Summary
Highlights
This section reminds students of specific verbs like 'broadcast' and 'telecast' whose past tense and past participle forms are the same as their base form (e.g., 'telecast', not 'telecasted').
The instructor announces the class will cover 60 most repeated English grammar rules focusing on NDA 1 2026 and CDS exams. He highlights that questions from the last four to five years are covered, emphasizing the importance of English for scoring well in the NDA exam.
This section explains the difference between 'fewer' and 'less'. 'Fewer' is used for countable nouns (e.g., books, people), while 'less' is used for uncountable nouns (e.g., water, distance, money). The instructor also provides interesting facts about minting coins in India and how to identify their origin based on symbols.
The discussion covers prepositions taking objects, not subjects, which impacts verb agreement. For example, in 'One of the boys is', 'is' agrees with 'One' (singular) as 'boys' is the object of the preposition 'of'. The concept of identifying parts of speech (e.g., 'in' as an adverb vs. preposition) is also introduced, along with the correct usage of 'among', 'amongst', 'amid', and 'amids'.
This segment clarifies the use of 'since' for point of time and 'for' for period of time, providing several examples to illustrate the concept. It also highlights common misconceptions and tricky scenarios, including the use of 'since' and 'for' in perfect tenses.
An intuitive analogy of a monkey in a tree vs. on a branch is used to explain the use of 'on' and 'in' for location. 'In the tree' means within the structure, while 'on the branch' means on a surface.
The rule for 'off' (temporary separation) and 'from' (permanent separation) is explained with examples like a person falling 'off' a tree vs. leaves falling 'from' a tree.
The use of 'by' and 'in/on' with modes of transportation is clarified. 'By' is used for general public transport (e.g., by bus), while 'in' is used for specific vehicles or private transport (e.g., in the Vande Bharat train, in Mr. Verma's car). The common error of 'on foot' versus 'by foot' is addressed.
This crucial section covers conditional sentences. For future conditions, two 'will's are avoided; the first action uses simple present, and the second uses simple future. For past conditions, both clauses must be in the same past tense (simple past or past perfect). Clear distinction between 'had' as simple past and 'had + V3' as past perfect is explained.
The difference between 'made of' (physical change, reversible) and 'made from' (chemical change, irreversible) is explained with examples like 'almira is made of iron' and 'ash is made from paper'.
The usage of 'if' and 'whether' is discussed. While both can express doubt, 'whether' is exclusively used when an 'or' alternative is present. 'If' also indicates conditions and imaginary scenarios.
This section clarifies the possibility of using 'had had' in a sentence for past perfect tense ('I had had my dinner'), explaining that the second 'had' functions as the V3 form of 'have'.
Words like 'each', 'either', 'someone', 'everybody', 'nobody', 'no one', 'one', and 'everything' always take a singular verb. The instructor illustrates this with several NDA previous year questions, highlighting common errors where plural verbs are incorrectly used.
Using a relatable analogy of a wedding, the rule for collective nouns is explained. When a collective noun acts as a single entity, it takes a singular verb (e.g., 'The group was invited'). When its members are divided or act individually, it takes a plural verb (e.g., 'The group had taken their plates').
This 'Lallu Lal Rule' covers the fundamental principle that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. It corrects common errors where the verb does not agree with the main subject.
Measurements like '50 miles', '$500', or '365 days' are treated as singular units, always taking a singular verb despite appearing plural. For example, '50 miles is a long distance'.
The section differentiates between action verbs and stative verbs. Action verbs describe actions (e.g., 'exercise'), while stative verbs describe states, emotions, or possessions (e.g., 'know', 'have'). Stative verbs do not take an '-ing' form. The five forms of verbs are also reviewed, including V5 for singular present tense.
A golden rule is introduced: a fraction can never be the subject of a sentence. In such cases, the verb agrees with the noun following the fraction (e.g., 'One-third of the pillars have' vs. 'One-third of the pillar has').
An overview of non-finite verbs (gerunds, infinitives, and participles) is provided. Gerunds (V-ing) act as nouns, participles (V-ing or V3) act as adjectives, and infinitives (to + V1 or bare V1) often act as nouns. The section then focuses on the use of 'to + V1' for infinitives.
This rule covers specific phrases like 'looked forward to', 'devoted to', 'prone to', which are followed by a gerund (V-ing) rather than an infinitive. It also differentiates 'used to V1' from 'be used to V-ing'.
Words ending in '-ior' (e.g., 'superior', 'inferior', 'senior', 'junior') are compared using 'to' instead of 'than'. The verb 'prefer' also uses 'to' for comparison.
The usage of articles A, An, and The is discussed. 'An' is used before vowel sounds (not just vowel letters), and 'A' before consonant sounds. The article 'the' is used to talk about entire communities (e.g. the poor) and unique definite things etc.
This rule clarifies when to use 'the' before institutions like hospitals, schools, or temples. If the purpose of visiting is the primary one for which the institution was built, 'the' is omitted (e.g., 'go to school' for studying). If the purpose is secondary, 'the' is used (e.g., 'go to the school' to meet someone).
