Basic Grammar For Play to Master

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Grammar

Ø  the set of rules that explain how words are used in a language

Ø   speech or writing judged by how well it follows the rules of grammar

Ø  a book that explains the grammar rules of a language

Ø  the rules of how words are used in a language

Ø  speech or writing judged according to the rules of grammar

Word

Ø  A word is a letter or group of letters that has meaning when spoken or written.

 An example of a word is dog.

Ø  A word is a letter or group of letters that has meaning when spoken or written.

An example of a word is dog.

An example of words are the seventeen sets of letters that are written to form this sentence.

Sentence

A group of words that makes a statement, asks a question, or expresses a command, wish, or exclamation.

Basic Sentence Structure In English

Basic sentence structure is the way you put words together to construct a sentence, so for the person who is learning English as a second language it is important to  understand some of the basic sentence structures which are commonly used.

Basic Sentence Structure

What is a sentence?
In grammar, a sentence is the basic grammatical unit. It contains a group of words and expresses a complete thought.

Parts of Sentences:

• Subject
• Predicate
• Object
• Complement

Every word in a sentence serves a specific purpose within the structure of that particular sentence. According to rules of grammar, sentence structure can sometimes be quite complicated. For the sake of simplicity, however, the basic sentence structure is discussed here.
The two basic parts of a sentence are the subject and predicate.

Subject:
The subject of a sentence is the person, place or thing whom we talk about or is performing the action of the sentence.
The subject represents what or whom the sentence is about. The simple subject usually contains a noun or pronoun and can include modifying words, phrases, or clauses.

• The man . . .

Predicate:
The predicate says something about the subject. It consists of the ’verb’ and the ’complement’ which comes after the verb.        

• The man /  builds a house.

The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of any complete sentence. In addition, there are other elements, contained within the subject or predicate, that add meaning or detail. These elements include the direct object, indirect object, and subject complement. All of these elements can be expanded and further combined into simple, compound, complex, or compound/complex sentences.

What is an Object?
An object is a noun or pronoun that gives meaning to the subject and the verb in a sentence.
An object often follows the subject and verb in a sentence.

•  Ali wrote the poem.     

There are two types of objects: direct and indirect.

Direct object: The direct object receives the action of the sentence. The direct object is usually a noun, pronoun, clause or phrase that follows transitive verbs( action verbs that require something or someone to receive the action).

You can identify the direct object by using this simple formula:
Subject + verb + who? or what? = DIRECT OBJECT

• The man builds a house.
• The man builds it.

The subject is “The man ,” and the verb is “builds.” Next ask yourself the question “who or what?” about the verb “builds.” What does the subject, the man, build? He builds a house. Therefore, the direct object is “a house.” Because it receives the action of the sentence.

Indirect object:
The indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action of the sentence is being done. The indirect object is usually a noun or pronoun.                                                                       Indirect objects are seen infrequently. In order to have an indirect object, there is a direct object. The indirect object typically precedes the direct object and is identified by asking who or what receives the direct object.

• The man builds his family a house.
• The man builds them a house.

“The man” is the subject, and “builds” is the verb. Ask the question “builds what?” “A house” is the direct object. To determine the indirect object, ask who received the direct object. “His family” is the indirect object.

Subject complement:
A subject complement is a noun, pronoun, adjective, clause or phrase that follows a linking verb, such as is, are or was and complements or completes the subject of a sentence by describing or renaming it and is part of the predicate.

• The man is a good father. (father = noun which renames the subject)
• The man seems kind. (kind = adjective which describes the subject)

Confusing direct objects with subject complements
It is easy to mistake a direct object for a subject complement. It is important to note that only action verbs can have direct objects.Therefore, if the verb is a linking one, the word that answers the question “what” or “who” is a subject complement.

• The chauffeur accidentally locked his keys in his limousine.                                                                                                                                                         “Chauffeur” is the subject, and “locked” is the action verb. What did the chauffeur lock? Answer: his keys, the direct object.
• The chauffeur was happy to find a spare key.
  “Chauffeur” is the subject and “was” is the linking verb. The chauffeur was what? Answer: happy, the subject complement.

Sentence Correction is the most Important and high Scoring section in verbal ability portion of any test. The concepts and tricks of this particular topic are based not only on Fundamentals of Grammar but also on correct usage of various words.

So, here are some Tricks for solving Sentence Correction questions in SSC & Banking Exams.

First of all, there are some grammar basic rules, which one must know for better understanding of Sentence Correction Questions. These are:

I. Subject-Verb Understanding: The verb in a sentence must be in accordance with its subject.

(i) They both should be either singular or plural.

Example:

• A boy is reading a novel (singular).
• The boys are reading a novel (plural)

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(ii) In case, the subject is a collective noun, then the verb will take a singular form.

Example: The class is making a noise.

Note:  There are four collective nouns viz. - cattle, poultry, police and gentry; with these nouns, we use a plural verb. And there are exceptions to the rule.

(iii) In case, the subjects are connected by AND; they require a plural verb.

Example: Gold and Silver are precious metals.

(iv) If the subjects are connected by OR, the verb used will be singular

Example: The dog or the pup is sick.

(v) In case there are two different subjects; the verb is put matching the closure subject.

Example:

• Sachin or I am going for a party.
• Sachin or Rahul is going for the party.

(vi) All the sentences that begin with EACH, EVERYONE and ANYONE will have a singular verb.

Example: 

• Every one of the boys loves to ride.
• Anyone has a pen, please.

(vii) Confusion between I and Me: Often there is confusion on which form to use when there are two subjects or objects linked with AND, as in these examples:

a) Jenny and me/I joined the chess club.

b) Jill took Justin and me/I to the shop.

In sentence a) - Jenny and me/I are the subjects of the verb joined. Therefore, the subject pronoun ‘I’ is considered correct grammatically.

For sentence b) - Justin and me/I are the objects of took. Therefore ‘me’ is considered correct grammatically.

Note: Whenever a comparison is made using than or as, the objective form of Pronoun is used.

Example:

• He is taller than I am.
• He writes as fast I am.
• I swim better than him.
• I am as tall as her.

(vi) Usage of NEITHER....NOR and EITHER.....OR: 

If both the subjects are singular, the verb will also be singular.

Example: Either the mother or the daughter has cooked the meal.

But when one of the subjects, joined by OR or NOR is plural, the verb must be plural and the subject should be placed near the verb.

Example: Neither the teacher nor the students were present.

Similar usage:

While forming a sentence, the structure of the sentence should be kept parallel. If an infinitive is used, then all the phrases should have an infinitive. If a verb is used after it, then we use the objective cases.

Example: She likes to cook, dance and play.

Similar rule is used for a gerund.

Example: She likes cooking, dancing and playing.

II. Repetition Error: Sometimes also referred a ‘redundancy’, this is the error of writing the same thing twice.

Example:

• He returned back from Delhi.
• I hardly have any money to give you.

The correct way of saying these should be

• He came back from Delhi.
• I have no money to give you.

III. Modifier Error: A common blunder is to leave a participle, without a subject.

Example: Sitting on the gate, a scorpion stung him.

Here, ‘sitting’ cannot be used for scorpion as it is grammatically incorrect.  So, the correct way of saying should be -

Sitting on the gate, he was stung by a scorpion or

While he was sitting on the gate, a scorpion stung him.

More Example:

He visited the place where Napoleon died during his holidays.

It seems as the participle ‘during his holidays’ is used for Napoleon while it is meant for the person visiting. So the correct way of saying should be -

During his holidays, he visited the place where Napoleon died. Using this, it is easy to grasp.

IV. Comparisons: The comparisons made should be between two similar things, like - The population of London is greater than any other city in India. We are comparing:-

(a) The population of London

(b) Any other city in India.

The correct comparison should be between the populations of both. So, the correct expression should be:-

The population of London is greater than that of any other city in India.

Rule -

(a) When comparative degree is used with than, make sure that we exclude the thing compared from the rest of class of things by using the

Example:

• He is stronger than any man living. (Incorrect).
• He is stronger than any other man living. (Correct).
• Similarly, Solomon was wiser than all other men.

(b) In superlative degree, we must include the thing compared.

Example:

• Solomon was the wisest of all men.
• He is the strongest of all men.

Difference Between some confusing words

i) Few and Less

Few is used before countable nouns while ‘less’ is used before uncountable nouns.

Example:

• There a few children in the class today.
• There is less juice left in the jar.

ii) Few and A few

Few is equivalent to something negligible, hardly any while. A few is equivalent to some.

Example:

• Few persons can keep a secret.
• A few persons are convinced about the new manager.

iii) Little and A Little

‘Little’ and ‘a little’ are used for quantity in the same manner.

Example:

• There is little hope of his recovery (almost nil).
• A little tact would have saved the situation (some tact).

iv) Lay and Lie

We need to distinguish between these two words as they are used very differently.

(a) Lay, laid – read the examples given below to understand the difference clearly.

• ‘Lay the table’ ordered the mistress
• He laid the guitar by his side.
• The hen had laid an egg.

(b) Lie, Lay, Lain

• Let me lie down here.
• He lay under the Banyan tree.
• He had lain in the sun for three hours yesterday.

Some Tricks to solve Sentence Correction:

i) Trust Your Ears - If you become stuck, 'say' the choices in your head and then select the passage that sounds best to your ears.

ii) Know the Time - Use time indicators like -before, during etc., to eliminate options that contain verb tense errors. Note here that events that occur during the same time period must be in the same tense.

iii) Run the Numbers - If a sentence is about some sort of numerical quantity, check for idiomatic errors. And apply the above mentioned difference between words.

https://thecriticalreader.com/complete-gmat-sentence-correction-rules/

What is an article?
An article is a word which is used to modify a noun, which is a person, place, object, or idea. Therefore in some places people call it an adjective, which is used to describe a noun or pronoun, but articles are used instead to point out or refer to nouns.
There are two types of articles which are used in writing and conversation to point out or refer to a noun or group of nouns: Definite and Indefinite articles. All uses of definite and indefinite articles are explored below.

How to Use Definite And Indefinite Articles

Definite article
‘The’ is called definite article in English.

Uses of definite article “The”

1. We use “the” when talking about something definite or something specific.

• The love of a mother is the best unconditional love. =Specific love.
• All we need is love. = Love in general

2. We use “the” when referring to something which has already been mentioned and the listener knows about.

• We will receive the postcard, as soon as the postman deliverers it.
• The student requested to postpone the test for Monday.

