Difference between A lot of / Lots of and A lot

a lot of /lots of and a lot

Here you can find out the difference in meaning between them and how they should be used.

a lot of / lots of
a lot of and lots of have the same meaning: they both mean a large amount or number of people or things.

They are both used before countable nouns and uncountable nouns:

with countable nouns:
A lot of people went to the game.
Lots of people went to the game.

with uncountable nouns:
A lot of snow falls in winter.
Lots of snow falls in winter.

a lot
a lot means very often or very much. It is used as an adverb. It often comes at the end of a sentence and never before a noun.

I like basketball a lot.
She's a lot happier now than she was.
I don't go there a lot anymore.

Use of Would, Should Could

Question from Mr. Vinod Kumar:

I recently started watching your lessons those are very informative but I have problem in using" would and could".very confuse to me pls clarify mam

Thank you

Answer from Open School:

WOULD, SHOULD, COULD

Would, should and could are three auxiliary verbs that can be defined as past tenses of will, shall, and can; however, you may learn more from seeing sentences using these auxiliaries than from definitions. Examples of usage follow.

Would

Technically, would is the past tense of will, but it is an auxiliary verb that has many uses, some of which even express the present tense. It can be used in the following ways:

• To ask questions:

Would you like some coleslaw? = Do you want some coleslaw?
Would you turn in your assignment now? = Please turn in your assignment now.

• With who, what, when, where, why, how:

How would the neighbors react?
What would you do if I sang out of tune?
In the two sentences above, would means about the same thing aswill.

• To make polite requests:

I would like more coleslaw, please. = I want more coleslaw, please.
I would like you to sit down now. = I want you to sit down now.

• To show a different response if the past had been different:

I would have helped you if I had known you were stranded.
(I didn't know that you were stranded. This "not knowing" occurred before my not helping you.)

John would've missed the trail if Mary hadn't waited for him at the stream.
(First Mary waited for him. If her response had been to not wait, then next John would have been on the wrong trail.)

• To tone down strong, controversial statements-not recommended in formal essays:

I would have to say that you're acting a bit immature.
Here would has a similar meaning to do but less emphatic.

• To explain an outcome to a hypothetical situation:

Should I win a million dollars, I would fix up my house.
Think of should as if, and would as will.

• To show habitual past action:

Helen would sob whenever John would leave home.
Think of would as did.

• To show repetitive past action:

For a moment the plane would be airborne, then it would bump back down along the hard earth.
(The plane was in the air and then back on the ground several times.)

• To show preference between two choices, used with rather or sooner:

I would sooner die than face them. = I prefer death in place of facing them.
I would rather handwrite than type. = I prefer handwriting instead in typing.

However, the second choice may by implied but not stated:

I would rather die.
Implied is that I would rather die than...do whatever it is that the context has provided as an alternative to dying.

• To show wish or desire:

Those people would allow gambling. = Those people want to allow gambling.
Would it were so. = I wish it were so. (Infrequently used)
We wish that he would go. = We want him to go.

• To show intention or plan:

She said she would come. = She said she was planning to come.

• To show choice:

I would put off the test if I could.
This means my choice is to delay taking the test, but I do not have the ability to delay taking it.

• To express doubt:

The answer would seem to be correct. = The answer is probably correct.

• To show future likelihoods relative to past action:

He calculated that he would get to the camp around 6 p.m. The men would have dinner ready for him.
The first sentence means he believed his camp arrival time was going to be about 6:00 p.m. The "calculating" (or believing) happened in the past, yet the arrival is going to occur later. The second sentence predicts that, at that future time, dinner will be ready for him.

• Strange but true: Notice how changing have to had can change the waywould works:

Would you had changed your mind. = I wish you had changed your mind.
Would you have changed your mind. = If circumstances had been different, is it possible that you might have changed your mind?

Should
Technically, should is the past tense of shall, but it is an auxiliary verb with a few uses, not all of which are in the past tense, namely, the following:

• To ask questions:

Should you have erased the disk? = Were you supposed to have erased it?
Should I turn in my assignment now? = Am I supposed to turn in my assignment now?
Here, should means about the same thing as ought.

• To show obligation:

You should floss and brush your teeth after every meal.
Think of should as supposed to, as in the previous example, but here to make a persuasive statement.

