Subject Verb Agreement

1. Number:

The basic principle of subject-verb agreement is that singular subjects need singular verbs. Plural subjects need plural verbs:

2. Person:

The rules regarding the person are as follows:

(i) The first person singular or plural takes a singular verb:

 

I like this scenery.

We like this scenery.

You can master in English Grammar of various classes by our articles like Tenses, Clauses, Prepositions, Story writing, Unseen Passage, Notice Writing etc.

 

(ii) The second person singular or plural takes a singular verb:

 

You like this scenery.

(iii) The third person singular takes a singular verb:

 

He likes this scenery.

(iv) The third person plural takes a plural verb:

 

They like this scenery.

3. Uncountable Noun:
When We use an uncountable noun as the subject of a verb, we use a singular form of the verb:

·         Honesty is the best policy.

·         Fear begins to haunt him.

4. Singular and Plural Nouns:

When we use a singular noun as the subject of a verb, we use a singular verb. Plural nouns take a plural verb:

·         The moon was shining in the sky.

·         The sun is about to set.

·         The children were swimming.

·         The farmers were ploughing.

5. One of + Plural Noun:
When the subject consists of ‘one of + plural noun’, the verb is singular:

·         One of the girls was singing.

·         One of the students was talking.

·         One of the birds was chirping.

6. Long Subject:
When a clause or a long group of words is the subject, we have to be careful to make the verb agree with the subject:

·         The chairs which I bought yesterday are very costly.

·         The woman whom I met in the market was my friend’s sister.

7. Introductory ‘there’:
The verb has to agree with the real subject that follows the introductory there. If the subject is singular, then there will be followed by a singular verb. If the real subject is plural, then ‘there’ will be followed by a plural verb:

·         There is no chair in the room.

·         There are no chairs in the room.

·         There are fifty boys in the class.

·         There is one girl in the class.

8. Two or More Nouns:
When two or more nouns function as subject, a plural verb is used:

·         Satish and his sister have gone to see a movie.

·         My friend and his father are meeting us tomorrow.

9. Distances, Weight, etc:
For distances, weight, height or amounts of money, we use a singular verb even when the subject is plural:

·         Ten thousand rupees is not a small sum.

·         Three kilometers is a small distance.

·         Five hundred feet above sea level is not a great height.

10. Plural Names:
The title of a book, the name of a house or a hotel in plural takes a singular verb:

·         “The Arabian Nights” has interesting stories.

·         “The Hotel Brewers” is a five-star hotel.

11. Plural Nouns with Singular Meaning:
Nouns which are plural in form but singular in meaning usually take a singular verb:

·         Mathematics is not an easy subject.

·         Economics is a dull subject.

·         Measles is an infectious disease.

·         The latest news is that the criminal has been arrested.

12. Singular Nouns with Plural Verb:
Some nouns which appear to be singular in form take a plural verb:

·         The police have arrested three terrorists.

·         The Indian cricket team won the match.

13. Collective nouns like group, crowd, flock, regiment, etc. are generally followed by a singular verb:

·         A group of boys was playing in the ground.

·         A crowd of people rushes into the hall.

·         A regiment of soldiers was marching towards the town.

14. ‘Class’ nouns such as food, furniture, clothing, etc. take a singular verb:

·         This furniture is very old.

·         This imported cutlery is very costly.

·         His clothing consists of a bullet-proof jacket, a blue pair of trousers and some other items.

15. Some nouns which appear to be plural in form when preceded by a pair of take a singular verb, for example, shoes, scissors, trousers, etc.

·         A pair of scissors was taken out of the drawer.

·         A pair of trousers was washed by the servant.

·         A pair of shoes was bought by him.

But when these nouns are used without ‘a pair of’, they take a plural verb:

·         His shoes have worn out.

·         My scissors do not cut well.

16. Some nouns are preceded by a lot of, a plenty of, a great deal of, etc. These nouns take a singular verb when they refer to amount or quantity. But they take a plural verb when they refer to number:

·         A lot of people visit the exhibition.

·         A plenty of water was supplied to the villagers.

17. When a singular subject is joined by as well as, in addition to, except, etc. with another noun or pronoun, we use a singular verb.

·         Sohan as well as his brother has come.

·         My father in addition to our neighbour has gone out for a walk.

·         Everyone except Satish was present.

18. A singular verb is used with singular pronouns, e.g. each, either, neither, anyone, etc.

·         Each of the boys was given a prize.

·         Neither of the students was absent.

·         Everybody has helped her.

