CAT 2025 Lesson : Grammar Rules - Grammar

3. Grammar and Language

3.1 Articles

The article before the noun is extremely important. “A” is placed before words starting with consonants, while “an” is placed before words starting with vowels. When a specific noun is being highlighted, the definite article “the” is used.

For instance,
India obtained Independence on the fifteenth of August. (the specific date is highlighted.)
Her birthday is on the tenth of December. (the specific date is highlighted.)
A boy on the road helped me with my flat tire. (any boy, but the specific road is important)
Call a doctor, Meeta is unwell. (we don't need not some specific doctor, any doctor will do.)
The doctor could not cure Meera. (we are describing the specific doctor who visited Meera.)
An artist must be present among the invitees. (any one artist will suffice.)

The key rules with respect to articles are:

(1) Some proper nouns are preceded by “the” if there is a common noun following e.g. the West Indies, the Straits of Gibraltar, the King of Nagaland, the African elephant.
This is also done for most geographical terms (the Indian Ocean, the Andaman islands, the Ganges, the Thar Desert, the Himalayas, the river delta, the peninsula, the islands). Exceptions are names of places (India, Delhi, UP) unless there is a common noun (the United Kingdom, the Middle East nations, the Kingdom of Brunei, the Indonesian islands, the United States of America). (2) In case of acronyms, you must pronounce the term and select a or an. For instance, we say a UFO, because UFO is pronounced “you-ef-o”. Similarly, we say a UN employee, but an MRI test. This is because UN is pronounced you-en and MRI is pronounced em-aar-ai.

(3) Articles are omitted before generic and uncountable items.

For instance,
We cannot live without phones. (the author highlights the ubiquity of phones by not using the before it).
Humans have come a long way since writing was developed. (humans are all humans and hence uncountable).
Sugar is bad for you. (sugar is generic).
Pizza is bad for you. (pizza is generic).
Black hair is in great demand. (hair is an uncountable noun).
We want equality for all. (equality is an abstract noun and hence uncountable).

(4) Sometimes, articles are also omitted before proper nouns.

For instance,
Shakespearean times were very different from ours in economic terms, but the same passions such as love, anger, jealousy and greed affected humans.
Valmiki's Ramayan is still extremely popular today.

Example 13

Identify the error in the sentences given below. Note that all the sentences are interconnected.

(1) A year ago, people around the world began to retreat to their homes
(2) as they settled into the reality that a little-understood virus had turned into a pandemic.
(3) Most of us had no idea what would come, how long it would last,
(4) or how much our world would change over the course of next year.

Solution

The statements in options (1), (2) and (3) are grammatically correct, but the one in option (4) is not.

This statement should have the phrase over the course of the next year. It is incorrect because the article the is missing.

As such, option (4) is the correct choice.

Answer: (4) or how much our world would change over the course of next year.

Example 14

Read the following sentences and answer the question that follows.
[XAT 2021]

1. We are going to a restaurant but we haven’t decided which one.
2. We went to the toilet behind a tree.
3. It was the November after we went to Indonesia.
4. My friend is travelling to UK.
5. She drinks medicine by a litre.
6. Would you rather go out or watch a TV.

Which of the above sentences have INCORRECT usages of articles?

A. 4, 5, 6
B. 2, 3, 4
C. 1, 2, 3
D. 6, 1, 2
E. 3, 4, 5

Solution

Let us consider the statements. Statement 1 is correct in using the phrase A restaurant, as the writer has not selected a particular restaurant (it would then be referred to as the restaurant).

Statement 2 is also correct, the article the is used before toilet, as the writer is referring to a specific toilet.
Statement 3 is also correct. We would usually omit articles before the word November, but the is used correctly as the writer is speaking about November in a particular year.

Statement 4 is incorrect, as the writer should used the before UK.

Statement 5 is also incorrect, the correct usage here would be the litre, not a litre. Drinks by the litre is contextual usage meaning drinks a lot of something. As a litre is a precise measurement, the is appropriate here. A litre would be appropriate if the writer had said – she drinks a litre of medicine daily.

Statement 6 is also incorrect, there should not be any article before TV. There should probably also be a question mark instead of a full-stop, but we have only been asked to look at incorrect usage of articles.
Therefore, option A is the correct choice.

Answer: A. 4, 5, 6

3.2 Case

Case shows a noun's or a pronoun's relationship with the other words in a sentence. The different cases are:

1) Subjective case – refers to the noun/pronoun which is the subject of the verb (e.g. I like strawberries)
2) Objective case – refers to the direct or indirect object being acted upon by the verb (e.g. I like strawberries, I wrote him a letter)
3) Possessive case – is used to show possession (e.g. India's people, the people of India, my book, her pen, its tail, etc.)
4) Vocative case – is the noun/pronoun being directly addressed (e.g. Hi Priya)

The possessive case indicates ownership (my hat, our house, Shyam's house), origin/creation (Shakespeare's plays, Krishna's temple), issuance (the court's judgement).

The following rules are used to identify the correct form:

1) For singular nouns, we typically add 's after the word – e.g., the queen's reign, in God's name, Anand's car.

2) If the word ends with an “s”, we simply add an apostrophe – e.g. for goodness' sake, the Sharmas' house, the teachers' room.

3) When the word is in plural but does not end with an “s”, we add 's – e.g., children's books, the people's voice.

4) When there are more than one noun in tandem, the 's is placed after the second one – e.g. the Maharaja of Punjab's turban, Ram and Shyam's parents.
Note that if Ram and Shyam are not brothers, you must say Ram's and Shyam's parents.

5) There are specific forms of pronouns used to show possession or ownership – e.g. my job, his horse, her apartment, our ancestors, your car, their party.

Example 15

Identify the correct sentences from the options given below. Note that all the sentences are interconnected.

