Syllabus - STD 2

Ü Formal Grammar
¡ The Sentence ¡ Verbs ¡ Confusing Words
¡ Phrase ¡ The Tense
¡ Subject and Predicate ¡ Adverbs
¡ Nouns ¡ Prepositions
¡ Nouns: Singular and Plural ¡ Conjunctions
¡ Nouns: Gender ¡ Interjections
¡ Pronouns ¡ Punctuations
¡ Adjectives ¡ Articles
Ü Functional Grammar
Ü Reading Comprehension
Ü Vocabulary

Syllabus - STD 3
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ The Sentence ¡ Adjectives ¡ Punctuations
¡ Kinds of Sentences ¡ Adjectives: Degree of Comparison ¡ Articles
¡ Phrase ¡ Verbs ¡ Homophones
¡ Subject and Predicate ¡ The Tense
¡ Nouns ¡ Adverbs
¡ Nouns: Singular and Plural ¡ Prepositions
¡ Nouns: Gender ¡ Conjunctions
¡ Pronouns ¡ Interjections

Ü Functional Grammar
Ü Reading Comprehension
Ü Vocabulary

Syllabus - STD 4
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ The Sentence ¡ Adjectives ¡ Interjections
¡ Kinds of Sentences ¡ Adjectives: Degree of ¡ Punctuations
¡ Phrase Comparison ¡ Articles
¡ Subject and Predicate ¡ Verbs ¡ Homophones
¡ Nouns ¡ The Tense
¡ Nouns: Singular and Plural ¡ Adverbs
¡ Nouns: Gender ¡ Prepositions
¡ Pronouns ¡ Conjunctions

Ü Functional Grammar
Ü Reading Comprehension
Ü Vocabulary

Syllabus - STD 5
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ The Sentence ¡ Verbs ¡ Idioms and Phrases
¡ Kinds of Sentences ¡ The Tense
¡ Subject and Predicate ¡ Adverbs
¡ Phrase and Clause ¡ Verbs: Modal Auxiliaries
¡ Nouns ¡ Prepositions
¡ Nouns: Singular and Plural ¡ Conjunctions
¡ Nouns: Gender ¡ Interjections
¡ Pronouns ¡ Punctuation
¡ Adjectives ¡ Articles
¡ Adjectives: Degree of Comparison ¡ Homophones

Ü Functional Grammar Ü Reading Comprehension Ü Vocabulary

 Syllabus - STD 6
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ The Sentence and Its Kinds ¡ Verbs ¡ Idioms and Phrases
¡ Phrase and Clause ¡ Adverbs
¡ Nouns ¡ Prepositions
¡ Nouns: Singular and Plural ¡ Conjunctions
¡ Nouns: Gender ¡ The Tense
¡ Pronouns ¡ Verbs: Modal Auxiliaries Punctuations
¡ Adjectives ¡ Direct and Indirect Speech
¡ Adjectives: Degree of Comparison ¡ Question Tag

Ü Functional Grammar
Ü Reading Comprehension
Ü Vocabulary

Syllabus - STD 7
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ Parts of Speech – Review ¡ More about Prepositions
¡ Verbs and Its Kinds ¡ Question Tag
¡ Verbs: Modal Auxiliaries ¡ Transformation of Sentences
¡ The Tense ¡ The Clauses and Its Kinds
¡ Verbs: Voice ¡ Kinds of Sentences – Simple, Compound,
¡ Punctuation Complex
¡ Direct and Indirect Speech ¡ Figures of Speech
¡ Determiners and Articles ¡ Idioms and Phrases
Ü Functional Grammar
Ü Reading Comprehension
Ü Vocabulary

