ENGLISH GRAMMAR WITHOUT TEARS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR WITHOUT TEARS

ENGLISH GRAMMAR WITHOUT TEARS By VISHWANATHAN NAIR M.A. (English) Diploma in Journalism Cochin, Kerala CHANDRIKA A M.A. (English), M.Ed., P.G. Diploma in Journalism English Teacher in S.N. Higher Sec. School Cochin, Kerala UNIVERSITY SCIENCE PRESS (An Imprint of Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd.) BANGALORE CHENNAI COCHIN GUWAHATI HYDERABAD JALANDHAR KOLKATA LUCKNOW MUMBAI PATNA RANCHI NEW DELHI

Copyright 2011 by Laxmi Publications Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved with the Publishers. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by : UNIVERSITY SCIENCE PRESS (An Imprint of Laxmi Publications (P) Ltd.) 113, Golden House, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 Phone : 011-43 53 25 00 Fax : 011-43 53 25 28 www.laxmipublications.com info@laxmipublications.com Price : ` 325.00 Only. First Edition : 2012 OFFICES Bangalore 080-26 75 69 30 Kolkata 033-22 27 43 84 Chennai 044-24 34 47 26 Lucknow 0522-220 99 16 Cochin 0484-237 70 04, 405 13 03 Mumbai 022-24 91 54 15, 24 92 78 69 Guwahati 0361-251 36 69, 251 38 81 Patna 0612-230 00 97 Hyderabad 040-24 65 23 33 Ranchi 0651-220 4464 Jalandhar 0181-222 12 72 UEG-9642-325-ENG GRAMM WITHOUT TEARS-NAI Typeset at : Goswami Associates, Delhi. C 2429/010/11 Printed at : Print Opack, Delhi.

CONTENTS 1. Parts of Speech... 1 1.1 Noun... 1 1.2 Pronoun... 2 1.3 Adjective... 2 1.4 Verb... 2 1.5 Adverb... 3 1.6 Preposition... 3 1.7 Conjunction... 3 1.8 Interjection... 4 2. Sentences, Phrases and Clauses, Subject and Predicate... 5 2.1 The Sentence... 5 2.2 Sentence Elements... 5 2.3 Kinds of Sentences... 6 2.4 Subject and Predicate... 9 2.5 Phrases and Clauses... 9 2.6 Classification of Phrases... 10 2.7 Clauses... 12 2.8 Different Kinds of Clauses... 12 2.9 The Adverb Clause... 12 2.10 The Adjective Clause... 16 2.11 The Noun Clause... 19 3. The Noun... 23 3.1 Proper Noun... 23 3.2 Common Noun... 24 3.3 Collective Noun or Group Noun... 24 (v)

(vi) 3.4 Mass Nouns or Non-Count Nouns... 25 3.5 Material Noun... 28 3.6 Abstract Noun... 28 3.7 The Noun-Gender... 29 3.8 The Noun-Case... 32 3.9 The Noun-Number... 37 4. The Pronoun... 54 4.1 Personal Pronouns... 54 4.2 Reflexive Pronouns or Compound Personal Pronouns... 59 4.3 Relative Pronouns... 61 4.4 Reciprocal Pronouns... 70 4.5 Distributive Pronouns... 71 4.6 Demonstrative Pronouns... 72 4.7 Indefinite Pronouns... 73 4.8 Compound Pronouns... 74 4.9 Interrogative Pronouns... 74 4.10 Exclamatory Pronouns... 77 5. The Verb... 78 5.1 Finite and Non-Finite Forms of Verbs... 79 5.2 Modal Auxiliaries or Modals:... 82 5.3 Defective Verbs... 85 5.4 Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs... 89 5.5 Dynamic Verbs and Static Verbs... 90 5.6 Conjugation of Verbs... 92 5.7 Transitive Verbs Used as Intransitive... 95 5.8 Intransitive Verbs Used as Transitive... 97 5.9 Strong and Weak Verbs... 99 5.10 Mood... 101 5.11 Non-finite Verbs... 106 5.12 The Infinitive... 106 5.13 The Participle or Verbal Adjective... 116 5.14 The Gerund (Verbal Noun)... 118 6. Agreement of the Verb with the Subject... 137

