HS4101 Communicative English Unit I - A ready reference

Unit I
A ready reference
Part – A
Parts of speech
The words used in English are divided into eight kinds according to the work done by each
word in a sentence.
The eight parts of speech are:
1. Noun 2. Pronoun 3. Adjective 4. Verb 5. Adverb
6. Preposition 7. Conjunction 8. Interjection.
Parts of Speech Definition Example
NOUN It denotes the name of a A. Man, sister, boy, Raju
person, place, thing, animal (person)
or bird and an emotion or B. village, house, India, river
idea. (places)
1. The book was lying on the
table.
2. Wild animals live in forest.
3. The jury has given its
verdict.
PRONOUN A word used in the place of a I, She, He, You, it, we or
noun or instead of a noun is they
called a pronoun. They are 1. What about others?
used as substitutes for nouns 2. Give two cakes each.
or noun phrases.
ADJECTIVE An Adjective is a describing tall, short, brilliant, hot,
word. It qualifies, describes cold, old
or gives more information 1. A wise man.
about a noun or a pronoun. It 2. I bought some books from
is a noun - helper. the store.
3. She has three sisters.
VERB The verb denotes an action or I am a teacher.
state of being. It is the most You are happy.
important word in a sentence. He can drive a car.
Verbs are mainly classified He is walking.
into “be” form verbs
(Telling words) and action
verbs (doing verbs).
ADVERBS An adverb is a word that loudly, always, never,
adds more information about late, soon, normally.
place, time, manner, cause or
degree to a
verb, an adjective, or another
adverb.
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PREPOSITIONS A preposition shows the Preposition of time: at,

relationship between persons, before, by, for, in on, past
places things or events in a Preposition of place: on, in,
sentence. It shows where a under,
person, place or thing is. between, near
Prepositions show or help us 1. I don’t go out at night.
to express the time and place. 2. The prayer starts at 9 am.
3. I have been taking this
medicine for the past ten
days.
CONJUNCTIONS A conjunction is a word that and, or, but, because, for, if,
is used to connect words, and when.
phrases, and clauses.
INTERJECTIONS An interjection is a word that Oh! I will fail (fear)
expresses a strong feeling or Alas! He is dead.
emotion. It may be a word or (Sorrow/regret)
just a sound. It is followed by Bravo! Well done my boy.
an exclamation mark. (praise)
Hurrah! Our team has won
the cup (joy)
Exercise: Identify the parts of speech of the words given in the sentences.
1. The Atlantic is a big ocean.
Atlantic - Noun; is - Verb; big - Adjective; ocean - noun
2. He runs fast.
He - Pronoun; runs - Verb; fast - Adverb
3. Paris is a clean city.
Paris - Noun; is - Verb; clean - Adjective; city - noun
4. Hurrah! We gained the victory.
Hurrah! - Interjection; we - Pronoun; gained - Verb; Victory - noun
5. Messi plays well.
Messi - Noun; Plays - Verb; well - Adverb

Articles
Definition: An article is a word that defines a noun as specific or unspecific. In English, there
are two types of articles: definite and indefinite.
Definite Article: “The”
This article refers to a specific noun that is known to the reader. For example:
“The book on the table is mine.” (Here, “the book” refers to a specific book.)
Indefinite Articles: “A” and “An”
These articles refer to a non-specific noun. For example:
“I saw a dog in the park.” (Here, “a dog” refers to any dog, not one in particular.)
“She wants an apple.” (Here, “an apple” indicates any apple, not a specific one.)
Usage of Articles
When to Use “The”:
When referring to something unique:
“The sun rises in the east.”
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When referring to something that has been mentioned before:

“I bought a car. The car is red.”
When referring to a specific group or class:
“The rich should help the poor.”
When to Use “A” or “An”:
When mentioning something for the first time:
“I saw a cat.”
When referring to any member of a group:
“She is a teacher.”
Use “an” before words that begin with a vowel sound:
“He is an artist.”
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks with the Correct Article (“a,” “an,” or “the”):
1. I need an umbrella because it’s raining.
2. The Earth revolves around the Sun.
3. Can you pass me the salt, please?
4. She wants to be an engineer when she grows up.
5. I have an idea for our project.
Identify the Correct Article: Choose the correct article for each sentence.
1. I saw ___ elephant at the zoo. (a/an)
2. Do you have ___ pen? (a/an)
3. ___ moon looks beautiful tonight. (the/a)
4. He is reading ___ interesting book. (the/an)
5. She is ___ only person who can help us. (the/a)
Voices
Active Voice: In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. This makes the
sentence more direct and forceful.
Sentence Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
Passive Voice: In passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. This can
make the sentence more impersonal or indirect.
Sentence Structure:
Object + be verb+ verb’s past participle + by+ subject
Example:
 Active: The dog chased the cat.
 Passive: The cat was chased by the dog.
Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart
Tense Active voice Passive voice
Present Indefinite Does/Do Is/Are/Am
Present Continuous Is/Am/Are Is/Am/Are + Being
Present Perfect Has / Have Has been / Have been
Present Perfect Continuous Has / Have been Has / Have been + Being
Past Indefinite Did Was / Were
Past Continuous was/were was/ were + being
Past Perfect had had been
Past Perfect Continuous had been had been + being
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Future Indefinite Will Will be

Future Continuous Will be Will be + Being
Future Perfect Will have Will have been
Future Perfect Continuous Will have been Will have been + being
Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion:
 The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.
 The active sentence’s subject becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is
dropped). The finite form of the verb is changed to past participle or V3 form.
 The preposition “by” is used before the passive object.
Active and Passive Voice Rules For All Tenses:
1. Simple Present/ Past/ Future Tense
 Active: Subject + V1/ V2/ will V1/ shall V1 + object…
 Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were/will be/shall be + verb (III forms) + by +
subject…
2. Present/ Past Continuous Tense
 Active: Subject + Is/are/am/was/were + verb (ing) + object…
 Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were + being + verb (III from) + by + subject…
3. Present/ Past/ Future Perfect Tense
 Active: Subject + has/have/had/shall have/will have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
 Passive: Object + has/have/had/shall have/will have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by +
subject…
4. Interrogative Sentences
Present and Past Tense:
 Structure 1:
Active: Do/does/did + subject + V1 + object….?
Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + V3 + by + subject….?
 Structure 2:
Active: Is/are/a/was/were + subject + verb (ing) + object…?
Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + being + verb (III from) + by + subject…?
 Structure 3:
Active: Has/have/had + subject + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
Passive: Has/have/had + object + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
 Structure 4:
Active: Who + verb (s or es)/verb (IInd form) + object…?
Passive: By whom + is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (IIIrd form)?
 Structure 5:
Active: Wh-question word + do/does/did + subject + verb (I form) + object…?
Passive: Wh-question word + Is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (III from) + by +
subject…?
Future Tense:
 Structure 1:
Active: Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object….?
Passive: Is/are/am Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject….?
 Structure 2:
Active: Shall/ will + subject + have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
Passive: Shall/ will + object + have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
 Structure 3:
Active: Who + Shall/ will + V1 + object…?
Passive: By whom + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form)?
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 Structure 4:
Active: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object…?
Passive: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd from) + by +
subject…?
5. Imperative Sentences
 Positive
Active: Verb + object
Passive: (i) Let + object + be + past participle
(ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + to + verb (Ist form) + object
 Negative
Active: Do + not + Verb + Object
Passive: (i) Let + object + not + be + past participle
(ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + not + to + verb (Ist form) + object
6. Sentences with the Intransitive Verb:
Such sentences are known as Mid-voice or Quasi-Passive voice. They seem in active voice,
but their meaning is in passive voice, and they have intransitive verbs, like without a direct
object.
 Active: Honey tastes sweet.
 Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

TENSE Active Voice Passive Voice

Simple Present I write a letter. A letter is written by me.
A letter is being written by
Present Continuous I am writing a letter.
me.
A letter has been written by
Present Perfect I have written a letter.
me.
A letter has been being
Present Perfect Continuous I have been writing a letter.
written by me.
Simple Past I wrote a letter. A letter was written by me.
A letter was being written by
Past Continuous I was writing a letter.
me.
A letter had been written by
Past Perfect I had written a letter.
me.
A letter had been being
Past Perfect Continuous I had been writing a letter.
written by me.
A letter will be written by
Simple Future I will write a letter.
me.
A letter will be being written
Future Continuous I will be writing a letter.
by me.
A letter will have been
Future Perfect I will have written a letter.
written by me.
A letter will have been being
Future Perfect Continuous I will have been writing a letter.
written by me.

