Good evening friends. Yesternight we talked about a few difficulties in determining tense and suggested solutions thereto. Now let's discuss how to change one type of sentence into another. We've already learnt that sentences are of five kinds; viz, statement (assertive), interrogative, imperative, optative and exclamatory. Now let's see how they can be interchanged. Look below:
I am going home. He has gone home. We shall go home. I can do it. (statement)
Am I going home? Has he gone home? Shall we go home? Can I do it? (question)
Now see that just by putting the HV (=helping verb) before the agent/subject, a statement can be changed into a question. All sentences starting with an HV can be changed in the same way. Look below again:
We have been playing football for an hour. (statement)
Have we been playing football for an hour? (question)
N.B.:- When there are more than one HV, put the first before the agent/subject.
Now, what can we do ifthere is no HV? Look below:
We/You go home. He goes home. He did it. (statements)
Do* we/you go home? Does* he go home? Did* he do it? (question)
* When there is no HV, 'do' in the present and 'did' in the past tense is put before the subject to make questions.
Now let's see how questions can be made with question-words and for what purpose. Look below:
He is at home now. (statement)
Who is at home now? (question - to ask about a person)
I went home. (stement)
Where did I go? (question - to ask about place)
I want a book. (statement)
What do I want? (question - to ask about a thing)
I went to school at 10.00 a.m. (statement)
When did* I go to school? (question - to ask about time)
I did the job easily. (statement)
How did I do the job? (question - to ask about the manner of doing the job)
I work for money. (statement)
Why do I work? (question - to ask about reason/cause)
From the above statements and questions you can easily understand how to ask questions about persons, place, time, manner and reason and how to answer them.
That's all for now. Feel free to ask any question. Good night and sweet dreams.
For convenience, go to my blog S.Ali's Monologue => http://sardarsali-bangladeshtour-blogpost.com

Good evening friends. We've discussed quite a good number of items in EnglishGuru posts. Now let's disecuss a few tense-related topics which you might find useful. For example many think it difficult to differentiate between present continuous and present perfect continous and also present perfect and past tense. There may also be problems in understanding the differce between past and past perfect tenses. Now let's discuss them one by one. Look below:
I have taken my breakfast. ( Present perfect - I have taken breakfast just now)
I took my breakfast. (Past simple - I took breakfast some time in the past, may be 2/3 hours or more)
Again,
I am reading this book. (I am in the act of reading - not finished yet)
but -- I have been reading this book for* two hours.(=> I started reading this book some time (say, two hours) ago and am still reading it.
I have been reading this book since* 12.00 noon.
* for indicates period of time and since indicates point of time.
From the above two sentences, you can easily understand that when some 'action' starts some time in the past and continues when it's being reported, it becomes 'present perfect continous' tense. It means continuous tense becomes perfect continuous when time is mentioned or understood. For example:
We are playing football. (=> we are in the act of playing)
but --We have been playing football for an hour. (time is mentioned)
but -- He looks very tired. In answer to our question he replies (that) he has been working in his garden. (time though not mentioned, we understand that he has been working for long.)
The same thing happens in the case of past simple, past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses. Look below:
We went home. (simple past - only indicates that our 'action' happened in the past.
We had gone home before the rain began. (two actions happened; but the one happened first, is put in the past perfect and the latter, in the simple past tense. Here also time is mentioned or understood )
You could not find me there because I had gone home..(time is understood)
We had played before the rain began. (both actions happened in the past and were complete)
but -- We had been playing when the rain began. (we started our game some time ago and we were still plying when the rain began)
N.B.:- It's to be kept in mind that in the perfect continous tenses, time is always mentioned or understood.
That's all for now guys. Feel free to ask any question. Good night and sweet dreams.
For convenience, go to S.Ali's Monologue -> http://sardarsali-bangladeshtour-blogpost.com

Good evening friends. Last night we talked about conjunctions  and their uses. Now let's discuss a few more conjunctions and their uses. Look below:
either --- or, neither ---- nor, both --- and
Either he or his brother is guilty. (alternative - either he is guilty or his brother is guilty)
Neither he nor his brother is guilty. (alternative - negative of either  - or)
He is both poet and politician. (meaning 'and'/'also')
as ---- so, so ----as, than, so --- that, 
As you sow, so shall you reap. (indicative of result)
He is not so tall as his brother (is)*. (cmparison)
He is taller than his brother (is tall)*
* The bracketed part need not be written/spoken. It's rather understood.
so + adjective + that
He was so tired that he could hardly stand. (indicative of result/consequence)
=> He is extremely tired and as a result, he can hardly stand.
There are  a few other connectives which we use to maintain a kind of congruity or relevance to the previous speeches. Look below:
He did not study hard, consequently, he failed.
We were shocked to hear that he had failed. Obviously, it was beyond our expectation.
He picked a quarrel with his boss and at a stage scuffled with him. Thus he ruined his chance of getting a promotion.
Observe carefully that the bold words (consequently, obviously, thus) have been used to link the two sentences to maintain 'coherence'. These are also a kind of connectives or better say, connectors.
Good evening friends. Last night we talked about conjunctions and their uses. Now let's discuss a few more conjunctions and their uses. Look below: either --- or, neither ---- nor, both --- and Either he or his brother is guilty. (alternative - either he is guilty or his brother is guilty) Neither he nor his brother is guilty. (alternative - negative of either - or) He is both poet and politician. (meaning 'and'/'also') as ---- so, so ----as, than, so --- that, As you sow, so shall you reap. (indicative of result) He is not so tall as his brother (is)*. (cmparison) He is taller than his brother (is tall)* * The bracketed part need not be written/spoken. It's rather understood. so + adjective + that He was so tired that he could hardly stand. (indicative of result/consequence) => He is extremely tired and as a result, he can hardly stand. There are a few other connectives which we use to maintain a kind of congruity or relevance to the previous speeches. Look below: He did not study hard, consequently, he failed. We were shocked to hear that he had failed. Obviously, it was beyond our expectation. He picked a quarrel with his boss and at a stage scuffled with him. Thus he ruined his chance of getting a promotion. Observe carefully that the bold words (consequently, obviously, thus) have been used to link the two sentences to maintain 'coherence'. These are also a kind of connectives or better say, connectors. That's all for now friends. Feel free to ask any question. Good night and sweet dreams.That's all for now friends. Feel free to ask any question. Good night and sweet dreams.

