Causative Verbs

 

The causatives are verbs that are used to indicate that one person causes another person to do something for the first person. One can cause somebody to do something for him/her by asking, requesting or forcing the person.

These are the causative verbs: Have, Get, Make and Let.

 

Have: Structures and uses

Structure 1:

Sub + have (any tense) + object (usually person) + v1 + other words.

Examples:

1. Bill had Lisa clean the house.

2. James always has me do his work.

3. Ronnie will have John prepare food.

 

Structure 2:

Sub + have (any tense) + object (usually thing) + v3 (past participle) + other words.

Examples:

1. Mary had her car washed.

2. She always had her work done.

3. Ronnie will have her food prepared.

 

Get: Structures and uses

Structure 1:

Sub + get (any tense) + + obj (usually person) + infinitive with to + other words.

Examples:

1. John got Alex to clean the house.

2. She always gets me to do her work.

3. Ronnie will get me to prepare food.

 

Structure 2:

Sub + get (any tense) + obj (usually thing) + v3 (past participle) + other words.

Examples:

1. John got his house cleaned.

2. She always gets her work done.

3. Ronnie will get her food prepared.

 

Make: Structure and uses

Make is stronger than “have” and “get.” It constitutes only one structure as it does not take anything passive as its object.

Structure:

Sub + make (any tense) + obj (always person) + v1 + other words.

Examples:

1. James made me carry his bag.

2. Ronnie will make me prepare food.

3. I made him clean the house.

4. He always makes me laugh.

 

5. Don’t make her cry.

 

Let: Structure and uses

Structure:

Sub + let (any tense) + obj + v1 + other words.

Examples:

1. He lets his wife focus on her career.

2. Will you let me use your computer?

3. The trainer let me drink some water after the workout.

 

Other causative verbs: Help, cause, allow, enable, force, require, persuade etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Past Modal Verbs

 

Modal verbs in the past are used to:

1. Talk about a possibility

2. Express a regret

3. Express disbelief

4. Make a recommendation or criticism.

The most frequent use of modal verbs in the past is to talk about past situations that were possible but did not happen. In other words, they tell us what could have, would have and should have happened.

Let’s learn how “must”, “could”, “would’, “should’, “may” and “might” are used in the past.

These modal verbs are used with “have’ + past participle (v3) to talk about supposition or speculation regarding a past event.

 

Must have:

We use must have + past participle (v3) when we feel sure about what happened.

Examples:

1. The dog has escaped – I must have left the door open by mistake.

2. Lisa has left her handbag here – she must have left in a hurry.

3. It must have been difficult for him to live alone for so many years.

 

To form the negative, use “not” between “must” and “have”.

Examples:

1. It must not have been difficult for him.

2. She must not have done the dishes.

 

 

Could have:

We use could have + past participle (v3) to express that something was possible in the past but it did not happen.

Examples:

1. I could have gone directly to the college, but I decided to travel for a year.

2. He could have helped me, but he didn’t.

3. We could have left the party earlier.

 

To form the negative, use “not” between “could” and “have”.

Examples:

1. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

2. I couldn’t have done it without you.

 

Would have:

We use would have + past participle (v3) to show that you wanted to do something, but you could not.

Examples:

1. I would have called, but there was no phone service.

2. I would have lent you the money, but I didn’t have any myself.

3. I would have gone to the party, but I was tired.

 

The negative “would not have’ is part of the third conditional sentence.

Example: If I had not studied hard, I wouldn’t have passed the examination.

 

 

Should Have:

We use should have + past participle (v3) to mean that something did not happen, but we wish it had happened.

Examples:

1. I should have woken up earlier.

2. You should have helped her.

3. They should have come on time.

 

To form the negative, use “not” between “should” and “have”.

Examples:

1. You should not have slapped him.

2. He should not have done it.

 

May Have / Might Have:

We use “may have” or “might have” when we think it’s possible that something happened.

Examples:

1. I think I may have left the air conditioning on.

2. Police think the suspect may have left the country using a fake passport.

3. The car came around the corner so fast that I might have been killed.

 

Note: “May have” is more formal than “might have”.

