Class 9 English

Chapter 2 Pronouns

You know that a Pronoun is a word used for a noun or a clause.

• Ram is not here; he is ill.
• He failed, which broke his heart.

Read And Learn More WBBSE Class 9 English Functional Grammar

Pronouns may be divided into the following eight classes:

• Personal (including Possessive) – – I, thou, ye, you, he, she, it, my, your, yours, hers, ours, etc.
• Demonstrative – This, that, such, so, etc.
• Relative Who, which, that, what, as, whoever, whatever, whichever, etc.
• Interrogative- Who, which, what, etc.
• Distributive Each, either, neither, etc.
• Reflexive and Emphatic – Myself, thyself, himself, etc.
• Indefinite -One, any, some, they, etc.
• Reciprocal-Each other, one another.

Chapter 2 Pronouns Personal Pronouns

1. Personal Pronouns are so called because they stand for persons, viz.
2. The First Person denotes the person or persons speaking: as, I, my, me, we, our, etc.
3. The Second Person denotes the person or persons spoken to as, you, thou, your, etc.
4. The Third Person denotes the person or persons spoken of: as, he, she, it, they, their, etc.

The form of Personal Pronouns varies according to their use in the sentence as subjects and objects. To indicate ownership or some other relationship, they take possessive forms.

Personal Pronouns I, we, she, and he, are all used as subjects in the Nominative:

• He knows – I know the boy.
• We shall go- They were present there.

The objective forms me, us, her, him, they are used as direct and indirect objects of verbs or after prepositions

• I saw her- I gave him a book.
• He talked with me- Ram spoke to her.
• We tried for him- Between him and me.

In formal English, when the pronoun comes after the verb to be, the nominative form of the pronoun is the grammatically correct usage

• Who’s there? -It is I.
• Was it they?- It was they.

In formal conversation, however, the objective form is often used after the verb to be: It’s me.

• Who’s there? – It’s me
• Was it them?
• That’s her.
• I wouldn’t have done this if I were him.
• Do you think he did it?
• I am not sure.
• It might have been him.
• (In formal English “It might have been he” is preferred).

But the nominative form must be used when the pronoun acts as the subject of a verb and is followed by a clause

• It was he (not him) who helped me.
• It was I (not me) who arranged the meeting.

When a pronoun is put with some other word in the objective case, the pronoun must also be in the objective case

• The boy is known to him and me (not I).
• I brought this for you and him (not him).
• The book may be given to Ram or me (not I).
• You abused both him and me (not I).

The case of the pronoun following than and as has to be determined by mentally supplying the verb.

• He is more intelligent than I (am).
• He is taller than I (am).
• He knows you more than (he knows) me.
• He is not so strong as you (are).
• He loves you as much as (he loves) me.
• I don’t have more money than he (has).

In colloquial style, however, the objective form is often used in place of nominative after the verb to be followed by an adjective:

• He is more intelligent than me (= than I am).
• He is taller than me (= than I am).
• You are cleverer than him (= than he is).
• He is richer than us (= than we are).
• He is several years older than me (= than I am).

With transitive verbs, the choice of the subject and object forms depends upon the sense of the complete sentence case

• I know you better than he (does) (= he knows you).
• I know you better than him (= I know him).
• You like her as much as I (= as I like her).
• You like her as much as me (= as you like me).
• He helped you as well as I (= as well as I helped you).
• He helped you as well as me (= as well as he helped me).

‘Between’ is a preposition and any pronoun that follows it must be in the objective

• Between you and me
• Between her and she
• Between him and me
• Between Ajoy and me
• Between you and him

‘But’ when used as a preposition is followed by a pronoun in the objective case:

• Nobody was present there but me (not I).
• None but him (not, he) passed the test.

‘Let’ is followed by a pronoun in the objective case:

• Let us go.
• Let him and me do the job.

It will be seen that the Possessive Case of most Personal Pronouns has two forms. Of these:

My, they, her, its, our, your, and there are called Possessive Adjectives, because like adjectives, they are used before nouns: my book, your name, it’s color.

Mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs are called Possessive Pronouns, because they are now used without the noun and instead of the noun to which they refer:

• Whose coat is this? It is mine (= my coat).
• His is used both independently and before a noun:
• This book is his. Or, This is his book.
• Mine, thine, hers, ours, yours, theirs are used

When the noun is understood:

• “Whose book is this? It is mine”. “This is my pen; where is yours?”
• When a verb comes between the noun and pronoun:
• This book is mine. This house is theirs.
• When the pronoun is preceded by of:
• This book of mine is cheap.

Caution: The possessive forms hers, ours, yours, its, theirs, etc. should never be written with the apostrophe. Thus, it is wrong to write her’s, it’s, your’s or yours’, their’s or theirs’, etc.

It should not be confounded with it which means it is or it has.

( hers, ours, yours, its, theirs প্রভৃতি possessive pronoun লিখতে “s”-এর পূর্বে কোনোও apostrophe দেবে না। চিঠিতে কখনও your’s faithfully লিখবে না।)

The Gender and Number of Personal Pronouns:

The pronoun must be of the same gender and number as the noun for which it stands; but when the sex is uncertain, or not clearly stated, we commonly use the neuter pronoun it.

(Pronoun—এর Number ও Gender সেটা যে noun-এর পরিবর্তে বসেছে সেই অনুযায়ী হয়। Noun-টি স্ত্রী বা পুরুষ বোঝা না গেলে আমরা সাধারণতঃ তার পরিবর্তে it ব্যবহার করি। )

• The boy (or boys) has (or have) done his (or their) work.
• The girl (or girls) has (or have) done her (or their) work.
• It is a healthy baby.

But when the neuter form is not allowable, we sometimes use two pronouns, one masculine and the other feminine.

