MODALS

Modals are auxiliary verbs used to form the tenses, moods, voices, etc. of other verbs.
They are helping verbs that cannot be used on their own but to be used along with other
main verbs mainly to express attitudes.
1. When something happens, they form a tense of the main verb.
Examples:

• I shall go.
• He was going

2. They express permission, necessity, or possibility to do something.

Examples:

• They may go.

• You must go.
• I can’t go.
• I might go.
• She would go if she could.

Observe the highlighted words in these sentences.

• We can make our nation a superpower by the year 2020.

• Kalam says that we need to do things ourselves. We must not import
equipment from other nations.
• In twenty years, each one of us ought to have our destiny worked out.

All the highlighted words are Modal Auxiliaries that are used with another verb, and
express the mood of the speaker.

• The main MODALS are: can, could; may, might; shall, should; will, would;
must; ought to; need to; have to.
• The negative modals are: couldn’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t, mustn’t, needn’t,
oughtn’t.

1.Must and have to:

• Must is used for all persons in the present and the future tenses.
• The negative is must not (mustn’t).
• The interrogative form is, must I?
• Must has no infinitive and no past tense. It is followed by the infinitive
without ”to’.
(i) Must is used to express obligation:

• You must obey your parents.

• You must go to school in time.

(ii) It is used to express compulsion, e. ordering someone to do something because it is

necessary or important to do so:

• You must answer all questions.

• You must return by the evening.

(iii) It is used for saying that something is probably true because nothing else seems
possible:

• You must be tired after your long journey (inference).

• There must be some mistakes.

(iv) The negative form of must (must not) is used for prohibition:

• You must not come here.

• You must not use the office phone for private calls.

(v) It is used to give emphatic advice:

• She must consult a doctor at once.

• You must work hard if you want to get good marks.

Must and have to:

Have to, like must, expresses obligation in the present while had to does so in the past.
Must expresses an obligation imposed by the speaker. Have to/Had to expresses
external obligations—an obligation by some authority or circumstances.

• I must reach there in time (the speaker himself feels so).

• You must reach in time (ordered to do so by some external authority).

Had to is used when describing something belonging to the past.

• He had to go early to catch the train.

These two verbs have the following forms:

Have to and had to have alternative negative and interrogative forms:

For example:
Have you to obey his orders?
or
Do you have to obey his orders?

Had you to work on Sundays?

or
Did you have to work on Sundays?

Do you have to mind your watch every day?

Did you have to pay customs duty on your watch?

2. Have to/Had to:

(i) Have to express obligation and necessity in the present. Had to does so in the past:

• She has to look after her mother.

• He had to finish his work before 5 p.m.

(ii) Have to and had to are used for giving advice:

• First you have to mix the water and the sugar.

• She had to take those pills to get better.

(iii) Have to and had to are used to draw a logical conclusion:

• There has to be some reason for his mischief.

• This has to be a part of the whole plan.

(iv) Have to is used for supposition or to describe something based on possible ideas or
situations:

• You will have to work very hard to stand first.

• If she has to choose, she won’t marry him.

(v) Have to is used to indicate that something is very important or necessary:

• We have to be more careful in the future.

• They will have to clear all their debts before December.
3. Should:
(i) Should is the past tense of shall. In the indirect form of speech ‘shall’ changes into
should:

• I said, “I shall go to school tomorrow.”

• I said that I should go to school the next day.

(ii) Should is used to express obligation, duty, etc.

• You should look after your old parents.

• You should pay all your taxes.

(iii) Should is used to give advice or suggestion:

• You should consult a doctor.

• She should do yoga exercises daily.
• He should learn English if he wants to get a good job.

(iv) Should is used to express purpose:

• Mohan walked fast so that he should catch the train.

• Satish worked hard so that he should stand first in the class.

(v) Should is used to state imaginary results:

• He should get angry if he had come to know about it.

(vi) Should is used to express polite requests:

• I should be thankful if you give me some money.

4. Need:
As a modal verb, need is usually followed by an infinitive without ‘to’:
The modal verb need is mainly used in questions and negatives, which are formed
without ‘do’:
Need I go now? You need not go.

The negative need not is often shortened to needn’t in the conversation and informal
writing. Need does not change its form, so the third person singular of the present tense
does not end in’ —s’ :
He need not go there.
The modal verb need has no past tense. But it can be used in the pattern followed by a
past participle:
Need not have/needn’t have
You needn’t have waited for me.
The negative and interrogative forms of the past tense are:
Did not (didn’t) need and did I need?
In the present and future tenses, the negative and interrogative can be formed in either
of the two ways:

(i) The negative word 'need' expresses absence of obligation:

• They need not send the letter now.

• You need not go. (i.e., It is not necessary for you to go).
• He need not come now.

(ii) Need is used to express obligation or necessity:

• Need I attend the class today?

• Need he solve all the sums?

(iii) Need not + perfect infinitive is used to express an unnecessary action which
was performed:

• You needn’t have gone to see the doctor. He was on leave today.
• You needn’t have carried an umbrella as it was not raining.

5. Ought
Ought is usually followed by ‘to’ and an infinitive:

• You ought to tell the truth.

It does not change its form so that the third person singular form does not end in ‘-s’:

• She ought to work a little harder.

It can be used as a present, past, or future tense.

The negative is ought not (oughtn’t) and the interrogative is ought I?, Ought you?,
Ought he?, etc:

• Ought I do it at once?
• He ought not disobey his teachers.