Syllabus - STD 8
Ü Formal Grammar
¡ Parts of Speech - Review ¡ Transformation of Sentences ¡ Homophones
¡ Verbs and Its Kinds ¡ The Clauses and Its Kinds
¡ Verbs: Modal Auxiliaries ¡ Synthesis – Simple, Compound, Complex
¡ The Tense ¡ Figures of Speech
¡ Verbs: Voice ¡ Idioms and Phrases
¡ Punctuation ¡ Articles
¡ Direct and Indirect Speech ¡ Homophones
¡ Determiners and Articles ¡ Idioms and Phrases
¡ More about Prepositions ¡ Punctuations
¡ Question Tag ¡ Articles

Ü Functional Grammar Ü Reading Comprehension Ü Vocabulary

 NELTAS Grammar Master Series

Std. 2 : The Sentence

While speaking English, we use many sentences. A sentence is a group of words which
makes complete sense.
For example:
1. I go to temple every day.
2. I am a good cyclist.

Let us see some other examples:

3. a pen Ritu has.
4. you come do home time what?

Now, examples 3 & 4 are a group of words; but they do not make any sense. The order in
which the words are arranged is incorrect. The words should be arranged in a proper order
for the sentence to make complete sense.

Thus we have,
 Ritu has a pen.
 What time do you come home?

So, a sentence is a group of words (arranged in proper order) which makes complete sense.

Also, other points to remember are:-

A sentence must always begin with a capital letter.

It should end with a mark of punctuation like (.) full stop, (?) question mark or (!)
exclamation mark.
A sentence can be a statement, command, exclamation or question.

Kinds of Sentences
Different sentences express different things and have different purposes. A sentence can be
a statement, a command, an exclamation or a question.

Statement: A sentence that says or states something. We put a full stop

(.) at the end of such a sentence.
Example:  The Earth is round.
 Delhi is the capital of India

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Command: A sentence that expresses order, request or advice. We put a full

stop (.) at the end of such a sentence.
Example:  Open the door immediately.
 Please give me your pen.

Exclamation: A sentence that expresses a strong feeling (happiness, joy, sadness,

excitement, wonder). We put an exclamatory mark (!) at the end of such a sentence.
 How blue the sky looks!
Example:  What a beautiful scene it is!

Question: A sentence that asks a question. We put a question mark (?) at the end of such
a sentence.
Example:  Where do you live?
 What is your name?

Exercise 1: Rearrange the group of words and rewrite as meaningful sentences with the
correct mark of punctuation.
1. a picture beautiful what is it 6. principal’s our what name is
2. are you going where 7. the desert is Sahara biggest
3. reading love I most the 8. bike blue ride you can a
4. regularly must your you brush teeth 9. hot very is it
5. suggest a good book to please me 10. tie can you your lace shoes of

Exercise 2: Identify the kinds of sentences.

1. You must obey your elders. 5. The school starts at 7 a.m.
2. Where is it being celebrated? 6. Mumbai is a very crowded city.
3. Please give me your pen. 7. How lovely is that rose!
4. See my new toy train! 8. The Sun sets in the west.
9. Do you like chocolates?
10. Who is your role model?

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Std. 3: Phrase

A phrase is a part of a sentence which makes partial (or some) but not complete sense.

A phrase never contains a verb.

Example:  Arjun was playing in the park.

 The red book on the table belongs to Arjun.

In the above sentences ‘in the park’, ‘the red book’ and ‘on the
table’ are phrases.

Exercise 1: Identify as sentence or phrases:

1. Without my permission.
2. That pleasant September day.
3. The library closes at six.
4. What are the stars made up of?
5. Sparkling waves and soft, green grass.

Exercise 2: Make sentences by using the following phrases:

1. from the market.
2. all over the world.
3. behind the school building.
4. an expensive diamond ring.
5. near the school.
6. into the well.
7. across the river.
8. in the east.
9. at daybreak
10. in a few days.

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Std. 4 : Subject and Predicate

A sentence is made up of two parts – Subject and Predicate.

Example: My father reads the newspaper every day.

My father is the subject and reads the newspaper every day is a

predicate.
Subject is that part of the sentence which contains the doer of the
action or tells us what the sentence is about.

In the above example, the action being done is ‘reading’ and the doer of the action is ‘my
father’. So ‘my father’ is the Subject.

