Author: Jyoti

Nouns – Gender

Gender (He and She)

  • Look at the following sentences:
  1. Joe is a boy. He is Helen’s brother.
  2. Helen is a girl. She is Joe’s sister.
  3. David is a man. He is their father.
  4. Alice is a woman. She is their mother.
  5. John is their uncle. Mary is their aunt.
  • The words boy, brother, man, father, uncle, belong to the he-group.
  • The words girl, sister, woman, mother, aunt, belong to the she-group.
  • Nouns in the he-group are the names of male persons or animals. They are said to be of the Masculine Gender.
  • Nouns in the she-group are the names of female persons or animals. They are said to be of the Feminine Gender.

 

  • Now look at the following sentences:

       1.  The table is made of wood.  

       2.    The purse is made of leather.

  • Table, wood, purse, leather are things without life. They are neither males nor females. They are, therefore, said to be of the Neuter Gender, that is, of neither gender.

 

  • Now read the following sentences:
  1. This child is very active.
  2. Students should work hard.
  • The nouns child and students can be used for both males and females. They are, therefore, said to be of the Common Gender.
  • So nouns in English may be Masculine, Feminine, Common or Neuter. People and animals are male or female. Their names or the nouns have Masculine and Feminine Gender.

 

Nouns – Use of Apostrophe (‘) to show possession

  • Look at the following sentences:
  1. Tina is wearing a new frock.

              Tina’s frock is very pretty.

          Tina’s frock means the frock belonging to Tina.

 

2.         Peter bought a cap.

         Peter’s cap is blue in colour.

        Peter’s cap means the cap belonging to Peter

 

  • We use ‘s to show belonging or possession.

 

  •      We also use ‘s to show that someone or something is related to another; e.g.
  1. Peter’s father is a teacher.
  2. Mary’s school is very far. (The school in which Mary reads.)
  •       If  a plural noun ends in s, we do not use ‘s, we just use ‘; e.g.
  1. Rama lives in the boys’ hostel.
  2. The soldiers’ uniforms were very smart.

Nouns – Common and Proper

  • Look at the following sentences:

 

  1. Jack is boy.
  2. Tom is a boy.
  3. John is a boy.
  4. Dick is a boy.

 

  • The word boy occurs in all the four sentences. It is a common name used for all the boys. But all boys have special names too. Jack, Tom, John and Dick are special names of these four boys.
  • Pets and places also have special names. Cat and dog are common names used for all cats and dogs. But we often give special names to our pets:

       1.   My cat’s name is Silky. 

      2.   I call my dog, Naughty.

  • Jackie, Jimmy, Buddy, Molly, Rover, Rustam, Rosebud, Tiger, Pussy, Snowy, Snowball, Rocky, Jumbo, Appu, are some special names of our pets.
  • Places also have both common and special names. The words village, city, town, country, school, college, hospital, park, street are common names. But India, Australia, Delhi, Aton School, Sony Hospital, White Park are special names of places.
  • Similarly books, newspapers, magazines, days, months, festivals, institutions, companies, products etc. also have special names .The Bible, The Gita, Great Expectations, Harry Potter, The Times, Femina, Sunday, January, Christmas, Diwali, are all special names.
  • These special names are called Proper Nouns and common names are called Common Nouns.
  • Special names or Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.
  • Some examples:
  1. Susan is a good girl.      
  2.  Peter is a smart boy.
  3. Bombay is a big city.
  4. Jackie is my dog.     
  5. Ganga is a holy river
  6. Femina is a woman’s magazine.

 

Susan, Peter, Bombay, Jackie, Ganga and Femina are Proper Nouns and girl, boy, city, dog, river, woman, magazine are Common Nouns.

 

  • A Proper Noun is the special name of a particular person, place or thing.
  • A Common Noun is a name given in common to all persons or things of the same class or kind.

 

 

 

Nouns

Nouns – Naming Words

  • Look  at the following words:

Apple, airplane, bat, ball, butter, bread, balloon, bus, banana, bag, car, cat, crow, cow, cap, chair, chocolate, doll, dog, donkey, egg, elephant, fan, fish, flower, goat, grass, gun, hen, helicopter, ice-cream, ink, jam, jug, kite, kangaroo, lion, lamp, monkey, mango, orange, owl, parrot, peacock, park, queen, rat, shoes, school, ship, tap, tiger, umbrella, van, watch, zoo, mummy, papa, uncle, aunt, Mary, John, etc.

 

  • All these words are names of something, somebody or someplace.
  • Names are usually the first words which small children learn.
  • These naming-words are called Nouns.

