Class 10 English Complete Grammar Guide for SEE 2026

Introduction to SEE English Grammar#

English grammar forms the backbone of the SEE English exam, contributing roughly 20 to 25 marks out of the total 75. A solid understanding of grammar rules does not just help you in the grammar section — it improves your writing across essays, letters, and stories as well. The question types you will encounter include filling in blanks, transforming sentences, correcting errors, and synthesizing sentences.

Tenses - The Foundation#

Present Tenses#

Tense	Structure	Usage	Example
Simple Present	S + V1/V1+s/es	Habits, facts, universal truths	She writes daily.
Present Continuous	S + is/am/are + V4	Action happening now	He is reading a book.
Present Perfect	S + has/have + V3	Completed action with present relevance	They have finished the work.
Present Perfect Continuous	S + has/have been + V4	Action started in past, continuing	I have been studying for 2 hours.

Past Tenses#

Tense	Structure	Usage	Example
Simple Past	S + V2	Completed past action	She went to Pokhara yesterday.
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V4	Ongoing past action	He was sleeping when I called.
Past Perfect	S + had + V3	Past of past	They had left before I arrived.
Past Perfect Continuous	S + had been + V4	Duration of past action	She had been waiting for an hour.

Future Tenses#

Tense	Structure	Usage	Example
Simple Future	S + will + V1	Prediction, promise, instant decision	It will rain tomorrow.
Future Continuous	S + will be + V4	Ongoing future action	At 5 PM, I will be traveling.
Future Perfect	S + will have + V3	Completed before future time	By 2026, she will have graduated.
Future Perfect Continuous	S + will have been + V4	Duration before future time	Next year, I will have been teaching for 10 years.

In the SEE exam, tense transformation questions are very common. You might be asked to change a sentence into past tense or put the verb in the correct form. The best way to prepare is to memorize all twelve tense structures along with their signal words like "yesterday," "since," "for," and "every day."

Voice Transformation#

Voice transformation follows a simple three-step process. First, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Second, the verb changes to a form of "be" plus the past participle. Third, the subject becomes the object introduced by "by" — although this can be omitted if the agent is obvious or unknown.

Here is how active sentences convert to passive across all tenses:

Active Tense	Passive Tense
Simple Present: She writes letters.	Letters are written by her.
Present Continuous: She is writing letters.	Letters are being written by her.
Present Perfect: She has written letters.	Letters have been written by her.
Simple Past: She wrote letters.	Letters were written by her.
Past Continuous: She was writing letters.	Letters were being written by her.
Past Perfect: She had written letters.	Letters had been written by her.
Simple Future: She will write letters.	Letters will be written by her.
Modals: She can write letters.	Letters can be written by her.

One important thing to remember is that intransitive verbs like go, sleep, die, and arrive cannot be made passive because they do not take an object. Also, verbs that can take two objects, such as give, tell, and show, can have two different passive forms. For example, "She gave me a book" can become either "I was given a book" or "A book was given to me."

Direct and Indirect Speech#

Reporting Verb Rules#

Direct Speech	Indirect Speech
"I am happy," she said.	She said that she was happy.
"I will go," he said.	He said that he would go.
"Did you eat?" she asked.	She asked if I had eaten.
"Where do you live?" he asked.	He asked where I lived.

Tense Backshifting#

Here are a few practice examples. Direct: "I am reading a book," said Ram. Indirect: Ram said that he was reading a book. Direct: "Have you finished?" she asked. Indirect: She asked if I had finished.

Prepositions - Common Patterns#

Prepositions can be categorized by what they describe. For time, use "at" for specific times like 5 PM or noon, "on" for days and dates like Monday or July 15, and "in" for months, years, seasons, and parts of the day like in July or in the morning. Use "by" for deadlines, "since" for a starting point in time, and "for" to describe duration.

For place, use "at" for specific points like at the station or at home, "on" for surfaces like on the table or on the page, and "in" for enclosed spaces like in the room or in Kathmandu. Use "above" or "over" for higher positions, "under" or "below" for lower positions, "between" when referring to two things, and "among" for more than two.

Synthesis of Sentences#

Synthesis means combining simple sentences into more complex ones. There are several ways to do this. You can use participles: "He finished his work. He went home" becomes "Having finished his work, he went home." You can use infinitives: "He wants to go. He wants to study" becomes "He wants to go and study." You can use conjunctions: "She is poor. She is honest" becomes "She is poor but honest." You can use relative pronouns: "I saw a boy. He was crying" becomes "I saw a boy who was crying." And you can use adverbial clauses: "He worked hard. He passed" becomes "As he worked hard, he passed."

For example: "The sun rose. The fog disappeared" can be made complex — "When the sun rose, the fog disappeared" — or compound — "The sun rose and the fog disappeared."

Common Error Correction#

Subject-verb agreement is a common area where students make mistakes. Collective nouns like "team" take singular verbs. Words like each, every, neither, and either are always singular. When using "neither...nor" or "either...or," the verb agrees with the nearest subject. And words like news, physics, and mathematics are singular despite ending in "s."

For articles, use "a" or "an" for first mention of singular countable nouns. Use "the" for specific or previously mentioned things, and for unique things like the sun or the earth. Use no article for plural or uncountable nouns in general, and for names of meals, languages, and school subjects.

Practice Exercises#

Exercise 1: Tense Forms

1. She usually _____ (go) to school by bus. (goes)
2. Look! It _____ (rain). (is raining)
3. I _____ (finish) my homework just now. (have finished)
4. They _____ (play) football yesterday. (played)

Exercise 2: Voice Change

1. Who wrote this book? → By whom was this book written?
2. She is cooking dinner. → Dinner is being cooked by her.
3. They have completed the project. → The project has been completed by them.

Exercise 3: Direct to Indirect

1. "I am tired," she said. → She said that she was tired.
2. "Will you help me?" he asked. → He asked if I would help him.
3. "Where do you live?" → He asked where I lived.

Exercise 4: Prepositions

1. He has been living here _____ 2010. (since)
2. The meeting is _____ 3 PM. (at)
3. She is good _____ English. (at)
4. He died _____ cancer. (of)

Exercise 5: Error Correction

1. The furnitures are expensive. → The furniture is expensive.
2. He gave me an advice. → He gave me a piece of advice.
3. She is more taller than me. → She is taller than me.
4. I prefer tea than coffee. → I prefer tea to coffee.

SEE English Grammar - Quick Revision Checklist#

Before your exam, make sure you have reviewed all twelve tense forms with their signal words, active to passive voice for all tenses, direct to indirect speech rules, prepositions for time and place, subject-verb agreement rules, article usage, synthesis methods, common error patterns, question tags, and conditional sentences. Going through this checklist will help you identify any weak areas that need more practice.

Grammar is really about patterns rather than rules. Once you see the pattern, you can apply it confidently and score those marks. English grammar in SEE is actually quite predictable — the same question types repeat every year with minor variations. Master the twelve tenses, voice transformation, reported speech, and prepositions, and practice at least ten transformation questions daily. With consistent practice, scoring over 20 marks in the grammar section is easily achievable.

Good luck with your SEE 2026 preparation.