Professional Communication - 1

Unit 2

Question Bank

1. What is vocabulary building? Why is it important?

Building a robust vocabulary over time can allow you communicate your thoughts, verbally or in writing, to avoid confusion and achieve clarity. You can build your vocabulary skills by identifying techniques that works for you and continually practicing.

You need good communication skills to tread effectively with others face to face, through email or by other means. Knowing which words to use and when is a crucial a part of being a skillful communicator. Building your vocabulary is one of the most brilliant ways to improve your communication skills. Having a vast vocabulary can help you choose the right word or phrase needed for the situation, allowing you to easily convey your ideas, concerns, decisions and more.

A strong vocabulary also can increase your confidence and your ability to present yourself, whether you’re giving a presentation or meeting with a client to deliver a proposal. When building your vocabulary, it's essential to include both general terms and terms associated with your industry to develop a solid foundation.

2.     What are some useful methods for building vocabulary?

You can try these ideas to expand your vocabulary:

1. Learn the roots of words

To build a robust foundation for your vocabulary, it’s beneficial to know the roots of words. Many words have a standard root and a prefix or suffix that helps you identify what the meaning could be . For example, when a word includes the basis “duc,” a Latin word meaning “to make or lead,” you can assume that the basis refers thereto Latin definition. You may see this root "duc" in words like “produce” or “deduce.”

2. Focus on practical terms and words

Some industries have different definitions for words or use entirely new words, which are often termed jargon. If your coworkers in your field use technical jargon, try that specialize in building your vocabulary to include these words. For example, some industries use the word “stand-up” to mean a brief daily meeting.

You can also search for clearer ways to improve yourself rather than counting on clichés which will be difficult for others to know or skew your meaning. For example, rather than saying “get your foot within the door,” you may use “grab your opportunities.”

3. Create word associations

Word associations can assist you in remembering certain words or phrases. For example, the word “gargantuan” means very large. Try creating a sequence with the word, like tiny, small, medium, large, giant and gargantuan. Forming associations can assist you recall words you’re learning with more ease. These associations also can make sure you remember the word in the future.

4. Complete regular vocabulary tests

At the top of every week, create a quiz that has the vocabulary words, root words or other language aspects that you’ve been studying. Taking a quiz or test will help increase your ability to retain new words. Every time you learn a replacement root or word, create a flashcard. On one side of the cardboard, write the word, and on the other side, write the definition. You can practice recalling the definition from the words and the other way around.

5. Take a writing class

As you build your vocabulary, you'll also improve your writing skills, which can benefit you in your career. Take an article course online or at an institution that comes with assignments and tests to assist you boost your ability to converse effectively through writing. If you complete an article class, take notes on any new words you learn during the course.

6. Create groups of words

As you learn new words, you can group them together by meaning. By creating these groups, you will be able to identify patterns that make it easier to include the words into your daily speech. For example, you would possibly learn words like affirmative, efficacious and decisive, which all contain a positive meaning. By grouping these words together, it becomes easier to recall their general meanings and the way to use them in speech.

7. Identify word nuances

Some words have alternate definitions in different contexts. An example of a nuance is that the word “frame,” which could have several meanings counting on the scenario. A frame might be a border that surrounds an image or window, or it could mean to stipulate or highlight a particular physical quality. Identifying and understanding these nuances in language will assist you better skills to use the words you’ve learned in your communication with others.

8. Identify words that share meanings

Different words often share an equivalent or similar meaning. You can create an inventory of word groups to assist you construct new and unique statements in your writing and speech. Some words have similar meanings but don’t always substitute for each other, so it’s helpful to review definitions of comparable words before using them. By varying the word choices in your communication, you’ll sound more polished and professional.

9. Diversify what you read

Most people spend a minimum amount of their time reading during a day. Diversifying your reading choices can assist you build a stronger vocabulary since you see new words from different writers who have varying writing patterns. Adding new texts and options to your reading list may also help.

