Grammar can become a scoring area when you understand the rules and practise applying them in context. The aim is not to promise a particular mark, but to build accuracy, confidence and speed for the examination.
For the 2026–27 session, always check the official CBSE Academic website and the syllabus or sample question paper applicable to your batch. Question formats and mark allocations can change.
1. What should you prepare?
CBSE Class 10 English grammar practice commonly focuses on applying rules through contextual tasks rather than simply defining grammatical terms. The topics listed in the syllabus include:
- Tenses
- Modals
- Subject–verb concord
- Reported speech: statements, questions, commands and requests
- Determiners
Practise applying these rules in gap-filling, editing and omission exercises. Check the current official syllabus and sample paper for the precise pattern and marks for your examination year.
2. Tenses: choosing the correct verb form
Tense shows the time of an action, while aspect helps show whether an action is complete, continuing or connected with another time. In questions, use the meaning of the whole sentence—not a time word alone—to choose the form.
| Form | Typical use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Habits, facts, routines | Water boils at 100°C under standard atmospheric pressure. |
| Present Continuous | An action happening now or around now | She is preparing for her examination. |
| Present Perfect | A past action connected with the present | She has lived here since 2015. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | An activity continuing over a period up to now | They have been waiting for an hour. |
| Simple Past | A completed past event | We visited the museum yesterday. |
| Past Continuous | An action in progress at a past time | I was reading when the phone rang. |
| Past Perfect | An earlier past action when sequence needs emphasis | The train had left before we reached the station. |
| Simple Future | A prediction, decision or future event | I will call you tomorrow. |
Rules to remember
- Use since for a starting point: since Monday, since 2020.
- Use for for a duration: for two hours, for six years.
- Use the simple past with a finished past-time expression such as yesterday or last year.
- Use the past perfect when it is important to show that one past event happened before another.
- Do not use a continuous form for every action that lasts a long time; choose the form that fits the intended meaning.
The train’s departure occurred before our arrival.
3. Modals: ability, permission, possibility and obligation
Modals are helping verbs that express meanings such as ability, permission, possibility, advice, obligation and necessity. A modal is normally followed by the base form of the main verb.
| Modal | Common meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| can | Ability or informal permission | Riya can solve this problem. |
| could | Past ability, polite request or possibility | Could you help me, please? |
| may | Permission or possibility | You may leave now. |
| might | Possibility, often less certain | It might rain this evening. |
| must | Strong obligation or logical conclusion | All candidates must carry their admit cards. |
| should | Advice or expectation | You should revise your answers. |
| have to | Necessity or obligation | We have to submit the form today. |
Common error: Do not add -s to the main verb after a modal.
Correct: She can speak English.
Choose a modal based on context. For example, must often communicates stronger necessity than should, which commonly gives advice.
4. Subject–verb agreement (subject–verb concord)
The verb must agree with its subject in number and person. Do not let a noun placed between the subject and verb distract you.
- Singular subject: The list of names is on the desk.
- Plural subject: The students are ready.
- Each/every: Each of the players has a uniform.
- Either/or and neither/nor: When subjects differ in number, the verb generally agrees with the nearer subject in standard school-grammar exercises.
- Uncountable nouns: Information is useful; furniture is expensive.
- Collective nouns: A collective noun may take a singular verb when the group is treated as one unit; usage can vary by context and variety of English.
The nearer subject, “teacher”, is singular.
5. Reported speech
Reported speech tells someone what another person said without necessarily repeating the exact words. Check the sentence type, pronouns, tense, time/place expressions and word order.
Statements
Reported: He said that he was happy.
Questions
Reported: She asked me where I lived.
In reported questions, use statement word order. Do not retain question inversion after the reporting phrase.
Commands and requests
Reported: The teacher instructed the students to open their books.
Reported: He requested me to help him.
Useful reminders
- Pronouns change according to who is speaking and who is being addressed.
- When the reporting verb is in the past, a tense backshift is often used: am → was, will → would.
- Backshift is not automatic in every context. Universal truths and statements that remain true may retain the present tense.
- Words such as today, tomorrow and here may change depending on the reporting context.
- Use asked for questions and a suitable verb such as ordered, requested or advised for commands and requests.