19. When two or more subjects are connected by nor or or, the verb is used according to the number of the noun nearest to it:

·         Neither she nor her sisters visit the temple.                                                      ‘

·         Either they or he is telling a lie.

20. A collective noun such as jury, committee, family, etc. takes a singular verb when it is considered one unit. But when they are regarded as individuals, they take a plural verb:

·         The jury is about to give its decision.

·         The jury are divided in their opinion.

·         The committee is meeting tomorrow.

·         The committee have decided to raise the membership fee.

·         Our family has decided to visit Shimla this summer.

·         The family now live in London.

21. When some nouns are regarded as one unit, they take a singular verb:

·         Bread and butter is a wholesome food.

·         Brick and stone is lying scattered all over the place.

·         Time and tide waits for none.

·         The novelist and poet is dead.

 

Direct and Indirect Speech

1. Direct and Indirect Speech:

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.

2. 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.”

3. Rules for Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech:

 

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

2.      The conjunctions that, if, whether, are generally used after the reporting verb.

3.      The first word of the reported speech begins with a capital letter.

4.      The tense of the reporting verb is never changed.

5.      The reporting verb changes according to sense: it may be told, asked, inquired,etc.

4. 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:

 

a.       He said, “I like the book.”

b.      He said that he liked the book.

c.       He said to me, “Do you like the book?”

d.      He asked me if I liked the book.

e.       He said, “He likes the book.”

f.       He said that he liked the book.

5. Changes in nearness, timing etc.

 

Direct Speech	Indirect Seech
This There Now Here Today Tomorrow Yesterday Last night Can May Shall Will Ago Just come	That Those Then There That day The next day The previous day The previous night Could might Should Would Before then go

 

6. Change in Tenses: If the reporting verb is in the present or the future tense, the tense of the reported speech is not changed:

a.       Satish says, “I am flying a kite.”

b.      Satish says that he is flying a kite.

c.       Satish will say, “I want a glass of milk.”

d.      Satish will say that he wants a glass of milk.

If the direct speech expresses a historical fact, a universal truth or a habitual fact. 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.

 

7. Changes in statement:

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 that is used to connect the reporting clause with the reported speech.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indirect : He said that he could do that work.

Direct     : Renu said to me, “I was washing the clothes.”

Indirect : Renu told me that she had been washing the clothes.

Direct     : She said, “I am not well.”

Indirect : She said that she was not well.

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

Indirect : He told Sita that he had passed the test

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

Indirect : I told my friend that he had been working very hard.

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.

Direct     : I said, “I agree to what he said.”

Indirect : I said that I agreed to what he had said.

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.

 

8: changing Interroogatives.

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 a conjunction.

If the interrogative sentence is a yes-no answer type sentence (with auxiliary verbs aw, 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 that is not used after the reporting clause.

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

Indirect : Tasked him where he was going.

Direct     : He said to me, “Will you go there?”

Indirect : He asked me if I would go there.

Direct     : My friend said to Deepak, “Have you ever been to Agra?”

Indirect : My friend asked Deepak if he had ever been to Agra.

Direct     : I said to him, “Did you enjoy the movie?”

Indirect : I asked him if he had enjoyed the movie.

Direct     : I said to her, “Do you know him?”

Indirect : I asked her if she knew him.

Direct     : He said to me, “Will you listen to me?”

Indirect : He asked me if I would listen to him.

Direct     : I said to him, “When will you go there?”

Indirect : I asked him when he would go there.

Direct     : He said to me, “How is your father?”

Indirect : He asked me how my father was.

Direct     : I said to him, “Are you happy?”

Indirect : I asked him if he was happy.

Direct     : He said to her, “Do you like apples?”

Indirect : He asked her if she liked apples.

 

9. 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:

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

Indirect : She ordered me to open the window.

Direct     : The captain said to the soldiers, “Attack the enemy.”

Indirect : The captain commanded the soldiers to attack the enemy.

Direct     : I said to him, “Leave this place at once.”

Indirect : I told him to leave that place at once.

Direct     : The teacher said to the students, “Listen to me attentively.”

Indirect : The teacher asked the students to listen to him attentively.

Direct     : The Principal said to the peon, “Ring the bell.”

Indirect : The Principal ordered the peon to ring the bell.

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.

Direct     : I said to him, “Please bring me a glass of water.”

Indirect : I requested him to bring me a glass of water.

Direct     : I said to my friend, “Please lend me your book.”

Indirect : I requested my friend to lend me his book.

