Future tense-“will” or “going to”

Future tense-“will” or “going to”

In simple future tense,

one can use “will” or “going to”. But there is a slight difference in their usage. Following are the rules regarding it.

Using “ Will” (will+verb)

Rule-1 When there is  a voluntary action(Help/request/promise)

I will send you the money when I get the salary

I will clean the room as you looks very tired

Rule-2 To make prediction

I think India will win the match

I guess it will be very cold tomorrow

Using “going to” (is/am/are+going to+verb)

Rule-Going to  is used to express plan

Example

I am going to buy the car next week.

I am going to spend my vacations abroad

Present Continuous Tense Exceptions

Present tense is used to describe the action which is happening at the particular moment of time.
The syntax of forming present tense is 'form of verb be+ verb +ing'
Example
I am watching T.V( am + watch+ing).
He is reading(is+read+ing)

But there are certain verbs which are not used in continuous tense but they are used as simple present tense.
CASE -1 SENSES
see- We are seeing see him dancing.
hear - He are hearing hears our voice
smell-It is smelling smells like a rotten egg
taste- It is tasting tastes very nice.
touch-The two rooms are touching touch each other.
feel- I am feeling feel hungry .

CASE-2 FEELINGS
wish
hate
love
like
dislike
doubt
imagine
believe
know
prefer
realize
remember
understand
suppose
regret
CASE-3 Possession
have
belong
CASE -4 State
be
cost
depend
consist
contain
deserve
include
fit
suit
CASE -5 Communication
agree
disagree
deny
promise
mean
surprise
satisfy
impress

Preposition- Between & Among

Here I am going to explain the usage of the preposition 'between' and 'among'

The preposition ‘between’ is used  when

1)      there are 2 things

2)      there is definite number   and there is close relationship between them

Example

a)      The father distributed the money between his 2 sons.(defiante number)

b)      An agreement was signed between India , Pakistan and China(definite number and close connection)

The preposition ‘among’ is used when

1)      there are more than 2 persons/things

2)      no definite number in mind

Example

1)      On his birthday he distributed sweets among his friends

2)      He distributed cloths among the poor

Simple Present Tense Usage

The simple present tense is used in following conditions
CASE -1 when there is habitual actions
Example
a) I brush my teeth every morning.
b) He always washes feet before sleeping.
c) She goes to park everyday.
d) He never forgets my birthday.
CASE-2  to express general/universal truth
Example
a) The sun rises from the east.
b) Water consists of oxygen and hydrogen.
c) Summer follows the spring.
d) water changes into vapours on heating.
CASE-3 to express facts which is true at present.
Example
a) He works in bank.
b) She teaches French in a school.
c) Just one train stops at this station.
d) My father wears glasses.
CASE-4 scheduled events in near future.(timetables/programmes/calender events)
Example
a) The train leaves at 6 pm in the evening.
b) The school close in June for summer holidays
c) The book fair opens in January.
d) The film show begins at 9.30 and ends at 12.30
CASE-5 Observations/declaration
Example
a) I hate this person
b) I love travelling.
c) The notice says "No Smoking"
d) The President declares the games open

NOTE- The following adverbs/adverbial phrases are often used in the simple present tense-
-often
-generally
-occasionally
-sometimes
-usually
-always
-rarely
-never
-ever
-everyday
-daily
-once a week/month/year

Simple Present Inflexion

Inflexion means alteration  or addition to the form of word so that it could be used  correctly according to rules of grammar. .  The Only inflection in the simple present tense is ‘-s’ of the third person singular.

Eg.

Look at the following sentence in simple past.

I often go to cinema.

Now if we rewrite the sentence in third person singular, it will be

He often goes to cinema.

Preposition of travel and movement

There are certain prepositions which are often used in the sentences indicating travel or movement.

Case -1 (means of transport)

I travel by train.

He travel by bus.

I would like to travel by car.

