ERROR SPOTTING- SENTENCES OF COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PATTERN

 

ERROR SPOTTING

In different competitive examinations, there are questions of error finding in the given sentences. These errors generally relate to use of parts of speech, Subject and object or Subject and Verb combinations, Sequence of Tense, Use of Preposition or Phrasal verbs etc. It becomes a little difficult to trace out  errors if sentences are lengthy. However it becomes possible if proper use of tense, subject, object and verb combinations are checked. So proper use of tense and  parts of speech is necessary. 

There are certain important points that need to be considered while making sentences. For example :

1. 'Have' is a word that is used as a modal verb as well as a main verb. It also joins a helping verb like 'should' to express past tense of 'should'. Following sentence will clear this point.

I have a bag. 

In this sentence 'have' is used as a main verb. It denotes possession. It is therefore a possessive verb in this sentence. 

I have finished my work.

In this sentence 'have' is used as a helping verb. 'Finished' is the main verb in this sentence.

 You should finish your work now.

In this sentence 'should' is a helping verb. This sentence is in present tense as is also evident from the word 'now'. To express past tense of 'should' the helping verb 'have' is used with it.

You should have finished your work by now.

'Should have' in this sentence expresses past tense of should.

'Have ' is used not only as a possessive verb but it is also used as a stative verb. But as a stative verb it is not used in continuous or progressive form.

 So it is incorrect to say He is having a bag. It should be He has a bag.

But 'Having' when used as a noun in the form of a gerund is correct.

Having taken the breakfast, he started for his office.

In this sentence, 'Having' being a gerund is used as a noun. So it is correct use of 'having' here. 

Similarly there are some more verbs which are used as stative verbs and they do not have their continuous or progressive form. These are appear, like, know, see, believe or taste etc. When these words are used as stative verb these are not used in continuous or progressive forms.

It is incorrect to say 'It is appearing that it will rain today'. Here appear is used as a stative verb. It is correct to say 'It appears that it will rain today'. Similarly it is incorrect to say 'He is believing in God'. It should be 'He believes in God'.

2. There are errors relating to conditional sentences.

When two parts are joined together in a sentence there can be future tense in both the parts. But if one part of these is a conditional sentence, the conditional part should be in simple tense and the other part in future indefinite tense. For example:

.In case of two parts in simple form

He will go by bus and I shall go by train.

These two are simple parts and are joined by 'and' so both can be in  future tense.

In case of conditional sentence, one part is dependent on the other. One part containing condition will be in simple present tense and the other part will be in future tense. 

It will be incorrect to say - If he will go by bus, I shall go by train.

It should be - If he goes by bus I shall go by train.

The above conditional sentence can be in past tense also as-

If he went by bus I would go by train.

These both actions relate to past and one action is dependent on the other.

These conditional sentences can be in perfect tense also for example:

If he had gone by bus I would have gone by train.

In this case the conditional part has 'had and third form of verb' and the other part is 'would have and third form of verb'.

Just as there cannot be future tense in both the parts of the sentence, similarly there cannot be 'would have' in both the parts of the sentence. The part containing condition will have 'had and third form of verb' and in other part 'would have and third for of verb'. For example :

If he had come I would have helped him.

Some examples of above cases:

He will work hard and he will succeed.

If he works hard he will succeed.

If he worked hard he would succeed.

If he had worked hard he would have passed.

Here follow some sentences of this type on pattern of questions of competitive examinations duly solved with explanation. 

ERRORS DUE TO USE OF TENSE

EXERCISE NO 1

1  1.He does not want to seek any undue favour from that lady but his father advised him that he should meet her if she invites him to visit her.

2 2. We had planned to reach there much earlier so that we could help him but by the time we reach there, he had completed his project.

3 3.The young man had been working with this company for the last ten years or so but a couple of months back he had left the job.

4 4.My friend opined that he would ensure that his son gets a good job by the end of this month although his son did not like doing any job rather he preferred to start his own business.

5 5.Her daughter is working hard to get through the entrance examination and she hopes that by this time next year she will take admission in a medical college.

6 6.Yesterday I went to the market to purchase a pen that I wanted to purchase for some time but I chose a cheap one with the result that it is leaking since I purchased it.

7 7. When they had arrived two hours ago, we had already done most of our work, sent messages to friends and arranged a sweet cake for them.

1.He does not want to seek any undue favour from that lady but his father advised him that he should meet her if she invites him to visit her.