(vii) 7. The Adjective... 144 7.1 Kinds of Adjectives... 144 7.2 Uses of Adjectives... 148 7.3 Position of Adjectives... 151 7.4 Comparison of Adjectives... 152 7.5 Adjectives Used as Nouns... 156 8. The Adverb... 161 8.1 Simple Adverbs... 163 8.2 Interrogative Adverbs... 165 8.3 Relative Adverbs... 166 8.4 Sentence Adverbials... 168 8.5 Comparison of Adverbs... 177 9. Prepositions... 182 9.1 Positions of Prepositions... 183 9.2 Kinds of Prepositions... 183 9.3 Relations Denoted by Prepositions... 186 9.4 Use of Some Important Prepositions... 189 9.5 Prepositions Used with Transitive and Intransitive Verbs... 209 9.6 Omission of Prepositions... 210 9.7 Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases... 211 10.Conjunctions... 214 10.1 Coordinating (Co-ordinating) Conjunctions... 215 10.2 Subordinating Conjunctions... 217 10.3 Correlative Conjunctions... 219 10.4 Compound Conjunctions... 220 10.5 Correct use of Some Important Conjunctions... 221 11. Tenses... 237 11.1 The Present Tense... 239 11.2 The Past Tense... 249 11.3 The Future Tense... 255 12.The Sequence of Tenses... 267 12.1 Tense and Events (General)... 267 12.2 Sequence of Tenses... 268

(viii) 13.Degrees of Comparison... 271 13.1 Comparison of Adjectives or Adverbs... 271 13.2 Interchange of Degrees of Comparison... 274 14. Transformation of Simple, Complex, Compound and Multiple Sentences... 282 14.1 Transformation of Sentences... 282 14.2 Simple, Complex, Compound and Multiple Sentences... 285 15.Active and Passive Voice... 290 16.Direct and Indirect Speech... 303 16.1 Conversion of Statements into Indirect Speech or Narration... 309 16.2 Conversion of Questions into Indirect Speech... 311 16.3 Conversion of Imperatives [Commands and Requests] into Indirect Speech... 313 16.4 Conversion of Exclamations into Indirect Speech... 314 17.Articles... 320 18.Punctuation... 352 19.Question Tags or Tag Questions... 363 20.Comprehension... 370 20.1 Comprehension Exercise... 370 21. Precis-writing... 381 21.1 Specimen... 382 21.2 Functions of Democracy... 382 22.Indianism... 386 22.1 Common Mistakes Committed by Indian Speakers in English... 386 23.Words Confused and Misused... 390 24.Miscellaneous... 417 24.1 Difference between FAIRLY and RATHER... 420 25.Corrections... 434 25.1 Miscellaneous Corrections... 434

(ix) 26.Story Writing... 448 26.1 Complete Story... 449 26.2 Complete Story... 449 27.Letter Writing... 451 27.1 General Form of A letter... 451 27.2 The Superscription... 455 27.3 Informal Letters/ Personal Letters... 464

FOREWORD With books on grammar flooding the literary market, one more might seem a superfluity. Mr. Viswanathan Nair s book, however, is unique in every respect, refreshingly different from the lot. Most of the books deal either traditional or modern grammar. Though not overtly stated, one can watch the path English grammar has trodden from the beginning to date. The advocates of Modern Grammar are inclined to scoff at Traditional Grammarians with statements like The Adverb is a literary ragbag into which words that cannot be classified are thrown. Just as T.S. Eliot requires every new aspirating poet to have an awareness of the history of poetry from Homer to the present day, Sri Nair has conclusively established that English Grammar is an overflowing stream and that Modern Grammar is a supplement to and not a substitute for Traditional Grammar. An outstanding characteristic of the author is that he has given us the proper term for every grammatical feature. Further they are also profusely illustrated (Mr. Nair is allergic to terms like etc., so on which writers usually employ when their stock is exhausted) with examples drawn from all fields of life which make enjoyable reading as if one is perusing a novel. I consider this book by a grammatical savant a monumental work which will be cherished by all lovers of the English language. Prof. N. Madhukar Rao Retd. Professor of English Maharaja s College, Ernakulam. (x)

