Tenses

Topic-1 Concepts Covered   Indefinite Continuous, Perfect and Perfect continuous forms of
Present Past & Future Tense and their Usage

Revision Notes
 Present tense :
1. Indefinite (Simple) Tense
Henceforth
MV- Main verb
HV- Helping verb
Usage :
(i) Habitual actions : He gets up early in the morning.
(ii) Scientific facts : Water boils at 100 centigrade.
(iii) Universal facts/General truth : The sun rises in the east.
Keywords : daily, never, always etc.
Verb :
MV- I form (Plural Subject), I form+ e/es(Singular Subject)- Affirmative sentences.
HV- Do (Plural Subject)/Does (Singular Subject)-Negative & Interrogative.
Sentences
NB- No ‘s/es’ with ‘do/does’
2. Continuous (Progressive, Imperfect) Tense
Usage :
(i) Action taking place at the time of speaking.
l I am teaching ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by S.T. Coleridge at present.
(ii) Action continued over a period of time in the present.
l I am working on a science project nowadays.
Keywords : nowadays, at present, these days etc.
Verb :
MV- I form + ing
HV- is, am, are
3. Present Perfect Tense
Usage :
Just completed action.
l I have completed my homework just now.
Keywords : Recently, Just now
Verb :
MV- III form
HV- Has (Singular Subject)/ Have (Plural Subject)
4. Perfect Continuous Tense
Usage :
Action started somewhere in the past but being done now.
Example
l I have been living in Baroda for the last two years.
l She has been studying in this school for two years.
Keywords : Since, for
Verb :
MV- I form + ing
HV- Has been (Singular Subject)/ have been (Plural Subject)
Since- Point of time
For- Period of time
 Past Tense :
1. Past Indefinite (Simple) Tense
Usage :
Action done in remote past.
Example
 l I went to Mathura yesterday.
l I did not go to Mathura yesterday.
Keywords : - yesterday, last, etc.
Verb :
MV- II form (Affirmative sentences)
HV- Did
NB- 1-HV ‘did‘ is used in negative & interrogative sentences.
2. With HV ‘did‘, I form of MV.
2. Past Continuous Tense
Usage :
An action done progressively in the past.
Example
l He was working on a project, when I last visited him.
Keywords : those days, etc.
Verb :
MV-I form + ing
HV- was, were
3. Past Perfect Tense
Usage :
An action completed in the past before a said time or another action.
l The patient had died before the doctor came.
Keywords : before, when, as soon as etc.
Verb :
MV- III form (earlier past) & II form (Past)
HV- had (earlier past)
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Usage :
An action being done continuously for the said period in the past.
She had been reading for two hours when I reached her house.
Keywords : since, for
Verb :
MV- I form + ing
HV- had been
 Future Tense :
1. Future Indefinite (Simple) Tense
Usage :
Refers to simple action which is yet to take place.
I will go to Surat tomorrow.
Keywords : tomorrow, next, coming etc.
Verb :
MV- I form
HV- will, shall (Modals)
NB- 1- 1st Person (I, We) - shall
2nd & 3rd Person (You, He/ She, It, They)-will
2. Future Continuous Tense
Usage :
A progressive future action.
At this time tomorrow, she will be doing her homework.
Keywords : tomorrow at this time etc.
Verb :
MV- I form + ing
HV- will, shall (Modals) + be
3. Future Perfect Tense
Usage :
Refers to an action which will be completed at the said time in future.
e.g., I will have prepared supporting material by Saturday.
Keywords : after, by, etc.
Verb :
MV- III form
HV- will, shall (Modals) + have
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Usage :
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An action which will begin before a definite time in the future and will just end up at that time or may continue
even after that.
When I reach my school at 08:30 a.m. tomorrow, the teacher will have been giving remedial classes.
Keywords : - Since, for, after three years, etc.
Verb :
MV- I form + ing
HV- will, shall (modals) + have been
 Future Time Reference
1. By using – will/shall
l I‘ll go to Agra tomorrow.
2. By using – Simple present tense
l What time does the match begin?
3. By using – Present Continuous tense
l The PM is leaving for America next week.
4. By using – Going to :
l I am going to take bath.
5. By using – about to :
l The train is about to come.

Modals
Topic-2 Concepts Covered   odal Auxiliaries - can, could, May, might, will, shall, should, ought
M
to, must have to used to.

