Modals - explanation - with examples

Modals are basically helping verbs or auxiliary verbs.

Example: May, might, should.

• These attach meaning to the verbs.

Can:-

It is used to show:-

• Ability

•Possibility

•Permission (informal)

Example: He can write neatly.

May:-

It is used to show:-

•Possibility

•Probability

•Wish

•Permission (formal)

Example: It may rain soon.

Could:- (past form of can)

It is used for:-

Polite requests

Example: Could you please open the window.

Might (past form of may)

It is used to show:-

Less possibility 

Example: He might be late today.

Need:-

As a modal verb, need is usually followed by an infinitive without 'to': The modal verb need is mainly used in questions and negatives, which are formed without 'd'

Example: Need I go now? You need not go.

• The negative 'need not' is often shortened to needn't in conversation and informal writing Need does not change its form, so the third person singular of the present tense does not end in's':

Example: He need not go there.

Dare

Used for:-

Warnings

Threat

Example: He dare not say it.

Would:-

For past regular, repeated, actions

Example: In his childhood he would cry all the time.

Past form of will

Polite request or Offer.

Example: Would you like to have some coffee?

Must:-

• It has no infinitive and no past tense.

• Used to expresss obligation.

Example: You must obey your parents.

• It is used to say something that is probably true because nothing else seems possible.

Example: You must pe tired after the long journey.

• It is used to give emphatic advice.

Example: She must consult a doctor at once.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUST AND HAVE TO/HAD TO:-

Must expresses an obligation imposed by the speaker. Have to/Had to expresses external obligations an obligation by some authority or circumstances. 

Example: I must reach there in time (the speaker himself feels so).

You must reach in time (ordered to do so by some external authority).

Should:-

• It is the past tense of shall.

• Should is used to express duty.

Example: You should look after nature.

• It is used to give advice or suggestion.

Example: You should consult a doctor.

Ought:-

It is usually followed by 'to' and an infinitive:

Example: you ought to tell the truth. 

• Ought to is used for expressing what is the right or sensible thing to do, or the right way

to behave:

Example: You ought to get up earlier.

• Ought to is used when we believe strongly or expect that something will happen:

Example: The Indian team ought to win.

• Ought to have is used when we realise that we did not do the right thing in the past: 

Example: She ought to have taken the money.

Difference between ought, must, have to and should:-

*Ought is used to express the subject's obligation or duty. But it indicates neither the speaker's authority as with must, nor an outside authority as with have to. 

*The speaker is only reminding the subject of his duty. *Besides this, he is giving advice or indicating a correct or sensible action.

*Ought can be used in exactly the same way as should: You ought to/should obey your parents

Check your understanding by answering questions by clicking this link:- Modals Practice Questions

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Prepositions - Explanation with Examples

Prepositions: Words that show the relationship between two nouns are called prepositions.

• These are generally placed before nouns or pronouns.

For example: She is living in Delhi.

Types of prepositions:-

1. Preposition of place:-

Example: I live at Kolkata in India.

2. Preposition of direction:-

Example: The dog ran towards the cat.

3. Preposition of transport:-

Example: I go to school by my bike.

4. Preposition of time:-

Example: I shall go to bed at 10 pm.

5. Preposition of source:-

Example: We bought these apples from the market.

6. Preposition of reason:-

Example: I am working hard for earning name and fame.

Some important distinctions:-

• by and with

eg. The cake was cut by Rahul (doer) with a knife (instrument).

• between- among

between (for two persons / things)

e.g. The property was divided between the two sons,

among (for more than two)

e.g. Sweets were distributed among children..

• beside - besides 

beside (by the side of)

e.g. The king sat beside the queen. 

besides (in addition to)

e.g. Besides a scooter, he owns a car.

• on-upon

on (fppor things at rest)

e.g. The cat sat on the table.

upon

e.g. The cat jumped upon the table

 • in-into

in (for position)

e.g. He is in bed.

into (with verbs of motion)

e.g. He went into the room.

Adverbs Explanation with Examples

Adverbs:-

An adverb is a word that describes a verb.