• Every member can express his or her views.
• Every boy or girl may do as he or she likes.

Chapter 2 Pronouns Exercise

Question 1. Point out the Personal Pronouns and the person and number of each. One is done for you. He told me to follow him.
Answer: me – First person singular number, him – Third person singular number.

• I have lost the book you gave me.
• I have sent your brother to him.
• They are angry with me.
• It is a pleasure to talk with him.
• We will follow you.
• He told them that they should mind their business.
• We should do what you tell us to do.
• It was these books that I wanted.
• This pen is his, where is mine?

Chapter 2 Pronouns Demonstrative Pronouns

The words this, that, these, those, such, so, and one when used alone are Demonstrative Pronouns; when used with nouns, they are Adjectives. So cannot be used as an adjective.

• This (or that) is my house.
• What I mean is this.
• Such (what was suggested) was not my object.

These are called Demonstrative Pronouns as they point out some objects to which they refer.

This (these) refers to something that is near to the speaker in position, time, or thought; That (those) denotes something being more distant: This house is ours, not that.

The uses of this and that as Pronouns:-

When two nouns have been mentioned before, this refers to the latter, and that to the former (পরের জিনিষটি বোঝাতে this এবং আগের জিনিষটি বোঝাতে that ব্যবহৃত হয়।) :

Work and play are both necessary; this (= play) gives us rest, and that (= work) gives energy.

Dogs are more faithful than cats: these (= cats) attach themselves to places, and those (= dogs) to persons.

They are often used for preceding nouns or clauses:

• His book is better than that (= book) of Jadu.
• I have read Latin, and that (I have read Latin) at Oxford.
• He went there, and this (= the fact that he went there) proves his courage.

Chapter 2 Pronouns Reflexive And Emphatic Pronouns

Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns are formed by adding –self to my, your, him, her, it, and -selves to our, you’re, and them:

• Myself -Ourselves
• Yourself -Yourselves
• Himself -Themselves
• Herself
• Itself.

Though the same in form they are different in use:

They are Reflexive when the doer is both the subject and the object of the action expressed by the verb ( subject এবং object একইজনকে বোঝায় )

• I hurt myself – He looked at himself in the mirror.
• He lost himself – Can you see yourselves in the mirror?
• They cursed themselves.

(myself, himself, themselves, yourselves object 4 subject object একই লোককে বোঝাচ্ছে। )

They are Emphatic when used with nouns or pronouns for the sake of emphasis (জোর দিবার জন্য ব্যবহৃত হয়)

• I myself did the work.
• I saw the man himself.
• You yourself can do the job.
• They themselves confessed their guilt.
• The town itself is very large.

(এখানে myself, himself, yourself, themselves, itself ইত্যাদি word গুলি জোর দেবার জন্য ব্যবহৃত হয়েছে।)

“I myself saw the man” and “I saw the man himself” are more emphatic than “I saw the man”.

Emphatic Pronouns can never stand alone as subjects. (Emphatic Pronouns subject রূপে একা বসতে পারে না । )

Hence it is incorrect to write: “His brother and myself were present”. “I will do it”. But we can write,

• His brother and I myself went there.
• I myself will do it.

An Emphatic Pronoun may refer to a person who is not the doer of the action e.g., I saw the minister himself, whereas a Reflexive Pronoun invariably denotes a person who is the doer as well as the person affected by the action, e.g.,

• The boy hid himself inside the bush (object of a verb).
• Sumona looked at herself in the mirror (object of a preposition).
• He thinks little of himself (object of a preposition).

Chapter 2 Pronouns Distributive Pronouns

Each, either, and neither are called Distributive Pronouns because they separate one person or thing from a group.

(Each, either 3 neither লোক বা বস্তু থেকে পৃথকভাবে বোঝায় বলে তাদেরকে Distributive Pronoun বলে।)

• I gave a book to each of the boys.
• Either of them may go.
• Neither of them was present.

Either and neither are always used by two persons or things.

• Either means one or the other of the two.
• Neither means ‘none of the two’.
• Each is used of any number, say two or fifty: Each of the two or ten boys was fined.
• Distributive Pronouns take singular pronouns and verbs:
  • Neither of them is ill.
  • Each of the girls has done her work.

Chapter 2 Pronouns Reciprocal Pronouns

Each, other, and one another are called Reciprocal Pronouns (Reciprocal = পারস্পরিক).

Each other is generally used when two are referred to, one another when more than two are referred to. ( দুয়ের মধ্যে পরস্পরকে বোঝাতে each other. এবং দুয়ের বেশীর মধ্যে পরস্পরকে বোঝাতে one another ব্যবহৃত হয়।)

• Dutta and Sharma struck each other.
• The boys fought with one another.

আজকাল অবশ্য দুয়ের মধ্যেও পরস্পরকে বোঝাতে one another ব্যবহৃত হয়।

• Relative Pronouns
• Look at the following sentences:
• He is a boy. He stood first in the examination.
• This is a house. My father built it last year.

Now see how these sentences have been joined by using the words who and which:

• He is the boy who stood first in the examination.
• This is the house which was built by my father last year.

Who and which here refer to “boy” and “house” respectively and they are used to connect the sentences. Who and which here are Relative Pronouns.

(উপরের sentence গুলিতে who এবং which যথাক্রমে boy এবং house-এর পরিবর্তে বসে sentence গুলিকে যুক্ত করেছে। এইক্ষেত্রে who এবং which Relative Pronoun)

A Relative Pronoun is a word that not only refers to some Noun or pronoun mentioned before but also joins two sentences or parts thereof.

The principal Relative Pronouns are who, which, that, and what. As and but are also used as Relative Pronouns.

