SPI English · Free notes

Grammar: SPI English

Grammar has 97 questions in the SPI bank, and five of them are from the 2022 paper. Most are short and fair: 63 are EASY, 32 MODERATE and only 2 HARD. Almost half (48) ask you to change the voice of a sentence or turn spoken words into reported speech, and both of those rest on knowing the tenses well. So start with the tenses and move through the pages in order: each one uses only what the pages before it have taught.

The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.

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Formula & revision sheet

0 formulas · 21 reference tables · 54 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet

Tenses and Verb Forms

Reference tables (4)

The twelve tense forms and how to name them12 rows

Tense	Form	Example
Simple Present	verb or verb + s	She reads every day.
Present Continuous	am, is, are + verb-ing	She is reading now.
Present Perfect	has, have + past participle	She has read the letter.
Present Perfect Continuous	has, have been + verb-ing	She has been reading since noon.
Simple Past	past form	She read the letter yesterday.
Past Continuous	was, were + verb-ing	She was reading when I called.
Past Perfect	had + past participle	She had read it before I came.
Past Perfect Continuous	had been + verb-ing	She had been reading for an hour.
Simple Future	will, shall + verb	She will read it tomorrow.
Future Continuous	will be + verb-ing	She will be reading at six.
Future Perfect	will have + past participle	She will have read it by Monday.
Future Perfect Continuous	will have been + verb-ing	She will have been reading for two hours by six.

To name a tense, look only at the helping verbs and the ending of the main verb.

Time words that fix the tense6 rows

Clue word	Tense	Example
ago, yesterday, last month	Simple Past	We visited Pune last month.
since, for, so far	Present Perfect	He has lived here since 2020.
yet, already, this week	Present Perfect	She has not called yet.
by tomorrow, by next week	Future Perfect	I will have finished the book by Friday.
when + short past action	Past Continuous	I was cooking when the lights went out.
now, look, listen	Present Continuous	Listen! The baby is crying.

Find the clue word first, then pick the option whose tense matches it.

Sequence of tenses: a past main verb pulls the next verb into the past5 rows

Main verb	Following verb	Example
Past (thought)	Simple past	I thought he was at home.
Past (found)	Past perfect for the earlier action	We found that the shop had closed.
Past (ended)	Past perfect after before	The rain ended before we had reached the gate.
Past (taught)	Present for a universal truth	He taught us that water boils at 100 degrees.
Present (says)	Any tense the meaning needs	She says she will come.

Modals and the base form of the verb6 rows

Modal	Meaning	Example
must	duty or necessity	Students must wear the school uniform.
can, could	ability	She can swim across the river.
may, might	possibility or permission	It may rain this evening.
should	advice	You should drink more water.
going to	a plan or a sign of what comes next	Look at that sky: it is going to snow.
it takes ... to	time needed	It takes ten minutes to walk to school.

The verb after a modal or 'going to' has no -s, no -ing and no 'to'.

Watch out for (9)

Calling every '-ing' form perfect continuous
→ The twelve tense forms and how to name them
Reading 'have not' as the simple present
→ The twelve tense forms and how to name them
Putting 'ago' with the present perfect
→ Time words that fix the tense
Using the simple past with 'since'
→ Time words that fix the tense
Using the simple future with 'by'
→ Time words that fix the tense
Mixing a present verb into a past sentence
→ Sequence of tenses: a past main verb pulls the next verb into the past
Changing a correct past perfect
→ Sequence of tenses: a past main verb pulls the next verb into the past
Adding -s or -ing after a modal
→ Modals and the base form of the verb
Choosing a modal by sound, not meaning
→ Modals and the base form of the verb

Agreement and Conjunctions

Reference tables (2)

Finding the real subject before choosing the verb6 rows

Subject pattern	Verb follows	Example
A as well as B	A, the first subject	The teacher, as well as her pupils, was excited.
Neither A nor B	B, the nearer subject	Neither my brother nor my parents were at home.
Either A or B	B, the nearer subject	Either the boys or their father has the key.
A and B	plural	Ravi and Meena are cousins.
Each, every, everyone	singular	Every student has a locker.
Uncountable noun	singular	The news is good.

Cover the words between commas and the verb's real subject is left standing.

