English Grammer

Tenses
The concept of time can be split into:
1. The Present - What you are currently doing.

I eat, I am eating
The Past - What you did some time back.

I ate, I was eating
The Future - What you will do later.

I will eat, I will be eating
In the English language, tenses play an important role in sentence formation.

The tense of a verb shows the time of an event or action.
There are four types of tenses. Simple, Perfect, Continuous and Present Perfect Continuous and each of
these has a present, past and future form.
PRESENT TENSES
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its completeness.
I eat.
I sleep.
I play.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
In Present Continuous, the action is on-going/ still going on and hence continuous.
I am eating.
I am sleeping.
I am playing.
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
In Present Perfect, the action is complete or has ended and hence termed Perfect.
I have eaten.
I have slept.
I have played.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
In Present Perfect Continuous, the action has been taking place for some time and is still ongoing.
I have been eating.
I have been sleeping.
I have been playing.
PAST TENSES
SIMPLE PAST TENSE
In Simple Past, the action is simply mentioned and understood to have taken place in the past.
I ate.
I slept.
I played.
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
In Past Continuous, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past.
I was eating.
I was sleeping.
I was playing.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
Past Perfect is used to express something that happened before another action in the past.
I had eaten.
I had slept.
I had played.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Past Perfect Continuous is used to express something that started in the past and continued until another time in
the past.
I had been eating.
I had been sleeping.
I had been playing.
FUTURE TENSES
SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE
Simple Future is used when we plan or make a decision to do something. Nothing is said about the time in the
future.
I will eat.
I will sleep.
I will play.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
The future continuous tense is used to express action at a particular moment in the future. However, the action
will not have finished at the moment.
I will be eating at 9 a.m.
I will be sleeping when you arrive.
I will be playing at 5 p.m.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Future Perfect expresses action that will occur in the future before another action in the future.
I will have eaten before 10 a.m.
I will have slept before you arrive.
I will have played before 6 p.m.
FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the future.
I will have been sleeping for two hours when you arrive.
I will have been playing for an hour when it is 5 p.m.
Simple Present Tense

In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its completeness. It is
used to talk about an action which happens on a regular basis.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
VERB
REST OF THE SENTENCE
study
in Bal Bharti school.
You
study
He
studies
Mohan
studies
The boy
studies
She
studies
Pooja
studies
The girl
studies
We
study
You
study
They
study
The children
study
Notice how we use study for the subjects I, You, We, You and They and we use studies for
the subjects He and She.
Simple Present Exercise 1
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
DONT (DO NOT) /

DOESNT (DOES
NOT)
VERB
dont
play
football.
You
dont
play
football.
He
doesnt
play
football.
Mohan
doesnt
play
football.
The boy
doesnt
play
football.
She
doesnt
play
football.
Pooja
doesnt
play
football.
The girl
doesnt
play
football.
We
dont
play
football.
You
dont
play
football.
They
dont
play
football.
The men
dont
play
football.
Notice how we use dont for the subjects I, You, We, You and They
and we use doesnt for the subjects He and She. The verb form remains the same for all
subjects.
INTERROGATIVE STATEMENTS / QUESTIONS
DO / DOES
SUBJECT
VERB
Do
sleep
in the afternoon?
Do
you
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
he
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
Mohan
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
the boy
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
she
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
Pooja
sleep
in the afternoon?
Does
the girl
sleep
in the afternoon?
Do
we
sleep
in the afternoon?
Do
you
sleep
in the afternoon?
Do
they
sleep
in the afternoon?
Do
the men
sleep
in the afternoon?
Notice how we use Do for the subjects I, You, We, You and They
and we use Does for the subjects He and She. The verb form remains the same for all
subjects.
Present Continuous Tense
The present
continuous tense is used to talk about actions that are happening at this curent moment.
In the Present Continuous tense, the action is on-going/ still going on and hence continuous.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
AM / ARE / IS
VERB + ing
am
watching
television.
You
are
watching
television.
He
is
watching
television.
Mohan
is
watching
television
The boy
is
watching
television.
She
is
watching
television.
Pooja
is
watching
television.
The girl
is
watching
television.
We
are
watching
television.
You
are
watching
television.
They
are
watching
television.
The children
are
watching
television.
Notice that we use

am with I,
is with He and She

are with You, We and They
The verb form remains the same for all subjects.
Present Continuous Tense Exercise 1
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
AM NOT / ARE NOT /

IS NOT
VERB + ing
am not
playing
chess.
You
are not
playing
chess.
He
is not
playing
chess.
Mohan
is not
playing
chess.
The boy
is not
playing
chess.
She
is not
playing
chess.
Pooja
is not
playing
chess.
The girl
is not
playing
chess.
We
are not
playing
chess.
You
are not
playing
chess.
They
are not
playing
chess.
The men
are not
playing
chess.
Notice that we use

am not with I,
is not with He and She
are not with You, We and They

AM / ARE / IS
SUBJECT
VERB
Am
reading
a book?
Are
you
reading
a book?
Is
he
reading
a book?
Is
Mohan
reading
a book?
Is
the boy
reading
a book?
Is
she
reading
a book?
Is
Pooja
reading
a book?
Is
the girl
reading
a book?
Are
we
reading
a book?
Are
you
reading
a book?
Are
they
reading
a book?
Are
the men
reading
a book?
Notice the structure of the interrogative statements. We use

am with I,
is with He and She
are with You, We and They

Present Perfect Tense

In the Present Perfect tense, the action is complete or has ended and hence termed Perfect.
The exact time when the action happened is not important and hence, it is not mentioned in
this tense.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAVE / HAS
VERB (past
participle)
have
seen
this movie.
You
have
seen
this movie.
He
has
seen
this movie.
Mohan
has
seen
this movie.
The boy
has
seen
this movie.
She
has
seen
this movie.
Pooja
has
seen
this movie.
The girl
has
seen
this movie.
We
have
seen
this movie.
You
have
seen
this movie.
They
have
seen
this movie.
The children
have
seen
this movie.
Notice that we use

have with the subjects I, You, We and They
has with the subjects He and She
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAVE NOT / HAS NOT
VERB (past
participle)
have not
eaten
lunch.
You
have not
eaten
lunch.
He
has not
eaten
lunch.
Mohan
has not
eaten
lunch.
The boy
has not
eaten
lunch.
She
has not
eaten
lunch.
Pooja
has not
eaten
lunch.
The girl
has not
eaten
lunch.
We
have not
eaten
lunch.
You
have not
eaten
lunch.
They
have not
eaten
lunch.
The children
have not
eaten
lunch.
Notice that we use

have not with the subjects I, You, We and They
has not with the subjects He and She
HAVE / HAS
SUBJECT
VERB (past
participle)
Have
finished
the work?
Have
you
finished
the work?
Has
he
finished
the work?
Has
Mohan
finished
the work?
Has
the boy
finished
the work?
Has
she
finished
the work?
Has
Pooja
finished
the work?
Has
the girl
finished
the work?
Have
we
finished
the work?
Have
you
finished
the work?
Have
they
finished
the work?
Have
the men
finished
the work?
Notice that we use

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

In the Present Perfect Continuous tense, the action has been taking place for some time and is still ongoing. The
duration for which the action has been going on is usually mentioned in the present perfect
continuous tense.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAVE BEEN/
VERB + ing
HAS BEEN
have been
waiting
for an hour.
You
have been
waiting
for an hour.
He
has been
waiting
for an hour.
Mohan
has been
waiting
for an hour.
The boy
has been
waiting
for an hour.
She
has been
waiting
for an hour.
Pooja
has been
waiting
for an hour.
The girl
has been
waiting
for an hour.
We
have been
waiting
for an hour.
You
have been
waiting
for an hour.
They
have been
waiting
for an hour.
The children
have been
waiting
for an hour.
Notice that we use

have been with the subjects I, You, We and They
has been with the subjects He and She
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAVE NOT BEEN /

HAS NOT BEEN
VERB + ing
have not been
living
in Mumbai since March.
You
have not been
living
He
has not been
living
Mohan
has not been
living
The boy
has not been
living
She
has not been
living
Pooja
has not been
living
The girl
has not been
living
We
have not been
living
You
have not been
living
They
have not been
living
The children
have not been
living
Notice that we use

have not been with the subjects I, You, We and They
has not been with the subjects He and She
HAVE / HAS
SUBJECT
BEEN
VERB + ing
Have
been
working
hard for the last three days?
Have
you
been
working
Has
he
been
working
Has
Mohan
been
working
Has
the boy
been
working
Has
she
been
working
Has
Pooja
been
working
Has
the girl
been
working
Have
we
been
working
Have
you
been
working
Have
they
been
working
Have
the men
been
working
Notice that we use

Simple Past Tense

The
action started and ended sometime in the past but the time may or may not be mentioned.
In the Simple Past tense, the action is simply mentioned and understood to have taken place in the past.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
VERB (in past form)
played
cricket yesterday.
You
played
cricket yesterday.
He
played
cricket yesterday.
Mohan
played
cricket yesterday.
The boy
played
cricket yesterday.
She
played
cricket yesterday.
Pooja
played
cricket yesterday.
The girl
played
cricket yesterday.
We
played
cricket yesterday.
You
played
cricket yesterday.
They
played
cricket yesterday.
The children
played
cricket yesterday.
For making positive statements in the simple past tense, notice how we use the verb in the
past form for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
DIDNT (DID NOT)
VERB (in base form)
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
You
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
He
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
Mohan
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
The boy
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
She
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
Pooja
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
The girl
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
We
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
You
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
They
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
The men
didnt
talk
to Mohit last week.
For making negative statements in the simple past tense, notice how we use didnt or did
not and the verb in the base form for all subjects.
DID
SUBJECT
VERB (in base

form)
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
Did
complete
the work?
Did
you
complete
the work?
Did
he
complete
the work?
Did
Mohan
complete
the work?
Did
the boy
complete
the work?
Did
she
complete
the work?
Did
Pooja
complete
the work?
Did
the girl
complete
the work?
Did
we
complete
the work?
Did
you
complete
the work?
Did
they
complete
the work?
Did
the men
complete
the work?
For making questions in the simple past tense, notice how we use did and the verb in the
base form for all subjects.
Past Continuous Tense

In the Past Continuous tense, the action was ongoing till a certain time in the past.
about an action at a particular time in the past.

POSITIVE STATEMENTS
This tense is used to talk
SUBJECT
WAS / WERE
VERB + ing
was
sleeping
at 11 p.m. last night.
You
were
sleeping
He
was
sleeping
Mohan
was
sleeping
The boy
was
sleeping
She
was
sleeping
Pooja
was
sleeping
The girl
was
sleeping
We
were
sleeping
You
were
sleeping
They
were
sleeping
The children
were
sleeping
For making positive statements in the past continuous tense, notice how we use
was for the subjects I, He and She and were for the subjects You, We and They
And the verb +ing all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WAS NOT/ WERE

NOT
VERB + ing
was not
listening
to music at 4 p.m. yesterday.
You
were not
listening
He
was not
listening
Mohan
was not
listening
The boy
was not
listening
She
was not
listening
Pooja
was not
listening
The girl
was not
listening
We
were not
listening
You
were not
listening
They
were not
listening
The men
were not
listening
For making negative statements in the past continuous tense, notice how we use
was not for the subjects I, He and She and were not for the subjects You, We and
They
WAS / WERE
SUBJECT
VERB (in base form)
Was
eating
breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday?
Were
you
eating
Was
he
eating
Was
Mohan
eating
Was
the boy
eating
Was
she
eating
Was
Pooja
eating
Was
the girl
eating
Were
we
eating
Were
you
eating
Were
they
eating
Were
the men
eating
For asking questions in the past continuous tense, notice how we use
was for the subjects I, He and She and were for the subjects You, We and They
Past Perfect Tense

The Past Perfect tense is used to express something that happened before another action in the past.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAD
VERB (past
participle)
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
had
finished
the work.
You
had
finished
the work.
He
had
finished
the work.
Mohan
had
finished
the work.
The boy
had
finished
the work.
She
had
finished
the work.
Pooja
had
finished
the work.
The girl
had
finished
the work.
We
had
finished
the work.
You
had
finished
the work.
They
had
finished
the work.
The children
had
finished
the work.
Notice that we use had and the past participle form of the verb for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAD NOT
VERB (past
participle)
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
had not
talked
to my brother.
You
had not
talked
to my brother.
He
had not
talked
to my brother.
Mohan
had not
talked
to my brother.
The boy
had not
talked
to my brother.
She
had not
talked
to my brother.
Pooja
had not
talked
to my brother.
The girl
had not
talked
to my brother.
We
had not
talked
to my brother.
You
had not
talked
to my brother.
They
had not
talked
to my brother.
The children
had not
talked
to my brother.
Notice that we use had not and the past participle form of the verb for all subjects.
HAD
SUBJECT
VERB (past
participle)
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
Had
seen
the movie?
Had
you
seen
the movie?
Had
he
seen
the movie?
Had
Mohan
seen
the movie?
Had
the boy
seen
the movie?
Had
she
seen
the movie?
Had
Pooja
seen
the movie?
Had
the girl
seen
the movie?
Had
we
seen
the movie?
Had
you
seen
the movie?
Had
they
seen
the movie?
Had
the men
seen
the movie?
Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The Past Perfect Continuous tense is used to express something that started in the past and continued until
another time in the past.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAD BEEN
VERB + ing
had been
standing
at the bus stop for thirty minutes.
You
had been
standing
He
had been
standing
Mohan
had been
standing
The boy
had been
standing
She
had been
standing
Pooja
had been
standing
The girl
had been
standing
We
had been
standing
You
had been
standing
They
had been
standing
The children
had been
standing
Notice that we use had been and the verb + ing the same for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
HAD NOT BEEN
VERB + ing
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
You
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
He
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
Mohan
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
The boy
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
She
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
Pooja
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
The girl
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
We
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
You
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
They
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
The children
had not been
exercising
at the gymnasium.
Notice that we use had not been and the verb + ing form for all subjects.
HAD
SUBJECT
BEEN
VERB + ing
Had
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
you
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
he
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
Mohan
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
the boy
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
she
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
Pooja
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
the girl
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
we
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
you
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
they
been
waiting
for a long time?
Had
the men
been
waiting
for a long time?
Simple Future Tense

The Simple Future tense is used when we plan or make a decision to do something. Nothing is said about the
time in the future.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL
VERB
will
read
the story book tomorrow.
You
will
read
He
will
read
Mohan
will
read
The boy
will
read
She
will
read
Pooja
will
read
The girl
will
read
We
will
read
You
will
read
They
will
read
The children
will
read
SUBJECT
AM / IS / ARE
GOING TO
VERB
am going to
read
You
are going to
read
He
is going to
read
Mohan
is going to
read
The boy
is going to
read
She
is going to
read
Pooja
is going to
read
The girl
is going to
read
We
are going to
read
You
are going to
read
They
are going to
read
The children
are going to
read
Notice how we use will or going to and the verb in the base form for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL NOT
VERB
will not
play
football next week.
You
will not
play
football next week.
He
will not
play
football next week.
Mohan
will not
play
football next week.
The boy
will not
play
football next week.
She
will not
play
football next week.
Pooja
will not
play
football next week.
The girl
will not
play
football next week.
We
will not
play
football next week.
You
will not
play
football next week.
They
will not
play
football next week.
The children
will not
play
football next week.
VERB
AM / IS / ARE
SUBJECT
NOT GOING TO
am not going to
play
football next week.
You
are not going to
play
football next week.
He
is not going to
play
football next week.
Mohan
is not going to
play
football next week.
The boy
is not going to
play
football next week.
She
is not going to
play
football next week.
Pooja
is not going to
play
football next week.
The girl
is not going to
play
football next week.
We
are not going to
play
football next week.
You
are not going to
play
football next week.
They
are not going to
play
football next week.
The children
are not going to
play
football next week.
Notice how we use will not or not going to and the verb in the base form for all subjects.
WILL
SUBJECT
VERB
Will
go
to Mumbai next month?
Will
you
go
Will
he
go
Will
Mohan
go
Will
the boy
go
Will
she
go
Will
Pooja
go
Will
the girl
go
Will
we
go
Will
you
go
Will
they
go
Will
the children
go
AM / IS / ARE
SUBJECT
GOING TO
VERB
Am
going to
go
Are
you
going to
go
Is
he
going to
go
Is
Mohan
going to
go
Is
the boy
going to
go
Is
she
going to
go
Is
Pooja
going to
go
Is
the girl
going to
go
Are
we
going to
go
Are
you
going to
go
Are
they
going to
go
Are
the children
going to
go
Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense is used to express action at a particular moment in the future. However, the action
will not have finished at the moment.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL BE
VERB + ing
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
You
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
He
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Mohan
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
The boy
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
She
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Pooja
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
The girl
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
We
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
You
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
They
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
The children
will be
studying
at 4 p.m. tomorrow.
Notice that we use will be and the verb + ing for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL NOT
BE
VERB + ing
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
You
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
He
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Mohan
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The boy
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
She
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Pooja
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The girl
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
We
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
You
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
They
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The children
will not be
playing
at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Notice that we use will not be and the verb + ing for all subjects.
WILL
SUBJECT
BE
VERB + ing
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
Will
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
you
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
he
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
Mohan
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
the boy
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
she
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
Pooja
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
the girl
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
we
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
you
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
they
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Will
the children
be
sleeping
at 7 a.m tomorrow?
Future Perfect Tense