(i) Ought to is used for expressing what is the right or sensible thing to do, or the right
way to behave:
 • You ought to get up earlier.
• We ought to exercise daily.

(ii) Ought to is used when we believe strongly or expect that something will happen:

• The Indian team ought to win.

• Satish ought to pass.
• The meeting ought to have finished by 2 o’clock.

(iii) Ought to see/hear/meet, is used for emphasising how good, impressive or unusual
something or someone is:

• You ought to see their new house.

• You ought to meet his elder brother.

(iv) Ought to have is used when we realise that we did not do the right thing in the past:

• You ought to have listened to my advice.

• She ought to have taken the money.

Ought, must, have to, and should

Note: Ought is used to express the subject’s obligation or duty. But it indicates neither
the speaker’s authority as with must nor an outside authority as with have to. The
speaker is only reminding the subject of his duty. Besides this, he is giving advice or
indicating a correct or sensible action.

Ought can be used in exactly the same way as should:

• You ought to/should obey your parents.

• Have to and must:
• You have to be regular. (These are the rules.)
• You must obey your teachers. (The speaker insists on it.)
• You have to take this medicine. (The doctor insists on it.)
• You must take this medicine. (The speaker insists on it or It is the speaker’s
emphatic advice.)
• You mustn’t drink this, it is poison, (prohibition)
• You oughtn’t to smoke so much. (It is not right or sensible.)

Exercise (Solved)

Fill in the blanks with appropriate modals:

1. We…………………… obey our teachers, (have to, must)

 2. She…………………………. pass this time, (ought to, has to)
3. He…………………. not buy a car. (has to, need)
4. He works hard lest he…………………… fail, (should, must)
5. Do you……………………. cook your own meal? (should, have to)
6. The villagers…………………. use kerosene lamps a few years ago. (must,
had to)
7. The old lady…………… take a bath every day before taking meals, (ought
to, should)
8. She……………….. finish this work before I go. (has to, must)
9. Ramesh said that they…………….. report for duty on Monday, (should,
ought to)
10. We………………………….. prepare our lessons well before the
examination. (ought to, must)

Answer:

1. must
2. ought to
3. need
4. should
5. have to
6. had to
7. should
8. must
9. should
10. ought to

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural).

Basic Norm: If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural,
its verb must also be plural.

Eg. She writes every day.

They write every day.

RULES

Rule 1
Two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a singular verb.
Example:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.

Rule 2
Two singular subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor require a singular verb as in
Rule 1.
Examples:
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.

Rule 3
When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor, put it second
and follow it with the singular verb am.
Example:
Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

Rule 4
If two or more singular subjects are preceded by either, either of, neither, neither of,
each, each of, everyone, many a, none, none of, nobody or somebody, the verb is in the
singular.
Example:
Each of the boys has worked well.
Many a man has failed because of laziness.
Everyone is requested to switch off their mobile phones.

Rule 5
When a singular subject is connected by or or nor to a plural subject, put the plural
subject last and use a plural verb.
Example:
The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.

Rule 6
When a singular and plural subject are connected by either/or or neither/nor, put the
plural subject last and use a plural verb.
Example:
Neither Jenny nor the others are available.

Rule 7
As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected
by and.
Example:
A car and a bike are my means of transportation.
 Rule 8
Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by words such as along with, as well
as, besides, or not. Ignore these expressions when determining whether to use a
singular or plural verb.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 9
The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and
somebody are singular and require singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of.
Examples:
Each of the girls sings well.
Every one of the cakes is gone.
NOTE: Everyone is one word when it means everybody. Every one is two words when
the meaning is each one.

Rule 10
Two nouns qualified by each or every, even though connected by
and, require a singular verb
Examples:
Every boy and every girl was given a computer.

Rule 11
The expression the number is followed by a singular verb while the expression a
number is followed by a plural verb.
Examples:
The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
A number of people have written in about this subject.

Rule 12
When either and neither are subjects, they always take singular verbs.
Examples:
Neither of them is available to speak right now.
Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Rule 13
The words here and there have generally been labeled as adverbs even though they
indicate place. In sentences beginning with here or there, the subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.

Rule 14
Use a singular verb with sums of money or periods of time.
Examples:
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

Rule 15
Words such as people, poultry, repairs, clergy, studies and cattle are always in plural.
Examples:
The cattle were grazing in the field.
The people of our town are very educated.

Rule 16
Sometimes the pronoun who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the
sentence. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural according to
the noun directly in front of them. So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it is
plural, use a plural verb.
Examples:
Salma is the scientist who writes/write the reports.
The word in front of who is scientist, which is singular. Therefore, use the singular
verb writes.
He is one of the men who does/do the work.
The word in front of who is men, which is plural. Therefore, use the plural verb do.

Rule 17
Collective nouns such as team and staff may be either singular or plural depending on
their use in the sentence.
Examples:
The staff is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit here.
The staff are in disagreement about the findings.
The staff are acting as separate individuals in this example.
The sentence would read even better as:
The staff members are in disagreement about the findings.

Rule 18
Class names, such as stationery, cutlery and hair, are singular and must take a singular
verb.
Examples:
The furniture here is of the best quality.
This kind of clothing is not right for the cold weather.

