English Grammar Fundamentals: Verbs, Question Tags & Sentence Patterns

This guide covers fundamental English grammar topics from the TNPSC Group 2/2A syllabus, focusing on Verbs, Question Tags, and Sentence Patterns. Understanding these core concepts is crucial for scoring high in the General English section and developing systematic analytical skills.

Learning Patterns & Study Strategies

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To master General English in a short time, you need a smart and consistent strategy. A parallel learning approach. அதாவது, கிராமர் படிக்கும்போதே மற்ற பகுதிகளையும் சேர்த்துப் படிக்க வேண்டும்.

• Focus on Grammar Rules: Instead of just memorizing questions, learn the grammar rules. This will help you answer any type of question. நான் உங்களுக்கு விதிகளை (rules) தருகிறேன், அதை வைத்து நீங்கள் எந்த கேள்விக்கும் பதிலளிக்க முடியும்.
• Daily Vocabulary Practice: Read one page of Synonyms and Antonyms from the provided PDF every day. This will build your vocabulary steadily.
• Daily Reading Comprehension: Practice at least 5 reading comprehension passages daily. This is very important as it carries significant weightage (20 questions).
• Literary Works: After completing the grammar section, you can start with the literary works (poems and prose). If you have time, you can start reading one poem and one prose piece daily.
• Trust the Process: The provided material and strategy are designed for effective learning in a short period. கொடுக்கப்பட்டதை முழுமையாக நம்பிப் படித்தால், நிச்சயம் பிரிலிம்ஸ் தேர்வில் வெற்றி பெற முடியும்.

Key Topics Explained

Let's dive into the core grammar topics covered in this session.

Verbs: The Core of a Sentence

A verb is a word that describes an action (like run, write) or a state of being (like is, am, seem). It is a main building block of any sentence. ஒரு வாக்கியத்தின் முக்கிய அங்கம் வினைச்சொல் (verb).

A verb can be classified mainly into two types:

1. Main Verbs: These verbs have a meaning of their own and can stand alone. (e.g., She **sings** a song.)
2. Auxiliary Verbs (துணை வினைச்சொற்கள்): Also called "Helping Verbs," they help the main verb to indicate tense, mood, or voice. (e.g., She **is** singing a song.)

Main Verbs vs. Auxiliary Verbs

Feature	Main Verb	Auxiliary Verb (Helping Verb)
Function	Expresses the primary action or state.	Supports the main verb. Helps to show tense, mood, or voice.
Example	I **play** cricket.	I **am** playing cricket.
How to Find	Ask: "What is the subject doing?" (e.g., What does 'I' do? -> play)	Often appears before the main verb. (e.g., am comes before playing)

Types of Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are divided into two main categories:

1. Primary Auxiliaries:

   • Be-forms: am, is, are, was, were, being, been
   • Have-forms: have, has, had
   • Do-forms: do, does, did

2. Modal Auxiliaries (Modals): These verbs express ability, permission, possibility, necessity, etc. The meaning of the sentence changes based on the modal verb used.

Modal Verbs Purpose Table

Modal Verb	Purpose (பயன்பாடு)	Example Sentence
Can	Ability (திறன்), Permission (அனுமதி), Request (வேண்டுகோள்)	I can speak English. / Can I go?
Could	Past Ability, Polite Request	I could swim when I was young. / Could you wait?
May	Possibility (சாத்தியம்), Permission	It may rain today. / May I come in?
Might	Less Possibility (குறைந்த சாத்தியம்)	It might rain, but I'm not sure.
Must	Necessity (அவசியம்), Obligation (கட்டாயம்)	You must finish your homework.
Shall	Suggestion (ஆலோசனை)	Shall I carry your bag?
Should	Advice (அறிவுரை), Duty (கடமை)	You should drive carefully.
Will	Prediction, Spontaneous Decision	I think it will rain. / I will help you.
Would	Past Habit, Polite Request	He would bring me flowers. / Would you shut the door?
Ought to	Moral Obligation (அறநெறி கடமை)	We ought to help the needy.
Used to	Past Habit (பழங்கால பழக்கம்)	I used to walk for long hours.
Need to	Necessity (தேவை)	I need to buy milk.
Dare	Boldness / Challenge (தைரியம்)	How dare you enter my room?

Regular and Irregular Verbs

This is a simple but important classification based on how verbs form their past tense.

• Regular Verbs: Form their past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed.
  • Example: walk -> walk**ed**, love -> lov**ed**, agree -> agre**ed**
• Irregular Verbs: Do not follow a fixed pattern. They change their spelling completely.
  • Example: go -> went, see -> saw, break -> broke, cut -> cut

TNPSC Group 4 PYQ Example

Question: Fill in with the correct regular verb. Options: forget, go, see, visit Answer: visit, because its past tense is visited (-ed is added). The others are irregular (forgot, went, saw).

Non-Finite Verbs (Infinitives, Gerunds, Participles)

Non-finite verbs do not change their form according to the tense or the subject. They act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.

1. Infinitive (டு + வினைச்சொல்):

   The to + verb form. It can function as a subject, object, or complement.