3. We use “the” when we assume there is just one of something in that place, even if it has not been mentioned before.

• We will go to picnic in New Murri, but we have to reserve a room in the hotel.
• Will you tell me where the office of your academy is?

4. We use “the” when we want to refer to people or objects that are unique.

• They are skydiving in the sky.
• The Sun rises from the east.

5. We use “the” with adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

• If I were rich, I would give Charity to the poor.
• The elderly require special attention.

6. We use “the” with decades.

• It was established from the 2000’s
• Ali was born in the seventies.

7. We use “the” with class introduced by only.

• The only person I trust is Hussain.
• The only food I like is Biryani.

8. We use “the” with proper nouns. Names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

• Many persons died, trying climb the Mount Everest.
• Their ship sank in the Atlantic ocean.

9. We use “the” with countries include the words” republic, “kingdom”, or “ states” in theri names. And similarly with countries that have plural names.

• My brother lives in the United States.
• Jawad is from the republic of Ireland.
• The Netherlands.
• The Philippines.

10. We use the with the names of families, but not with the names of individuals.

• We have invited the Jalalis for dinner.
• The Koshaas are going to the ground with me.

When not to use “The”

1. We do not use “the” with names of countries (except for the special cases above).

• Pakistan is playing the final with Zimbabwe.
• They will go to Turkey to spend their vocation.

2. We do not use “the” with the names of languages.

• English is the most spoken language in the world.
• Many of my friends want to learn Persian.

3. We do not use “the” with titles combined with names.

• Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan.
• Sardar is general Mussa’s cousin.

4. We do not use “the” after the ‘s possessive case.

• My uncle’s house is in street No 10.
• His brother’s car was stolen.

5. We do not use “the” with professions.

• Architecture is not a well-paid career.
• Teaching is my profession.

6. We do not use “the” with the names of individual mountains, lakes and islands.

• Chiltan Mountain is very popular in Balochistan.
• We live in near Hanna Lake.

7. We do not use “the” with most names of towns, streets, stations and airports

• We live in Hazara Town, Quetta.
• Can you direct me to Shaheed Yosufi Road?

Indefinite Article

The Words “A and An” are called indefinite article.
Indefinite articles are used when you are talking about a thing in general, not a specific thing.
Uses of indefinite articles
1. We use ‘An’ before singular count nouns beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or vowel sound, remember the noun being referred to is not a specific.

• Yesterday we saw an elephant in the zoo.
• She give me an apple.
• We reach in station an hour ago.

2. We use “A” before singular nouns beginning with a consonant and the noun is new, unknown or introduced to a listener for the first time. Moreover we can use A or An when asking about the existence of something.

• I have a computer.= Introduced for the first time.
• Ali is a doctor. = New information to the listener.
• Is there a dictionary in you phone? Asking about existence.

3. WE use A or An to introduce what type of thing we are asking or talking about.

• That is a delicious food. Describing the kind of food.
• Do you live in a beautiful apartment? Asking about the kind of apartment.

4. We cannot use A or AN with plural nouns because A and AN means “one” or “a single”.

• We saw an elephants in the zoo. Not correct
• We saw elephants in the zoo. Correct

Indeed uses of definite and indefinite articles are so important for English learners to learn, because when you construct you sentences in speaking and writing you may use one of these words.

10 Kinds of Nouns With Definition and Examples

There are various kinds of nouns used to name person, animals, things and ideas. Here we will take a quick look at 10 kinds of nouns with definition and examples to help you use them properly in your sentences.

10 Kinds of Nouns With Definition and Examples

1. Proper Nouns.
Proper Nouns are used to refer to specific person, place or thing.
A proper noun always starts with a capital letter. These nouns also refer to the names of the days of week and months, and also various names of organization, institution, religious, etc. Which are proper and specific.

• Ali
• Pakistan
• Hazara Town 

2. Common Nouns
Proper nouns refer to general, unspecific person, place or thing.

• Boys
• Girls
• Students

3. Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun which contains two or more words which join together to make a single noun is called compound noun.
A compound noun can be written together, Such as “ Football” can be hyphenated such as “ six-pack, Mother-in-law” or separate words such as “ Post office”.

• Classroom
• Paper-clip
• Police station

4. Collective Nouns

A Collective noun is a noun which refers to a group of people or group of something in a specific manner or unit.

• Family
• Audience
• People

Note: Collective nouns can be either singular or plural, consider the examples below.

• Our team is playing the final on Friday.
• Our class graduates two years ago.

5. Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun is a noun which can be touched, smelled, seen, felt or tasted.
Concrete nouns can be countable or uncountable, common noun, proper noun or collective nouns can be concrete noun.

• Plate
• Chair
• Water

6. Abstract Nouns
Abstract nouns are the names of things that you can perceive or recognize with your five senses.

• Freedom
• Love
• Happiness

7. Material Nouns
Material nouns refer to material or substance out of which things are made.

• Gold
• Silver
• Iron

8. Pronoun
Personal pronouns are types of nouns that take the place of nouns which are referring to people, places or things are called pronouns.

• I
• He
• She
• It
• They

9. Countable nouns
Countable nouns are the nouns which can be counted. These nouns can be used in both the singular and plural forms, When used as plural forms they can be counted.

• Friends
• Chairs
• She had a pet dog. –Dog is also a countable noun as its plural is dogs.

10. Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are the nouns which cannot be counted and have only singular form.
These nouns are exact opposite of countable nouns.

• Water
• Rice
• Sugar

The 8 Parts of Speech in English

Parts of speech focuses on the basics of English grammar you need to speak and write as effectively as possible.Whenever people read, write, speak, or listen, they are using their knowledge of grammar. In the article below I cover the 8 parts of speech in English with definition and examples.

The 8 Parts of Speech in English

What are the parts of speech?

The system of classifying words based on their function is known as the parts of speech.
Although English has hundreds of thousands of words, every one can be placed into at least one of eight groups, or classifications.
The eight parts of speech:

1. Noun
2. Pronoun
3. Verb
4. Adjective
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection

Learning about the eight parts of speech will help you understand the grammar explanations of some of the mistakes you make and figure out how to correct them. Because some words can be used in several different ways, you have to look at what a word is doing in a specific sentence before you can classify it( its parts of speech).
For example: In the sentences below the word “fast” is used in different ways and functioning in different forms.

• He ran fast so he wouldn’t be late. (describes how he ran…adverb)
• Muslims fast during Ramadan. ( tells about an action….verb)
• Their fast lasted for three days. (names a thing…noun)
• That clock is ten minutes fast. (describe the clock…..adjective)

The basics of parts of speech

1. NOUN
Words that name people, places, things and qualities are called nouns.

• People: Cashier, Carol Boys
• Places: Lake, Center, Hazara Town
• Things: ( Animal) Cat, Bug    (Object) Fork, Television     (Substance) Iron, air    (Action) a race, the dance      (Measures) kilogram, centimeter
• Qualities: Happiness, Honesty, Beauty

2. PRONOUN
Pronouns refer to and replace nouns(the names of people, places, and things) that have already been mentioned.

• She saw it when they bought it.
• Everybody was glad when it was over.
• The candy that we gave them was made last year.

3. VERBS
Verb is word which shows an action, but it also shows state/ possession, presence or absence of a person or thing.

• The pitcher threw the ball to the catcher.
• They had already bought her present.
• Most students are usually sitting on the steps when the teacher arrives.
• My sister is a nurse; I am a teacher

4. ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word which describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
Adjectives are usually placed before the noun.

• the white, puffy clouds
• a happy, carefree child
• the tall, stately trees
  Compare the meaning of these two sentences.
• I have a blue car. I have the blue car.

The words ‘a’ and ‘the’ change the meaning of the word car. Although some grammar books call them indefinite (a, an) and definite articles (the), others called them adjectives. Either is correct.

5. ADVERBS
An adverbs is a word which is used to modify verb, adjective or another adverb.
Verb:

• He is driving quickly.      How is he driving?
• He is driving away.           Where is he driving?

Adjective:

• The campers saw a very beautiful sunset.
• The campers saw a truly beautiful sunset.

Adverb:

• He is driving so quickly.

Note: A few words can be used as adverbs or adjectives. Three examples of such words are: early, fast, very and late.
Some words can only be used as adverbs, never as adjectives: well, often, quite, surely, , not, almost, never, always, usually and so

• He was so happy.

6. PREPOSITIONS
Preposition is a word which is used to show relationship between two nouns, pronouns or a noun and a verb.

• The students are rehearsing in the class.

Preposition + noun or pronoun = prepositional phrase

• Time: after + the party = (after the party)
• Place: under + the table = (under the table)
• Ownership: of + our town = (of our town)

7. INTERJECTIONS
An interjection is a word or group of words used to express strong feeling.
It can be an actual word, or merely a sound and is followed by an exclamation mark (!) or a comma.

• Wow! Oh! Oh, no! Ouch! Never! Fabulous! Fantastic! Ah! No! Wow!

8. CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are used to join words, phrases, or clauses .
Conjunctions can be found in any position in a sentence except the very end.

• Ali and Abbas followed the young cub, but they could not catch it.

The words ‘And’ and ‘But’ are conjunctions, and joins two nouns; but joins two complete ideas.

All English Tenses

The studying of all English tenses is very important for ESL students in order to improve your communication skills both in written and spoken English In addition, correct use of tenses helps you speak with people clearly and effectively, moreover, it enables you to raise the level of readability of your business writings on the other by allowing your readers to comprehend accurately what you have written using English tenses.
Introduction To Tenses 
To maintain effective communication you should use appropriate tense, moreover it is necessary to determine using accurate form of English verbs for appropriate time or conjugating verbs properly by focusing on the structures of tenses and modal tenses, so that you can create clear and effective sentences.
Moreover, if you want to know how to change Active voice into passive voice or direct speech into indirect speech, you need to gain mastery over English tenses. Twelve basic tenses of English language will aid you immensely in gaining effective communication skills.
All English Tenses have been described with simple explanations and illustrations, leave a comment below for inquiry.