EXERCISE

Q1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verbs:-

1. My friends and benefactor ______________ come to see me. (have, has)

 2. The entire class, as well as the principal, ______________agreed to the proposal.(has,
have)
3. ______________ the tweezers in this drawer?(is, are)
4. The movie, including all the previews, __________ about two hours to watch. (take,
takes)
5. Half of the water in the jug ___________ finished. (is, are)
6. A thousand miles ______________ a long distance. (is, are)
7. The military _________________ called out. (was, were)
8. A pack of cards _____________ much pleasure and amusement. (provide,provides)
9. Two-thirds of the city _______________ in ruins.(are, is)
10. None of the guests _____________ late for party.(was, were)
11. Politics ____________ his bread and butter.(is, are)
12. Slow and steady ____________ the race. (win, wins)
13.Many a man ______________ died for a good cause.(has, have)
14.The accountant and the cashier _________________ resigned. (has, have)
15. The Three Musketeers _________________ written by Dumas. (is, are)
16. Neither man nor woman _______________ immortal. (is, are)
17. Each of the boys ______________ honest. (is, are)
18.The cost of all these articles _________________ risen. (has, have)
19.Bread and butter _______________________ my favourite food. (is, are)
20. Each boy and every girl _______________________ given a packet of sweets. (was,
were)

Q2. In each of the following sentences, there is an error. Find out the error and
provide the correction. First one has been done as an example.

Error Correction

i. The quality of apples are not good. are is

Many of them is rotten. (a) ________ _______
Cause of worries are that the children (b) ________ _______
doesn’t know the fact. (c) ________ _______

Error Correction
ii. Each century warm the earth (a) _______ _______
but in the last century there have (b) _______ ________
been a phenomenon increases in (c) _______ _______
earth’s atmosphere.

Exercises

1. Complete the following passage using correct forms of verb.

Today’s world (a)……….. connected with technology . Various mediums of communication
(b)…………. brought us closer. Computers and now laptops, tablets, etc, along with cell
phones and all that (c)…… technology driven (d)……. become indispensable today. It
(e)………. also a good thing and a bad. The good thing (f)…….… that we are progressing
towards a future that’s upgraded and tech- superior. The downside of this is the outdated
technological equipment.

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verb:

Mornings (a)…..….. extremely important for me. So much so that I often skip functions and
parties the night before because I simply (b) …..….. want to wake up late. I usually wake
up at 6.30 a.m. and (c)…………..tea with my wife by the window in our living room. It
(d)……….. a gorgeous view. We (e)……………. lucky to have an apartment facing trees
and greenery. Also that time of the day (f)………..often the only time my wife and I get to
talk uninterruptedly. I have often wondered why people have parties at night, when
everyone is tired and anxious.

3. Complete the following paragraph filling in the blanks with the correct form of the
verbs given in brackets.
From the year 2002 students --------------------- (allow) three compartment attempts by
CBSE. This facility will also (a) -------------- (extend) to those who are appearing for their
second chance compartment in 2002. This (b) -------------- (reveal) at a press meet which
(c) ------------------------- (hold) by CBSE yesterday. The number of CBSE help lines (d) -----
--------------- (increase) from 26 last year to 31 this year.
4. Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.
1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.
8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
12. Each one of those books (is, are) fiction.
13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favourite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's
favourite subject.
16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!
20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
 REPORTED SPEECH

Direct And Indirect Speech

(Statements, Commands, Requests, and Questions)
The words spoken by a person can be reported in two ways—Direct and Indirect. When
we quote the exact words spoken by a person, we call it Direct Speech.

• Sohan said to Mohan, “I am going to school.”

The exact words spoken by Sohan are put within inverted commas. But when we give
the substance of what Sohan said, it is called the Indirect Speech.

Direct and Indirect Speech

• Sohan told to Mohan that he (Sohan) was going to school.

1. Reporting Clause and Reported Speech:

Sohan told Mohan that he was going to school. The words which generally come before
the inverted commas are called the reporting clause, i.e. Sohan said to Mohan and the
verb ‘said’, is called the reporting verb. The words spoken by Sohan and put within
inverted commas are called the reported speech, i.e. “I am going to school.”

2. Rules for Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:

• In the Indirect speech, no inverted commas are used.

• The conjunctions that, if, whether, are generally used after the reporting verb.
• The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.
• The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.
• The reporting verb changes according to sense: it may be told, asked, inquired

3. Rules for the Change of Pronouns:

• The first person pronouns (I, me, my, we, us, our) in the reported speech change
according to the subject of the reporting verb.
• The pronouns of the second person (you, your, yourself) in the reported speech
change according to the object of the reporting verb.
• The pronouns of the third person do not change.

For example:

1. He said, “I like the book.”

He said that he liked the book.
2. He said to me, “Do you like the book?”
He asked me if I liked the book.
 3. He said, “He likes the book.”
He said that he liked the book.

4. Changes in words expressing nearness, time, auxiliaries, etc.

5. Change in Tenses:

• If the reporting verb is in the present or the future tense, the tense of the reported
speech is not changed:
Satish says, “I am flying a kite.”
Satish says that he is flying a kite.
Satish will say, “I want a glass of milk.”
Satish will say that he wants a glass of milk.
• If the reporting verb is in the past tense, then the tense of the reported speech will
change as follows:

• If the direct speech expresses a historical fact, universal truth, or a habitual fact,
then the tense of the direct speech will not change:
Direct: He said, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Indirect: He said that honesty is the best policy.
Direct: He said, “The sun rises in the east.”
Indirect: He said that the sun rises in the east.
Direct: Rakesh said, “I am an early riser.”
Indirect : Rakesh said that he is an early riser.
Direct: She said, “God is omnipresent.”
Indirect: She said that God is omnipresent.
Direct: The teacher said, “The First World War started in 1914.”
Indirect: The teacher said that the First World War started in 1914.

