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2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------Personality Development and Communication Skills - I

PERSONALITYDEVELOPMENT AND

COMMUNICATIONSKILLS - I

MUMBAI NEW DELHI NAGPUR BENGALURU HYDERABAD CHENNAI PUNE LUCKNOW AHMEDABAD ERNAKULAM BHUBANESWAR INDORE KOLKATA GUWAHATI

Urmila RaiFormer Principal

Narsee Monjee College,Vile Parle, Mumbai.

andFormer Director

Pillais’ Institute of Management Studies,New Panvel, Mumbai.

S.M. RaiFormer Principal

Hinduja College of Commerce and Economics,Mumbai.

First Edition: 2011

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.

First Edition : 2011

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PREFACE

Skill in Communication is a requirement for everyone, no matter what profession they arein. The skills can be improved by practice and knowledge of the basic theoretical concepts.

To be acceptable in today’s competitive market, everyone needs to be able to write andspeak correct English, and have clarity in expression. The grammar topics given in this book aremeant for revising some of the important commonly used items; in order to gain more proficiency,it is necessary to use a grammar book. Vocabulary building also requires general reading, andusing a dictionary to understand the meaning of new words.

Several exercises are given at the end of every chapter; working them out regularly is highlybeneficial in improving writing and speaking skills. Communication is a practical subject. It ismore important to be able to practice it well than to learn the theory which is meant forunderstanding the principles.

The Units on Written communication and Oral communication provide information andguidance on writing letters, memos and other documents needed in every organisation, and onconducting oneself well in oral communication situations.

Suggestions from students and teachers for making the book more useful are welcome.

Authors

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CONTENTS

Unit I: Fundamentals of Grammar and UsageIntroduction

1. Verbs 3 – 24

2. Nouns, Pronouns and Modifiers 25 – 38

3. Vocabulary Building 39 – 47

4. Concord and Parallel Structure 48 – 55

5. Punctuation 56 – 66

6. Common Errors 67 – 74

Unit II: Introduction to Business CommunicationIntroduction

7. Process of Communication 79 – 86

8. Basic Forms of Communication 87 – 95

9. Seven Cs and Principles of Effective Communication 96 – 111

10. Communication Media 112 – 125

11. Barriers to Communication 126 – 134

Unit III: Business Letter WritingIntroduction

12. Layout of a Business Letter 139 – 155

13. Types of Business Letters 156 – 171

14. Sales Letters 172 – 189

15. Complaints and Adjustments 190 – 209

16. Departmental Communication 210 – 221

17. Interview and Other Personnel Letters 222 – 232

18. Press Release 233 – 237

Unit IV: Business Etiquette and Public SpeakingIntroduction

19. Business Etiquette and Manners 241 – 261

20. Body Language 262 – 272

21. Business Meetings 273 – 283

22. Public Speaking 284 – 293


DETAILED CONTENTS

Unit I: Fundamentals of Grammar and Usage

Introduction

1. Verbs 3 – 24

Aspect, Tense and Time — Active Voice and Passive Voice — Auxiliary Verbs— Formation of Negatives and Interrogatives — Phrasal Verbs — Exercises

2. Nouns, Pronouns and Modifiers 25 – 38

Nouns — Noun Phrases — Pronouns — Modifiers — Exercises

3. Vocabulary Building 39 – 47

Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus — Exercises

4. Concord and Parallel Structure 48 – 55

Subject-Verb Agreement — Parallel Structure — Exercises

5. Punctuation 56 – 66

Introduction — Capitals — Abbreviations — Exercises

6. Common Errors 67 – 74

Exercises

Unit II: Introduction to Business Communication

Introduction

7. Process of Communication 79 – 86

Definitions of Communication — Process of Communication — Exercises

8. Basic Forms of Communication 87 – 95

Group Communication — Mass Communication — Exercises

9. Seven Cs and Principles of Effective Communication 96 – 111

Seven Cs of Effective Writing — Principles of Effective Communication — YouAttitude — Exercises

10. Communication Media 112 – 125

Choice of Medium — Conventional Modes — Modern Forms of Communication— Exercises

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11. Barriers to Communication 126 – 134

Physical Barriers — Semantic and Language Barriers — Socio-Psychological Barriers— Organisational Barriers — Overcoming Barriers — Exercises

Unit III: Business Letter Writing

Introduction

12. Layout of a Business Letter 139 – 155

Appearance of a Business Letter — Printed Stationery — Parts of a Letter — Stylesof Layout — Exercises

13. Types of Business Letter 156 –171

Informative Letters — Persuasive Letters — Good Newsletters — Bad Newsletters— Exercises

