CONTENTS

1. Subject Verb Agreement 01-04

2. Tense 05-09

3. Voice 10-17

4. Narration 18-29

5. Phrase, Clause, Sentence 30-35

6. Joining and Splitting 36-41

7. Important Grammatical Terms 42-52

 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

A verb must agree with its subject in number and person. To correct the
errors of subject-verb agreement you must find the right subject and verb.
Let’s discuss some basic rules of subject-verb agreement.

1. A singular subject always takes a singular verb, whereas a plural

subject takes a plural verb.
✓ She is intelligent.
✓ They are hopeless.
2. If a phrase begins with ‘of’ the subject usually comes before ‘Of’. And
the verb must agree with the main subject, and not with the phrase joined.
✓ A bouquet of red roses spreads fragrance. (NOT spread, as the
subject is ‘a bouquet’, not red roses).
✓ The quality of mangoes was not good.
3. Two or more singular subjects joined by ‘and’ take a plural verb.
✓ Gold and silver are precious metal.
4. But if the subjects suggest one idea or refer to the same person, the
verb will be singular.
✓ Time and tide waits for none.
✓ Bread and butter is his daily breakfast.
5. Two singular subjects joined by or, either…or, neither…nor require a
singular verb.
✓ Neither Juan nor Casey is coming.
✓ My father or my mother has been there.
6. But if one of the subjects or both the subjects joined by or, either…or,
neither…nor is/are plural the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.

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 ✓ Neither my cousin nor my parents are present.
7. When the subject joined by or, either…or, neither…nor are of
different persons, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
✓ Either he or I am mistaken.
8. When words are joined to a singular subject by with, as well as, along
with, besides, etc. the verb will be singular.
✓ The ship, with its crew, was lost.
✓ The teacher, along with the students, is going to Digha.
9. Either, neither, each, everyone, many a must be followed by a
singular verb.
✓ Neither of them is responsible.
✓ Each of the students is responsible.
10. Two subjects joined by and, always take plural verb. But if the subjects
are qualified by each or every, it must take a singular verb.
✓ Every boy and every girl is given a prize.
11. Some nouns are plural in form, but singular in meaning. They always
take singular verb.
✓ The news is true.
✓ Politics is everywhere.
12. When a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or amount, the verb
is generally singular.
✓ Ten miles is a long distance.
✓ Fifty thousand rupees is enough for this job.
✓ One third of the work is completed.

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 13. Some words indicate portions like– percent or fraction. If the noun
after ‘of’ is singular, the verb will be singular. If it is plural, the verb will
be plural.
✓ One third of the city is unemployed.
✓ One third of the people are unemployed.
14. If the sentence expresses a wish or desire the verbs ‘was’ and ‘were’
will replace their position.
✓ I wish I were a bird.
15. Everybody/ everything/ nobody/ nothing/ somebody/ something/
anybody/ anything always take singular verb.
✓ Everybody is ready to do his work.
✓ Nothing is available.
16. If two subjects are joined by ‘not only…but also’, the verb agrees to
the subject closest to it.
✓ Not only Jack but also his friends are responsible.
17. The word many takes plural verb, a many plural verb, the many plural
verb, and many a singular verb.
✓ Many a girl goes to the seminar on woman empowerment.
✓ Many girls go to the seminar on woman empowerment.
18. If two nouns are joined by preposition, the same noun on either side is
singular and the verb is also singular.
✓ Woman after woman speaks against the patriarchy.
✓ Pile on pile of books was arranged.
19. The phrases like– ‘with a view to’, ‘looking forward to’ take the ‘ing’
form of verb called gerund.
✓ I came here with a view to enjoying.

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 20. The subject beginning with some of/ most of/ all of/ a few of/ a lot of
takes plural verb if the noun is plural, and singular verb if the noun is
singular.
✓ Most of the students are good in English.
✓ Most of the rice looks stale.

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 TENSE

INTRODUCTION
The word ‘tense’ comes from the Latin word tempus, meaning time. Tense is
the form of verb in relation to time. There are technically two grammatical
tenses in English– Present Tense and Past Tense. English has no Future Tense
as verbs do not conjugate a certain way to reflect future action. Future tense is
created by using modal auxiliaries with the present form of the verb. English
verbs have two tense-related forms–
A. Simple present – eat, go, see etc.
B. Simple past – ate, went, saw etc.
All other tense forms are made with the help of primary auxiliary verbs like 'be'
and 'have'. In modern grammar this is called aspect.
There are two main aspects in English–
A. Progressive aspect- (Be + verb+ ing)
Be Verb+ing
Am Doing
Is Coming
Are Playing
Was Eating
Were Laughing

B. Perfective aspect- (Have/Has+ Past Participle)

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 Have Verb -Past Participle
Have Done
Has Gone
Had Seen

SO, TENSE = TIME+ ASPECT

INTRODUCTION TO TENSE
Tense Usage Time
Reference
Present Routine, Facts Now
Past Completed Before now
actions
Future Intention/ plan After now

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 TENSE MASTER CHART
Tense Type Structure Example Use
Present Simple V1 / V1+s/es I go to school Habit, Fact, Universal
everyday. Truth, Historic or
Graphic Present
He plays.
The sun rises in
the east.
Akbar then draws
the sword.
Past Simple V2 He played. A single past action,
Habitual action of past
He worked hard.
Future Simple will/shall + He will play. Future plan, promise
V1
I shall not forget
you.
Present Continuous is/am/are + He is playing. Ongoing Action, Near
V1-ing Future
My brother is
coming tonight.
Past Continuous was/were + He was playing. Past continuous action
V1-ing
Future Continuous will be + V1- He will be Future ongoing action
ing playing.

Present Perfect Has/have + I have completed Action just finished, Past

V3 my assignment. action with result in
present,
He has done a
great mistake.
He has lived in True in the past and still
Has/have +
Present Perfect Kolkata since he true.
V3
was five years old.

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 Past Perfect Had+ V3 He had played Action before another
before I came. past action.
I had expected the Action before a specific
task by this point of time
morning.
Future Perfect Will have+ v3 He will have Completed before a
completed the future time
assignment before
you come.

Present Perfect has/have been He has been Action started in past,

Continuous + V1-ing playing since continues now
morning.
Past Perfect had been + He had been Ongoing past action
Continuous V1-ing playing when I before another
came.
Future Perfect will have been He will have been Ongoing till a future
Continuous + V1-ing playing. point
Note: This tense
is no longer in
practical use

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NOTE
➢ We have seen many examples of past tense which describe what did/did
not happen in the past. This is called Indicative Mood. However, we can
also use the past tense to describe wishes, desires, conditions, or
hypothetical scenarios. This is known as Subjunctive Mood.
Ex: I wish I were a bird. If I had money I would buy happiness.
➢ SO far, we have seen that in the simple future tense ‘shall’/ ‘will’ is used
to describe the future action. But in some cases, when the action is pre-
planned, we should use the ‘Going to’ construction, and not ‘shall’/
‘will’.
Ex: It is going to rain very soon. The ship is going to sink.
➢ There are some verbs which are not normally used in the continuous
tense. Like– Verbs of perception (see, hear, smell), Verbs of emotion
(want, wish, desire, hate), Verbs of appearing (appear, seem), etc.
➢ Don’t get confused between Present Perfect Tense and Simple Past
Tense. The former tells us about something that occurred at some
indefinite period in the past whereas the latter tells us about something
that happened at a specific point in the past.
➢ (Have/Has + Got) – By the structure we normally would expect it to be
in the present perfect, as it has (have/has) as a helping verb and the past
participle of ‘get’. However, even though it is in the present perfect tense
in form, in meaning it is actually in the present tense. The form is used to
indicate possession. The word ‘got’ is used to add an extra emphasis.
Ex: We have got four classes in a week. > We have four classes in a week.

