Madhyamik Grammar problems

                 Madhyamik Grammar problems and.....

   Page-197
Q. Rajsthan is hotter than any other states in India. ( Use superlative degree )
A. Rajsthan is the hottest state in India.
Q. Who is known to you here? ( Passive)
A. Whom do you know here? ( Active voice)
Q. One should have sympathy for the poor. ( Use the verb form of 'sympathy' )
A. One should sympathize with the poor.
( Adjectve form= Sympathetic to)
Q. Man is mortal. ( Negative )
A. Man is not immortal.

Page-213
Q. Only the main stem and two thin branches remained. ( Negative )
A. Nothing but the main stem and two thin branches remained.
Q. His statement is true. ( complex from simple)
A.What he states/ stated is true.( Comeplex )
Q. The boys were tired. Soon they fell asleep. ( join into a simple sentence )
A. Being tired the boys soon fell asleep.
Q. The teacher said,'' good morning, boys and girls.'' ( Indirect )
A. The teacher greeted the boys and girls with a good morning.

Page-228
Q. We call the tiger our national animal. ( Active to passive )
A. The tiger is called our national animal.( Passive without any agent because it is not needed.)
Q. The king said to his servant ,"Go and fetch the bird.'' ( Change into indirect speech .)
A. The king ordered his servant to go and fetch the bird. ( We could also use 'commanded' in place of ''ordered'')
Q. A few hill stations in India are as healthy as Shimla.( Turn into superlative)
A. Shimla is one of the healthiest hill stations.
Q. I know his name. ( complex )
A. I know what his name is.

Page-244
Q.He said to me,'' I did it for you." ( Change into indirect )
A. He told me that he had done it for me.
Q. The wind blew away the chimney-pot. ( Active to passive )
A. The chimney-pot was blown away by the wind.
Q.I believe what you say.( Turn into a simple sentence )
A. I believe in your statement.
Q. It was a short flight. ( Turn into negative )
A. It was not a long flight.
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spk -31/7/2015

               Madhyamik grammar problems.....etc

Page-259
Q. The day was hot. So i did not go out. (Join into a simple sentence)
A. The day being hot I did not go out. (Simple)
A. As the day was hot I did not go out. ( Complex 0
Q. He told me that he would find an interesting book for me. (Active to passive)
A. I was told by him that he would find an interesting book for me. (Passive)
( If you find that you can write each clause of a complex sentence into passive voice you will feel tempted to do that. Please don't do that. Just write the principal clause in the passive voice. )
Q. He said,''Alas! I have lost my bag.'' ( Change the mode of narration 0
A. He exclaimed in grief that he had lost his bag. ( Indirect)
Q. He examined the document carefully. ( Replace the adverb with its noun form)
A. He examined the documents with care. ( Care is the noun form 'carefully' )

Page-274
Q. " Your grandson/" said the vendor. ( Indirect from direct speech )
A. The vendor inquired of him( the old man)/ asked the old man if it was his grandson.
( This sentence has been taken from the text. So you can write it in this manner.)
Q. I will be back next yeas. ( Make it negative )
A. I will not(Won't) be back before next year. ( Negative )
Q. It was the dirtiest water on earth. ( Make it complex)
A. No other water on earth was as dirty as this water. ( Complex )
( Actually we have written the above sentence in the positive degree)
Q. The old man ordered only one bowl of noodles. (Voice change)
A. Only one bowl of noodles was ordered bu the old man. ( Passive )

Page-290
Q. Tears filled her eyes. ( Active to passive )
A. Her eyes were filled with water. ( we have used ' with' in place of 'by' because it is appropriate here)
Q.They found the field unfit and stopped the play. ( It is a compound sentence. To make it simple we have to use the participle form of the verb 'find' You can also call it infinite verb if you like.)
A. Finding the field unfit ( for play) they stopped the play. ( Simple )
Q. He said, "Let me speak freely.'' ( Change into indirect speech )
A. He pleaded/ requested/ demanded that he should be allowed to speak freely.OR
you could write= He requested them to let him play freely.
Q.Gold is one of the most costly metals. ( Rewrite the sentence using positive degree.)
A. Very few metals are as costly as gold. ( Positive degree )

Page-305
Q. Sachin is one of the best batsmen in the world. ( Use comparative form of the adjective)
A. Sachin is better than most other batsmen in the world.
Q. She must weep. ( Make it negative )
A. She has no alternative but weep.
Q.The mother said to the children,'' Do not go out in the sun.'' ( Indirect from direct)
A. The mother fobade the children to go out in the sun. OR The mother advised the children not to go out in the sun.( Indirect-- I prefer the second one )
Q. Listen to me. (Voice change )
A. You are asked to listen to me.

Page-321
Q. I went to a forest. I saw a tiger. ( Join into a single sentence )
A. Going to(into) a forest I saw a tiger.
Q.They have done the work well. ( Voice change )
A. The work has been done well by them. ( Passive )
Q. As soon as the police came, they ran away. ( Make it negative )
A. No sooner had the police come the thief ran away. ( I prefer the past perfect tense ).
Q. The girl said,'' How beautiful the temple is !" ( Indirect )
A. The girl exclaimed in wonder and said that the temple was very beautiful.
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spk -1/8/15

  Let us talk about clauses and sentences.......

 At the beginning let us refresh our memory. A clause is a group of words with a subject and a finite verb. A principal clause can be used independently as a separate simple sentence but a sub-ordinate clause cannot be used in isolation.
Sub-ordinate or dependent clauses are broadly divided into three categories-a) sub-ordinate noun clause or nominal clause b) sub-ordinate adjective clause or relative clause and c) sub-ordinate adverbial clause. Of them the most difficult clause to identify is the NOUN CLAUSE. Therefore, we propose to discuss NOUN CLAUSE in a separate lesson. We have to devote the full space of lesson for it.
1.The easiest clause to identify is the Adjective Clause or Relative clause. The function of an adjective is to qualify a noun or pronoun. An adjective clause does the same. The only difference is instead of one word we use an entire clause to qualify a noun or pronoun. Generally the adjective clause sits just after the noun or pronoun it qualifies. For this reason sometimes it breaks the previous clause into two halves. Study the following examples;

1. This is Debnathbabu      who teaches us English. ( It is a straight forward adjective clause qualifying the noun Debnathbabu)
2. Debnathbabu who teaches us English is a very good photographer.( If you pay attention you will find that the principal clause has been broken into two halves so the the adjective clause can sit near the noun it qualifies.)
3. He who desires happiness in life must lead an honest and simple life.( Here the adjective clause is qualifying a pronoun.) I hope you can now easily identify an adjective clause. It will help you in many ways.