14. Sales Letters 172 – 189

Structure of a Sales Letter — Follow-up Letters — Exercises

15. Complaints and Adjustments 190 – 209

Writing Complaints — Adjustment Letters — Exercises

16. Departmental Communication 210 – 221

Memos — Agenda and Notices — Exercises

17. Interview and Other Personnel Letter 222 – 232

Letters to Applicants — References, Recommendations and Testimonials — Lettersof Appointment — Promotion Letter — Warning Memo — Letter of Resignation— Exercises

18. Press Release 233 – 237

Qualities of a Good Press Release — Exercises

Unit IV: Business Etiquette and Public Speaking

Introduction

19. Business Etiquette and Manners 241 – 261

Business and Social Etiquette — Conversation Skills — Meetings — TelephoneEtiquette — E-mail Etiquette — Table Manners — Adapting to Other Cultures— Exercises


20. Body Language 262 – 272

Body Language — Paralanguage — Exercises

21. Business Meetings 273 – 283

Need and Importance of Meetings — Problems of Group Communication— Meetings — Exercises

22. Public Speaking 284 – 293

Finding Out about the Surroundings — Preparing the Text — Speaker’s Appearanceand Voice — Practicing Delivery of the Speech — Commemorative Speeches— Exercises

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Introduction

Chapter 1 Verbs

Chapter 2 Nouns, Pronouns and Modifiers

Chapter 3 Vocabulary Building

Chapter 4 Concord and Parallel Structure

Chapter 5 Punctuation

Chapter 6 Common Errors

FUNDFUNDFUNDFUNDFUNDAMENTAMENTAMENTAMENTAMENTALS OF GRAMMARALS OF GRAMMARALS OF GRAMMARALS OF GRAMMARALS OF GRAMMARAND USAGEAND USAGEAND USAGEAND USAGEAND USAGE

IIIIIUnit


IntroductionEvery language has its own grammar and idiom or usage which we must learn if we are

to use the language correctly for business and official purpose.

Although grammar is learnt in school, those who take up responsible positions in theworld of work need to be able to use English with fluency and correctness. The overview ofgrammar given in this Unit will serve to brush up the basics. It is not possible to deal with alldetails of grammar; for guidance on specific points of grammar, students (and others whowish to improve their communication skills) will benefit by looking up the required points onEnglish Language teaching websites.

It is not necessary to learn how to handle long and complex sentences. But it is essentialto be able to construct simple basic sentences correctly, using the appropriate tenses andforms of verbs; to be able to ensure that every word in a sentence is in the correct form ofagreement with other words to which it relates (concord); to be able to construct clear andcorrect sentences; and to have an adequate stock of words to speak and write with confidence(vocabulary). All this can be learnt by paying attention to grammar, checking whenever thereis doubt, and regular practice. Practice sentences and exercises of various levels are availableon websites.

It is also useful to listen to news on the BBC and the CNN channels in order to learn thesounds of the language. A word of caution here: it is not advisable to copy foreign accents. Itis enough get exposure to the sounds as they are made by native speakers of the language.

With practice and exercises in writing and speaking, students usually find out their ownweak points. Once the problem areas are discovered, attention must be paid to the items tillthey are corrected. For example, some find it difficult to handle passive voice construction,some find it hard to frame negatives and questions. While the chapter on Common Errorsincludes mistakes found in many students' writing, everyone needs to find one's own problemareas and make efforts to correct them.

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The verb is the most important word in a sentence in English; there cannot be a sentencewithout a verb.

The verb tells what someone/something is, does or is done to.

This rose is red. (is)

This boy studies hard. (does)

Those tomatoes are washed. (is done to… passive)

The verb has five parts:

Infinitive; past; present participle; 3rd person singular present; past participle

To take; took; taking; takes; taken.

Tenses are formed using three of these parts: the infinitive or basic form, the present participleand the past participle.

Infinitive

The Infinitive is the name of the action. It can act as a noun:

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Without ‘to’ it is called the basic form. It is used as the present tense:

I/you/we/they attend college everyday.

[Note that for third person singular present you have to add -s. The forms are has, is, was,does, likes, talks, studies, grows, and so on.

Note the exception: I am]

The basic form is also used with the modal verbs can, may, must, etc. to indicate differentmoods.

Chapter

Verbs1


Present Participle

Present participle, (‘working,’ ‘growing’) is used with forms of the auxiliary verb to be (am,is, are, was, were) to form the progressive or continuous tenses.

I am writing the report.

She is watching the TV.

They were playing in the garden.

It can be used as a noun:

Swimming is excellent exercise.

Mr. Gohil teaches swimming.

