Grammar

Question Tags-

1) Basic rules:
i. There should be comma (,) at the end of the statement.
ii. A tag should begin with a small letter
iii. Affirmative statements have a negative tag & vice versa

E.g.-

 Rama works hard, doesn’t she?

 They don’t go to the cinema, do they?
iv. Contraction form of ‘not’ should be used; as-
Is not= isn’t
Must not= mustn't
Cannot= can’t
Shall not= shan’t
Will not= won’t
Etc.

2) Words (adverbs, pronouns, adjectives etc.) of negation as,

 No/not
 Never/seldom/hardly/barely/rarely/scarcely etc.
 Nobody/no one/ none/neither of+plural nouns or pronouns

(if these words are statements, tag must be positive)

3) The statement that begins with let’s has affirmative tag

Eg-
 Let’s go there, shall we?
 Let’s not go there, shall we?

Imperative statements have affirmative tag

Eg-

 Have a cup of coffee, will you?

 Don’t waste your time, will you?

A sentence having 2 clauses beginning with I (don’t) think and similar

expressions takes the tag according to the latter clause.

Eg-
  I think he is Nepali, isn’t he?
 I don’t think it will rain, will it?
 I suppose you are hungry, aren’t you?

A sentence having complement clause (shown in bracket), if the main verb of

the stem indicates that there is good evidence that the complement is true,
the tag is provided based on the verb of complement clause.

Eg-

 It appears (that we were going to win), doesn’t it?

 Neither of the students had lunch, did they?
 Ravi usually has his dinner at 7pm, doesn’t he?

Note- ‘have’ is the main verb, not auxiliary here.

 You’d better tell your friend, hadn’t you?

 You’d rather watch it, wouldn’t you?
 She’d not write to me, would she?
 They’d climbed Annapurna, hadn’t they?

Note- ‘d+v1/rather= would

‘d +v3/better= had

 She’s singing a song, isn’t she?

 He’s not finished his homework yet, has he?
 The poem’s written by William, isn’t it?

Note- ‘s+v4/v3(passive)=is

‘s+v3/(active)=has

 The teacher has never let me do it, has he?

 Arjan had Anjana dance, didn’t he?

Note- ‘have’ as a causative verb.

Speech-
Person Subject Object Possessive Reflexive form
P1 P2
1st I Me My Mine Myself
We Us Our Ours Ourselves
2nd You You Your Your Yourself/+ves
 s
3 rd
He Him His His Himself
She Her Her Hers Herself
It It Its Its Itself
Them Their Their Themselves
s

*Change of tense

Direct Indirect
v1/ v2 v3
v2 Had + v3
is/am/are was/were
has/have had
shall/will/can/ Should/would/could/
may might
must Had to

Basic rules
▫ present simple --- past simple
▫ present continuous --- past continuous
▫ present perfect --- past perfect
▫ past simple --- past perfect simple
▫ past continuous --- past perfect continuous
▫ past perfect doesn't change

*Change of adverbs

Direct Indirect
Now/ just Then
Today /tonight That day/ that night
These Those
Here There
Tomorrow The following day/the
next day
Yesterday The previous day/the day
before
Last... The previous...
Ago Before
Next... The following...
thus So
*Some examples

1. She said to me, 'I can't come with you'

→ She told me (that) she couldn't come with me.

2. Manish said, I'm staying in the Malla Hotel'

→ Manish said (that) she was staying in the Malla Hotel.

3. Dikshya said, "I arrived yesterday”.

→ Dikshya said (that) she had arrived the day before.

4. The teacher said, 'Honesty is the best policy”.

→ The teacher said (that) honesty is the best policy.

5. Mijash said, "A bad man quarrels with his tools”.

→ Mijash said (that) a bad man quarrels with his tools.

6. Rakshya says to her father, “This is your fault'.

→ Rakshya tells her father (that) that is his fault.

7. I said, 'I have been smoking too much".

→ I said that I had been smoking too much.

8. She said, I'll spend all the money next week'.

→ She said (that) she would spend all the money the following week.

9. Mr. Singh said, “The sun rises in the east.”

→ Mr. Singh said that the sun rises in the east.