Similarly, we can use ‘by’ with other means of transport

-by ship

-by boat

-by sea

-by air

Case -2 use of “on”

-on foot

-on bicycle

-on horse back

Case -3 use “get in/get into” a vehicle

He get into the train timely

Case -4 use “get on” when mounting on horse/bicycle.

Case -5 use “get out” of a vehicle

Case -6 use “get off” a horse,a bicycle

Preposition of Place (at/in/on)

Use of preposition “at”

It is used when we refer to a particular point of place

Example

At the entrance

At the door

At the gate

At the address

At the corner

At the station

At the end of street

At the corner

At the bottom of page

Use of preposition “in”

It is used when the we refer to an enclosed space or someone/something inside a limited area.

Example

In USA

In delhi

In the room

In the park

In my wallet

In the hall

In the building

In his pocket

Note- ‘at’ is used for small place and ‘in’ is used for big place ,town,city,country.

Eg

Case -1 I live at Delhi in India.

Case -2 I live in Delhi.

Note-‘at’ shows still position where as ‘in’ shows movement.

Eg

Case -1 She is at school.

Case-2 The car is in the state of motion.

Use of preposition “on”

It is used when we refer to the surface of an object

Example

On  the floor

On the paper

On the wall

On the door

On the carpet

On the table

On the ceiling

Prepositions of Time At-In-On

The preposition " at "  

CASE -1 time indicated in the sentence is sharp and precise.
Example
1) I have to catch the train at 1 p.m.
2) Church close at noon.
3) I would like to talk to you at dinner time.
4) I love reading at bedtime.
5) The best time to offer prayer is at the sunrise or at sunset.
6) The show starts at 7.30 pm.
7) Its prohibited to go out at midnight.
8) I will meet you at the start of the match
note-'at't is used here with time of the day-sunrise,sunset,noon,midnight
CASE-2  at holidays or festivals
Example
1) I will go to home at Diwali
2) Maria is too busy at Christmas
CASE -3 at an age
Example
1) I would going to buy a car at an age of 18.
2) At 16, he joined his father's business.
CASE-4
at night
at the weekend
at the same time
at present
at any moment

The preposition "in"

used in a period(period of time/months/seasons/years/centuries)

Example

1)in 2 hrs.

2)in 4 days.

3)in February.

4) in summer

5)in 2011

6)in 20th century.
7)in the morning
8)in the afternoon

The preposition "on" 

used for days/dates/special days

Example

1) on Monday.

2) on 29 August..

3) on Father's day.

4) on my birthday.

5) on Independence day eve.
6) on Monday morning

Adjectives

The word which qualifies noun or pronoun is called "Adjective". Its is one of the 8 part of speech.It describes or give information about noun or pronoun.
Example
1)He is a brilliant student.(The word 'brilliant' is an adjective)
2)He is the first person in the history to achieve the target.(The word 'first' is an adjective)
3) The shortest day comes in December. (The word 'shortest' is an adjective)




Broadly the  adjectives can be classified as follows.
1) Adjectives of quantity.(some,little,few)
2) Adjectives of quality.(fine,brilliant,good)
3) Adjectives of number.(first,three,second)
4) Demonstrative Adjectives((this,that,these,those)
5) Interrogative Adjectives.((whose,which,what)
6) Possesive Adjectives.(my,your,our)

SPECIAL

Oftenly the adjectives consist of more than one word. It is called adjectival(Adjectival Phrase)
example

The chair which is in the room is made of wood.(the phrase 'which is in the room' is adjectival phrase')

The detail of each kind of adjective is discussed in subsequent posts.

Indirect Object

In the last post I discussed what the "Object" in english grammar is. An object is the person or a thing affected by the action stated by the verb. Some verbs are followed by 2 objects.

1) Direct Object

2) Indirect Object

Direct Object-It is the person or thing affected by the action of verb

Indirect Object-It is the person who receive the direct object.