 An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or an adverb. That is exactly the function of an adverb clause. Sometimes they are called conditional clause or 'if'' clause. Study the following examples;

1. If it rains in the evening   we will not go to the stadium to watch the match. ( The condition is stated in the first clause which is obviously an adverbial clause. Or you may call it a conditional clause. )
2. Though Apratim is not rich he has a kind heart.( Again stating a condition )
3. I will do the job when you come.( Indicating time and condition both.)
4.As soon as Tisha finished her homework she went upstairs to watch her favourite programme on TV. ( Time and condition)
5. Shreya was crying because her mother had rebuked her for neglecting her study.( Stating a reason)

I am sure you have got a clear idea about how to identify an ADJECTIVE or an ADVERB clause. We shall discuss the NOUN CLAUSE in our next lesson. 
In my opinion simple sentence is the most beautiful sentence. But if you want to convey complex ideas you have to write complex and compound sentences. So it will help having a fair idea about sub-ordinate clauses. If you are lawyer or businessman or a politician you have to use complicated sentences. Life is not so simple as it appears to us.

And the purpose of language is to as much to conceal our intention as to express it. We want peole to understand us and not understand us at the same time. So language is a double-edged sword in a manner of speaking.
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spk 31/7/15

                             A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL
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 I want to express my gratitude to all the students and general readers who have already visited my Blog-spot. I convey my special thanks to Samrat Dutta, a current student of class x, who opened this Blog for me. Till today 1020 hits have been registered. Considering the fact that this Blog-spot was opened on 9th July,2015 , it is a remarkable achievement. Thanks again.
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Now let us go back to our lesson. I promised to talk about SUB-ORDINATE NOUN CLAUSE.

A noun clause does the work of a noun or noun phrase. It is the most difficult clause to identify. So we shall try to identify it through examples.
1. Subject of a verb= That Apratim is a very good photographer           is known to all.
( If you study the structure of the sentence you will find that it consists of two clauses a) That Apratim is a very good photographer & b) (it) is known to all. Clause-a is a noun clause. It has been used as the subject of the verb ''is known'' in the principal clause. Therefore we do not need to use the introductory ''IT" as the subject of the verb ''is known''.)

2. Object of a verb= Ranjit said            that he was going to stay at Pelling in December this year.
( This is the most common use of the noun clause. We can find the subject and object of a verb very easily by asking the verb only two questions--what & whom. We have learnt it when we were discussing the rules for VOICE CHANGE.)

3. Complement of a verb=That is               what we expected of him.
 (If you study the above sentence you will definitely notice that the principal clause =That is sounds incomplete in meaning unless we add the second part =what we expect of him. When this type of situation happens we need a noun clause to complement the meaning. I hope you will be able to understand what I am trying to make you understand. Without understanding we can not solve the mystery and romance of the language. The nuances of language must be perceived rather than understood. Enjoy it. )

4. Object of a preposition= I know nothing of                what Puspita will say.
                                            Listen to                               what your teachers say.
( Study the above mentioned two sentences. In both the sentences the prepositions of & to have been used as appropriate prepositions. They are part of the verbs know & listen. If the prepositions had not blocked the verbs we could say that the sub-clause is  an object to the verb. Instead we are taught by the grammarians that the above mentioned noun clauses are objects to the preceding prepositions.

5.Object to a missing preposition= Urmi was afraid (of)                    that somebody might kidnap her.
                                                        They felt sorry(for)                      that they lost the match.
( I don't think I need to explain anything here. You yourself can understand the logic here. )

6 Apposition to nouns or pronouns= It is true                     that the woman is blind.
                                                           It was important        that you were present in the meeting.
( In the first sentence if we ask the question what is true? the answer would be= that the woman is blind. it means we are stating the same thing again in the same sentence. similarly in the second sentence if we ask what was important? the answer would be= that you were present in the meeting. This is when we identify noun clause as an apposition to either a noun or a pronoun. )

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spk-31/7/15
 

 We all make mistakes and we learn from our mistakes.......

I had made a monumental mistake in my last post. My young friend Debnath Moitra carries a wise head on his shoulder. He pointed it out to me. So:
1. It is my duty to thank Debnath.
a) Thanks a lot, Debnath.
b) Thank you, Debnath.
c) Thanks , Debnath.
d) I must thank you, Debnath. etc.
We can thank a person in many different ways. In English it is called TRANSFORMATION of sentences. The basic idea is to write or say the same sentences in different ways without changing the meaning of the main sentence. To avoid monotony we should try to write or say something in as many ways as we can. Besides knowing the correct use of the tenses , articles and prepositions , this is the basic function of grammar. We are actually transforming the given sentences in the question papers set by our teachers according to their instruction. Ornamentation and stylizing will come at a much later stage. Let us go back to our task.( ABTA TEST PAPERS-2015)
Page No.101

Q. Uncle Podger was not a careful man. ( Simple negative sentence)
A. Uncle Podger was a careless man. ( Simple positive sentence )
Q. Mumbai is the largest city in India. ( superlative degree has been used=large-larger-the largest)
A. No other city in India is as large as Mumbai.(is) (It is a negative sentence but we have used the positive degree of the adjective here) We can write it using comparative degree too.
A. Mumbai is larger than any other city in India.( Positive sentence with comparative degree)
Q. He is too weak to lift the load.( Very weak/ It is a simple sentence )
A. He is so weak that he cannot lift the load. ( Complex sentence with a co-relative=so-----that )
Q. "How selfish I have been!'' said the Giant. ( The Giant is genuinely sorry./ It is an exclamatory sentence)
A. The Giant exclaimed in grief that he had been very sorry. or
     The Giant exclaimed in grief and said that he had been very sorry.( I would  suggest the first one to avoid complication. Young students are very vulnerable. They get confused with the drop of a hat.)
Page-117

Q. The door was opened by a young woman. ( Passive voice)
A. A young woman opened the door. ( Active )
Q. I decided to send my wife to her father. ( Use noun form of the verb "decide")
A. I took a decision to send my wife to her father.( Decision is the noun form of 'decide' verb.)he poet
Q. The poet Keats has said,'' Beauty is truth, truth beauty.'' ( Change the narration)
A. The poet Keats has said that Beauty is truth, truth beauty.( What Keats has said here is an eternal truth. So we don't change the tense. One of my favourite poets is John Keats and this one of my most favourite quotes.)

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                                               BEAUTY IS TRUTH, TRUTH BEAUTY






.

   Let us continue with the Grammatical problems.........

 A low-pressure zone has been created in the Bay of Bengal. It means there will be more sporadic showers of rains in the coming few days. Brace yourselves for the 'rainy days' ahead. Meanwhile let us continue with our task at hand. 

Page-135 ( ABTA TEST PAPERS_2015 )
Q. A man opened the door. He welcomed me warmly.( Join into a complex sentence )
A. The man who opened the door welcomed me warmly. ( Complex sentence with an adjective clause. We have replaced the A with THE because he has been mentioned in the principal clausae. In these cases we have to use the DEFINITE ARTICLE.)
Q. Ishant could bowl faster than Munuf. ( Both are now out of the Indian Cricket Team. It is obvious then, that Munuf was slower than Ishant.)
A. Munuf could not bowl as fast as Ishant. ( We have used the positive form of the given adjective. )
Q. My doctor said to me,'' The climate of the city won't suit you." ( Change into indirect speech)
A. The doctor told me/ informed me that the climate of that city would not suit me. ( He knew better)
Q. I saw him come. ( Active to passive.)
A. He was seen coming by me.

