Saturday 28 August 2021

The Verb-Finite-Non Finite Verbs-Transitive-Intransitive Verbs

                  All about The Verb

·       What is a verb?

·       Can a verb be of only one word?

·       Can you think of a sentence without a verb?

·       Do all verbs show action?

·       What are action verbs and auxiliary verbs?

·       What are transitive and intransitive verbs?

·       What are finite and non finite verbs?

Dear students, verb is the most important element of a sentence.

It tells about an action, a state or a condition occurring in present, past and future.

A verb-phrase may be of two words or of three four and even of five words.

One- word- verb is the root or the base form of the verb or.

For example

1.He goes to temple daily to worship God. (one word)

2.He made me laugh.

3.He has promised to help me.(two words)

4.Dinner has been cooked by my mother. (three words)

5.Dinner has not been laid on the table yet. (four words)

6.The work will not have been done by them. (five words)

A verb may have an auxiliary verb.

List of Auxiliary Verbs:

                                      

(i)               Be-type verbs: is/am/are (present forms)                       

                       was/were (past forms)

(ii)            Have-type verbs: Has/have (Present forms)         Had (Past form)

(iii)          Do-type verbs:     Do/does (Present forms)                                                                    did (Past form)

Modal Auxiliary Verbs:

Can       could    may       might

Will       shall     would   should

Must      dare      need     used      ought

An Auxiliary or a helping verb can be used as main verb only. In that case, it will be called a Primary Verb,but a modal auxiliary verb cannot be used as a Primary verb.

For example

Is, am, are, was, were, has, have and had

For example

1.He is my best friend.(‘is’ as a primary verb)

2.He is sleeping at this time.(‘is’ is a helping verb)

3.You are the only person who can help me.

4.I have a story to tell you.

Every sentence must have at least a verb.

See the following sentences:

He is the student of class VI.

She does not tell a lie.

Why are you so angry?

He has a few acres of land.

In the above sentences, the verbs are:

Is, does not tell, are, has

What are the action verbs?

In the sentence (2), tell is the action verb. It refers to the action of telling lie.

Some more examples of action verbs:

( to ) go, ( to speak, ( to ) write,( to ) laugh, (to) smile,( to ) think,

( to) hate, etc.

·       Some actions are visible and some are invisible.

·       You can notice some actions through your eyes. But there are actions which are not visible through eyes. They can be felt.

For example, if you hate someone, the feeling of hatred can’t be seen by others because the feeling of hatred is in your mind. However you can show your hatred through some actions. 

Your action of writing, laughing, smiling, going and speaking is visible.

See the use of the following sentences:

1.I am hungry.

2.Her mother is a teacher.

3.These days he is very busy.

4.The Taj Mahal is situated near the bank of the Yamuna.

5.He was very interested in your song.

6.They were not my enemies.

In the above sentences, am ,is, was, and were are the be- type primary verbs. 

These verbs show the state or the condition of a situation / a thing or of mind.

Is, am, and are show the condition or the state in the Present Time.

Was and were show the condition or the state in the Past Time

 To form negative of the be-type verbs ‘not’ is placed after them.

For example:

He is not a fool.

 They are not ready to go to Libya

To form the interrogative sentence, be- type verb ‘is’ put in front of the subjects.

Is he a fool?

Are they ready to go to Libya?

In the sentences beginning with interrogative pronouns and interroagtive adverbs of w or wh type, be- type verbs are put after them.

 For example:

What is this?

Who is your brother?

Why are you so sad?

We often use the contraction form of these verbs in spoken English,

I am = I’m

She is = She’s

He is = He’s 

It is = It’s

Mohan is = Mohan’s

You are = you’re

They are = they’re 

The negative contractions are:

Am not = aren’t

Are not = aren’t

Is not = isn’t

Was not = wasn’t

Were not = weren’t

Verbs are transitive and intransitive also.

Transitive Verb: The verb that needs an object is called transitive verb. For example,

He writes a letter.

To find out an object form a sentence is very easy. Put question ‘what’ to the main verb of the sentence. The answer will be the object of the verb.

In the above sentence ‘He writes a letter’, the main verb is ‘writes’. Now put question ‘what’ to it. ‘Writes what?’  The answer will be: a letter.

Objects are also of two types.

1.    Direct object 2. Indirect object

See the sentence: Cow gives us milk.

In this sentence, ‘ milk’ is direct and ‘us’ is indirect object.

Now find out objects from the following sentences:

1.She has told nothing to me.

2.They were solving their problems.

3.He gave me a book.