In this sentence ‘does not like’ is in present tense. ‘to seek’ is infinitive and it is correct. ‘Seek ..from’ a phrasal verb is also correct. ’But’ is a conjunction it is a negative conjunction so after this tone or sense of the sentence will change. after ‘his father advised him’ is in past tense. ‘should’ is a modal verb and it has no effect of any tense on it. ‘she invites him’ is in present tense. It should be, according to the tense of ‘advised’, ‘if she invited him’ is correct.

 

2.We had planned to reach there much earlier so that we could help him but by the time we reach there, he had completed his project.

In this sentence, ‘had planned’ is correct as this action took place in the past. ‘so that we could’ is also correct as it is an imaginary action supposed to have taken place in the past. ‘he had completed’ is also correct as this action had already taken place in the past. ‘but we reach there’ is in present whereas it should be in the past tense as this action also took place in the past. So ‘we reached there’ is correct in place of ‘we reach there’.

 

3.The young man had been working with this company for the last ten years or so but a couple of months back he had left the job.

In this sentence ‘had been working …..for the last ten years’ is correct. ‘A couple of months back’ is correct denotes action occurred in the past and was complete in the past. Similarly the action, ‘had left the job’ also occurred in the past and was complete in the past. It did not continue for a span of time in the past. It should be ‘he left the job’.

 

4.My friend opined that he would ensure that his son gets a good job by the end of this month although his son did not like doing any job rather he preferred to start his own business.

‘My friend opined ‘ is I past tense, accordingly ‘he would ensure’ is correct. ‘Although his son did not like’ is correct according tense. Similarly ‘preferred to start his ……’ is also in correct form of tense. But ‘his son gets a good job’ is in present tense. It also should be in past tense according to ‘opined’. ‘His son got a good job’ is correct here.

 

5.Her daughter is working hard to get through the entrance examination and she hopes that by this time next year she will take admission in a medical college.

In this sentence ‘is working’ is in present continuous tense and is correct. ‘to get through’ is a phrasal verb and is correct. ‘she hopes’ is also in present tense and is correct.’by this time’ denotes action in future time. ‘will take’ also is in future tense. But it is an imaginary situation which may or may not happen in future. For this instead of future indefinite tense , future perfect tense is used. So ‘she will have taken’ is the correct version.

 

6.Yesterday I went to the market to purchase a pen that I wanted to purchase for some time but I chose a cheap one with the result that it is leaking since I purchased it.

 

In this sentence, ‘yesterday’ denotes past time and for this ‘I went’ is correct. With this ‘to the market to purchase ‘ is also correct. ‘that I wanted to purchase’ qualifies a particular type of pen. ‘I chose’ and ‘I purchased’ denote action in the past. ‘is leaking since’ denotes that action started in the past and continues up to present. For such an action perfect tense instead of indefinite tense is used. So ‘it has been leaking since’ is correct here.

 

7.When they had arrived two hours ago, we had already done most of our work, sent messages to friends and arranged a sweet cake for them.

In this sentence, two actions of past have been described. In such a case one part is in past indefinite tense and the other is in past perfect tense. The earlier action is in past perfect tense and the other in past indefinite tense.  ‘we had already done’ is correct but instead of ‘they had arrived’ should be ‘they arrived’.

 

PARTICIPLES -- PRESENT , PAST AND PERFECT PARTICIPLES - USAGE AND COMPARISON EXPLAINED IN SENTENCES.

 PARTICIPLES - Types, Usage And Comparison

Verbs are of two types -- Finites and Non-Finites , the former change with person, number of Subject and tense used in a sentence whereas the latter don't have any effect of these on them.

For Example:

He often sees him playing in the ground.

I often see him playing in the ground.

We often see him playing in the ground.

I saw him playing in the ground.

In the sentences written above, the verbs sees, see, and saw are changing with the change of  person from he to I or we and tense from present to past tense. But the second verb in these sentences 'playing' remains constant in all these sentences. Verbs like 'Playing' which do not have any effect of any change of person, number or tense on them are called Non-finite verbs.

Non- Finites are also called Double Parts of Speech because these are verbs but act as Noun, Adjective or Adverb. These are also called Verbal-nouns or Verbal-adjectives etc.

 

TYPES OF NON - FINITES

Non-finite verbs or Non - finites are of three types.