It is important to note that each of these tenses has four forms.You can click on the links below to read the whole article about each tenses separately:

All English Tenses

Past Tenses: 

1. Simple Past Tense

2. Past Continuous Tense (Past Progressive Tense)
3. Past Perfect Tense
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense 

Present Tenses:

1. Simple Present Tense
2. Present Continuous Tense (Present Progressive Tense)
3. Present Perfect Tense 
4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense 

Future Tenses:

1. Simple Future Tense
2. Future Continuous Tense (Future Progressive Tense)
3. Future Perfect Tense
4. Future Perfect Continuous Tense 

Simple Past Tense Definition and Examples

Simple past tense talks about an action which is started and finished at a specific time in the past.
Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time but they do have specific time in mind.

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + 2nd form of verb+ Object)

• I saw a movie yesterday.

Negative: (Subject + Did not + 1st from of verb + Object)

• I didn’t see a move yesterday.

Interrogative: (Did + Subject + 1st from of verb + Object + ?)

• Did I see a movie yesterday?
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn’t wash his car.

More uses of simple past tense

A Series of Completed Actions

The Simple Past tense talks about series of completed actions in the past. These actions happened 1st, 2nd , 3rd, and so on.

• I finished work, walked to the beach and found a nice place to swim.

Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which started and stopped in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year etc.

• I lived in Quetta for two years.

Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as “used to.” To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

• I studied French when I was a child.

Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. This use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression “used to.”

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

Past Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Past continuous tense is used to express a continued or ongoing action in past or to indicate that longer action in the past was interrupted.
The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Structure Of Sentence 

Positive: (Subject + 1st form of verb + ing + Object)

• I was watching TV.

Negative: (Subject + Was/ Were + not + 1st from of verb + ing + Object)

• I was not watching TV.

Interrogative: (Was/ Were + Subject + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ?)

• Was I watching TV?
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
• B: I was snowboarding.

More uses of past continuous tense

Important
In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

Parallel Actions
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
• While Ali was reading, Hussain was watching television.

Repetition and Irritation with “Always”
The Past Continuous with words such as “always” or “constantly” expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression “used to” but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words “always” or “constantly” between “be” and “verb+ing.

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.

Past Perfect Tense Definition and Examples

The past perfect tense expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the past perfect tense. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + had + 3rd form of verb + Object)

• He had taken the exam last year.

Negative: (Subject + had + not + 3rd from of verb + Object)

• He had not taken the exam last year.

Interrogative: (Had+ Subject + 3rd from of verb + Object + ?)

• Had he taken the exam last year?
• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Karachi.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.

More uses of Past perfect tense

Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect tense to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• By the time Ali finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

Moreover
If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when “before” or “after” is used in the sentence, but if the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional.

• She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
• She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
• She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
• She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct

Past Perfect Continuous Definition and Examples

We use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past.
The duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.

Structure of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + had been + 1st form of verb + ing + Object +( time reference))

• I had been waiting for him for one hour.

Negative: (Subject + had not been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference))

• I had not been waiting for him for one hour.

Interrogative: (Had + Subject + been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference + ?))

• Had I been waiting for him for one hour?
• James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.
• A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
• B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.

More uses of past perfect continuous tense

Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
If you do not include a duration such as “for five minutes,” “for two weeks” or “since Friday,” many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather than the Past Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Past Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past. 

• He was tired because he was exercising so hard.
  This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he was exercising at that exact moment.
• He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
  This sentence emphasizes that he was tired because he had been exercising over a period of time. It is possible that he was still exercising at that moment OR that he had just finished.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Perfect Continuous Tense with these verbs, you must use Past Perfect Tense.

• The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought it. Not Correct
• The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought it. Correct

Cause of Something in the Past
Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.

• Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
• Zahra failed the final test because she had not been attending class.

Simple Present Tense Definition and Example

Simple present tense is used to talk about habitual or usual actions in the present and it also talks about daily event or universal fact.The action can be a habit, a hobby, a scheduled event or something that often happens.

Sentence Structure

Note: If the subject in a sentence is “he, she, it, singular or proper noun” then “s” “es” or “ies” is added to the first form of verb or base form in the sentence.

Positive: (Subject + 1st form of verb +(s, es or ies) + Object)

• I study English.

Negative: (Subject + does not/ do not + 1st from of verb + Object)

• I do not study English.

Interrogative: (Do/ does + Subject + 1st from of verb + Object + ?)

• Do I study English?
• Ali jogs everyday.=> Repeating actions or habits.
• Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.=> Facts or things which  are true.
• Does the Sun circle the Earth?=> Universal fact.
• When does the train usually leave?=> Scheduled event

Spelling for the third person singular (he, she, it)
Adding “s, es, -ies

Normally, we add -s for the verbs in positive sentences of simple present tense.

• The match starts at 7 o’clock.
• She usually tells lie.
• He wakes up at 6 AM.

If a verb ends with these letters (s, sh, ch, x, z) we add ‘es’ at the end of the verb in positive sentence.

• Blesses, passes
• Washes, wishes
• Catches, teaches
• Fixes, relaxes
• Buzzes, fizzes

If a verb ends with consonant + y we change y to ‘ies’ at the of the verb.

• Fly = flies
• Apply = applies

If a verb ends with vowel + y, we only add ‘s’ at the end of the verb.

• Play = plays
• Pray = prays

More uses of Simple present tense

Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.

• Cats like milk.
• Birds do not like milk.
• Quetta is in Pakistan.

Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

• The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
• When does class begin tomorrow?

Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.

• I am here now.
• She is not here now.
• He needs help right now.

Present Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Present continuous tense is used to express a continued or ongoing action at present time or it expresses an action which is in progress at the time of speaking in the present.

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + is/ are/ am + 1st form of verb + ing + Object)

• I am typing a letter.

Negative: (Subject + is/ are/ am + not + 1st from of verb + ing + Object)

• I am not typing a letter.

Interrogative: (Is/ are/ am + Subject + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ?)

• Am I typing a letter?
• They are not watching television.
• What are you doing?
• Why aren’t you doing your homework?

Spelling -Ing Forms

1. If a verb ends in a stressed vowel + one or more consonants +e or ue, “drop” the e and add-ing.

• Believe => believing
• Joke => Joking
• Taste => tasting

2. If a verb ends in -ie, change the –ie to -y and add ing.

• Die => dying
• Lie => lying
• Tie => tying

3. If a verb ends in y, add -ing. It doesn’t matter if there is a vowel or a consonant before y.

• Pray => praying
• Spy => spying
• Play => playing

4. If a verb ends in vowel + one consonant double the consonant and add -ing.

• Beg => begging
• Chat => chatting
• Fit => fitting

5. If a word ends in a stressed vowel + r, double the r and add –ing, but if a verb ends in an unstressed vowel + r, do not double, the r, just add -ing.

• Confer => conferring
• Defer => deferring
• Answer => answering
• Offer => offering

6. If a verb ends in a vowel, add -ing.

• Do => doing
• Go => going

7. Add -ing to all other verbs.

More uses of present continuous tense

Longer Actions in Progress Now
In English, “now” can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous Tense to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

• I am studying to become a doctor.
• I am not studying to become a dentist.
• Aren’t you teaching at the university now?

Near Future
Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous Tense to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.

• I am meeting some friends after work.
• I am not going to the party tonight.

Repetition and Irritation with “Always”
The Present Continuous with words such as “always” or “constantly” expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words “always” or “constantly” between “be” and “verb+ing.”

• She is always coming to class late.
• He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Present.

• She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct
• She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct

Present Perfect Tense Definition and Examples

We use the Present Perfect Tense to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now.
The exact time is not important. You can not use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We can use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet etc.

Present Perfect Tense Definition and Examples

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + has/ have + 3rd form of verb + Object)

• They have gone to school

Negative: (Subject + has/ have + not + 3rd from of verb + Object)

Interrogative: (Has/ have + Subject + 3rd from of verb + Object + ?)

• Have they gone to school.
• Have you read the book yet?
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
• A: Has there ever been a war in Pakistan?
• B: Yes, there has been a war in Pakistan.

More uses o present perfect tense

Change Over Time
We often use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.

• You have grown since the last time I saw you.
• The government has become more interested in arts education.
• My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.

Accomplishments
We often use the Present Perfect Tense to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.

• Man has walked on the Moon.
• Our son has learned how to read.

An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.

• James has not finished his homework yet.
• Susan hasn’t mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
• Bill has still not arrived.

Multiple Actions at Different Times
We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.

• The army has attacked that city five times.
• I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.

Time Expressions with Present Perfect
When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important, but if we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up to now etc.

• I went to Mexico last year.
• I went to Mexico in the calendar year before this one.
• I have been to Mexico in the last year.
• I have been to Mexico at least once at some point between 365 days ago and now.

Note:
“Last year” and “in the last year” are very different in meaning. “Last year” means the year before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. “In the last year” means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires Present Perfect.
Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. “For five minutes,” “for two weeks,” and “since Tuesday” are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect.

• I have had a cold for two weeks.
• She has been in England for six months.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now.
“For five minutes,” “for two weeks,” and “since Tuesday” are all durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.
You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense WITHOUT a duration such as “for two weeks.” Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of “lately.” We often use the words “lately” or “recently” to emphasize this meaning.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Structure of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + has been/ have been + 1st form of verb + ing + Object +( time reference))

• He has been watering the plants for two hours.

Negative: (Subject + has not/ have not + been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference))

• He has not been watering the plants.

Interrogative: (Has/ have + Subject + been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference) + ?)

• Has he been watering the plants?
• Recently, I have been feeling really tired.
• She has been watching too much television lately.

More uses of present perfect continuous tense:

IMPORTANT
Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of “lately” or “recently.” If you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as:

• Have you been feeling alright?
   It can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy.
• Have you been smoking?
  can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous Tense with these verbs, you must use Present Perfect.

• Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
• Sam has had his car for two years. Correct

Simple Future Tense Definition and Examples

The Simple Future Tense is used for an action that will occur in the future.
Or the Simple Future Tense is used for promises, unplanned actions, and predictions that will occur in the future.

Simple Future Tense Definition and Examples

Sentence Structure

Positive: (Subject + will/ shall + 1st form of verb + Object)

• I will buy a computer tomorrow.

Negative: (Subject + will/shall + not + 1st from of verb + Object)

• I will not buy a computer tomorrow.