The Future Perfect tense expresses an action that will occur in the future before another action or time in the future.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL HAVE
VERB (past
participle)
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
You
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
He
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
Mohan
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
The boy
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
She
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
Pooja
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
The girl
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
We
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
You
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
They
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
The children
will have
eaten
by half past nine.
Notice how we use will have and the past participle of the verb for all subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL NOT HAVE
VERB (past
participle)
will not have
finished
my assignment by Monday.
You
will not have
finished
He
will not have
finished
Mohan
will not have
finished
The boy
will not have
finished
She
will not have
finished
Pooja
will not have
finished
The girl
will not have
finished
We
will not have
finished
You
will not have
finished
They
will not have
finished
The children
will not have
finished
Notice how we use will have not and the past participle of the verb for all subjects.
WILL
SUBJECT
HAVE
VERB
REST OF THE
SENTENCE
Will
have
joined
the course by Thursday?
Will
you
have
joined
Will
he
have
joined
Will
Mohan
have
joined
Will
the boy
have
joined
Will
she
have
joined
Will
Pooja
have
joined
Will
the girl
have
joined
Will
we
have
joined
Will
you
have
joined
Will
they
have
joined
Will
the children
have
joined
Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Future Perfect Continuous is used to talk about an on-going action before some point in the future.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL HAVE
BEEN
VERB + ing
will have been
watching
television for four hours when you come

home.
You
will have been
watching

home.
He
will have been
watching

home.
Mohan
will have been
watching

home.
The boy
will have been
watching

home.
She
will have been
watching

home.
Pooja
will have been
watching

home.
The girl
will have been
watching

home.
We
will have been
watching

home.
You
will have been
watching

home.
They
will have been
watching
home.
The children
will have been
watching

home.
Notice how we use will have been and the verb + ing for all the subjects.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT
WILL NOT HAVE

BEEN
VERB + ing
will not have been
waiting
for too long when Arun arrives.
You
will not have been
waiting
He
will not have been
waiting
Mohan
will not have been
waiting
The boy
will not have been
waiting
She
will not have been
waiting
Pooja
will not have been
waiting
The girl
will not have been
waiting
We
will not have been
waiting
You
will not have been
waiting
They
will not have been
waiting
The children
will not have been
waiting
Notice how we use will not have been and the verb + ing for all the subjects.
WILL SUBJECT
HAVE
BEEN
VERB +
ing
Will
have been
playing
cricket for more than two hours when it gets

dark?
Will
you
have been
playing

dark?
Will
he
have been
playing

dark?
Will
Mohan
have been
playing

dark?
Will
the boy
have been
playing

dark?
Will
she
have been
playing

dark?
Will
Pooja
have been
playing

dark?
Will
the girl
have been
playing

dark?
Will
we
have been
playing

dark?
Will
you
have been
playing

dark?
Will
they
have been
playing

dark?
Will
the children
have been
playing

dark?
Print- Subjects, Verbs and Objects

Subjects, verbs and objects are the basic units of any sentence; to be able to identify them and use them
correctly is the one of the first steps to writing and speaking good English.
A sentence, of course, is the conventional unit of connected speech and writing: it is a grouping of words that
together make sense as a statement, question, command or exclamation. Sentences
Begin with a capitalised letter,
Conclude with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark,
And are, at the most basic level, comprised of a subject and a predicate, or verb.
The subject is generally a noun, a noun phrase, or pronoun, about which something is said in the predicate,
which usually follows it. Take the following sentence:
The dog barked.
Here, the subject is the dog, and the verb barked describes what it is/was doing. The place of the noun in the
sentence as the subject can be taken by noun phrases, such as the five dogs, or by pronouns, such as I, you, he
and she.
Another role played by nouns in sentences is that of the object: that which, directly or indirectly, receives the
action performed by the subject. For example:
The dog barked at the postman.
Here, the postman is obviously the object: that which the subjects action (the barking of the dog) is directed at.
In this role too, pronouns such as they, it, us, them, me, etc can replace nouns.
To conclude, let us analyse another sentence and see if we can identify the subject-verb-object pattern:
Rita was furious with me.
Here,
1. was acts as the verb that links the subject, Rita,

2. with the adjective furious,
3. and together they establish the relationship between the subject and the object, me (used in place of
the narrators name).
4.
Conditionals
5. Conditionals are structures in English that establish what will happen if a certain event takes place or
action is performed, i.e. if a certain condition is true, a certain result occurs.
6. There are four types of commonly used conditionals in English that are differentiated on the basis of
7.
8.
the degree of possibility implied by each conditional: the first conditional, the second conditional, the
third conditional and the zero conditional.
First Conditional
This conditional is used to talk about future events that might happen. It uses the present tense to
discuss the possible future event. For e.g.:
9.
10. If it rains, we will have to cancel the picnic.
11. If you come with me, I will make it worth your while.
12. If I go abroad, I will get something back for you.
13. If you want until 1pm, you can go back with him.
14. If you visit Paris, you must see the Eiffel Tower.
15.
16. Second Conditional
17. This conditional is used to talk about unreal possibility or impossible events; they establish the course
of action that would follow, were something to happen hypothetically. For e.g.:
18.
19.
20.
If I had a million dollars, I would buy a penthouse on Park Avenue.

I could stop working if I won the lottery.
21.
If I were well-versed in the subject, I would help you with your assignment.
22.
If I were you, I would ask her to marry me.
23.
What would you do if it were to rain later?
24.
25. Third Conditional
26. This conditionals talks about the past, unlike the first and second which discuss events in the real or
unreal future. These conditions, too, are therefore impossible, because they have either already
occurred or might have occurred but wont anymore. For e.g.:
27.
28.
If I had studied a little more in college, life would have been easier.
29.
If we had gotten to the airport on time, we would have caught our flight.
30.
I could have asked him about the matter if he had shown up.
31.
32. Sometimes the if clause is merely implied, as in:
33.
34.
I would have done it. (...if you had asked me to)
35.
I wouldnt have allowed it. (...if it had been tried with me)
36.
37. Zero Conditional
38. The zero conditional discusses an absolute certainty; the result of the condition is always true. The
most common types of zero conditionals are scientific facts, like If you cool water to zero degrees, it
turns into ice.
39.
40. Zero conditionals, therefore, do not deal with the future or the past; they simply deal with facts. The if
in these conditionals can be replaced with when: When you cool water to zero degrees, it turns into
ice.
Determiners
Determiners are a kind of noun modifier; they precede and are necessarily followed by nouns. While adjectives
perform a similar function, the term determiner refers to a relatively limited set of well-established words that
can be said to mark nouns.
The function of determiners is to express reference; i.e. they clarify what a noun is referring to. For e.g. when
one says that box, the listener knows which box is being referred to.
There are many types of determiners:
1. Articles
There are three articles: a, an, and the.
Indefinite Articles
A and an are indefinite articles that serve the same purpose, but they cannot be used interchangeably, because a
is only used before words that begin with consonants, and an is used only before words that begin with vowels.
(Note: an before h when it is silent, as in hour and honour; a before u and eu when they sound like
you, as in European and university.
The uses of the indefinite article are as follows:
a. To refer to some member of a group, class or category. For e.g. He is a doctor (profession)/an Indian
(nationality)/a Hindu (religion).
b. To refer to a kind of, or example of something. For e.g. He has a large nose/a thick beard/a strange
aunt.
c. Preceding singular nouns, with the words what and such. For e.g. What a car! Oh, thats such a
shame!
d. To mean one object, whether a person or thing. For e.g. The thieves stole a necklace and a portrait.
e. To refer to something that is being mentioned for the first time. For e.g. There was a chill in the air.
Note:
a. We usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million, etc.

b. A is not indiscriminately used to refer to singular objects; one is used when emphasis is required.
For e.g. There is only one way out of this mess.
Definite Article
The is known as the definite article in English. Its uses are as follows:
a. When something is being referred to that has already been mentioned. For e.g. I saw a pretty girl at the
mall today. The pretty girl did not, however, see me.
b. When both parties involved in the conversation are aware of what is being discussed. For e.g. Where is
the restroom?
c. To refer to unique objects. For e.g. the sun, the moon, the Earth, the Taj Mahal.
d. With superlatives and ordinal numbers (numbers used to rank a set of objects). For e.g. Mt Everest is
the tallest mountain on earth, Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon.
e. To refer to groups of people, geographical areas and oceans, and with decades or groups of years. For
e.g. the Americans, the Sahara/Pacific, the fifties/sixities/seventies/eighties.
Quantifiers
See article.
Demonstratives
This, that, these and those are known are demonstratives; they describe the position of an object,
seen from the speakers viewpoint.
This and these (used for singular and plural nouns respectively) refer to objects that close by. For
e.g. Whose car is this? Whose cars are these?
That and those (used for singular and plural nouns respectively) refer to objects that are further
away. The closeness can be physical or psychological. For e.g. Who lives in that house?
Numbers
Numbers are cardinal (one, two, three, etc) and ordinal (first, second, third, etc). Cardinal numbers
are adjectives that indicate quantity (There are fives apples on the table), and ordinal numbers
indicate rank or order (This is the first time for me on a plane).
Distributives
The words all, both, half, each, every, either and neither are known as distributives.
All, Both, Half
These three words can be used in the following ways:
All +
uncountable noun
Don Bradman is the greatest batsman of all time.
the + uncountable noun/countable noun in plural form
We have all the time in the world.
All the people in the hall went quiet.
my, your, etc + uncountable noun/countable noun in plural form
All my life I have been waiting for this moment.
All you friends have been invited to the party.
this, that + uncountable noun/these, those + countable noun in plural form
Look at all this dust!
I do not have time for all these formalities.
Both +
the /my, your, etc/these, those + countable noun in plural form (note: used
only when two objects are being referred to)
Both the dogs have passed away.
Both my ankles have been hurting since I jumped from the balcony.
Both these books must be returned within the week.
Half +
a + uncountable noun
We bought half a kilo of rice.

the/my, your, etc/this, that, these, those + noun
Half the village perished in the floods.
I spent half my inheritance on travelling the world.
You may have half (of) this cake.
Only half (of) those points are relevant.
Each, Every, Either, Neither
See articles.
Possessives
Possessive pronouns and adjectives indicate who an object belongs to.
The pronouns are

mine (first person: This car is mine = I own this car)
yours (second person: This car is yours = You own this car)
his, hers, and its (third person: This cars is his/hers = He/she owns this car).
The corresponding adjectives are
my
your
his, her, and it
Difference words
Other and another are difference words; they refer to something different, or remaining, or more.
Other is used with singular and plural nouns, while another is used strictly with singular nouns.
What other colours can I get this in?
Is there another colour that this is available in?
Defining words
Which and whose are defining words; they indicate which thing or person is being referred to.
This is the house which I used to live in as a child.

This is the man whose window you broke.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers form a sub-class under determiners; they are adjectives or phrases that serve to answer two possible
questions: How many? and How much? For e.g. a few, a little, much, many, most, some, any, enough, etc are
quantifiers.
Quantifiers that describe quantity
Words and phrases that describe quantity include a little, none, a few, etc. Some of these are used only with
countable nouns (the ones that answer the question How many? such as a few, a number of, several, etc), some
only with uncountable nouns (the ones that answer the question How much? such as a little, a bit of, etc) and
some with both (the ones that answer both questions, such as no/none, some, a lot of, etc).
Quantifiers that express attitude
The words few and little and the phrases a few and a little serve to describe the speakers attitude to the quantity
being described. The first two carry negatives suggestions, whereas the second two carry positive suggestions.
For e.g. the phrase I have little time means that the speaker hardly has time, whereas the phrase I have a little
time means that while the speaker may not have all the time in the world, s/he has enough for the purpose at
hand.
Enough
Enough is used to indicate the necessary amount or quantity; it is placed before nouns. For e.g. There is enough
time, You have enough money, Is there enough food?, etc.
Comparative quantifiers
There are ten comparative or grade quantifiers: much, many, more, most, few, fewer, fewest, little, less, and least.
Much, many, more and most chart, in ascending order, increase; much is used only with uncountable nouns,
many only with plural countable nouns, and more and most with both.
I have much time. < I have more time. < I have the most time.
I have many apples. < I have more apples. < I have the most apples.
Few, fewer, fewest, little, less and least chart decrease. The first three (in descending order) are used only with
countable plural nouns. The second three (in descending order) are used only with uncountable nouns.
He has few friends. > He has fewer friends. > He has the fewest friends.
He has little time. > He has less time. > He has the least time.
Subjunctive
The subjunctive is a verb form in English that is relatively rare, but is structurally very simple. It is a special
kind of present tense; for all verbs except the past tense of be (were), the subjunctive is the same as the
infinitive without to. Therefore, the subjunctive is simply the basic verb form (for e.g., do, work, demand,
hire), with the difference that no s is added to the verb when it is used with the third person singular. For e.g. in
the sentence I suggested that he take the matter to the proper authorities, take is the subjunctive.
The subjunctive is used more often in American and written than in British and spoken English. It is used
generally when talking about something that may or may not happen; it could be something that the speaker
wants, hopes for, expects, or imagines. The following are more examples of subjunctives:
If I were king, there would be no more famines.
The chairman requests that all members of the board be present at the meeting.
I demand that he provide us with a full explanation.
As you can see, the structure that the subjunctive takes is generally as follows: [subject] (I) [verb] (demand)
that [object] (he) [subjunctive] (provide)... The verbs that are commonly used before subjunctives are advise,
ask, beg, decide, decree, desire, dictate, insist, intend, move, order, petition, propose, recommend, request,
require, resolve, suggest, urge, and vote.
Another pattern exists as well, in which that is preceded by an expression rather than the verb. For e.g. in the
sentence It is essential that the goods be delivered on time, it is essential is the expression. The expressions that
are commonly used with subjunctives are it is desirable/imperative/essential/necessary/important, etc.
Now, in the example If I were king..., there seems to be a slight problem, which is that king is a singular noun,
so the verb preceding it should, it appears, be was, not were. However, this construction does not use was.
Were is the past subjunctive of be, and is formally always with if, and certain other words/phrases, such as
I wish and as if; it is simply a quirk of the language. The following are more examples of the same:
If I were you, I would take a stand on the issue.
If he were not so intelligent, I would have fired him for his insolence.
I wish she werent so dull.
You act as if you were king.
Direct and Reported Speech

There are two ways in language of conveying what someone else has said: direct/quoted speech and
indirect/reported speech.
The former, direct/quoted speech, involves quoting the exact words uttered by the person, within quotation
marks. For example She said, I wont be coming home tonight. is an example of direct speech.
Indirect/reported speech, on the other hand, does not have to be within quotes or word-for-word. In fact, unless
one is relaying the exact words spoken, one should never use quotation marks. For example, She told us that she
wouldnt be coming home that night is an example of reported speech. Note that the verb tense necessarily
changes in reported speech. This is because when we report speech, we are talking, obviously, about something
that was said in the past. Hence, it becomes necessary to use the past tense of the verb.
DIRECT SPEECH
REPORTED SPEECH
He said, Im fine.
He said that he was fine.
He said, Ive been married for 3 years.
He said that he had been married for 3 years.
He said, I went to the theatre yesterday.
He said that he had gone to the theatre the day before.
He said, The show was already underway when the chief guest He said that the show was already underway when the chief gue
arrived.
arrived. (no change in tense)
Another thing to note is that modal verbs (will, can, must, shall, may) also change, taking their past tense forms
(would, could, had to, should, might). This also means that would, could, should, might and ought to do not
change forms when reported.
Independent and Dependent Clauses

