Compilation

of

Notes
on

Selective
Grammar
Topics

Grammar notes/SonamChh/SHSS/2019 Page 1

Table of Content

Sl. No. Topic Page no.

1 Parts of speech 1-7

2 Degrees of comparison 8-9

3 Regular verbs and irregular verbs 9-10

4 Transitive, Intransitive verbs and infinitive verb 11

5 Tenses 11-13

6 Modal auxiliaries 14-17

7 Direct and indirect speech 17-19

8 Active and passive voice 20

9 Question tags 20-21

10 Conditionals 22

11 Gerund 23

12 Kinds of sentences 24

13 Simple, compound and complex sentence 25

14 Subject verb agreement rules 26-28

15 Transformation of Sentences 29-31

16 Collective nouns 32

17 Word formation 32-33

18 Synonyms, antonyms, prefix, suffix, homophones 33

19 Homonyms 34

20 Articles 35

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Parts of Speech
1. Noun

A noun is the name of a person, place, thing or an idea.

There are many types of noun.

a) Common noun: A common noun is the name of a thing, place or people belonging to a class.

E.g. man, boy, king, river, tree, bird

(b) Proper noun: A proper noun is the name of a person, place or a thing. Proper nouns are written in
capital letters. (Names of people, places, countries, rivers, mountains, brands, oceans, etc)

E.g. Dorji, Samtse, Samsung, Bhutan

(c) Collective noun: A collective noun denotes a group of person or objects taken as a unit.

E.g. Group, crowd, committee, team, army, staff etc.

(d) Abstract noun: An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action or state.

E.g. Freedom, joy, sorrow, life, truth, beauty, kindness etc.

(e) Countable noun: A countable noun is the name of a thing that can be counted or divided into singular
or plural.

E.g. Student, boy, pen, camera

(f) Uncountable noun: An uncountable noun is the name of a thing that cannot be counted or divided into
singular or plural.

E.g. Milk, rice, ice, tea, coffee, money

2. Adjective

Adjectives are describing words. An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. Adjectives modify nouns
and are necessary to make the sentences clearer and more exact. E.g. Beautiful, tall, smart, clever, lovely,
small, large, etc

An adjective can exist in three forms: positive, comparative and superlative

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3. Pronoun

Pronouns are usually short words that replaces nouns. If we didn't have pronouns, we'd have to keep
repeating our nouns and that would make sentences very cumbersome and repetitive.

Personal pronoun

Subject Object
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural
First I We me us
Second You You you you
Third He/She/It They Him/her/it them

 First person is used to denote to the person speaking.

 Second person is used denote the person spoken to.
 Third person is referred to the person of thing that we are talking about.

Possessive pronoun

Person Singular Plural

First person mine ours
Second person yours yours
Third person His/hers theirs

Type of pronoun
Example
Personal pronoun
I, you, he, she, it, me , us him, her, they, them

Indefinite pronoun All, each, another, few, many, none, one, several, any, anybody, anything,
everybody, everyone, everything, somebody, someone
Possessive pronoun
Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
Interrogative
Who, whom, what, which, whose
pronoun
Reflexive pronoun
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Reciprocal pronoun
Eachother, one another
Relative pronoun
Who, whom, whose, which, that

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4. Verb

A verb is an action word. (a doing word) A verb expresses a physical action, a mental action, or a state
of being. Verbs can be classified into two.

Verbs that expresses physical and mental actions are called action or principal verbs such as kick,
think, play, talk, etc.

Verbs that expresses a state of being are called helping or auxiliary verbs such as am, is, are, was ,were,
has, have, had, would, should, can , could, etc.

Regular and irregular verbs

Regular verbs are those that form their past tense by adding ‘ed,’ ‘d’ or ‘t’ to the present form of the
verb.
Present/base form Past Past participle
walk walked walked
gaze gazed gazed
fear feared feared
send sent sent

Irregular verbs are those which form their past tense without adding 'ed' 'd' or 't' to the present form of the
verb.
Present/base form Past Past participle
Fall fell fallen
Eat ate eaten
weave wove woven
Give gave given
become became become
fight fought fought
Sing sang sung

5. Adverb

An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

E.g. calmly, warmly, accidentally.

Kinds of adverb
Adverb of manner
This adverb tells us about the way in which an event or action takes place.

Adverb of time
This adverb tell us about the time of action.

Adverb of place
This adverb tells us where the action occurred.
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Adverb of time Adverb of Adverb of manner
place
Usually There Well
Already Forward Soundly
Now Anywhere Loudly, sadly
Before Here Slowly
Immediately Elsewhere Softly
Eventually Somewhere Bravely
Suddenly Down Rudely
Gradually Up Carefully, gently
Often High Gracefully
Yesterday, today, tomorrow Low Sweetly
Morning, afternoon, evening Beside Badly
Daily Under Sadly
Soon Beneath Proudly
Late Away Happily
Since Out Luckily
Never Inside Agreeably
ago Within sincerely
Summer, winter, spring, autumn Everywhere

6. Preposition

A preposition is a word that is placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relationship to some other
word in a sentence.

Kinds of preposition
(a) Simple preposition
After, at, by, in, on, of, off, out, till, to, up, with, down, etc

(b) Compound preposition

About, above, across, along, around, before, behind, below, beside, between, inside, outside, into, until,
within, etc

(c) Phrase preposition

Along with, according to, owing to, in order to, in favour of, in front of, because of, inspite of.

Prepositions of Time:
Prepositions of time show the relationship of time between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.
On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc. are the most common preposition of time.