• To show a possible future event:

If I should find your coat, I will be sure to call you.
Think of should as do; furthermore, should could be left out of the above sentence, leaving, "If I find your coat, I will be sure to call you." Alternately, if could be left out of the sentence: "Should I find your coat, I will be sure to call you."

• To express a hypothetical situation:

Should you wish to do so, you may have hot tea and biscuits. = If you wish to do so, you may have hot tea and biscuits.

• To express what is likely:

With an early start, they should be here by noon.
Think of should as ought to or probably will.

• To politely express a request or direct statement:

I should like to go home now. = I want to go home now.
I should think that a healthy forest program is essential to any presidential victory.= I think that a healthy forest program is essential to any presidential victory.

Could
Technically, could is the past tense of can, but it is an auxiliary verb with a few uses, not all of which are in the past tense, namely the following:

• As the past tense of can:

In those days, all the people could build houses. = In those days, all the people had the ability to build houses.

• To ask questions:

Could you have erased the disk? = Is it possible that you erased the disk?
Could I leave now? = May I leave now; am I allowed to leave now?

• To show possibility:

You could study harder than you do. = You have the potential to study harder than you do.
He knew the sunset could be spectacular. = He knew that the sunset was sometimes spectacular.

• To express tentativeness or politeness:

I could be wrong. = I may be wrong.
Could you come over here, please? = Please come here.

In conclusion, you could use these three auxiliaries if you would, and you should! Write a sample sentence for each possible usage of could, would, and should; then ask any Reading/Writing or English tutor for further assistance.

Direct and Indirect Speech - More Examples

Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES.

     TENSE CHANGE - IN - INDIRECT SPEECH
     Present simple tense into Past simple
     Present Continuous tense into Past continuous
     Present Perfect tense into Pas perfect
     Present Perfect Continuous into Past perfect continuous
     Past simple into Past Perfect
     Past Continuous into Past Perfect Continuous
     Past Perfect into Past Perfect
     Future simple, will into would
     Future Continuous, will be into would be
     Future Perfect, will have into would have

Examples.

DIRECT SPEECH	INDIRECT SPEECH
PRESENT TENSE
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
He said, “I write a letter” She said, “he goes to school daily” They said, “we love our country” He said, “he does not like computer”	He said that he wrote a letter. He said that she went to school daily. They said that they loved their country He said that he did not like computer.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS
He said, “he is listening to the music” She said, “I am washing my clothes” They said, “we are enjoying the weather” I said, “it is raining” She said, “I am not laughing”	He said that he was listening to the music. She said that she was washing her clothes. They said that they were not enjoying the weather. She said that she was not laughing.
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT
She said, “he has finished his work” He said, “I have started a job” I said, “she have eaten the meal” They said, “we have not gone to New York.	She said that he had finished his work. He said that he had started a job. I said that she had eaten the meal. They said that they had not gone to New York.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
He said, “I have been studying since 3 O’clock” She said, “It has been raining for three days.” I said, “She has been working in this office since 2007”	He said that he had been studying since 3 O’clock. She said that it been raining for three days. I said that she had been working in this office since 2007.
PAST TENSE
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
He said to me, “you answered correctly” John said, “they went to cinema” He said, “I made a table” She said, “I didn’t buy a car”	He said to me that I had answeredcorrectly. John said that they had gone to cinema. He said that he had made a table. She said that she had not bought a car.
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
They said, “we were enjoying the weather” He said to me, “ I was waiting for you” I said, “It was raining” She said, “I was not laughing”	They said that they had been enjoying. He said to me that he had been waiting for me. I said that it had been raining. She said that she not been laughing.
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)
She said, “She had visited a doctor” He said, “I had started a business” I said, “she had eaten the meal” They said, “we had not gone to New York.	She said that she had visited a doctor. He said that he had started a business. I said that she had eaten the meal. They said they had not gone to New York.
FUTURE TENSE
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD
He said, “I will study the book” She said, “I will buy a computer” They said to me, “we will send you gifts” I said, “I will not take the exam”	He said that he would study the book. She said that she would buy a computer. They said to me that they would sendyou gifts. I said that I would not take the exam.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE
I said to him, “ I will be waiting for him” She said,” I will be shifting to new home” He said, “I will be working hard” He said, “he will not be flying kite”	I said to him that I would be waiting for him. She said that she would be shifting to a new home. He said that he would be working hard. She said that he would not be flying kites.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE
He said, “I will have finished the work” She said, “they will have passed the examination” He said, “I will have gone”	He said that he would have finished the work. She said that they would have passed the examination. He said that he would have gone.

Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is auniversal truth though its reporting verb belongs to past tense.

Examples.
       Direct speech: He said, “Mathematics is a science”
       Indirect Speech: He said that mathematics is a science.
       Direct speech: He said, “Sun rises in east”
       Indirect Speech: He said that sun rises in east. (Tense didn’t change because                                    reported speech is a universal truth thought its reporting verb                                    belongs to past tense)


You can try the below-mentioned 'Direct to Indirect Speech Online Converter to check the sentences instantly.


http://www.linguo.org/reported-speech-converter/

Adjective & Adverb Confusion...

Question from Mr. Chandran, Andhra

Sir,
Here I've doubt about adjective and adverb.

This book is very interesting (very is adjective)

She is very clever (here very is adverb)

How to identify above 2 sentence pos difference?

Kindly let's know.

Thanking you.

Open School Answer: 

Some words will act like this. Only by practising the language more and more you can identify the differences.

You can also look at the difference between Adjective and Adverb in the below-mentioned 'grammarbook' website link...



Difference between Adjective and Adverb

Open School YouTube Channel

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Could Have, Would Have & Should Have

Question from Pavan:

I saw your videos in you tube.Could you please share videos or any examples for below

queries

I have doubts on how to use would, could, should.
would have, could have, should have.
would be, could be, should be.
would have been, could have been, should have been.

Please explain and clear my doubt.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Pavan


Answer from Open School:

Should have, could have, and would have are sometimes called “modals of lost opportunity”

because they describe situations when we are imagining that the past was different.

The general rule of Should, Could, and Would is:

Should for recommendation / advice
“If you want to lose weight, you should eat healthy food.”

Could for possibilities
“I have the day off tomorrow.”

“Great! We could spend the day at the beach. Or we could go shopping.”
Would for imagining results
“If I were rich, I would buy a boat.”



The same general rule applies when using should have, could have, and would have for

imaginary past situations.


Should Have
Use should have to say that a different action was recommended in the past.

If you arrive late to English class, you can say:

“I should have left my house earlier.”

If you regret an argument, you can say:

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you yesterday. I’m sorry.”


You can also use should have / shouldn’t have to tell other people that a different action

in the past would have been better. If your son fails a test, you can say:

“You should have studied. You shouldn’t have played video games all weekend.”

Could Have
Use could have to talk about possibilities if something had been different in the past.


For example, someone who didn’t go to college can say:

“If I had gone to college, I could have gotten a better job.”

When talking about a gymnast who didn’t win a competition, you can say:

“She could have won the gold medal if she hadn’t fallen three times.”


Could have is often used with “if + had + past participle” (If I had gone / if she hadn’t

fallen) – these “if” phrases express the imaginary past situation. However, in some cases

you can use could have without the “if” phrase. Imagine you’re driving with a person who

makes a dangerous maneuver on the road. You can say:

“Are you crazy? We could have gotten into an accident.”

Would Have
Use would have to imagine a result (if something had been different in the past):

If you arrive late at the airport and miss your flight, you can say:

“If we had arrived earlier, we would have caught our flight.”

If you forget your umbrella, and it starts to rain, and you get wet, you can say:

“If I had brought my umbrella, I wouldn’t have gotten wet in the rain.”


Would have expresses more certainty about the result than could have:

“If I had worked harder, I could have gotten a promotion.”
(maybe I’d get a promotion… but maybe not)

On a test where you need 70% to pass:
“I got a 68 on the test. If I had gotten two more points, I would have passed.”
(with the two points, passing the test is CERTAIN)

Spoken English
In spoken English, many people say should’ve, could’ve, and would’ve.

Question:

Hello mam,                                                                         19th July 2016   11.04 p.m.
Can u give some of the examples of dialogues which should be converted to indirect speech?

Regards,
Abhishek

Open School Answer : 

Direct Speech 

1. He said, “I have got a  new car”.

2. Manian said, “I am very busy now”.

3. “Hurry up,” she said to Leela.

4. “Give me a cup of coffee,” he told to his wife.

5. She said, “I am going to the office.”

Indirect Speech:

1. He said that he had got a  new car.

2. Manian said that he was very busy then.

3. She told Leela to hurry up.

4. He asked his wife to give him a cup of coffee.

5. She said that she was going to the office.