXAMPLE: sew > sewed
play > played
3. If the verb ends "e", just add "d":
EXAMPLE: thrive > thrived
4. If the verb ends AS: consonant + "y", change the "y" to an "i" and add "ed":
EXAMPLE: cry > cried
FOR IRREGULAR VERBS:

If it's an irregular verb, the simple past tense is formed in all sorts of different
ways. You just have to learn them. EXAMPLE: break > broke, catch > caught,
find > found, see > saw.
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE PAST TESNE
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
As the name suggests, the PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE indicates an action
which was continuing in the past. Basically, it refers to a continuing action or state
that was happening at some point in the past.
For Example:
❖ Krishna was working at ExamPundit in 2007.
USES OF PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE
The past progressive tense can be used to describe an activity in the past that was
interrupted.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Krishna was painting the door
when a bird struck the
window.
❖ They were sleeping when the
alarm went off.
❖ You were eating when my
baby woke up.
❖ Jasmine was uploading the file
when the current went off.
❖ We were editing the file when
you broke the tab.
The past progressive tense can be used for describing an action taking place when
another occurred.
EXAMPLES:
❖ While they were painting the
door, Krishna painted the
windows.
❖ While she was editing the file, I
uploaded another one.
❖ Were they painting the door
when I painted the windows?
❖ Weren't they painting the door
when I painted the windows?
The past progressive tense can be used for describing an action that was taking
place at the same time as another.
FORMATION OF PAST CONTINUOUS

TENSE
Broadly, There are three ways in which the
Present Continuous Tense is formed.

❖ Singular Subject + was + Verb-ING
(Present Participle)
❖ Plural Subject + were + Verb-ING

❖ Singular Subject + was not+ Verb-ING
❖ Plural Subject + were not + Verb-ING

❖ Was/ Were + Subject + Verb-ING
Choose was/ were based on ❖ She was running through

the following table: the woods.
❖ I was helping my mom in
SUBJECT Verb "to be" Present Participle the kitchen.
I WAS ❖ You were being late.
YOU WERE
HE/ SHE/ IT (OR WAS
[verb] + "ing"
SINGULAR NOUN)
WE WERE
YOU WERE
THEY (OR PLURAL WERE
NOUN)
❖ She was not running

through the woods.
❖ I was not helping my
mom in the kitchen.
❖ You were not being late.
STRUCTURE: question word +

STRUCTURE: "was" or "were" + "was" or "were" + subject + present
subject + present participle participle
❖ Was Krishna painting the door ❖ When was Krishna painting the
when a bird struck the window? door?
❖ Were they sleeping when the ❖ Where were they sleeping when
alarm went off? the alarm went off?
STRUCTURE: "was" or "were" + subject + present

participle + choice A + or + choice B - Was John
painting the door or the window?
"was" or "were" + [subject] + present participle A +
or + present participle B - Were they sleeping or
playing when the alarm went off?
PAST PERFECT TENSE
PAST PERFECT TENSE describes a completed activity in the past. It is used to

emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place.
Basically, it describes an event that happened in the past before another event in
the simple past tense was completed in the past.
For Example:
❖ Krishna had baked a cake before you arrived. (It means Krishna’s action
happened before his/her arrival)
❖ They had painted the fence before I had a chance to speak to them.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
USES OF PAST PERFECT TENSE
Past Perfect Tense is used to indicate an event that has occurred and been
completed in the past.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Krishna had borrowed money
from the bank to buy her new
car.
❖ Jasmine had baked the cake
for my birthday.
❖ Arun had completed the
assignment for me.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
Past Perfect Tense is used to describe an event or action which happened before a
definite time in the past.
EXAMPLES:
❖ We had cleaned up the terrace
before the watchman arrived.
❖ Krishna had finished his
homework before I called him.
❖ We had cooked the food before
you went out.
❖ The teachers had left college
before I woke up.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
Past Perfect Tense is used to describe an action that happened in the past before
another action took place. This is the past in the past.
EXAMPLES:
❖ We had reached their house
after the dinner was over.
❖ The train left at 9am. We arrived
at 9:15am. When we arrived,
the train had left.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
FORMATION OF PAST PERFECT TENSE

The past Perfect Tense is formed by putting “had” before the past participle of the
verb. Past participle is created by adding -ed, -d, or -t to the base form of a
regular verb. Irregular verbs take variety of forms.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Past Perfect Tense is formed.
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + HAD + V3 ( third form of main verb
– past participle )

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + HAD + NOT + V3 ( third form of
main verb – past participle )

❖ HAD + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + V3 ( third form of main verb
– past participle )
PAST PERFECT TENSE
❖ I had slept.
❖ She had worked in the
garage before you came.
❖ They had done the project
in 2020.
FORMATION OF
PAST PARTICIPLE
HAS BEEN
COVERED IN
PRESENT
PERFECT TENSE
PAST PERFECT TENSE
PAST PERFECT TENSE
STRUCTURE: "had" + subject + past

participle
❖ Had Silverfinger taken the pill before
the team reached him?
❖ Had the team planned its next move
before the weather changed?
STRUCTURE: question word + "had" +

subject + past participle
❖ Why had Silverfinger taken the pill
before the team reached him?
❖ Where had the team planned its next
move before the weather changed?
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE is used to describe actions that were

going on in the past up until another action in the past happened. It is used to
show that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
For Example:
❖ She had been painting the door before the dog scratched it.
❖ The jury had been considering its verdict for several hours when the judge
effectively ordered them to find Jones guilty.
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
USES OF PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
The Past Perfect Progressive Tense is used for an action that has occurred over a
period of time having begun in the past.
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
USES OF PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
The Past Perfect Progressive Tense is used to describe an action which started and
finished in the past before another past action.
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FORMATION OF PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

The Past Perfect Progressive Tense is formed by putting “had” before the past
participle of the verb ‘Be’ i.e. ‘Been’ and the Present Participle of the verb.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Past Perfect Progressive Tense is
formed.
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + HAD BEEN + PRESENT
PARTICIPLE
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + HAD NOT BEEN + PRESENT
PARTICIPLE
❖ HAD + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + BEEN + PRESENT
PARTICIPLE
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
PAST PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
STRUCTURE: question word + “had" +

subject + Been + Present participle
STRUCTURE: "had" + subject + "been" + ❖ When had she been painting the door?
present participle ❖ Why was he so tired? Why had he
❖ Had she been painting the door? been working at the dock all
❖ Had the jury been considering its afternoon?
verdict for very long when the judge
ordered them to find Jones guilty?
It is important to remember that non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any

continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot
be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using past perfect continuous with these
verbs, you must use past perfect.
Examples:
Sam had been having his car for two years. Not Correct
Sam had his car for two years. Correct
PAST PERFECT
AND
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS:
USEFUL DIFFERENCES
Past Perfect Tense:

We form the Past Perfect with had and the past participle:
Had + Past Participle
F
O Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
R We form the Past Perfect Continuous with had been and the -ing form of the
M verb:
Had been + V-ing
PAST PERFECT
AND
USEFUL DIFFERENCES
❖ The past perfect tense expresses a past action, already finished when
another past action happened; the past perfect continuous tense
describes a past action which started in the past and continued to happen
after another action or time in the past.
Examples:
I
I met them after they had divorced. (past perfect)
N
Sara had been working here for two weeks when she had the accident. (past
U
perfect continuous)
S
A
G ❖ The past perfect tense emphasizes the result of an activity in the past; In
E contrast, the past perfect continuous tense emphasizes the duration of an
activity in the past.
Examples:
I had been to London twice by the time I got a job in New York. (past perfect)
Richard needed a holiday because he had been working hard for six months.
(past perfect continuous)
PAST PERFECT
AND
USEFUL DIFFERENCES
❖ The past perfect tense shows two events in the past that are linked, while
the past perfect continuous tense shows the cause of a past action.
Examples:
I couldn’t take my flight because I had forgotten my boarding pass. (past
perfect)
I I had been travelling all night, so I was tired. (past perfect continuous)
N
U
S
A
G
E
FUTURE TENSE
What is ‘FUTURE’? It is nothing but a time regarded as still to come. So, ‘FUTURE
TENSE’ marks the event as not having happened yet, but expected to in the time to
come.
The future tense is a verb tense used for a future activity or a future state of being.
For example:
Krishna will jump in the lake.(This is a future activity.)
Krishna will be happy.(This is a future state of being.)
The future tense is categorized further depending on whether

the action will be in progress or will be completed.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
In layman terms, the simple future tense is used to describe an action that will occur
in the future or in the time ahead. It is a verb tense that’s used to talk about things
that haven’t happened yet. The Future Simple tense is often called the "will tense"
because we make the Future Simple with the modal auxiliary will.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
USES OF SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
We use the Simple Future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something
before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Hold on. I'll get a pen.
❖ We will see what we can do to
help you.
❖ Maybe we'll stay in and watch
television tonight.
Observe carefully, In these
examples, we had no plan before
speaking. The decision is made
spontaneously at the time of
speaking.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
We often use the Future Simple tense with the verb “to think” before it:
EXAMPLES:
❖ I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
❖ I think I will have a holiday next year.
❖ I don't think I'll buy that car.
We often use the Future Simple tense to make a prediction about the future. We are
saying what we think will happen.
EXAMPLES:
❖ It will rain tomorrow.
❖ People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.
❖ Who do you think will get the job?
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
When the main verb is “be”, we can use the Future Simple tense even if we have a
firm or definite plan or decision before speaking.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I'll be in London tomorrow.
❖ I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
❖ Will you be at work tomorrow?
The Future Tense is basically used to:

❖ to express willingness / unwillingness to do something
I’ll do the washing up
We will never eat at that restaurant again.
❖ to make promises or threats
I’ll come over at 8 p.m.
I’ll tell on you.
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
FORMATION OF SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The future simple Tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb ‘will’ together with
the base form of the corresponding verb. The auxiliary verb ‘will’ remains
unchanged for all grammatical persons.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Simple Future Tense is formed.
❖ Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + Will + Base form of the verb

❖ Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + Will Not + Base form of the verb

❖ Will + Subject (I / He / She / It You / We / They) + Base form of the verb
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE FUTURE TESNE
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
As the name suggests, the FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE indicates an ongoing
action that will occur in the future. Basically, it is used as a way to talk about
something happening at a given point in the future.
For Example:
❖ Krishna will be working at ExamPundit in 2022.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
USES OF FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Future Continuous tense indicates action at a particular moment in the

future. The action will have started before that moment but it will not have
finished at that moment.
For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:
At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
past present future

4pm
At 4pm, I will
be in the
middle of
working.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
USES OF FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
We use the FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE to talk about an action that usually
starts before and might continue after the second action or time. The verb after
'when' is usually in the present simple.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I'll be waiting when you arrive.
❖ At eight o'clock, I'll be eating dinner.
We can use the FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE to talk about something that will
happen if everything happens as we expect. It's usually possible to choose the
future simple as well, but we often choose the future continuous because then it's
clear that we are not making a request or offer.
EXAMPLES:
❖ The Government will be making a statement later.
❖ When will you be leaving? (This is more polite than 'when will you leave?'
because it's definitely not a request for you to leave.)
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FORMATION OF FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
The future continuous tense is basically formed by combining the auxiliary verb ‘will’ with the
base form of ‘to be’ (be) and the ing-form (present participle) of the corresponding main
verb.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Future Continuous Tense is formed.
❖ Subject + Will be + Verb-ING (Present Participle)
❖ Subject + Will not be + Verb-ING (Present Participle)
❖ Will + Subject + Be + Verb-ING (Present Participle)
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
FUTURE CONTINUOUS
TENSE
STRUCTURE: question word + “Will"

+ subject + Be + present participle
STRUCTURE: "will" + subject + "be" ❖ When will the Moscow State
+ present participle Circus be performing in
❖ Will the Moscow State Circus be Cheltenham?
performing in Washington? ❖ Why will we be celebrating like
❖ Will we be celebrating like kings? kings?
STRUCTURE: "will" + subject + "be" + present

participle + choice A + or + choice B- Will the
Moscow State Circus be performing in New York or
Washington?
will" + subject + "be" + present participle A + or +
present participle B- Will we be celebrating like
kings commiserating like paupers?
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE describes an action that will have been completed at
some point in the future. It is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed
before some other point in the future.
For Example:
❖ “By the end of the week, I will have done all the work.”
action = do the work
point in time = the end of the week
USES OF FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
The Future Perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the
future. This is the past in the future.
EXAMPLE:
The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am.
When you arrive, the train will have left.
The train will have left when you arrive.
past present future
Train leaves in
future at 9am.
9 9:15
You arrive in
future at 9.15am.
USES OF FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
We use the FUTURE PERFECT TENSE to say 'how long' for an action that starts
before and continues up to another action or time in the future. Usually we need
'for'. If we use 'when', we usually need the present simple.
EXAMPLES:
❖ When we get married, I'll have known Robert for four years.
❖ At 4 o'clock, I'll have been in this office for 24 hours.
We can use the FUTURE FUTURE TENSE with a future time word, (and often with
'by') to talk about an action that will finish before a certain time in the future, but we
don't know exactly when.
❖ By 10 o'clock, I will have finished my homework. (I will finish my homework
some time before 10, but we don't know exactly when.)
❖ By the time I'm sixty, I will have retired. (I will retire sometime before I'm sixty.
Maybe when I'm fifty-nine, maybe when I'm fifty-two.)
FORMATION OF FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

For the formation of the future perfect tense, the modal auxiliary verb ‘will’, the
base form of ‘to have’, and the past participle of the respective verb are needed.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Future Perfect Tense is formed.
❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Will Have + V3 ( third form of main
verb – past participle )

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Will Not Have + V3 ( third form of
main verb – past participle )

❖ Will + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Have + V3 ( third form of main
verb – past participle )
STRUCTURE: "will" + subject + "have" +

past participle
❖ By the time you arrive, will we have
finished the meal and the speeches?
❖ Will I have read every magazine in the
waiting room before I see the dentist?
STRUCTURE: question word + "will" +

subject + "have" + past participle
❖ Where will the guests have gathered
by the time we arrive?
❖ When will I have done enough work to
make her happy?
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE describes an ongoing action that will
be completed at some specified time in the future. It looks at the past from the
future.
For Example:
❖ By six o'clock, John will have been baking a cake for an hour.
("By six o'clock" specifies a time in the future. "For an hour" tells us the length of
the activity.)
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
USES OF FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
The Future Perfect Continuous tense is like the Future Perfect tense, but it
expresses longer actions or states extending up to some specific event or time in
the future.
EXAMPLE:
Ram starts waiting at 9am. I am late and cannot arrive before 10am. Ram will have
been waiting for an hour by the time I meet him.
Ram will have been waiting for one hour when I arrive.
past present future
Ram starts waiting at 9am.
9 10
I will arrive in
future at 10am.
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
USES OF FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE
we can use the future perfect continuous to say 'how long' for an action that
continues up to another point in the future. The second point can be a time or
another action. Generally, we need 'for + length of time' and if we use 'when' or 'by
the time', we usually use the present simple.
EXAMPLE:
❖ In April, she will have been teaching for twelve years.
❖ By the time you arrive, I'll have been cooking for hours!
We can use the future perfect continuous, like the other perfect continuous tenses,
to talk about something that finishes just before another time or action (in this case,
in the future). It's often used because there will be a result at the second point in
the future. (Again, if we use 'when' we usually need the present simple.)
EXAMPLE:
❖ When I see you, I'll have been studying, so I'll be tired.
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FORMATION OF FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE

The form of the future perfect continuous includes the modal auxiliary verb ‘will’,
the present perfect form of ‘to be’ (which is ‘have been’), and the present
participle form of the verb. Note that this form does not change in any person
and, therefore, ‘has’ is not used in the third person singular.
Broadly, There are three ways in which the Future Perfect Tense is formed.

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Will Have been + Present
Participle

❖ Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Will Not Have Been + Present
Participle

❖ Will + Subject ( I, YOU, WE, YOU, THEY, HE, SHE, IT ) + Have Been + Present
Participle
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
STRUCTURE: "will" + subject + "have

been" + present participle
❖ In July next year, will you have been
studying for 3 years?
❖ Will I have been playing poker for 30
years by then?

subject + "have been" + present participle
❖ When will you have been studying for 3
years?
FUTURE PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE TENSE
STRUCTURE: "will" + subject + "have

been" + present participle
❖ In July next year, will you have been
studying for 3 years?
❖ Will I have been playing poker for 30
years by then?

subject + "have been" + present participle
❖ When will you have been studying for 3
years?
VERBS
Holla Amigos! What a wonderful journey it has been

till now. Always remember, Excellence is a habit,
Hey, Wait! Have I told you
not an act.
the story of the greatest
Let’s explore the world of “actions”!
business magnet of India?
Certainly not!
He is none other
than, the legend
Ratan naval Tata
Let’s have an insight

and take our course
through the story of
this legendary person!
TATA Ratan Tata has
donated mainly
for healthcare
and education
Ratan Tata’s first job Becoming the chairman
needs from
was at the Tata Steel. of the Tata Group in 1991
Tata Sons'
His first responsibility in his 21 , he brought
income.
was to manage the and international recognition
shovel limestone. for the Tata Group.
The Tata Group plays a When Ratan Tata was just

central role in the economy 10 years old, his parents got
and is currently at the fore in separated in 1940 and then
the internationalization of he was raised by his
Indian companies. grandmother.
Nano cars are the

Ratan Tata dearest project of Ratan
accomplished some Tata. In 2009, he
historical mergers promised to make a car
including Land Rover
Truly, He is a
that would cost only a
Jaguar with Tata Motors living legend lakh rupee. He spared
and Corus with Tata and inspiration the best of his efforts to
Steel. for us keep up his promise to
society.
In the previous slide, I have made some words bold. Can you
identify them?
Let us note them down: manage , plays, accomplished,

promised , spared , raised , brought, donated.
Do you think, if we remove these words from

the sentences, will they make any sense?
Definitely not! These words help the

sentence to imply a certain meaning.
The Words, made in bold,
They meaning they imply in the above mentioned
are nothing but, “actions”. sentences indicate
“actions”. What are
actions? Actions are
In this lesson, we will
nothing but an act or the
explore “HOW”.
fact or process of doing
something. Now, all those
words in English language
that indicate actions are
called as “VERBS”.
VERBS
Look at the below sentence: The word “walks” indicates a
Jacob walks in the morning. physical action performed.
Look at the below sentence:

Anna is a good girl..
The Word “is” indicates a

state of being. State of being
means “the overall physical
A verb is a word or a combination condition of a person.”
of words that indicates action or a
state of being. A verb is the part of
a sentence that tells us what the
subject performs. Verbs are the
hearts of English sentences.
VERBS
Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is doing.
Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a sentence or phrase, telling a story
about what is taking place. In fact, without a verb, full thoughts can’t be properly
conveyed, and even the simplest sentences, such as Krishna sings, have one.
Actually, a verb can be a sentence by itself, with the subject, in most case you,
implied, such as, Sing! and Drive!
When learning grammar, We are often taught that verbs are ‘doing’ words,
meaning they signify the part of the sentence which explains the action taking
place: He ran away, she eats chocolate cake on Sundays, the horses gallop
across the fields. Ran, eats and gallop are the ‘action’ parts of those sentences,
thus they are the verbs. However, it can be confusing because not all verbs are
easily identifiable as action: I know your name, Jack thought about it, we
considered several applications. These are non-action verbs, i.e. those that
describe a state of being, emotion, possession, sense or opinion. Other non-action
verbs include love, agree, feel, am, and have.
VERBS
How to Recognize a Verb?
Let’s look at some clues which help us to recognise a verb.

❖ Verbs, in almost all sentences, come after a noun or pronoun. These “nouns or
pronouns” are referred to as the subject of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Krishna eats his dinner quickly.
Subject = Krishna & Verb = eats.
❖ If you’re not sure if a word is a verb, ask yourself, “Can I do ______?”

EXAMPLES: Can I think, wonder, walk, yawn? Yes, so these are verbs.
❖ You can also ask, ”What is happening?”

In the sentence “Krishna eats his dinner quickly”, what is happening? Eating is
happening, so “eats” is the verb.
The subject is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea of a sentence. It shows
what the sentence is about, or who or what is performing an action in the sentence.
VERBS
PHYSICAL VERBS
Physical verbs are action verbs. They describe specific physical actions. If you can
create a motion with your body or use a tool to complete an action, the word you
use to describe it is most likely a physical verb. For example, “Krishna sat in his
chair”, “the dog breathes quickly after she chases her ball”, and “should we vote in
the election?” Even when the action isn’t very active, if the action is done by the
body or a tool, consider it a physical verb.
MENTAL VERBS
Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering,
understanding, thinking, or planning. In general, a mental verb refers to a cognitive
state. They do not imply any actions.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I know the answer.
❖ She recognized me from across the room.
❖ Do you believe everything people tell you?
VERBS
STATES OF BEING VERBS
Also known as linking verbs, state of being verbs describe conditions or situations
that exist. State of being verbs are inactive since no action is being performed.
These verbs, forms of to be, such as am, is, are, are usually complemented by
adjectives.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I am a student.
❖ We are circus performers.
❖ Please is quiet.
VERBS
We learnt a bit about regular verbs and irregular verbs in tense. Please find below
a list of examples of verb forms.
VERBS
TYPES OF VERBS
Basically, there are nine types of verbs as follows:
VERBS
FINITE VERBS
Finite verbs are the actual verbs which are called the roots of sentences. It is the
form of verb that:
❖ shows agreement with a subject
❖ Indicates the tense.
❖ is performed by or refers to a subject
Finite verbs change their form when there is a change in the subject or the tense.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I work hard for my family.
The verb work becomes works when the subject is a singular noun/pronoun.
❖ Maya works hard for her family.
❖ He works hard for his family.
Work becomes worked when the sentence is in the past tense.
❖ I worked very hard yesterday.
❖ He worked very hard yesterday
VERBS
FINITE VERBS
Table 1. FINITE VERB FORMS ACCORDING TO PERSONS AND TENSE
NUMBER PERSON PRESENT PAST
•FIRST •I walk •I walked

SINGULAR •SECOND •you walk •you walked
•THIRD •he/she/it walks •he/she/it walked
•FIRST •we walk •we walked

PLURAL •SECOND •you walk •you walked
•THIRD •they walk •they walked
VERBS
FINITE VERBS
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
Non-finite Verbs are not actual verbs. They do not work as verbs in the sentence
rather they work as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. Non-finite verbs do not change
according to the number/person of the subject because these verbs, also called
verbals, do not have any direct relation to the subject. Sometimes they become the
subject themselves. Basically, Non-finites are of three types: gerunds, infinitives
and participles.
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
GERUNDS:
Gerunds are words that are formed with verbs but act as nouns. They’re very
easy to spot, since every gerund is a verb with “ing” tacked to its tail. There are
no exceptions to this rule.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Acting is fun.
(The gerund is the subject of the sentence.)
❖ Playing football is fun.

(The gerund is the subject of the sentence. The word football is the gerund
complement of the gerund playing.)
❖ Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing.
(Acting is a gerund as a subject. The gerunds keeping and coughing are objects
of prepositions. The phrase a ”large group of people” is the gerund complement
of keeping.)
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
FUNCTION OF GERUNDS:
As they are nouns, gerunds can function as one of the following:
❖ The Subject of a Verb.
For example: Visiting New York is always an experience. ("Visiting" is the
subject of the verb "is.")
❖ The Object of a Verb.

For example: I love visiting New York. ("Visiting" is the direct object of the verb
"love.")
❖ The Object of a Preposition.

For example: I surprised them by visiting New York. ("Visiting" is the object of
the preposition "by.")
❖ A Subject Complement.
For example: My highlight was visiting New York. ("Visiting" is a subject
complement. It completes the linking verb "was" and renames the subject,
making it a subject complement.)
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
INFINITIVES:
The infinitive form of a verb is the verb in its basic form. An infinitive is formed
from a verb but doesn’t act as a verb. The infinitive form of a verb is usually (but
not always) preceded by "to" (e.g., "to run," "to dance," "to think").
EXAMPLES:
❖ I need to run every day.
(The infinitive form with the word "to" is called the "full infinitive" or "to-infinitive.")
❖ I must run every day.

(After certain verbs, the "to" is dropped. The word "to" is not a preposition. It is
often called the "sign of the infinitive.")
❖ I run every day.

