Englicist Grammar Quick Recap Xw3jij

English Grammar Quick Recap: Selected Topics
for ICSE and ISC Exams.
Edited by: Jayanta Kumar Maity, M.A.
Published by: Englicist Learnings LLP, Kolkata

1st Edition 2021 (Version 1.0)
This book is not a complete grammar course. As the name suggests, this is just a
quick recap of common rules and formulas on selected topics.
In case you find any error in this book, please inform us by email at
contact@englicist.com or englicist@gmail.com for rectification. Any suggestion for
improvement or feedback is welcome.
NOTICE
Copyright protected material.
Please don’t redistribute.
Copyright © 2021 Englicist Learnings LLP
English Grammar Quick Recap i

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Number
Chapter 1: Joining of Sentences 01

Section 1: Simple, Complex & Compound Sentence 01
Section 2: Joining into a Single Sentence 05
Chapter 2: Transformation of Sentence

06
Section 1: Simple – Complex – Compound 06
Section 2: Negative – Affirmative 07
Section 3: Assertive – Interrogative – Exclamatory 09
Section 4: Degree of Comparison 10
Section 5: Interchange of Parts of Speech 11
Section 6: Active & Passive Voice 12
Section 7: Direct & Indirect Speech 15
Section 8: Miscellaneous Transformations 19
Chapter 3: Prepositions & Phrasal Verbs 21

Section 1: Appropriate Prepositions 21
Section 2: Commonly used phrasal verbs 24
Chapter 4: Subject-Verb Agreement & Verb Forms 26
English Grammar Quick Recap ii

CHAPTER 1: JOINING OF SENTENCES
SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE
 Sentences are of three kinds according to their structure – Simple, Complex and
Compound.
 A simple sentence has only one main clause.
 A complex sentence has one main clause and one or more sub-ordinate clause
dependent on that main clause.
 A compound sentence has at least two main or independent clauses (called co-
ordinate clauses) and may or may not have sub-ordinate clause.
Comparison Table
Sentence Main/Independent Clause Sub-ordinate/ Dependent Clause
Simple Only One None
Complex Only One One or more
Compound Two or more Does not matter
Let’s have an example. Main clauses are in red and sub clauses are in blue.
Simple: Despite his illness, Rohit attended the class.
Complex: Though Rohit was ill, he attended the class.
Compound: Rohit was ill, but he attended the class.
 “Despite his illness” is not a clause as it has no finite verb. It is a phrase.
 “Though” is a sub-ordinate conjunction. A sub-ordinate conjunction connects a
sub-clause to the main clause. A sub-ordinate clause begins with a sub-ordinate
conjunction.
 “But” is a co-ordinate conjunction. A co-ordinate conjunction connects two or
more similar clauses, but it not being part of clauses, remains independent.
 So, whenever you need to make a complex sentence use a sub-ordinate
conjunction and to make a compound sentence use a co-ordinate conjunction.
Complex Sentence – Sub-ordinate conjunctions

Compound sentence – Co-ordinate conjunctions
English Grammar Quick Recap Page 1

Linkers to make Complex Sentence (Sub-ordinate Conjunctions):

That: We know that he is a good student.
Though: Though he worked hard, he failed to get a position.
Although: Although it was hard, he did it.
As (manner): Do as you like.
As (reason) As she worked hard, she got the reward.
As (after adjective, means ‘though’): Poor as he is, he is honest.
Because: He cannot join us because he is busy.
Since (reason): Since it’s raining, we cannot go out.
When: I was there when he came.
Where: This is the place where I met him.
Before: The train had left before we reached the station.
After: He came after I had left the place.
While: Make hay while the sun shines.
Till: Wait till 4pm.
Until: Do not go out until I return.
If: If you work hard, you’ll reap the benefit.
Unless: Unless you help us, the project would fail.
Lest: The man tried to walk faster, lest he be left behind.
If / Whether: She wanted to know whether (if) I was ready to accompany her.
So that: Keep the door open so that anyone can come.
In order that: He worked hard in order that he could pass the test.
So … that: This poem is so easy that it needs no explanation.
As … as: Subir is as strong as Prabir.
So … as: Subir is not so strong as Rohit.
As soon as: As soon as I saw the snake, I started screaming.
No sooner … than: No sooner did I see the snake than I started screaming.
Hardly … when: Hardly had we left the house when it started raining.
The more … the more: The more he gets, the more he wants.

