Present Tenses

Simple Present Tense vs Present Continuous Tense

Simple Present Tense – Used for habits, routines, general truths, and scheduled events. Structure: Subject + Verb (base form/s/es)

Keywords: usually, often, always, every day/week/month/year, on Mondays/Tuesdays, sometimes, seldom, rarely, never, generally, regularly

Examples:

• She always drinks coffee in the morning
• They usually go to the park on Sundays

Present Continuous Tense – Used for actions happening right now or temporary actions around the present time. Structure: am/is/are + verb-ing

Keywords: now, right now, at the moment, currently, today, this week/month/year, listen!, look!

Examples:

• I am currently working on a project
• Look! It is raining outside

Question 81: Fill in the blank using the appropriate form of the verb. Usually they play cricket but now they _______ football. A) were playing B) have been playing C) play D) are playing Answer: D) are playing Explanation: “Usually” indicates Simple Present habit (play), while “but now” indicates Present Continuous action happening at this moment (are playing).

Question Tags

Basic Rule: A positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag.

Steps to Form Question Tags:

1. Identify the Auxiliary Verb: Use the same auxiliary verb from the statement
2. Determine Polarity: Positive statement = negative tag; negative statement = positive tag
3. Choose Correct Pronoun: Match the subject with appropriate pronoun

Special Cases:

• Semi-negative words (rarely, hardly, scarcely, seldom, barely, little, few) = positive tag
• “I am” statements = “aren’t I?”
• “Let’s…” suggestions = “shall we?”
• Imperative sentences = “will you?”
• “Used to” = “didn’t”

Question 82: Select the appropriate question tag. They rarely visit us, _______? A) do they? B) don’t they? C) did they? D) didn’t they? Answer: A) do they? Explanation: “Rarely” is semi-negative, making the statement negative, so it needs a positive tag. Simple Present tense requires “do” auxiliary.

Question 87: This cloth used to fade when washed, _______? A) don’t this B) didn’t this C) don’t it D) didn’t it Answer: D) didn’t it Explanation: “Used to” is treated as Simple Past, requiring “didn’t” auxiliary. “This cloth” becomes “it” in the tag.

Conditional Sentences

Type 2 Conditionals (Unreal Present Situations)

Structure: If + Simple Past, … would + base verb

Used for hypothetical, unreal, or imaginary present/future situations.

Question 85: Complete the sentence using the correct option. If I had a car, I _______ A) will drop you at the bus stop B) would drop you at the bus stop C) would have dropped you at the bus stop D) could have dropped you at the bus stop Answer: B) would drop you at the bus stop Explanation: Type 2 conditional – “If I had” (Simple Past) requires “would + base verb” in the main clause.

Conditional Types Reference:

Type	Use	‘If’ Clause	Main Clause
Type 0	Scientific facts	Simple Present	Simple Present
Type 1	Real future possibilities	Simple Present	will + base verb
Type 2	Unreal present situations	Simple Past	would + base verb
Type 3	Unreal past situations	Past Perfect	would have + V3

Degrees of Comparison

Three Degrees:

1. Positive: Describes quality without comparison (tall, good)
2. Comparative: Compares two items (taller than, better than)
3. Superlative: Compares three or more (tallest, best)

Irregular Comparisons:

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Good	Better	Best
Bad	Worse	Worst
Little	Less	Least
Much/Many	More	Most
Far	Farther/Further	Farthest/Furthest
Old	Older/Elder	Oldest/Eldest

Question 87: Change into comparative degree. Rajiv is the tallest boy in the class. A) Rajiv is taller than all the other boys in the class B) Rajiv is taller than many boys in the class C) Rajiv is taller than no other boy in the class D) Rajiv is taller than most of the boys in the class Answer: A) Rajiv is taller than all the other boys in the class Explanation: When changing superlative to comparative, use “all other” or “any other” to maintain the same meaning. The word “other” excludes Rajiv from the comparison group.

Question 83: Martin ate the _______ amount of shawarma at the party, preferring to snack on vegetables. A) little B) less C) lest D) least Answer: D) least Explanation: “The” before the blank indicates superlative degree. “Least” means the smallest amount, fitting the context of preferring vegetables.