(This is not in the infinitive form. This is a finite verb, i.e., a verb functioning as
the main verb.)
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
USES OF INFINITIVES:
An infinitive is a non-finite verb. In other words, it cannot be the main verb in a
sentence. An infinitive can be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
AS NOUNS:
❖ To dance was her passion.
(The infinitive , “To dance” is the subject of "was" and therefore, the noun)
❖ He likes to hunt.
(The infinitive “to hunt” is the direct object of "likes” and hence, the noun)
AS ADJECTIVES:
An adjective modifies a noun to tell us something about the noun (e.g., its color,
type, or number).
❖ Give him an ornament to polish.
(The infinitive, “to polish” modifies "ornament." This means it is functioning as an
adjective.)
An infinitive that acts as an adjective usually appears immediately after the noun
it is modifying.
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
USES OF INFINITIVES:
AS ADVERBS:
An adverb usually modifies a verb to tell us when, where, how, in what manner, or
to what extent an action is performed.
❖ The officer returned to help.
(The infinitive, “to help” modifies the verb "returned." This means it is functioning
as an adverb.)
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
BARE INFINITIVE:
The word “to” is frequently used with an infinitive, but it is not an essential part
or sign of it. When an infinitive is used without the marker “to” it is called a bare
infinitive.
Uses of the bare infinitive:
❖ The infinitive is used without “to” after certain verbs like bid, let, make, see,
hear, need, dare etc.
I bade him go. (NOT I bade him to go.)
Let him sit there. (NOT Let him to sit there.)
❖ The bare infinitive is also used after the modal verbs will, would, shall,
should, may, might, can, could and must. (Modal verbs are covered in later
part of the lesson)
I will wait. (NOT I will to wait.)
You must obey my instructions. (NOT You must to obey my instructions.)
❖ The infinitive is also used without “to” after had better, would rather, sooner
than and rather than.
You had better ask his permission. (NOT You had better to ask his permission.)
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
PARTICIPLES:
A participle is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and
functions of both verbs and adjectives.
Read the following sentence:
Hearing a loud noise, the boy woke up.
Here the word hearing qualifies the noun boy as an adjective does. It is formed
from the verb hear and has an object – noise. The word hearing, therefore, has
the properties of a verb and an adjective and is called a participle.
A participle is a word which is partly a verb and partly an adjective.

There are basically, three types of participles:
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
We know that, a participle can function as both adjectives and Verb tense, let us
explore each type of participle through the functions.
PRESENT PARTICIPLES: A present participle is a word that (1) ends "-ing," (2)
is formed from a verb, and (3) is used as an adjective or to form verb tense.
❖ AS ADJECTIVES –
1. Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating
manual. (Here, “operating” qualifies the noun, “manual” and hence it is
working as an adjective.)
2. Love is the big booming beat which covers up the noise of hate.
❖ AS VERB TENSES –
1. She is singing a song. (Here, the participle “singing” indicates present
continuous tense.)
2. We had been walking for 30 minutes before a friend picked us up. (Here, the
participle “walking” indicates past perfect continuous.)
The formation and usage of present participle is covered in tenses.
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
PAST PARTICIPLES: A past participle is a word that (1) is formed from a verb,
(2) is used as an adjective or to form verb tense, and (3) probably ends with "-
ed," "-d," "-t," "-en," or "-n."
❖ AS ADJECTIVES –
1. Here is a laminated copy to replace your torn one. (Here, “laminated” and
“torn” qualify the nouns, “copy” and “one” and hence they are working as
adjectives.)
2. The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side
he's on.
❖ AS VERB TENSES –
1. Sandra has worked there for a long time. (Here, the participle “worked”
indicates present perfect tense.)
2. By the end of next year, Carmen will have finished all her exams. (Here, the
participle “finished” indicates Future perfect tense.)
The formation and usage of past participle is covered in tenses.
VERBS
NON - FINITE VERBS
PERFECT PARTICIPLES: Perfect participle represents an action as completed

some time in the past.
The perfect participle indicates completed action. You form the perfect participle
by putting the present participle “having” in front of the past participle.
EXAMPLES: having done, having finished, having read, having spoken. Etc.
1. Having delivered the message, he left immediately.
2. Having finished his work, Harry was ready for play.
3. The child, having found its mother, was again happy.
In the sentences above, the expressions having delivered, having finished, and
having found partake of the nature of the verb, as each expresses action, and
each has a noun as its object.
Having delivered, in the first sentence, is descriptive of he, and therefore has
the force of an adjective.
Each of the expressions having finished and having found, in the second and
third sentences, has the force of the verb and of the adjective. We see,
therefore, that they are participles.
VERBS
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GERUND AND A PARTICIPLE
Basic of difference Gerund Participle
A gerund in English is a A participle in English is a

progressive form (ing) of a verb (V1+ing or V3) form
Definition
verb that works as a noun in that works as an adjective
a sentence. or as a verb in a sentence.
A gerund can play the

following roles:
There are two types of
1. The subject
participles in English:
2. The object of a verb
Types
3. The object of a
1. Present participle
preposition
2. Past participle
4. The object of a
possessive adjective
5. The subject complement
A gerund can take the

following places:
1. Before the main verb

(linking or action verb)
2. After an action verb
A participle can take the
(transitive)
following places:
3. After a preposition
4. After a possessive adjective
1. Before a noun
5. After the main verb (linking
2. After a noun
verb)
3. After a main verb (linking
verb)
Examples:
Position
Examples:
1. Teaching is fun. (before the
main verb)
1. A motivated person can do
2. I love teaching. (after an
anything.
action verb)
2. Look at the burning train.
3. He is
3. The movie was exciting.
passionate about teaching.
4. The class is motivated.
(after a preposition)
4. Your teaching is amazing.
(after a possessive adjective)
5. My passion is dancing.
(after the main verb)
A participle can function

either as a verb or as an
adjective.
A gerund functions only as a
noun.
Functions Examples:
1. He is teaching English.
Ex– Teaching is my passion.
(verb)
2. I hate teaching jobs.
(adjective)
GERUND VS PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Both gerunds and present participles look the same; they both are a progressive
form of a verb. If you just look at them, you might not be able tell the difference,
but if you know how they function, there is no confusion as they are worlds apart.
So let me tell you the trick:
❖ If an ing form of a verb (progressive) functions as a noun, it is a GERUND.

❖ If it functions as an adjective (modifies a noun), it is a PRESENT PARTICIPLE
or PRESENT PARTICIPLE ADJECTIVE.
❖ If it functions as an action verb(modifies a noun), it is a PRESENT
PARTICIPLE.
VERBS
STATIVE VERBS
Stative verbs are verbs that express a state rather than an action. They usually
relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and
measurements.
Stative verbs can be recognized because they express a state rather than an
action. They typically relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states
of being, and measurements. The best way to think about stative verbs is that
they are verbs that describe things that are not actions. The stative verbs are all
expressing a state: A state of doubting, a state of believing, a state of wanting.
These states of being are often temporary.
EXAMPLE:
The doctor disagrees with your analysis.
(Disagree is a stative verb here, as it describes the doctor’s state of being –
disagreement.)
These verbs are not usually used with “ing” in progressive (continuous) tenses
even though they may take on time expressions such as now and at the
moment. We use the simple tenses for them.
Incorrect: I’m smelling your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.
Correct: I smell your wife’s wonderful spaghetti sauce.
VERBS
STATIVE VERBS
VERBS
ACTION VERBS
Action verbs express specific actions and are used any time you want to show
action or discuss someone doing something. It’s important to remember that the
action does not have to be physical.
Action verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence performs. Action verbs can
make the listener/reader feel emotions, see scenes more vividly and accurately.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I run faster than David.
❖ He does it well.
❖ She thinks about poetry all day long
ACTION VERBS are of two types -

TRANSITIVE VERB and INTRANSITIVE VERB
We will cover both the verbs in next slides.
VERBS
TRANSITIVE VERBS
A transitive verb is one whose action must be used in relation to an object, also
called as direct object, and when using the verb, it only makes sense if the verb is
transferring action upon an object. That means the verb doesn’t sound good or
work on its own without an object. In other words, the action of a transitive verb is
done to someone or something.
VERBS
TRANSITIVE VERBS
Consider the verb to bring: The verb will not make sense if the action of the verb is
not acting on something, i.e. you have to bring something or someone. Simply
saying I bring will not make sense on its own, you must bring something, an object
or a person or a feeling. That something or someone – Joe, a book, your brother, a
good mood – is the direct object of the sentence, i.e. the thing that the verb is
acting upon.
Consider these examples and see how the verb exerts action on an object:
❖ I love.
❖ Please carry the books for me.
❖ Can we buy these ones?
❖ Johnny kicked the ball.
Consider how these verbs need to confer the action upon the object. This makes
them transitive verbs:
❖ Love – you need to love something or someone for the verb to make sense.
❖ Carry – you need to carry something or someone for the verb to make sense.
❖ Buy – you need buy something for the verb to make sense.
❖ Kick – you need to kick something or someone for the verb to make sense.
VERBS
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Contrary to transitive verbs, an

intransitive verb is one that does not
need to transfer action on an object in
order to make sense.
Consider the verb to run. You can run
without transferring the action of running
on a direct object.
How did you get here so quickly? I ran.
(There is no need for a direct object).
An intransitive verb may be followed by
an adjective, adverb, preposition, or
another part of speech.
EXAMPLES:
❖ She smiled. (The verb ‘smile’ cannot
have any object since the action of
‘smiling’ does not fall upon
anything/anyone)
❖ I wake up at 6 AM. (No object is
needed for this verb)
VERBS
RECOGNIZING TRANSITIVE RECOGNIZING INTRANSITIVE VERBS

VERBS WHEN YOU SEE THEM WHEN YOU SEE THEM
Unfortunately, it can sometimes Consider the verb to sing, and look at
be tricky to know if a verb is these examples:
transitive because some verbs ❖ The birds sang the mating call.
aren’t only transitive or ❖ The birds sang.
intransitive. Consider the verb to ❖ The birds sang
eat, and look at these examples: In the first example, sang (the past tense
❖ I eat fried eggs for breakfast. of sing) is a transitive verb. The birds are
❖ I eat quickly at breakfast. conferring the action of singing on a
In the first example, the verb eat direct object – the mating call.
is a transitive verb because the But sang is an intransitive verb in the
action has a direct object – the other two examples. We know this
fried eggs. However, the second because the first example requires no
example shows eat as an direct object for the action and the
intransitive verb. There is no second example is followed by an
action upon a direct object; adverb. Therefore, we can recognize an
quickly is an adverb describing intransitive verb if it makes sense on its
the action of eating. own (without a direct object) or is
followed by an adverb or preposition.
VERBS
RECOGNIZING TRANSITIVE RECOGNIZING INTRANSITIVE VERBS

VERBS WHEN YOU SEE THEM WHEN YOU SEE THEM
Unfortunately, it can sometimes Consider the verb to sing, and look at
be tricky to know if a verb is these examples:
transitive because some verbs ❖ The birds sang the mating call.
aren’t only transitive or ❖ The birds sang.
intransitive. Consider the verb to ❖ The birds sang
eat, and look at these examples: In the first example, sang (the past tense
❖ I eat fried eggs for breakfast. of sing) is a transitive verb. The birds are
❖ I eat quickly at breakfast. conferring the action of singing on a
In the first example, the verb eat direct object – the mating call.
is a transitive verb because the But sang is an intransitive verb in the
action has a direct object – the other two examples. We know this
fried eggs. However, the second because the first example requires no
example shows eat as an direct object for the action and the
intransitive verb. There is no second example is followed by an
action upon a direct object; adverb. Therefore, we can recognize an
quickly is an adverb describing intransitive verb if it makes sense on its
the action of eating. own (without a direct object) or is
followed by an adverb or preposition.
VERBS
LINKING VERBS
A linking verb is used to re-identify or to describe its subject. A linking verb is called
a linking verb because it links the subject to a subject complement.
VERBS
LINKING VERBS
All forms of be verbs are linking verbs. For example: are, am, is, were, was etc.
Besides, verbs that have to do with the five senses are linking verbs: feel, look,
smell, sound and taste.
So we come to the point that linking verb is not an action verb. It tells about what
the subject is not what it’s doing. For example: Sneha’s cat is tired, here shows the
condition of Sneha’s cat, not what it’s doing. So here “is” is working as a linking
verb.
EXAMPLES:
❖ The tomato smells rotten.
❖ The professor is absolutely sure.
❖ My brother gets mad when he’s hungry.
The highlighted words are linking verbs. They're all examples of states of being. In
fact, we could replace the verbs smell, gets and stays with the verb "is" and the
meaning would remain the same.
❖ The tomato is rotten.
❖ My brother is mad when he’s hungry.
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS
An auxiliary verb (or a helping verb as

it's also called) is used with a main verb
to help express the main verb's tense,
mood, or voice.
The main auxiliary verbs are to be, to
have, and to do. They appear in the
following forms:
❖ To Be: am, is, are, was, were, being,
been, will be
❖ To Have: has, have, had, having, will
have
❖ To Do: does, do, did, will do
Auxiliary verbs are used in the
continuous (progressive) and perfect
tenses.
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS
HOW TO IDENTIFY AN AUXILIARY VERB

You probably know that every sentence has at least one verb in it. There are
two main types of verbs. Action verbs are used to depict activities that are
doable, and linking verbs are used to describe conditions. Both action verbs and
linking verbs can accompany auxiliary verbs including the three main ones: do,
be, and have.
Sometimes actions or conditions occur only one time and then they’re over. It’s
at times like these that some of the same verbs that are used as auxiliary verbs
are instead used as action or linking verbs. In this example, we see the word
“is”. This is one of the most common auxiliary verbs, but because it stands alone
here, it is not functioning as an auxiliary verb.
Jerry slammed the car door on his thumb. He is in horrible pain.
“Is” is a linking verb in this sentence. Because it stands alone, it is not an
auxiliary verb.
A main verb indicates the kind of action or condition taking place. An auxiliary or
helping verb accompanies the main verb and conveys other nuances that help
the reader gain specific insight into the event that is taking place.
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS
Read the following sentences and explanations to gain greater insight into how
auxiliary verbs work.
❖ Jerry caught his thumb in the car door as coffee spilled from his cup onto his
favorite shirt.
❖ Jerry is always spilling things.
❖ Since Jerry is also accident prone, he should have been drinking coffee from a
mug with a lid, which would not have spilled on his favorite shirt.
In sentence one, caught and spilled, single-word verbs, describe quick, one-time
actions of both Jerry and his messy coffee. This sentence does not contain an
auxiliary verb.
Since Jerry often has unfortunate accidents, is spilling communicates the
frequency of his clumsy actions in sentence two. In sentence three, the auxiliary
verbs that make up should have been drinking and would have stained express
time relationships as well as an evaluation of Jerry’s actions.
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Tense

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs expressing tense.
❖ She was waiting for an hour.
❖ She is waiting in the hall.
❖ She will be waiting outside.
(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb to be helps to form the
progressive tense, which is the tense used for ongoing actions.)
❖ She had drunk it before we arrived.
❖ She has drunk it already.
❖ She will have drunk it by then.
(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb to have helps to form the perfect
tense, which is the tense used for expressing an action's completion.)
❖ She had been studying before the incident.
❖ She has been studying.
❖ She will have been studying for a month at that point.
(In each of these examples, the auxiliary verbs have and been help to form the
perfect progressive tense, which is the tense used for expressing ongoing
action's completion.)
VERBS
AUXILIARY VERBS
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Voice

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs expressing voice.
❖ Our dessert was eaten by the dog.
❖ The geese are driven through the snicket.
❖ The phone will be disconnected tomorrow.
(In these examples, the auxiliary verb to be helps to form the passive voice. A verb
is said to be in the passive voice when its subject does not perform the action of
the verb but has the action done to it.)
Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Mood

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs being used to express mood.
❖ Did you win?
(Here, the auxiliary verb to do is used to form the interrogative mood, i.e., to ask a
question.)
❖ Don't forget your wallet.
(Here, the auxiliary verb to do (in its negative form) is used to form the imperative
mood, i.e., to give an order.)
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
A modal verb is a kind of an auxiliary verb. It assists the main verb to indicate
modality – that is: likelihood, ability, permission, request, capacity, suggestions,
order, obligation, or advice.
The modal verbs are can, could, must, may, might, ought to, shall, should, will,
would.
In a broader meaning, the modals are said to be:
❖ Can/could/be able to
❖ May/might
❖ Shall/should
❖ Must/have to
❖ Will/would
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO

Can, could and be able to are used to express a variety of ideas in English:
1. Ability/Lack of Ability
PRESENT AND FUTURE PAST

STRUCTURE: can/can’t + base form STRUCTURE: could / couldn’t +
of the verb base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: EXAMPLES: When I was a child I
❖ Tom can write poetry very well. could climb trees.
❖ I can help you with that next STRUCTURE:
week. ❖ was / were + able to + base form
❖ Lisa can’t speak French. of the verb
STRUCTURE: am / is / are / will be ❖ wasn’t / weren’t + able to + base
+ able to + base form of the verb or form of the verb
am not/ isn’t / aren’t/ won’t be + ❖ hasn’t / haven’t + been able to +
able to + base form of the verb base form of the verb
EXAMPLE: Mike is able to EXAMPLE: I wasn’t able to visit
solve complicated math equations. her in the hospital.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
2. Possibility / Impossibility
STRUCTURE: can / can’t + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You can catch that train at 10:43.
❖ He can’t see you right now. He’s in surgery.
STRUCTURE: could + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: I could fly via Amsterdam if I leave the day before.
3. Ask Permission / Give Permission

STRUCTURE: Can + Subject + base form of the verb (informal)
EXAMPLES: Can you lend me ten dollars?
STRUCTURE: Can + base form of the verb (informal)
EXAMPLES: You can borrow my car.
STRUCTURE: Could + subject + base form of the verb (polite)
EXAMPLES: Could I have your number?
Could I talk to your supervisor please?
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
MAY, MIGHT
May and might are used to express a variety of ideas in English:
1. Formal Permission / Formal Prohibition

STRUCTURE: may / may not + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You may start your exam now.
❖ You may not wear sandals to work.
2. Polite Request
STRUCTURE: May + subject + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: May I help you?
3. To Make a Suggestion (when there is no better alternative)

STRUCTURE: may as well / might as well + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: You may as well come inside. John will be home soon.
We might as well take Friday off. There’s no work to be done anyway.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
4. Possibility / Negative Possibility

STRUCTURE: may/ might + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ We may go out for dinner tonight. Do you want to join us?
❖ Our company might get the order if the client agrees to the price.
STRUCTURE: may not / might not + base form of the verb

EXAMPLES:
❖ Adam and Sue may not buy that house. It’s very expensive.
❖ They might not buy a house at all.
5. Polite Suggestion
STRUCTURE: might + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
You might like to try the salmon fillet. It’s our special today.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
Shall, Should, Ought to

Shall, should and ought to are used to express a variety of ideas in English:
1. To Offer of Assistance or Polite Suggestion (When you are quite sure of a
positive answer)
STRUCTURE: Shall + subject + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: Shall we go for a walk?
2. To Offer of Assistance or Polite Suggestion (When you are not sure of a

positive answer)
STRUCTURE: Should + subject + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: Should I call a doctor?
3. A Prediction or Expectation that Something Will Happen

STRUCTURE: should/shouldn’t + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ The proposal should be finished on time.
❖ I shouldn’t be late. The train usually arrives on time.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
4. To Give Advice
STRUCTURE: should / ought to + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You should check that document before you send it out.
❖ You ought to have your car serviced before the winter.
5. To Give Advice (about something you think wrong or unacceptable)

STRUCTURE: shouldn’t + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: James shouldn’t teach him words like those.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
Must, Have to, Need to, Don’t have to, Needn’t

These are used to express a variety of ideas in English:
1. Necessity or Requirement
STRUCTURE: must / have to / need to + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You must have a passport to cross the border.
❖ Elisabeth has to apply for her visa by March 10th.
❖ I need to drop by his room to pick up a book.
STRUCTURE: had to / needed to + base form of the verb

EXAMPLES:
❖ I had to work late last night.
❖ I needed to drink a few cups of coffee in order to stay awake.
Note: have to and need to are often used in the same context, but many times,
need to is used to express something that is less urgent, something in which you
have a choice.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
2. Almost 100% Certain

STRUCTURE: must + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: Thomas has lived in Paris for years. His French must be very good.
3. To Persuade
STRUCTURE: must / have to + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You must try this wine. It’s excellent.
❖ You have to visit us while you’re in town.
4. Prohibited or Forbidden
STRUCTURE: must not / mustn’t + base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You must not drive over the speed limit.
❖ You mustn’t leave medicines where children can get to them.
VERBS
MODAL VERBS
5. Lack of Necessity
STRUCTURE: don’t
/doesn’t /didn’t + have to +
base form of the verb
EXAMPLES:
❖ You don’t have to park
the car. The hotel valet
will do it for you.
❖ Tim doesn’t have to go
to school today. It’s a
holiday.
❖ You didn’t have to shout.
Everyone could hear
you.
STRUCTURE: needn’t +
base form of the verb
EXAMPLES: You needn’t
worry about me. I’ll be fine.
VERBS
LINKING VERBS VS HELPING VERBS

Now we need to know about the differences between linking and helping verbs
to have a constructive idea of linking verb.
❖ A linking verb doesn’t always act like a linking verb. Well, that’s because a
word like “is” can also play an auxiliary or helping role in a sentence.
For example, in the sentence, Malcom is drawing a picture, the word “is” isn’t a
linking verb. It’s a helping verb. It’s there to “help” the main verb in the sentence
(drawing).
So, how do we tell whether a linking verb is playing the part in a given
sentence?
❖ If it’s followed by a predicate adjective or predicate noun, then it’s a linking
verb. But if it’s next to an “-ing” verb, then it’s a helping verb.
For example:
My friends are dancing at Stella’s tonight.
Here, “-are” is a helping verb because the –ing verb follows it.
The girls are happy because they’re eating all together.

