WRITING SKILLS AND GRAMMAR 41

Q. 5. The little boy who is wearing brown shoes _______ (A) are (B) has
my cousin. (C) is (D) were
(A) is (B) am Ans. Option (C) is correct.
(C) are (D) was Q. 10. Many of my friends _______ motorbikes.
Ans. Option (A) is correct. (A) ride (B) riding
Q. 6. The manger and the orator _______ been invited to (C) rides (D) has ride
the function. Ans. Option (A) is correct.
(A) was (B) has Q. 11. The sentence below has been divided into three
(C) were (D) have parts.
Ans. Option (D) is correct. The President of Italy, accompanied by his cabinet
Q. 7. No scholarship or reward _______ given to the members, is expected to arrive at the embassy by
student who stood first in the examination. 5 p.m.
(A) are (B) were (i) The President of Italy,
(C) was (D) had (ii) accompanied by his cabinet members,
Ans. Option (C) is correct. (iii) is expected to arrive at the embassy by 5 pm.
Q. 8. Bread and butter _______ what the poor want. Which of these options, when replaced with part
(A) are (B) has (ii), will change the verb form.
(C) is (D) has been (A) a in addition to his cabinet members
Ans. Option (C) is correct. (B) together With his cabinet members
Q. 9. Everybody _______ keen to participate in the (C) as well as his cabinet members
upcoming nukkad natak. (CBSE SQP, 2020-21) (D) and his cabinet members
Ans. Option (D) is correct. [CFPQ]

Determiners
Topic-4 Concepts Covered  Types of determiners: 1. Articles; (i) Indefinite Article; (ii) Definite
Article; 2. Demonstratives.; 3. Possessives; 4. Quantifiers; 5. Distributives;

Revision Notes
What are determiners? (c) Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their
Determiners are the words which are used before (d) Quantifiers : some, any, much, many, all,
nouns to determine or fix their meaning. both, little, few, several, less, one, two, etc.
Types : (e) Distributives : each, every, either or neither
(a) Articles : a, an and the ....... nor etc.
(b) (b) Demonstratives : this, that, these, those

Articles

Definite Indefinite
(The) (a/an)

(a) (i) Indefinite articles (a/an) European, a university, a mango, etc.

Usage: An - used before singular countable nouns
1. Used before singular countable nouns. beginning with vowel sound.
2. Represents a class or kind in general. [Example- an Indian, an hour, an umbrella, an
e.g., - A cow gives us milk. honest boy (silent _ ‘h‘)
↓ (ii) Definite article (the) – used before both
(Every Cow) countable and uncountable nouns.
A - used before singular countable nouns Usage :
beginning with consonant sound. 1. When we talk about something for
[Example- a one-eyed man, a unique place, a the second time in the same context or
anything qualified by a phrase.
(i) I met a girl at the gate of the school. The girl was weeping.
(Second time reference)
(First time reference)
(ii) The book which is on the table is mine.

(Phrase)
42 Oswaal CBSE Question Bank Chapterwise & Topicwise, ENGLISH LANG. & LIT., Class-X

2. Used before superlatives 8. Used before the names of scriptures.

She is the tallest girl of the class. e.g., The Ramayan, The Quran, The Guru
3. Used before the names of water bodies i.e. Granth Sahib, The Bible.
9. Used before the names of newspapers,
- rivers, seas, oceans
magazines.
The Ganges, The Arabian Sea, The Pacific e.g., The Times of India, The Competition
Ocean, etc. Success Review, The Reader‘s Digest.
Note : not used before the names of lakes. 10. Used before an adjective when it acts as a
e.g., Dal Lake. noun/ a class.
4. Used before the names of mountain e.g., The poor, The rich (The rich become
ranges. richer, the poor become poorer).
11. When a proper noun is used as a common
e.g. The Himalayas.
noun.
Note : not used before the names of peaks. (a) Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India.
e.g., Mount Everest. (a great dramatist)
5. Used before the names of satellites, (b) Demonstrative adjectives
planets, stars. This- to demonstrate nearby things
e.g., The moon, the earth, the sun. That- to demonstrate far off things
These- plural of ‘this‘
6. Used before the names of monuments and
Those- plural of ‘that‘
memorials.
(c) Possessives
e.g., The Red Fort, The Taj Mahal. These are used to show belongingness/
7. Used before the names of states/countries ownership.
that have a common noun in their name. e.g., l This is my book.
e.g., the USA, the UAE, the UNO, the UK. l That is his book.

OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

FILL IN THE BLANKS GIVEN BELOW BY CHOOSING THE CORRECT OPTION:
Q. 1. My work requires me to spread awareness about (A) fewer (B) less
the kinds of bullying prevalent in a student's life. (C) few (D) a little
Did you know that one out of __________ five Ans. Option (A) is correct.
students is bullied by another youth? __________ Q. 7. It was _______ historic day for the organisation when
students are scared of opening up to others _____ honour was bestowed upon its employees.
about instances of bullying __________ may be (A) a; an (B) an; the
happening to or around them.
(C) the; a (D) an; a
(A) each; Few; that (B) every; Many; that
Ans. Option (A) is correct.
(C) every; Few; those (D) each; Many; those
Q. 8. There are ______ bananas in the fruit basket, but
 (CBSE SQP, 2020-21)
there are ______ mangoes.
Ans. Option (B) is correct.
(A) some; any (B) some; no
Q. 2. ___________ fruit seller does not earn much during
the rainy season. (C) any; some (D) all; many
(A) An (B) The Q. 9. Harish sent his story to ___________ magazines for
publishing.
(C) A (D) Many
Q. 3. He drove with ___________ care and hence was (A) much (B) any
fined by the traffic police. (C) many (D) no
(A) many (B) less Ans. Option (C) is correct.
(C) much (D) little Q. 10. How many boys are there in ___________ class?
Ans. Option (D) is correct. (A) a (B) your
Q. 4. I spent ___________ money I had. (C) both (D) all
(A) a little (B) few Ans. Option (B) is correct.
(C) the little (D) little Q. 11. The cash prize will be awarded to_______student
Ans. Option (C) is correct. who scores the highest in English across all
Q. 5. You may have ___________ of the four watches. sections.
(A) some (B) any Choose the option that completes the sentence
(C) no (D) both above correctly. (Here ‘X’ signifies ‘no’ determiner
Ans. Option (B) is correct. needed.)
Q. 6. The good news is that _________ volunteers (A) a (B) an
dropped out this month than the last two.  (C) the (D) this [CFPQ]
 (CBSE SQP, 2020-21) Ans. Option (C) is correct.
These questions are for practice and their solutions are available at the end of the chapter.
100 Together with® English Language & Literature—10
7. Doctor : You should take this medicine every day.
Patient : Should I take it before dinner or after dinner?
Doctor : No, you should take it after breakfast.
The doctor advised the patient that (a) ................. . The patient further asked (b) ................. . The doctor
replied negatively and then said (c) ................. .
Ans. (a) he should take that medicine every day.
(b) if/whether he should take it before dinner or after dinner.
(c) that he should take it after breakfast
8. Reena : Do you know how to swim?
Surbhi : Yes I know. I have learnt it during this summer vacation.
Reena asked Surbhi (a) ................. . Then Surbhi replied (b) ................. and also added that (c) ................. .
Ans. (a) if/whether she knew how to swim
(b) in the affirmative
(c) she had learnt it during the summer vacation.

Determiners
Determiners are words placed in front of a noun so that what the noun is referring to can be defined.
The word ‘books’ by itself is a general reference to some books. If we say ‘these books’, we know what books we
are talking about. If we say ‘some books’, we refer to certain set of books. Here ‘these’ and ‘some’ are determiners.
Note: Little, a Little, the little.
• Little is a negative adjective, and means “not much”, e.g.
He had little money (not much money).
• A little is an affirmative adjective, and means “some at least”, e.g.
He had a little money (some money at least, although the amount was small).
• The little implies two statements one negative, and the other affirmative.
He spent the little money he had.
That is
(i) The money he had was not much. (Negative)
(ii) He spent all the money that he had. (Affirmative)
Determiners can be categorised into several categories like –
Definite and Indefinite Articles: Definite – ‘the’. Indefinite – ‘a’, ‘an’.
Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Quantifiers: a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough, etc.
Numbers: one, two, thirty, etc.
Distributives: either, neither, each, every, half, both, all, etc.
Words which show difference: other, another
Question words: which, what, whose
Words which define: which, whose, etc.