10. Edit what you write

When you finish writing any professional text, like an email or covering letter, review your content for repetitive words or phrases. Consider using your expanded vocabulary to exchange words you used frequently throughout the document. By editing your own writing, you'll improve clarity, style and tone.

3.     What are some commonly confused words in the English language? Give methods to rectify their use.

1. A While vs. Awhile
A while is a noun phrase consisting of a and while, whereas awhile is an adverb meaning “for a while.” A while usually follows the preposition for or in, whereas if you cannot put “for a while” into a sentence, you need to use a while.
•He went to the store for a while. (if you replace a while with for a while, it does not make sense -> He went to the store for a while.)
•You should sleep awhile. (if you replace awhile with for a while, it makes sense -> You should sleep for a while.)

2. Advice vs. Advise
Advice is a noun, whereas advise is a verb.
•She took my advice and took out a loan.
•I advised her to take out a loan.

3. Alot vs. A Lot vs. Allot
First of all, the “word” alot does not exist! A lot is frequently misspelled as one word, alot, but it is actually two words.
Memory tip: Think of a lot as meaning, I want a whole lot full of something. (a lot meaning a parking lot, a large area)
The word allot is a verb meaning to distribute.
•I have allotted this money to the charity.

4. Among vs. Between
Among is used to express a loose relationship of several items. Between expresses the relationship of one item to another item.
•I found a pen hidden among the papers on the desk.
•I found a pen hidden between two sheets of paper on the desk.

5. Apostrophes
Compare the following phrases:
•The girls are at home.
•The girl’s home.
•The girls’ home.
The meaning in the above phrases is changed dramatically based on the placement, if any, of the apostrophe. When talking about more than one person or object, there is no apostrophe.
•chairs (more than one chair)
•boys (more than one boy)
•suitcases (more than one suitcase)
The apostrophe with an s is added to show possession.
•The girl’s home. (the home belonging to the girl)
•The student’s notebook. (the notebook belonging to the student)
Likewise, an apostrophe is added after a plural word to show possession of that plural noun.
•The girls’ home. (the home belonging to more than one girl)
•The students’ notebook. (one notebook belonging to more than one student)
•The students’ notebooks. (more than one notebook belonging to more than one student)

6. Assure vs. Ensure vs. Insure
Assure means “to tell someone that something will definitely happen.” Ensure means “to make sure of something.” Insure means “to buy an insurance policy.”
•She assured me that the house would not flood.
•She took steps to ensure that the house did not flood.
•She is glad the house was insured against flood damage.

7. Breathe vs. Breath
Breathe is a verb, and breath is the noun form of breath.
•It seems that he breathed his last breath.
This also applies to the verb bathe and the noun bath.

8. Capital vs. Capitol
Capital can mean either an uppercase letter, the seat of the government, or money. Capitol is the actual building where the government sits.
•I would like to visit the Capitol in the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.

9. Complement vs. Compliment
 A complement completes something else, whereas a compliment is something nice you say to someone.
•His black suit was a nice complement to his black shoes.
•She complimented him on his shoes.

10. Effect vs. Affect
This one is straightforward–effect is a noun, and affect is a verb!
Memory tip for affect: A is for action, and verbs are about action. Affect is a verb, and it starts with A.
Memory tip for effect: Think of the phrase “cause and effect.” “Cause” ends with an E, and a cause leads to an effect!

11. Emigrate vs. Immigrate
Emigrate method “to transport faraway from a city or us of a,” while immigrate means “to move into a country from elsewhere.”
•my father emigrated from Venezuela.
•my mother immigrated to the united states.

12. Except vs. Accept
Besides is a preposition meaning “aside from,” and accept is a verb that means “to get hold of.”
•i don’t like all of my items, besides this one. (there is only one present that i love)
•why did i accept all of those gifts?

13. Further vs. Farther
Use farther for physical distance, and similarly for metaphorical distance.
•how a good deal farther do i need to drive?
•i would really like to enhance further in my profession.

