Revision of Grammar

concepts
 Punctuations
 Phrases and Clauses
 Simple Past Tense
 Past Continuous Tense
 Past Perfect Tense
Punctuations: semicolons, apostrophes,
commas, colons, dashes, full stops, and
ellipses
Semicolons
A semicolon separates related independent clauses that are joined without a coordinating
conjunction.
Example
 Mabel the Cat had made a big pot of goulash; it was simmering on the stove.

 Goulash was Harry the Dog's favorite; the scent drew him to the kitchen.
Colons

Uses of the colon

1. The colon is used to introduce a list of items.
 The bookstore specializes in three subjects: art, architecture, and graphic design.
2. Between independent clauses when the second explains or illustrates the first
 I have very little time to learn the language: my new job starts in five weeks.
3. Emphasis -The colon can be used to emphasize a phrase or single word at the end of a sentence.
A dash can be used for the same purpose. In the second example below, a dash is more common
than a colon, though the use of a colon is nevertheless correct.
 After three weeks of deliberation, the jury finally reached a verdict: guilty.
Apostrophes
The apostrophe has two main jobs in English: to mark contractions and to indicate possession.
1) To replace letters in contractions.
 can't 

 isn't 
2) To show possession.
§ a dog's kennel 

§ our boys' bedroom 

Ellipses

When to use ellipses

Use the three dots to show that you have omitted something from a sentence. You may want
to do this to shorten a quotation, or simply to omit unimportant material.

 Examples:
 Wilson writes that “the benefits of public transit include cleaner air, less congested roadways

… reduced carbon emissions.”

 I have a long list of things to do this week. Let’s see: Get started on painting the house, take the

car in for service, go to my daughter’s school play …

Ellipses

When to use ellipses

You can also use ellipses to represent pauses in speech, for example when a person is uncertain
or embarrassed.

 Examples:


Jared, I don’t know what to say. I … I’m really embarrassed about the way I acted … I hope
you can forgive me.

 I’m trying to remember everything she said. She started by saying she would quit if she didn’t get a

raise. Then … then she talked about projects she had worked on … and about how she was
here every day at 8 a.m.
Dashes
It is usually used as an alternative to another punctuation mark. When used to extend a
sentence, a dash can replace a semicolon (;), a colon (:), or three dots (...) used as a pause for
effect. When used as parentheses, dashes are alternatives to brackets or commas .
 It depends on one thing — trust.

 It depends — as my mother used to say — on trust.

 The London–Paris flight is cancelled.

 World War II ran 1939–1945.

Punctuate the following sentences using
comma, semi colon and the colon:
1. The Gita says life is action.
2. Man is mortal God is eternal.
3. To err is human to forgive divine.
4. Bacon says reading maketh a full man.
5. Pope says little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
6. A thing of beauty is a joy for ever Its loveliness increases.
7. Shakespeares four great tragedies are King Lear Hamlet Othello and Macbeth.
8. The two great books of Nehru are The Discovery of India and My Autobiography.
9. He wants money to spend on books to read horses to ride and a palatial house to live in.
10. The rain fell in torrents the sky was dark the roads were deep in mud the way was long the weary
travellers plodded on in silence.
11. Before she could say something I stopped her before she could open her mouth.
Answers
1. The Gita says: Life is action.
2. Man is mortal; God is eternal.
3. To err is human: To forgive is divine.
4. Bacon says: Reading maketh a full man.
5. Pope says: Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
6. A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases.
7. Shakespeare’s four great tragedies are: King Lear, Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth.
8. The two great books of Nehru are: The Discovery of India and My Autobiography.
9. He wants money to spend; on books to read, horses to ride, and a palatial house to live in.
10. The rain fell in torrents; the sky was dark, the roads were deep in mud, the way was long, the
weary travellers plodded on in silence.
11. Before she could say something ... I stopped her before she could open her mouth.
Phrases and Clauses
 What is a Phrase?
 A phrase is a part of a sentence which consists of a group of words that give more information
about the subject, action or event in a sentence. A phrase cannot stand on its own and will not
convey meaning if separated from the sentence. 
 What is a Clause?
 A clause is also a part of a sentence that consists of a subject and a verb, unlike phrases. They
can be divided into two main types depending on how they behave in a sentence. The different
types of clauses are:
 Main Clause or Independent Clause
 Subordinate Clause or Dependent Clause
Identify the phrases and clauses in the following sentences
and state which of them is a phrase and a clause.
1. I completed my project, but I was not satisfied with it.
2. Jacob knew about it; however, he kept asking everyone about it.
3. I was waiting at the park.
4. They all sang extremely well.
5. The girls in the black dresses are the ones who won the competition last year.
6. In the meantime, I will help you with your domestic chores.
7. Santana and Brittany are good dancers.
8. When we reach home, we will call you.
9. We were planning our summer vacation.
10. She finally agreed to come with us to the slumber party.
Answers
1. I completed my project, / but I was not satisfied with it. Clause / Clause
2. Jacob knew about it; / however, he kept asking everyone about it.    Clause / Clause
3. I was waiting / at the park.    Clause / Phrase
4. They all sang / extremely well.   Clause / Phrase
5. The girls in the black dresses are the ones / who won the competition last year.   Clause / Clause
6. In the meantime, / I will help you with your domestic chores.    Phrase / Clause
7. Santana and Brittany are good dancers.    Clause
8. When we reach home, / we will call you.     Clause / Clause
9. We were planning our summer vacation.    Clause
10. She finally agreed to come with us / to the slumber party.    Clause / Clause
Simple Past Tense
The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now. 
 Wolfgang entered a hula hoop contest.
 He won the silver medal.
The simple past tense shows that you are talking about something that has already happened. Unlike
the past continuous tense, which is used to talk about past events that happened over a period of time,
the simple past tense emphasizes that the action is finished.
 Wolfgang admired the way the light glinted off his silver medal.
You can also use the simple past to talk about a past state of being, such as the way someone felt
about something. This is often expressed with the simple past tense of the verb to be and
an adjective, noun, or prepositional phrase.
 Wolfgang was proud of his hula hoop victory.
 The contest was the highlight of his week.
How to make the simple past negative
There is a formula for making simple past verbs negative, and it’s the same for both regular and irregular
verbs (except for the verb to be). The formula is did not + [root form of verb]. You can also use the
 contraction didn’t instead of did not.
 Wolfgang did not brag too much about his hula hoop skills.
 Wolfgang’s girlfriend didn’t see the contest.

