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GRAMMAR FOR CBSE

NARRATION OR SPEECH

There are two types of Narration or Speech in English Grammar. They are:

1. Direct Speech or Direct Narration: Here, the exact words of the speaker is repeated to report.

Eg: Ram said to me, “I bought this book yesterday."

2. Indirect Speech or Indirect Narration: Here, the words spoken by the speaker is changed for better
communication. We convey the speaker’s message in our own words. Indirect Speech is known as Reported
Speech.

Eg: Ram told me that he had bought that book the previous day.

The verbs namely "say/said" in Direct Speech and "told/asked/advised/requested" etc in Indirect Speech are
called Reporting Verb.

The rules for changing narration are different for different types of sentences.

A. ASSERTIVE SENTENCE:

1. The reporting verb is changed from "said to" into "told". (remarked/ commented/ added/ answered/ replied
etc. may be used in Indirect.)

2. After removing commas and inverted commas, write "that".

3. Then, the sentence of Direct Speech is written after making three types of changes. These are:

A. Change of Tense:

Direct Indirect

Simple Present Simple Past

Present Continuous Past Continuous
Present Perfect Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Past Past Perfect
Past Continuous Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect No Change
Past Perfect Continuous No Change
Future (all) Shall/Will Would

Exception: Change of Tense is not necessary in Indirect when--

*) The reporting verb is in Present or Future tense in Direct Speech.

*) The sentence of Direct Speech is a universal truth.

*) Words like ‘Could’, ‘Would’, ‘Used to’, ‘Should’, ‘Might’, ‘Ought to’, ‘Must’ are not changed.

B. Change of Time and Place Adverbials

Direct Indirect
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Today that day

yesterday the day before/ the previous day
the day before yesterday two days before
tomorrow the next day/ the following day.
next week / year the following week/year etc.
last week/ year the previous week/ year etc.
ago before
here there
this that
these those
now then

C. Change of Pronouns

Pronouns and possessive adjectives usually change from first or second person to third person except when the
speaker is reporting his own words.

Eg:

1. Ram said to me, “I bought this book for my brother yesterday"

: Ram told me that he had bought that book for his brother the previous day.

2. I said to Raju, “I wrote this story."

: I told Raju that I had written that story.

3. They said to me, “We are playing cricket.”

: They told me that they were playing cricket.

B. INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE

1. The reporting verb is changed into ‘asked’. (enquired of, wanted to know, demanded etc. are also used.)

2. After removing commas and inverted commas, use 'if' or 'whether' in Yes-No type questions and 'Wh' word for
'Wh' type questions.

3. Then the sentence of Direct is written after reordering as an assertive sentence (As S+V+O+oth). Do/Does/ Did
and Question mark(?) is removed in Indirect.

4. Other changes like Tense, Pronouns and adverbials are same as assertive sentence.

Eg: 1. Mitali said to me, “Do you have a pen to spare?”

: Mitali asked me if I had a pen to spare.

2. He said to me, "When did you buy this book?"

: He asked me when I had bought that book.

C. IMPERATIVE SENTENCE

1. The reporting verb is changed into ordered/ advised/ requested/ commanded/ begged/ forbade/ told etc. as per
the intention of the speaker.

2. After removing commas and inverted commas, use ‘to’ is written before the verb in Indirect. “not to’ is written
when the imperative sentence starts with ‘Don’t’ or other negative words.
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3. Tense is not changed as the verb becomes non-finite after ‘to’. Change of pronouns and adverbials are same as
assertive sentence.

Eg:

1. Anita said to Ravi, "Please, give me your pen ".

: Anita requested Ravi to give her his pen.

2. The teacher said to me, "Don't neglect your studies ".

: The teacher advised me not to neglect my studies.

3. Father said to me, “Open your books and study.”

A: Father ordered me to open my books and study.

Sentences with “Let”:

a. When Let means proposal or suggestion, the sentence is changed into indirect as ----
1. Reporting verb: proposed to/ suggested to
2. Replace inverted commas: that
3. Sentence in Indirect: Sub (We)+ Should + V1+ Obj+ Oth

Eg: 1. He said to me,” Let us go for a picnic”.

: He proposed to me that we should go for a picnic.

b. When Let means seeking permission, the sentence is changed into indirect as ----
1. Reporting verb: told
2. Replace inverted commas: that
3. Sentence in Indirect: Sub + might be allowed to + V1+ Obj+ Oth.

Eg: 1. He said to me,” Let me do the work”.

: He told me that he might be allowed to do the work.