Points to Remember
▫ Identify Reporting verb and Speech Clause first
▫ Bunu said, I'm a bit late today. In this sentence, “said” is Reporting
verb and “I'm a bit late today” is Speech Clause

A. Imperative sentences
 1. The general said to the soldiers, “Shoot”.
The general commanded/ordered the soldiers to shoot.

2. He said to me, “Please wait for me”.

He asked/requested me to wait for him

3. She said to them, “Don’t make a noise”

She told them not to make a noise.

4. “Don't waste your time,” said the teacher.

The teacher advised (us) not to waste our time.

*Omit request words like please, will you, would you, would you mind *

B. Questions in Speech

1. Meera said to him, "Are you hungry?

Meera asked him if/whether he was hungry.

2. Mijash said to me, 'Do you like lemon in your tea?

Mijash asked me if I liked lemon in my tea.

3. Mohan said, 'Where are you going for your holiday, Rita?”
Mohan asked Rita where she was going for her holiday.

4. He said to me, “When will you get back from London?”

He inquired me when I would get back from London.
Rules to remember:
▫ Use Reporting verb ask/inquire/want to know
▫ Use Conjunction if/whether (For Yes/No question) wh-word (For
Word question)
▫ Change the person/tense/adverb in the Speech Clause as in
Statement
▫ Change question into statement.
▫ Omit comma, inverted comma and question mark.

C. Exclamatory Sentences
 1. He said, 'Alas! I am undone."
He exclaimed with sorrow that he was undone.

2. Alice said, 'How clever I am!"

Alice exclaimed surprisingly/with surprise that she was clever.

3. They said, 'Hurrah! We've won the match."

They exclaimed with joy/joyfully that they had won the match.
Rules to remember
▫ Use Reporting verb exclaim with surprise/joy/sorrow etc.
▫ Use Conjunction 'that'
▫ Change the person/tense/adverb in the Speech Clause as in
statement Omit the words like: Hurrah! What! Oh! How! Alas! etc.
▫ Omit comma, inverted comma and exclamation mark.

Note: Hurrah! expresses joy

Alas! expresses sorrow/grief
What! Oh! How! express surprise

D. Optative Sentences

1. The women said, “Almighty! Save my baby”.

The woman prayed Almighty to save her baby.

2. Samjhana said to her brother, 'Have a nice journey.

Samjhana wished her brother to have a nice journey.

3. The woman said to her husband, 'May you die soon'.

The woman cursed her husband that he might die soon.
The woman cursed her husband to die soon.

4. Father said, 'Be an engineer, my son'.

Father blessed me to be an engineer.
Father blessed his son to be an engineer

Rules to Remember
▫ Use Reporting verb bless/curse/wish/pray etc.
 ▫ Use Conjunction 'that' or 'to'
▫ Change the person/tense/adverb as in statement.
▫ Change the sentences into statement.
▫ Omit comma and inverted comma.

E. Universal truth

1. He said, “Sun rises in the East.”

He said that the sun rises in the East.

2. Our science teacher said, “Stars have their own light and planets don’t
have.”
Our science teacher said that stars have their own light and planets
don’t have.

3. He says, “Water is tasteless.”

He says that water is tasteless.

4. Our teacher says, “Universe is matter.”

Our teacher says that universe is matter.

5. He said, “Two and two make four.”

He told that two and two make four.

6. He said, “H2O is water.”

He said that H2O is water.

7. My father said, “There are 7 days in a week.”

My father said that there are 7 days in a week.

8. He said, “Water boils at 100 c.”

He said that water boils at 100 c

* Some Example

A. Direct to Indirect
1. Rajan said to me, 'I want to speak to you'.
→ Rajan told me that he wanted to speak to me.

2. Rashmita said to me, 'I can speak French'.

→ Rashmita told me that she could speak French.

3. Ram asked her father, "Will you help me tomorrow?"

→ Ram asked her father if he would help her the next day.

4. Gambhir said, 'I'm reading a story'.

→ Gambhir said that he was reading a story.

5. Kaushal's grandfather said, "I've planted some peppers.”

→ Kaushal's grandfather said that he had planted some peppers.

6. Roshan said, “They went away yesterday."

→ Roshan said that they had gone away the day before.

