Unit 5: Grammar - Subjective Questions

Wh-questions are questions that begin with a wh-word (what, where, who, when, why, which, how) and are used to ask for specific information rather than a simple yes/no answer.

Formation with be:

• Structure: Wh-word + be (am/is/are/was/were) + subject + ...?
• The verb be is placed before the subject (inversion).

Examples:

• What is your name?
• Where are you from?
• Who is that woman?
• How are your parents?

Key points:

• The form of be agrees with the subject (singular/plural, present/past).
• Wh-questions cannot usually be answered with yes or no.

Each wh-word asks for a different type of information:

• What – asks about things, actions, or ideas.
  • Example: What is your favourite subject?
• Where – asks about place or location.
  • Example: Where do you live?
• Who – asks about people (identity).
  • Example: Who is your teacher?
• How – asks about manner, condition, or degree.
  • Example: How do you travel to college?

Summary table:

Subject pronouns are words that replace the subject (the doer of the action) in a sentence to avoid repeating the noun.

The subject pronouns are:

• I – I am a student.
• You – You are kind.
• He – He plays football.
• She – She sings well.
• It – It is raining.
• We – We are friends.
• They – They live in Delhi.

Key points:

• They always perform the action of the verb.
• They come before the verb in a statement.
• I is always written in capital letters.

Both show ownership, but they are used differently in a sentence.

Possessive Adjectives:

• Come before a noun and modify it.
• Forms: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
• Example: This is my book. / Their house is big.

Possessive Pronouns:

• Stand alone and replace the noun (no noun follows).
• Forms: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
• Example: This book is mine. / The house is theirs.

Comparison table:

Key difference: A possessive adjective needs a noun after it, while a possessive pronoun replaces the noun entirely.

Demonstratives are words that point to specific people or things and indicate their distance (near or far) and number (singular or plural).

The four demonstratives:

Examples:

• This is my pen. (near, singular)
• These are my pens. (near, plural)
• That is her house. (far, singular)
• Those are their books. (far, plural)

Key points:

• This/These refer to things close to the speaker.
• That/Those refer to things farther away.
• They can act as adjectives (this book) or pronouns (This is mine).

Adjectives change their form to compare two or more things. There are three degrees of comparison:

1. Positive Degree – describes one thing (no comparison).

• Example: She is tall.

2. Comparative Degree – compares two things; uses -er or more.

• Short adjectives: add -er → taller, faster.
• Long adjectives: use more → more beautiful.
• Example: She is taller than her sister.

3. Superlative Degree – compares three or more; uses -est or most with the.

• Short adjectives: add -est → tallest, fastest.
• Long adjectives: use most → most beautiful.
• Example: She is the tallest in the class.

Rules table:

Note: Some adjectives (good, bad, far) are irregular.

When comparing quantities of nouns, we use special words depending on whether the noun is countable or uncountable.

1. More – used for both countable and uncountable nouns (greater quantity).

• Example: She has more books than me. / I need more water.

2. Fewer – used with countable nouns (smaller number).

• Example: There are fewer students today.

3. Less – used with uncountable nouns (smaller amount).

• Example: I drink less coffee now.

4. As much/many as – used to show equality.

• as many as → countable: I have as many pens as you.
• as much as → uncountable: She earns as much money as him.

Summary table:

Quantifiers are words that indicate the quantity or amount of a noun without giving an exact number.

1. Used with Countable nouns:

• many, a few, few, several, a number of
• Example: There are many chairs. / I have a few friends.

2. Used with Uncountable nouns:

• much, a little, little, a great deal of
• Example: There isn't much water. / Add a little salt.

3. Used with Both:

• some, any, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, all, no
• Example: I have some money / some books.

Summary table:

Key point: A few/a little mean some (positive), while few/little mean almost none (negative).

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often an action happens.

Common adverbs of frequency (high to low):

• always (100%)
• usually
• often
• sometimes
• rarely / seldom
• never (0%)

Position Rules:

1. Before the main verb:
   • Example: She always arrives on time.
2. After the verb be:
   • Example: He is usually happy.
3. Between auxiliary and main verb:
   • Example: They have never visited Goa.

Examples:

• I often read books at night.
• We sometimes go to the cinema.
• He never tells lies.

Key point: With the verb be, the adverb comes after it; with all other verbs, it comes before the main verb.

The Present Tense describes actions happening now, habits, and general truths. It has four forms:

1. Simple Present

• Structure: Subject + V1 (+s/es)
• Function: habits, facts, routines.
• Example: She writes a letter every day.

2. Present Continuous

• Structure: Subject + am/is/are + V-ing
• Function: action happening now.
• Example: She is writing a letter.

3. Present Perfect

• Structure: Subject + has/have + V3
• Function: completed action with present relevance.
• Example: She has written a letter.

4. Present Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + has/have been + V-ing
• Function: action started in past, still continuing.
• Example: She has been writing since morning.

Summary table:

The Past Tense describes actions that happened before now. It has four forms:

1. Simple Past

• Structure: Subject + V2
• Function: completed action in the past.
• Example: She wrote a letter yesterday.

2. Past Continuous

• Structure: Subject + was/were + V-ing
• Function: ongoing action in the past.
• Example: She was writing a letter.

3. Past Perfect

• Structure: Subject + had + V3
• Function: action completed before another past action.
• Example: She had written the letter before he came.

4. Past Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + had been + V-ing
• Function: ongoing action continuing up to a point in the past.
• Example: She had been writing for an hour.

Summary table:

The Future Tense describes actions that will happen later. It has four forms:

1. Simple Future

• Structure: Subject + will + V1
• Function: future facts, decisions, predictions.
• Example: She will write a letter.