Prepositions of Place and Direction:

Prepositions of place show the relationship of place between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.
On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between, among, through, in front of, behind, above,
over, under, below, etc. are the most common prepositions of place/direction.
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Prepositions of Agents or Things:
Prepositions of agents or things indicate a casual relationship between nouns and other parts of the sentence.
Of, for, by, with, about, etc. are the most used and common prepositions of agents or things.

Phrasal Prepositions:
A phrasal preposition is not a prepositional phrase, but they are a combination of two or more words which
functions as a preposition.
Along with, apart from, because of, by means of, according to, in front of, contrary to, in spite of, on account of,
in reference to, in addition to, in regard to, instead of, on top of, out of, with regard to , etc. are the most common
phrasal prepositions.

7. Conjunction

Conjunctions are words that connect words, phrases, clauses and sentences.
There are two types of conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunction: Conjunctions that join sentences that are of equal importance. E.g. And, as
well as, but, both, not only...but also, yet, still, whereas, nevertheless, either or, neither nor, for, therefore,
so, then, consequently, as a result.

Subordinating conjunction: The conjunction that joins dependent clause to the main clause. E.g.
Before, till, since, after, when, until, as soon as, because, in order to, so as to, in case, therefore, as a
result, unless, though, although, eve, despite, even though, as long as, than, whereas, however, yet, still,
but, nevertheless, on the other hand

8. Interjection

An interjection is one or more words or a phrase which comes at the beginning of a sentence and
generally expresses emotions.

An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

Example: Alas! She is no more.

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Degree of Comparison

Adjectives change in form when they show comparison.

Positive degree: An adjective is said to be in the positive degree when there is comparison.
The positive form is the base form of the adjective.(Quality of a person, place or thing).

Comparative degree: An adjective is said to be in the comparative degree when it is used to compare
two nouns or pronouns. The comparative form expresses a higher degree of some quality. (To compare
two persons or things or qualities.)

Superlative degree: Expresses the highest quality. An adjective is in the superlative form when it is used
to compare more than two nouns/pronouns. We use the article “the” infront of the superlative.
For e.g. Sonam is the most intelligent boy in the class.

1. Most adjective form their comparative degree by adding 'r', 'er' 'ier' and their superlative by adding 'st'
'est' 'iest' to the positive.

Positive Comparative Superlative

Blackest
Black Blacker
Clever Cleverer Cleverest

Kindest
Kind Kinder
Handsom Handsomest
Handsomer
e
Reddest
Red Redder
Nicest
Nice Nicer
Finest
Fine Finer

Quiet Quieter Quietest

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 2. Some adjectives of two syllables and more than two syllables form the comparative and superlative by
adding 'more' and 'most' respectively.

Positive Comparative Superlative

Active More active Most active
Difficult More difficult Most difficult
Suitable More suitable Most suitable
Popular More popular Most popular
Faithful More faithful Most faithful
Sensible More sensible Most sensible

(Famous, proper, brilliant)

3. Some adjectives form their comparative and superlative in an irregular way.

Positive Comparativ Superlative

e
Good Better Best
Bad Worse Worst
Little Less Least
Many More Most

Regular verbs and irregular verbs

1. Regular verbs are those verbs that form their simple past tense and past participle form by adding
“ed” to the base form.
For e.g. walk – walked, call – called, wish – wished

2. Irregular verbs are those that form their simple past tense and past participle forms by other
means. Compounds of irregular verbs have the same forms in the simple past and the past
participle as the original verbs.

Simple
Past participle
Verb Past
fall fell fallen
befall befell befallen
mistake mistook mistaken
run ran run
see saw seen
be was been

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 bend bent bent
bite bit bitten
buy bought bought
eat ate Eaten
fall fell fallen
fly flew flown
shake shook shaken
spring sprang sprung
know Knew known
forget forgot forgotten
undertake undertook undertaken
take took taken
stink stank stunk
wear wore worn
weave wove woven

There are few irregular verbs with all three forms identical

Verb Simple Past Past participle

cut cut cut

put put put
shut shut shut
broadcas
broadcast broadcast
t
spread spread spread
bet bet bet
bid bid bid
cost cost cost
forecast forecast forecast
burst burst burst
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
read read read
rid rid rid
set set set
shed shed shed
split split split
wet wet wet
thrust thrust thrust
slit slit slit

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Transitive and Intransitive verb
Transitive verb
A transitive verb is a verb that requires an object to receive the action.
For e.g. Karma kicked the ball. (Subject + verb (action) + object)
I rode the bicycle.
The teacher moved the chair.

Intransitive verb
An intransitive verb is an action verb that does not have an object receiving the action.
For e.g. She cried loudly.
The book fell.
The horse galloped.

Infinitive verb
It is a verb in its base form. The infinitive form of a verb is usually preceded by “to”
E.g. I love to speak English.
She likes to draw during her free time.
My plan is to settle in America.
I wish to become a doctor.
It is difficult to learn Sanskrit.

Tenses
Present tense
a) Simple present
Form: Subject + first form of verb

To indicate an action that is done daily.

For e.g. I write a letter daily.

b) Present continuous tense

Form: Subject + am/are + ing form of verb

To indicate an action which is going on now.

For e.g. I am writing a letter.

c) Present perfect tense

Form: Subject +has/have + third form of verb

To indicate an action that is finished or complete at the time of speaking.

For e.g. I have written a letter.

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 d) Present perfect continuous tense
Form: Subject + has/have been + ing form of verb

To indicate an action which is going on though a part of it is complete.

For e.g. I have been writing a letter.

Past tense
a) Simple past tense
Form: Subject + second form of the verb

To show an action that took place in the past.