Linkers to make Compound Sentence (Co-ordinate Conjunctions):

And: He played well and got a prize.
But: She is sad but hopeful.
Or: Work hard or you will fail.
And so: He tried hard and so he won the game.
Yet: Life is full of tears, yet none wishes to die.
Still: He worked hard, still he failed.
Otherwise: Be attentive, otherwise you’ll miss the idea.
Or else: Be attentive or else you’ll miss the idea.
While: He failed while his brother passed.
Whereas: He is rich whereas his brother is poor.
Both … and: Both Rahul and his brother are intelligent.
As well as: Rina as well as his brother is honest.
Either … or: He is either a teacher or a doctor.
Neither … nor: He is neither a teacher nor a doctor.
Not only … but also: He is not only a teacher but also an author.

Elements to make Simple Sentence:

 Present Participle (Verb + ing):
o Opening the drawer, he took out the packet.
o Having our dinner, we went to bed.
 Past Participle (Verb3):

o We were enjoying the song sung by the bauls.
o A book written by Ratanlal won the national award.
 Perfect Participle (having/being + Verb3):

o Being punished by the principal, the boy left the school.
o Having finished my task, I went to sleep.
 Infinitive (To + Verb):

o He is not afraid to speak the truth.
o He had been working hard to score big in the final.
 Gerund (V+ing as a noun) / Preposition + Gerund:

o On hearing a noise, he woke up.
o Seeing is believing.
 Preposition + Noun (or noun phrase):

o In spite of his illness, he attended the class.
o I couldn’t attend the class for my illness.
o Besides getting him a job, they also built a house for him.
 Absolute Phrase (Noun + Participle):

o The sun having risen, the fox disappeared.
o The match being abandoned, we left the field disheartened.
 Phrase in Apposition (two noun phrases side by side referring to the same person
or thing):
o Tom, my faithful dog, always accompanies me.
o Rimi, my sister, likes ice-cream.

SECTION 2: JOINING INTO A SINGLE SENTENCE
Now, that you have learnt how simple, complex and compound sentences are
constructed, you can join two different sentences into a single simple, complex or
compound sentence.
Joining into Simple Sentence

o The girls were singing. We enjoyed the song. – We enjoyed the song sung by the
girls.
o Rahul is a good student. We know it. – We know Rahul as a good student.
o The boy played well. He didn’t get the prize. – In spite of playing well the boy
didn’t get the prize.
o The woman was ill. She could not walk. – Being ill, the woman could not walk.
Joining into Complex Sentence

o The girls were singing. We enjoyed the song. – We enjoyed the song which the
girls were singing.
o Rahul is a good student. We know it. – We know that Rahul is a good student.
o The boy played well. He didn’t get the prize. – Though the boy played well, he
didn’t get the prize.
o The woman was ill. She could not walk. – As the woman was ill, she could not
walk.
Joining into Compound Sentence

In ICSE exam, students are barred from joining into compound sentence using ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘so’.
o The girls were singing. We enjoyed the song. – The girls were singing and we
enjoyed the song.
o Rahul is a good student. We know it. – Rahul is a good student and we know it.
o The boy played well. He didn’t get the prize. – The boy played well but he didn’t
get the prize.
o The woman was ill. She could not walk. – The woman was ill and so she could not
walk.

CHAPTER 2: TRANSFORMATION OF SENTENCES
Now, that you have learnt in the previous chapter how simple, complex and compound
sentences are constructed, you can transform a simple sentence into complex, a
compound sentence into simple and so on.
Transform into Simple Sentence

o As it was a rainy day, we did not go out. – It, being a rainy day, we did not go out.
o The police were unable to control the mob and they opened fire. – Unable to
control the mob, the police opened fire.
o The employee was dismissed as he was lazy. – The employee was dismissed for his
laziness.
Transform into Complex Sentence

o Rohit put his weight on an old, rotten branch – It was an old, rotten branch on
which Rohit put his weight.
o Our players were not serious and so they lost the match. – If our players were
serious, they wouldn’t have lost the match.
o Teaching is also learning. – When we teach, we also learn.
Transform into Compound Sentence

o Besides getting him a job, they also build a house for him. – They not only got him
a job, but also built a house for him.
o If you don’t leave, you will be arrested. – You have to leave or else you will be
arrested.
o Despite being intelligent, he is not fit for the job. – He is intelligent but not fit for
the job.
Please note that in most cases there won’t be direct instructions to transform
a sentence into simple, complex or compound sentence. Rather there may be
instructions like “Begin: Despite”, “Use: If”, “Begin with ‘It’” etc.

