Unit 5: Grammar - Subjective Questions

Parts of speech are categories of words classified according to their function in a sentence.

• Noun: Names a person, place, thing, or idea. Example: teacher, city, honesty.
• Pronoun: Replaces a noun. Example: She is reading.
• Verb: Shows an action or state. Example: They worked hard.
• Adjective: Describes or gives more information about a noun. Example: It is a difficult task.
• Adverb: Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Example: He spoke quietly.
• Preposition: Shows the relationship between words. Example: The book is on the table.
• Conjunction: Connects words or clauses. Example: I stayed home because it rained.
• Interjection: Expresses sudden emotion. Example: Oh! I forgot my keys.

A compound adjective is an adjective made up of two or more words that work together to describe a noun. A hyphen is commonly used when the compound adjective comes before a noun.

• well-known: She is a well-known author.
• part-time: He found a part-time job.
• ten-year-old: They have a ten-year-old daughter.
• high-speed: The train uses a high-speed railway.
• English-speaking: We visited an English-speaking country.
• blue-eyed: The blue-eyed child smiled at us.

Compound adjectives make descriptions more precise and prevent confusion about which words belong together.

An infinitive is the base form of a verb. It can appear as a to-infinitive or a bare infinitive.

• A to-infinitive consists of to plus the base verb: to read, to write, to learn.
• A bare infinitive is the base verb without to: read, write, learn.

To-infinitive:

• It commonly follows verbs such as want, hope, decide, plan, and agree.
• Example: She decided to study abroad.
• Example: They hope to win the match.

Bare infinitive:

• It follows modal auxiliary verbs such as can, may, must, and should.
• Example: You must obey the rules.
• It follows let and, in active structures, verbs such as make.
• Example: The teacher made us complete the exercise.

The infinitive may express purpose: He went to the library to borrow a book.

A noun phrase is a group of words centered on a noun or pronoun. It functions as a subject, object, or complement in a sentence.

A common structure is:

Determiner + Premodifier(s) + Head noun + Postmodifier(s)

In the given sentence:

• The intelligent student from our class is the subject noun phrase.
  • The is the determiner.
  • intelligent is an adjective functioning as a premodifier.
  • student is the head noun.
  • from our class is a prepositional phrase functioning as a postmodifier.
• a well-written assignment is the object noun phrase.
  • a is the determiner.
  • well-written is a compound adjective.
  • assignment is the head noun.

Articles are determiners placed before nouns.

• A: Used before a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound. Example: a university and a book.
• An: Used before a singular countable noun beginning with a vowel sound. Example: an apple and an honest man.
• The: Used for a specific or previously mentioned noun, unique objects, superlatives, ordinal numbers, and some geographical names. Examples: the book I borrowed, the sun, the best student, and the first chapter.
• Zero article: No article is used with plural or uncountable nouns when speaking generally. Examples: Books are useful and Water is essential for life.

The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation, not simply spelling. Therefore, we say an hour but a European country.

English tenses express the time and nature of an action.

• Present simple: Used for habits, routines, facts, and general truths. Example: She walks to college every day.
• Present continuous: Used for an action happening now or a temporary situation. Example: She is studying for her examination.
• Present perfect: Used for a past action connected with the present or an experience at an unspecified time. Example: They have completed the project.
• Past simple: Used for a completed action at a definite time in the past. Example: He visited Lahore last year.
• Past continuous: Used for an action in progress at a particular past time. Example: I was reading at eight o'clock.
• Past perfect: Used for an action completed before another past action. Example: The train had left before we arrived.
• Future forms: Will expresses predictions or decisions made at the moment, while be going to expresses plans or predictions based on present evidence. Example: I will help you and It is going to rain.

Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs used with main verbs to form tenses, questions, negatives, emphasis, and the passive voice.

Main auxiliaries:

• Be: Forms continuous tenses and the passive voice. Examples: She is working and The letter was written.
• Have: Forms perfect tenses. Example: They have finished the task.
• Do: Forms questions and negatives in the simple present and past, and adds emphasis. Examples: Do you agree?, He did not come, and I do understand.

Modal auxiliaries include can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would. They express meanings such as ability, possibility, permission, obligation, prediction, and advice.

Unlike ordinary verbs, modal auxiliaries are followed by the base form of a verb: She can swim, not She can swims.

Narrative tenses are used to describe events in the past and show their sequence or background.

• Past simple: Describes the main completed events. Example: I opened the door and entered the room.
• Past continuous: Describes an action in progress or the background. Example: It was raining heavily.
• Past perfect: Describes an event that happened before another past event. Example: The meeting had already started.
• Past perfect continuous: Emphasizes the duration of an activity before another past event. Example: She had been waiting for an hour.

Example narrative:

It was getting dark when Ali reached the station. He had forgotten his ticket at home, so he called his brother. While he was speaking, the train arrived. His brother had already left the house, but he promised to bring the ticket quickly.

These tenses help the reader distinguish main events, background actions, and earlier events.

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express the speaker's attitude toward an action or situation.

• Ability: can or could. Example: She can solve complex problems.
• Permission: may or can. Example: May I leave early?
• Obligation: must or have to. Example: Students must submit their assignments.
• Possibility: may, might, or could. Example: It might rain tonight.
• Advice: should or ought to. Example: You should revise the lesson.
• Prediction or willingness: will. Example: The results will be announced tomorrow.

A modal is followed by the base form of the verb, as in He must attend and They should work. Modals do not normally take -s in the third-person singular.

Direct speech reports the exact words of a speaker and uses quotation marks. Example: Sara said, "I am preparing my presentation today."