Exercises
Exercise 1: Identify the Voice Identify whether the following sentences are in active or
passive voice:
1. The book was written by the author. Passive
2. The cat chased the mouse. Active
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3. The letter was delivered yesterday. Passive

4. The teacher explained the lesson. Active
Exercise 2: Convert to Active Voice Convert the following sentences from passive to active
voice:
1. The ball was kicked by the player.
The player kicked the ball.
2. The cake was eaten by the children.
The children ate the cake.
3. The song was sung by the singer.
The singer sang the song.
4. The movie was watched by the audience.
The audience watched the movie.
Exercise 3: Convert to Passive Voice Convert the following sentences from active to
passive voice:
1. The dog barked at the mailman.
The mailman was barked at by the dog.
2. The students studied hard for the exam.
The exam was studied hard for by the students.
3. The police officer arrested the thief.
The thief was arrested by the police officer.
4. The artist painted a beautiful landscape.
A beautiful landscape was painted by the artist.
Exercise 4: Choose the Best Voice Choose the best voice (active or passive) for the
following sentences:
1. The award was given to (John/the winner).
2. Mistakes (were made/you made).
3. The letter (was delivered/delivered) yesterday.
4. The dog (chased/was chased) the cat.
Wh- Question & Yes/No Questions
Framing questions is framing interrogative sentences. There are two types of questions
Yes-No questions
WH questions
How to frame Yes-No questions.
An assertive sentence is formed as
Subject + verb + additional information.
It starts with a subject and then comes verb
I am a student.
Whereas in yes- no question the word order is altered. It starts with auxiliary verb and then
comes the subject.
Am I student?
Note:
to form yes-no questions, simply place the helping verb before the subject.
If the verb comprises of helping verb and main verb in the sentence, place the helping verb
before the subject which will be followed by main verb .
E.g: He is reading the newspaper.
Is he reading the newspaper?
If there is no helping verb in the sentence then
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You have to put do, does and did according to the tense of the sentence.
E.g: I Play cricket.
Play= do+ play
I Played cricket.
Played= did+ play
He Plays cricket.
Plays= Does+ play
Exercise
Frame Yes or No questions for the following.
I am a teacher.
She is learning French.
Ravi has bought a car.
She teaches English.
Sam came home.
I can finish my homework tomorrow.
Answers
Are you a teacher?
Is she learning French?
Has Ravi bought car?
Does she teach English?
Did she come home?
Can you finish your homework tomorrow?
Note:
Do not change the tense of the sentence while changing assertive sentence into interrogative
sentence.
Change the person according to the nature of the question.
How to frame WH questions
Wh-questions begin with what, when, where, who, whom, which, whose, why and how. We
use them to ask information. The answer cannot be yes or no:
A: When do you finish college?
B: Next year.
WH words and their uses:
 Who is used to ask something about a person or persons
Eg. Who has broken the glass?
 What is used to denote object in the sentence.
Eg. What does he write?
 Which is used to denote nouns.
Eg. Which is very tough to you?
 When is used to know the time of the verb in.
Eg. When did Tom reach there?
 Where is used to ask about a place.
Eg. Where did Mark settle?
 Why is used to talk about a reason.
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Eg. Why did Kavin miss the train?

 How is used to ask about the manner or the way of the verb being done in a sentence.
Eg. How did Nat go to school?
How did Nat go to School?
Steps to change statements into WH questions:
 Choose the appropriate WH word for the given statement.
 Then comes auxiliary verb before the subject.
 Other parts of the verb phrase comes after the subject.
Eg. Brazil has won the world cup five times.
How many times has Brazil won the world cup?
 When there is no auxiliary verb in the verb phrase, after WH word add do/ does/did
according to the tense of the sentence.
Eg. She learns music in school.
Where does she learn music?
Frame Wh-Question to get underlined part as an answer
1. Dr. Khan had a golden touch.
Who had a golden touch?
2. He dedicated his book “Ignited Mind” to Snehal Thakhar.
Whom did he dedicate his book “Ignited Mind”?
3. The writing of Jyotirao Phule inspired him.
Whose writing did inspire him?
4. Bhaurao Patil was born on 22nd September, 1887.
When was Bhaurao Patil born?
5. Bhaurao Patil was born at Khumbhoj.
Where was Bhaurao Patil born ?
6. We stopped by for breakfast at Mussouri.
Why did we stop by at mussouri?
7. He failed because he did not work hard.
Why did he fail?
8. Life is struggle
What is life?
9. The speech should be clear.
How should be the speech?
10. The Brahmaputra is known for flash flood?
Which river is known for flash floods?
PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES
A Prefix is a word or group of letters that is added at the beginning of the root word to form a
new word. A prefix word does not have any meaning of its own but when added to a root
word it modifies the meaning of the word. Prefix makes a word negative, indicates an opinion
or shows repetition.
Prefix Meaning Examples
de- from, down, away, reverse, opposite decode, decrease
dis- not, opposite, reverse, away disagree, disappear
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ex- out of, away from, lacking, former exhale, explosion

