120 Grammar Rules � Part 2: Tenses, Narration & Degree of Comparison (Rules 25�48)

Rule 25: Use of "Enough"

As Adjective: "enough" comes before the noun ? enough + noun

As Adverb: "enough" comes after the adjective ? adjective + enough

? He has enough sugar. (Adjective � before noun)
? She is smart enough. (Adverb � after adjective)
? You are not big enough for basketball.

Rule 26: Adverb "As" � When to Use and When Not

Use "as" with: treat, define, regard, describe, respect, depict, portray, view, know

Do NOT use "as" with: elect, name, think, consider, call, make, choose, appoint

? Biology is defined as the science of living beings.
? She is treated as a child.
? She was elected Chair of the Board. (no "as")
? The teacher called him stupid. (no "as")

Rule 27: "Although" � Never Followed by "But"

"Although" can take "yet" in the main clause, but NEVER "but".

? Although she is rich, she thinks twice before spending.
? Although she is rich, yet she thinks twice before spending.
? Although she is rich, but she thinks twice before spending.

Rule 28: Stative Verbs � No "-ing" Form

These verbs do NOT take continuous (-ing) form: own, belong, have (possession), see, smell, taste, hear, feel, love, hate, know, think, want, need, desire, wish, like, appear, seem, resemble, contain, consist, possess, owe, notice

? I am owning a car. ? ? I own a car.
? I am loving it. ? ? I love it.
? This sauce is tasting strange. ? ? This sauce tastes strange.
? All the luggage is belonging to me. ? ? All the luggage belongs to me.

Exceptions:

? He is a very loving person. (used as adjective, not verb)
? I am having lunch now. ("have" not used for possession)
? Having done the work, he went to play. (perfect participle)

Rule 29: Perfect Tense Indicator Words

Words like ever, never, yet, already, now, just now, until now, always, occasionally, often, lately, recently, so far, up to now � are always used with Perfect Tense.

? The train already left. ? ? The train has already left.
? He went there already. ? ? He had gone there already.
? I have not spoken to her yet.
? He has gone just now.

Rule 30: Collective Nouns � Singular or Plural Verb

Same task (working together) ? Singular verb. Different tasks ? Plural verb.

? The audience is watching the movie. (all doing same thing)
? The army is marching towards the Himalayas.
? The audience are taking their seats. (each taking different seat)
? The jury are divided in their opinion.

Note: Words like police, cattle, people, gentry, poultry are ALWAYS plural (not collective nouns):

? The police are investigating the case.
? People want to attain all worldly pleasures.

Rule 31: Words Always Followed by "To"

Prefer, Superior, Inferior, Injurious, Junior, Senior, Exterior, Ulterior, Posterior, Ancillary, Addicted, Known � and any word ending in "-ior".

? Breastfeeding is superior to bottle-feeding.
? I prefer tea to coffee.
? Too much alcohol is injurious to your health.
? Rama is married to Sita. (passive voice)
? I am known to him.
? I am known by him.

Rules 32 & 33: "As�As" / "So�As" & "Times" with Comparison

Rule 32: "as�as" can be used in both positive and negative sentences. "so�as" only in negative sentences.

? He is as good as Ram.
? He is not so good as Ram.
? He is so good as Ram. (positive with "so�as" is wrong)

Rule 33: When the word "times" is used, NEVER use comparative degree. Use "as�as" instead.

? This book is three times larger than that book.
? This book is three times as large as that book.
? It is twice costlier than that. (no "times" word � correct)

Rule 34: Narration � Indirect Speech is Always a Statement

In indirect speech, the helping verb comes AFTER the subject (not before as in questions).

? He asked me where are you going.
? He asked me where I was going.
? He asked me what was my name.
? He asked me what my name was.

Rule 35: "Either/Or", "Neither/Nor" � Verb Agrees with Nearest Subject

When subjects are connected by or, nor, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also, the verb agrees with the nearest subject.

? Either the bears or the lion has escaped. (nearest = lion ? singular)
? Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped. (nearest = bears ? plural)
? Not only dogs but also cats are available. (nearest = cats ? plural)

Rule 36: Comparing Two Qualities of Same Object

When comparing two qualities of the same object, always use "more" (not comparative degree).

? This pen is redder than white.
? This shirt is more white than red.
? This umbrella is more beautiful than strong.