A. In total, Baidu raised

3.1 billion,

500 million less than the firm had initially targeted,
B. signalling that Hong Kong's investors are more skeptical about the search engine's growth prospects than their peers in New York.
C. However, Baidu CEO Robin Li was optimistic about Baidu Hong Kong listing,
D. explaining that the new funds would be used to invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence-based operating systems, semiconductor chips, and an autonomous driving platform.
(1) A only
(2) B and C
(3) A and D
(4) C and D

Solution

Statement A is grammatically correct.
Statement B, which is a continuation, is incorrect. This statement should have referred to the investors as Hong Kong investors, without the 's. We should not amend Hong Kong (e.g., the correct usage is Hong Kong citizens, similar to UK citizens or US citizens). There is no adjective version for these places, like Indian, Chinese or Japanese citizens.

Statement C is incorrect. As it refers to Baidu's listing, there should be an 's after the word Baidu.

Statement D is grammatically correct, and hence, the correct choice is option (3).

Answer: (3) A and D

3.3 Position of adjectives and adverbs

An adjective is generally placed just before the noun it describes – e.g. the wild elephant, the muscular man, the funny clown, a violent siege.

For instance,
Louis XVI was the last King of France.
My parents got me a sports car.
Buck was the fastest dog in the Rockies.
We rushed to the nearest building for shelter.

The adjectives are underlined in the above examples.

The alternative is – Akbar the Brave, the food tastes great, I am hale and hearty. The adjectives are placed after the noun in these cases.

You will also find that adjectives are sometimes placed after the noun in poems (e.g., mother dear). This is called poetic license.

An adverb is typically placed after the verb it describes (e.g. he swam fast, place the book there, the light shone brightly) or before the adjective or adverb it describes (e.g., he swam really fast, she is really beautiful).

Exceptions are for adverbs of frequency (e.g., we usually play football every evening).

Example 16

Identify the INCORRECT sentences from the options given below. Note that all the sentences are interconnected.

A. My efforts were an attempt failed at international arbitrage.
B. Desperate not to go back into lockdown without a dog, I was attempting to take advantage of a relative surplus of responsibly bred, reasonably priced corgi puppies in southern Alberta.
C. In the process, I had found myself trying to navigate a market for four-legged friends
D. marked by vicious competition for rescue dogs, sharp price hikes for pups, unscrupulous breeders, European smugglers, conniving scammers, and outright dog nappers.
E. And that was just in London.
(1) A only
(2) A and B only
(3) B and D
(4) C and E

Solution

Statement A is incorrect, as it use a failed attempt instead of an attempt failed. The adjective will come before the noun (here, the word failed is being used as an adjective for the noun attempt).

Statements B, C, D and E are grammatically correct. Therefore, option (1) is the correct choice.

Answer: (1) A only

3.4 Pronouns

Pronouns should be of the same gender and number as the nouns they replace.

For instance,
Ram ran to class. He was nervous as he was fifteen minutes late. (He is masculine and singular, same as Ram).
The herd of buffaloes came to the river. It has always used this river as a watering hole. (It is singular, same as the herd – note that the herd is singular, even though there are many buffaloes).

The children ran to their class as the bell rang. (their is plural, same as the children).

If two nouns are replaced by a pronoun, the pronoun must be in plural. This is true even if the pronoun replaces one singular and one plural noun.

For instance,
Rohan and Stan represented St. Mary's in the tennis match. They both won their matches. (they is for Rohan and Stan together).

The lioness was teaching the two cubs. They hunted deer for food. (they is for the lioness and her cubs, taken together, note that the lioness is singular but the cubs are plural).

Exceptions

(1) If nouns are preceded by each or every, then the noun is considered as a singular unit of items. It is succeeded by a verb in singular form.

For instance,
Each of us was exhilarated.
Every man was quaking in his boots.

(2) If the pronoun replaces two nouns used as substitutes or options, then the verb is used in the same form as the last noun.

For instance,
Either Anand or Arvind will win the swimming competition.
Either cheetahs or lions are suitable here.

3.4.1 Determiners/Relative pronouns Determiners or pronouns such as “who”, “which” and “that” are used for both singular and plural nouns.

For instance,
This is the girl who is the school topper.
These are the girls who won the gold medal in hockey.
The car which I drove today has a crack.
The cars which we cleaned today are drying now.
This is the book that I was talking about.
These are the books that need to be returned.

Example 17

Identify the correct sentences from the options given below.

A. You are the one which they are all talking about.
B. You are the one who they are all talking about.
C. You are the one that those are all talking about.
D. You are the one everyone is talking about.

(1) A only
(2) B only
(3) B and D
(4) C and D

Solution

The correct usage is who they are all talking about. Who is used for people, that and which are used for objects. (That is the defining clause, whereas which is non-essential.) Therefore, statement B is correct.

Therefore, statements A and C are incorrect.

Statement D is grammatically correct, and hence, option (3) is the correct choice.

Answer: (3) B and D

3.5 Gender

Many nouns will have a masculine and feminine form. Masculine forms can be changed to feminine forms in several ways. The most common ones are enumerated here:

1) Adding a syllable

Adding ess – e.g. actor and actress, god and goddess, poet and poetess, tiger and tigress.
Adding ine/ina – e.g. hero and heroine, tsar and tsarina.
Adding a – e.g., sultan and sultana.
Adding trix – e.g., administrator and administratrix, executor and executrix.

2) By changing the word entirely
E.g., man and woman, boy and girl, drake and duck, buck and doe, fox and vixen, bull and cow.

3) By amending the ending of the word
E.g., grandfather and grandmother, landlord and landlady, peacock and peahen.

4) By amending the beginning of the word
E.g., he-goat and she-goat, man-servant and maid-servant.

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