4.He made me the captain of the team.

5.He said that he is a fool.

6.Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

Ans. 1. .nothing, me 2. .their problems 3. .me, a book 4 .me 5. .that he is a fool 6. .stones

Finite and Non-finite Verbs

Finite verbs:

1.The first form with or without ‘s’ or ‘es’ in Simple Present Tense and the second form in Simple Past Tense are finite verbs.

2.All be-type (is, are, am, was, were)

3.All have-type verbs (has, have, had)

4.All do-type verbs (do, does, did)

5.All modal auxiliary verbs (can-could, may-might, will-shall, would-should, dare, need, used, ought)

Pick up the finite verbs from the following sentences:

1.He believes in superstitions.

2.She does not obey her father.

3.I get up early in the morning.

4.We have not done our work yet.

5.She has been waiting for you.

6.I can do this work easily.

7.You ought to respect your teachers.

Non-finites are:

(A) Infinitive

1.Infinitive with to: He stood up to ask a question.

2.Bare infinitive: I can do this work.

(B) Gerund: Swimming is a good habit.

(C) Participle:

 1. Present Participle: I am taking bath.

 2. Past Participle: He is very disappointed.

 3. Perfect Participle: Having finished my work, I went to sleep.

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Direct-Indirect Speech-Changing Imperative & Exclamatory Sentences

Wednesday 14 July 2021

Present Perfect Tense-Its Usage

 Present Perfect Tense

Hindi sentences of this tense a has the following ending words:

Chuka hai, chuke hai, chuki hai, ya hai, ye hain, yee hai

All recently done activities are shown in this Tense

No specific time of occurrence is shown

Key words: recently, lately, now, just now, so far, ever, yet, this year, never, already

Use: has/have+ 3rd form of verb

Has+3rd form of the verb with: he, she, it, and singular third-person nouns.

Have +3rd form of the verb with I, we, you, they, and third-person plural nouns.

Examples:

(i)              I have done my homework just now.

(ii)           They have seen this film recently.

(iii)        You have not done your work yet.

(iv)         My sister has done M.A. this year.

(v)            Have you ever seen the Taj Mahal?

Simple Past Tense-Past Simple Tense-Past Indefinite Tense

                  2. Simple Past Tense:

Hindi sentences of this tense

has the following ending words:

ya,  ye,  yee

Used in:

The activities finished in past showing the specified time of the occurrence.

Keywords: yesterday, last,  in 1980,  10 years ago

Positive Sentences: Use the 2nd form of the word.

With all types of subjects, we use 2nd form of the verb.

Examples:

Positive Sentences:

(i)              He stole my book yesterday.

(ii)           Last year, we went to Shimla during our winter holidays.

(iii)        In 1987, I got a Govt. job.

(iv)         I saw the Taj Mahal 10 years ago.

Keywords: yesterday, last, in 1987, ago

Negative and Interrogative sentences are made with did + Ist form of the verb

Subject+ did not+ 1st form of verb

They      +did not + go + (any phrase) to school yesterday.

(i)              He did not steal my book yesterday.

(ii)           We did not go to Shimla during the summer vacation last year.

(iii)        I did not get a Govt job in 1987.

(iv)         I did not see the Taj Mahal 10 years ago.

Interrogative Sentences:

(i)              Did he steal your book?

(ii)           Did we go to Shimla during the summer holidays last year?

(iii)        Why did you tell a lie yesterday in front of the teacher?

(iv)         Who stole your watch yesterday?

Exercises: Simple Past Tense

(i)              She always criticised her husband when She sat in front of her.

(ii)           Atul’s father never told a lie.

(iii)        We wanted to study when you disturbed us.

(iv)         Where did you go on Sunday last?

Practice of Simple Past Tense:

Topics: 1. A Horrible Dream 2. How you once bunked from School 3. How You Passed Your Last Sunday 4. How You Celebrated Your Last Birthday 5. Any Visit  6. What Arrangement You did for the Marriage of your Sister 7. When I was cheated by some roadside Sadhu 8. When My pocket was picked.... 9. The day when everything went wrong. .... 10. The day when I woke late and got late for school. 11. When I was wrongly punished by my teacher...12. When I was caught in heavy rains and thundershower...13. When I saved a boy from being drowned...14. When I prepared a dish in which I put a lot of salt and red chili 15. The Happiest Day of My Life

Tuesday 13 July 2021

The Use of Articles-a-an-the

 The Use of Articles

Two types: 1. Indefinite 2. Definite

Indefinite articles: 1. An 2.  A

(I)               The Use of ‘An’

(1)                         ‘An’ is used in front of singular countable nouns which begin with the following vowel sounds:

(i)               ‘A’ as in army 

(ii)             ‘e’ as in ‘enemy’

(iii)           ‘I’ in Indian

(iv)          ‘o’ in officer

(v)            ‘u’ in ‘umbrella’

An inkpot, an engineer, an apple, an ambassador, an island, an onion

(2)                        There are some words in English, that begin with consonants but sound like vowels. We use ‘an’ in front of such words also.