The word to which the Relative Pronoun refers is called the Antecedent. (Relative Pronoun যার পরিবর্তে বসে তাকে Antecedent বলে।)

• The book which you gave me is lost.
• I want the boy who came to see me.

In the first sentence, the book is the antecedent of which. In the second sentence, the boy is the antecedent of who.

Uses of Relative Pronouns:

Declension: Who and which are declined as follows: that is not declined.

Singular and Plural – Singular and Plural

• Nom. – Who – Which
• Poss – Whose – of which (also rarely, ‘whose’) Which
• Obj – Whom – Which

The uses of who (subject) and whom (object) are very often confused.

Carefully note their usage:

• The man who (not whom) came here was my uncle.
• I know Mr. Sarkar who (not whom) is a big businessman.
• He is a person whom (not who) you can trust.
• He is a person who (not whom) is quite trustworthy.
• Who (not whom) do you think has done it?
• Please tell me whom (also, who) I should speak to.
• These are the boys whom (not who) I saw there.
• These are the boys who (not whom) were present there.

Uses of ‘who’ and ‘which’:

Restrictive- Who and which have a restrictive force when they limit or define the meaning of an antecedent?

• This is the boy who did it.
• This is the book which I bought.

Continuative, Co-ordinate, or Conjunctive – Who and which have sometimes a continuative force and are used only to make some additional statement about the antecedent.

They may then be replaced by a conjunction and a pronoun:

• You must obey your parents, which (= and) will win you the love of others.
• I saw your father, who (= and he) recognized me.

No ‘comma’ is generally placed before the Relative Pronoun when it is used in the restrictive sense; but when it is used in a continuative sense, it generally takes a comma before it.

That is always used in a restrictive sense. It is used instead of “who” and “which”: After adjectives in the superlative degree:

He is the best man that I ever saw.

After some, any, all, only, one, etc. that require a defining clause after them: Is this the same that (also, as) you showed me before?

• All that I want is this.
• He is the only boy that did it.
• Answer any that you can.

After the Interrogatives who and what:

• Who is the boy that did it?
• What is it that you want?

After two antecedents, one requiring who and the other which:

• Many are the men and countries that I saw.

As is a Relative Pronoun when it comes after the same, such, as much, as many, and is applied to both persons and things:

• This is the same book as that. Only such boys as have passed need apply.
• I gave him as much (or as many men) as he required.

The same is also followed by that:

• This is the same book that I lost.

But is used as a Relative Pronoun when it means not (=). It has a negative sense and is used after a negative word.

• There is no man but (who not) wishes to be happy.

Relative Pronouns agree in number, gender, and person with their antecedents:

• I who am your master say so.
• You are the person (or persons) who is (or are) guilty.
• This is the lady who lost her ring.
• It is useless to me who am ill.

Omission of a Relative Pronoun: The Relative Pronoun is often omitted when it is the object of a verb or of a preposition:

• He is the man (whom) I saw.
• The book (which or that) I bought is lost.
• I can remember the day (on which) he came.

A noun or pronoun in the Possessive Case should not be used as the antecedent to a Relative Pronoun. (Possessive case- noun pronoun Relative Pronoun-4 antecedent ).

Thus, instead of writing, “I went to the man’s house who is my friend”, we should write, “I went to the house of the man who is my friend.”

Chapter 2 Pronouns Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns who, which, what, whose, and whom, ask questions:

• Who are you?
• Whom do you want?
• What do you want?
• Which is the house?
• Whose book is this?

They are also used to ask indirect questions:

• Tell me what you want.
• I asked who he was.

The difference in use:

• Who is applied to persons (f), and is indefinite: Who goes there (i.e., the person is not known)?
• Which is applied to both persons and things (3), and refers to one out of a group : (একটি group-এর মধ্য হতে কোনো একটি বা কয়েকটি নির্দেশ করে।): Which of these do you want?
• What is applied to things, and a person’s profession: What do you want? What is he ?-He is a doctor.

Note carefully the following distinctions:

Who is he? -enquires about the name or parentage of the person.

The answer should be of the form – He is Sri Ramesh Chandra Bose; or, He is Ramesh, my son; or, He is Ramesh, of whom I spoke to you.

What is he? – enquires about the profession or social status answer should be of the form – He is a merchant or a teacher.

Which is he?– The wants him to be pointed out from a definite group (সম্মুখে উপস্থিত দলের ?).

The answer should be of the form – He is the man on the extreme right, or with a red shirt on, etc.

The Interrogative is often used in exclamation in the sense of ‘how great’: What folly! What a clever boy are you!

Chapter 2 Pronouns Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns do not point out any particular person or thing like the Demonstrative but refer to persons in a general manner (কোনো ব্যক্তি বা বস্তুকে না বুঝাইয়া They are any, one, some, other, another, many, all, they, none, few.

Look at the following sentences:

• One should take care of one’s health. Some of the boys were present there.
• They say a war will break out.
• None can do it.
• I know a few of them.

Any, as a Pronoun, is used only in interrogative and negative sentences.

It may be both singular and plural and may refer to both persons and things.

Have you seen any man (or men), or dog (or dogs) there? No, I have not seen

I want a few chairs; can you give me any?

Some, as a Pronoun, is plural and may be used for both persons and things: Some say, he will come.

He has many books; some are new, some old.

One-As an Indefinite Personal Pronoun, one is always followed by one, one’s, and one (in the nominative, possessive, and objective), and not by he, his, and him.

Thus:

One must do one’s duty. One does not know when one will die.

When every or no stands before one, use he, his, or him after it. Everyone did his duty. No one knows when he will die.