 

 

 

 

To form the negative, use “not” between “may/might” and “have”.

Examples:

1. He may not have eaten the apples.

2. They might not have understood the message.

 

Modal Perfect Continuous:

We use the modal perfect continuous tense for speculations about a continuous action in the past.

Example: No one knows why he crashed the car. He may have been drinking and driving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noun Clause

 

A noun clause is a clause that plays the role of a noun.

 

Noun clauses are dependent clauses that can replace a noun in the sentence.

 

A noun clause is a dependent clause that takes the place of any noun in the sentence, whether they are subjects, objects, or subject complements.

 

A noun clause functions as a noun in a sentence. It follows a linking or copular verb to describe or modify the subject of the sentence. Unlike noun phrases, noun clauses contain both a subject and a verb.

 

A noun clause can be a subject, an object, or a complement.

 

Noun clauses function to add more details to a sentence.

 

If you are not sure whether a clause is a noun clause, try replacing it with other nouns or pronouns.

 

Noun clauses almost always start with one of these words:

How, that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, why.

 

Lots of noun clauses start with “that”, “how” or with a “wh” word (i.e., “what”, “who”, “which”, “when”, “where” or “why”).

Examples:

1.     I know that it happened.

 

2. I know how it happened.

3. I know why it happened.

4. John encouraged Leela to remember who she was. (The noun clause is an indirect object of the verb, encouraged.)

5. Do you know what time it is?

6. Bob can invite whomever he chooses.

7. I don’t understand what you’re talking about.

8. Whether Tom accepts the job or not is his business.

A great way to check whether a phrase or clause is functioning as a noun is to have a go at replacing it with a pronoun. If you can, your phrase or clause is functioning as a noun.

 

Easy examples:

1. I know that the story is true.

2. I saw how the accident happened.

3. I understand why it was necessary.

4. I know who said that.

 

More examples:

1. Whoever smelt it dealt it. (The noun clause is a subject.)

2. My command is whatever you wish. (The noun clause is a subject complement.)

3. I will give what you said some thought. (The noun clause is an indirect object.)

 

Introductory "It"

 

We use introductory “it” to:

1.To tell the time:

Examples:

a. It is 3 o’clock.

b. It is half past four.

c. It is a quarter past three.

d. It is a quarter to ten.

e. It is morning now.

Note: In these sentences, the words indicating time are subjects. “It” is only introducing them. This is called the introductory use of “it”.

 

2. For non-living things and animals:

Examples:

a. It is a table.

b. It is a cat.

c. It is an elephant.

 

3. For telling the day/date/month/year/season:

Examples:

a. It is Monday today.

b. It is the month of March.

c. It was winter.

d. It was the third year.

 

4. For activities related to nature:

Examples:

a. It is raining.

b. It is snowing.

c. It is drizzling.

d. It is thundering.

e. It is very hot today.

f. It was very cold that day.

g. It was a dark night.

 

5. Special uses of “it”:

Examples:

a. It is the boy who has stolen my pen.

b. It is John who has done it.

c. Who was it that broke my pen?

d. It is we who are helpful.

e. Are it they?

 

6. Negative and Interrogative sentences:

Examples:

a. Is it that girl who has topped the examination?

b. It is not that girl who has broken my chair.

c. It was not only Tom who committed the theft.

d. Is it difficult to learn English?

e. Is it not she who has written this book?

As and Like

 

“As + noun” means “in the role of’.

Example: As your brother, I’ll help you as much as I can. (The speaker is the listener’s brother.)

 

“As” is used to describe the function of a person or object.

Example: He works as a teacher. He was using the pen as a knife.

 

“As” can also be used as a conjunction.

Example: Nobody loves me as you do.

 

“Like + noun” means “similar to” or “in the same way as”.

Example: Like your brother, I’ll help you as much as I can. (The speaker is not the brother but wishes to act in the similar way to the brother.)

 

“Like” is used as a preposition. It is used to compare two things.