Interrogative: (Will/ shall + Subject + 1st from of verb + Object + ?)

• Will I buy a computer tomorrow?

Note:
 Shall is used with first person pronouns (I and we) to form the simple future tense, while will is used with second and third person forms (you, he, she, it, they).

• I shall be late.
• They will not have enough food.

More uses of simple future tense

“Will” to express a voluntary Action
We also use “will” when speaker will do something voluntarily or when we request that someone help us or volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use “will not” or “won’t” when we refuse to voluntarily do something.

• I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
• Will you make dinner?
• I will not do your homework for you.

“Will” to Express a Promise
“Will” is usually used in promises.

• I will call you when I arrive.
• I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.

“Be going to” to Express a Plan
“Be going to” expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.

• He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.
• She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
• A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
• B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.

“Will” or “Be Going to” to Express a Prediction
Both “will” and “be going to” can express the idea of a general prediction about the future. Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In “prediction” sentences, the subject usually has little control over the future, In the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.

• John Smith will be the next President.
• John Smith is going to be the next President.

No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future Tense, Simple Present is used.

• When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
• When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct

Future Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Future continuous tense is used to express a continued or an ongoing action in future.

Future Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + will be + 1st form of verb + ing + Object)

• They will be waiting for us.

Negative: (Subject + will + not be + 1st from of verb + ing + Object)

• They will not be waiting for us.

Interrogative: (Will + Subject + be + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ?)

• Will they be waiting for us?
• He will be flying a kite.
• It will be raining tomorrow.
• She will be enjoying her vocation.

Spelling -Ing Forms

1. If a verb ends in a stressed vowel + one or more consonants +e or ue, “drop” the e and add-ing.

• Believe => believing
• Joke => Joking
• Taste => tasting

2. If a verb ends in -ie, change the –ie to -y and add ing.

• Die => dying
• Lie => lying
• Tie => tying

3. If a verb ends in y, add -ing. It doesn’t matter if there is a vowel or a consonant before y.

• Pray => praying
• Spy => spying
• Play => playing

4. If a verb ends in vowel + one consonant double the consonant and add -ing.

• Beg => begging
• Chat => chatting
• Fit => fitting

5. If a word ends in a stressed vowel + r, double the r and add –ing, but if a verb ends in an unstressed vowel + r, do not double, the r, just add -ing.

• Confer => conferring
• Defer => deferring
• Answer => answering
• Offer => offering

6. If a verb ends in a vowel, add -ing.

• Do => doing
• Go => going

7. Add -ing to all other verbs.

More uses of future continuous tense:

FORM Future Continuous with “Be Going To “
Future Continuous has two different forms: “will be doing ” and “be going to be doing.” Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.

• You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
• You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.

Interrupted Action in the Future
Use the Future Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

• I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight.
• I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives.

Specific Time as an Interruption in the Future
In USE 2, described above, the Future Continuous is interrupted by a short action in the future. In addition to using short actions as interruptions, you can also use a specific time as an interruption, in this case we use Future Continuous with “Be Going To “

• Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner.
  I will be in the process of eating dinner.
• At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert.
  We will be in the process of driving through the desert.

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future tenses, the Future Continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future Continuous, Present Continuous is used.

• While I am going to be finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Not Correct
• While I am finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Correct

AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Future Continuous Tense with these verbs, you must use Simple Future.

• Jane will be being at my house when you arrive. Not Correct
• Jane will be at my house when you arrive. Correct

Future Perfect Tense Definition and Examples

The Future Perfect Tense  is used to describe an action that will have been completed before a specific moment or before another action takes place in the future.

It is often used with a time expression which identifies that point in the future.

Future Perfect Tense Definition and Examples

Structure Of Sentence

Positive: (Subject + will have + 3rd form of verb + Object)

• She will have finished the work by Wednesday.

Negative: (Subject + will not + have + 3rd from of verb + Object)

• She will not have finished the work by Wednesday.

Interrogative: (Will + Subject + have + 3rd from of verb + Object + ?)

• Will she have finished the work by Wednesday?
• I will have bought a computer.
• She will have decorated her home.

More uses of future perfect tense:

Future Perfect with “Be Going To”
Future Perfect has two different forms: “will have done” and “be going to have done.” and usually they are interchangeable.

• You will have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.
• You are going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.

Completed Action Before Something in the Future
The Future Perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in the future. It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future.

• By next November, I will have received my promotion.
• By the time he gets home, she is going to have cleaned the entire house.

Duration Before Something in the Future (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Future Perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.

• I will have been in London for six months by the time I leave.
• By Monday, Susan is going to have had my book for a week.

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, the Future Perfect Tense cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future Perfect, Present Perfect is used.

• I am going to see a movie when I will have finished my homework. Not Correct
• I am going to see a movie when I have finished my homework. Correct

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

We use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense to show that something will continue up until a particular event or time in the future.
“For five minutes,” “for two weeks,” are all duration which can be used with the Future Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous; however, with Future Perfect Continuous, the duration stops at or before a reference point in the future.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Definition and Examples

Structure of sentence

Positive: (Subject + will have been + 1st form of verb + ing + Object +( time reference))

• You will have been waiting for more than two hours.

Negative: (Subject + will not + have been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference))

• You will not have been waiting for more than two hours.

Interrogative: (Will + Subject + have been + 1st from of verb + ing + Object + ( time reference) + ?)

• Will you have been waiting for more than two hours?
• They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives.
• She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it finally closes.

More uses of future perfect continuous tense:

FORM Future Perfect Continuous with “Be Going To”
Future Perfect Continuous has two different forms: “will have been doing ” and “be going to have been doing.” and usually they are interchangeable.

• You are going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.
• You will have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.

Cause of Something in the Future
Using the Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is a good way to show cause and effect.

• Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over an hour.
• My English will be perfect when I return to Pakistan because I am going to have been studying English in the USA for over two years.

Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect Continuous Tense 
If you do not include a duration such as “for five minutes,” “for two weeks” or “since Friday,” many English speakers choose to use the Future Continuous rather than the Future Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Future Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Future Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the future. Study the examples below to understand the difference.

• He will be tired because he will be exercising so hard.
  This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will be exercising at that exact moment in the future.
• He will be tired because he will have been exercising so hard.
  This sentence emphasizes that he will be tired because he will have been exercising for a period of time. It is possible that he will still be exercising at that moment OR that he will just have finished.

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, the Future Perfect Continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future Perfect Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous is used.

• You won’t get a promotion until you will have been working here as long as Tim. Not Correct
• You won’t get a promotion until you have been working here as long as Tim. Correct

AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Future Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must use Future Perfect.

• Ned will have been having his driver’s license for over two years. Not Correct
• Ned will have had his driver’s license for over two years. Correct

We often convey a message or give information about what someone said, thought or felt to somebody else. In order to do this you can use the grammar structure named direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech. Indeed this structure can be a source of confusion for ESL learners because they mix it with active and passive voice. Read the whole article to know about direct and indirect speech rules.

Initially we will look at direct and indirect speech, then look at how to convert speech from direct to indirect or vice-versa.

Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
Saying or quoting exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks (“…”) and should be word for word.

• She said, “Today’s lesson is about direct and indirect speech.” or
• “Today’s lesson is about direct and indirect speech.”, she said.

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Saying or reporting what someone said without quoting his exact words is called indirect speech.
Here we don’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and does not have to be word for word.

• He said that yesterday’s lesson was about direct and indirect speech.

Reporting Verb
The verb in the first part of sentence (i.e. say, said, tell, admit, complain, explain remind, reply think, hope, offer, refuse etc.) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.

Rule 1. (Adverbs of Time and Place)

If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting, and adverb of nearness should be put into those of distance.

• Today  => yesterday/ that day
• This evening  => that evening
• These (days)  => those (days)
• Now  => then
• (A week) ago  => (a week) before
• Last weekend  => the previous weekend
• Here  => there
• Here after   => there after
• Next (week)  => the following (week)/ a week after
• Tomorrow   => the next/following day
• Thus  => so
• Last night  => the previous night
• Yesterday  => the day before / the previous day
• Hither  => thither
• Hence  => thence

Note: If something is said and reported at the same time, then the time expression can remain the same.

• He told me today, “ I will go to Karachi tomorrow.”
• He told me today he would go to Karachi tomorrow.
• She told me this week, “ we gave our exam last week.”
• She told me this week, they had given their exam last wee.

Rule 2. Tenses

A) If the reporting verb is in present or future (i.e say, says or will say) then don’t change the tense that you can find within the quotation marks.

• He says,”I was a fool then.”
• He says that he was a fool then.
• I will say, “ He loves his mom.”
• I will say that he loves his mom.

B) If reporting verb is in the past tense. the tense of the verbs in the reported speech or indirect speech must be generally changed. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

• He said,”I am going to the cinema.”
• He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense Change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense.
Present Simple › Past simple

• She said, ”it is cold,”   
• She said it was cold.

Present continuous › Past continuous 

• She said, “I’m teaching Math online.”
• She said she was teaching Math online.

Present perfect › Past perfect 

• She said, “I’ve lived in Pakistan since 1999.” 
• She said she had lived in Pakistan since 1999.

Present perfect continuous › Past perfect continuous 

• She said, “I’ve been teaching English for seven years.” 
• She said she had been teaching English for seven years.

Past simple › Past perfect 

• She said, “I taught active and passive yesterday.”
• She said she had taught active and passive yesterday.

Past continuous › Past perfect continuous

• She said, “I was teaching the lesson.”  
• She said she had been teaching the lesson.

Past perfect › Past perfect 

• She said, “The lesson had already started when he arrived.”
• NO CHANGE – She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.

Past perfect continuous  › Past perfect continuous 

• She said, “I’d already been teaching for five minutes.”
• NO CHANGE – She said she’d already been teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
Will › would 

• She said, “I’ll teach English online tomorrow.”
• She said she would teach English online tomorrow.

Can › could 

• She said, “I can teach English online.” 
• She said she could teach English online.

Must ›  had to 

• She said, “I must have a computer to teach English online.”
• She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.

Shall › › should/ would

• She said, “What shall we learn today?” 
• She asked what we should learn today.
• He said, ”I shall appreciate it.”
• He said he would appreciate it.

May › might 

• She said, “May I open a new browser?” 
• She asked if she might open a new browser.