2. Future Continuous

• Structure: Subject + will be + V-ing
• Function: action in progress at a future time.
• Example: She will be writing at 5 p.m.

3. Future Perfect

• Structure: Subject + will have + V3
• Function: action completed before a future time.
• Example: She will have written the letter by noon.

4. Future Perfect Continuous

• Structure: Subject + will have been + V-ing
• Function: ongoing action continuing up to a future point.
• Example: She will have been writing for two hours.

Summary table:

Prepositions of time show when something happens. The three main ones are in, on, at.

1. AT – used for specific/precise times.

• clock times: at 5 o'clock
• mealtimes: at noon, at midnight
• festivals: at Christmas
• Example: The class starts at 9 a.m.

2. ON – used for days and dates.

• days: on Monday
• dates: on 15th August
• special days: on my birthday
• Example: I was born on Sunday.

3. IN – used for longer periods.

• months: in July
• years: in 2024
• seasons: in winter
• parts of day: in the morning
• Example: We travel in summer.

Summary table:

Prepositions of place show where something is located. The main ones are in, on, at.

1. AT – used for a specific point or location.

• Example: She is at the bus stop. / at the door.

2. ON – used for a surface.

• Example: The book is on the table. / A picture on the wall.

3. IN – used for an enclosed space or area.

• Example: He is in the room. / in London.

Summary table:

Difference from prepositions of time:

• The same words (in/on/at) are used for both, but the context changes.
• For time, they answer when? (at 5 p.m., on Monday, in June).
• For place, they answer where? (at home, on the desk, in the city).

Adverbs before adjectives are called intensifiers or degree adverbs. They come before an adjective to strengthen, weaken, or modify its meaning.

Function: They tell us to what degree a quality exists.

Common intensifiers:

• very – very tall
• really – really interesting
• quite – quite good
• extremely – extremely cold
• too – too hot
• so – so beautiful
• fairly / rather – rather difficult

Examples:

• The movie was very boring.
• She is extremely intelligent.
• This coffee is too hot to drink.
• The test was quite easy.

Key points:

• The adverb always comes immediately before the adjective.
• They adjust the intensity of the adjective's meaning.
• Too implies a negative/excessive sense, while very simply emphasises.

Participles are verb forms that act as adjectives to modify nouns. There are two types:

1. Present Participle Modifiers (-ing):

• Describe something that causes a feeling or is active.
• Example: a boring lecture, a running tap, an exciting game.
• The crying baby needs attention.

2. Past Participle Modifiers (-ed/V3):

• Describe something that receives an action or experiences a feeling.
• Example: a bored student, a broken window, an excited crowd.
• The injured player left the field.

Comparison:

Key rule: Use -ing for the source of the feeling and -ed for the one who feels it.

A prepositional phrase (preposition + noun/pronoun) can act as a modifier, giving more information about a noun or verb.

1. As an Adjective (modifying a noun):

• Describes which or what kind.
• Example: The book on the table is mine. (which book?)
• The man in the blue shirt is my uncle.

2. As an Adverb (modifying a verb):

• Describes how, when, where.
• Example: She sang with great emotion. (how?)
• They arrived in the morning. (when?)
• He is waiting at the gate. (where?)

Examples of prepositional modifiers:

• The house near the river is for sale.
• Students from India performed well.
• The vase on the shelf broke.

Key point: A prepositional phrase as a modifier should be placed close to the word it modifies to avoid confusion (misplaced modifier).

Modal verbs are auxiliary (helping) verbs that express ideas such as ability, permission, possibility, obligation, and advice. They are always followed by the base form of the main verb.

Common modal verbs and functions:

• Can – ability / permission
  • I can swim. / Can I go?
• Could – past ability / polite request
  • She could read at four. / Could you help me?
• May – permission / possibility
  • May I come in? / It may rain.
• Might – weak possibility
  • He might be late.
• Must – obligation / strong necessity
  • You must wear a helmet.
• Shall – offer / suggestion
  • Shall we begin?
• Should – advice / recommendation
  • You should sleep early.
• Will – future / willingness
  • I will call you.
• Would – polite request / preference
  • Would you like tea?

Key features of modals:

• Do not change form (no -s, -ed, -ing).
• Always followed by the base verb (never to).
• Make questions by inversion (Can you...?).

To form a wh-question, choose the correct wh-word for the information needed, then invert the subject and verb be (or add an auxiliary).

(a) She is a doctor.

• Asking about profession (thing): What is she?
• Process: What + is + she?

(b) They live in Mumbai.

• Asking about place: Where do they live?
• Process: Since live is a main verb, we add the auxiliary do → Where + do + they + live?

(c) He is my brother.

• Asking about identity/relation (person): Who is he?
• Process: Who + is + he?

(d) The meeting is at 10 o'clock.

• Asking about time: What time is the meeting? / When is the meeting?
• Process: What time / When + is + the meeting?

Key point:

• With be, simply put the verb before the subject.
• With action verbs, use the auxiliary do/does/did.

The three simple tenses describe actions in different time frames.

1. Simple Present

• Structure: Subject + V1 (+s/es)
• Use: habits, facts, routines.
• Signal words: always, every day, usually, often.
• Example: He plays cricket every Sunday.

2. Simple Past

• Structure: Subject + V2
• Use: completed actions in the past.
• Signal words: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2010.
• Example: He played cricket yesterday.

3. Simple Future

• Structure: Subject + will + V1
• Use: actions that will happen later.
• Signal words: tomorrow, next week, soon, later.
• Example: He will play cricket tomorrow.

Comparison table:

Key point: The time of the action determines the tense, and signal words often indicate which tense to use.