Chapter 1 Sentences

A sentence is a word or a group of words giving a complete sense. (যে শব্দ বা শব্দসমষ্টি একটি পূর্ণ অর্থ প্রকাশ করে তাকে sentence বা বাক্য বলা হয়।)

In the following examples, the groups of words on the left are not, because they do not make complete sense; but those on the right do so, and hence, they are

• Did it – I did it.
• Can do – I can do it.
• In the garden – he is walking in the garden.
• A good boy – he is a good boy.

In writing, the beginning and end of a sentence are indicated respectively by a capital letter and by a full stop, or a note of exclamation or interrogation.

A sentence may consist of one or more words. The one-word is, as a rule, intelligible only in connection with a particular situation. As:

• In exclamations-good! What!
• In imperatives-wait. Stop.

Assertive: these make simple statements (কোনো কিছু সাধারণভাবে ব্যক্ত করা হয়). As :

• I know him.
• He reads in class vii.
• The boys love to play.

Interrogative: these ask questions (প্রশ্ন জিজ্ঞাসা করাহয়). As :

• Why is he here?
• What are you doing?
• Will he come?

Read And Learn More WBBSE Class 9 English Functional Grammar

Imperative: these express commands, requests, etc. (এইসব বাক্যে কোনো আদেশ, উপদেশ, অনুরোধ ইত্যাদি বোঝায়). As :

• Go away from here.
• Don’t do this.
• Please tell me your name.

Optative: these express wishes, prayers, etc. (কোনো ইচ্ছা, প্রার্থনা, আশীর্বাদ প্রভৃতি প্রকাশ করে). As :

• God bless you.
• May he live long.
• Heaven help us.

Exclamatory: these express sudden feelings or emotions (এইসব বাক্য দুঃখ, আনন্দ বা মনের কোনো আকস্মিক আবেগ প্রকাশ করে). As :

• How nice!
• Alas! He is no more.
• What a fool you are!

May be further subdivided into two- (1) affirmative (-) and (2) negative (-).

Affirmative are those that affirm something:

• I know him.
• He reads in class vii.
• Go away from here.
• May he live long?
• How nice!

Negative are those that negate or deny something:

• I do not know him.
• He does not read in class vii.
• Do not go away from here.
• May he not suffer.
• Alas! He is no more.

Some make a different division. They classify Sentences as follows:

Statements which simply affirm or deny something (হ্যাঁ বা না-সূচক সাধারণ বক্তব্য বোঝায়):

• I know him.
• He has not come today.

Questions which ask questions:

• Why is he here?
• Why did you not come yesterday?

Desires which contain some desire, order, or request (, ), etc:

• May he live long?
• Do not go there.
• Please come here.

Exclamations which express a sudden feeling or emotion (প্রকাশ করা হয়) :

• How nice!
• Alas! I am undone.
• And language functions
• Convey different messages depending on their functions.

Functions may be broadly listed as:

(বিভিন্ন sentence-এর মাধ্যমে বিভিন্ন প্রকারের বক্তব্য প্রকাশিত হয়। sentence-এর এই বক্তব্যের রূপনানা রকমের হয়। )

• Reporting
• Asking for
• Ordering
• Thanking
• Confirming
• Something
• Expressing
• Sorrow information
• Making suggestion
• Guessing
• Giving warning
• Comparing
• Regretting
• Making statement
• Assuring
• Narrating an event
• Greeting
• Enquiring
• Denying something
• Expressing surprise
• Describing
• Advising
• Describing a process
• Requesting
• Threatening something
• Expressing doubt
• Offering information
• Demanding an action
• Defining
• Illustration
• Expressing a sudden feeling, etc.
• Expressing joy

Look at the following and their functions:

Chapter 1 Sentences The Subject And The Predicate

Every sentence can be divided into two parts, the subject and the predicate:

The subject must be a noun or noun-equivalent and is found as an answer to the question what? Or who? Asked before the main verb.

Look at the following:

• Noun: ramen went there. (Who went there ?)
• Pronoun: she is a good girl. (Who is a good girl?)
• Gerund: walking is good exercise. (What is a good exercise ?)
• Infinite to. Tell a lie is a sin. (What is a sin ?)
• Noun clause: why he did this is a puzzle. (What is a puzzle ?)

The subject usually comes at the beginning, but it may come in the middle or at the end of a sentence. Note the following :

• He reads in class 8.
• Though poor, he is honest.
• For a long time, they whispered.
• The best boy amongst them was Sandip.
• The subject is often understood in some, especially in imperative ones.
• Thus, go there = go you there. Sit down = sit you down. In analyzing such, the subject has to be supplied.

Chapter 1 Phrases And Clauses Phrases

• He came to see me.
• This is a chain of gold.

In the above, the groups of words written in italics do not make complete sense.

They do not have any subject or predicate and do not contain any finite verb, expressed or understood, but are used as single parts of speech.

In the first sentence the words ” to see me” act as an adverb to “came”; in the second sentence the words, “of gold” qualify the noun “chain” and thus act as an adjective; in the third sentence the words “on the table” are adverb qualifying “put”.

These groups of words are called phrases.

A phrase is a group of words that does not make complete sense, and does not contain a finite verb, expressed or understood, but is used as a single part of speech.

(যে শব্দ সমষ্টির নিজের কোনো finite verb নেই, এবং যারা পূর্ণ অর্থ প্রকাশ করে না, শুধু একটি single part of speech-এর মতো ব্যবহৃত হয়, তাকে phrase বলে।) agle part.

Phrases are of six kinds:

Noun phrase: It does the work of a noun.

• He likes to play.
• Walking is a good exercise.

In the first sentence, the phrase “to play” is the object of the verb “likes”. In the second sentence, the phrase “to walk” is the subject of the verb “is”. The groups of words here thus do the work of a noun and hence they are noun phrases.