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 VOICE
INTRODUCTION

Voice is the conjugation of verb in relation to doer or agent. It explains whether

the subject is performing the action or receiving it.

Voice is more technically known as Diathesis.

(Diathesis means the alteration of sentence structures that involve the verb and
its arguments i.e. subject, object etc. especially when the roles of subject and
object change or shift.)

There are mainly two types of voice in English:

• Active voice.
Ex: She sings a beautiful song.
He sleeps for four hours at night.
• Passive voice.
Ex: A beautiful song is sung by her.

There is also a less common third type called the Middle voice, which is rarely
used in everyday English.

• Active Voice (Default voice):

Active voice is the most common type of voice in English. So it is also called
Default voice.
A verb is said to be in the active voice when the subject of the sentence is also
the agent or doer performing the action described by the verb.

• Passive Voice:
The passive voice is a sentence structure where the subject receives the
action instead of doing it. In passive sentences, the focus is on the
receiver of the action, not the doer (agent).

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Examples:

1. This castle was built in the 15th century.

2. A new song is being recorded by the singer.

Note: While interchanging the subject and object, any articles, adjectives, or
adjective phrases attached to them are also shifted along without separation.
These descriptive elements stay with the noun they originally modified.

Example:

Active: The young player scored a brilliant goal.

Passive: A brilliant goal was scored by the young player.

Converting Active Voice to Passive Voice:

➢ You can only change an active sentence into passive if it has a direct
object (because the object becomes the subject in the passive voice).
Example:
Active: The chef cooked the meal.
Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.

➢ If there is no direct object, the sentence cannot be turned into passive

voice.
Example:
They sleep late. → No passive form (No object)

Converting Passive Voice to Active Voice:

➢ You can only change a passive sentence to active if the agent is
identifiable (either spoken or understood). The agent becomes the subject
in the active sentence.
Example:
Passive: The book was written by the author.
Active: The author wrote the book.

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 Master Table

Tense Active voice Passive voice

Present Indefinite Sub. + V1 (s/es) + object Sub. + is/am/are + V3+ by +
(Affirmative) My brother reads books. Obj.
Books are read by my brother.
Present Indefinite Sub. + (do/does) + Not + Sub. + is/am/are + not + V3+
(Negative) V1+ object. by + Obj.
He does not read books. Books are not read by him.
Present Indefinite (Do/Does) + Sub. + V1+ Is/Am/Are + Sub. + V3+ by +
(Interrogative) object. Obj.
Does he read books? Are books read by him?
Present Indefinite Do/Does + (Not + Sub/ Sub Is/Am/Are +(Not+ Sub./
(Interrogative + Not) + V1 + object. Sub.+ Not) + V3+ by +
Negative ) Does he not read books? Obj.
Are not books read by him?
Present Indefinite Wh-Word + (Do/Does) + Wh-Word + (is/am/are) +
(Wh-Type Sub. + V1+ object. Sub. + V3 + by + Obj.
Question) When does he read books? When are books read by him?
Exception: Who reads Exception: By whom are
books? books read?
Present Continuous Sub. + (is/am/are) + V1- ing Sub. + (is/am/are) + being +
+ object. V3+ by+ Obj.
She is writing a letter. A letter is being written by
her.
Present Perfect Sub. + (have/has) + V3 + Sub. + (have/has) + been +
object. V3 + by + Obj.
He has finished the work. The work has been finished
by him.
Past Indefinite Sub. + V2 + object. Sub. + (was/were) + V3 + by
The teacher explained the + Obj.
lesson The lesson was explained by
the teacher.
Past Continuous Sub. + (was/were) + V1-ing Sub. + (was/were) + being +
+ object V3 + by+ Obj.
She was cleaning the room. The room was being cleaned
by her.

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 Past Perfect Sub. + Had + V3+ object. Sub. + Had + been + V3+ by
The company had launched + Obj.
a new product. A new product had been
launched by the company.
Future Indefinite Sub. + (shall/will)+ V1 + Sub. + (shall/will) + be + V3
object. + by + Obj.
They will organize the The meeting will be organized
meeting. by them.
Future Perfect Sub. + (shall/will) + Have+ Sub.+(shall/will)+ Have+
V3+ object. been +V3+by+ Obj.
She will have submitted the The report will have been
report. submitted by her.

Note

➢ To change the voice of a complex sentence, both the main clause and the
subordinate clause have to be changed respectively.
Example:
Active: I know that he loves me.
Passive: It is known to me that I am loved by him.

➢ In passive voice sometimes some other prepositions can be used instead

of by.
Ex: known– to, filled –with, interested– in, contained– in, covered– with,
married– to, surprised– at, annoyed– with/at, pleased– with, shocked– at,
amazed– at etc.
His response surprised me . –I was surprised at his response. (Not 'surprised by
his response'.)
➢ If a verb carries two (or more) objects, any one of those becomes the
subject of the passive voice. And the other one will be put after the main
verb. This other object is called Retained Object.
Example:
Active: My friend will give you a ticket.
Passive: A ticket will be given to you by my friend.
Or
You will be given a ticket by my friend.

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 ➢ Note: An Intransitive Verb may be changed into the passive when it is a
Prepositional or Group verb.
Ex: We looked at the painting for an hour.
The painting was looked at for an hour.

➢ An Intransitive Verb may be changed into the passive when it takes a

cognate object in the active voice.
➢ Cognate object is a noun that is derived from the same root as the verb
and repeats the idea of the verb.
Ex: He fought a brave fight.
A brave fight was fought by him.

Modals

Active voice Passive voice

Subject + modal + V1 + object Subject + modal + be + V3 + by + object
Example: She can solve the Example: The problem can be solved by
problem. her.

Imperative Sentence

Active voice Passive voice

Request/ Advice (Please) + V1 + You are requested/ advised to + V1

Obj. + Obj.
Please forgive You are requested to forgive me.
me.
Order (with object) Verb + Obj. Let + Obj. + be + V3
Do it. Let it be done.
Order (without Verb + (the rest) You are ordered to + verb + the rest
object) Run fast. You are ordered to run fast.

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Note: For negative sentence a 'Not' is used before 'to'. Example-
Active: Do not run fast.
Passive: You are ordered/requested/advised not to run fast.

Active voice Passive voice

Imperative 1. Let him try it 1. Let it be tried again by

beginning again. him.
with 'Let' 2. Let us make a tour. 2. Let a tour be made by us.
3. Let the girl achieve 3. Let success be achieved
success. by the girl.
When the action 1. Cut your hair. (Have/Get + Obj. + V3)
is 2. Test the blood. 1. Have/Get your hair cut.
acted by 2. Have/ Get the blood
someone else tested.

Optative Sentence

Active voice Passive voice

May + Sub. + V1 + Obj. May + Sub. + be + V3 + by + Obj.

May God bless you. May you be blessed by God.

May you pass the exam. May the exam be passed by you.

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 MIDDLE VOICE
Introduction
Middle voice is a type of grammatical voice where the subject both performs
and receives the action of the verb.
Here, the subject acts as both agent and receiver. It is often categorised as the
active voice since it uses the same verb structure in a sentence.

Examples:
• He injured himself.
• The cat is scratching itself.
• She blamed herself.

Passive forms: ⇨ He was injured by himself.

⇨ The cat is being scratched by itself.
⇨ She was blamed by herself.

Note: Passive form of middle voice is considered bad English.