Conjunctions and what each one means8 rows

Conjunction	Job	Example
and	adds	She cooked and I washed up.
but, though	contrasts	He is rich but unhappy.
or	offers a choice	Will you walk or take the bus?
so	gives a result	It was late, so we left.
because, as	gives a reason	We stayed in because it was cold.
if, unless	gives a condition	Call me if you need help.
till, until, when	gives a time	Wait until the bell rings.
than	compares	She is taller than her sister.

To test a word, try joining two short sentences with it. If it cannot join them, it is not a conjunction.

Watch out for (6)

Letting the nearest plural noun choose the verb
→ Finding the real subject before choosing the verb
Treating furniture or news as plural
→ Finding the real subject before choosing the verb
Counting prepositions as conjunctions
→ Conjunctions and what each one means
Mixing up than and then
→ Conjunctions and what each one means
Joining a contrast with 'and'
→ Joining two sentences with the right conjunction
Changing the tense while joining
→ Joining two sentences with the right conjunction

Articles: a, an, the and no article

Reference tables (3)

A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter8 rows

Word	First sound	Article
umbrella	vowel (uh)	an umbrella
hour	vowel (h silent)	an hour
heir	vowel (h silent)	an heir
MBA	vowel (em)	an MBA
university	consonant (you)	a university
one-rupee coin	consonant (wun)	a one-rupee coin
horse	consonant (h spoken)	a horse
engineer	vowel (en)	an engineer

Spelling misleads: a university and an hour both break the letter rule, and both follow the sound rule.

The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing6 rows

Reason for the	Example
made particular by a clause	The man who called you is my uncle.
made particular by an of-phrase	the roof of the house
known to both speakers	Please close the door.
one of a kind	The moon is bright tonight.
superlative	She is the tallest girl in the team.
order word	He was the first to arrive.

If you can answer 'which one?' from the sentence or from what both people know, use the.

Names: when there is no article and when there is the8 rows

Kind of name	Article	Example
city, state, most countries	none	Chennai is in Tamil Nadu.
person	none	Arjun is my friend.
river, sea, ocean	the	the Godavari, the Arabian Sea
mountain range	the	the Western Ghats
newspaper	the	the Times of India
holy book	the	the Gita
famous building	the	the Gateway of India
country that is a union or plural	the	the United Kingdom

Watch out for (6)

Going by the first letter
→ A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter
Using 'the' for a thing mentioned for the first time
→ A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter
Leaving out 'the' before a superlative
→ The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing
Using 'a' when a clause makes the noun particular
→ The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing
Putting 'the' before a city or a state
→ Names: when there is no article and when there is the
Dropping 'the' before a river or a newspaper
→ Names: when there is no article and when there is the

Prepositions of time, place and fixed pairs

Reference tables (3)

Prepositions of time: since, for, by, in, on, at7 rows

Preposition	Used with	Example
since	a starting point	She has worked here since 2018.
for	a length of time	We stayed there for a week.
by	a deadline	Send the form by Friday.
in	month, year, part of the day	in May, in 2010, in the evening
on	day or date	on Sunday, on 5 June
at	clock time, night	at 7 o'clock, at night
at last	finally, after a long wait	At last the rain stopped.

Since answers 'from when?'; for answers 'how long?'.

Prepositions of place and movement7 rows

Preposition	Picture	Example
at	a point	Meet me at the gate.
on	a surface or a line	The hotel is on the main street.
in	an enclosed space	The keys are in the drawer.
along	following a line	We walked along the river bank.
through	inside, end to end	The train went through a long tunnel.
across	from one side to the other	She swam across the lake.
above	higher, not touching	The kite flew above the trees.

Words that always take the same preposition9 rows

Word	Preposition	Example
decide	on (choose)	We decided on the blue car.
interested	in	Are you interested in chess?
jealous	of	He is jealous of his cousin.
afraid	of	The child is afraid of the dark.
laugh	at	Do not laugh at others' mistakes.
good	at	Meera is good at maths.
depend	on	We depend on rain for our crops.
proud	of	Parents are proud of their children.
angry	with a person, at a thing	He was angry with his son.

If two prepositions sound right, the word just before the blank decides.

