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Afraid you are not perfect? That's alright. It’s never too late to start.
Let us start with your first lesson, the Parts of Speech in English..
We mentioned a little while ago that any sentence would have a subject and a verb. But these
two need to agree with each other. This is what we mean by “subject - verb agreement”. The
errors we noticed in the sentences above exist because the subject and verb do not agree with
each other. Let’s take a look at this in detail.
Subject Verb Agreement- The Rules
A singular subject takes a singular verb.
A plural subject takes a plural verb.
For example:
The apple is green. (Third person singular)
Apples are good for health. (Third person plural)
The verb takes an‘s’ in the third person singular
For example:
The boy sings very well.
Mary likes ice cream.
Indefinite pronouns such as everyone and everybody feel plural to some writers, but they are
always singular — and take a singular verb.
For example:
Everyone associated with this project is proud to be here.
Everybody wants to go to the beach.
Don’t be confused by phrases that come between the subject pronoun and its verb — phrases
that may contain plural words.
For example:
One of the boxes is open.
The price of the books is very high.
Priya, who played the role of the teacher in the drama, is the best actor.
With fractional expressions (fractions or decimal equivalents), the verb will be determined by
what is being measured: is it COUNTABLE or not.
For example:
Two-fifths of the grain is ruined.
One-half of the employees were happy to know about the celebrations.
Of all the gifts we have counted so far, fifty are wrapped.
Phrases such as together with, along with, and as well as seem to join subjects, but they do not
work the same as and. They are not conjunctions.
For example:
A majority of the student body is in favor of asking the Dean to stay another year.
Some of the equipment in the store, as well as some pieces of furniture was ruined
in the flood.
The third year students, together with their teacher, are going to the science
exhibition.
When either and neither appear as the subject alone, they are singular. This is true even though
the subject seems to be two things.
For example:
Neither of these tables appears to be suitable.
The travel agent will lend me a train ticket or a flight ticket. Either is fine with me.
When either and neither act as correlative conjunctions, the subject that is closer to the verb
determines the number (singular or plural form) of the verb.
For example:
Neither the professor nor the assistants are at fault.
Either the assistants or the professor has to be responsible for the year-end
festival.
When an expletive construction (there is, there are, here is, etc.) begins a sentence, the subject
(which determines the number of the verb) comes after the verb.
For example:
There are several reasons for the breakout of the epidemic.
Here is the list of things you need to buy for your class project.
Certain words like trousers, stairs, premises, police, staff etc, are always considered plural and
take a plural verb.
For example:
The police have issued a warrant for Chopra’s arrest.
The premises are located away from the city.
Certain words like bacon and eggs, fish and chips, research and development are considered
singular as they have a close association.
For example:
Research and development is an integral part of this organisation.
Bread and butter is my favourite breakfast.
Learning and sharing is one of TCS’ values.
The rules of grammar may seem easy when you read through them. However it is only through
constant practice that you can master them. Try out the quiz given below and let’s see if we have
been able to take care of that hairline fracture. Also, at the end of our trip through Grammar
Clinic, you will be given a list of websites that will help you learn more about grammar. Go
through them as well and help yourself improve on the foundation of your language!
A preposition is a word or phrase used with a noun, pronoun or noun equivalent to show its
relation to some other word or phrase in the sentence.
It usually indicates the logical, spatial or temporal relationship of its object to the rest of the
sentence.
Prepositions are generally of three types:
Prepositions of Time
Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions of Time:
They indicate if something is at a given point in time or over a period of time.
Examples:
He started before midnight.
This will be finished in an hour’s time.
There are two more prepositions that you would find useful – FOR and SINCE.
FOR is used with a period of time while SINCE is used with a point of time
So.. did you learn something about For and Since? Yes… For is used with a period of time and
Since is used with a point of time!
Prepositions of Place
They indicate where indicate how one thing is situated in relation to another.
At, In and On are the most commonly used prepositions of place. We usually use:
At for a Point of time
In for an Enclosed space
On for a Surface
Match the picture to the correct text with the correct prepositions.
John is at the Café. He is sitting on the chair with a briefcase in his hand. His cup of
coffee is on the table. There is a camera next to it. Jane’s travel bag is under the table.
She is standing beside the door. Her glass of juice is on the table. There is a straw in her
glass. The sign board on the door says the café is open.
John is at the Café. He is sitting in the chair with a briefcase inside his hand. His cup of
coffee is at the table. There is a camera besides to it. Jane’s travel bag is on the table.
She is standing at the door. Her glass of juice is in the table. There is a straw at her
glass. The sign board in the door says the café is open.
John is at the Café. He is sitting at the chair with a briefcase in his hand. His cup of
coffee is in the table. There is a camera besides it. Jane’s travel bag is at the table. She
is standing on the door. Her glass of juice is at the top of the table. There is a straw
inside of her glass. The sign board between the door says the café is open.
Check the answer below:
John is at the Café. He is sitting on the chair with a briefcase in his hand. His cup of coffee is on
the table. There is a camera next to it. Jane’s travel bag is under the table. She is standing
beside the door. Her glass of juice is on the table. There is a straw in her glass. The sign board
on the door says the café is open.