Solved question bank

Multiple Choice/Objective Type Questions
Read the following dialogue and fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners.
1. Sahil : Will you get (a) ................... orange in the market?
Mother : If I get, I will buy (b) ................... .
Sahil : Please take (c) ................... keys also along.
 Grammar 101
(a) (i) any (ii) one (iii) some (iv) many
(b) (i) many (ii) some (iii) any (iv) more
(c) (i) a (ii) an (iii) the (iv) this
Ans. (a) (i) any (b) (ii) some (c) (iii) the
Read the following paragraphs and fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners.
2. Savita has lost the (a) ................... pens she had. Now she has spent the (b) ................... money she had on
buying more. So she is giving (c) ................... worried look.
(a) (i) some (ii) few (iii) little (iv) many
(b) (i) some (ii) more (iii) few (iv) little
(c) (i) a (ii) the (iii) one (iv) an
Ans. (a) (ii) few (b) little (c) a
3. There are so (a) ................... ways of entertainment in life. (b) ................... circus is one of the most entertaining
media. Last Sunday (c) ................... of our friends went to see the Diamond Circus. My uncle took us there.
(d) ................... one paid for his ticket.
(a) (i) many (ii) more (iii) few (iv) a few
(b) (i) A (ii) An (iii) The (iv) This
(c) (i) many (ii) some (iii) few (iv) more
(d) (i) Each (ii) All (iii) Some (iv) Every
Ans. (a) (i) many (b) (iii) The (c) (ii) some (d) (iv) Every
4. (a) ................... is one of (b) ................... most memorable trips. At Rameshwaram we saw (c) ................... ancient
temples, which gave (d) ................... idea of our glorious past. It added (e) ................... to our knowledge.
Ans. (a) This (b) the (c) a few (d) some (e) a lot
5. Sahil : Meet him, he is (a) ................... brother.
Rohan : You resemble (b) ................... (c) ................... .
Sahil : No, you are wrong, (d) ................... of us resembles.
In fact, there is hardly (e) ................... resemblance.
Ans. (a) my (b) each (c) other (d) neither (e) any
6. Mukna Kangjei is (a) ................... very popular game in Manipur. It enjoyed (b) ................... royal patronage in
(c) ................... olden days. Manipur is known for several games that developed over (d) ................... period of
time. It is (e) ................... indigenous game. In the beginning it was very popular but now slowly (f) ...................
game is fading away.
Ans. (a) a (b) the (c) the (d) a (e) an (f) the
7. The interact club of ABC Public School recently organised (a) ................... voluntary blood donation camp.
(b) ................... event was (c) ................... initiative of (d) ................... Rotary Club of Delhi. As (e) ...................
part of the drive (f) ................... students took out a rally in the vicinity of the school.
Ans. (a) a (b) The (c) an (d) the (e) a (f) the

INtegrated Grammar Exercises

Gap Filling

Solved question bank

Multiple Choice/Objective Type Questions
Fill in the blanks in the paragraph given below with the help of options that follow: 
1. The modern student understands the importance (a) .................. physical exercise. He spends one
to two hours in open air (b) .................. he takes part in different sports. However, care should
(c) .................. not to overstrain (d) .................. body. [CBSE 2018]
(a) (i) to (ii) of (iii) on (iv) in
Changing Questions
• When we convert a question to reported speech, question in reported speech starts with the same
the syntax of the sentence changes. word.
• The verb in reported speech does not turn to a • Some reporting verbs that we use are: ask,
question, but into a positive form. wonder, want to know.
• The tenses of the verbs, the pronouns, and the Example: Direct speech: “Where are you staying?”
time markers change, as in statements. Rakesh asked me.
• If the question in the direct speech starts with Indirect speech: Rakesh asked me where I was
a question word (what/where/ when/how) the staying.