Note – There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.

• “I might go to the cinema”, he said.
• He said he might go to the cinema.

Rule 3. (After wish, would rather, had better , it is time)

• Ali said, ”I wish they were in Pakistan.”
• Ali said he wished they were in Pakistan.
• Hussain said, “ I would rather fly.”
• Hussain said he would rather fly.
• Zahra said, ” they had better go.”
• Zahra said they had better go.
• Ahmed said, “It is time I got up.”
• Ahmed said it was time he got up.

Rule 4.

If indirect speech the words within quotation marks talk of a universal truth or habitual action or when a sentence is made and reported at the same time and the fact is still true then the tense inside the quotation marks is not changed at all.

• He said,”My name is Ali.”
• He said his name was Ali Or He said his name is Ali.
• The teacher said,” the sun rises in the east.”
• The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.
• Shazia said, “ I am thirsty.” 
• Shazia said she is thirsty.

Rule 5.

You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

• She said,”next week’s lesson is on reported speech.”
• She said next week’s lesson will be on reported speech.

Rule 6. (Pronouns)

We have to change the pronouns to keep the same meaning of a sentence.

• Ali said, “ We are the best players.”
• Ali said they were the best players.

Note: Sometimes we have to use a noun instead of a pronoun, otherwise the new sentence is confusing consider the examples below:

• Asim said, “He killed them.”
• Asim said that the man had killed them.

(If we only make mechanical changes, then the new sentence can have different meaning)

• Asim said he had killed them. (Asim himself killed them)

Rule 7. Reported Speech In If-Clauses.

• Hussain: “If I tidied my room, my dad would be happy.”
• Hussain said that if he tidied his room, his dad would be happy.
• Teacher: “If you concentrate, you will learn about direct and indirect speech.”
• Teacher said if we concentrate we would learn about direct and indirect speech.

Rule 8. Reported Speech of Time-Clauses.

• Ali: “When I was staying in Quetta I met my best friend.” –
• He said that when he was staying in Quetta he met his best friend.

Rule 9. Reported Speech of Interrogative Sentences 
1. Remove the quotation marks and question mark in the interrogative sentence.
2. Use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the sentence inside the quotation marks begins with a helping verb (Auxiliary verb).
3. Use the given interrogative word (what, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which, now etc.) if it does not begin with the helping verb.
4. Don‘t use ‘that’
5. Changing the reporting verb (say, said) into ‘ask, want to know wonder or inquire’ in its correct tense.
6. Omit helping verb like ‘do, does, did’. But don’t omit them when they are with ‘not’.

• Said I to my teacher,” won’t you help me to learn about direct and indirect speech complete rules?”
• I asked my teacher if he would not help me to learn about direct and indirect speech complete rules.
• “ How often do you go to the cinema?” Ali said to Ahmed,
• Ali asked Ahmed how often he went to the cinema.
• “Where have you been?” he said. 
• He asked me where I had been.
• “What time did it start?” he said. 
• He wanted to know what time it had started.
• “Why won’t he do it?” she said.
• She wondered why he wouldn’t do it.

Rule 10. Reported Speech of Yes/ No Questions

In yes/no questions we use if or whether in questions. If is more common and whether is more formal.

• “Will you go?” she asked me.
• She asked me if/whether I would go.
• “Did he buy a car?” she said.
•  She wondered if/whether he had bought a car.

Rule 11. Reported Speech of Commands and Requests 

1. Remove the quotation mark in an Imperative sentence.
2. Use ‘to’ if it is an affirmative sentence. (without don‘t)
3. Use ‘not to’ if the sentence begins without Don‘t.
4. Don‘t use ‘that’
5. Omit the word ‘please’. Use the word ‘request’ instead of ‘say’.
6. If the direct speech contains a request or a command, the reporting verb (say, said) change to tell, request, order, command etc. in its correct tense.
7. The commands, requests and advice mostly have the same form in English: verb + object + infinitive (advise, ask, beg, forbid, order, persuade, recommend, tell, urge, warn etc.).

• “Get up!” he said.
•  He warned me to get up.
• “Please, revise for the test,” he said.
•  He  requested me to revise for the test.
• “Bring me a cup of tea” said Zahra to Sara.
• Zahrs asked Sara to bring her a cup of tea.

Negative: + object + not + infinitive.

• “Don’t hesitate,” he said.
• He persuaded me not to hesitate.
• “Don’t smoke,” the doctor warned my father.
• The doctor warned my father not to smoke.

Rule 12. Reported Speech of Advice
If it contains advice the reporting verb changes into advised.

• “Put on your coat,” I said.
• I advised him to put on his coat.

Rule 13. Reported Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

1. Change the exclamatory sentence into statement or assertive
2. Remove the quotation marks and exclamatory mark.
3. Use the conjunction ‘that’
4. Omit the interjections such as Oh, O, Alas, how, what, hurrah.
5. Add the word ‘very’ to the adjective or adverb if necessary.
6. If the verb is not given, use ‘Be’ form verb (is, was, are, were, am) in its correct tense according to the subject.
7. Change the reporting verb (say, said) to ‘exclaim joyfully’
8. Use ‘exclaim’ sorrowfully for sorrowful incidents.

• She said ,” Wow, What a beautiful car that is!”
• She exclaimed joyfully that was a verb beautiful car.
• He said,” Alas! I have missed the paper.”
• He exclaimed sorrowfully that he had missed the paper.

Rule 14. Use of ‘That’ in Reported Speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used, however it is optional. We recommend you no to use it because in some cases we don’t use ‘That’ in reported speech like: question, command request and order, so its better not to use it.

• He told me that he lived in Hazara Town.
• He told me he lived in Hazara Town.

Rule 15. Punctuation in Direct Speech

In direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the quoted words from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what’s going on. Here are the basic rules:
A)We use inverted commas (also called quotation marks, quotes or speech marks) to indicate direct speech. Double quotes (“) are preferred in American English, while single quotes (‘) are more common in British English:

• “I’m coming home late tonight,” she said. (American English)
• ‘I’m coming home late tonight,’ she said. (British English)

B) Every time a new speakers says something, you should start a new paragraph:

• “They think it’s a more respectable job,” said Ali.
• “I don’t agree,” I replied.

C) There should be a comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark at the end of a piece of speech. This is placed inside the closing inverted comma or commas.

• He asked, “ Can I go outside?”
• She shouted, “ Sit down!”
• We said, “ They are wrong.”

D) If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another comma before the second piece (before the inverted comma or commas):

• “You’re right,” he said. “It feels strange.”
• “Thinking back,” she said, “he didn’t expect to win.”
• “No!” he cried. “You can’t leave now!”

Voice:  Voice is the term used to describe whether a verb is active or passive in active and passive voice.

Active Voice: A sentence which begins with the performer of the action (subject), then the verb,then the object or person that the action is performed on. This is called an active sentence.

• Ali Washed the dishes.
  Sub + Verb  + Object.

Passive Voice: A sentence which begins with the object or person that the action is performed on is called passive sentence. 

• The dishes were washed (by Ali.)
  Object        +       verb   +  (by subject)

These sentences are in passive voice. The Passive voice is used in English
1. When we do not know who the subject is, or it is not important who the subject is.

2. When it is obvious to the listener or reader who the subject is because it is the person who usually does it.

3. When we give more importance to the object of the sentences rather than the subject, we use passive voice.
 

How to convert active voice sentences into passive voice:

First move the object in the active voice to the subject position. Use the appropriate ‘be’ verb
(is/am/are/was/were/has been/have been/shall be/will be)
To learn more about ‘Be’ Verbs.

Verbs like am, is, are, was, were do not show action; they are verbs of being. They tell us about a state of being or existence. They don’t give any meaning but they are used to describe a subject. The be verbs are followed by a noun or an adjective or an adverb.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Columbus discovered America.	America was discovered by Columbus
Who did this work?	By whom was this work done?
Open the window	Let the window be opened
He is writing a letter	A letter is being written by him
The work will be finished by me	I will finish the work
Somebody cleaned the room yesterday	The room was cleaned yesterday.

How to form passive forms of verbs?

Tense	Active	Passive
Present Tense	go, goes	is gone (Singular) are gone (Plural)
Past Tense	went	was went (Singular) were went (Plural)
Future Tense	will / can / may / must => go	will / can etc. => be gone
Present Continuous Tense	am going is going	is being going (Singular) are being going (Plural)
Past Continuous Tense	are going was going were eating	was being gone (Singular) were being gone (Plural)
Future Continuous Tense	will be going shall be going	No Passive Voice
Present Perfect Tense	have gone has gone	have been gone (Plural) has been gone (Singular)
Past Perfect Tense	had gone	had been gone
Future Perfect Tense	shall have gone will have gone	will have been gone
Present Perfect Continuous Tense	has been going have been going	No Passive Voice
Past Perfect Continuous Tense	had been going	No Passive Voice
Future Perfect Continuous Tense	shall have been going will have been going	No Passive Voice

Changes of Pronouns:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
I	me
we	us
you	you
he	him
she	her
it	it
they	them

Rules for changing Active Voice into Passive Voice:

• Identify the subject, the verb and the object: SVO
• Change the object into subject
• Put the suitable helping verb or auxiliary verb. In case helping verb is given, use the same. But note that the helping verb given agrees with the object.
• Change the verb into past participle of the verb.
• Add the preposition "by"
• Change the subject into object.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
I write a letter	A letter is written by me
We must keep the rule	The rule must be kept by us
You bought a book	A book have been bought by you
He closed the window	The window was closed by him
She was writing letters	Letters were being written by her
I had posted a letter	A letter had been posted by me
I do not drink tea	Tea is not drunk by me
She does not eat a mango	A mango is not eaten by her
He will have finished his work	The work will have been finished by him
They are digging a well	A well is being dug by them

Imperative Sentence :

Imperative sentences are requests, suggestions, advice, or commands. Imperative sentences often appear to be missing subjects and use a verb to begin the sentence, but it may also end with an exclamation point (!). Commands ask or tell people to do something.