It can be used as an adjective:

It was a boring concert.

This book is exciting.

Past Participle

Past participle of irregular verbs have different formations. They have to be learnt by heart.Some have the endings -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n, as in:

Passed, baked, learnt, forgotten, taken.

In some verbs, it has the same form as the basic form, or the past.

come, run (same as basic form)

bought, stayed (same as past tense)

In some others, the form of the verb is changed as in

bring brought

say said

The past participle is used for forming perfect tenses with forms of the auxiliary verb ‘tohave’ (have, has, had).

I have completed the work.

Ajay has written the report.

The wind had blown the leaves all over the garden.

It can be used as an adjective:

He is an interested party.

You have a bored look on your face.

The Past form and The Third Person Singular Present Form

These two forms are finite. They are limited only to that tense (and person) and not used formaking other tenses or forms.

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For regular verbs, the past tense is formed by adding -ed to the basic form.

Walked, passed, failed, fined, stayed

But the irregular verbs have various forms and the past tense of irregular verbs have to belearnt.

Took, made, said, bought, wrote, ran, learnt, went

The third person singular present is formed by adding -s to the basic form of the verb.

Grows, buys, takes

Note the spelling of the words.

Cries, dries, tries

Aspect, Tense and Time

Aspect of Verbs

Aspect refers to the nature of the action described by the verb. There are four aspects:Simple (or indefinite), Progressive (or continuous), Perfect (or complete), and the Perfect Progressive(combining completed and continuous). Verb tenses can also be classified according to aspect.

The three simple tenses describe an action but do not specify whether the action is completed.

the simple past (“I spoke”)

the simple present (“I speak”)

the simple future (“I will speak”)

A simple tense (that is, in its indefinite aspect) is used when the beginning or end of anaction, an event, or condition is not known or is not important to the meaning of the sentence.A simple tense is also used to talk about repeated, customary or habitual action, event, or condition.

Their products are always of good quality.

We walked to school everyday.

I shall write to you regularly.

The three progressive tenses describe an unfinished, ongoing state or action:

the past progressive (“I was speaking”)

the present progressive (“I am speaking”)

the future progressive (“I will be speaking”)

The verb is in progressive tense (continuous/progressive aspect) when the action, event, orcondition is going on in the present, or the past or the future.

I am preparing your order for dispatch.


I was preparing your order for dispatch when you called.

I will be revising the report during lunch hour.

The three perfect tenses are used for describing a completed action:

the past perfect (“I had spoken”)

the present perfect (“I have spoken”)

the future perfect (“I will have spoken”)

The verb is used in a perfect tense (or its complete aspect) when we know that the action,event, or condition is completed, although it may be completed in the present, in the past or inthe future.

I have sent them our catalogue.

I had sent them our catalogue before they asked for it.

I shall have dispatched the goods by 12.00 noon tomorrow.

The three perfect progressive tenses describe incomplete or ongoing actions or states thatbegan in the past and continue to a specific time.

the past perfect progressive (“I had been speaking”)

the present perfect progressive (“I have been speaking”)

the future perfect progressive (“I will have been speaking”)

The complete tenses and the continuous tenses are combined to describe an action whichwas in progress and then finished:

I have been writing the book

I had been writing the book

I will have been writing the book

Tense and Time

Tense classifies verbs as present tense or past tense or any of the compound tenses. Timeclassifies situations described by verbs according to the time of their happening from the presentpoint of view as in the past, in the present or in the future. The relation between tense and timeis not always simple.

Present Tense

Simple:

I/you/we/they live he/she/it lives

Progressive:

I am living you/they/we are living he is living

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The simple present tense is used to express:

(a) What is always true.

The sun rises in the east.

(b) Planned activities as on schedule or timetables.

My uncle arrives tomorrow.

The film starts at 6 o’clock.

(c) What happens regularly as a habit or custom.

I go to my office by bus.

The shop closes at 9.00 p.m.

When the simple present describes a habitual or frequent action, the following adverbs areused with it.

Usually, occasionally, generally, sometimes, often, frequently, always, rarely, hardly.

The progressive present tense is used to speak of a specific activity which is going on at thetime of speaking.

The Manager is looking over the report.

Verbs which describe condition or state are never used in the progressive.

know, understand, believe, realise, think (hold an opinion), have (be in possession)

These verbs do not represent a progress; you either know something/someone or you don’t;there is no process. We do not say: ‘I am not knowing…’

[Note: to think can be used in progressive form when it represents the process of thinking ormeans to plan; to have can be used in progressive form when it means to eat.]

I am thinking of going for a European tour this summer.

