Grammar

Grammar

Subject – Verb Agreement

The subject and verb of a sentence should be in agreement with each other.

A verb agrees with the subject in number and person. A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

E.g. for singular verb in a sentence

1.           She is a good speaker.

2.           Ramu is an intelligent student.

3.           Subhasini is an excellent dancer.

4.           Sunita is a great artist.

5.           He is a good person.

E.g. for plural verb in a sentence

1.           Children are playing.

2.           They have finished their work.

3.           Geeta and Sita have won the prize.

4.           You and I are friends.

5.           Two and two make four.

Rules

1. Two or more singular subjects joined by “and” take a plural verb

E.g. You and I love music

2. When two subjects are joined by “as well as”, the verb agrees with the first subject

E.g. Her cousins as well as she are hard working

3. Either, neither, each, every and everyone are followed by a singular verb

E.g. Each of them is lovable

4. When two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be singular

E.g. My sister and friend has come

5. When two subjects express one idea, the verb is in the singular

E.g. Three and three make six

6. When a plural noun expresses some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole, the verb is in singular

E.g. Thirty litres of milk is too much for payasam

7. When two or more singular subjects are connected by “with”, “together with”, “and not”, “besides”, “no less than”, the verb is in singular

E.g. He and not she is to blame

8. The verb agrees with the number of the nouns that follow the verb

E.g. There are ten students in the crowd

9. Some nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning, take a singular verb

E.g. Tamil is my mother tongue

10. A plural noun which is in the name of a country, province, a book, is followed by a singular verb

E.g.Human values is of great importance

11. A collective noun takes a singular verb

E.g. The whole class is attentive.

12. A relative pronoun must agree with its gender, number and person

E.g. It is I, who is to write

A. Fill in the blanks appropriately

1.           Mahatma Gandhi is the father of our nation.

2.           There are ten dogs in my street.

3.           They are to write the exercises neatly.

4.           Butter milk is good for health.

5.           Fruits are good for health.

B. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate verb:

1.           The quality of dal is not good.

2.           The horse carriage is at the door.

3.           My friend and teacher has come.

4.           Are your father and mother at home?

5.           Honour and glory is his reward.

6.           The ship with its crew is sailing good.

7.           Gullivers Travels is an excellent story.

8.           Neither food nor water is found here.

9.           Mathematics is a branch of study.

10.      Fifteen minutes is allowed to read the question paper.

C. Change the singular nouns to plurals by either adding ‘s’, ‘ies’, ‘es’, ‘ves

Non Finites

Verbs are action words. They are divided into two: Finite and Non Finites.

Finite Verbs ….

1.           act as a verb.

2.           act as a main verb of a sentence or a clause.

3.           indicate number, person and tense.

4.           are used in the present tense and the past tense.

5.           have to agree with the subject and change accordingly.

On the other hand, Non Finite verbs

1.           do not act as a verb.

2.           act as nouns, adjectives and adverbs.

3.           do not indicate number. person or tense.

4.           are usually gerunds, infinitives or participle.

The different kinds of Non Finites are:

1.           Infinitives

2.           Gerund

3.           Participles

Infinitives:

1. Full infinitives - It is “to+ a verb.

Example: Pushpa eats lunch with me.

{to+a verb}

‘eats’ is a third person

singular, simple present

tense, main verb.

2. Bare infinitives - It is a verb without ‘to’

Example: Reena will help me.

Gerund:

Gerund functions as a noun, so it is called a verbal noun. It also functions as an adjective.

A gerund has the same form as a present participle.

Gerunds are used in the following ways.

1. As a subject and a kind of a noun.

a) Reading is a good habit.

b) Learning a language is always useful.

2. As an object:

Rita likes cooking.

3. As a complement:

Her liking is cooking.

4. Used in compound nouns:

bath tub {a tub to bathe}

Participles:

Participles come after an object to describe it and express the state the object is in. A present participle indicates an activity that is continuing and is in progress. A present or past participle can function as an adjective phrase to describe a noun placed before it.

Example- 1.The baby singing in the room is my child.

2. The bird flying in the sky is the lark.

The different forms of Participles are:

1.           Present participle- verb +ing sleep+ing=sleeping

2.           past participles - verb+d/ed/en like+d=liked

3.           perfect participles - having + past participles having + finished = having finished

4.           present - {passive} - being + past participle being + toed = being toed

5.           perfect {passive} having been + past participle having been written

Participles are used as a verb  Example Sita is sleeping.

It is used as an adjective          Example She is a retired Principal.

D. Identify the non-finites in the following sentences and underline them

E.g., Children love eating chocolates

1.           Roshan dreams of becoming an architect.

2.           We must aim at fulfilling Dr APJ Abdul kalam’s dream to make India the most developed country by 2020.

3.           Taking the children to the museum is Seema’s responsibility.

4.           Having finished the work, the manager decided to return home.

5.           Travelling with her family, Tara enjoyed every minute of it.

E. Replace the underlined words by a participle in the following sentences:

Example: When young people wear soiled clothes on formal occasions to show rebelliousness.

Ans: Young people wear soiled clothes on formal occasions to show rebelliousness.

1.           While Sudha was climbing the stairs, she tripped and fell down.

Climbing the stairs, sudha tripped and fell down

2.           After her evening prayers, my grandmother went to the temple.

Having prayed, my grandmother went to the temple.

3.           Since he is a king, he can order everybody.

Being a king, he can order everybody

4.           They took the last wicket and walked back to the pavillion.

Having taken the last wicket, they walked back to the pavillion.

5.           When he saw the train in the platform he rushed

Seeing the train on the platform, he rushed.

F. Fill in the blank with the correct alternative:

1.           Having played on the flute, Krishna returned it. {played/having played}

2.           We wish she continues being healthy. {being /be}

3.           The doctor advised him against wandering in the sun. {wander / wandering}

4.           I like drinking rasam. {drinking / drink}

5.           Having used the scissors I returned it to her. {using / having used}

G. Tick the correct sentences:

1. I had desired to eat a cake.

2. My son is fond of music.

3. Sreena avoids eating fruits.

4. Bravery is not picking a quarrel.

5. It is easier to say than do.