ENGLISH GRAMMAR

SESSION OBJECTIVES
• To understand the different parts of
speech.
• To explain various common errors in
the sentences.
• To understand different types of
tenses.
PARTS OF SPEECH
All the words of English language are
divided into different classes according
to their function, meaning, and use.
These are classified under eight
categories as mentioned below :

1. Nouns 5. Adverbs
2. Pronouns 6.
Prepositions
3. Adjectives 7.
Conjunctions
4. Verbs 8.
Interjections
 NOUNS
• A noun is the name of a person,
place, thing, or idea. Whatever
exists, we assume, can be named,
and that name is a noun.
Types of nouns-
• PROPER NOUNS
• COMMON NOUNS
• PROPER NOUN- A proper noun is the
name of a specific person, place or
thing. E.g., Shweta, Lucknow.
• COMMON NOUN- A common noun is the
name of a class or group. The following
are the sub-categories of common noun
:
(i) Abstract Nouns
(ii) Concrete Nouns
(iii) Collective Nouns
(iv) Verbal Nouns
ABSTRACT NOUN- Noun which have
intangible qualities are abstract
nouns. E.g., passion, love, liberty,
wisdom.
CONCRETE NOUN- Noun which have
tangible qualities are concrete
nouns.
E.g., bags, pens, cars.
COLLECTIVE NOUN- Noun refers to a
collection or group of things.
• Eg-
• 1. Many child-care workers are
underpaid.
• 2. Many people dread Monday
• mornings.
• 3. The flock of geese spends
most
of its time in the pasture.
• VERBAL NOUNS- Verbal nouns
which have the form of a
participle or an infinitive.
E.g., teaching is a science; to
teach requires skill.
PRONOUN

• We may say-
• Hari is absent, because Hari is ill.
• But it is better to avoid the repetition of
the Noun Hari, and say
• Hari is absent, because he is ill.
Def- A word that is thus used instead of a
noun is called a Pronoun
• Read the following sentences :-
• I am young
• You are Young
• He (she, it) is young
• We are young
• They are young
I, we, you, he, (she, it), they are called
Personal pronouns because they stand for
the three persons:
(a) the person speaking
(b) the person spoken to
(c ) the person spoken of
PRONOUN CAN BE
CLASSIFIED AS:
PERSONAL PRONOUN-
• used as subjects: I, you, he, she, it, we,
you, they.
• Used as objects: These are of two types-
(a) DIRECT: Me, you, him, her, it,
us, them.
(b) INDIRECT: To me, To you,
To him.
LOOK AT THE CHART WITH THESE
WORDS:

SUBJECT OBJECT PRONOUNS

PRONOUNS
I Love to eat it.
you Will meet me.
he May visit us.
she Will not tell them.
it May happen to us.
we Can we help them?
they Will not listen to us.
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: These are called
indefinite pronouns because they do not
point to any definite person, place or thing.
Their antecedents are either vague or
unknown.
Eg: Every Day they come.
We want some chairs.
Few students were present.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS: These are
used to ask questions.
Eg: Who has the pen?
Where are the glasses?
ADJECTIVES
• Adjectives are words that describe or modify another
person or thing in the sentence.
• Adjectives inform about the qualities and features of
people, things or concepts (big, strong, beautiful,
sensitive) and can be considered as an added intensifier
or even "decoration" to the required basic sentence
elements, adding variety and liveliness.

Adjectives can also be expanded into adjective clauses,

which function similarly. In the following examples, the
adjectives are underlined and the nouns or pronouns
they modify are in bold.
EXAMPLES-

• the tall professor

• a solid commitment
• a month's pay
• a six-year-old child
• the unhappiest, richest man
VERBS
• Verbs carry the idea of being or action in
the sentence.
• EXAMPLES-
• 1. The truck demolished the restaurant.
• 2. The leaves were yellow and sickly.
• 3. I am a student.
• 4. The students passed all their courses.
ADVERBS
• Adverbs are words that modify a verb

Eg: He drove slowly. — How did he drive?

She moved quite slowly down the aisle. —

How slowly did she move?
The new typist works quickly and well.
[the adverbs quickly and well modify the verb
works]

The new typist is extremely busy.

[the adverb extremely modifies the adjective
busy]

The new typist works very quickly.

[the adverb very modifies the adverb quickly]

Fortunately, the new typist works well.