SECTION 2: AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE SENTENCE
Sentences can be transformed from affirmative to negative and vice versa by using the
following elements depending on the given instance.
1) Only – none but

o Only you are fit for this post. – None but you are fit for this post.
o Only a fool would think that way. – None but a fool would think that way.
2) As soon as – no sooner than

o As soon as we reached the station, the train arrived. – No sooner did we reach the
station than the train arrive.
As soon as we finished our dinner, we went to bed. – No sooner had we finished our
dinner than we went to bed
As soon as → No sooner + did + V1 / No sooner + had + V3

The comma (,) should be replaced by “than”.
3) Too…to – so…that
o She is too weak to walk. – She is so weak that she cannot walk.
o I was too shocked to speak. – I was so shocked that I could not speak.
o This poem is too easy to need an explanation. – This poem is so easy that it does
not need an explanation.
o It is raining too hard for us to go out. – It is raining so hard that we cannot go out.
too → so to → that + sub + nega ve
4) If – unless
o Unless he comes, I won’t go. – If he comes, I will go.
o If you don’t work hard, you will fail. – Unless you work hard, you will fail.
Unless = if not

SECTION 2: AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE SENTENCE
5) Degree change
Affirmative Sentences can be transformed into negative and vice versa by changing the
degree of adjectives (Refer to Section 4).
o Bangalore is cleaner than Kolkata. – Kolkata is not so clean as Bangalore.
o All subjects are equally important. – No subject is more important than the other.
6) Using opposite word

o He is a careless man. – He is not a careful man.
o Please keep silence. – Please do not make sound.
7) Using interrogative
o She is a good singer. – Isn’t she a good singer?
o He was not present there. – Was he present there?
8) Using ‘not only’

o He is both a teacher and a doctor. – Not only is he a teacher but also a doctor.
o The restaurant serves both veg and non-veg dishes. – Not only does the restaurant
serve veg dishes but also non-veg dishes.
9) Miscellaneous
o It is a pity he did not win the prize. – It is a pity he failed to win the prize.
o Never again will we have class together. – This is the last time we are having class
together.
o All young princes desired her hand. – There was hardly any young prince who did
not desire her hand.
Again, in most cases there won’t be direct instructions to transform a

sentence into a negative or affirmative sentence. Rather there may be
instructions like “Begin: None”, “Use: No sooner”, “Remove ‘too’ ” etc.

SECTION 3: ASSERTIVE, INTERROGATIVE & EXCLAMATORY

SENTENCE
Assertive (statement) Interrogative (question)

We can use “yes-no” type questions and “wh” questions depending on the sentences to
make them interrogative without changing the meaning. In the process of transforming an
assertive sentence into interrogative and vice versa, an affirmative (positive meaning)
sentence generally becomes negative and the negative one becomes affirmative.
 Using “Yes-No” type questions:

o No one can do this. – Can anyone do this? It is. – Isn’t it?
It is not. – Is it?
o Can I ever forget you? – I can never forget you. He can. – can’t he?
o He plays good cricket. – Doesn’t he play good cricket?
o Isn’t Ritu a good student? – Ritu is a good student.
o This is the best place to visit in summer. – Is there a better place than this to visit in
summer?
 Using “Wh” questions:

o Everyone knows Sachin. – Who doesn’t know Sachin?
o This is the best place to visit in summer. – Where would you get a better place to visit
in summer?
o You cannot say that to her. – How can you say that to her?
Assertive (statement) Exclamatory (emotions)

o What a fool you are! – You are a great fool.
o How beautiful the night is! – The night is very beautiful.
o Hurrah! We won the match. – It is a matter of happiness that we won the match.
o Alas! The leader is no more. – It is very sad that the leader is no more.
o Oh! If I were young again! – I wish that I were young again.
Use ‘great’ before a noun.