1. Gerund - A verb used as a noun is called a Gerund.

2. Infinitive - First form of a verb preceding with 'to' used as a noun is called infinitive.

3. Participle -  is formed by adding 'ing' to first form of verb i.e. doing, carrying etc. 

Participles are of three types.

Present Participle

Past Participle 

Perfect Participle 

PRESENT PARTCIPLE

Present Participle is formed of first form of verb and 'ing' for example : breaking , carrying etc. It denotes continuity of action or  incomplete or unfinished action. It acts as an adjective. It is also called 'Verbal Adjective'.

For example : 

I saw him going in the street.                       ........1

They kept us waiting.                                   ........2 

 The verbs 'going' and 'waiting' in the sentences written above denote continuity of action and unfinished action.

In the first sentence the verb,( go +ing) 'going' is basically a verb but it describes the pronoun 'him' prior to it and as such acts as an adjective. So it is Present Participle. Similarly 'Waiting' in the second sentence is also a verb acting as an adjective describing pronoun 'us'.

Growing children need nutritious food.            ......3

In this sentence 'growing' is a verb and describes noun 'children'. It is a verb acting as an adjective and is called Present Participle.  

In the sentences 1 and 2 Present Participle is in Predicative position whereas in 3 it is in attributive position. 

God willing, you will win.                        .........4

The weather being fine, we went out for a walk.       .........5

In sentences 4 and 5 the verbs 'willing' and 'being' are acting adjectives but these are independent of verb of the sentence. These are not subject, object or complement in these sentences. These are Absolute Present Participle.

Seeing a wolf, the child started crying.

This sentence is formed of two sentences combined together. 

The child saw a wolf. He started crying.

The Present Participle 'Seeing' , a verb but acting as an adjective  is used to combine the two sentences. This is Combining Present Participle. 

 

PAST PARTCIPLE

A verb in its third form acting as an adjective i.e. describing a noun or a pronoun is called Past Participle. For Example :

She is a retired teacher.

In this sentence 'retired' is third form of verb 'retire' and describes the noun teacher following it. It is Past Participle.

Time gone never returns.

In this sentence 'gone' the third form of' 'go' acts as an adjective describing the noun 'time'. It is a Past Participle. A Past Participle represents a completed work in the past.

It is also called verbal adjective because it is averb acting as an adjective.

Examples:

1. If the temperature fluctuates, it will cause frozen foods to lose their moisture faster and they will become drier and tough.

'Frozen' in this sentence is third form of verb 'freeze' but is describing the noun 'foods' and acting as an adjective. It is Past Participle.

2. He preferred to pave a new way for himself instead of treading on a beaten track. 

In this sentence beaten is third form of verb beat and describes the noun track and acts as and adjective. It is a Past participle.

3. The burnt child dreads the fire.

In this sentence 'burnt' third form of verb 'burn' acts as an adjective describing noun 'child'. It is a Past Participle.

PERFECT PARTICIPLE

Perfect Participle is used when after completion of one action another action is undertaken. The second action may be continuing or may have finished. 

For this following methods are used :

1. Having + third form of verb.

2. Being +third form of verb.

3. Having been + third form of verb.

1. The subject after doing one work starts another work.

2 & 3. Subject himself does not do any work but experiences work done by another person.

1. HAVING + THIRD FORM OF VERB

In this case the subject does both the works himself . It is written in active voice.

For example :

1. Having finished your work you can go. 

In this sentence both the actions are to be undertaken by th subject you. So it is in active voice.

It can be written in this way also.

You having finished your work can go.

2. Having taken her dinner, she went to bed.

3. Having finished their homework, the children went to play.

4. He having completed his studies, will go abroad.

5. He having taken his breakfast, went to his office.

2. BEING +THIRD FORM OF VERB

In this type of sentences one action is done by the subject and that is written in active voice. But the other action is done by some other person.

For example:

Being indisposed he did not go to office.

In this sentence the action  that he did not go office is done by the subject himself.  This part of the sentence is in active voice. The other action has not been done by the subject he.

This sentence can be written in this way also.

He, being indisposed, did not go to office.

3. HAVING +BEEN+ THIRD FPRM OF VERB

In this case an action is done by subject himself and that part is in active voice but the other is done by some one else. So that part is in passive voice. For example:

Having been injured, he started crying.

The action 'he started crying' is done by the subject and is in active voice. But he was injured by someone else, so it is in passive voice.

Having been forced by his boss, he left the job.