Example: She looks like her mother. That house looks like a palace.

 

“Like” can also be used like a conjunction. (Connecting two clauses.)

Example: She looked like she was about to cry.

 

 

 

Ago and Before

 

“Ago” is used with a past tense and a time expression to count back from the present.

“Ago” means “before the present”.

“Ago” refers to length of time measured only from now.

“Ago” is an adverb.

“Ago” is generally used with Simple Past.

“Ago” always counts back from the present time.

Examples:

1. She left ten minutes ago.

2. He died seven years ago.

3. It happened ten years ago.

4. She called me five minutes ago.

5. I met her three years ago.

 

“Before” is used with a past perfect tense to count back from a past moment.

“Before” can also be used to mean “at any time before now/then”. With this meaning, it can be used with both present and past tenses.

“Before” means the period of time that precedes a particular event, date or time.

“Before” is used for past times from another time in the past.

“Before” should be used only when dating the length of time is not from now. It refers to past events that one is talking about.

“Before” is an adverb, preposition and conjunction.

“Before” is often used with the past perfect tense.

“Before” counts back from a past point.

 

Examples:

1. I reached the railway station at 7:00, but the train had left ten minutes before.

2. I have seen him before.

3. He has never done it before.

4. It happened before you were born.

5. She had never seen that man before.

 

 

Noun - Case

 

There are three cases:

1. Nominative case/Subjective case

2. Accusative case/Objective case

3. Possessive case/Genitive case

 

Nominative case: A noun is said to be in the nominative case if it is the subject of a verb in a sentence.

Examples:

1. Mumbai is a big city.  – sub – Mumbai – in nominative case

2. Pankaj is my friend.    – Sub – Pankaj    - in nominative case

 

Accusative case: A noun is said to be in the accusative case when it is the object of a verb in a sentence.

Examples:

1. He broke the glass. – obj – glass – in accusative case

2. I met him. – obj – him – in accusative case.

 

Sentences with two objects:

I gave him a pen. I gave a pen to him.

In this sentence, him and pen are the two objects. Him is the indirect object and pen is the direct object.

 

Note: An indirect object denotes the person to whom or for whom something is given or done, while a direct object usually denotes a thing.

 

The direct object is said to be in the accusative case, and the indirect object is said to be in the dative case.

 

Possessive case: A noun is said to be in the possessive case when it shows possession.

Examples:

1. This is Rahul’s house.

2. The price of the chair is very high.

 

How to form the possessive case:

For living beings, singular or plural, we use apostrophe (‘) with a noun.

Noun + ‘   + s       

Examples:

1. Boy - boy’s

2. Rahul - Rahul’s

3. Father - father’s             

4. Boys - boys’                

5. People - people’s

6. Children - children’s

 

For non-living beings, singular or plural, we use “of” before a noun.

of + noun

Examples:

1. School – of the school          

2. Chair    - of the chair

 

3. Houses – of the houses

4. Chairs    - of the chairs

                              

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

 

Phonetic Alphabet – Consonant Sounds

 

Symbol                      Sound                           Phonetic Transcription

--------------                            -----------                                    ----------------------------------------

·      /b/                                  bad                                          /bæd/

·      /d/                                  did                                           /dɪd/

·      /g/                                   get                                          /get/

·      /k/                                   cat                                          /kæt/

·      /p/                                   pen                                         /pen/

·      /tʃ/                                  chain                                      /tʃeɪn/

·      /dʒ/                                 jam                                        /dʒæm/

·      /v/                                   van                                         /væn/

·      /θ/                                   thin                                        /θɪn/

·      /ð/                                   this                                         /ðɪs/

·      /s/                                    see                                          /si:/

·      /z/                                    zoo                                         /zu:/

·      /ʃ/                                     shoe                                       /ʃu:/

·      /ʒ/                                    vision                                     /vɪʒən/

·      /h/                                    hat                                         /hæt/

·      /m/                                   man                                       /mæn/

·      /n/                                    now                                        /naʊ/

·      /ŋ/                                    sing                                        /sɪŋ/