il- not illegal, illogical
im- not, without impossible, improper
in- not, without inaction, invisible
mis- bad, wrong mislead, misplace
non- not nonfiction, nonsense
pre- before prefix, prehistory
pro- for, forward, before proactive, profess, program
re- again, back react, reappear
un- against, not, opposite undo, unequal, unusual

POLITE EXPRESSIONS
Polite expressions are phrases and words we use in communication to show respect,
courtesy, and consideration for others. They are essential in both formal and informal
situations, helping to maintain good relationships and avoid misunderstandings.
Common Polite Expressions:
1. Greetings and Introductions:
Examples:
“Good morning.”
“How are you?”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
2. Making Requests Politely:
To sound more polite when asking for something, use:
Could you... / Would you mind... / Would it be possible to...
Examples:
“Could you please help me with this?”
“Would you mind opening the window?”
3. Offering Help:
Examples:
“May I help you?”
“Would you like some assistance?”
4. Apologizing:
Examples:
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Please accept my apologies.”
5. Expressing Gratitude:
Examples:
“Thank you very much.”
“I really appreciate your help.”
6. Accepting Invitations/Offers:
Examples:
“Yes, that would be wonderful.”
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“I would love to, thank you.”

7. Declining Invitations/Offers Politely:
Examples:
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m afraid I can’t.”
“I appreciate the invitation, but I have other plans.”
8. Showing Respect:
Examples:
“Excuse me, may I speak with you?”
“I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
9. Ending a Conversation or Meeting Politely:
Examples:
“Thank you for your time.”
“It was great talking to you.”
Convention Rules for Using Polite Expressions:
1. Use Modal Verbs:
Modal verbs such as could, would, may, and might are often used to make requests or offers
sound more polite.
Examples:
Instead of: “Open the door.”
Say: “Could you open the door, please?”
2. Use Indirect Language:
Being less direct makes your requests or statements softer.
Examples:
Instead of: “I want water.”
Say: “I would like some water, please.”
3. Add ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’:
These are the most common polite words. Adding them to your requests or responses shows
respect and gratitude.
Examples:
“Could you pass me the salt, please?”
“Thank you for your help.”
4. Apologize When Necessary:
Politeness often involves apologizing if there’s a chance you have inconvenienced someone.
Examples:
“I’m sorry for interrupting, but could I ask you something?”
5. Be Considerate of Tone:
Even polite words can sound rude if spoken in the wrong tone. Always aim to speak gently
and with kindness.
6. Offer Help Instead of Commands:
Offering assistance sounds more polite than commanding someone to do something.
Example:
“Let me help you with that.”
7. Use Conditional Forms for Politeness:
Conditionals like would and could express a polite possibility.
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Examples:
“Would you be able to give me a hand?”
Exercises:
I. Rewrite the following requests to make them more polite:
1. Close the window.
Could you please close the window?
2. Bring me a glass of water.
Would you mind bringing me a glass of water, please?
3. Move your car.
Could you kindly move your car?
4. Give me that file.
Would you please give me that file?
5. Answer my question.
Could you answer my question, please?
II. Match the following informal expressions with their polite equivalents:
Informal Phrase Polite Expression
1. “Give me that book.” a) “Would you mind moving your car?”
2. “I want some help.” b) “May I know your name, please?”
3. “I can’t come.” c) “Could you please give me that book?”
4. “Move your car!” d) “Please accept my apologies, but I can’t come.”
5. “What’s your name?” e) “Would you like some assistance?”
III. Write polite responses to the following situations:
1. Your friend invites you to a movie, but you have other plans.
Thank you so much for the invitation, but I already have plans. I hope we can catch a
movie together another time.
2. You need to interrupt a conversation to ask for directions.
Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but could you kindly help me with directions?
3. Someone asks you to help them carry heavy bags, but you are unable to help.
I’m really sorry, but I’m unable to help you with the bags right now. I hope you find
someone to assist you.
4. You want to ask your professor if you can submit your project a day late.
Professor, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but would it be possible to submit my
project a day late? I would really appreciate your understanding.