14. Good vs. Well
The phrase accurate is an adjective, while the phrase nicely is an adverb.
•how are you today? I'm doing nicely.
•i sense properly these days.

15. Historic vs. Historical
Historical approach “famous,” whereas ancient way “related to history.”
•what a historical snowstorm!
•she determined to wear a ancient gown for the renaissance truthful.

16. “I feel bad”
Isn’t feel a verb, so shouldn’t the phrase after it's an adverb, badly? The answer is, no! Sense is a linking verb, linking the difficulty to the adjective that describes it. Consequently, the word after sense need to, in fact, be an adjective. I feel bad is the appropriate sentence.
•the cake smells scrumptious. (smells is a linking verb; scrumptious is an adjective)
•their talking is loud. (is is a linking verb; loud is an adjective)

17. I.e. vs. E.g.
I.e. and e.g. are both abbreviations of Latin phrases.
E.G. Is used to introduce a few examples, whereas i.e. Is used to intend “in different words.”
•after work, I’d like to test out the brand-new supermarket, i.E., key food.
•after work, I’d want to go to a grocery store, e.g., key food or Wald Baum’s.

18. Into vs. In to
Into is a preposition showing what something is internal. In and to are two words that just show up to be next to every other occasionally.
•he were given into the teach. (into is one unit – a preposition)
•i dropped in to look you. (drop in is one unit on its very own, and to see is some other unit)
•log in to the website by urgent this button. (log in is a phrasal verb)
•what is your login? (login is a noun)
The regulations above practice to onto and on to as properly.

19. Less vs. Fewer
Fewer is for rely nouns, and less is for mass nouns.

20. Lie vs. Lay
Compare these two sentences:

• You lie down on the sofa.
• You lay the book down on the table.
  The second one has a direct object (book), whereas the first sentence does not.

HOWEVER:

• Last week, you lay down on the couch.
• Last week, you laid the book on the table.
• You have lain on the couch for a few hours.
• You have laid the book on the table.

It just so happens that the past tense of the verb to lie is the same as the present tense of the verb to lay. You just have to memorize it!

21. Loose vs. Lose
Loose is an adjective, and lose is a verb.

• This shirt is too loose on me.
• How did you lose your phone?!

22. Numbers
In English, numbers greater than a thousand and up to 10 thousand may be written in two methods:
•one thousand
•1,000
Numbers above ten thousand can be written by using a comma within the following way:
•10,000
•247,533
Decimals and cash amounts may be written with the aid of the usage of a length inside the following manner:
•7.24 = seven and twenty-4 hundredths
•2.14 =  and fourteen hundredths
•$1.37 = one dollar and thirty-seven cents
•$359.08 = 3 hundred fifty-nine dollars and 8 cents

23. Parallel Structure
One of the most common errors in English is disrespecting parallel structure.
Here is an example:

• I like hiking, swimming, and biking.
• I like hiking, to swim, and biking.

The second sentence disrespects parallel structure. Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words in a sentence.

• I was asked to write my report quickly, thoroughly, and accurately.
• I was asked to write my report quickly, thoroughly, and in an accurate manner.

24. Principal vs. Principle
When most important is a noun, it refers to someone in rate of an business enterprise; when it is an adjective, it way “most crucial.” a precept is a firmly held perception.
•what did the predominant want to talk to you approximately?
•the predominant reason she desired to look me changed into to talk about my current tuition price.
•it’s not that i don’t have the cash, it’s just a be counted of principle.

25. Stationary vs. Stationery
Stationary means “not moving,” whereas stationery refers to paper and writing materials.

• Of course, the door will remain stationary if you don’t push it the right way!
• I love this stationery you printed your resume on!

26. Subject-Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns
If the sentence shows more individuality, you would use a plural verb; however, if the noun is acting as a unit, use a singular verb.

• The team is heading for practice.
• The team are eating with their families.

With a prepositional phrase, use a verb tense that corresponds to the subject.