For e.g. I lived on fruits for three days.

b) Past continuous tense

Form: subject + was/were + ing form of verb

To show an action going on in the time gone by.

For e.g. Sonam was reading a novel when the fire broke out.

c) Past perfect tense

Form: Subject + had + third form of the verb

To show an action complete in the time gone by.

For e.g. The train had already left.

d) Past perfect continuous tense

Form: Subject + had been + ing form of verb

To show an action completed to some degree but still going on.

For e.g. It had been raining for two hours.

Future tense
a) Simple future tense
Form: Subject + will/shall + first form of verb

To show an action in the time yet to come.

For e.g. I shall help you in every way.

b) Future continuous tense

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 Form: Subject + shall/will be + ing form of verb

To show an action which is to continue in the time to come.

For e.g. I will be cutting grass tomorrow.

c) Future perfect tense

Form: Subject +will/shall have + third form of verb

To show an action that is to be perfected in time to come.

For e.g. The train will have left by 4 pm.

d) Future perfect continuous tense

Form: Subject+ will/shall + have been + ing form of the verb

To show an action that will be partly completed in future but will still continue.
For e.g. It will have been raining for 6 hours by sunset.

Modal auxiliaries

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 Modal auxiliaries are those helping verbs used with the main verbs to express obligation, possibility,
permission, necessity etc. They are can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must,
ought to, used to and need.

Helping verbs are those that help to create or form the tenses, moods and voices of other verbs. They are
is, am, be, was, are, were, being, been, have, has, had, does, do, did and done.

1. Can

I. Possibility and ability

When we talk about what is possible and what we are able to or free to do.
E.g. She can drive a car.
Pema can speak Sharchop.

II. Request and order

We can often use “can” in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of “can” in this way is
informal. (Mainly between friends and family members)
E.g. Can you put the TV on?
Can you be quiet!
Can you make a cup of coffee for me please?

III. To seek permission (Informal)

We use “can” to ask or give permission for something.
E.g. Can I sit next to you?
Can I use your pen?

2. Could

I. Past possibility or ability

We use “could” to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do.
E.g. I could dance when I was five years old.
My grandmother could speak English.
When we arrived home, we couldn’t open the door.

II. Request (Formal)

We often use “could” in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of “could” in this way
is fairly polite.
E.g. Could you tell me where the bank is, please?
Could you send me the book?

3. Must

I. We often use “must” to say that something is essential of necessary.

E.g. I must reach home by evening.

II. Strong advice and invitations

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 E.g. You can come to my house
You must stop smoking

Use of must not

Must not express prohibition – something that is not permitted or not allowed. The prohibition can be
subjective (The speaker’s opinion) or objective (A law or rule)
E.g. You mustn’t watch too much television. (Subjective)
Policemen must not drink on duty. (Objective)
We use “must not”

4. May
May is used in the following ways:

I. To express permission
E.g. May I burrow your pen?
You may go now.
May I go to the toilet?

II. To express a possibility

E.g. It may rain tomorrow.
He may be at home by tomorrow.

III. To express a wish

E.g. May you live long!
May you live happily and long!

5. Might

“Might” is the past tense of “may.” “Might” is considered more tentative than “may”
E.g. Karma might have broken the window.

6. Used to

“Used to” is used to refer to the past events.

E.g. I used to smoke but now I don’t.
I used to go for morning walk.

7. Ought

“Ought” is used to express moral obligation. It is followed by “to”

E.g. You ought to submit homework by tomorrow.

He ought to shed weight to remain healthy.

8. Will
Grammar notes/SonamChh/SHSS/2019 Page 15
 I. Making personal prediction or decisions
e.g. I don’t think he will stay here any longer.
I will go home after school.

II. Talking about future with certainty.

E.g. I will go to the town later.

III. Reassuring someone

E.g. Don’t worry, she will be fine.

IV. Making a decision

E.g. I think I will stay here tonight.

V. Making a semiformal request.

E.g. Will you open the window, please?

VI. Offering to do something

E.g. You stay here. I will bring the tea.

9. Shall
Shall is a form of will and mostly used in the first person

I. Making offers
E.g. Shall I fetch you a glass of offer?

II. Making suggestions

Shall we go for swimming on Saturday?

III. To express a command, promise or threat

E.g. You shall stand by the door.
He shall not enter my house my house again.

IV. To express compulsion and determination

E.g. You shall do the work right now.
We shall always keep our class clean.

10. Should

I. Giving advice
E.g. You should not stand in the sun for a long period of time.

II. To express duty or obligation

E.g. The school should provide refreshments to the students.
We should keep our classroom clean.

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III. Things which didn’t or may/may not have happened.
E.g. I should have spend more time on essay writing.
You should be more careful in future.

11. Would

I. Polite request and offers

E.g. Would you like to have a cup of coffee?
I would like to have a glass of water, please.

II. In conditionals, to indicate distance from reality or impossible situations.

If I took up Science, I would be an engineer today.
If I had won a lottery, I would have bought a big house.

III. To refer to unreal, imagined and hypothetical situations

I would love to visit NewYork.
If I had studied hard, I would have passed the test.

IV. To talk about past habits/actions

When I was small, I would always play with toys all the time.

Direct and Indirect Speech

There are two ways to narrate the spoken words of a person. These two ways are direct and indirect
speech. These two ways are used to convey a message (Spoken words)of one person to another person.

Understanding the differences between direct and indirect speech.

In direct speech the actual words of the speaker are quoted and put within inverted commas. There is
always a comma after “said” that introduces the spoken words. For example, Karma said, “I am going to
school.”