Here “-are” is a linking verb because a predicate adjective follows it.
VERBS
In the context of verbs, lets talk about the process of changing a verb form to
show tense, mood, number (i.e. singular or plural), and person (i.e. first person,
second person, or third person).
Broadly, depending on the above context, there are two forms of verbs:
1. Regular verbs
2. Irregular verbs
All English verbs are either regular or irregular, depending on how they are
conjugated (It means to give the different forms of (a verb in an inflected
language such as Latin) as they vary according to voice, mood, tense, number,
and person.). The majority are regular verbs, which means that “-d” or “-ed” is
added to their base form (the infinitive of the verb without to) to create both the
past simple tense and past participle.
The past simple tense and past participles of irregular verbs, on the other hand,
have many different forms that do not adhere to a distinct or predictable pattern.
Much of the time, their past tense and past participle forms are completely
different from one another. Unfortunately, this means that there is no way of
determining how to conjugate irregular verbs—we just have to learn each one
individually.
VERBS
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS?
REGULAR VERBS
Many English verbs are regular, which means that they form their different tenses
according to an established pattern. Such verbs work like this:
3rd person 3rd person

Verb singular singular past participle present participle
present tense past tense
he/she
laugh he/she laughs laughed laughing
laughed
love he/she loves he/she loved loved loving
boo he/she boos he/she booed booed

booing
VERBS
FORMATION OF REGULAR VERBS:
1. PRESENT TENSE FORMATION

In the present simple tense, the basic form of a regular verb only changes in the
3rd person singular, as follows:
❖ Most verbs just add -s to the basic form (e.g. take/takes, seem/seems,
look/looks).
❖ Verbs that end with a vowel other than e add -es (e.g. go/goes, veto/vetoes,
do/does).
❖ Verbs that end with -s, -z, -ch, -sh, and -x add -es (e.g. kiss/kisses, fizz/fizzes,
punch/punches, wash/washes, mix/mixes).
❖ If the verb ends in a consonant plus -y, change the y to an i before adding -es
(e.g. hurry/hurries, clarify/clarifies). But if the verb ends in a vowel plus -y, just
add -s (e.g. play/plays, enjoy/enjoys).
VERBS
2. PAST TENSE FORMATION

Forming the past simple tense of regular verbs
is mostly straightforward, and you use the
same form for the first, second, and third
persons, singular and plural:
❖ If the basic form of the verb ends in a
consonant or a vowel other than e, add the
letters -ed to the end (e.g. seem/seemed,
laugh/laughed, look/looked).
❖ For verbs that end in -e, add -d (e.g.
love/loved, recede/receded, hope/hoped).
❖ If the verb ends in a consonant plus -y,
change the y to an i before adding -ed (e.g.
hurry/hurried, clarify/clarified). But if the
verb ends in a vowel plus -y, just add -ed
(e.g. play/played, enjoy/enjoyed).
VERBS
3. FORMING PARTICIPLES
To form the past participle of regular verbs, follow the same rules as for the past
simple tense above.
To make the present participle of regular verbs:
❖ If the basic form of the verb ends in a consonant or a vowel other than e, add
the ending -ing (e.g. laugh/laughing, boo/booing).
❖ If the verb ends in e, drop the e before adding -ing (e.g. love/loving,
hope/hoping).
❖ If the basic form ends in y just add -ing (e.g. hurry/hurrying, clarify/clarifying).
We have also covered formation of present and past participles in Tenses.
VERBS
IRREGULAR VERBS
several verbs whose past simple and past participle tenses either remains the
same or modifies completely without having to follow any conjugation patterns are
known as Irregular verbs.
Here are the forms of some of the most common irregular verbs. There is no rule or
pattern to form the irregular verbs and hence, we need to learn them.
3rd person singular 3rd person singular
Verb past participle present participle
present tense past tense
be is was been being
begin begins began begun beginning
bite bites bit bitten biting
break breaks broke broken breaking
buy buys bought bought buying
choose chooses chose chosen choosing
drink drinks drank drunk

drinking
VERBS
SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT
One of the most important topic in grammar is the SUBJECT – VERB

AGREEMENT.
What this means is that the characteristics of the subject should be reflected in the
verb. For example, if a subject is singular, the verb form must also be singular.
Basically, the verb should and must agree with the subject for the sentence to
make sense. Lets discuss some basic and important rules of SUBJECT – VERB
AGREEMENT.
VERBS
RULE 1:
If two subjects are joined by ‘and‘, plural verb will be used.
Example: Ram and Shyam are coming.
RULE 2:
If two or more than two nouns or subjects are joined by ‘and’ but only a single
person or thing or idea is discussed, singular verb will be used. In such situations,
the nouns or subjects convey a singular meaning.
Examples:
❖ My friend, philosopher and guide have come. (We are talking about the same
person here and therefore we need to change ‘have‘ to ‘has‘)
❖ Slow and steady win the race. (Incorrect! change ‘win‘ into ‘wins‘)
❖ Fish and chips is my favorite dish. (no error)
VERBS

RULE 4:
RULE 3: If the subject is joined by ‘as well as‘,
If two uncountable nouns are joined by ‘with‘, ‘along with‘, ‘together with‘,
‘and‘ and if two different subjects are ‘and
discussed, plural verb will be used. not‘, ‘In addition to‘, ‘but‘, ‘besides‘,
Example: Poverty and misery come ‘except‘, ‘rather than‘, ‘accompanied
together. by‘,
‘like‘, ‘unlike‘, ‘no less than‘, ‘nothing
but‘, the verb will agree with the first
subject.
Examples:
❖ Ram, as well as his parents, is
coming.
❖ The captain along with the sailors
was drowned.
❖ My father, unlike my uncles, is
very strict.
VERBS

RULE 6:
If two subjects are joined by
RULE 5: ‘neither….nor‘, ‘either … or‘, ‘not
If an article is placed just before the only‘, …’but also‘, ‘nor‘, ‘or‘, ‘none-
1st subject, it means but‘, the verb will agree with the
the person/thing is the same for which nearest subject.
two nouns are used. Examples:
Hence singular verb will be used. ❖ Neither Ram nor Shyam has
Example: come.
❖ A white and black gown was ❖ Either Ram or his friends have
bought by her. come.
❖ Churchil was a great orator and a ❖ Has Ram or Shyam come?
great politician of his time. (wrong)
❖ Churchil was a great orator and
politician of his time. (right)
But if an article is used before every
subject, it refers to different
people/things. Hence plural verb will
be used. Example: The director and
the producer have come.
VERBS
RULE 7:
‘Neither of‘ means ‘not either of the two things or people‘.
Example:
❖ Neither of the judges of the division bench knew about the facts of the case.
(Correct).
‘None of‘ means ‘not one of the groups of things or people‘.
Example:
❖ Neither of his four sons looked after him. (incorrect)
❖ None of his four sons looked after him. (Correct).
‘Either of‘ means ‘one of the two things or people‘.
Example:
❖ Either of the five members is at fault. (incorrect)
❖ One of the five members is at fault. (correct)
Note: ‘Not’ is not used with ‘both‘. For this purpose ‘neither of‘ is
used.
❖ Both of them did not take the exam. (incorrect)
❖ Neither of them took the exam. (correct)
VERBS
RULE 8:
Certain nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning. Hence they
take singular verb.
Some of the examples are:
VERBS

RULE 10:
Collective noun always takes
RULE 9: singular verb.
Usually, we match the verb with the Some of the examples are:
nearest subject but this is not a strict ❖ The herd of cows is grazing in the
rule and hence be careful! The verb field.
should match with the main subject of ❖ The committee has unanimously
the sentence. taken its decision.
Some of the examples are: NOTE: If there is a division among
❖ The quality of apples is good. the members of the collective noun
❖ He and not his parents is guilty. or we talk
❖ The appeal of the victims for the about the members of the collective
transfer of the cases related to riots noun, plural verb and plural
to some other states has been pronoun are used.
accepted. EXAMPLE:
❖ The jury are divided in their
opinion
❖ The audience have taken their
seats.
VERBS

RULE 12:
If a subject and the verb are joined by
RULE 11: a relative pronoun, the verb used
Plural number will always take plural will agree with the antecedent to the
verb. relative pronoun.
EXAMPLES: EXAMPLES:
❖ Hundred boys are in my class. ❖ She is one of the noblest women
Note: If plural noun is used after that has ever lived on this earth.
cardinal adjectives (one, two, three, (That is a relative pronoun whose
four etc.) and if plural noun denotes antecedent is “women” and hence,
certain amount, weight, height or here we use ‘have‘ in place of ‘has‘)
period, singular verb will be used. ❖ I am not one of those who will trust
In other words we can say that plural everyone whom I meet.
number used as a singular unit will (who is a relative pronoun, so here we
take singular verb. use ‘they meet‘ in place of ‘I meet‘)
EXAMPLES:
❖ Hundred rupees is in my pocket.
❖ Ten miles is a long distance to
cover on foot.
VERBS

RULE 14:
If ‘of‘ is used after each, every, one,
RULE 13: etc. the noun or pronoun that comes
Each, Every, Everyone, Someone, immediately after ‘of‘ will be plural in
Somebody, Nobody, None, One, Any, form. However the verb, pronoun,
Many a, More than one, are singular. adjective, etc. that comes in the latter
Hence they will take singular verb, part of the sentence will be singular in
singular noun, and singular pronoun. form.
EXAMPLES: EXAMPLES:
❖ Each student has come. ❖ One of the boys/them has done his
❖ Each boy/ Each girl has come. work.
❖ One must tolerate one’s friend as ❖ Each of the planets revolves around
well as his enemy. (Use ‘one’s‘ in the sun.
❖ place of ‘his‘)
❖ Many a student has not done their
homework. (Use ‘his‘ in place of
‘their‘)
❖ More than one man was present
there.
VERBS
RULE 17:
RULE 15: If a sentence states an imaginary
If ‘each‘ is used after Plural noun or position, it starts with if, as if, as
though, suppose, I wish, in case, would
plural pronoun, plural verb is
used. that etc. In such sentences ‘were‘ is
EXAMPLES: used as the verb irrespective of the
❖ We each have a duty towards our number of the subject.
nation. EXAMPLES:
❖ I wish, I were bird.
❖ If he were rich, he would help others.
RULE 16:
If Indefinite Pronoun ‘One‘ comes as
the subject of a sentence, it takes
singular verb and singular pronoun
‘one‘, ‘one’s‘, and ‘oneself‘ and not
‘he‘, ‘him‘, ‘his‘ or ‘himself‘.
EXAMPLES:
❖ One should keep his promise.
(incorrect)
❖ One should keep one’s promise.
(correct)
VERBS
RULE 20:
RULE 18: A number of / ‘a large number of ‘/ ‘a
In optative Sentences, singular subject great number of’ is used
takes plural verb. with plural countable noun. Hence
Example: they will take plural verb.
❖ Long live the Queen. Examples:
(‘live‘ = plural verb, ‘queen‘ = singular ❖ A number of students were present.
subject) (correct)
Note: A number of denotes the
RULE 19: number of plural countable noun.
With uncountable nouns we use It will take singular verb.
‘Amount of /Quantity of’ followed by Examples:
a singular verb. ❖ The number of boys are fifty.
Examples: (incorrect)
❖ The amount of money are not ❖ The number of boys is fifty.
sufficient. (Incorrect) (correct)
❖ The amount of money is not
sufficient. (correct)
VERBS
RULE 21:
‘All‘ can be used in both countable and uncountable sense. When used
as uncountable, it takes singular verb and when used as countable, it
takes plural verb..
Examples:
❖ All is well that ends well.
❖ All are well at home.
VERBS
RULE 22:
Scenery, Poetry, Furniture, Advice, Information, Hair, Business, Mischief,
Bread, Stationery, Crockery, Luggage, Baggage, Postage, Knowledge,
Wastage, Jewelry, Breakage, Equipment, Evidence, Work (works means literary
pieces), News, Percentage, Dirt, Dust, Traffic, Electricity, Music, Confectionery,
pottery, Bakery, Behaviour, Word (When used in sense of discussion) Fuel and
Cost are uncountable nouns and hence will take singular verb. These nouns will
not take articles like ‘A/An‘, ‘many‘, ‘few‘, ‘number of‘, and ‘plural form‘.
Examples:
❖ The scenery of Kashmir has enchanted us.
❖ I passed the exam but the percentage of marks was not good.
❖ The mischief committed by him is unpardonable.
Such nouns have no plural form but sometimes we need the singular/plural
form of some of these nouns. The singular/plural form is made by adding
certain words before the uncountable nouns.
Examples:
❖ All pieces of information given by her were reliable.
❖ Many kinds of furniture are available in that shop.
VERBS
RULE 23:
Certain nouns exist in plural forms only. Thus ‘s’ cannot be removed from
such nouns to make then singular. They take plural verb with them.
Scissors, tongs, pliers, bellows, trousers, pants, pajamas, shorts, Spectacles,
goggles, binoculars, sunglasses, gallows, fangs, alms, amends, archives, arrears,
auspices, congratulations, embers, fireworks, lodgings, outskirts, particulars,
proceeds, regards, riches, remains, savings, shambles, surroundings, tidings,
troops, tactics, thanks, valuables, wages, belongings, braces, etc.
Examples:
❖ Where are my pants?
❖ Where are the tongs?
❖ The proceeds were deposited in the bank.
RULE 24:
News, innings, politics, summons, physics, economics, ethics, mathematics,
mumps, measles, rickets, shingles, billiards, athletics are certain nouns that
are plural in form but singular in meaning. They take singular verb.
Example: No news is good news.
VERBS
RULE 25:
Cattle, cavalry, infantry, poultry, peasantry, children, gentry, police, and
people are certain nouns that are singular in form but plural in meaning. Examples:
❖ Cattle are grazing in the field.
❖ Our infantry have marched forward.
❖ Police have arrested the thieves.
RULE 26:
Deer, sheep, series, species, fish, crew, team, jury, aircraft, counsel, are
certain nouns that are used in both singular and plural form. If they are used
in a singular sense, they take a singular verb and if they are used in the
plural sense, they take a plural verb.
Example:
❖ Our team is the best./Our team are trying their new uniform.
❖ There are two fish in the pond.
❖ There are many fishes in the aquarium. (Here the word ‘fishes‘ refers to different
species of fish.)
VERBS
RULE 27: U.N = UNCOUNTABLE NOUN ; S.C.N = SINGULAR

COUNTABLE NOUN; P.C.N = PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUN
WORDS NOUN / PRONOUN VERBS
No + U.N Singular Verb
No + S.C.N Singular Verb
One-third of /three-fourth + U.N. Singular Verb

of / The rest of /A quarter
of / Part of / Ten percent of
/ Twenty percent of
One-third of / three-fourth + P.C.N Plural Verb
of / Part of / Ten percent of
/ Twenty percent of
Most of / Some / Some of / + P.C.N Singular Verb
Half of / Enough / Enough
of / Not enough of / Plenty
of / A lot of / Lots of
VERBS
RULE 27: U.N = UNCOUNTABLE NOUN ; S.C.N = SINGULAR

COUNTABLE NOUN; P.C.N = PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUN
WORDS NOUN / PRONOUN VERBS
Most of / Some / Some of / + U.N Plural Verb

Half of / Enough / Enough
of / Not enough of / Plenty
of / A lot of / Lots of
The percentage of + U.N./P.C.N Singular Verb
More than one + S.C.N Singular Verb
More than two/three etc. + P.C.N Plural Verb
More + P.C.N + Than Plural Verb

one
VERBS
The following sentences show how the rules given in the table are followed:
1. No air is present on Mars.
2. No students was interesting in taking the exam.
3. One-third of the word has been finished.
4. One-third of the students have passed.
5. Ninety percent of the work is done.
6. Most of the knowledge is gained by experience.
7. Most of the girls are absent today.
8. Ninety percent of the students have passed the exam with good
marks.
9. Half of the candidates have passed with flying colors.
10. Some of the students have no taken the exam
11. The percentage of successful candidates is less.
12. More than one city was ruined.
13. More cities than one were in ruins.
14. More than two thieves have been caught.
15. More plans than one were made.
MODIFIERS
Do you feel So, what does “modifier” Similarly, in grammar, a

modified? Of means? “MODIFIER” changes,
course, you are! Generally, “Modifier” clarifies, qualifies, or limits a
When I mention means something that particular word in a sentence
“modified”, I mean makes changes to in order to add emphasis,
to ask whether you something. explanation, or detail.
feel any change in
yourself after this To illustrate the power of modifiers, consider the
wonderful journey following simple sentence:
that we have Sarah was a sure fit for junior prom queen.
experienced since Now consider the same sentence with multiple modifiers
last some lessons. added: The blonde girl named Sarah, who was a foreign
I bet, you do. exchange student from England, quickly climbed the
So, let’s travel to ladder of popularity during her junior year, smiling her
another point way through cheerleading and an ASB presidency term
where we will she inched near the top and was a sure fit as junior
explore prom queen.
“MODIFIERS” The additional details in the sentence, by way of
modifiers, engage the reader and hold their attention.
MODIFIERS
A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes something or makes its

meaning more specific. To be specific, a modifier is either an adjective or an adverb.
MODIFIERS
ADJECTIVES
An adjective describes or modifies noun/s and pronoun/s in a sentence. It

normally indicates quality, size, shape, duration, feelings, contents, and more
about a noun or pronoun.
Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words, making your writing
and speaking much more specific, and a whole lot more interesting. Words like
small, blue, and sharp are descriptive, and they are all examples of adjectives.
Because adjectives are used to identify or quantify individual people and unique
things, they are usually positioned before the noun or pronoun that they modify.
Adjectives usually provide relevant information about the nouns/pronouns they

modify/describe by answering the questions: What kind? How many? Which
one? How much? Adjectives enrich your writing by adding precision and
originality to it.
Example:
❖ The team has a dangerous batsman. (What kind?)
❖ I have ten candies in my pocket. (How many?)
❖ I loved that red car. (Which one?)
❖ I earn more money than he does. (How much?)
MODIFIERS
ADJECTIVES
MODIFIERS
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
A descriptive adjective is a word which describes nouns and pronouns. Most of

the adjectives belong in this type. These adjectives provide information and
attribute to the nouns/pronouns they modify or describe. Descriptive adjectives
are also called qualitative adjectives.
The descriptive adjectives can be simply defined as the type of adjectives that
are used to express the size, color, or shape of a person, a thing, an animal, or
a place. They are used to provide more information to a noun by describing or
modifying it.
a descriptive adjective adds meaning to the noun that it modifies. This kind of
adjective describes a noun in detail by giving an attribute to that particular word.
You should know that descriptive adjectives usually express things that are
observable through the five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound).
Participles are also included in this type of adjective when they modify a noun.
Examples:
I have a fast car. (The word ‘fast’ is describing an attribute of the car)
I am hungry. (The word ‘hungry’ is providing information about the subject)
The hungry cats are crying.
I saw a flying Eagle.
MODIFIERS
FUNCTIONS OF DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES:
As the name suggests, the descriptive adjective is a kind of adjectives which is
used to describe a noun. It does not only add meaning or provide additional
information to a noun, but adds color to the entire text in general. Since there are a
lot of nouns in the English language, there is also a very long list of descriptive
adjectives available that can modify them.
MODIFIERS
There are two types of Descriptive Adjectives:
ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES
An attributive adjective modifies a noun, and comes before that noun, in the first
position.
They are called "attributive" because they tell the qualities or attributes of nouns.
It is possible to leave attribute adjectives out of the sentence - they are optional
additions.
Examples:
❖ He was carrying two big cardboard boxes.
❖ Sweet, ripe, red strawberries are my favorite!
❖ The beautiful new beach house is on an island!
❖ When I turn sixteen, I want a fast red sports car!
❖ We have to read seven long, difficult books by next Tuesday!
If you can, though, it's a really good idea to use attributive adjectives, because
they give your audience more information about the nouns, so that they can
picture what you are talking.
MODIFIERS
There are two types of Descriptive Adjectives:
PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES
Predicative adjectives go after the verb, in the second position.
They often function as the object of the verb. Since the verb and the object are
the predicate of the sentence, we use the term "predicative."
They are describing the subject of the sentence.
These adjectives are essential information in the sentence - in fact, the goal of
sentences is usually to share this information.
Examples:
❖ This milk smells rotten.
❖ That movie star is handsome.
❖ The store is too far to go on foot.
❖ Our teachers seem tired on Mondays.
❖ I hate it when our school books are so boring.
These adjectives are not optional - they play the role of predicate, so they
cannot be left out.
MODIFIERS
LIMITING ADJECTIVES
Limiting adjectives help to define, or "limit," a noun or pronoun. They tell "which
one," "what kind," "how many," or "whose."
Limiting adjectives RESTRICT nouns rather than DESCRIBING them. They can
point out a specific object (the cat, this house, my car) or set a numerical limit to it
(two dogs, the third book). This, some and first are all examples of limiting
adjectives.
Now, since both Descriptive adjectives and Limiting adjectives modify nouns and
pronouns, how to tell whether an adjective is descriptive or limiting?
Descriptive adjectives – as their name implies – describe places, people and

things relating to their color, size, shape, and the like. They add meaning to the
noun or pronoun that they modify and come right before it. For instance, in the
phrase “a new car” the word “new” is a descriptive adjective as it defines the noun
“car” and describes its age or state.
Example: The fat boy teased the small kids in the park.
‘Fat’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the noun ‘boy’; ‘small’ is a descriptive
adjective, it modifies the noun ‘kids’, both of them relate to size.
MODIFIERS
LIMITING ADJECTIVES
Limiting adjectives, or determining adjectives (often classified as determiners),
limit the meaning of nouns or pronouns they modify. They tell “which one,” “how
much,” “how many,” or “whose.” For example, notice how the limiting adjective
‘four’ in the following sentence restricts the meaning of the noun ‘women’.
Four women were talking in the street.
The word ‘four’ is a limiting adjective as it limits the noun ‘women’ to definite
numbers.
Lets explore different types of limiting adjectives.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
The first type of Limiting Adjectives is Articles.

An article is a word used to modify a noun, which is a person, place, object, or
idea. Technically, an article is an adjective, which is any word that modifies a noun.
Usually adjectives modify nouns through description, but articles are used instead
to point out or refer to nouns.
There are two different types of articles that we use in writing and conversation to
point out or refer to a noun or group of nouns:
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
DEFINITE ARTICLE
This article is the word 'the,' and it refers directly to a specific noun or groups of
nouns.
EXAMPLES:
❖ The freckles on my face
❖ The alligator in the pond
❖ The breakfast burrito on my plate
Each noun or group of nouns being referred to - in these cases freckles,
alligator, and breakfast burrito - is direct and specific.
INDEFINITE ARTICLES
Indefinite articles are the words 'a' and 'an.' Each of these articles is used to
refer to a noun, but the noun being referred to is not a specific person, place,
object, or idea. It can be any noun from a group of nouns.
EXAMPLES:
❖ A Mercedes from the car lot
❖ An event in history
In each case, the noun is not specific. The Mercedes could be any Mercedes
car available for purchase, and the event could be any event in the history of
the world.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Articles determine the standard of nouns. Therefore, they are called as determiners.
RULES OF USING ARTICLES

Using Indefinite Article: a & an:
Rule 1: A common noun in the singular number always requires an article before
it. But a plural common noun does not require an article always.
Examples:
❖ I saw a snake. (Refers to a random snake)
❖ I saw snakes in a zoo. (No article is required)
❖ I have seen the snake again. (Refers to the snake I have already seen earlier)
❖ I have seen the snakes again before leaving the zoo. (Refers to the particular
snakes of the zoo which I saw earlier.)
Rule 2: The choice between the two indefinite articles – a & an – is determined by
sound. Words beginning with consonant sounds precede ‘a’ and words beginning
with vowel sounds precede ‘an’. There are some special cases also.
Examples:
❖ a university, a union, a useful book, etc.
❖ an MA, a BA, an LLB, a BSC, etc.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Rule 3: A or an - sometimes makes a Proper Noun a Common Noun. Proper

nouns generally do not take any articles, but when a proper noun needs to be
used as a common noun, you must bring a or an - for it.
Examples:
❖ He thinks he is a Shakespeare. (Here, ‘Shakespeare’ does not refer to the
actual person but someone like him.)
❖ He seems to be an Australian. (‘Australia’ is a proper noun but ‘Australian’ is a
common noun because there is only one Australia but a million of Australians.)
Rule 4: Sometimes indefinite articles are used to refer the number

one’/’each’/’per’.
Examples:
❖ I earned a thousand dollar in that job. (One thousand dollar)
❖ I have a car. (One car)
❖ It goes 50 miles an hour. (Per Hour)
Rule 5: Indefinite articles often precede descriptive adjectives.

Examples:
❖ He is a good boy.
❖ What a nice car!
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Rule 6: ‘A’ sometimes comes before determiners, for example, a few, a little, a lot
of, a most, etc. but in the case of many, a or an - comes after.
Examples:
❖ I have a few friends coming over.
❖ There is a little milk in the jar.
❖ Many a fan welcomed
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Using Definite Article: the

Rule 1: ‘The’ is used to indicate a particular person(s) or thing(s) in the case of
common nouns. Proper nouns generally do not take an article.
Examples:
❖ The man is running. (A particular man)
❖ I saw the boy stealing.
❖ Where is the pen I gave you last year?
❖ I gave him a ball, but he lost the ball. (‘a ball’ became ‘the ball’ in the second
clause because that ball was not a random ball anymore.)
Rule 2: Sometimes ‘the’ is used to generalize a group/whole class.

Examples:
❖ The dog is a faithful animal. (Refers to the whole species of dog.)
❖ The English are industrious. (Refers to the people of England as a nation)
Rule 3: To particularize a non-count noun ‘the’ is required before it.