D. EXCLAMATORY SENTENCE

1. The reporting verb is changed into “exclaimed with joy/ sorrow/ surprise/ anger/ frustration/ wonder/ despair”
etc. as per the intention of the speaker.

2. After removing commas and inverted commas, use ‘that’. Then the sentence is changed into indirect as an
assertive sentence. Exclamation words like “Oh/ Alas/ Hurrah/ wow/ bah/What/ How” and Exclamation mark (!)
are removed in Indirect.

3. Other changes like Tense, Pronouns and adverbials are same as assertive sentence.

Eg:

1. The man said, “Alas! The boy has died.”

: The man exclaimed with sorrow that the boy had died.

2. He said, “What an amazing movie it is!”

: He exclaimed with wonder that it was an amazing movie.

E. OPTATIVE SENTENCE

1. The reporting verb is changed into wished or prayed.

2. After removing commas and inverted commas, use ‘that’.

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3. In indirect, might is written after subject and present form the verb is written after might.

4. Other changes Pronouns and adverbials are same as assertive sentence.

Eg: 1. Mother said to me, “May God bless you.”

: Mother prayed that God might bless me.

2. Grandfather said, “May you live long”.

: Grandfather wished that he might live long.

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DETERMINERS

‘Determiners’ are words used before a noun to indicate which things or people we are talking about.

1. Articles: Indefinite Article: A & AN

The indefinite articles ‘a’, ‘an’ are used when we talk about people or things in a general or indefinite way. It
means one person or object. These two are used before a singular countable noun.

‘A’ is used before the words which begin with consonant sounds and usually consonant letters.

Eg: A book/ pen.

However, when a word starts with a vowel letter but with a consonant sound, we use the article ‘a’ before such
word.

Eg: A European/ unique/ university/ union/ useful/ unanimous/ unit/ united etc. {because u is pronounced like
you} A one rupee note, a DC, a BA etc.

‘AN’ is used before the words which begin with vowel sounds and usually vowel letters.

Eg: an orange/ Indian/umbrella.

However, when some words begin with a silent consonant, we use ‘an’ before them.

Eg: An honest/hour/ heir/heiress/honourable/ honorary etc.

We use ‘an’ with abbreviations beginning with the following letters: A, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S, X (They should have
vowel sounds).

Eg: An M.P. / N.R.I. / X-Ray/ MBBS.

When we refer to singular nouns for the first time, or refer to things in a general way, we use the indefinite article
‘a’ or ‘an’. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are also used before certain exclamatory expressions.

Eg: What a beautiful morning! What a cute dog!

Definite Article: THE

When we refer to particular people or things or something that has already been mentioned or can be understood,
we use the definite article ‘the’.

The is used before the followings:

1) Names of stars, planets, rivers, ranges of mountains, gulfs, seas, oceans, group of islands, ships, books of religion
(Religious books), newspapers and magazines etc.
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Eg. The sun/ Pacific Ocean/ Ramayana/ Ganga/ Titanic etc

2) Countries with plural names, abbreviated names, name of nations (adjectives) etc.

Eg: The Philippines/ United States/ UK/ Maldives. The British/ Indians

3) Names of hotels, museums, and certain building names, musical instruments.

Eg: The Oberoi group of Hotel, The Burj Khalifa., the violin .

4. Superlatives of adjectives and ordinals (positions).

Eg. The best/ tallest/ first/ tenth etc

5. Descriptive adjectives referring to a whole group or class. (In this case the word becomes plural.)

Eg: The working class, the middle class, the rich, the poor

6. The names of races and communities, but not with names of language (except when the word ‘language’ is
mentioned)

Eg: The Hindu, the Christian, the English

The French speaks the French Language.

7. Last names of families in the plural. Eg: The Kapoors, The Malhotras

8. Singular Common nouns to represent a whole class (Generalisation)

Eg: The cow/ the dog.

9. When proper/ material/ abstract noun is used as common noun

Eg: Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India. Raju is the Kohli of our school cricket team.

10) Few expressions of the English language.

Eg: All the colleagues. Both the sisters. Alexander the great.

QUANTIFIERS:

The quantifiers refer to the quantity of things or amount of something.

a) Some: ‘Some’ is generally used in affirmative sentences with uncountable and plural countable nouns.

Eg: I have some good ideas on the project. Some boys are playing there.

It can also be used in question where ‘Yes’ is expected as an answer; in case of polite requests or offers.

Eg: Would you like to have some tea? Could you give me some more sauce?

b) Any: It is used in questions when you want to ask whether something exists or not. It is also used in negative
sentences where we want to say that something does not exist

Eg: I do not need any help. Do you have any advice on the matter?

c) Many: It means a large number; used with plural countable words.