If the given sentence in the active voice is in the imperative, to get the passive voice use ‘Let’. Hence
Passive Voice = Let + Object + be + Past Participle

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Help me	Let me be helped
Sing a song	Let a song be sing
Open the door	Let the door be opened
Don’t eat this fruit	Let not this fruit be eaten

Questions in the Passive :

If the question in the Active Voice begins with a Helping verb the Passive voice must also begin with a suitable helping verb. Supposing the question begins with ‘Wh or How’ form (what, when, how ...) the Passive Voice must begin with the same.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Are you writing a letter?	Is a letter being written by you?
Is she beating the child?	Is the child beaten by her?
Will you accept the position?	Will the position be accepted by you?
Who broke the window?	By whom was the window broken?
Why did you write such a letter?	Why was such a letter written by you?
Where can you hide this box?	Where can this box be hidden by you?

Sentences with two objects:

If a sentence contains two objects namely Indirect Object and Direct Object in the Active Voice, two forms of Passive Voice can be formed.

• She brought me a cup of coffee. (AV)
  I was brought a cup of coffee by her. (PV) (or)
  A cup of coffee was brought [to] me by her. (PV)
• The teacher teaches us grammar. (AV)
  We are taught grammar by the teacher. (PV) (or)
  Grammar is taught [to] us by the teacher. (PV)

Note 1: If you want to mention the subject in a passive sentence, use ‘by’, though its optional.

• My room is being painted by the decorator.

Note 2: If the active sentence begins with ‘no-one’ or ‘nobody’ the passive sentence will be negative.

• No-one turned on the light. (Active)  The light was not turned on. (Passive)

Note 3: If there is a preposition between the verb and the object, the preposition will remain after the verb

• They talked about the issue. (Active)  The issue was talked about. (Passive)

Note 4: Intransitive verbs cannot be changed into passive voice.

• Ali slept well.
• Hussain lives far away.

We often convey a message or give information about what someone said, thought or felt to somebody else. In order to do this you can use the grammar structure named direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech. Indeed this structure can be a source of confusion for ESL learners because they mix it with active and passive voice. Read the whole article to know about direct and indirect speech rules.

Initially we will look at direct and indirect speech, then look at how to convert speech from direct to indirect or vice-versa.

Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
Saying or quoting exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks (“…”) and should be word for word.

• She said, “Today’s lesson is about direct and indirect speech.” or
• “Today’s lesson is about direct and indirect speech.”, she said.

Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Saying or reporting what someone said without quoting his exact words is called indirect speech.
Here we don’t use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and does not have to be word for word.

• He said that yesterday’s lesson was about direct and indirect speech.

Reporting Verb
The verb in the first part of sentence (i.e. say, said, tell, admit, complain, explain remind, reply think, hope, offer, refuse etc.) before the statement of a person in sentence is called reporting verb.

Rule 1. (Adverbs of Time and Place)

If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the time of reporting, and adverb of nearness should be put into those of distance.

• Today  => yesterday/ that day
• This evening  => that evening
• These (days)  => those (days)
• Now  => then
• (A week) ago  => (a week) before
• Last weekend  => the previous weekend
• Here  => there
• Here after   => there after
• Next (week)  => the following (week)/ a week after
• Tomorrow   => the next/following day
• Thus  => so
• Last night  => the previous night
• Yesterday  => the day before / the previous day
• Hither  => thither
• Hence  => thence

Note: If something is said and reported at the same time, then the time expression can remain the same.

• He told me today, “ I will go to Karachi tomorrow.”
• He told me today he would go to Karachi tomorrow.
• She told me this week, “ we gave our exam last week.”
• She told me this week, they had given their exam last wee.

Rule 2. Tenses

A) If the reporting verb is in present or future (i.e say, says or will say) then don’t change the tense that you can find within the quotation marks.

• He says,”I was a fool then.”
• He says that he was a fool then.
• I will say, “ He loves his mom.”
• I will say that he loves his mom.

B) If reporting verb is in the past tense. the tense of the verbs in the reported speech or indirect speech must be generally changed. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.

• He said,”I am going to the cinema.”
• He said he was going to the cinema.

Tense Change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense.
Present Simple › Past simple

• She said, ”it is cold,”   
• She said it was cold.

Present continuous › Past continuous 

• She said, “I’m teaching Math online.”
• She said she was teaching Math online.

Present perfect › Past perfect 

• She said, “I’ve lived in Pakistan since 1999.” 
• She said she had lived in Pakistan since 1999.

Present perfect continuous › Past perfect continuous 

• She said, “I’ve been teaching English for seven years.” 
• She said she had been teaching English for seven years.

Past simple › Past perfect 

• She said, “I taught active and passive yesterday.”
• She said she had taught active and passive yesterday.

Past continuous › Past perfect continuous

• She said, “I was teaching the lesson.”  
• She said she had been teaching the lesson.

Past perfect › Past perfect 

• She said, “The lesson had already started when he arrived.”
• NO CHANGE – She said the lesson had already started when he arrived.

Past perfect continuous  › Past perfect continuous 

• She said, “I’d already been teaching for five minutes.”
• NO CHANGE – She said she’d already been teaching for five minutes.

Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
Will › would 

• She said, “I’ll teach English online tomorrow.”
• She said she would teach English online tomorrow.

Can › could 

• She said, “I can teach English online.” 
• She said she could teach English online.

Must ›  had to 

• She said, “I must have a computer to teach English online.”
• She said she had to have a computer to teach English online.

Shall › › should/ would

• She said, “What shall we learn today?” 
• She asked what we should learn today.
• He said, ”I shall appreciate it.”
• He said he would appreciate it.

May › might 

• She said, “May I open a new browser?” 
• She asked if she might open a new browser.

Note – There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.

• “I might go to the cinema”, he said.
• He said he might go to the cinema.

Rule 3. (After wish, would rather, had better , it is time)

• Ali said, ”I wish they were in Pakistan.”
• Ali said he wished they were in Pakistan.
• Hussain said, “ I would rather fly.”
• Hussain said he would rather fly.
• Zahra said, ” they had better go.”
• Zahra said they had better go.
• Ahmed said, “It is time I got up.”
• Ahmed said it was time he got up.

Rule 4.

If indirect speech the words within quotation marks talk of a universal truth or habitual action or when a sentence is made and reported at the same time and the fact is still true then the tense inside the quotation marks is not changed at all.

• He said,”My name is Ali.”
• He said his name was Ali Or He said his name is Ali.
• The teacher said,” the sun rises in the east.”
• The teacher said that the sun rises in the east.
• Shazia said, “ I am thirsty.” 
• Shazia said she is thirsty.

 

Rule 5.

You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.

• She said,”next week’s lesson is on reported speech.”
• She said next week’s lesson will be on reported speech.

Rule 6. (Pronouns)

We have to change the pronouns to keep the same meaning of a sentence.

• Ali said, “ We are the best players.”
• Ali said they were the best players.

Note: Sometimes we have to use a noun instead of a pronoun, otherwise the new sentence is confusing consider the examples below:

• Asim said, “He killed them.”
• Asim said that the man had killed them.

(If we only make mechanical changes, then the new sentence can have different meaning)

• Asim said he had killed them. (Asim himself killed them)

Rule 7. Reported Speech In If-Clauses.

• Hussain: “If I tidied my room, my dad would be happy.”
• Hussain said that if he tidied his room, his dad would be happy.
• Teacher: “If you concentrate, you will learn about direct and indirect speech.”
• Teacher said if we concentrate we would learn about direct and indirect speech.

Rule 8. Reported Speech of Time-Clauses.

• Ali: “When I was staying in Quetta I met my best friend.” –
• He said that when he was staying in Quetta he met his best friend.

Rule 9. Reported Speech of Interrogative Sentences 
1. Remove the quotation marks and question mark in the interrogative sentence.
2. Use ‘if’ or ‘whether’ if the sentence inside the quotation marks begins with a helping verb (Auxiliary verb).
3. Use the given interrogative word (what, when, where, why, who, whom, whose, which, now etc.) if it does not begin with the helping verb.
4. Don‘t use ‘that’
5. Changing the reporting verb (say, said) into ‘ask, want to know wonder or inquire’ in its correct tense.
6. Omit helping verb like ‘do, does, did’. But don’t omit them when they are with ‘not’.

• Said I to my teacher,” won’t you help me to learn about direct and indirect speech complete rules?”
• I asked my teacher if he would not help me to learn about direct and indirect speech complete rules.
• “ How often do you go to the cinema?” Ali said to Ahmed,
• Ali asked Ahmed how often he went to the cinema.
• “Where have you been?” he said. 
• He asked me where I had been.
• “What time did it start?” he said. 
• He wanted to know what time it had started.
• “Why won’t he do it?” she said.
• She wondered why he wouldn’t do it.

Rule 10. Reported Speech of Yes/ No Questions

In yes/no questions we use if or whether in questions. If is more common and whether is more formal.

• “Will you go?” she asked me.
• She asked me if/whether I would go.
• “Did he buy a car?” she said.
•  She wondered if/whether he had bought a car.

Rule 11. Reported Speech of Commands and Requests 

1. Remove the quotation mark in an Imperative sentence.
2. Use ‘to’ if it is an affirmative sentence. (without don‘t)
3. Use ‘not to’ if the sentence begins without Don‘t.
4. Don‘t use ‘that’
5. Omit the word ‘please’. Use the word ‘request’ instead of ‘say’.
6. If the direct speech contains a request or a command, the reporting verb (say, said) change to tell, request, order, command etc. in its correct tense.
7. The commands, requests and advice mostly have the same form in English: verb + object + infinitive (advise, ask, beg, forbid, order, persuade, recommend, tell, urge, warn etc.).

• “Get up!” he said.
•  He warned me to get up.
• “Please, revise for the test,” he said.
•  He  requested me to revise for the test.
• “Bring me a cup of tea” said Zahra to Sara.
• Zahrs asked Sara to bring her a cup of tea.

Negative: + object + not + infinitive.

• “Don’t hesitate,” he said.
• He persuaded me not to hesitate.
• “Don’t smoke,” the doctor warned my father.
• The doctor warned my father not to smoke.

Rule 12. Reported Speech of Advice
If it contains advice the reporting verb changes into advised.

• “Put on your coat,” I said.
• I advised him to put on his coat.

