CUET UG English Language Grammar Grammar Tenses Voice Narration Error Spotting

Must-Know

• Present Simple tense is used for universal truths: "The sun rises in the east."
• Present Continuous tense cannot be used with stative verbs like know, belong, seem: "I am knowing" is incorrect; use "I know".
• Present Perfect tense connects past action to present: "She has finished her homework."
• Past Perfect tense shows sequence: "When I reached, the train had left."
• Future Perfect tense indicates completion by a future time: "By 2025, he will have completed his degree."
• In passive voice, the object becomes the subject: "The letter was written by her."
• Imperative sentences in passive: "Let the door be closed."
• Universal truths in passive retain simple present: "Rice is grown in West Bengal."
• Commands in indirect speech use to infinitive: "He ordered me to go."
• Prohibitions in indirect speech use not to infinitive: "She advised me not to smoke."
• First-person pronouns change in reported speech: "I am tired" becomes "He said that he was tired."
• Time expressions shift in narration: "today" → "that day", "tomorrow" → "the next day".
• "Said to" becomes "told" when object is present: "He said to me" → "He told me".
• Questions with yes/no use if/whether: "Are you coming?" → "He asked if I was coming."
• Wh-questions retain the wh-word in reported speech: "Where do you live?" → "He asked where I lived."
• Modals like could, might, should, would do not change in reported speech.
• Since is used with perfect tenses for point in time: "I have lived here since 2020."
• For is used with duration: "I have lived here for five years."
• Passive voice is not formed for intransitive verbs: "The sun rises" has no passive.
• In present perfect continuous, duration matters: "He has been sleeping for three hours."

Difficulty Level

Intermediate — requires understanding of tense usage, voice transformation, and narration rules with contextual application.

Common CUET Traps

• Trap: Using Present Continuous with stative verbs like understand, own, love. Avoid: Use simple tenses with stative verbs.
• Trap: Forgetting time expression changes in reported speech (e.g., using "today" instead of "that day"). Avoid: Always adjust time/place references in narration.
• Trap: Attempting passive voice with intransitive verbs (e.g., "The bird was flew"). Avoid: Confirm the verb is transitive before forming passive.

Practice MCQs

1. Identify the error: She has been working here since five hours.
   A) She has been working
   B) here
   C) since five hours
   D) No error
   Answer: C
   Explanation: "Since" is used with a point in time; "for" is used with duration.
   Why others fail: Students confuse "since" and "for" in perfect continuous tense.

2. Choose the correct reported speech: He said, "I will come tomorrow."
   A) He said that he will come tomorrow.
   B) He said that he would come the next day.
   C) He said that he will come the next day.
   D) He said that he would come tomorrow.
   Answer: B
   Explanation: "Will" changes to "would" and "tomorrow" to "the next day" in indirect speech.
   Why others fail: Option A retains direct speech modal and time expression.

3. Spot the error: The picture was hanged on the wall.
   A) The picture
   B) was hanged
   C) on the wall
   D) No error
   Answer: B
   Explanation: "Hanged" is used for people (executions); "hung" is used for objects.
   Why others fail: Confusion between "hanged" and "hung" as past participles.

4. Choose the correct passive: They are building a new bridge.
   A) A new bridge is built by them.
   B) A new bridge is being built by them.
   C) A new bridge has been built by them.
   D) A new bridge was built by them.
   Answer: B
   Explanation: Present continuous active becomes present continuous passive.
   Why others fail: Option A uses simple present passive, ignoring the ongoing action.

5. Identify the error: He said that he has finished his work.
   A) He said that
   B) he has finished
   C) his work
   D) No error
   Answer: B
   Explanation: After past reporting verb, present perfect shifts to past perfect: "had finished".
   Why others fail: Students overlook tense shift in reported speech when main verb is past.

Last-Minute Revision

• ⚠️ "Since" + point time (since Monday); "for" + duration (for two days).
• ⚠️ Stative verbs (like, know, belong) not used in continuous tenses.
• ⚠️ "Let" in passive: "Let it be done."
• ⚠️ "Am/is/are" in direct speech become "was/were" in reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Can" becomes "could" in reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Must" (obligation) becomes "had to" in reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Shall I" questions become "asked if he should" in indirect speech.
• ⚠️ Intransitive verbs (die, sleep, fall) have no passive voice.
• ⚠️ "Used to" remains "used to" in reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Will" → "would", "shall" → "should" in indirect speech.
• ⚠️ "Now" becomes "then", "here" becomes "there" in narration.
• ⚠️ "This" → "that", "these" → "those" in reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Do you like?" → "He asked if I liked."
• ⚠️ "Go" → "went", "come" → "came" in indirect speech.
• ⚠️ "Today" → "that day", "yesterday" → "the day before".
• ⚠️ "Tomorrow" → "the next day", "next week" → "the following week".
• ⚠️ "Already" remains "already" in past perfect reported speech.
• ⚠️ "Hurt", "cut", "hit" have same form in past and past participle.
• ⚠️ "Lie" (recline) → lay, lain; "lay" (place) → laid, laid — commonly confused.
• ⚠️ Passive of imperative: "Close the door" → "You are ordered to close the door" or "Let the door be closed."