Watch out for (6)

Using 'from' with the present perfect
→ Prepositions of time: since, for, by, in, on, at
Using 'since' with a length of time
→ Prepositions of time: since, for, by, in, on, at
Using 'through' for an open line
→ Prepositions of place and movement
Using 'in' for a place on a line or an edge
→ Prepositions of place and movement
Writing 'jealous on' or 'jealous about'
→ Words that always take the same preposition
Writing 'angry on someone'
→ Words that always take the same preposition

Passive Voice by Tense

Reference tables (1)

The passive form of be in each tense8 rows

Active tense	Active	Passive
Simple Present	She cleans the room.	The room is cleaned by her.
Present Continuous	She is cleaning the room.	The room is being cleaned by her.
Present Perfect	She has cleaned the room.	The room has been cleaned by her.
Simple Past	She cleaned the room.	The room was cleaned by her.
Past Continuous	She was cleaning the room.	The room was being cleaned by her.
Past Perfect	She had cleaned the room.	The room had been cleaned by her.
Simple Future	She will clean the room.	The room will be cleaned by her.
Future Perfect	She will have cleaned the room.	The room will have been cleaned by her.

Continuous adds being, perfect adds been. The perfect continuous tenses have no everyday passive.

Watch out for (8)

Changing the tense while changing the voice
→ The three steps from active to passive
Putting 'not' in the wrong place
→ The three steps from active to passive
Dropping a phrase while changing the voice
→ The three steps from active to passive
Leaving out 'being' in a continuous tense
→ The passive form of be in each tense
Letting the old subject choose has or have
→ The passive form of be in each tense
Dropping the preposition of a prepositional verb
→ The passive form of be in each tense
Reading 'had been' as the simple past
→ Turning a passive sentence back into the active
Breaking agreement in the new active sentence
→ Turning a passive sentence back into the active

Passive Questions, Modals and Special Verbs

Reference tables (3)

Questions in the passive: who becomes by whom6 rows

Active question	Passive question
Who wrote this poem?	By whom was this poem written?
Who invites them?	By whom are they invited?
Did she bake the bread?	Was the bread baked by her?
Does he clean the car?	Is the car cleaned by him?
What did they buy?	What was bought by them?
When do they pay the workers?	When are the workers paid?

Question word or by whom first, then the helping verb, then the subject.

Modals in the passive: modal + be + past participle6 rows

Active	Passive
You must finish the work.	The work must be finished (by you).
We cannot solve this sum.	This sum cannot be solved by us.
They should keep the gate open.	The gate should be kept open.
You need not lock the drawer.	The drawer need not be locked.
He may sell the house.	The house may be sold by him.
Somebody will find the key.	The key will be found.

The modal stays exactly as it was; only be + past participle follows it.

Make, say, know, believe and expect in the passive6 rows

Active	Passive
The teacher made us stand.	We were made to stand by the teacher.
People say that he is a thief.	It is said that he is a thief. He is said to be a thief.
They consider her clever.	She is considered clever.
They believe him to be honest.	He is believed to be honest.
People know that she has helped many.	She is known to have helped many.
We saw him leave.	He was seen to leave.

Make, see and hear lose their bare verb in the passive: add to.

Watch out for (7)

Writing a passive question in statement order
→ Questions in the passive: who becomes by whom
Using 'was' with 'you'
→ Questions in the passive: who becomes by whom
Changing the modal while changing the voice
→ Modals in the passive: modal + be + past participle
Dropping the word that shows the result
→ Modals in the passive: modal + be + past participle
Leaving out 'to' after a passive 'made'
→ Make, say, know, believe and expect in the passive
Adding a modal or changing the tense
→ Make, say, know, believe and expect in the passive
Swapping who did what
→ Make, say, know, believe and expect in the passive

Reported Speech: Statements

Reference tables (2)

The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past9 rows

Direct speech	Reported speech
am, is	was
are	were
do, does (simple present)	did (simple past)
is going, are going	was going, were going
has, have + past participle	had + past participle
did (simple past)	had + past participle
will, shall	would
can	could
may	might

Each row moves one step back. A verb already as far back as 'had done' stays as it is.

Pronouns, time words and place words8 rows

Direct speech	Reported speech
now	then
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day
yesterday	the day before
next week	the following week
two days ago	two days before
this, these	that, those
here	there

Change a pronoun by who it means, not by the word: 'you' can become he, she, they or me.

