Conditional Clauses - Tight Corners: Grammar | 11th English : UNIT 4 : Prose: Tight Corners
Chapter: 11th English : UNIT 4 : Prose: Tight Corners
Tight Corners: Grammar
Grammar
Conditional Clauses
CONDITION + RESULT
Zero Conditional
If you stand in the rain, you get wet.
If you heat ice, it melts.
Present Simple + Present Simple
Uses: Facts which are generally true or scientific factsThe condition always has the same result
First Conditional
If it rains, we will cancel the trip.
If you study, you will pass the exam.
Present Simple + Will/ Won’t/Verb
Uses: A possible situation in the future predicting a likely result in the future (if the condition happens)
Second Conditional
If I won the lottery, I would travel a lot.
If they sold their houses, they would be rich.
Past Simple +Would + Verb
Uses: Hypothetical or unlikely situations
Unreal or improbable situation now or in the future
Third Conditional
If you had studied, you would have passed the exam.
If I hadn’t been sick, I would have gone to your party.
Past Perfect + Would have+ Past Participle
Uses: The person imagining a different past. Imaginary situation that did not happen
i) Complete the following with appropriate conditional clauses.
a. We will miss our train, if we go to the station by
walk.
b. Jayashree would travel to France, if she planned.
c. People get sun-burnt, if they don't use suncream.
d. Vicky would have passed, if he had studied.
e. I wouldn’t refuse, if you gave me a good offer.
f. Sundar would have waited, if it hadn't rained.
g. Vijayshree will be busy, if her relatives come.
h. Adhvika will not go to play, if she is sick.
ii) Complete the following paragraph.
Did you hear about that boy who won one crore in a game show? If I won (win) that much money, I would quit (quit) my job the next day. I would travel (travel) round the world and saw (stay) in the most luxurious hotels. If I wanted (want) anything, I would buy (buy) it. If I saw (see) a Mercedes that I wanted, I would buy (buy) it. I could (can) do anything in the world if I had one crore rupees. Oh, I am starting to sound a little materialistic. Well, I would do (do) good things with the money as well. If anybody needed (need) help, I would take (take) care of their needs. I would donate (donate) money to charities. I would give (give) money to help support the arts. If I won (win) that much money,I wouldn’t keep it all for myself. I would help (help) as many people as possible.
iii) Fill in the blanks in the following dialogue.
Gopal: What’s wrong, Muthu? You look terrible!
Muthu: Well, you would look (look) terrible today, too, if you had had (have) a day like mine yesterday. My car slid into a tree, because the roads were slippery.
Gopal: Oh! I was driving on the slippery roads yesterday, and I didn’t have such trouble. What happened?
Muthu: Well, I think if I had not driven (drive not) so fast, I would not have slid (slide, not) into the tree.
Gopal: Slippery roads and speed don’t mix. If drivers speed (speed) on wet roads, they’re likely to spin their car in circles.
Muthu: I know. But I have one more problem. I didn’t have my driver’s license with me. If I had had (have) it, I would not have had to (have to, not) pay an extra fine in the court next week.
Gopal: Why were you driving without your license?
Muthu: Well, I lost my wallet some days ago. It slipped out of my pocket, while I was riding the bus to work.
Gopal: Oh, Muthu! If you had not taken (take, not) that bus, you would not have lost (lose, not) your wallet. If you had not lost (lose, not) your wallet, you would have had (have) your driver’s license with you when you hit the tree. If you had had (have) your driver’s license with you, you would not have to pay (have to pay, not) a big fine when you
go to court next week. And of course, if you had not driven (drive, not) too fast, you would not have run into (run into, not) a tree, and you would not have been (be, not) in this mess now. If I were (be) you, I would take (take) it easy for a while and just stay (stay) home where you are safe.
Muthu: Enough about me! How about you?
Gopal: Well, things are really looking up for me. I’m planning to take off for Goa as soon as I finish my finals. I’m sick of all this old, rainy weather we’ve been having.
Muthu: I wish I could go (go) with you. How are you planning on getting there?
Gopal: If I have (have) enough money, I will fly (fly). Otherwise, I will take (take) the bus. I wish could drive (drive) my own car because it would be (be) nice to drive there, but it’s such a long trip. I’ve been looking for a friend to go with me and share the driving.
Muthu: I have a super idea! Why don’t I go with you? I can share the driving. I’m a great driver!
Gopal: Oh, Muthu! I can’t believe it.
Framing questions
The interrogative pronouns who, what, whom, whose, which and the interrogative adverbs where, when, why and how are used to frame information questions.
Polar questions are also known as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. They are called so, because the answers to these questions will always begin with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Such questions are framed using primary auxiliaries and secondary auxiliaries.
A. Seema goes to a hotel for lunch. The waiter explains to her the different items available at that time. Here is the conversation between them. Complete the dialogue. You may use modals to frame questions.
Seema: Could I get something to eat immediately?
Waiter: Yes Ma’am. We have many dishes according to the menu. What would you like to have?.
Waiter: Yes Ma’am. It is available.
Seema: How long will it take to serve ?
Waiter: It should not take long.
Seema: Yes bring that too. May I have packaged mineral water?
Waiter: Yes Ma’am. Do you like it cold or at normal one?
Seema: I prefer it cold.
Waiter: Sorry Ma’am we don’t have ice creams served here. But you can get it in the outlet next door.
Seema: Oh that’s fine. Ok, please get these quickly.
Waiter: Sure Ma’am.
B. Read the following story and do the exercises that follow.
Last night somebody broke into our neighbour’s house. He stole everything he found. The neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Umar saw him while he was running away but they couldn’t catch him. This morning an inspector arrived to make an inquiry.