7. Ashis said to me, 'You may have to stay in bed for a week'.
→ Ashis said to me that I might have to stay in bed for a week.

8. They said, 'We will have developed new fuel by 2030'.

→ They said that they would have developed new fuel by 2030.

9. My sister said, “I will come as soon as I can'.

→ My sister said that she would come as soon as she could.

10. Rita said, "I am going to Pokhara tomorrow."

→ Rita said that she was going to Pokhara the next day.

11. Ramesh said, 'She has finished now'.

→ Ramesh said that she had finished then.

12. Hari said, 'Sheris quite charming but hasn't much sense'.
→ Hari said that she was quite charming but didn't have much sense.

13. Girls will say, 'We are very late'.

→ Girls will say that they are very late.
14. People say, 'It will rain tomorrow'.
→ People say that it will rain tomorrow.

15. The geography teacher said, 'Nepal is a mountainous country'.

→ The geography teacher said that Nepal is a mountainous country.

16. She said, 'Water freezes at zero degree Celsius'.

→ She said that water freezes at zero degree Celsius.

17. He said, 'Barking dogs seldom bite'.

→ He said that barking dogs seldom bite.

18. The teacher said, "The earth moves."

→ The teacher said that the earth moves.

19. The astronomer said, "Jupiter is the largest planet."

→ The astronomer said that Jupiter is the largest planet.

20. I said to Mamata, "Was she ready to help you?"

→ I asked Mamata if she had been ready to help her.

21. Monika said, "I can't come to the party on Friday."

→ Monika said that she couldn’t come to the party on Friday.

22. Gambhir said to me, "I am ruined."

→ Gambhir told me that he was ruined.

23. He asked, "Are you my father?"

→ He enquired if I were his father.

24. He said, "I lost my pen yesterday."

→ He said that he had lost his pen the day before.
25. My father said to us, "What do you want?"
→ My father asked us what we wanted.

26. The teacher said, "Water freezes at zero degree Celsius."

→ The teacher said that water freezes at zero degree Celsius.

27. Maya said, "I cannot attend the meeting tonight."

→ Maya said that she could not attend the meeting that night.
 28. I said to Rita, "You did the work yesterday."
→ I told Rita that she had done the work the day before.

29. She said to him, "I have to sit in a public place."

→ She said to him that she had to sit in a public place.

30. The man said to me, "What is your name?"

→ The man asked me what my name was.

31. My brother said to me, "I never drink tea."

→ My brother said to me that he never drank tea.

32. My mother said to me, "Where are you living now?"

→ My mother asked me where I was living then.

33. Kumar said to Shanti, "Will you marry me?"

→ Kumar asked Shanti to marry him.

34. She said to me, "Why did you break a chair?"

→ She asked me why I broke a chair.

35. Father said to me, "Do not smoke."

→ Father forbade me to smoke.

B. Indirect to Direct

1. Ranjana said that water freezes at zero degree Celsius.

→ Ranjana said, 'Water freezes at zero degree Celsius'.

2. The teacher said that everything looks yellow to a jaundiced eye.

→ The teacher said, "Everything looks yellow to a jaundiced eye."

3. He said that She drank heavily.

→ He said, "She drank heavily."
4. She said that she was working then.
→ She said, "I am working now."

5. He has told me that he has been shopping all morning.

→ He has told me, "I have been shopping all morning."

6. Sabina said that she liked grapes better than berries.

→ Sabina said, "I like grapes better than berries."

7. The teacher said that we are mortal.

→ The teacher said, "We are mortal."

8. Anu said truth is always bitter.

→ Anu said, "Truth is always bitter."

9. Dipendra said to me that he had been to Goa once.

→ Dipendra said to me, "I have been to Goa once."

10. Santosh asked me if I had called him.

→ Santosh said to me, "Did you call me?"

11. I asked Sunita to do the work quickly.

→ I said to Sunita, "Do the work quickly."

12. She asked me whether I would follow her.

→ She said to me, "Will you follow me?"

13. She asked me what I needed.

→ She said to me, "What do you need?"

14. Rajan asked where the auditorium was.

→ Rajan said, "Where is the auditorium?"

