10th English Quarterly exam Important Grammar with solution 2025. Samacheer Kalvi, English Grammar, TN Board Exam, Grammar Exercises

English Grammar Comprehensive Practice Paper

Based on Samacheer Kalvi Syllabus | With Complete Solutions

1. Change the Voice (Active/Passive)

Rewrite the following sentences to the other voice:

1. My uncle gave me a watch on my birthday.
2. No one is borrowing the novels from the library.
3. The doctor kindly warned me.
4. Please call him at once.
5. That portrait was painted by my grandmother.
6. Work hard.
7. Rama killed Ravana.
8. How did you cross the river?
9. We were crossing the Tasman sea.

Solutions:

• I was given a watch by my uncle on my birthday. (or) A watch was given to me by my uncle on my birthday.
• The novels from the library are not being borrowed by anyone.
• I was kindly warned by the doctor.
• You are requested to call him at once. (or) Let him be called at once.
• My grandmother painted that portrait.
• You are advised to work hard.
• Ravana was killed by Rama.
• How was the river crossed by you?
• The Tasman sea was being crossed by us.

2. Change the Speech (Direct/Indirect)

Convert the following sentences as directed:

1. Muthu wanted to know if tickets are available for the cricket match. [to Direct Speech]
2. He said he wished to visit the teashop of Nagen uncle. [to Direct Speech]
3. He said, "I am glad they are strong". [to Indirect Speech]
4. Johnson said to Suganthi, "Did you enjoy your holidays in Ooty?". [to Indirect Speech]
5. Anu said to her mother, "I have to attend the party tomorrow". [to Indirect Speech]
6. He said, "Raja is a good boy". [to Indirect Speech]
7. Maya said, "When is zigzag coming here?". [to Indirect Speech]
8. The girl said, "We were practicing yoga". [to Indirect Speech]
9. "What was the matter with that one police man?" Mother asked. [to Indirect Speech]

Solutions:

• Muthu asked, "Are tickets available for the cricket match?"
• He said, "I wish to visit the teashop of Nagen uncle."
• He said that he was glad they were strong.
• Johnson asked Suganthi if she had enjoyed her holidays in Ooty.
• Anu told her mother that she had to attend the party the next day.
• He said that Raja was a good boy.
• Maya asked when zigzag was coming there.
• The girl said that they had been practicing yoga.
• Mother asked what the matter had been with that one policeman.

3. Punctuation

Punctuate the following sentences correctly:

1. be not so amazed daughter miranda said prospero
2. oh i am so happy to meet you sir
3. theres something down there i said
4. the general is a woman yelled the soldiers
5. make a rope of twisted straw she said
6. were you not a good student i asked
7. shes a lioness dont mess with her
8. dont you dare sleep dr krishnan warned zigzag
9. O my young gentlemen said Ariel

Solutions:

• "Be not so amazed, daughter Miranda," said Prospero.
• "Oh! I am so happy to meet you, sir."
• "There's something down there," I said.
• "The general is a woman!" yelled the soldiers.
• "Make a rope of twisted straw," she said.
• "Were you not a good student?" I asked.
• She's a lioness; don't mess with her.
• "Don't you dare sleep!" Dr. Krishnan warned Zigzag.
• "O my young gentlemen," said Ariel.

4. Sentence Transformation & Combination

Transform or combine the sentences as directed:

1. Consult a doctor. You can recover. [into a compound sentence]
2. He is sick but he attends the exam. [into a simple sentence]
3. Radha was ill. She was not hospitalised. [into a compound sentence]
4. If Ryan reads more, he will become proficient in the language. [into a compound sentence]
5. Sita saw a snake. At once she ran away. [Combine using an appropriate connector]
6. As he was good, he helped others. [into a compound sentence]
7. I saw a tiger. It was wounded. [into a simple sentence]

Solutions:

• Consult a doctor, and you can recover.
• In spite of being sick, he attends the exam.
• Radha was ill, but she was not hospitalised.
or
• Radha was ill, yet she was not hospitalised.
• Ryan must read more, and he will become proficient in the language.
or
• Let Ryan read more, and he will become proficient in the language.
• As soon as Sita saw a snake, she ran away.
• He was good, and he helped others.
or
• He was good, so he helped others.
• I saw a wounded tiger.