A clause is a grouping of words in English that contains a subject and a verb. Clauses are the
building blocks of sentences. They can be of two types: independent and dependent. It is
important for the purpose of sentence formation to be able to recognise independent and
dependent clauses.
Independent clauses are clauses that express a complete thought. They can function as
sentences. For e.g. 'Ram left to buy supplies' is an independent clause, and if you end it with a
full stop, it becomes a sentence.
Dependent clauses, on the other hand, do not express a complete thought and thus cannot
function as sentences. For e.g. 'When Ram left to buy supplies' cannot be a sentence because it
is an incomplete thought. What happened when Ram went to the shop? Here, when
functions as a dependent marker word; this term refers to words which, when added to the
beginnings of independent clauses or sentences, transform them into dependent clauses.
Other examples of dependent marker words are after, although, as, as if, because, before, if,
in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.
Dependent clauses, thus, need to be combined with independent clauses to form full
sentences. For e.g., 'When Ram left to buy supplies, Rohan snuck in and stole the money' is a
complete sentence.
Grammar Rules: Avoid these common errors
Here is a list of 5 of the most common grammatical mistakes that are made by English speakers/writers. This list
is merely a quick glance; these matters are dealt with in detail as well, in appropriate sections.
1. Subject Verb Agreement: Learners often get confused with using the
appropriate form of the verb with the subject of the sentence. For example, I live
in India and He lives in India is the correct subject verb agreement of the verb
to live.
Possessive Nouns: Non-native speakers of the English are unsure about showing
possession while writing or speaking in English. For example, The book belonging
to the girl can also be referred to as The girls book
See also: Possessive Nouns
Comparison of adjectives: We add er to compare short adjectives and we add

more for longer adjectives like handsome and intelligent.
See also: Comparison of Adjectives
Punctuation mistakes: Punctuation errors, too, are very common, especially in

the use of semicolons and commas.
See also: Punctuation Rules
Singular and Plural: Many new learners make mistakes in forming the plural
form of singular nouns.
See also: How to make plurals
Adjectives
An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.
Types of Adjectives
Following are the kinds of adjectives which are commonly used:
1. Adjectives of Quality:
o
Adjectives of Quality answer the question Of what kind
Examples : Large, Small, Intelligent, Beautiful
2. Adjectives of Quantity:
o
Adjectives of Quantity answer the question How much
Examples : Some, Little, Any, Enough
3. Adjectives of Number:
o
Adjectives of Number answer the question How many
Examples : Two, Seven, Second, Third
4. Demonstrative Adjectives:
o
Demonstrative Adjectives answer the question Which
Examples : This, That, These, Those
5. Interrogative Adjectives:
o
Interrogative Adjectives are used to ask questions about a noun.
Examples : What, Which, Whose
Adjective Exercise 1
Adjective Exercise 2
List of Adjectives, Adjective Examples
Abundant Elderly
Nasty
Accurate
Elegant
Naughty
Addicted
Embarrass
Nervous
ed
Adorable
Empty
New
Adventurou Encouragin
Noisy
s
g
Afraid
Enthusiasti
Nutritious
c
Aggressive Excellent
Obedient
Alcoholic
Exciting
Obese
Alert
Expensive Obnoxious
Aloof
Fabulous
Old
Ambitious Fair
Overconfide
nt
Ancient
Faithful
Peaceful
Angry
Famous
Pink
Animated
Fancy
Polite
Annoying
Fantastic
Poor
Anxious
Fast
Powerful
Arrogant
Fearful
Precious
Ashamed
Fearless
Pretty
Attractive Fertile
Proud
Auspicious Filthy
Quick
Awesome
Foolish
Quiet
Awful
Forgetful
Rapid
Bad
Friendly
Rare
Bashful
Funny
Red
Beautiful
Gentle
Remarkable
Belligerent Glamorous Responsible

Beneficial
Glorious
Rich
Best
Gorgeous
Romantic
Big
Graceful
Royal
Bitter
Grateful
Rude
Bizarre
Great
Scintillating
Black
Greedy
Secretive
Blue
Green
Selfish
Boring
Handsome Serious
Brainy
Happy
Sharp
Bright
Harsh
Shiny
Broad
Healthy
Shocking
Broken
Heavy
Short
Busy
Helpful
Shy
Calm
Hilarious
Silly
Capable
Historical
Sincere
Careful
Horrible
Skinny
Careless
Hot
Slim
Caring
Huge
Slow
Cautious
Humorous Small
Charming
Hungry
Soft
Cheap
Ignorant
Spicy
Cheerful
Illegal
Spiritual
Chubby
Imaginary Splendid
Clean
Impolite
Clever
Important Successful
Clumsy
Impossible Sweet
Cold
Innocent
Colorful
Intelligent Tall
Strong
Talented
Comfortabl
Interesting Tasty
e
Concerned Jealous
Tense
Confused
Jolly
Terrible
Crowded
Juicy
Terrific
Cruel
Juvenile
Thick
Curious
Kind
Thin
Curly
Large
Tiny
Cute
Legal
Ugly
Damaged
Light
Unique
Dangerous Literate
Untidy
Dark
Little
Upset
Deep
Lively
Victorious
Defective
Lonely
Violent
Delicate
Loud
Vulgar
Delicious
Lovely
Warm
Depressed Lucky
Weak
Determine
Macho
d
Wealthy
Different
Magical
Wide
Dirty
MagnificentWise
Disgusting Massive
Witty
Dry
Wonderful
Mature
Dusty
Mean
Worried
Early
Messy
Young
Educated
Modern
Youthful
Efficient
Narrow
Zealous
Comparison of Adjectives
Ram is tall.
Shyam is taller than Ram.
Mohan is the tallest of the three.
In the second sentence, the word taller is the comparative form of the adjective. The
comparative form of the adjective denotes a higher degree of the adjective tall when two
people or things are compared.
In the third sentence, the word tallest is the superlative form of the adjective. The
superlative form of the adjective denotes the highest degree of the adjective tall when more
than two people or things are compared.
Here are some simple rules to keep in mind when forming comparatives and superlatives.
RULE 1
For most adjectives, er is added for the comparative form and est for the superlative
form.
Tall Taller Tallest
Strong Stronger Strongest
Short Shorter Shorter
Kind Kinder - Kindest
RULE 2
For adjectives ending with e, r is added for the comparative form and st for the
superlative form.
Wise Wiser Wisest

Large Larger Largest
Nice Nicer Nicest
Fine Finer - Finest
RULE 3
For adjectives ending with y, y is removed and ier is added for comparative form
and iest for the superlative form.
Lazy Lazier Laziest

Crazy Crazier Craziest
Wealthy Wealthier Wealthiest
Heavy Heavier - Heaviest
RULE 4
Usually for longer adjectives, more + adjective is used for comparative form and
most + adjective is used for superlative form.
Handsome More Handsome Most Handsome

Beautiful More Beautiful Most Beautiful
Intelligent More Intelligent Most Intelligent
Difficult More Difficult Most Difficult
RULE 5
Irregular Adjectives: There are some irregular adjectives for which the comparative
and superlative form follow no particular rule.
Good Better Best

Bad Worse Worst
Many More Most
Little Less - Least
Adverbs
An adverb is a word which modifies the meaning of a verb, adjective or another adverb.
Types of Adverbs
There are seven classes of commonly used adverbs:
1. Adverbs of Time: These adverbs are used to answer the question when.
Examples : Now, Yesterday, Today, Once
2. Adverbs of Frequency: These adverbs are used to answer the question how often.
Examples : Seldom, Rarely, Often, Frequently
3. Adverbs of Place: These adverbs are used to answer the question where.
Examples : Out, In, Forward, Everywhere
4. Adverbs of Manner: These adverbs are used to answer the question how.
Examples : Honestly, Bravely, Happily
5. Adverbs of Degree:These adverbs are used to answer the question how much or to what extent.
Examples : Fully, Partly, Altogether, Almost
6. Adverbs of Affirmation and Negation: These adverbs are used to confirm or deny.
Examples : Certainly, Surely, Absolutely
7. Adverbs of Reason: These adverbs are used to give the reason.

Therefore, Hence
Adverbs Exercise 1
Adverbs Exercise 2
List of Adverbs, Adverb Examples
Accidentally
Happily
Really
Always
Highly
Regularly
Angrily
Honestly
Reluctantly
Arrogantly
Hopelessly Repeatedly
Badly
Immediatel
Rudely
y
Beautifully
Innocently Sadly
Bitterly
Instantly
Blindly
Interestingl
Seldom
y
Boldly
Jealously
Selfishly
Bravely
Joyfully
Seriously
Safely
Examples :
Briefly
Kindly
Silently
Busily
Lazily
Slowly
Carefully
Less
Softly
Certainly
Loudly
Sometimes
Clearly
Lovingly
Soon
Courageously Loyally
Strictly
Cruelly
Madly
Suddenly
Curiously
More
Surprisingly
Daily
Mysteriousl
Sweetly
y
Delightfully
Naturally
Terribly
Easily
Nearly
Thankfully
Enthusiastical
Nervously Thoughtfully
ly
Eventually
Never
Tomorrow
Exactly
Obediently
Unexpectedl
y
Excitedly
Officially
Unfortunatel
y
Extremely
Often
Urgently
Fairly
Openly
Usually
Faithfully
Painfully
Valiantly
Fast
Patiently
Very
Foolishly
Politely
Violently
Fortunately
Poorly
Well
Frankly
Positively
Wisely
Generally
Properly
Yearly
Generously
Quickly
Yesterday
Gently
Quietly
Gracefully
Rarely
Placement of Adverbs
Adverbs can be used in diverse ways, which means that they are very flexible in sentences; they can be moved
around quite a bit without causing any grammatical irregularities.
Take a look at the following sentence: The speaker grimly faced the audience. The adverb in this sentence is
grimly; moving it around a little, we get The speaker faced the audience grimly. There is nothing wrong with
either sentence. What this goes to show is that an adverb can be positioned at multiple points in a sentence, and
the guide below will help you decide where your chosen adverb should go:
Adverbs used to begin sentences/clauses

Connecting adverbs
To place an adverb at the beginning of a sentence or clause is also known as initial position adverb placement,
and the adverbs that are commonly used in these positions are known as connecting adverbs, such as:
Consequently
However
Next
Still
Then
These adverbs are known as connecting adverbs, quite simply, because they are used at the beginnings of
phrases and sentences to connect them to what has been said before. For e.g.:
I did not care for her tone. However, I let it go.
I began to dislike my course within months having signed up for it. Consequently, I never did well.
That was the Medieval section of the museum; next, we have the Industrial Revolution.
Adverbs of time
Time adverbs, like tomorrow, yesterday and sometimes, are among the most flexible of all adverbs, and can
often take initial position. For e.g.:
Yesterday I was very busy, which is why I was unable to meet you.
Tomorrow I am leaving for Calcutta.
Sometimes we feel as if we do not belong in this group.
Adverbs in the middle
Focusing adverbs
Focusing adverbs are those adverbs that emphasise a part of the clause or sentence to which they belong, and
are generally used mid-sentence. Focusing adverbs include adverbs of frequency (often, rarely, never, always,
etc), adverbs of certainty (perhaps, probably, certainly, maybe, etc) and adverbs of comment (adverbs that are
used to express opinion, such as smartly, responsibly, intelligently, etc). For e.g.:
You are always late.
I will probably be absent at the party.
He acted responsibly by informing the authorities about the wallet he had found.
Note: Adverbs of frequency are used before the main verb, not the auxiliary verb.
Adverbs to end sentences

This is the most common position for adverbs in sentences.
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner are used to describe how something is done, and are generally placed at the ends of
sentences or clauses. For e.g.:
He wrote the answers correctly.
His stammer caused him to speak haltingly.
Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place are used to describe the place where an event occurs, and are also positioned at the ends of
sentences or clauses. For e.g.:
Father is sleeping upstairs.
In a couple of days I will be travelling north.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time, as discussed earlier, can also find their ways to the ends of sentences or clauses. For e.g.:
I leave tomorrow afternoon.
Forming Adverbs from Adjectives

Here are some guidelines on forming adverbs from adjectives:
1. In a large number of the cases, the adverb can be formed by simply adding -ly to the adjective.
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Cheap
Cheaply
Quick
Quickly
Strong
Strongly
If the adjective ends in with y, replace the y with an i and add -ly.
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Ready
Readily
Merry
Merrily
Easy
Easily
If the adjective ends with -le, replace the e at the end with y.
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Understandable
Understandably
Forcible
Forcibly
Possible
Possibly
If the adjective ends with -ic, add -ally.

ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Idiotic
Idiotically
Tragic
Tragically
Basic
Basically
An exception to this rule is public, whose adverbial form is publicly.
Some adjectives do not change form at all.

ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Fast
Fast
Straight
Straight
Hard
Hard
In the case of the adjective good, the corresponding adverb is well.
Articles
The English language utilises two articles: a/an and The.

a/an are known as indefinite articles because the identity of the thing or person being spoken about is left
indefinite. They refer to any member of a group.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
You may have heard this many times; as you might have realised, it does not refer to a particular apple but to
any apple.
Lets watch a movie.
This sentence refers to watching any movie and not a particular one.
The is known as a definite article because it is used in relation to a particular thing or person.
The dog attacked me and ran.
Notice how the reference is not left indefinite. It is clear that a particular dog is being spoken about. A particular
dog attacked the speaker.
I finally got the dress we liked
This refers to a particular dress and not just any dress.
Let us take one more example to ensure clarity.
Please give me a pencil.
This is in reference to any pencil.
Please give me the pencil.
This is in reference to a particular pencil, a pencil that has either been previously spoken about or is visible to
both.
USAGE OF A AND AN
Indefinite articles a/an are used as follows.
a is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. Consonant letters in the English alphabet are
B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M,N, P, Q, R, S, T, V,W, X,Y, Z.
A boy, a cat, a dog, a fight, a gym, a horse, a joke, a kite, a lion, a mirror, a noise, a pin, a quilt etc.
an is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound. Vowel letters in the English alphabet are A, E, I, O,
U.
An apple, an elephant, an idiot, an orange, an umbrella.
As mentioned earlier, usage is on the basis of sound and not only the letter the word starts with. Let me explain.
An hour
An honest man
A one eyed dog
Do these seem wrong to you?
Theyre not and the reason is simply that usage is on the basis of sound. The words 'hour' and 'honest' both
begin with a vowel sound, as the consonant 'h' is not pronounced. Similarly, the word 'one' begins with the
consonant sound of 'w' and hence is written as 'a one eyed dog', not 'an one eyed dog'.
Nouns
A noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing.
Types of Nouns
There are four kinds of nouns which are commonly used:
1. Proper Nouns:Proper Noun is the name of a particular person or place. Proper nouns always begin
with a capital letter.
Examples : Sita, Rajesh, Delhi, Kanpur
2. Common Nouns:Common Noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the group.
Common nouns begin with a capital letter only if it is the first word of the sentence.
Examples : Girl, Boy, City, Tiger
3. Collective Nouns:Collective Nouns are those nouns that denote a group of people, animals, objects,
concepts or ideas as a single entity.
Examples : Army of Soldiers, Class of Students, Crew of Sailors, Band of Musicians
4. Abstract Nouns: Abstract Noun is the name of a quality, action or state. You cannot see, hear, smell or
taste an abstract noun.
Examples : Kindness, Loyalty, Childhood, Sickness, Laughter
List of Nouns, Noun Examples

Nouns Exercise 1
Actor
Garden
Oil
Advertiseme
Gas
nt
Orange
Afternoon
Oxygen
Ghost
Airport
Girl
Oyster
Ambulance
Glass
Painting
Animal
Gold
Parrot
Answer
Grass
Pencil
Apple
Greece
Piano
Army
Guitar
Pillow
Australia
Hair
Pizza
Balloon
Hamburge
Planet
r
Banana
Helicopter Plastic
Battery
Helmet
Portugal
Beach
Holiday
Potato
Beard
Honey
Queen
Bed
Horse
Quill
Belgium
Hospital
Rain
Boy
House
Rainbow
Branch
Hydrogen Raincoat
Breakfast
Ice
Refrigerato
r
Brother
Insect
Restaurant
Camera
Insurance River
Candle
Iron
Rocket
Car
Island
Room
Caravan
Jackal
Rose
Carpet
Jelly
Russia
Cartoon
Jewellery
Sandwich
China
Jordan
School
Church
Juice
Scooter
Crayon
Kangaroo Shampoo
Crowd
King
Shoe
Daughter
Kitchen
Soccer
Death
Kite
Spoon
Denmark
Knife
Stone
Diamond
Lamp
Sugar
Dinner
Lawyer
Sweden
Disease
Leather
Teacher
Doctor
Library
Telephone
Dog
Lighter
Television
Dream
Lion
Tent
Dress
Lizard
Thailand
Easter
Lock
Tomato
Egg
London
Toothbrush
Eggplant
Lunch
Traffic
Egypt
Machine
Train
Elephant
Magazine Truck
Energy
Magician
Engine
Mancheste
Umbrella
r
England
Market
Van
Evening
Match
Vase
Eye
Microphon
Vegetable
e
Family
Monkey
Vulture
Finland
Morning
Wall
Fish
Motorcycle Whale
Flag
Nail
Window
Flower
Napkin
Wire
Football
Needle
Xylophone
Forest
Nest
Yacht
Fountain
Nigeria
Yak
France
Night
Zebra
Uganda
Furniture
Notebook Zoo
Garage
Ocean
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are those nouns that denote a group of people, animals, objects, concepts or ideas as a single
entity.
These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.
1. A class of students.
2. An army of soldiers.
3. A choir of singers.
4. A crew of sailors.
5. A band of musicians.
6. A bunch of crooks.
7. A crowd of people/spectators.
8. A gang of thieves.
9. A group of dancers.
10. A team of players.
11. A troupe of artists/dancers.
12. A pack of thieves.
13. A staff of employees.
14. A regiment of soldiers.
15. A tribe of natives.
16. An audience of listeners.
17. A panel of experts.
18. A gang of labourers.
19. A flock of tourists.
20. A board of directors.