 

  • Read the following  sentences carefully:

 

  1. James is a good boy.
  2. The cat ran after the rat.
  3. India is in Asia.
  4. The book is on the table.
  • The words James and boy are the names of persons.
  • The words cat and rat are the names of animals.
  • The word India and Asia are the names of places.
  • The words book and table are the names of things.
  • Words which are used as the names of persons, animals or birds, places or things are called Nouns.

 

Adjectives

Adjectives: Describing Words

Read the following sentences:

  1. The elephant is a large animal.
  2. The giraffe is a tall animal.
  3. Thomas lives in a big house.
  4. Jimmy is an active dog.
  5. The baby has curly hair.
  6. Vani has two pencils.
  7. Reena is wearing a pink dress.
  8. I like red tomatoes.
  9. It is a wet day.
  10. Rocky is wearing a dirty dress.

 

The above sentences have a number of nouns/pronouns. The sentences also have some describing words.

 These describing words tell us something more about these nouns/pronouns.

The words large, tall, big, active, curly, two, pink, red, wet, dirty are describing words. They tell us something about the size, colour, number and quality of a noun or pronoun.

Words which describe something are called adjectives. All describing words are Adjectives.

Describing words describe persons, animals or birds, places or things etc.

 

Notice that adjectives usually come before a noun; as,

  1. A pink flower
  2. Black shoe
  3. Sour grapes
  4. Ripe mangoes
  5. Old man
  6. Smart boy

 

But sometimes adjectives are placed after a noun; as,

  1. The clouds are white.
  2. The sky is blue.
  3. The knife is sharp.
  4. The tea is hot.
  5. An ice-cream is cold.  
  6.  The food is tasty.

Verbs

Verbs – Doing words

  • Study the following sentences:
  1. The sun shines.
  2. Birds fly.
  3. Dogs bark.
  4. Fish swim in water.
  5. The horse runs fast.
  6. The spider spins a web.
  7. Rocky plays football.
  8. Shelly writes neatly.
  9. They study together.
  10. I eat healthy food.
  11. I go to school everyday.
  12. The cow gives us milk.
  13. They went for a picnic.
  14. The horse kicked the cat.
  15. 15.   The snake bit the boy.

 

The bold italicized words in the above sentences are doing words.

They tell us what people, animals or things do.

They express actions.

These words are called Verbs.

A Verb is a word which says something about a person or thing.

The Verb is the most important word in a sentence.

We cannot make a sentence without a Verb.

 

  • A Verb is not always one word. It often consists of more than one word; as,
  1. Alice is dancing.
  2. The students are reading.
  3. They will come tomorrow.
  4. I have found the keys.
  5. He was bitten by a snake.

 

 

  • Now read the following  sentences:
  1. I am a student.
  2. The cap is blue.
  3. The oranges are sweet.
  4. He was a leader.
  5. They were happy.
  6. Mary has a doll.
  7. I have a red pen.

 

Here, the words am, is, are, was, were, has, have, help to say something.

These words are also called Verbs.

The 3 idiots

The Three Idiots – First Impression

The Three Idiots is a blast – breathlessly exhilarating. Hat’s off to Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and the cast. Amir Khan is a magician, a puppeteer. He holds the strings to people’s heart or let me say he puts his heart and soul in what he does. And it shows. After a long time I have come across a movie which I’d like to see again. Besides entertaining in a superb way, the movie playfully conveys a lot of messages – Be Optimistic; Trust your intuitions; Follow your heart; Do not succumb to pressure; Voice yourself; Education, Knowledge, Learning is more important than marks and degrees; Don’t run after success, it will run after you if you have the ability and most importantly Make others happy; Be kind and compassionate.

Well, do not get a wrong impression by this list. Go and watch the movie – it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you think. You roll with laughter when Chattur gives the welcome speech on teacher’s day, you cry when the boys discover their attitude, you sit on the edge of the chair during the delivery and marvel when everything turns out well and you come out of the cinema hall thinking on a lot of matters.

All in all – The Three Idiots is a must watch – excellent, contemporary story, direction, cinematography, music and acting.

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative Sentences – Asking Questions

  • Compare the following sentences:
  1. I am happy.                                                          1. Am I happy?
  2. She is sad.                                                             2. Is she sad?
  3. John is absent.                                                     3. Is John absent?
  4. It is cold.                                                                4. Is it cold?
  5. David’s clothes are dirty.                                   5. Are David’s clothes dirty?
  6. The children were playing in the park.            6. Were the children playing in the park?
  7. These grapes are sour.                                       7. Are these grapes sour?
  8. You have a watch.                                                8. Do you have a watch?
  9. They will come tomorrow.                                  9. Will they come tomorrow?
  10. She can drive a car.                                              10. Can she drive a car?
  • The sentences on the left-hand side tell something. They are called statements.
  • The sentences on the right-hand side ask questions. They are called interrogative sentences.
  • A sentence that asks a question is called an interrogative sentence.
  • We put a question mark (?) at the end of an interrogative sentence.