(i)               His father is an M. L. A.

(ii)             Is your father an S. D. O. in P.W.D. department?

Similarly we have, an honest person, an heir

(3)                         The word ‘university' begins with a vowel letter, but it gives the sound of a consonant, so, ‘a’ will be used in front of it.

·       This is ……………. university.

(II)           Use of ‘a’

(i)               When a singular countable noun is mentioned for the first time a/an is used in front of it.

(a)                  He lives in a hut.

(b)            I need a car these days.

(i)               When a singular countable noun is used to represent a class or a type, a/an is used.

(a)                                  A television is necessary for all the families.

(b)                        A motor-cycle is very useful.

(c)          A computer needs careful handling.

(ii)            In front of the names of professions, a/an is used.

(a)                                  My father is a teacher.

(b)                        Is he a businessman?

(c)           He is a singer.

(d)                       You are a very good comedian.

 

(iii)          With the expressions like:

A lot of, a great deal of, many a, a great number of, a few, a little, a little bit of, a couple of days, a pair of, one and a half kg , such a ...., What a ....., a Mr. Khanna ( a person who is called Mr. Khanna) 

1.    There are………………………..lot of students in our school.

2.    There  are…………………………..few men working in the fields.

3.    There is ………little water in the jug.

4.    What………..beautiful scene it is!

5.    He is such …………………person as cannot be believed.

6.    ……….Mr. Khanna came to meet you.

7.    I bought ……..pair of shoes from the market yesterday.

8.    In …………couple of days, I will come to meet you.

In the following situations a/an and ‘the’ is not used.

1.    In front of the names of meals, noa’ or ‘anis used.

·       I eat dinner at 9 p.m.

·       Have you eaten breakfast?

In the above sentences, dinner and breakfast are usual features of a routine. So, no article is needed here.

2.     But for specific breakfast, lunch, and dinner, an article is used.

·       The dinner we had at Karnal Haveli was marvellous.

Use of the Definite Article ‘the’

It can be used in front of both, singular and plural nouns

1.    ‘the’ is used in front of unique things:

The railway station, the bus stand, the earth, the moon, the east, the west, the north, the south, the sun, the pole star, the equator, the stars,

2.    Sometimes a noun or a noun phrase is made specific by adding a phrase or a relative clause to it. Then ‘the’ is used before it.

·       The boy who is wearing a red shirt is my friend.

·       The lady with flowers in her hands is a stranger.

·       ………….. dog which is standing outside is very smart.

3.    Repetition of a noun also makes it unique or particular.

·       There was a king. He had four sons. The sons were very lazy. One day the king decided to make his sons active.

4.    In front of the superlative degree of the adjective ‘the’ is used.

·       Rubi is the most intelligent girl in her class.

·       Alice is the wisest girl in her family.

5.    In front of the ordinal number ‘the’ is used.

·       She is the first girl of this village to have been selected as the leader of a mountaineering team.

·       My father will return from abroad on the twenty-second of this month.

6.    In front of famous mountain ranges, mountains, seas, islands, meaningful names of some states and countries, famous newspapers, magazines, religious books, sacred rivers, etc.

 

Examples: The Himalayas, the Shivalik hills, The Andaman Islands, the Arabian sea, the Pacific ocean, The Bay of Bengal, the U.S.A., the Uttar Pradesh, The Tribune, The Times of India, The Illustrated Weekly, The Time, The Gita, The Quran, The Ramayana, The Ganga, The Sarswati, etc.

7.    In front of some adjectives when used as nouns:

The poor, the rich, the downtrodden, the deprived, the oppressed, etc.

8.    When a famous person’s name is used as an adjective, ‘the’ is used.

·       Kalidas is called the Shakespeare of India.

·       Neha is the Lata of our school.

9.    In front of ‘whole’ and after ‘both’ and ‘all’, ‘the’ is used.

·       The whole world knows.........

·       All the boys of this school........

·       Both the friends.........

