Pedagogical Grammar

ASSIGNMENT 1

PEDAGOGICAL GRAMMAR

SUBMITTED BY: NABEEL RIASAT

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. ALEENA BUKHARI
ROLL NO: S2F18BSEN0029
TOPIC: OBJECT OF PREPOSITION

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL PUNJAB SHEIKHUPURA

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Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
What is Prepositions:.......................................................................................................................3
Examples:....................................................................................................................................3
Object of a Preposition:...............................................................................................................4
Why Should I Care about the Objects of Prepositions?..............................................................4
1. Using whom correctly:..................................................................................................4
2. Making sure your subject and verb agree:.....................................................................4
Modal Verbs:...................................................................................................................................5
Ability:.........................................................................................................................................5
Asking permission:......................................................................................................................6
Request:.......................................................................................................................................6
Suggestion/advice:.......................................................................................................................6
Command:....................................................................................................................................6
Habit:...........................................................................................................................................6
How to use modal verbs?.............................................................................................................7
Direct and Indirect:..........................................................................................................................7
Direct Speech:..............................................................................................................................7
Direct and Indirect Speech in English:........................................................................................8
A. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense.....................................8
B. But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense...........................8

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Introduction:
A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show
direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Some examples
of prepositions are words like "in," "at," "on," "of," and "to." Prepositions in English are highly
idiomatic. Prepositions: Do you know what roads; train tracks or bridges do? They connect
places. That’s what Prepositions do in a sentence: they connect words in a sentence. The words
being connected are usually nouns or pronouns or phrases. Prepositions could be arranged across
a few types according to their functionality: Prepositions of Time, Place, agency, cause, contrast,
source, manner, rate, or possession. According to other logical usage of grammar, they can be
arranged as simple prepositions, compound prepositions, phrasal prepositions, participle
prepositions, or double prepositions. We know it sounds like so many of them. But believe us,
it’s very interesting to know how one preposition can be used in such different ways.

Prepositions often describe the position of something, the time when something happens or the
way in which something is done. The prepositions "of", "to" and "for" have other functions.

Prepositions may sometimes be used to end sentences. For example, "What did you put that there
for?" (Better English is the alternative: "Why did you put that there?"). Another Example is "A
pen is a device to write with" (better English is "A pen is a writing device"). In general, because
they are links, prepositions belong in the middle of sentences, rather than at the end.

What is Prepositions:
A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show
direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. Some examples of
prepositions are words like "in," "at," "on," "of," and "to." Prepositions in English are highly
idiomatic.

A preposition shows where, when or how the action took place in a sentence. Let’s see a few
examples because what explains better than an example:

Examples:
 The glass is on the table.
 Roland is very fond of  ice-cream.
 The mouse jumped off  the table.
 The mother cat divided the food between her two kittens.
 The paper plane flew above the ground.
 Christine danced with Christopher.
 I wake up every day in  the morning at 7:30 am.

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 He will come back from Mumbai in  a week.

As you can see in the above examples, Prepositions usually show the relationship between
the noun, pronouns and other words. Answering questions about where, when and how? Now
the Prepositions are multi-faceted. One can use them in different situations.

Object of a Preposition:
The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun governed by a preposition. The object of a
preposition is usually (but not always) the noun or pronoun to the right of the preposition.

Easy Examples of Object of Preposition:

In the examples, the objects of prepositions are underlined, and the prepositions are in bold;

In silence, Without prejudice, To me, to you,

(Don’t forget that the object of a preposition can be a pronoun.)

Real-Life Examples of Objects of Prepositions:

This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

The ants get in your ears when you are sleeping. (The word your is a modifier.)

Why Should I Care about the Objects of Prepositions?

There are two good reasons to think a little more carefully about the objects of prepositions.

1. Using whom correctly:

When the object of a preposition is a pronoun, it must be in the objective case. This just means
that words like I, he, she, they, and who change to me, him, her, them, and whom when they are
governed by a preposition. Here’s a simple example:

 Go with her. (When it’s the object of a preposition, she changes to her.)