15. My grandmother told me not to buy so many audio cassettes.

→ My grandmother said to me, "Don't buy so many audio cassettes."

16. Ramesh asked his brother why he hadn't worked well.

→ Ramesh said to his brother, "Why didn't you work well?"
 17. Sangita said to Pramita not to talk then.
→ Sangita told Pramita not to talk then.

18. My sister requested me to lend her my book.

→ My sister said to me, "Can you lend me your book?"

19. Mrs. Ramila asked the nurse if she could take the antibiotics.
→ Mrs. Ramila said to the nurse, "Can I take the antibiotics?"

Verb Tense-

Tense Rule Example

Present Simple V1 I eat food.
Present Continuous is/am/are + V1+ ing I am eating food.
Present Perfect has/have + V3 I have eaten food.
Present Perfect Continuous has/have been +V1 + ing I have been eating food.
Past Simple V2 I ate food.
Past Continuous was/were + V1+ ing I was eating food.
Past Perfect had + V3 I had eaten food.
 Past Perfect Continuous had been + V1 + ing I had been eating food.
Future Simple will/shall + V1 I will eat food.
Future Continuous will/shall be + V1 + ing I will be eating food.
Future Perfect will/shall have + V3 I will have eaten food.
Future Perfect Continuous will/shall have been + V1 + I will have been eating food.
ing

1) Fill in the blanks with the correct form (V1, V2, V3) of the verb given in the
bracket.
01. He _______ (want) to become an IAS officer.
He wants to become an IAS officer.

02. Raju _______ (go) to market yesterday.

Raju went to market yesterday.

03. Latha _______ (weep) bitterly on her father’s death.

Latha wept bitterly on her father’s death.

04. I have ______ (complete) my homework just now.

I have completed my homework just now.

05. Ramya _______ (be) a student.

Ramya is a student.

06. Maggie has _______ (bring) a new car.

Maggie has brought a new car.

07. We had ______ (reach) the airport by 9 O’clock.

We had reached the airport by 9 O’clock.

08. She _____ (pass) her SSC in 2008.

She passed her SSC in 2008.

09. Sita was cooking when I ______ (go) to the office.

Sita was cooking when I went to the office.

10. They had already ______ (arrive) when we ______ (reach) there.
They had already arrived when we reached there.

11. I will ______ (pass) the examination this time.

I will pass the examination this time.

12. We _______ (be) students.

We are students.
13. It has just _____ (rain).
It has just rained.

14. He _____ (draw) it very well.

He drew it very well.

15. They _______ (catch) the thieves very bravely.

They caught the thieves very bravely.

16. She _____ (has) her breakfast. Then she ______ (leave) for the college.
She had her breakfast. Then she left for the college.

17. They sometimes ______ (watch) movies.

They sometimes watch movies.

18. Raj ______ (meet) his family last year.

Raj met his family last year.

19. Rain ______ (be) the important source of water.

Rain is the important source of water.

20. She ______ (fall) asleep while she was watching TV.
She fell asleep while she was watching TV.

2) Choose the correct form of verb:

1. You [ love | loves | loving] going to the cinema.

=love

2. The student [ are | am | is] badly behaved.

=is

3. My son is vegan and does not [ eats | eat | eaten] animal produce.
= eat

4. The teacher [ is getting | get | are getting] angry now.

= is getting

5. The actors [ are | is | was] very talented.

= are

6. The teacher [ speak | spoke | spoken] to the students.

= spoke
7. Many of the spectators [ are | is | am] already at the arena.
= are

8. Last week I [ am | were | was] so tired.

= was

9. She [ are | were | is] sixty-five years of age.

= is

10. They [ is | are | was] reading the same book today.

= are

Voice-

Conjunctions/Connectives-

Prepositions-

Sentences-

1. Conversion to Interrogative
Note- A sentence having a main verb but not an auxiliary, takes the
auxiliaries (do, does, did) and a sentence having an auxiliary takes the
same auxiliary.

Have/have to ---> Do
Has/has to ---> Does
Had/had to ---> Did
Eg-

i. Hari goes to school.

- Does Hari go to school?
ii. We had to visit Lumbini.
- Did we have to visit Lumbini?
iii. You have to go to tuition daily.
- Do you have to go to tuition daily?