Indirect speech reports the meaning of the speaker's words without quotation marks. Pronouns, tenses, and time expressions may change according to the reporting context.

The indirect form is:

Sara said that she was preparing her presentation that day.

Changes made:

• I changes to she because Sara is the speaker.
• am preparing changes to was preparing because the reporting verb said is in the past.
• my changes to her.
• today changes to that day.

In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

The passive voice is formed with an appropriate form of be plus the past participle of the main verb.

• Active: The chef prepared the meal.
  • Passive: The meal was prepared by the chef.
• Active: The committee will announce the results.
  • Passive: The results will be announced by the committee.

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The original subject may be included after by when it is important. Passive voice is commonly used when the action or result is more important than the person performing the action.

Conditional sentences express a condition and its possible or imagined result.

• Zero conditional: Used for general truths and facts.
  • Structure: If + present simple, present simple.
  • Example: If water reaches C, it boils.
• First conditional: Used for real or possible future situations.
  • Structure: If + present simple, will + base verb.
  • Example: If you study regularly, you will pass the examination.
• Second conditional: Used for unlikely or imaginary present or future situations.
  • Structure: If + past simple, would + base verb.
  • Example: If I had more time, I would learn another language.
• Third conditional: Used for unreal past situations and their imagined results.
  • Structure: If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
  • Example: If she had left earlier, she would have caught the bus.

A prefix is added to the beginning of a word, while a suffix is added to its end.

Prefixes:

• un- + happy = unhappy, meaning not happy.
• re- + write = rewrite, meaning write again.
• dis- + agree = disagree, meaning not agree.
• pre- + view = preview, meaning a view beforehand.

Suffixes:

• kind + -ness = kindness, changing an adjective into a noun.
• teach + -er = teacher, forming a noun for a person.
• care + -ful = careful, forming an adjective.
• quick + -ly = quickly, forming an adverb.

Prefixes usually modify meaning, whereas suffixes may modify meaning or change the grammatical category of a word.

Time expressions help indicate when an action happens, how long it continues, or its relationship to another event.

• Since: Indicates the starting point of an action that continues to the present. Example: She has lived here since 2020.
• For: Indicates the duration of an action. Example: They have been waiting for two hours.
• Already: Shows that an action happened earlier than expected. Example: He has already submitted the form.
• Yet: Usually appears in questions and negative sentences to refer to an expected action. Example: Have you finished yet? and I have not finished yet.
• Ago: Refers to a period before the present and is generally used with the past simple. Example: We met three years ago.
• By the time: Indicates that one action was completed before another time or event. Example: By the time the teacher arrived, the students had completed the task.

The reported forms are:

• Omar said that he had completed the work.
• Nadia said that they would visit the museum the next day.

Changes in the first sentence:

• I changes to he.
• have completed changes to had completed because the reporting verb is in the past.

Changes in the second sentence:

• We changes to they when the reporter is not part of the group.
• will changes to would.
• tomorrow changes to the next day.

The conjunction that may be used after said, but it can be omitted when the meaning remains clear.

An indirect question reports a question in a more polite or formal way. It does not use quotation marks, and the word order changes from question order to statement order.

• Direct: He asked, "Where do you live?"
  • Indirect: He asked where I lived.
• Direct: She asked, "Have they arrived?"
  • Indirect: She asked whether they had arrived.

Rules:

• Keep the question word in wh-questions such as what, where, when, or why.
• Use if or whether for yes/no questions.
• Do not use the auxiliary do in the reported question.
• Use statement word order: subject before verb.
• Change pronouns, tenses, and time expressions when necessary.

Commands and requests are commonly reported with verbs such as ordered, told, asked, requested, or advised, followed by an object and a to-infinitive.

• Direct: The teacher said to the students, "Open your books."
  • Indirect: The teacher told the students to open their books.
• Direct: Ali said to me, "Please help me."
  • Indirect: Ali asked me to help him.

For negative commands, use not to + base verb:

• Direct: The officer said, "Do not enter the room."
• Indirect: The officer ordered us not to enter the room.

The reporting verb should reflect the purpose and tone of the original speech. Tell is generally used with an object, while ask is suitable for polite requests.

Possessive pronouns show ownership and replace a noun phrase. They include mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs.

• Mine: This notebook is mine.
• Yours: Is this umbrella yours?
• His: The blue jacket is his.

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. They include myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves.

• Herself: She prepared herself for the interview.
• Ourselves: We introduced ourselves to the new students.
• Themselves: The children decorated the room themselves.

Reflexive pronouns can also add emphasis: The principal herself welcomed the guests.

The three conditionals differ in the likelihood and time of the condition.

• First conditional: Refers to a real or likely future possibility.
  • If I study tonight, I will pass the test.
• Second conditional: Refers to an unlikely or imaginary present or future situation.
  • If I studied every night, I would pass the test.
• Third conditional: Refers to an impossible past situation because the time has already passed.
  • If I had studied last night, I would have passed the test.

The first conditional presents a possible result, the second presents a hypothetical result, and the third expresses regret or speculation about a past result. Their structures are:

• First: If + present simple, will + base verb
• Second: If + past simple, would + base verb
• Third: If + past perfect, would have + past participle

A suitable narrative version is:

I walked into the classroom while the students were talking loudly. The lesson had started before I sat down, and I realized that I had forgotten my notes.

Tense choices:

• Walked: Past simple presents the main event.
• Were talking: Past continuous describes an action already in progress and provides background.
• Had started: Past perfect shows that the lesson began before I sat down.
• Sat: Past simple presents the next completed event.
• Had forgotten: Past perfect shows that forgetting the notes happened before the moment of realization.

Using different narrative tenses makes the order and relationship between events clear.