Rule 13. Reported Speech of Exclamatory Sentences

1. Change the exclamatory sentence into statement or assertive
2. Remove the quotation marks and exclamatory mark.
3. Use the conjunction ‘that’
4. Omit the interjections such as Oh, O, Alas, how, what, hurrah.
5. Add the word ‘very’ to the adjective or adverb if necessary.
6. If the verb is not given, use ‘Be’ form verb (is, was, are, were, am) in its correct tense according to the subject.
7. Change the reporting verb (say, said) to ‘exclaim joyfully’
8. Use ‘exclaim’ sorrowfully for sorrowful incidents.

• She said ,” Wow, What a beautiful car that is!”
• She exclaimed joyfully that was a verb beautiful car.
• He said,” Alas! I have missed the paper.”
• He exclaimed sorrowfully that he had missed the paper.

Rule 14. Use of ‘That’ in Reported Speech

In reported speech, the word that is often used, however it is optional. We recommend you no to use it because in some cases we don’t use ‘That’ in reported speech like: question, command request and order, so its better not to use it.

• He told me that he lived in Hazara Town.
• He told me he lived in Hazara Town.

Rule 15. Punctuation in Direct Speech

In direct speech, various punctuation conventions are used to separate the quoted words from the rest of the text: this allows a reader to follow what’s going on. Here are the basic rules:
A)We use inverted commas (also called quotation marks, quotes or speech marks) to indicate direct speech. Double quotes (“) are preferred in American English, while single quotes (‘) are more common in British English:

• “I’m coming home late tonight,” she said. (American English)
• ‘I’m coming home late tonight,’ she said. (British English)

B) Every time a new speakers says something, you should start a new paragraph:

• “They think it’s a more respectable job,” said Ali.
• “I don’t agree,” I replied.

C) There should be a comma, full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark at the end of a piece of speech. This is placed inside the closing inverted comma or commas.

• He asked, “ Can I go outside?”
• She shouted, “ Sit down!”
• We said, “ They are wrong.”

D) If the direct speech is broken up by information about who is speaking, you need a comma (or a question mark or exclamation mark) to end the first piece of speech and a full stop or another comma before the second piece (before the inverted comma or commas):

• “You’re right,” he said. “It feels strange.”
• “Thinking back,” she said, “he didn’t expect to win.”
• “No!” he cried. “You can’t leave now!”

17 Punctuation Marks in English

In the article below I am going to describe most used punctuation marks in writing. Indeed, punctuation marks are  the most important aspect of writing. However, you write good passages and paragraphs, but without using accurate punctuation marks your article looks awkward. Punctuation marks are used to create a sense, clarity and stress in sentences, use punctuation marks to structure and organize your writing. Consider the example below:

• Your bike, Ali.
• Your bike, Ali?

Although the words are same here, the two sentences mean completely different things because of the period (or full stop) and the question mark.
Here we will look at all punctuation marks with explanations and illustrations, hope they will be useful for you to use punctuation marks in your writing so on.

 

17 Punctuation Marks in English

1. Full stop / period ( . ) 
a) Use a full stop at the end of a sentence:
The rioters were taken away by force.


b) Use full stops with abbreviations (a short form of a word).
Co. (Company)   etc. (et cetera)    M.P. (Member of Parliament)
c) Do not use full stops with following contractions.
He’s, She’s, they’re, it’s, I’m etc.

2. Comma ( , )

A comma in writing is like a pause inside a sentence when speaking. Put a space after a comma. Do not put a space before a comma, and use it in the following situations.
a) Use a comma between items in a series or list. In a sentence, the last two items usually do not need a comma between them as they are separated by “and”.
My favorite foods are: beryani, vegetables, ham, and chicken.
b) Use a comma between three or more adjectives or adverbs.
I like the old, brown, wooden table.
He ran quickly, quietly and effortlessly.
c) For two adjectives, use a comma where you could use “and”.
It was a lovely, short performance. (It was a lovely and shot performance).
I have a big black dog. (I have a big and black dog.)
d) Use a comma in numbers over 999. (In English, commas separate thousands and periods separate decimals.
1,000 1,557 10.5 (ten point five) 1.5 (one point five)
e) Use a comma for addresses, some dates, and titles following a name.
Street#10, Block#3, Hazara Town, Quetta.
Feb 23, 2016 (but 23 Feb 2916).
f) Use a comma before or after direct speech. Do not use a comma for reported speech.
He said,”I am going to the cinema.”
He said that he was going to the cinema.
g ) Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to join two independent clauses. If the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is optional.
He didn’t want to go, but he went anyway.
I want to work as an interpreter, so I am studying English at university.
She is kind so she helps people.
h) Use commas for parenthetical elements. A “parenthetical element” is any part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the real meaning of the sentence.
Zahra, my wife’s brother, cannot come.
Zahra (my wife’s brother) cannot come.
i) Use a comma after an introductory element. A comma is optional for short, simple introductory elements.
Trying to get to the in time, they forgot to take their ticket.
As the year came to an end, he realized the days were getting shorter.


j) Sentence adverbs (words like however, unfortunately, surprisingly that modify a whole sentence) often require one or two commas, depending on their position in the sentence.
However, we played well in the match.
They, surprisingly, won the match.
k) An adverbial clause often needs a comma when it comes at the beginning of a sentence (but not at the end of a sentence).
If I win the lottery, I will buy a car.
I will buy a car if I win the lottery.
l) Do not use a comma to separate two complete sentences. In this case, use a full stop (period) or semi-colon.
I want to hang out with my friends. My brother wants to stay home.

3. Semi- Colon ( ; )

a) We sometimes use a semi-colon instead of a full stop or period. This is to separate sentences that are grammatically independent, but that have closely connected meaning.
I like beryani; my brothers like spaghetti.
Ali is a good speaker; he speaks very clearly.
b) Use a semi-colon as a kind of “super comma”. When we have a list of items, we usually separate the items with commas. If the list is complicated, we may prefer to use semi-colons in some cases.
IELTS has test centers in many locations: Australia, London; Pakistan & India; and Manchester, Iran and Turkey.

4. Colon ( : )

a) Use a colon to introduce a list:
There are three main regions in Hazara Town: Aliabad, Brewery and Kirani.
b) Actually, you can use a colon to introduce a single item, especially when you want to emphasize that item:
I would like to call the director of the academy: Sir Ali.
c) Use a colon to introduce direct speech or a quotation:
He stood up and said loudly: “Ladies and Gentlemen, please be seated.”
d) Use a colon to introduce an explanation:
We had to postpone the test: many students agreed.

5. Hyphen ( – )

a) Use a hyphen to make compound modifiers before nouns:
The boring-math teacher.
The well-known actor.
b) Use a hyphen with certain prefixes. The prefixes all-, ex-, and self- usually need a hyphen:
All-inclusive      ex-president         self-control
c) Use a hyphen when writing numbers 21 to 99, and fractions:
Twenty-five     one hundred and sixty-one        Two-thirds


d) Use a hyphen to show that a word has been broken at the end of a line (hyphenation):
Ladies and gentleman today, this evening has brou-
ght within its flawless festivities and exiting enjoyment.

6. Dash (_)

a) Use a dash to show a pause or break in meaning in the middle of a sentence:
My brothers—Ali and Sakhi—are visiting Taj Mahal. (Could use commas.)
b) Use a dash like a colon to introduce a list:
Don’t forget to buy some food—eggs, bread, tuna and cheese.
c) Use a dash to show that letters or words are missing:
They are______football.

7. Question Mark ( ? )

a) Use a question mark at the end of all direct questions:
What is your name?
b) Don’t forget to use a question mark at the end of a sentence that really is a direct question:
What if I said to you, “I will not let you go”?
c) In very informal writing (personal letter or email), people sometimes use a question mark to turn a statement into a question:
See you at 9 pm?
d) In the same situation, they may use two or three question marks together to show that they are not sure about something:
I think we can meet tomorrow at 5 o’clock???
e) Many polite requests or instructions are made in the form of a question. But because they are not really questions, they do not take a question mark:
Could you please tell me where the bank is.

8. Exclamation Mark (Exclamation Point) ( ! )

a) Use an exclamation mark to indicate strong feelings or a raised voice in speech:
He exclaimed: “What a fantastic day we have!”
b) Many interjections need an exclamation mark:
Hi! Oh! Ouch! That hurt. Wow!

9. Slash Forward Slash ( / )

a) A slash is often used to indicate “or”:
Dear Sir/Madam (Sir or Madam)
b) Use a slash for fractions:
1/2 (one half)   2/3 (two thirds)
c) Use a slash to indicate “per” in measurements of speed, prices etc.
The speed limit is 100 km/h. (Kilometers per hour)
He can type at 75 w/m. (Words per minute)
d) People often use a slash in certain abbreviations:
This is my a/c number. (Account) w/o (without) S/o (someone)
e) A slash is often used in dates to separate day, month and year:
23/2/2016
10. Back Slash ( \ )
a) The backslash is used in several computer systems, and in many programming languages. It is commonly seen on Windows computers:
C:\Users\Win\Files\esl.doc

11. Quotation Marks (Inverted Commas) (“….”)

a) Use quotation marks around the title or name of a book, film, ship etc.
The popular film of Bollywood “PK”
b) We use quotation marks around a piece of text that we are quoting or citing, usually from another source:
David Crystal argues that punctuation “plays a critical role in the modern writing system”.
c) Use quotation marks around dialogue or direct speech:
She said,”I have completed my assignment”.
d) Use quotation marks around a word or phrase that we want to make “special,” in some way: Note that sometimes we use “italics” instead of quotation marks.
Remember, if the quoted words end with a full stop, then the full stop goes inside the quotation marks. If the quoted words do not end with a full stop, then the full stop goes outside the quotation marks:
He said: “I like you.”
She has read “War and Peace”.

12. Single Quotation (‘….’)

a) We use quotation marks to show (or mark) the beginning and end of a word or phrase that is somehow special or comes from outside the text that we are writing.
Quotation marks can be double (“…”) or single (‘…’).


b) If we want to use quotation marks inside quotation marks, then we use single inside double, or double inside single.
He said to her: ‘I thought “PK” was a good film.’
He said to her: “I thought ‘PK’ was a good film.”