Eg: Many people were present in the meeting.
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d) Much: It means a large quantity; used with uncountable words.

Eg: There is not much water in the pond.

e) Each and Every: Both are used to refer to all members of a group, persons or things.
When we talk about members as individuals, we use ‘each’ and when we make a statement about all of them we
use ‘every’. ‘Each’ is also used when one out of two is referred.

They are to be prefixed before a singular countable noun and the verb attached with them should be singular.

Eg: Each boy was given a book. Each of the two players is awarded. Every man wants to be happy.

f) Few, a few, the few: All three mean a small number and used with plural countable words.

‘Few’ means almost nothing. It has a negative meaning. ‘A few’ means something is there. ‘A few’ is usually
preceded by ‘only/just’. ‘The few’ means the small numbers together as a whole. It is usually followed by a relative
clause.

Eg: Few people are free from faults. Only a few people have arrived at the hall. He can rely on the few friends
that he has.

g) Little, a little, the little: All three mean a small quantity and used with uncountable.

‘Little’ means almost nothing. It has a negative meaning. ‘A little’ means something is there. ‘A little’ is usually
preceded by ‘only/just’. ‘The little’ means the small quantity but as a whole. It is usually followed by a relative
clause.

Eg: His condition is very serious; there is little chance of his recovery. A little learning is a dangerous thing. Give
me the little water that you have in your bottle.

h) Either and Neither: Either is used to talk about two things, but usually indicates that only one of the two is
involved. It can mean both of two things especially when it is used with ‘end’ or ’side’

Neither is used when none out of two is involved. It is mostly with singular nouns.

Eg: Take either side of the bed, both are the same. Either he or his brother will come. Neither of them is speaking
the truth. She is neither intelligent nor hardworking.

i) More: As a determiner, ‘more’ is used to refer to an additional quantity of something.

Eg: We need more workers to complete the work.

j) Most: ‘Most’ is used to indicate nearly all of an amount or of a group.

Eg: Most of the people do not recover from this fatal disease. Most of the people in India are working class.

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MODALS

Modal auxiliaries are verbs used with main verbs to express such ideas as possibility, permission, necessity,
obligation, etc.
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The modal verbs are: Can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, will, should, would, dare, need, used to, have
to.

{Primary Auxiliary:- Be: am, is, are, was, were, Do: did, does, Have: had, has}

Important features of Modals:

1. Modal verbs have only one form. They have no ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ [Link] do not add ‘s’ or ‘es’ to the third person
singular form.

2. Modal verbs are followed by the infinitive (V1/ Presen) of another verb without ‘to’ (first form of the verb).

4. Questions are formed without do/does in the present or did in the past. Negative sentences are formed with
not or the short form ‘n’t’ and do not use ‘do/does or did.’

1. CAN is used to express:

Power/ability --e.g. He can swim.

Permission --e.g. You can go now.
Seeking permission (not polite or formal) --e.g. Can I use your bicycle?
Possibility—Driving at night can be dangerous.

2. COULD is used to express: (past tense equivalent of can)

Power/ability e.g. he could run fast when he was young.

Polite request e.g. Could you please help me?

3. MAY is used to express:

Possibility/ probability e.g. He may succeed in his work. It may rain tonight.
Permission e.g. May I come in?
Wish e.g. May you live long.
Purpose e.g. He works hard so that he may pass.

4. MIGHT (past tense equivalent of May) is used to express:

Possibility e.g. It might rain.

Purpose e.g. He works hard that he might win a scholarship.

5. MUST is used for all persons in the present and the future tenses.

Obligation: You must obey your parents.

Compulsion: You must go to school in time.
Strong likelihood: You must be tired after your long journey.
{Prohibition, emphatic advice, duty, certainty etc.}

6. ‘SHALL’ is used with the first person subject (I, we) to express simple futurity.
Eg. . I shall go home today.

‘Shall’ with the second and third person subject, expresses: Promise, threat, compulsion etc.
e.g. You shall go home at once. He shall be punished.
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In questions, ‘shall’ may be used to make informal request/ permission.

Eg. Shall we go now?

7. ‘WILL’ is used with the second & third person subject to expresses simple futurity:

But with first person subject, will expresses intention, promise, threat etc.
Eg: I will see you in the court.

In questions, ‘will’ may be used to make polite request.

Eg: Will you be happy to come to my house tomorrow?