The Standard Rule for using the indirect is that it has to be placed before the direct object

SUBJECT + VERB +INDIRECT OBJECT+DIRECT OBJECT

Example
I gave him a book
Subject -I

Verb-gave

Indirect Object- him (because he is the receiver of the object,a book)

Direct Object - book(because verb 'give' is associated with 'book' directly)

Other Examples

He bought her a present.("her" is indirect object and "present" is direct object)

Please show me the paper("me" is indirect object and "paper" is direct object)

Could you lend your friend some money?("friend" is indirect object and "money" is direct object)

Subject v/s Object

In a sentence "subject" is a noun which performs the action where as "object" is a noun which receive action performed by the subject

Example

John is eating mango.
* In the above sentence "John" is a person who is performing the verb(to eat), so John is a subject
* Simlarly, the word "mango" is an object because the verb (eating) is applied on it.
* So it is clear the object is the thing or a person affected by the verb
* Generally, subject is placed before the verb and object is placed after the verb(exceptions are there)

Other Examples

We are going to club.
will you play football.
I love roses.

Uncountable Nouns

The noun can be broadly classified as “Countable” or “Uncountable”. The thumb rule to check whether a noun is countable or not is that countable nouns can be counted individually where as uncountable noun can not. This is the reason that we donot have plural forms of uncountable nouns. An important thing to remember that one should never use the article ‘a” or “an” before uncountable nouns.

Broadly speaking there are 5 categories of uncountable nouns

1)      Food- e.g. meat ,butter

2)      Liquids -e.g. Tea

3)      Materials- e.g. paper ,iron

4)      Abstract nouns e.g. advice ,music

5)      Powders e.g. flour

Some uncountable nouns can  be used as countable by adding phrase.

piece of baggage

a loaf of bread

a bar of butter

a slice of cheese

a piece of furniture

a piece of information

a glass of water  

Parts of the speech.

There are 8 parts of speech

1)Noun-Noun is a word that tells the name of a person , place , thing , an emotion or an idea.
Example- Ram goes to the market every evening.
Here Ram and market are nouns.

2)Pronoun-The word that takes place of a noun is called pronoun.
Example-Ram goes to the market every evening. He buys chocolates.
"He" is pronoun because it replaces the noun "Ram".

3)Verb-It is a word which shows action or state of being.
Ram goes to the market every evening.
"goes" is an action word so it is a verb.

4)Adverb-It is a word that describes verb.
Example- Ram generally goes to market every evening.
Here the word "generally" is an adverb.

5)Adjectives-A words that describes noun.
Ram goes to the super-market every evening.
Here the word "super" is an adjective.

6)Preposition-A word which relates noun or pronoun with the sentence.
Ram goes to the market in the evening.
Here "in"  is a preposition.

7)Conjunctions-It is a word that joins words or sentences.
Ram goes to the market and the park every evening.
Here "and" is a conjunction

8)Interjection-It is a word which express sudden emotions.
Wow!Ram goes to the market every evening.
here the word "Wow!" is an interjection.

Tricky articles v/s singular-plural

While converting singular sentences into plural, make sure that all the articles are removed.Similarly while converting plural sentences into singular,insert the proper article (a,an) before the noun(if necessary).

For example-

Case one(singular to plural)

a)     A chair is made of wood.

Ans) Chairs are made of wood.

b)     An airport is a busy place.

Ans) Airports are busy places.

Case two(plural to singular)

a)    Horses are animals.

Ans)A horse is an animal.

b)     Cows give milk.

Ans) A cow gives milk.

Note-No article is added before the word "milk" because it is an uncountable noun .

Pluralisation Errors

Following words need special attention before making their plurals

Child-Children

person-people

foot-feet

mouse-mice

tooth-teeth

man-men

woman-women

ox-oxen

goose-geese

Now look at the following words as they have same identical singular and plural form

aircraft-aircraft

fish-fish

headquaters-headquaters

sheep-sheep

species-species

deer-deer

Some nouns exists only in plural form

cattle

scissors

trousers

tweezers

congratulations

pyjamas

Note- The uncountable noun will take only singular form which will be discussed in the next post