Use ‘very’ before an adjective.
Hurrah! – It is a matter of happiness that…
Alas! – It is very sad that…
If – I wish

SECTION 4: DEGREE OF COMPARISON (OF ADJECTIVES)
Adjectives can be used in three different degrees.
Positive Comparative Superlative

Good better best
Bad worse worst
Clean cleaner cleanest
Tall taller tallest
Less lesser least
Beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
Important more important most important
a) Positive Degree – Rimi is a good student. / No other student in the class is as good
as Rimi is.
b) Comparative Degree – Rimi is better than all other students in the class.
c) Superlative Degree – Rimi is the best student in the class.
Positive degree: as + adjective + as

Comparative degree: adjective + than
Superlative degree: the + adjective
 Comparison between two: (Positive to Comparative and vice versa)

Rohit is taller than Mohit. – Mohit is not so tall as Rohit.
Rohit is as tall as Mohit. – Mohit is not taller than Rohit.
 Comparison between many: (Superlative to Positive and comparative and vice

versa)
Type 1:
S – The Nile is the longest river in Africa.
C – The Nile is longer than any other river in Africa.
P – No other river in Africa is as long as the Nile.
Type 2:
S – The Nile is one of the longest rivers in Africa.
C – The Nile is longer than most other rivers in Africa.
P – Very few rivers in Africa are as long as the Nile.

SECTION 5: INTERCHANGE OF PARTS OF SPEECH
 Out of the eight parts of speech only noun, verb, adjective and adverb – these
four are interchangeable. Pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection
cannot be transformed in this way.
How to identify Noun, Verb, Adjective and Adverb?

• A Noun fits after ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’, ‘all’, ‘some’, ‘much’, ‘many’, ‘any’ etc. [an advice / much
enthusiasm / the success]
• A Verb generally comes right after the subject and denotes an action (do), possession (have)
or state (be). [He advised us. / She succeeded in the exam.]
• An Adjective always fits in “You are very ___” or “It is very ___”. [You are very enthusiastic.]
• An adverb generally ends with “ly”. If not, it comes right after the verb. [He did it
enthusiastically. / She sang well.]
 Noun – verb
o The poet gives emphasis on this word. – The poet emphasises this word.
o He gave us advice. – He advised us.
o He did not get success. – He did not succeed.
 Noun – adjective
o In all probability, it will rain today. – It is most probable that it will rain today.
o The teacher punished the boy for disobedience. – The teacher punished the
disobedient boy.
 Noun – adverb
o In all probability, he will pass this year. – Most probably he will pass this year.
o She joined us with much enthusiasm. – She joined us very enthusiastically.
 Adjective – adverb
o It is most probable that it will rain today. – Most probably it will rain today.
o He was enthusiastic while going there. – He went there enthusiastically.
 Verb – adjective
o Mr. Roy suspected his peon’s honesty. – Mr. Roy was suspicious of his peon’s
honesty.
o Mr. Sen accepted my offer. – My offer was acceptable to Mr. Sen.

SECTION 6: ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Verb forms in Active and Passive Voice

Tense Active Passive
Present Simple verb1 am/is/are + Verb3
Present Continuous am/is/are + verb+ing am/is/are + being + verb3
Present Perfect has / have + verb3 has/have + been + verb3
Past Simple verb2 was/were + verb3
Past Continuous was/were + verb+ing was/were + being + verb3
Past Perfect had + verb3 had been + verb3
Future Simple shall/will + verb shall/will + be + verb3
Future Perfect shall/will + have + verb3 shall/will + have been+ verb3
*** Passive voice is not in use for the remaining four tenses.
Examples:
o I do it. – It is done by me.
o I am doing it. – It is being done by me.
o I have done it. – It has been done by me.
o I did it. – It was done by me.
o I was doing it. – It was being done by me.
o I had done it. – It had been done by me.
o I shall do it. – It will be done by me.
o I shall have done it. – It will have been done by me.
 Voice change of Questions

o Do you see the bird? – Is the bird seen by you?
o Did you finish your task? – Was your task finished by you?
o Have you heard it before? – Has it been heard by before?
o Who teaches you English? – By whom are you taught English?
o What are you eating? – What is being eaten by you?
o Why haven’t you finished your work? – Why hasn’t your work been finished
by you?