Examples:
❖ The water of the Arctic ocean is freezing.
❖ Please return the money I lent you last year.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Rule 4: ‘The’ is mandatory before a thing which is only one of a kind in the
universe.
Examples:
❖ The moon is shining tonight.
❖ The earth is moving around the sun.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
Rule 5: Use of ‘the’ before geographical places :

Using ‘the’ with geographical nouns generally depends on the size and plurality
of the things those nouns refer to. ‘So, it’s better to know those exceptions first.
‘The’ must not precede:
❖ Names of continents: Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, North
America, Antarctica.
❖ Names of countries: Australia, Bolivia, England, France, Spain, etc.
❖ Names of states, cities, or towns: Los Angeles, Alaska, Sydney, London,
❖ Names of streets: George street, Albion Street, New town street,
❖ Names of singular lakes and bays: Lake Carey, Lake Eyre, Lake Hillier,
Shark Bay,
❖ Names of single mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Solitary, Mount Bindo,
Mount Fuji, etc.
❖ Names of single islands: Easter Island, Bare Island, Bird Island, Fatima
Island,
❖ Names of languages: Spanish, Russian, English, (When ‘the’ precedes
these nouns, they refer to the population of those languages.)
❖ Names of sports: cricket, football, basketball,
❖ Names of discipline/subject of studies: biology, history, mathematics.
MODIFIERS
ARTICLES
‘The’ must precede:

❖ Names of oceans, gulfs, seas, and rivers: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Coral
Sea, the Timor Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Nile, the Murray River, the Darling
River, etc.
❖ Names of countries with united states or islands: the United States of America
(the USA), the UK, the UAE, the Philippines, etc.
❖ Names of great lakes: the Great Lakes, the African Great Lakes
❖ Names of mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Alps, the Andes, etc.
❖ Names of a group of Islands: the West Indies, the Andamans, etc.
MODIFIERS
MODIFIERS
POSSESIVE ADJECTIVES
A possessive adjective indicates

Possessive Form
possession or ownership. It suggests the
belongingness of something to Personal
someone/something. Pronoun Possessive Possessive
Some of the most used possessive Adjective Pronoun
adjectives are my, his, her, our, their,
your. I my mine
All these adjectives always come before a
noun. you your yours
Examples: he his his
❖ My car is parked outside.
❖ His cat is very cute. she her hers
❖ Our job is almost done.
❖ Her books are interesting. it its [not used]
In the sentence, 'The dog chewed up my
we our ours
new sneakers,' the word 'my' is a
possessive adjective that tells us who they their theirs
owns the shoes. It limits the noun to the
ownership of a specific person. who whose whose
MODIFIERS
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
A demonstrative adjective is a special

adjective (often called a determiner) that
identifies a noun or pronoun by
expressing its position as near or far
(including in time). The demonstrative
adjectives are 'this,' 'that,' 'these,' and
'those.‘
Examples:
❖ That building is so gorgeously
decorated. (‘That’ refers to a singular
noun far from the speaker)
❖ This car is mine. (‘This’ refers to a
singular noun close to the speaker)
❖ These cats are cute. (‘These’ refers to
a plural noun close to the speaker)
❖ I will remember this day forever.
("This" tells us the day is near; i.e.,
today.)
MODIFIERS
INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES
Like the articles a and an, indefinite

adjectives are used to discuss non-
specific things.
An indefinite adjective describes or
modifies a noun unspecific ally. They
provide indefinite/unspecific information
about the noun. The common indefinite
adjectives are few, many, much, most, all,
any, each, every, either, nobody, several,
some, etc. You might recognize them,
since they’re formed from indefinite
pronouns.
Examples:
❖ I want a few moments alone.
❖ Several writers wrote about the recent
incidents.
❖ Each student will have to submit
homework tomorrow.
MODIFIERS
INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES
An interrogative adjective is a word that

modifies a noun by asking a question.
Interrogative adjectives are also known as
interrogative determiners.
An interrogative adjective must be
followed by a noun or a pronoun. The
interrogative adjectives are: which, what,
whose. These words will not be
considered as adjectives if a noun does
not follow right after them.
Examples:
❖ Which phone do you use?
❖ What game do you want to play?
❖ Whose car is this?
Use "what" when the options are

unknown. Use "which" when the options
are known.
MODIFIERS
NUMERAL ADJECTIVES
Numerals are adjectival words which are used to express the relation of number
and quantity.
They are useful in denoting the number of nouns (people or things) or the order in
which they stand and maintain clarity by giving exact information.
There are two types of Numerals – Cardinal and Ordinal.
CARDINAL NUMERALS:
The Cardinal numerals (such as one, two, three, etc.) express number in its
simplest form, and answer the question “how many?” as, one, two, three, four, and
so on indefinitely.
MODIFIERS
NUMERAL ADJECTIVES
ORDINAL NUMERALS
Also known as ordinals, the ordinal numerals indicate a series of entities, and
answer the question “which one in the series?” as— first, second, third, fourth etc.
MODIFIERS
PROPER ADJECTIVES
Proper adjectives are the adjective

form of proper nouns. When proper
nouns modify or describe other
nouns/pronouns, they become
proper adjectives. ‘Proper’ means
‘specific’ rather than ‘formal’ or
‘polite.’
Examples:
❖ American cars are very strong.
❖ Chinese people are hard
workers.
❖ I love KFC burgers.
❖ Marxist philosophers despise
capitalism.
proper adjectives:
❖ are derived from proper nouns
❖ act just like adjectives
❖ should be capitalized
MODIFIERS
NOUNS USED AS ADJECTIVES
As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that
describes a noun. However, sometimes in the English language, a noun is used
to describe another noun; in other words, the first noun performs the function of
an adjective. Look at the following examples:
– Basketball coach – here the noun basketball is being used to describe the
noun coach.
– Garment shop – here the noun garment is being used to describe the noun
shop.
– Painting exhibition – here the noun painting is being used to describe the noun
exhibition.
RULES:
Rule 1:
The ‘nouns as an adjective’ always come first or before the second or main
noun. Let’s see a few more examples:
– A cricket bat
– A soccer ball
MODIFIERS
Rule 2:
In general, like adjectives, nouns being used as adjectives are used in the
singular form, although in the case of certain words, like clothes, customs,
sports, etc., an exception is made. For example:
– Bathroom or bathrooms, and not bathsroom or bathsrooms
– Badminton racket or badminton rackets, and not badmintons racket or
badmintons rackets
In short, the plural form will always appear on the second noun only.
Some nouns are always written or spoken in the plural forms, but we generally
treat them as a singular form. For example:
– A billiards player
– A news editor
Some nouns are always treated in the plural forms when used as an adjective.
For example:– Sports museum
– Clothes outlet
MODIFIERS
Rule 3:
Multiple nouns can also be used as adjectives. For example:
– School cricket team coach
– Motor production cost
– Child health care research center
MODIFIERS
ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
When two or more adjectives are strung together, they should be ordered according
to the following list:
ORDER TYPE OF ADJECTIVE EXAMPLES
Article,Demonstrative
a, an, the, this, that, those,
1 Determiner, orPossessive
these, my, your, his, our
Determiner
2 Quantity one, three, ninety-nine
beautiful, clever, witty, well-
3 Opinion or Observation
mannered
4 Size big, medium-sized, small
5 Physical Quality thin, lumpy, cluttered
6 Shape square, round, long
7 Age young, middle-aged, old
8 Colour/Color red, blue, purple
9 Origin or Religion French, Buddhist
10 Material metal, leather, wooden
L-shaped, two-sided, all-
11 Type
purpose
mixing, drinking, cooking

12 Purpose, orAttributive Noun
service, football, head
MODIFIERS
Here is an example of a 14-adjective string (shaded) that is ordered correctly:

my two lovely XL thin tubular new white Spanish metallic hinged correcting knee
braces.
MODIFIERS
DEGREE OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives have three degrees that compare one thing to another.

Every adjective has three degrees of its own. They are : Positive, Comparative,
Superlative degrees.
1. The Positive Degree

The positive degree of an adjective makes no comparison. In positive degree, the
adjective is said to be in its base form.
❖ A tall building.
❖ She runs fast.
❖ This is a beautiful car.
2. The Comparative Degree

The comparative degree compares two people, things, actives, or qualities.
❖ A taller building than this one.
❖ She runs faster than I do.
❖ This car is more beautiful than yours.
MODIFIERS
DEGREE OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives have three degrees that compare one thing to another.

Every adjective has three degrees of its own. They are : Positive, Comparative,
Superlative degrees.
3. The Superlative Degree

The superlative degree compares a person, thing, activity, or quality with the group.
An adjective is in superlative degree when it is used to compare more than two
nouns/pronouns. We use the article 'the' before the superlative degrees.
❖ The tallest building in the town.
❖ She is the fastest runner among the students.
❖ This is the most beautiful car I have ever seen.
MODIFIERS
RULES FOR MAKING COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
One syllable adjectives.

1. Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –
er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjectives
Positive Comparative Superlative
tall taller tallest
old older oldest
short shorter shortest
MODIFIERS

2. If the one-syllable adjective ends with an –e, just add –r for the comparative form
and –st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjectives With an -e
large larger largest
wise wiser wisest
wide wider widest
MODIFIERS

3. If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it,
double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form and double the
consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjectives With Single Consonant and a Vowel Before it
thin thinner thinnest
big bigger biggest
sad sadder saddest
MODIFIERS
Two syllable adjectives.

1. With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the
superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjectives
peaceful more peaceful most peaceful
careless more careless most careless
famous more famous most famous
MODIFIERS

2. If the two-syllable adjectives ending with –y, change the y to “i” and add –er for the
comparative form, and for the superlative form change the “y” to “i” and add –est.
Two-Syllable Adjectives Ends with -y
pretty prettier prettiest
happy happier happiest
angry angrier angriest
MODIFIERS

3. Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er for the comparative form
and –est to for the superlative form.
Two-Syllable Adjectives Ending in -er, le or ow
clever cleverer cleverest
narrow narrower narrowest
gentle gentler gentlest
MODIFIERS
Three syllable adjectives.

1. For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more
and the superlative with most.
Three-Syllable Adjectives
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
convenient more convenient most convenient
comfortable more comfortable most comfortable
MODIFIERS
Some adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms.
Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms

Good better best
bad worse worst
many more most
much more most
well better best
far farther farthest/furthest
little less least
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS
Since, Adverbs are modifiers, they must modify words like adjectives.
An adverb is a word/a set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs. It tells when, where, and how an action is performed or indicates the
quality or degree of the action.
Examples:
❖ Robin is always hungry for success.
❖ I love her very much.
❖ He is running fast.
❖ Alex works hard.
❖ He wrote that willingly.
Adverbs can tell you how something is done, for example, speak nicely or work
hard. Adverbs can also tell you how much or how many of something you have.
A good way to understand adverbs is to think about them as the words that
provide context. Specifically, adverbs provide a description of how, where,
when, in what manner and to what extent something is done or happens.
Normally, we can spot an adverb by the fact that it often ends in –ly, but there
are lots of adverbs that don’t end in this way. Moreover, adverbs can be used in
many combinations with each other.
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS
Traditionally considered a single part

of speech, adverbs perform a wide
variety of functions, making it difficult
to treat them as a single, unified
category. However, spotting an
adverb, especially one that ends in -
ly is easy. Adverbs normally help
paint a fuller picture by describing
how something happens, such as:
❖ When? She always arrives early.
❖ How? He drives carefully.
❖ Where? They go everywhere
together.
❖ In what way? She eats slowly.
❖ To what extent? It is terribly hot.
This function of providing more
information about how something is
done is called the adverbial function
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS
There are many rules for using adverbs, and these rules often depend upon
which type of adverb you are using. Remember these basics and using adverbs
to make sentences more meaningful will be easier for you.
❖ Adverbs can always be used to modify verbs. Notice that the second of these
two sentences is much more interesting simply because it contains an
adverb:
➢ The dog ran. (You can picture a dog running, but you don’t really know
much more about the scene.)
➢ The dog ran excitedly. (You can picture a dog running, wagging its tail,
panting happily, and looking glad to see its owner. You can paint a much
more interesting picture in your head when you know how or why the
dog is running.)
❖ Adverbs are often formed by adding the letters “-ly” to adjectives. This makes
it very easy to identify adverbs in sentences. There are many exceptions to
this rule; everywhere, nowhere, and upstairs are a few examples.
❖ An adverb can be used to modify an adjective and intensify the meaning it
conveys. For example: He plays tennis well. (He knows how to play tennis
and sometimes he wins.)
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS
MODIFIERS
TYPES OF ADVERBS
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
SENTENCE ADVERBS:
ADVERBS OF TIME/FREQUENCY (WHEN?)
ADVERBS OF PLACE/DIRECTION (WHERE?)
ADVERBS OF DEGREE (HOW MUCH?)
ADVERBS OF MANNER (HOW?)
ADVERBS OF PURPOSE
MODIFIERS
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Conjunctive adverbs are parts of speech that are used to connect one clause to
another. They are also used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and
other relationships.
It provides transitions between ideas and shows relationships. Conjunctive
adverbs are also called connectors.
Examples:
❖ It rained last night. Nonetheless, the final match has not been canceled.
❖ We are still confused, however, if the umpires will come.
❖ Jeremy kept talking in class; therefore, he got in trouble.
❖ She went into the store; however, she didn’t find anything she wanted to buy.
❖ I like you a lot; in fact, I think we should be best friends.
❖ Your dog got into my yard; in addition, he dug up my petunias.
❖ You’re my friend; nonetheless, I feel like you’re taking advantage of me.
❖ My car payments are high; on the other hand, I really enjoy driving such a
nice vehicle.
Lets look at the rules of using these kind of adverbs.
MODIFIERS
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
RULES FOR USING CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS FOLLOW

❖ Always use a period or semicolon before the conjunctive adverb when
separating two independent clauses. Conjunctive adverbs are not strong
enough to join independent clauses without supporting punctuation.
❖ Use a comma if a conjunction such as and, but, or, or so appears between the
conjunctive adverb and the first clause.
❖ Use a comma behind conjunctive adverbs when they appear at the beginning
of a sentence’s second clause. The only exception to this rule is that no
comma is necessary if the adverb is a single syllable.
❖ If a conjunctive adverb appears in the middle of a clause, it should be enclosed
in commas most of the time. This is not an absolute rule and does not normally
apply to short clauses.
A clause is a group of words with a subject-verb unit; the 2nd group of words
contains the subject-verb unit the bus goes, so it is a clause. A phrase is a group of
words without a subject-verb unit.
MODIFIERS
SENTENCE ADVERBS
A sentence adverb starts the sentence and modifies the whole sentence.
Example:
❖ Hopefully, we will win the match.
❖ Apparently, the sky is getting cloudy.
❖ Certainly, I did not think of coming here.
Here in the third sentence, the sentence adverb “certainly” modifies the whole
sentence, and it expresses the speaker's opinion about what is being said. Here
are some more examples:
❖ Clearly, he has no excuse for such behaviour
❖ Frankly, I don't care about your problems
❖ Unfortunately, no refunds can be given
Some sentence adverbs link a sentence with a preceding one:

England played well in the first half. However, in the second half their
weaknesses were revealed.
Other sentence adverbs of this type are accordingly, consequently, hence,
moreover, similarly, and therefore.
MODIFIERS
Adverbs of frequency are used to express time or how often something occurs.
Adverbs of frequency can be split two main groups.
The first, adverbs of indefinite frequency, are terms that have an unclear
meaning as to how long are how often something occurs: usually, always,
normally. These adverbs will usually be placed after the main verb or between
the auxiliary verb and infinitive.
Examples:
❖ The adverb is usually placed before the main verb.
❖ I can normally make the shot.
❖ I will always love
Adverbs of definite frequency will usually be placed at the end of the sentence.
❖ We get paid hourly.
❖ I come here.
❖ The situation seems to change monthly.
❖ The newspaper is bought daily.
MODIFIERS
Adverbs of time, while seemingly similar to adverbs of frequency, tell us when

something happens. Adverbs of time are usually placed at the end of a
sentence.
Examples:
❖ Harvey forgot his lunch yesterday and again today.
❖ I have to go now.
❖ We first met Julie last year.
While it’s almost always correct to have the adverb of time at the end of the
sentence, you can place it at the start of the sentence to put a different
emphasis on the time if it is important to the context.
Examples:
❖ Last year was the worst year of my life.
❖ Tomorrow our fate will be sealed.
❖ Yesterday my troubles seemed so far away.
ADVERBS OF TIME/FREQUENCY answer the question ‘when/how frequently is
the action performed?’.
MODIFIERS
An adverb of place, sometimes called spatial adverbs, will help explain where an
action happens. Adverbs of place will be associated with the action of the verb
in a sentence, providing context for direction, distance and position: southeast,
everywhere, up, left, close by, back, inside, around. These terms don’t usually
end in -ly.
DIRECTIONS:
❖ New York is located north of Philadelphia.
❖ They traveled down the mountainside.
❖ First, I looked here, and then I looked there, but I can’t find them anywhere.
Notice that here and there are often used at the beginning of a sentence to
express emphasis or in exclamation.
❖ Here comes the sun.
❖ There is love in the air.
❖ Here you are!
DISTANCE:
❖ Jane is moving far away.
❖ Carly is sitting close to me.
MODIFIERS
POSITION:
❖ The treasure lies underneath the
box.
❖ The cat is sleeping on the bed.
❖ Why are you standing in the
middle of the dancefloor?
In addition, some adverbs of position

will refer to a direction of movement.
These often end in -ward or -wards.
❖ Oscar travelled onward to Los

Angeles.
❖ Hannah looked upwards to the
heavens.
❖ Molly, move forward to the front of
the queue, please.
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS OF DEGREE (HOW MUCH?)
Adverbs that express the

importance/degree/level of the action
in the sentence are called adverbs of
degree. They answer the question
‘how much is the action performed?’.
Completely, nearly, entirely, less,

mildly, most, thoroughly, somewhat,
excessively, much, etc. are common
adverbs of degree.
Examples:
❖ She completely forgot about her
anniversary.
❖ I read the newspaper thoroughly.
❖ I am so excited about the new job.
❖ Robin hardly studies.
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS OF MANNER (HOW?)
An adverb of manner will explain how

an action is carried out. Very often
adverbs of manner are adjectives
with -ly added to the end, but this is
certainly not always the case. In fact,
some adverbs of manner will have
the same spelling as the adjective
form.
They answer the question ‘how is the
action performed?’.
Beautifully, equally, thankfully,

carefully, handily, quickly, coldly,
hotly, resentfully, earnestly, nicely,
tirelessly, etc. are common adverbs
of manner.
MODIFIERS
ADVERBS OF PURPOSE
Adverbs of purpose, sometimes

called adverbs of reason, help to
describe why something happened.
They can come in the form of
individual words – so, since, thus,
because – but also clauses – so that,
in order to. Notice in the examples
that the adverbs of purpose are used
to connect sentences that wouldn’t
make sense if they were formed
alone.
Examples:
❖ I was sick, thus didn’t go to work
today.
❖ I started jogging so that I wouldn’t
be late.
❖ Because I was late, I jogged a
little faster.
MODIFIERS
POSITIONS OF ADVERBS
The positions of adverbs are not a fixed or set thing. As you have seen,
adverbs can appear in different position in a sentence. However, there are
some rules that help us decide where an adverb should be positioned. The
rules will be different depending on whether the adverb is acting to modify an
adjective or another adverb, a verb or what type of adverb it is.
ADVERB POSITION WITH ADJECTIVES AND OTHER ADVERBS
These adverbs will usually be placed before the adjective or adverb being
modified:
❖ We gave them a really tough match. The adverb really modifies the adjective
tough.
❖ It was quite windy that night. The adverb quite modifies the adjective windy.
❖ We don’t go to the movies terribly often. The adverb terribly modifies the
adverb often.
MODIFIERS
POSITIONS OF ADVERBS
ADVERB POSITION WITH VERBS

This can be a bit trickier because, it will depend on the type of adverb – place,
position, time etc. – and there are many exceptions to the rules. However, a
basic set of guidelines is shown below:
❖ Adverbs of manner or place are usually positioned at the end of the
Sentence:
She laughed timidly.
I stroked the cat gently.
Janine lived here.
There is money everywhere.
As mentioned, if the adverb is of definite time it will be placed at the end of the
sentence.
❖ I did it yesterday.
❖ We can discuss it tomorrow.
❖ Let’s go to Paris next week.
However, if it is an indefinite period of time, it will go between the subject and
main verb.
❖ We often go to Paris in the springtime.
MODIFIERS
ORDER OF ADVERBS
Adverb order is so important it has clear rules. It’s already mentioned that some
adverbs will act to modify another, but how do you decide the structure of a
sentence with several adverbs? Thankfully, there is a simple set of rules to
follow, called the order of adverbs. Handily, the order of adverbs, sometimes
also called the royal order of adverbs, can help us determine sentence structure
too. In short, the adverbs get preference (are placed first) in the following order:
1. Adverbs of manner.
2. Adverbs of place.
3. Adverbs of frequency.
4. Adverbs of time.
5. Adverbs of purpose.
Consider this sentence:
I run (verb) quickly (manner) down the road (place) every morning (frequency)
before school (time) because (purpose) I might miss the bus.
While it is good to remember the order of adverbs, there is always flexibility with
language, and we have already mentioned that adverbs of time and frequency
can be placed at the start of a sentence to change the emphasis. So, bottom
line: think of the order of adverbs as more of a guideline than a rule that can’t be
broken.
MODIFIERS
COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
There are three degrees of comparison in adverbs the positive, the comparative,
the superlative. The adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives using –er
and –est and more and most. Adverbs that end in –ly use the words more and
most to form their comparatives abd superlatives.
Adverbs follow the same rules that the adjectives follow to form different degrees
of comparison.
MODIFIERS
FORMS OF ADVERBS
There are three forms of adverbs: adverbs formed by adding -ly to an adjective,
adverbs that share identical words with an adjective, and adverbs not derived from
an adjective or any other word.
1. Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective

❖ He had a sudden heart attack while jogging. (Adjective)
❖ He suddenly had a heart attack while jogging. (Adverb)
❖ She had a quick walk to get there on time. (Adjective)
❖ She walked quickly to get there on time. (Adverb)
2. Adverbs that share identical words with an adjective

❖ He found the exam quite hard. (Adjective)
❖ He failed his exam as he didn't try very hard. (Adverb)
❖ The two brothers live on opposite sides of the city. (Adjective)
❖ She has a brother who lives opposite to her. (Adverb)
MODIFIERS
FORMS OF ADVERBS
There are three forms of adverbs: adverbs formed by adding -ly to an adjective,
adverbs that share identical words with an adjective, and adverbs not derived from
an adjective or any other word.
3. Adverbs such as as, even, how, never, next, now, rather, so, soon, still, then,
too, etc. are not derived from an adjective or any other word.
❖ He doesn't even know where the Pacific Ocean is.
❖ He said he had never been to a circus.
❖ She has got rather a lot of money to spend at this time of the month.
❖ She has eaten two big pizzas and is still hungry.
4. Converting a number of adjectives to adverbs by adding -ly entails removing a

letter as shown in the following:
❖ by adding –ly or –ally to the end of an adjective (quick –quickly, heroic –heroically),
❖ by adding –ly after removing the last –e from an adjective (comfortable–
comfortably, possible–possibly), or
❖ by dropping the last y from an adjective and replacing it with –ily (easy–easily,
happy–happily).
MODIFIERS
FORMS OF ADVERBS
Adverbs are also formed from other parts of speech such as noun (accident)and
verb (hurry), and from present participle (frightening).
❖ She deleted my file by accident. (Noun)
❖ She accidentally deleted my file. (Adverb)
❖ Nick hurried to answer the telephone. (Verb)
❖ Nick moved hurriedly to answer the telephone. (Adverb)
❖ He's frightening us with the speed he's driving. (present participle)
❖ He's driving frighteningly close to the edge of the pavement. (Adverb)
MODIFIERS
DANGLING MODIFIERS
A dangling modifier is a type of misplaced modifier. It’s a grammatical error in

which a phrase at the beginning of a sentence doesn’t have the right word to
modify, so it ends up modifying the wrong part of the sentence. When a modifier
dangles, it changes the intended meaning and creates confusion.
Take the following sentence: “Running at top speed, his wig fell off.” In this
example, the clause “running at top speed” is a modifier, and it modifies the
noun phrase immediately after it—in this case, “his wig.” Thus, this sentence
erroneously sounds as if the wig is the thing running at top speed, when really
it’s supposed to be a noun that’s not mentioned in the sentence at all—the man.
Dangling refers to something that has been left hanging awkwardly. A modifier
becomes dangling when the subject being modified by it goes missing. The
subject that is supposed to be modified is absent from the sentence. The writer
of the sentence fails to mention the subject of the modifier. The modifier is left
hanging; it does not get support of the subject it intended to modify.
MODIFIERS
DANGLING MODIFIERS
Resolution – The dangling modifier problem can be resolved when we provide

the modifier with its appropriate subject. Once the modifier receives the support
of this subject, it does not remain dangling any longer
Example:
Incorrect: Walking on the grass, a snake bit him. (‘Walking on the grass’ is the
dangling modifier as the sentence does not mention the person (the subject)
who was walking.)
Correct: While he was walking on the grass, a snake bit him. (Now, ‘he’, the
subject has been mentioned)
Incorrect: When choosing the right coaching institute, many aspects should be
considered. (‘When choosing the right coaching institute’ is the dangling
modifier as the sentence does not mention who is choosing the institute.)
Correct: When choosing the right coaching institute, students should consider
many aspects. (Now, ‘students’, the subject has been mentioned)
MODIFIERS
BASIC RULES RELATED TO ADVERBS
RULE 1: To modify a Verb, an Adjective or another Adverb, we use an Adverb.