  • Formation of interrogative sentences:

  1. In sentences beginning with I am/He is/You are/John was, we put am, is, are, was etc. before the subject.
  2. In sentences beginning with He has/You have/I had, etc. we put has/have/had, before the subject.
  3. If the Verb is made up of two words, we put the first word before the subject.
  • Now study the following sentences carefully and see which words change their place:

  1. I am reading a book.                                              1. Am I reading a book?
  2. He is busy now.                                                       2. Is he busy now?
  3. The windows are open.                                         3. Are the windows open?
  4. Jane and Jenny are sisters.                                    4.  Are Jane and Jenny (they) sisters?
  5. She was absent yesterday.                                    5. Was she absent yesterday?
  6. You were not well yesterday.                                6. Were you not well yesterday?
  7. He had no money in his wallet.                             7. Had he no money in his wallet?
  8. Rita has a doll.                                                           8. Has Rita a doll?
  9. The students will go for a picnic tomorrow 9. Will the students go for a picnic tomorrow?
  10. The basket is full of red apples.                              10. Is the basket full of red apples?
  • Questions also begin with words like who, what, why, when, where, how, how many do/does, did, can, will, shall etc. For example:

  1. What is your name?
  2. How old are you?
  3. How many books do you have?
  4. Why is the market closed?
  5. What is Sheela doing?
  6. Where has father gone?
  7. Who is singing?
  8. Did you go to school?
  9. Did the teacher give you a test?
  10. Can you drive car?
  11. Will you come tomorrow?
  12. Shall I meet you at the station?

Negative Sentences

 

  • Compare the following sentences:

 

  1. I am happy.                                                         1. I am not happy.
  2. He is lazy.                                                             2. He is not lazy.
  3. She is honest.                                                      3. She is not honest.
  4. The mangoes are ripe.                                       4. The mangoes are not ripe.
  5. The food was enough.                                        5. The food was not enough.
  6. There is some water in the jug.                         6. There is no water in the jug.
  7. They have some money.                                     7. They have no money.
  8. He had a fast car.                                                  8. He had no fast car.
  9. She is watering the plants.                                  9. She is not watering the plants.
  10. They have reached Paris.                                    10. They have not reached Paris.

 

  • The sentences on the left-hand side are positive statements. The sentences on the right –hand side have not or no in them. They are negative sentences.  A sentence having not or no in them is called a Negative Sentence.
  • Note: When the Verb is made up of two or more words (Sentence – 9 and 10), we put not/no after the first word to make the sentence, Negative.

 

  • Now compare the following sentences:

 

  1. Close the doors and windows.                        1.  Do not/Don’t close the doors and windows.
  2. Go out of the room.                                          2.  Do not/Don’t go out of the room.
  3. Stand up.                                                             3.  Do not/Don’t stand up.
  4. Read this aloud.                                                  4.  Do not/Don’t read this aloud.
  5. Keep quiet.                                                           5.  Do not/Don’t keep quiet.

 

  • To make a command sentence, negative, we put do not/don’t at the beginning of the sentence. Don’t is the short form of ‘do not’.

 

 

 

The Sentence

The Sentence

 

  • Look at these groups of words:
  1. Mary has
  2. Mary has a little
  3. Mary has a little lamb.
  • The first two groups of words do not have complete meaning.
  • The third group has a complete meaning.
  • The third group of words is a Sentence.
  • A Sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense i.e. it has a complete meaning.
  • We always begin a Sentence with a capital letter and put a full stop (.) at the end of a Sentence.
  • We always write the word ‘I’ as a capital letter.

 

  • Let us look at some more groups of words:
  1. A bird
  2. on the tree
  3. A bird is sitting on the tree.

 

  1. Cats and milk
  2. Cats love
  3. Cats love milk.

 

  1. Birds and wings
  2. Birds fly with
  3. Birds fly with their wings.

 

  1. The girls
  2. The girls are
  3. The girls are playing.

 

  • The first two groups of words in each group are incomplete.
  • The third group of words has complete meaning.
  • They all are Sentences.

 

  • It is also important that the words in a sentence are in their proper order. Look at the following groups of words:
  1. Toys balls are
  2. Clothes the dry are
  3. Plays she the violin
  4. Black is crow the

 

  • We cannot call these groups of words, Sentences, because they are not in their proper order. Their meaning is not clear. Let us put them in their proper order:
  1. Balls are toys.
  2. The clothes are dry.
  3. She plays the violin.
  4. The crow is black.

 

  • Now, these groups of words make sense. They are meaningful and can be called sentences.