How to identify the middle voice:

➢ Use of reflexive pronouns (himself, herself, themselves, etc.) in the direct
object position or intransitive verbs showing the subject affected by its
own action

Examples of Middle Voice with Intransitive Verbs:

• The food is cooking on the stove.
• This shirt washes easily.
• The door opened slowly.

➢ There are some verbs where the reflexive pronoun is understood or

implied and can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Example:
He always prepares himself before an interview. (with reflexive pronoun)
He always prepares before an interview. (without reflexive pronoun)

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 Quasi-passive

The word 'quasi' means 'seemingly' or 'partly'. Some intransitive verbs in active
voice bear the sense of passive voice. They are called quasi-passive verbs.

Ex: Honey tastes sweet. – Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

The book is printing. – The book is being printed.

Infinitives

If the verb is first followed by the object and then an infinitive, the infinitive
will not be changed. (V⇨O⇨I)

Ex: He allowed me to shout. –I was allowed to shout by him.

I helped her find the path. –She was helped to find the path by me.

If the verb is first followed by an infinitive and then by an object, the infinitive
will be changed

Ex: She has to win the race. –The race has to be won by her. (V⇨I⇨O)

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 NARRATION

Narration or Speech refers to how we report something that another person said.
Narration is divided into two types: Direct Speech and Indirect Speech.

When the narrator simply quotes the words exactly as they were said by the
speaker, it is called Direct Speech. In direct speech we indicate the quoted
speech with quotation marks.
✓ John said to me, “I like you.”

When the narrator narrates the words of the speaker in his own language, it is
called Indirect Speech.
✓ John told me that he liked me.

General Rules for Changing Narration:

i. The pronouns of the Reported Speech will change according to the
speaker and the person spoken to.
Students often make mistakes in changing the pronouns. The following
chart may help you to remember: SON

S (Subject) O (Object) N (No Change)

1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person

(I, We) (You) (He, She, They)

• If the pronoun of the Reported Speech is in 1st person then the

subject of the reporting Verb and if it is in 2nd person then the
object of the Reporting Verb will be used. However, if it is in 3rd
person, the pronoun will not be changed.
✓ She says to me, “I have seen you.” > She says that she has
seen

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 me.
• If the Personal Pronoun ‘we’ is used in universal truths, the
pronoun ‘we’ will not be changed in the Indirect Speech.
✓ They said, “We are mortal.” > They said that we are mortal.

• If the editors of newspapers or magazines use pronouns or

adjectives like ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, or ‘ourselves’ etc. in the reported speech,
the pronouns/adjectives will be changed into ‘it’, ‘it’, ‘its’, ‘itself’
respectively.
✓ The Times of India says, “We shall issue a comic series.”
The Times of India says that it will issue a comic series.

ii. If the Reporting Verb is in Present or Future Tense, the tenses of the
reported speech will not be changed.
✓ She says to me, “I am waiting for you.” > She tells me that she
is waiting for me.
✓ John will say to me. “I do not like you.” > John will tell me that
he does not like me.
iii. If the Reporting Verb is in Past Tense, the tenses of the reported speech
will change accordingly.

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 DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
Present Indefinite Past Indefinite
She said to me, “You are my best She told me that I was her best choice.
choice.”

Present Continuous Past Continuous

Rosie said to me, “You are digging Rosie told me that I was digging my
your own grave.” own grave.

Present Perfect Past Perfect

I said to her, “I have bought a red I told her that I had bought a red rose for
rose for you.” her.

Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

He said to me, “I have been working He told me that he had been working for
for two hours.” two hours.

Past Indefinite Past Perfect

Stephen said to Emma, “You gave Stephen told Emma that she had given
me the book.” him the book.

Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

She said to you, “You were buying She told you that you had been buying
gifts for me.” gifts for her.

Past Perfect Past Perfect

The children said to us, “We had won The children told us that they had won
the match.” the match.

Past Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous

The mother said, “The baby had been The mother said that the baby had
sleeping since morning.” been sleeping since morning.

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 Shall/Will/Can/May *Should/Would/Could/Might
She said to me, “You will remember She told me that I would remember
those happy moments.” those happy moments.

Have/Has + to + V1 Had + to + V1
He said to me, “I have to crack the He told me that he had to crack the
exam.” exam.
Had + to + V1 Had + had + to + V1
Alice said to me, “I had to attend the Alice told me that she had had to attend
seminar.” the seminar.

*If the direct speech contains modal auxiliary verbs like ‘shall’ / ‘will’, in
indirect speech the verbs will change into ‘would’. (With some exceptions)

iv. However, if the Reported Speech is a universal truth, or a habitual fact,

the tense will remain unchanged.
✓ He said, “Time is the best healer.” > He said that time is the best
healer.
✓ John said, “I go to church every Sunday.” >John said that he
goes to church every Sunday.
v. Words expressing nearness in place and time will change into words
expressing distance:
Now >Then, Today>That day, Tonight>That night, Tomorrow>The
next day/ The following day, Yesterday>The previous day/The day
before, Ago>before, Here>There, This>That, These>Those.
✓ Raju said to us, “My father will buy me a laptop tomorrow.”
Raju told us that his father would buy him a laptop the next day.
vi. But if words like now, here, this, etc are used to indicate things that are
present before the speaker at the time of speaking, the words will not
change.
✓ She said to me, “I knew this boy.”> She told me that she had
known this boy.

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 Assertive Sentence
i. In place of the comma and inverted comma, a linker ‘that’ is used.
ii. If the Reporting Verb is ‘say (s) to’ or ‘said to’, it will change into ‘tell (s)’
or ‘told’.
✓ You said to her, “You missed the golden opportunity.”
You told her that she had missed the golden opportunity.
iii. If the modal verb ‘must’ is used to denote moral obligation, duty, or
responsibility, the modal verb ‘must’ will remain the same in the reported
speech.
✓ He said to me, “We must love our motherland.”
He told me that we must love our motherland.

iv. If the modal verb ‘must’ is used in the general sense of future tense, it will
be changed into verbs like– ‘has to’, ‘had to’, ‘will have to’, ‘would have
to’ etc.
✓ She said, “I must win the race.”
She said that she had to win the race.
✓ John said, “I must buy a car next year.”
John said that he would have to buy a car next year.

Interrogative Sentence
i. The Reporting Verb will change into ‘ask/asked’, ‘enquire/
enquired’ etc.
ii. For Yes-No type question, in place of comma and inverted comma,
a linker ‘if/whether’ is used. However, for Wh-type question the
wh-word itself works as a linker.
iii. The Reported speech will no longer be an interrogative sentence. It
will change into an assertive sentence.
✓ Jane said to me, “Did you know my father?” > Jane asked
me if I had known her father.
✓ You said to her, “What do you want?” > You asked her what
she wanted.
iv. If the answer of a question has been given in the reported speech as
‘Yes/No’, it is changed as following:
✓ The teacher said to the students, “Have you completed
the task?” The students said, “Yes.”

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 The teacher asked the students if they had completed the
task. The students said that they had. / The students
replied in the affirmative.

Note: For Yes-No type question the linker ‘if/whether’ can be used
interchangeably.
But–
i. If there is alternate possibilities or a choice has to be made between
two or more things, whether is preferable.
✓ She said to me, “Do you take tea or coffee?” > She asked me
whether I took tea or coffee.
ii. If the speech contains an If Clause, whether is preferable.
✓ He said to me, “If it rains, will you attend the class?”
He asked me whether I would attend the class if it rained.