 Voice change of Imperative sentence (order, advice,

request)
Passive formats for Imperative sentence
Order: Let + object + be + verb3
Advice: Object + should (not) be + verb3
Request: You are requested (not) to + verb
o Shut the door. – Let the door be shut.

o Keep the book on the table. – Let the book be kept on the table.
o Obey your seniors. – Seniors should be obeyed.
o Do not hate the poor. – The poor should not be hated.
o Please go there. – You are requested to go there.
o Don’t smoke, please. – You are requested not to smoke.
 Voice Change of Modal Auxiliaries

Can, could, should, would, may, might, need, ought etc. + be + verb3
o He can do this. – This can be done by him.

o We should help her. – She should be helped by us.
 Voice change of Infinitives (to + verb)

to + verb – to + be + verb3
o I have some work to do. – I have some work to be done.

o I am going to pack the bag. – The bag is going to be packed by me.

 Different preposition in place of ‘by’

o His manner shocked me. – I was shocked at his manner.
o I know that. – That is known to me.
o Rahul married Ritu. – Ritu was married to Rahul.
o Tolstoy interests me. – I am interested in Tolstoy.
o Light filled the room. – The room was filled with light.
 Miscellaneous voice change examples

o Honey tastes sweet. – Honey is sweet when it is tasted.
(quasi-passive voice)
o We know that Columbus discovered America. – It is known to us that
America was discovered by Columbus. (complex sentence)
o He laughed at the idea. – The idea was laughed at by him. (group verb)
o He killed himself. – He was killed by himself. (reflexive object)
o Tiger is called our national animal. – We call tiger our national animal.
(Introduce ‘we’ as the doer)
o My watch was stolen. – Someone stole my watch.
(Introduce ‘someone’ as doer is unknown)
o Gifts were exchanged. – People/ They exchanged gifts.
(Introduce ‘people’ as doer)
o The police arrested the man. – The man was arrested.
(‘by the police’ understood)

SECTION 7: DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH
 A direct speech can be transformed into an indirect one and vice versa using a
suitable reporting verb and a linker depending on the sentence.
o Tina said, “Are you busy now?” [direct speech]

o Tina asked whether I was busy then. [indirect speech]
Direct Speech
Speaker Reporting verb Direct speech
Tina Said “Are you busy now?”
Indirect Speech
Speaker Reporting verb Linker Reported Speech
Tina asked whether I was busy then.
 Now look, if the reporting verb in direct speech (said) is in past tense, the
reporting verb in indirect speech (asked) would also be in past tense. ‘Whether’
is the linker added here as it is a ‘yes-no’ type question (Refer to list 1 below).
 ‘Are’ changes to ‘was’. As the reporting verb was in past tense, the verb in the
reported speech will also be in past. (Refer to list 2 below)
 ‘Now’ has become ‘then’. Time and place expressions change if the reporting
verb is in past tense. (Refer to list 3 below)
 The question mark (?) has changed to a full stop(.).
 Another important thing, the format of question (v + s + o) has changed to the

format of a statement (s + v + o). In indirect speech the pattern always comes to
subject + verb + object.

List of Reporting verbs and linkers (list 1)

Sentence Reporting verb (past) Linker
Assertive Said, told That
Interrogative
Yes-no question Asked, wanted to know, enquired If / whether
Wh-question Asked, wanted to know, enquired wh-word

Imperative
Without ‘Let’ Told, ordered, advised, requested, asked to / not to
With ‘Let’ Suggested, proposed that
Optative Wished, prayed that
Exclamatory Exclaimed in joy / sorrow / wonder / fear / disgust etc. that
Verbs in Reported Speech (if reporting verb in past tense) (list 2)

Direct speech Indirect speech
Am / is / are was / were
Was / were had been
Has / have had
Had had had
Shall / will would
Can could
May might
Must, should must, should
Verb1 verb2
Verb2 had + verb3
Change of time and place expressions in past tense (list 3)

now – then last night – the previous night
ago – before here – there
today – that day this – that
yesterday – the previous day these – those
tomorrow – the next day

 Narration change of Assertive sentence

o Robin said, “I went to Delhi yesterday.” – Robin said that he had gone to Delhi
the previous day.
o She said to her husband, “I want to go with you.” – She told her husband that
she wanted to go with him.
 Narration change of Interrogative sentence

o He said to me, “Do you know English?” – He asked me whether I knew
English.
o She said to me, “Did you go there?” – She wanted to know whether I had
gone there.
o I said to him, “What are you doing?” – I asked him what he was doing.
o Rahul said to his mother, “How do you do all these things together?” – Rahul
asked his mother how she did all those things together.
 Narration change of Imperative sentence

o He said to me, “Go there right now.” – He ordered me to go there right then.
o My teacher said to me, “Obey your parents.” – My teacher asked me to obey
my parents.
o She said to me, “Please don’t go there.” – She requested me not to go there.
o He said to her, “Let’s go home.” – He suggested her that they should go home.
o His mother said, “Let him eat whatever he likes.” – His mother suggested that
he might be allowed to eat whatever he liked.
 Narration change of Optative sentence

o He said to the boy, “May god bless you.” – He prayed that God might bless the
boy.
o The girl said, “Had I the wings of a dove.” – The girl wished that she had the
wings of a dove.