In this sentence the subject did one work and he left the job. This part of the sentence is in active voice. The other action was taken by the boss, tis part of the sentence is in passive voice.

This type of sentences can  be written in negative also.

Not having been taken into custody, the thief managed to escape.

In this sentence the subject the thief did one work himself but the other work was done by other.

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE

Select the appropriate word out of the given options suitable for the sentence.

1. Hearing/heard the loud noise, the child woke up.

2. Having heard/hearing the news all of them rushed to see him.

3. Being/Having been exhausted, he decided to take rest.

4. Fearing/having feared his arrest, the thief took to his heels.

5. Not having been/ Not being  invited to the party, I did not attend it.

6. Having considered/being considered his suggestion, I decided to purchase this house.

7. Having /Being finished his breakfast, he left for his office.

8. Following/having followed the written instructions, I operated the machine.

9. Having been/Being rewarded for his services, he felt elated.

10. I, having been/being cheated by the shopkeeper, I stopped visiting his shop.

14. The institution proposes to implement a scheme under which the defaulting/ defaulted members will have to pay fine on the defaulted/ defaulting amount for the defaulting/ defaulted period.

GERUND AND PRESENT PARTICIPLE - EXPLAINED AND USAGE COMPARED WITH EXAMPLES

A first  form of verb in continuous form i.e. verb with ing is mainly used as a main verb in a sentence. But it is also used as a Gerund and a Present Participle. Their usage is different in all these cases. For example 

He was walking in the street.      ..........1

Walking is good for health.         ...........2 

I saw him walking in the street.   ...........3  

 All the three sentences written above contain the word "walking" in them but its usage in all the three is different from one another.

In sentence marked 1. "He" is subject, "is" is auxilliary verb and "walking" is main verb.

In sentence marked 2 "walking" is Subject, "is" verb. But to become a subject in a sentence a word has to be a noun or pronoun. Walking cannot be a pronoun but it is a Noun. A verb in continuous form i.e. first form of verb + ing acting as a noun is called a Gerund. A Gerund  like a noun or pronoun is used as a Subject or object in a sentence. For example 

He is fond of walking. 

Walking a gerund is acting as an object in this sentence.

A gerund unlike a noun or pronoun has no effect of number, gender or tense on it. It means a gerund does not change according to number, gender or tense of the sentence.

In the sentence marked 3. "I"  a pronoun is Subject, "saw" is verb and "him" is an object.  The word "walking" an adjective is used to describe "him". A verb used as an adjective is called Present Participle.

Barking dogs seldom bite.

In this sentence "Barking" describes noun "dogs"  and acts as an adjective although it is basically a verb in continuous form. 

Barking is a present participle.

Like an adjective, Present participle too has no effect of number, gender or a tense on it.

GERUND 

A verb acting as a noun is called a gerund. It acts as Subject, object, complement to subject or object in the sentence. 

Teaching is his profession.

Teaching a verb used as Subject is a noun in this sentence.    

Besides a subject a gerund like a noun is also used as an object. 

For example : 

He is fond of swimming.  

In this sentence "He' a pronoun is subject. "Swimming" basically a verb but acting as noun or gerund is an object. Swimming is not a verb here.

I don't like smoking.

"I" a pronoun is subject, "don't like" is a verb and "smoking" basically a verb but acting as a noun or gerund is object in this sentence.

A gerund like a noun is governed by a preposition. For example:

They punished him for stealing money.

In this sentence "They" a pronoun is Subject, "punished" is verb and "him"" a pronoun is an object.  "Money" is noun and "stealing" basically is a verb but describes the noun, money. It is an adjective and present participle. It preceded by preposition "for". 

Women are fond of gossiping.

In this sentence "of" is a preposition. A noun follows a preposition. So gossiping a noun is a gerund. It acts as an object and women a subject.

Here are some examples of Gerund used in sentences.

Telling lies is a bad habit. 

" Telling" basically a verb is a noun and gerund and acts as Subject in this sentence. It is not a main verb in this sentence. Verb in the sentence is "is".

Smoking has told upon his health.

"Smoking" in this sentence a gerund acts as Subject. "Has told upon" is a verb and "his health" is object.

Her mother likes cooking.

"Her mother"  is subject "likes" is verb and "cooking" a gerund and is object in the sentence.

Baking Cakes is a tedious job.

"Baking" is a gerund and acts as subject "is" a verb and "a tedious job". is object in the sentence.