They were having dinner when I arrived at their house.

Past Tense

Simple:

I/you/he/we/they lived

Progressive:

I/he was living you/we/they were living

The simple past is used to speak of:

(a) an action completed in the past (with a past time phrase).

I got up at 7 o’clock this morning.

(b) something that was habitual, customary in the past (with a past time phrase).

In those days, I got up at 4.00 a.m.

The accounts manager looked over the statements every evening.


The progressive past is used:

(a) to speak of an action that was going on in the past.

We were playing tennis when he came.

I was writing my accounts last evening. (may or may not have completed it).

Future Tense

There is no grammatical form of the verb for the future tense, in English. The future isformed with the modal verbs shall and will.

Simple future:

Shall/will write:

Progressive future:

Shall/will be writing

The future is also indicated by the simple present and the progressive present tenses, with afuture time phrase.

The manager leaves for New York tomorrow.

The manager is leaving for New York tomorrow.

The future can also be expressed by using going to with the simple form of the verb.

The Manager is going to leave for New York tomorrow.

In using the future tense, it is important to understand the difference between shall andwill:

I/we shall and you/he/they will represent the future in time.

I shall be twenty-five next October.

We shall be old by the time this bridge is completed.

My father will be sixty next month.

You will reach home at 8 o’clock if you leave now.

I/we will and you/he/they shall represent the speaker’s authoritative will and intention.

I will see to it that the report is completed this week.

You shall report at 8.00 a.m. tomorrow.

He shall be kept in custody for a week.

Each party shall give one month’s notice.

The progressive future is used to speak of an action that will be in progress in the future.

I will be attending a music programme this evening.

He will be travelling in Europe during the next two weeks.

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Perfect Tenses

The perfect tenses are formed by putting the auxiliary has, have (present) and had (past)before the past participle of the verb.

Present perfect:

I/you/we/they have taken he/she/it has taken

Past perfect:

I/you/he/we/they had taken

The perfect tenses are used to speak of an action that took place in the past and is connectedwith the present.

The present perfect is used when:

(a) the situation described still exists.

I have known him for the last five years. (still know him)

They have lived here since 1998. (still live here)

You have always worked well.

(b) an activity was completed within a period from a point of time in the past up to thepresent.

He has been a teacher, a journalist, a writer, and now he is a publisher.

There have been several setbacks in this project. (since the project started; it is still going on)

(c) the result of an action completed in the past still remains in the present.

You have broken your shoe. (so you can’t use it now).

I have read that book. (and still remember it)

(a) the action is past, but its evidence is in the present:

Someone has been here in my absence. (I can see the evidence of it)

Someone has dropped some glasses. (I heard a crash)

It has rained at night. (the ground is still wet)

Note that in a present perfect sentence we do not use any adverb of time related to thepast. If a definite time in the past is mentioned, it is cut off from the present, and we use thesimple past.

I have seen that film. (no time phrase)

I saw that film last week. (definite time in the past)

The present perfect can be used with the adverbs: just, already and yet

I have just finished writing out my presentation script.

They have already arrived.


You have not given me the book yet.

Have they arrived yet?

The past perfect is generally used in:

(a) a sentence which speaks of two sequential actions in the past. The action that wascompleted earlier is in the past perfect tense.

She had left when I arrived. (had left earlier)

I tried to catch up with him, but he had gone long before.

(b) indirect speech for reporting what is said in present perfect tense. The past perfect is thepast tense of the present perfect; hence in reported speech, words spoken in present perfectbecome past perfect.

‘I have completed the project.’

becomes

He reported that he had completed the project.

(c) a series of sentences where the most recent action is mentioned in the past, and furthersentences describe earlier actions:

The house was quite dirty. They had not cleaned it for many weeks. It had been used by a groupof tourists earlier.

Future Perfect Tense

Form: will have done

Future perfect tense is used for speaking of something that will already be complete in thefuture.

My paper will have finished by 3 o’clock; I can go with you at 3.30.

She will not be at home at 9.30; she will have gone to college.

Perfect Progressive Tenses

i. Perfect tenses are formed with a form of ‘to have’ before the past participle of a verb.

ii. Progressive tenses are made with a form of ‘to be’ before the present participle of averb.

iii. The perfect progressive is formed with the perfect form of ‘to be’ before the presentparticiple of the verb.

Has/have been reading (present)

Had been reading (past)

Present perfect progressive is used for:

(a) describing an action going on (in progress) from a point of time in the past till thepresent time.

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What have you been doing?

He has been learning English

It has been raining heavily.