On the other hand, the Predicate tells us about the action that the subject (doer) does.
Thus, ‘reads the newspaper every day’ is the predicate. In simple words, the predicate is
that part which contains the verb.

Thus, the Subject is the doer of the action and the predicate is the action that is done.

Thus, the Subject can never contain the verb. Also, we must remember that, the sentence
can be divided into TWO PARTS ONLY and that no part of the sentence must be left
ungrouped.

Example: The girl painted a picture.

In the above example, the action is ‘painted’ and the doer of the action is ‘girl’. So the
subject is ‘the girl’ and not just ‘girl’, similarly the predicate is ‘painted the picture’ and not
just ‘painted’.

In most of the sentences, the subject is usually placed in the beginning of the sentence. But
this does not mean that any word in the beginning of the sentence will be the subject.
Sometimes, in some sentences, the subject can appear in the
second half of the sentence and the predicate may also be
scattered.

Example: Along the bumpy road, moved the car.

Here, ‘the car’ is doer of the action. Thus, ‘the car’ is subject. ‘moved’ is the action, thus,
‘moved along the bumpy road’ is a predicate.
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Exercise 1: Pick out the Subject and Predicate:

1. Goa has fine beaches. 5. Wise are the persons who don’t talk
2. The library closes at six. much.
3. The computer has become a part and 6. On the top of the hill lives the hermit.
parcel of our life. 7. The sum you told me was easy.
4. Take your seat ten minutes before the 8. Sit down.
start of the show.

Exercise 2: Match the subjects with their Predicates:

A B
1. Our army need to be changed.
2. Doctors is not true.
3. Our Principal fought with courage.
4. The news told the child an interesting story
5. Mathematics use a thermometer to measure temperature.
6. The wolf killed several sheep.
7. My spectacles is my favourite subject.
8. The fairy has both wisdom and knowledge.

Exercise 3: Supply appropriate Subjects: (remember, the subject can be more than one
word)
1. ____________ move to a new house every year.
2. ____________ goes for a walk daily.
3. ____________ do not like to play outdoor games.
4. ____________ does not write neatly.
5. ____________ leads to Delhi.
6. ____________ are made of gold and silver.
7. ____________ runs very fast.
8. ____________ is very dark.
9. ____________ fell into a well.
10. ____________ should not scold children.

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Std. 5 : Adjectives - Degree of Comparison

We use certain qualities when we compare people. These qualities are adjectives.

Comparison can take place between two people or more than two people. Thus we use degrees (or
levels) to make comparison.

As we know, there are three degrees of comparison:

Positive, Comparative and Superlative
For Example: tall taller tallest
Let us understand, when to use which degree:-
When no comparison is made, we usually use the ‘Positive Degree’.

 Raman is a tall boy.

(We have not compared Raman with anyone.)

When comparison is made between two people only, we use ‘Comparative Degree’.
 Raman is taller than Anu.
(Only two people, Raman and Anu are compared.)
We use the ‘Superlative Degree’ when comparison is made between more than two people.

 Raman is the tallest boy in the class.

(Here comparison is made between Raman and all the other boys in the class.)
Note: We add ‘the’ before the superlative degree.

List of some Degrees of comparison

(A) Most adjectives form the Comparative by adding ‘er’ and the Superlative by adding ‘est’ to the
Positive.
Positive Comparative Superlative
bold bolder boldest
sweet sweeter sweetest
kind kinder kindest
clever cleverer cleverest

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Exercise 6: Change the degree of the following sentences as mentioned in the bracket:
1. Rahul tall Suraj (positive degree)
2. The Ganga long Narmada (comparative degree)
3. The Ganga long Narmada (positive degree)
4. The Pacific ocean large all oceans (superlative degree)
5. Gold expensive diamond (comparative degree)

Exercise 7: Fill in with ‘elder’, ‘older’, ‘eldest’ or ‘oldest’:

1. Himalayas are ________ than any other mountains in India.
2. Which is the ________ temple in India?
3. My sister is ________ than me by 3 yrs.
4. Mr Joshi has three daughters. His ________ daughter is professor.
5. We are two brothers. My ________ brother is an engineer.