 

 

Clauses

 

1. A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. It may be a sentence or the part of a sentence.

2. There are three kinds of clauses:

 

Noun clause.    Adverbial clause,                     Relative clause

3. Noun clause
Read the following sentences:
(a) I hope that I shall pass, (noun clause)
(b) She knows what I want, (noun clause)
The underlined words are noun clauses and form parts of the sentences (a) and (b).
The noun clauses answer the question what?
The that-clause following the main clause ‘I hope’ is also a noun clause just as ‘ What I want’ is a noun clause which follows the main clause ‘she knows’.

4. Noun clauses begin with the following connectives:                                                              ,
1. Pronouns: what, which, who, whom, whose.
2. Adverbs: when, where, why, how.
3. Conjuctions: if, that, whether.
Pronouns Examples:

1.      You can see what we have done.

2.      Can you tell me who had done it?

3.      Do you know whose car it is?

4.      I don’t know which book he has bought.

5.      I can’t say whom I should believe.

Adverbs Examples:

1.      I can’t tell you when he will come.

2.      Please tell me why he is always late.

3.      I don’t know where he has gone.

4.      Does anyone know how it has happened?

Conjuctions Examples:

1.      I wonder if the weather is going to be all right.

2.      She asked whether the train will leave on time.

3.      I can tell you that he is a good boy.

5. Functions of Noun Clauses:
Noun clauses function like nouns or noun phrases. They can function as subject, object, complement, or object of a preposition, etc:
1. Subject:

·         What you said surprised me.

·         When she will come is uncertain.

·         Whether he will help you will be known soon.

·         That he would come is seemed unlikely.

·         How he crossed the border is a mystery.

·         Why he came here is still unknown to us.

2. Object:

·         He says that he will help me.

·         She couldn’t decide what she should do.

·         You must learn when you should speak.

·         She wondered whether she should stay any more.

·         I don’t know who gave him this advice.

·         Have you decided where you will go for your holidays?

·         I asked him how I can reach that village.

·         I don’t know why he sold his house.

3. Complement:

·         Our belief is that he will help us.

·         This is where she works.

·         My worry is why he should behave like that.

·         This is what you are looking for.

·         The problem is how we can cross this river.

4. Object of Preposition:

·         You should pay attention to what the teacher says.

·         There is no complaint except that he comes late.

·         There is no meaning in what he says.

·         No one is aware of how he has opened the lock.

·         Everything depends on whether he helps us or not.

·         It was difficult to decide on where we should go for help.

·         They couldn’t agree about who should do the work.

5. Complement of an Adjective:

·         I am not sure where he has gone.

·         They are confident that they will find out the thief.

·         It is doubtful whether she will reach in time.

6. Object of an Infinitive:

·         She wants to know what is going on here.

·         He came to see that he was mistaken.

·         She wanted to ask if I would help her.

7. In Apposition to a Noun (Noun + Noun clause)

·         The rumour that he was killed is true.

·         The idea that we should set up a factory should be pursued.

·         The fact that he has failed surprised his parents.

8. Object of a Participle:

·         Thinking that he would die, they took him to a hospital.

·         Hoping that they would win, they felt overjoyed.

6. Adverbial Clauses of Condition:
The adverbial clause of condition is introduced by if, unless, whether.

·         If you run fast, you will catch the train.

·         Unless you work hard. you will not pass.

The underlined words in the above sentences form the adverbial clauses of condition. A conditional clause is a subordinate clause and expresses a condition.
The conditional clauses are of the following types:
1. In an if-clause referring to a likely or possible situation in the future, the simple present tense is used. The future tense is used in the main clause:

·         If it rains, we’ll go indoors.

Generally the main clause has the form: shall/will/may/can/must+first form of the verb:

·         If she works hard, she will pass.

·         If you request me, I shall help you.

·         If you need a pen, you can take mine.

·         If you want to get good marks, you must work harder.

2. In an if-clause referring to a condition that always has the same result, the simple present  is used. The simple tense is used in the main clause too:

·         If the engine gets too hot, it starts to smoke.

·         If you heat ice, it melts.

·         If you boil water, it evaporates.

·         If you beat a child, he weeps.

3.  If a conditional clause refers to an unlikely or impossible situation in the present or future, the simple past tense is used. In the main clause, we use ‘should‘, ‘could, ‘might‘, ‘would, etc + the first form of the verb:

·         If you ran fast, you might catch the train.

·         If I won a lottery, I would buy a car.

·         I would tell you if I knew the answer.