 Narration change of Exclamatory sentence

o “How happy we are here!” said the children. – The children exclaimed in joy
that they were very happy there.
o The children said, “How happy we were there!” – The children exclaimed in
sorrow that they had been very happy there.
o He said to me, “Good bye!” – He bade me good bye.
o She said to me, “Good evening!”—She wished me good evening.
 Narration change of Vocatives

o Teacher said, “Robin, stand up.” – Teacher asked Robin to stand up.
o The Bishop said to the convict, “Always remember, my son, that the poor body
is the temple of the living God.” – The Bishop addressed the convict as his son
and advised him to always remember that the poor body is the temple of the
living God.
 Narration change of question tag

o He said to me, “You went to Kolkata, didn’t you?” – He asked me whether I
had gone to Kolkata and assumed that I had.
o I said to him, “Tina didn’t tell a lie, did she?” – I asked him if Tina had told a lie
and assumed that she had not.

SECTION 8: MISCELLANEOUS TRANSFORMATIONS
 Begin: ‘But for’ (means ‘without’)

o If people had not been generous, many would have died of hunger. – But for
the generosity of people, many would have died of hunger.
o If she hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t succeed. – But for her help, I wouldn’t
succeed.
 Subject-verb concord
o All the students were given a gift. (begin: ‘Each’) – Each of the students was
given a gift.
o The principal and the teachers were happy. (Use: ‘as well as’) – The principal as
well as the teachers was happy.
 Begin: Had (meaning ‘if’)

o The inspector fired when challenged. – Had they not challenged him, the
inspector would not have fired.
o In your place, I would have asked for a raise in salary. – Had I been in your
place, I would have asked for a raise in salary.
 Use ‘had better’ or ‘had’

had better + verb1
o It would be a good thing if you slept. – You had better sleep.

o It would be good if you do not come. – You had better not come.
 But – help
but + verb1 = help + verb+ing
o I cannot but comply with his desire. (Use: help) – I cannot help complying with
his desire.
o A poet could not but be gay in such a jocund company. (Remove ‘but’) – A
poet could not help being gay in such a jocund company.
 Begin: Should (meaning ‘If’)

o Please feel free to contact Englicist if you need any further help. – Should you
need any further help, please feel free to contact Englicist.

SECTION 8: MISCELLANEOUS TRANSFORMATIONS
 ‘The more’ type

o He got more and more but his desire only grew. (Begin: The more) – The more
he got, the more his desire grew.
o They tried harder and harder but achieved less and less. (End: … they
achieved.) – The harder they tried, the less they achieved.
 Use ‘Lest’ (meaning ‘in fear that’)

lest + subject + be/verb1/should
o Put away your toys from the floor, else someone might fall. – Put away your
toys from the floor, lest someone should fall.
o I will explain in more detail so you don’t get confused. – Lest you be confused,
I’ll explain in more detail.
 Question tag
Question tags are the short questions that we put at the end of sentences
assuming something or just to confirm, and not for getting an actual answer.
When you add a question tag to an affirmative statement, the question tag is
negative and vice versa.
He is, isn’t he? / I can’t, can I? / You know, don’t you? / They aren’t, are they?
o He went there yesterday. (Use question tag). – He went there yesterday, didn’t
he?
o You are not ready for the project yet. – You are not ready for the project yet,
are you?
 Use of appropriate preposition / Word replacement

o Rimi likes vegetarian food more than non-veg. (Use: prefers) – Rimi prefers
vegetarian food to non-veg.
o She does not like fish that much. (Use: fond) – She is not very fond of fish.
o My sister hates cat. (Use: aversion) – My sister has an aversion to cat.