In indirect speech, the actual words of the speaker are changed as the actual words have been spoken by
the speaker in the past hence narrating it in the present requires change in the tense of actual words. The
pronouns in the sentence are changed accordingly and the words of the speaker are not enclosed in
inverted commas and the word “that” will be used before the spoken words of the speaker.

Converting from direct speech to indirect speech

The two components of a direct speech are reporting verb and reported speech. The first part of the
sentence which contains the verb. (Before the actual words spoken by the speaker) is called reporting
verb. The actual words of the speaker enclosed within inverted commas are called reported speech.

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Example:
Kencho said, “I am busy right now.”
(Reporting verb) (Reporting speech)

Basic rules
Rule No. 1. The actual words of the speaker (Reporting speech) are not enclosed in inverted commas in
indirect speech.
Direct speech Indirect speech
He says, “I am playing cricket.” He says that he is playing cricket.

Rule No 2. Usage of conjunction “that” is used to connect the reporting verb with reporting speech. For
e.g. Kencho said that he was busy then. Refer the example above.

Rule No. 3. Change in the tense of reported speech.

 If the reporting verb of direct speech is either in present or future tense, no change will be made in
the tense (Helping verb) of reported speech.
Examples:
Direct speech Indirect speech Remark
He says, “I am playing cricket.” He says that he is playing cricket. No change in
tense
Chencho says, “I will learn to sing Chencho says that he will learn to sing No change in
soon.” soon. tense.

 If the reporting verb of direct speech is in past tense, change will be made in the tense of reported
speech.

Examples:
Direct speech Indirect speech Remark
He said, “I am playing cricket.”He said that he was playing Change in tense (“am” changes
cricket. to “was”)
She said, “Those apples are red She said that those apples were Change in tense. (“are” changes
in colour.” red in colour. to “were”)

Rule No. 4. Change in pronoun

The pronoun of the reported speech is changed according to the pronoun of the reported verb. Usually
possessive pronouns are used.
Direct speech Indirect speech Remark
Choden said, “I am cooking Choden said that she was cooking Change in pronoun (“I” changes
dinner .” dinner. to “she”)
Kaka said, “I have written a Kaka said that he had written a “I” changes to “he”
novel.” novel.

Rule No. 5. Change in time

If the time is mentioned in direct speech will be changed while writing the indirect speech.
Grammar notes/SonamChh/SHSS/2019 Page 18
 Direct speech Indirect speech Remark
Karma said, “I am playing Karma said that he was playing Change in time (“now” changes to
football now.” football then. “then”)
Kipchu said, “I wrote a Kipchu said that he had written a Change in time (“yesterday”
speech yesterday.” speech the day before. changes to “the day before”)

Change of expressions
Direct Indirect Direct Indirect
is was Yesterday The day before/the previous day
are were Last night The night before/the previous night
am is here there
can could ago before
will would may might
shall should Next week/month/year The following week
Has/have had Last week The previous week
say said This that
today That day Must,used, ought Had to, used to, ought
tomorrow The next now then
day

Change of pronouns

Direct Indirect Direct Indirect

I,you He/she We/you they
Me, your Him/her us them
my Him/her Our, you their

Change of tense

Direct Indirect
Simple present Simple past
Present continuous Past continuous
Present perfect Past perfect
Present perfect Past perfect continuous
continuous
Simple past Past perfect
Past continuous Past perfect continuous
Past perfect No change

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Active and Passive voice
Active voice
The form of verb which gives importance to the doer of the action is called active voice.
Form: Subject + Action verb + verb+ object
For e.g. Dechen wrote a letter.
Note: More stress is laid on the doer of action to indicate that the subject is active.

Passive voice
The form of verb which gives more importance to action rather than subject. More stress is laid on the
action as a result the subject is shown to be passive.
Form : Object + action verb+ past participle form of verb + subject
For e.g. A letter was written by Dechen.

General rules
1. The subject is either left out or mentioned. (In case of passive voice)
2. The verb does not change its tense.
3. Preposition “by” is mostly used to show the subject as an agent of action. Other prepositions used are
“to,” “with,” “at” and “in.”

Question Tags
A question tag is used at the end of a statement to ask for confirmation on something we are not sure
about or to ask for agreement. It is made up of an auxiliary verb + personal pronoun. A question tag
should be followed by a question mark.

1. A positive statement will always be followed by a negative question tag and vice versa.
Eg. Sonam is a good boy, isn’t he?
Kinley didn’t like it, did she?

2. Semi-negative and depreciative words like little, few, hardly, scarcely, rarely, seldom are treated
as negatives and take positive tags.
Eg. Few people knew about it, did they?
Little progress has been made, has it?

3. Imperative sentences take the question tags, “Will you? Or Won’t you?”
Eg. Please lend me your book, will you?
Come here, won’t you?

4. Suggestions beginning with “Let’s” take “Shall we?” as the question tag.
Eg. Let’s play, shall we?

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 5. Somebody, someone, everybody and everyone are often followed by the tag with the pronoun
“they”
Eg. Somebody borrowed my pen, didn’t they?

6. If the subject is “this” or “that” in the statement “it” is used as the pronoun in the tag.
Eg. This is true, isn’t it? That was right, wasn’t it?
7. Question tag for “used to” is didn’t.
E.g. I used to sing, didn’t I?
8. When the main verb of a given statement in simple present tense, use “do” or “does” in the tag,
when the main verb in simple past use “did”
E.g. He goes to school everyday, doesn’t he?
They loved their country, didn’t they?