• Nearly one in four people is Muslim. (one is the subject, so we use a singular verb, is)
• 25% of people are Muslim. (fractions and percentages can be singular or plural depending on the prepositional phrase that follows; people is plural, so we use are)

27. The “Bacon and Eggs” Rule
When we have nouns which are used so often together we consider them as a unique concept, we use a singular verb.
•Viscount St. Albans and eggs became served at brunch.
•macaroni and cheese is delicious.

Likewise, we use a singular verb when we talk about quantities or quantities.
•a thousand greenbacks is a lot of cash.
•ten miles is simply too far to walk.

Expressions with “certainly one of” are accompanied by means of a singular verb.
•considered one of my college students is a gymnast.
•one in every of my buddies is going to africa this summer season.

28. Title Capitalization
Here are some basic rules about how to capitalize titles:

• Always capitalize the first and last word.
• Capitalize nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• Do NOT capitalize articles, prepositions (shorter than five letters), or coordinating conjunctions.

Here are some examples:

• A Year in Paris
• Pride and Prejudice
• Cheaper by the Dozen

Of course, for every rule there are exceptions, so it is best to look it up if you are unsure of something.

29. Who vs. Which vs. That
Who refers to people, whereas which and that check with agencies or items. That introduces an vital clause (which adds critical statistics to the sentence), while which introduces a nonessential clause (which adds supplementary, needless statistics).
•she is the only who drove me domestic the previous day. (who refers to someone)
•i do no longer like cereal that has chocolate in it. (we do no longer understand what type of cereal without the important clause)
•this cereal, which has chocolate in it, is not accurate for you. (we do not need the statistics in the nonessential clause)

30. Who vs. Whom
Who refers back to the issue of the sentence, while whom refers back to the item of a verb or preposition.
•who wants the remaining piece of pie? (who's the situation)
•whom do you agree with more? (you is the concern; whom is the item)
If you’re uncertain, attempt substituting who with he/she and whom with him/her to see in the event that they healthy.

4.     What are homonyms? Give examples.

Homonyms are words that sound the same or spelled the same but may have completely different meanings. Homonyms are rarer than Homophones but they are also ever present in the English language.

Below are some examples of Homonyms:

Band: A musical group/ a ring

Bat: A Flying Mammal/ An object used to play baseball, cricket.

Address: to speak to/a location

Rose: A type of flower/ to go up

Right: correct / direction opposite of left

Pound: unit of weight / to beat

Quarry - a site for mining stone / to extract or obtain slowly

Ream - a pile of paper / to juice a citrus fruit

Ring - a band on a finger / something circular in shape

Right - correct / direction opposite of left

Rock - a genre of music / a stone

Rose - to have gotten up / a flower

Spring - a season / coiled metal

Stalk - a part of a plant / to follow or harass someone

Tender - gentle / offer of money

Tire - to grow fatigued / a part of a wheel

Well - in good health / a source for water in the ground

5.     Give examples of homophones in the English language.

Homophones can be defined as pairs of words which sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings. Homophones can be frequently found in the English language and although they might sound similar but their meanings can be completely different or even opposite.

Below are some examples of homophones:

Sell/cell: The former means to deliver something for money while the latter means a small compartment.

Hear/here: The former means to listen to something or someone will the latter describes a place.

Cent/Scent: The former is a unit of currency while the latter is smell.

Hour/our: The former is a unit of time while the latter is a possessive adverb.