CHAPTER 3: PREPOSITIONS AND PHRASAL VERBS
SECTION 1: PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions come before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to some other
words in a sentence.
• There is a book on the table.
• There is a cat under the table
Now, I give you a simple and easy-to-understand list of common prepositions of

position for dummies.
Some Common usages:

Before time: at at 6 am.
Before date/day: on on Sunday / on 12th January
Before month/year: in in 1980 / in May
Before a small place: at at the Suri Bazaar / at the station
Before a large place: in in India / in Maharashtra / in Europe
in the morning/afternoon/evening; but, at dawn/dusk/noon/night

by bus / by train; but, on foot / on cycle

There are many words which are generally followed by specific prepositions. This is
one area where you need to learn the common usages mostly by heart. At some
level you will develop an intuition for informed guess for the unknown ones.
For example: Rohit is absent __________ school.
In the above example, most students without knowledge of the appropriate usage
would guess ‘at’, ‘in’, ‘to’ etc. But the correct preposition here is ‘from’.
Ans: Rohit is absent from school.
So, here I give you two short lists of the commonly used prepositions and phrasal
verbs.
 List of Commonly Used Appropriate Prepositions
absent from anxious about

access to appetite for
according to approve of
in accordance with ashamed of
accuse of aware of
accustomed to belong to
adjacent to born of
affection for capable of
affectionate to close to
afflicted by a disease compare to dissimilar things
afraid of compare with similar things
agree to a proposal complain against
agree with a person conscious of
aim at consist of
ambitious of contrary to
annoyed at something deal in (business)
annoyed with someone deal with (behave/describe)

 List of Commonly Used Appropriate Prepositions

dedicate to loyal to
depend on made of
deprive of married to
die by poison occupied with
die for a cause open to
die from an effect part from a person
die of a disease part with a thing
differ from play on an instrument
divide into prefer to
eat from a plate preside over a meeting
eligible for pride (verb) on
faith in Take pride (noun) in
faithful to proud of
familiar with provide with
fond of rely on
free from respond to
get rid of search for
good at shocked at one’s behaviour
grateful to similar to
identical with stick to
ignorant of suffer from
indifferent to superior/inferior to
indulge in supply with
interest in sure of
junior/senior to surprised at
lack of sympathetic to
laugh at sympathy for
listen to true to
lodge a complaint with the police yield to

SECTION 2: PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are new verbs coined with a prepositions or adverbial added to a verb.
For example, ‘look’ is a verb. When you say ‘look after’, it means ‘take care of’ but
when you say ‘look into’, it means ‘investigate’.
 List of Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs Meaning
Act on/upon affect
Ask for pray for /want
Bring out publish
Bring up rear
Call at/on visit
Call for demand
Call in send for
Call out shout
Call up remember
Carry on continue
Carry out obey /execute
Come across meet
Come of to be born
Come round recover from a disease
Cut down reduce
Do away with abolish
Fall out quarrel
Fall through fail
Give away distribute
Give in surrender
Give up leave / abandon
Go through read
Keep up maintain
Lay by save

SECTION 2: PHRASAL VERBS
 List of Commonly Used Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs Meaning
Look after take care of
Look down upon hate
Look into investigate
Make out understand
Make up for compensate
Pass away die
Put down write
Put off take off
Put off postpone
Put on wear
Put out extinguish
Put up with tolerate
Run after chase
Run away flee / escape
Run over knock and pass over
Set in to begin something
Set out start a journey
Set up establish
Sit for appear in an exam
Take after resemble
Turn down reject
Work out solve (a sum)

CHAPTER 4: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT & VERB FORMS
 Rules of Subject-verb Agreement
1) If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular too.

o He is a good student
o She sings well.
2) If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

o They sing together
o They are good students
o There are many flowers in the garden.
3) When the subject is plural in form but expresses a single-whole in meaning, it

takes a singular verb.
o 5 million dollars is a big amount. (a single amount)
o 2 days is not enough for this task. (a single length of time)
4) When the subject consists of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by

‘and’, use a plural verb.
o Mr. Roy and Mr. Dubey are good friends.
o Two and two make four.
o A fool and his money are easily parted.
5) When the subject consists of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by

‘and’ but denotes the same person or thing, or expresses a single idea, use a
singular verb.
o The scholar and academician is known to all.
o Bread and butter is his favourite breakfast.
o Time and tide waits for none.
6) When the subject consists of two or more singular nouns or pronouns

connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, use a singular verb.
o The secretary or the president knows this.
o Neither he nor she was present there.