Revision Notes
Modals are the auxiliaries that are used to convey special idea.
Modal Verbs Function/Idea conveyed
(a) Can …………… Ability, Permission (informal)
(b) Could Past of …………… Can
(c) May ………… Possibility, Permission (Formal)
(d) Might Past of …………… May’
(e) Will & Shall …………… To express future time, to express determination, promise and threatening, to make
requests
(f) Should, Ought to ……… Moral obligation, to express advice
(g) Must, have to …………… Social obligation (compulsion), duty, necessity
(h) Used to …………… To express past habit.

Subject-verb Agreement
Topic-3 Concepts Covered  The relationship between the subject and verb; The subject and verb
must agree in two ways; Tense and Number.

Revision Notes
A verb must agree with its subject in number and person, i.e., the verb should be of the same number and person
as the subject.
 Mohan likes sweets.
 Children like sweets.
1. Two or more singular subjects joined by ‘and’ take a plural verb;
 He and his brother were absent.
 Note:
 When two subjects are regarded as representing one idea, then the verb is singular;
 Slow and steady wins the race.
 If two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be singular;
 The poet and philosopher is dead. [Here ‘poet’ and ‘philosopher’ refer to the same person.]
2. If two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ are preceded by ‘each’ or ‘every’, the verb is singular;
 Every man and every woman in the village was terrified.
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3.
Two or more singular subjects connected by ‘or, nor’, either .............. or, neither .............. nor, take a singular
verb;
 Either Ashok or Ranjit is the culprit.
 Note: when one of the nouns or pronouns joined by ‘or, nor’ is in the singular and the other on the plural, the
subject should be placed near the verb;
 John or his brothers are to blame.
4. If two subjects joined by, ‘or, nor’ are of different persons, the verb agrees in person with the subject nearest
to it;
 Either you or he is telling a lie.;
5. If two nouns are joined by ‘with or as well as’ the verb agrees with the first noun, i.e. if the first noun is
singular, the verb must be singular, even if the second noun is plural;
 Raman as well as his friend has won the prize.
6. A collective noun takes a singular or in plural verb according to the sense;
 The jury [=men of the jury] were divided in their opinions.
 The jury [=one body] has elected its leader.
7. ‘Either, neither, each, every one, many a’ must be followed by a verb in the singular;
 Either of the two candidates is suitable.
 Each one of these men is reliable.
8. When a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole, the verb is generally
singular;
 One lakh rupees is a good sum (not are)
9. Similarly, with titles of books and names of sciences
 The Arabian Nights is an interesting book.
10. A relative pronoun always agrees in number and person with its antecedent;
 I am a woman who works (not work) for children’s welfare.
11. Errors of Proximity (nearness):
Often the verb is made to agree in number with a noun near to it instead of its proper subject. This should be
avoided:
 The behaviour of the children was excellent [Here the verb will agree with ‘behaviour’ not children]
 The quality of the mangoes was (not were good.
12. Some sentences begin with ‘there’ or ‘here’. In these sentences the subject comes after the verb and the verb
agrees with the subject;.
 Here is a rabbit.
 There is one girl behind the door.

Determiners
Topic-4 Concepts Covered  Types of determiners: 1. Articles; (i) indefinite Article; (ii) Definite
Article; 2. Demonstratives.; 3. Possessives; 4. Quantifiers; 5. Others;

Revision Notes
What are determiners?
Determiners are the words which are used before nouns to determine or fix their meaning.
Types :
(a) Articles : a, an and the
(b) Demonstrative adjectives : this, that, these, those
(c) Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their
(d) Adjectives (Quantity and Number) : some, any, much, many, all, both, little, few,several, less, one, two, etc.
(e) Others : each, every, next, another, either or neither ....... nor, first, second, etc.

Articles

Definite Indefinite
(The) (a/an)

(a)
(i) Indefinite articles (a/an)
1. Used before singular countable nouns.
2. Represents a class or kind in general.
e.g., - A cow gives us milk.
↓
(Every Cow)
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A - used before singular countable nouns beginning with consonant sound.
[Example- a one-eyed man, a unique place, a European, a university, a mango, etc.
An - used before singular countable nouns beginning with vowel sound.
[Example- an Indian, an hour, an umbrella, an honest boy (mute _ ‘h‘)
(ii) Definite article (the) – used before both countable and uncountable nouns.
Usage :
1. When we talk about something for the second time in the same context or anything qualified by a
phrase.
(i) I met a girl at the gate of the school. The girl was weeping.
(Second time reference)
(First time reference)
(ii) The book which is on the table is mine.

