Grammar

A Transitive Verb has two voices — The Active The Passive. Compare the following: The hunter shot the lion. The lion was shot by the hunter. You will see that both the sentences mean the same thing. But in the first sentence, the Subject (the hunter) is the doer of the action (shot). In the second sentence the Subject (the lion) is the sufferer or receiver of the action (was shot). A Verb is said to be in the Active Voice when the person or thing denoted by the Subject acts or is active. [So the verb shot is Active], A verb is said to be in the passive voice when the person or thing denoted by the subject does not a ;t, bat suffers the action done by the something or by someone. So, the Verb was shot is Passive. An Intransitive Verb is not used in the Passive Voice, unless it takes a Cognate Object in the Active as, Active: He has fought a good fight. Passive: A good fight ha been fought by him. The Passive Voice is used when the Subject of the Active Voice is v unknown, unimportant or vague (e.g., people, they, a person, …

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A verb must agree with its Subject in Number and Person, i.e., the Verb should be of the same Number and Person as the Subject. Two or more Singular Subjects joined by and take a Plural Verb; as, Mohan and Sohan have passed. He and his brother were absent. He and I are great friends. Time and tide wait for no one. NOTE: Sometimes two Subjects are regarded as representing one idea, and then die Verb is singular, as, Slow and steady wins the race. Bread and butter is a wholesome food. ‘Early to bed and early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’ If two Singular Nouns refef to the same person or thing, the Verb must be Singular; as, The poet and philosopher is dead. [Here ‘poet’ and ‘philosopher’ refer to the same person.] The orator and statesman has arrived. NOTE: If the Article is used only once, then the two Nouns refer to the same person and the Verb used is Singular. But if the Article is mentioned twice, then two distinct persons are intended, and the Verb following must be in the Plural Number, as, The poet and the philosopher are dead. The orator …

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There are three kinds of condition : Open Condition, i.e., a condition which may or may not be fulfilled; as, If it rains, the match will not be played. (It may rain, or it may not, we do not know.) Unless you work harder, you will not pass the examination. If you do not work harder, you will not pass the examination. NOTE 1: If the reference is to be present we use the present tense in both the conditional and the main clause. If I eat butter, it causes me indigestion. If water freezes, it turns to ice. If you press the wrong button, you lose your money. NOTE 2: If the reference is to the future, the present tense is used in the conditional clause and the future tense in the main clause. If I have time, I shall visit the exhibition. If I find anything wrong, I shall inform you. When the main clause gives an order or an instruction, the future tense is, of course, replaced by the imperative.            ‘ If yon meet her, ask her how her parents are getting on. If it rains, remind him to take his umbrella. If he is not ill …

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The Simple Present is used : To express what is actually now taking place; as, Here comes Ashok. See, how it rains] To express a habitual action; as, He gets up early in the morning. [That is, he is in the habit of getting up, etc.]. He takes exercise every morning. To express universal truths; as, The soul is immortal. The earth is round. The path of duty is the way of glory. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Where there is a will, there is a way. To express a future action, when the futurity is indicated by the context; as, The school starts again on January 2nd. The college reopens next week. He sails for England next Monday. We got to Delhi next Friday. The Governor arrives tomorrow morning and opens the exhibition in the evening. The Present Continuous is used to express an action going on at the time of speaking; as, The boys are playing football. Sita is dancing. NOTE: This Tense is sometimes used to mark an action that will happen in the future; as, I am leaving for Delhi tomorrow. She is being married next week. The Present Perfect …

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The Gerund Read the following sentence: Swimming is a good exercise. The word swimming is formed from the Verb swim by adding -ing. It is therefore like a verb. The word swimming is the  name of an action and is also the Subject of a sentence. Hence it does the work of a Noun. The word Swimming is therefore both like a Verb and a Noun. It is therefore a Verb-Noun, and is called a Gerund. The forms of the Gerunds and of the Present Participles are identical. How to distinguish between the two? Gerunds are Verbal Nouns and Participles are Verbal Adjectives. He is fond of riding.                                                 (Gerund) Riding along the road, he saw a lion.                    (Participle) Since a Gerund is a kind of Noun it may be used : As the Subject of a Verb; as, Sleeping is necessary to health. As the Object of a Transitive Verb; as, I enjoy reading poetry. Asa Complement; as, Seeing is believing. As an Object of Preposition; as, She is fond of dancing. Exercise 1- Complete the following sentences, by adding a construction with Gerund or an Infinitive (whichever you think correct) : My sister dislikes_________________________________ He was punished_________________________________ We were …

