Idioms and Proverbs

Idioms don’t make sense at the first go because they have a figurative meaning. They add depth and
humor to the language and are used both in written and spoken English.

Proverbs are sayings passed down from generations and convey a value or advice.

Some commonly used Idioms along with their meanings are listed below –

 Fit as a fiddle – very healthy and strong

 Wouldn’t hurt a fly – harmless
 On cloud nine – extremely happy
 Like a fish out of water – very uncomfortable
 Once in a blue moon – rarely
 It’s raining cats and dogs – it’s raining very hard
 A dime a dozen – something is very common, or of no particular value
 By the skin of one’s teeth – narrowly or barely escaping a disaster
 Come rain or shine – no matter the circumstances, something will get done
 It costs an arm and a leg – it’s very expensive
 It went to the dogs – Something is no longer as good as it was in the past
 To run like the wind – To run very fast
 Go on a wild goose chase – Go on a futile search or pursuit
 A cloud on the horizon – Something that threatens to cause problems in the future
Few proverbs and their meanings are given below –
 Better late than never – It is better to be late than never to arrive or complete a task
 Time flies when you’re having fun – Time seems to move faster when you’re enjoying
something
 Actions speak louder than words – What someone does means more than what they say they
will do
 Don’t count your chickens before they hatch – Don’t make plans that depend on something
good happening before it has actually happened
 Every cloud has a silver lining – Difficult situations usually have at least one positive aspect
 Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – Don’t risk everything on the success of one venture
 Good things come to those who wait – Be patient
 Kill two birds with one stone – Achieve two goals at once
 You can’t judge a book by its cover – don’t determine the value of something by its outward
appearance

Direct and Indirect Speech

We can narrate something by using one of the following ways –

Direct speech or

Grammar – Grade VI
Reported / Indirect speech

Direct speech uses the actual words of the speaker enclosed within quotation marks.

Example: He said, “I am going to sleep.”

In indirect speech, the words of the speaker are changed by the narrator without changing the
meaning. Since the speaker had spoken in the past, the tense of the sentence changes.

Example: Malini said that she wants to buy some bread.

A reporting verb is used to quote the words of the speaker. Example: He said, she says, they asked, etc.

The reporting verb is followed by a comma and the words of the speaker are enclosed within the
inverted commas.

There is a change in tense of the reported speech.

Examples:

Direct speech: Lata said, “I walk 10000 steps every day.”

Indirect speech: Lata said that she walks 10000 steps each day.
Direct speech: Ravi said, “Please give me your book.”
Indirect speech: Ravi requested to give him the book.
Direct speech: Rahul said, “Do you have any colours?”
Indirect speech: Rahul asked whether I had any colours.

Verbs

Grammar – Grade VI
A verb indicates an action or a state of being. The verbs that denote action are classified as transitive
and intransitive verbs.

First, we need to know what an object in a sentence is. An object in a sentence is the person or thing
that receives the action.
The order of the sentence is - Subject+ verb+ object.

Transitive verbs need an object to complete the sentence.

Example: Kiran is riding a cycle.
If we say “Kiran is riding.” The sentence is incomplete and makes us thing what is he riding. Here the
cycle is the object in the sentence.
Example sentences with transitive verb are listed below –
1. Chahat needs a new pair of shoes.
2. Father cooked dinner today.
3. The pilot announced the departure of the flight.

Intransitive verbs, unlike the transitive verbs do not need an object to make a meaningful sentence.
Example: The guest arrived in a Mercedes.
Here “The guest arrived” conveys the meaning without any need of additional information. Thus
arrived is an intransitive verb in the sentence.
Example sentences with intransitive verb are listed below –
1. Let’s go!
2. Your welcome, Geeta.
3. Please come fast.

Kinds of Sentences
A sentence is a group of words put together that makes complete sense. It ends with a full stop,
question mark or an exclamation, depending on the kind of sentence.

Assertive sentences, also known as declarative sentence declares or asserts the statement. It usually is
stating a fact or opinion and ends with a full stop.
Example: Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret.
Sunday is a holiday.
The world is having a health emergency due to COVID.

Interrogative sentences are questions seeking information. They end with a question mark.
Example: Is this your book?
Are you coming to the party tonight?

Grammar – Grade VI
Exclamatory sentences are used to express emotions like joy, excitement, fear, etc. They end with an
exclamatory mark.
Example: Wow, it’s so amazing!
Hurray! I got into the semifinals.
Hurry or you may lose the bus!
Articles

There are two kinds of articles in English language.

Indefinite article – a and an
Definite article –The
When we are referring to a singular noun that begins with a consonant sound then we use “a’ before
it. Similarly we use ‘an’ before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound. Example: I have a book.
Ritu brought an orange for snack.
The definite article is used before a noun the speaker is aware of or if it is singular in existence.
Example: Rita is reading a book. The book is red.
We use the before names of buildings, hotels, musical instruments, abbreviations and a strata of
people.
Example: The Moon, the Statue of Liberty, the UNO

We use ‘a’ before jobs.

Example: a teacher, a carpenter
We don’t use an article before diseases and names of towns, streets and countries.

Adjectives

A word that tells us more about a noun is called an adjective. Commonly adjectives are perceived as
descriptive words that describe the noun or pronoun given. However adjectives can tell us more than
just the quality or quantity.

The following are the types of adjectives –

 Descriptive Adjectives
 Quantitative Adjectives
 Demonstrative Adjectives
 Possessive Adjectives
 Interrogative Adjectives
 Indefinite Adjectives

Grammar – Grade VI
 Descriptive adjectives tell us about the quality of the noun or pronoun. They are also known as
qualitative adjectives.
Example: Geeta is beautiful.

