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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

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

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

Voice (Interrogatives?)

We are going to study how to transform an interrogative sentence from active voice to passive voice. What are interrogatives? Interrogatives are nothing but questions. * Is Kishore doing homework? ( Active Voice ) Is homework being done by Kishore? ( Passive Voice ) * Was Maria playing tennis last year? ( AV ) Was tennis being played by Maria last year? ( PV ) * Has your mom prepared Chapatis? ( AV ) Have Chapatis been prepared by your mom? ( PV )  ( Here, Chapatis are plural. So, we used ‘have’.) * Did Babu learn French? ( AV ) Was French learnt by Babu? ( PV ) * Does Ankita play Chess? ( AV ) Is Chess played by Ankita? ( PV ) * Had Vinati made Parotas? ( AV ) Had Parotas been made by Vinati? ( PV ) * Can Priya bring mangoes? ( AV ) Can mangoes be brought by Priya? ( PV ) * Should I meet him tomorrow? ( AV ) Should he be met b y me tomorrow? ( PV ) * What did Veena take from the fridge? ( AV ) What was taken by Veena from the fridge? ( PV ) * Why have you done this mischief? ( AV ) W