Elder vs Older:

Elder:

• Used for family members
• Shows seniority/respect
• Not followed by “than”
• Example: “My elder brother”

Older:

• General comparative form
• Used for all comparisons
• Always followed by “than”
• Example: “He is older than me”

Relative Pronouns

Who – Subject pronoun for people (performs action) Whom – Object pronoun for people (receives action) Whose – Possessive pronoun (shows ownership) Which – For things/animals

Simple Test: Use “he/him” substitution

• If “he” fits → use “who”
• If “him” fits → use “whom”

Question 82: Do you remember the passenger _______ travelled yesterday without a ticket. A) whom B) who C) whose D) which Answer: B) who Explanation: The pronoun is the subject of “travelled” (the passenger travelled), so “who” is correct. Test: “He travelled” (not “Him travelled”).

Compound Words

Compound words are formed by combining two or more words with different structural patterns.

Question 85: Which one of the following words is an example of a compound word consisting of a verb + adverb pattern? A) Breakthrough B) Dryclean C) Whitewash D) Sailboat Answer: A) Breakthrough Explanation: Break (verb) + through (adverb) = Verb + Adverb pattern. Often formed from phrasal verbs.

Common Patterns:

• Noun + Noun: headache, sailboat
• Adjective + Noun: software, fast-food
• Verb + Noun: pickpocket, screwdriver
• Verb + Adverb: breakthrough, takeoff

Voice (Active and Passive)

Active Voice

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

• Direct and clear
• Subject performs action
• Example: “Dogs chase cats”

Passive Voice

Structure: Object + be + Past Participle + (by + Agent)

• Focus on action/receiver
• Used when doer is unknown/unimportant
• Example: “Cats are chased by dogs”

Imperative to Passive

Rule: Let + Object + be + Past Participle

Question 88: Close the window. (Change into Passive Voice) A) Let the window has been closed B) Let the window shall be closed C) Let the window should be closed D) Let the window be closed Answer: D) Let the window be closed Explanation: Imperative sentences follow the pattern: Let + Object + be + V3.

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

Yes/No Questions

Rules:

1. Use “if” or “whether” as conjunction
2. Change question structure to statement
3. Backshift tenses
4. Change pronouns appropriately

Question 90: Rita asked Ramesh, “Do you know the answer?” A) Rita asked Ramesh did he know the answer B) Rita asked Ramesh does he know the answer C) Rita asked Ramesh if he knows the answer D) Rita asked Ramesh whether he knew the answer Answer: D) Rita asked Ramesh whether he knew the answer Explanation: Use “whether/if” conjunction, change to statement structure, backshift Simple Present to Simple Past (know → knew).

Wh-Questions

Rules:

1. Wh-word acts as conjunction
2. Change question structure to statement
3. Backshift tenses
4. Change pronouns and time adverbs

Question 90: The Manager asked Raji, “Why didn’t you come to the office yesterday?” A) Why she was not come to the office the previous day? B) Why she has not come to the office the previous day? C) Why she hadn’t come to the office the previous day? D) Why she didn’t come to the office the previous day? Answer: C) Why she hadn’t come to the office the previous day? Explanation: Backshift Simple Past (didn’t come) to Past Perfect (hadn’t come). Change “yesterday” to “the previous day”.

Tense Backshift Rules:

• Simple Present → Simple Past
• Simple Past → Past Perfect
• Present Perfect → Past Perfect
• will → would
• can → could

Time/Place Changes:

• yesterday → the previous day/the day before
• today → that day
• tomorrow → the next day/the following day
• here → there
• this → that

Practice Questions Summary

Question 1: Present tense selection with time indicators Question 2: Question tags with semi-negative words Question 3: Conditional sentence completion Question 4: Degree transformation (superlative to comparative) Question 5: Relative pronoun selection Question 6: Compound word pattern identification Question 7: Voice transformation (active to passive) Question 8: Reported speech conversion Question 9: Question tag for “used to” Question 10: Superlative degree selection with irregular adjectives

Key Exam Tips:

• Time indicators determine tense choice
• Semi-negative words require positive question tags
• Superlative to comparative requires “all other” or “any other”
• Relative pronouns depend on subject/object function
• Passive imperatives use “Let + Object + be + V3”
• Reported speech requires tense backshift and structural changes