Carefully is an Adjective which cannot modify the Adverb very, therefore
carefully (Adverb) must be used in place of Adjective careful. Too means more
than required and it is used with Unpleasant Adjective. So, we cannot use too
glad, too happy, too pleasant, too healthy.
For example:
❖ Incorrect- She writes very careful.
❖ Correct- She writes very carefully.
❖ Incorrect- I am too glad to meet you.
❖ Correct- I am very glad to meet you.
RULE 2: A sentence which is based on ”Too and To” format, we cannot replace
“to” with “so that”. If we replace “to” with “so that”, “too” must not be used with
“cannot”.
For example:
❖ Incorrect- He is too weak so that he cannot walk.
❖ Correct- He is too weak to walk. Correct- He is so weak that he cannot walk.
MODIFIERS
RULE 3: Much too is followed by Unpleasant Adjective, whereas too much is

followed by Noun.
Much too + Unpleasant Adjective.
Too much + Noun.
For example:
❖ Incorrect- His failure is too much painful for me.
❖ Correct- His failure is much too painful for me.
❖ Incorrect- His wife’s rude behavior gives him much too pain.
❖ Correct- His wife’s rude behavior gives him too much pain.
RULE 4: Quite and all are not used together.
For example:
❖ Incorrect- He is quite all right.
❖ Correct- He is quite right or He is all right
MODIFIERS
RULE 5: A/An + Fairly + Adjective + Noun or Rather + A + Adjective

For example:
❖ a fairly good book
❖ rather a difficult problem.
RULE 6: But we cannot use Pleasant Adjective with rather and Unpleasant
Adjective with fairly. For example,
❖ Incorrect- It was a rather good book.
❖ Correct- It was a fairly good book.
RULE 7: Enough, when used as an Adverb, is preceded by a positive degree
Adjective or Adverb. For example,
❖ Incorrect- He is greater enough to pardon you.
❖ Correct- He is great enough to pardon you.
RULE 8: Two negatives cancel each other. Hence two negatives should not be
used in the same sentence unless we make an affirmation.
❖ Incorrect-I have not got none.
❖ Correct- I have not got any.
MODIFIERS
RULE 9: ‘At present’ means ‘at the present time’, ‘presently’ means ‘soon’.
These should not be confused.
❖ Incorrect- Nothing more can be done presently. Correct- Nothing more can
be done at present.
❖ Incorrect- He will come back at present. Correct- He will come back
presently.
RULE 10: ‘Much’ is used before past participles and Adjectives or Adverbs of
comparative degree. ‘Very’ is used before the present participles and Adjectives
and Adverbs of positive degree.
❖ Incorrect- The news is much surprising. Correct- The news is very surprising.
❖ Incorrect-I was very surprised at hearing the news. Correct- I was much
surprised at hearing the news.
RULE 11: Hardly is an Adverb which means rarely. Whereas hard is an
Adjective which means tough, rigid. For example,
❖ Incorrect- It is a hardly job.
❖ Correct- It is a hard
MODIFIERS
RULE 12: Ago is always used with Past Indefinite Tense. So, if ago is used in a
sentence, that sentence must be in the Past Indefinite Tense. For example,
❖ Incorrect- He has come a month ago.
❖ Correct- He came a month ago.
RULE 13: Early means “just after the beginning of anything” and soon means
just after a point of time. For example,
❖ Roses bloomed early this spring.
❖ Come back soon after completing your work
RULE 14: The sentence which starts with seldom, never, hardly, rarely or
scarcely takes an inverse structure, (i.e) Verb + Subject – Structure. For
example,
❖ Incorrect- Seldom I had seen such a beautiful sight.
❖ Correct- Seldom had I seen such a beautiful sight.
RULE 15: Inversion is also used in a sentence which starts with here/there/
away/out/up/indoor or outdoor and Main Verb, or Aux + Main Verb is used
before the Subject. For example,
❖ Incorrect- Away Sita went
❖ Correct- Away went Sita.
SPEECH
I bet, everyone So, what does “Speech”

present here with means?
me must have Speech is the expression of or
given a speech, the ability to express thoughts
either in school or and feelings by articulate
somewhere else. sounds.
Even I remember,
how I used to get
Goosebumps But, we definitely do not want this meaning in our
when I used to get context.
called to deliver a Almost every person has a voice. Therefore, everyone
speech in front of speaks. Now, what a person speaks or says, is
an audience. sometimes needed or wished to be described by
So, lets begin our someone to someone else.
Bon Voyage, to There are many occasions in which we need to describe
another stop called an event or action that happened, and very often that
as includes repeating what someone said.
“SPEECH”. In order to describe what people said there are two
different types of speech – direct speech and indirect
speech (or reported speech).
SPEECH
Basically, we need to learn about

“speech” so that we could narrate the
spoken words of a person in a correct
and meaningful way.
So, there are two ways to narrate:
These two ways are usually used to convey

a message of one person to another. For
example, you are at your college. Mr.
Krishna, your teacher, says to you: “I want
to meet your parents.” When you come
home, you will inform your parents in
following to says:
Direct Speech: Mr. Krishna said, “I want to
meet your parents”
Indirect Speech: Mr. Krishna said that he
wanted to meet my parents.
SPEECH
DIRECT SPEECH
Direct speech is exactly what it sounds like—text that reports the exact thoughts
expressed by a person in their original form. It is often enclosed in quotation
marks so that the reader understands that the quoted text is the speaker's
original narrative.
When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct
speech. We use direct speech when we simply repeat what someone says,
putting the phrase between speech marks: Paul came in and said, “I’m really
hungry.”
It is very common to see direct speech used in books or in a newspaper article.
For example:
❖ The local MP said, “We plan to make this city a safer place for everyone.”
As you can see, with direct speech it is common to use the verb ‘to say’ (‘said’ in
the past). But you can also find other verbs used to indicate direct speech such
as ‘ask’, ‘reply’, and ‘shout’. For example:
❖ When Mrs Diaz opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Lee?”
❖ She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.”
❖ The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t finished that
report yet!”
SPEECH
INDIRECT SPEECH
When we want to report what someone said without speech marks and without
necessarily using exactly the same words, we can use indirect speech (also
called reported speech). Indirect speech is also known as reported speech,
indirect narration, or indirect discourse. In grammar, when you report someone
else’s statement in your own words without any change in the meaning of the
statement, it is called indirect speech.
For example:
Direct speech: “We’re quite cold in here.”
Indirect speech: They say (that) they’re cold.
When we report what someone says in the present simple, as in the above
sentence, we normally don’t change the tense, we simply change the subject.
However, when we report things in the past, we usually change the tense by
moving it one step back. For example, in the following sentence the present
simple becomes the past simple in indirect speech:
Direct speech: “I have a new car.”
Indirect speech: He said he had a new car.
SPEECH
THE BASIC RULES OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
THE THREE IMPORTANT RULES:

Changes in Person of Pronouns:
❖ First-person pronouns in reported speech are always changed according to the

subject of the reporting speech.
❖ Second-person pronouns in reported speech are always changed according to
the object of the reporting speech.
❖ Third-person pronouns in reported speech are not changed.
SPEECH
KEY TERMINOLOGIES:
During the process, you will come across many important terms that you need
to know better:
Direct Speech: She says, “I am a little bit nervous.”
Indirect Speech: She says that she is a little bit nervous.
Now consider the different grammatical aspects of both.

Reporting Speech: The first part of the direct speech is called reporting speech
(she says).
Reported Speech: The second part of the sentence, which is enclosed in
inverted commas or quotation marks, is called reported speech (I am a little bit
nervous).
Reporting Verb: The verb of the reporting speech is called the reporting verb
(says).
Reported Verb: The verb of the reported speech is called the reported verb
(am).
SPEECH
CHANGES IN VERBS:
RULE 1: If the reporting speech is in the present or future tense, then it is not
required to change the verb in the reported speech. This verb could be in any
tense, i.e., present, past, or future.
EXAMPLES:
Direct Speech: He says, “I am ill.”
Indirect Speech: He says that he is ill.
Direct Speech: She says, “She sang a song.”

Indirect Speech: She says that she sang a song.
Direct Speech: You say, “I shall visit London.”

Indirect Speech: You say that you will visit London.
SPEECH
CHANGES IN VERBS:
RULE 2: If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the reported verb will be
changed per the following criterion:
❖ Present indefinite tense is changed into past indefinite tense. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They take a walk every day.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they took a walk every day.
❖ Present continuous is changed into past continuous tense. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They are taking a walk every day.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they were taking a walk every day.
❖ Present perfect is changed into the past perfect tense. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They have taken a walk.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken a walk.
❖ Present perfect continuous tense is changed into past perfect continuous
tense. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They have been taking a walk since morning.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had been taking a walk since morning.
SPEECH
CHANGES IN VERBS:
❖ Past indefinite is changed into past perfect tense. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They took a walk.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken a walk.
❖ Past continuous tense is changed into past perfect continuous tense. For
example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They were taking a walk.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had been taking a walk..
❖ No changes are necessary to change into past perfect and past perfect
continuous tenses. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They had taken a walk.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they had taken a walk..
❖ In future tense, no changes are made except shall and will are changed into
would. For example:
Direct Speech: They said, “They will take a walk.”
Indirect Speech: They said that they would take a walk.
Important Word Changes: How Words Are Used Differently in Direct vs. Indirect
Speech
Word in Direct Speech Word in Indirect Speech Direct Speech Indirect Speech
This That He says, “I want to buy this He says that he wants to
book.” buy that book.
These Those He says, “I want to buy these He says that he wants to
books.” buy those books.
Here There She says, “Everybody was She says that everybody
here.” was there.
Now Then They say, “It’s ten o’clock They say that it’s ten
now.” o’clock then.
Sir Respectfully They said, “Sir, the time is They said respectfully that
over.” the time was over.
Madam Respectfully They said, "Madam, the time They said respectfully that
is over." the time was over.
Today That Day She said, “I am going to She said that she was going
London today.” to London that day.
Yesterday The Previous Day She said, “I visited Oxford She said that she had
University yesterday.” visited Oxford University
the previous day.
Tomorrow Following Day or Next She said, “I am going to She said that she was going
Day London tomorrow.” to London the next day.
Tonight That Night She said, “I am going to see She said that she was going
him tonight.” to see him that night.
Good Morning, Good Greeted She said, “Good morning, Sir She greeted Sir David.
Evening, Good Day David.”
EXAMPLES:
Direct Speech Indirect Speech

She says, “I eat an apple a day.” She says that she eats an apple a day.
He will say, “My brother will help her.” He will say that his brother will help her.
We said, “We go for a walk every day.” We said that we went for a walk every
day.
You say, “I went to London yesterday.” You say that you went to London the
previous day.
He said, “My father is playing cricket with He said that his father was playing cricket
me.” with him.
They said, “We have completed our They said that they had completed their
homework.” homework.
She said, “I have been waiting for him She said that she had been waiting for
since last morning.” him since last morning.
She said, “I bought a book.” She said that she had bought a book.
They said, “We were celebrating Eid They said that they had been celebrating
yesterday.” Eid the previous day.
We said, “We had been waiting since We said that we had been waiting since
morning.” morning.
He said to me, “I will not give you any He said to me that he would not give me
medicine without prescription.” any medicine without a prescription.
SPEECH
Understanding Direct and Indirect Speech in Different Types of Sentences
ASSERTIVE SENTENCES:
Sentences that make a statement are called assertive sentences. These
sentences may be positive, negative, false, or true statements. To convert such
sentences into indirect narration, use the rules mentioned in our previous lesson
(file), except said is sometimes replaced with told. Look at the following
examples:
Direct Speech: She says, “I am writing a letter to my brother.”
Indirect Speech: She says that she is writing a letter to her brother.
Direct Speech: She says, “I was not writing a letter to my brother.”

Indirect Speech: She says that she was not writing a letter to her brother.
Direct Speech: She said to me, “I am writing a letter to my brother.”

Indirect Speech: She told me that she was writing a letter to her brother.
SPEECH
IMPERATIVE SENTENCES:
Imperative sentences give an order or direct command. These sentences may
come in the form of advice, appeal, request, or order. Either a period or
exclamation point is used at the end of the sentence, depending on the
forcefulness of the speaker. For example:
❖ Shut the door!
❖ Please shut the door.
❖ Repair the door by tomorrow!
To convert these types of sentences into indirect speech, follow the rules below
along with the previously-mentioned rules.
❖ The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into order if the
sentence gives a direct command. For example:
Direct Speech: The teacher said to me, “Shut the door.”
Indirect Speech: The teacher ordered me to shut the door.
SPEECH
IMPERATIVE SENTENCES:
❖ The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into request if
the sentence makes a request. For example:
Direct Speech: He said to me, “Shut the door.”
Indirect Speech: He requested me to shut the door.
❖ The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into advise if the
sentence gives a piece of advice. For example:
Direct Speech: He said to me, “You should work hard to pass the exam.”
Indirect Speech: He advised me that I should work hard to pass the exam.
❖ The reporting verb is changed according to reported speech into forbade if
the sentence prevents someone from doing something. For example:
Direct Speech: He said to me, “Not to smoke.”
Indirect Speech: He forbade me to smoke.
More examples on next page.
SPEECH
Examples
We said to him, “Mind your own We urged him to mind his own
business.” business.
She said to him, “Consult a She suggested him to consult a

doctor.” doctor.
He said to me, “Write it again.” He asked me to write it again.
You said to your father, “Please You requested your father to

grant him leave for some time.” grant him leave for some time.
My mother said to me, “Never My mother forbade me to tell a

tell a lie.” lie.
SPEECH
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES:
Sentences that ask questions are called interrogative sentences. Every
interrogative sentence ends with a question mark. For example:
❖ Do you live here?
❖ Have you ever watched Terminator III?
❖ Is it raining?
To convert interrogative sentences into indirect speech, follow the following
rules along with the previously-mentioned rules:
❖ The reporting verb said to is changed into asked.
❖ If the reporting speech has the reporting verb at its start, then if is used in
place of that.
❖ If the reporting speech has interrogative words like who, when, how, why,
when, then neither if is used nor any other word is added.
❖ A period is placed at the end of the sentence instead of a question mark.
Examples are on the next page.
SPEECH
I said to her, “When do I asked her when she did

you do your homework?” her homework.
We said to him, “Are you We asked him if he was

ill?” ill.
You said to me, “Have You asked me if I had

you read the article?” read the article.
He said to her, “Will you He asked her if she

go to the Peshawar would go to the
Radio Station?” Peshawar Radio Station.
She says, “Who is he?” She says who he is.
Rashid said to me, “Why Rashid asked me why I

are you late?” was late.
SPEECH
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCES:
The sentences that express our feelings and emotions are called exclamatory
sentences. Exclamation marks are used at the end of an exclamatory sentence.
For example:
❖ Hurray! We have won the match.
❖ Alas! He failed the test.
❖ How beautiful that dog is!
❖ What a marvelous personality you have!
To change exclamatory sentences into indirect speech, follow the rules below
along with the previously-mentioned rules:
❖ If there is an interjection, i.e., alas, aha, hurray, etc., in the reported speech,
then they are omitted along with the exclamation point.
❖ The reporting verb, i.e., said, is always replaced with exclaimed with joy,
exclaimed with sorrow, exclaimed joyfully, exclaimed sorrowfully, or exclaimed
with great wonder or sorrow.
❖ If there is what or how at the beginning of the reported speech, then they are
replaced with very or very great.
❖ In an indirect sentence, the exclamatory sentence becomes an assertive
sentence.
SPEECH
He said, “Hurray! I have won He exclaimed with great joy

the match.” that he had won the match.
She said, “Alas! My brother She exclaimed with great

failed in the test.” sorrow that her brother had
failed in the test.
They said, “What a beautiful They exclaimed that that

house this is!” house was very beautiful.
I said, “How lucky I am!” I said in great wonder that I

was very lucky.
You said to him, “What a You said to him in great

beautiful drama you writing! wonder that he was writing
a beautiful drama.
SPEECH
OPTATIVE SENTENCES:
Optative sentences express a hope, prayer, or wish. Usually, there is an
exclamation mark at the end of an optative sentence. For example:
❖ May you succeed on the test!
❖ May you get well soon!
❖ Would that I were rich!
To change optative sentences into indirect speech, follow the rules below along
with the previously-mentioned rules:
❖ If the reported speech starts with the word may, then the reporting verb said
is replaced with the word prayed.
❖ If the reported speech starts with the word would, then the reporting verb said
is replaced with the word wished.
❖ May is changed to might.
❖ The exclamation mark is omitted.
❖ In indirect speech, the optative sentences become assertive sentences.
Examples are on the next page.
SPEECH
He said to me, “May you He prayed that I might

live long!” live long.
My mother said to me, My mother prayed that I

“May you succeed in the might succeed in the
test!” test.
She said, “Would that I She wished she had been

were rich!” rich.
I said to him, “Would that I wished he had been

you were here on there on Sunday.
Sunday!”
You said to me, “ May you You prayed that I might

find your lost camera.” find my lost camera.
SPEECH
CHANGE OF MODALS IN REPORTED SPEECH:
Can Could
May Might
Must Had to/ Would have to
Should Should
Might Might
Could Could
Would Would
Ought to Ought to
SPEECH
CHANGE OF TENSE IN REPORTED SPEECH:

Present simple Past simple
(Subject +V1st + Object) (Subject +V2 + Object)
Present continuous Past Continuous
(Subject +is/am/are+V1 +ing+ (Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+
Object) Object)
Present perfect Past perfect
(Subject + has/have+V3+Object) (Subject+had+V3+Object)
Past simple Past perfect
(Subject+V2+Object) (Subject+had+V3+Object)
Past Continuous Past perfect continuous
(Subject +was/were+V1 +ing+ (Subject +had been+V1 +ing+
Object) Object)
Future simple Present Conditional
(Subject+ will/shall+V1+object) (Subject+ would+V1+object)
Future Continuous Conditional Continuous
(Subject +will/shall+be+V1 (Subject +would+be+V1 +ing+
+ing+ Object) Object)
SPEECH
CHANGES IN PLACE AND TIME IN REPORTED SPEECH:

Now Then
Here There
Today That day
Tomorrow The next day
Last week The previous week
This That
Tonight That night
Ago Before
Thus So
Hither Thither
Come Go
Hence Thence
Next Following
SPEECH
CHANGES IN PRONOUNS IN REPORTED SPEECH:

I He/she
You He/she/they
We They
They They
He He
She She
It It
Us Them
Our Their
His His
Her Her
Its Its
VOICE
Till now, we have

had an impeccable But, what is a voice? In
journey! But, it is simple terms, voice is
not over yet! nothing but the sound of a
We are half-way living being or anything. Is
down the line and it what we are looking for?
so many NO!
interesting topics
are waiting for us
We are learning Grammar and hence, we need to define
to be explored.
“VOICE” in terms of grammar only.
So, lets begin our
“A Grammar of Contemporary English” defines Voice as
adventure by
“voice is a grammatical category which makes it possible
embarking the
to view the action of a sentence in two ways, without
footsteps of
change in the facts reported”.
“VOICE”.
Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a
grammatical subject performs the action
or is the receiver of the action.
One and the same idea can often be expressed in two different ways, by means of
an active, and by means of a passive construction.
VOICE
There are two types of voice:

VOICE
ACTIVE VOICE
Active voice is used to indicate the grammatical subject of the verb is performing
the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb. With the active voice,
you learn ‘who’ or ‘what’ is responsible for the action at the beginning of the
sentence. In other words, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb.
In simple terms, In the active voice, the subject performs the action expressed
by the verb.
EXAMPLE: Ram sings a song.
Here ‘Ram” is the subject and the verb is ‘sing’ and ‘song’ is the object. Here the
action of ‘singing’ is being done by the subject i.e. ‘Ram’.
Use of active voice:

1. Active voice is used in a clause whose subject expresses the agent of the main
verb.
2. Subject can be easily identified by asking ‘who’ or ‘what’ to the verb.
3. Sentences are short and easily understandable.
VOICE
PASSIVE VOICE
In Passive voice the sentence focus on object i.e. who/what is receiving the
action and not on who/what is performing the action. In passive voice, the actor
of the of the verb (action) is either understood at the end of the sentence or
maybe not told.
In simple terms, In passive voice subject receives the action expressed by the
verb.
EXAMPLE: A song is sung by Ram.
Here the ‘song’ is subject ‘sing’ is the verb and ‘Ram’ is the entity who did the
action of singing and ‘song’ is the entity on whom action has been done.
Use of passive voice:

1. It is used if it doesn‘t need to know or we don‘t know the actor performing the
job.
2. In the end of the clause or sentence “by” is prefixed to know the actor
performing the job.
3. It is used if we are more interested in the job than the actors who work.
VOICE
VOICE
When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject

performs the action; in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. In
academic writing, it is generally preferred to choose an active verb and pair it with
a subject that names the person or thing doing or performing the action. Active
verbs are stronger and usually more emphatic than forms of the verb “be” or
verbs in the passive voice.
Active: The award-winning chef prepares each meal with loving care.
Passive: Each meal is prepared with loving care by the award-winning chef
In the above example of an active sentence, the simple subject is “chef” and
“prepares” is the verb: the chef prepares “each meal with loving care.” In the
passive sentence, “meal” is the simple subject and “is prepared” is the verb:
each meal is prepared “by the award-winning chef.” In effect, the object of the
active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence. Although both
sentences have the same basic components, their structure makes them
different from each other. Active sentences are about what people (or things) do,
while passive sentences are about what happens to people (or things).
VOICE
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE ACTIVE / PASSIVE VOICE?

❖ Ask who/what performed the action(verb)? -- if the ‘who or what is at the
beginning of the sentence, the sentence is active voice.
Example : Jack is eating the apple.
❖ In the passive voice, the main verb is always a combination of the verb “be” and
the past participle of another verb.
Example: Many mistakes were [verb be] made [past participle of make] by her.
Also, Look for the word “by”, if present it is passive voice.
VOICE
STRUCTURAL FORMULA
For the purpose of deriving a Structural formula for Active and Passive voice, we
will study one example sentence in both the voices, written below-
Active Voice- I write a letter.

Passive Voice- A letter is written by me.
❖ First analyze the ‘Active Voice’ statement: “I write a letter” - ‘I’ is the subject,
the verb is ‘write’ and the object is ‘letter’.
Therefore, the Structural Formula for Active Voice Statement can be written as-
Subject + Verb + Object
❖ Moving on to the Passive statement: “A letter is written by me” - we realize

that the Object appears first followed by the Verb and Subject respectively.
Therefore, the structural formula for Passive Voice can be given as-
Object + Verb + Subject.
Therefore an Active Voice statement always begins with the Subject, followed by
the verb and the Object respectively. On the contrary a Passive Voice statement
begins with the Object, followed by the verb and then the Subject at last.
VOICE
USING THE AUXILIARY VERB “BE”

The passive voice is formed by using a form of the auxiliary verb “be” (be, am, is,
are, was, were, being, been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Active Passive
He loves me. I am loved.
We took our children to the circus. The children were taken to the circus.
A thief stole my money. My money was stolen.
NOTE: Notice how the “be” auxiliaries change the meaning of the verbs from
action to condition or from “doing” to “being.”
He remembers his grandmother. (“he” is doing an action: remembering)

His grandmother is remembered. (“she” is in a condition: being remembered)
In this way, the past participle functions very much like an adjective; it describes
the subject.
The woman is pretty. >>>> She is a pretty woman
The woman is married.>>>>>>>>> She is a married woman
VOICE
RULES FOR PRONOUNS IN ACTIVE TO PASSIVE CONVERSION

Active voice Passive voice
I me
you you
we us
they them
it it
PRONOUN NUMBER AND PERSON TABLE

Person I II III
Number
he,she,it -> is
I -> am you -> are
Singular John,Sara -> is
we ->
you -> are they -> are
Plural are
VOICE
GENERAL RULES OF CONVERSION ACTIVE VOICE TO PASSIVE VOICE:

1. The subject in the active voice becomes the object in the passive voice and
the object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice.
2. Put ‘by’ in front of the subject in the passive voice.
3. Use 3rd form of verb + is/ am/ are/ was/ were/ been/ being according to the
tense in passive voice.
4. There is no passive voice of present/ past/ future perfect continuous
sentences and future continuous.
5. Generally, passive voice can be made of transitive verb i.e. verbs which have
an object attached to them.
6. Sentences of an intransitive verb cannot be converted into passive voice.
They laughed- No passive
The laughed at- The teacher was laughed at by them.
In the first sentence, there is no object thus it cannot be converted into passive
voice.
But in the second sentence ‘teacher’ is the object thus its passive voice is
possible.
VOICE
THE FOLLOWING PRONOUNS ARE USED IN THE PASSIVE VOICE AS:
Active Voice Passive Voice

I me
He him
You you
We us
She her
They them
It it
Who whom
VOICE
GENERAL RULES OF CONVERSION : PASSIVE VOICE TO ACTIVE VOICE:

1. The subject of passive voice becomes object in active voice and the object in
passive voice becomes the subject in active voice.
2. Remove the preposition ‘by’.
3. Use 1st form of the verb.
VOICE
RULES FOR CONVERSION OF INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES IN PASSIVE

VOICE:
Interrogative sentence starting with:
(a) Is/ am/ are

Passive rule: Is/ am/ are + subject + 3rd form of verb + by + object ?
Active: Is he writing a letter?
Passive: Is a letter being written by him?
(b) Does/ do
Passive rule: Is/ am/ are + subject + 3rd form of verb + by + object?
Active: Does he need a pen.
Passive: Is a pen needed by him.
(c) Did
Passive Voice: was/ were + subject + 3rd form of verb + by + object?
Active: Did Ram write a letter?
Passive: Was a letter written by him?
VOICE

VOICE:
(d) was/were
Passive Rule: was/ were + subject + being + 3rd form of verb + by + object?
Active: Was she cooking food?
Passive: Was food being cooked by her?
(e) Has/ have/ had

Passive Rule: Has/ have/ had + subject + been + 3rd form of verb + by + object?
Active: Has she written a book?
Passive: Has a book been written by him?
(f) Modal auxiliary verb like.- may/ can etc.

Passive Rule: Modal Auxiliary + subject + be + 3rd form of verb + by + object?
Active: Can she control the situation.
Passive: Can the situation be controlled by her?
VOICE

VOICE:
(g) ‘Wh’ words e.g. Why, when, where etc.