6. Changing Statements into Indirect Speech:

• The reporting verb ‘said to’ is changed-to ‘told’, ‘replied’, ‘remarked’,

• The reporting verb is not followed by an object, it is not changed.
• The inverted commas are removed. The conjunction is used to connect the
reporting clause with the reported speech.

The rules for the change of pronouns, tenses, etc. are followed.

1. Direct: Ramu said, “I saw a lion in the forest.”

Indirect: Ramu said that he had seen a lion in the forest.

2. Direct: Satish said to me, “I am very happy here.”

Indirect: Satish told me that he was very happy there.

3. Direct: He said, “I can do this work.”

Indirect: He said that he could do that work.
 4. Direct: Renu said to me, “I was washing the clothes.”
Indirect: Renu told me that she had been washing the clothes.

5. Direct: She said, “I am not well.”

Indirect: She said that she was not well.

6. Direct: He said to Sita, “I have passed the test.”

Indirect: He told Sita that he had passed the test.

7. Direct: I said to my friend, “He has been working very hard.”

Indirect: I told my friend that he had been working very hard.
8. Direct: My friend said to me, “I shall go to Delhi tomorrow.”
Indirect: My friend told me that he would go to Delhi the next day.
9. Direct: I said, “I agree to what he said.”
Indirect: I said that I agreed to what he had said.

10. Direct: The student said to the teacher, “I am sorry that I am late.”
Indirect: The student told the teacher that he was sorry that he was late.

7. Rules for the Change of Interrogative (Questions) sentences:

The reporting verb “say’ is changed into ask, inquire,

The interrogative sentence is changed into a statement by placing the subject before
the verb and the full stop is put at the end of the sentence.

If the interrogative sentence has a wh-word (who, when, where, how, why, etc) the wh-
word is repeated in the sentence. It serves as conjunction.

If the interrogative sentence is a yes-no answer type sentence (with auxiliary verbs am,
are, was, were, do, did, have, shall, etc), then ‘if or ‘whether’ is used as a conjunction.

The auxiliaries do, does, did in a positive question in the reported speech are dropped.

The conjunction is not used after the reporting clause.

1. Direct: I said to him, “Where are you going?”

Indirect: I asked him where he was going.
2. Direct: He said to me, “Will you go there?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would go there.
3. Direct: My friend said to Deepak, “Have you ever been to Agra?”
Indirect: My friend asked Deepak if he had ever been to Agra.
4. Direct: I said to him, “Did you enjoy the movie?”
Indirect: I asked him if he had enjoyed the movie.
 5. Direct: I said to her, “Do you know him?”
Indirect: I asked her if she knew him.
6. Direct: He said to me, “Will you listen to me?”
Indirect: He asked me if I would listen to him.
7. Direct: I said to him, “When will you go there?”
Indirect: I asked him when he would go there.
8. Direct: He said to me, “How is your father?”
Indirect: He asked me how my father was.
9. Direct: I said to him, “Are you happy?”
Indirect: I asked him if he was happy.
10. Direct: He said to her, “Do you like apples?”
Indirect: He asked her if she liked apples.

8. Changing Commands and Requests into Indirect Speech:

• In imperative sentences having commands, the reporting verb is changed into

command, order, tell, allow, request, etc.
• The imperative mood is changed into the infinitive mood by putting ‘to’, before the
verb. In case of negative sentences, the auxiliary ‘do’ is dropped and ‘to’ is placed
after ‘not’:

1. Direct: She said to me, “Open the window.”

Indirect: She ordered me to open the window.
2. Direct: The captain said to the soldiers, “Attack the enemy.”
Indirect: The captain commanded the soldiers to attack the enemy.
3. Direct: I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”
Indirect: I told him to leave that place at once.
4. Direct: The teacher said to the students, “Listen to me attentively.”
Indirect: The teacher asked the students to listen to him attentively.
5. Direct: The Principal said to the peon, “Ring the bell.”
Indirect: The Principal ordered the peon to ring the bell.
6. Direct: The master said to the servant, “Fetch me a glass of water.”
Indirect: The master ordered the servant to fetch him a glass of water.
7. Direct: I said to him, “Please bring me a glass of water.”
Indirect: I requested him to bring me a glass of water.
8. Direct: I said to my friend, “Please lend me your book.”
Indirect: I requested my friend to lend me his book.

9. Sentences with ‘Let’.

• ‘Let’ is used in various meanings.

(i) ‘Let’ is used to make a proposal.

• First change the reporting verb into ‘proposed’ or ‘suggested’.

 • Use ‘should’ instead of ‘let’.
Example:
Direct: He said to me, “Let us go home.”
Indirect: He suggested to me that we should go home.

(ii) ‘Let’ is used as ‘to allow’.

• In Indirect Speech, we change the reporting verb to ‘requested’ or ‘ordered’.

• We start Reported Speech with ‘to’.
Direct: Ram said to Mohan, “Let him do it.”
Indirect: Ram ordered Mohan to let him do that.
Or
Ram told Mohan that he might be allowed to do that.

10. Sentences with Question Tags

(i) In the indirect speech the question-tag is usually left.
(ii) In indirect speech these words are removed and the word ‘respectfully’ is used in the
reporting clause.
Direct: Mahesh said, “Sir, may I go home?”
Indirect: Mahesh respectfully asked his sir if he might go home.