Page-151.
Q. The teacher said to the students,'' The earth moves round the sun." ( Change to indirect speech)
A. The teacher told the students/said to the students that the earth moves round the sun. ( We dont change the verb form of the reported verb because it is an eternal truth and we all know that.)
Q. The old man was too tired to go a long distance. ( It is a simple sentence )
A. The man was so tired that he could not go a long distance. ( Complex sentence with an adv clause)
Q. Do your homework carefully.( change the voice)
A. You are advised to do your homework carefully. ( Some would suggest that we should use the verbs-directed/ ordered/ asked in place of ADVISED or we should begin with Let... but I won't suggest you to do that. In my opinion It is an advice by your elders.)
Q. Asia is the largest continent in the world. ( As if we didn't know that !! Superlative degree0
A. Asia is larger than any other continent ib the whole world. (comparative degree)
A. No other continent in the world is as large as   Asia in the whole world. (positive degree)
Page-182

Q. How had they completed the work? ( Interrogative Active voice )
A. How has the work been completed by them? ( Interrogative passive )
Q.The boy said,''What a joy, I have got a prize !" ( Exclamatory sentence- Direct speech )
A. The boy exclaimed in joy that he had got a prize./ The boy exclaimed in joy and said that he had got a prize. ( we are happy for the boy.)
Q. Although he is rich, he is unhappy.( complex sentence )
A. In spite of being rich he is unhappy. ( Simple )
A. He is rich but (he is ) unhappy. ( compound sentence)
Q. As soon as he reached to the station , the train left.( Negative )
A. No sooner had we reached the station than the train left. ( comparative )
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spk 30/7/15

    Attention:: MADHYAMIK STUDENTS !!(2016)
    *****************************************
 The grammar portion of MP English Paper carries 12 marks. You can score full marks because the grammatical problems that you are asked to solve is very easy and elementary. I am sure you know your articles and prepositions. Here I am just trying to help you with your basic grammar. I have chosen the questions from your ABTA Test Papers. Let enjoy the fun.

PAGE-19
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Q. The news is too good to be true.( It is a simple sentence)
A. The news is so good that it cannot be true. ( It is a complex sentence. The logic is that such a piece of good news cannot be true. It is beyond our expectation.)
Q I saw a wonderful bird.( simple sentence)
A. I saw a bird which was wonderful. ( A complex sentence with an adjective clause)
Q.Hunger is the best sauce.( Superlative degree of the adjective has been used here)
A. Hunger is better than any other sauce. ( Better is the comparative degree of GOOD)
Q. He knows me. (active voice)
A. I am known to him. ( passive voice)
 PAGE-62
Q,The Gaiety land provided us with all sorts of fun and games.( Active voice)
A. We were provided with all sorts of fun and games by the Gaiety land. (Passive Voice)
Q. Netaji started anti-British campaign vigorously.( VIGOROUSLY is an adverb)
A. Netaji started anti-British campaign with vigour. (VIGOUR is the noun form)
Q. Michale Jackson was the best entertainer on the stage in the whole world.( Superlative Degree)
A. Michale Jackson was better than any other entertainer on the stage in the whole world.( Comparative degree)
Q. It was too gloomy to go out. (simple)
A. It was so gloomy that we could not go out. (complex)
PAGE_77-78
Q.  She saw Dipak dancing on the car. ( Active--what a good dancer!!!!!)
A. Dipak was seen dancing on the car by her. (Passive...she was very lucky !!!!!)
Q. None of them was unhappy. ( make it positive)
A. Everyone of them was happy. ( positive sentence)
Q. He has enough strength to do it.( strength-- is a noun)
A. He is strong enough to do it. ( Strong is the adjective form of strength)
Q. Rimpa was sad when she heard the news.( It is a complex sentence with an adverbial clause)
A. On hearing the news Rimpa was sad. (Simple)
( You can also write: Hearing of after hearing the news........... but I prefer the one I have written.)
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I will do the phrasal verbs separately for you. I hope this will help you. At the same time we will carry on discussing the general problems of grammar. I am really overwhelmed by the response I have received from the interested students. Debnath Moitra is a dear friend. He teaches English in a HS School. Whenever any doubt creeps into my mind I consult him. He has mentioned the link in a post on the Facebook. I request him fervently not to do that. I dont want any publicity. My friend Ranjit has correctly said that '' it is time for us to redeem our debt to the society in whatever way we can''. I endorse his views cent per cent.
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spk 29/7/15



   

      Narration change...Future Tense and..................

What happens when the reporting verb is in the past tense and the reported tense is in the future tense?
The answer to this question is you do'nt have to make a lot of changes in the verb form in the indirect speech. Just change shall and will or the direct speech into would ( not should) in the indirect speech and you will get what you want. Let us study the following examples::

1. Sukanya said to SPK ," I shall send my reply tomorrow."
Indirect= Sukanya said to SPK that she would send her reply the next day.

It is very easy, isn't it? Just avoid using 'should' in ordinary cases in place of will. You 'should' when it means it is a duty. Okay, let us now discuss some other examples. Study the following examples:

1. My mother said to me,'' Please, give me a glass of water.' (It is a request) So we will change the reporting verb. We will use Requested' in place of 'said'.
Indiret= Mother' requested 'me to give her a glass of water.
( You will notice another change in this kind of sentences. In earlier examples we formed complex sentences in the indirect speech but in this case we have formed a SIMPLE sentence with the help of an infinitive. ( to give ).

In the cases of requests, advice, commands, orders, urging, encouraging etc. we will use the infinitive. 

You can form negative sentences. But in the case of interrogative sentences you have make a couple of changes:
a) Don't use that as a linking word. Use the interrogative pronouns as linking words. Examples:

1. Gargi said to Apratim,'' What are you doing now?''
Indirect= Gargi asked Apratim what he was doing then.
( You you observe minutely you will find that we have changed the reporting verb from said to asked. ii) we have retained the linking word what and we have discarded the question mark. IT IS NO LONGER AN INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE. We will have to continue our discussion for a little longer in our next lesson.
spk 29/7/15

                                    May your soul rest in eternal peace Dr. Kalam Sir.





e to

                         Narration change :: Let us begin
                         +++++++++++++++++++++++
 1. Sukanya always says,'' I want to do a job after I finish my thesis."( Reporting verb= Present )
Indirect= Sukanya always says that she wants to do a job after she finishes her thesis.
( As the REPORTING VERB is in the present tense there is no change in the REPORTED VERB. It is also in the Present Tense. We have changed the pronoun and the verb form only. )

2. Apratim says to Mamoni,'' I will go to the Himalayas in August." ( Reporting verb= Present Indefinite)
Indirect= Apratim says that he will go to the Himalayas in August.
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3. Gargi will say to Puspita,'' I want my son to be a doctor in future." ( Reporting verb= Future Indefinite)
Indirect= Gargi will tell Puspita that she wants her son to be a doctor in future.
4. Puspita will say to Ricky,'' You are wasting your valuable time doing nothing." ( Reporting verb= Future Indefinite)
Indirect= Puspita will say to Ricky that she is wasting her valuable time doing nothing.
***********************************************************************************************WHEN THE REPORTING VERB IS IN THE PAST TENSE***************