Rule 37: "More Than One" & "Many A" � Singular; "Many" � Plural

More than one / Many a + singular noun + singular verb
Many / A great many / A good many + plural noun + plural verb

Examples:

? More than one student is absent today.
? Many a student is absent today.
? A great many students are absent today.
? Many students are absent today.

Rule 38: "Doubt" Uses "If/Whether"; "No Doubt" Uses "That"

Doubt / Doubtful ? followed by "if" or "whether"
No doubt / Not doubtful ? followed by "that"

Examples:

? I have no doubt whether it will rain.
? I have no doubt that it will rain.
? There is a doubt that he goes there.
? There is a doubt whether he goes there.

Rule 39: Narration � Tense Does NOT Change for Universal Truths, Historical Facts & Proverbs

? He told me that honey was sweet. (universal truth � don't change tense)
? He told me that honey is sweet.
? The teacher said that Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India. (historical fact)
? Rohit said that where there is a will there is a way. (proverb)
? He said that he snoozes his alarm every day. (habitual fact)

But: When "the honey" (particular, not universal), follow normal tense rules:

? He told me that the honey was sweet. (particular honey � past tense OK)

Rule 40: Little / A Little / The Little & Few / A Few / The Few

Word	Meaning	Used With
Little / Few	Hardly any (negative)	Uncountable / Countable
A little / A few	Some but not much (positive)	Uncountable / Countable
The little / The few	All that is available	Uncountable / Countable

? There is little milk � I cannot make tea. (hardly any)
? A little knowledge is dangerous. (some)
? He utilized the little water that was available. (all of it)
? Few members attended the meeting. (hardly any)
? He lost the few friends he had. (all those he had)

Rule 41: Objective Case After Prepositions

After prepositions (but, except, between, etc.), use objective case (me, him, her, them) � NOT subjective case (I, he, she, they).

? None but he is going to the party.
? None but him is going to the party.
? All except he liked the performance.
? All except him liked the performance.
? There is good friendship between you and him.

Rule 42: Pronoun Order (231 Rule)

Positive sense: Use order 2-3-1 (You, He, I)

Negative sense (guilt/blame): Use order 1-2-3 (I, You, He)

? You, he and I are good friends. (positive ? 2-3-1)
? You and I are playing chess. (positive ? 2-1)
? I, you and he are guilty. (negative ? 1-2-3)
? I and you have committed a crime. (negative ? 1-2)

Rule 43: Superfluousness Errors

Superfluousness = using extra/redundant words. Avoid these common errors:

? India broke all previous records. ? ? India broke all records.
? I want wet water. ? ? I want water.
? Suppose if you won... ? ? Suppose you won...
? The army retreated back. ? ? The army retreated.
? The sage was reborn again. ? ? The sage was reborn.
? Equally as good as. ? ? Equally good OR as good as.
? Mutual agreement. ? ? Agreement. (always mutual)

More superfluous phrases to avoid:

? final destination ? ? destination
? rough estimate ? ? estimate
? past history ? ? history
? return back ? ? return
? reason because ? ? reason / because
? final conclusion ? ? conclusion

Rule 44: Apostrophe ('s) Not Used with Non-Living Things

? Table's legs. ? ? Legs of the table.
? Book's page. ? ? Page of the book.

Exceptions (time, weight, distance, place, idiom, personification, heavenly body):

? One week's vacation.
? Today's date.
? Nature's call.
? At stone's throw.

Rule 45: Past Time Reference = Simple Past Tense

When a specific past time (yesterday, ago, last week) is mentioned, use Simple Past � NOT Present Perfect.

? I have gone to the market yesterday.
? I went to the market yesterday.
? Shares have dived by 90p last week.
? Shares dived by 90p last week.

Rule 46: Words Never Used with "Most"

Words like unique, excellent, perfect, ideal, entire, complete, chief, extreme, impossible, golden, annual, circular, rectangular, square, spherical � cannot be used with "most".

? He is the most excellent student.
? He is an excellent student.
? This is the most unique product.
? This is a unique product.
? He is completely perfect.
? He is perfect.

Rule 47: "Quite" and "All" � Never Together

? He is quite all well.
? He is quite well.
? He has done quite all the work.
? He has done all the work.

Note: Don't confuse "Quiet" (noun � state of being silent) with "Quite" (adverb � completely).

Rule 48: "Ago" = Simple Past; "Before" = Past Perfect

? He had gone two seconds ago.
? He went two seconds ago. (Simple Past)
? The patient died before the doctor came.
? The patient had died before the doctor came. (Past Perfect for earlier action)

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