English Grammar Verbs

     Verbs and the types of Verbs

    VERBS:

Definition: Verbs are the most important component of any sentence. These words talk about the action or the state of any noun or subject. This means that verbs show what the subject is doing or what is the state or situation of the subject.

E.g.: He ran to the store. - Here the verb ran describes the action of the subject ‘he’

She is a creative person. - Here there is no action being done. Instead the Auxiliary verb* ‘is’ shows the state of the subject ‘she’ as being ‘creative’.

a.       Action Verbs

These verbs talk about what the subject is doing in the sentence. Action Verbs are one of the most easily identifiable types of verbs. To recognize them, you simply have to look for the word in the sentence that answers the question ‘What is the subject doing?’

E.g.: Rose is painting the kitchen walls.

The subject here is Rose, and what is Rose doing? Rose is painting. Hence painting is our action verb.

More Examples of Action Verbs: Do, Run, Sleep, Eat See, etc.

The list of some of the commonly used action verbs and their forms are given in the notes.

There are Two types of Action Verbs which describe the Verb and the Subject doing the action and the Object on which the action is done, they are -

a.1. Transitive Verbs:  These Action Verbs have a definite object on which, or for which the action is being performed. That means that the action has a definite recipient or object. To identify them you can ask the question what is (the/did) the subject -verb-?

E.g.: Haresh gave him a new phone.

Here we see that the action ‘gave’ is being performed by the subject Haresh. So the question is what did Haresh give? And the answer is - A New phone.

a.2. Intransitive Verbs: These verbs also show an action but here there is no specific object on which the action is being done. To recognize these verbs, we ask the question what is (the/did) the subject -verb- ? If there is no answer present, then the verb in the sentence is an Intransitive Verb.

E.g.:

·      He grew up. ·      It rained. ·      The baby was crying. to be continued...

·      I work for a large firm in Paris. ·      They laughed uncontrollably. ·      We talked for hours.

English Grammar Pronouns

PRONOUNS

Definition: A Pronoun is word used instead of a Noun.

Let’s read the following sentences:

                I am a student.                  We are students.

                You are a student.           They are students.

                He (She) is a student.    

               

I, we, you, he, she, they, it are called Personal Pronouns because they speak and stand for three persons.

Case	First Person		Second Person
	Singular	Plural	Singular/Plural
Nominative	I	We	You
Possessive	My	Our, Ours	Your, Yours
Accusative	Me	Us	You

Case	Third Person
	Singular		Plural
	Masculine	Feminine	All Genders	Neuter
Nominative	He	She	They	It
Possessive	His	Her, Hers	Their, Their	Its
Accusative	Him	Her	Them	It

English Grammar Kinds of Nouns Exercise

Kinds of Nouns

Point out the nouns in the following sentences and say whether they are common, proper, collective or abstract.

1. Always speak the truth.

2. Honesty is the best policy.

3. King Solomon was famous for his wisdom.

4. A committee of five was appointed.

5. We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour.

6. He gave me a bunch of grapes.

7. London is on the river Thames.

8. Cleanliness is next to godliness.

9. Wisdom is better than riches.

10. Winston Churchill was one of the greatest Prime Ministers of England.

11. I recognized his voice at once.

12. Our team is better than theirs.

Answers

1. truth: abstract noun

2. honesty: abstract noun, policy: abstract noun

3. King: common noun, Solomon:  proper noun, wisdom: abstract noun

4. committee: collective noun

5. a fleet: collective noun, ships: common noun, harbour: common noun

6. a bunch: collective noun, grapes: common noun

7. London: proper noun, river: common noun, Thames: proper noun

8. cleanliness: abstract noun, godliness: abstract noun

9. wisdom: abstract noun, riches: abstract noun

10. Winston Churchill: proper noun, Prime Ministers: common noun, England: proper noun

11. voice: abstract noun

12. team: collective noun

Notes

A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place or thing.

A common noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind.

A collective noun is the name of a collection of people or things taken together and spoken of as a whole.

An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action or state which we cannot see or touch.

English Grammar Using More and Most

Understanding the difference and usage of More and Most

More is the comparative form of much and many. It indicates a greater amount or number than that is indicated by much or many.

• You should sleep more than you do at the moment.
• I need more time to finish the work.

More of

Before a noun with a determiner we use more of.

• He is more of a fool than I thought. (NOT He is more a fool than I thought.)
• Three more of the missing miners have been found. (NOT Three more the missing miners …)

More can mean ‘again’.

• Do it once more.
• Do you want to go there any more.

More or less means about.

• It is an hour’s journey, more or less.

Be no more means be dead.

• She is no more. (= She is dead.)

Most

Most is the superlative form of many and much. It indicates the greatest in number, quantity etc. In comparisons most is normally used with the.

• Those who have the most money are not always the happiest.
• Susie found the most strawberries.

When no comparison is implied the is not used. In such cases most simply means ‘the majority of’.

• Most Indians understand Hindi.
• Most people like babies.

Most of

Before a noun with a determiner (articles, possessives, demonstratives) we use most of.

• Most of the people here are farmers. (NOT Most the people here are farmers.)
• Most of us like to watch a good movie. (NOT Most us like to watch a good movie.)