Collective Nouns Exercise 1
Collective Nouns Exercise 2
The following collective nouns are used for animals.
1. A catch of fish.
2. An army of ants.
3. A flight of birds.
4. A flock of birds.
5. A haul of fish.
6. A flock of sheep.
7. A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloes.
8. A hive of bees.
9. A litter of cubs.
10. A host of sparrows.
11. A team of horses.
12. A troop of lions.
13. A zoo of wild animals.
14. A pack of wolves.
15. A litter of puppies/kittens.
16. A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies.
17. A team of horses/ducks/oxen.
18. A murder of crows.
19. A kennel of dogs.
20. A pack of hounds.

The following collective nouns are used for things.
1. A group of islands.
2. A galaxy of stars.
3. A wad of notes.
4. A forest of trees.
5. A stack of wood.
6. A fleet of ships.
7. A string of pearls.
8. An album of stamps/autographs/photographs.
9. A hedge of bushes.
10. A library of books.
11. A basket of fruit.
12. A bowl of rice.
13. A pack of cards.
14. A pair of shoes.
15. A bouquet of flowers.
16. A bunch of keys.
17. A chest of drawers.
18. A pack of lies.
19. A range of mountains.
20. A cloud of dust.
Collective nouns are endless and these are just a list of those used more often. As you
continue to work on improving your English, you will stumble across many more. Be sure to
add them to your list and use them as frequently as you can.
Using Nouns to Show Possession
Possessive nouns are those nouns that show possession. Possessive Nouns are used to show
ownership.
A noun is possessive only when a phrase can be modified to say that an idea or commodity
belongs to something or someone. Possessive nouns are an integral part of learning English,
use them as often as you can to gain confidence.
In the singular form, the possessive case is formed by adding 's to the noun.
The clothes of the girl.

The girls clothes.
The toys of the boy.

The boys toys.
Mary goes to this school.

This is Marys school.
Kings castle, grandfathers stick, my dogs bowl and all of the above are formed by adding
the 's.
Modify the following sentences by using the apostrophe (') to show possession:
The kings servants.
The computers cover.
My phones charger.
The servants of the king.
Cover of the computer.
The charger of my phone.
For certain words, instead of 's, only ' is used to avoid a hissing noise. Keep this is mind
when using possessive nouns.
Some examples would be:
Boss office.
Dr.Briuss house.
For goodness sake.
There are two rules to follow in case the noun is in plural form.
If the noun ends in s then the possessive case is formed by adding the apostrophe
E.g. the donkeys tail, the boys hostel, the cousins aunt.
If the noun does not end in s then the possessive case is formed by adding 's.
E.g. the childrens park, the mens room.
Its simple as long as you know the plural form of the noun. The plural form of god will be
gods and so the apostrophe will be used after 's' (gods). In case of nouns like woman, the
plural form is women and so the apostrophe followed by 's' will be utilized(womens).
Add the apostrophe in the following sentences.
Our cousins short uncle.
(Apostrophe can be before or after 's')
Businessmens briefcase.
(Businessmens)
The ladies washroom.
(Ladies)
Here are some more examples to show you other possible cases.
Alex and Philips shop. (Two nouns are used closely and showing joint possession;
here, the apostrophe will be used with the second noun)
Shakespeares and Wordsworths works. (Two nouns are used together yet separate
possession is implied thus the apostrophe is used with both nouns)
Nouns as Adjective
Sometimes in the English language, a noun is used to describe another noun; in other words, the first noun
performs the function of an adjective. Look at the following examples:
Basketball coach here the noun basketball is being used to describe the noun coach
Garment shop here the noun garment is being used to describe the noun shop
Painting exhibition here the noun painting is being used to describe the noun exhibition
Note:
1. In general, like adjectives, nouns being used as adjectives are used in the singular form, although in the
case of certain words, like clothes, customs, sports, etc, an exception is made.
2. Multiple nouns can also be used as adjectives, as in school cricket team coach.
Verbs
A verb is a word that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.
Types of Verbs
We can divide verbs into transitive and intransitive verbs.
Transitive Verbs: These verbs involve a direct object.
Example 1: The boy throws the ball.
Here throws is the verb and ball is the direct object.
Example 2: The man reads the book.
Here reads is the verb and book is the direct object
Intransitive Verbs: These verbs do not involve a direct object.

Example 1: The boy throws.
Here the verb throws is used intransitively.
Example 2: The man reads quickly.
Here the verb reads is used intransitively.
List of Verbs, Verb Examples

Accept Disagree Obey
Achieve
Drag
Offend
Add
Drive
Offer
Admire
Drop
Open
Admit
Earn
Paint
Adopt
Eat
Pay
Advise
Employ
Pick
Agree
Encourag
Play
e
Allow
Enjoy
Pray
AnnounceEstablish Print
Appreciat
Estimate Pull
e
Approve Exercise Punch
Argue
Expand
Punish
Arrive
Explain
Purchase
Ask
Fear
Push
Assist
Feel
Quit
Attack
Fight
Race
Bake
Find
Read
Bathe
Fly
Relax
Be
Forget
Remembe
r
Beat
Forgive
Reply
Become
Fry
Retire
Beg
Gather
Rub
Behave
Get
See
Bet
Give
Select
Boast
Glow
Sell
Boil
Greet
Send
Borrow
Grow
Sing
Breathe
Guess
Snore
Bring
Harass
Stand
Build
Hate
Stare
Burn
Hear
Start
Bury
Help
Stink
Buy
Hit
Study
Call
Hope
Sweep
Catch
Identify
Swim
ChallengeInterrupt Take
Change
IntroduceTalk
Cheat
Irritate
Teach
Chew
Jump
Tear
Choose
Keep
Tell
Clap
Kick
Thank
Clean
Kiss
Travel
Collect
Laugh
Type
Compare Learn
Understan
d
Complain Leave
Use
Confess
Lend
Visit
Confuse
Lie
Wait
Construct Like
Walk
Control
Listen
Want
Copy
Lose
Warn
Count
Love
Wed
Create
Make
Weep
Cry
Marry
Wink
Damage Measure Worry

Dance
Meet
Write
Deliver
Move
Yell
Destroy
Murder
Regular and Irregular Verbs

The distinction between regular verbs and irregular verbs is a very simple one:
Regular Verbs
Those verbs that form their past participle with d or ed are regular verbs. These verbs do
not undergo substantial changes while changing forms between tenses.
1. If the verb ends with a vowel, only d is added. For example:
PRESENT TENSE
Share
PAST TENSE
Shared
Scare
Scared
Dare
Dared
If the verb ends with a consonant, ed is added. For example:
PRESENT TENSE
PAST TENSE
Want
Wanted
Shout
Shouted
Kill
Killed
Regular and Irregular Verbs Exercise 1

Regular and Irregular Verbs Exercise 2
Irregular Verbs
Those verbs that undergo substantial changes when changing forms between tenses are
irregular verbs. The changed forms of these verbs are often unrecognisably different from the
originals. For example:
PRESENT TENSE
PAST TENSE
Go
Went
Run
Ran
Think
Thought
There is no way to tell what form an irregular verb is going to take in a changed tense; the
only option for an English speaker is to commit the changes to memory. With practice, it will
become a matter of habit.
Finite and Non-finite Verbs
Examine the following sentences:
I drove to the concert.
He broke the vase.
She will take it off your hands soon.
The verbs in the above sentences are drove, broke and take. These are finite verbs; verbs whose form is
governed by the subject of the sentence. What this means is that these verbs change their form depending on
person (first person, second person, third person, singular/plural) and tense. For example, drove is the past
tense of drive. Thus, if sentence were to be in the present tense, it would be I drive.... Similarly, if I were to
be replaced by he, it would be He drives. Finite verbs can form independent clauses, i.e. clauses that can work
as complete sentences.
Non-finite verbs, on the other hand, are those that do not change form based upon the subject. These are of three
types:
1. Participle this includes the past and present participles of verbs, which function
as adjectives (the dying man, the sleeping giant, etc).
2. Gerund this refers to verbs (in their ing form) that function as nouns (the
writing on the wall, exercising is a necessary activity for continued good health).
3. Infinitive the verb in its basic form, often but not necessarily preceded by to,
functioning as noun (to finish the task without any more hitches was his goal),
adjective (Im sorry, I have much work to do at the moment), or adverb (he called
to discuss the matter).
4.
Participles, Gerunds & Infinitives
5. Participles, gerunds and Infinitives are called verbals. Verbals are words which are
formed from a verb but which function as a different part of speech.
6.
PARTICIPLE
7. A participle is usually formed by adding ing or ed to a verb. It functions as an
adjective.
Examples: The singing bird was the main attraction at the event.
The injured man was waiting for the doctor.
8.
9. GERUND
10. A gerund is formed by adding ing to a verb. It functions as a noun.
Examples: Sameer likes reading books.
Smoking is prohibited in the hospital.
11.
12. INFINITIVE
13. An infinitive is formed by using the word to plus the verb in its stem word. It
functions as a noun, adjective or adverb.
Examples: He was made to clean his room.
Shalini loves to talk.
Auxiliary Verbs
There are 4 auxiliary verbs in the English language:
Be
Have
Will
Do
Each of these is followed by another verb, known as the full verb, in order to form
Questions
Negative statements
Compound tense
Passive voice
Auxiliary Verb Exercise

Be
Be can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. It must first be noted that be is an irregular verb:
Simple present: I am, he/she/it is, we/they are
Simple past: I/he/she/it was, we/they were
Past participle: been
For compound tense (present/past continuous), use the -ing form of the full verb with the appropriate form of
be.
Present continuous: He is playing outside.
Past continuous: He was playing outside.
Present perfect continuous: He has been playing outside.
Past perfect continuous: He had been playing outside.
For passive voice, use the past participle of the full verb with the appropriate form of be.
Simple past/present: The damage is/was done.
Present/past perfect: The damage has been/had been done.
Future: The damage will be done.
Have
Have is also both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular as well.
Simple present: I/you/we/they have, he/she/it has
Simple past: had
Past participle: had
It is used to form compound tenses in active and passive voice.
Compound Tenses - Active Voice:
Present Perfect Simple: He has played outside.
Past Perfect Simple: He had played outside.
Present Perfect Continuous: He has been playing outside.
Past Perfect Continuous: He had been playing outside
Compound Tenses - Passive Voice:
Present/Past Continuous: The house has/had been built.
Will
Will functions only as an auxiliary verb, and is used to form the future tenses. It remains the same for all
forms.
Simple future: He will play outside.

Future perfect: He will have played outside.
Do
Do can be used as both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular.
Simple present: I/we/you/they do, he/she/it/ does

Simple past: did
Past participle: did
As an auxiliary, do is used in negative sentences and questions with most verbs (use the infinitive of the full
verb) in simple past and simple present forms.
Do in Negative Sentences:
Simple present: He does not play outside.
Simple past: He did not play outside.
Do in Questions:
Simple present: Does he play outside?

Simple past: Did he play outside?
In the following four cases, do is not used in negative sentences or questions:
1. When the full verb is be:

Are you alright?
The sentence already has an auxiliary verb:

He is not playing outside.
The sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to,
shall, should):
We must not be caught.
The question asks for the subject:

Who wrote that book?
Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. When describing states, they
never the continuous (-ing) form. Here are some examples of stative verbs and instances of
their correct and incorrect usage.
STATIVE VERB
CORRECT USAGE
INCORRECT USAGE
Like
I like you.
I am liking you.
Love
I love you.
I am loving you.
Hate
I hate you.
I am hating you
Appear
It appears to be cloudy.
It is appearing to be cloudy.
Believe
I believe in God.
I am believing in God.
Fit
This shoe fits me.
This shoe is fitting me.
Sound
This song sounds good.
This song is sounding good.
Remember
I remember everything.
I am remembering everything.
Modal Verbs
There are 10 modal verbs in the English language:
Can
Could
May
Might
Will
Would
Must
Shall
Should
Ought to
Uses:
1. To indicate that something is probable or possible, or not so. For example:
It is sunny today; it must be warm outside. = It is sunny today; it is probably

warm outside.
His mobile is not reachable; he may/might/could be travelling by metro. = His

mobile is not reachable; it is possible that he is travelling by metro.
This cant be our bill. = It is not possible that this is our bill.
Can and could are used to refer to skills and abilities. For example:
He can cover a hundred metres in under ten seconds.
My father could see perfectly before the age of fifty.
I cant ride a horse.
Must is used to indicate that something is necessary or of extreme importance, and should is used to
suggest that something is advisable. For example:
You must do your homework.
You mustnt skip school.
You should say sorry.
You shouldnt smoke.
Can, could and may are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example:
Can I try my hand at it?
Could we disperse early today?
You may not enter the premises.
Will and would are used to refer to habits and inclinations.
When I was a child, I would often climb trees.
I will never refuse you anything.
He would never do such a thing.
These verbs differ from ordinary verbs in 3 respects. These differences can be observed in the examples given
above:
1. When used with the third person singular (he, she), they dont require the addition of an s.
2. They can be used to form questions by inverting the structure of the sentence.
3. They can be followed directly by the verb, without the use of to.
Prepositions
A preposition is a word which shows the relation between the noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence.
There are three kinds of prepositions which are commonly used:
1. Simple Prepositions:
Prepositions like for, by, at, on, of, off, with, above, across
2. Compound and Phrase Prepositions:

They are a group of words used like a single preposition. Examples - in regard to, according to, in
favour of, because of, in order to
3. Participial Prepositions:
They are used without any noun or pronoun attached to them. Examples - considering, regarding,
barring, concerning
4.
Prepositions of Place
5. There are three prepositions of place:

6. At
7. At is used for a point:
8.
9.
At the end of the lane.
10.
At the door/entrance/exit.
11.
At the corner.
12.
At the desk.
13.
14. Note: There are many standard expressions that are exceptions to this rule:
15.
16.
At home.
17.
At work.
18.
At school/college/university.
19.
At the side.
20.
21. In
22. In is used for enclosed spaces:
23.
24.
In Mumbai/India.
25.
In the room.
26.
In the store.
27.
In my pocket/bag.
28.
In the building/tower.
29.
30. Note: There are some standard expressions that are an exception to this rule:
31.
32.
In the book/magazine/newspaper.
33.
In the sky.
34.
35. On
36. On is used for surfaces:
37.
38.
On the table.
39.
On the rug.
40.
On the floor.
41.
On the cover.
42.
On the page.
43. Note: There are many standard expressions that are exceptions to this rule:
44.
45.
On the bus/train/plane/ship.
46.
On the radio/television.
47.
On the left/right.
48.
On the way.
49.
Prepositions of Time
50. There are three prepositions of time:

51. At
52. At is used for precise times:
53.
54.
At ten oclock.
55.
At 10.30am.
56.
At the moment/present/same time.
57.
At sunrise/sunset/noon/dinnertime/bedtime/dusk/dawn.
58.
59. Note: At night is a standard expression that is an exception in this case.
60.
61. In
62. In is used for months, years, decades, centuries, and long periods of time:
63.
64.
In January.
65.
In 1991.
66.
In the 70s.
67.
In this century.
68.
In the Dark Ages.
69. Note: In the morning(s)/afternoon(s)/evening(s) are standard expressions that are
exceptions in this case.
70.
71. On
72. On is used for days and dates:
73.
74.
On Wednesday.
75.
On Wednesdays.
76. On the 10th of January
77.
On Christmas.
78.
79. Note: on is also used when you specify the day followed by the part of the day. For
e.g. on Wednesday mornings.
80.
Prepositions of Movement
81.
82. There are 9 prepositions that pertain to movement:
83.
84. To
85. To is used when there is a specific destination in mind. The destination can be a
number of things:
86.
87. A place:
88. Im going to the doctors.
89. Can you direct me to the nearest post office?
90.
91. An event:
92. Are you going to the party?
93. I have never been to a concert.
94.
95. A person:
96.
She came up to me.
97.
I go to my father for advice.
98.
99. A position:
100.
The bathroom is to your left.
101.
Keep to the left.
102.
103.
Towards
104.
Towards is used in the following instances:
105.
When one has movement in a particular direction in mind, rather than simply a
destination:
106.
He was walking menacingly towards me.
107.
108.
Or to refer to a position, in relation to a direction from the point of view of the
speaker:
109.
He was sitting with his back towards me.
110.
111.
112.
Through
113.
Through refers to the following types of movement:
114.
115.
Within a space, which can be thought of as surrounding, enclosing or around
the object:
116.
The train went through the tunnel.
117.
118.
Movement across something, i.e. from one side of it the other:
119.
He cut through the gauze.
120.
121.
Into
122.
Into refers to the following types of movement:
123.
Movement from the outside to the inside of something that can be imagined as
surrounding, enclosing or around the object:
124.
He got into the car.
125.
126.
Movement causing something to hit something else:
127.
He swerved into the tree.
128.
129.
Across
130.
Across is used to describe:
131.
132.
Movement from one end of something to the other:
133.
He walked across the road.
134.
He strode across the bridge.
135.
136.
Somethings position when it stretches over the surface it is on:
137.
There was a barricade across the road.
138.
139.
To describe somethings position when it is at the opposite end from ones
position:
140.
We went to the restaurant across the road.
141.
142.
Over
143.
Over is used in the following instances:
144.
145.
To describe somethings position when it is above something else:
146.
The bottle is in the cabinet over the sink in the kitchen.
147.
148.
To describe somethings position when it covers a surface:
149.
A white cloth had been spread over the corpse.
150.
151.
Along
152.
Along is used to describe:
153.
154.
Movement in a line:
155.
We walked along the river.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
The collective position of a group of things that are in a line:

He lived one of the houses along the river.
In
In is used in the following instances:
Somethings position in relation to the area or space or place surrounding it:
We are going to have our picnic in the park.
I left my car in the garage.
To express towards the inside of something:
Put the pickle in the cabinet.
On
On is used in the following instances:
To describe somethings position in relation to a surface:
There was an array of food on the table.
To describe movement in the direction of a surface:
The rain falling on the roof kept me from sleeping.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.
There are six kinds of commonly used pronouns:
1.
Personal Pronouns: Personal Pronouns are used are substitutes for proper or common nouns.
Examples : I, he, she, mine, his, her, they, their
2.
Demonstrative Pronouns: Demonstrative Pronouns are used to point out objects

Examples: this, that, these, those
3.
Indefinite Pronouns: Pronouns which refer to things in a general way and not to someone or something in
particular.
Examples: nobody, somebody, everybody, one (should not lie)
4.
Distributive Pronouns: Pronouns which refer to persons or things one at a time are called Distributive pronouns.
Examples: each, either, neither
5.
Relative Pronouns: A pronoun that relates a subordinate clause to the rest of the sentence is called a relative
pronoun.
Examples: who - (Raj is the boy) who (did the work)
whose (Raj is the boy) whose (books were lost)
6.
Interrogative Pronouns: Pronouns used for asking questions are called Interrogative Pronouns.
Examples : what, which, who, whose, whom
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word which joins two sentences to complete their meaning.
There are two kinds of conjunctions:
1. Co-ordinating Conjunctions: When the conjunction is used to join two statements of equal
importance, the conjunction is said to be a co-ordinating conjunction.
Examples : and, but, or, not, for, either, neither
2. Subordinating Conjunctions: When the conjunction joins two statements, one of which depends on
the other for its full meaning, the conjunction is said to be a subordinating conjunction.
Examples : before, after, since, because, if, though, which, who
Conjunctions Exercise 1
Conjunctions Exercise 2
Here are some examples of the use of conjuctions
Preeti is weak in Physics. Shalini is weak in Physics.

Preeti and Shalini are weak in Physics.
My sister went to the market. I went to the market.

My sister and I went to the market.
It was cold. I wore a sweater.
It was cold so I wore a sweater.
I will be late. There is a lot of traffic today
I will be late because there is a lot of traffic today.
Manoj studied hard. Manoj failed in his exams.
Manoj studied hard but he failed in his exams.
Interjection
An interjection is a word which expresses sudden feeling or emotion.
There are five kinds of interjections:
1. Interjections to express greeting.

Examples : Hello!
2. Interjections to express joy.

Examples : Hurray!
3. Interjections to express approval.

Example : Bravo!
4. Interjections to express surprise.

Example : Oh!
5. Interjections to express grief.

Example : Alas!
Here are some examples of the use of interjections

Hello! My name is Amit.
Hurray! We won the match.
Bravo! That was a great goal.
Oh! I didnt expect to see you here.
Alas! I failed in the examination.
Learn English Vocabulary : Improve

English Vocabulary Online
There are more than 250,000 words in the Oxford English dictionary. This number does not
include slang or technical words. However, a good English speaker would normally use only
15,000 to 20,000 of these words. If you think your vocabulary is weak, a little effort everyday
over a six to nine month period can go a long way in improving it.
Here are EnglishLeaps top ten vocabulary improvement tips -
1. Make reading the newspaper a daily ritual. You may be comfortable reading a particular
section but make an effort to read different articles on every page. The editorial page is highly
recommended not only for vocabulary but also for structuring and presenting thought.
2. It is not surprising that those who read a lot develop a good vocabulary. Make it a habit to
read a new book every week. You can consider becoming a member of the local library. Make
a list of words that are new to you and look up their meanings in the dictionary.
3. Watching English movies and television shows is important for improving English and
learning new English words. The best part about watching English videos is that you can
learn the correct pronunciation as well.
4. Vocabulary cards are used by students who are trying to learn many words in a short period
of time. You can make your own cards by writing the word on one side and the meaning on
the other side of a square piece of paper. In your free time, it is a convenient tool to learn new
words.
5. The internet is an unlimited resource for reading material. Pick up a topic of your choice
and search for articles about it. You will come across plenty of material to read which
you might find interesting, and importantly, will also introduce you to new words. Be sure to
look them up in a dictionary.
6. The best way to ensure that you never forget the new words you learn is to start using them
in your day to day conversation. Do not try to force them into a conversation but do use them
if you think they are appropriate.
7. Most dictionaries provide us with pronunciations of words using phonetic symbols. It is
important to learn the sounds that correspond to these phonetic symbols, in order to become
comfortable pronouncing new words.
8. Learning in groups is always more fun. If you have friends who also want to improve their
vocabulary, then you can form a group and share new words with each other. You can meet at
regular interval and measure your progress.
9. Root words are words from which words grow with the addition of prefixes and suffixes.
For eg. Even the word vocabulary is derived from the Latin root word voc which means
'word' or 'name'. Other words like advocacy, vocal and vociferous are also derived from the
same root word. Hence, if you can recognize some root words, you will get a fair idea of
many derived words. A list of common root words is available here.
10. While it is important to read and learn new words, it is equally important to revise what
you have learnt. Fix a particular day of the week to revise all the words you have learnt in
that week and add them to your daily vocabulary.
Improving Vocabulary by Learning Root

Words
The English language has its roots in languages like Greek and Latin. An understanding of the common root
words will help us make educated guesses about the meaning of new words and substantially strengthen our
vocabulary.
Given below is a list of commonly used root words, their meaning and some examples of words formed using
these root words.
Root Words Exercise 1

Root Words Exercise 2
ROOT
MEANING
Ambi
Both
Aqua
Art
Auto
Bi
Bio
Cardio
Cent
Water
Skill
Self
Two, Twice
Life
Heart
Hundred
EXAMPLE WORDS
Ambidextrous Use both hands well
Ambiguity Double meaning, can be interpreted in

more than one way
Aquarium Artificial environment for water plants

and animals
Aquatic Plant or animal living in water
Artistic Natural skill in art
Artisan Skilled manual work
Automatic Working by itself
Autonomous Having self-government
Biannual Occurring twice in a year
Bigamy Being married twice
Biology Study of living things
Biohazard Risk to living things
Cardiology Branch of medicine dealing with the

heart
Cardiovascular Pertaining to the heart and blood

vessels
Centenary Hundredth Anniversary
Cert
Chrono
Counter
De
Dem
Derm
Flor
Gastro
Grat
Sure
Time
Contrary
Remove
People
Skin
Flower
Stomach
Pleasing
Centenarian Person who is hundred or more years

old
Certificate Document attesting a fact like birth,

death, graduation, marriage etc
Certitude Feeling of certainty
Chronology Study of events in the order of their

occurrence
Chronograph Instrument that records time with

high accuracy
Counter-intuitive Contrary to intuition
Counter-productive Having the opposite effect as

intended
Detoxify Remove the poisonous substances
Dethrone Remove from the throne
Democracy System of government elected by the

people
Demography - Statistics of births, deaths, mortality

etc. of people
Dermatologist Doctor specialized in the study of

skin disorders
Dermatitis Inflammation of the skin
Florist Person who sells flowers
Floral Decorated with flowers
Gastritis Inflammation of the stomach lining
Gastroenterologist Doctor specialized in the study

of stomach and intestinal disorders
Gratify Delight or please someone
Gratuity Tip, token of appreciation
Hepa
Hept
Hex
Inter
Iso
Jud
Kilo
Lacto
Mal
Mort
Narr
Nov
Liver
Seven
Six
Between
Equal
Law
Thousand
Milk
Bad
Death
Tell
New
Hepatitis Inflammation of the liver
Hepatic Relating to the liver
Heptagon Figure with seven sides
Heptathlon Athletic event having seven events
Hexagon Figure with six sides
Hexavalent Having a valency of six
Interconnect Connect with each other
Interdepend Depend on each other
Isosceles Triangle having two equal sides
Isobar Line on map connecting points of equal

barometer pressures
Judiciary Collective of judges
Judgement Decision of a court
Kilogram Thousand grams
Kilolitre Thousand litres
Lactic Obtained from mil
Lactose Sugar occurring in milk
Malevolent Wishing bad things on others
Malice Intention to do evil
Mortuary Place where dead bodies are kept until

they are cremated or buried
Mortician - Undertaker
Narrate - To tell a story
Narrator - Person who tells a story.
Novelty Newness or originality
Oct
Ocu
Omni
Ortho
Pan
Ped
Poly
Psych
Quad
Quin
Eight
Eye
All
Straight
All
Foot
Many
Mind
Four
Five
Novice - Beginner
Octagon Figure with eight sides
Octave Stanza of eight lines
Ocular Connected with the eyes
Oculist Specialist in the medical treatment of eye

disorders
Omnipresent Present everywhere at the same time
Omnivorous Eating all kinds of foods
Orthodontics Dealing with straightening of teeth
Orthopaedics Dealing with the straightening of

bones
Panorama An all-around view
Pandemic Prevalent all over a country or world
Pedicure Treatment of the feet
Pedal Foot operated lever
Polygon Figure with many sides
Polygamy Having more than one husband or wife

at the same time
Psychiatry Study of mental diseases
Psych Prepare oneself mentally for a task
Quadruple Increase four times
Quadrangle Figure having four sides
Quintuple Increase five times
Quintuplet Five children born at the same time
Semi
Half
Sept
Seven
Trans
Across
Tri
Three
Uni
One
Vince
Conquer
Semi-circle Half of a circle
Semiaquatic Animal living partly on land and

partly in water
Septuplet Seven children born at the same time
Septuagenarian People aged before 70 and 79
Transpacific Across the Pacific Ocean
Transnational Across national boundaries
Triangle Figure with three sides
Triathlon - Athletic event having three events
Unitarian People who believes God is one person
Unique One of a kind
Invincible One who cannot be conquered
Convince Persuade a person
Prefixes
Prefixes are placed before the words to modify their meanings; like suffixes, they are groups
of letters that rarely serve a purpose unless attached to a word. Here is a list of commonly
used prefixes to give you an idea of how to identify them.
Prefix
Meaning
Examples
-a
On/in/out/from
Away, aboard, arise, alight
-al
all
Alone, already
-be
by
Below, before
Suffixes
-by
Be/on the side
Bypass, byword
-for
through
forget, forgive
-fore
before
Forecast, foresee
-gain
against
Gainsay
-in
in
Inside, income
-mis
wrong
Mislead, mistake
-over
Above/beyond
overflow, overcharge
-out
out
Outside, outcome
-to
this
Today, tonight
-un
Not/to reverse an action
Unkind, untie
-under
below
-with
Against/back
Withdraw, withhold
-wel
In good condition
Welcome, welfare
Underground, undersell
Suffixes are placed after words to modify their meanings; like prefixes, they are groups of
letters that rarely serve a purpose unless attached to a word. Here is a list of some of them to
give you an idea of how to identify suffixes.
Suffix
Meaning
Examples
-able/-ible
capable of
portable, legible
-ac/-ic
like/related to
cardiac, Nordic
-acy
state/quality of being
privacy, legitimacy
-acious/-icious
full of
gracious, malicious
-al
related to
logical, philosophical
-ance/-ence
maintenance, permanence
-dom
freedom, kingdom
-eer/-er/-or
person who
mountaineer, writer, counsellor
-escent
becoming, to be
adolescent, fluorescent
-esque
like/reminiscent of
picturesque, Kafkaesque
-fy
to make
magnify, electrify
-iferous
containing, yielding
vociferous, carboniferous
-ise
make, become
civilise, terrorise
-ish
having qualities of
-ism
doctrine, belief, practice
favouritism, communism
-ist
person who
chemist, florist
-ity
ingenuity, oddity
-less
without
brainless, endless
-ment
state/quality of being, result of

action, process
enjoyment, embankment,
abridgement
-ness
state of being
thinness, loneliness
-oid
like
celluloid, ovoid
-ose
full of
adipose, verbose
-osis
condition
hypnosis, psychosis
-ous
full of
illustrious, nauseous
-ship
position held
friendship, membership
-sion/-tion
-tude
hellish, fiendish
torsion, transition
fortitude, certitude
-y
characterised by
funny, greedy
Collocations
A collocation is a combination of words that are commonly used together; the simplest way
of describing collocations is to say that they just sound right to native English speakers.
Other combinations that may mean the same thing would seem unnatural. Collocations
include noun phrases like stiff wind and weapons of mass destruction, phrasal verbs such as
to get together and other stock phrases such as the rich and famous.
It is important to learn collocations, because they are important for the naturalisation of ones
speech. Besides, they broaden ones scope for expression.
Here is a list of collocations to help you get started:
Have a good time.
Do me a favour.
Make a difference.
Take a break.
Break the law.
Catch the bus.
Pay your respects.
Save yourself the trouble.
Keep the change.
Come under attack.
Go bald.
Get the sack.
Bang on time.
From dawn till dusk.
Take your time.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are combinations of words that perform the function of a verb. These combinations necessarily
include a verb and either an adverb or a preposition (or both). They form one complete semantic unit because
the words that comprise a phrasal verb together describe one action. For example:
PHRASAL VERB
MEANING
Get out
Exit
Get together
Congregate
Get over
Recover
Put off
Postpone
Put down
Attribute
In each of the above cases, the phrasal verb shares no similarity with the verb that it replaces. These are
idiomatic phrasal verbs, commonly used in informal, everyday speech. Phrasal verbs are not necessarily
idiomatic, though; they can be literal as well. For example, literal phrases such as look up, walk across and
switch off are also considered phrasal verbs, because the action described by each cannot be described if any of
the words in the phrase are omitted. If up is taken out of look up, the description of the action will be
incomplete.
Synonyms
Synonyms are words which have similar meanings. The meaning of these words need not be
exactly the same. Most words can have one or more synonyms.
Quiz on Synonyms
Trying to find out synonyms of new words you encounter is a good way of improving
English vocabulary.
Here is a list of some synonyms,
Big Huge
Pretty Beautiful
Talk Say
Little Tiny
Tired Exhausted
Unhappy - Sad
Lazy Lethargic
Overweight Fat
Shining Radiant
Intelligent - Brainy
Antonyms
Antonyms are words which have almost opposite meanings. Most words can have one or
more antonyms.
Quiz on Antonyms
Each time you learn a new English word, try to find out its antonyms. This is a good way to
improve your vocabulary.
Here is a list of some antonyms,
Big Small
Pretty Ugly
Loud Quiet
Tall Short
Black White
Man Woman
Happy Sad
Lazy Energetic
Overweight Underweight
Young - Old
Word Meanings
Non-native English speakers are unfamiliar with the exact meaning and the usage of certain
words. This page provides a link to some of these commonly confused words,
NOSTALGIC
OBSOLETE
AD HOC
STUBBORN
SARCASTIC
PROCUREMENT
POKE
NERD
AWESOME
RECONCILIATION
DESPICABLE
PATHETIC
LEVERAGE
JERK
INSANE
PARANOID
PROCRASTINATION
LOGISTICS
VAIN
VULNERABLE
INEVITABLE
TRAUMA
Learning Foreign Language Words
English is most dominant language in the world today, but, throughout history, it has
borrowed heavily from other languages, particularly Latin and French. Below is a list of
words which have been borrowed from other languages but have become part of our day to
day English vocabulary.
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF INDIAN

ORIGIN
Bungalow
Cheetah
Dacoit
Guru
Jungle
Khaki
Loot
Pundit
Pyjama
Thug
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF ARABIAN
ORIGIN
Algebra
Assassin
Harem
Mattress
Safari
Sofa
Sultan
Sherbet
Tariff
Zero
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF CHINESE

ORIGIN
Chi
Chow
Feng Shui
Gung Ho
Ketchup
Kung Fu
Lychee
Silk
Tea
Tofu
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF AFRICAN

ORIGIN
Banana
Chimpanzee
Cola
Dengue
Jamboree
Jumbo
Mumbo Jumbo
Vodoo
Zebra
Zombie
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF SPANISH

ORIGIN
Adios
Cigar
Guerrilla
Hurricane
Lolita
Macho
Platinum
Ranch
Siesta
Vanilla
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF ITALIAN

ORIGIN
Artisan
Balcony
Cartoon
Dome
Gallery
Graffiti
Medal
Replica
Saloon
Villa
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF GERMAN