Passive Rule: The sentence will start by ‘wh’ word and then convert according to
the above rules.
Active: Who broke this beautiful glass?
Passive: By whom was this beautiful glass broken?
We do not use an object in the passive sentences if in active sentences the

subject is unknown or is not required to be written i.e. it is understood from the
very sentence like someone, somebody, nobody, people etc.
Active: Someone has stolen has my watch.
Passive: My watch has been stolen. (herein it is no need to write ‘someone’ or
mention the object.)
VOICE
RULES FOR CONVERSION OF IMPERATIVE SENTENCES IN PASSIVE VOICE:

Imperative sentences are those sentence which empress order, request advice or
suggestion.
(a) Order
Passive Rule: let+ subject+ be+ 3rd form of verb
Active: shut the window.
Passive: Let the window be shut.
(b) Request
Passive Rule: You are requested + to + 1st form of verb + object.
Active: Please open the door.
Passive: You are requested to open the door.
(c) Suggestion
Passive Rule: subject + should be + 3rd form of the verb
Active: Always speak the truth.
Passive: The truth should always be spoken.
VOICE
RULES FOR CONVERSION OF IMPERATIVE SENTENCES IN PASSIVE VOICE:

Imperative sentences are those sentence which empress order, request advice or
suggestion.
(d) Advice
Passive Rule: You are advised + to + object
Active: Work hard.
Passive: You are advised to work hard.
VOICE
VERB TENSES USED IN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

The following is a summary of active and passive forms of all verb tenses.
Remember that in active forms the subject of the sentence is the person or thing
that does the action. In passive constructions, the verb is performed by someone or
something other than the subject; often, the action is done to the subject by
someone else.
Following are the rules that both the voice follow in different tenses.
VOICE
PRESENT TIME
SIMPLE PRESENT:
Use the simple present tense to make a generalization, to present a state of being,
or to indicate a habitual or repeated action.
Active Passive
base form or “-s/-es” form am/is/are + past participle
Professor Brown teaches at Hunter. Sonia is taught by Professor Brown.
All humans are equal. All humans are created equal.
Maria eats in the cafeteria. The cafeteria is cleaned
PRESENT PROGRESSIVE:
Use the present progressive to describe an ongoing activity or a temporary action.
Active Passive
am/is/are + -ing am/is/are + being + -ed/-en
The students are learning Spanish. Classes are being conducted
in Spanish.
I am working at McDonald’s until I finish school. He is being hired to work at
McDonald’s.
VOICE
PRESENT TIME
PRESENT PERFECT:
Use the present perfect to describe an action occurring in the past but relevant to
the present, or extending to the present.
Active Passive
has/have + -ed/-en has/have + been + -ed/-en
Hunter has opened a language institute in The language institute has
East Harlem. been opened to relocate
students off the main campus. .
main
campus.
PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Use the
East present perfect progressive to describe an ongoing action beginning before
Harlem.
now and is still relevant to the present.
Active Passive
has/have + been + -ing has/have + been + being + -ed/-en
Hunter has been awarding BA and MA
diplomas for over one hundred years
Note: Because of awkward construction, the perfect progressive form is not used in the
passive voice. Instead, an adverb may be used to show continuing action: “We have been
repeatedly scolded for being late.”
VOICE
PAST TIME
SIMPLE PAST:
Use the simple past to indicate a general or habitual action occurring in the past
or at a specific time in the past.
Active Passive
base + -ed or irregular form was/were + -ed/-en
Our family bought all our clothes at Sears The clothes were bought by my
when I was young. Mother.
On my fifteenth birthday, my uncle gave The money was given to me to buy me
one hundred dollars. new clothes.
When I was in high school, my friends We were always driven to the mall and I
drove to the mall on weekends. by my friend's older brother.
In informal conversation, speakers of English often express habitual behavior in

the past using the modal “would.”
Active Passive
would + base would + be + -ed/-en
We would usually eat burgers in the food Most of the french fries court.
would be eaten before we got to the table
VOICE
PAST TIME
PAST PROGRESSIVE
Use the past progressive to indicate an ongoing action in the past or an action
continuing through a specific past time.
Active Passive
was/were + -ing was/were + being + -ed/-en
Mary and Paul were fighting in those days. One afternoon, Mary was being
kicked by Paul when her mother
passed by.
PAST PERFECT
Use the past perfect to indicate an action completed prior to a particular time or
before another action in the past.
Active Passive
had + -ed/-en had + been + -ed/-en
Mary's mother was shocked because she Mary had been kicked many times had
forbidden her daughter to fight. before that day.
VOICE
PAST TIME
PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

Use the past perfect progressive to indicate a continuing action that began before a
past action or time.
Active Passive
had + been + -ing had + been + being + -ed/-en
Mary had been trying to tell her mother
about Paul for a long time.
Note: Because of awkward construction, the perfect progressive form is not used in
the passive voice. Instead, an adverb may be used to show continuing action: “We
have been repeatedly scolded for being late.”
VOICE
FUTURE TIME
SIMPLE FUTURE:
Use the future to indicate an action that is expected to take place at a future time.
Active Passive
will + base will + be + -ed/-en
Paul and Mary will marry in June. They will be married by a priest and a
rabbi.
or or
am/is/are going to + base am/is/are + going to be + -ed/-en
Mary is going to wear her grandmother's The gown is going to be adjusted to fit
gown. Mary.
FUTURE PROGRESSIVE:
Use the future progressive to indicate an action in future with emphasis on
continuing action.
Active Passive
will + base + -ing will + be + being + -ed/en
Mary and Paul will be spending lots of Note: Not used in the passive time on
the beach. voice.
VOICE
FUTURE TIME
FUTURE PERFECT:
Use the future perfect to indicate a future action expected to be completed before
another future action or time.
Active Passive
will + have + -ed/-en will + have + been + -ed/en
By their wedding date, they will have Note: Not used in the passive voice.
saved enough money to buy a house.
FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE:

Use the future perfect progressive to indicate an action projected to have been
going on for a while before a time in the future.
Active Passive
will + have + been + -ing will + have + been + being + -ed/-en
When they celebrate their first Note: Not used in the passive voice.
anniversary, they will have been living
together for a full year.
PREPOSITIONS
Where are you What do you mean by “POSITION”? It is nothing but a

right now? I bet, place where someone or something is located or has
you are at home been put.
enjoying our So, what is “PREPOSITION”?
grammar lessons! Prepositions express relationships such as space
Where do birds (place, position, direction), time, or figurative location.
fly? Observe the sentence:
I guess, they fly ❖ The centrifuge will finish in 3 hours.
above the clouds. Do you think the sentence makes any sense without the
Where do I sleep word “in”? Obviously not.
in night? The word “in” establishes relation between the words
I sleep in dreams. I “finish” and “3 hours”. It gives more clarity and meaning
know I am funny. to the sentence. That’s what prepositions do.
So, basically i am Lets explore them.
about to take you
to our next stop
called
“PREPOSITION”.
PREPOSITIONS
WHY ARE PREPOSITIONS IMPORTANT?

Prepositions are often called the biggest small words in English because although
they are generally short words, they are very important to the meaning of the
sentence. A misused preposition can make a big difference between a clearly
stated sentence and a confusing jumble of words. When used properly, however,
prepositions provide the glue between parts of a sentence that allows you to share
your scientific research more precisely and professionally.
Prepositions are used to connect nouns, pronouns, or phrases (called the object of
the preposition) to other words within a sentence. They reveal the temporal,
spatial, or logical relationship of their object to another word or part of the
sentence. For example:
❖ The flask is on the lab bench. (space)
❖ The waste basket is below the lab bench. (space)
❖ The centrifuge is beside the lab bench. (space)
❖ The fume hood is across from the lab bench. (space)
❖ He broke the flask during the experiment. (time)
In each of these examples, the preposition (bold) is used to show the relationship
in space or time of one noun (red) to another noun (blue). The second noun (blue)
is called the object of the preposition. Note that a preposition can comprise
multiple words (e.g., across from).
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
HOW DO I USE PREPOSITIONS?

Prepositions are usually short words, and are normally placed directly in front of
nouns, noun phrases, or pronouns. Because they are somewhat vague,
learning about prepositions and using them correctly in English sentences
takes practice. Here are some rules for using prepositions:
❖ Prepositions are followed by a noun, and never by a verb.
❖ A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the
preposition’s object (either a noun or pronoun).
❖ The subject of the sentence cannot be part of a prepositional phrase.
❖ Verbs cannot be part of a prepositional phrase
One important guideline for using prepositions is that they are usually followed
by nouns (any form of noun, including noun phrases and pronouns). Examples
of forms of nouns acceptable for this purpose are:
Noun : scientist, article, hypothesis
Proper Noun (name): Einstein, Albert
Pronoun: you, him, us
Noun group: our current research
Gerund: swimming
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
HOW DO I USE PREPOSITIONS?

Many prepositions are also used idiomatically, meaning that there is no specific
rule to guide you but that some expressions must be memorized, such that
certain verbs and adjectives are followed by specific prepositions. Here are
some examples:
❖ applied to
❖ depend on
❖ identical to
❖ opposed to
❖ preoccupied with
❖ prohibited from
❖ recover from
Avoid using unnecessary prepositions. If the meaning of the sentence is not
changed by omitting the preposition, then the preposition is not necessary.
Incorrect: We discussed about the experiment.
Correct: We discussed the experiment.
Incorrect: She entered into the room.
Correct: She entered the room.
PREPOSITIONS
EXAMPLES OF PREPOSITIONS
In the following sentences, examples
of prepositions have been made bold.
As you read, consider how using
different prepositions or even different
types of prepositions in place of the
examples might change the
relationship between the rest of the
words in the sentence.
❖ I prefer to read in the library.

❖ He climbed up the ladder to get
onto the roof.
❖ Please sign your name on the
dotted line after you read the
contract.
❖ Go down the stairs and through the
door.
❖ He swam across the pool.
❖ Take your brother with you.
PREPOSITIONS
TYPES OF PREPOSITIONS:
There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place
prepositions, and direction prepositions.
Time prepositions are those such as before, after, during, and until.
Place prepositions are those indicating position, such as around, between, and
against.
Direction prepositions are those indicative of direction, such as across, up, and
down.
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions Prepositions
PREPOSITIONS of Movement
of Place
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME:
Basic examples of time prepositions include: at, on, in, before and after.
They are used to help indicate when something happened, happens or will
happen. It can get a little confusing though, as many different prepositions
can be used.
Prepositions of time examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
For example:
❖ I was born on July 4th, 1982.
❖ I was born in 1982.
❖ I was born at exactly 2am.
❖ I was born two minutes before my twin brother.
❖ I was born after the Great War ended.
The above makes it seem quite difficult, with five different prepositions used
to indicate when something happened. However, there is a set of guidelines
(ON NEXT PAGE) that can help decide which preposition to use.
PREPOSITIONS
❖ For years, months, seasons, centuries and times of day, use the
preposition in:
➢ I first met John in 1987.
➢ It’s always cold in January
➢ Easter falls in spring each year.
➢ The Second World War occurred in the 20th century.
➢ We eat breakfast in the morning.
❖ For days, dates and specific holiday days, use the preposition on.
➢ We go to school on Mondays, but not on Sunday
➢ Christmas is on December 25th.
➢ Buy me a present on my birthday.
❖ For times, indicators of exception and festivals, use the preposition at.
➢ Families often argue at Christmas time.
➢ I work faster at night.
➢ Her shift finished at 7pm.
PREPOSITIONS
Before and after should be much easier to understand than the other
examples of prepositions of time. Both are used to explain when something
happened, happens or will happen, but specifically in relation to another
thing.
❖ Before I discovered this bar, I used to go straight home after work.
❖ We will not leave before 3pm.
❖ David comes before Bryan in the line, but after Louise.
Other prepositions of time could include: During, about, around, until and
throughout.
❖ The concert will be staged throughout the month of May.
❖ I learned how to ski during the holidays.
❖ He usually arrives around 3pm.
❖ It was about six in the morning when we made it to bed.
❖ The store is open until midnight.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE:
To confuse matters a bit, the most common prepositions to indicate time – on,
at, in – are also the most common prepositions to indicate position. However,
the rules are a little clearer as place prepositions are a more rigid concept than
time prepositions.
Prepositions of place examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
❖ The cat is on the table.
❖ The dogs are in the kennel.
❖ We can meet at the crossroads.
PREPOSITIONS
TPREPOSITIONS OF PLACE:
he guidelines can be broken down as follows:
❖ On is used when referring to something with a surface:
➢ The sculpture hangs on the wall.
➢ The images are on the page.
➢ The specials are on the menu, which is on the table.
❖ In is used when referring to something that is inside or within confined

boundaries. This could be anything, even a country:
➢ Jim is in France, visiting his aunt in the hospital.
➢ The whiskey is in the jar in the fridge.
➢ The girls play in the garden.
❖ At is used when referring to something at a specific point:

➢ The boys are at the entrance at the movie theater.
➢ He stood at the bus stop at the corner of Water and High streets.
➢ We will meet at the airport.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT:
Prepositions of movement are quite easy to understand as they are less
abstract than prepositions of place and time. Essentially, they describe how
something or someone moves from one place to another. The most
commonly used preposition of movement is to, which usually serves to
highlight that there is movement towards a specific destination.
Prepositions of movement examples in the following sentences are in bold
for easy identification.
❖ He has gone on vacation to France.
❖ She went to the bowling alley every Friday last summer.
❖ I will go to bed when I am tired.
❖ They will go to the zoo if they finish their errands.
Other more specific prepositions of movement include: through, across, off,

down and into. These prepositions can sometimes get mixed up with others.
While they are similar, they have individual meanings that add context to the
movement.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS OF MOVEMENT:
❖ Across refers to moving from one side to another.
➢ Mike travelled across America on his motorcycle.
➢ Rebecca and Judi are swimming across the lake.
❖ Through refers to moving directly inside something and out the other end.
➢ The bullet Ben shot went through the window.
➢ The train passes through the tunnel.
❖ Into refers to entering or looking inside something.

➢ James went into the room.
➢ They stare into the darkness.
❖ Up, over, down, past and around indicate directions of movement:

➢ Jack went up the hill.
➢ Jill came tumbling down after.
➢ We will travel over rough terrain on our way to Grandma’s house.
➢ The horse runs around the track all morning.
➢ A car zoomed past a truck on the highway
PREPOSITIONS
HOW TO RECOGNIZE A PREPOSITION?

Recognizing prepositions can be challenging as
they do not always follow a consistent pattern in
terms of their position in a sentence, nor do
they have a discernible structure or spelling.
We do know, however, that prepositions are
almost always short words, with the majority
having less than six letters. One technique
people use to identify a preposition is to think of
a preposition as anywhere a mouse can go.
Above, below, next to, between, beyond,
through, by, with…It won’t cover them all, but it
can be a useful question to ask when trying to
identify and recognize a preposition. While
there are over 100 prepositions, there are
around 500,00-700,000 nouns in English! It is
unlikely anyone will learn so many nouns, but
recognizing and then mastering prepositions
might be a worthwhile and attainable goal.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH NOUNS:

There are lots of different nouns that carry specific prepositions to consolidate
their meaning. These are called dependent prepositions. Again, there isn’t a set
rule that says a particular type of noun will take a dependent preposition,
although they normally follow the noun. Moreover, there are many possible
combinations. Essentially, it’s case of familiarizing yourself with the different
possibilities of nouns and dependent prepositions. Examples:
❖ He displayed cruelty towards his dog.
❖ She had knowledge of physics.
❖ The trouble with Jack.
❖ 21 is the age at which you are allowed to drink.
❖ Bolt made another attempt at the world record.
❖ The police held an inquiry into the murder.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH VERBS:

Prepositional verbs – the phrasal combinations of verbs and prepositions – are
important parts of speech. The prepositions again act as links between the
verb and noun or gerund, giving extra meaning to the sentence. The
prepositions most commonly used with verbs are: to, for, about, of, in, at and
from. The good news is that these will always come after the verb in the
sentence. However, it should also be noted that the prepositional verbs can
have slightly different meaning compared to the original verb. For example, to
relate a story simply means to tell a story, to relate to a story means you
identify with it, find some personally meaning in that story.
❖ Verb + to:
➢ He admitted to the charge.
➢ I go to Vancouver on vacation twice a year.
➢ William can relate to the character in the play.
❖ Verb + for:
➢ He must apologize for his actions.
➢ We searched for ages before we found the perfect apartment.
➢ I provide for my family by working two jobs.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH VERBS:

❖ Verb + with:
➢ I don’t agree with your claim.
➢ The lawyer said he will meet with your representatives.
➢ They began with a quick warm-up.
❖ Verb + of:
➢ I dream of a better life.
➢ Have you heard of Shakespeare?
➢ The bread consists of dough, raisins and a little honey.
❖ Verb + in:
➢ Does Rick believe in miracles?
➢ Fallon lives in New York.
➢ The bus accident resulted in my being late to work.
❖ Verb + at:
➢ We arrived at our destination.
➢ Ilene excels at singing.
➢ Will the baby smile at her mother?
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH
VERBS:
❖ Verb + on:
➢ We should really
concentrate on our
studies now.
➢ Helen insisted on
Brenda’s company.
➢ Morris experimented on
some canvas.
❖ Verb + from:
➢ Since turning 80, she
suffers from lapses in
concentration.
➢ Dad retired from the
navy in the 1970s.
➢ Billy Bob, please refrain
from doing that.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH ADJECTIVES:

Prepositions can form phrases with adjectives to give further context to the
action, emotion or thing the adjective is describing. Like verbs and nouns,
adjectives can be followed by: to, about, In, for, with, at and by.
❖ I am happily married to David.
❖ Ellie is crazy about this movie.
❖ Michelle is interested in politics.
❖ We are sorry for your loss.
❖ Jane will be delighted with her results.
❖ Is he still angry at the world?
❖ The entire room was astonished by the election results.
There can sometimes be a pattern in deciding which prepositions go with

adjectives, for example, when adjectives have the same or very similar meaning
to each other, they might take the same preposition:
Frightened of, afraid of, scared of, terrified of
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS WITH ADJECTIVES:

Indeed, when adjectives have opposite meaning they might also take the same
preposition:
Good at, great at, superb at, wonderful at, Bad at, terrible at, woeful at, inept at
There are always many exceptions to the above, but it can help that there
seems to be some consistency when adjectives have the same meaning or
opposite meaning.
Nevertheless, perhaps a more general rule is that English speakers simply
need to learn which prepositions go with which adjectives, as meaning can
change significantly by using a different preposition.
❖ I am good at sports means I have some athletic talent.
❖ The nurse was good to my mother means she took care of her and was
nice, kind, and helpful.
❖ I am good with animals means I get along with them and handle them well.
❖ Swimming is good for your health.
❖ That was good of you to come means you were begin nice and good to visit.
❖ My little brother is good inside (his body) means even though you can’t see
how he thinks and feels, he is good. Even if his behavior is bad.
❖ The blueberry jam will be good on toast.
PREPOSITIONS
FORMS OF PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
SIMPLE PREPOSITION:
When a preposition consists of one word is called single or simple preposition.
Examples: in, at, on, to for, of, from, up, after, over, under, with, till, etc.
DOUBLE PREPOSITION:
When a preposition consists of more than one word, it is called double
preposition.
Examples: into, within, upto etc.
COMPOUND PREPOSITION :
Compound preposition consists of two or more words.
Examples: on behalf of, according to, in front of, from across etc.
PARTICIPLE PREPOSITION:
Participle preposition consists of words that end in “ing”.
Examples: regarding, barring, concerning, considering, etc.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
DISGUISED PREPOSITIONS:
Examples: ‘by’ can be changed into ‘be’, ‘on’ into ‘a’, and ‘of’ can be changed
into ‘o’ for example, 5 O’ clock.
PHRASE PREPOSITIONS
Group of words used with the force of a single preposition is called phrase
preposition.
Examples: according to, by means of, owing to, with a view to, in place of, in
front of, in spite of, instead of, in order to, by virtue of, by way of, etc.
There are a few interesting linguistic facts about preposition.

First, they are a closed class of words which means no new preposition gets
added to the language. We use a fixed set of prepositions.
Second, prepositions do not have any other form. They cannot be plural,
possessive, inflection, or anything else.
Third, most of the prepositions have many different contextual and natural uses.
So, it is easy to be confused about preposition.
Fourth, sometimes a preposition works as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
THE ROYAL RULES OF PREPOSITIONS
RULE 1 – When verbs are placed after prepositions (other than ‘to’) , they
should be in the gerund form (v1+ ing) except when they are used in infinitive
form.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Mohit insisted on going to Mumbai.
❖ P. V. Sindhu was confident of winning the tournament.
❖ I don’t believe in wasting time.
Note – The following phrases end in ‘to’ and are followed by ‘ing’ form of verb
(gerund).
Be used to, accustomed to, averse to, addicted to, look forward to, with a view
to , owing to, devoted to, in addition to, object to, taken to, prone to.
Examples
❖ I am looking forward to meet her. ❌
❖ I am looking forward to meeting her. ✔
❖ He is addicted to smoke. ❌
❖ He is addicted to smoking. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
RULE 2 – “since, because and as ” are not followed by so/therefore /that’s why.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Since she was unwell, so she didn’t go there. (Incorrect)
❖ Since she was unwell, she didn’t go there. (correct)
RULE 3 – When an infinitive qualifies a noun, the preposition is placed after

infinitive.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Shivangi gave me a pen to write.❌
❖ Shivangi gave me a pen to write with.✔
❖ It’s not a safe place to live.❌
❖ It’s not a safe place to live in. ✔
RULE 4 – when two words/adjectives require different prepositions, appropriate

prepositions should be used with both the words.
EXAMPLES:
❖ Her dress is different and cheaper than mine.❌
❖ Her dress is different from and cheaper than mine. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
RULE 5 – A preposition is usually placed before its object but when the object of
the preposition is a relative pronoun ‘that’, it is placed after it.
EXAMPLES:
❖ This is the restaurant of that she always talks.❌
❖ This is the restaurant that she always talks of. ✔
RULE 6 -Omission of preposition before indirect object. There are two objects in
the sentence.
❖ I will fetch you a dress from the city mall. ✔
❖ I will fetch a dress for you from the city mall.✔
Dress – direct object
You – indirect object
So to keep the sentence simple we may omit preposition before indirect object.
Let’s see other examples:
❖ I will buy you a smartphone this year. ✔
❖ I will buy a smartphone for you this year. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
RULE 7- ‘come across’ means to meet suddenly or by chance. Hence

‘suddenly’ or ‘by chance’ can’t come with come across.
Q. When I was going to the market ,(a) / I suddenly came across (b) /my
childhood friend(c) /No error
Solution – The error is in (b)
Remove ‘suddenly’
Q. I came across with my(a) / best friend while I(b) / was going to market(c) /No
error
Solution – The error is in (a)
Remove ‘with’
Note – ‘with’ is not used with ‘come across’.
Note – ACROSS and OVER are both prepositions and adverbs. They are in
most cases interchangeable. Look at these sentences:
❖ Shivangi had to go across the river to get to their house.✔
❖ Shivangi and Shweta walked over the bridge in the misty morning.✔
However, when the meaning is ‘from side to side’, ACROSS is preferred:
❖ I ran across the street.✔
PREPOSITIONS
Note - We use ‘OVER’ to talk about movement or position at a higher level than
something else:
❖ A beautiful yellow bird flew over the lake.✔
❖ With an umbrella over her head, she was able to protect herself from the
midday sun.✔
RULE 8 – ‘Enter’ without the preposition ‘into’ is used to enter physical spaces.
But in case of any agreement ‘enter’ takes ‘into’ after it.
❖ Suraj entered into the classroom. ❌
❖ Suraj entered the classroom. ✔
❖ We regret entering a financial agreement with them.❌
❖ We regret entering into a financial agreement with them.✔
RULE 9 – Verbs of communication ( advise, tell, inform, ask, beg, command,
request, encourage , order ,urge etc) don’t take preposition ‘to’ before the direct
object.
EXAMPLES:
❖ I informed to the police of the accident. ❌
❖ I informed the police of the accident. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
RULE 10 – It’s a simple sentence but still we tend to make mistakes, so keep in
mind that Mode of transportation takes preposition ‘by’ when it comes with
go/come/arrive etc.
❖ Sohan is going in car. ❌
❖ Sohan is going by car. ✔
Note – ‘By’ is used for ‘point of time’ (not later than) as a preposition of time.
My mother told me to return home by 8 pm. ✔
❖ We shall have finished the syllabus in the end of next month.❌
❖ We shall have finished the syllabus by the end of next month. ✔
RULE 11 – ‘of’ is used when there is mention of any disease.