   • Example (Subject): To swim is a good exercise.
   • Example (Object): I like to swim.
   • Bare Infinitive: An infinitive without to. Used after modals (can, will, should) and certain verbs like make, let, see.
     • Example: She made me do the project. (Not to do)

2. Gerund (பெயர்ச்சொல்லாக செயல்படும் வினைச்சொல்):

   The verb + -ing form that functions as a noun.

   • Example (Subject): Walking is a healthy habit. (Here, 'Walking' is the name of an activity).
   • Example (Object): I enjoy reading.

3. Participle (பெயரடைச்சொல்லாக செயல்படும் வினைச்சொல்):

   A verb form that functions as an adjective to describe a noun.

   • Present Participle (verb + -ing): Describes an ongoing action.
     • Example: I saw a dancing parrot. (The word 'dancing' describes the noun 'parrot').
   • Past Participle (verb ending in -ed, -en, etc.): Describes a completed action or state.
     • Example: I fixed the broken chair. (The word 'broken' describes the noun 'chair').

Gerund vs. Present Participle

• Gerund: verb-ing as a Noun. (e.g., "Swimming is my hobby.")
• Present Participle: verb-ing as an Adjective. (e.g., "Look at the swimming fish.")

Question Tags

A question tag is a short question added at the end of a statement to get confirmation.

Basic Rules

1. Positive Statement → Negative Tag
   • You are a student, **aren't you?**
2. Negative Statement → Positive Tag
   • You are not a student, **are you?**

Special Cases and Exceptions

• No Auxiliary Verb: If the statement has only a main verb, use do, does, or did.
  • You **play** cricket, **don't you?** (Present Tense)
  • She **plays** cricket, **doesn't she?** (Present Tense with 's')
  • He **played** cricket, **didn't he?** (Past Tense)
• I am: The tag for I am is aren't I?.
  • I am a teacher, **aren't I?**
• Let's: The tag for Let's (Let us) is shall we?.
  • Let's go home, **shall we?**
• Imperatives (Commands/Requests): The tag is usually will you? or won't you?.
  • Open the door, **will you?**
• Negative Words: Words like hardly, seldom, never, nothing, nobody make the statement negative, so the tag must be positive.
  • He **hardly** works, **does he?** (Not doesn't he?)
• Pronouns:
  • Everybody, Everyone, Somebody → use they.
  • Nothing → use it.
  • This/That → use it.
  • These/Those → use they.
  • There → use there.

Sentence Patterns (SVO, SVOC, etc.)

Understanding sentence patterns helps you analyze the structure of any sentence.

Pattern	Component	How to Find (எப்படிக் கண்டுபிடிப்பது)	Example
S	Subject	Ask "Who?" or "What?" before the verb.	The bird flies.
V	Verb	The action or state of being.	The bird flies.
O	Object	Ask "What?" or "Whom?" after the verb.	He wrote a letter. (Wrote what?)
C	Complement	Completes the meaning of the subject or object. It often renames or describes them.	She is a doctor. (doctor = she)
A	Adjunct	Ask "Where?", "When?", "How?", or "Why?".	He went to school (Where?) yesterday (When?).

Understanding Direct and Indirect Objects (IO & DO)

• Indirect Object (IO): Answers the question "To whom?" or "For whom?". It usually refers to a person.
• Direct Object (DO): Answers the question "What?". It usually refers to a thing.

Example: My father (S) gave (V) me (IO) a pen (DO).

• Gave to whom? -> me (IO)
• Gave what? -> a pen (DO)
• The pattern is SVIODO.

Understanding Complements (C)

A complement completes the sentence's meaning. Without it, the sentence feels incomplete.

• Subject Complement (SC): Describes or renames the subject. It follows linking verbs like is, am, are, was, were, become, seem.

  Example: Pranav (S) is (V) **a student (C)**. Here, a student refers to Pranav (the subject). Pattern: SVC.

• Object Complement (OC): Describes or renames the object.

  Example: They (S) named (V) the baby (O) **John (C)**. Here, John refers to the baby (the object), not They. Pattern: SVOC.

Reading Comprehension Strategy

To answer passage questions quickly and accurately:

1. Read the Questions First: Understand what information you need to find. இது உங்கள் நேரத்தை மிச்சப்படுத்தும்.
2. Scan the Passage: Quickly read the passage to locate the keywords from the questions.
3. Find the Exact Answer: Once you find the relevant sentence, read it carefully to get the answer.
4. Don't Assume: Answer based only on the information given in the passage, not your general knowledge.
5. Time Management: Aim to answer each question within a minute. Practice is key to improving your speed.

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Related Articles

Grammar Foundation Skills

• Apply systematic analytical approaches from Simplification to break down complex grammar patterns
• Use logical reasoning techniques from Direction Sense for sentence structure analysis

Pattern Recognition Techniques

• Practice step-by-step problem-solving methods from Simple Interest for verb tense patterns
• Apply percentage calculation logic from Percentage to accuracy in question tag formation

Advanced Language Analysis

• Use proportional reasoning from Ratio and Proportion for sentence pattern relationships
• Apply systematic calculation approaches from Time and Distance to reading comprehension strategies

Mathematical Logic Applications

• Practice pattern recognition skills from HCF and LCM of Fractions for identifying verb forms
• Apply sequential reasoning from Compound Interest to complex grammar transformations
• Use geometric calculation logic from Square, Area and Volume for sentence pattern construction