Exercise 8: Fill in with the correct form of the degree given in the brackets:
1. The Taj Mahal is the _______ building in the world. (wonderful)
2. Ahmed has little money. Aayush has even _______. (little)
3. Mr Khanna is _______ than Mr Singh. (rich)
4. I find this the _______ book on Geography. (useful)
5. Rajesh is _______. But Suraj is _______ than him. (tall)
6. Mehul was the _______ soldier in the army. (brave)
7. Mercury is the _______ planet. (small)
8. The service in this hotel was _______ than that hotel. (bad). But the service of the new hotel
was the _______ (bad).

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Std. 6 : Direct & Indirect Speech

Let us suppose that your teacher says , “You are working hard.” If you wish to convey this to your
mother, you cannot say ‘You are working hard.’ You will say, ‘My teacher told me that I am working
hard.’
Thus, you report to your mother, what your teacher told you.
While reporting, you make certain changes in the actual and original speech. Thus, this format is
called Indirect speech while the actual/original speech is called Direct speech.
When the exact words used by a speaker are reproduced within quotation marks, it is called direct
speech. When the substance of a speech is conveyed in the reporter’s words, it is called indirect
speech.
Note the following points about direct speech:
1. The direct speech is always enclosed within inverted commas.
2. The first word of the direct speech begins with a capital letter.
3. The direct speech is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma:

 Jyoti said, “Mother is going for a walk.”

Now note the following points about indirect speech:

1. No inverted commas are used.
2. No comma is used to separate the reported speech from the rest of the sentence.
3. A conjunction, if necessary, is used to join the reported speech with the rest of the sentence:
 Jyoti said that Mother was going for a walk.
4. Tenses, pronouns and words denoting nearness of time and position undergo certain changes.
 He said, “I am happy today.”

 He said that she was happy that day.

Reporting verb: The verb which connects us to the direct speech is called the reporting verb.

Example: Teacher said, “You are working hard.”

Here, said is the reporting verb as it tells us what was being reported.
Thus, in indirect speech we have – The teacher said that I was working hard.

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Rules for changing the tenses

1. If the reporting verb is in a present tense or a future tense, the tense of the verbs in the
reported speech remains unchanged.

Example:  Direct: The teacher says, “The examinations will begin on Monday.”
(simple present)
Indirect: The teacher says that the examinations will begin on Monday
(unchanged)
 Direct: My father will say, “Books have become very costly.
(simple future)
Indirect: My father will say that books have become very costly.
(unchanged)
 Direct: Mother has said, “The breakfast is ready.”
(present perfect)
Indirect: Mother has said that the breakfast is ready.
(unchanged)

2. If the reporting verb is in a past tense, the tenses in the reported speech are changed into the
corresponding past tense.
We shall discuss this rule in greater details.
a) The simple present is changed into simple past. (do did)

Example:  Direct: He said, “Suresh needs a new uniform.”

(past) (simple present)
Indirect: He said that Suresh needed a new uniform.
(simple past)

 Direct: Renu said, “Mrs. Bajaj works in a school.”

(past) (simple present)
Indirect: Renu said that Mrs. Bajaj worked in a school.
(simple past)

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Std. 7 : Verbs & its Kinds

A verb, as we all know is that part of speech which denotes the ‘action’ done. It also shows ‘being’
or ‘possession’.

There are different kinds of verbs. They are:

1. Transitive Verb 3. Incomplete Verbs and 4. Finite Verbs
2. Intransitive Verb Complements 5. Infinite Verbs

1. Transitive Verb: This verb shows that the action is done on an object (the receiver of the
action). In case of a transitive verb, the subject and the object are different.

Example:  Reshma cooked food.