Imperative Sentence
i. According to the meaning of the sentence, the Reporting Verb will
change into ‘request’, ‘advise’ or ‘order’.
If students are in doubt about the proper verb to introduce the
reported speech, they can use ‘tell’.
ii. In place of comma and inverted comma a linker ‘to’ is used.
iii. For negative statement a ‘Not’ is used before the linker.
iv. The tense of the Reported Speech will remain unchanged.
v. If the direct speech denotes a request with words like ‘please’,
‘kindly’ etc., in indirect speech these words will be omitted.
✓ I said to my brother, “Avoid evil company.”
I advised my brother to avoid evil company.
✓ She said to me, “Please, give me another chance.”
She requested me to give her another chance.
✓ Mother said to me, “Do not go out.”
Mother ordered me not to go out.
Note: If an Imperative Sentence contains a question tag, in Indirect Speech
the tag is left out.
✓ Teacher said to me, “Read the essay. Won’t you?” > Teacher
ordered me to read the essay.

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Imperative Sentence Beginning with ‘Let’
i. If the Reported Speech expresses a proposal, the Reporting Verb
will change into ‘propose’ or ‘suggest’. If Reported Speech
expresses a desire or wish, Reporting Verb will change into
‘urge’, ‘request’ or ‘wish’.
ii. In place of comma and inverted comma a linker ‘that’ is used.
iii. The introductory ‘let’ will be omitted.
iv. For speech expressing a proposal, a helping verb ‘should’ and the
present form of the verb will be used. For speech expressing
permission, ‘might be allowed to’ will be used.
✓ She said to me, “Let us know the reality.”
She proposed that we should know the reality.
✓ Margaret said to you, “Let us celebrate the moment.”
Margaret proposed that they should celebrate the moment.
✓ Eliza said, “Let me clarify it.”
Eliza urged that she might be allowed to clarify it.
✓ Jane said, “Let me see the report.”
Jane wished that she might be allowed to see the report.

Optative Sentence
According to the meaning of the Reported Speech the Reporting Verb
will change into ‘wished’ or ‘prayed’. In place of comma and inverted
comma a linker ‘that’ is used.
✓ The old man said, “May God bless you.”
The old man prayed that God might bless me.
✓ Teacher said to me, “May you shine in life.”
Teacher prayed that I might shine in life.

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Exclamatory Sentence
i. According to the meaning of the Reported Speech the Reporting
Verb will change into ‘exclaim with joy’, ‘exclaim with grief’,
‘exclaim with wonder’ etc.
ii. In place of comma and inverted comma a linker ‘that’ is used.
iii. The Reported speech will no longer be an exclamatory sentence. It
will change into an assertive sentence.
✓ The girls said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
The girls exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
✓ Raju said, “Alas! I have missed the chance.”
Raju exclaimed with grief that he had missed the chance.
Note: Sometime wh-words like what, how, and who are used in
exclamatory sentence to denote excess or absence. In Indirect
Speech such words should be replaced by great, very, etc.
✓ She said, “What a beautiful sight!”
She exclaimed with wonder that the sight was very beautiful.
✓ She said, “How mysterious it is!”
She exclaimed with wonder that it was very mysterious.
✓ Stephen said, “How empty the house feels without her!”
Stephen exclaimed with grief that the house felt empty
without her.

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 SOME EXCEPTIONS

i. If the Reported Speech contains past form of the modals like

Would, Should, Could, Might, etc., in Indirect Speech they
remain unchanged.
✓ He said, “I would allow her.” > He said that he would allow
her.

ii. If the particular person to whom the pronoun in the Indirect Speech
refers to is uncertain, then the name of the person should be
mentioned in bracket.
✓ Daniel said to John, “You make a mistake.” > Daniel told John that
he (John) made a mistake.

iii. Sometimes the introductory portion is placed after the speech. To

change such speech the introductory portion should be placed
before.
✓ “Cherry seeds are lucky”, Rakesh said. > Rakesh said that
cherry seeds were lucky.

iv. Sometimes the introductory portion is left out. To change such

speech into Indirect Speech an introductory part (He told, I told
etc.) should be used.
✓ I give you peace.> He told me that he gave me peace.

v. A sentence with a question tag is not actually a question, rather a

tentative statement. To change such speech, verbs like think, hope,
believe etc. should be used to express the idea and tone of the
speaker.
✓ Mary said, “Anne is a good speaker, isn’t she?”
Mary said that she thought Anne was a good speaker.

vi. If in the Direct Speech the Reported Speech contains Vocative

Case, it should be placed after the Reporting Verb in Indirect
Speech.
✓ He said, “Emma, show me the path.” > He told Emma to
show him the path.
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 vii. If the Reported Speech contains expressions like please, in the
Indirect Speech they are omitted or rendered by expressions like
kindly, politely, etc.
✓ She said, “Please, give me some time.”> She said politely to
give her some time.
viii. If in direct speech ‘shall I’/ ‘shall we’ is used to denote the sense of
request, the modal verb ‘shall’ is changed into ‘should’.
✓ She said to me, “Shall I start the conference?”
She asked me if she should start the conference.

ix. Sometimes sentences beginning with the modals are questions only
in form, not in sense. Instead of questioning they express request,
order, invitation, etc. Such speeches are changed in various ways.
✓ Anne said to me, “Could you give me your notebook?”
Anne requested me to give her my notebook.

x. Sometimes some rhetorical questions are used to express a strong

statement. To change such speech, it should be treated as an
assertive sentence.
✓ He said, “Who does not want happiness?”
He said that everyone wants happiness.

xi. If the Direct Speech contains words like well, so, now or clauses
like As you know, You see etc. just to introduce the Reported
Speech, in Indirect Speech these words are omitted.
✓ The teacher said to them, “As you know, we are at the end of
our course.”
The teacher told them that they were at the end of their
course.

xii. If the Reported Speech contains addressing words like Sir,

Madam, Friends, etc., in Indirect Speech phrases like ‘addressing
as…’, ‘calling as…’ etc. should be used.
✓ Stephen said Emma, “Madam, Are you waiting for me?”
Addressing Emma as madam Stephen asked if she was
waiting for him.
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 xiii. In some cases you can also use ‘respectfully’ in place of the words
like ‘sir’/ ‘madam’. If the reporting verb does not carry an object
the word ‘respectfully’ is used immediately after the reporting verb
and if it carries an object the word is placed after the object.
✓ He said to the teacher, “Sir, kindly repeat the line”.
He requested the teacher respectfully to repeat the line.
✓ She said, “Madam, please show me the path.”
She requested respectfully to show her the path.
xiv. If the direct speech denotes a greeting/wish, the reporting verb will
change into ‘greeted/wished’. No linker will be used here.
✓ She said to me, “Happy birthday.”
She wished me happy birthday.
✓ I said to him, “Good morning.”
I wished/bade him good morning.

xv. If the Reported Speech contains two or more different types of

sentences, all the sentences should be changed separately. To
connect the sentences and, also said, etc. should be used.
✓ He said to me, “Who are you? What are you doing here? Go
away.”
He asked me who I was and what I was doing there and
ordered me to go away.
xvi. If an imperative sentence starts with ‘Do’ and is used before the
main verb only to give emphasis, in indirect speech the word ‘Do’
will be omitted.
✓ Father said to me, “Do complete your journey.”
Father ordered me to complete my journey.

xvii. However, if ‘Do’ is used in a speech as the main verb, it will not be
omitted.
✓ Father said to me, “Do your homework.”
Father ordered me to do my homework.

xviii. If the reported speech contains more than one sentence, in indirect
speech the sentences should be added using ‘and added’ or ‘also
added’ or any other conjunction.
✓ He said, “I am a fighter. I will fight till my last breath.”
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 He said that he was a fighter and added that he would fight
till his last breath.

xix. If the Reported Speech is in Subjunctive Mood (wish, unreal

condition, hypothetical situation), in indirect speech the tense will
not change.
✓ She said, “If I were a bird, I would fly in the sky.”
She said that if she were a bird, she would fly in the sky.

xx. However, if the speech begins with ‘I wish’ / ‘we wish’, in indirect
speech it will change into ‘I wished’ / ‘we wished’. But the clause
which expresses the wish will remain unchanged.
✓ He said, “I wish I were a king.”
He said that he wished he were a king.
xxi. If the Reported Speech contains a Complex Sentence, only the
Principal Clause should be considered while selecting Reported
Verb or linker.
✓ He said to me, “If you want success in life, work hard.”
He advised me to work hard if I wanted success in life.
NOT He told me that if I wanted success in life, worked hard.

