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ENGLISH GRAMMAR
WITHOUT TEARS
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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.)
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MUMBAI
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KOLKATA
RANCHI l NEW DELHI
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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.
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CONTENTS
1. Parts of Speech .................................................................................................. 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
1.8
Noun ........................................................................................................................................ 1
Pronoun .................................................................................................................................. 2
Adjective ................................................................................................................................. 2
Verb ......................................................................................................................................... 2
Adverb .................................................................................................................................... 3
Preposition ............................................................................................................................. 3
Conjunction ............................................................................................................................ 3
Interjection .............................................................................................................................. 4
2. Sentences, Phrases and Clauses, Subject and Predicate ..................................... 5
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
The Sentence .......................................................................................................................... 5
Sentence Elements ................................................................................................................. 5
Kinds of Sentences ................................................................................................................ 6
Subject and Predicate ............................................................................................................ 9
Phrases and Clauses.............................................................................................................. 9
Classification of Phrases ..................................................................................................... 10
Clauses .................................................................................................................................. 12
Different Kinds of Clauses ................................................................................................. 12
The Adverb Clause ............................................................................................................. 12
The Adjective Clause .......................................................................................................... 16
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
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
Mass Nouns or Non-Count Nouns .................................................................................. 25
Material Noun ...................................................................................................................... 28
Abstract Noun ..................................................................................................................... 28
The Noun-Gender ............................................................................................................... 29
The Noun-Case .................................................................................................................... 32
The Noun-Number ............................................................................................................. 37
4. The Pronoun .................................................................................................... 54
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
4.10
Personal Pronouns .............................................................................................................. 54
Reflexive Pronouns or Compound Personal Pronouns ................................................ 59
Relative Pronouns ............................................................................................................... 61
Reciprocal Pronouns ........................................................................................................... 70
Distributive Pronouns ........................................................................................................ 71
Demonstrative Pronouns ................................................................................................... 72
Indefinite Pronouns ............................................................................................................ 73
Compound Pronouns ......................................................................................................... 74
Interrogative Pronouns ...................................................................................................... 74
Exclamatory Pronouns ....................................................................................................... 77
5. The Verb .......................................................................................................... 78
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.10
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
Finite and Non-Finite Forms of Verbs ............................................................................. 79
Modal Auxiliaries or Modals: ........................................................................................... 82
Defective Verbs .................................................................................................................... 85
Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs .................................................................................. 89
Dynamic Verbs and Static Verbs ...................................................................................... 90
Conjugation of Verbs .......................................................................................................... 92
Transitive Verbs Used as Intransitive .............................................................................. 95
Intransitive Verbs Used as Transitive .............................................................................. 97
Strong and Weak Verbs ...................................................................................................... 99
Mood ................................................................................................................................... 101
Non-finite Verbs ................................................................................................................ 106
The Infinitive ...................................................................................................................... 106
The Participle or Verbal Adjective ................................................................................. 116
The Gerund (Verbal Noun) ............................................................................................. 118
6. Agreement of the Verb with the Subject ......................................................... 137
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(vii)
7. The Adjective ................................................................................................. 144
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
Kinds of Adjectives ........................................................................................................... 144
Uses of Adjectives ............................................................................................................. 148
Position of Adjectives ....................................................................................................... 151
Comparison of Adjectives ................................................................................................ 152
Adjectives Used as Nouns ............................................................................................... 156
8. The Adverb .................................................................................................... 161
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
Simple Adverbs ................................................................................................................. 163
Interrogative Adverbs ...................................................................................................... 165
Relative Adverbs ............................................................................................................... 166
Sentence Adverbials.......................................................................................................... 168
Comparison of Adverbs ................................................................................................... 177
9. Prepositions .................................................................................................. 182
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
Positions of Prepositions .................................................................................................. 183
Kinds of Prepositions ....................................................................................................... 183
Relations Denoted by Prepositions ................................................................................ 186
Use of Some Important Prepositions ............................................................................. 189
Prepositions Used with Transitive and Intransitive Verbs ........................................ 209
Omission of Prepositions ................................................................................................. 210
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases ........................................................................ 211
10. Conjunctions ................................................................................................. 214
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
Coordinating (Co-ordinating) Conjunctions ................................................................ 215
Subordinating Conjunctions ............................................................................................ 217
Correlative Conjunctions ................................................................................................. 219
Compound Conjunctions ................................................................................................. 220
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
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(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
16.2
16.3
16.4
Conversion of Statements into Indirect Speech or Narration .................................... 309
Conversion of Questions into Indirect Speech ............................................................. 311
Conversion of Imperatives [Commands and Requests] into Indirect Speech ........ 313
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
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(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
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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)
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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)
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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.
For Example:
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.
For Example:
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
1.2
ENGLISH GRAMMAR W ITHOUT TEARS
PRONOUN
A word that is used instead of a noun is called a pronoun.
For Example:
he, she, it, they, that, me, them, etc.
For Example:
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.
1.3
(‘it’-pronoun standing for the noun egg.)
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)
For Example:
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.
For Example:
Ramu slept in the class.
He happened to fall.
Water exists in three forms.
(The word ‘slept’ expresses an action)
(The word ‘happened’ expresses an event.)
(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
1.5
OF
SPEECH
3
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.
For Example:
Ramu did his work efficiently.
1.6
( 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.)
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.)
For Example:
The book is on the table.
The box is under the seat.
He has gone to Delhi.
1.7
(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 word ‘under’ shows the relation between the box and
the seat and hence it is a preposition. )
(Here the preposition ‘to’ indicates the connection between
‘He has gone’ and the proper noun ‘Delhi’)
CONJUNCTION
A word used to join words, phrases or clauses together is called a conjunction.
For Example:
and, but, as, etc are conjunctions.
For Example:
She is clever and attractive.
Ramu is clever, but he is honest.
(joining two words)
(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)