 Rules of Subject-verb Agreement
7) When the subject consists of two or more nouns or pronouns with different
numbers connected by ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘not only…but also’ etc. the verb agrees with
the part of the subject closest to the verb.
o The president or the committee members know this
o The committee members or the president knows this.
8) When there is one subject and more than one verb, the verbs throughout the
sentence must agree with the subject.
o The man is not only a good singer but also has a good sense of humour.
o Interviews are one way to collect data and allow researchers to gain an in-
depth understanding of participants.
9) If a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, the verb still agrees with
the subject and not with the nouns or pronouns preceding the verb.
o The principal, as well as the teachers, is coming this way.
o The theory with all its shortcomings holds true even today.
o All characters of the play are static characters.
10) The words and phrases ‘each’, ‘each one’, ‘either’, ‘neither’, ’everyone’,
‘everybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘anybody’, ‘nobody’, ‘somebody’, ‘someone’, and ‘no
one’ are singular and require a singular verb.
o No one agrees with him.
o Everyone was present there.
o Each one of them was given a prize.
11) Collective nouns take singular verbs when they stand as a whole collection
without any sign of division. But they take plural verbs when there is a
division.
o The committee has elected him president.
o The jury were divided in their decision.

 Quick Tips on Using Correct Verb Forms
 Whenever we have to use correct forms of verbs, we have to see whether it is

a whole paragraph or individual sentences. If it is a paragraph, we first need to
read the whole paragraph very carefully and try to understand each sentence
in its context.
 In case of a narrative in past tense, most of the verbs would be in simple past
tense (v2). But if something had happened before another action, remember
to use past perfect tense (had+v3).
 For the correct forms of verbs in different tenses, please refer to the chart
“Verb Forms in Active and Passive Voice” under topic “Active and Passive
Voice” in this book.
 Be sure to read the entire paragraph once again after you have written the
correct forms of verbs.
 There’s really no shortcut here, only practice can make you perfect.
Now, that you have learnt the topics, we suggest practising

the lessons from the books “Challenges Before ICSE” and
“Challenges Before ISC” by J. Mathew. You may also take quiz
tests on our website https://englicist.com.
All the best going forward.

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English Grammar Quick Recap: Selected Topics

for ICSE and ISC Exams.

Edited by: Jayanta Kumar Maity, M.A.

Published by: Englicist Learnings LLP, Kolkata

Copyright © 2021 Englicist Learnings LLP

English Grammar Quick Recap i

Chapter 1: Joining of Sentences 01

Chapter 2: Transformation of Sentence

Chapter 3: Prepositions & Phrasal Verbs 21

Chapter 4: Subject-Verb Agreement & Verb Forms 26

English Grammar Quick Recap ii

SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE

Sentence Main/Independent Clause Sub-ordinate/ Dependent Clause

Simple Only One None

Complex Only One One or more

Compound Two or more Does not matter

Complex Sentence – Sub-ordinate conjunctions

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 1

SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE

Linkers to make Complex Sentence (Sub-ordinate Conjunctions):

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 2

SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE

Linkers to make Compound Sentence (Co-ordinate Conjunctions):

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 3

SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE

Elements to make Simple Sentence:

 Past Participle (Verb3):

 Perfect Participle (having/being + Verb3):

 Infinitive (To + Verb):

 Gerund (V+ing as a noun) / Preposition + Gerund:

 Preposition + Noun (or noun phrase):

 Absolute Phrase (Noun + Participle):

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 4

SECTION 2: JOINING INTO A SINGLE SENTENCE

Joining into Simple Sentence

Joining into Complex Sentence

Joining into Compound Sentence

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 5

SECTION 1: SIMPLE, COMPLEX & COMPOUND SENTENCE

Transform into Simple Sentence

Transform into Complex Sentence

Transform into Compound Sentence

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 6

SECTION 2: AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE SENTENCE

1) Only – none but

2) As soon as – no sooner than

As soon as → No sooner + did + V1 / No sooner + had + V3

too → so to → that + sub + nega ve

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 7

SECTION 2: AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE SENTENCE

6) Using opposite word

8) Using ‘not only’

Again, in most cases there won’t be direct instructions to transform a

English Grammar Quick Recap Page 8

SECTION 3: ASSERTIVE, INTERROGATIVE & EXCLAMATORY

Assertive (statement) Interrogative (question)

 Using “Yes-No” type questions:

 Using “Wh” questions:

Assertive (statement) Exclamatory (emotions)