5. Rearrange Words (Jumbled Sentences)

Rearrange the words to form meaningful sentences:

1. loan / apply / you / if / for / you / a / get / will / immediately / it
2. Storytelling / an art / is / which / planning / research / and / involves / skill
3. Della / shocked / when he / Jim was / looked at
4. heard / from / tent / her / this / Mulan / inside
5. beckoning / calling / They / were / to him / shrilly
6. point / had / bifurcated / the / we / reached / where / road / a
7. as / I / healthy / are / you / am / as
8. begged / the / seagull / mother / food / for / his
9. Want / exhibition / him / science / I / to / the / display / in
10. Mother / with / the / tender / poor / his / reverence / farmer / loved
11. an / is / drawing / activity / artistic
12. speaks / Ruben / besides / German / languages / two
13. zigzag / snore / I / have / never
14. speak / actions / than / louder / words
15. if / study / marks / a / you / will / well / good / get
16. there / often / with / problems / mobile phones / a / are / lot of

Solutions:

1. If you apply for a loan, you will get it immediately.
2. Storytelling is an art which involves planning, research, and skill.
3. Jim was shocked when he looked at Della.
4. Mulan heard this from inside her tent.
5. They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.
6. We had reached a point where the road bifurcated
7. I am as healthy as you are.
8. The seagull begged his mother for food.
9. I want him to display in the science exhibition.
10. The poor farmer loved his mother with tender reverence.
11. Drawing is an artistic activity.
12. Ruben speaks two languages besides German.
13. Given the words provided, a correct sentence cannot be constructed. The question itself is flawed.
14. Actions speak louder than words.
15. If you study well, you will get good marks.
16. There are often a lot of problems with mobile phones.

6. Modal Verbs

Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the modals with the appropriate ones:

1. Make me a cup of tea, shall you?
2. You may speak politely to the elders.

Solutions:

• Make me a cup of tea, Will you?
• You should (or) must speak politely to the elders.

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Samacheer Kalvi, English Grammar, TN Board Exam, Grammar Exercises, Active and Passive Voice, Direct and Indirect Speech, Punctuation Rules, Sentence Transformation, Simple Compound Complex, Jumbled Sentences, Modal Verbs, English Question Paper with Solution, Class 10 English, Class 12 English.

Direct and indirect speech.

Direct & Indirect Speech: A Fun Guide!

Hello, super students! Today, we're going to learn about something cool in grammar called 'Direct and Indirect Speech'. Imagine someone says something, like “I love ice cream!” That's Direct Speech – their exact words, usually in speech marks (“ ”). Now, if you tell your friend what that person said, like 'She said that she loved ice cream', that's Indirect Speech! It's like being a storyteller. When we change from Direct to Indirect, we sometimes need to change little words like 'I' to 'he' or 'she', or how we talk about time, like 'today' becomes 'that day'. Don't worry, it's like a fun puzzle, and this guide will show you all the tricks!

How Words Change: Tenses & More

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
Simple Present Tense [go/goes]	Simple Past Tense [went]
Present Continuous Tense [am/is / are going]	Past Continuous Tense [was/were going]
Present Perfect Tense [have / has gone]	Past Perfect Tense [had gone]
Simple Past Tense [went]	Past Perfect Tense [had gone]
Past Continuous Tense [was / were going]	Past Perfect Continuous Tense [had been going]
am, is, are	was, were
have, has	had
do, does	did
was, were	had been
had	had
shall	should
will	would
can	could
may	might
must	must / had to
our	their
this	that
these	those
here	there
now, just	then
ago	before
thus	so
come	go
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day
yesterday	the day before / the previous day
tonight	that night
last night	the night before / the previous night
the next day/week/month/year	the following day/week/month/year