·         If a thief entered your house, what would you do?

·         If I were rich, I would open a school for the poor.

4. If a conditional clause refers to something that did not happen in the past, the past perfect tense is used. In the main clause, we use would have/should have/could have/might have + third form of the verb:

·         If she had worked hard, she would have passed,
(i.e. She didn’t work hard, so she didn’t pass).

·         If he had left early, he might have caught the train.

·         If he had informed me, I would have received him at the railway station.

But when the main clause is about the present, ‘would, ‘could, ‘might‘, etc. without have is used:

·         If you had followed my advice, we would be home by now.

5. If a conditional clause refers to an unlikely situation in the future, ‘were to’  should followed by an infinitive, is sometimes used instead of the simple past tense:

·         If you should meet him, tell him to come here.

·         If she were to die before you, who would look after your children?

·         If you need any help, ring me up.

6. ‘If only’ is used to express a wish with reference to present or future time:

·         If only I were rich.

·         If only I could swim.

·         If only I knew

7. If only’ is used to express a wish that past events had been different:

·         If only he had remembered to post that letter.

·         If only I had met her.

·         If only he had spoken the truth.

7. Adverbial Clauses of Time:
Adverbial clauses of time are used to say when something happens by referring to a period of time or to another event. The subordinating conjunctions after, before, since, when, while, whenever, till, as, etc. are used.

·         I arrived after he had started.

·         The patient had died before the doctor arrived.

·         I have never seen her since she was ten years old.

·         His father died when he was young.

·         Someone called while you were out.

·         Whenever I smiled, she smiled back.

·         I shall wait here till you return.

·         As I was leaving, the phone rang.

1. When we refer to the present or the past, the verb in a time clause has the same tense that it would have in a main clause:

·         She was standing by the door when I heard her speak.

·         I haven’t talked to him since he arrived.

·         He looks after the children while she goes to school.

2. When we mention an event in a time clause which will happen before an event referred to in the main clause, we use the present perfect tense in the time clause:

·         When you have taken your lunch, you come to me.

·         Inform us as soon as you have reached here.

3. We use ‘when’, ‘while‘, ‘as’ when we refer to circumstances in which something happens or happened:

·         The doors open when I press this button.

·         While he was in the house, there was a loud knock at the door.

·         I watched her as she combed her hair.

4. We can use ‘when‘, ‘after’, ‘once’ to talk about one event happening immediately after another:

·         When he died, his sons came to me for help.

·         The mother goes off in search of food after the eggs have hatched.

·         Once the damage is done, it takes many years for the system to recover.

5. We use ‘as soon as’ when we want to refer to one event happening after a Very short time:

·         They heard a loud explosion as soon as they entered their house.

6. When we use ‘no sooner’, the time clause begins with ‘than’:

·         No sooner had he arrived than he had to leave again.

·         No sooner had he sat down than the phone rang.

·         No sooner had he asked the question than the answer came to him.

7. When we use ‘hardly’, the time clause begins with ‘when’’ or ‘before’:

·         Hardly had he entered the house when the phone rang.

·         She had hardly arrived when she had to leave again.

·         He had hardly opened his eyes before she asked him to leave.

8. If we want to say that a situation stopped when something happened, we use ‘till ’ or ‘until’:

·         I waited for her till/until she came back.

·         Let’s wait till/until the rain stops.

9. We use ‘since’ to refer to a situation that began to exist at a particular time and still exists. We use the past simple tense in the time clause:

·         I have not met her since she was a child.

·         They have known each other since he lived there.

8. Relative Clauses:
The relative clause does the function of an adjective in a sentence. That is why it is also called an adjective clause. We put a relative clause immediately after the noun which refers to the person, thing, or group we are talking about.

·         The boy who came into the house was my friend.

·         The house which our neighbour bought is made of stone.

A relative clause is essential to the clear understanding of the noun it defines or qualifies.
For example,
‘ Who came into the house ’ is a relative clause without which it will not be clear to which ‘boy’ we are referring.

9. Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses:
There are two kinds of relative clauses—defining and non-defining relative clauses. Defining relative clauses limit the noun or pronoun to which they refer to a particular type or examples. They answer the questions which?, what? whose? In the two example sentences above the relative clauses restrict ‘the boy‘ and ‘the house’ to a particular ‘boy ’ or a particular ‘house’.
Non-defining clauses simply give us additional information about the nouns, pronouns and clauses to which they refer. For example:

·         Anwar, who returned yesterday, will come to meet us.

There are some general rules which should be noted about relative clauses and relative pronouns:
1. A non-defining clause is separated by commas (see the above sentence).
2. A defining clause is not separated by commas.
3. In a non-defining clause the relative pronoun cannot be omitted.

·         Satish, who/whom you met yesterday, is a friend of mine.

·         Here the relative pronoun ‘who/whom ’ cannot be omitted.

4. In a defining clause, we can omit the relative pronoun except when it is the subject of a verb:

·         The woman you met yesterday is my mother.

In this sentence, the relative pronoun is omitted. But we cannot omit it in the following sentence:

·         The boy who gave you this book is my friend.

·         This is because here the relative pronoun ‘who’ is the subject of the verb ‘gave’.

5. In a non-defining clause the preposition governing the relative is rarely placed at the end of the clause:

·         This is Mohan, about whom I was talking.

6. In a defining clause the preposition governing the relative is generally placed at the end of the relative is generally placed at the end of the clause:

·         This is the boy I was talking about.

7. The relative pronouns ‘which‘, ‘who‘, ‘whose‘, ‘whom‘ are found in both defining and non-defining clauses. But the pronoun ‘that’ is only found in defining clauses.

8. The relative pronouns differ according to whether they refer to persons or things and according to their case:

Relative Pronoun	For Persons	For Things
Nominative Case	Who, that	Which, that
Objective Case	Whon, who, that	Which, that
Possessive Case	Whose	Whose, of which

9. Relative clauses are introduced by relative adverbs ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘why’.

·         This is the house where we lived.

·         This is the time when the winter season sets in.

·         This is the reason why I left this place.

10. Use of Pronouns for Persons:
1. In the nominative case, we use ‘who‘ or ‘that‘. ‘That‘ is used after superlatives and after all, nobody, no one, somebody, someone, anybody, etc. when we can use either ‘who‘ or ‘that‘:

·         This is the best that I could have done in that situation.

·         The girl who cheated you is called Romola.

·         The policeman who arrested the thief has white hair.

·         All who/that listened to his speech praised him.

2. In the objective case, we use ‘whom.’, ‘who‘, ‘that‘. ‘Whom is considered more formal than ‘who‘. However, in spoken English we use ‘who‘ or ‘that‘. There is a tendency to omit the objective relative pronoun altogether:

·         The boy whom/who I met is called Ramesh.
Or
The boy that I met is called Ramesh.
Or
The boy I met is called Ramesh.

3. We use ‘whom’ or ‘that’ with a preposition.
Generally, the preposition is placed before the relative pronoun:
The boy to whom I was speaking is my neighbour. In informal speech, the preposition is usually moved to the end of the clause and then ‘whom’ is often replaced by ‘that’ or it is omitted:

·         The man to whom I gave it was a foreigner.

·         The man who/whom I gave it to was a foreigner.

·         The man that I gave it to was a foreigner.

4. In the possessive case, we use the relative pronoun ‘whose’:

·         Boys whose result has not been declared can meet the principal.

11. Use of Pronouns for Things:
1. In the nominative case, the relative pronouns ‘which’ and ‘that’ are used. Which is considered more formal:

·         This is the pen which/that cost me £5.

·         This is the house which/that has been sold.

2. In the objective case, we use ‘which’ or ‘that’ or omit the relative pronoun:

·         The pen which/that I bought yesterday was beautiful.

·         The pen I bought yesterday was beautiful.

We generally use ‘ that’ after all, much, little, everything, none, no and compounds of no or after superlatives or we omit the relative pronoun altogether.

·         All the mangoes that fall are eaten by children.

·         This is the best place (that) I have ever seen.

3. When we use the objective case with a preposition, we place the preposition before ‘ which‘. But it is more usual to move it to the end of the clause, using ‘which‘ or ‘that’ or we omit the relative pronoun altogether:

·         The chair on which I was sitting was made of teak wood.

·         The chair which/that I was sitting on was made of teak wood.

·         The chair I was sitting on was made of teak wood.

4. In the possessive case, we use the relative pronoun ‘whose‘:

·         The house whose walls are made of mud bricks will not be durable.

12. Relative Pronouns used in Non-defining Clauses:
Form:

Case	For Persons	For Things
Nominative	Who	Which
Objective	Whom, who	Which
Possessive	Whose	Of which, whose

13. Use for Persons:
1. In the nominative case, only ‘who‘ is used:

·         My father, who is a businessman, has an expensive car.

·         Nitin, who is my friend, has gone to Dehradun.

2. In the objective case, we use ‘whom ’ and ‘who‘. ‘ Who‘ is sometimes used in conversation:

·         My manager, whom I dislike, is an ill-tempered man.

·         He introduced me to her girl friend, whom I had known before.

3. ‘Whom‘ is used with a preposition in the objective case. We can also use ‘who’ if we move the preposition to the end of the clause:

·         Sumitra, to whom I gave a present, is my sister.

·         Sumitra, who I gave a present to, is my sister.

4. We use ‘whose’ in the possessive case:

·         Shakespeare, whose plays are world-famous, was a British dramatist.

14. Use for Things:
1. We use ‘which‘ in the nominative case:

·         His car, which is so old, broke down mi file way.

·         His office, which is near our house, is painted green.

2. In the objective also, we use ‘which‘:

·         “The Merchant of Venice”, which you read yesterday, was written by William Shakespeare.

·         The tree near my house, which I wanted to cut down, was uprooted in a storm.

3. The relative pronoun ‘which‘ is also used with a preposition:

·         My house, for which I paid rupees fifty lacs, is beautiful.

·         My house, which I paid rupees fifty lacs for, is beautiful.

4. In the possessive case, ‘whose’ or ‘of which’ are used:

·         My house, whose walls are made of stone, faces East.

·         My chair, of which one leg is broken, is made of teak wood.

·         ‘ Which’ can refer to a whole sentence:

·         I bought this compass, which helped me a lot.

·         A loud music was played near our house, which kept us awake throughout file night.

15. Relative Adverbs:
The relative adverbs ‘when‘, ‘where‘, ‘why‘ are used to replace a preposition and the relative pronoun ‘which‘.

·         ‘ When’ is used for time. It replaces ‘in/on which’.

·         ‘ Where’ is used for place. It replaces ‘in!at which’.

·         ‘ Why’ is used for reason. It replaces ‘for which’.

·         That was the year in which this city was flooded.

·         That was the year when this city was flooded.

·         This is the house in which he lived.

·         This is the house where he lived.

·         This is the reason for which he was fined.

·         This is the reason why he was fined.

Determiners

1. Determiner:
‘Determiner’ is a word used before a noun 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.

2. Kinds of Determiners

 

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

·         All the boys joined the race.

·         You will get all the information.

·         He drank half of the milk.

·         She stayed there all of the time.

·         Both the boys were present.

·         I paid double the sum for this bed.

·         He gets twice the pay that I get.

·         It was quite a shock.

·         He has rather a pleasant personality.

·         He has such a beautiful wife.

·         What a mess you have made!

4. Articles:
The article system in English consists of the definite article ‘the’ and the indefinite article ‘a’ or ‘an’. We 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’:
1. We can use the definite article before any common noun:

·         He threw the ball into the river.

·         The boys were not in the class.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. The definite article is used with time expressions:

·         I met her in the evening.

·         She came here in the morning.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. The definite article is used to refer to familiar things we use regularly:

·         She looked at the ceiling.

·         Suddenly the lights went out.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. The definite article is used before the names of large public buildings:

·         They visited the Taj Mahal.

·         They went to the Town Hall.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. We use the definite article before the nationals of a country or continent:

·         The Indians are very religious.

·         Some of the Europeans live here.

18. 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.
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before singular countable nouns:

·         Kolkata is a big city.

·         The dog is an animal.

5. We use ‘a’ or ‘on’ before the names of occupations and professions:

·         His father is an engineer.

·         He is a pilot.

6. When we use ‘a’ before ‘little‘ and few‘, there is a change in the meaning of these words. ‘A few’ 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.

7. We use ‘a’, ‘an’ before an adjective in a noun phrase:

·         She is a good girl.

·         She told me an interesting story.

8. We use ‘an’ with abbreviations beginning with the following letters: A, E, 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.

9. 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. 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.

·         They had enough guests already.

·         Plenty of people would like to have your job.

·         All children enjoyed the show.

·         They didn’t make much progress.

·         There was little water in the jug.

·         There is no milk in the bottle.

·         It has not made any difference to me.

·         There is enough powder in the can.

·         He drank a lot of water.

·         I have forgotten some of the details.

10. Distributives: each, every, either, neither.
Distributive determiners refer to each single member of a group.
1. 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.

2. Neither is the negative of either:

·         Neither member came to attend the meeting.

3. Either can also mean

·         People stood in either side (both sides) of the road.

·         Neither is followed by a singular noun.

4. 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?