Past perfect progressive is the past of the present perfect progressive. In reported speech,present perfect progressive of the actual words becomes past perfect progressive:

It has been raining all week.

is reported later as

He told us that it had been raining all week.

It is used to speak of something that had been in progress for a period of time beforesomething else happened.

We had been playing for half an hour when it began to rain.

Compare had been doing with was doing:

Anya was sitting in an armchair watching TV. She was tired because she had been working hard.

The sun was shining when we went out; but the ground was wet because it had been raining.

Future Perfect Progressive Tense

Form: will have been doing

The future perfect progressive is used to speak of an action that will have completed aprogress at a future time.

By tomorrow, it will have been raining for 6 days.

By next year, I will have been teaching here for 20 years.

Note the time phrases at the beginning and at the end of the sentence.

Tense for Imagined Situations

We use different tenses to describe imagined situations according to whether they are likely,possible or no longer possible:

likely to occur:

If it rains, we shall get wet.

merely possible:

If it rained, we would get wet.

impossible (now):

If it had rained, we would have got wet.


Active Voice and Passive Voice

Active voice is the normal, commonly used voice. Passive voice is less commonly used butsometimes we need the passive voice. To gain command of writing, we need to know how toform the passive voice in all tenses, and when to use it for achieving the desired effect.

Look at these sentences:

Mr. Mahapatra established this company in 1910. (active)

subject object

This company was established in 1910. (passive)

subject

We use the active verb to express the action of the subject, that is, what the subject does.

Mr. Mahapatra was an entrepreneur. He established the company in 1910.

It is a big company now. It employs twenty thousand people.

We use passive verb to express what happens to the subject.

This company was established in 1910.

Twenty thousand people are employed by the company.

In the passive, we may not know (or do not say) who or what does the action.

A number of machines were stolen in the burglary. (We do not know who stole them)

Is the cash deposited in the bank every evening? (does someone deposit it? it does not matter whodoes it.)

If we want to identify the doer of the action, we have to use a “by …” phrase.

A number of machines were stolen by the burglars.

This company was established by Mr. Mahapatra.

Formation of Passive Voice

The passive is formed by using the verb to be + the past participle of required verb.

is/was/are/were/will be/have been + given/established/deposited/taken/seen

(a tense of to be) + (past participle of main verb)

Here are the passive forms of the present simple:

Credit terms are given only to some customers.

A password is needed to open an electronic lock.

Here are the passive forms of the past simple:

I was (was not) invited to Jatin’s birthday party.

You were given all the instructions you would need.

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Converting from Active to Passive

To change an active voice sentence to passive voice,

1. Note who (or what) is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent theobject of the “by ...” phrase.

2. Make what is acted upon, the subject of the sentence.

3. Change the verb to the same tense of to be + past participle of the main verb. (Include“by ...” phrase if needed).

If the performer of the action is important, the “by …” phrase must be used.

Shakespeare wrote “The Merchant of Venice.” (active)

“The Merchant of Venice” was written by Shakespeare. (passive)

Only verbs that take an object can be used in the passive. The following sentences cannotbe made passive as the verbs do not have an object. The action was not done to anyone oranything.

Thomas works.

She sews fast.

He went yesterday.

I slept well.

Converting from Passive to Active

To change a passive voice sentence to active voice,

1. Note who (or what) is performing the action, (it may be given in the ‘by …’ phrase).

2. Make that agent the subject of the sentence.

3. Change the verb as required.

We were told to wait here by the secretary. (passive)

The secretary told us to wait here. (active)

Verbs with Two Objects

These sentences have two objects; one answers ‘what?’ (a new bicycle, a story, a present);the other answers ‘whom?’ (him, the class, his sister).

Jatin’s father gave him a new bicycle.

Thomas sent a present to Mahesh.

We can make two passive sentences from each of these.

Jatin was given a new bicycle by his father.

A new bicycle was given to Jatin by his father.


Mahesh was sent a present by Thomas.

A present was sent to Mahesh by Thomas.

Most passive sentences begin with the person, unless there is reason to emphasise theimpersonal object.

Other common verbs with two objects are: ask, offer, pay, show, teach, tell.

Passive in Continuous Tenses

Present continuous:

Active: am/is/are following

Passive: am/is/are being + followed

Past continuous:

Active: was/were following

Passive: was/were being + followed

Thus, we have sentences such as:

She is (was) baking cakes for the party. (active)

Cakes are (were) being baked for the party. (passive)

Passive in Perfect Tenses

Present perfect:

Active: have/has + met/seen/examined

Passive: have been/has been + met/seen/examined


The doctor has examined the patient.

The patient has been examined by the doctor.