1. Sutista said to Debolina ,'' I do not like Mr S>P>Kundu at all." (Reported verb is in the Present Indefinite Tense)
Indirect= Sutista told Debolina that she did not like Mr S.P>Kundu at all.( Changed into Past Indefinite Tense)
2. Doll said to Saheb ,'' I am doing my hometask now." ( Reported verb is in the Present Continuous Tense)
Indirect= Doll told Saheb that she was doing her hometask then. ( Changed to Past continuous Tense)
3. Shramana said to Debabrata ,'' I have decided to go for higher studies abroad.'' ( Reported verb is in the Present Perfect Tense)
Indirect= Shramana told Debabrata that she had decided to go for higher studies abroad.( Changed to Past Perfect Tense)
4. Ranjit said to Apratim ,'' I have been living in Durgapur since 1968. ( Reported verb is in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense)
Indirect= Ranjit told Apratim that he had been living in Durgapur since 1968. ( Changed to Past Perfect Continuous Tense)
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Hope you will find the lesson rather easy to understand. We will discuss Past and Future tenses in our next lesson. Of course there are some difficult problems. Don't worry. We will cross the bridges when we reach them. HAPPY LEARNING.

    Rules for narration change when the reporting verb is in the past tense...........

DIRECT SPEECH  (Repoted verb)                                               INDIRECT SPEECH
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1.Present Indefinite                    becomes                                               1.Past Indefinite
2.Present Continuous                 becomes                                               2. Past Continuous
3. Present Perfect                       becomes                                               3. Past perfect
4. Present Perfect Continuous    becomes                                               4. Past Perfect Continuous
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5. Past Indefinite                        becomes                                                5. Past Perfect
6. .Past Continuous                    becomes                                                6. Past Perfect Continuous
7. .Past Perfect                           becomes                                                7. Past Perfect
8. Past Perfect Continuous         becomes                                                8. Past Perfect Continuous
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All the future forms                                                                                                                                        Shall                                      becomes                                                 would/should
    Will                                        becomes                                                 would
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Can                                             becomes                                                  could
May                                           becomes                                                    might
Should and Must have only 1 form in all the tenses. So you need not change them as you cannot.
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a) Now                                      becomes                                                  then/at that time
b) Today                                   becomes                                                  that day
c) Yesterday                             becomes                                                  the previous time
d) Tomorrow                            becomes                                                  the next day
e) Tonight                                 becomes                                                   that night/ last night 
    etc, etc,etc......
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We shall do the actual narration change in the next lesson. 
WE PAY OUR HOMAGE AND TRIBUTE TO DR> APJ ABDUL KALAM . HE MADE US PROUD OF OURSELVES AS INDIAN. SOME OF YOU HAVE READ HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT,''WINGS OF FIRE". THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ,                                                PLEASE READ THIS INSPIRATIONAL BOOK

  

        

                       Lord Buddha and the bereaved  lady

 In a certain village a widow lived with her only son. She love her son with all her heart. One day she lost her son to a dreaded disease . She became almost mad with grief. She did not know how she could live without her dear son. He was the apple of her eye. Somehow she came to know that Lord Buddha was camping at the outskirts of the village with His disciples. She reached there with the lifeless body of her departed son and flung herself at the feet of the Master. Wailing loudly she said,'' Oh Lord! we all know that you are the incarnation of God. You possess the power to give back life. Please restore my son to life, I cannot live without him.'' Lord Buddha helped the lady stand on her feet and said in a kindly voice,'' Death is the culmination of life. What is born must die. I cannot restore your son to life. I have no such power." these words of wisdom failed to pacify the bereaved mother. She would not listen to any reason. So Lord Buddha decided to teach her an important lesson of life. He said in a sympathetic voice,'' Please go back to from where you have come and bring me a handful of mustard seeds from a house where death has never visited.'' These kind words gave the widow a ray of hope. She ran back to her village and went from door to door in search of a handful of mustard seeds but she found not a single house which was never visited by death, The lady then understood the meaning of Lord Buddha's words. She went back to the Master and said,'' Oh ! Lord, I have understood the meaning of your words. Please accept me as your disciple. I want to dedicate my life to serve the society.'' The Master smiled a devine smile and granted her prayer.

The students who are preparing to sit for the MP examination will find this story in the TEST PAPERS. You can use it if you like. You are free to edit it. I just want to draw your attention to two important points.

a) That all the stories are told and re-told in the past tense and

b) That you can use direct speech in a story. But the major par of the story is written or told or re-told in the indirect narration. It is time for us,then, to learn how we can write both the forms correctly. We have to learn certain rules for changing from DIRECT SPEECH/NARRATION to INDIRECT SPEECH/ NARRATION.

Should we start now? Yes, we should because NOW is the most important  time in our life. For we cannot edit or change the PAST and we do not know what will happen in the FUTURE. Who has seen tomorrow? Nobody has. So......here are the common rules for NARRATION CHANGE.

1. Narration means description. If we quote verbatim what another person has said we keep his or her words within a quotation or within inverted commas. This form of the narration/speech is called DIRECT NARRATION/SPEECH.

2 .If we narrate what another person has said in our own words it is called INDIRECT NARRATION/Speech.

3. The speaker may use present, past or future tense while reporting or telling or saying something. This verb is known as ''reporting verb''. 

4. The verb which is used within the quotation/inverted commas, is called '' reported verb". 

Rule No 1. If the reporting verb is in the present tense then the tense of the reported verb will not change at all. 

Rule No 2. If the reporting verb is in the future tense the the tense of the reported verb will remain the same.

Rule No 3.The problem arises when the reporting verb is in the past tense . Here we have to  remember the following table.

This much for today. HAPPY  LEARLING.

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  spk 27.7.15

 Once you begin the journey into the wonderful world of words you have to move forward.........

It is a life-long journey. So let us enjoy it and explore newer mysteries of language. I know I am not the best guide but I am an honest friend and co-learner. At this point I will take a break from the conventional method and quote a poem after my heart. I am sure you will also enjoy it.

   If at times you want to cry
    and life seems such a trial,
above the clouds there is a bright blue sky.
    So, make your tears a smile.

 As you travel on life's way
with its manyups and downs,
remember, it's quite true to say
''One smile is worth a dozen frowns.''

Among the world's expensive things,
   a smile is very cheap.
and when you give a smile away,
  you get one back to keep.

Happiness comes at times to all,
  but sadness comes unbidden.
and sometimes a few tears must fall
 among the laughter hidden.

So, when a friend has sadness on his face
 with troubles 'round him piled,
the world will seem a better place,
 all because you smiled.

It is a beautiful poem, isn't it? I am sorry I don't know the the name of the poet or that of the poem. I have this and some other beautiful poems in a diary. I just wanted to share it with you. This is just the beginning. If you want to learn a language you should read its literature. I will share with you some of my own favourites,
I hope you will welcome this break from the boredom of mundane grammar lessons.

      
         Words, phrases, idioms , clauses , proverbs etc...........