13. Apostrophe ( ‘ )

a) Use an apostrophe in possessive forms:
Ali’s book Zahra’s sister My friend’s mother
b) Use an apostrophe in contracted forms (the apostrophe shows that letters have been left out):
Cannot → can’t they have → they’ve I would (or I had) → I’d
It is (or it has) → it’s who is → who’s
c) Some people use an apostrophe when the first two figures of a year are left out:
1948 → ’48 1990 → ’90
d) You can use an apostrophe to show the plural of letters and numbers:
You should dot your T’s and cross your P’s.
Do you like music from the 1950’s?
e) When you use an apostrophe in possessive forms referring to plural, then put it after s.
Teachers’ attendance sheet

14. Underline (Underscore) ( __ )

a) An underline is a horizontal line immediately below a piece of writing. In handwriting, we traditionally use underlining to indicate emphasis:
The meeting will start at 9 : 30 sharp.
15. Round Brackets Parentheses ( ) Name= parentheses and British = brackets
a) Round brackets are basically used to add extra information to a sentence.
Ali (the former director of the academy) resigned from the academy in 2007.
b) Indicate plural or singular
Please leave your mobile telephone(s) at the door.
c) Add a personal comment
Many people love parties (I don’t).
d) Define abbreviations
We will invite the P.M (Prime Minister)

16. Square brackets or brackets [   ]

a) We typically use square brackets when we want to modify another person’s word. Here, we want to make it clear that the modification has been made by us, not by the original writer.
To add clarification: Manzoor said: “He [the teacher] hit me.”
To add missing words: It is [a] good task.
b) To modify a direct quotation:
He “love[s] exercising.” (The original words were “I love exercising.”)

17. Ellipsis Mark (…)

The ellipsis mark consists of three dots (periods).
a) We use the ellipsis mark in place of missing words. If we intentionally omit one or more words from an original text, we replace them with an ellipsis mark.
“The articles focused on using punctuation marks in…to be useful.”
Here The new sentence still makes sense, but the ellipsis mark shows the reader that something is missing.

I hope the explanations about the punctuation marks mentioned above may benefit for your writing. All you need to do is to use these punctuation marks in your writing in order to be a good author.

Prepositions

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases, you'll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.

Types of Prepositions

There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place prepositions, and direction prepositions.
Time prepositions are those such as before, after, during, and until; place prepositions are those indicating position, such as around, between, and against; and direction prepositions are those indicative of direction, such as across, up, and down. Each type of preposition is important.

List of Prepositions

While there are only about 150 prepositions in the English language, these words are among the most important. Without them, the sentences we speak, read, and write would be difficult to understand. The following list of prepositions is not a complete one, however it is among the most comprehensive lists of prepositions available anywhere.

Aboard

About

Above

Absent

Across

After

Against

Along

Alongside

Amid

Among

Amongst

Anti

Around

As

At

Before

Behind

Below

Beneath

Beside

Besides

Between

Beyond

But

By

Circa

Concerning

Considering

Despite

Down

During

Except

Excepting

Excluding

Failing

Following

For

From

Given

In

Inside

Into

Like

Minus

Near

Of

Off

On

Onto

Opposite

Outside

Over

Past

Per

Plus

Regarding

Round

Save

Since

Than

Through

To

Toward

Towards

Under

Underneath

Unlike

Until

Up

Upon

Versus

Via

With

Within

Without

Worth

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions – Time

English	Usage	Example
on	days of the week	on Monday
in	months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time (when?)	in August / in winter in the morning in 2006 in an hour
at	for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?)	at night at the weekend at half past nine
since	from a certain point of time (past till now)	since 1980
for	over a certain period of time (past till now)	for 2 years
ago	a certain time in the past	2 years ago
before	earlier than a certain point of time	before 2004
to	telling the time	ten to six (5:50)
past	telling the time	ten past six (6:10)
to / till / until	marking the beginning and end of a period of time	from Monday to/till Friday
till / until	in the sense of how long something is going to last	He is on holiday until Friday.
by	in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time	I will be back by 6 o’clock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.
English	Usage	Example
in	room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world	in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world
at	meaning next to, by an object for table for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work)	at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work
on	attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio	the picture on the wall London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio
by, next to, beside	left or right of somebody or something	Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car.
under	on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else	the bag is under the table
below	lower than something else but above ground	the fish are below the surface
over	covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle	put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall
above	higher than something else, but not directly over it	a path above the lake
across	getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side	walk across the bridge swim across the lake
through	something with limits on top, bottom and the sides	drive through the tunnel
to	movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed	go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed
into	enter a room / a building	go into the kitchen / the house
towards	movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it)	go 5 steps towards the house
onto	movement to the top of something	jump onto the table
from	in the sense of where from	a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English	Usage	Example
from	who gave it	a present from Jane
of	who/what does it belong to what does it show	a page of the book the picture of a palace
by	who made it	a book by Mark Twain
on	walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle	on foot, on horseback get on the bus
in	entering a car  / Taxi	get in the car
off	leaving a public transport vehicle	get off the train
out of	leaving a car  / Taxi	get out of the taxi
by	rise or fall of something travelling (other than walking or horseriding)	prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus
at	for age	she learned Russian at 45
about	for topics, meaning what about	we were talking about you

The term pronoun covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the generic description of words that replace nouns. There are several different kinds of pronouns, including:

• Personal pronouns (e.g., he, they)
• Demonstrative pronouns (e.g., this, these)
• Interrogative pronouns (e.g., which, who)
• Indefinite pronouns (e.g., none, several)
• Possessive pronouns (e.g., his, your)
• Reciprocal pronouns (e.g., each other, one another)
• Relative pronouns (e.g., which, where)
• Reflexive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)
• Intensive pronouns (e.g., itself, himself)

The Different Types of Pronouns

The term pronoun covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the description given in the section What are Pronouns? There are many different kinds of pronouns. In general, these do not cause difficulties for native English speakers. The list below is mainly for reference purposes.

Demonstrative Pronouns

These pronouns are used to demonstrate (or indicate). This, that, these and those are all demonstrative pronouns.

Examples:

• This is the one I left in the car.

(In this example, the speaker could be indicating to a mobile phone, in which case, the pronoun this replaces the words mobile phone.)

• Shall I take those?

More on demonstrative pronouns...

Indefinite Pronouns

Unlike demonstrative pronouns, which point out specific items, indefinite pronouns are used for non-specific things. This is the largest group of pronouns. All, some, any, several, anyone, nobody, each, both, few, either, none, one and no one are the most common.

Example:

• Somebody must have seen the driver leave.

(somebody – not a specific person)

• We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. (Oscar Wilde)
• I have nothing to declare except my genius. (Oscar Wilde)

More on indefinite pronouns...

Interrogative Pronouns

These pronouns are used in questions. Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not easy to see how they replace nouns. Who, which, what, where and how are all interrogative pronouns.

Example:

• Who told you to do that?
• Which dog won the race?

More on interrogative pronouns...

Personal Pronouns

The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who. More often than not (but not exclusively), they replace nouns representing people. When most people think of pronouns, it is the personal pronouns that usually spring to mind.

Example:

• We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
• I bought some batteries, but they weren't included.

More on personal pronouns...

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to show possession. As they are used as adjectives, they are also known as possessive adjectives. My, your, his, her, its, our and their are all possessive pronouns.

• Have you seen her book?

(In this example, the pronoun her replaces a word like Sarah's.)

More on possessive pronouns...

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns are used to add more information to a sentence. Which, that, who (including whom and whose) and where are all relative pronouns.

Examples:

• Dr Adam Sissons, who lectured at Cambridge for more than 12 years, should have known the difference.

(In this example, the relative pronoun who introduces the clause who studied at Cambridge for 12 years and refers back to Dr Adams Sissons.)

• The man who first saw the comet reported it as a UFO.

(In this example, the relative pronoun who introduces the clause who first saw the comet and refers back to the man.)

More on relative pronouns...

Absolute Possessive Pronouns

These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns (see above), which are adjectives to nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are all absolute possessive pronouns.

Examples:

• The tickets are as good as ours.
• Shall we take yours or theirs?

More on absolute possessives...

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The two most common reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.

Examples:

• They like one another.
• They talk to each other like they're babies.

More on reciprocal pronouns...

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun ends ...self or ...selves and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence (usually the subject of the sentence). The reflexive pronouns aremyself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

Examples:

• The dog bit itself.

(In this example, the intensive pronoun itself refers back to the noun the dog.)

• Are you talking to yourself?

More on reflexive pronouns...

Intensive (or Emphatic) Pronouns

An intensive pronoun (sometimes called an emphatic pronoun) refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence to emphasize it (e.g., to emphasize that it is the thing carrying out the action).

Examples:

• John bakes all the bread himself.

(In this example, the intensive pronoun himself refers back to the noun John.)

• The cat opened the door itself.

More on intensive pronouns...

Beware

Below are some common errors related to pronouns:

No One Not No-One

There is no hyphen in the word no one.

• No one is qualified to take the position.
• No-one lifted a finger.

should be No one ever died...
(newspaper article)

See the lesson No One & Noone.

None; Singular or Plural?

There is a growing misconception that none is always singular. It’s not. It can be singular or plural. However, this "rule" is so well promulgated, many of your grammar-savvy readers will expect it to be singular. If your none translates as not one, treat it as singular. If it better translates as not any, treat it as plural. Your best bet is to play it by ear. Or, try your hardest to treat none as singular, but, if you can’t bear how it sounds, go plural.

Its Not It's

The word its (note, no apostrophe) is a possessive pronoun, just like his, her and my.

• Can you see its pale-coloured belly?
• Jenkins failed the final test and its re-sit.

It's (with an apostrophe) is short for it is or it has. If you cannot substitute it's with it is or it has, then it is wrong! This is covered more in the lesson Its and It's.

No Apostrophes

There are no apostrophes in absolute possessive pronouns (also called absolute possessives).

• Shall I take yours?
• Paul's scores were better than her's.

Top Tip

Commas or Not?

The first example in Relative Pronouns (left) has commas around the clause who studied at Cambridge for 12 years, but the second example does not have commas around who first saw the comet. These clauses are called relative clauses.

The first example refers to Dr Adam Sissons and the second example refers back to the man. These are called the antecedents of the relative clauses.

When a relative clause (like who saw the comet) is required to identify the antecedent (in this case the man), then no commas are used. When it is just additional information (like who studied at Cambridge for 12 years), then commas are required.

This is covered more in the lesson Which, That and Who – Commas or Not?.