Native speakers almost never get this wrong, unless we’re talking about who and whom.

 You want me to talk to whom? (When it’s the object of a preposition, who changes to
whom.)

2. Making sure your subject and verb agree:

The object of a preposition cannot be the subject of a verb.

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 A box of magazines are under the stairs.

 A box of magazines is under the stairs.

Don’t be fooled by the proximity of the object of the preposition to the verb. You must ensure
the subject (here, box) and the verb agree in number.

Modal Verbs:
Modal verbs show possibility, intent, ability, or necessity. Because they’re a type of auxiliary
verb (helper verb), they’re used together with the main verb of the sentence. Common examples
include can, should, and must. Modal verbs can be tricky, especially when it comes to using
them in a sentence. The good news is that they’re simple once you learn how they work. Below,
we explain everything you need to know to use modal verbs with ease.

Modal verbs are used to express certain hypothetical conditions, such as advice, capability, or
requests (there’s a full list in the next section). They’re used alongside a main verb to change its
meaning slightly. Because they’re auxiliary verbs, they can’t necessarily be used on their own.
(A modal verb should only appear alone if it’s clear from context what the main verb is.)

Consider the difference between these two examples:

I swim every Tuesday.

I can swim every Tuesday.

The first example is a simple factual statement. The speaker participates in a swimming activity
every week on Tuesdays. The second example uses the modal verb can. Notice how the meaning
changes slightly. The speaker does not swim every Tuesday; they’re saying they are capable of
swimming every Tuesday if they need to. It’s hypothetical.

Modal verbs are quite common in English, and you’ve probably seen them hundreds of times
without actually knowing their name. The most frequently used ones are; can, may, might, could,
should, would, will, must etc.

There are more modal verbs, although the ones above are the most common. Some modal verbs
are outdated and rarely used—like shall and ought to—while others are more colloquial—such
as got to, need to, or have to. Some express very specific conditions that don’t come up often,
like dare, for example, “I dare say.” The phrase used to, as in “I used to be an English student,
too,” also behaves like a modal verb. When are modal verbs used? What special conditions do
modal verbs show? Here’s a list of when to use modal verbs, along with examples: Likelihood
Some things seem likely, but we don’t know for sure. In these cases, you can use the modal
verbs should and must to show probability without certainty. Her parents must be so proud.

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Ability:
The modal verb can show whether or not the subject is able to do something, such as perform an
action or demonstrate an ability. Likewise, the negative form, cannot or can’t, shows that the
subject is unable to do something.

 She can speak three languages, but none of them well.

 You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

Asking permission:
If you want to ask permission to do something, start your question with can, may, or could.
Traditionally, in more formal and polite usage, may is better for permission; if you ask “can I go
to the bathroom?” it could be misinterpreted as, “do I have the ability to go to the bathroom?”
(However, in modern usage may and can are both perfectly acceptable options when describing
possibility or permission.)

 May I leave early today?

 Could I play too?

Request:
Similarly, if you want to ask someone else to do something, start your question with will, would,
can, or could.

 Would you get that box off the top shelf?

 Will you turn that music down?

Suggestion/advice:
What if you want to recommend something, but not command it? If you’re giving suggestions or
advice without ordering someone around, you can use the modal verb should.

 You should try the lasagna.

 That guy should wear less cologne.

Command:
On the other hand, if you want to command someone, use the modal verbs must, have to, or need
to.

 You must wash your hands before cooking.

 You need to be here before 8:00.

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Habit:
To show an ongoing or habitual action—something the subject does regularly—you can use the
modal verb would for the past tense and will for the present and future. The phrase used to is also
acceptable if you’re talking about a habit that no longer exists.

 When I lived alone, I would fall asleep with music.

 I will arrive early and leave late to every meeting.

How to use modal verbs?