 The primary unit of a language is a word. Some would say letters.Okay, we are not going to involved into a protracted debate here on this contentious issue. Most of the debates are ultimately meaningless. Let us say that words are the primary building blocks with which we build the edifice of a language. Each and every word has a definite meaning but sometimes a single word can be used to convey different ideas and concepts. We will come to that at a later stage. Let us remember the following expressions:

1, Word-- a word is the primary building block of a language which conveys a definite meaning in a given context.
2. Phrase ----- a phrase is a group of words which is used in place of a single word and gives a single meaning. a garland of flower, a piece of ornament, a slice or bread, a flight of birds, a pair of shoes, a shoal of fish, a pride of lions, a pack of cards etc.etc.---are examples of phrases.
3. Idioms--- idioms are phrases with special meanings. 
a bosom friend means a very close fried; a snake in the grass means a hidden enemy; in a nu shell means very briefly; raining cats and dogs means raining very heavily.
4. A clause--- a clause is also a group of letters. it is part of a bigger sentence. A clause has a finite verb and a subject.
Examples--a) I know                                   that Sutista is a brilliant girl.
                   b) Do you know                        when the Rajdhani Express will arrive from Delhi?
                   c) This is the man                      who stole my motor bike.

Each of the above sentences has two parts as shown above. Each part has a finite verb and a subject. Each of them is a clause. A clause is different from a phrase in the sense that phrases have no finite verbs or subjects as such. It is easy to remember. If you notice attentively you will find that some of the clauses can be used independently as simple sentences. Such clauses are called principal clauses. There are some other clauses which cannot be used independently as simple sentences. They are dependent or sub-ordinate clauses. In the next lesson we propose to discuss about them in details. Meanwhile let us get familiar with two more concepts.
5. Phrasal verbs/group verbs/ verbs with prepositions----- look up, look into. look for, look down upon, call in, call at, call on, call up etc-these are some of the numerous phrasal verbs used in English. You have to know the meaning of each phrasal verb. A good grammar book will help you immensely in this regard. So lay your hand on such a useful book as soon as you find one.

                                                Till next time. HAPPY LEARNING>
spk 26/7/15

               Simple,complex compound....structures..........

 We need a finite verb to complete the meaning of a sentence. Ab infinitive cannot give us the exact meaning of the sentence. The simplest form of an infinitive is to read, to come, to go, to write etc. The verb takes 'to' before it and we cannot change the tense of the verb when we use 'to' before it. Basically all the verbs are infinitives. When we use the verb in a sentence and in different tenses we discard the 'to'.

1. We have learnt that every clause must have a finite verb. So we can easily count and identify the number of clauses used in a sentence by counting the number of finite verbs. If there are five verbs in a sentence there must be five clauses in that sentence. Isn't it easy to count the number of clauses?
2. If a sentence has only one finite verb , it must be a SIMPLE SENTENCE. The size or length of the sentence does not matter.
3. If a sentence has two or more than two clauses and if there is only one principal clause in that particular sentence it is definitely a complex sentence. Examples;
a) Debnath Moitra believes                            that there is a God         who controls our life.
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 (Principal clause)                                                            ( Subordinate clause )               ( Subordinate clause )
b) We eat                                                      that we may live.
c) Do you know                                           where Ramkrishna Pal lives?
d) Pinki told Sonai                                       that it was very important for her to stand on her own feet.

4. If a sentence has two or more than two principal clauses and they are connected by conjunctions, it is called a compound sentence. Some grammarians have made it more complicated by sub-dividing the compound sentences again into i) double ii) multiple iii) complex compound sentences. Please don't pay any attention to it. Just remember that compound sentence must have at least two principal or co-ordinate clauses. It may contain sub-ordinate clauses besides the principal clauses. Examples:

a) Rana is fond of fish                               but         Sonai prefers chicken.
b ) Debnath is an MA in English               and        Ramkrishna is a BSc( Hons) in Chemistry.

You can easily distinguish between a complex sentence and a compound sentence from the above examples. I need not elaborate on that.  HAPPY LEARNING.

            Study the following sentences in the passive voice
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1. You are requested to lend me some money for a few days.
2.You are advised to study attentively.
3.The rose is sweet when it is smelt.
4. Trespassers will be prosecuted.
5. what can't be cured must be endured.
6. Lost time is lost for ever.
7. Let it be done by me.
8. My pocket is picked.
9. The chair is broken.
10. Let bygone be bygone.

You can write many such sentences which sound better in passive voice.You will come across many expressions like,'' it is said'', ''it is believed'','' let it be assumed'','' all said and done...'','' it has been reported'','' I am/was told'','' I was given to understand'' etc. in English. These are passive expressions and they sound definitely better than the similar expressions in the active voice. So, happy learning.

Now the time has come to discuss about the structure of sentences. For all practical purposes their are three types of sentences in the English language according to structure. They are a0 Simple b) complex and c) compound sentences. In some grammars you will find -i) double sentence ii) multiple sentence iii) complex compound sentence etc. Don't burden your brain with all these details. They are all compound sentences in the traditional sense of the term. There no need to worry. Grammarians in all the languages try to dissuade us from learning the language in the easy way. We are not going to give in to their whims. If Shakespeare, Byron, Keats, Shelly or Graham Green of our time were forced to follow the strict and sometimes mundane grammatical rules we would not have inherited such rich and priceless literature.

Before we venture to discuss the structural formation it would be advisable to know a few things about word, phrase, idiom, clauses, proverbs and linking words. And of course, we should know about the FINITE VERBS and INFINITIVES. We propose to devote our next lesson to these concepts. HAPPY LEARNING.
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spk 25/7/15 

                     The blind lady and the dishonest doctor

   I am uploading these stories for the benefit of the Madhyamik Students. I hope some of them will like them. These stories are very common. They are in their Test Papers.

In a certain town a rich widow lived alone in hes palatial building. She was a woman of substance and taste. The rooms of her beautiful house were well furnished with valuable and antique furniture and other objects of art. But lady had no peace of mind as she was almost blind. She consulted a number of eminent doctors but none could give her any assurance of restoring her eyesight. At long last she found a good doctor who assured her of curing her completely. The lady promised to give him a handsome reward if he could cure her and restore her failing eyesight. Both parties agreed and the treatment began in right earnest. The doctor was a very greedy person. He took advantage of the lady's tragic predicament and removed one piece of her artifacts every day he visited her for treatment. After six months of treatment the doctor said to the lady in a triumphant tone,'' Be prepared for a pleasant surprise. I have cured you completely.'' Saying this he took the bandage off her eyes. Bright light filled the lady's eyes as she opened them slowly. She could really see clearly. She looked around her room and to her utter surprise found the room bereft of her prized possessions. The intelligent lady instinctively understood what had happened. She remained silent. The doctor demanded hiurs reward. She refused to pay him even a rupee. The aggrieved doctor went to a court of law and logged a complaint. The Hon'ble Judge summoned the lady to the court and asked her to explain. The lady took the witness box and said,'' Your Honour! I could not see my valuable furniture and and objects of art when I was sick. Now the doctor claims that he has cured my eyes completely but still I cannot see them. This means I am not yet cured. So how can I pay him the reward?" The wise Judge could surmise what had happened. He ordered the doctor to return her all her valuable goods.