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 PHRASE, CLAUSE AND SENTENCE

PHRASE
A phrase is a group of words that functions as a unit, and is used as a single part
of speech in a sentence. It does not contain a subject and a predicate, although it
can be used as either of the two.
Most of the parts of speech can be turned into phrases by adding some
information:

Noun Phrase
A noun phrase consists of a noun and any determiners or modifiers related to
it.
✓ My favourite sport is cricket.
✓ I have lost a book.
✓ The extremely hot sun rises in the eastern sky.

Adjective Phrase
Adjective phrase is an adjective and any additional information related to it that
work together to describe a noun or pronoun.
✓ The girl is extremely sad.
✓ The man is thoroughly nasty.
✓ He wrote a book about modern economics.
✓ The artist is very much talented.

Verb Phrase
A verb phrase can either be made of an auxiliary verb added to a main verb, or a
verb along with modifies, objects or compliments.
✓ We are playing football.
✓ He has played cricket.
Note: Traditional grammar considers a verb phrase as a combination of main
verb and auxiliary verb. But modern grammarians believe that a verb phrase
takes any main verb (or a combination of main verb and auxiliary verb) along
with its constituent parts like, modifiers or objects that complete its meaning.
✓ My sister is running late for office again.
✓ My sister is running late for office again.
##However, as the verb phrase contains a finite verb, some grammarians
refuse to call it a phrase.
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Adverbial Phrase
Adverbial phrase acts as adverb.
✓ He behaves very politely.
✓ Ayush was sleeping at that moment.
✓ He walks in a hasty way.

Prepositional Phrase
Prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its object.
✓ Place the book on the table.
✓ The book on the table is mine.
Note: prepositional phrase acts either as adverb or adjective.

Conjunctional Phrase
Conjunctional phrase works as conjunction in a sentence.
✓ Not only Ayesha but also her brother qualified the exam.
✓ Sita as well as Gita solved the sum.

Interjectional Phrase
An interjectional phrase does the work of an interjection.
✓ What a pity!
✓ Good heavens!
Note: Many grammarians do not recognise conjunctional and interjectional
phares.

Gerund Phrase
Gerund + any modifier or object
It acts as a noun, so some grammarians include it within noun phrase.
✓ Doing exercise in the morning is good for health.
✓ You should not suggest watching movies in the dark.

Infinitive Phrase
This is actually a part of noun phrase.
✓ You should try to help one another.
✓ To err is human, to forgive divine.

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Participle Phrase
It is a part of adjective phrase.
✓ Aspirants breaking the rules will not be allowed to the examination
center.
✓ My painting, destroyed by you, was very beautiful.

Two other types of phrases are– Absolute Phrases and Appositive Phrases.

Absolute Phrase
It is grammatically independent group of words that modify the entire sentence.
✓ We hope to start competitive English class next year– God willing.
✓ The sun having risen, the fog dispersed.

Appositive Phrase
It is a noun phrase that describes another noun placed directly before it in a
sentence. (Note: noun in apposition)
✓ Ayushman Khurana, an excellent actor, is a very humble man.
✓ Yuvraj Singh, the former Indian cricketer, defeated cancer.
Note: Appositives normally appear after the noun, but it can be placed before
the noun also.
✓ The former Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh, defeated cancer.

Note:
• If the appositive is essential for the meaning of the sentence, it is called
Restrictive apposition. It is used without comma.
✓ My elder sister Mary is a teacher.
• If the appositive is not essential for the meaning of the sentence, it is
called Non-restrictive apposition. It is used with comma(s).
✓ My district, Purulia, is full of scenic beauty.

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CLAUSE

Clause is a part of a larger sentence that contains a subject and a

predicate. A sentence may contain one or more clauses.
There are two main types of clauses:
Main Clause or Principal Clause or Independent Clause
This clause does not depend on other clauses.
✓ You should read everyday.
✓ The boy in the blue shirt is a good athlete.
✓ I understand that he is my only true friend.
Note: Very often we form a sentence with two or more independent clauses
linked by coordinating linkers or conjunctions. Such clauses are called
Coordinating Clauses.
✓ He is my only true friend and I understand it.
✓ I wanted to read a story but her intention was to watch a movie.

Subordinate Clause or Dependent Clause

It depends on an independent clause to make a complete sense and it is linked
by subordinating linkers like relative adverbs or conjunctions.
✓ I understand that he is my only true friend.
✓ Wheresoever you reach, never forget your root.
✓ I admire the person who has knowledge of literature.
Subordinate clauses are divided into three types:

i. Noun or Nominal Clause– when works like a noun.

✓ That honesty is the best policy is taught in schools.
✓ I understand that he is my only true friend.
ii. Relative or Adjective Clause– when works like an adjective.
✓ The boy who is my only true friend comes here.
✓ The course that we started in the previous month is in its midway.
✓ This is the man who fought against injustice.
iii. Adverbial Clause– when works like an adverb.
✓ I went to school before everyone else.
✓ He works better when he is left alone.

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SENTENCE
Sentence is a word or a combination of words that makes complete sense.
✓ He is a clever boy.

Functional Division

i. Assertive or Statement: makes a simple statement or assertion.

✓ My name is Matthew.
ii. Interrogative or Question: Asks a question.
✓ Are you sure?
iii. Imperative/ Command/ Request: expresses a command or
request.
✓ Please, give me your mobile phone.
iv. Optative/ Wish/ Prayer: expresses wish or desire.
✓ Hope you will pass this exam.
v. Exclamatory: Expresses a sudden feeling or emotion.
✓ You are looking gorgeous!

Structural Division

i. Simple Sentence– Only one independent clause. It has only one

finite verb.
✓ I eat rice.
✓ The little baby playing cricket is very cute.

ii. Complex Sentence– Consists of one independent clause and one

or more subordinate clause(s).
✓ The boy says that Jane is very wise.
✓ Whenever you study, switch off your mobile phone.

iii.Compound Sentence: Two independent clauses are joined by

coordinating linkers or conjunctions like and, but, or, etc.
✓ I wanted to meet my friend but he was not at home.
✓ Do or die.
✓ He wanted to go to the shopping mall; I disliked the idea.
Double Sentence: made of two independent clauses.

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 ✓ I wanted to meet my friend but he was not at home.

Multiple Sentence: more than two independent clauses.

✓ I wanted to meet my friend, so I caught the bus to Bankura but he
was not at home.

Compound-Complex Sentence/Mixed Sentence: It is made up of at least two

independent clauses and one or more dependent clause(s).
✓ If you want to pass the examination, you should carefully read the
texts and take all the exams.
✓ The worst enemy of a man is the negative mind-set which destroys
his better parts and it often keeps him from realising his true
potential.