Past perfect:

Active: had + examined

Passive: had been + examined


The cook has/had cooked the eggs for too long. (active)

The eggs have been/had been cooked for too long. (passive)

Impersonal Passive

Look at this active voice sentence.

People say that the owners of ABC Co. are in debt.

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The impersonal passive forms would be:

It is said that the owners of ABC Co. are in debt.

The owners of ABC Co. are said to be in debt.

This type of sentences are used when the source of the information is unknown, or uncertain,or is not to be revealed, as in news reports and in giving information about someone’s creditstanding.

Other such verbs are:

believe; think; know; consider; expect; understand; report

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs and are used with another verb. They areirregular verbs, and do not have all the forms that other verbs have. They can be contracted andcombined with the subject and/or with ‘not’, by using an apostrophe

They are placed before the subject to form a question.

List of Auxiliary Verbs

Infinitive Present tense Past tense Past participle

to be am was been

is

are were

to have have had —

has

— do did —

— does —

— will would —

— shall should —

— can could —

— may might —

— must — —

— need — —

— ought (to) — —

— dare — —

— — used (to)


Uses

Am, is, are, was, were — form the continuous tenses by combining with present participleof other verbs; e.g., we are walking, she was reading.

Have, has, had — form perfect tenses; e.g., they have taken, she had taken.

Do, does, did — form negatives and questions by combining with basic form of the verb;e.g., I do not write, did he go?

Will, shall, would, should — form future and conditional tenses, by combining with thebasic form of a verb; e.g., we shall complete this, they would walk, she should run.

All the auxiliaries can be contracted with the subject

I am I’m

He is He’s

We are We’re

I have I’ve

I had I’d

I will I’ll

Commonly used auxiliaries:

The most commonly used ones are:

May I and Can I — both are acceptable as request for permission:

May I have this orange? Or Can I have this orange?

Some auxiliary verbs like dare are not much used now.

Can, could, be able to

Can and could are used to express general ability, permission, opportunity, possibilityin the present and the past.

I can speak German. (am able to)

I can use Leela’s cycle when she is out of town. (have permission)

You can see the lake from my window. (possible to)

I have some free time; I can help you with your German now. (opportunity)

For other tenses, we use “be able to..”

I will be able to speak German in a few months.

I might be able to come this weekend.

I have been able to collect some information.

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May, might, could

May, might, could to express “perhaps, I’m not sure”.

She may come in by 10 o’clock.

He might arrive today.

We could get there by dinner time 6 o’clock if we leave now.

Must, mustn’t, needn’t

Must and mustn’t to express necessity, compulsion, obligation or prohibition.

We must hurry; we don’t have much time. (it is necessary to hurry)

You mustn’t use the cell phone at a petrol pump. (it is prohibited)

Needn’t to express absence of necessity or compulsion.

We have plenty of time; we needn’t hurry. (it is not necessary to hurry)

PracticeFill in the blank with must, mustn’t or needn’t.

We have enough food for dinner; we — cook.

I — remember to call her up after this class.

I — forget to call he up by 5.00 o’clock.

You — wash those mangoes. Neela has already washed them.

Must and need

Need is used only in the question form and in the negative. Note these:

Q. Need I drink this? (is it necessary?)

A Yes, you must.

A. No, you needn’t.

Q. Must I drink this? (is it obligatory?)

A. yes, you must.

A. No, you needn’t.

Ought to, must, should have the same meaning.

Used to expresses a habit or ability in the past.

I used to go for a run every morning when I was in London.

I used to be able to speak French when I lived in France.

Both sentences indicate that I don’t or can’t do it now.


Formation of Negatives and Interrogatives

Forming of negatives and interrogatives for modal verbs is simple:

The Negative is formed by adding ‘not’ after a modal verb:

I am not He might not We must not He did not

You had not They are not She cannot It does not

The Interrogative of the Yes/No type is formed by inverting the subject-verb order to verb-subject order:

Am I? Should we? Are we? Will he?

Do you? Must they? Can they? May we?

The Negative Interrogative is formed by adding ‘not’ to the question form:

Am I not? Does he not? Are we not? Will she not?

Must she not? Would they not? Can you not? Have they not?

All the modal verbs except ‘am’ can be contracted with ‘not’.

Note very carefully that the order is changed for the contraction.

Did he not? becomes didn’t he?

Are we not? becomes aren’t we?

Note also that: Am I not? has no contraction; and the negative and interrogative forms ofUsed (to) have fallen out of use.

Other verbs such as like, run, walk, swim and so on, depend on the modal verb ‘do’ fornegative and interrogative forms, as shown in the following table.

Positive Negative Question

I swim. I do not swim. Do I swim?

