Functional Grammar

ICSE Class 9 · English · Chapter 5

What this chapter covers

The grammar question in Paper 1
Prepositions
Conjunctions and linkers
Verbs, tenses and correct verb forms
Subject-verb agreement
Active and passive voice
Direct and indirect speech
Degrees of comparison
Joining sentences
Structure of sentences: simple, compound and complex
Sentence correction

Key points

Question 5 of Paper 1 tests prepositions, conjunctions, verbs and the structure of sentences; every item is compulsory and the instruction must be followed exactly.
A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to another word; many words take a fixed preposition that must be learnt.
Use "since" with a starting point and "for" with a length of time; use "between" for two and "among" for more than two.
Conjunctions join ideas and show how they relate; "neither" goes with "nor", "no sooner" with "than", "hardly" with "when", and "unless" never takes "not".
A past participle needs a helping verb; the base form follows a modal and "did".
The present perfect is never used with a finished time such as "yesterday"; future time in "if" and "when" clauses takes the simple present.
A verb agrees with its true subject; phrases like "along with" and "as well as" do not change it, and with "neither … nor" the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
In the passive, the object becomes the subject, "be" carries the tense, and the main verb is the past participle; the tense never changes.
In indirect speech after a past reporting verb, the tense moves one step back, pronouns change to fit the reporter, and words of nearness change to words of distance; universal truths keep the present tense.
Questions in indirect speech take statement order; commands take an infinitive after a verb such as "ordered" or "requested".
Interchanging degrees of comparison must keep the meaning; "any other" needs "other", and "one of the" becomes "most other" or "very few".
Sentences can be joined with conjunctions, relative pronouns, participles, infinitives, apposition and fixed patterns such as "too … to".
A simple sentence has one main clause; a compound sentence has two or more main clauses; a complex sentence has one main clause and at least one subordinate clause.
Sentence correction works best with a fixed checking order: agreement, tense, verb form, prepositions, conjunctions, comparisons, pronouns and modifiers.

Questions answered

Define a preposition and give two examples of fixed prepositions after adjectives.

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation to another word in the sentence. Examples: fond of, proud of, interested in, good at.

Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions: (a) She has been waiting ___ an hour. (b) The two brothers quarrelled ___ themselves. (c) He was charged ___ forgery.

(a) for (b) between ("among" is used for more than two) (c) with.

Why is "I look forward to meet you" wrong?

In "look forward to", the word "to" is a preposition, and a verb after a preposition takes the gerund form. The correct sentence is "I look forward to meeting you."

Fill in the blanks with suitable conjunctions: (a) Scarcely had the music started ___ the guests began to dance. (b) Keep the milk in the fridge ___ it should go sour. (c) He is ___ rich ___ generous.

(a) when (b) lest (c) both … and (or "not only … but also").

Supply the correct form of the verb: (a) The bell ___ (ring) before we reached the gate. (b) She ___ (live) in Bhopal since 2018. (c) Water ___ (freeze) at 0 °C.

(a) had rung (b) has lived or has been living (c) freezes. A universal truth takes the simple present.

Choose the correct verb and give the reason: "The news of the floods (has / have) shocked everyone."

"has". The subject is "news", which is singular in spite of its -s ending, and "of the floods" does not change the subject.

Change into the passive voice: (a) Who wrote this poem? (b) The villagers are building a new well. (c) Do not waste paper.

(a) By whom was this poem written? (b) A new well is being built by the villagers. (c) Let paper not be wasted. ("You are advised not to waste paper" is also accepted.)

Change into indirect speech: Nikhil said to his father, "Can I go to the fair tomorrow?"

Nikhil asked his father if he could go to the fair the next day.

Past board exam questions

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 4 marks

(a) Fill in each of the numbered blanks with the correct form of the word given in brackets. Do not copy the passage, but write in correct serial order the word or phrase appropriate to the blank space. Example: (0) looked Suraj (0) ____________ (look) out of the door. He (1) ____________ (catch) sight of the board (2) ____________ (bear) the station’s name. He was so (3) ____________ (astonish) that he almost (4) ____________ (fall) out of the compartment. He was back in his home town! After (5) ____________ (travel) for forty or fifty kilometers, here he (6) ____________ (is) home again. He (7) ____________ (can) not understand it. He (8) ____________ (climb) out of the compartment slowly.

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(1) caught (2) bearing (3) astonished (4) fell (5) travelling (6) was (7) could (8) climbed

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 4 marks

(b) Fill in each blank with an appropriate word: (i) Bobby waited in front ____________ the school. (ii) The children were told to return home ____________ it became dark. (iii) He wore an old muffler wrapped ____________ his neck. (iv) We saw the bird fly high ____________ the tower and disappear. (v) Music therapy is a cure ____________ many ills. (vi) The thief ran ____________ the staircase and out into the yard. (vii) Mr. Roy jumped into his car and drove ____________ as fast as he could. (viii) Please do not get carried ____________ by these rumours.

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(i) of (ii) before (iii) round / around (iv) above / over (v) for (vi) down (vii) away / off (viii) away

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 4 marks

(c) Join the following sentences to make one complete sentence without using and, but or so: (i) The teacher arrived. The class started. (ii) The drive was so tedious. I fell asleep on the backseat. (iii) He was found in possession of the stolen goods. He was punished. (iv) Stop talking. Leave the classroom.

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(i) As soon as the teacher arrived, the class started. (ii) The drive was so tedious that I fell asleep on the backseat. (iii) Having been found in possession of the stolen goods, he was punished. (iv) Either stop talking or leave the classroom.

ICSE 2019 sample paper · 8 marks

(d) Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given after each. Make other changes that may be necessary, but do not change the meaning of each sentence. (i) “I saw a panther this morning”, he said modestly. (Rewrite using indirect speech.) (ii) Kiran is the fastest runner in our school. (Begin: No other………) (iii) Susan hid her grandmother’s spectacles. (Begin: Her grandmother’s………) (iv) Ali was too embarrassed to speak clearly. (Begin: Ali was so………) (v) As soon as the election results were out, the victory procession started. (Begin: No sooner………) (vi) Ranji prefers reading a book to watching a movie. (Begin: Ranji would rather………) (vii) Anu does not study enough, but she still stands first. (Begin: Despite………) (viii) If Aruna practices, she will win the competition. (Begin: Unless………)

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(i) He said modestly that he had seen a panther that morning. (ii) No other runner in our school is as fast as Kiran. (iii) Her grandmother’s spectacles were hidden by Susan. (iv) Ali was so embarrassed that he could not speak clearly. (v) No sooner were the election results out than the victory procession started. (vi) Ranji would rather read a book than watch a movie. (vii) Despite not studying enough, Anu still stands first. (viii) Unless Aruna practises, she will not win the competition.