English
Get insights from 1.8k questions on English, answered by students, alumni, and experts. You may also ask and answer any question you like about English
Follow Ask QuestionQuestions
Discussions
Active Users
Followers
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 9
Students can follow the below mentioned steps to identify Past Continuous Tense in English Sentence:
· Look for "was" or "were" as they are essential for forming the past continuous. For example: She was reading a book when the doorbell rang.
· Check for the "-ing" form. The main verb (action word) will always be in its present participle form, ending in "-ing". For example: She was reading a book when the doorbell rang.
· The sentence should describe an action that was happening at a particular moment in the past. For example: S
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 9
Also known as state-of-being verbs, these verbs cannot be used in any continuous tense, including the past continuous. This is because Stative verbs describe feelings that can't be directly observed or measured in terms of progress. Examples:
· Incorrect: "I was knowing him."
· Correct: "I knew him."
· Incorrect: "He was owning a car."
· Correct: "He owned a car."
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 9
Here are some examples:
· I was watching a show when the power went out.
· They were working in the office.
· Mary was watching TV when her parents came home.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 9
The past continuous tense adds detail to the concept of storytelling. It provides a sense of continuity to events, showing what was happening at a specific moment, or what was in progress when something else occurred.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 6
In Indirect speech, commands and requests statement carry words like told, asked, requested, ordered followed by an infinitive.
Direct: The principal said, "Turn off the lights."
Indirect: The principal told us to turn off the lights.
Direct: Reema said, "Please help me."
Indirect: Reema requested me to help her.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 6
In indirect speech, questions are changed to statements without any question mark. If the question starts with a WH-word, it remains as is. If it is a Yes/No question, we use if or whether.
For example:
Direct: Maya asked, "Where are you going?"
Indirect: Maya asked where I was going.
Direct: Pinto asked, "Do you like coffee?"
Indirect: Pinto asked if I liked coffee.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 6
In Indirect Speech, pronouns change according to the perspective of the speaker and listener.
Direct: Pinky said to me, "I will help you."
Indirect: Pinky told me that she would help me.
Here, 'I' becomes 'she', and 'you' becomes 'me'.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 6
Sentences with Direct speech reports the exact words of the speaker, as spoken by him/her, within quotation marks, while indirect sentences conveys the meaning of the message without quotation marks.
For example:
Direct: She said, "I am happy."
Indirect: She said that she was happy.
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 10
No preposition and prepositional phrases are not the same. Although very closely related, the two are different topics. Check below the key difference between a preposition and prepositional phrases:
- Preposition: A single word that shows a relationship between a noun/ pronoun and another word.
Examples of prepositions: in, on, at, by, with
Preposition in a sentence: The chair is on the ground.
- Prepositional Phrase: A group of words that starts with a preposition and ends with its objects, sometimes including modifiers.
Example of prepositional phrase: on the shelf, at the store, under the moonlight.
Prepositional Phrase in a sentence: She ad
New answer posted
a year agoContributor-Level 10
Check out some good books for prepositional phrases:
Book | Author/ Publisher |
|---|---|
English Prepositions Explained | Seth Lindstromberg |
Practice Makes Perfect: English Prepositions Up Close | Jean Yates |
The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need | Susan Thurman |
English Grammar in Use | Raymond Murphy |
Understanding and Using English Grammar | Betty Schrampfer Azar |
Taking an Exam? Selecting a College?
Get authentic answers from experts, students and alumni that you won't find anywhere else
Sign Up on ShikshaOn Shiksha, get access to
- 67k Colleges
- 1.2k Exams
- 719k Reviews
- 1850k Answers