Her friend is fond of singing.

In this sentence "Her friend" is subject and "singing" a gerund is object.

The lady teacher teaches us dancing and singing.

In this sentence "the lady teacher" a noun is Subject, "teaches" is verb , "us" is pronoun and object and "dancing and singing" are nouns acting as gerund.

A noun or a pronoun used before a Gerund is always in Possessive case.  For Example :

He disliked my staying there.

In this sentence "staying" is a gerund and "my" a possessive pronoun precedes it.

The Principal did not appreciate her coming late. 

In this sentence "coming" a gerund is preceded by pronoun in possessive case "her".

In examination there are questions of errors of gerunds preceded by words in other forms like subject or object case. For example The sentence written above in the following form

The Principal disliked I/ me/my coming late.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

A verb in continuous form i.e. a first form of verb with ing, acting as an adjective, describing a noun or pronoun, in sentence is called Present Participle. Like adjective it is also has no effect of number, gender or tense on it. 

For example:

Running water swept away standing crops.

In this sentence the words "Running" and "standing " , although basically are verbs yet  act as adjectives and describe nouns "water" and "crops" respectively. So these both are Present Participle.

Flowing river changed its path.

In this sentence "flowing" a present participle acts as an adjective and describes noun "river".

The fleeing thief threw away the stolen bag.

In this sentence, the word 'fleeing" a present participle acts as an adjective and describes the noun "thief".

The acting principal chaired the meeting.

The word "acting" a present participle acts as an adjectve and describes the noun "principal".

The Present Participle is preceded by a pronoun in object case.

 For example :

Someone saw him stealing my purse.

In this sentence present participle "stealing" is preceded by "him" a pronoun in object case.

The teacher caught him sleeping in the class.

The present participle "sleeping" is preceded by him, a pronoun in object case.

In examination there are questions of errors of present participles preceded by words in other forms like subject or possessive case. For example The sentence written above in the following form

The teacher caught he/his/him sleeping in the class.

SOME TIPS FOR DIFFERENTIATING THE THREE -

 MAIN VERB, GERUND & PRESENT PARTICIPLE

1.The main verb takes auxiliary verb like is,am,are,was or were etc.

For example :

She is sitting near the fireplace.

She, a pronoun, is subject in this sentence, is an auxiliary verb and sitting is the main verb.

But it does not apply in all cases, perhaps.

Is sitting near the fireplace not risky for her?

In this sentence "is" is auxilliary verb but "sitting" used with it is not a main verb but it is a Gerund.

This is because it is an interrogative sentence and "is" is there in the beginning of the sentence to make it an interrogative sentence. Try with it by making it a simple assertive sentence. It will be

Sitting near the fireplace is risky for her.

Here is is used with risky and sitting gives clear impression that it is a gerund, a verb in continuous form used as a noun. But it in no case is the main verb of the sentence.

2. I saw her that she was sitting near the fireplace. 

In this sentence sitting is a main verb.

3. I saw him sitting near the fireplace.

In this sentence "saw " is the main verb. Sitting is preceded by a pronoun in object case "him". So it is a present participle.

4. She is in the habit of sitting near the fireplace.

In this sentence "sitting" is preceded by preposition "of" so it is a noun in the form of a gerund.

5. A noun or pronoun before a Gerund is in possessive case and before a present participle is in object case.

He disliked my sitting near the fireplace.

He watched me sitting near the fireplace.

Sitting in first Sentence is Gerund and in second sentence it is present participle.

6. A Gerund expresses an activity whereas a present participle shows continuity of an action. 

For example 

Drinking has affected his health.

Here drinking is expressed as an activity.

It is a Gerund.

The police caught him drinking in the hall.

Here drinking is a continuous action.

It is a present participle.

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE.       

 Identify the underlined words as one of the three - Main Verb, Gerund or Present Participle.

1. I saw that she was singing a song .

2. I saw her singing a song.

3. Singing a song is her passion.

4. Reciting a poem on the stage was difficult for her.

5. When I entered the house, she was sleeping in her room.

6. Sticking of bills on the wall is prohibited.

7. When I reached there he was sticking bills on the wall.

8. I saw him sticking bills on the wall.

9. Growing not in years but in deeds is essential for a man.

10. He walking by the roadside found a coin.

ANSWERS.                      

MAIN VERB-.  1, 5, 7           

GERUND. -.    3,4,6,9               

PRESENT PARTICIPLE -

2,8,10.