PREFACE This book has been written with a view to providing a simple grammar book for all those who want to learn English, the language used world over. It does not claim any originality excepting for its highly user - friendly treatment of the subject. Written in simple language with numerous examples, this book, it is hoped, will amply help the readers understand the essentials of English Grammar with ease and without the help of a master. We greatfully acknowledge our deep indebtness to Prof.N.Madhukar Rao, Rtd.Prof.of English, Maharaja s College, Ernakulam for his valuable advice and guidance in the preparation of this book. Authors (xi)

Chapter 1 PARTS OF SPEECH According to their use, words are classified into different kinds called parts of speech. They are eight in number: 1. Noun 5. Adverb 2. Adjective 6. Preposition 3. Pronoun 7. Conjunction 4. Verb 8. Interjection Since a word may belong to different parts of speech it is easy to identify the part/s of speech to which it belongs if we see that word in a sentence. Smell the flower. (Here the word smell is a verb) The flower has sweet smell. (Here the word smell is a noun) Thus the word smell is verb in the first sentence and noun in the second. 1.1 NOUN A word used for naming anything is called a noun. Raju, bus, smell, student, policy, rose, skin, anger, car, colour, white, red, man, beauty, honesty, danger, Mumbai, etc. Raju is a student. He went by bus. Honesty is the best policy. The rose has sweet smell. Beauty is skin deep. Red indicates danger. 1

2 ENGLISH GRAMMAR WITHOUT TEARS 1.2 PRONOUN A word that is used instead of a noun is called a pronoun. he, she, it, they, that, me, them, etc. Raju is a good boy. He is very hard working. (Here, the word He stands for the noun Raju. Hence it is a pronoun.) I am a student. (Here I is a pronoun which stands for the speaker) We are students. ( We stands for the speaker/s.) This is Helen. She is my neighbour. ( She -pronoun standing for the noun Helen.) Raju, Ram and Sita are students. They are friends. ( They - pronoun standing for the nouns Raju, Ram and Sita.) We eat egg because it is good for health. ( it -pronoun standing for the noun egg.) 1.3 ADJECTIVE A word used to qualify a noun or pronoun is called an adjective. (It adds something to the meaning of a noun or pronoun) The rose is a beautiful flower. (The adjective beautiful describes or qualifies the noun flower. It tells us what kind of flower it is.) Sita is smart. She is intelligent too. In the above examples the words beautiful, smart and intelligent qualify (add to the meaning of) the nouns Rose and Sita, and the pronoun she respectively and hence they are adjectives. 1.4 VERB A word used to express an action, an event, or a state is called a verb. Ramu slept in the class. (The word slept expresses an action) He happened to fall. (The word happened expresses an event.) Water exists in three forms. (The word exists expresses a state) Note. The predicate of a sentence must be a verb or it must at least contain a verb.

PARTS OF SPEECH 3 1.5 ADVERB A word used to modify or describe (add something to the meaning of) a verb, an adjective or another adverb is called an adverb. Ramu did his work efficiently. ( Here efficiently modifies or describes the verb did. Hence the word efficiently is an adverb.) Ramu is a very efficient worker. ( very is an adverb as it modifies or describes the adjective efficient.) Ramu did his work very efficiently. (The word very further modifies or describes the adverb efficiently and hence is an adverb.) 1.6 PREPOSITION A word used with a noun or pronoun to indicate the relation of the noun or the pronoun with something else. Preposition means pre (before) + position as it is placed before a noun or a pronoun which is the object of the sentence. (At, about, after, before, in, on, for, to, since, etc are some of the commonly used prepositions.) The book is on the table. (The word on shows the relation between the book and the table and hence it is a preposition. The sentence without the preposition on is meaningless.) The box is under the seat. (The word under shows the relation between the box and the seat and hence it is a preposition. ) He has gone to Delhi. (Here the preposition to indicates the connection between He has gone and the proper noun Delhi ) 1.7 CONJUNCTION A word used to join words, phrases or clauses together is called a conjunction. and, but, as, etc are conjunctions. She is clever and attractive. (joining two words) Ramu is clever, but he is honest. (joining two clauses) As he was ill, he could not attend the class. They greeted her with big applause and full of energy. (joining two phrases)