Here the action of ‘cooking’ is taking place on ‘the food’ (the object) and not Reshma.
Thus, ‘cooked’ is a transitive verb.
Transitive verbs always answers the question ‘what’ (and not where, how, who). As in the above
example, we ask – Reshma cooked what? (food)
Ask ‘what’ to the verb and if you get an answer, the verb is transitive.

2. Intransitive Verbs: Intransitive verbs do not contain a separate object. The action does not
take place on a separate object.
This type of verb is slightly similar to the concept of Reflexive pronoun, where the action takes
place on the subject (doer of the action) himself.
If you ask ‘what’ to the verb, you do not get an answer and thus a verb is an intransitive verb.

Example: Radha is studying. The jar fell. The kids were talking loudly.

Exercise 1: Pick out the verbs and state whether they are transitive or intransitive :
1. Tom and John fought a deadly battle. 6. After lunch, grandma lay down to rest.
2. The knight killed his opponent with his 7. Vast floods drowned hundreds of sheep
sword. yesterday.
3. We rested after our visitors had gone. 8. The spider wove a web in a very short time.
4. The winner drove skillfully. 9. A beautiful peacock strutted about the lawn.
5. He had thought of a good answer to the 10. The farmer keeps two bulls.
question.

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Std. 8 : Determiners & Articles

‘To determine’ means to point out or ‘lead to’. Determiners are words which identify or point out a
noun. Thus they ‘DO NOT DESCRIBE’ a noun.
Example:  a woman  that shop
 the house  every child
 this hotel  some men
The underlined words are determiners as they point out or specifically define the noun that we are
talking about.

Determiners can never be adjectives.

For instance: 1)an expensive hotel. 2) this hotel

In the first case, ‘expensive’ ‘DESCRIBES’ the hotel or tells us how it is, so it’s an ‘adjective’.
Whereas in the second case, ‘this’ ‘does not describe’ the hotel. It simply points out (or specifies)
the particular hotel. So it’s a ‘determiner’.

Kinds of Determiners
We have the following kinds of determiners:
1. Articles (a, an, the) 2) Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
3. Possessives (my, your, his, etc) 4) Distributives (either, neither, each, every)
5. Quantifiers (some any, much, many, several etc) 6) Interrogatives (what, which, whose, etc)

1. Articles: We already know that there are three articles in English, ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. An article is
placed before a noun. If there is an adjective before a noun, the article is placed before the
adjective.
Example:  a story (before a noun) an interesting story (before an adjective)
 the doctor (before a noun) the kind doctor (before an adjective)
Note: We can never use a singular countable noun alone (without a/an/the/my/some, etc – that
is, without a determiner.

There are two types of articles

1) Indefinite Article (a, an) 2) Definite Article (the)

1. Indefinite Article (a, an): If we wish to generalize a noun, we use the Indefinite Article.
Example:  An elephant is a huge animal. (i.e. any (all) elephants are huge animals)
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The choice between ‘A’ and ‘An’ is determined by sound.

‘A’ is used before a word beginning with a Consonant sound and ‘An’ is used before a word
beginning with a ‘Vowel sound’.

Vowel Sound – a – e – i – o – u
A An
(A before Consonant sound) (An before Vowel sound)
a paper a meeting a company an ostrich an ant an apple
a boy a ticket a chair an egg an ear an arrow
a garden a horse a table an elephant an inkpot an umbrella

Special Use
A An
(A before Vowel sounding as ‘yu’/’wa’) (An before Consonant sounding as Vowel)
a European a union an Ex – officio member an honorary
a utensil a U.S soldier an honest man (‘h’ silent) an M.A/MA
a unique scene a useful book an M.L.A./MLA an hour
a one –rupee note a one legged stool an M.Sc./MSC an M.P./MP

Note: ‘A’ will be used in place of ‘An’ when ‘h’ sounds as ‘haw’ e.g. – ‘a hotel’, ‘a humble servant’,
‘a historical book’ etc. (humble = not ‘umble’ but ‘humble’;hotel= not ‘otel’ but ‘hotel)

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