Negative Question Positive Question Tag

Tag
Didn’t Did Am Aren’t
Aren’t Are Shall Shan’t
Cant Can Let’s Shall
Doesn’t Does Will Won’t
Is Isn’t

Negatives and contractions

Negatives Contractions Negatives Contractions

Is not Isn’t Does not Doesn’t
Shall not Shan’t Do not Don’t
Cannot Can’t Was not Wasn’t
Did not Didn’t Were not Weren’t
Will not Won’t Have not Haven’t

NOTE : Will you (Request) Won’t you (Order)

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Conditionals
1. Open conditional
It tell us that something will take place, if a certain condition is fulfilled. The condition may or maynot be
fulfilled.

Form: Simple present in “If” clause + subject + will/shall/can/may + verb in main clause

If clause (Simple Main clause (Sub + will/shall/can/may +verb)

present)
If you come early we shall begin the work
If she loves him she will marry him.
If I find a job I will help my mother.
If you speak the truth I may help you.

2. Improbable or imaginary conditional

It tells what we expect may not take place.
Form: Simple past in “If” clause + subject + would/should/could/might + infinitive verb

If clause (Simple past) Main clause (Sub + would/should/could/might + verb)

If you paid the amount we would deliver the goods

If I had money I would go to Australia.
If Gandhi were alive He might not be happy with the violence in the country.

3. Unfulfilled condition
It tells us that something did not take place because a particular condition was not fulfilled.
Form: Past perfect in “If” clause + subject + would/should/could/might + have + past participle in main
clause

If clause (Past perfect) Main clause (Sub + would/should/could/might + have + past participle
form of verb)
If she had taken medicine She would have been cured by now.
If I had gone to the village I might have met my parents.
If she had studied hard She would have become a doctor by now.
If Choki had married that She would have been happy.
rich man

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Gerund
A gerund is a type of noun that is formed by adding “-ing” to a verb: sleeping, drawing, swimming etc.
Gerunds are verb forms used as noun.

I am eating food. Eating (gerund) is his hobby.

Simple rules to master the use of gerund

1. Gerund can be used as a subject of a sentence

For e.g. Running is the best form of exercise

Becoming a millionaire is a dream for many young people.

2. Gerund can be used as objects of a sentence

For e.g. I enjoy drawing.
I prefer watching a movie at theatre than on TV.

3. Gerunds are used after prepositions

For e.g. He looks forward to meeting his cousins.
I am interested in becoming a doctor.

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Kinds of Sentences

In writing and speaking, there are four basic kinds of sentences. Using a variety of sentences will add
interest and help you get your ideas across. To communicate clearly, it is important to know the function
of each type of sentence, so you make the right choice.
We can categorize sentences based on their purpose.

1. Assertive or Declarative sentence

Assertive or declarative sentence is the most basic and common type of sentence. This sentence merely
make a statement. Its purpose is to relay information.
E.g. I am going to the market. My favourite movie is “Kungfu Panda.”

2. Interrogative sentence
When we want to ask questions, we use interrogative sentences. These sentences end with a question
mark.
For e.g. Where are you going? Would you like to have some coffee?

3. Exclamatory sentence
Exclamatory sentence expresses a sudden emotion.They are easily recognized because they end with an
exclamation mark. Exclamatory sentences are often used in casual conversations and in written dialogues
to show emotion but they are not used in academic or expository writing.

E.g. What big ears you have! Best of luck! Safe journey! Hurrah! Oh My God!

4. Imperative sentence
Imperative sentences express a command, order, request or an advice. These sentences do not merely
state a fact but rather tell someone to do something. They can be in the form of friendly advice, basic
instructions or more forceful commands. The subject may not be mentioned.
For e.g. Leave the room. Quit smoking.

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 Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences

We use a variety of sentences to make our writing lively and interesting.

1. Simple sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence with a subject and a predicate.
For e.g. I have a flower. This is a pen. She is beautiful.

2. Compound sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence which has two or more co-ordinate clauses that are joined by
co-ordinating conjunctions which are and, but, or, nor, neither, for, yet, still, so.
Each clause has a subject and predicate of its own which makes complete sense independently.

For e.g. We work by day and sleep by night.

That man is poor but he is generous.
I studied hard but I couldn’t score good grades.

3. Complex sentence
A complex sentence is a sentence which has a main clause and one or more sub-ordinate clauses
or dependent clause. The dependent clause depends on the main clause to make the meaning
complete.

Sub-ordinating conjunctions used in complex sentences are after, although, though, as because,
if, however, once,. since, than, that, till, until, unless, when, where, while whether, as far as,
as long as, as soon as, in as much, just as.

For e.g. I punished him because he misbehaved with me.

He is honest though he is poor.
You will fail if you don’t work hard.
He is the man who saved my life.

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Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Every sentence will have a subject and predicate. Identify the subject and predicate in the sentence given
below.
• The boy is playing.
• The subject is the doer of action. Predicate is the action performed by the subject.
• Therefore, in a sentence, the subject has to agree with the verb.

1. Singular subject takes singular verb.

• For e.g. He speaks
• If the subject is singular then the verb also takes a singular form.
• If “s” is added to a verb it becomes singular. If “s” is not added to a verb, it becomes plural.

2. Plural subject takes a plural verb

• For e.g. They speak.
• “They” is plural subject therefore it takes plural verb which is “speak”

Rule 1
Indefinite pronouns such as “each,” “neither,” everyone,” “everybody,” nobody,” “someone,” “either,”
and “none” take singular verb.