Adjective phrase: It does the work of an adjective.

• Hiren is a man of wealth.
• The boys in the class stood up.
• The book on the table is mine.

The phrase “of wealth” tells us what sort of man ‘Hiren’ is. It qualifies the noun ‘man’ just as an adjective does. It, therefore, does the work of an adjective. Similarly, the phrases “in the class”, and “on the table” are adjectives of ‘boys’ and ‘book’ respectively.

Adverbial phrase: it does the work of an adverb.

• He came to see me.
• He worked with care.
• He fell from the tree.

The italicized phrase “to see me” tells us why ‘he’ came. It, therefore, does the work of an adverb and is an-adverbial phrase. Similarly “with care” and “from the tree” are adverbs qualifying “worked” and “fell” respectively.

Prepositional phrase: it does the work of a preposition.

• He stood in front of me.
• He could not come on account of illness.
• The italicized phrases are prepositions for the objective cases “me” and “illness”.

Conjunctional phrase: it does the work of conjunction.

• Come as soon as you can.
• We went there in order that we might see him.
• The phrase “as soon as” joins the two clauses “come” and “you can”.

The phrases “in order that” joins the two clauses, “we went there” and “we might see him.” They are all conjunctional phrases. Interjectional phrase-does the work of an interjection: what a pity! By Jove! Good heavens!

Chapter 1 Phrases And Clauses Clauses

• I know that he is ill.
• The boy who did it is my brother.
• I went after he had gone.

The groups of words in italics in the above contain subjects (he, who, he respectively) and predicates (is ill, did it, had gone respectively) of their own, but form parts of bigger ., Such groups of words are called clauses.

A clause is a group of words having a subject and a predicate of its own, but forming part of a bigger sentence. (যে শব্দ সমষ্টি এক একটি sentence গঠন করে কারণ এতে subject ও predicate আছে, কিন্তু সেটি বৃহত্তর একটি sentence-এর অংশ মাত্র। )

Chapter 1 Parts Of Speech

Words are generally divided into eight classes or parts of speech according to the work they do in a sentence:

A noun is a word that names any person or thing:

(কোনো ব্যক্তি বা বস্তু বা বিষয়ের নামকে noun বলে।) man, book, gold, india, country, sweetness, honesty, air.

An adjective is a word which adds something to the meaning of a noun: ( যে word দ্বারা noun-এর কোনো গুণ, দোষ, অবস্থা, সংখ্যা, পরিমাণ ইত্যাদি বোঝায় তাকে adjective বলে। )

• He is a good boy.
• This is a dark room.
• Give me a little milk.
• Many men were present.

A pronoun is a word used for a noun or a clause:

(Noun বা clause-এর পরিবর্তে যে word বসে তাকে pronoun বলে।)

• Ram is not here; he is ill.
• He failed, which broke his heart.

A verb is a word used to express action, a state of being, or having something. ( যে word কোনো ব্যক্তি বা বস্তুর কোনো কিছু করা, হওয়া কিংবা থাকা বোঝায় তাকে verb বলে।)

• he walks.
• I go.
• The sun shines.
• The rose smells sweet.
• He is tall.
• I have a car.

An adverb is a word that generally adds something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb:

( যে word কোনো verb, adjective বা অন্য কোনো adverb-এর সম্বন্ধে কিছু বলে কিংবা তাদের অর্থ সীমাবদ্ধ করে তাকে adverb বলে। )

• He walks fast.
• He is very clever.
• He did it quite easily.

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or a pronoun to show its relation to ‘some other word in the sentence:

(যে word noun বা pronoun-এর পূর্বে বসে sentence-এর অন্য কোনো word-এর সাথে এই noun বা pronoun- এর সম্বন্ধ বুঝিয়ে দেয় তাকে preposition বলে।)

• The book is on the table.
• He came to me.
• She is in the garden.

A conjunction is a word that joins words or phrases or clauses:

(যে word অন্য words বা phrases বা clauses কে যুক্ত করে তাকে conjunction বলে।) he said this to Ram and Shyam.

• He sat behind you but in front of me.
• As he was ill, he did not go to school.

An interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feeling or emotion: (যে word মনের আকস্মিক উচ্ছাস বা ভাব প্রকাশ করে তাকে interjection বলে।)

Alas! Hello! Bravo!

Chapter 1 Nouns Classification

Nouns are of five different kinds:

A concrete noun is the name of an object of sense, that is, an object which can be seen, touched, heard, smelt or tasted. ( যা দেখা যায়, স্পর্শ করা যায়, শোনা যায়, খাওয়া যায় অর্থাৎ যা ইন্দ্রিয়গ্রাহ্য তাইই concrete noun.)

Boy, dog, song, flower, milk.

An abstract noun is the name of a quality, action, or state belonging to an object. (যে noun দ্বারা কোনো মানুষ বা জিনিষের গুণ, অবস্থা, প্রকৃতি প্রভৃতি বোঝায়—মানুষ বা জিনিষকে বোঝায় না, তাকে abstract noun বলে।)

Softness, smile, wealth, silence.

A proper noun is the name of one particular person, place, thing, or event (or group of persons or places) as distinct from every other.

(Proper noun দ্বারা একটি নির্দিষ্ট প্রাণী, জায়গা, বস্তু বা ঘটনার নিজস্ব নাম বোঝায়।

• Ramesh -the ganga
• Kolkata -the himalayas
• The french revolution- the ramayana
• the hindus

A common or class noun denotes no one person or thing in particular but is common to any and every person or thing of the same kind.

[Common noun দ্বারা এক জাতীয় প্রাণী বা বস্তুর কোনো নির্দিষ্ট একটিকে না বুঝিয়ে তাদের সকলকেই বোঝায় (common = সাধারণ)। ] Man (not any particular man, but any and every man).