See/Sea: The former means to watch while the latter implies a large water body

Below are some commonly used homophones in the English language:

Air   /      heir

Aisle   /       isle

Ante-   /       anti-

Eye   /       I

Bare   /       bear

Be   /       bee

Brake   /       break

Buy   /       by

Cereal   /       serial

Coarse   /course

Dam   /        damn

Dear    /        deer

Die /         dye

Fair /        fare

Fir/       fur

Flour/    flower

For/     four

Hair/      hare

Heal/     heel

Hear/     here

Him/    hymn

Hole/    whole

Hour/    our

Idle/    idol

In/    inn

Knight   /   night

Knot/     not

Know/     no

Made/    maid

Mail/    male

Meat/    meet

Morning   /   mourning

None     / nun

Oar/    or

One/    won

Pair/   pear

Peace   /   piece

Plain/   plane

Poor/   pour

Pray/    prey

Principal    /     principle

Profit/    prophet

Real/     reel

Right/    write

Root/    route

Sail/    sale

Sea/     see

Seam/    seem

Sight/    site

Sew/     so

Shore/   sure

Sole/    soul

Some/   sum

Son/   sun

Stair/    stare

Stationary    /    stationery

Steal/    steel

Suite/    sweet

Tail    /    tale

Their/    there

To    /   too

Toe    /    tow

Waist    /    waste

Wait    /    weight

Way    /    weigh

Weak    /    week

Wear     /    where

6.     Describe synonyms. Give examples according to various parts of speech.

Synonyms are words that carry a similar or same meaning to another word. Sometimes even though the synonym of a word has an identical meaning the word and the synonym may not be interchangeable. For example, "blow up" and "explode" have the same meaning, but "blow up" is informal (used more in speech) and "explode" is more formal (used more in writing and careful speech). Synonyms also provide variety to speech and writing.

Many words in the English language contain more than one synonym. Some examples of Synonyms:

Shallow - superficial

Stop – cease

Spontaneous - capricious

Gloomy – sad - unhappy

House - home - abode

Evil - bad - wicked

Garbage - trash - junk - waste 

Present – gift – reward – award

Sniff – smell – inhale

Little – small – tiny

Under – below – beneath

Short list of synonyms in English, listed by the part of speech:

Nouns:

• Belly / stomach
• Children / kids
• Disaster / catastrophe
• Earth / soil
• Father / dad
• Happiness / joy
• Instinct / intuition/ understanding
• Mother / mom
• Present / gift
• Sunrise / dawn

Verbs:

• Answer / reply
• Beat / defeat
• Behave / act
• Begin / start
• Close / shut/ turn on/turn off
• Leave / exit
• Provide / supply/ distribution
• Select / choose
• Shout / yell
• Speak / talk

Adjectives:

• Big / large
• Complete / total/number
• Correct / right
• Crazy / mad
• Foolish / silly /fool/ stupid
• Happy / glad
• Hard / difficult
• Ill / sick
• Last / final
• Near / close
• Sad / unhappy
• Stable / steady/ strong

Adverbs:

• Abroad / overseas
• Almost / nearly/ about / approx.
• Bad / poorly
• Fast / quickly
• Intentionally / purposefully
• Out / outside
• Rarely / seldom/ not common
• Sometimes / occasionally/ periodically
• Surely / for sure/ definetly
• Very / highly / extremely/too much

Prepositions:

• Above / over/ more
• About / regarding / concerning
• Against / versus
• Below / beneath / under
• By / via
• Despite / in spite of
• In / into/ to
• Off / away
• Until / till
• With / including

Conjunctions:

• And / plus
• Because / since
• But / yet/for now
• If / provided
• Once / as soon as possible/ and

Interjections:

• Hello / hi
• Gee / gosh
• Goodness / goodness me / my goodness
• No / nope
• Oh Lord / oh good Lord
• Thanks / thank you
• Whoopee / yahoo / hooray
• Yes / yeah

7.     What are antonyms? Give some examples of antonyms.

Antonyms are words that carry the opposite meaning to another word. They can be used to show contrast between two things or emphasize a point. Antonyms can be totally different words from their counterparts or can also be formed by adding prefixes to some words.

