HSC Level

3. Conducted By:
Monir Hossen
BA Honours, MA in English Literature
Department of English
Comilla University
Email: monir.eng.cou@gmail.com
E

4. Rules of Completing Sentence
Rule: 01: As if / as though
 Present Indefinite + as if / as though + past indefinite
 Past indefinite + as if / as though + past perfect
 = She walks as if / as though she were ill.
 = Tom speaks as if / as though he were a minister.
 = He behaves as if/as though nothing happened.
 = She walked as if / as though she had been ill.
 =Tom spoke as if / as though he had been a minister.
 = He behaved as if/ as though nothing had happen

5. Continued
Rule: 02. It is time, it is high/about time-
 It is time + infinitive (to + main verb)
 It is time for + object + infinitive
 It is time + sentence (past indefinite)
 = It is time to change your bad habits.
 = It is time for them to go there.
 = It is time that the government took action.
 it is high/about time
 It is high/about time + sentence (past indefinite)/infinitive
 = It is high time we left the place.
 = It is about time the government took necessary steps to control price hike.
 = It is high time you changed your food habits.
 = It's high time to ban use of cell phones while driving.


6. Continued
Rule: 03. No sooner had + past perfect + than + past indefinite.
 Scarcely had + past perfect + when/before + past indefinite.
 Barely had + past perfect + when/before + past indefinite. (Before
is rarely used)
 Hardly had + past perfect + when/before + past indefinite.
Example:
 No sooner had he reached the school than the bell rang.
 = No sooner had we left the house than it begun to rain.
 = No sooner had she said it than she burst into tears.
 = Hardly had I done my exercise when Nila came to see me.
 = Scarcely had I reached the station when the train left.
 = Barely had they won the match when the coach had a heart attack.

7. Continued
 Rule: 04. A. Since
 01. Present indefinite/perfect/perfect continuous + since + past
indefinite/present perfect
 02. Past indefinite + since + past perfect
 03. Past perfect continuous + since + past indefinite
Example:
 = I have worked here since I left school.
 = It is many years since I wrote you.
 = It’s 5 years since I have seen him.
 = I have lived in Dhaka since I was ten
 = Tom has not phoned since he went to London.
 = It was many years since we had met last.
 = It was long since I had seen you last.
 = She had been worrying ever since the letter arrived.

8. Continued
Rule: 05. The + comparative, the + comparative
 = The more you read, the more you learn.
 = The earlier, the better.
 = The sooner, the better.
 = The more you sleep, the lazier you will be.
 = The more he eats, the bigger he gets.
 = The older she is, the wiser she becomes.
 = The more he moved, the more it hurt him.

9. Continued
 Rule: 06. Lest
 Clause + lest + subject + should + v1 + ..........
 = We run most of the way lest we should be late.
 = Read hard lest you should fail.
 = He was walking fast lest he should miss the train

10. Continued
Rule: 7. Not only.............. But also ─
Example:
= Not only Shammi but also Urmi was present there.
= I bought not only a book but also a pen.
= The man is not only fat but also tall.
= He is not only a footballer but also a cricketer.
= Not only it rained heavily but also there was flood.

11. Continued
 Rule: 8. Exceptional:
 = Priya fell asleep while he was reading the newspaper.
 = I wish I were a bird!
 = Do as I tell you.
 = That he is honest is known to all.
 = What you have told is not true.
 = I am sure that he cannot do the work.
 = He said that he was ill.
 = He is sure that he will pass the exam.
 = We are happy that we are progressing day by day.
 = Do you know when the last train will arrive?
 = Do you believe what he has told?
 = I know where he lives.

12. Continued
9. Some useful idioms:
= All that glitters is not gold.
= Make hay while the sun shines.
= Every cloud as a silver lining.
= Strike the iron while it is hot. Or = Strike while the iron is hot.
= Danger comes where it is feared.
= A man is known by the company he keeps.
= Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
= As you sow, so you reap.
= What is lotted cannot be blotted.
= Faults are thick where love is thin,
= All’s well that ends well.
= Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

13. Thank you