An interesting story, isn't it? By the by, Ranjit Guha has been able to log on to my blogspot. At long last. This proves he is a stubborn fellow. A hard nut to crack! Now it is my time to become apprehensive. With Ranjit you never know from which direction the 'attack' is coming. He has already pointed out that I have failed to mention some of the details about him in his short biographical account that I had dared to write in my last post. Sorry boss. My apologies. Spare me, please.

I hope you have solved the problems that I gave you in my last post. HAPPY LEARNING TOGETHER.

spk/25/7715

                                        The joy of freedom

Let us start with another familiar story but before that a few words about my friend Ranjit Guha of Durgapur.I am extremely lucky to have him among my friends. He is originally from Ashoknagore, North 24 Parganas. So far I know his family had migrated from the erstwhile East Pakistan ( Now Bangladesh to India. After completing his graduation he came to Durgapur in search of a job. he got what he wanted and decided to live there permanently.Now he has become a part and parcel of the socio-cultural mindscape of Durgapur. He is a colourful character loved and adored by thousands of his admirers across generations. He wanted to read my blogspot but cannot open it. I feel relieved. He would surely have found some mistakes and made fun of me. What a relief !

Now the story:

During the first World War an English soldier was captured and taken a POW( prisoner of war ) by the French Army . He was kept in a solitary cell. He could not meet anybody and had given up all hope of returning to his native country among his own people. But fortunately the war came to an end an armistice was declared by the warring nations. As per the agreement there was an exchange of POWs and the soldier was released.He went back to his native village and decided to settle in there and lead a quiet and peaceful life. Years passed quietly.He had become quieter too.One sunny and tranquil morning he was passing through the middle of a market when his roving eyes fell on a cluster of cages. A bird seller was selling captured birds. He went to the shop and purchased all the cages full of birds.The shopkeeper was taken aback. He was curious to know what the man would do with so many birds. He followed the soldier out into the open. He kept on walking. when spend  he reached at the outskirt of the market he sat down under the shade of a big, sprawling tree. The bird seller stood at a distance. He opened the doors of the cages one by one and let the bird fly away into freedom. The bird seller stood dumbfounded. He could not help asking him ,'' Excuse me sir, why did you spend so much money if your real intention was to release them ?'' The soldier smiled a mysterious smile and said ,'' You wont understand. I know how it feels to live in captivity.'' Saying this he moved along the road happily.

Now let us talk about our task. Voice change. Read the following sentences carefully.

1.Please give me a cup of tea.
2. Do not run in the sun.
3. Pay attention to your study.
4. Open the window.
 5.  Don't throw stones at the monkeys.
6. Let him do this.
7. open at page no 56 in your book.
8. Honey tastes sweet.
9 The rose smells sweet.
.10. stand up on the bench.
11. Ask him to come as soon as he can.
12. Stop shouting.

Try if you can write the passive form of these sentences. I know you can do them.
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                                   Let us have some fun

Two friends were passing through a dense forest. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not see when a wild bear had appeared in front of them from the thick bush. They were so startled that they did not know what to do. They froze on their feet. One of them was smarter than the other. He got back his to his senses and quickly climbed up a nearby tall tree leaving his bosom friend in the lurch. When the second friend regained his composer he found the bear standing just a few paces away from from him. It kept on walking closer towards him. Suddenly he remembered what his father had told him. '' Look son, remember that a bear does not touch a dead body.'' Why does a bear not touch a dead body his father did not tell him. Neither did he ask him the question. But he was intelligent enough to learn a lesson. He did not know how to climb a tree. Anyways it was too late to try  now. The bear had come within sniffing distance. He flung himself on the rough floor of the forest and held his breath tight. The bear came to him at a leisurely pace, paused and sniffed at his body. Taking him to be stone dead the bear walked slowly away and disappeared into the thick bush from where he appeared. The other friend was watching the whole episode from his safe perch. He was fascinated. He climbed down the tree and asked his friend.'' I saw the bear whispering something into your ears. What did he tell you?'' The second friend rose to his feet, dusted his soiled clothes and replied,'' He advised me to avoid a friend like you who leaves his friend in time danger.'' saying this he went away alone.

We all know this story from our childhood. These are very simple but interesting stories. Almost all the stories have a moral at the end. These are very valuable lessons of life. If you notice minutely you will find that the above story has been told in the past tense. this is very important for you to remember. Stories are generally told in the past tense. 

Now let us talk about VOICE CHANGE. We have discussed that we can write passive sentences in eight tenses out twelve tenses. I am sure you can write them easily. Can I make a humble suggestion here? Choose 5 verbs of your choice. Write 8 sentences with each of the verbs. Use them as transitive verbs. Each verb must have an object. Write them in 3 simple tenses,2 continuous tenses and 3 perfect tenses.Then write the passive forms. Make them negative,interrogative and negative interrogative. Now write all the sentences in the passive. Here is an example for you to follow.

.1. Sukanya sings a song.=A song is sung by Sukanya.= Sukanya does not sing a song.+ A song is not sung by Sukanya. =Does Sukanya sing a song?= Is a song sung by Sukanya?= Does Sukanya not sing a song? = Is a song not sung by Sukanya?

You will need time to complete your task. Take your time. There is no hurry. Slow but steady wins the race, does not he? H A P P Y   L E A R N I N G.
 spk/23/7/15

              Voice change-----( continuous tenses )

 We have learnt that one of the basic rules for voice change is we have to use the past participle form of the main verb in the passive voice. We have also learnt that we cannot write continuous tenses without adding ''ing'' at the end of the verb. How can we,then, overcome this problem? The answer is very simple.Seek the help of BE verb. Add ''ing'' with the verb and you will get ''being''(be+ing) and your problem is solved. Use ''being'' before the past participle form of the main verb and you will get the desired result. and don't forget to use the original form of the ''BE'' verb either. THE PROBLEM is solved. The Grammarians are satisfied. So let us write our sentences in the continuous tenses.

1. Gargi is reciting a beautiful poem.(Active) = A beautiful poem is being recited by Gargi.(Passive)
2. Mamoni is singing a devotional song.(Active)= A devotional song is being sung by Mamoni. ( Passive)
3.Boys are playing cricket.(Active)= Cricket is being played by boys.(Passive)

Can we now write the negative as well as interrogative forms? Of course we can. I am sure YOU can. You have learnt it already. Let me give you just one example.

1. Gargi is not reciting a beautiful poem.( Active)= A beautiful poem is NOT being recited by Gargi. (Passive)
2. Is Gargi reciting a beautiful poem? (Active) = Is a beautiful poem being recited by Gargi?(Passive)

Write as many sentences like this one as you wish.
In case of the past continuous tense follow the same pattern Just use was or were instead of am,is or are.