(Phrase)
2. Used before superlatives
She is the tallest girl of the class.
3. Used before the names of water bodies i.e. - rivers, seas, oceans
The Ganges, The Arabian Sea, The Pacific Ocean, etc.
Note : not used before the names of lakes.
e.g., Dal Lake.
4. Used before the names of mountain ranges.
e.g. The Himalayas.
Note : not used before the names of peaks.
e.g., Mount Everest.
5. Used before the names of satellites, planets, stars.
e.g., The moon, the earth, the sun.
6. Used before the names of monuments and memorials.
e.g., The Red Fort, The Taj Mahal.
7. Used before the names of states/countries that have a common noun in their name.
e.g., the USA, the UAE, the UNO, the UK.
8. Used before the names of scriptures.
e.g., The Ramayan, The Quran, The Guru Granth Sahib, The Bible.
9. Used before the names of newspapers, magazines.
e.g., The Times of India, The Competition Success Review, The Reader‘s Digest.
10. Used before an adjective when the noun is understood.
e.g., The poor, the rich (The rich become richer, the poor become poorer).
11. When a proper noun used as a common noun.
(a) Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.
(a great dramatist)
(b) Demonstrative adjectives
This- to demonstrate nearby things
That- to demonstrate far off things
These- plural of ‘this‘
Those- plural of ‘that‘
(c) Possessives
These are used to show belongingness/ownership.
e.g., l This is my book.
l That is his book.

Reported Speech
Topic-5 Concepts Covered  Transformation rules from direct speech to indirect speech while
reporting: (i) statements; (ii) Commands & requests; (iii) Questions

Revision Notes
There are two ways of reporting a speech whether ours or someone else’s.
(i) We may quote the actual words, that is, to report the speech exactly as we had heard or said it without
making any change. This is called Direct Speech.
(ii) We may report what is said, without quoting the exact words or changing their meaning. This is called
Indirect (or Reported) Speech.
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Examples :
Direct — His friend said, “I am going tomorrow.”
Indirect — His friend said that he was going the next day.
It will be seen that in the first example the first part of the sentence which is before the comma, is referred to as
reporting verb and the part which is under inverted commas is called the reported speech.
It will be further noticed that in changing the above Direct Speech into Indirect, certain changes have been
made.
Thus,
(a) We have removed the comma in the indirect sentence and put the conjunction that in its place.
(b) We have removed the inverted commas of the reported speech.
(c) The pronoun ‘I’ of the reported speech has been changed to ‘he’.
(d) The verb am is changed to was.
(e) The adverb tomorrow has been changed to the next day.
Rules for changing Direct Speech into Indirect
1. When the reporting or principle verb is in the Past Tense, all Present tense verbs of the Direct are changed
into the corresponding Past Tense verbs.
Thus,
(a) A simple present becomes a simple past.
l Direct : He said, “ I am quite well.”
Indirect : He said that he was quite well.
(b) A present continuous becomes a past continuous.
l Direct : She said, “My brother is writing a letter.”
Indirect : She said that her brother was writing a letter.
(c) A present perfect becomes a past perfect.
l Direct : Lakshmi said, “I have passed the examination.”
Indirect : Lakshmi said that she had passed the examination.
(d) The will/shall of the Future Tense is changed into would/should
l Direct : The girl said to her friend, “I will write a letter.”
Indirect : The girl said to her friend that she would write a letter.
(e) The simple past in the Direct becomes the Past perfect in the Indirect.
l Direct : Doctor said, “The patient died in the night.”
Indirect : Doctor said that the patient had died in the night.
2. If the reporting verb i.e. the main verb in the reporting speech is in the Present or the Future Tense, the
tense of the verbs in the reported speech will not change.
l Direct : The girl says, “I may not sing today.”
Indirect : The girl says that she may not sing that day.
l Direct : Rahim will say, “I have not done my work.”
Indirect : Rahim will say that he has not done his work.
Exception :
1. If the reported speech contains some universal truth or habitual fact, the tense of the verb does not change
even if the reporting verb is in the past tense.
l Direct : The teacher said to the students, “The earth is round.”
Indirect : The teacher said to the students that the earth is round.
2. When two actions occur at the same time in the past, no change in the tense of the verb in the reported
speech is made.
l Direct : He said, “I cried out when I saw the thief coming.”
Indirect : He said that he cried out when he saw the thief coming.
3. Words expressing nearness in time or place are generally changed into words expressing distance. Thus:-
Today becomes that day
Tomorrow becomes the next day
Yesterday becomes the previous
day /the day
before
Now becomes then
Here becomes there
Ago becomes before
Last night becomes the previous
night
This becomes that
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l Direct : He said, “I am glad to be here this evening.”
Indirect : He said that he was glad to be there that evening.
The changes do not occur if the speech is reported during the same period or at the place; e.g.,
l Direct : He says, “I am glad to be here this evening.”
Indirect : He says that he is glad to be here this evening.
4. Change of person : The persons of the pronouns and the verbs in the reported speech undergo changes
when converted into indirect form.
Thus,
(a) First person pronouns in the direct speech change according to the subject of the reporting verb.
l Direct : He says, “I am going to Delhi.”
Indirect : He says that he is going to Delhi.
(b) Second person pronouns change according to the noun or pronoun coming after the reporting verb.
l Direct : I said to Mohan, “You will have to read.”
Indirect : I said to Mohan that he would have to read.
(c) Third person pronouns of the direct speech remain unchanged when converted to indirect.
l Direct : Rita said to me, “He will be defeated.”
Indirect : Rita said to me that he would be defeated.
5. Questions :
In reporting questions the indirect speech is introduced by verbs such as, asked, inquired, etc. When the
question is not introduced by an interrogative word, the reporting verb is followed by whether or if.
l Direct : He said to me, “What are you doing”?
Indirect : He asked me what I was doing.
l Direct : “Where do you live?”, asked the stranger.
Indirect : The stranger enquired where I lived.
l Direct : He said, “Will you listen to such a man?”
Indirect : He asked them whether they would listen to such a man.