Note- When converting a negative sentence to interrogative, positive

verb is used.
i. We don’t go to cinema once a week.
- Do we go to cinema once a week?
ii. He does not have his breakfast at 7:30.
- Does he have his breakfast as 7:30?

But, if “have” means “own” or “possess”, then

i. I have a Prado.
- Have I a Prado?

2. Conversion to Wh- and yes/no question

a. Wh- Questions (What, Where, When, How, Who, Why)

Eg-

i. He teaches history. (What)

- What does he teach?
ii. People always walk slowly in villages. (Where)
- Where do people always walk slowly in?
iii. He comes here every day. (When)
- When does he come here?
iv. I do it well. (How)
- How do I do it?
v. Ram is good at cooking. (Who)
- Who is good at cooking?
vi. He thanked me for the help. (Why)
- Why did he thank me?

b. Yes/no Questions
- Questions those answer “yes” and “no”

Eg-

i. You work somewhere there.

- Do you work somewhere there.

Note- The verb will be positive when converting.

 ii. They don’t have to go there.
- Do they have to go there?
iii. He doesn’t understand.
- Does he understand?

3. Affirmative to Negative
Some common examples-

Note- Common sentences are converted into negative by adding “not”,

“don’t”, “didn’t”, “isn’t, etc.

i. Let’s play volleyball.

- Let’s not play volleyball.
ii. They’d rather go home.
-They’d rather not go home.
iii. Stop!
- Don’t stop
iv. Tika is tall.
- Tika isn’t tall.
v. You need to go now.
- You need not to go now.

Note- Conversion of some certain words are as follows-

Affirmative Negative
Some/Every No
Always Never
Sometimes/Usually/Often Seldom
Frequently Rarely/Hardly
Either.......or Neither.....nor
Some of/Most of/All of None of
Too Either
Already Yet
Some Any

Eg-

i. Everybody was absent.

-Nobody was absent
 ii. Sita always goes to temple.
-Sit never goes to temple.
iii. John usually makes noise in class.
- John seldom makes noise in class.
iv. Hari frequently visits Ilam.
-Hari rarely visits Ilam.
v. Either Ram or Hari is good.
-Neither Ram nor Hari is good.
vi. Some of my friends are greedy.
-None of my friends are greedy.
vii.I’m fine too.
-I’m not fine either.
viii. They have already finished their work.
- They haven’t finished their work yet.
ix. We bought some grapes.
-We didn’t buy any grapes.
x. Sita is short and so am I.
- Sita is not short and neither am I.

4.Negative to Affirmative
- Negative sentences are converted to affirmative by removing
negative verbs (doesn’t, not, didn’t, not, neither don’t etc)

i. Hari doesn’t read books.

-Hari reads books.
ii. Bhupal has not gone to the cinema, neither have I.
- Bhupal has gone to the cinema, so have I.
iii. I don’t understand it.
- I do understand it.

5. Conversion to Statement
- Interrogative sentences are converted to statement by removing
auxiliary verbs.
Eg-

i. Didn’t you feel love for nature?

- You feel love for nature.
 ii. Does it have any sense? (Any converts into some as given in table
above)
- It has some sense.
iii. Did he build a new house?
- He built a new house.
iv. Did he finish it?
- He finished it.
v. Does Shyam live in Nepal?
- Shyam lives in Nepal.

Connectives
Connectives are the words or phrases which we use to join two clauses or
sentences.
1. Reason Connectives are because/as/since/because of/therefore/so
Examples:
a. They did not climb the mountain because it was snowing.
b. We cancelled the football match as it was raining.
c. I cannot wait for this food since I never eat meat.
d. The poet didn’t listen to the bird’s song for it wasn’t singing for him.
e. He could not become a pilot because of his bad eyesight.

Points to remember:
Reason connectives join a statement and a reason.
Because/as/since/for/because of are places before the reason, but ‘therefore’
and ‘so’ are places after reason.
‘Because of’ needs of a noun phrase.