Example:
Abhilash and Neha had a conversation about the Evaluation Points
Marks
(As per CBSE Marking Scheme)
inauguration of Neha's new restaurant. Report
1  Report the given dialogue by changing the
Abhilasha's question. direct speech into indirect speech. (1m)
Ans. Abhilash asked Neha if she had invited her family
"Did you invite your family to the grand opening?"
to the grand opening.

| TOPIC 5 |
DETERMINERS
The words that help us specify the nouns we are speaking about are called determiners. A determiner is a word
placed in front of a noun to specify quantity. For instance, ‘one dog’, ‘many dogs’ or to clarify what the noun
refers to. For instance, ‘my dog’, ‘that dog’, ‘the dog’.

Determiners
• State possession. • State the difference between nouns.
• Define something or someone. • State that someone or something is not specific.
• State that someone or something is specific. • State the number or amount of people, things, or
• State how things or people are distributed. nouns.

Types of Determiners
Determiners can be of various types:

Determiners

De nite and Cardinal Di erence De ning

Inde nite Possessives
articles Numbers Words Words

Demonstratives Quanti ers Distributives Question Words

Let’s read more about definite and indefinite articles:

1. Definite and Indefinite Articles

• ‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles as they don’t refer • ‘The’ is a definite article, which speaks of a
to particular nouns. particular noun.
Example: I had an egg and a toast for breakfast. Example: I live in the last house on this street.

Complete Grammar 115

Let’s read more about the uses of a, an, and the.

Uses Examples

To make general statements about non-specific A cat is an independent creature.

countable nouns.
To define singular countable nouns. A smartphone is an essential device in today's
world.
Before singular nouns that indicate quantities, It took him an hour to complete his homework.
weights, measures, fractions, time, and numbers
among other things.
A/An In exclamatory sentences. Wow! There's a shooting star.
To mention the names of certain illnesses. He was just minutes away from a liver failure.
Before proper nouns that are used as common They have designed the place in such a way that
nouns in sentences. there is a Taj Mahal in the city now.
To refer to an unknown person. A mysterious Ms. Smith left a note at the doorstep.
With reference to units of measurement. The rocket reached an altitude of 500 meters
within seconds.
To talk of something specific about a person or Emily adopted a kitten yesterday. The kitten's fur
a thing. is all white.
To report to a particular person or thing. The flight to Chennai was delayed by an hour.
With proper nouns denoting oceans, mountain The Amazon River is the second-longest river
The ranges, rivers, etc. globally, flowing through South America.
To refer to parts of the day, directions, and We’ll meet them in the evening.
positions.
Names of special monuments and buildings. They visited the Colosseum during their trip to
Rome.
Before countries with plural forms. The United Kingdom is known for its historical
landmarks.
To refer to a class of people or things. He wants more of the youth to be socially
responsible.
To refer to the people of a country/continent. The Asian doctors were invited for the meeting.
Before the titles of people. The President of Brazil addressed the nation on
the importance of education.
Before the titles of holy books, epics, and I wrote an article for the Times of India about the
newspapers. traffic situation.
To talk about things that are unique and one of The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking natural
a kind. wonder.
Before cardinal numbers. She was the first one to reach the party.
Before the superlative degree of adjectives. Rinku is the naughtiest student of our class.
Before the names of families. The Johnsons are hosting a family reunion next
month.
To refer to nouns related to the environment/ The ocean plays a crucial role in regulating the
nature. Earth's climate.

Omission of Articles
Sometimes we don’t need to use articles; some such cases are given below:
• Before plural countable nouns. Example: The email brought us invaluable
Example: To excel in sports, athletes need discipline information.
and rigorous training. • Before proper nouns.
• Before uncountable nouns that are always Example: Paris is often referred to as the 'City of
singular. Love.

116 English Language & Literature Class X

• Before titles followed by surnames. Example: We traveled to the beach by bus last
Example: Dr Sengupta is a colleague of ours. weekend.
• Before names of academic subjects. • Before newspaper headlines.
Example: Mathematics requires logical thinking Example: India wins the first ODI against
and problem-solving skills. Zimbabwe.
• Before names of meals.
• Before names of days, months, special days,
and seasons. Example: Sunday brunch is a family tradition in
our home.
Examples: My brother was born in summer, while I
• Before words like school, hospital, and church,
was born in winter.
unless we are referring to a specific one.
My grandmother’s birthday is in November. Example: Children eagerly anticipate the start of
• Before names of means of transport. school each year.