You swim. You do not swim. Do you swim?

We swim. We do not swim. Do we swim?

They swim. They do not swim. Do they swim?

He swims. He does not swim. Does he swim?

She swims. She does not swim. Does she swim?

It swims. It does not swim. Does it swim?

For practice, write down the negative interrogative forms without contraction and withcontraction.

A Wh question is an open question; it can have any number of answers. The answer mayrelate to any of the sentence elements such as verb, objects, manner, place, time, purpose, etc.depending on the question word.

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To form a Wh question, add a Wh question word before the corresponding yes/no question.

The following table shows examples of Wh questions.

Tense Question about Example

Present Simple Place Where does she play?

Past Simple Time When did they play?

Present Progressive Manner How is he playing?

Past Progressive Direct object What was he playing?

Present Perfect Indirect object With whom have you played?

Present Perfect

Progressive Choice Which game have you been playing?

Past Perfect Reason Why had they played?

Past Perfect

Progressive Frequency How often had she been playing?

Future Simple Number How much will I play?

To form a subject Wh question, replace the subject with a question word, using who (forpeople) or what (for non-people). The word order is the same as that of a positive sentence.

Note that:

In the simple tenses, there is no auxiliary verb in Wh Subject questions. The question wordsimply replaces the subject.

Ajay left these books here.

I study here.

The question forms are:

Who left these books here?

Who studies here?

The following table gives examples of Wh Subject questions.

Tense Question about Example

Present Simple People Who plays here this week?

Past Simple Things What made that sound?

Present Progressive People Who is writing the report?

Past Progressive Things What was making that sound?

Present Perfect People Who has written this letter?

Modals People Who can help me?


Tag Questions

Tag questions are formed of a statement and a tag question. The structure of tag questionsis:

statement + comma + tag question

It is cold today, isn’t it?

You will come tomorrow, won’t you?

This work will be completed tomorrow, won’t it?

Note that the question tag uses the same person and the same verb in the same tense as thestatement, but it is in the negative.

The following sentences are negative. Note that the question tag is affirmative.

You did not go to Jatin’s party, did you?

This is not your purse, is it?

Some words such as scarcely, hardly, rarely, seldom, few, little, have a negative implication.They are treated as negative and take a positive tag.

Hardly anyone attended the concert, did they?

Few students knew the answer, did they?

Little rain has fallen this season, has it?

We seldom/rarely meet them, do we?

Note that while few and little are negative, a few and a little are positive.

A few and a little take a negative tag.

A few students knew the answer, didn’t they?

There was a little rain this season, wasn’t there?

The adverb only may take a negative or a positive tag.

There were only eight students, were there?

There were only eight students, weren’t there?

The tone of voice would indicate whether the negative or the positive implication of onlyis stressed.

For verbs in the simple present or simple past, which have no auxiliary verb, we use do,does or did for the question tag,

They liked the film, didn’t they?.

You eat vegetables everyday, don’t you?

He speaks well, doesn’t he?

When the verb is a compound form or the auxiliary is itself compound, only the first wordis used in the tag.

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The car has been sent for repairs, hasn’t it?

You will have reached by 12.00 noon, won’t you?

Use of Question Tags

Tag questions require the answer yes or no. Such questions are used in spoken Englishwhen we want or expect someone to confirm what we are saying.

A tag question can put a slight pressure on the other person to agree. Note the impact ofeach of these questions on a candidate at an interview; the tag question suggests that ability toprepare a balance sheet is an essential skill for the job.

Can you prepare a balance sheet?

You can prepare a balance sheet, can’t you?

Questions in Reported Speech

Direct questions are usually a part of a dialogue or conversation. It is assumed that thequestion is directly addressed to the listener. There may be direct questions in other compositionstoo, but there is still the assumption of a listener or reader being addressed. Questions areconverted to reported speech (also called indirect speech) in discursive writing.

To put a question into Reported speech you need to make the changes of tense, the personand expression of time, as for statements.

You also need to make additional changes to convert the question into a statement.

In a direct question, the word order is verb-subject.

‘Has Ravi called you?’ I asked.

In a reported question, the word order has to be subject-verb.

I asked him whether Ravi had called him.

Note the changes in tense and persons. Also, there is no question mark at the end; thereported question ends with a full stop, since it is a statement.

For questions without a question word (that is, yes/no questions), we add the word whetheror if:

Pradeep asked Tushar “Do you play football?”

Pradeep asked Tushar whether (if) he played football.

I asked Alok, ‘Are you coming tomorrow?’

I asked Alok if he was coming tomorrow. (reported on the same day.)