For the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did. When the subject of the sentence is singular, use was
not or wasn’t. When the subject is plural, use were not or weren’t.
 The third-place winner was not as happy as Wolfgang.
 The fourth-place winner wasn’t happy at all.
 The onlookers were not ready to leave after the contest ended.
 The contestants weren’t ready to leave either.
How to ask a question
The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of verb].
Did Wolfgang win the gold medal or the silver medal?
Where did Wolfgang go to celebrate?
Did the judges decide fairly, in your opinion?

When asking a question with the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did.
The formula is- was/were + [subject].
Was Wolfgang in a good mood after the contest?
Were people taking lots of pictures?
Exercise on Simple Past tense

 1) They all (go) ___ shopping.

 2) I never (imagine) ____ I would see you here.
 3) We (not book) ___ two tickets for the show.
 4) ___ (collect) his children from school?
 5)___ (frighten)  of the dark when you were young?
Answers
 1) They all went shopping.
 2) I never imagined I would see you here.
 3) We did not book two tickets for the show.
 4) Did you collect his children from school?
 5)Were you frightened  of the dark when you were young?
Past Continuous Tense
 Past Continuous Tense is a tense which is used to indicate the actions or conditions that were
happening at some point in time in the past but have now finished. In other words, past
continuous tense is used to describe or indicate actions that began in the past and were
continuing when another event occurred.
 The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be (i.e., was/were) with
the verb’s present participle (-ing word).
 The sun was shining every day that summer.
 As I spoke, the children were laughing at my cleverness.
Exercise- Fill in the blanks with the past continuous
tense form of the verb given in the brackets:
 The car ________ (move) at a slow speed.
 Robin and his friends ________ (sit) in the garden.
 It ________ (rain) at five o'clock in the morning.
 At that time, I ________ (get) off the bus.
 It ________ (get) dark.
 Yesterday the magician _________ (show) a spectacle.
 We ________ all ________ (sunbathe) on the lawn.
 Why _________ he __________ (roam) in the market?
 Why _______ the boys _______ (make) noise in the class?
 Where _______ those students _______ (go)?
Answers
 The car was moving at a slow speed.
 Robin and his friends were sitting in the garden.
 It was raining at five o'clock in the morning.
 At that time, I was getting off the bus.
 It was getting dark.
 Yesterday, the magician was showing a spectacle.
 We were all sunbathing on the lawn.
 Why was he roaming in the market?
 Why were the boys making noise in the class?
 Where were those students going?
Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect is a verb tense which is used to show that an action took place once or many times
before another point in the past.
I turned back to the house and saw that some someone named Barnie had defaced my front door!
The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is
singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.
Use the verbs in brackets to make the Past Perfect
 1. By the time I came home, my wife ______ already_____ me twice. (call)
 2. _____ you _____ the plants before I arrived? (water)
 3.James was tired because he _____ well. (not / sleep)
 4.By the time the bell rang, the students _____ already _____ the test. (finish)
 5.What _____ Sue _____ before she left for work? (cook)
 6. We _____ to each other before you came. (not / talk)
 7.Matthew couldn't get into the house because he _____ his keys at work. (forget)
 8. _____ he _____ the essay by 4 pm yesterday? (write)
 9.My sister was angry with me because I _____ her dress on a rack and it looked rumpled. (not /
hang up)
 10. Where _____ he _____ my driving license? (hide)
Answers
 1. By the time I came home, my wife had already called me twice. (call)
 2. Had you watered the plants before I arrived? (water)
 3.James was tired because he had not slept well. (not / sleep)
 4.By the time the bell rang, the students had already finished the test. (finish)
 5.What had Sue cooked before she left for work? (cook)
 6. We had not talked to each other before you came. (not / talk)
 7.Matthew couldn't get into the house because he had forgotten his keys at work. (forget)
 8. Had he written the essay by 4 pm yesterday? (write)
 9.My sister was angry with me because I had not hung up her dress on a rack and it looked
rumpled. (not / hang up)
 10. Where had he hidden my driving license? (hide)
Thank you