1. Nobody …... in the classroom. (are/is)

2. Everybody …..…. to go to the toilet. (want/wants)
3. Each one of the girls …….. sincere. (is/are)
4. Someone ..……. in the room yesterday. (was/were)
5. Neither of the boys .......... football. (play/plays)
6. Either of the sisters …….. sick. (is/are)

Rule 2
When you use “either …or,” “neither ...nor,” “not only but also,” look at the subject closest to the verb. If
the subject close to the verb is singular, use a singular verb. If the subject close to the verb is plural, use
plural verb.

1. Either Dechen or her sister ……… at home. (cook/cooks)

2. Neither the father nor the sons …..…. football. (play/plays)
3. Those two dogs not only ……... but also bite. (bark/barks)
4. That girl not only ……. but also dances. (sing/sings)

Rule 3
When a singular and plural subject are connected by “either …or,” or “neither … nor,” put the plural
subject at the last and use plural verb.

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 1. Either Karma or his friends …… swimming in the river. (is/are)
2. Neither the lama nor the monks …… found at the temple. (was/were)

Rule 4
While using “as well as,” “except,” “in addition,” “along with,” the noun before this phrases determine
the verb.

1. The class teacher in addition to the students …… receiving the trophy. (is/are)
2. The mother along with her children ….. going on a pilgrimage. (is/are)
3. The players as well as the captain …… going to play in the match. (is/are)
4. All the children except parents …….. going to attend the meeting. (is/are)

Rule 5
The following words almost take the plural form of verb: all, both , few, many, several and some.

1. All the staff …… in a meeting right now. (is/are)

2. Both Pema and his brother ……. to read books. (love/loves)
3. Few girls ……. football. (play/plays)
4. Several boys ……. caught smoking in the toilet. (was/were)
5. Some of the students in the class ……. hardworking. (is/are)

Rule 6
Measurement of time, money, weight and distance usually take singular verb.

1. One thousand dollars …. a lot of money. (is/are)

2. Two hours ….. a long time to wait. (is/are)
3. 75 kms …. the distance from Samtse to Phuntsholing. (is/are)
4. 10 kgs ….. the weight of my bag. (is/are)
(When the number/figure is used in the beginning of a sentence)

Rule 7
When the word “number” is preceded by the word “a,” use a plural verb. When the word “number” is
preceded by the word “the,” use a singular verb.
• A number + plural verb The number + singular verb

1. A number of people …… waiting to see the hero. (is/are)

2. The number of students in the class …… too many. (is/are)

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Rule 8
Collective noun such as team, staff, class, senate, gang, mob, crowd etc may either be singular or plural
depending on their use in a sentence.

1. The team ……... waiting for their captain. (is/are)

2. The class …..…. going for picnic. (is/are)
3. The staff …….. in disagreement on this issue. (is/are)

Rule 9
Some of the nouns are in plural form and singular in meaning, so they take singular verb. (Gymnastics,
Mathematics, Physics, Economics, aerobics, news etc.)

1. Politics …….. dirty. (is/are)

2. Gymnastics …..... my favourite sport. (is/are)
3. Physics ……... a difficult subject. (is/are)

Rule 10
Some nouns are always in plural form, so they take plural verb. (Sun glasses, scissors, trousers, socks,
stockings, shorts, jeans, pants, lagays etc)

1. My new pair of sun glasses …….. missing. (is/are)

2. My scissors ………. misplaced. (was/were)
3. Where ……… my stockings? (is/are)

Rule 11
When two subjects convey the same meaning, singular verb is used.

1. Bread and butter …..… wholesome food. (is/are)

2. Time and tide …..…. for none. (wait/waits)

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Transformation of Sentences

It is a process of changing the form of sentence without changing its meaning.

1. Either… or (Anyone)
Use: Referring to a choice between two possibilities.

E.g. Either Dorji or his friend must have broken the chair.
You can either come to meet me at school or at home.

2. Neither ...nor (None of them)

Use: Neither ...nor is used in a sentence in a negative sense when you want to say that two or more things
are not true.

E.g. Neither Pema nor Dorji likes to drink coffee.

Neither my father nor mother went to Japan.
Karma is neither found at home nor school.

3. Although/though (Used to show the contrast)

E.g. Although he is small, he defeated the bully.
He didn't go to hospital although he was sick.

(Note: When “although” or “though” is used in the beginning of a sentence, do not use 'but', 'still' and
'yet')

3. No sooner…than
[No sooner + had + past participle form of verb + than]
[No sooner + did + present participle form of verb + than]

E.g. No sooner has he heard the news than he left for village.
No sooner did he hear the news than he left for village.

(“Than” is used to introduce the second part of a comparison, “then” is used to refer to a particular
time in the past or future.)

4. Hardly…when/Scarcely…when
[Hardly + had + noun + past participle form of verb + when]
[Hardly + did + noun + present participle form of verb + when]

E.g. Hardly had the baby seen his mother when he cried.
Hardly did the baby see his mother when he cried.

5. Inspite of
[Inspite of + ing form of the verb]
E.g. Inspite of being poor, he is happy.

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6. Despite
[Despite + noun + ing form of verb]
E.g. Despite the car being old, it goes very fast.
Despite my mother being weak, she does all the cooking at home.
Note: Despite, inspite and although are all used to show contrast and used for the same meaning.
We had a great time despite the rain. We had a great time inspite of the rain.

7. No other …
[No other + positive degree]
E.g. No other boy in the class is as talkative as Dorji.

8. Unless [If not]

Unless you obey, you will be punished. (Note: Omit the negative sentence from the original sentence) If
you don’t obey, you will be punished – original sentence.