6. Commands and Requests :

In reporting commands and requests, the Indirect
Speech is introduced by some verb expressing command or request, and the imperative mood is changed into
Infinitive.
l Direct : Ganguly said to Mahmood. “Go
away.”
Indirect : Ganguly ordered Mahmood to go
away.
l Direct : The Principal said to the visitor,
“Please wait here till I return.”
Indirect : The Principal requested the visitor
to wait there till he returned.
l Direct : He said to the students, “Don’t make
a noise.”
Indirect : He forbade the students to make
noise.
7. Exclamation and Wishes :
In reporting exclamations and wishes, the indirect
speech is introduced by some verb expressing
exclamation or wish.
l Direct : He said, “Alas! I am ruined.”
Indirect : He exclaimed sadly that he was
ruined.
l Direct : He said, “Bravo! You have done
well.”
Indirect : He applauded him saying that he
had done well.
8. Said to :
If the reporting verb ‘said to’ is followed by
an object, it is changed into ‘told’ while converting
it into indirect speech.
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l Direct : He said to me, “ There is no more
water.”
Indirect : He told me that there was no more
water.
l Direct : He said to me, “You are getting lazy.”
Indirect : He told me that I was getting lazy.
‘Said to’ is not always changed into ‘told’. It can also be changed into replied, stated, informed, remarked,
etc., depending on the nature of the sentence.
9. Must and need not :
(a) In some cases these two are used in place of have to.
l Direct : He said, “I must go now.”
Indirect : He said that he had to go then.
l Direct : He said, “I need not go.”
Indirect : He said that he would not have to go.
(b) ‘Must’ is used in place of ‘should/would, have to’ when it expresses necessity or compulsion.
l Direct : He said, “I must finish this book on Monday.”
Indirect : He said that he would have to finish that book on Monday.
Note : But in some sentences when ‘must’
indicates some kind of advice or suggestion, in
those sentences ‘must’ remains ‘must’.

7. Statements
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech),
but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported
speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question
or request.
When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:
l pronouns
l present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
l place and time expressions
l tenses (backshift)

Type Example
Direct speech “I speak English.”
Reported speech (no backshift) He says that he speaks English.
Reported speech (backshift) He says that he spoke English.

8. Questions
When transforming questions, check whether you have to change:
l pronouns
l present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
l place and time expressions
l tenses (backshift)
Also note that you have to:
l transform the question into an indirect question
l use the interrogative or if / whether

Type Example
Direct speech “Why don’t you speak English?”
With interrogative
Reported speech He asked me why I didn’t speak English.
Direct speech “Do you speak English?”
Without interrogative
Reported speech He asked me whether/ if I spoke English.