NEXT LESSON:: Passive perfect 
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                          Voice change---Perfect Tenses

 In perfect tenses we use the past participle form of the main verb in the Active voice too. The rules for voice change dictates that we have to use the past participle form of the main verb in the passive voice. But how can we do that? The main verb in the active voice is already in the past participle form. Can we 'double' it? We cannot. So? There is a way-out of course. again we have to take the help of the BE verb. The past participle form of the BE verb is BEEN. We have to use it. Let us take some examples;;

1. Ranjit Guha has written a beautiful poem. (Active)=A beautiful poem has BEEN written by Ranjit Guha.(Passive).
2. Debolina has painted an awesome landscape.(Active)= An awesome landscape has BEEN painted by Debolina.

Negative and interrogative forms are not discussed here because I am sure you can write them. Use NOT after has/have and you will get what you want.

In case of past perfect tense just use had in place of has or have.

In case of future perfect tense the use only HAVE after will or shall. All the other rules are same. No problem whatsoever.

Just identify the following sentences .

1. The picture has been taken by Apratim.
2 .Had the monument been built by the king of Burdwan?
3. The task will have been finished by me before you come back
4 The chair has not been broken by Mamoni.

I am sure you can identify the sentences easily. In our next lesson we shall discuss some peculiar problems. Till then.                  H A P P Y                                      L E A R N I N G **
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                            Simple rules for voice change

 At the beginning we should remember two important rules about voice change ( From Active Voice to Passive Voice );
1. We have to take the help of BE verb. 
2. The main verb should be changed to its Past Participle form.

Now let us discuss in details.
1. Present Indefinite Tense. Use is/am/are before the main verb. Examples:
a) I drink a cup of tea.(Active)= A cup of tea is drunk by me.
b ) Apratim teaches me English.( Active)= I am taught English by Apratim.
c) Girls love dancing. (Active)= Dancing is loved by girls.
d) Boys catch birds.(Active)= Birds are caught by boys.

We can write the above sentences in the negative form and interrogative form too. It is not complicated at all. Let us do it.
a) A cup of tea is NOT drunk by me.
b) I am NOT taught English by Apratim.
c) Dancing is NOT loved by girls.
d) Birds are NOT caught by boys.

Now let us write the interrogative forms.
a) Is a cup of tea drunk by me? Is NOT a cup of tea drunk by me? or Is a cup of tea NOT drunk by me?

It is easy,isn't it? I am sure you can write the other sentences. This is your first task. Do them yourselves. Just study the worked-out sentences. It is fun. Enjoy.Send me your answers. My e-mail ID is = learnenglishspk@gmail.com
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21July2015

                           More  about Voice Change 

 It is easy to write the passive form of Past Indefinite Tense. The two main points are the same as in the Present Indefinite Tense. a) use the past participle form of the verb and b ) use the be verb before the main verb. In this case WAS or WERE. Let us take examples:

1. My sister wrote a letter.( Active voice )= A letter was written by my sister. ( Passive voice )
2. Jhumki bought a new android phone.( Active )= A new android phone was bought by Jhumki. ( Passive )

Make the above negative.
 3.My sister did not write a letter.(Active)= A letter was NOT written by my sister. (Passive)
4. Jhumki did not buy a new android phone. (Active)= A new android phone was NOT bought by Jhumki. ( Passive )

Now let us write the interrogative form;
5. Did my sister write a letter?(Active)= Was a letter written by my sister? (Passive)
6.Did Jhumki buy a new android phone? ( Active )= Was a new android phone bought by Jhumki? ( Passive )

We can also make negative interrogative sentences. Do them and enjoy. It is really very easy if you understand the logic.

Let me say it once more. This blogspot is for students who are studying in Bengali Medium Schools. These lessons are for the age group of 12 to 18.( Class seven to class twelve).
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Spk
21st July2015

                      Active voice and Passive voice

Let me say a few words before I start writing tonight's post. My blog is dedicated to my students ranging from class seven to class twelve. I am trying to be of some assistance to them. I want to make it very clear that this is not a blog for the learned people. There are many good blogs for them.Search Google. For my students I have an announcement to make. In August I propose to post some lessons for the Madhyamik Students. Please look out for them here.

Tonight I propose to introduce lessons on VOICE CHANGE. Let us begin with Active Voice. I hope you remember the SVO ( Subject+verb+object ) pattern of sentences. When the subject does something directly it is in the Passive Voice. No agent is needed here. Examples;
1. Debolina reads a poem.
2. Pritha sang a modern Bengali song.
3. Sukanya will cook a delicious dish for Apratim.
4. Boys are flying kites.
5.Samrat was designing a blog.
6. Devangi has worked out the sums.
7. Sutista had delivered a beautiful speech.
8. Shramana will have finished her job before her friend comes home.

You will notice two things in the 8 sentences that I have typed above. First of all in all the sentences the subjects have done the work/task and this fact has been stated in a straightforward way. Every sentence has an object. Secondly I have used only eight tenses. You can recognise the tenses, don't you? They are a) Present Indefinite Tense b) Past Indefinite Tense c) Future Indefinite Tense d) Present Continuous Tense e ) Past Continuous Tense f ) Present Perfect Tense g ) Past Perfect Tense and h ) Future Perfect Tense. It means we can write these tenses in the Passive Voice. The remaining four tenses cannot be written in the passive voice. Now let us write the above mentioned 8 sentences in the passive voice.

1.A poem is read by Debolina.
2.A modern Bengali song was sung by Pritha.
3.A delicious dish will be cooked for Apratim by Sukanya.
4.Kites are being flown by boys.
5.A blog was being designed by Samrat.
6.The sums have been worked out by Devangi.
7.A beautiful speech had been delivered by Sutista.
8. Her job will have been finished by Shramana before her friend comes home.

Study the passive form of verbs attentively. We shall discuss about the rules in the next lesson.*****

               Subject and predicate and Object........(continuation)

In an English sentence OBJECT has a special meaning. More than 50% of this language is written in the passive voice. So it is very important to learn how to write grammatically correct sentences in the passive voice. For this very purpose we need to identify the object of a verb. The question is how we can find out the object. The predicate portion of the sentence may contain many words but there may not be any 'object' in that mix of words .
1. Birds fly in the blue sky in gay abandon.
2 Everyday we go to school on foot with our friends at 10 in the morning.

In the above mentioned sentences there are no objects. So we cannot write them in the passive voice.
How do we know that there is an object or there are objects in a particular sentence? The answer is very simple. Ask the verb two questions with WHAT and/or WHOM. If we find an answer we will get the OBJECT. Let us take the following examples.

3.Gargi teaches her son. 
4. Shramana has written a beautiful poem.
In sentence number 3 ask a question= whom does Gargi teach? The answer is her son. So the ' verb teaches' has an object. We can write the sentence in the passive voice. Her son is taught by Gargi.
In question number 4 we can ask a question = What has Shramona written? The answer we get is-- a beautiful poem. This is   the object to the verb has written.

                  Subject and predicate and object etc........

 We have different object in our life. By object we often  mean some material things like the mysterious UFO ( Unidentified flying object ). But in grammar an object means a completely different thing. It does not depend on the size or structure of the sentence. It is easy to identify the subject to a verb. It is not so easy to identify the 'object' to the verb. Let us take the following examples.
1. Apratim and Sukanya have returned to Hyderabad this morning.
2. Shraemana wants to be a good doctor in future.
3. Urmi is a very shy and reserved girl.
4. Birds are flying in the blue sky in gay abandon.