The descriptive adjectives can be compared and therefore there are three degrees of comparison –
positive, comparative and superlative.
Example:
Rahul is a good dancer. (Positive)
Rahul dances better than Mehul. (Comparative)
Rahul is the best dancer in the class. (Superlative)

Quantitative adjective gives information about the quantity as to ‘how much’ or ‘how many’.
Example: He ordered a dozen eggs.

Demonstrative adjectives precede a noun directly referring it. These include this, that, these and
those.
Example: This house is very old.

Possessive adjective as the name suggests indicates ownership and are always written before a noun.
Commonly used possessive adjectives include his, her, my, their, our, etc.
Example: My job is challenging.

Interrogative adjectives are question words followed by a noun or pronoun.

Example: Which dish would you like to order?

Indefinite adjectives give us unspecific details about the noun. Commonly used indefinite adjectives
include some, a few, many, all, nobody, etc.
Example: Only a few sacks of rice are left in the store.

Grammar – Grade VI
 Voice

In a sentence the subject performs the action mentioned by the verb.

Example: The guard (subject) parked the car.

When the subject does the action then the sentence is said to be in active voice.

On the other hand if the subject is being acted upon, then the subject is said to be in passive voice.

Example: The car was parked by the guard.

In order to change the voice we need to reverse the order of the words and add helping verb. The
sentences in active voice are clear to understand, whereas the sentences in passive voice do not
convey the meaning directly and make the reader think to derive its meaning.

Example

The parcel was delivered yesterday. (Active voice)

Yesterday, the delivery of the parcel was done. (Passive voice)

The passive voice may be used when conveying subtle messages.

Example: Often, there is less appreciation for the work done.

The cause of many deaths has been found to be heart failure.

Degrees of Comparison

Grammar – Grade VI
The quality of a noun is described by an adjective. These change forms when there is comparison
between things.
Positive degree: When there is no comparison the adjective is said to be in the positive degree.
Comparative degree: When two or more things are compared with each other the adjective is in
comparative degree.
Superlative degree: When an object is considered against all the other objects in existence then the
adjective is in superlative degree.

The adjectives change their degrees by adding –er, est or more and most to the existing word.

Example:
Positive Comparative Superlative
Light lighter lightest
Big bigger biggest
Nice nicer nicest
Costly costlier costliest
Rich richer richest
Difficult more difficult most difficult
Important more important most important

Conjunctions
Words that connect words, phrases or clauses in sentences are called conjunctions.

There are three types of conjunctions-

Coordinating conjunctions connect two independent clauses.
And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet — are the seven coordinating conjunctions. The acronym FANBOYS
can be used to remember them.

Subordinating conjunctions connect the dependent clause with the sentence.

Example: though, although, even though, while, if, only if,
unless, until, provided that, assuming that, even if, in case,
than, rather than, whether etc.

Correlative conjunctions connect the various details in a sentence to convey grammatical sense.
Examples: either . . . or, neither . . . nor, if . . . then, whether . . . or, not only . . . but also, no sooner . . .
than etc.

Modals
The verbs that are used to certainty, possibility, ability or to seek permission and make requests are
called as modals.

Grammar – Grade VI
These include –can, may, must, shall, will and their past tense.

Example:
Can I come in?
May God bless you!
You must come to the party.
Shall I send it through him?
Will you be taking up the job?

Rena’s dress must be in the bag.

It might be a holiday this Friday.
The tower can’t be this tall.
Would you like me to join you for the meeting?

Tenses

Tenses denote the time an action has taken place in. There are basically three tenses – Past, present
and future.

These tenses can further be classified as under –

Sub types of tenses

Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect Continuous

Present I play Verb+ing Have + verb Have+been +

I am playing I have played verb+ing
I have been playing
Past He played He was playing. He has written He has been writing

Future She will play She will be She will have She will have been
playing. played. playing.

Grammar – Grade VI
Now try writing a few sentences using the following verbs –

Make

Leave

Call

Think

Reading

The ability to understand the text given and convey its meaning comprehends what is read.

To be able to solve the reading section the following steps must be followed.

- Connect with prior knowledge

- Analyze the sentences
- Skim through the text first
- Read the questions asked and then look for answers
- Reread, one read may not be enough

An exercise on reading comprehension can be based on letters, reports or mere simple informational
passages.

Writing

Writing is an essential skill in language learning. It is essential that one gains knowledge about the
various formats that are followed to write a specific thing.

Grammar – Grade VI
The formats act as a template which you may use to fill the details in. Given below are the formats for
notice writing and diary entry.

NOTICE WRITING

SUMITRA ACADEMY, HYDERABAD

7th April, 202 NOTICE

SCIENCE EXHIBITION
1 Para – 50 words

Date:
Time:
Venue:

Name
Designation

DIARY ENTRY

7th April, 2020

Tuesday
Time
Dear Diary

Paragraph 1 – Introduction
Paragraph 2 – Body
Paragraph 3 – Closing

Name

Grammar – Grade VI
 Listening

As a language learner it is very important that one develops good listening comprehension.

To test ones listening comprehension, one must listen to a varied genre of text in different dialects.

Key steps towards better listening skills include – FIRE

- Focus ( pay attention to what is being said)

- Interpret (analyze the text that is being herd to)
- Recall (process the information again)
- Evaluate (check to see if your analysis is right)

Grammar – Grade VI