Question Tags Part-1

Question Tags are more common in speaking than in writing. These are special constructions in the English Language.

Question Tags are small questions that are attached to the statements. We use them when we expect the listener to agree with our statement.

Let’s see how we use them in sentences.

# When the statement is positive, we use a negative question tag.

She is a teacher, isn’t she?

Yesterday was very hot, wasn’t it?

# If the statement is negative, we use positive question tag.

Suresh is not coming, is he?

She has not attended the party, has she?

# If there is an auxiliary verb in the statement, we have to use it in the question tag

The watchman didn’t come, did he?

Your brother has gone to Kanpur, hasn’t he?

It is raining outside, isn’t it?

# When there is no auxiliary verb in the statement, we use don’t/didn’t/doesn’t in the tags.

Arundhati writes novels, doesn’t she?

I told him not to come, didn’t I?

# If there is a modal verb in the statement, we use that verb in the question tag.

They could buy the house, couldn’t they?

He won’t complain, will he?

# If the auxiliary or main verb in the statement is ‘am’, the positive question tag is ‘am I?’ but, the negative question tag is ‘aren’t I?’

I am not late, am I?

I am soon going to get a reply, aren’t I?

( This is only a brief sketch, we shall discuss the remaining parts elsewhere )

Practice

Use appropriate questions tags in the following blanks.

1. Keervani is a musician, __________?

2. Your father brought some mangoes, ___________?

3. They haven't finished the house, __________?

4. I am a lecturer, _________?

5. His parents are not coming this Sunday, __________?

Prepositions of Agency, Possession, and Reason

Now, we shall learn the Prepositions of Agency, Possession, and Reason. * Prepositions of Agency and Instrumentality # by: The thief was arrested by the police. I am going to send the parcel by post tomorrow. Gora was written by Tagore. # with : Mohan has beaten Hemu with a stick. The workers have cut the tree down with an axe. # through : Vinaya heard about the vacancy through a friend. You can achieve success only through hard work. * Prepositions of Possession # to: This house belongs to our MLA. # with: The dog with brown spots is my pet. # of: Ottawa is the capital of Canada. * Prepositions of Reason # for: Ambedkar worked for the upliftment of the disadvantaged. # from: Mitesh is suffering from fever. # of: My grandmother died of Cholera. # because: They didn’t attend the meeting because their car met with an accident. Practice Use appropriate prepositions in the following blanks 1. I entered the hotel and placed an order _________ a plate of Idli. 2. Gopi earned millions

Articles 'a' or 'an'

There are two articles in the English Language: 1) the indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ) 2) the definite article ( ‘the’ ) Usage of indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ): 1. The indefinite article is used with a singular countable noun. The article ‘a’ is used before a word that begins with a consonant sound, while ‘an’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound. ( There are 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds in English ) a pen a choice a tall building an employee an oak tree an interesting story 2. Some words start with a vowel letter ( a, e, i, o, u ), but have a consonant sound. So, ‘a’ is used before them a university a universal rule a European woman 3. There are some words which start with a silent ‘h’. In such cases, ‘an’ is used. an hour an honest man an honourable teacher an heir But, when ‘h’ is pronounced, we use ‘a’ a humble man a hint a humorous person a historian 4. ‘An’ is used before abbreviations which begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S

Article: The

Let’s learn how to use the definite article ‘ the ’. Usage of the definite article ( ‘the’ ) : 1. Observe the following paragraph: One day, I saw a rat in my house. I thought there were many rats living in our house. So, I brought a cat from my friend’s house. I gave the cat all the food it required. It ate well and moved around the house. But a month after bringing the cat, to my surprise, one day I found the cat playing with the same rat. Now, they have become good buddies. You learn from the above paragraph that when we used ‘rat’ or ‘cat’ and ‘house’ for the first time, we used ‘a’ before them. But, when we used the words for the second or third time, we kept ‘the’ before them. So, the definite article ‘the’ is used before the persons or things that we already know beforehand. 2. ‘The’ is used with a noun whose identity is clear to the listener and the speaker from the context. Our classroom is on the second floor. ( the second floor of our school building ) What is the tim

Phrase

We shall learn what a phrase is and how many types of phrase are there in English. Phrase : A phrase is a group of words which doesn’t contain a finite verb, but does the work of a single part of speech. Example: Reading novels improves your English. In the above example, the highlighted words act as noun in the sentence. It contains two words which act as a unit. So, we call such words phrases . Types of Phrases : There are at least nine important types of phrases in English. They are: 1. Noun Phrase : This phrase acts as a noun in the sentence, and it also contains other associates to modify it. Examples: Kavya bought a blue saree . A tall woman came to help him. 2. Prepositional Phrase : It contains a preposition and an object of the preposition. Examples: The students are looking at the black-board. Jyothi has slept on the sofa . 3. Adjective Phrase : It acts like an adjective in the sentence. Examples: The man with the white-hair is my father. The chairman is the man of h

What is a 'clause'?

Shall we learn what a clause is? Clause : A clause is a group of words which resembles a phrase, but it has its own subject and predicate. Types of clauses : Clauses can broadly be divided into two types. 1. Independent Clause. 2. Dependent Clause. 1. Independent Clause : An Independent Clause is a group of words in a sentence which has complete meaning and can stand on its own. It is also called the main clause of the sentence. The Independent Clauses can combine with other clauses and form complex and compound sentences. Examples: Roshni ate some noodles when she got hungry yesterday . We love this restaurant because the service here is excellent. Raveena switched on the TV to divert her son’s attention. 2. Dependent Clause : A Dependent Clause can’t stand on its own but depend upon the main clause to make complete sense. Examples: If you practise hard , you will win the game. Tommy was extra careful while crossing the road . Everybody stayed inside because there was heavy

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