COMMUNICATION SKILLS-II NOTES

UNIT I
ACTIVE VOICE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Verbs have two voices. Voice is the form of the verb which shows whether the Subject does
something or Subject has something done to it.

The Verb that expresses the action done by the subject is said to be in Active Voice.

The Verb that expresses what is done to the subject is said to be in the Passive Voice.

Accordingly, we can write a sentence in either of the two different ways.

Examine the changes from the Active Voice to the Passive Voice in the following sentences.

ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE

1. The cat chases the rat. The rat is chased by the cat.
2. They are cheering the king. The king is being cheered by them.
3. The hunter shot the tig The tiger was shot by the hunter.
4. John will teach the child. The child will be taught by John.

In short we may say in Active Voice, the subject is the doer of the action.

In Passive Voice, the subject is the receiver of the action.

The following points come to notice as the sentence in the Active Voice is changed into the
Passive Voice:-

Step 1: The object of the active verb is put in the subject position. The subject of the verb in the
Active Voice is made the object of the verb in the Passive Voice and is introduced with the
preposition ‘by’ or with some other suitable preposition.

Step 2: The Passive form of the verb is to be supplied like: Is chased, is being cheered, was
shot, will be taught

Step 3: The number of the verb is changed according to the number and person of the subject.

Passive Voice Forms of the Verb: A verb has three tenses and each tense has the following
four forms.

Now study carefully the table below and note the changes from the Active Voice to the Passive
Voice.
PRESENT ACTIVE PASSIVE
Simple He writes a letter A letter is written by him.
Continuous He is writing a letter A letter is being written by him
Perfect He has written a letter A letter has been writing a letter.
Perfect continuous He has been writing a letter.
*************
PAST ACTIVE PASSIVE
Simple He wrote a letter. A letter was written by him.
Continuous He was writing a letter. A letter was being written by him.
Perfect He had written a letter. A letter had been written by him.
Perfect continuous He had been writing a letter.
************
FUTURE ACTIVE PASSIVE
Simple He will write a letter. A letter will be written by him.
Continuous He will be writing a letter.
*************
Perfect He will have written a letter. A letter will have been written by him.
Perfect continuous He will have been writing a letter.
***************

There is no Passive Form of a Verb in the Perfect Continuous Forms of all the three tenses.
There is no Passive Form of a Verb in the Continuous Form of the Future Tense.

Use of Active and Passive Voice

The Active voice is used when the subject is to be made prominent; the Passive, when the object
is to be made prominent; as He hit the
ball. The ball was hit by him.

The Passive Voice is preferred to the Active Voice in the following cases:-

1. When the doer is not known, or when it is not intended to name him; as
The patient was carried home.
2. When the subject in the Active Voice is clear from the context; as
She was dismissed. [Subject – Her mistress]
3. When we mean to take greater interest in the sufferer than in the doer of the action; as
The boat was wrecked in the storm.

Passive Sentence with Two Objects

A verb can have two possible passive voices when it takes two objects: a direct object and an
indirect object. Normally, it is the indirect object (the first object that appears first in an
active sentence) which becomes the subject of the passive sentence. We can however also
use the direct object as the subject.

Active: The salesman showed him (indirect object) a newcomputer (direct object).

Passive: He was shown a new computer.

Passive: A new computer was shown to him.

Active: We lent Bob some money. / We lent some money to Bob.

Passive: Bob was lent some money.

Passive: Some money was lent to Bob.

Active: Jack sent Jill a birthday card.

Passive: Jill was sent a birthday card by Jack.

Passive: A birthday card was sent to Jill by Jack.

Reasons for NOT using the passive voice

The passive voice uses too many words, and at times can be difficult to understand. The
active voice expresses in fewer words and is easy to understand. Writing tends to become
clearer when unnecessary words are not used.

Passive: The protesters were kicked, punched and handcuffed by the police before they were
taken away in the police van. (Words:19 / Characters: 93)

Active: The police kicked, punched and handcuffed the protesters before taking them away
in a police van. (16/82)

More on passive voice

The passive sentence requires a verb that has an object (transitive verb). The following
sentences show some verbs are both transitive and intransitive. The intransitive verb does not
take an object, so it does not allow the construction of a passive sentence.

Transitive: They laughed at me.

Intransitive: They laughed.

 Transitive: My father was reading a newspaper.

Intransitive: My father was reading.

Some examples of the Active and Passive Voice

Simple sentences:

1. She buys a book. A book is bought by her.

2. This pot contains ink. Ink is contained in this pot.
3. He wrote a letter. A letter was written by him.
4. They knew it. It was known to them.
5. I shall write a letter. A letter will be written.
6. They do not play the match. A match is not played by them.
7. Sita did not sing a song. A song was not sung by Sita.
Continuous sentences:

1. The masons are building the house. The house is being built by the masons.
2. She was reading a book. A book was being read by her.
3. They were not laughing at him. He was not being laughed at by them.
Perfect tense:

1. She has done her work. Her work has been done by her.
2. I have not bought the car. The car has not been bought by me.
3. Satish had stolen my book. My book had not been stolen by him.

Verbs followed by Prepositions:

1. She laughed at the old man. The old man was laughed at by her.
2. He listened to me. I was listened to by him.
3. He will object to my proposal. My proposals will be objected to by him.

Imperative sentences:

1. Carry it home. Let it be carried home.

2. Write a letter to your brother. Let a letter be written to your brother.
3. Do not beat the dog. Let not the dog be beaten.
4. Help me. Let me be helped. You are requested to help me
5. Don’t touch it. Let it not be touched. You are warned not to touch it.

Interrogative sentences:
 1. Do the children play football? Is football played by the children?
2. Have you finished the work? Has the work been finished by you?
3. Can anybody cure it? Can it be cured?
4. Who killed the snake? By whom was the snake killed?
5. Whom did you laugh at? Who was laughed at by you?
6. What do you want? What is wanted by you?
Rewrite the following sentences in Active form:

1. He is being deceived by his own friends. His own friends are deceiving him.
2. Our live are spent in expectation. We spend our lives in expectation.
3. The story was eagerly listened to. They listened to the story eagerly.
4. The electric wires have been cut. They have cut the electric wires.

DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH

There are two ways of reporting the words of a speaker:

[1] We may quote within quotation marks [“ “] the speaker’s own actual words. This is called
the Direct Speech or Quoted Speech.

[2] We may report the substance of what the speaker said without quoting his exact words. This
is called the Indirect or Reported Speech.

You will note that the reporting portion is the Principal Clause and actual speech is the
Subordinate Noun Clause.

Study the construction of the following:

He said to me, “I am going.”

The change from Direct Speech to Indirect Speech is a transformation, that is, change of form
without change of meaning. Note the following points in the foregoing example:

i. Said is called the reporting verb.

ii. That has been placed before the indirect statement.

While changing Direct into Indirect speech, the Personal Pronouns, the tenses of the Verbs and
the Adverbs indicating time and distance in the Direct Speech undergo the following changes:-

I.Rules for the change of Pronouns:

i. The Pronouns of the first person [I, we, my, mine, our, ours, me, or us] of the Direct
Speech change according to the person of the subject of the reporting verb.
ii. The Pronouns of the second person [you, your, yours] of the Direct Speech change
according to the person of the object of the reporting verb.
 iii. The Pronoun of the third person [he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, they, theirs, them] or
any other name or noun remains in the third person.

Examples:

i. You say to me, “I am busy.” You say to me that you are busy.
ii. You say to me, “You are busy.” You say to me that I am busy.
iii. You say to me, “He is busy.” You say to me that he is busy.

II. Rules for the change of Tenses:

i. If the reporting verb in the present or future tense, the tense of the verb in the Direct
speech is not changed.

Examples:

a) John says, “The teacher is not at home. [Direct Speech]

John says that the teacher is not at home [Indirect Speech]
b) John will say, “I have submitted my assignment.”[Direct Speech]
John will say that he has submitted his assignment.[Indirect Speech]

ii. When the Reporting Verb in the reporting portion is in the past tense, all present tenses of
the Direct Speech are changed in the corresponding past tenses.

Present indefinite BECOMES past indefinite

Write “ wrote
Is writing “ was writing
Has written “ had written
Has been writing “ had been writing

iii. If the reporting verb is in the past tense, a past tense in the direct speech may turned into
a past perfect tense Past indefinite BECOMES past perfect
Wrote “ had written
Was writing “ had been writing.

iv. If Reporting Verb in the past tense, will or shall in the Direct Speech is generally
changed into would or should.
v. Rules for the change of Adverbs or words indicating Time or Place

Now Then Tonight That night

This That
Tomorrow The next day, the following day
These Those
here There Yesterday The previous day, the day before
ago BECOMES Before BECOMES
Last night The night before, the previous
today That
night
day Next week The following week, the next
week

vi. Universal truth:

If the direct speech expresses a universal truth or a habitual fact, the tense in indirect
speech is not changed; as
Direct: The man said, “God is everywhere.”
Indirect: The man said that God is everywhere.
Direct: He said, “The evil that men do lives after them.”
Indirect: He said that the evil that men do lives after them.

Before changing the speech from Direct to Indirect, it is necessary to find out whether the actual
speech is Declarative or Assertive [making ordinary statements or assertions], Interrogative
[asking questions], Imperative [ expressing order, request, advice or suggestions] or Exclamatory
[ expressing strong feelings of joy, applause, wonder, grief etc.,]

Declarative or Assertive: In the declarative or assertive form of a sentence, the reporting verbs
say or tell does not need any change. Other reporting verbs [reply, state, declare, confess,
remark, remind, inform] may be used in changing assertive into indirect speech to express
whether the speech is a reply, confession, reminder etc.

Turn the following sentences in the Indirect Speech:

1) I said to him, “You are very ambitious.”

2) He said, “I left school long ago.”
3) The teacher said, “Virtue triumphs in the long run.”
4) She says, “I am reading a delightful story.”
5) Hari said to me, “”I shall be grateful if you help me.”

Interrogative [Questions]:

i. In reporting questions, the reporting verb is changed to ask, enquire, demand, or some
such verb. That is not used after the reporting verb.
ii. When question begins with an interrogative pronoun, such as what, who, whom, whose,
or which an interrogative adverb such as when, where, why, how etc. the same word is
used to introduce the indirect speech, that is, it becomes the joining word.
 iii. Whenever the question may have yes or no for answer If or Whether is used to introduce
the indirect speech.
iv. The question form is changed into the assertive form. It means that the subject should be
placed before the verb.

Turn the following in the indirect speech:

1) I said to him, “Who are you?”

2) Amar asked me, “Why do you not go home?”
3) The mother said to her daughter, “Do you know where Prem is?”
4) He said to me, “Why did you strike him?”
5) “Where are you going?” said Viola to Rosalind.

Imperative [commands, request or advice]:

i. The Reporting Verb is changed into a verb denoting command, request, or advice. All
these verbs must be followed by an object.
ii. The verbs indicating command, request or advice [go, work, lend, do not eat etc.] are
changed into infinitives [to go, to work, to lend, not to eat etc.]
iii. That is not generally used. If that is used, then instead of ‘to’ ‘should’ is placed before
the imperative.

Report the following in Indirect Speech:

1) I said to him, “Obey your parents.” I

advised him to obey his parents.
I advised him that he should obey his parents.
2) Jimmie said to me, “Lend me your book, please.
Jimmie requested me to lend him my book.
3) The doctor said to the patient, “Do not eat too many sweets.”
The doctor advised the patient not to eat too many sweets.

Changing ‘Let’:
‘Let’ is used to express Request, Suggestion or Command.

1) He said, “Let me go.”

He requested to let him go.
2) He said, “Let’s take him to the doctor.”
He suggested that they should take him to the doctor.
3) The police inspector said, “Let no one leave this room.”
The police inspector ordered that no one should leave that room.
Exclamatory [Exclamations and Wishes]:

i. Change the reporting verbs into some such verb as pray, cry, exclaim, bless, wish or
some other similar verb.
ii. Omit interjections such as oh, bravo, hush, alas, hurrah or some other similar
interjections.

Express the following in Indirect Speech:

1) The child said, “Hurrah! My mother has come.”

The child exclaimed with delight that his mother had come.
2) The boys said, “Alas! We have lost the match.”
The boys exclaimed sorrowfully that they had lost their match.”
3) He said, “May you live long!”
He wished [or prayed] that he might live long.
4) The captain said, “Bravo! You have done well.”
The captain applauded him, saying that he had done well.

EXERCISES:

Change these orders into indirect speech. [Imperative]

1. "Hurry up!" he told us.

2. "Turn on the light!" she said to John.

3. "Don't be late tomorrow morning," my mother warned me.

4. "Be careful!" I told George.

5. "Be careful when you come to the bend!" I told Nick.

6. "Pick that bag up and put it on the table," my father said to me.

7. "Buy some bananas for me," my mother said to Michael.

8. "Buy some apples for me when you go to the market tomorrow," my sister told Mary.

9. "Go and see Tim," my brother told me.

10. "Go and see Sid and ask him to lend me his bicycle," my sister said to me.

Put the following statements into Indirect or Reported Speech. [Declarative or Assertive]

1. He said, "I'm just going to the market. I shan't be long."

2. "I can't find the shop you told me about," my sister said to me.
3. "I don't like the pattern on that dress very much," she said to me.

4. "You are late again," my brother told me.

5. "You were late yesterday," John said to me.

6. "You will be late if you don't hurry up," my mother said to me.

7. "George has forgotten his books," I told my sister.

8. "George forgot his bag yesterday," I told my brother.

9. "George will forget his bag again unless you remind him," I said to my sister.

10. He said, "It's raining."

Report the following in Indirect Speech: [Interrogative]

1) “Have you anything to say on behalf of the accused?” said the judge to the counsel.
2) “Who are you, and what do you want here?” said the uncle to the stranger.
3) The teacher said to the boy, “Can you tell me in detail the causes of the Great War?”
4) “Have you any money to spare?” said Gulab to his friend.
5) The teacher said to the newcomer, “What is your name and where do you come from?”
6) Savitri said to her mother, “How were books written in olden days?”
7) The wolf said to the lambs, “Why are you all sad?”
8) The teacher said, “Boys, what do you understand by this phrase?”
9) Orlando said to Jaques, “How many times a day do you have your food?”
10) My father said to me, “Where does the light of the moon come from?”

Express the following in Indirect Speech: [Exclamatory]

1) “How glad I am,” said Rob Roy, “to meet my friend here!”
2) The Emperor said, “Alas! Our foes are too strong.”
3) She said, “What a pity! You did not come.”
4) “Long live the king!” echoed the audience.
5) The patient said, “How painful the wound is!”
6) He said, “My God! I am undone.”
7) “Hurrah!” cried the boy, “I have won a prize.”
8) “Look! What a beautiful rainbow that is,” called our Alice to her friend.
9) William said to his son, “How clever the crow is!”
10) The officer said, “Hang it all! Can you not do it more neatly?”
The officer asked him angrily whether he could not do that more neatly
 THE PHRASE AND THE CLAUSE

In the following sentences, examine the groups of words which are underlined.

Ram knocked at my door. He

is sitting on the bench. I
don’t know how to solve the problem.
This box is made of plastic.

The groups of underlined words make sense, but not complete sense.

Definition:
A group of words which makes sense, but not complete sense, is called a Phrase.

Underline the Phrases in the following sentences:

1) Chanakya was a man of wisdom.

2) It is a story without any truth.
3) He is a boy from the hills
4) Pratap was a man of great courage
5) King Hero had a crown made of gold.

Now examine the following sentences.

1. He has a ring which is made of silver. 2.

He knows how he could do it.

In the first sentence, the first group of words ‘He has a ring’ contains a subject [He] and a
predicate [has a ring]. The second group of words in the same sentence contains a subject
[which] and a predicate [is made of silver].

In the second sentence, the first group of words ‘He knows’ contains a subject [He] and a
predicate [knows]. The second group of words contains a subject [he] and a predicate [how
could do it].

Definition:
A group of words which forms part of a sentence and contains a subject and predicate is
called a clause.
Separate the Clauses in the following sentences:

1) He laughed when he saw the monkey danced.

2) He came when I was about to leave.
3) Make hay while the sun shines.
4) While I slept, they removed all my books.
5) As we ran, a car swept past us.

MAIN AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

Read the following sentence.

We should live where the climate is good. The above sentence consists of two parts:

1) We should live.
2) Where the climate is good.
Each is a part of a long sentence and contains a Subject and Predicate of its own. Each part is,
therefore, a Clause.

The clause, ‘we should live’, makes a good sense by itself and hence may stand by itself as a
complete sentence. It is, therefore, called the Main or Principal Clause.

The clause, ‘where the climate is good’ cannot stand by itself and make a good sense. It is
dependent on the clause ‘we should live’. It is, therefore, called a Dependent or Subordinate
Clause.

Subordinate or Dependent Clauses are of THREE kinds, according to their functions:

1. Noun Clause

Subordinate Clause which does the work of a Noun is called a Noun Clause.
As a dependent clause, it must connect to an independent clause (main clause). Noun clauses
usually begin with words such as how, that, what, whatever, when, where, which, who,
whoever, and why.

The most common word among them isthat; as,

He told me that he had shot someone.
The leader demands that we treat him like a God.
Most people know that a spider has eight legs.Why he said he would not get married, nobody
knows.He told me that he had shot someone.

2. Adjective Clause
 A Subordinate Clause which does the work of an Adjective is an Adjective Clause
as, [ Blessed are
those whose cares are few.
I have lost the book which he gave me.

The Adjective Clause begins with who, whom, whose or which.

1. The man who lives next to me is friendly.

2. The man whom I met was friendly.
3. The book which is on the table is mine.
4. The man whom I saw was Mr. Jones.
5. The man who / whom I saw was Mr. Jones.

3. Adverb Clause

A Subordinate Clause which does the work of an adverb is called an Adverb Clause. It
adds extra information about the time, place, manner, etc to a sentence, and modifies the
verb as,

He shook my hand before he died.

He ate the whole, big pizza although he said he was not hungry.
The wife now sleeps in another room because the husband snores loudly.
Bill and I once fought bravely against each other when we were class

TRANSFORMATION OF SENTENCES

Simple, Complex and CompoundSentences

Simple Sentences

A sentence having only one clause is called a Simple Sentence. Or A Simple Sentence is one
which has only one Finite Verb.

Examples:

1. Seeing the wolf, the boy ran away.

2. I’ve met him before.
3. Being tired, he went to bed
4. Having finished his work, he returned home.
5. I saw a girl with blue eyes.
6. Mr. James wants her students to succeed.
He must work very hard to make up for the lost time.
7. The teacher punished the boy for disobedience,
8. Hearing his father footsteps he ran away.
9. We must eat to live.
10. Finishing his exercise he put away his books.

Compound Sentences

A sentence having two or more main clauses is called a Compound Sentence.

Examples:

1. The boy saw the wolf and ran away.

2. I ran to the window and looked down into the street.

A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or complete
sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating
conjunctions are easy to remember if you think of the words

FAN BOYS:

 For
 And
 Nor
 But
 Or
 Yet
 So

CONNECTOR CLAUSE 1 CLAUSE 2

FOR Fans love to watch Anna. She dances beautifully.
reason
AND
She is a graceful dancer. People enjoy watching her.
addition
NOR
She hasn't taken dance lessons. She doesn't need to.
and not
BUT
Her technique is not well-developed. Her lines are extraordinary.
contrast
OR
She can fill an audience with joy. She can bring them to tears.
option
YET
Other dancers try to imitate her style. She is unique.
outcome
SO She is young.
She will perform for many more years.
result

COMPOUND SENTENCE / COORDINATE CLAUSES

Fans love to watch Anna,for¹ she dances beautifully.

She is a graceful dancer, andpeople enjoy watching her.
She hasn't taken dance lessons, nor does she need to.
Her technique is not well-developed,buther lines are extraordinary.
She can fill an audience with joy, or she can bring them to tears.
Other dancers try to imitate her style, yet she is unique.
She is young, so she will perform for many more years.
¹ for as a connector, is not commonly used in American English

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
connected to it. A dependent clause is similar to an independent clause, or complete sentence, but
it lacks one of the elements that would make it a complete sentence.

Examples of dependent clauses include the following:

 because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon
 while he waited at the train station
 after they left on the bus

Dependent clauses such as those above cannot stand alone as a sentence, but they can be added
to an independent clause to form a complex sentence.
Dependent clauses begin with Subordinating Conjunctions. Below are some of the most
common subordinating conjunctions:

 after
 although
 as
 because
 before
 even though
 if
 since
 though
 unless
 until
 when
 whenever
 whereas
 wherever
 while

Table of Subordinating
Conjunctions
Time After, As, As soon as, Before, Once, Since, Until, When, While
Manner As, As if, As though, Like

Cause and Effect Although, Though, Whereas, While, Except, That

Condition Because, In that, Now that, Since, So that

Condition If, In case, Provided (that), Unless

Purpose So that, In order that

Comparison As…as, More than, Less than, Than

Punctuating Complex Sentences with Subordinating Conjunctions
If a subordinate clause appears at the beginning of a complex sentence, it must be
separated from the independent clause by a comma.
Example:
After she finished her homework, Monica went shopping.
In general, if a subordinate clause appears after the independent clause in a compound
sentence, no comma is needed.
Example: Monica went shopping after she finished her homework

The term Periodic Sentenceis used to refer to a complex sentence beginning with a dependent
clause and ending with an independent clause, as in "While he waited at the train station, Joe
realized that the train was late."

Periodic sentences can be especially effective because the completed thought occurs at the end of
it, so the first part of the sentence can build up to the meaning that comes at the end.

Examples:

1. When the boy saw the wolf, he ran away.

2. Before we went very far, we found that we had lost our way.
3. As he was tired, he went to bed.
4. After he had finished his work, he returned home.
5. I saw a girl who had blue eyes.
Formation of Questions

Formation of questions: Examples

If there is no auxiliary verb in the affirmative sentence, we use ‘do’, ‘does’ or ‘did’ to form
questions. Note that do and does are used to form questions in the simple present tense. Did is
used to form questions in the past tense.

Change the following affirmative sentences into questions.

1. James plays cricket. 1. Does James play cricket?

2. Alice speaks French. 2. Does Alice speak French?

3. Heat expands bodies. 3. Does heat expand bodies?

4. Peter makes models from clay. 4. Does Peter make models from clay?

5. She practices the violin each morning . 5. Does she practice the violin each morning?

‘WH’ QUESTIONS

a). Wh-questions are questions that begin with one of the eight “wh ” words:

who, whose, what, when, which, why, where and how.

b). 'Wh' questions ask for specific information and start with a question word.

C). ‘Wh’- questions focus on particular parts of sentences--not generally on the whole sentence
the way that yes-no questions do.

d). Wh’- questions are formed by inserting a ‘wh’- word into a sentence in the place of missing
information

1. Who replaces pronouns and the names of people.When the question word is the subject, the
word order doesn't change:

“Columbus discovered America in 1492.” “Who discovered America in 1492?”

2. “Whose” is the possessive form of “who,” and works the same way: “Shakespeare's plays are
well known.” “Whose plays are well known?”

“That is Jack's dog.” “Whose dog is that?”

3. “What” replaces any noun or noun phrase that is not a person or pronoun. Questions are
formed with “what” the same way as with “who” and “whose”:

“The car hit the dog.” “What hit the dog?”

“Mary's favorite candy is chocolate.” “What is Mary's favorite candy?”

5. “Which” is used when one object among several has to be selected.“Which” replaces the
specific object identified: “That car was involved in the accident.” “Which car was involved in
the accident?” “The baseball broke that window.” “Which window did the baseball break?”

6. “Where” refers to adverbials of place or location

“The keys are on the table.” “Where are the keys?”

7.“Why” does not replace any specific word or phrase in a sentence. Rather, “why” asks for the
reasons an action was done. The clause in a sentence explaining “why” usually begins with
“because....”

“Mary is thin because she went on a diet.” “Why is Mary thin?” “John missed the bus because he
got up late.” “Why did John miss the bus?”

8. “How” refers to the way, manner, or to what degree something was done.

It replaces adverbs or adverb phrases.

“Mary is very beautiful.” “How beautiful is Mary?” “John ran quickly to school” “How did John
run to school?” “Bill passed the test by studying hard.” “How did Bill pass the test?”

Prepositions often come at the end of a question.

Eg. What are you looking at? Which channel is the film on?

What are you afraid of? What schools did you go to?

Who did you dance with? What is it about?

Who did you give it to? Who was it written by?

Who is he getting married to? What did you do that for?

How long did you stay for? Who did you get that from?
WITH THE QUESTION WORDS WHO, WHAT & WHICH, IF THE ANSWER IS THE
SUBJECT, THERE IS NO AUXILIARY 'DO, DOES, DID AND THE WORD ORDER IS THE
SAME AS A STATEMENT.

SUBJECT (+ VERB + OBJECT)

Who broke the window? Peter (broke the window)

Who discovered America? Columbus (discovered America)

Which actors starred in Casablanca? Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall (starred in
Casablanca).

Which switch operates this machine? The red switch (operates the machine).

QUESTION TAGS AND SHORT ANSWERS

Question Tags or Tag Questions

Tag questions (or question tags) are a grammatical structure in which a declarative statement or
an imperative is turned into a question by adding an interrogative fragment (the “tag”). The term
“tag question” is generally preferred by American grammarians, but the British prefer “question
tag”.

It is a common practice in conversation to make a statement and ask for confirmation; as

It’s very hot, isn’t it?
The later part [‘isn’t it] is called a question tag.

The pattern is

[i] Auxiliary + n’t + subject, if the statement is positive.

[ii] Auxiliary + subject, if the statement is negative.

[i] It’s raining, isn’t it?

You are free, aren’t you?

She can swim well, can’t she?

Gopi broke the glass, didn’t he?

Your sister cooks well, doesn’t she?

[ii] You aren’t busy, are you?

She can’t swim, can she?

John doesn’t work hard, does he?

They haven’t come yet, have they?

He’s read this book, hasn’t he?

He read this book, didn’t he?
He’s reading this book, isn’t he?
He reads a lot of books, doesn’t he?
He’ll read this book, won’t he?
He should read this book, shouldn’t he?

Note that the subject of the question tag is always a pronoun, never a noun.

Note these peculiarities:

I am right, aren’t I?
Let’s go to the beach, shall we?
Wait a minute, can you?
Have some more rice, will you?
There is mosque in that street, isn’t there?
There are some girls in your class, aren’t they?
Somebody has called, haven’t they?
Open the window, will you?

She doesn’t really want that, does she?

You’d better stop now, hadn’t you?

So you thought it would be a good idea to reprogram the computer, did you?

It’s quite an achievement to win a Nobel prize, isn’t it?

Oh I must, must I?
I just adore Beethoven, don’t you?

I’m coming with you, alright?

Easier said than done, eh?

SHORT ANSWERS

The following is the most usual form of short answers to verbal questions [that is, questions
begin with an auxiliary]

Yes + pronoun + auxiliary

OR
No + pronoun + auxiliary.

1) Are you going to school?

Yes, I am.
No, I am not.
2) Can you drive a car?
Yes, I can.
No, I can’t?
3) Does Venu work hard?
Yes, he does.
No, he doesn’t.
4) Is your son married?
Yes, he is.
No, he isn’t?
5) Did he say anything?
Yes, he did.
No, he didn’t.
 BASIC PATTERN OF SENTENCES

A sentence comprises of two major elements known as Subject and Predicate.

The part of the sentence which names a person or a thing we speak about is called the subject of
the sentence. The part which tells something about the subject is called the predicate of the
sentence.

Subject Predicate
The processor works slowly.
The manager taught us the new system.
We elected him the new leader
Naeem has become an engineer.
The mechanic repairs machines.

The predicate comprises of four elements namely

1. Verb [V]
2. Object [O]
3. Complement [C]
4. Adjunct [A]

A Verb tells something about the state of the subject or action done by the subject.

An Object is a person or thing to which an action or feeling or thought is directed. There are
two kinds of objects namely Indirect object and Direct object.

A Complement completes the sense of the sentence.

An Adjunct is a word or phrase added to qualify or define another word in a sentence.

Examples:

The processor [S] works [V] slowly. [A]

The mechanic [S] repairs [V] machines. [O]
The manager [S] taught [V] us [IO] the new system. [DO]
Naeem [S] has become [V] an engineer. [C]
We [S] browse [V] every evening. [A]

Basic Sentence Patterns

SV – Birds fly. The sun has set. We play.

SVC – He was a magician. It has become hot. It smells sweet.

SVO – They lit a fire. The children cannot speak English. We learn grammar.

SVOC – People made him king. He called me a fool. I consider the step unwise.

SVIODO – I gave Babu a book. They told the teacher their problem. He showed his father the
progress report.

SVA – The sun rises in the east. A chair can’t stand on two legs. I didn’t go anywhere.

 “Adjunct is a term used in grammatical theory to refer to an optional or secondary

element in a construction; an adjunct may be removed without the structural
identity of the rest of the construction being affected.

(Adjunct) Subject Verb Indirect Direct Object (Adjunct)

Object
[1] Usually David sings in the bath
[2] Unfortunately the wants to retire this year
professor
[3] At the start of the the judge showed the jury the in a private
trial photographs chamber

PUNCTUATION

Definition:
It isthe use of standard marks and signs in writing and printing to separate words into phrases,
clauses and sentences in order to clarify meaning. The word Punctuation derived from the Latin
punctum, a point.
The following are the Principal marks:-
 1. Full Stop [ .]
2. Comma [ , ]
3. Semicolon [ ; ]
4. Colon [ : ]
5. Question Mark [? ]
6. Exclamation Mark [! ]
7. Inverted Commas or Quotation Marks [ “ ” ]
8. Dash [ ---- ]
9. Hyphen [- ]
10. Parenthesis [Brackets ]
11. Apostrophe [ ’ ]
12. Capital letters

1. [a] Full Stop represents the greatest pause and separation. It is used to mark the end of the
Declarative or an Imperative sentence; as We are
learning Punctuation.
[b] The Full Stop can be used in abbreviations, but they are often omitted in modern style.
M.A. or MA
M.P. or MP
U.N.O. or UNO

2.Comma:
a) To separate series of words in the same construction; as
He lost lands, money, reputation and friends. [Note: A Comma is generally not placed
before the word preceded by and ]
b) To mark off a Noun or Phrase in Apposition; as
Milton, the great English poet, was blind.
c) To mark off a direct quotation from the rest of the sentence; as He said to the disciples,
“Watch and pray.”

3. Semicolon

Semi colon is a punctuation mark with a symbol [;] which is much stronger than a comma; it has
almost the strength of a full stop. Uses: It is used
instead of the comma to separate parts of a sentence which already contains commas.
It is also used in formal writing, to separate two main clauses especially those not joined by a
conjunction.

Ex: The sun was already low in the sky; it would soon be dark.

4. Colon marks a still more complete pause than that expressed by the semicolon. It is used
[often with a dash after it]:-

a) To introduce a quotation; as
Bacon says: - “Reading makes a full man, writing an exact man, speaking a ready man.”
b) Before enumeration; as
The principal parts of a verb in English are: Present tense, Past tense and Pastparticiple.

5. Question Mark is used, instead of a full stop, after a direct question; as

Have you done your exercise?

6. Exclamation mark is used after Interjections and after phrases and sentences expressing
sudden emotion or wish; as Alas!
O dear!
What a terrible fire this is!

7. Inverted Commas are used to enclose the exact words of a speaker, or a quotation;
as He said, “I would like to see a movie today.”

8. Dash is used:-
a) To indicate an abrupt stop or change of thought; as
If my husband were alive – but why lament the past?
b) To resume a scattered subject; as Friends,
companions, relatives – all deserted him.

9. Hyphen – a shorter line than the dash – is used to connect the parts of a compound word; as
Passer-by, man-of-war, jack-of-all-trades
It is also used to connect parts of a word divided at the end of a line.

10Parentheses are used to separate from the main part of the sentence a phrase or clause which
does not grammatically belong to it; as He gained from
heaven (it was all he wished) a friend.
11.Apostrophe is used:-
a) To show the omission of letter or letters; as
Don’t, I’ve
b) To form the plural of letters and figures.
Dot your i’s and cross your t’s
Add two 5’s and five 2’s

12. Capital letters are used

a) To begin a sentence
b) To begin each line of poetry
c) To begin all proper nouns and adjectives derived from them; as Dar es salaam, Africa,
Africans, Shakespeare, Shakespearean
d) To write the pronoun ‘I’ and the interjection ‘O’
e) For all the nouns and pronouns referring to God; as
the Lord, the Almighty, His will
f) To begin the first letter of the speech within inverted commas; as
My father said, “All that glitters is not gold.”
g) But when a quotation is continued, the first word does not begin with a capital letter; as
“You are late,” said the teacher, “and now you will be fined.”