8. SHOULD is used to express: Past tense equivalent of shall.

Obligation, duty etc.: You should look after your old parents.
To give advice or suggestion: You should consult a doctor.
Conditional sentence to refer to a possible event or situation: If you should need any help, please let me know.
After the word ‘lest ’. e.g. Work hard lest you should fail.

9. ‘WOULD’ is used to express:

Determination, willingness: I would have my way. I would love to have a cup of coffee.
Habitual action in past: He would sit all day with the book in his hand.
Conditional sentence: If I had seen the advertisement in time, I would have applied for the job.
Polite, formal request: Would you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes?

10. OUGHT is used to denote duty or moral or social obligation. It is used nearly in the same sense as ‘should’. The
verb that follow ought always takes the “to +V1 form”.

[Link] ought to obey our teachers. We ought not to speak ill of others.

Ought to is used when we believe strongly or expect that something will happen: The Indian team ought to win.

Ought to see/hear/meet, is used for emphasising how good, impressive or unusual something or someone is: You
ought to see their new house.

Ought to have is used when we realise that we did not do the right thing in the past: You ought to have listened to
my advice.

11. NEED As a modal verb, need is usually followed by an infinitive without ‘to’. It means obligation or necessity.
Need not expresses the idea that there is no compulsion,

E.g. You needn’t leave today, you can leave tomorrow. Need I go now? You need not go. Need I attend the class
today? Need he solve all the sums?

Need not + present perfect is used to express an unnecessary action which was performed:
You needn’t have carried an umbrella as it was not raining.

{Need is also used as a normal verb when it means want or require}

12. DARE: It means ‘to have the courage to do something’.

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e.g. He dare not return to the house. He dare to do that task. How dare you do this? I dare you to come here again.
[‘s’ or ‘ed’ form is also used.]

13. USED TO: It expresses a habit in the past’ (Used to +V1) e.g. I used to swim when I was young.

I used to live in Mumbai. (Now I live in Delhi).

It can also mean ‘to be habituated’: I am not used to such treatment.

14. HAVE TO, HAS TO, HAD TO: Like must, these express obligation, necessity, logical conclusion etc.

While ‘have to/ has to’ is used in present, ‘Had to’ is used when describing something belonging to the past. Eg:

She has to look after her mother. He had to go early to catch the train.

1. can

Use Examples

ability to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be able to) I can speak English.

permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to) Can I go to the cinema?

request Can you wait a moment, please?

offer I can lend you my car till tomorrow.

suggestion Can we visit Grandma at the weekend?

possibility It can get very hot in Arizona.

2. could

Use Examples

ability to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be able to) I could speak English.

permission to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be allowed to) I could go to the cinema.

polite question * Could I go to the cinema, please?

polite request * Could you wait a moment, please?

polite offer * I could lend you my car till tomorrow.

polite suggestion * Could we visit Grandma at the weekend?

possibility * It could get very hot in Montana.

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3. may

Use Examples

possibility It may rain today.

permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to) May I go to the cinema?

polite suggestion May I help you?

4. might

Use Examples

possibility (less possible than may) * It might rain today.

hesitant offer * Might I help you?

5. must

Use Examples

force, necessity I must go to the supermarket today.

possibility You must be tired.

advice, recommendation You must see the new film with Brad Pitt.

6. must not

Use Examples

You mustn't work on dad's computer.

prohibition (must is a little stronger)
You may not work on dad's computer.

7. need not

Use Examples

sth. is not necessary I needn't go to the supermarket, we're going to the restaurant tonight.

8. ought to

similar to should – ought to sounds a little less subjective

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Use Examples

advice You ought to drive carefully in bad weather.

obligation You ought to switch off the light when you leave the room.

9. shall

used instead of will in the 1st person

Use Examples

suggestion Shall I carry your bag?

10. should

Use Examples

advice You should drive carefully in bad weather.

obligation You should switch off the light when you leave the room.

11. will

Use Examples

wish, request, demand, order (less polite than would) Will you please shut the door?

prediction, assumption I think it will rain on Friday.

promise I will stop smoking.

spontaneous decision Can somebody drive me to the station? - I will.

habits She's strange, she'll sit for hours without talking.

12. would

Use Examples

wish, request (more polite than will) Would you shut the door, please?

habits in the past Sometimes he would bring me some flowers.

SUBJECT-VERB CONCORD
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ERROR CORRECTION RULES

In English Grammar, a verb must agree with its Number and Person of the subject.