The above mentioned sentences are relatively longer sentences but none of the four contain an object.
Then how can we find out if there is an object in a sentence? Of course in the grammatical sense.

Let us try. It is not so difficult though students of lower classes find it a bit hard to find out the object. My suggestion is very simple. Ask the verb two simple questions with What and Whom.  If you get a positive answer you will find the object.

Let us look into the following sentences.
1. Birds eat insects.( ask : What do birds eat? You will get the answer=insects )
2. Mamoni has sung a beautiful Rabindrasangit.
3. Adrija was eating delicious jilabis.
4. Samrat will design a new and attractive blog for SPK.
5.My father had promised me        a new smart phone.
If you study the above mentioned sentences you will easily find that the first four sentences have one object each and the last sentence contains two objects. Just ask your questions with what and whom 
and you will find the object/objects.

Verbs having objects are known as TRANSITIVE VERBS and verbs with no objects are INTRANSITIVE verbs. When we will start writing passive sentences this knowledge will come in very handy. Only the transitive verbs can be written in the passive. There are some exceptions to the rules. We will discuss them at a later stage.**********************************************.

        
                   Subject and Predicate and object etc........

  Each and every sentence has two part---------Subject and predicate. We have been taught this in our childhood. A subject does the task or work. So it is the doer. It is the master of the verb. Thus we say ...it is the subject to the verb....'.Let us take some examples.

1. Sukanya sings a song. In this sentence 'Sukanya' is the subject to the verb 'sings'.
2. Apratim loves travelling. Here 'Apratim' is the subjet to the verb 'loves'.
3 The government of India has decided to lower the age of consent of girls. In this sentence the subject to the verb 'has decided' is not a single word subject. 'The government of India' - this entire phrase is the subject. So we may come to the conclusion that a subject may be of one word/ a phrase or a clause.
The verb portion/ part of the sentence is called the PREDICATE. The main component of the predicate is the VERB.
SUBJECT                                                                   PREDICATE
4. Birds                                                                        fly.
5.Birds                                                                         fly in the blue blue sky.
6. The Headmaster of the school                                 is a very wise person.

OBJECT is a different thing. It has different meanings. We will discuss it in the next lesson.
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          A few words about the importance and use of tenses
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Puspita and Shramana are very enthusiastic about my blog. They are very supportive too. I have discussed how different tenses are formed and how we should use them to write grammatically correct sentences.To know the basic rules is definitely important. When we speak a language it is not necessary to be grammatically correct. no native speaker of any language speaks grammatically correct sentences. It is simply not possible. In this regard let us recall what George Bernard Shaw has said in his brilliant essay SPOKEN ENGLISH AND BROKEN ENGLISH. He has advised a foreign visitor not to speak in the Queen's English and Accent.If he/she does so the native speaker will not help him because they themselves don't speak like that. It may give them a complex.

Jokes apart let us discuss a few essential things. In English  we follow the SUBJECT> VERB>OBJECT pattern when we write a simple assertive sentence. The verb always sits next to the subject. Other words follow them. But in Bengali we follow the SOV= Subject>object>verb pattern.
This is the main difference between an English sentence and a Bengali sentence. Study the following examples:

1. I read a book. ( In Bengali AMI EKTA BOI PORI}. In the first sentence I=Subject, Read=verb and A Book= object = S   V     O. Within the first brackets I have written the Bengali sentence in the Roman Script. Here the verb PORI sits at the end of the sentence. So please remember one important thing. Whenever you construct a simple sentence in English follow the SVO pattern.

2. Please remember another important thing. It is necessary to know the tenses of verbs but don't be fastidious about them. Poets and authors take liberties with their grammar. Don't imitate them because it is their mother tongue, not yours. Don't ever try to find fault with Shakespeare or John Keats. Don't try to correct their language. Just mind your own language and see that you are using the correct forms of tenses.

3.You can take the following liberties with the use of your tenses because they are grammatically correct.
A) You can say or write= Here comes Shramana. ( Instead of= Shramana is coming ) It means you can use the present indefinite tense in place of present continuous tense. But be careful. You cannot use it at random.
B) You can also use the present continuous tense in place of future indefinite tense/future continuous tense.
Sukanya is going to Kalyani tomorrow= Sukanya will go to Kalyani tomorrow= Sukanya will be going to Kalyani tomorrow. ( All these sentences are grammatically correct. Be bold enough to use them. But a word of caution:: Don't write them in your answer script if you are appearing at the Madhyamik Examination next year. Some of the teachers may not appreciate it.
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                 PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSES

 It is actually a combination of two tenses-perfect+ continuous. When we have been or had been doing some work/task we want to convey the meaning that a part/portion of the task has/had been completed but the task is/was not finished yet. It gives us a mixed sense. Let us study the following two sentences.

1.It has been raining since dawn.
2. We have been reading for five hours.

In both the above cases we want to convey that-a) a part/portion of the task is completed. In the first sentence we want to inform someone that the rain had started at dawn; a considerable time has elapsed but it is still raining.
In the second sentence it is clear that we had started reading 5 hours ago. We have read a lot but we are still reading.
In both the cases the message is very clear.We use has been or have been because in perfect tenses we learnt that we have to use 'has' or 'have' followed by the past participle form of the verb. 'BEEN' is the past participle form of 'BE' verb. We have to use the 'ing' form of the main verb because the task/work is still continuing. 

In the past perfect continuous tense we follow the same logic. We have to use the past form of 'have' verb.(HAD).

3. The soldiers had been fighting for three days.
4. It had been raining for a fortnight.

We are not discussing the use of future perfect continuous tense because in modern English this tense is seldom used.

The form is : We shall have been walking for ten days.
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                                                            H A P P Y  l E A R L N I N G!

PERFECT TENSES

                                      PERFECT TENSES

 Future Perfect Tense is a bit different. It is a combination of two tenses--- Future+ Present.
Nobody has seen tomorrow for when tomorrow comes it comes in the shape of today. In the case of future tense of time everything is guess work. So it gets mingled with the present tense. Let us take an example. The following is a conditional sentence.:

                                            If you come tomorrow I will accompany you.
We can clearly see that there two clauses in this sentence. The principal clause is in the simple future tense but the sub-clause is in the simple present tense.  My '' accompanying you'' depends on your ''coming'' which is uncertain. You may or may not come....but if you come I will accompany you. The sub-clause does not carry the assertion of the principal clause.

In the case of future perfect tense there are two parts. We use two clauses-one principal and the second one sub-clause. Both of them are very much assertive in nature. It is also a sort of conditional sentence though the main action does not depend on the second action.

                              I will have finished my task    before you come back home.

Here also the sub-clause is an adverb clause but it is not a conditional clause. I am just stating a fact. it is a statement of intent. I am assuring you that I will complete the work within a certain/ definite period of time.

( Please remember the form of verb. In the principal clause we use will/ shall then we use the perfect form have+ past participle form of the verb but in the sub-clause we use the simple present form of the verb.) H A P P Y     L E A R N I N G.