ORIGIN
Blitz
Frankfurter
Hamburger
Kaput
Kitsch
Kindergarten
Lager
Pilsner
Wanderlust
Zeitgeist
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF DUTCH

ORIGIN
Booze
Cookie
Cruise
Decoy
Excise
Iceberg
Measles
Smuggler
Yacht
Yankee
TEN COMMONLY USED ENGLISH WORDS OF

PORTUGESE ORIGIN
Breeze
Cashew
Cobra
Coconut
Commando
Mosquito
Potato
Samba
Tank
Teak
Foreign Phrases commonly used in English

a la carte [French]
adj., adv. with a separate price for each item, printed on the menu; basically it is used
to refer to the menu, as opposed to, say, a buffet
Can we eat a la carte?
Can we order from the a la carte menu?
alfresco [Italian]
adj., adv. open air; outdoors

Weve been invited to an alfresco dinner at the Mughal Gardens.
Are we dining alfresco tonight?
alma mater [Latin]
n. any institution one has graduated from; in other words, ones old school or
university
I havent returned to my alma mater since the day I graduated.
avant-garde [French]
n. an artist or group associated with the use of new techniques in their field
Our friend is an avant-garde; we cant really appreciate his work because it is
too modern for us.
adj. of or pertaining to such an artist or group or (cutting edge, radically new)
approach
His avant-garde work was found by the school to be unacceptable by their
conventional standards.
Blitzkrieg [German]
n. rapid, intensive attack, originally used to describe sudden military offensives

MS Dhonis blitzkrieg at the end of yesterdays match saved it for India.
bona fide [Latin]
adj. authentic, genuine, in good faith

Is the painting by MF Hussain on your wall bona fide?
He is not a dishonest salesman; his offer is bona fide.
cest la vie [French]
thats life; such is life

I dont allow myself to get depressed; I just say Cest la vie! and move on.
curriculum vitae (CV) [Latin]
n. resume, i.e., outline of ones educational and professional qualifications, made for
job applications
Have you got your CV ready for the interview tomorrow?
de facto [Latin]
adv. in reality, actually

The result of the elections was, de facto, simply a public verdict on the
governments complacency during the riots; despite the absence of real
alternatives, the incumbent government was displaced.
adj. existing whether legally recognised or not
While the President may be referred to as the Head of the State, the de facto
head in India, as everyone knows, is the Prime Minister.
dj vu [French]
n. the sensation of having previously experienced something that one is experiencing

I experienced dj vu when I entered the kitchen, even though I was fully
aware that I had never been in that house before.
en route [French]
adv. on the way

Ive just left, Im en route for the auditorium.
ergo [Latin]
conj. therefore; consequently

Neither side was willing to play in such terrible conditions; ergo, there would
no match.
faux pas [French]
n. social blunder
I committed a faux pas the other day when I went to a formal dinner dressed
up for a costume party.
fiasco [Italian]
n. total failure
The party was a fiasco; the lights went out 10 minutes into the affair, and three
people got injured trying to feel their way around in the dark.
guerrilla [Spanish]
n. a member of an irregular army operating in a territory under the control of a hostile

force, i.e the enemy; their warfare is generally hit-and-run, employing sudden attacks
and sabotages because they are fewer in number
The guerrillas threatened to overthrow the government of the state.
adj. pertaining to guerrillas or their methods of warfare
The troops, bested in the open, fled to the forests, resorting to guerrilla tactics.
joie de vivre [French]
joy in living
It is rare that one is able to experience true joie de vivre once one is past ones
youth.
klutz [Yiddish]
n. a clumsy person
I behaved like a klutz at the party, tripping and spilling my drinks all over the
place.
lingua franca [Italian]
n. common language
English is the lingua franca of the world by virtue of the fact that is spoken in
the largest number of countries.
nee [French]
adj. born; used for the maiden name of a married woman

Aishwarya Bacchan nee Rai
par excellence [French]
adj. the best at something

It was clear from the beginning that Sachin Tendulkar was a batsman par
excellence.
per capita [Latin]
adj., adv. per person

The per capita income of the country was very high.
Indian earning per capita is much higher abroad than it is at home.
per se [Latin]
adv. in itself
The statement was interesting per se; it did not make much sense in context,
however.
prima donna [Italian]
n. temperamental entertainer
Be on your best behaviour around her; shes known to be quite the prima
donna.
Realpolitik [German]
n. opportunistic politics that concerns itself with ground realities, with selfadvancement as the sole driving principle
Considerations of realpolitik drove me to campaign relentlessly, pandering to
the masses to garner votes.
status quo [Latin]
n. the existing state of things

The point of having her elected was for the reigning party to perpetuate the
status quo.
tabula rasa [Latin]
n. blank slate
A childs mind is like tabula rasa; it is very important to ensure that it is not
exposed to harmful influences.
terra firma [Latin]
n. hard, firm ground
I was very scared the first time I travelled in an airplane; I drew my first
breath of relief when we landed back on terra firma.
tete-a-tete [French]
n. a private, intimate conversation

I managed to sneak a tete-a-tete with him during the trip about his daughters
nightly wanderings.
adv. face-to-face, intimate

We talked tete-a-tete in the morning; he had some great insights, I was glad
that we had the talk.
vis--vis [French]
adv., adj. face-to-face

They sat vis--vis across the table.
They had a vis--vis talk about Kevin, who was showing signs of psychopathy
early in his childhood.
prep. in relation to
His role vis--vis the recent match was that of a game-changer.
Zeitgeist [German]
n. the intellectual outlook or spirit characteristic of a particular time period or

generation
The zeitgeist today seems to hint towards a Leftist overthrow of government.
Changes in the English Dictionary

English language is persistently changing its dynamics, and thus adding newer contours to its
existing identity. English having its origins from the Anglo-Frisian dialects has been accepted
as one of the widely spoken languages in the modern world with open hands. The
amalgamation of the time and space with the Basic English language has introduced
numerous changes in the way this language is used by citizens, around the world. As we
move to the 21st century, SMS language is slowly catching up in our day-to-day routines. The
language, which once upon a time had a Shakespearean touch to it, which words like alas
and barn grilling our memory when we read it now, English is much within our reach these
days. Its easier to read, understand and thus, can be adapted. This changing face of English is
reflected in a way in English language dictionaries.
Each year, new words are added to the dictionary depending upon the cultural and social
influences on the global atmosphere. Some critics argue that these are leading to the
degradation of the language, while some others feel that these are the indicators of the
changing times. Whatsoever, these words never fails to amaze ones conscience.
The addition of the words started from 1841 and is still continuing. Some of the words which
have been added along with their meanings are as follows:
Americana : genre of American music involving early folk and country music.
bromance: a close friendship between men.
cougar: slang user for an older woman in relationship with a much younger man.
duathlon : a rally involving three different methods like running, cycling and walking.
fist bump: a gesture in which people bump their fist.
helicopter parent: a parent highly involved in his/her childs life.
m-commerce : transactions conducted over mobile phones.
parkour: a sport involving jumping, climbing and running in order to overcome

obstacles.
robocall: a pre-recorded telephone message.
social media: communication via social networking and micro blogging websites.
tweet: a post made on social networking site twitter.
Similar to the addition exercise, there is a trend of deduction of the words from the dictionary.
The words, which once upon a time were revolutionary in their own respect, have been made
obsolete by the passage of time. These words which are been rarely used in spoken as well as
written language are archaic now. Some of these words are:
Alienism : the study and treatment of mental illness
Cyclogiro: a type of aircraft propelled by rotating blades
Charabanc: an early motor coach
Drysalter: a dealer in certain chemical products and foods
Supererogate: to do or perform more than is required
Succedaneum: something that is used as a substitute
Woolfell: the skin of a sheep or woolly-type animal with fleece attached
Wittol: a man who tolerates his wife's unfaithfulness
These lists are compiled to grab a sense of where we are heading to. Whether these changes
are efficient or digressive depends on your personal judgment, as well as which sort of
English you prefer in your day-to-day life.
Phobias
The word -phobia is an English suffix of Greek origin. A phobia is an irrational or
excessive fear of something. Here is a list of phobias
Fear of
Phobia
Accidents
Dystychiphobia
Aeroplanes/ Flying
Aerophobia
Animals
Zoophobia
Baldness
Phalacrophobia
Blood
Haemophobia, Haematophobia
Confined spaces
Claustrophobia
Crossing streets
Dromophobia
Crowds
Demophobia
Dark
Nyctophobia, Lygophobia
Death/ dead bodies
Necrophobia, Thanatophobia
Dentists
Dentophobia
Depths/ deep places
Bathophobia
Dogs
Cynophobia
Electricity
Electrophobia
Fire
Pyrophobia
Germs
Verminophobia
Ghosts
Phasmophobia
Heights
Acrophobia
Hospitals
Nosocomephobia
Illness
Pathophobia
Injections
Trypanophobia
Lightning
Astrapophobia
Loneliness
Monophobia
Machines
Mechanophobia
Madness/ Insanity
Maniaphobia
New things
Neophobia
Old age
Gerascophobia
Open spaces/ going out in public
Agoraphobia
Outer space
Spacephobia
Pain
Algophobia
Sharks
Galeophobia
Snakes
Ophidiophobia
Society or people in general
Sociophobia
Speaking/ public speaking
Lalophobia, Glossophobia
Surgery
Tomophobia
Vehicles
Ochophobia
Voids or empty spaces
Kenophobia
Water
Hydrophobia
The Dark Age of SMS English

SMS or short message service was invented as a medium to stay ahead with the changing
technologies in the world, but with time it lost its meaning and relevance and has evolved as a
whole new genre or language which has ill effects on the people today.
Regular users say its a process of modernizing, popularizing, enriching and globalizing
English but we are actually in the process ruining it all up. They think its part of the pop
culture and is cool and by using it they are revolutionizing things but they are wrong.
English is a very old language which existed since the time humans did. Its the only medium
with which the whole world can communicate with and has been a major reason behind
globalization. The language with the development of humans has also grown along for good,
but now it seems with the constant changes and the high usage of SMS language is a high risk
to the heritage English has been.
This phenomenon has spread like a fire among all specially among the youngsters (1535years). It is like a disease which forces you to be hooked on to the phone or chat websites
for hours at stretch.
In the world of SMS language, words are made with help of punctuation marks, sentences out
of a letter, and paragraphs with help of few words. For eg:
There =dere/tere
Thank you=thnx/thk u/thx
How are you?=wassup?/ wts up?/ wtz up?
Before=b4
Later=l8r
Apart from changing some commonly used words people have also come up with new terms
like:
Lol/lolz=laughing out loud
Asap=as soon as possible
Rofl=rolling on floor laughing
Btw=by the way
Sic=said in context
People who use SMS language frequently today are very weak with their knowledge about
English words, grammar, and whenever it comes to writing English i.e. in examinations,
official work they find it very difficult to write properly, and end up making mistakes by
using the same.
SMS language may seem to make things simpler or faster at times but can easily confuse
those who are new to it and also can irritate people in case of official matters where they end
up not taking you seriously.
The lifestyle of today which is so fast and changing constantly does put a pressure on us to
use the easy and quick SMS language. We might not be able to stop or change our habits of
using SMS language so quickly but can surely start by using less of it, and try and use regular
English as much as possible. It may take us minutes more by not using SMS language but
will help and save us in worst of the situations. By development we should try and make
changes to the language in an appropriate manner in which we dont kill the language rather
let it grow and nurture for our future.
Punctuation Marks
Punctuation marks are important for both written and spoken English. In written English, the
correct usage of these symbols help express the intended meaning of the sentence. In spoken
English, punctuation marks denote the pauses and intonations to be used when reading aloud.
Incorrect punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. The sentences, Women, without
her man, is nothing and Woman: without her, man is nothing is an often used example of
how the incorrect use of punctuation marks can alter the meaning a sentence.
Symbols of Punctuation
Some of the commonly used punctuation marks are
Full Stop - (.) Usually used at the end of a sentence.

Question Mark - (?) Usually used at the end of an interrogative sentence to form a question.
Comma - (,) - Usually used to denote a pause in a sentence.

Exclamation Mark - (!) - Used to denote shock, surprise, anger or a raised voice.
Colon and Semi Colon
Apostrophe - (') - Used to show possession or for contraction of word.
Full Stop
The full stop or the period (.) is the strongest punctuation in the English language. It indicates, when used at the
end of a sentence, a strong pause. Look at the following examples.
1. Lets go there.
2. I like this laptop.
3. Read this book.
4. I will go home.
This is the most common and obvious use of the full stop but it is also used in some other situations.
1. After abbreviations like etc., a.m., p.m.

2. After words like Goodbye. All right. Hi.
o Goodbye. I will see you soon.
o Hi Amit. How are you?
o All right. Lets finish this by Thursday.
3. After titles like Mr., Mrs., Dr. etc.
4. After decimal points like:
o The sales fell by 6.3% this week.
o The share market index rose by 5.1% this quarter.
An ellipsis (...) is often used to indicate a pause, an unfinished sentence or when trailing off into silence. It is
also a handy tool when youre quoting and want to omit certain words.
1. He drank and drank...and then drank some more.

2. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A
moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, ...
Question Mark
The question mark (?) is an important part of the English language and was developed sometime around the
18th Century. Like the full stop (.), this punctuation mark is used mainly at the end of an interrogative sentence.
Many people use it incorrectly or dont use it when required. Read this article and you will understand when and
how to use the question mark.
The most obvious and common use of the question mark is to end a direct question. Look at the following
sentences.
1. Where are you going?

2. What is this?
3. Are you mad?
4. Is this the place?
5. How much is this phone for?
Most people dont know that the question mark has other uses as well. Lets take a look.
A. To indicate uncertainty.
1. He lived till 1990(?) and was buried near his house.

2. Gandhiji, 2nd October 1869(?) 1948, was a great Indian leader.
B. In a series of questions.
1. What? He isnt coming? When did you speak to him?

2. Hes been hospitalized? Why didnt you tell me? Is he better now?
3. This is your car? When did you buy this? How much did it cost?
C. To end a tag question (a statement followed by a question).
1. His phone was stolen, wasnt it?

2. Shes a great painter, isnt she?
3. Hes lost his job, hasnt he?
Many times, people use questions marks even when theyre not required. One such situation would be indirect
questions; these do not require a question mark.
1. Rohit asked Nidhi to marry him.

2. The Principal asked him his name.
3. His father wondered whether the car was fine.
4.
Comma
5. A comma is a punctuation used to denote a pause in the sentence. A comma is used to structure a
sentence and helps the reader understand the meaning of the sentence.
The following are the most common usages of the comma in the English language.
6. 1. To separate a series of words (nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs) in a sentence.