❖ He died from cancer. ❌
❖ He died of cancer. ✔
❖ He died of thirst. ❌
❖ He died from thirst. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
PREPOSITIONS
RULE 12 – If two Verbs /adjectives take two different prepositions, we must

mention both the preposition.
❖ He is conscious and engaged in his work. ❌
❖ He is conscious of and engaged in his work. ✔
RULE 13 – Stress, Emphasize, Investigate, resembles, Comprise , Accompany,

Consider, Pervade, Precede, Succeed, Discuss, Describe etc are not followed
by any preposition if they are used in active voice.
❖ Sneha resembles as her mother. ❌
❖ Sneha resembles her mother. ✔
Q. The saint emphasized (a) /on the need of (b) /discipline in life(c) /No error
Solution – You guess!
RULE 14 – ‘to’ is used after say, suggest, propose, speak, reply, explain,
complain, talk, listen, write, report etc if the object is a living being.
Q. Shivani suggested me (a) /that I should(b) / leave that job(c)/No error
Solution – The error is in (a)
Add ‘to’ after suggested
PREPOSITIONS
SOME CONFUSING PAIRS OF PREPOSITION:

1) Between and Among
❖ Between is used in reference to the association of two.
Example – The sweets will be distributed between Suhana and Ananya.
Note – Between can be used in reference to more than two when
a) we talk about a definite number of people, things etc
Example – There is a tournament to be played between India, Srilanka and
England.✔
b) When we talk about mutual relationship
Example – There is an alliance between the three Asian countries. ✔
KEEP IN MIND – Between is followed by ‘and’. ‘Between…. and’ takes objective

case of pronoun.
❖ There is no friendship between he and I. ❌
❖ There is no friendship between him and me. ✔
PREPOSITIONS
Among is used in reference to the association of more than two.

Example – Sweets are to be distributed among them.✔
2) BESIDE AND BESIDES
Beside – Adjacent
She was standing beside me. ✔
Besides – Apart from
Besides Kareena Kapoor her husband was also there in the party. ✔
3) BY AND WITH
By – indicates the doer
With – indicate the means
Let’s see examples :
❖ A fish is caught by him with a rod. ✔
❖ The snake was killed by him with a rod. ✔
How well do you CONJUNCTIONS
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CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are used to join clauses, phrases, and words together for
constructing sentences. Conjunctions make a link between/among words or
groups of words to other parts of the sentence and show a relationship
between/among them.
Examples:
❖ Alex and Robin are playing together.
❖ Alex plays well, but Robin plays better than him.
❖ I play cricket, and Robin plays football.
❖ When he was sick, I went to see him.
Without conjunctions, you’d be forced to express every complex idea in a series

of short, simplistic sentences: I like cooking. I like eating. I don’t like washing
dishes afterward.
It is a fact that a single sentence may contain several ideas, feelings, and other
elements in English.
Therefore, we need something to help us combine them or keep them together.
That something is called as “conjunctions”.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS
There are several different types of conjunctions that do various jobs within
sentence structures. These include:
Subordinating conjunctions – Also known as subordinators, these conjunctions
join dependent clauses to independent clauses.
Coordinating conjunction – Also known as coordinators, these conjunctions
coordinate or join two or more sentences, main clauses, words, or other parts
of speech which are of the same syntactic importance.
Correlative conjunction – These conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join
phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence.
Conjunctive adverbs – While some instructors do not teach conjunctive adverbs
alongside conjunctions, these important parts of speech are worth a mention
here. These adverbs always connect one clause to another, and are used to
show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and other relationships.
When people first learn to write, they usually begin with short, basic sentences
like these: “My name is Ted. I am a boy. I like dogs.” One of the most important
jobs conjunctions do is to connect these short sentences so they sound more
like this: “I am a boy named Ted, and I like dogs.”
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTION RULES
There are a few important rules for using conjunctions. Remember them and
you will find that your writing flows better:
❖ Conjunctions are for connecting thoughts, actions, and ideas as well as

nouns, clauses, and other parts of speech. For example: Mary went to the
supermarket and bought oranges.
❖ Conjunctions are useful for making lists. For example: We made pancakes,
eggs, and coffee for breakfast.
❖ When using conjunctions, make sure that all the parts of your sentences
agree. For example: “I work busily yet am careful” does not agree. “I work
busily yet carefully” shows agreement.
Examples of Conjunctions
In the following examples, the conjunctions are in bold for easy recognition:
❖ I tried to hit the nail but hit my thumb instead.
❖ I have two goldfish and a cat.
❖ I’d like a bike for commuting to work.
❖ You can have peach ice cream or a brownie sundae.
❖ Neither the black dress nor the gray one looks right on me.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTION RULES
There are a few important rules for using conjunctions. Remember them and
you will find that your writing flows better:
❖ Conjunctions are for connecting thoughts, actions, and ideas as well as

nouns, clauses, and other parts of speech. For example: Mary went to the
supermarket and bought oranges.
❖ Conjunctions are useful for making lists. For example: We made pancakes,
eggs, and coffee for breakfast.
❖ When using conjunctions, make sure that all the parts of your sentences
agree. For example: “I work busily yet am careful” does not agree. “I work
busily yet carefully” shows agreement.
Examples of Conjunctions
In the following examples, the conjunctions are in bold for easy recognition:
❖ I tried to hit the nail but hit my thumb instead.
❖ I have two goldfish and a cat.
❖ I’d like a bike for commuting to work.
❖ You can have peach ice cream or a brownie sundae.
❖ Neither the black dress nor the gray one looks right on me.
CONJUNCTIONS
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Subordinating conjunctions are words that join dependent clauses to
independent clauses. Sometimes referred to as subordinators or subordinate
conjunctions, these important words and phrases may also introduce adverb
clauses.
Subordinating conjunctions are essential parts of complex sentences with
include at least two clauses, with one of the clauses being main (independent)
and the other being subordinate (dependent).
There is only one rule to remember about using subordinate conjunctions:
A subordinate conjunction performs two functions within a sentence. First, it
illustrates the importance of the independent clause. Second, it provides a
transition between two ideas in the same sentence. The transition always
indicates a place, time, or cause and effect relationship.
For example: We looked in the metal canister, where Ginger often hides her
candy.
Examples of Subordinating Conjunctions
In the following example, the subordinating conjunctions are in bold for easy
identification:
❖ As Sherri blew out the candles atop her birthday cake, she caught her hair
on fire.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
A subordinating conjunction joins elements of an
unparallel sentence structure. These elements are
usually a dependent clause and an independent
clause.
Most commonly used subordinating conjunctions are:
After, how, than, when, although, if, that, where, as,

in order that, though, which, as much as, inasmuch
as, unless, while, because, provided, until,
who/whom, before, since, what, whoever/whomever.
Examples:
❖ Before we left home, I had had my breakfast.
❖ Provided they come, we can start class Tuesday.
❖ When he was washing my car, I went to the store.
❖ Even though the weather was horrible, they still
went outside.
CONJUNCTIONS
Subordinating conjunctions join independent and dependent clauses. A
subordinating conjunction can signal a cause-and-effect relationship, a contrast,
or some other kind of relationship between the clauses. Common subordinating
conjunctions are because, since, as, although, though, while, and whereas.
Sometimes an adverb, such as until, after, or before can function as a
conjunction.
I can stay out until the clock strikes twelve.
Here, the adverb until functions as a subordinating conjunction to connect two
ideas: I can stay out (the independent clause) and the clock strikes twelve (the
dependent clause). The independent clause could stand alone as a sentence; the
dependent clause depends on the independent clause to make sense.
The subordinating conjunction doesn’t need to go in the middle of the sentence. It
has to be part of the dependent clause, but the dependent clause can come
before the independent clause.
Before he leaves, make sure his room is clean.
If the dependent clause comes first, use a comma before the independent clause.
I drank a glass of water because I was thirsty. Because I was thirsty, I drank a
glass of water.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Coordinating conjunctions coordinate or join two or more sentences, main clauses,
words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic importance. Also
known as coordinators, coordinating conjunctions are used to give equal emphasis
to a pair of main clauses.
As there are only seven of these words, there are just a few rules for using
coordinating conjunctions correctly:
It’s a good idea to use the mnemonic “FANBOYS” to memorize coordinating
conjunctions so you’ll never forget them. They are only seven of them:
F = for
A = and
N = nor
B = but
O = or
Y = yet
S = so
CONJUNCTIONS
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
❖ Coordinating conjunctions always connect phrases, words, and clauses. For
example: This batch of mushroom stew is savory and delicious.
❖ Some instructors warn that starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction
is incorrect. Mostly, this is because they are attempting to help prevent you
from writing fragments rather than complete sentences; sometimes though, it’s
just a personal preference. The fact is, you can begin sentences with
coordinating conjunctions as long as you follow these three rules for doing so:
➢ Ensure that the coordinating conjunction is immediately followed by a main
clause
➢ Don’t use coordinating conjunctions to begin all of your sentences. Do so only
when it makes your writing more effective.
➢ Although commas typically follow coordinating conjunctions used in areas
other than the beginning of a sentence, they should not be used after
coordinating conjunctions used to open sentences unless an interrupter
immediately follows.
EXAMPLES:
❖ You can eat your cake with a spoon or fork.
❖ My dog enjoys being bathed but hates getting his nails trimmed.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
As suggested by their name, correlative conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to
join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence. Like many of
the most interesting parts of speech, correlative conjunctions are fun to use. At the
same time, there are some important rules to remember for using them correctly.
❖ When using correlative conjunctions, ensure verbs agree so your sentences
make sense. For example: Every night, either loud music or fighting neighbors
wake John from his sleep.
❖ When you use a correlative conjunction, you must be sure that pronouns agree.
For example: Neither Debra nor Sally expressed her annoyance when the cat
broke the antique lamp.
❖ When using correlative conjunctions, be sure to keep parallel structure intact.
Equal grammatical units need to be incorporated into the entire sentence. For
example: Not only did Mary grill burgers for Michael, but she also fixed a steak
for her dog, Vinny.
CONJUNCTIONS
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
A correlative conjunction uses a set of
words in a parallel sentence structure to
show a contrast or to compare the equal
parts of a sentence. The words of
correlative conjunctions have a special
connection between them.
The correlative conjunctions are not

only - but also, either- or, neither - nor,
both - and, not - but, whether - or.
Examples:
❖ Neither Alex nor Robin can play
baseball.
❖ I want both ice cream and
❖ He ate not only the ice cream but
also the chocolate.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Conjunctive adverbs are words that are used to connect one clause to another.
They are also used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and other
relationships.
Like other adverbs, conjunctive adverbs may be moved around in the sentence
or clause in which they appear. This is just one of the things you’ll need to
remember; additional rules for using conjunctive adverbs follow:
❖ Always use a period or semicolon before the conjunctive adverb when

separating two independent clauses. Conjunctive adverbs are not strong
enough to join independent clauses without supporting punctuation.
❖ Use a comma if a conjunction such as and, but, or, or so appears between
the conjunctive adverb and the first clause.
❖ Use a comma behind conjunctive adverbs when they appear at the beginning
of a sentence’s second clause. The only exception to this rule is that no
comma is necessary if the adverb is a single syllable.
❖ If a conjunctive adverb appears in the middle of a clause, it should be
enclosed in commas most of the time. This is not an absolute rule and does
not normally apply to short clauses.
CONJUNCTIONS
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Examples of Conjunctive adverbs
The conjunctive adverbs in the
following examples are in bold for
easy identification.
❖ Jeremy kept talking in class;
therefore, he got in trouble.
❖ She went into the store; however,
she didn’t find anything she
wanted to buy.
❖ I like you a lot; in fact, I think we
should be best friends.
❖ Your dog got into my yard; in
addition, he dug up my petunias.
❖ You’re my friend; nonetheless, I
feel like you’re taking advantage of
me.
❖ My car payments are high; on the
other hand, I really enjoy driving
such a nice vehicle.
CONJUNCTIONS
RULES OF CONJUNCTIONS:
Rule 1: The conjunction both is followed by and.
EXAMPLE: He is both intelligent and hard
working.
Rule 2: The conjunction so....as / as....as is

used to make comparison between two persons
and things. so as is used in negative sentences.
EXAMPLE: He is not so good as you.
But as....as is used in both affirmative and

negative sentences.
EXAMPLE: He is as good as you. He is not as
good as you.
Rule 3 : Although/ Though is followed by yet or

a comma(,)
EXAMPLE: Though he worked hard, he failed.
Although these books are costly yet the
students buy them because these are useful.
CONJUNCTIONS
Rule 4:
Always use the correct pair
No sooner........than
Hardly.... when or before
Scarcely.... when or before
Barely.... when or before
EXAMPLE: No sooner had he solved the riddle than he was applauded.
❖ Hardly had I come out of the room before I saw him dying.
❖ Scarcely had he asked the question when Agnes slapped him.
❖ Barely had he bought the car before it was stolen.
Hardly, scarcely, and barely are negative words. Do not use not, no, never with
the clause containing these words. If a sentences starts with a negative word,
use inversion form i.e. helping verb before the subject.
CONJUNCTIONS
Rule 5:
Lest is followed by should or first from of verb. Lest is a negative word. Do not
use not, never, no with lest.
Example: Walk carefully lest he should fall.
Walk carefully lest he fall.
Rule 6:
Until is time oriented and unless is action oriented. Until and unless are
negative words.
Do not use not, never , no, with the clause containing these words.
Example: Wait here until I return.
Unless you work hard, you will not pass.
Rule 7:
In affirmative sentences doubt and doubtful are followed by if/ whether. In
negative or interrogative sentences doubt and doubtful are followed by that.
Example: I doubt if he will come.
I do not doubt that he will come.
CONJUNCTIONS
Rule 8 :
Always use the correct pair not only....but also.
Example: He cheated not only his friends but also his parents.
Rule 9 :
Between is followed by and from is followed by to.
Example: You will have to choose between good and bad.
She keeps singing from morning to evening.
Rule 10 :
Neither of means none of the two. when more than two person or things are
present none of is used.
Either of means one of the two. when more than two person or things are
present one of is used.
Example: None of his friends helped him.
One of the students of your class is responsible for this loss.
CONJUNCTIONS
Rule 11 :
Do not use seldom or ever in place of seldom or never.
Example: The national network seldom or never telecasts good programmers.
Rule 12 :
After rather /other, the subordinating conjunction than should be used.
Example: He has no other object than to get a handsome job.
I would rather buy a scooter than a cycle.
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
I will let you go So, what is a

ahead with this condition?
lesson on one The word "condition"
condition! means "situation or
You need to circumstance"
promise me that
you put your heart
and soul in A conditional sentence is a sentence that gives a
learning the condition (e.g., If it snows) and the outcome of the
concepts and this condition occurring (e.g., the game will be cancelled).
condition should
not only apply Examples:
here, but in your ❖ If you rest, you rust. (Actress Helen Hayes)
real life. ❖ If you think you can, you can. And if you think you
So, let’s begin our can't, you are right. (Business magnate Henry Ford)
next journey called ❖ You do ill if you praise, but you do worse if you
as censure, what you do not understand. (Polymath
“CONDITIONALS”. Leonardo da Vinci)
CONDITIONALS: AN OVERVIEW
Conditional tenses are used to speculate about what could happen, what might
have happened, and what we wish would happen. In English, most sentences
using the conditional contain the word if. Many conditional forms in English are
used in sentences that include verbs in one of the past tenses. This usage is
referred to as "the unreal past" because we use a past tense but we are not
actually referring to something that happened in the past. There are five main
ways of constructing conditional sentences in English. In all cases, these
sentences are made up of an if clause and a main clause. In many negative
conditional sentences, there is an equivalent sentence construction using
"unless" instead of "if".
A conditional sentence is often made up of two parts, that is, the if-part and the
main part. A conditional sentence is a sentence that expresses a condition. A
condition is something that can only happen if something else occurs.
EXAMPLES:
❖ If you come, we shall welcome you. “If you come” is the if-part and “we shall
welcome you” is the main part.
❖ If you come, we shall welcome you.
❖ We shall welcome you if you come.
Basically, there are five types of conditional sentences.
ZERO CONDITIONALS
The zero conditional is used for when the time being referred to is now or always
and the situation is real and possible. The zero conditional is often used to refer
to general truths. The tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present.
In zero conditional sentences, the word "if" can usually be replaced by the word
"when" without changing the meaning. The zero conditional follows the following
structure:
If clause Main clause
If + simple present simple present
If this thing happens that thing happens.
If you heat ice it melts.
If it rains the grass gets wet.
ZERO CONDITIONALS
ZERO CONDITIONALS
FUNCTION:
The zero conditional is used to make statements about the real world, and
often refers to general truths, such as scientific facts. In these sentences, the
time is now or always and the situation is real and possible.
Examples
❖ If you freeze water, it becomes a solid.
❖ Plants die if they don't get enough water.
❖ If my husband has a cold, I usually catch it.
❖ If public transport is efficient, people stop using their cars.
❖ If you mix red and blue, you get purple.
The zero conditional is also often used to give instructions, using the
imperative in the main clause.
Examples
❖ If Bill phones, tell him to meet me at the cinema.
❖ Ask Pete if you're not sure what to do.
❖ If you want to come, call me before 5:00.
❖ Meet me here if we get separated.
TYPE 1 CONDITIONAL/ FIRST CONDITIONAL
The type 1 conditional is used to refer to the present or future where the situation
is real. The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable
result. In these sentences the if clause is in the simple present, and the main
clause is in the simple future. The type 1 conditional follows the following
structure:
If + simple present simple future
If this thing happens that thing will happen.
If you don't hurry you will miss the train.
If it rains today you will get wet.
FUNCTION:
The type 1 conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result.
These sentences are based on facts, and they are used to make statements
about the real world, and about particular situations. We often use such
sentences to give warnings. In type 1 conditional sentences, the time is the
present or future and the situation is real.
Examples:
❖ If I have time, I'll finish that letter.
❖ What will you do if you miss the plane?
❖ Nobody will notice if you make a mistake.
❖ If you drop that glass, it will break.
In type 1 conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main clause
instead of the future tense to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a
recommendation about the outcome.
Examples:
❖ If Bill phones, tell him to meet me at the cinema.
❖ Ask Pete if you're not sure what to do.
❖ If you want to come, call me before 5:00.
TYPE 2 CONDITIONAL/ SECOND CONDITIONAL
The type 2 conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and a
situation that is unreal. These sentences are not based on fact. The type 2
conditional is used to refer to a hypothetical condition and its probable result. In
type 2 conditional sentences, the if clause uses the simple past, and the main
clause uses the present conditional. The type 2 conditional follows the following
structure:

If + simple past present conditional or present
continuous conditional
If this thing happened that thing would happen. (but I'm not sure
this thing will happen) OR
that thing would be happening.
If you went to bed earlier you would not be so tired.
If it rained you would get wet.
If I spoke Italian I would be working in Italy.
FUNCTION:
The type 2 conditional refers to an unlikely or hypothetical condition and its
probable result. These sentences are not based on the actual situation. In type
2 conditional sentences, the time is now or any time and the situation is
hypothetical.
Examples:
❖ If the weather wasn't so bad, we would go to the park. (But the weather is
bad so we can't go.)
❖ If I was the Queen of England, I would give everyone a chicken. (But I am not
the Queen.)
❖ If you really loved me, you would buy me a diamond ring.
❖ If I knew where she lived, I would go and see her.
It is correct, and very common, to say "if I were" instead of "if I was" (subjunctive
mood).
Examples
❖ If I were taller, I would buy this dress.
❖ If I were 20, I would travel the world.
FUNCTION:
instead of "would" to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a
Examples:
❖ We might buy a larger house if we had more money
❖ He could go to the concert if you gave him your ticket.
❖ If he called me, I couldn't hear.
THE PRESENT CONDITIONAL TENSE:
The present conditional of any verb is composed of two elements:
would + the infinitive of the main verb, without "to“.
Example: To Go: present conditional
Affirmative Negative Interrogative Interrogative

negative
I would go I wouldn't go Would I go? Wouldn't I go?
You would go You wouldn't go Would you go? Wouldn't you go?
TYPE 3 CONDITIONAL/ THIRD CONDITIONAL

The type 3 conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a situation
that is contrary to reality. The facts they are based on are the opposite of what is
expressed. The type 3 conditional is used to refer to an unreal past condition and its
probable past result. In type 3 conditional sentences, the if clause uses the past
perfect, and the main clause uses the perfect conditional.
The type 3 conditional follows the following structure:
If + past perfect perfect conditional or perfect
continuous conditional
If this thing had happened that thing would have happened. (but
neither of those things really
happened) OR
that thing would have been happening.
If you had studied harder you would have passed the exam.
If it had rained you would have gotten wet.
If I had accepted that promotion I would have been working in Milan.
FUNCTION:
The type 3 conditional refers to an impossible condition in the past and its
probable result in the past. These sentences are truly hypothetical and unreal,
because it is now too late for the condition or its result to exist. There is always
some implication of regret with type 3 conditional sentences. The reality is the
opposite of, or contrary to, what the sentence expresses. In type 3 conditional
sentences, the time is the past and the situation is hypothetical.
Examples:
❖ If I had worked harder I would have passed the exam. (But I didn't work hard,
and I didn't pass the exam.)
❖ If I had known you were coming I would have baked a cake. (But I didn't know
and I didn't bake a cake.)
❖ I would have been happy if you had called me on my birthday. (But you didn't
call me and I am not happy.)
FUNCTION:
instead of "would" to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a
Examples
❖ If I had worked harder I might have passed the exam.
❖ You could have been on time if you had caught the bus.
❖ If he called you, you could go.
❖ If you bought my school supplies for me, I might be able to go to the park.
REMEMBER 2 RULES:
1. would never appears in the if-clause so if 'd appears in the if clause, it must
be abbreviating had.
2. had never appears before have so if 'd appears on a pronoun just before
have, it must be abbreviating would.
Examples:
❖ If I'd known you were in hospital, I'd have visited you.
❖ If I had known you were in hospital, I would have visited you.
MIXED TYPE CONDITIONAL
The mixed type conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a
situation that is ongoing into the present. The facts they are based on are the
opposite of what is expressed. The mixed type conditional is used to refer to an
unreal past condition and its probable result in the present. In mixed type
conditional sentences, the if clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses
the present conditional. The mixed type conditional follows the following structure:

If + past perfect or simple past present conditional or perfect
conditional
If this thing had happened that thing would happen. (but this thing
didn't happen so that thing isn't
happening)
If I had worked harder at school I would have a better job now.
If we had looked at the map we wouldn't be lost.
FUNCTION:
This type of mixed conditional refers to an unreal past condition and its probable
result in the present. These sentences express a situation which is contrary to
reality both in the past and in the present. In these mixed conditional sentences,
the time is the past in the "if" clause and in the present in the main clause.
Examples:
❖ If I had studied I would have my driving license. (but I didn't study and now I
don't have my license)
❖ I would be a millionaire now if I had taken that job. (but I didn't take the job
and I'm not a millionaire)
❖ If you had spent all your money, you wouldn't buy this jacket. (but you didn't
spend all your money and now you can buy this jacket)
In these mixed conditional sentences, you can also use modals in the main
clause instead of would to express the degree of certainty, permission, or a
Examples:
❖ If you had crashed the car, you might be in trouble.
❖ I could be a millionaire now if I had invested in ABC Plumbing.
A CLASSIC SET OF RULES
We now know that a conditional sentence is made up of two elements, i.e.