9. On (On + ing form of verb)

E.g. On entering the room, he heard a loud noise.

10. Not only…but also (Not only +verb + noun)

E.g. Our school is not only clean but also green. (Note: Traits should be similar)

11. So…that…not
E.g. He is so proud that he won’t ask for help. (He is too proud to beg.)
Note: Put “so” in place of “too,” “very,” “quite”. Join the two parts with “that”

12. Having [Having + past participle form of verb]

Having cleaned up the class, she went home.

13. Enough to
He is intelligent enough to learn it.

14. Besides [Besides + ing form of verb]

Besides being a doctor, he is also a painter.

15. Not withstanding [Even though]

Not withstanding his hardwork, he didn’t succeed.
Not withstanding her old age, my mother works whole day in field.
Not withstanding his poverty, he is happy.

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16. Such…that
He is such a gentleman that everybody respects him.

17. Both…and
He is both wise and clever.

18. As well as
Pema as well as Kinlay is lazy.
Pema is hungry as well as thirsty.

19. How…!
How beautiful the flower is!

20. As if/as though

Nidup lay in his bed as if he was sleep.

21. Since (because/time)

I haven’t seen him since last December.
I have been getting high fever since last night.

22. Too…to (Too +adjective+adverb+to+verb )

E.g. He is too slow to complete his work. He is too slow that he couldn’t complete his work.
Note: 1. Put “too” in place of “very” “so” “quite” etc
2. Put “to” instead of “that”

23. Whether … or
E.g. I am not sure whether he is going to travel by bus or taxi.

24. So…that…not
Eg. This news is so good that it cannot be true.

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 Collective nouns

A collective noun is used to refer to an entire group of persons, animals or things. A plural collective
noun takes a plural verb: Families enjoy this restaurant.

A singular collective noun usually takes a singular verb: Our family enjoys this restaurant.

When to use a singular verb

When all the members of a collective noun are performing an action as a unit (and that’s usually the
case), use a singular verb.

 The chamber orchestra often plays at the Art Centre.

 The cast is celebrating the success of the play with a party after the performance.
 A wolf pack hunts as a group.
 The fleet was anchored in the channel.

When to use a plural verb

When the members of a collective noun are performing an action as individuals, use a plural verb. In this
case, all or some members of the group are doing something independently of the other members; the
group is not acting together as a unit.

 The cast have been practising their lines.

 The flock were running off in every direction.
 The staff disagree on the proposal.

Examples of collective nouns

A band of musicians A hive of bees A shoal of fish

A class/batch of students A library of books A swarm of bees
A fleet of ships A packet of cigarettes A volley of bullets
A flock of birds A pair of scissors A wreath of flowers
A gang of dacoits A league of nations A committee of members
A gallery of pictures A chain of mountains A panel of experts
A heap of sand A regiment of soldiers A choir of singers
A herd of cattle A pack of soldiers

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Word formation

Verb Noun Adjective Noun Adjective Noun

admit admission abundant abundance boyish boy
advise advice brave bravery childish child
approve approval curious curiosity cowardly coward
believe belief proud pride famous fame
bite Bit calm calmness foggy fog
bury burail poor poverty heavenly heaven
choose choice popular popularity honourable honour
die death mean meanness joyful joy
do deed honest honesty manly man
decide decision happy happiness motherly mother
deny denial grand grandeur weekly week
deceive deception equal equality youthful youth
expel expulsion generous generosity
hate hatred fertile fertility
judge judgement great grandeur
live life noble nobility
lose Loss obedient obedience
offend offense Private privacy
obey obedience prudent prudence
oppositio
oppose quick quickness
n
prove proof timid timidity
precise precision Weak Weakness
relieve relief Scarce scarcity
urge urgency solitary solitude
vacate vacancy safe safety
weigh weight royal Royalty
apology apologise rich Richness
bath bathe real reality
beauty beautify rival rivalry
black blacken stupid stupidity
vacate vacancy bloody blood
sympathize sympathy safe safety

Synonyms
A synonym is a word or expression that has the same meaning as another word. For e.g. debate – argue,
allow – permit, lofty – huge.

Antonyms

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An antonym is a word that mean the opposite of another word. For e,g. agree – disagree, curse – blessing,
enemy – friend.

Prefix and suffix

A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a root or base word. It adds meaning or changes a
word’s meaning. Some of the common prefixes are: re-, dis-, un-, in-, ir- etc
For e.g. agree – disagree (“dis” is the prefix) educated – uneducated, honest – dishonest

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a word. It adds meaning or changes a word’s meaning.
The two common suffixes are: “er” and “est”
For e.g. betray – betrayal, funny – funniest

Homophones
Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings.

altar alter heel heal nose knows sail sale

break brake idle idol plain plane son sun
buy by knight night peace piece tail tale
birth berth herd heard pray prey weather wheth
er
ceiling sealing grate great serial cereal weight wait
cell sell kettle cattle waist waste quite quiet
flour flower hear here pole poll would wood
foreward forward none nun root route week weak

Homonyms

Homonyms are words that are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings.
Therefore, a homonym is a word that has the same name as another word, meaning that the two words
look and sound exactly alike.
A simple example of a homonym is the word "pen." This can mean both "a holding area for animals" and
"a writing instrument." Another example is "book," which can mean "something to read" or "the act of
making a reservation." In both cases, the sound and spelling are the same, and only the definition
changes.
 Address - to speak to / location
 Air - oxygen / a lilting tune
 Bark - a tree's out layer / the sound a dog makes
 Bat - an implement used to hit a ball / a nocturnal flying mammal
 Bright - very smart or intelligent / filled with light
 Circular - taking the form of a circle / a store advertisement
 Current - up to date / flow of water
 Die - to cease living / a cube marked with numbers one through six