For example : She sings beautifully.

Types of Adverbs:-

1. Adverb of Manner : These adverbs show how an action is done. 

• Adverbs of Manner answer the question "How?"

Example: The old man walked slowly.

 

2. Adverbs of Time : These adverbs show when in time was the action done or when in time did the action take place.

•These adverbs answer the question "when?".

Example: He got home early.

3. Adverbs of place : These adverbs tell where did the action take place.

• Thes adverbs answe the question "where?".

Example: My mother is going to the hotel.

4. Adverbs of Degree : These adverbs tell in what degree or to what extent a thing is done.

• These adverbs answer the question "to what extent?"

Example: This flower is very pretty.

5. Adverbs of Reason : These adverbs show the reason or the cause of a thing.

• These adverb usually answer the question "why?"

Examples: Raman did not come to school because he had fever.

6. Adverbs of Frequency : These adverb tell us  how often an action takes place and usually answer the question "how often?".

Example: I often read books.

7. Interrogative Adverbs : These adverbs are 'when', why', 'how' and 'where'. They are used to ask direct questions. They ask question about time, place reason or manner.

Examples: When will you come here?

Tenses - Explanation with Examples

Tense: In simple words we can say that, tense is nothing but forms of verb which show us whether an action that once in time took place is still goin on, completed, or will go on.

We use these forms to talk about the present, the past and the future.

The different tenses are :-

1. Simple Present

2. Present continuous

3. Present perfect

4. Present perfect continuous

5. Simple past

6. Past continuous

7. Past perfect

8. Past perfect continuous

9. Simple future

10. Future continuous

11. Future perfect

12. Future perfect continuous 

1. Simple present tense:-

Subject + verb 1 form + object

Example: I am hungry.

• It is used to express actions that happen all the time and that are happening at the moment.

Example: We keep our shop open till midnight.

• It is used to express scientific or geographical facts.

Example: Water boils at 100°C.

It rains heavily in Mumbai.

• To express natural quality or profession.

Example: Parents love their children.

• For universal truths.

Example: The earth rotates on its axis.

• To express habit or anything that repeats.

Example: He wakes up at 6 o' clock everyday.

 2. Present Continuous tense:-

Sub + I/am/are + 1st form of verb + ing + object

Example: I am eating my food.

• It is used for an action happening at the time of speaking.

Example: We are discussing tense.

• Action happening nowadays with breaks.

Example: I am reading a novel by tagore.

• To express a definite programme in future. Example: Ma'am is taking an extra class tomorrow.

3. Present perfect tense:-

Subject + has/have + verb 3rd form.

Example: I have completed my work.

It is used for:-

• A very recently finished action.

Example: You are late by a few minutes. The train has left just now.

• An action finished in the past but the effects can still be felt.

Example: The strong wind last night has left some broken window panes.

4. Present Perfect Continuous:-

Subject + has/have+ been + verb 1st form + ing + object.

Example: I have been completing my work.

It is used for:-

• An action that started in the past , is in progress at the time of speaking and will continue in the future.

Example: She has been playing in the park all this time.

5. Simple Past Tense:-

Subject + Verb 3rd form + Object

Example: I ate an icecream.

It is used for:-

• action happened i sometime in the past. Example: His presentation impressed everyone.

• A past habit.

Example: I used to love cold coffee.

6. Past Continuous Tense:-

Subject + was/were + verb 1st form + object

Example: I was completing my work.

It is used for:-

• An action in progress over a period of time in the past.

Example: She was singing melodiously.

• To express parallel action which continued in the past.

Example: My mother was cooking food while my father was reading the magazine.

•To express past frequently repeated action.

Example: She was always complaining about low income.

7. Past Perfect Tense:-

Subject + had + 3rd form of verb + object

• To express an action that completed at a given moment in the past.

Two actions take place:-

1st action in  past perfect.

2nd action in simple past.

Example: The patient had died before the doctor arrived.

8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense:-

Subject + had been + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used for:-

• An action that began in the past, continued for some time and has recently finished.

Example: I had been doing my homework.

