Module 2: English Grammar

Part A: Sentence Improvement

In this type of questions a sentence is given with a word or phrase either CAPITALIZED or in (brackets). One is required to examine the selected part in accordance with the rules of grammar usage and vocabulary and decide upon its correctness. If the selected part is correct as it is, then, the correct option is No improvement or No Correction required. Sample Sentence Correction Questions with explanation:

Easy ones:
Sentence 1:This project would encourage development and enable every villager TO GOVERN THEIR own destiny. a. b. c. d. To govern his Have governed his Many govern their No correction required Solution: Clearly, the usage to govern is correct. But since villager is singular, so his should be used instead of their. Hence, the answer is (a) Sentence 2: She told her friends that she DRANK tea every morning. a. b. c. d. will drink drinks drunk No correction required Solution: Since a habitual action is denoted by Simple Present Tense, so here drinks should be used instead of drank. Hence, the answer is (b) Sentence 3: My school is IN A STONES THROW from my house. a. b. c. d. at a stones throw to a stones throw on a stones throw within a stones throw Solution: The correct idiom is within a stones throw. Hence, the answer is (d)

Difficult types:
Sentence 4: Hand ale pumps may slightly improve the flavor of ale over gas-powered kegs, but modern pub managers contend that HAND ALE PUMPS COST TWICE AS MUCH AS GAS-POWERED KEGS. (A) hand ale pumps cost twice as much as maintaining gas-powered kegs (B) hand ale pumps cost twice as much to maintain as gas-powered kegs do (C) maintaining hand ale pumps costs twice as much as gas-powered kegs do (D) maintaining hand ale pumps costs twice as much as it does for gas-powered kegs (E) to maintain hand ale pumps costs twice as much as for gas-powered kegs

Solution: This sentence compares the costs required to maintain two kinds of roads. B, the best choice, is able to maintain parallelism in the comparison as well. Choice A incorrectly shifts the meaning by comparing the cost of hand ale pumps with the cost of maintaining gas-powered kegs. Choice C does the opposite: it compares the cost of maintaining hand ale pumps with the cost of gas-powered kegs themselves. Choice D further confuses the sentence by adding a nonparallel clause, it does for, in which it has no clear referent. Choice E introduces the infinitive phrase to maintain.., and wrongly attempts to complete the comparison with the nonparallel prepositional phrase for.... Sentence 5: This week's Lotto session will have AN EVEN GREATER AMOUNT OF WINNERS than won last week. (A) an even greater amount of winners (B) an ever larger amount of winners (C) an amount of people even winners (D) a number of people even winners (E) an even greater number of winners Solution: Notice that three choices contain the word amount and two choices contain number. People, because they can be counted, come in numbers rather than amounts. (E) is best because of the remaining two because the phrase an even greater amount of people clearly refers to more people, while a number of people even larger could be referring to bigger people. Sentence 6: WITH only one percent of the world's population, the English people have dramatically altered the course of the world. A) With B) Although accounting for C) Being D) Despite having E) As Solution: The trick with this sentence correction question is the contrast between the size of the English population and the activities of its citizens. Choices D and B are the only ones that establish the contrast, and only B, the best choice, expresses meaning accurately with the phrase 'Although accounting for.' 'With' in choice A and 'Despite having' in choice D confusingly suggest that English people somehow possess, rather than constitute, one percent of the world's population. Choices E and C lose the contrast between the opening phrase and the main clause, and As is unidiomatic in E. Sentence 7: The public's widespread interest in the life of ANCIENT EGYPTIANS AND THEIR GENERAL CURIOSITY ABOUT EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE HAS generated considerable interest in science fiction. A) ancient Egyptians and their general curiosity about extraterrestrial life has B) ancient Egyptians and they are generally curious about extraterrestrial life which has C) ancient Egyptians, as well as their general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, have D) ancient Egyptians, as well as its general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, has E) ancient Egyptians, as well as general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, have Solution: The sample sentence has two errors. First, it is vague about what the word 'their' refers to (the public or the ancient Egyptians) and then there is a problem with subject/verb agreement (public is singular, meaning that it has to math 'has'. Logically, it would seem the reference is to the public, but public is singular; so we would have to use its, not their. Choice (B) is awkward. Choices (C), (D), and (E) change the sentence's structure so that the word belief becomes the only subject-now we need a singular verb. Only (D) contains the singular verb has. Practice Test: In each question, a part of the sentence is written in Capital words. Below each sentence, some phrases are given which can substitute the capitalized part of the sentence. Find out the phrase which can correctly substitute that part of the sentence. If the sentence is correct as it is, the answer is No correction required or No improvement.

1. All the allegations LEVELLED AGAINST him were found to be baseless. A. leveled for B. level with C. level against D. No correction required 2. Rohit is AS FAST AS or perhaps faster than Manish. A. equally fast B. almost as fast C. as fast D. No correction 3. I shall be grateful to you if you ARE OF HELP TO me now. A. would help B. help C. shall help D. No improvement 4. He cannot succeed in business because he works by FITS AND STARTS. A. with fits and starts B. fits and starts C. into fits and starts D. No improvement 5. He DID MANY MISCHIEFS. A. made many a mischiefs B. made much mischief C. committed many mischiefs D. No improvement 6. You may appoint WHOEVER you think can do the job most efficiently. A. anybody B. someone C. whomever D. No correction 7. This carpenter is the most skilled OF ALL THE OTHER CARPENTERS in our workshop. A. carpenter B. of all other carpenters C. of all carpenters D. No improvement 8. He has said A. B. C. D. so out of affection, do not take IT TO HEART. in heart it in the heart by the heart No improvement

9. I love THE LITERATURE, THE MUSIC, THE ART. A. literature, music and art B. the literature, music and art C. the literature, the music and the art D. literature, music and the art 10. Before I met Rajeev, I HAD a poor opinion of him. A. I must have had B. I have had C. I did have D. No improvement Answer Key: 1(D) 2(C) 3(B) 4(D) 5(C) 6(D) 7(A) 8(D) 9(A) 10(D)

Part B: Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past. The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. For example: Direct speech "I'm going to the cinema", he said.

Indirect speech He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): Direct speech Indirect speech She said, "It's cold." She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." She said, "I've been teaching English for seven years." She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said, "The lesson had already started when he arrived." She said, "I'd already been teaching for five minutes." Modal verb forms also sometimes change: Direct speech She said, "I will teach English online tomorrow." She said, "I can teach English online." She said, "I must have a computer to teach English online." She said, "What shall we learn today?" She said, "May I open a new browser?" She said it was cold. She said she was teaching English online. She said she had been on the web since 1999. She said she had been teaching English for seven years. She said she had taught online yesterday. She said she had been teaching earlier. NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already started when he arrived. NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been teaching for five minutes.

Indirect speech She said she would teach English online tomorrow. She said she could teach English online. She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.

She asked what we should learn today. She asked if she might open a new browser.

Practice Test
Directions: Change from Direct to Indirect and vice-versa. 1. The traveler enquired of the farmer if he could tell him the way to the nearest inn. A. The traveler said to the farmer, Where is the nearest inn? B. The traveler said to the farmer, Which is the way to the nearest inn? C. The traveler said to the farmer, Can you tell me the way to the nearest inn? D. The traveler said to the farmer, Can you tell me where is the nearest inn? 2. The spectators said, Bravo! well played, Ravi. A. The spectators called Ravi bravo because he had played well. B. The spectators said that Ravi played well and applauded him. C. The spectators encouraged Ravi saying that he played well. D. The spectators applauded Ravi, saying that he had played well. 3. If you dont keep quite I shall shoot you, he said to her in a calm voice. A. He warned her to shoot if she didnt keep quite calmly. B. He said calmly that I shall shoot you if you dont be quiet. warned her to shoot if she didnt keep quite calmly. C. He warned her calmly that he would shoot her if she didnt keep quite. D. Calmly he warned her that be quiet or else he will have to shoot her. Answer Key: 1)C 2)D 3)C

Part C: Changing voice, active to passive

Example of active voice Part of speech Sentence Subject The group Verb will present Object the report next week.

STEP 1: move the object to the subject position The report ... STEP 2: change the verb to the passive, making sure that BE takes the same tense as the verb in the active sentence The report will be presented ... STEP 3: drop the subject Example of passive voice without the subject The report will be presented next week. or move it to a position after the verb Example of passive voice with the subject The report will be presented by the group next week.

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above. 1. Move the passive sentence's subject into the active sentence's direct object slot Passive Voice The letter was mailed by Meena. subject Active Voice ..(mailed) the letter. direct object

2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb's form if needed Passive Voice The letter was mailed .. be auxillary Active Voice ..mailed the letter.

3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot. Passive Voice .by Meena. object of preposition by Active Voice Meena mailed. subject