Below are some examples of antonyms that are commonly used in the English language:

Antonyms formed by changing entire words

Love – hate

Beginning – ending

Ugly – beautiful

Wild – tame

Extrovert – introvert

Antonyms formed by adding prefix –un

Acceptable - unacceptable

Able - unable

Do - undo

Certain – uncertain

Seen – Unseen

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –in

Decent – indecent

Tolerant – intolerant

Human – inhuman

Curable – incurable

Expressible – inexpressible

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –non

Sense – nonsense

Essential – nonessential

Flammable – non-flammable

Renewable – non-renewable

Entity – nonentity

Other prefixes used to form antonyms of words are –anti (Thesis - Antithesis), -ill (Literate – Illiterate), -mis (Informed – Misinformed), -dis (Assemble – Disassemble) etc.

Short list of antonyms in English, listed by the part of speech:

Nouns

• Day / night
• East / west
• The enemy / friend
• Failure / success  
• Guest / host
• Health / disease
• Question / answer
• Speaker / listener
• Summer / winter
• Top / bottom/ up / down

Verbs

• Agree / disagree/accept
• Arrive / leave/ come / go
• Begin / end/ start
• Fall asleep / wakefulness/sleep
• Find / lose/ gain
• Lend / borrowing
• Love / hate
• Open / close/turn on /turn off
• Remember / forget
• Start / stop

Adjectives

• Is asleep / awake
• Beautiful / ugly /good/ bad
• Big / small
• Black / white
• Cheap / expensive
• Dead / alive
• It is dry / wet
• Easy / difficult
• Full / empty
• Good / bad
• Hot / cold
• Intelligent / stupid/you are smart
• Sad / happy/ exciting
• Sick / living healthy
• Thin / fat

Adverbs

• Always / never
• With anger / happily/ excitement
• Fast / slowly
• Here / there
• Inside / outside/ indoors/ outdoors
• Likely / unlikely/possible/ impossible
• Near / far
• Partly / fully
• Seemingly / actually/ visually
• Yesterday / tomorrow

Prepositions

• Above / below
• Against / for / because
• Before / after
• In / out/ indoors/ outdoors
• Like / unlike/ love / contrast
• On / off
• Plus / minus
• To / from
• Towards / away/remote
• With / without

Conjunctions

• And / or
• Therefore / nevertheless /or so

Interjections

• Bravo / boo

• Hello / goodbye
• Holy cow / duh
• Phew / oops
• Thanks / no thanks
• Yes / no

8.     Write a short note on LSRW skills.

When we learn a language there are four basic skills that must be perfected to achieve complete communication. When we learn our mother tongue, we usually learn to listen first, then to speak, then to read, and eventually to write. These are called the four "language skills". The five skills of language (also referred to as the four skills of language learning) are a collection of 4 capabilities that allow an individual to understand and produce spoken language for proper and effective interpersonal communication. These skills are Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. In the context of first-language acquisition, the four skills are most frequently acquired within the order of listening first, then speaking, then possibly reading and writing. This is the reason why these capabilities are often called LSRW skills.

English Language has 5 main skills and every skill has other sub-skills and skill activities. The main skills are all basic and extremely important. They are called the Macro skills. Macro skills can be described as the primary, main, and largest skill set relative to a specific context. It is commonly referred to in English language. The four macro skills include reading, listening, writing, and speaking. You have to perfect them so as to use your English language properly. Listening and speaking are brain input skills whereas reading and writing are brain output skills. Of course, there other skills like pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling all play a particular role in effective English communication.

Below are LSRW skills one must possess in order to communicate effectively:

1-Listening

• One should understand the fundamental ideas of most speech in a standard dialect.
• One should demonstrate an emerging awareness of culturally implied meanings beyond the surface meanings of the text.

2-Speaking

• One should be understood effortlessly and without problems by natives, and converse in an exceedingly clear and participatory fashion.
• One should be able to initiate, sustain, and provide closure to a large variety of communicative tasks.
• One should be able to narrate and describe concrete and abstract topics using sustained, connected discourse.

3-Reading

• One should easily follow the essential points of written communication.
• One should be able to understand parts of texts which are conceptually abstract and linguistically complex.