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The Participle | Kinds of Participles Read this sentence Hearing the lion’s roar, the hunter took aim. The work hearing qualifies the Noun hunter as an Adjective does. It is formed from the Verb hear, and governs an Object. Therefore, the word hearing is both like a Verb and an Adjective. Such a word is called a Participle. [A Participle is so called because it is partly a verb and partly an Adjective, and ‘participates’ in both functions.] There are two kinds of Participles : The Present Participle is always Active. It denotes an incomplete action or state, and it always ends in -ing. I can hear her singing a song. We met a girl carrying a basket of flowers. Do you see the boy riding on the horse? The Past Participle denotes an action (or state) which is completed and hence is no longer in progress. The Past Participle used adjectively is Passive if the Verb from which it comes is Tramitiw, It ends in -en, -n; or -ed, -d, -t. Terrified, they stood crowded together. We saw the trees laden with apples. Blinded by lighting, she fell senseless. Driven by fury, the lion attacked the hunter.. A Participle …

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There are three groups of non-finites. The Infinitive: To write, to speak, to break.  (Present Infinitive) To have written, to have spoken, to have broken.  (Prefect Infinitive) The Participle: Writing, speaking, breaking.  (Present Infinitive) Written, spoken, broken. (Past Infinitive) The Gerund or Verbal Noun: Writing, speaking, breaking. The infinitives are used both with and without to. I want to dance. I ought to have danced. I can dance. I could have danced. In the first two sentences the Infinitives (italicised) are used with to. These are called ‘fo-Infinitives’. In the last two sentences the Infinitives are use without to. These are called ‘bare Infinitives’. The Infinitive may sometimes be used as the Subject of a Finite Verb. To steal is wrong. To find fault is easy. To play with explosives is dangerous. To waste your money is foolish. To eat too much is harmful. These sentences look awkward. It is better to use a preparatory it as the Subject in each case. It is wrong to steal. It is easy to find fault. It is dangerous to play with explosives. It is foolish to waste your money. It is harmful to eat too much. The same pattern may also be …

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Would Use, Examples, and Exercises Would, the past form of will, is used : To express a wish; as, I would know what my duty is. A man cannot always do what he would. Do as you would be done by. I would like to see that book. Would you like to come to the library with me? To indicate refusal; as, She wouldn’t [= refused to] answer any questions. The engine wouldn’t start. The wound wouldn’t heal. To express determinations; as, He would have his own way. [= He was determined to have his own way.] He would not lie. To express past habit, as, She would sit [= was in the habit of sitting] for hours in her garden and knit. After lunch he would generally have a short nap. He would talk upon the subject for hours together. To express willingness in the past; as, She said that she would help me. I would do as you bid. In polite speech; as, Would you please lend me your book? [= Please lend me your book.] Would you mind waiting here until I return? Would you mind helping me to lift this box? Would you mind not smoking …

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Question Tags Meaning In English, people often make a statement and then add a little question at the end of it. We frequently hear people saying things like: Peter works hard, doesn’t he? She came home late, didn’t she? He doesn’t like reading, does he? She can’t see very well, can she? This type of sentence—a statement followed by a little question called a question tag — is generally used when we want the listener to confirm what we have said. Notice that the first and second statements : Peter works hard She came home late are followed by negative question tags —doesn’t he? —didn’t she? the third and fourth statements : (iii) He doesn’t like reading (iv) She can’t see very well are followed by positive question tags: —does he?           — can she? So we see that when the statement is positive, the tag is negative and when the statement is negative, the tag is positive. Here are some more examples : You are coming tomorrow, aren’t you? She speaks English, doesn’t she? You know her well, don’t you? You have met her before, haven’t you? He came early this morning, didn’t he? She will visit us tomorrow, won’t …

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What is Subject and a Predicate Every sentence consists of two parts: The person or thing we speak about. What we speak about that person or thing. Consider the following sentence : Peter is an intelligent boy. In this sentence, (1) we speak about Peter, and (2) what we say about him is that he is an intelligent boy. The name of the person or thing we speak about is called the Subject. What we say about the subject is called the Predicate. Subject Predicate Aeroplanes Zoom That Black Dog Bit The Poor Beggar The Poor Little Girl Sat in a Corner The Boys of Our School Made Raman Captain Mountains and the Beauty of a Country Sometimes in sentences expressing orders or requests the subject is left out; as, “Sit down” means “You sit down.” “Thank you” means “I thank you.” In the following sentences the subject and also part of the predicate are unexpressed; as, What a beautiful night! = What a beautiful night it is! Shocking! = It is shocking. Exercise 1 – Divide the following sentences into Subject and Predicate: The girl wearing a red frock is my sister. Barking dogs seldom bite. Some mischievous boys …

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