10.                        Usually, ‘the’ article is used in front of the superlative degree of an adjective, but, there is a situation when ‘the’ is used in front of the comparative degree of adjective.

The higher you go, the cooler it is.

11.                        When context is already clear to the listener, ‘the’ can be used.

A. (to B): Where is your father?

B.: He is in the study.

Similarly, A:  Where is the book? B:  It is lying on the table.

Omission of the definite article ‘the’

1.    In front of proper nouns, ‘the’ is not used.

(a)            Delhi is the capital of India.

(b)           Solan is not a far-off place from Chandigarh.

(c)            Rohit studies in class X

2.    In front of abstract nouns, names of games, meals, and material nouns, we should not use ‘the’. But in their particular use ‘the’ is used.

(a)            Honesty is the best policy.

But we can say:

·       ‘The honesty in Mr. .. is marvellous.

·       The artist in him is still alive.’

·       Kapil plays golf as well as cricket but the cricket in him

is vigorous.

·       I usually eat simple dinner at 9 p.m. but the dinner I ate at Sapphire was very spicy.

·       Gold is a precious metal. But we can also say, ‘The gold of this necklace is not pure.’

·       Wheat is sown in the month of November. The wheat which I sowed in Nov. last year did not grow properly.

3.    Before parts of the body, no article is used, but, in particular use, ‘the’ is preferred.

(a)            The teacher hit the child on the head.

(b)            He patted his back.

(c)The ball hit him on the forehead.

4.    When man and women are used in general sense, ‘the’ is not used, but in particular case, ‘the’ is used.

Man is a social animal.

Women are worshipped in civilized societies.

5.    When we mean human nature by the word ‘nature’, we can use ‘the’. But when we mean the world of vegetation, mountains, fields, and all the creatures associated with nature, ‘the’ is not used.

·       William Wordsworth was a great worshipper of Nature.

·       The nature of Mr. Khanna is very good.

6.    In front of languages, we do not use ‘the’, but in front of nationalities, we use ‘the’.

·       The French speak French.

·       The English speak English.

7.    We do not use articles the in front of some places or buildings if the speaker uses them for their basic purposes.

Such buildings and places are school, hospital, church, temple, mosque, office, market, etc.

For example, a school is built for the purpose of imparting education. If the speaker goes to school as a student, he/she cannot use ‘the before it.

(i)               I did not go to school yesterday.

(ii)             At what time do you go to office?

(iii)           I went to hospital yesterday.

(iv)          I often go to market in the evening.

(v)            She goes to church every day.

(vi)          I go to bed at 10 p. m. daily.

(vii)        His son went to sea 10 years ago and has not returned yet. (as a sailor or an employee at a ship)

But, ‘the’ can be used when these places are visited for not their basic or primary purposes.  (i) I went to the hospital to see a patient yesterday. (ii) She goes to the hospital to distribute medicines and fruit to the poor patients. (iii)  We go to the sea daily in the evening. (for strolling on the sea beach)

 

Exercises on the use of articles:

Exercise 1. Use (a) an (b) the (c) a (d) x

1.    His father is ...........businessman.

2.    I met ................ old friend of mine yesterday.

3.    .........Shivalik hills are near Chandigarh.

4.    .........Mount Abu is in Rajasthan.

5.    His brother is ...........idealist.

6.    Rajjaq is .................heir to the property of his father.

7.    I took a patient to ............. hospital yesterday.

8.    He loves playing ................... cricket.

9.    Usually I go to ...................bed at 10 p.m.

10.     He went to............sea when he was just of 17.

11.     In our country,  .......... poor are becoming poorer and ............. rich are becoming richer day by day.

12.     I bought ........... necklace, ............... umbrella and some fruit from ............ market yesterday

13.     He threw .................. ball which hit ................ man who was coming from ............ opposite direction.

14.     East or west, home is .............. best.

15.     Atul is ................ most intelligent boy in his class.

Exercise2.

I went to .....1..... village yesterday. It is 10 km from here. I reached ....2....... bus stand to catch .......3....... bus. While walking, I found some children playing near ......4..... bye-pass road. One of them picked up....5..... stone and threw towards ......6......bus  coming from Ambala.   .......7..... stone hit ......8......passenger who was looking out of .....9....window.    ........10.......head of .....11......passengers started bleeding profusely.    ....12........conductor of ......13.........bus whistled at once to stop ...14..... bus. It was stopped in no time. Some passengers got down of ...15.....bus and ran towards ......16.......children who also had already started running as they had seen ....17....... bus stopping and ......18..... passengers coming towards them.