2. Demonstratives
This, that, those, and these are demonstratives. Demonstratives show where an object or person is in relation
to the speaker.
• This (singular) and these (plural) refer to the nouns • That (singular) and those (plural) refer to the
near the speaker. nouns that are far away.
Examples: Are these your books? Examples: That accident forms a part of our
memory.
Is this your laptop on the table?
Can you see those mountains in the distance?

3. Possessives
Possessive determiners show whom a thing belongs to. Some possessives are: My, your, his, her, its, our, and
their.
Examples: Palash is my friend.
Anshika was worried for her father’s health.
My cats adores its mother too much.

4. Quantifiers
We use quantifiers when we talk about the quantity of something. Quantifiers act as determiners as they tell us
how much or how many of a noun there are. Some quantifiers are all, any, enough, less, a lot, lots of, both,
each, either, few, fewer, neither, and several.
Examples: There were several issues to be addressed in the meeting.
A lot of time was wasted in waiting for everyone to assemble.
How many questions do we need to attempt?
• We use quantifiers with both countable and uncountable nouns. This table shows which quantifier is used
with which noun type.
With Uncountable Nouns With Countable Nouns With Countable and Uncountable Nouns
how much? how/many? how much/many?
a little a few no/none
a bit (of ) a number (of ) not any
several some/any
a large amount of a large number of a lot of
a great deal of a great number of plenty of
lots of

• Some and any can be used with both countable He doesn’t have any information about today’s
townhall.
and uncountable nouns.
• Enough is placed before a noun to indicate the
Examples: Some nice, juicy apples are kept in the quantity required or necessary.
fridge. Example: There is enough coffee in the jar.

Complete Grammar 117

 5. Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers
Both cardinal numbers, such as one, ten, thirty, and ordinal numbers, such as first, second, and tenth act as
determiners. They specify the sequence of a noun.
Examples: There were thirty children in the classroom.
This is happening for the third time now.

6. Distributives
Distributives such as each, every, either, and neither act as determiners since they refer to each one of a
number of persons, animals, or things.
• Distributives are usually used with singular Examples: Which country do you want to go to?
countable nouns and are placed before them. What makes her look so sad?
• Each is used to talk about the members of one
group as individuals. 9. Defining Words
Example: Each member of the team contributes
Defining words like which and whose act as
valuable insights during our weekly meetings.
determiners as they are used to define or give extra
• Every is used to talk about all the members of a
information about the nouns.
group.
Examples: The team celebrated the success of
Example: Every third day, the tyre of my car is
flattened. their project, whose impact exceeded everyone's
expectations.
• Either and neither are used to show choices
between two things as options. Either is used for The company introduced a new policy, which aims to
positive and neither is used for negative. promote a healthier work-life balance for employees.
Examples: Neither of the option is correct; both are
erroneous. Pre-determiners
Either Nivedita or Aarti will make the booking. Read the following sentences:
You have such an adorable teddy!
7. Difference Words Shekhar has had quite a bad injury.
Daisy has four times the number of friends I have.
• The determiner ‘other’ is used with plural nouns or
occasionally with uncountable nouns. In these sentences, the articles are all determiners
introducing nouns. The words such, quite, and four
Example: The store has a wide selection of shoes, times come before these determiners, generally
but I'm looking for other options that match my articles, introducing the nouns.
specific style.
Words that come before other determiners are called
• To talk about an additional person or thing of the pre-determiners.
same type as we already have, the determiner
Some pre-determiners are rather, quite, such, both,
another is used with singular countable nouns.
all, half, twice, and three times.
Example: We have one umbrella, but it's raining
The pre-determiners rather, quite, and such are
heavily, and I need another for my friend who just
also called intensifiers, referring to the degree of a
arrived.
particular quality, as in these sentences.

8. Question Words Example:

Question words like which, what and whose act Fill the blank by choosing the correct option, to
as determiners as they introduce specific nouns in complete the concluding line of an issued circular
questions. by an Organisation, to its Managers.

Evaluation Points
Marks
(As per CBSE Marking Scheme)

1  Fill in the blank with an appropriate article (1m)

The project requires.................. (a/an/the) significant Explanation: The indefinite article "a" is
amount of resources to be successful." appropriate here because the sentence is
referring to an unspecified or non-specific
Ans. (A) a amount of resources.

118 English Language & Literature Class X