The Inspector posed certain questions to Mr. Umar.
The Inspector: The thief broke into the house at around 10 p.m. What were you doing then?
Mr. Umar: I was watching a movie with my wife.
Then I went to the kitchen to prepare tea.
The Inspector: How many minutes did you spend in the kitchen?
Mr. Umar: I think 10 or 15 minutes… I’m not sure….
The Inspector: Did you only prepare tea?
Mr. Umar: Yes.
The Inspector: OK. Thanks.
The Inspector also asked Mrs. Umar some questions:
The Inspector: What were you doing at around 10 pm yesterday?
Mrs. Umar: I was watching a movie while drinking my coffee.
The Inspector: Coffee? But your husband prepared tea.
Mrs. Umar: Tea? No… We didn’t drink tea last night.
The Inspector: OK. What was he doing in the kitchen?
Mrs. Umar: He was thirsty. He wanted to drink water.
The Inspector: Hmmm. What happened then?
Mrs.Umar: A friend of his called him and he went out to help him.
The Inspector: So, you were alone at home, weren’t you?
Mrs.Umar: Yes, I was. I called him immediately but he didn’t answer.
The inspector was suspicious about Mr.Umar and so he asked him to come to the station for further questioning.
The Inspector: You weren’t at home when the thief broke into your neighbour’s house. Where were you?
Mr.Umar: I went out to help a friend of mine.
The Inspector: Who is that friend?
Mr.Umar: Ehhhh… he is just a friend.
The Inspector: Hmmm. Who is that friend?
Mr.Umar: I told you already. He is just a friend.
The Inspector:
If you cannot prove that you were with a friend, we can arrest you.
At the end of the questioning session, Mr.Umar told the inspector the truth.
“Last night, somebody called me, but he wasn’t my friend. I had borrowed some money from him and he had given me time till last night to return it. But I did not do so. So, he called home asking me to meet him outside the house. That’s why I went out. I did not tell my wife as I did not want her to know about it. When I went out, I saw a stranger entering my neighbour’s house but I did not stop as I was in a hurry to meet the moneylender.
Answer the questions after reading the story.
1. Did Mrs. Umar see the thief?
Yes, she did
2. What was Mrs. Umar doing when the thief broke into the house?
When the theif broke into the house she was
watching a movie.
3. Was Mr. Umar watching movie with his wife when the thief broke in the house?
No, Mr. Umar was not watching movie with his
wife when the thief broke into the house.
4. What was Mr. Umar doing in the kitchen?
Mr. Umar was preparing tea.
Frame suitable questions for the following statements.
1. Mr. Umar was at home when the event occurred.
Was Mr. Umar at home when the event occurred?
2. Yes, Mr. Umar saw the thief entering the neighbour’s house.
Did Mr. Umar see the thief entering the
neighbour’s house?
3. Mrs. Umar was watching the movie while her husband was drinking water.
What was Mrs. Umar doing while her husband was
drinking water?
4. The thief broke into the house while they were watching a movie.
When did the thief break into the house?
1. Question Tags
A question tag is a short question added at the end of a statement. It is generally used when asking for agreement or confirmation.
The tag is formed with the auxiliary verb in the statement and the subject. A positive statement takes a negative tag, while a negative statement takes a positive tag. If the sentence contains a main verb, then the question tag uses an apppropriate form of ‘do’ verb. An appropriate pronoun of the subject is added to the verb to form the tag. The sentence ends with a comma, followed by a tag which ends with a question mark.
Look at the following sentences.
You are a student, aren’t you?
Aji is not a lawyer, is she?
Lawrence saw the snake sliding into the hole, didn’t he?
Jordi attends the class regularly, doesn’t he?
Intonation and Meaning
The intonation (the rise and fall of the voice in speaking) of the tag determines the meaning of the question tag.
Rising intonation
Look at this sentence and the tag. Madhav doesn’t speak Telugu, does he?
If the intonation of the tag goes up, it means we are not sure if Madhav speaks Telugu and we want to know if he does.
Falling Intonation
If the intonation of the tag goes down, it means we are checking or confirming if Madhav speaks Telugu.
A. Add appropriate question tags to the following sentences.
1. Cities are increasingly becoming urbanised.
2. They experiment with ways to improve air quality.
3. The aim should be to reduce congestion.
4. There is an urgent need to provide clean, reliable and affordable energy to their growing populations.
5. Automation and shared mobility will play a key role in this transformation.
6. It changes the way people commute in cities.
7. Before long, a fleet of electric autonomous vehicles (AVs) could drive people to their destinations.
8. These shared AVs will run at higher utilization rates.
9. They can substantially reduce the cost of mobility and congestion.
10. These should not be thought of as luxury but as necessity.
B. Add appropriate question tags and role play the dialogue with your friend.
Jeyanth: Hello, Anish! It’s your Physics exam today. isn’t it
Anish: Yes. They have set a very long paper. Yet, I managed to finish the paper. don’t they?
Jeyanth: True. My maths paper too was very long. I couldn’t finish it. could I?
Anish: I could not solve my paper properly. could I?
Jeyanth: Ok. Actually, my question paper was very easy. wasn’t it?
Anish: Mine wasn’t easy. I made a silly mistake. didn’t I?
Jeyanth: Tell me about your English paper. will you?
Anish: The story comprehension was very easy. I am sure to score more than ten marks on fifteen. I wrote it very well. There wouldn’t be any mistake. would there?
Jeyanth: For me, my letter- writing was the best. I didn’t make a single mistake. did I?
Anish: Ok. I’ve got lots to study for tomorrow’s exam. don’t I?
Jeyanth: Me too. So, see you later. All the best, bye.
Anish: Thank you. Wish you the same, bye.
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