6. Determiners
Determiners come before nouns and help identify or quantify them. Common types include articles, demonstratives, possessives, quantifiers and distributives.
| Determiner | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a / an | One non-specific countable singular noun | an umbrella; a university |
| the | A specific or identifiable noun | The book on the table is mine. |
| some / any | Quantity; use depends on sentence type and meaning | We need some water. Do you have any questions? |
| much / many | Much with uncountable nouns; many with countable plurals | much time; many books |
| few / a few | Few suggests almost none; a few means some | A few students stayed behind. |
| little / a little | Little suggests almost none; a little means some | We have a little time left. |
| each / every | Individual members of a group | Each child received a certificate. |
| this / that / these / those | Point to particular people or things | These books are new. |
Articles depend on sound, not just spelling: write an hour because the h is silent, but a university because it begins with a “yoo” sound.
7. Editing and omission
Editing tasks ask you to identify and correct an error. Omission tasks ask you to supply a missing word. Read the whole sentence before deciding: the error may involve tense, agreement, an article, a preposition or another grammatical feature.
A practical editing method
- Read the sentence once for meaning.
- Check the subject and verb.
- Check tense and time expressions.
- Check articles, determiners and prepositions.
- Read the corrected sentence again to make sure it is grammatical and logical.
Incorrect: Each of the players have a kit.
Correct: Each of the players has a kit.
Reason: “Each” is singular in this construction, so it takes “has”.
Sentence: She is good mathematics.
Missing word: at
Correct sentence: She is good at mathematics.
8. Practice questions
Attempt the questions before opening the answer key. These are original practice items, not questions reproduced from a CBSE paper.
A. Gap filling
- My brother ______ (study) in this school since 2022.
- You ______ wear a helmet while riding a two-wheeler. (must / might)
- Neither of the answers ______ correct. (is / are)
- The teacher asked me where I ______. (live / lived)
- There are ______ apples left, so we can make a pie. (a few / little)
- By the time we arrived, the film ______ (begin).
- She ______ speak three languages when she was ten. (could / must)
- He said that he ______ tired. (is / was)
B. Editing
Each sentence contains one grammatical error. Identify the incorrect word and write the correction.
- Each of the girls have submitted her project.
- He has been waiting since two hours.
- She can sings very well.
- The teacher asked me why was I late.
- There is many reasons to practise daily.
C. Omission
Supply the missing word in each sentence.
- She is interested science.
- We reached the station time.
- He is honest man.
- They have lived here 2020.
- The children are waiting the bus.
Open the answer key with explanations
A. Gap filling
- has been studying — the activity began in the past and continues now. “Has studied” may also be possible depending on intended meaning.
- must — expresses a strong rule or obligation.
- is — “neither” is singular in this construction.
- lived — standard backshift after a past reporting verb.
- a few — used with countable plural nouns such as “apples”.
- had begun — the film began before the later past event of our arrival.
- could — expresses past ability.
- was — a typical tense backshift in reported speech.
B. Editing
- have → has
- since → for
- sings → sing
- was I → I was
- is → are
C. Omission
- interested in science
- station on time
- an honest man
- here since 2020
- waiting for the bus
9. Interactive grammar quiz
Choose one answer for each question, then select Check my score. You can reset the quiz and try again. The quiz runs within this post and does not send your answers anywhere.
1. Ayesha ______ at this school since 2021.
2. You should ______ your notes before the test.
3. Each of the students ______ a library card.
4. He asked me where I ______.
5. We waited for ______ hour.
6. They have been absent ______ three days.
7. When he was younger, he ______ run very fast.
8. Meera is good ______ mathematics.
9. The train ______ before we reached the station.
10. “Please sit down,” she said to me. She ______ me to sit down.
10. Final revision checklist
- I can choose verb forms using the meaning and time sequence of a sentence.
- I know the difference between since and for.
- I can choose modals according to meaning and use the base verb after a modal.
- I can identify the true subject and make the verb agree with it.
- I can report statements, questions, commands and requests with correct word order.
- I can select determiners according to whether a noun is countable, uncountable, singular or plural.
- I can identify a grammatical error and correct it without changing the intended meaning.
- I have checked the official syllabus and sample paper for my examination session.
Keep practising, review every mistake and use the official CBSE syllabus for your session as the final authority on examination requirements.