Luckily, using modal verbs in a sentence is pretty simple. For basic sentences—the simple
present tense—just remember these rules: Modal verbs always come directly before the main
verb (except for questions). With modal verbs, use the infinitive form of the main verb without
“to”. So, if you want to brag about your ability to eat an entire pizza, you take the infinitive form
of “eat” without “to”—which is simply “eat”—and add the modal verb “can” in front of it. The
rest of the sentence continues as normal.

 I can eat an entire pizza.

Direct and Indirect:

Both terms describe a way of recounting something that may have been said – but there is a
subtle difference between them.

Direct speech describes when something is being repeated exactly as it was – usually in between
a pair of inverted commas. For example:

 She told me, “I’ll come home by 10pm.”

Indirect speech will still share the same information – but instead of expressing someone’s
comments or speech by directly repeating them, it involves reporting or describing what was
said. An obvious difference is that with indirect speech, you won’t use inverted commas. For
example:

 She said to me that she would come home by 10pm.

Direct Speech:
Direct speech can be used in virtually every tense in English. You can use it to describe
something in the present tense – to express something that is happening in the present moment,
or make it feel like it is happening right now.

 “While she’s on the phone, she’s saying to him, “I’m never going to talk to you again.”

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You can also use direct speech in the past and future tenses. You’ll often come across direct
speech in the past tense to describe something that has already happened. Most written forms of
English will use direct speech in this way.

 “He said to her, “I’ll catch the last train home.”

Direct speech can be used in the future tense too, to create a feeling of anticipation, or
expectation. It can also be used to express something that you plan to say to someone. While you
might not come across this in formal or professional forms of written English, you will probably
see this commonly in creative forms of writing, such as a story or novel.

 Before I go away, I’ll tell him, “I’m never coming back.”

Direct speech isn’t always a description of what someone may have spoken. You can also quote
from other texts in a similar way, by using inverted commas before and after the quote. Here,
instead of using the verb “to say”, you might want to use a different verb instead, such as “to
write”, “to state” or “to describe”. Indirect speech Indirect speech is used to report what
someone may have said, and so it is always used in the past tense. Instead of using inverted
commas, we can show that someone’s speech is being described by using the word “that” to
introduce the statement first. For example: “She said that she was not hungry.” You can use
different verbs to express what is being reported – while “to say” is quite commonly used, you
might also want to use “to tell”, to describe something that has been told to you. For example:
“He told me that he didn’t have enough money.”

Direct and Indirect Speech in English:

There are two ways of reporting what speakers have said, direct and indirect. Direct speech is
used when we want to repeat the original speaker’s exact words, while indirect speech is used
when we want to give the exact meaning of a speech without quoting the speaker’s exact words.

A. Indirect speech can be introduced by a verb in a present tense.

This usually when we are.1. reporting a conversation that is still going on. Reading a letter or
something else and reporting what it said. Reading instructions and reporting them. Reporting a
statement that someone makes very often. Andrew says that he will never get married. Andrew
says, “I will never get married”. Further, when the introductory verb (reporting verb) is in a
present, present perfect, or future tense (less common), the tense of the direct speech does not
change. Study the followingexamples:1. He says, “I am unwell, “He says (that) he is unwell. He
has just said, “My master is writing letters. “He has just said (that) his master is writing letters.
But indirect speech is usually introduced by a verb in the past tense.

When the reporting or principal verb is in the past tense, all present tense or verb in the direct
speech have to be changed into the corresponding past tense. The changes are shown as follows:

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Tenses a simple present goes to simple past, present continuous goes to past continuous, present
perfect goes to past perfect, simple past goes to past perfect, present perfect continuous goes to
past perfect continuous, present future goes to past future (conditional), present future continuous
goes to past future continuous (conditional continues).

References:
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1691447#:~:text=In%20English%20grammar%2C%20the
%20object,is%20called%20a%20prepositional%20phrase.
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/modal-
verbs
https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-are-direct-and-indirect-
speech#:~:text=Direct%20speech%20is%20a
%20sentence,What's%20that%3F%22%20asked%20Louise.
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