11. Employees usually want to learn the kind of skills to build flourishing careers inside their companies.

12. Generally I spend weeks thinking about it in an idle way a  diversion pleasing for me that I am supposed not to do anything that I do in my daily routine.

13. Thriving on abundant resources at their disposal is the main reason that the natives are not so  active in technical and professional fields.

MODALS (2) -- MEANING & WORDS SHOULD, OUGHT TO, MUST, HAD BETTER, USED AS MODALS EXPLANATION WITH EXAMPLES

MODALS --- MEANING & WORDS USED AS  MODALS 

A sentence without a verb is not possible. If a sentence is to be of one word, it  is a verb only that forms a sentence. A verb is an essential part to form a sentence. A verb can be of one word or more than one words. 

For example :

Following sentences are of one word only -
Go. Stop. Look. 

These sentences contain one word and that is a verb. 

In the following sentences  verb is of  two words -

The child is crying. 

In this sentence 'crying' is the main verb and the main verb is supported by a helping verb 'is'. 

Helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs. 


A Modal verb is  an auxiliary Verb  used to express  mood  or attitude of the main verb.

 Main modal verbs are
Will, shall, should, would,May, Might, Must,Need,Ought to,Used to etc. 

Modal verbs express actions relating to ability, willingness, permission, request and possibility etc. 

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs and these do not function as main verbs. A modal verb takes with it a main verb  in its first form.
Here follow some examples to explain it.

We should help the poor.
You must look after them.
He would play cricket in school days.
She used to sing songs in her college days.

In these sentences should, must, would, used to are modal verbs accompanied by their respective main verbs. 

A Modal Verb always takes first form of verb with it. It never acts itself as  main verb in a sentence.

Here follow some Modal verbs explained.




SHOULD , OUGHT TO, MUST


SHOULD

The modal verb 'should' is used to express some activity of  advice suggestion or duty etc. 

For example :
You should obey his orders.
One should do one's duty.
You should take medicine daily.
He should consult a doctor.

With modal verb 'should', bare first form of verb is used. It is used to express activity of present time. For an activity of past time, the words 'have and third form of verb ' are to used with it.

For example :
He should have finished his work.

In the above sentence with the modal 'Should' first form of verb 'Have' is used. But 'Have' always takes third form of verb with it. 
So the third form 'Finished' is used with it. Here 'Has' or 'Had' cannot be used in place of 'Have'. Even if the subject is third person singular i.e. He or She, 'Has' instead of 'Have' is not to be used. 


 OUGHT TO

The modal 'Ought to' has the same meaning as the modal 'should' has. But its use is a little different from that of 'should'. Unlike 'should' it always takes 'to' with it. 

With this modal also bare first form of verb is used.

'Ought to' is used for the following main purposes.

It is used to express a moral duty.

 For example :
We ought to obey our parents.
People ought to follow rules of the road.

It is used to express a strong necessity. 

For example:
Crops are under a long dry spell, it ought to rain now.
The patient has suffered a lot, he ought to cure now.

The modals 'Should' and 'ought to' are interchangeable with each other.

'Ought to' is also used for action in the present time. To express actions of past time, 'have and third form of verb' are used with it. 

For example :
He ought to have finished his work. 




 MUST 

Modal Verb 'Must' is used to express compulsion, necessity, result or conclusion. 

For example: 

You must leave now. - Compulsion.
They must be ready by now. - Conclusion.
He must consult a doctor. - Necessity. 
Rains must have damaged the crops. - Result

'Must' always takes first form of verb with it.

With 'Must' also to express past action 'have and third form of verb are used. 
For example :
He must have accomplished the job.
They must have prepared a plan to do it.





HAD BETTER 


'Had better' is also a Modal Verb like other modal verbs 'shall,will, should, would, may, might'.   It is used in the same way as other modal verbs are used. It comprises of two words 'Had' and 'better' and these both are to be used together. It has the same meaning as the Modal Verb 'Should' has. This modal verb is used to express moral duty, obligations, advice or suggestion.

The formation of a Modal Verb  cannot be changed. It can't be 'Has or Have better'.  It has its meaning as that of a modal verb only if it is used in that particular form. 

In this case the words 'Had' and 'Better' if used separately have different meanings. 'Had' is the Past Tense and Past Participle of the verb 'Has' or 'Have'. It is used as a helping verb as well as main verb.