2. Purpose Connectives are to/in order to; for; so that

Examples:
a. I went to the bank to/in order to get some money.
b. I went to the doctor for some medicine.
c. We went to the cinema so that we could watch the film.
d. Children go to school so that they can learn different subjects.
 Points to remember:
Purpose connectives join an action and a purpose.
All these connectives are places before the purpose

3. Connectives of unexpected result are thought/although/ even though; in

spite of/ despite; however,/nevertheless
Examples:
a. The old man didn’t eat anything although/though/even though he was
hungry.
b. In spite of/ Despite the hunger, the old man didn’t eat anything.
c. Sarita was honest, however/nevertheless she was accused of theft.
Points to remember:
All these connectives join a situation and its unexpected result.
All these except ‘however’ and ‘nevertheless’ are placed before situation but
however and nevertheless are placed after situation.
In spite of/Despite need a noun phrase

4. Relative Pronoun Connectives are who/whom/whose; which/that/what;

when; where; how; why
Examples:
a. This is the man who stole my purse.
b. The man whom you met at my home left yesterday.
c. This is the place where I was born.
d. Tell me how they solved the problem.

Points to remember:
All the connectives are used to relate person, thing, place time, manner and
reason respectively.
‘who/ whom/ whose’ relate to people.
‘which/that/ what’ relate to things.

5. Time Connectives are before/after; when/while; till/until; as long as/ as

soon as
Examples:
a. The patient had died before the doctor came.
b. After having supper, he went to bed.
c. When he kicked the dog, it barked.
d. As long as we were in the train, we slept.

Points to remember:
All these connectives join two actions: first action and second action.

6. Connectives in Pairs are: Either…. or; Neither….nor; whether……or; not

only……but also; so….that
Examples:
a. Either the head teacher or the accountant is mistaken.
b. Neither Hari nor his sister has been to Jumla
c. Whether he understood or not, I understood the problem well.
d. The problem is so difficult that we can’t solve it.

Points to remember:
All these connectives join a pair of nouns/ adjectives/ adverbs/ verbs/
phrases/ clauses etc as in above examples.

7. Other connectives
(1) If/whether; unless
1. If it rains, we won’t come.
2. You won’t pass unless you work hard.
3. She inquired me whether I was lazy.

(2) And; but

1. Mohan can read, but he cannot write.
2. Hira was angry, but she listened to me.
3. Shanta sat in the library and read a magazine.

(3) Thinking that; hoping that

1. The beggar sat by the street hoping that people would give him some
money.
 2. She telephoned me thinking that I was her old friend.

Causative Verb-
Subject Verb Agreement-

Relative pronouns-

If conditions:
 The word ‘if’ can be used to describe the conditions of various
sentences.
 There are 3 types of sentences based on this. First, Second, and Third
conditional sentences

Eg:

First- If Rajan’s mood improves, we will all pass the Algebra

test.
(It is likely or possible for Rajan’s mood to improve)

Second- If Rajan’s mood improved, we could all pass the Algebra

test.
(It is not likely for Rajan’s mood to improve)

Third- If Rajan’s mood had improved, we could have all passed

the Algebra test;
(Rajan’s mood did not improve. It is an impossible
condition)

1. General Truths or Facts

When you want to describe something that is always true or a fact, like natural laws or habitual
events.

 Structure: If + present tense, present tense

 Example:
 If you heat water, it boils.
 If the sun sets, it becomes dark.
In these sentences, the action always happens when the condition is met.

2. Likely or Possible Future Events

To talk about things that are likely or possible to happen in the future.

 Structure: If + present tense, will + verb

 Example:
 If it rains, I will bring an umbrella.
 If you study hard, you will pass the exam.

This type of sentence suggests that the outcome is realistic or possible, depending on the
condition.

3. Unreal or Imaginary Situations

When you want to talk about situations that are imaginary, unlikely, or hypothetical.
 Structure: If + past tense, would + verb
 Example:
 If I had a million dollars, I would travel the world.
 If he were taller, he would play basketball.

These sentences describe conditions that are not real, but imagined.

4. Impossible Past Situations

To describe past events that didn't happen, and what the result would have been.
 Structure: If + past perfect (had + past participle), would have + past participle
 Example:
 If I had known about the meeting, I would have attended.
 If they had studied harder, they would have passed the test.

[WIP]