“if-clause” and “Main Clause”. Based upon these two elements, lets observe how
the structure of the sentence changes according to different sentences.
IF CLAUSE IN PRESENT TENSE:
General formula - If + Simple present, simple future
❖ In this type of sentences ‘If Clause’ is in Simple Present and ‘Main clause’ is in
Simple Future.
➢ If I will come to Delhi, I will meet you. (Incorrect)
➢ If I come to Delhi, I will meet you. (Correct)
❖ If two work is in future back to back, and second work is depend on first work,
then first work is in Simple Present Tense and second work is in Simple Future
Tense.
Examples on the second slide.
A CLASSIC SET OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
RULES
Some examples:-
1. She will come to meet you as soon as you will reach Delhi. (Incorrect)
She will come to meet you as soon as you reach Delhi. (Correct)
2. If the government will be become strict, corruption will surely
finish. (Incorrect)
If the government becomes strict, corruption will surely finish. (Correct)
3. I will help him provided he will mend his ways. (Incorrect)
I will help him provided he mends his ways. (Correct)
4. Unless he will not take care of his health, he will not recover. (Incorrect)
Unless he takes care of his health, he will not recover. (Correct)
5. There will be rush at the platform when the train will arrive. (Incorrect)
There will be rush at the platform when the train arrives. (Correct)
NOTE:
❖ We don’t use “will/ shall/ would” in sentences of “if”. (See second sentence in
above examples)
❖ After sub+ will/shall don’t use If, as soon as, provided, before, after, until,
unless, in case, when, lest.
❖ With ‘Unless or until’ don’t use ‘not’.(See sentence 4)
❖ In Conditional Sentences after when don’t use will/ shall.(See sentence 5)
A CLASSIC SET OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
RULES
IF CLAUSE IN PAST TENSE

General formula - If + Simple Past, Subject + would + V1
EXAMPLES:
❖ If I had money, I would lend it to you.
This type of sentence shows ‘improbability’.
In above sentence ‘If I had money’ clearly shows that ‘there is no money.
‘IF’ CLAUSE IN PAST PERFECT TENSE

General formula - If + Past Perfect, Sub + would + have +V3
EXAMPLES:
❖ If I had seen you, I would have stopped my car.
In this type of sentence. The work has shown in ‘If clause’ sentence, that work
has shown not done. Means ‘If I had seen you’ shows that ‘I had not seen you’.
In this type of sentence ‘If’ can be replace by ‘had’. Then the formula becomes:
Had + Subject + V3 + object, subject + would + have + V3
Examples:
❖ Had I seen you, I would have stopped my car.
SENTENCES
A sentence is the largest unit of any language. In English, it begins with a

capital letter and ends with a full-stop, or a question mark, or an exclamation
mark.
The sentence is generally defined as a word or a group of words that

expresses a thorough idea by giving a statement/order, or asking a question,
or exclaiming.
Example:
He is a good boy (statement), Is he a good boy? (question), What a nice
weather! (exclaiming).
Ideally, a sentence requires at least one subject and one verb. Sometimes the
subject of a sentence can be hidden, but the verb must be visible and present
in the sentence. Verb is called the heart of a sentence.
Example:
Do it. (In this sentence, a subject ‘you’ is hidden but verb ‘do’ is visible)
“[A sentence is] a group of words, usually containing a verb, that expresses a
thought in the form of a statement, question, instruction, or exclamation and
starts with a capital letter when written.”
SENTENCES
A complete English sentence must have three characteristics:
❖ First, in written form, a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a
period (i.e., a full stop) [.], a note of interrogation (i.e., a question mark) [?],
or a note of exclamation (i.e., an exclamation mark) [!].
❖ Second, it must express a complete thought, not fragmented.
❖ Third, it must contain at least one subject (hidden/visible) and one verb
comprising an independent clause. (An independent clause contains an
independent subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.)
Types of Sentences
Structurally, sentences are of four types:
❖ Simple sentence
❖ Compound sentence
❖ Complex sentence, and
❖ Compound-complex sentence.
SENTENCES
SIMPLE SENTENCE:
A simple sentence must have a single clause (a single verb) which is
independent, and it cannot take another clause.
Examples:
I always wanted to become a writer. (One clause – one verb)
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
A compound sentence must have more than one independent clause with no
dependent clauses. Some specific conjunctions, punctuation, or both are used
to join together these clauses.
Examples:
I always wanted to become a writer, and she wanted to become a doctor. (Two
independent clauses – two verbs)
SENTENCES
COMPLEX SENTENCE
A complex sentence also has more than one clause but of one them must be
an independent clause and the other/others must be (a) dependent
clause(es). There are also some particular connectors for the clauses of a
complex sentence to be connected.
Example:
I know that you always wanted to be a writer. (Here, a dependent clause is
followed by a connector and an independent clause. The other way around is
also possible.)
COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE
A compound-complex sentence (or complex–compound sentence) is a
mixture of the features of compound and complex sentences in one sentence.
So, it must contain at least two independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause.
Example:
I know that you always wanted to become a writer, but I always wanted to
become a doctor. (Here, one dependent clause is followed by a complex
connector and two independent clauses with a compound conjunction
between them.)
SENTENCES
FUNCTIONALLY, SENTENCES ARE OF MAINLY FOUR TYPES:
❖ Declarative sentence
❖ Imperative sentence
❖ Interrogative sentence, and
❖ Exclamatory sentence
DECLARATIVE SENTENCE:
An assertive sentence (declarative sentence) simply expresses an
opinion/feeling, or makes a statement, or describes things. In other words, it
declares something. This type of sentence ends with a period (i.e., a full-stop).
Examples:
I want to be a good cricketer. (a statement)
I am very happy today. (a feeling)
IMPERATIVE SENTENCE:
We use an imperative sentence to make a request or to give a command.
Imperative sentences usually end with a period (i.e., a full stop), but under
certain circumstances, it can end with a note of exclamation (i.e., exclamation
mark).Examples: Please sit down.
I need you to sit down now!
SENTENCES
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE:
An interrogative sentence asks a question. Interrogative sentences must end
with a note of interrogation (i.e., question mark)
Examples:
When are you going to submit your assignment?
Do you know him?
More Examples of Interrogative Sentence
EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE.
An exclamatory sentence expresses overflow of emotions. These emotions can
be of happiness, wonder, sorrow, anger, etc.
Examples:
What a day it was!
I cannot believe he would do that!
CLAUSES
A clause is comprised of a group of words which includes a subject and a finite

verb. A clause contains only one subject and one verb. The subject of a clause
can be mentioned or hidden, but the verb must be apparent and distinguishable.
Example:
❖ I graduated last year. (One clause sentence)
❖ When I came here, I saw him. (Two clause sentence)
❖ When I came here, I saw him, and he greeted me. (Three clause sentence)
CLAUSES
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
An independent clause functions on its own to make a meaningful sentence
and looks much like a regular sentence.
In a sentence two independent clauses can be connected by the coordinators:
and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet*.
Examples:
❖ He is a wise man.
❖ I like him.
❖ Can you do it?
❖ Do it please. (Subject you is hidden)
❖ I read the whole story.
❖ I want to buy a phone, but I don’t have enough money. (Two independent
clauses)
❖ He went to London and visited the Lords. (Subject of the second clause is
‘he,' so “he visited the Lords” is an independent clause.)
❖ Alex smiles whenever he sees her. (One independent clause)
CLAUSES
DEPENDENT CLAUSE:
A dependent clause cannot function on its own because it leaves an idea or
thought unfinished. It is also called subordinate clause. Dependent clauses
help the independent clauses complete the sentence. A dependent clause
alone cannot form a complete sentence.
The subordinators do the work of connecting the dependent clause to another
clause to complete the sentence. In each of the dependent clause, the first
word is a subordinator. Subordinators include relative pronouns, subordinating
conjunctions, and noun clause markers.
Examples:
❖ When I was dating Daina, I had an accident.
❖ I know the man who stole the watch.
❖ He bought a car which was too expensive.
❖ I know that he cannot do it.
❖ He does not know where he was born.
❖ If you don’t eat, I won’t go.
❖ He is a very talented player though he is out of form.
CLAUSES
NOUN CLAUSE:
A noun clause is a clause that plays the role of a noun. For example (noun
clauses shaded):
❖ I like what I see. (Like all clauses, a noun clause has a subject and a verb.
In this example, the subject of the clause is "I" and the verb is "see.")
❖ I know that patience has its limits.(In this example, the subject of the clause
is "patience" and the verb is "has.")
The Function of Noun Clauses

Like any noun, a noun clause can be a subject, an object, or a complement.
Here are some more easy examples of noun clauses as subjects, objects, and
complements.
❖ Whoever smelt it dealt it.
(Here, the noun clause is a subject.)
❖ My command is whatever you wish.
(Here, the noun clause is a subject complement.)
❖ I will give what you said some thought.
(Here, the noun clause is an indirect object. That's pretty rare.)
CLAUSES
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE:
An adjective clause is a multiword adjective that includes a subject and a verb.
When we think of an adjective, we usually think about a single word used before
a noun to modify its meanings (e.g., tall building, smelly cat, argumentative
assistant). However, an adjective can also come in the form of an adjective
clause. An adjective clause usually comes after the noun it modifies and is
made up of several words, which, like all clauses, will include a subject and a
verb.
Examples of Adjective Clauses
❖ The carpets that you bought last year have rotted.
❖ The follies which a man regrets most in his life are those which he didn't
commit when he had the opportunity.
❖ Bore: a person who talks when you wish him to listen.
CLAUSES
CLAUSES
ADVERB CLAUSE:
A dependent adverb clause is a group of words that plays the role of an adverb
and that contains a subject and a verb. A dependent clause usually tells us
when, where, why, how, how often, or under what condition the main verb in the
sentence takes place. For example:
The otter surfaced occasionally.
(This is a normal adverb. It tell us when the otter surfaced. "Surfaced" is the
main verb in the sentence.)
The otter surfaced when we looked the other way.
(This is a dependent adverb clause. It still tells us when the otter surface. This
time though, the adverb is an adverb clause.)
Like all dependent clauses, a dependent adverb clause cannot stand alone as a
complete sentence. Like all clauses, a dependent adverb clause includes a
subject and a verb.
PHRASES
Phrase and clause are the most important elements of English grammar.
Phrase and clause cover everything a sentence has. Clauses are the center of
sentences and phrases strengthen the sentences to become meaningful. If
the clauses are the pillars of a building, the phrases are the bricks. A phrase
usually is always present within a clause, but a phrase cannot have a clause
in it.
The basic difference between a clause and a phrase is that a clause must
have a finite verb and a phrase must not.
A phrase, therefore, is a group of words which has no finite verb in it and acts
to complete the sentence for making it meaningful.
The phrases are generally of six types.
❖ Noun Phrase
❖ Adjective Phrase
❖ Adverbial Phrase
❖ Prepositional Phrase
❖ Conjunctional Phrase
❖ Interjectional Phrase
PHRASES
NOUN PHRASE
A noun phrase is usually assembled centering a single noun and works as a
subject, an object or a complement in the sentence.
Examples:
❖ I like to swing the bat hard when I am at the crease. (An object)
❖ Reading novels is a good habit. (A subject)
❖ The probability of happening that match is not much. (A subject)
❖ We are sorry for her departure.
ADJECTIVE PHRASE
An adjective phrase is comprised of an adjective and works as a single
adjective in the sentence.
Examples:
❖ Alex is a well-behaved man.
❖ He is a man of friendly nature.
❖ Julie is a woman of gorgeous style.
❖ She leads a very interesting life.
❖ A lot of people do not sleep at night.
PHRASES
ADVERBIAL PHRASE
An adverbial phrase modifies the verb or the adjective and works as an
adverb in the sentence.
Examples:
❖ The horse runs at a good speed.
❖ I was in a hurry then.
❖ I ran as fast as possible.
❖ He works very slowly.
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
A prepositional phrase always begins with a preposition and connects nouns.
Examples:
❖ He sacrificed his life for the sake of his country.
❖ In the end, we all have to die.
❖ He is on the way.
❖ By working aimlessly, you will not get success.
❖ In spite of working hard, he was insulted by his boss.
Note: Prepositional phrases include all other types of phrases.
PHRASES
CONJUNCTIONAL PHRASE
A conjunctional phrase works as a conjunction in the sentence.
Examples:
❖ As soon as you got in, he went out.
❖ We have to work hard so that we can win the next match.
❖ I will attend the ceremony provided that you come.
❖ John started working early in order that he could finish early.
INTERJECTIONAL PHRASE
Interjections that have more than one words are called the interjectional
phrases.
Examples:
❖ What a pity! He is dead.
❖ What a pleasure! I won the first prize.
❖ Oh please! Don’t say that again.
PUNCTUATIONS
There was no punctuation in any languages of ancient times. With the

advancement of civilization, punctuation was introduced in the written form of
the language to help a reader distinguish words and ideas from each other and
to mirror the natural rhythms of the spoken language.
Punctuation has a way of adding emphasis and cadence to our written
sentences. Still, many people, from native English speakers to people learning
English as a foreign language, aren’t always sure when and where to use
punctuation marks.
If you find punctuation confusing, rest assured you’re not the only one. Plenty of
people, even native English speakers, have trouble when it comes to using the
right punctuation marks. The good news is that the 14 different punctuation
marks aren’t as confusing as you’d think when you break them all down.
There are 14 punctuation marks that are used in the English language. They
are: the period, question mark, exclamation point, comma, colon, semicolon,
dash, hyphen, brackets, braces, parentheses, apostrophe, quotation mark, and
ellipsis.
PUNCTUATIONS
PERIOD (.):
The period is also called full stop. A period
declares the end of a sentence. It also indicates
the separation of sentences so that the readers
cannot mix up different sentences. A period is
used at the end of a sentence which is complete
and not a question or an exclamatory sentence.
Example:
❖ Alex was a little boy when he first saw a
person dying. He was so shocked and
panicked that he could not sleep for several
days. He still fears the sight of someone’s
death.
The period is also used in abbreviations.
Example:
❖ Saint = St.
❖ Exempli gratia = e.g.
❖ Nota bene = N.B.
PUNCTUATIONS
NOTE OF INTERROGATION (QUESTION MARK) (?)

The note of interrogation is used to complete sentences that form
a direct question. Indirect questions are regarded as statements,
and they take periods, not question marks.
Example:
❖ Have you had your breakfast?
❖ Where are you going?
❖ I don’t know where he is going. (A statement, not a direct
question)
❖ Do you know he was watching TV all day long while I was
cleaning the house for the party that we want to throw on this
weekend? (It’s a long sentence, yet it is a direct question.)
Did you once think about your family? Your career? Your future?
Your life? (Series of questions using the same subject and verb)
Note:
What? – So? – Right? (Single word questions are used only in
informal writing.)
PUNCTUATIONS
NOTE OF EXCLAMATION (EXCLAMATION

MARK/POINT) (!)
The note of exclamation indicates
excitement, either positive or negative. It can
also be used for giving additional emphasis
to sentences, phrases, or single words, and
especially to commands and interjections.
Example:
❖ Wait! Don’t take another step!
❖ I can’t believe she could say that!
❖ What a gorgeous house!
Note: It is best to avoid using a note of
exclamation whenever the excitement can be
described in words. You should be
meticulous in using this punctuation in any
form of writing.
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMA (,)
The comma is the most useful and common
punctuation mark in English. It has many important
roles in making a written form of English easy to read.
Commas usually add breathing scope for the readers
in sentences, so that their thoughts cannot get all
jumbled up. A comma has many uses.
i. Comma between Independent Clauses
Usually, a comma separates two Independent
clauses when they are connected by certain
coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, or for).
However, if the clauses are very short, no comma is
needed.
Example:
❖ They finished dinner in pin-drop silence, but Alex
knew that he would have to apologize.
❖ I wanted to watch a movie after dinner, but I could
not tell her as I was confused about her reactions.
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMA (,)
ii. Comma after Introductory Clauses, Phrases, and Expression
Commas are used not only between independent clauses but also after
introductory clauses and phrases. Some expressions and connectors which are
placed at the beginning of a sentence also require a comma after them.
Example:
❖ If you take off your jacket, you’ll catch a cold. (If the subordinators are used at
the beginning of the sentences, the comma marks the separation of the two
clauses)
❖ Being insulted, the piper went to the hill. (Participial phrases are always
separated from the clauses by commas.)
❖ Before start riding it, you should read the instructions.
❖ When you came here, Alex was the general manager.
❖ Well, I cannot play in the next match.
❖ However, Alex will play in the next match.
❖ In winter we usually stay at home most of the time. (Short phrases like “in
winter” don’t need commas.)
Note: A good way to clear the confusion about commas is to read the sentence
aloud to make sure whether there is enough pause taken or not for using a
comma.
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMA (,)
iii. Series Comma
Commas are used to separate multiple items of the same category in a series.
These items can be a series of words, phrases, or clauses.
Example:
❖ We brought pizzas, burgers, chocolate, and a chocolate cake on tour.
❖ The batsman set up his pads, put on his helmet, and played a good knock.
(verb phrases)
❖ He is a player, a singer, an actor, and a director.
iv. Comma before Tag Question

Commas are used before a tag question which is usually a reassuring
statement of a sentence’s overall idea.
❖ They’re ready to go, aren’t they?
❖ They’ll never do it, will they?
❖ He loves you, doesn’t he?
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMA (,)
v. Comma in Direct Address
Commas are used in vocative uses. Calling someone by name or directly
referring to them requires separation by commas.
Example:
❖ Hey, Joe, what are you doing?
❖ Listen, Lee, you have to bowl well today.
❖ You know, kid, when I was your age, I used to go out a lot.
vi. Comma for Adding Nonessential Ideas and Nonrestrictive Clauses
Commas can be used to add nonessential ideas or facts in the form of words,
phrases, or clauses into a sentence. Usually removing these ideas from
sentences does not affect the grammatical accuracy of the sentences.
Example:
❖ There’s a palace in London, just across the river, where I visited last week.
❖ The new player, you know him, scored a brilliant century.
❖ I suggest if that’s okay, that you let him go.
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMA (,)
vii. Commas in Names and Dates
Commas are used to separate names of places and dates.
Example:
❖ Jefferson City, Missouri, is one of the biggest cities in the world.
❖ Brisbane, Queensland, is a big city.
❖ They were married April 05, 2013, in Melbourne. (No comma is necessary
only for month and day – g., they were married on April 5 in Melbourne.)
❖ He was born June 24, 1993, in London.
viii. Commas in Dialog

Commas are used in the dialog to set off the indirect speech from the direct
speech.
Example:
❖ I told him, “Don’t go there!”
❖ “When we were going there,” she said, “we saw thousands of palm trees.”
❖ “Please, give me that ball”, said the boy.
PUNCTUATIONS
COMMON MISTAKES WITH COMMAS

1. Commas do not separate two verbs or verb phrases joined by a coordinator.
Incorrect: I cleaned, and painted the box.
Correct: I cleaned and painted the box.
2. Commas do not separate two nouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses which
are joined by a conjunction.
Incorrect: My coach, and our board president both sent letters.
Correct: My coach and our board president both sent letters.
3. Subordinate clauses do not need commas when they are joined by a

conjunction between them.
Incorrect: I’ll be late if you don’t let me go now.
Correct: I’ll be late if you don’t let me go now. (If you don’t let me go now, I’ll be
late.)
PUNCTUATIONS
COLON (:)
Colons are the least used punctuation mark. The usage of colons is limited. Yet,
if you know how to use them, you will be able to use them in your writing.
i. Colons are used in the salutations of formal letters.
Example:
❖ Dear Sir:
❖ To whom it may concern:
❖ To all members:
ii. Colons sometimes introduce a series/list to describe some new information

after a complete sentence.
Example:
❖ Incorrect: The fruit seller had: bananas, apples, and oranges.
❖ Correct: The fruit seller had three kinds of fruit: bananas, apples, and
oranges.
PUNCTUATIONS
COLON (:)
iii. A colon is also used to connect two independent clauses where the first one
explains the second clause or logically follows it. The first word after a colon
usually is not capitalized unless the colon introduces a series of new sentences
or independent clauses.
Example:
❖ He was just thinking only one thing: what was his dog doing then?
❖ I knew the clue: you just had to read it in the mirror.
iv. Colons are used for expressing TIME in figures.

Example:
❖ 1:30 AM (Not o'clock)
❖ 7:35 PM
❖ 6:30 in the morning
PUNCTUATIONS
SEMICOLON (;)
Semicolons are almost like periods, but they
connect two independent clauses or sentences
together instead of using a coordinating
conjunction. Semicolons between the two clauses
or sentences indicate that the clauses are closely
related. Semicolons can be replaced by the
coordinating conjunctions.
Example: We do not need a car now; we want to
sell it. (This semicolon could be replaced by ‘and’.
Common transitional expressions such as
therefore, for instance, namely, indeed,
additionally, further, moreover, likewise, and finally
are used after a semicolon to start a new clause.
Example:
❖ We used to love hunting; however, it is not legal
❖ He does not like me; likewise, I do not like him.
❖ It’s too cold out here; indeed, it’s winter.
PUNCTUATIONS
Hyphen (-)
Hyphens combine words together to make Compound Nouns/Adjectives.
Hyphens are also used with some suffixes and prefixes, such as -like, -wise,
anti-, and post- to make new adjectives.
Example:
❖ Anti-violent
❖ Dog-like
❖ Ability-wise
❖ Decision-making
❖ City-owned
Compound numbers and continuous numbers require hyphen in them. A
hyphen is used with compound numbers from 21 to 99 in words and with
fractions which work as adjectives in the sentence. Fractions which are nouns
don’t need hyphens.
Example:
❖ Sixty-five
❖ Twenty-five
❖ Their age is 23-25.
PUNCTUATIONS
Dash (–)
A dash hints a brief break in thought or helps to add information to a sentence.
A dash has no space before or after it.
Example:
❖ The man was running around the building—I couldn’t see his face—and
disappeared down the alley.
❖ This house—and every house on the street—will be connected by this wire.
❖ Russel Crow—you know him, I think—is coming to our locality.
A dash can replace the conjunctions such as namely, that is, or in other words
to add new information or explanation.
Example:
❖ I was thinking about another road—the one through New York.
❖ There’s only one way not to lose—don’t even participate in the game.
PUNCTUATIONS
APOSTROPHE (’)
An apostrophe indicates possession and the exclusion of letters in contractions.
Example:
❖ They’re going to Canada.
❖ I’m not going.
❖ Robert’s watch
❖ Someone's glasses
❖ Trees’ leaves (If there is an ‘s’ before the apostrophe, no ‘s’ is needed for it)
❖ Teams’ scores
❖ Jones’ pen
PARENTHESES - ()
Parentheses block off materials that interrupt the text to add information.
Example:
❖ The parks (in Boston) are always crowded.
❖ We provide a lot of services. (See our website)
❖ We provide a lot of services (see our website).
PUNCTUATIONS
BRACKETS
Brackets enclose the additional things in the quoted material. These additions
are used for clarifications of the words or phrases of the quoted materials.
Example:
❖ “It [the river] taught me all I ever knew about life.”
❖ “Yeats used to love her [Maude Gonne], and he wrote many poems about
her.”
❖ “Every man[sic] must die one day.”
❖ “I told [Spielberg] I wouldn’t do the movie.”
Brackets are also required to block off materials that fall within materials which
are already enclosed by parentheses.
Example:
❖ We provide a lot of services. (See the website [Table 23] for the details)
PUNCTUATIONS
QUOTATION MARKS (‘...’/“... ... ..”)

Quotation marks are used for enclosing direct quotations of written or spoken
words of others, or dialog said by characters in fiction.
They are also called quote marks or just quotes for short. The first of the pair is the
opening or open quote. It curves to the right: “ ‘. The second one is the closing or
close quote. It curves to the left: ’ ”.
Example:
❖ Have you seen the music video for the song “Despacito”?
❖ “Play with aggression” shouted the coach.
❖ Your exact words were “get out of my room.”
❖ “I'd never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you”–this line from the song
‘Wicked Games’ always makes me sad.
Notes: Commas and periods must always be placed inside the quotation marks,
according to most citation systems.
Colons, as well as, semicolons, on the other hand, should be placed outside the
quotation marks.Note of interrogation and note of exclamation should be placed
inside the quotation marks when they are part of the quoted elements. Seemingly,
when the note of interrogation and exclamation are not a part of the quoted
materials, they are not placed outside the quotation marks.

COMPLETE GUIDE TO GRAMMAR RULES

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COMPLETE GUIDE TO GRAMMAR RULES

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TOPIC SLIDE NUMBER

Holla Amigos! It gives But, before moving to details, I would

Kohli first played for Delhi

For the first Test of the Australian tour in

All the naming words are called as ‘NOUNS’.

Let us try to categorize these words.

PEOPLE OR IDEA, QUALITY

All the words categorized above are examples of nouns.

Types of countable nouns:

Types of uncountable nouns:

Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level.

The engineer built a marvelous house.

The detective questioned the criminal continuously for 6

My father built a tree house for me when I was a child.

A subject complement is the noun that follows a linking verb.

Ms Dhoni is an excellent cricketer.

The music makes Alice happy.

Prepositions are followed by a noun which acts as their object. Prepositions

each noun is either a TYPES

The definite article THE is used when the noun is either

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

We never use an Indefinite article with a proper noun.

The Definite article ‘The’ can be used in certain places as follows:

We can use an article with a Common noun.

• It is mandatory to use an article before a common noun when it is in singular

If a noun tells about only one or if it refers to

If a noun tells about more than one or if it

Singular nouns, In general, are

If the Singular common noun ends

SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL

Some Nouns require only their middle-vowel to be changed to become plural.

if “man” means human being in a when “man” is just a part of the

If compound noun contains several Sometimes, in a compound noun, ‘S’

SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL

Some nouns do not change at all when they are pluralized.

Some singular nouns have no plural form, only used in singular.

THE POWER OF BEING

Just imagine! If i ask you to give me an example in

I guess, your answer would be the Indian Freedom

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 marked the first indian

The Indian independence movement was a series of

The British had come to india with an agenda of tasks to

Some nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh

If unity can come alive, then it would like the Indians of

Subhas Chandra Bose, whose defiant patriotism made

1. Soldier 1. A squad of British

4. Tiger 4. An ambush of tigers

5. Elephant 5. Herd of elephants

For example, the word Army is a collective

The Family that resides along the coast of Port Blair is a

USING COLLECTIVE NOUNS CORRECTLY IN SENTENCES

Using collective nouns in sentences can be perplexing as it is very often difficult to

LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR PEOPLE .

• A circle of friends • A morbidity of • A patrol of

LIST OF COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR THINGS.

• A piece of jewellery • A deck of cards • A ream of paper

THE INVISIBLE YET POWERFUL

Born into an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of

He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from

Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private

Vivekananda blended humor with his teachings, and