1. A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

TENSE SINGULAR SUBJECT PLURAL SUBJECT

Simple Present Verb+s/es [in third person only] Verb [all persons]
Verb [in first and second person]

Present Continuous Am [ first person only] Are [all persons]

Is [third person only]

Present perfect and perfect Has [in third person only] Have [all persons]
continuous
Have [in first and second person]

Simple past ant past was were

continuous

Future all Shall with 1st Shall with 1st

Will with 2nd and 3rd person Will with 2nd and 3rd person

2. Words which are always singular (some may look like plural): poetry, offspring, hair, news, billiards, draughts
(a chess like game), mathematics, physics, athletics, politics, information, knowledge, homework, furniture,
scenery, gallows etc.

3. Words which are always plural [no singular form]: people, police, poultry, public, cattle

Annals (pages of books of history), Arms (weapons), Bowels, Contents, Customs (duty), Fireworks, Goods, Outskirts,
Premises (building), Riches (wealth), Surroundings (environment), Troops, Valuables, Wages, Alms, Drawers,
scissors, trousers, shorts, spectacles, goggles etc.

4. Words which have same singular and plural forms: craft, sheep, fish, deer, species, corps, innings, canon.

5. Usually, uncountable nouns have no plural forms; they are always singular; so they use a singular form of the
verb. : water, sand, money etc.

6. The verb must agree with actual subject when the subject is long and elaborate.

Eg: The price of the apples was very high. The chairs which I bought yesterday are very costly. The woman whom I
met in the market was my friend’s sister.

7. When the subject consists of ‘one of + plural noun’, the verb is singular:

: One of the girls was singing. One of my friends lives in Delhi.

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8. Introductory ‘there’: The verb has to agree with the real subject that follows the introductory there. If the
subject is singular, then ‘there’ will be followed by a singular verb. If the real subject is plural, then ‘there’ will be
followed by a plural verb:

: There is a playground in our school. There are fifty students in our class.

9. Two or More Nouns:

When a subject is made up of two or more nouns joined by ‘and’, the verb that follows should be written in plural
form.

: Rahul and his sister have gone to see a movie.

When a singular subject is joined by as well as, in addition to, except, and not etc. with another noun or pronoun,
we use a singular verb. If the first subject is plural, then it takes a plural verb.

: Rohan as well as his brother has come. Everyone except Satish was present.

[Exception]
But when some nouns are regarded as one unit, they take a singular verb:

: Bread and butter is a wholesome food. Brick and stone is lying scattered all over the place. Time and tide waits for
none.
The novelist and poet is dead. (same person) The novelist and the poet are dead. (Two person)

10. When distances, weights or amounts represent a single unit or a fixed quantity, they are treated as singular
and the verb attached along is also singular even when the subject is plural.

: Ten thousand rupees is not a small sum. Three kilometres is a small distance.

11. Plural Names: The title of a book, the name of a house or a hotel in plural takes a singular verb.
: “The Arabian Nights” has interesting stories. “The Hotel Brewers” is a five-star hotel.

12. Collective nouns like group, crowd, flock, regiment, etc. are generally followed by a singular verb:

: A group of boys was playing in the ground. A crowd of people rashes towards the hall.

A collective noun such as jury, committee, family, etc. takes a singular verb when it is considered one unit. But
when they are regarded as individuals, they take a plural verb:

: The jury is about to give its decision. The jury are divided in their opinion.

13. Some nouns which appear to be plural in form, when preceded by ‘a pair of’ take a singular verb, for example,
shoes, scissors, trousers, etc.
: A pair of scissors was taken out of the drawer.
A pair of trousers was washed by the servant.

But when these nouns are used without ‘a pair of’, they take a plural verb:
His shoes have worn out.

14. A singular verb is used with singular pronouns, e.g. each, every, each and every, either, neither, anyone, etc.
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: Each of the boys was given a prize. Neither of the students was absent.

But when two or more subjects are connected by ‘nor/ or’, the verb is used according to the number of the noun
nearest to it:

: Neither she nor her sisters visit the temple. Either they or he is telling a lie.

15. The word ‘none’ will take a verb according to the sense of the sentence. It might be singular or plural
depending upon the sentence.
: None of the students were in the class.

16. Phrases like a lot of, a great deal of, plenty of, some of are considered to be singular when referring to amount
or quantity but are considered plural when they refer to number so the verb to be attached is also chosen
accordingly.

: A lot of money is required to start a new business these days.

A lot of people visit the exhibition.
A plenty of water was supplied to the villagers.

17. In sentences that express a wish, request or contrary to fact, the word ‘were’ is used instead of ‘was.
: I wish my sister were here. If I were you, I would not do that.

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