Book (not any particular book like the bible, the Vedas, the koran, etc., But any and every book).

River (not any particular river like the Ganga, or the Jamuna, but any and every river). Country (not any particular country, but any and every country) are common nouns.

Difference between a proper noun and common noun (proper no uncommon noun-এর মধ্যে পার্থক্য)

City বলতে আমরা যে কোনো শহরকেই বোঝাই। কিন্তু kolkata বলতে আমরা কেবলমাত্র kolkata city-কেই বোঝাই। এই ক্ষেত্রে city—common noun; কিন্তু kolkata —

Proper noun : এইরূপ :—

Proper – Common

• The ganga- river
• The gita- book
• India -country
• Indian ocean-ocean
• Monday -day
• B.t. Road- road

There are a few nouns, generally classed as common, which are sometimes called singular nouns because there is only one of each of them known to us

Earth, sun, moon, etc.

When god and lord refer to the almighty, they are proper; but when they refer to the different gods of mythology and temporal lords, they are common.

A collective noun is the name of a group or collection of persons or things taken as a whole.

(যে word দ্বারা একই প্রকারের অনেকগুলি প্রাণী বা জিনিষের সমষ্টি বোঝায়, স্বতন্ত্রভাবে তাদেরকে বোঝায় না তাকে collective noun বলে।)

Thus, in “a flock of sheep” “sheep” is a common noun, because it stands for any and every sheep; but flock is a collective noun, because it stands for all the sheep referred to, taken together, and not any one sheep taken separately. Similarly, in “an army of soldiers”, and “a crowd of people”, army and crowd are collective nouns, as they stand respectively for all the soldiers and people referred to, taken together.

(“Flock of sheep” এই বাক্যাংশে “sheep” কথাটি common noun, কারণ সেটি ভেড়ার সাধারণ নাম ; কিন্তু flock কথাটি collective noun, কারণ তা কতকগুলি ভেড়ার সমষ্টিকে বোঝাচ্ছে। এইরূপ, “crowd of men”, “army of soldiers” crowd army collective nouns, men and soldiers-এর সমষ্টিকে বোঝাচ্ছে।)

A collective noun takes a singular verb when the things and persons are taken collectively, and a plural when they are taken separately.

(Verbটি singular হয়; সকলকে সমষ্টিভাবে না বুঝিয়ে স্বতন্ত্রভাবে বোঝালে verbটি plural হয়।)

• The audience is requested to take their seats.
• The class is large.

But we must be consistent. Thus, we must write :

• The board has agreed to grant bonuses to its (not, their) employees.
• The mob does (not, does) not know their mind.

Chapter 1 Nouns A list of collective words

• An army or regiment of soldiers
• A band of robbers, musicians
• A bouquet of flowers
• A bevy of beauties, women
• A bundle of rags, sticks, and firewood, lies
• A bunch of keys, grapes, flowers a brood of chickens
• A board of directors
• A chain of events, mountains
• A class of students, persons
• A clump of trees.
• A cloud of locusts
• A cluster of grapes, islands, stars
• A consignment of goods
• A course of lectures
• A crew of sailors
• A crowd of people
• A curriculum of studies
• A drove of cattle (cattle being driven), sight-seers
• A fleet of ships
• A flight of birds or steps
• A flock of sheep (generally small animals), geese
• A gang of thieves, robbers
• A galaxy of stars
• A group of islands
• A grove of trees
• A herd of cattle (generally big animals), deer, elephants
• A hive of bees
• A heap or mass of ruins
• A horde or tribe of Arabs
• A litter of pups, pigs
• A pack of hounds, wolves, cards, thieves, liars, lies
• A pair of shoes
• A Parliament of Owls
• A pile of books
• A pride of Lions
• A range of mountains
• A series of events
• A stack of hay, wood
• A shoal of fish
• A shower of rain, arrows
• A swarm of bees or flies.
• A suit of clothes

A material noun denotes the matter or substance of which things are made.

It is also called the mass noun. (যে material বা পদার্থ দ্বারা কোনো জিনিষ গঠিত হয় তাকে material noun বলে।)

Thus, the river is a common noun, but water, of which it is made, is a material noun; sheep is a common noun, but mutton, the flesh of a sheep, is a material noun.

Chapter 1 Nouns Countable And Uncountable Nouns

Nouns can also be classified generally as countable and uncountable: countable nouns stand for something that can be counted (যা এক, দুই করে গণনা করা boy, egg, school, man, tree, house, etc.

Only, countable nouns have plural forms and can be used with the indefinite article an) in the singular or many, few, a few, several, etc.

In the plural: (countable singular noun- এর পূর্বে a, an, এবং plural noun-এর পূর্বে many, few, a few, several ইত্যাদি বসে।) a school, a boy, an umbrella, many cows, a few books.

Uncountable nouns stand for something that cannot be counted though they can be measured (যা এক, দুই করে গণনা করা যায় না কিন্তু যা পরিমাপ করা যায়) :

Water, air, glass, wood, sand, etc.

Such nouns have no plural form and are not used with the indefinite article (a/an). (4 কোনো plural form নেই এবং এদের পূর্বে a বা an বসে না।). They are preceded by much, little, etc.

(এদের পূর্বে much, little ইত্যাদি ব্যবহৃত হয়) to denote amount or quantity: much money, little water.

Some of these can, however, be both countable and uncountable according to the context in which they are used, with a change in their meaning.

