Grammar Essentials Review: Parts of Speech, Sentence Structure, Tenses, Subject-Verb Agreement

Grammar Essentials for Class 10 CBSE Board Exams in 2023-24

As you prepare for your upcoming CBSE board exams, understanding core grammatical concepts is crucial for writing grammatically correct sentences. In this guide, we'll break down fundamental grammar rules related to Parts of Speech, Sentence Structure, Tenses, and Subject-Verb Agreement—the basics required for success in your English Language paper. Let’s dive right into these areas!

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I. Parts of Speech

Parts of speech refer to individual words with specific functions within sentences. Be sure you can define and recognize each group:

• Noun (n) - A word used to name people, places, things, ideas, etc., like book, teacher, city, love.
  • Examples of proper nouns: John, New Delhi, Hindi, India
• Pronoun (prn) - Words that take the place of nouns within sentences, such as he, she, it, they, their.
  • Reflexive pronoun examples: herself, himself, themselves
• Verb (vb) - Action, linking, auxiliary, or being words; indicate action, states, or relationships between subjects and objects, such as run, go, is, was, being.
  • Example of an auxiliary verb: has gone, will have been studying
• Adverb (adv) – Modifies verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, clauses, or whole sentences by providing more information about them, like quickly, mostly, very.
  • Phrasal verbs example: carry out, put off, bring up
• Determiner (det) – Helps identify a particular noun within a phrase or clause, including definite and indefinite articles (the, a, some), demonstratives (this, those), quantifiers (few, many)
• Preposition (prep) – Expresses a relationship between a noun or pronoun (object of preposition) and other words in a sentence. For instance, in, under, through, with, from, to, by.
• Conjunction (conj) – Connect two words, phrases, clauses or sentences together. Coordinating conjunctions include and, but, so, yet, or while. Subordinating conjunctions illustrate relationships between dependent and independent clauses, such as although, because, since, where, when, until.
• Interjection (int) – Short exclamations expressing emotion or surprise, often stand alone, like Wow, Oh!, Yikes!

Understanding how these various categories function is key to building well-structured sentences and avoiding common errors.

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II. Sentence Structure

Sentences contain words arranged in meaningful ways to convey complete thoughts or statements. Each type requires unique structures and patterns:

• Declarative Sentence – Makes a statement and ends with a period (.).
• Interrogative Sentence – Asks questions that typically end with a question mark (!?).
• Imperative Sentence – Gives commands and usually does not require punctuation unless followed by additional text or instructions.
• Exclamatory Sentence – Emphasizes strong emotions and commonly concludes with an exclamation point (!).
• Compound Sentence – Contains multiple independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions (and, but, so...) or semicolons.
• Complex Sentence – Fuses one independent clause with one or more dependent clauses connected using subordinating conjunctions (although, after, before...).

Mastery of these structures allows for effective communication and clear expression through written language.

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III. Tenses

Tense indicates the time frame of actions or events described in a sentence:

• Past Simple – Describes completed, finished actions, like walked, studied, wrote.
• Present Simple – States habitual activities or facts without specified times, like eat, study, walk.
• Future Simple – Predicts forthcoming occasions, such as will go, are going to leave, am going to help.
• Present Continuous – Indicates ongoing actions during present time, using forms like am helping, is studying, are walking.
• Past Perfect Continuous – Reveals continuous actions completed before another event, in forms like had been eating, had been studying, had been playing.
• Future Perfect Simple – Denotes completed future outcomes, using forms like will have eaten, will have helped, will have studied.
• Future Perfect Continuous – Signifies continuous actions expected to finish sometime in the future, using forms like will have been working, will have been reading.

Each tense serves its purpose within different types of texts and contexts.

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IV. Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement denotes consistency between singular vs plural formations:

• Singular Subject + Plural Verb – Error, for example, She goes home every day becomes incorrectly They goes home everyday.
• Plural Subject + Singular Verb – Error, for example, My friends speak different languages becomes incorrectly My friend speaks different languages.
• Consistent Formation – Correct, such as He walks every morning; They walk every morning.

Avoid mixed verb usage by carefully considering whether your chosen subject is singular or plural and ensuring the associated verb agrees accordingly.

By mastering these foundational principles, you'll develop a solid grammatical foundation for successful writing and enhanced comprehension skills. These essential elements of grammar serve as the cornerstone towards improving academic performance and communicating effectively throughout life.