[the adverb fortunately modifies the sentence
the new typist works well]
Eg-

• The boldly spoken words would

return to haunt the rebel.
• Unfortunately, the bank closed
at three today.
PREPOSITIONS
• A preposition links nouns, pronouns
and phrases to other words in a
sentence. The word or phrase that
the preposition introduces is called
the object of the preposition.
Eg:
– The book is on the table.
– The book is beneath the table.
– The book is leaning against the
table.
– The book is beside the table.
– She held the book over the table.
– She read the book during class.
• Prepositions are normally used :
Position - Examples

Before a question To whom are you talking

Before a noun or pronoun He is afraid of death.

Before a gerund I am tired of doing the same

thing over and over again.

After a verb He is looking for his notebook.

CONJUNCTIONS

• You can use a conjunction to link

words, phrases, and clauses, as in
the following example:
– I ate the pizza and the pasta.
– Call the movers when you are ready.
– She came late because she missed her
bus.
• CONJUNCTIONS MAY BE DIVIDED INTO :
(a) Co-ordinate conjunction- connects
elements of similar rank.
Eg: Nitin and Ojha will have to do this.
(b) Subordinate conjunction – connects
elements of dissimilar rank.
Eg: They were here when your parents
came.
(c) Co-relative conjunction – When
conjunctions are used in pairs.
Eg: That is neither your nor mine.
 CONJUNCTION TYPE EXAMPLES
Coordinating Conjunctions and, or, but, so,
or, nor, for, yet
Subordinating Conjunctions because, since,
while, after, if,
although, whether
Correlative Conjunctions not only...but
also, either...or,
neither...nor, both...and
INTERJECTION

• An interjection is a word that

expresses some strong feeling or
emotion.
• Each language has its unique way of
expressing enthusiasm, aversion,
laughter, sorrow, admiration, etc.
• These are used independently of
grammatical relations.
• The main interjections used in English
are :
GOOD!
WELL DONE!
BRAVO !
BEHOLD !
HURRAH! We have won the series.
Parts of speech are the basic
building blocks of the
English language. If you
know the basics, you will
be able to understand your
writing and develop it
further.
ARTICLES
• Articles are short words that may be
found in almost every sentence. They
include “a” and “an”(Indefinite
articles) and “the”(definite articles).
• Use of Indefinite Articles: A and
An
‘A’ is used before-
i) A word beginning with a consonant.
Eg:., a man
a cow
(ii) A syllable with the sound of ‘yu’
Eg., a usage, a European, a dollar note
(iii) A countable noun which is singular in
number. E.g., a transistor, a cot.

Use of ‘An’ :
(i)Words beginning with a vowel
sound ‘h’ which is silent. E.g., an
aircraft, an inkpot, an hour.
(ii) Consonants beginning with the vowel
sound
Eg., an M.P., an M. A
(iii) Countable in singular number.
Eg,. An order.
USE OF “THE”:
‘The’ is used in the following situations :
i) When a particular person or thing is
mentioned that has already been referred to.
Eg., The mobile phone you want has already
been sold.
(ii) Before the superlative forms of
adjectives
Eg:., She is the brightest student in
the
class.
(iii) When special emphasis is made.
Eg:., He is the best student in the
institute.
(iv) Before singular nouns to represent
the whole class.
Eg:., The fox is a cunning animal.
SITUATIONS WHEN
ARTICLES ARE NOT USED
• (i) Before a common noun used in its
widest sense-
Eg: (a) Horse is faithful to its master.
(b) Man is mortal.
(ii) Before plural nouns denoting a class-
Eg: (a) Professors are seldom dishonest.
(iii) Before abstract and material nouns-
Eg: (a) Gold is precious.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
VOICE
• COMPARE: -
 
• Rama helps Hari.
• Hari is helped by Rama.

• It will be seen that these two sentences express the same

meaning.
 
• But in sentence 1, the form of the Verb shows that the person
denoted by the subject does something.
 
• Rama (the person denoted by the subject) does something.

The Verb helps is said to be in the Active Voice.

• In sentence 2, the form of the Verb shows that something

is done to the person denoted by the subject.

• Something is done to Hari (the person denoted by the

Subject).

The verb helped is said to be in the Passive Voice.

 
 Def. – A verb is in the Active Voice when its form shows (as in sentence 1) that the person or thing
• denoted by the Subject does something; or, in other words, is the doer of the action.

The Active Voice is so called because the person denoted by the Subject acts.

Def.: -A
-A Verb is in the Passive Voice when its form shows (as in sentence 2) that something is done
• to the person or thing denoted by the Subject.

The Passive Voice is so called because the person or thing denoted by the Subject is not active but
passive, that is, suffers or receives some action.
 S. No.
Active Voice Passive Voice
1. Sita loves Savitri. Savitri is loved by Sita.
2. The mason is building the The wall is being built by
wall. the mason.
3. The peon opened the gate. The gate was opened by the
peon.
4. Some boys were helping The wounded man was
the wounded man. being helped by some boys.