7. Ramesh, Shravan, Dilip and Radha went for the meeting.
8. Sheetal is an intelligent, loyal and hardworking employee.
9. You must complete the assignment honestly, correctly and quickly.
10. Manish ran, swam and cycled to complete the athletic event.
11. 2. To separate a series of phrases in a sentence.
12. Amit completed his homework, packed his bags, polished his shoes and went to sleep.
13. I went to the market, bought the present, got it gift wrapped and came to the birthday party.
14. 3. To separate the parenthetical elements (a part of a sentence that can be removed without
changing the meaning of the sentence).
15. M.S. Dhoni, Indias cricket captain, hit a six to win the match.
16. Vishnu, the headboy of the school, has been absent for the last three days.
17. 4. To separate the quoted parts from the rest of the sentence.
18. The great leader told the crowd, I will fast till death until our demands are met.
19. Please go back to your houses, said the policeman to the crowd.
20.
Exclamation Mark
21. The exclamation mark is one of the most misused punctuation marks in the English
language. We tend to use exclamation marks more often than what is required.
The exclamation mark should be mainly used to demonstrate shock, surprise, anger or
a raised voice. The following cases demonstrate correct usage of this punctuation.
22. Hurray!
Help!
Go away! I dont want to talk to you!
Shut Up!
23. In addition, the exclamation mark can also be used in very informal writing or to
express irony, humour or sarcasm.
24.
Colon and Semi Colon
25. Many English speakers are uncertain about the correct usage of the colon and the semi
colon.
The colon ( : ) is a punctuation mark consisting of two dots one over the other
whereas the semi colon ( ; ) consists of a dot above a comma.
In the majority of the cases, the colon is used to introduce a list of things while a semi
colon is used to separate sentences where the conjunction has been left out.
The following examples will make the usage clear.
26.
COLON
SEMI COLON
I have packed my cricket kit with the

equipment I need: bats, gloves and
pads.
Sumit likes to play cricket; Amit likes

to play soccer.
A man needs three things to survive:

air, water and food.
I drank lemonade; Manish drank tea.
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is an important punctuation mark in the English language which is often used incorrectly.
Here are some common incorrect usages of the apostrophe
Yours shoes are red.
I went to theirs house.
The books are on the table.
The flowers are in the vase.
The apostrophe has two distinct uses in English
1. Used to show possession:

o Bat owned by Ravi Ravis bat
o Doll owned by Sita Sitas doll
2. Used to show contractions of words:
o It is so hot today Its so hot today
o I have not done my homework I havent done my homework
Punctuation Rules - Avoid these common

errors
Punctuation is a very important aspect of writing; good writing presupposes correct punctuation. Incorrect
punctuation is the sign of weak writing, or carelessness. But this sort of thing is eminently avoidable, because
punctuation is quite simple to master. Here are some basic rules to keep in mind:
1. Every sentence must end with a full stop.
2. Proper nouns (names of people, places, brands, etc, i.e. unique instances of a class) must always be
capitalised.
3. When you use opening quotation marks, do not forget to use closing quotation marks at the end of the
quoted word or phrase.
4. Quotation marks are when quoting or sometimes to convey irony, not for emphasis; emphasis is
conveyed by emboldening or italicisation, followed by an exclamation mark.
5. Do not use an apostrophe when you are pluralising a word. The plural of toy is toys, not toys.
Apostrophes are used to form contractions (it is = its) and indicate possession.
6. The ellipsis, used to indicate variously the intentional omission of a section of text, an unfinished
thought, and a trailing off into silence, consists of only 3 dots. It is pointless to add more dots to an
ellipsis. This is excessive punctuation, which is in other words incorrect punctuation.
7. As per the rules of British English, any punctuation mark that is not part of a quoted section of text
must be placed outside the quotation marks. However, in the case of direct speech, punctuation marks
must be enclosed within the quotation marks.
8. Do not link independent clauses with commas. Independent clauses are groupings of words that can
stand alone as sentences. For example, in He knew how to drive, that he didnt do it very often was a
matter more nerves, not inability both the parts before and after the comma are full sentences. In such
cases, the comma is not the correct punctuation mark of connection. In needs to be replaced with a
semi-colon (;). The sentence becomes: He knew how to drive; that he didnt do it very often was
matter of nerves, not inability.
9. Use a comma after the introductory element of a sentence. The introductory element is a word or a
phrase that begins a sentence by providing background, or simply modifies it. For example, Honestly I
dont know how I managed to escape is wrong, because the word honestly modifies the sentence.
Hence, it should be Honestly, I dont know how I managed to escape.
Common Mistakes in English

This section focuses on the common mistakes made by English learners. When we are learning a language, we
tend to get confused between some words or phrases and are unsure about their correct usage.
Please find the list of such mistakes on the left under Common Mistakes in English
Their, There and They're

There, Their and Theyre has confused many speakers of the English language and
knowing how to use these three words correctly is an important step in learning English.
The words There and Their are homophones, two words that are spelt differently but
pronounced the same. It is a common mistake to replace one for the other.
There will always refer to a place, whether concrete or abstract whereas Their shows
belonging or possession.
Lets look at these examples:

How can anyone live there, lets go there, there will be a party tomorrow etc.
Let us buy their car, lets us not go to their house, return their books tomorrow etc.
They are sitting there in their car.
In this sentence, notice how there is used to signify a place whereas their is used to show
possession. The word theyre is a contraction of the word they and are and should not be
confused with their and there. Lets look at these examples:
They are nice people becomes theyre nice people.
They are going to lead the group becomes theyre going to lead the group.
To avoid confusion, replace the word there with here, their with our and theyre with
they are. If the sentence makes sense, youve got it right. Consider these:
Their house is small, our house is small.
We will meet you there, we will meet you here.
Theyre going home, they are going home.
Can and May

Many English speakers are confused about the usage of the words can and may. For e.g., Can I drink
water? is incorrect. May I drink water? is the correct phrase to use in this case.
The key difference between can and may is that can talks about ability and may talks about permission.
CAN
Can is used in two cases:
To talk about ability.
I can finish my homework by 5 pm.
Can you finish your homework tonight?
To ask or give permission informally.
MAY
Can I use your pen? (To a friend)
You can use my pen. (To a friend)
May is generally used to ask or give permission formally.
Let us take a situation between a student and a teacher.
May I drink water?
Teacher: Yes, you may.
Let us take a situation between two strangers.
May I borrow your pen?
Yes, you may.
Accept and Except
The words, accept and except are homophones which are often confused by English speakers.
Accept is a verb which means to receive or to agree. Most of the time except is used as a
preposition which means excluding.
ACCEPT (VERB)
EXCEPT (PREPOSITION)
Amit accepted the job offer.
I can come with you on all days except Sunday.
Sanjiv accepted the allegation that he had cheated.
All the athletes except Anjali finished the race.
He accepted the invitation to the party.
Everyone except Shantanu was invited to the party.
Effect and Affect

Two words commonly confused by English speakers are 'effect' and 'affect'. Affect is used
as a verb and means to have an influence on and Effect is used as a noun and means the
result.
AFFECT
The dropped catch did not affect the result of the game.
The heavy rainfall affected the grains kept in the old warehouse.
EFFECT
The effect of the tsunami was devastating.
The side effect of the cough syrup was drowsiness.
It's vs Its
Its and its are often mistakenly used in written English. Refer to the article on contractions: its is a
contraction for the words it is. On the other hand, its is a possessive noun.
ITS (CONTRACTION FOR IT IS)
ITS (POSSESSION)
Its quite hot today.
The dog is wagging its tail.
Its going to be a long day.
The baby is sleeping in its cot.
Please go back to class immediately. Its not right to

skip classes.
The table is useless now. Its legs are broken.
Since and For

The words since and for are often confused by English language speakers. There is a
simple rule to follow to differentiate between the usage of these two words.
SINCE is used to talk about time from a specific period while FOR is used to talk about a
length of time.
I have been living in Delhi since 1982.
I have been living in Delhi for twenty years.
I have been studying since seven a.m. today.
I have been studying for eight hours.
My tutor has taught me since January this year.
My tutor has taught me for five months.
Who and Whom
Many English speakers confuse the words who and whom. We tend to use them interchangeably which is
often incorrect.
Both who and whom are interrogative pronouns. The key difference between who and whom is that who
is used in place of the subject of the sentence and whom is used in place of the object of the sentence.
WHO REPLACES THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
Who told you?
Who is singing?
Who wants to eat?
Who hit Sanjiv?
WHOM REPLACE THE OBJECT OF THE SENTENCE
Whom are you talking about?

Whom is this food for?
With whom did you go to the market? Whom did Rajiv hit?
Where, Were and Wear
The words 'where' and 'wear' may sound the same but they differ in meaning. Many people
make the mistake of using one for the other. Read this article to find out when to use which
one.
The word 'where' is used when asking a question related to a location.
1. Where are you going?
2. Where will we eat?
3. Where did you keep the money?
On the other hand, the word 'wear' has a couple of meanings.

It is used to refer to an article or clothing that a person has put on or is wearing. Let us look
at some examples.
1. What will you wear today?
2. Are you sure you are wearing enough?
3. Wear something fancy.
The other meaning of the word 'wear' is to denote deterioration (exhaustion) or to produce
something by friction. (Past tense- worn)
1. In such weather, tires wear out fast.
2. Those jeans are worn out.
3. Working in the blazing sun can wear out a worker.
Usage of We're and Were
Two other words that sound somewhat similar are 'were' and 'were'. Let us look at how they
are used.
The word were is a contraction of the phrase 'we are'.
1. We are going tomorrow.
Were going tomorrow.
2. We are working together.
Were working together.
3. There is no point going if we are not going together.
There is no point going if were not going together.
The word were is used to refer to something that happened in the past.
1. What were you doing?
2. Were you eating?
3. Were you in this school?
Correct Usage of 'I' and 'Me'

Speakers of English often use I and me in place of each other. The difference is actually
very simple. Allow us to explain.
Let us begin with an exercise. Fill in the blanks with either I or me in the following
sentences.
1. __ want to watch a movie.
2. This is the house __ want to buy.
3. Sudhir and __ will go to Delhi.
4. You and __ will play today.
5. He asked __ to drive.
6. She needs to pay __.
7. He gave __ the key.
The answer to the first four sentences is I. This is because I is a pronoun and hence must
be the subject of a verb ('I' is the first person singular subject pronoun and will always refer to
the person performing the action of a verb).
On the other hand, me is a pronoun that must be the object of the verb (me is
an object pronoun and will always refer to the person that the action of a verb is being done
to.)
Usage of 'Then' and 'Than'

The similar sounding words then and than confuse many English speakers and if you find yourself using one
for the other, please go through this article.
The word than is used to show comparison and is a conjunction (A conjunction is a word that joins two
sentences).
1. Adhir is smarter than Dinesh.

2. Homemade food is healthier than fast-food.
3. He is older than you.
On the other hand, the word then is used either to show a sequence of events or a sense of time. Read the
examples carefully to understand.
1. If you get full marks, then I will buy you a car.

2. Finish your homework and then we will go out for dinner.
3. I will reach home at night. I will call you then.
4. I will get free at 5. Can we meet then?
Notice how the first two sentences show a sequence of events and the next two show a sense of time. The
speaker in sentence 3 and 4 is referring to particular time (at night and at 5).
Note:- When confused, think about what youre trying to say/write. Only if youre comparing will you use
than, for every other situation, use then.
Usage of 'Myself'
You may have come across many people introducing themselves by saying, Hi, myself Harish. This is wrong.
Instead, say, I am Harish. 'Me', 'I' and 'myself' are all used to refer to the same person (that person is you) but
cannot be used interchangeably. Understanding their usage is an important part of learning English.
The first thing to understand is that myself is neither a replacement for me, nor for I. The word myself is a
pronoun and is used to lay emphasis. Take a look at the following sentences.
1. I will do it.
2. I cleaned the house.
3. I fixed the car.
I will do it myself.
I cleaned the house myself.
I fixed the car myself.
All the three examples make sense and mean the same with or without the use of myself. As stated earlier, it is
used only for stress and never alone. Also, myself can never be used with me, which is an object pronoun.
Elicit and Illicit

Elicit and illicit are homophones, but they have different spellings and meanings and one
must be careful about using them.
On the one hand, elicit means to draw something out of someone, by coaxing or pleading or
urging. For example, the sentence - His father was unable to elicit a response from him on
the matter means that the father could not extract the information that he desired from his
son.
On the other hand, illicit means illegal, or forbidden. Examples: Theirs was an illicit
relationship because their parents were opposed to inter-caste marriages, or He was thrown
into prison for smuggling illicit weapons into the country.
So and Such
It is easy to get confused about the usage of so and such, as their structures are quite
similar. However, they are not one and the same in terms of meaning or usage. For example,
the sentence He is so good friend is glaringly wrong, as is The sky is such beautiful today.
The difference can be illustrated using a simple formula:
1. So is followed necessarily by an adjective. In technical terms, it takes the adjective
phrase.
o Formula: so + adjective + that.
o For example: The movie was so scary that I couldnt watch it till the end.
o that is optional. Therefore, the above sentence would work just as well
without that: The movie was so scary, I couldnt watch it till the end.
2. Such is followed by an article, the adjective, and then the noun. In technical terms, it
takes the noun phrase.
o Formula: such + article + adjective + noun + that
o For example: We chose such a scary movie to go for that I couldnt even
watch it till the end.
o Again, that is optional. If that in the above sentence were to be replaced
with a comma, it would still work.
o Note: the article after such is used when the noun is countable; that is to say,
when it is something that can be expressed in numbers. For example, car,
dog and book are countable nouns, as there can be a number assigned to
each, such as 5 cars or 2 dogs. For uncountable nouns, such as food,
milk or water or air, the article is dropped. For example,
i.
I had such good food at home the other day.
ii.
We were blessed with such good weather on the trip.
Threw and Through

Confusion regarding the use of threw and through arises from the fact that they are
homophones, ie, they are pronounced the same way. As a result, it is quite possible for one to
be mistakenly used in place of the other. However, there is no similarity in their meanings:
Threw is the simple past tense of throw, when the latter is used as a verb.
o meaning(s): to hurl or cast something from the hand or to project ones voice.
He threw the ball at the stumps, looking to run the batsman out.
Through is generally used as a preposition. Meaning, in brief:

o to get into something from one end or side and come out the other. Example The sunlight coming through the window woke me up.
o to travel over or across or in something. Example - The plane hurtled through
the air at supersonic speed.
o to go past or beyond something. Example -The fugitives went through three
red lights before the cops finally caught up with them.
o to go from one to another of, or between or among individual members of
something. Example -Tarzan swung through the trees like the forest was his
natural habitat; The World Cup may have passed through many hands, but it
is now Indias.
When and If
When and if are both used while referring to the future, as in I will be able to see you in
the evening when I get off work and I will be able to see in the evening if I get off work. The
difference between the two words is very basic and easily understood:
When should be used while referring to something that one is certain will happen.
The when in I will be able to see you in the evening when I get off work implies
that the speaker is sure that s/he will get free from work in the evening.
If should be used while referring to something that might or might not happen. The
if in I will be able to see you in the evening if I get off work implies that the
speaker is not sure that s/he will get free from work in the evening; it is a possibility,
not a certainty.
However, it must be noted that when and if can be used interchangeably as well, in case
the situation being referred to is predictable or repetitive. For example, the sentences When I
am in Calcutta, I stay with my family and If I am in Calcutta, I stay with my family
effectively mean the same thing. Another example is, When you leave milk out, it ferments
and If you leave milk out, it ferments.
Advice and Advise

Advice and advise can easily be mistaken, but the difference between the two is simple
enough. In British English,
advice acts as a noun, defined as opinion about what could or should be done
about a situation or problem; counsel, and
advise acts a verb, meaning to give advice.
Therefore,
His fathers advice was for him to give the matter thought before reaching a conclusion about
what to do. = His father advised him to give the matter thought before reaching a conclusion
about what to do.
The c in advice is pronounced like the s in sip, whereas the s in advise is pronounced
like the z in zip.
In American English, this distinction between the two words is not always maintained.
Adapt and Adopt

Adapt and adopt share similar spellings and similar meanings, but they are not one and the same.
To adapt is to become or make something suitable to an environment or condition.
It took me a long time after college to adapt to life in the office.

An inability to adapt will prove an obstacle on the road to success.
To adopt is to take something and use it as or make it your own.
I adopted his policy of neutrality and stayed out of trouble.
We are planning to adopt a child.
Adverse and Averse

Adverse and averse are not only spelled similarly (with the d in adverse being the only
difference), they are also both adjectives with negative connotations, and hence easily
confused.
Adverse means, roughly, unfavourable, or harmful. Therefore, if a sportsman is said to
perform well in adverse conditions, it means that he or she performs well in conditions that
are not easy to play in. It is used in reference to things, actions or events, rather than people.
Averse describes a strong disinclination. It is used of things and people, but we never speak
of an averse thing or person. It is most often used in the form averse to, as in I am averse to
speaking in public.
Bought and Brought

The difference between these two words is a very simple one. They are the past tenses of two
different verbs.
Bought is the past tense of buy: I bought a new car last week.
Brought is the past tense of bring: I brought him a glass of water.
The difference can be remembered easily too, as bring shares the its first two letters with
brought (br).
Compliment and Complement

Complement and compliment are sometimes confused because they are pronounced the same and
have very similar spellings. Both function as noun and verb, but are quite distinct in meaning.
As a noun, compliment refers to an expression of esteem, admiration or praise. For example, to call
someone handsome/beautiful is to pay him/her a compliment, and the verb refers to this action, ie, the
paying of a compliment.
On the other hand, as a noun, the complement of something supplies what that something is
missing, ie, completes or perfects it. For example, wine can be said to complement a meal.
Dairy and Diary

The words dairy and diary, while having spellings that are confusingly similar, have no
common meanings.
Dairy works as an adjective, meaning anything that is derived from milk, and a noun,
meaning an establishment that produces dairy products. I am allergic to dairy products.
Diary is a noun, referring to a written record of ones personal experiences. I write in my
diary every night.
Each and Every
Each and every are determiners, words that are used with singular nouns to indicate
quantity. There are differences between the two that are important to grasp for usage,
though.
1. Each is used when there are two objects; here every is not used. For example,
He wore multiple bracelets on each hand (note: singular noun).
There were two of them. They each carried backpacks, and each
backpack (note: singular noun) contained invaluable souvenirs.
In case there are more than two objects, either of the two may be used.
He wanted each/every item on the catalogue.
There is a bathroom in each/every room.
Each can be used as a pronoun, but every cannot. Note the difference between the
following sentences:
The students were waiting for the question sheets to be handed out.
Each was in a state of great nervousness.
The students were waiting for the question sheets to be handed out.
Every student/one of them was in a state of great nervousness.
Clearly, each replaces the noun student. Every does not; it requires to be followed
by the noun, or by one of them.
1
With adverbs (practically, nearly, almost, etc), only every in used. In the following
sentences, every cannot be replaced by each:
She knew practically every detail of his daily routine.
Nearly every fruit on the cart was spoilt.
Every is used to refer to repeated, regular events, as in the following cases:
We meet every so often
I get a health check-up done every six months.
I had to take a water break after every other set.
In the above examples and any similar instances, each cannot be used.
Do and Make
The words do and make are often confused. While they are similar, there are differences between them that
must be noted.
Do is used as follows:
1. For daily activities.