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 JOINING AND SPLITTING

JOINING

Joining or Synthesis means the combination of two or more Simple Sentences

into one Simple, Complex, or Compound Sentence.

Basic Rules of Joining into Simple Sentence

1. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using an
adjective.
✓ She helped a beggar. He was blind. > She helped a blind beggar.

2. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using a

present participle.
i. The participle usually states the causes of the action and is placed
in the beginning of the sentence.
✓ He saw the snake. He ran away. > Seeing the snake he ran away.
ii. Sometimes the participle is placed before a noun and works as a
pre-modifier.
✓ The bird was flying. She looked at it. > She looked at the flying
bird.
iii. Sometimes the participle is placed after a noun and works as a
post-modifier.
✓ I found a captive. He was begging for freedom. > I found a man
begging for freedom.

3. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using a

past participle.
i. The participle is placed before a noun and works as a pre-
modifier.
✓ Adam and Eve tasted the fruit of the tree. The tree was forbidden.
> Adam and Eve tasted the fruit of the forbidden tree.
ii. Sometimes the participle is placed after a noun and works as post-
modifier.
✓ Mimi had a big kite. She decorated it with tinsel stars. > Mimi had
a big kite decorated with tinsel stars.

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 4. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using a
perfect participle. When one action is immediately followed by another
by the same subject, the first action can be used as perfect participle.
✓ The children returned home. They went out to play. > Having
returned home the children went out to play.
However, in some cases, present participle can also be used here.
✓ He took off his clothes. He jumped into the river. > Taking off his
clothes he jumped into the river.

5. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using

nominative absolute. We use nominative absolute to join sentences with
cause-effect relation and usually with different sentences.
✓ The sun came out. The world looked beautiful.> The sun having
come out, the world looked beautiful.

6. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using

infinitive (To + Verb).
✓ I went there yesterday. I wanted to meet her. > I went there
yesterday to meet her.

7. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using a

noun or a noun phrase in apposition. When one noun or noun phrase is
followed by another and the later describes the former, the later is said to
be in apposition of the former.
✓ G.B. Shaw was a great playwright. He wrote Arms and the Man. >
G.B. Shaw, a great playwright, wrote Arms and the Man.

8. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using an

adverb or adverbial phrase.
✓ She will win the race. It is certain. > She will certainly win the
race.

9. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined together by using

preposition with noun or gerund.
✓ He has failed many times. He still hopes to win.
> In spite of many failures he hopes to win.

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Basic Rules of Joining into Complex Sentence
1. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined into a single
Complex Sentence by using a Noun Clause. The noun clause connects
with ‘that’, ‘if/whether’, or other ‘wh-words’. It may work as the object
or the subject of the verb.
✓ She will succeed. It is sure. > It is sure that she will succeed.
✓ He will be late. It is certain. > It is certain that he will be late.
✓ She killed herself. Do you know the reason? > Do you know why
she killed herself?
✓ Does she love me? Please ask her. > Please ask her whether she
loves me.

2. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined into a single

Complex Sentence by using an Adjective or Relative Clause. It should be
noted that there must be a common noun or pronoun in the given
sentences. While joining the sentences one of the noun/pronoun is turned
into a Relative Pronoun or Relative Adverb.
✓ The girl won the race. She is my friend. > The girl who won the
race is my friend.
✓ This is the cottage. She lives here. > This is the cottage where she
lives.
Note:
i. While joining the sentences the Relative Pronoun/Adverb is
always placed just after the other noun/pronoun.
✓ The girl won the race. She is my friend. > The girl who won
the race is my friend.
NOT The girl won the race who is my friend.
ii. The Adjective Clause may qualify the Subject or the Object of the
Principal Clause.
✓ The girl completed her assignment in time. She got the
highest marks. > The girl who got the highest marks
completed her assignment in time.
✓ I bought a book. It dealt with the life of Joyce. > I bought a
book which dealt with the life of Joyce.
iii. Do not get confused between Noun Clause and Adjective Clause.

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 ✓ They behaved in a rude way. I do not know the reason. > I
do not know why they behaved in a rude way. (Noun
Clause)
✓ They behaved in a rude way. I do not know the reason. > I
do not know the reason why they behaved in a rude way.
(Adjective Clause)

3. Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined into a single

Complex Sentence by using an Adverbial Clause.
✓ She lost her parents. She was only five years old then. > She was
only five years old when she lost her parents.
✓ I could not attend the class. I was ill.> I could not attend the class
because I was ill.
Basic Rules of Joining into Compound Sentence
Two or more Simple Sentences can be joined into a Single Compound Sentence
by using Coordinating Conjunctions. These are of four kinds– Cumulative,
Adversative, Alternative, and Illative.
1. Cumulative Conjunctions are ‘and’, ‘both’, ‘not only…but also’, ‘as well
as’ etc. They are used to add one statement to another.
✓ He is a fool. He is a knave. > He is a fool and a knave.

2. Adversative Conjunctions are ‘but’, ‘yet’, ‘still’, ‘nevertheless’ etc. They

are used to suggest a contrast between two different statements.
✓ He is slow. He is steady. > He is slow but steady.
3. Alternative Conjunctions are ‘or’, ‘else’, ‘otherwise’, ‘either…or’,
‘neither…nor’ etc. They are used to suggest a choice between two or
more statements.
✓ Love it. Leave it otherwise. > Love it or leave it.
4. Illative Conjunctions are ‘therefore’, ‘for’, ‘so’ etc. They are used to
suggest that one statement stands as a consequence of the other.
✓ I cannot see you. It is very dark. > I cannot see you for it is very
dark.

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SPLITTING
Splitting is the breaking up or separating a sentence of any kind into smaller
units of simple sentences.

Splitting of Simple Sentence

1. A simple sentence can be split into smaller units of simple sentences by
turning a participle into a finite verb.
✓ Seeing the snake, he ran away. > He saw the snake. He ran away.
✓ Being tired the old man took rest under the tree. > The old man was
tired. He took rest under the tree.

2. A simple sentence can be split into smaller units of simple sentences by

turning an infinitive into a finite verb.
✓ I went there yesterday to meet her.> I went there yesterday. I
wanted to meet her.

3. A simple sentence can be split into smaller units of simple sentences by

turning an apposition into a sentence.
✓ Philip Sidney, an Elizabethan poet, was one of the pioneers of
English sonnet. > Philip Sidney was an Elizabethan poet. He was
one of the pioneers of English sonnet.

4. A simple sentence can be split into smaller units of simple sentences by

turning an adjective or adjective phrase into a sentence.
✓ I have a blue shirt. > I have a shirt. It is blue in colour.

5. A simple sentence can be split into smaller units of simple sentences by

turning an adverb or adverbial phrase into a sentence.
✓ He will surely pass the examination. > He will pass the
examination. It is sure.

Splitting of Complex Sentence

While splitting a complex sentence into smaller units of simple sentences, the
subordinate linkers should be removed. And the simple sentence should be
arranged according to the relevance or sequence of time.
1. A Complex Sentence with a Noun Clause can be split into two or more
simple sentences by turning the noun clause into a separate sentence.
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 While splitting a complex sentence having a noun clause, it should be
noted that the subordinate noun clause will come first and the principal
clause will come later.
✓ It is certain that he will be late.> He will be late. It is certain.
✓ I do not know why she rejects the proposal. > She rejects the
proposal. I do not know the reason.

2. A Complex Sentence with Adjective Clause can be split into two or more
simple sentences by turning the Adjective clause into a separate sentence.
✓ The watch which she bought last month was made in India. > She
bought a watch last month. It was made in India.