The usage of 'at', 'on', and 'in' for time is detailed. 'At' is for exact times, 'in' for larger durations, and 'on' for specific dates or fixed holidays (e.g., 'at 9 o'clock', 'in the morning', 'on Christmas').
This rule states that 'do', 'does', and 'did' are always followed by the base form (V1) of the verb.
The difference between 'it's' (contraction of 'it is') and 'its' (possessive pronoun) is clarified, with examples from NDA questions.
Phrases like 'one of', 'either of', and 'neither of' are followed by a plural noun but take a singular verb. The instructor explains this with the logic that the verb agrees with the 'one' or 'either/neither' (singular part).
When two actions occur in the past, the earlier action is in the past perfect tense, and the later action is in the simple past tense (e.g., 'The patient died after the doctor had come').
The rule for articles with numbers is explained: 'the' is used before ordinal numbers (e.g., 'the first', 'the second'), but generally not before cardinal numbers.
The possessive form for 'one' is 'one's'. The instructor elaborates on contextual usage, explaining how the pronoun 'his' or 'her' might be used depending on ambiguity or explicitly stated gender.
When 'some' is followed by a countable noun, the noun must be in its plural form (e.g., 'some medicines', not 'some medicine').
This rule focuses on fixed pairs of conjunctions: 'either...or', 'neither...nor', 'between...and', 'lest...should', 'though/although...yet'. Common errors involve using incorrect conjunctions in these pairs (e.g., 'but' instead of 'yet' with 'though/although').
With conjunctions like 'either...or', 'neither...nor', and 'not only...but also', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
This rule distinguishes 'until' (time-oriented) from 'unless' (condition-oriented). Both 'until' and 'unless' are negative in meaning, so they should not be followed by another negative word like 'not'.
Inversion, where the verb comes before the subject, is used with negative words like 'hardly', 'no sooner', 'scarcely', and 'barely'. The structure is typically 'negative word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb'.
'A number of' (meaning several) takes a plural verb, while 'the number of' (referring to a specific count) takes a singular verb.
The rule states that a sentence should not start with 'due to'; instead, 'owing to' or other phrases should be used.
When two subjects are joined by phrases like 'as well as', 'together with', 'along with', 'no less than', 'with', 'in addition to', 'rather than', or 'except', the verb always agrees with the first subject.
When a sentence begins with 'it's time', 'it's high time', or 'it's about time', the subsequent verb should be in the simple past (V2) tense. However, if 'to' follows, it takes V1.
Transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object) do not require a preposition between the verb and its object (e.g., 'advised him', not 'advised to him').
For compound nouns (e.g., 'brother-in-law', 'commander-in-chief'), the plural is formed by adding 's' to the main word ('brothers-in-law'). The possessive is formed by adding apostrophe 's' at the end of the entire compound noun ('brother-in-law's house').
Certain collective nouns are always treated as plural, despite their singular appearance (e.g., 'poultry', 'cattle', 'people', 'police'). Also, words like 'pants', 'scissors', 'spectacles' are always plural.
Different prepositions are used with 'died' depending on the cause of death (e.g., 'died of' a disease, 'died in' an accident, 'died from' an indirect cause).
Material nouns and certain other nouns do not have plural forms and are always treated as singular (e.g., 'equipment', 'news', 'scenery', 'furniture').
In active voice, 'comprise' does not take 'of'. However, 'consist' always takes 'of'. 'Comprised of' is only used in passive voice.
'With' is used for the instrument used, while 'by' is used for the doer of the action (e.g., 'beaten by me with a stick'). Also, it's 'by your watch' when asking for time.
When comparing two similar things, 'that of' is used to avoid repetition and ensure a correct comparison (e.g., 'The price of my dress is higher than that of yours').
'Many a' is always followed by a singular noun and takes a singular verb (e.g., 'many a flower is').
When a sentence starts with 'being' and lacks a clear subject, a pseudo subject 'it' can be added before 'being' to make grammatical sense.
Stative verbs (e.g., 'want', 'think', 'know') do not take continuous '-ing' forms (e.g., 'I want' instead of 'I am wanting').
Maintain consistency in tense throughout a sentence unless there's a shift in the timeline. The instructor uses an example to show how an incorrect verb form can break consistency.
The spelling 'advice' (with 'ce') is a noun, while 'advise' (with 'se') is a verb. Similar pairs like 'practice' (noun) and 'practise' (verb) are also mentioned.
Adjectives follow a specific order when describing a noun (Opinion-Size-Age-Shape-Color-Origin-Material-Purpose). This can be remembered with the acronym OSASCOMP.
'Each other' is used for two people or things, while 'one another' is used for more than two.
'Beside' means next to, and 'besides' means in addition to.
'Few' and 'little' imply almost none (negative sense), 'a few' and 'a little' imply some (positive sense), and 'the few' and 'the little' imply all that is available of a limited quantity. 'Few' is for countable, and 'little' is for uncountable nouns.