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  Express - something done fast / to show your thoughts by using words
 Fair - equitable / beautiful
 Match - to pair like items / a stick for making a flame
 Mean - average / not nice
 Pole - a person from Poland / a piece of metal that holds a flag
 Pound - unit of weight / to beat
 Quarry - a site for mining stone / to extract or obtain slowly
 Ream - a pile of paper / to juice a citrus fruit
 Ring - a band on a finger / something circular in shape
 Right - correct / direction opposite of left
 Rock - a genre of music / a stone
 Rose - to have gotten up / a flower
 Spring - a season / coiled metal
 Stalk - a part of a plant / to follow or harass someone
 Tender - gentle / offer of money
 Well - in good health / a source for water in the ground

Articles

“A” and “an” are called indefinite articles. “The” is called the definite article.

Usage of “a”
 Used before nouns that begin with a vowel that has a consonant sound. Examples: a university, a
European, a one-eyed man
 To express a certain quantity. A dozen oranges, a group of people
 Used in front of countable noun
Examples: a tiger, a doctor, a

Usage of “an”
 Used before noun that begin with a vowel sound. Examples: an umbrella, an interview
 Used before nouns that begin with a consonant that has a vowel sound. Examples: an hour, an
honest man, an honourable person

Usage of “the”
 Used before the superlative forms of adjectives
For e.g. Pema is the tallest boy in the class.
 Used before geographical proper nouns (
Examples: the Sahara, the Everest, the Ganges, the Pacific, the Himalayas
With some proper nouns:
 Rivers (The Nile)
 Mountains Ranges (The Rockies, The Alps)
 Oceans (The Pacific Ocean)
 Groups of Islands or Countries with Plural

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 The Hawaiian Islands
 The Netherlands

 With things that are unique (there is only one)*

o The sun
o The President of the U.S.
o The CEO of Apple


Omission of Articles

Occasionally, articles are omitted altogether before certain nouns. In these cases, the article is implied but
not actually present. This implied article is sometimes called a “zero article.” Often, the article is omitted
before nouns that refer to abstract ideas. Look at the following examples:
Let’s go out for a dinner tonight.
Let’s go out for dinner tonight.
The creativity is a valuable quality in children.
Creativity is a valuable quality in children.

Many languages and nationalities are not preceded by an article. Consider the example below:
I studied the French in high school for four years.
I studied French in high school for four years.

Sports and academic subjects do not require articles. See the sentences below for reference:
I like to play the baseball.
I like to play baseball .
My sister was always good at the math .
My sister was always good at math .
Introduction on How to Use Articles in English

You should already know that in English we have 4 articles a/an/the/ø.

The /ø/ is often called the Zero Article. And articles are used before nouns ( = people, places, or
things/objects).

Grammar notes/SonamChh/SHSS/2019 Page 36

 Articles are used to help us separate (or understand) new vs. old information. They help us understand
specific vs. general information. And they help us understand if you are talking about many vs. all vs.
one.
“Articles are used to help us separate (or understand) new vs. old information. They help us understand
specific vs. general information. And they help us understand if you are talking about many vs. all vs.
one.”

General Rules on How to Use Articles in English

A/An
We use a/an:
 The first time you mention or refer to a noun
 Example: I bought a new pair of shoes yesterday! (First mention). Can you believe the shoes were 50%
off!! (Second mention – now it is clear which shoes: the shoes you bought yesterday.)

 To name a member of a group
 Jobs (I’m a teacher.)
 Nationalities (He’s an American.)
 Religions (She’s a Buddhist.)
 When you also mean “one”
 Example: I had an ( =one) apple at lunch.
 Expressions that quantify
 A little (bit) of
 A lot of
 A ton of

The
We use the:
 With something already mentioned (see example for the first mention with a/an above)
 When there is just one of something*

 I took a walk in the forest. (There is only one forest where you live.)
 When you define a specific person, object or place
 I loved the book my dad gave me for my birthday. (Not just any book, but specifically the books your
dad gave you for your birthday.)

 With things that are unique (there is only one)*
 The sun
 The President of the U.S.
 The CEO of Apple

 With ordinal numbers and superlatives

 The first, the second, the third
 The biggest, the best, the fastest, the ugliest

With some proper nouns:

Grammar notes/SonamChh/SHSS/2019 Page 37
 Rivers (The Nile)
 Mountains Ranges (The Rockies, The Alps)
 Oceans (The Pacific Ocean)
 Groups of Islands or Countries with Plural
 The Hawaiian Islands
 The Netherlands
*When there is just one of something or when something is unique, then the information is shared
information. This means everyone already knows about the person/place/thing so we don’t have to
explain it or define it. For example, everyone around the world knows about the sun. We don’t have to
explain the sun, so we always use the sun (not a sun).

Ø (Zero Article)
We use ø:
 Talk about things in general (all things everywhere)
 I love watching whales! (All whales everywhere, not just one specific whale.)
 I love Italy.
 Countries
 He’s from Germany.
 Have you visited Algeria?
 Languages
 French
 Japanese
 Meals
 Breakfast
 People’s names and titles
 With possessives
 My coffee …
 Her dog …
Uncountable nouns (unless referring to a specific example)
 I love adding milk (uncountable) to my coffee (uncountable + possessive).
 Specific mountains, lakes, and islands
 Mt. Fuji
 Most cities, towns, streets, and airports
 Kiev
 New York
 Main Street

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