COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES- I ENGLISH GRAMMAR 2. USE OF VERBS: TAG - ON QUESTIONS AND IRREGULAR VERBS It’s a great day, isn’t it? You’re glad to have finished the first chapter and started the second, aren’t you? Well, let’s not waste any time and get started, shall we? These are examples of Tag-On questions which are very commonly used in spoken English and are the subject of today’s lesson.
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Objectives By the end of this lesson you will:
i. ii. iii.
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Identify irregular verbs in spoken and written language Identify the use of tag questions Form appropriate tag questions
Introduction In Lesson one you learnt that the use of verbs, auxiliaries, tags and irregular verbs is the basis of the construction of sentences. In this lesson we will be discussing Tag-on Questions and Irregular Verbs. A thorough understanding of the concepts and acquiring confidence in correct sentence formation will help you move on to more advanced features of the verb like various tenses, verbals and concord. This understanding, in turn will form the basis of the correct usage of the English language. The material covered will go along with the video you will watch in class. We have given many examples to support the theory along with exercises to make you comfortable in applying what you have learnt. It is suggested that you are conscious of the usage of the topics covered in this unit and try to apply them immediately.
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‘Tags’ on Questions Often, people convert a statement into a question by adding a question that is attached to the end of the statement. These questions that are added to the end are known as question tags. Question tags often show that the speaker
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expects a certain answer. In other words the question is asked in such a way that the answer is also assumed.
Example: You are tired, aren’t you? Here, the speaker makes a statement “You are tired…” and adds a question at the end of the statement (aren’t you?) which indicates that the speaker assumes that the person is tired. There are a few things we must be careful about when using question tags. 1. If the statement is positive, the tag is negative. 2. If the statement is negative, the tag is positive. 3. The verb (or auxiliary) in the tag must be the same verb (or auxiliary) as in the statement, except for the verb to be. Aim of this Exercise: To practice the formation of question – tags using auxiliaries. Procedure: The following exercises are based on presentation of short conversations using auxiliaries followed by exercises to expand the range of sentences. Read each conversation and understand what is meant by “tags” (the tags are underlined). Conversation A Speaker 1: It is a cold day, isn’t it? Speaker 2: Yes, it is very cold. Speaker 1: We have time to drink a cup of tea, don’t we? Speaker 2: Not really. It is getting late. Conversation B Speaker 1: That isn’t your jacket, is it? Speaker 2: No, it isn’t, but it looks like mine. Speaker 1: But these are your gloves, aren’t they? Speaker 2: Yes, they are.
Self-Check Questions Fill in the blanks with the appropriate question tag: 1. Suresh, you went to the fair last night, ________ ? 2. You’ve finished eating, ________? 3. You were fast asleep at 9 last night, __________? 2
4. They should’ve left for the meeting, __________? 5. We must try to be as quiet as possible, __________?
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Irregular Verbs As we have learnt already, verbs tell us about the “action” of nouns. As actions take place in the present, past and the future, verbs change their forms. Usually, when we use a verb in its past form, we add an “ed” to the base verb. There are many verbs in the English language where the spelling and pronunciation differ in all the three forms. They are called irregular verbs. Irregular verbs are verbs which have a distinct past participle form. There are many irregular verbs in the English language and you will need to go through them and remember them. You will understand the idea of Past Perfect Tense later in this unit. However, it is important to carefully understand the basic idea of the irregular verbs here. Verbs, whose past or past participle forms are produced without ‘-ed’ added to the basic verb, are known as irregular verbs. There are three types of irregular verbs.