কোনো কোনো ক্ষেত্রে এরা countable এবং uncountable উভয়ভাবেই ব্যবহৃত হতে পারে। সেক্ষেত্রে তাদের অর্থ ভিন্ন প্রকারের হয়।)

• Paper =the substance on which we write (uncountable)
• A paper = a newspaper (countable)
• Glass = the material (uncountable)
• A glass = a tumbler (countable)
• Wood = The table is made of wood. (Material, uncountable)-কাঠ
• A wood forest the bungalow is in the middle of a wood. (Countable)
• Copper = metal (uncountable)
• A copper = coin (countable)

Notice how often we put a piece of, a great deal of, a bit of, etc. Before uncountable nouns when we want to “individualize” them. We also use some when we want to indicate an indefinite quantity.

Note the following examples:

• A bit of string (এক টুকরো সুতো) -some string (কিছু সুতো )
• A piece of (bar) soap- some soap
• A piece of work (কাজের অংশ)-some work
• A lump of sugar (সামান্য একটু চিনি)-some sugar
• A piece of advice (সামান্য পরামর্শ)-some advice
• A flash of lightning (বিদ্যুতের খানিক চমক- some lightning
• An act of cruelty-some cruelty
• A piece of news (সংবাদ টুকু)-some news
• A piece of furniture-some furniture
• A piece of luggage-some- luggage
• A piece of music-some music

Chapter 1 Nouns Number

In English, there are two numbers: singular and plural. When one thing is spoken of, the noun is singular, such as a boy, a girl, or a cat. But when more than one thing is spoken of, the noun is plural, such as boys, girls, and cats.

Rules for forming the plural:

Most nouns form their plural by adding s to the singular:

(Singular noun-এর শেষে সাধারণত s যোগ করে plural হয়।)

• Singular – plural
• Girl- girls
• Eye- eyes
• House- houses
• Book- books
• Ant- ants
• Table- tables
• Car- cars
• Chair- chairs
• Cat- cats
• Pen- pens
• Cow- cows
• King- kings
• Dog- dogs
• Tree- trees
• Bird- birds
• Pencil- pencils
• Doll- dolls
• Leg- legs
• River- rivers
• Room- rooms
• Brother- brothers
• Lion- lions
• Sister- sisters

Nouns ending in s, ss, sh, ch (soft), x, and z take es in the plural: (যে সব singular noun-এর শেষে s, ss, sh, x, 2 ও soft ch অর্থাৎ যে ‘ch’ -এর উচ্চারণ ‘চ্’-এর মত থাকে তাদের শেষে es যোগ করে plural হয়।)

• Singular – plural
• Gas- gases
• Box- boxes
• Fox- foxes
• Fish- fishes
• Watch- watches
• Monarch -monarchs
• Branch – branches
• Topaz- topazes

But when ch is pronounced as k, only s is added: ( যদি ch -এর উচ্চারণ ‘ক’-এর মত হয় তবে শুধু s যোগ করে plural হয়।)

• Singular – plural
• Monarch – monarchs
• Stomach -stomachs

Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant or qu change y into and add es in the plural: (যদি noun-এর শেষে y এবং তার পূর্বে consonant অথবা qu থাকে, তা হলে plural করবার সময় y কে I করে পরে es যোগ করতে হবে।)

• Singular- plural
• Lady-ladies
• City-cities
• Army-armies
• Country-countries
• Copy-copies
• Body- bodies
• Soliloquy (off) soliloquies
• Sky- skies
• Baby- babies
• Fly- flies

But if y is preceded by a vowel, add only যদি y– এর পূর্বে vowel থাকে তবে শুধু s যোগ করে plural হয়।) but safe-safes; strife-strifes; thief- thieves.

Some take both forms: staff-staffs (), staves (sticks); wharf (g)—wharves, wharves; scarf (a)- scarfs, scarves.

Nouns ending in ‘o’ preceded by a consonant generally take es in the plural: (যদি noun-এর শেষে ০ থাকে এবং তার পূর্বে consonant থাকে, তবে সাধারণত es যোগ করে plural হয়। )

• Singular- plural
• Hero -heroes
• Mango -mangoes
• Buffalo- buffaloes
• Potato- Potatoes
• Volcano- volcanoes
• Mosquito- mosquitoes

Exceptions- canto-s, halo-s , piano-s, manifesto-s, photo-s, memento-s, dynamo-s, portico-s.

Nouns ending in ‘o’ preceded by a vowel generally take only s in the plural: (যদি noun-এর শেষে ০ থাকে এবং তার পূর্বে vowel থাকে, তবে সাধারণত s যোগ করে plural হয়।)

• Singular – plural
• Bamboo – bamboos
• Radio -radios
• Cuckoo- cuckoos
• Folio- folios

Some nouns form their plural by change of vowels: (কতকগুলি noun-এর word-এর মধ্যেকার vowel-এর পরিবর্তন করে plural করতে হয়।)

• Singular – plural
• Man- men
• Louse (উকুন)- lice
• Woman- women
• Mouse- mice
• Foot- feet
• Goose (রাজহাঁস)- geese
• Tooth- teeth

Some nouns adden: (কতকগুলি noun-এর শেষে en যোগ করে plural করা হয়। )

• Singular – plural
• Ox – oxen
• Child – children
• Brother- brethren (also brothers)
• Nouns that have no plural forms:
• (এইসব noun-এর কোনো plural form: নাই, এরা সর্বদাই singular রূপে ব্যবহার হয়।)
• Alphabet (বর্ণমালা)
• Expenditure (ব্যয় )
• Furniture (আসবাবপত্র)
• Information (সংবাদ, খবর)
• Luggage (মালপত্র)
• Offspring (child or children)
• Poetry
• Scenery (দৃশ্য)

He has learned the alphabet. He has sold all his furniture or luggage. All his expenditure is shown here. These are my offspring. I got all the information I wanted.

These flowers by the riverside are beautiful scenery. He writes good poetry.