• When time expression is given.

Example: My neighbours business had been doing very well when the lockdown happened again.

9. Simple Future Tense:-

Subject + will + 1st form of the verb.

It is used to :-

• Express an action that will happen in the future at some time.

Example: I will return your book after reading.  

• For a certain planned action

Example: The train will stop for a few minutes only, let's get close to the door.

• To express thinking or view.

Example: I don't think that this virus will go away easily. 

• To predict an event in the future.

Example: The candidate is going to win the elections.

10. Future continuous tense

Subject + will be + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used for :-

• An action in progress in the future.

Example: I will be having dinner at 8 o' clock.

• Predicting the future.

Example: It will be raining tomorrow.

11. Future Perfect Tense:-

Subject + will have + 3rd form of verb + object

It is used to describe:-

• An action finished at / before a given time in the future.

Example: We will have cleared the old stock at our shop before the fresh stock arrives.

12. Future Perfect Continuous Tense:-

Subject + Will have been + 1st form of verb + ing

It is used to :-

• Express a continued action in future.

Example: She will have been studying for two hours.

  

Check your knowledge of tense by answering questions by clicking the link below:-

Tenses quiz

Non - Finite Verbs (Gerunds, Infinitives, Participle) - Explanation with Examples.

Verb: A word that shows that some work has been done.

Example: Eat, drink, play, etc.

These are of two types:-

1. Finite Verbs: Verbs that represent a tense, change according to the subject, and have different froms according to the tense.

Example: Buy - bought

Teach - taught

Like - liked

2. Non - Finite Verbs: Verbs that represent no tense, they don't change according to the number or the person of the subject. 

Examples: -

She likes to eat ice cream.

They liked to eat ice cream.

He wants to go now.

They wanted to go.

Note: In a sentence there is a main verb and a non finite verb.

Without the main verb, the sentence remains meaningless . But without a non finite verb the sentence can be made.

For example: Tom saw him steal a pen.

Non finite verb: Steal.

Non finite verbs are of three types:-

1. Infinitives 

2. Gerunds

3. Participle

Infinitives:-

An infinitive is the base form of a verb. We use infinity words to join sentences.

Example: cut, put, go, come ,see, etc.

Infinitives are of two types:-

(i) Bare infinitives

(ii) To infinitives 

(i) Bare infinitives:-

It a verb that consists of infinitive without the word to.

For example: I saw her sleep.( Here, sleep is the bare infinitive and saw Is the finite verb.)

Conditions where bare infinitives are used:-

• With auxiliary verbs or modals.

Example: He may come today. ( Here, come is the bare infinitive and may is a model.)

• With transitive verbs to show sense of perception.

Example: I heard him go upstairs.

• Used in phrases having had/would in them.

Example: You had better complete your work.

(ii) To infinitives:-

Generally functions as a noun or a complement in the sentence.

Example: to operate this machine insert a coin in the slot.

• It is used after verbs such as hope, want, agree and able.

Example: My brother wanted to become a pilot.

• It is used after nouns or adjectives.

Example: the management asked the principal to decide the date.

2. Gerunds:-

Gerund is a word that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. Since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies the same position in a sentence that a noun usually does - subject, object or after a preposition.

Examples:-

The batting let down the team.(subject of a tense)

The other team is known for its fantastic bowling. (Object of a sentence)

Some were blamed for bad fielding.( Object of a preposition)

3. Participles:-

A participle is a form of a verb that can function both as a verb and as an adjective most commonly what is the poles and in -ing or -ed.

Example: The smiling baby caught my finger.

Participles are of two types:-

1. Present participle

2. Past participle

1. Present participle:-

• They work as an adjective.

• They are placed before a noun.

• They also end in -ing.

• They are also called adjectival verbs.

Examples:-

Everyone likes a smiling baby.

I want to read the interesting story.

2. Past participle:-

• Past participles are the third form of the verbs.

• They describe a noun.

• They also describe a finished or completed task.

Examples:-

The broken window panes were replaced.

The lost child was sent home.

Click here to check out these practice questions for thorough understanding.