Let's Practice: Examples

1. The doctor said, “I have given an injection and it will make you sleep.” The doctor said that he had given an injection and it would make him sleep.
2. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” she asked him. “I am a painter and I’m drawing pictures on my pitcher,” he said. She asked him who he was and what he was doing there. He answered that he was a painter and was drawing pictures on his pitcher.
3. “Something is burning,” said the man. “Can you smell it, Vinay?” The man said that something was burning. He asked Vinay whether he could smell it.
4. She’d said, “What do you think – that somebody’s always going to be around to wait on you?” She asked him whether he thought that somebody would always be around to wait on him.
5. He announced that he was going to be a doctor. (Change into direct speech) He announced, “I am going to be a doctor.”
6. “Why not settle for something more, within your capabilities, like History or Psychology?” suggested the biology professor. The biology professor suggested to him that he should settle for something more within his capabilities like History or Psychology.
7. “Dave”, said the other senior, gripping his shoulder, “I can see like an eagle.” Gripping his shoulder, the other senior told Dave that he could see like an eagle.
8. The violet opened her blue lips and said, “What an unfortunate am I among the flowers!” The violet opened her blue lips and exclaimed that she was very unfortunate among the flowers.
9. She laughed and commented. “How strange is your talk!” She laughed and commented that her talk was very strange.
10. She approached and said, “Has greed entered your heart and humbled your senses?” She approached and asked whether greed had entered her heart and had humbled her senses.
11. The queen of violets called to her family, saying, “Let the memory of this scene be a reminder of your good fortune.” The queen of violets called to her family to say that the memory of that scene should be a reminder of their good fortune.
12. He would give a reply, “We do not need a house of our own. I already own five houses.” He would reply that they did not need a house of their own and added that he already owned five houses.
13. I tried arguing, “But what difference does it make?” I tried to argue saying that it did not make any difference.
14. “Is it dead?” asked Neha. “No,” said Rahul. “I can still feel its heart beating.” Neha asked whether it was dead. Rahul replied in the negative. He added that he could still feel its heart beating.
15. Gandhiji said that the greatest lessons in life are learnt from children. (Change into direct speech) Gandhiji said, “The greatest lessons in life are learnt from children.”

New Words & Easy Meanings

• Direct Speech: Telling exactly what someone said, using their actual words. Example: Mia said, "I like cookies."
• Indirect Speech (Reported Speech): Telling what someone said, but not using their exact words; like telling a story about what was said. Example: Mia said that she liked cookies.
• Tense: A word part that shows when something happens (like now, before, or later). Example: "walk" (now), "walked" (before).
• Simple Present Tense: Used for things that happen often or are always true. Example: The sun shines. I eat breakfast every day.
• Present Continuous Tense: Used for things happening right now. Example: He is playing.
• Present Perfect Tense: Used for things that happened in the past but are important now. Example: I have done my homework.
• Simple Past Tense: Used for things that already finished. Example: We played yesterday.
• Past Continuous Tense: Used for things that were happening at a certain time in the past. Example: She was reading when the phone rang.
• Past Perfect Tense: Used for something that happened before another past event. Example: He had eaten before he went out.
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Used for something that was going on for a while before another past event. Example: They had been waiting for a long time.
• Modal Verbs: Special helping verbs that show if something is possible, allowed, or necessary (like can, will, must, may). Example: You can do it!
• Pronoun: A small word used instead of a name (like I, you, he, she, it, we, they). Example: She is my friend.
• Adverbials (of time/place): Words that tell us when or where something happens. Example: 'now', 'then', 'here', 'there', 'today'.
• Reporting Verb: The verb that tells us someone spoke (like said, asked, told, shouted). Example: He said, "Hello."
• Capabilities: The things you are able to do; your skills. Example: Singing is one of her capabilities.
• Gripping: Holding something very tightly. Example: He was gripping the rope.
• Unfortunate: Not lucky; when something bad happens. Example: It was unfortunate that it rained on picnic day.
• Humbled: Made to feel not too proud; understanding you are not better than others. Example: The kind act humbled him.
• Fortune: Luck, especially good luck. Example: It was good fortune to find the lost toy.
• Arguing: Giving reasons for or against an idea; discussing with a different opinion. Example: They were arguing about which game to play.
• Announced: Told people something important officially or loudly. Example: The teacher announced the winner.
• Approached: Came near or closer to someone or something. Example: The cat approached the food bowl.
• Exclaimed: Shouted or said something suddenly and loudly because of surprise or excitement. Example: "Wow!" she exclaimed.