Nouns which have no singular forms: (এইসব noun-এর কোনো singular হয় না, সর্বদাই plural form-এ ব্যবহার হয়। )

• Jeans (জিন কাপড়ের প্যান্টালুন)
• Alms (ভিক্ষা)
• Amends (ক্ষতিপূরণ
• Annals (ইতিবৃত্ত)
• Ashes (ছাই)
• Assets (সম্পত্তি)
• Auspices (প্রসাদ, আনুকূল্য
• Bellows (হাপর )
• Scissors (কাঁচি)
• Shears (কাস্তে)
• Shorts (খাটো প্যান্ট)
• Spectacles (চশমা)
• Thanks (ধন্যবাদ) )
• Wages (বেতন)
• Bowels (অন্ত্র)
• Eaves (ঘরের ছাঁচ
• Billiards (একরকম খেলা) proceeds (আয়)
• Dregs (তলানি)
• Entrails (নাড়িভুঁড়ি)
• Fetters (শৃঙ্খল
• Forceps (চিমটা)
• Measles (হাম)
• Mumps (গালফুলা রোগ) nuptials (বিবাহ)
• Odds (ন্যূনাধিকভাবে তারতম্য) pyjamas (পাজামা)
• Paints (রং)
• Tidings (সংবাদ)
• Tongs (চিম্‌টা)
• Vitals (জীবনী শক্তি

Nouns which have the same form in both the numbers:

Apparatus, common, corps, deer, innings, means, picé, public, series, sheep, species, swine, and the nouns of number, weight or money such as dozen, score, yoke, stone (weight), hundred weight, when used after a numeral, especially if they join with that numeral to make a compound adjective (as in ‘two-ton lorry’).

The singular meaning is expressed by putting a singular adjective, such as a, an, one, this, that, etc. Before them.

A deer, one sheep, this piece; but, two deer, two-piece.

The words hundred, thousand, lakh (or, lac) million, dozen, score when preceded by a definite numeral (পূর্বে নির্দিষ্ট সংখ্যাবাচক শব্দ থাকলে) or by several or a few are never made plural:

• I want three hundred (or, one hundred) rupees.
• Five thousand (not, thousands) men assembled there.
• He bought one (or two) dozen pencils.
• Draw a cheque for rupees three lacks (or lac). (Not, lakhs or lacs).
• A few hundred people collected there.
• Give me five score eggs.
• Several hundred (or dozen) eggs were damaged.
• Three million (not, millions) tons of rice have been imported this year.

But when these words are not preceded by numerals and used ‘merely to convey the idea of a large number or are preceded by some, many (অনির্দিষ্ট সংখ্যাবাচক শব্দ পূর্বে থাকলে), they are made plural

Some dozens, many dozens, hundreds of people, thousands of ants, scores of animals, many thousands, millions of rupees, lacs, and lacs of rupees, etc.

The plural of compound nouns (except nouns ending in full and fall) is generally formed by adding s to the important word; as:

Governors-general (governors-general is also used); passers-by; brothers-in-law; on-lookers; but mouthfuls, handfuls, pitfalls (5), waterfalls (2).

In nouns ending in ‘man’, the plural is formed by changing man into man when a man is used in the sense of a human being; such as Englishmen, nobleman, or workman.

When, however, the final man does not mean a human being, but is a part of the word itself, the plural is formed by adding s only; as germans, Mussalmans, and Brahmans. “Mankind. The singular number, referred to by it and its, not they and their.”- Usage by f.t. Wood.

• Plurals of letters of the alphabet and of numbers are formed by adding (s): b.a.’S d.d.’ S.
• Cut your t’s and dot your I’s; 3’s, 5’s, etc.
• Some add only s in the plural, leaving the apostrophe for the genitive.
• He hit two 4’s (4s) and two 6’s (6s).
• Three b.a.’S (b.a.s) and two m.a.’S (m.a..s) were selected.

Plurals of abbreviations:

Single letters are doubled:

• Pp. For pages, ll. For lines, mss. For manuscripts.
• Curt forms take s: secs. For sections, etc.

Miscellaneous:

• Singular- plural
• Mr- Messrs
• Mrs madam- mesdames
• Mrs brown – miss brown
• The mrs browns – the miss browns the misses brown
• Madam- ladies
• Man-servant- master brown
• The masters brown the master browns- mr brown
• Messrs Browns- woman-servant lord-justice knight-templar
• The Mr browns- men-servants
• Women-servants- lords-justices
• Knights templars

Foreign plurals:

• Agendum (বিচাৰ্য- agenda
• Singular crisis (সঙ্কটাপন্ন)
• Crises বিষয়) অবস্থা )
• Appendix – appendices
• Analysis (বিশ্লেষণ)
• Radius (ব্যাসার্ধ)
• Radii- analyses
• Erratum (শুদ্ধিপত্র)- errata
• Axis (অক্ষ )- axes
• Bandit (বোম্বেটে) – banditti (or bandits)
• Focus (কেন্দ্র) – foci (or focuses)
• Formula (সূত্র)- formulae
• Basis (ভিত্তি)- bases
• Medium (মাধ্যম)- media
• Memorandum (স্মারকলিপি)- memoranda
• Hypothesis seraph ( প্রথম শ্রেণির স্বৰ্গ-দূত) – hypotheses
• Terminus (শেষপ্রান্ত ) – termini (or terminuses)
• Phenomena- phenomenon
• Seraphim (or seraphs)
• Vertex (শীর্ষ) -vertices
• Oases- oasis (মরুদ্যান)

The tendency of modern English is to reject all foreign forms.

The name of a country, or a thing, though plural in form, is treated as singular; as:

• The united states of America is a rich country;
• The folk tales of Bengal is a nice book.