Do homework.
Do the dishes.
In general reference, ie, when one does not have a specific activity in mind.
Im not doing anything tonight.
You are doing too much for one person.
In standard expressions, ie, collocations (verb + noun combinations) that have become standardised
through usage.
Do ones best.
Do a favour.
Make, on the other hand, is used:
1. To describe an activity that produces something tangible.

Make coffee.
Make breakfast.
In standard expressions.
Make room.
Make do.
Hear and Listen

To any layman, hearing and listening may appear to be one and the same thing, but there is
a subtle difference between the two words.
At one level, they are of course both functions of the ear that involve receiving sounds and
processing them. However, herein lies the difference: any sound that is received by the ear
and noted by the brain can be said to have been heard; it is only when a conscious effort is
made to hear something that listening comes into play.
For example, if the sounds from a conversation carry to you, but you make no effort to
understand what is being said, you must say that you heard the conversation. On the other
hand, as soon as you make a conscious effort to understand or pay attention to what you are
hearing, you are listening. Therefore, we do not hear songs, we listen to them (unless, of
course, they are simply part of the background and we arent actually paying attention to
them).
It must be noted that hear can be used in place of listen sometimes, but listen should not
be used in place of hear. For example, you may tell someone that you heard what he or she
said, and it is understood that you were listening, ie, paying attention. These variations you
will learn with practice in conversation.
Much and Many
Much and many are both determiners that suggest an unspecified quantity, with more or
less the same basic meaning: in great quantity or in large number. There is, however, a
distinction in their usage.
Much, not many, is used for uncountable nouns, which are in singular form.
I have much faith in him.
How much money do you have in your wallet?
There was much compassion in his voice.
On the other hand, many is used for countable nouns, which are in plural form, and here
much cannot be used.
Many youngsters today are taking to atheism.
How many days remain?
There are many obstructions ahead for us.
See and Watch

See and watch are words that are commonly misunderstood as being interchangeable, but
while both refer to the optic function, they are not one and the same thing. They stand for
different ways of using the eye.
To see something is simply to look at it or spot it; it may be unintentional, ie, you may not
have been looking for it. I saw a man up ahead.
To watch something is look at something closely or intently, generally because it is moving.
I watched the movie.
Loose and Lose

Lose and loose are often mixed up, and this is understandable because there is only an o
of difference between them. They do not, however, have any meanings in common.
Loose is generally used as an adjective, the opposite of tight or contained.
The dog is running loose in the streets.
These jeans are loose around my waist.
Lose is a verb that means to suffer the loss of, to miss.
Dont lose the car keys.

We cannot afford to lose this match.
Have and Has

Have and has are both used to denote possession, form the perfect tense, and the past tense
of both is had, but they are used differently.
Have is used with
the following pronouns: I, you, we, they. I have a pencil. We have a big house.
pluralised nouns: Doctors must have a rough time, dealing with illnesses all the time.
Has is used with the third person singular (he, she, it). She has your money. Amit has the
book.
Some and Any

Both some and any are used to refer to indefinite quantities, ie, when it is not necessary to
specify a number. For example, I would like some milk indicates that the speaker wants milk,
but it is not stated how much of it he or she wants. Similarly, Is there any cake left? does not
specify how much cake the speaker wants there to be; any amount will do for the purposes of
the question. There are important differences between the two that must be grasped for usage,
however.
Some
Some is commonly used in affirmative statements, such as I would like to have some fun.
Any is hardly ever used in such statements, except to emphasise that the quality of the
object does not matter. For example, I would like any apples suggests that the speaker does
not care what kind of apples they are (indicating a desperate need or desire for apples),
whereas I would like some apples does not suggest anything about the quality of the apples or
desperation of the speaker.
Any
Any is commonly used in negative statements, such as We do not have any apples. Here,
some may not be used.
Any is also used in affirmative statements, if the statements contain negative words such as
hardly, barely, never, without, little, etc. For example, We hardly have any apples
cannot be rewritten as We hardly have some apples.
In questions
While both any and some can both be used in questions, any is more common and
natural in this form.
Do you have any apples? can be rewritten as Do you have some apples? However, some is
not always applicable. For example, in the case of Do you have any idea what the score is?,
any cannot be replaced by some.
Some is more commonly used in offers and requests, such as Would you like some tea?
If clauses
Both some and any are common in if clauses, with similar meanings, as in If you need
some/any assistance, feel free to give me a ring.
Beside and Besides

It is easy to confuse beside and besides, but they are not one and the same thing. Beside
is a preposition, whereas besides works as both a preposition and an adverb, and although
besides is sometimes used in place of beside, they have distinct meaning.
Beside means by or at the side of. He stood beside his new car proudly.
As a preposition, besides means in addition to or apart from. What are you working on
besides the research project? As an adverb, it means furthermore. He was not selected
because he did not have a good grasp of his concepts. Besides, he did not seem very keen.
As mentioned above, the distinction between the two words is sometimes ignored. Besides
can never mean at the side of, but beside is often used in place of besides. This can lead
to misunderstanding, though; the sentence There was no one beside him in the hall could
mean that he was all by himself, or that there was no one next to him.
Principle and Principal

Principle and principle are often confused but do not, in fact, share any meanings.
Principle is only a noun and usually refers to a rule or standard. The principles of
socialism, for example, refers to the tenets of the socialist ideology. My principles prevent
me from taking such petty action suggests that the speakers moral/ethical stand is against
the action being spoken of.
Principal, on the other hand, is both a noun and an adjective. As a noun, it has special
financial and legal connotations, but in general usage it refers to someone who holds a high
position or is important in a certain context: a meeting of all the principals involved in the
deal. As an adjective it has the sense of most important: My principal concern is to get my
health back.
Stationery and Stationary

These two words are among the most frequently confused in the English language, although
their meanings are vastly different.
Stationery is a noun that refers to writing material and office supplies such as pens, paper,
clips, etc.
Stationary is generally an adjective that is used to describe something that is not moving.
For example, a man who is standing in one place can be described as stationary.
The difference in the spellings of the two words can be used to remember their meanings: the
second a in stationary can be thought to stand for adjective. It is replaced by an e in
stationery.
Was and Were

The basic difference between were and was is obvious: were is used when the number of
objects or entities exceeds one, as in We were late for the dinner; was is used when only one
object or entity is being referred to, as in I was late for the dinner.
There are, however, nuances in their use. For example, Everyone was well-dressed seems
incorrect because everyone refers to more than one person. However, here the implication
of the pronoun comes into play; everyone refers to all the members of a group individually,
as do none (None of us was well-dressed) and each (Each of us was well-dressed). Hence,
was is used after these words instead of were. On the other hand, all refers collectively to
the entire group (All of us were well-dressed).
This does not mean, however, that all and were necessarily always go together. When all
is used with countable nouns, it is correct to use were, as in All the apples were stale.
However, when it is used with non-countable nouns, which are in the singular form, was
must be used, as in All the milk was over.
What about The examination was failed by all the students? This, too, can be confusing. After
all, here all refers to the collective student body but was is used. This is because the verb
was acts on the singular examination, not on the phrase all the students. If the subject
(examination) were to be pluralised (examinations), was would have to replaced by
were.
Lastly, the use of were as the past subjunctive of the present to be is important. A
subjunctive is used to express possibility, hope, supposition, etc, rather than to state a fact.
Hence, we say If I/he were famous... instead of If I/he was famous...
Double Negatives
A double negative is when two negatives used in a sentence cancel each other out to make a
positive. This must not be misunderstood to mean that double negatives are an accepted
grammatical device; they are grammatically incorrect and must not be used.
How does one avoid double negatives? It is quite simple. When using the negative form of a
verb (e.g. arent, dont, wont, etc), do not follow it up with a negative determiner/quantifier
(e.g. nowhere, nothing, never, etc). Consider the following sentences:
They arent going nowhere.
They dont do nothing.
They wont never stop.
All of the above employ the double negative, and are hence grammatically incorrect.
Formerly, the double negative was a device for emphasis, but the effort to make English
conform grammatically to formal logic has rendered it unacceptable today. Logically, the
meanings of the above sentences, deduced by applying the formula negative + negative =
positive, are:
They are going somewhere. (arent + nowhere = somewhere)
They do something. (dont + nothing = something)
They will stop. (wont + never = will)
The ban on multiple negatives also applies to combination with adverbs such as hardly and
scarcely. It is therefore regarded as incorrect to say I couldn't hardly do it or The vehicle has
scarcely no fuel.
To, Too and Two

It is best to be clear on the meanings of these three words so as not to confuse them in
everyday usage.
To
To functions as
1. A preposition, in which case it always precedes a noun, as in I am going to school and
He is on his way home.
2. An infinitive, in which case it always precedes a verb, as in I am going to study and I
am going to take a vacation.
Too
Too functions
1. As a synonym for also, as in I would like to come, too and He worked on the project,
too.
2. As a synonym for excessively, where it precedes an adjective or an adverb, as in I
am too tired to continue or This pastrami is much too salty.
Two
Two is the number that follows one and precedes three. It has no other meaning.
Either and Neither

It is important to grasp the meanings and difference between either and neither and to not
be confused about their usage.
Both words can be used as pronoun, conjunction and adjective; however, the use of either is
considered positive, while the use of neither is considered negative.
As adjective:
Either indicates one or the other, or both. For example:
You may use either hand for the purpose. = You may use your
right or left hand for the purpose.
There were tall houses on either side of the river. = There were
tall houses on both sides of the river.
Neither indicates not one or the other; none of the two. For example;
Neither twin was invited to the wedding. = None of the twins was
invited to the wedding.
As pronoun:
Either indicates one or the other. For example:
Both buses are headed in that direction, you can get on either. = Both
buses are headed in that direction, you can get on one or the other.
Neither indicates not one or the other. For example:
Both pups were pure-breed, but neither displayed the characteristic

traits of its breed. = Both pups were pure-breed, but not one or the other
displayed the characteristic traits of its breed.
As conjunction:
Either is used with or to imply a choice of alternatives. For example:
You can either play on the computer or watch TV. = You can do one of
two things: play on the computer or watch TV.
Neither is used with nor to negate both parts of a statement. For example:
I can neither play on the computer nor watch TV. = I cannot play on the
computer or watch TV.
Either is also used as an adverb, to mean also, following negative expressions. For
example:
If you dont go, I wont go either. = If you stay, I will stay also.
Neither, on the other hand, is not used as an adverb.
Your and You're

Your is the second person possessive adjective, or, in simpler terms, it is used to describe
something as belonging to you. It is nearly always followed by a noun. For example,
Is this your wallet?
Your presence at the table is very much appreciated.
What happened to your foot?
You're is the contraction of you are and is often followed by the present participle, ie, verb
form ending in ing. For example,
Youre looking ill.
Youre going to be late.
Youre a fool.
Could, Would and Should

Would, should and could are auxiliary verbs, meaning that their function is to assist main
verbs. For example, in the sentence, I would like to meet him, like is the main verb that is
assisted by would. They can be defined as the past tenses respectively of will, shall and can,
but each has many uses that sometimes even express the present tense. It is important to be
able to differentiate between the three so as not to use them incorrectly. We shall discuss
some of the common functions of the three words here.
Would
1. To ask questions:
Would you like to see the doctor? = Do you want to see the doctor?
1
With who, what, when, where, why, how:
How would he react?

What would she do?
In both sentences, would is more or less interchangeable with will.
1
To make polite requests:
I would like more salad, please. = I want more salad, please.

1
To show a different response if the past had been different:
I would have done something if I had known you were in trouble. = I didn't know that you
were in. This is why I did not do anything to help.
1
To explain an outcome to a hypothetical situation:
Were I to win a million dollars, I would go on a world cruise. = If I win a million dollars, I
will go on a world cruise.
1
To show habitual past action:
The dog would howl whenever its owner would leave it alone at home.
Think of would as did.
1
To show preference between two choices, used with rather or sooner:
I would sooner face the punishment than lie and escape it. = I prefer speaking the truth to
lying.
1
To show intention:
He said he would do it. = He said it was his intention to do it.

Should
1. To ask questions (it is generally interchangeable with ought in such cases):
Should I submit my assignment now? = Am I supposed to submit my assignment now?
1
To show obligation:
You should brush your teeth twice a day.

Here, too, should can be replaced with ought to, but in this context it is used to make a
persuasive statement.
1
To express a hypothetical situation:
Should you wish to do so, you may. = If you wish to do so, you may.
1
To express what is likely:
If you take the highway, you should be there in two hours.

Here should means something like probably will.
Could
1. As the past tense of can:
There was I time when I could run a mile without breaking a sweat.
To ask questions:
Could I submit my assignment now? = Am I allowed to submit my assignment now?

1
To show possibility:
You could do a lot better. = You have the potential to do a lot better.
1
To express tentativeness or politeness:
I could be wrong. = I may be wrong.
Till and Until

English speakers are often found asking for the difference(s) between the words till and
until. The fact of the matter is, however, that when till acts as a preposition or conjunction,
there is no difference between the two words.
To clarify, till has multiple meanings: it works as a noun, verb, preposition and conjunction.
Until, on the other hand, works only as a preposition and a conjunction; in these capacities,
both words mean exactly the same thing and are thus entirely interchangeable. Till is
actually the older word. Until was formed by the addition to it of the prefix un-, meaning
up to. Today, as the first word in a sentence, until is generally preferred.
Of and Off
The words of and off are used so frequently in modern English that people often confuse them. For
example, the sentence, He took off without a word could be mistakenly written as He took of without
a word, and the meaning would be lost. Let us discuss the distinctions between the two words.
The word of has several functions, but it is most in use as a preposition that denotes various
relations described in the sentence. For instance, it indicates a point of reckoning: South of the
border. It is also commonly used to point out what something is made of or what it contains: Heart of
gold (this is metaphorical, of course), Cup of tea. Another relation frequently described by of is that
of possession, as in Queen of England.
Off is also a very common word with large number of functions as well, but it is most frequently used
as an adverb or a preposition. As an adverb, it is used usually to describe a state of discontinuance,
or suspension: Turn off the light. As a preposition, it is used to indicate the physical separation or
distance from a position of rest, attachment or union, as in Take it off the table or The gas station is
just off the corner ahead.
More Common Mistakes
This page contains a list of more common mistakes which are commonly made by English
learners,
In and Inside
Do and Does
Tell and Say
Will and Going to
Idle and Idol
Allusion and Illusion
Plain and Plane
Irrelevant and Irreverent
Effective and Efficient
Which and Who
Born and Borne
Desert and Dessert
Cereal and Serial
Brake and Break
Pray and Prey
Wait and Weight
Suit and Suite
Wave and Waive
Tire and Tyre
Aesthetic and Ascetic
Anecdote and Antidote
Marital and Martial

Coma and Comma
Spoken English Tips (Learner's

Experience)
The following tips helped me improve my spoken English and overcome my hesitation in the language. Hope
they are useful for you too.
1. Dont worry about making mistakes because you will.

2. Be patient. This isnt a one day process.
3. Learn certain phrases that can be used in multiple situations.
4. Learn how to greet someone properly.
5. Talk slowly and carefully. Dont rush through your sentences.
6. Restrict yourself to simple sentences until you gain confidence.
7. Watch out for your pronunciation. Many online tools will tell you how to pronounce a word correctly.
Check one of them out when youre in doubt.
8. Carefully observe how proficient speakers of the language pronounce words and frame their sentences.
9. Ask your friends, relatives and anyone you can to point out your mistakes and correct them.
10. Speak to them in English only. Practice is a must.
11. Record yourself reading one article aloud every day. Focus on pronunciation, speed, clarity and
emphasis.
12. Many online sites offer you the opportunity to voice chat with another user. This is an effective way to
practice.
13. Learn at least one new word every day and use it as a part of your conversation with people. By the end
of the week, you should know seven words really well.
14. Learn new words everyday

15. Read at least one article of your choice aloud every day.
16. Watch English movies with subtitles.
17. Watch English shows.
18. Read books and magazines.
19. Keep a pocket dictionary handy for any word you may need to know the meaning of.
20. When you hear a new word, try to find its usage and its antonyms.
Best of luck!

English Grammer

Transféré par

Informations du document

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

English Grammer

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Tenses

The concept of time can be split into:

1. The Present - What you are currently doing.

The Past - What you did some time back.

The Future - What you will do later.

In the English language, tenses play an important role in sentence formation.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

Simple Present Tense

REST OF THE SENTENCE

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

in Bal Bharti school.

DONT (DO NOT) /

REST OF THE SENTENCE

REST OF THE SENTENCE

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

is with He and She

AM NOT / ARE NOT /

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

are not with You, We and They

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice the structure of the interrogative statements. We use

are with You, We and They

Present Perfect Tense

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

HAVE NOT / HAS NOT

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

INTERROGATIVE STATEMENTS / QUESTIONS

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

REST OF THE SENTENCE

Notice that we use

The verb form remains the same for all subjects.

HAVE NOT BEEN /

REST OF THE SENTENCE

have not been

in Mumbai since March.

have not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been

in Mumbai since March.

has not been