3. A Complex Sentence with Adverbial Clause can be split into two or more
simple sentences by turning the Adverbial clause into a separate sentence.
✓ Though he was rejected once again, he did not lose hope. > He was
rejected once again. He did not lose hope.

Splitting of Compound Sentence

A Compound Sentence can be split into smaller units of Simple Sentences by
removing the Coordinating Conjunction and making another separate sentence.
✓ He is slow but steady. > He is slow. He is steady.
✓ Make haste or you will be late. > Make haste. Else you will be late.

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 IMPORTANT GRAMMATICAL TERMS
NOUN

1. Noun of Multitude: When a collective noun denotes individual members

or things of the group, it is called Noun of Multitude. Unlike collective
noun, it takes plural verb.
Ex-The jury have expressed diverse opinions regarding the convict.
2. Nominative of Address: used to address or call a person or an object.
Ex- Jack, come here.
Adieu, adieu, my childhood home.
3. Nominative Absolute: is a Noun or a Pronoun which, coming before a
participle, is not grammatically connected with the rest of the sentence.
Ex: The sun having set, we left the village.
4. Retained Object: Some transitive verbs take two objects in the active
voice. In the passive, one of these becomes the subject, but the other is
retained as object and is called the Retained Object.
Ex: He was given a box.
5. Cognate Object: The object of an intransitive verb of kindred meaning
or sense is called a Cognate Object.
Ex: Mita ran a race.
6. Factitive Object: A transitive verb (usually of naming, making, and
thinking) sometimes requires, besides its object, some other word, usually
denoting office or rank, to make the sense complete. This word is called
the Factitive Object.
Ex: He took her prisoner.
7. Adverbial Object: A noun in the objective case is sometimes used
adverbially to denote distance, place, time, value, amount, weight, or
manner; this object is called the Adverbial Object.
Ex: I went home.

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 8. Apposition: When one noun follows another to describe it, the noun
which follows is said to be in apposition to the noun which comes before
it.
Ex: Rama, our captain, made fifty runs.
9. The Elliptical or Absolute Possessive: Nouns denoting house, shop, etc.
may be omitted after the possessive case of Nouns, but not after the
possessive case of Pronouns unless the words denoting house etc. have
been previously used.
Ex: Mary went to St. Paul's (St. Paul's Cathedral).
This is my bag; where is yours? (= your bag)
10. Nominalization: It refers to the creation of a noun from verbs or
adjectives.
When nouns are created from other parts of speech, it is usually through
the use of suffixes.
Ex: My uncle is an actor. (The verb act becomes the noun actor.)

PRONOUN
1. Expletive Pronoun: Dummy Pronouns (more technically known as
Expletive Pronouns) are words that function grammatically as pronouns
but do not have antecedents-that is, they do not replace a noun, phrase, or
clause. They refer to nothing in particular, instead helping the sentence to
function properly in a grammatical context. There are two Expletive
Pronouns, there and it.
Ex: There were beautiful flowers in the garden.
It looks like it may rain tonight."
2. Anticipatory It: It is used for masculine or feminine or neuter nouns,
both singular and plural; but the verb is singular.
Ex: It was these books that I wanted.
3. Intensive Pronouns: These are identical to reflexive pronouns in form,
but, instead of functioning as the object of a verb, they serve to
emphasize or reiterate the subject's role in the verb's action.
Ex: I checked over these copies myself.

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ADJECTIVE
1. Nominal Adjectives: We can also convert adjectives into nouns without
changing spelling, but we generally do so by adding the article 'the'
before the word. These are known as Nominal Adjectives.
Ex: I want the best for her.
2. Restrictive Attributive Adjectives: Restrictive adjectives help establish
the identity of the noun or pronoun being modified.
Ex: She was emotional, and would avoid a sad film at all costs.
In this sentence, sad is restrictive: it tells us what kind of films she avoids.
3. Non-Restrictive Attributive Adjectives: Non-restrictive Adjectives
simply help describe a noun that is already clearly identified.
Ex: Titanic was a sad film that no viewer could finish with dry eyes.
In this sentence, sad is non-restrictive. We already know that Titanic is
the film in question; the adjective sad simply serves to describe it further.
4. Postpositive Adjectives: While attributive adjectives are generally found
before the noun they modify, especially in simple sentences, there are
also many cases in which they are placed immediately after the noun.
When this happens, they are called Postpositive or Postnominal
Adjectives.
Ex: William Wordsworth was appointed Poet Laureate of England in
1843.
5. Pronominal Adjective: Pronominal Adjectives are adjectives formed
from pronouns. My, thy, her, its, our, your, their are also called
Possessive Adjectives.
Ex: Your Book is on the table.
6. The Absolute Superlative or Superlative of Eminence: The
Superlative, often with a most, is sometimes used to express a very great
degree of a quality, with no idea of comparison.
Ex: It is a most interesting movie.

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VERB
1. Causative Verbs: These are used to indicate that a person or thing is
causing another action or an event to happen. They are generally followed
by a noun or pronouns and an infinitive verb that is not causative, which
describes the action that was caused to happen.
Ex: He let his children run through the field.
2. Factitive Verbs: These are or appear to be ditransitive as well. Instead of
having a direct object that impacts on an indirect object, factitive verbs
describe a status, category, quality, or result that the direct object is
becoming due to the action of the verb. This secondary element can be
either an object or object complement of the verb.
Ex: We painted the wall blue.
3. Copulative Verbs: These are Intransitive Verbs of Incomplete
Predication, requiring some other word or words besides the predicate
verb to complete the sense.
Ex: She seems tired.
4. Quasi-Passive Verbs: These are verbs used in the Active Voice with a
Passive force.
Ex: This chocolate tastes sweet (= is sweet when it is tasted).
5. Ambitransitive or Ergative verbs: Some action verbs can be both
transitive and intransitive, depending on the context of the sentence or
what information the speaker wishes to include. These are sometimes
known as ambitransitive or ergative verbs.
Ex: I've been trying to learn more. (intransitive)
I've been trying to learn more skills. (transitive)
6. Monotransitive Verbs: A verb that acts upon a single object in a
sentence is referred to as monotransitive. This single object is called its
direct object.
Ex: John just told a funny story.

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 7. Ditransitive Verbs: There are some verbs in English that take two
objects: a direct object and an indirect object. These are known as
ditransitive verbs. The direct object relates to the person or thing that
directly receives the action of the verb, while the indirect object relates to
the person or thing that indirectly receives or benefits from the action as a
result.
Ex: He gave Mary a rose.
8. Defective Verbs: Defective Verbs are those that do not possess all the
usual forms of a verb: may, shall, will, can, owe, need, must, ought, dare,
quoth, worth.
9. Anomalous Verbs: Anomalous Verbs are those that have parts formed
irregularly: be, can.
10. Strong Verbs: Strong Verbs are those that form their Past Tense by
changing an inside vowel of the Present, but never by the addition of
suffix. The Past Participle may, however, sometimes end in en or n:
Ex: Sing, sang, sung
Drive, drove, driven
11. Weak Verbs: Weak Verbs are those that form their Past Tense by adding
-d/-ed/-t, with or without a change of the inside vowel.
Ex: Love, loved, loved
Leap, leaped, leaped
Dream, dreamt, dreamt.
12. Semi modal verbs: These are verbs that sometimes behave like modal
auxiliary verbs. (They are also sometimes known as marginal modal
verbs.) Like the "proper" modal verbs, they are used with the base form
of verbs (the infinitive without to) to create a unique meaning.
The standard set includes dare, need, used to, and ought to. Dare and
need can also act as main verbs, while ought to and used to are always
followed by infinitives. As semi-modals, they are used with main verbs to
form expressions; they do not conjugate for third-person singular, have
no simple past tense, and cannot form infinitives, present participles, or
past participles.