11. Sentences with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

Direct : He said, “Can you dance?” And I said, “No.”
Indirect: He asked me if I could dance and I replied that I couldn’t.
Direct : My mother said, “Will you come home on time?” And I said, “Yes.”
Indirect: My mother asked me if I would come home on time and I replied that I would.

Note : ‘Yes’ of ‘No’ hides a complete sentence. Therefore, change yes/no into a short
answer.

Direct : She said to me, “You didn’t break the window, did you?”
Indirect: She asked me if/whether I had broken the window.
Direct : He said to Geeta, “You are going to the station, aren’t you?”
Indirect: He asked Geeta if/ whether she was going to the station.

12. Sentences with ‘have to’ or ‘had to’

(i) Change ‘have to’ according to the rules.
(ii) But change ‘had to’ into ‘had had to’ in the indirect speech.
Direct : Hari said, “I have to work a lot.”
Indirect: Hari said that he had to work a lot.
Direct : Hari said, “I had to work a lot.”
Indirect: Hari said that he had had to work a lot.

13. Sentences with ‘Sir’, ‘Madam’ or ‘Your Honour’ etc.

• Generally such words are used to show respect to the person concerned.
14. Exclamations and Wishes
Sometimes Exclamatory sentences contain exclamations like Hurrah!, Alas!, Oh!,
Heavens!, Bravo, etc. Such exclamatory words are removed in the indirect speech and
we use ‘exclaimed with sorrow’, exclaimed with joy, exclaimed with surprise, etc.
instead of ‘said’.
Examples:

1. Direct : Rohan said, “Hurrah! We won the match.”

Indirect: Rohan exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
2. Direct : Reema said, “Alas! Karina’s mother is suffering from cancer.”
Indirect: Reema exclaimed with sorrow that Karina’s mother was suffering from
cancer.
3. Direct : The captain said to Kapil, “Bravo! You scored 89 runs.”
Indirect: The captain exclaimed with praise that he (Kapil) had scored 89 runs.

(a) Look at these sentences.

1. Direct : My mother said, “May God bless you!”

Indirect: My mother prayed to God for my well being.
2. Direct : She said, “May God save the country!”
Indirect: She prayed to God to save the country.
3. Direct : They said to the king, “Long live!”
Indirect: They blessed the king for his long life.

(b) Look at these sentences.

1. Direct : Mohan said, “What a pity!”

Indirect: Mohan exclaimed that it was a great pity.
2. Direct : I said, “How stupid he is!”
Indirect: I exclaimed that it was a very stupid of him.
3. Direct : “What a terrible sight it is!” said the traveller.
Indirect: The traveller exclaimed that it was a very terrible sight.
All the sentences in inverted commas are exclamatory sentences.

(i) Use ‘exclaimed’ in place of ‘said’ in the reporting verb in the indirect speech.
(ii) In Indirect sentences, we use exclamatory sentences as statements.
(iii) Indirect speech begins with that and full stop (•) is used instead of the exclamation
mark (!).

Exercise (Solved)

Change the following sentences into Indirect Speech:

(i) He said, “I will do it now.”

Answer: He said that he would do it then.
(ii) He says, “Honesty is the best policy.”
Answer: He says that honesty is the best policy.

(iii) Ramesh says, “I have written a letter.”

Answer: Ramesh says that he has written a letter.

(iv) She said, “Mahesh will be reading a book.”

Answer: She said that Mahesh would be reading a book.

(v) She said, “Where is your father?”

Answer: She inquired where his father was.

(vi) He said to me, “Please take your book.”

Answer: He requested me to take my book.

(vii) The Principal said to the peon, “Let this boy go out.”
Answer: The Principal ordered the peon to let that boy go out.

(viii) He said to me, “May you live long!”

Answer: He prayed that I might live long.

Exercises:
1. Read this following conversation and complete the given paragraph with suitable
words.
Mudit: I’ve been trying to solve this problem since yesterday.
Manasi: Shall we go and ask the teacher today?
Mudit: Last Week she was not available. Let’s go to the staff room.
Manasi: Yes, let’s find out of if she has come.
Teacher: Come here, Mudit what is the problem?
Mudit: This problem sum seems to be very difficult.
Teacher: I will tell you how to solve it just now.

Mudit told Mansi that he (a) ________________ to that problem since the previous day.
Manasi asked him (b) ____________________. Mudit informed her that she had not been
available (c) ___________________________ and (d) __________________ Manasi
agreed (e) __________________. The teacher called Mudit and (f) _______________
Mudit (g) _________________ to be very difficult. The teacher said (h)
_______________________.

2. Read the following jokes and then complete the paragraphs in reported speech.
i) Customer: Excuse me, there’s a fly in my soup.
Waiter: Don’t worry, sir, the spider on your bread will eat it up.
 When a customer in a restaurant complained to the waiter that (a)
______________________ the waiter asked him (b) ___________________ and told
him (c) _____________________.

ii) Daughter: What are you going to give me for my birthday present, Mother?
Mother: Close your eyes. What do you see?
Daughter: Nothing.
Mother: That is what I am going to give you for your birthday present.

The daughter asked her mother (a) ___________________________. The mother told
her (b) ____________________________________ and asked her (c)
________________________. The daughter said that she saw nothing. At this the
mother told her (d) ________________________________.

iii) Rama: I am going to the jungle.

Sita: Why?
Rama: I have been banished for fourteen years by father.
Sita: Oh! It is very sad. Can I go with you?
Rama: No. Stay at home to take care of my old parents.