Most can mean very.

• This is a most interesting book. (= This is a very interesting book.)

English Grammar Worksheet Do as Directed

Do as Directed

Rewrite the following sentences according to the instructions given after each, and making other changes that may be necessary.

1. It is probable that he will never come back. (Begin: In …)

2. He said to me, ‘Where are you going?’ (Begin: He asked me …)

3. As soon as the chief guest had arrived the play began. (Begin: No sooner ….)

4. I was surprised at his behaviour. (Begin: His …)

5. He will certainly succeed. (Begin: He is …)

6. He is the best student in the class. (Use better instead of best)

7. He is too weak to stand up without help.

8. He tucked the gun under his arm and rushed towards the bridge. (End: … his arm.)

9. We were late. Consequently, we missed the train. (Rewrite with as or since)

10. Though I had a headache I enjoyed the movie. (Rewrite with in spite of)

11. The meeting had to be postponed due to the chairman’s illness. (Rewrite with because)

12. If we don’t hurry up, we will miss our flight. (Rewrite with otherwise)

13. After John arrived, we began our meeting. (Rewrite with upon)

14. It was cold but we went swimming. (Rewrite with although)

15. The tea was so hot that I could not drink it. (Change into a simple sentence)

16. He is too arrogant to listen to advice. (Change into a complex sentence)

17. He worked hard that he might pass the examination. (Change into a simple sentence)

18. He is too stupid to handle such a difficult situation. (Remove too)

19. John is the tallest boy in the class. (Use the comparative form of the adjective)

20. I could not do it even if I tried. (Change into a simple sentence)

21. No sooner did I hear the gunshot than I rushed to the spot. (Rewrite using as soon as.)

22. Hardly had I solved one problem when another cropped up. (Rewrite using no sooner …than)

23. Only trained graduates need to apply. (Use none instead of only)

24. Work hard or you will fail. (Change into a complex sentence)

Answers

1. In all probability he will never come back.

2. He asked me where I was going.

3. No sooner had the chief guest arrived than the play began.

4. His behaviour surprised me.

5. He is certain to succeed.

6. He is better than any other student in the class.

7. He is so weak that he cannot stand up without help.

8. He rushed towards the bridge with the gun tucked under his arm.

9. As we were late we missed the train. / Since we were late, we missed the train.

10. In spite of having a headache I enjoyed the movie.

11. The meeting had to be postponed because the chairman was ill.

12. We must hurry up. Otherwise, we will miss the flight.

13. Upon John’s arrival, we began our meeting.

14. Although it was cold, we went swimming.

15. The tea was too hot for me to drink.

16. He is so arrogant that he will not listen to advice.

17. He worked hard to pass the examination.

18. He is so stupid that he cannot handle such a situation.

19. John is taller than any other boy in the class.

20. Despite trying, I could not do it.

21. As soon as I heard the gunshot I rushed to the spot.

22. No sooner had I solved one problem than another cropped up.

23. None but trained graduates need to apply.

24. If you do not work hard, you will fail. 

English Grammar Simple and Complex Sentences

English Grammar Worksheet Simple and Compound Sentences

Combine each pair of simple sentences into one complex sentence containing a noun clause.

1. You cheated him. That is his complaint.

2. The train will arrive at a certain time. Do you know the time?

3. He will win. It is certain.

4. He is mad. That makes him more dangerous.

5. He may be innocent. I don’t know.

6. The game was lost. It was the consequence of his carelessness.

7. Where have you put my hat? Tell me.

8. We have been deceived. That is the truth.

9. He distrusts his own sons. It is difficult to understand the reason.

10. He is a great orator. This fact cannot be denied.

Answers

1. That you cheated him is his complaint.

2. Do you know the time when the train will arrive?

3. It is certain that he will win.

4. That he is mad makes him more dangerous.

5. I don’t know whether he is innocent.

6. The consequence of his carelessness was that the game was lost.

7. Tell me where you have put my hat.

8. That we have been deceived is the truth.

9. It is difficult to understand the reason why he distrusts his own sons.

10. The fact that he is a great orator cannot be denied.

English Grammar Clauses

Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences

Combine the following sentences into a complex sentence with a noun clause using ‘that’.

1. He will fight to the finish. He says this.

2. She will win the first prize. It is certain.

3. He was innocent. He could not prove that.

4. The manager committed the blunder. It is evident.

5. He will return the money in a couple of days. This is his promise.

6. The patient will recover. This is the doctor’s assurance.

7. They saw the stranger. They say so.

8. Your claims for promotion will not be overlooked. Rest assured.

9. He has committed a mistake. It is obvious.

10. The exams may be postponed. The teacher says this.

Answers

1. He says that he will fight to the finish.

2. It is certain that she will win the first prize.

3. He could not prove that he was innocent.

4. It is evident that the manager committed the blunder.

5. He has promised that he will return the money in a couple of days.

6. The doctor assured that the patient would recover.

7. They say that they saw the stranger.

8. Rest assured that your claims for promotion will not be overlooked.

9. It is obvious that he has committed a mistake.

10. The teacher says that the exams may be postponed.