5. He will finish the work in The work will be finished by

a fortnight. him in a fortnight.
6. Who did this? By whom was this done?
7. Why did your brother Why was such a letter
write such a letter? written by your brother?
MODALS
• A modal is an auxiliary verb used to
express the mood of another verb.
• The mode of action is denoted by the
main verb.
• The modals include the auxiliary verbs
shall, will, should, would, can, could,
may, might, must ought, need etc.
• Example of Modals :
I shall send you an e-mail.
I will complete the work tonight.
I wish you get an award
You ought to join the duty tomorrow.
You may leave the class when you
have completed the assignment.
The project can be profitable.
Presentation on TENSES
WHAT ARE TENSES ?
One of the forms which a verb
takes by adding auxiliary words,
so as to indicate time of the action
or event signified are called
TENSES. The word tense comes
from Latin word tempus, meaning
time.
For example- I shall write another letter
tomorrow.
• Each has a continuous form,
indicating ongoing action
• Each has a prefect form,
indicating completed action.
• Each has a
perfect continuous form,
indicating ongoing action that will
be completed at some definite
time.
Present tense
Present tense expresses an
unchanging, repeated, or
reoccurring action or situation that
exists only now. It can also
represent a widespread truth.
For example-
• The mountains are tall and white.
• Every year, the school council elects new
members.
• Pb is the chemical symbol for lead.
 SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
The simple present tense is used-
1. To express a habitual action
e.g. He drinks tea every morning.
My watch keeps good time.
2. To express general truths
e.g. The sun rises in the east .
The honey is sweet.
3. In exclamatory sentences
beginning with here and there
e.g. Here comes the bus!
There she goes!
4. In vivid narrative, as a
substitute for the Simple past
e.g. Sohrab now rushes forward and deals a
heavy blow to Rustam.
Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital.
5. To express a future event that
is a part of a fixed timetable or
fixed programme
e.g. The next flight is at 7.00 tomorrow morning.
The match starts at 9o’clock.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
The Present Continuous is used-
1. For an action going on at the time
of speaking
e.g. She is singing (now).
The boys are playing hockey.
2. For a temporary action which may
not be actually happening at the
time of speaking
e.g. I am reading ‘David Copperfield’ (but I am not reading
at the moment).
3. For an action that has already been
arranged to take place in near
future
e.g. I am going to cinema tonight.
My uncle is arriving tomorrow.
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
The Present Perfect is used-
1.To indicate completed activities
in the immediate past
e.g. He has just gone out
It has just struck ten.
2. To describe past events whose
time is not given and not definite
e.g. Have you read ‘Gulliver’s Travels’?
I have never known him to be angry.
3. To describe past events when we
think more of their effect in the
present than of the action itself
e.g. Gopi has eaten all the biscuits (i.e., there
aren’t any left for you).
I have cut my finger (and it is bleeding
now).
4. To denote an action beginning at
some time in past and continuing
up to the present moment
e.g. I have known him for a long time.
He has been ill since last week.
 PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS TENSE
THE PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS IS USED FOR AN
ACTION WHICH BEGAN AT SOME
TIME IN THE PAST AND IS STILL
CONTINUING.
e.g. He has been sleeping for five hours (and
is still sleeping).
They have been building the bridge for
several months.
They have been playing since four
o’clock.
 PAST TENSE
Past tense expresses an action or
situation that was started and
finished in the past. Most past
tense verbs end in –ed.
Example-
• W.W.II ended in 1945.
• Ernest Hemmingway wrote "The Old
Man and the Sea."
 SIMPLE PAST TENSE
The simple past tense is used –
1.To indicate an action completed in the
past. It often occurs with adverbs or
adverbs phrases of past time.
e.g. The steamer sailed yesterday.
She left school last year.
2. Sometime this tense is used without an
adverb of time. In such cases the time may
be either implied or indicated by the
context.
e.g. I learnt Hindi in Nagpur.
Babar defeated Rana sanga at Kanwaha.
3. It is also used for past habits
e.g. He studied many hours every day.
She always carried an umbrella.
Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is used
to denote an action going on at
some time in the past. The time of
the action may or may not be
indicated.
e.g. We were listening to radio all evening.
When I saw him, he was playing chess.
It was getting darker.
Past Perfect tense
The past perfect describes an
action completed before a
certain moment in the past.
e.g. I met him in New Delhi in 1996. I had seen
him last five years before.
I had done my exercise when Hari came to
see me.
I had written the letter before he arrived.
Past perfect continuous
tense
The past perfect continuous
tense is used for an action
that began before a certain
point in the past and
continued up to that time.
e.g. At that time he had been writing a
novel for two months.
When Mr. Mukherji came to the school
in 1995, Mr. Anand had already been
teaching there for five years.
FUTURE TENSE
Future tense expresses an action
or situation that will occur in
the future. This tense is formed
by using will/shall with the
simple form of the verb.
Example-
• The speaker of the House will finish her term in
May of 1998
• The surgeon is going to perform the first bypass
in Minnesota
• The president speaks tomorrow.
Simple Future tense
The simple future tense is used –
1. To talk about things which we cannot
control. It expresses the future as fact.
e.g. It will be Diwali in a week.
We will know our exam results in May.
2.To talk about what we think or believe will
happen in the future.
e.g. I think Pakistan will win the match.
I’m sure Helen will get a first class.
3. When we decide to do something at the
time of speaking.
e.g. It is raining. I will take an umbrella.
“Mr. Sinha is very busy at the moment.”- “All right. I’ll
wait.”
Future Continuous
tense
The future continuous tense is used-
1.To talk about actions which will be
in progress at a time in the future.
e.g. This time tomorrow I will be sitting on a
beach in Singapore.
2.To talk about actions in the future
which are already planned or which
are expected to happen in the
normal course of things.
e.g. I will be staying here till Sunday.
The postman will be coming soon.
Future Perfect tense
The future perfect tense is
used to talk about actions
that will be completed by a
certain future time.
e.g. He will have left before you go to
see him.
By the end of this month I will
have worked here for five years.
Future perfect
continuous tense
The future perfect continuous
tense is used for actions which
will be in progress over a period
of time that will end in the
future.
e.g. By next March we shall have been
living here for four years.
I’ll have been teaching for twenty
years next July.
Common errors in
English writing
English is the most widely
spoken language in this world.