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 Ex: How dare he talk to me like that?
No one need know about him.
She used to live in London.
He ought to be more careful while driving.
THE INFINITIVE
1. Noun Infinitive: The Simple or Noun-Infinitive is used like a noun. It
may be used as the subject of a verb, as the object of a verb, as the
complement of a verb, as the object of certain prepositions (such as
about, but, except, and than), and absolutely, in exclamations or
interrogations.
Ex: To dance is enjoyable. (As the subject of a verb)
She loves to sing. (As the object of a verb)
He seems to be poor. (As the complement of a verb)
He is about to cry. (As the object of the preposition, about)
And now where to begin? ( Absolutely, in exclamation or interrogation)
2. Gerundial Infinitive: The Gerundial Infinitive is used like an adjective
or an adverb. It expresses purpose, cause, condition, or result, and may be
attached adverbially to a verb, adverbially to an adjective, adjectivally to
a noun, or absolutely/parenthetically to a sentence.
Ex: He ran to catch the bus. (Adverbially to a verb)
He is reluctant to speak. (Adverbially to an adjective)
I have a problem to solve. (Adjectivally to a noun)
To tell you the truth, I do not like the plan. (Absolutely or Parenthetically
to a sentence)
3. Split Infinitive: The Split Infinitive is the name given to an infinitive
form in which the main verb is wrongly separated from to by some word
placed between them.
Ex: She decided to quickly finish the work. (Wrong)
Correct: She decided to finish the work quickly. (Correct)

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 4. Lone Infinitive: Lone Infinitives are infinitives used as isolated
responses to questions asking why something is done or why something
is the case. These responses are elliptical sentences, meaning that part of
the sentence is omitted because it is implied (usually “because I
wanted…”). As this meaning is already understood, we often leave it out
and simply use the infinitive alone.
Ex:
Speaker A: Why are you going to London?
Speaker B: To visit the British Museum.
5. Bare Infinitive: The base form of a verb is the infinitive without to. Like
an infinitive, it is uninflected for tense and person, but it functions
differently. Because of this, it is often called a bare infinitive.
Ex: He heard me sing.

PARTICIPLE
1. Gerundive Participle: Participles are sometimes used to imply Gerunds
or Gerundial Nouns in addition to qualifying the nouns as participles.
They are then called Gerundive Participles.
Ex: I depend on the wall being built at once.
VERBAL NOUN
A Verbal Noun is a verbal in-ing with the definite article before and the
preposition of after it.
The Verbal Noun is treated purely as a noun, not as a verb. It is practically a
Gerund preceded by the and followed by of.
Ex: He encouraged the learning of new languages.

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ADVERB
1. Dangling modifiers: A dangling modifier occurs when the noun that is
supposed to be modified by the participle is not clearly stated, creating
confusion.
Ex:
Walking down the road, the birds were singing. (Wrong - Seems like the
birds were walking.)
Walking down the road, I heard the birds singing. (Correct)
2. View point adverbs: viewpoint adverbs are used to indicate whose point
of view we are expressing, or to specify what aspect of something we are
talking about. They modify an entire sentence or independent clause.
Many common viewpoint adverbs are actually adverbials, or groups of
words that function together as an adverb.
Ex: In my opinion, you shouldn't go to that party.
3. Squinting modifiers: Occasionally, a modifier is placed in the
technically correct position, but its meaning can be misunderstood
because another word is too close to it. This problem usually arises with
adverbials, since they can appear before or after the words they modify.
Ex:
The way he talks so often annoys me. (it could be modifying either sings
or annoys, because it's technically in the correct position for both.)
The way he talks so often is annoying to me. (modifies talks)
or
The way he talks annoys me so often. (modifies annoys)
4. Intensifiers: Intensifiers are adverbs that heighten the effect of the verb,
adjective or another adverb. (certainly, surely, entirely, fully, indeed,
completely, absolutely, extremely, really, just, etc.)
Ex: I will certainly teach you.
5. Downtoners: Downtoners are adverbs that tone down the effect of the
verb, adjective or another adverb. (partly, slightly, little, nearly, almost,
barely, more or less, etc.)
Ex: The mountain was barely visible.

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 6. Quasi-Adverb: Quasi-Adverb is the term applied to a few adjectives that
are sometimes used idiomatically as adverbs.
Ex: She acted contrary to her promise.
7. Mitigators: Mitigators, a subset of adverbs of degree, are adverbs or
adverbials (groups of words that function as adverbs) that modify
adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less
extreme or powerful.
Ex: The performance was fairly good but not excellent.

PREPOSITIONS
1. Participle Prepositions: Participial Prepositions are present or past
participles which are now used as prepositions.
Ex: The river flows past the town.

CONJUNCTIONS
1. Cumulative or Copulative Conjunctions: These simply add one
statement to another.
Ex: The manager as well as his assistant attended the meeting.
2. Alternative or Disjunctive Conjunctions:
These denote a choice between two alternatives.
Ex: Either you study hard or you will regret later.
3. Adversative Conjunctions:
These express a contrast between two ideas.
Ex: She was tired; nevertheless, she continued working.
4. Illative Conjunctions: These show inference or a conclusion drawn from
a statement.
Ex: He studied hard; therefore, he passed the exam.

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PHRASE AND SENTENCE
1. Appositive Phrase: An appositive phrase is a noun phrase that renames
or explains another noun right before it. They are usually non-restrictive,
giving extra (not essential) information, and are set off by commas.
Ex: The park, a peaceful green space, was full of people.
2. Zero Conditional: The zero conditional is used for general truths.
Ex: If water reaches 100°C, it boils.
3. First conditional: The first conditional uses the future simple (will +
verb) to describe a likely result of a condition.
Ex: If it rains tomorrow, we will stay home.
4. Second conditional: The second conditional talks about hypothetical or
unlikely situations.
To create the second conditional, we use the past simple tense after the if
clause, followed by would, could or might + the bare infinitive for the
result of the condition.
Ex: If he were rich, he could travel the world.
5. Third conditional: Third conditionals are used to establish a hypothetical
situation in the past, followed by a hypothetical outcome that did not
really happen-typically, the outcome is the opposite of what actually
happened.
To form the third conditional, we use the past perfect tense for the if
conditional clause, and would/could/should/might have + the past
participle of the verb for the hypothetical outcome.
Ex: If I had studied more, I could have scored better.
6. Cleft sentence: A sentence in which special emphasis is given to one part
(e.g. the subject or the object) by using a structure with it or what.
Ex: It was John that broke the vase.
What I enjoy is playing the piano.

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VOICE
1. Middle Voice: Middle Voice is a type of grammatical voice where the
subject both performs and receives the action of the verb.
Here, the subject acts as both agent and receiver. It is often categorised as
the active voice since it uses the same verb structure in a sentence.
Ex:
He injured himself.
The cat is scratching itself.

NARRATION
1. Silent Speech: Silent Speech refers to something that is said internally
(i.e., silently) by someone to him or herself. We still use reporting verbs,
but we can use either quotation marks or italics to indicate the silent
speech, or nothing at all.
Ex: "I must not forget her birthday," he reminded himself.

THE REMAINING
1. Collocation: Collocation is a group of two or more words that are often
used together to convey a specific meaning. Ex: Joint account, fast food
etc.
2. Ellipsis: leaving out words when their meaning can be understood from
the context.
Ex: He worked harder than I thought (he would)

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