PART - B
READING COMPREHENSION

Reading is an activity with a purpose. A person may read in order to gain information or
verify existing knowledge. A person may also read for enjoyment, or to enhance knowledge
of the language being read. Reading also plays an important role in civic life. Through
reading, the individual keeps informed on the political, social, and economic and cultural
problems of his country. Reading affects our attitudes, beliefs, standards, morals, judgments,
and general behavior; it shapes our thinking and our actions. The purpose of reading is to
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correlate the ideas on the text to what you have already known. The reader must understand
about the subject that he/she read to connect the ideas.
Reading to search for simple information
a. Reading to search for simple information is a common reading ability, though some
researchers see it as a relatively independent cognitive process. It is used so often in reading
tasks that is probably best seen as type of reading ability.
b. Reading to skim quickly Reading to skim quickly is a common part of many readings task
and a useful skill in its own right. It involves, in essence, a combination of strategies for
guessing where important might be in the text, and then using basic reading comprehension
skills on those segments of the text until a general idea is formed.
c. Reading to learn from text Reading to learn typically occurs in academic and professional
contexts in which a person needs to learn a considerable amount of information from a text, it
requires abilities to remember main ideas, recognize and build rhetorical frames and link the
text to the reader base.
d. Reading to integrate information Reading to integrate information requires additional
decision about the relative importance of complementary, mutually supporting or 9
conflicting information and likely restructuring of a rhetorical frame to accommodate
information from multiple sources.
e. Reading to write and reading to critique texts Reading to write and reading to critique texts
may be task variants of reading to integrate information. Both require abilities to compose,
select, and critique information from a text.
f. Reading for general comprehension Reading for general comprehension when
accomplished by a skilled fluent reader, require very rapid and automatic processing of
words, strong skills in forming a general meaning representation of main idea, and efficient
coordination of many processes under very limited time constraint.
Purposes of reading are not only for students, but also the people in general. They must read
extensively to get information and knowledge of social living. It can help a person keeps
informed on the social, political, and economical problems of his country.
Reading Techniques: There are many techniques that we can use to make our reading easy.
The state the reading can help much more if we can read well. The techniques are:
a. Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or
dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. 10 Steps in Scanning are:
a. State the specific information you are looking for.
b. Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help you
locate the answer. For example, if you were looking for a certain date, you would quickly
read the paragraph looking only for numbers.
c. Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might contain
the information you are looking for.
d. Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.
Skimming is technique used to quickly the main ideas of the text.
Steps in skimming are:
a. Read the title.
b. Read the introduction or the first paragraph.
c. Read the first sentence of every other paragraph.
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d. Read any headings and sub-headings.

e. Read the summary or last paragraph.
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING
An autobiography should include all the most important details of your life story. This does
not mean it should contain every tiny sliver of minutiae; a self-aware autobiographer will take
stock of specific moments in their own life that may be interesting to themselves but not to an
audience of strangers. Here are some key elements to consider including in your
autobiography:

1. A description of your personal origin story: This can include your hometown, your
family history, some key family members and loved ones, and touchstone moments in
your education.
2. Significant experiences: Add accounts of each personal experience that shaped your
worldview and your approach to life in the present day.
3. Detailed recollections of episodes from your professional life: Often, these are the
turning points that your autobiography will be known for—the moments that would
inspire someone to pick up your book in the first place. Be sure to give them extra
care and attention.
4. A personal story of failure: Follow your setbacks with a good story of how you
responded to that failure.
5. A unique and compelling title: Steer clear of generic phrases like “my
autobiography” or “the story of me, my family, and famous people I know.”
6. A first-person narrative voice: Third-person writing is appropriate for traditional
biographies, but the third-person voice can read as presumptuous in the autobiography
format. Stick to first-person for a more intimate feel.

HINTS DEVELOPMENT

DEFINITION: Developing Hints is developing the phrases into full sentences and not
merely filling up dashes. The development of words and phrases into full
sentences and thereby making coherent paragraphs is called the process of hints development.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:
1. Read all the hints thoroughly.
2. Try to understand the tone of the passage.
3. Make sure to use all the hints; do not leave any point.
4. Arrange the points sequentially, one leading to the other.
5. Make two or three paragraphs, as required.
6. Look for the tense in the hints, follow the same in the story.
7. Make an introduction, body and conclusion for the story - wherever applicable.
8. Give a suitable title.