For questions with a question word, no additional word is needed:

Pradeep said, “When do you play football?”

Pradeep asked Tushar when he played football.

I asked Alok, ‘Where are you going tomorrow?’

I asked Alok where he was going the next day.


Shall I/we Questions

Questions beginning with “Shall I …?” have two meanings. The meaning can be interpretedfrom the context.

Type 1

Shall I open the window? (that is, ‘Do you want me to open the window?’)

Shall I file these papers?

Type 2

Shall I ever see the South Pole? (that is, ‘I wonder if I will ever … ? It hardly seems possible.’)

Shall I be able to complete this course?

In type 1, shall changes to should:

He asked his mother if he should open the window.

I asked the others if I should file the papers.

In type 2, shall I becomes I/he/she wondered if …would

She wondered if she would ever see ….

I wondered if I would be able to complete this course.

Shall we..? is usually a suggestion of action to one’s group.

Shall we go now? = a suggestion that we go now.

Shall we meet tomorrow?

Shall we complete this work before we leave?

To convert to reported speech, begin with: he/she/I/you suggested that …

She suggested that we should leave.

He suggested that we should meet the next day.

I suggested that we should complete that work before leaving.

Phrasal Verbs

1. A ‘phrasal verb’ is a verb with a preposition or an adverb added to it. The phrase has ameaning different from the original verb. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs created by addinga preposition to simple and common verbs like run, take, look, keep and so on.

Example:

I ran into my teacher at the movies last night. run + into = meet

He ran away when he was 15. run + away = leave home

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2. Phrasal verbs may be intransitive (do not take an object) or transitive (need an object).

Example:

Neeta turned up unexpectedly. “turn up” does not take an object

I made up an excuse. “excuse“ is the object of “make up”

3. In some transitive phrasal verbs, the object can also be placed between the verb and thepreposition or adverb.

Example:

I looked the address up in my diary.

I looked up the address in my diary.

4. Note that the object must be between the verb and the preposition if the object is apronoun.

Example:

I looked it up in my diary.

She called him up yesterday.

It is not correct to say, “I looked up it in my diary.”

Exercises

1. Convert these sentences into passive form, using “by …” phrase if needed.

(a) The students complete this course by September.

(b) Nisha painted this in 2007.

(c) Monish is arranging the files in alphabetical order.

(d) Are you writing the report?

(e) Sheela has not invited me to her party.

(f) They make shoes in that factory.

2. Make two passive sentences from each of the following:

(a) Has anyone shown you the new Conference Room?

(b) They offered her the post of Financial Analyst.

(c) We paid the men ` 5000/- to clean the park.

(d) I will give you plenty of time to decide.

(e) They have given the children some cherries.

3. Make these sentences more tactful by converting them to impersonal passive voice.

(a) People in business believe that XYZ Stores has a small working capital.

(b) Some of their former creditors have advised us to be cautious in advancing them credit.


(c) Many people think that Mr. ABC has a large commitment to his bank.

(d) People who know the firm say that the new partner is quite enterprising and is expected tomake good some of the lost position of the firm.

4. Make the following sentences more effective by using active voice:

(a) You will be informed when the notice is received from our agent.

(b) This matter will be looked into immediately.

(c) The cancelled cheque was returned to you by us on 23 September.

(d) Care is taken to protect our customers’ interests.

(e) Prompt attention will be paid to your orders.

(f) You are requested to see me tomorrow.

(g) Your letter has been received and your complaint is being investigated.

(h) It is regretted that your new connection cannot be installed till next month.

(i) The inspection of the premises where the air conditioner is to be installed will be carried outby our technical supervisor.

(j) Prompt attention to this matter is requested.

5. Put the following questions into reported speech:

(a) Binita: “When did you come?”

(b) Bhavin: “Shall I dispatch your goods today?”

(c) Manish: “Has Ravi arrived?”

(d) Rohan: “Where does Maria park her car?”

(e) Natasha: “Did you watch the Hindi film last night?”

(f) Ravi: “Can I help you?”

(g) Abraham: “Will Ravi have lunch with Samir?”

(h) Jatin: “What are you doing after sending those letters?”

(i) Ritesh: “Shall we have some coffee?”

6. Add a question tag to these sentences.

(a) Nishith was at the party.

(b) Tushar has not invited Monish to his party.

(c) We should begin to study now.

(d) You will join me for coffee.

(e) I cannot visit the zoo before leaving.

(f) She didn’t call Binita.

7. Look up the words ‘look, ‘come’ and ‘set’ in a dictionary.

verbs · in some verbs, it has the same form as the basic form, or the past. zcome, run (same as...

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