On being banished by his father, King Dasharath, Rama told Sita (a) _____________.
She asked him (b) ____________. Rama told that (c) __________________. Sita
exclaimed saying it was very bad and asked Rama (d)_______________________.
Rama asked her to stay at home to take care of my old parents.

3. Read the dialogue given below and then complete the passage that follows.

Question 1.
Read the dialogue and complete the passage given below.

Interviewer: So, why do you want to be a computer programmer?

Ravi: Well, I have always been interested in computers.
Interviewer: I see. Do you have any experience?
Ravi: No, but I’m a fast learner.
Interviewer: What kind of a computer do you use?
Ravi: Computer? Uhm, let me see. I can use a Mac. I also used Windows 10 once.
Interviewer: That’s good.

Ravi recently attended an interview for the selection of a computer programmer. At the
interview, he was asked
(a) ……………………….. To this question he replied that he wanted to change his job
because (b) ……………………….. When the interviewer asked him
(e) ………………………. he replied that he (d) ……………………….. Finally, the
interviewer wanted to know (e) ………………………. . Ravi replied that he could use a
Mac and had also used Windows 10 once in the,.past. The interviewer seemed to be
pleased with his answers.

Question 2.
Manu: Where are you going to?
Annu: I am going to the market. Do you want anything?
Manu asked Annu (a) …………………… Annu replied (b) …………………… Annu
replied
(b) …………………… and she further asked (C) ……………………
Question 3.
Sunita: Tomorrow is your birthday, what do you want as a gift?
Neetu: That is a lovely thought but I don’t want anything.
Sunita asked Neetu since the next day was her birthday, (a) …………………… Neetu
replied that (b) …………………… but (C) ………………….. .
Question 4.
Gardener: Did you water the plant today?
Dev: No, but I will, today.
Gardener: Then tomorrow I will get a sapling of sunflower.
The Gardener asked Dev (a) …………………… Dev replied negatively but
(b) …………………… Then the gardener said that (c) …………………..
Question 5.
Mr. Harish: Can you polish my shoes?
Cobbler: Yes sir. But I will take rupees10 for each shoe.
Mr. Harish: I will not mind as long as it is done. Mr. Harish asked the cobbler
(a) …………………… The cobbler replied affirmatively but (b) …………………… Mr.
Harish said that (C) …………………….

TENSES

How would you define the term ‘Tense’?

The term ‘Tense’ denotes the form of a verb which shows the time at which an action
happened. So, the tense shows two things: (i) the time of the action
(iii) state expressed by the verb.
Look at these sentences:

• Reshma goes to school.

• Reshma went to school.
• Reshma will go to school.
In the above sentences (i) ‘goes’ (ii) ‘went’ and (iii) ‘will go’ are verbs.
In sentence (i), the verb ‘goes’ denotes the present tense and refers to the present time.
In sentence (ii), the verb ‘went’ denotes the past tense and refers to the past time.
In sentence (iii), the verb ‘will go’ denotes the future tense and refers to the future time.
By ‘Tense’ we can understand the correspondence between the form of the verb and
our concept of time (past, present and future).
II. ‘Time’ and ‘Tense’ are not the same thing. ‘Time’ is a universal concept. It has three
divisions: past, present and future. ‘Tense’ is related only to the verb.
It is not necessary that if the verb is in the present tense, it will show only the present
time. It is also not necessary that if the verb is in the past tense, it will show the past
time.
Look at the sentences:

• The match takes place on Sunday.

Here the verb ‘takes place’ is in simple present tense but expresses an action that will
take place in the future time.

• Mohan is about to come.

Here ‘present tense’ expresses the near future time.

• The Sun sets in the west.

It is a universal truth. Here, it stands for all the three times: past, present and future.
Note: Modem grammarians believe that there is no future tense in English to express
future time. We use the modal auxiliaries ‘shall’ and ‘will’, with the present tense, etc. to
express future time. But we are following the traditional grammarians in this book.
According to them English has three tenses - (i) Present Tense (ii) Past Tense and (iii)
Future Tense.

1. The following table shows the different forms of the verb:

2. Forms of the present Simple Tense:

 • Thus we have seen that the Simple Present Tense is formed by using the
plain infinitive. But -s or -es are added to the bare infinitive (i.e. infinitive
without ‘to’) for the third person singular (He, She) and singular noun (Nitu)
• We form the negative sentences by using doesn’t or don’t before the main
verb.
• The interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does before the
subject.
• The negative interrogative sentences are formed by using do or does
before the subject and not after the subject.

But the short forms don’t and doesn’t come before the Subject.

We use Present Simple time to talk about things in general. We are not thinking only
about now. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly or that
something is true in general. Here it is not important whether the action is happening at
the time of speaking
Examples:

• I take my breakfast every day.

• We go to school.

We use Present Continuous tense to talk about something that is happening at or

around the time of speaking. The action is not finished. In such sentences is/am/are +
verb + ing is used to show continuation.
Examples:

• Girls are playing.

• I am watching TV.

Present Perfect tense is used to give information about an action that has recently been
completed. It is also used to talk about some action in the past that has a result now. In
such sentences verb ends with have/has + verb + ed/t/en/ne forms.
Examples:

• Tom has lost his key.

• I have forgotten your name.

Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to indicate an activity that continues from the
past until now repeatedly or an activity that has recently stopped. In these sentences
have/ has + been + v + ing form is used.
Examples:
 • John looks sunburnt. He has been working under the sun since morning.
• Your clothes are very dirty. What have you been doing?