Prepositions of Movement
They indicate how one thing is moving in relation to another. Common prepositions of movement
are:
Onto, into, across, under, through, away from, towards, over, along, past, off, around
Example:
He ran across the road.
The ball went through the window.
Look at the pictures below. Which prepositions would you use to describe these pictures?
Articles are a set of function words, which contribute greatly to meaning. There are three articles
in English namely -The, a, an The is referred to as the Definite Article while A and An are called
Indefinite Articles.
The Definite Article is used :
Before nouns which denote unique things or persons: the sun, the earth, the
equator, the universe, the stars.
Before a Noun to Denote a Class: The tiger is a ferocious animal.
The airplane is the fastest means of travel.
Before the names of mountain ranges and island groups: The Himalayas, the Alps,
the West Indies, the South Sea Islands.
Before the names of rivers, canals, straits, seas, oceans, and gulfs: the Nile, the
Suez Canal, the Gibraltar, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf.
Before the names of newspapers, holy books, old epic poems and reference books:
the Statesman, the Bible, the Mahabharata, The Encyclopedia.
Before government departments, banks, establishments: The Department of
Revenue, the Canara Bank.
Before the adjectives in the Superlative Degree: Raju is the tallest boy in the class.
Before adjectives to represent a class: The rich, the poor, the oppressed, the
downtrodden.
Before words like ultimate, next, last, first, second: The second one from the left is
my cousin..
Note:
THE is not used:
1 : before the name of a single island, mountain, peak or hill : Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Everest
2 : before the names of countries and places : India, China, New Zealand
Exceptions : the Sudan, the Punjab, the Netherlands. (Before Proper Nouns for specific
reference) :
The India of today is not the India under the British rule.
Kalidasa is known as the Shakespeare of India.
Note 1:
When the reference is to a particular kind of substance THE is used:
1 : The gold mined in India is of a good quality.
2 :The bread we produce is sweet.
Note 2:
When the metal is specified THE is used:
1 :The dinner they had hosted was well attended.
Okay. So now you know where the ‘THE’ is to be and not to be used. Let’s take a quick look at
the other two articles – The Indefinite articles A and An.
The indefinite Article A is used:
Before a word beginning with a consonantal sound: A word beginning with a consonant has
a consonantal sound.
There are some exceptions.
“Exceptions again?” Yes. You are probably wondering why there are so many of them.
Exceptions are common in English and that is what lends the language its beauty.
A European
A one rupee note
A unit
A university
A yard
The indefinite Article An is used:
Before words beginning with a vowel sound or a word with silent h:
An elephant
An army
An hour
An honor
A/An may be used in the sense of one:
There is a bird in the cage.
I will be back in an hour.
A/An is used in the sense of every:
He gets Rs. 3000/- a month.
The car is going at fifty miles an hour.
Note:
An has to be used before abbrevations pronounced with a vowel sound at the beginning:
An MLA (/em/LA)
An MP (em/P)
An MA (em/A)
1.6. Grammar Clinic_Part 2
1.7. Grammar Clinic_Part 2 - Tenses – Present, Past and
Future
Time and Tense
There are 12 tenses in English. If you know how to use it and where to use it, a major step to
attaining English fluency is accomplished!
Present Tense
Examples:
I have been studying Hindi for two years. (he’s still studying it)
We have been watching television. (we still are)
I am tired because I have been driving. (I am tired now)
It is wet outside because it has been raining .( It started raining two
hours ago and it just stopped)
Past Tense
When do we use Past Tense?
The Past tense is used for actions complete in the past at a definite time.
Examples:
I finished my homework an hour ago.
I ate sandwich for breakfast.
For a habitual action in the past.
Example:
When I was in college, I played football.
When the action took place at a definite time, even though the time is not mentioned.
Example:
She was 30 minutes late for her meeting.
For narratives – narrating stories, past events.
Example:
Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She
went for a walk in the forest. Very soon, she came upon a house. She
knocked at the door. No one answered. So Goldilocks walked right in. At
the dinner table, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was
hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
Regular verb and Irregular verb
How a sentence is formed in the past tense, depends on whether the verb is a regular verb or
an irregular verb.
Regular verbs are those whose past tense and past participles are formed by adding an -ed to
the end of the verb.
eg: plan-planned, roll-rolled , derive – derived
Irregular verbs do not have set patterns to form past tense and past participle
eg: eat-eaten , feel-felt , sell-sold
Past Continuous Tense
Eg.2: The team had been playing for about an hour when it started to rain. The game was
stopped.
Future Tense
The present continuous tense can also be used to indicate planned actions in the future.
eg: I am going to complete my assignment tonight.
Future Continuous Tense
Future perfect
When do we use Future Perfect?
The future perfect tense is used to indicate that an action will have been completed by a
particular point in the future.
Don't we get impressed by people who speak English really well? That's why we also need to
speak as well as they do. To be a good speaker, it is important that we speak the language in a
way which is understood by the native speaker as well as people like us (who use it as a second
language).
How would you feel if you are listening to someone talking and you can't make head or tail of it?
However, you can understand from which part of India that person is without even asking.
Sometimes, sounds from our mother-tongue may influence the sounds in English and sound
funny. A mispronounced word could also result in a misinterpretation.
Look at the following example: