ICSE/ISC 2025

LANGUAGE SUBJECT
FOR HIGH SCHOOL
Grammar
GRAMMAR RULES
 PUNCTUATION RULES

Every sentence must end with a Don’t link independent clauses

Rule 1 Rule 5
full stop with commas

Quotation marks are when

Proper nouns (places, brands)
Rule 2 Rule 6 quoting or sometimes to convey
must always be capitalized
irony, not for emphasis

Punctuation marks that are not

When you use opening
part of a quoted section of text
Rule 3 quotation marks, use closing Rule 7
must be placed outside the
quotation marks at the end
quotation marks

Use comma after the

Don’t use an apostrophe when
Rule 4 Rule 8 introductory element of a
you are pluralizing a word
sentence providing background
 CAPITALIZATION RULES

● Capitalize first word of a ● Capitalize days, months, and

Sentence holidays, but not seasons
● Capitalize names and other ● Capitalize most words in
Nouns titles
● Don’t capitalize after a colon ● Capitalize cities, countries,
(Usually) nationalities, and languages
● Capitalize the first word of a ● Capitalize time periods and
quote (Sometimes) events (Sometimes)
 01

As soon as/ No sooner

Hardly/ Scarcely
 RULES

As soon as No sooner Hardly Scarcely

• As soon as I reach home, • No sooner do I reach home • Hardly do I reach home • Scarcely do I reach
my sister greets me. than my sister greets me. when my sister greets me. home when my sister
(Present) (Present) (Present) greets me. (Present)

• As soon as I reached • No sooner did I reach home • Hardly had I reached home • Scarcely had I reached
home, my sister greeted me. than my sister greeted me. when my sister greeted me. home when my sister
(Past) (Past) (Past) greeted me. (Past)

• As soon as the bell was • No sooner was the bell rung • Hardly was the bell rung • Scarcely was the bell rung
rung, we ran to our than we ran to our when we ran to our when we ran to our
classroom.(With Auxiliary) classroom.(With Auxiliary) classroom.(With Auxiliary) classroom.(With Auxiliary)
 PRACTISE

Rewrite using As soon as, No sooner, Hardly and Scarcely:

1. The dog started barking the moment it saw a stranger.

2. The birds migrate when winter comes.
3. When the lights went out, the guests arrived.
4. When the chief guest was seated, the program began.

Follow the rules while solving these.

 2

Begin: But For

 BEGIN with BUT FOR

BUT FOR is a Negative Phrase

The latter portion

remains same Use Noun after it

Had not Ram been weak in English, he would have been selected.

- But for Ram’s weakness in English, he would have been selected.

 PRACTISE

Begin the following sentences with ‘But for’:

1. If it had not rained, we would have attended the party.

2. Had not John been ill, he would have joined us.
3. If the company had not sent a car, I would have been late.

Follow the rules while solving these.

 3
Transformation:
Assertive-Interrogative,
Affirmative-Negative,
Assertive - Exclamatory
 *You cannot change the meaning of sentences

Assertive to Interrogative

ASSERTIVE INTERROGATIVE

It was an interesting book. Was not it an interesting book?

They will come to the party. Will they not come to the party?

Everybody likes an honest man. Who does not like an honest man?

Nobody likes a cheat. Who likes a cheat?

It is foolish to cry over spilt milk. Why cry over spilt milk?

It does not matter if the field is lost. What if the field is lost?

Blood is thicker than water. Is not blood thicker than water?

 *You cannot change the meaning of sentences

Affirmative to Negative

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Stella is prettier than Mary. Mary is not as pretty as Stella.

She always keeps her room tidy. She never leaves her room untidy.

He drives his car very carefully. He does not drive his car carelessly.

All the students liked the program. No student disliked the program.

The farmer was so weak that he could not

The farmer was too weak to walk.
walk.

Nobody was absent.

Everybody was present

.
 *You cannot change the meaning of sentences

Assertive to Exclamatory

AFFIRMATIVE EXCLAMATORY

Time flies very quickly. How quickly time flies!

I wish I knew this before. If only I knew this before!

The moonlight very sweetly sleeps How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this
upon this bank. bank!

I wish that I were young again. If only I were young again!

He leads a most unhappy life. What an unhappy life he leads!

It is a matter of joy that we have won Hurrah! We have won the final match of this
the final match of this year. year.
 PRACTISE

Transformation of sentences:

1. It is a matter of regret that he has again failed in exam.

(Exclamatory)

2. I wish I could fly like a bird.(Exclamatory)

3. Manu will not be coming to the party.(Interrogative)

4. Nobody knows where the book is.( Interrogative)

5. Man is mortal. (Negative)

 4

Begin: Unless
 BEGIN with UNLESS

Unless is a Negative word

Don’t use ‘not’ with it It replaces ‘if’

If he wasn't very ill, he would be at work.

- Unless he was very ill, he would be at work.

 PRACTISE

Begin the following sentences with ‘Unless’:

1. If you do not hurry, you will miss the train.

2. If the weather is not good, we cannot go to the beach

3. You will not lose weight if you do not exercise regularly.

Follow the rules while solving these.

 5
Conditionals: Other
expressions (Should you,
Had you, As long as,
Provided)
 Rules

Transformation of sentences:
Use As long as :
Begin Should:
● You can play in the living
● If you need any information, contact me. room unless you make a mess.
-- Should you need any information, contact -- You can play in the living room as
me. long as you don’t make a mess.
Begin Had : Begin Provided:
If I had known you were waiting outside, I ● If it is within the law. they may do
would have invited you to come in. whatever they like.
-- Had I known you were waiting outside, I -- Provided that it is within the law.
would have invited you to come in. they may do whatever they like.
 PRACTISE

Transformation of sentences:

1. If the flight is cancelled, father will inform us. (Begin:

Should)

2. You are allowed to go if only you let us know when you

arrive. (Use: as long as)

3. If the boat leaves on time, we should reach France

by morning. (Begin: Provided)
 6

Not only… but

also/ Besides
 Not only… but also / Besides

Not only… but also Besides

Always use "not only" before the first Besides can be used as
element and "but also" before the a preposition meaning “except” or “in addition
second element. to.”

Use "not only but also" to emphasize It can also be used as an adverb meaning “as
equality between the two elements. well” or “moreover.”

When it introduces a sentence or

Write the verb right after ‘ Not only” then
independent clause, it’s followed by an –ing
subject
word and a comma.

Example: Not only was Ram good in Example: Besides being a writer, Sophie is a
Maths but also in English. painter.
 PRACTISE

Begin the following sentences with Not only/Besides:

1. She graduated with honors as well as landed her dream

job.
2. He plays the guitar and sings beautifully.
3. The team won the championship and set a new record as
well.
4. John is an excellent writer and a great public speaker.
 7

Too/So… that
1
Too Too is a negative word
• The old man is too old to
walk. So … that is followed by
• The girl is too proud to beg.
• The mangoes were too
cannot/could not
cheap to be good. (past
tense) 3
Too…not
• The room is too big not to
2 So… that accommodate all of us.
• The old man is so old that he • The room is so big that it can
cannot walk. accommodate all of us.
• The girl is so proud that she
will not beg. (Not ability)
• The mangoes were so
cheap that they could not
be good. (past tense)
 PRACTISE

Transformation with too/so…that:

1. The thief ran too fast for the police to catch him.
2. He spoke so fast that he could not be understood.
3. He is too proud to beg.
4. The bag was too heavy for me to lift.
 8

In spite of/Despite/
Although/Nothwithstanding
 Rules

Begin Inspite of/ Despite:

● Geeta was ill yet she attended the seminar.

-- In spite of being ill, Geeta attended the seminar.

-- Despite being ill, Geeta attended the seminar. (Don’t use ‘Of’)

● It was a sunny day yet the match was not played.

-- In spite of it being a sunny day, the match was not played.

-- Despite it being a sunny day, the match was not played. (Don’t use ‘Of’)
 Rules

Begin Although/ Notwithstanding:

● Geeta was ill yet she attended the seminar.

-- Although Geeta was ill, she attended the seminar.

-- Notwithstanding the fact that Geeta was ill, she attended the seminar.

● It was a sunny day yet the match was not played.

-- Although it was a sunny day, the match was not played.

-- Notwithstanding the fact that it was a sunny day, the match was not played.
 PRACTISE

Rewrite using Inspite of, Despite, Although and

Notwithstanding:

1. It was a warm day, she still wore her winter coat.

2. She was exhausted yet she could not sleep.
 9

Degree of Comparison
 Rules

Pattern one:

● Meera is taller than Diya. (Comparative)

-- Diya is not as tall as Meera. (Positive)

● Mukesh does not sing as well as Hari. (Positive)

-- Hari sings better than Mukesh. (Comparative)

Pattern two:

● No other flower is as beautiful as rose. (Positive)

-- Rose is more beautiful than any other flower. (Comparative)

-- Rose is the most beautiful flower.

 Rules

Pattern three:

● Very few boys in the class are as brilliant as Fharan. (Positive)

-- Fharan is more brilliant than most other boys in the class. (Comparative)

-- Fharan is one of the most brilliant boys in the class. (Superlative)

Note: Please change the tense accordingly.

 PRACTISE

Change the degree::

1. Mirna is taller than Georgina.

2. Josh is not as smart as Tommy.
3. Summers are the hottest in the month of June here.
4. Brownies are one of the most delicious desserts in the
world.
5. Shimla is more famous than most other hill stations in India.
 10

Miscellaneous
 Rules

Use Lest:

● Lest is a negative word. It is used in middle. It is followed by should.

If you do not stop disturbing, you will be sent out.

-- Stop disturbing lest you should be sent out.

Begin Little:

● Little is a negative word. It is used in the beginning.

We did not know then that it would rain today.

-- Little did we know that it would rain today.

 Rules

Begin In:

● In is followed by a Noun.

John probably missed his bus last day.

-- In all probability, John missed his bus last day.

Use Had better:

● Had better is a different construction which takes present verb after it.

You should consult a doctor immediately.

-- You had better consult a doctor immediately.

 Rules

Use Would rather:

● Would rather is followed by present verb and ‘than’.

-- I would rather play cricket than watch television.

Use Prefer:

● Prefer is followed by –ing word and ‘to’.

-- I prefer playing cricket to watching television.

Use Ought to:

● It was wrong of Raj to behave so with his teacher.

-- Raj ought not to have behaved so with his teacher. (Used like ‘SHOULD)
 Rules

Use Question tag:

● Question tags are short questions added to the end of a sentence,

typically used to confirm or check information. They consist of a pronoun
and an auxiliary verb (like "is," "are," "do," "does," "has," "have," "will," etc.)

● If the statement is positive, the tag is negative and vice versa

-- You’re coming to the meeting, aren’t you?

-- We should leave now, shouldn’t we?

 PRACTISE

Do as directed::

1. Be careful or you will fall from the tree. (use ‘Lest’)

2. Jasdeep has probably forgotten the date of his
examination. (Begin In all…)
3. Nitin must not have lost his temper. (use: Ought to)
4. She would rather cook at home than order food from
outside. (Use prefer)
5. They did not know then that the matter would turn out like
this.(Begin: Little..)
 Answer

Do as directed::

1. Be careful lest you should fall from the tree.

2. In all probability, Jasdeep has forgotten the date of his
examination.
3. Nitin ought not to have lost his temper.
4. She prefer cooking at home to ordering food from
outside.
5. Little did they know then that the matter would turn out
like this.
“Self-belief and hard work will always
earn you success.”

—Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer

Good Luck For Your Exam