4-Writing

• One should be ready to address a spread of topics with significant precision and detail.
• One should be ready to write competently about topics concerning particular interests and write clearly about special fields of competence.
• One should be ready to organize writings with a way of theoretical structure.

5-Cultural awareness

• Someone's cultural awareness is their understanding of the differences between themselves and other people from other countries or other backgrounds, especially differences in attitudes and values.

9.     What are the different types of tenses? Give examples for each.

Tenses determine whether something has happened, is happening, or will happen. The tense of a verb describes its position in time.

Tenses can be divided into 3 main types and further sub dived into 4 types:

PRESENT TENSES

1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE: In this type of tense the action is still taking place, there is no mention of its completeness.

Example: I sleep.
She studies vocabulary every day.

2. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE: In this type of tense the action is still in progress, therefore the use of the word ‘continuous’.
 

Example: I am sleeping.
I am eating lunch, I will call you later.

3. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: In this type of tense the action has already been completed, hence the use of the word ‘perfect’.

Example: I have slept.
I have eaten Chinese food a few times already.

4. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE: In this type of tense, the action has started taking place beforehand and is still ongoing.

Example: I have been sleeping.
I have been eating a lot of vegetables lately.

PAST TENSES

1. SIMPLE PAST TENSE: In this type of tense the action which is mentioned has already taken place in the past, there is no continuity.

Example: I got some sleep yesterday.

2. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE: This type of tense describes an on-going action that took place in the past.

Example: I was having lunch when u called yesterday.

3. PAST PERFECT TENSE: This type of tense describes a completed action which took place in the past.

Examples: I had slept.
I had already eaten when my doorbell rang.

4. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE: This type of tense describes an action which started in the past and continued until another point in time, still in the past.

Example: I had been sleeping for two hours before my friend arrived.

FUTURE TENSES

1. SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE: This type of tense describes an action taking place in the future; there is no mention of its continuity.
Example: I will sleep.
I shall finish my project by tomorrow morning.

2. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE: This type of tense describes an action that will take place in the future but will still be ongoing.

Example: I will be sleeping at 11 p.m.
I’ll be staying at my parents’ house for a few weeks.

3. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE: This type of tense describes an action that will occur in the future before another action in the future.

Example: I will have slept before you arrive.                  

4. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE: This type of tense describes an on-going action in the future before a completed action in a specific point in time.

Example: I will have been sleeping for seven hours by 9 a.m. Tomorrow morning.
I will have been studying for two hours by the time my parents arrive.

10. Give some rules regarding the sequencing of tenses.

Below are some basic rules regarding the sequencing of tenses:

Rule 1

A past tense in the independent clause is always followed by a past tense in the subordinate clause.

Example: I found out that she was out of town.

However, there is an exception to this rule. When the independent clause in the past tense, the subordinate clause can be in the present tense if a universal truth is being stated by it. 

Example: The children were taught that honesty is the best policy.

Another exception to this rule is when the word ‘than’ is used in the sentence to introduce the subordinate clause. In this case, the subordinate clause can be used in any tense irrespective of the tense of the independent clause.

Rule 2

If the tense used with the independent clause is in the present or future tense, the tense of the subordinate clause can be in any tense based on what needs to be conveyed.

Example: She is saying that she is alright. She says she is fine.

Rule 3

If the independent clause is in the future tense, the subordinate clause is not used in the future tense instead a subordinating clause beginning with when, until, before, after etc. is used.

Example: I will call you when dinner is ready. I shall wait until you return.

Rule 4

When the subordinate clause is introduced with the conjunction ‘that’, the following rules must be followed,

• ‘May’ should be used in the subordinate clause when the independent clause is in the present tense.
• ‘Might’ should be used in the subordinate clause when the independent clause is in the past tense.

Example: We eat that we may live. She tried to live so that he might have a chance at life.

Rule 5

When some phrases such as If only, wish that, what if, it is time are used, the clauses that follow it are always in the past tense.

Example: I wish I could eat another ice cream.