Sometimes, while writing,

many errors turns our write-up
to the other way round.
 ERRORS
Errors are the unwanted
mistakes that occur
manually while speaking
as well as writing.
Here, we will discuss some
of the errors that occur
while we write our text.
Following are the errors that
occur while writing
1. Run On Sentences
2. Sentence Fragments
3. Comma Splices
4. Subject Verb Agreements
5. Wrong Pronoun
6. Misspelled Words
7. Spacing And Punctuation
8. Wrong Tense
9. Wrong Preposition
Things That We Should
Avoid While Writing:-
• The use of slangs
• Use abbreviations (unless
appropriately defined)
• The use of symbols (such as
ampersands -&)
• ‘Clichés’ or ‘Stereotypes’ of any kind
– whether they be in terms of words,
phrases or even ideas – should be
avoided, or at the very least, used
with utmost caution
EXAMPLES OF COMMON ERRORS :

Your first mistake is right

over “their”
Three versions-
Their/There/They’re
 Their
Ownership of something
Example
This is Ram and Geeta, and their son
Amar.
 There
Location of something
Example
I parked my car over there, next to that tree
 They’re
Also known as “they are”
Example
Nitin and Rakesh are leaving Ram here, and
then they’re going to dinner.
 Your/ You’re
Example
Thanks for lending me your ipod.
I’ll return it tomorrow
 You’re
You’re means you are
Example
You’re really going to be glad you read this.
 Affect/Effect
A verb versus a noun……
Affect Effect
(Verb) (noun)
Example
Example
The effect of a parent’s low
Your ability to communicateincome on a child’s future is
will affect your income well documented.
intensely.
Insure vs. Ensure
EAMPLE
So you would "ensure people make it to the office on
time" rather than "insure" they get there.
Loose for Lose
Example
I always loose the product key. (No)
I always lose the product key. (Yes)

i.e. for e.g.

Example
Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Adware).
(No)
Use an anti-spyware program (e.g.,Adware).
(Yes)
COMMON MISSPELLINGS
• "alot" → "a lot".
• "it's" → "its".
• "who's" → "whose".
• "todo" → "to do".
• "upto" → "up to".
• "ofcourse" → "of course".
• "allright" or "alright“ → "all right".
• "allways" or "all ways“ → "always".
• "their" → "they're".
"pronounciation" → "pronunciation".
• "arguement" → "argument".
“Perhaps you will forget
tomorrow the kind words
you say today, but the
recipient may cherish
them over a lifetime."
-- Dale Carnegie

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 THANK YOU
Prof. Dr. Madhulika Jha
Director
Amity Institute Of English & Business
Communication
Contact: 9810362914
E-mail: madhulikaj@amity.edu

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