For example : 
He had a book. - Main verb
He had gone to the market. - Helping Verb

In this sentence 'gone' is the main verb.

The other part of this Modal Verb 'Better' is comparative degree of adjectives 'Good' and 'Well'. 

When these two words 'Had better' used together as a modal verb has the same meaning as 'Should' has. 'Had' can be changed into 'have' and 'has' but 'had better' cannot be changed into 'Has or Have better'.

Like other modal verbs, 'Had better' is also an auxiliary verb and it   takes bare first form of verb with it. It is used for Present Tense.

For example :
She had better take rest.

'Had better' is a modal verb here and a bare first form of verb 'take' is used with it. It cannot be 'had better taken' considering that had takes third form of verb with it. Although it is correct to say 'She had (or has) taken rest. 

He had better finish his work.
They had better take an expert's advice.
The teacher had better reprimand him.
The lady had better not follow his advice.
She had better go to the doctor.


EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE


 Choose the correct option out of the given ones to substitute the underlined part in the following sentences.

1. The president must take this decision in a hurry otherwise he had not suffered such a loss.  

a)  must have taken  b) should have take   c) ought to taken d) No change.

2. The young man had  better stopped drinking to save his deteriorating  health.

a) ought to stopping b) had better stop c) should stopped d) No change.

3. The teacher had better encouraged the students to take their test.

a) must encouraged b) should encouraged c) ought to encourage d) No change.

4. All the members of the committee had better appreciated his action rather than criticising him.

a) must appreciated b) should appreciated c) should have appreciated d) No change.

5. The authorities should taking  all the field workers into confidence before making any amendment in rules. 

a) should take b) ought to taken  c) must taken d) No change.

6. The mother should not worry about her son because he should reaching home before it was dark.

a) ought to reach b) should had reached c) must have reached d) No change.

7.  They all ought to leave  for their destination before it is late. 

a) must left b) ought to leaving c) should have left d) No change.

8. The old lady must avoided interfering in the affairs of the other family as it is creating problems for all of them.

a) should avoid b) must have avoided c) ought to avoided d)No change.

9. The family ought to take this decision much earlier and this had saved all the members from so many problems.  

a) must had taken  b) should take c) ought to have taken d) No change.

10. The authorities should had taken all the necessary precautionary measures for safety from floods before the rainy season set in.

a) must taken  b) had better taken c) ought to taking  d) No change.













Disclaimer: The contents are from the writer's knowledge or experience. Nevertheless any resemblance with any paper or electronic material is coincidental and he is not responsible for it,

MODALS (1) -- MEANING & WORDS WOULD, USED TO, AS MODALS EXPLANATION WITH EXAMPLES

MODALS --- MEANING & WORDS USED AS  MODALS 

A verb  is an essential part of a sentence.There is no sentence without a verb. Verb is a part of speech that forms and completes a sentence. A verb with subject or object is required to form a sentence.

 Sometimes main verb in a sentence takes another helping verb to complete the mood or meaning in the sentence. These helping verbs are also called auxiliary verbs. These helping verbs used to express mode or attitude of the main verb are called Modal verbs.

 The main modal verbs are - Shall, Will, Should, Would, May, Might, Must, Need, Dare, Ought to, and Used to. For example :

I shall write a letter.   

He used to play hockey in school days.

Modal verbs are always auxiliary verbs. They are used as helping verbs with main verbs. 

For example :

He should take rest.

You must attend the meeting.

Modal verbs always take  bare first form of verb with them. 

 For example : 

I should 'go' there.  (Present Tense)

In order to express in Past tense, verb of Perfect tense is used. 

For example:

He should have gone. 

Because a modal always has first form of verb, 'have' (and not 'had') is used here to express past tense even. 'Have' as a helping verb always takes third form of verb with it. So 'gone' is used here. Even in case of third person singular, 'Have' is used and not 'Has'.

For example : 

He must have gone by now. 

and it is incorrect to say -

He must 'has' gone by now. 

'To' is not used with these Modal verbs except in case of 'Ought to' and 'Used to'. 

 For example :

He used to fly kites in his childhood.     

Modal verbs are not used as main verbs except 'Dare' and 'Need'.

I need some money. (Main Verb)

You need not worry now. (Modal verb)
Here need is a modal verb and worry is main verb.

Here follows how some of peculiar Modal Verbs are used in sentences. 