Watch out for (6)

Forgetting to move the tense back
→ The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past
Moving back an unreal condition
→ The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past
Keeping 'you' from the quotation
→ Pronouns, time words and place words
Changing words that were never spoken
→ Pronouns, time words and place words
Leaving a past tense inside the quotation
→ Turning reported speech back into direct speech
Changing 'used to' in the direct form
→ Turning reported speech back into direct speech

Reported Speech: Questions, Commands and Exclamations

Reference tables (3)

Reported questions: asked if or whether, and statement order5 rows

Direct question	Reported question
He said to me, "Are you hungry?"	He asked me if I was hungry.
She said to him, "Have you finished?"	She asked him whether he had finished.
I said to her, "Where do you live?"	I asked her where she lived.
They said to us, "Why are you laughing?"	They asked us why we were laughing.
The guard said, "Who are you?"	The guard asked who I was.

If, whether or the wh-word joins; then subject, then verb; then a full stop.

Reported commands, requests, advice and warnings: verb + to5 rows

Direct speech	Tone	Reported speech
The officer said, "Stand up."	order	The officer ordered them to stand up.
She said to me, "Please open the window."	request	She requested me to open the window.
He said, "Would you mind closing the gate?"	polite request	He requested me to close the gate.
The doctor said, "Take this medicine twice a day."	advice	The doctor advised me to take the medicine twice a day.
Father said, "Don't touch the wire."	warning	Father warned us not to touch the wire.

Reporting verb, then the listener, then to (or not to), then the verb.

Reported exclamations: exclaimed, confessed, remarked5 rows

Direct speech	Reported speech
He said, "Hurrah! We have won."	He exclaimed with joy that they had won.
She said, "Alas! My dog is dead."	She exclaimed with sorrow that her dog was dead.
They said, "How beautiful the garden is!"	They exclaimed that the garden was very beautiful.
He said, "What a fine day it is!"	He exclaimed that it was a very fine day.
She said to me, "How kind of you!"	She remarked that it was very kind of me.

The feeling moves into the reporting verb; the sentence becomes a plain statement.

Watch out for (6)

Keeping question order in a reported question
→ Reported questions: asked if or whether, and statement order
Leaving out the person who was asked
→ Reported questions: asked if or whether, and statement order
Turning a command into a 'that' statement
→ Reported commands, requests, advice and warnings: verb + to
Choosing a reporting verb that changes the tone
→ Reported commands, requests, advice and warnings: verb + to
Keeping the present tense after a past reporting verb
→ Reported exclamations: exclaimed, confessed, remarked
Keeping the exclamation word
→ Reported exclamations: exclaimed, confessed, remarked

Question weightage by concept

25 concepts · 97 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first

Tenses and Verb Forms15 questions · 15%

Concept	Qs	Share
Time words that fix the tense	6	6%
Modals and the base form of the verb	4	4%
Sequence of tenses: a past main verb pulls the next verb into the past	3	3%
The twelve tense forms and how to name them	2	2%

Agreement and Conjunctions8 questions · 8%

Concept	Qs	Share
Finding the real subject before choosing the verb	3	3%
Conjunctions and what each one means	3	3%
Joining two sentences with the right conjunction	2	2%

Articles: a, an, the and no article15 questions · 15%

Concept	Qs	Share
The: a particular or a one-of-a-kind thing	8	8%
A or an: go by the first sound, not the first letter	5	5%
Names: when there is no article and when there is the	2	2%

Prepositions of time, place and fixed pairs11 questions · 11%

Concept	Qs	Share
Prepositions of time: since, for, by, in, on, at	4	4%
Words that always take the same preposition	4	4%
Prepositions of place and movement	3	3%

Passive Voice by Tense14 questions · 14%

Concept	Qs	Share
The passive form of be in each tense	7	7%
The three steps from active to passive	5	5%
Turning a passive sentence back into the active	2	2%

Passive Questions, Modals and Special Verbs10 questions · 10%

Concept	Qs	Share
Make, say, know, believe and expect in the passive	4	4%
Questions in the passive: who becomes by whom	3	3%
Modals in the passive: modal + be + past participle	3	3%

Reported Speech: Statements11 questions · 11%

Concept	Qs	Share
Turning reported speech back into direct speech	5	5%
The backshift: each tense moves one step into the past	3	3%
Pronouns, time words and place words	3	3%

Reported Speech: Questions, Commands and Exclamations13 questions · 13%

Concept	Qs	Share
Reported questions: asked if or whether, and statement order	6	6%
Reported commands, requests, advice and warnings: verb + to	5	5%
Reported exclamations: exclaimed, confessed, remarked	2	2%

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