More about Prepositions and their uses

EnglishGuru - Connectives
Good evening friends. I'm back! We've already talked about various uses of prepositions. Now let's talk about another part of speech - Conjunction. But no; let's talk about 'connectives' - which may sound unfamiliar to many. Yes, connectives are very useful to make large speeches i,e, sentences. They are also known as linking words. They are of two kinds mainly; viz, Relatives and Conjunctions. Let's discuss them one by one.
Relatives: Relatives are as follows:
Karim is the boy who came here yesterday. (who - relative pronoun)
I know Karim whose father worksin a bank. (whose - relative pronoun)
He said what I could not hear. (what - relative pronoun)
It was Rahim whose pen I borrowed. (whose - relative adjective modifying pen)
We don't go out while it rains. (while - relative adverb indicating time.)
I was watching TV when he came. (when - relative adverb indicating time)
Conjunctions: Conjunctions are chiefly of two kinds; viz, Co-ordinating and Subordinating conjunctions. Again, co-ordinating conjunctions are of four kinds. Look below:
We went there and (we) saw a tragic scene. (and -  joiner of two sentences)
He is rich but (he is) unhappy. (but - disjunctive, indicating contrast)
Read hard or/otherwise you will fail. (or/otherwise - alternative)
He studied hard so he succeeded. (so - result)

Subordinating connectives: Look below:
We failed to reach there in time as/since there was traffic jam in the road. (cause)
(Al)Though he tried his best, he could not succeed. (though - contrast)
We shall stay at home if it rains. (if - condition)
You were scolded because you made a mistake. (because - cause)
We play football till it is evening. (till - indicating time)
We played until it was dusk. (until - indicating time)
N.B.:- before, after, since, when, and while also indicate time.
That's all for now friends. We'll talk about a few more connectives next time. Feel free to ask any question. Good night and sweet dreams.

Good evening friends. Last night we talked about a few more prepositions and their uses. Now let's talk about more uses of some prepositions.
at/in/on
He is at home. but - He is in the house.
We are at the station. but - We are in/on the train.
She is on her bicycle. but - She is in her blue dress.
A calender is hanging on the wall. but - There is a nail in the wall.
There were many people in the shop. but - Turn left at the next shop.
A steamer is peddling in the Buriganga. but - Ahsan Manjil stands on the Buriganga.
There was a serious accident in the road. but - There are many many vehicles running on the road.
Now let's talk about how prepositions can also be used as adverbs. In fact prepositions used adverbially are called adverb particles. Look below:
He rode on a bicycle. (preposition) But, he went on. (adverb particle)
We went down the lane. (preposition) But, a stone came rolling down. (adverb particle)
Jack and Jill went up the hill. (preposition) But, a fireball went up. (adverb particle)
That's all for now. Feel free to ask any question. Good night. Sweet dreams.

Good evening friends. Last night we talked about the uses of a few prepositions. Now let's discuss a few more of them. Look below and carefully observe the context of their uses.
at/on/in/by (time)
We come to school at 10.00 a.m. (Time)
Our school is closed on Fridays. (Day/date)
We hope to finish the job in a week/month. (Week/month)
Bangladesh became independent in 1971. (Year)
We reached home by noon. (Around)
by/with
It was done BY him. (by a person)
He killed the snake with a stick. (with a thing)
He swore BY God. (Oath)
The man lives BY cultivation. (Occupation)
Sit BY me. (Side)
about/around
It is about noon. (nearness)
He is about to die. (Almost)
We reached our destination around 5 o'clock. (near)
between/among
Distribute the toffees between the two girls.
Distribute the mangoes among the girls. (more than two)
on time/in time
The train is running on time. (not late, just in time)
He came for dinner in time. (soon enough)
at the end/ in the end
He came at the end of this month. (later part of the month)
He accepted defeat in the end. (at last)
for/since/while
It's been raining for two hours. (period of time)
It's been raining since morning. (point of time)
We don't go out while it rains. (during the period)
behind/before/against
Stand behind me. (at the back of)
She stood before me like a statue. (in front of)
You stood against all odds. (opposite)
beyond/through/across/along
They suffer beyond measure. ( out of limit)
We were going through the forest.
He ran across the field.
Go along the road for 500 meters.
above/over/up/down
A kite was flying above our head.
A speedy car ran over the boy.
The kite is flying up in the sky.
The eagle came down with amazing speed.
for/against
I spoke for him. (in favour of)
He spoke against me. (not in favour of)
That's all for now, friends.Feel free to ask any question. Good night. Sweet dreams.Good evening friends.