WOULD

The Modal Verb 'Would' denotes some activity of habitual nature taken place in the past. 

He would go to school on foot during his school days.

This sentence expresses that he was in the habit of going to school on foot in the past.  

He would drink during his youth.

He would work hard during his school days.

USED TO

'Used to' is also a Modal Verb. 'To' always accompanies the word 'Used'. It expresses an action of habitual nature taken place in the past. First form of verb is used with the Modal Verb of 'Used to'.

It is used to express past action only. The action that took place in the past and ended during that time. It did not extend to Present or Future time. So it is not used for Present or Future time.

 The modal verb 'Used to' is used as it is and its formation cannot be changed to present of future time.

For example:

He used to play Hockey in his school days.

He used to be very shy during his childhood.


In these sentences 'used to' is modal verb and 'play' and 'be' are main verbs. 

These two words written separately give different meanings and cannot be termed as Modal Verbs. For example 'Use' is a main verb and it means to utilise and 'to' is used  with it.

For example:

Wax is used to prepare candles.

In this sentence 'Used' and 'to' are used as separate words and cannot be termed as Modal Verb. It gives the meaning that wax is utilised for making candles. 

  

This sentence is in passive voice. Its active form is -

They use wax to prepare candles.

Besides a Modal Verb, 'Used to' is also used as an adjective. For this with it, a verb  form of 'be' i.e. is, am. are. was. were etc. is used. 

For example :

He is used to gambling. 

This sentence means that he is in the habit of gambling.

Similarly it can express action of past also. 

For example :

He was used to playing hockey during those days.

In such a case after 'Used to' a noun is used and 'used to' becomes an adjective as it describes a noun. In these sentences 'gambling' and 'playing' are gerunds used as nouns. So here 'Used to' acts as an adjective describing nouns following it. 

 USE OF MODAL VERBS 'WOULD' AND 'USED TO' AS INTERCHANGEABLE WITH EACH OTHER.

The use of two modal verbs 'would' and 'Used to' is interchangeable. These can be used in place of each other.

Both these Modal Verbs denote habit in the past.
For example:
She would sing  songs in  her childhood.
She used to sing songs in her childhood.

Both these sentences denote an action of singing songs on her part in the past. Both these show her habit of singing songs in the past.

Here is another example.

He would be an intelligent student during his school days.

He used to be an intelligent student during his school days.

Both these sentences describe about condition of 'he' in the past but only  the latter one is correct. Here it is incorrect to use 'would'.

Verbs are of two types -- Action Verbs and Static Verbs.

Action verbs denote doing some physical activity by the doer but Static Verbs show condition or state of a person.

Verbs like play, run, read,write or sing etc are action verbs. Verbs  think, like, perceive or remember  etc are static verbs.

With Static Verbs only 'Used to' is applied. 'Would' is not used with these verbs.

He used to be a renowned singer in the past.

It is a correct sentence whereas it is incorrect to say 
He would be a renowned singer in the past.


He used to be very arrogant in the past.
She used to be very innocent in her childhood.


In these sentences 'would' is not interchangeable with 'used to'..

EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE

Choose the correct option to substitute the selected part in the following sentences.

1. Both the brothers used to practising these tricks in the past.

a) used to practise b) used to practice c) would practice d)No change


2. Her brother would accompany her when she went there.

a) used to accompanying  b) would accompanying  c) would accompanied d) No change


3. The sculptor used to preparing beautiful idols when he was young. 

a) would prepared  b) used to prepare c) would be preparing d) No change


4. Her mother  used to teaching her English when she was young.

a) would teaching b)would taught  c) used to teach d) No change


5. She would get up early in the morning during her stay at ours last year.

a) used to getting up b) would got up c) used to getting up d) No change


6. Her father was used to take his dinner very late at night.

a) was used to taking  b) would taken c) would taking  d) No change  


7. Their mother would told stories to the children at night.

a) used to telling b) would telling c) used to tell d) No change 


8. I used to boarding a train to go to my office when I was in the city.

a) used to boarded b) would boarded c) would board d) No change


9. Her sister used to learn poems by heart when she studied in the school. 

a) would learn b) would learnt c) used to learnt d) No change


10. Our teacher would be very strict when he taught us in the class.

a) used to be b) would been c) used to being d) No change 

Disclaimer: The contents are from the writer's knowledge or experience. Nevertheless any resemblance with any paper or electronic material is coincidental and he is not responsible for it,