Past Tense

• I/You/He/She/It/We/They played. – (Affirmative)

• I/You/He/She/It/We/They didn’t play. – (Negative)
• Did I/You/She/It/We/They play? – (Interrogative)

All these sentences are in simple past. We use Past Simple for:

• Action completed in the past

• Actions which happened at a specific point in time.
• Past habits and past actions that happened immediately after the other.

Now look at the following sentences:

• I/He/She/It was playing. – (Affirmative)

• We/You/They were playing. – (Affirmative)
• I/He/She/It wasn’t playing. – (Negative)
• We/You/They weren’t playing. – (Negative)
• Was/I/He/She/It playing? – (Interrogative)
• Where were/We/You/They playing? – (Interrogative)

All these sentences are in Past Continuous. We use past continuous for:

• An action that was in progress at a stated time in the past.

• A past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.
• Two or more actions were happening at the same time.

Let’s read the following sentences:

• Rohit had already left when we arrived at the party.

• He had broken his leg and it was still hurting.
• Everything had seemed normal at first.

All these sentences have been written in Past Perfect Tense. We use it to talk about an
action which finished before another action in the past.

We use certain time expressions with past perfect: before, already, after, just, when,
never, etc.
Now read the following sentences:
I had been watching TV for an hour when I remembered I had forgotten to call my
friend.
She had been painting her room and her clothes were covered in paint.
These sentences have been written in Past Perfect Continuous Tense. We use it to talk:

• for a past action which started and finished in the past before another past
action, putting emphasis on the duration.
• for an action which lasted for some time in the past and the result was still
visible in the past..

Time expressions used: for, since, until, etc.

11. Future Time Reference

• Let us read the following sentences:

• We will go to the zoo tomorrow.
• He will be on leave next week.

All these sentences indicate that we use will to talk about an event in progress at some
point in future. However, there are different modes in English that can be used to refer
to incidents that occur at some time in future. This mode of reference is called as future
time reference. Such sentences have constructions based on different structures.

They are as follows:

Simple Present Tense

• The Commonwealth Games begin from 2nd October.

• If he works hard like this, he can pass.

Present Continuous Tense: It is used to refer to future events that have been planned
before.

• We are expecting the queen to inaugurate the games this month.

• I’m sorry I can’t attend the wedding. I’m meeting the director this evening.

Use of Going to

• We are going to shift to Shimla very soon.

• Suchitra is going to marry Harish.

Be + about to + infinitive
 • The class is about to start.

Use of Will/Shall
It is used to make a prediction about future, or in advertisements, etc.

• India will win at least one gold in boxing.

• Their souls shall rest in peace.

Be + To + V

• The teacher is to deliver a talk on study skills.

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.

1. The police………………….. four thieves last night, (catch)

2. I was………………………. food when he came in. (cook)
3. It………………… at 9 o’clock, (rain)
4. I certainly…………………… my colleague if I had been there, (help)
5. Stars………………….. in the sky at night, (twinkle)
6. All the students………………. the classwork when the teacher came in.
(do)
7. Mahesh………………….. tomorrow from Patna, (come)
8. The patient………………… before the doctor came, (die)
9. I saw that the policemen…………………. the thieves, (chase)
10. He is a very rude person, I ………………… him. (not help)

Answer:

1. caught
2. cooking
3. has been raining
4. would have helped
5. twinkle
6. were doing
7. will come
8. had died
9. were chasing
10. won’t help.
 Determiners

‘Determiner’ is a word used before a norm to indicate which things or people we

are talking about. The words ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘my’, ‘this’, ‘some’, ‘many’, etc. are called
determiners:
• He is a good boy.
• The boy you met is my friend.
• This novel is very interesting.
• I have some information about the accident.
• There were many people at the station.

All the italicised words are determiners and they limit the meaning of the nouns
that follow them.
Kinds of Determiners:

Pre-determiners:
Pre-determiners are the words which occur before a determiner to limit the meaning of a
noun:

4. Articles:
The article system in English consists of the definite article ‘the’ and the indefinite article
‘a’ or ‘anWe can think of nouns in a specific or general way. When we refer to particular
people or things or something that has already been mentioned or can be understood,
we use the definite article ‘the’. When we refer to singular nouns for the first time, or
refer to things in a general way, we use the indefinite article ‘a’ or ‘an’.
➤ The Definite Article ‘The’:

• We can use the definite article before any common noun:

He threw the ball into the river.
The boys were not in the class.
• We use the definite article to refer to specific persons or things:
I want to meet the principal in the school.
The tourists crossed the river in a boat.
• The definite article is used to refer to the things that are only one in the
world:
The moon and stars were shining in the sky.
The sun sets in the west.
The earth revolves round the sun.
• We use the definite article with the words such as school, university, prison,
when we are referring to a particular building: .
They will visit the school on Monday.
I met him in the university.
• The definite article may be used with the countable nouns that are used in
the singular to refer to things more general:
If you break the law, you will be punished.
He played the violin for half an hour.
• The definite article is used to refer to the parts of the body:
Smoking is harmful for the lungs.
He caught him by the neck.
There was an injury in the right eye.
• The definite article is used with time expressions:
I met her in the evening.
She came here in the morning.
• We use the definite article before something that has already been
mentioned.
I met a man at the station.
The man belonged to Tamil Nadu.
• The definite article is used before a noun that is followed by a relative
clause or a prepositional phrase:
The man I met at the station belonged to Haryana.
He put the sweater on the table.
• The definite article is used to refer to familiar things we use regularly:
She looked at the ceiling.
Suddenly the lights went out.
• The definite article is used before dates or periods of time:
We met on the 15th of October.
It is a popular music of the 1940s.
 • The definite article is generally used before a noun which is followed by ‘of’:
This led to the destruction of the whole village.
The burning of houses rendered people homeless.
• The definite article is used before the names of seas, rivers, deserts,
mountains,
The ship crossed the Pacific Ocean.
Delhi stands on the banks of the Yamuna.
The Sahara is a famous desert.
They came across the Himalayas.
• The definite article is used before the names of large public buildings:
They visited the Taj Mahal.
They went to the Town Hall.
• The definite article is used before the superlative adjectives:
He is the- best boy in the class.
She is the most beautiful girl in the school.
• The definite article is used before adjectives such as rich, poor, deaf, dumb,
blind, to use them as nouns:
The rich and the poor went to the fair.
We should help the blind.
• We use the definite article before the nationals of a country or continent:
The Indians are very religious.
Some of the Europeans live here.
• We use the definite article before the names of trains and ships:
The Rajdhani Express is a very fast train.
The Queen Elizabeth is a famous ship.

➤ The Indefinite Articles-‘a’, ‘an’:

The indefinite articles (‘a’, ‘an’) are used when we talk about people in a general or
indefinite way.

• The article ‘a’ is used before the words which begin with consonant sounds
and ‘an’ is used before the words beginning with vowel sounds. However,
some words start with a vowel letter but begin with a consonant sound. So
we use the article ‘a’ before these words:
He is a European. This is a unique idea.
Theirs is a one-parent family. He is teaching at a university.
• We use an before words which begin with a vowel sound:
The girl bought an orange. He is an Indian.
He had an umbrella in his hand.
• Some words begin with a silent So we use an before them:
He is an honest man. He is an heir to the throne.
I met him an hour ago.
• We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before singular countable nouns:
Kolkata is a big city. The dog is an animal.
• We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before the names of occupations and professions:
His father is an engineer. He is a pilot.
 • When we use ‘a’ before ‘little’ and few’, there is a change in the meaning of
these words. ‘A Jew’ is used with plural countable nouns, and ‘a little’ with
uncountable nouns. ‘Few’ means not many, while ‘a few’ means a small
number. ‘Little’ means not much, while ‘a little’ means some:
Few people visit this temple now. I know a few students of
this school.
There is little water in the bucket. There is a little milk in the bottle.
• We use ‘a’, ‘an’ before an adjective in a noun phrase:
She is a good girl. She told me an interesting story.
• We use ‘an’ with abbreviations beginning with the following letters: A, F, H,
I, L, M, N, O, R, S, X (They should have vowel sounds).
For example:
His father is an M.P.

He is an N.R.I.

She got an X-Ray done.

• We use the indefinite article before certain nouns considered as a single

unit:
She bought a knife and fork.
The old lady had a cup and saucer in her hand.

5. Demonstratives: This, These, That, Those

The demonstrative determiners are used to talk about persons or things that have
already been mentioned.
This and These refer to the things that are near and can be seen. ‘That’ and ‘Those’ are
used to refer to the things that are at a distance but can be seen.

• We lived in this house for four years.

• She bought these books.
• Those boys are very mischievous.
• I like this school.
• I met her this week.

‘This’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns and ‘‘these’’ and ‘those’ for plural nouns.

• Can you lift that box?

• Would you like to buy those books?
• These boys have done their work.
• I have already met that man.

6. Possessives: My, our, your, his, her, its, their/s. The possessives are used to show
possession.
 • He is my uncle.
• Our neighbour is a rich man.
• Your daughter is beautiful.
• What is her age?
• What is his name?
• Do you know its value?
• Their house is very big.

7. Ordinals: first, second, next, last, etc.

• The ordinals show what position something has in a series:

• He is the first boy who has joined this school.
• I shall meet him the next week.
• He is the last man to help you.

8. Cardinals: one, two, three, hundred, etc.

Cardinals are ordinary numbers like one, two, three, etc. They show how many of
something there are:

• There were only ten boys in the class.

• She lived for eighty years.
• He has two daughters.
• I met three young men at the station.
• He balanced himself on one foot.

9. Quantifiers: much, some, several, a lot of, both, all, etc.

The quantifiers refer to the quantity of things or amount of something.

• There were some people at the airport.

• Plenty of people would like to have your job.
• They didn’t make much progress.
• There is no milk in the bottle.
• There is enough powder in the can.
• I have forgotten some of the details.
• They had enough guests already.
• All children enjoyed the show.
• There was little water in the jug.
• It has not made any difference to me. He drank a lot of water.

10. Distributives: each, every, either, neither.

Distributive determiners refer to each single member of a group.

• Each is used when we talk about the members of a group individually and
every when we make a general statement. Both are followed by a singular
 countable noun:
He met each guest.

The minister visited every flood-affected area.

I agree with every word he says.

Each request will be considered.

Either is used to talk about two things, but usually indicates that only one of the two is
involved.
Either of the two girls should come here.

• Neither is the negative of

Neither member came to attend the meeting.
• Either can also mean
People stood in either side (both sides) of the road.
Neither is followed by a singular noun.
• Neither boy said anything.
Neither answer is correct.

11. Interrogatives: what, which, whose, etc.

The interrogative determiners are used for asking questions:

• What subjects are you studying?

Which colour do you like the most?
Whose house is this?