where each of the three forms is different. where the three forms are the same. where two of the three forms are the same. In other words these irregular verbs are distinct in the formation of their past and past participle forms. There are over a 100 irregular verbs in the English language, which are important as they are commonly used. These (type wise) are given below. Type I Present eat bite break blow choose drink fly rewrite ride rise tear throw wear be
Past ate bit broke blew chose drank flown rewrote rode rose tore threw wore been
Past Participle eaten bitten broken blown chosen drunk flew rewritten ridden risen torn thrown worn was/were
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do draw drive fall bid forget forgive freeze give go grow hide lie mistake ring see sew show shrink sing sink speak spring steal stink swear swim wake write
did drew drove fell forbade forgot forgave froze gave went grew hid lay mistook rang saw sewed showed shrank sang sank spoke sprang stole stank swore swam woke wrote
done drawn driven fallen forbidden forgotten forgiven frozen given gone grown hidden lain mistaken rung seen sewn (or sewed) shown shrunk sung sunk spoken sprung stolen stunk sworn swum woken written
Past put hit split cut let spread set bet read hurt shut cost burst
Past Participle put hit split cut let spread set bet read hurt shut cost burst
Past bent
Past Participle bent
Type II Present put hit split cut let spread set bet read hurt shut cost burst
Type III Present bend 4
bring keep sell sit get tell win teach make run beat become bleed breed build burn buy catch come creep deal dig dream feed feel fight find hang have hear hold lay lead lean learn leap leave lend light lose mean meet pay say send shine shoot sleep smell spell spit spoil stand
brought kept sold sat got told won taught made ran beat became bled bred built burnt/burned bought caught came crept dealt dug dreamt/dreamed fed felt fought found hung had heard held laid led leant/leaned learnt/learned leapt/leaped left lent lit lost meant met paid said sent shone shot Slept smelt/smelled spelt/spelled spat spoilt/spoiled Stood
brought kept sold sat got told won taught made run beaten become bled bred built burnt/burned bought caught come crept dealt dug dreamt/dreamed fed felt fought found hung had heard held laid led leant/leaned learnt/learned leapt/leaped left lent lit lost meant met paid said sent shone shot slept smelt/smelled spelt/spelled spat spoilt/spoiled stood 5
stick sting strike sweep swing think understand wind spend spill speed
Stuck Stung Struck Swept Swung Thought Understood Wound Spent spilt/spilled Sped
stuck stung struck swept swung thought understood wound spent spilt/spilled sped
It is important for you to go through all these irregular verbs and remember their forms in order to enable proper usage in sentences.
Self-Check Questions Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb given in brackets: 6. Ram helped Shyam ______ oranges (sell). 7. Varun _______ through the empty road (speed). 8. The garbage area _______ (stink). 9. He _______ the paper in anger (tear). 10. She ________ the towel in frustration (throw). 11. The house ________ for almost 2 hours before the firemen arrived (burn).
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Summing Up In this lesson you have
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learnt the characteristics of tag-on questions learnt the characteristics of irregular verbs. rectified incorrect usage in sentences in the areas of tag questions and irregular verbs
Answers to Self-Check Questions didn’t you haven’t you weren’t you shouldn’t they have mustn’t we sell sped stank tore
10. threw 11. burned
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References
1. Cholij, Mark, and Geetha Nagaraj. English Basics a Companion to Grammar and Writing. Cambridge: The Press Syndicate of The University of Cambridge, 2004. 2. Wren and Martin. Revised by Prasada Rao,N.D.V. High School English Grammar & Composition. New Delhi: S.Chand & Company Ltd, 2005. 3. Stern,George. Learners’ Grammar Dictionary. Singapore: Learners Publishing Pte Ltd, 2000. 4. Fowler, W.S. and Coe, Norman. Test and Practice your English. Chennai: Orient Longman Private Ltd, 2003. 5. Scholastic Writer’s Desk Reference. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2000. 6. Azar, Betty Schrampfer and Azar, Donald A Fundamentals of English Grammar U.S.A: Prentice Hall Regents, 1994. 7. Briggs, Sandra J. Grammar: Strategies and Practice. U.S.A: Scott Foresman and Company. 1994. 8. Fogiel, M. Handbook of English. U.S.A: Research and Education Association. 1994.
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Glossary Affirmative: agreeing to a statement or consenting to a request; a statement that states a positive fact Conversation: a spoken exchange of words between two or more individuals Interrogative statement: a statement that asks a question Irregular verbs: verbs whose past or past participle forms are produced without adding ‘-ed’ to the basic verb Negative statement: a statement that is a denial or refusal; a statement that expresses a negative fact Sentence: a group of words that tells a complete thought; a set of words that is complete in itself, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command. Tags: question with a repeated phrase at its end which indicates that the expects a certain answer; a question that indicates the assumed answer Verb: word that shows action or a state of being
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