parts of speech

Grammar Explanatory Notes


Parts of Speech Learning parts of speech may be considered as the first step towards conquering Grammar. These may be identified as the building blocks. Just as learning alphabets is elementary in order to read and write, parts of speech may be considered to have the same elementary function in order to make one understand the use or function of words, and also how the words can be joined together to make meaningful communication. As the title suggests ‘Parts of Speech’ is indeed self-explanatory. Speech is made up of sentences which in turn are made up of words. Each word is categorized under a group. In simple words, any sentence can be broken down to each of these parts. When all these parts are joined together, they constitute a meaningful sentence. This also indicates that there is no such word in English language, which is not a part of speech. Consider this: Illustration 1 Jones fell down. Break up: Jones is a Noun Fell is a verb Down is an adverb Illustration 2 Sarah looks very excited. Break up: Sarah is a Noun Looks is a verb Very is an Adverb Excited is an Adjective Broadly there are 8 parts of speech in English Language, which can be classified into the following sub-types: 1. Nouns

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2. Pronouns 3. Adjectives 4. Verbs 5. Adverbs 6. Prepositions 7. Conjunctions 8. Interjections

A) NOUNS: A noun is a name of a place, person, thing, idea, animal, etc. Any subject which can be named in a sentence may be called a Noun. It may be a word or group of words. For eg: Illustration 3: 1. Ted is wearing a sweat shirt. 2. I have visited the Taj Mahal. Perhaps the broadest classification of Nouns can be: 1. Proper Noun: These are words that are specific names of any person, place or thing. They begin with a capital letter. They do not represent any class or type but, they specifically point out the subject. Illustration 4: 1. Malaysia is a beautiful country. 2. Sanskrit has lost its significance. 3. Mr Jones is an elegant personality. 4. Brownie won the medal in the dog show. 5. Santro is a fuel-efficient car. 6. John tried very hard, but he failed. 7. Jones went walking to his home. 8. Kolkata is called the City of Joy. These words are tangible in nature. You can experience this group of nouns by your senses i.e. they can be seen or touched. 2. Common Noun:



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As the name suggests these words are generic names i.e a name given to all the elements of the same group. These nouns represent a class or type of objects. They are representative in nature. They are the generic terms which are used to refer to a class of place, person or thing. Illustration 5: 1. His answer was accurate. 2. The boys were up to mischief. 3. She ate an apple for her breakfast. 4. Dogs are generally very loyal to their masters. 5. A prehistoric bone was found in the desert. 6. The corpse was later found in the swamp. Here, it is fairly easy to identify and distinguish a common noun from a proper noun. If you observe carefully, all the proper nouns start with a capital letter because they are specific in nature and point out to a particular person, place, idea or thing. 3. Abstract Nouns: However, not all nouns are concrete or tangible nouns; some nouns are abstract in nature, i.e they are intangible. They can’t be seen or touched but can be only felt by our senses. Illustration 5: 1. Intelligence will help you crack the exam. 2. Eloquence of the orator, kept the crowd on its heels. 3. Beauty is not just external appearance. 4. Love is universal. 5. Justice has been denied. 4. Collective Nouns: This is a name given to a collection of the common elements belonging to the same group. It is taken as a single unit. Illustration 6:

1. A group of students is waiting for the teacher. 2. Collect your bunch of keys from the reception. 3. My friend got me a bouquet of fifty roses. 4. A flock of sheep is crossing the road.



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5. Compound Nouns:

As the name suggests, a compound name is made of more than one word but refers to a single entity. It can have either two or three words. Illustration 7:

1. Chief Justice 2. Chief Guest 3. Commander-in-chief 4. C.E.O 5. Mother-in-law etc

6. Countable Nouns: All concrete nouns are countable nouns as they can be counted. Anything that you see and can count is classified under this group. Examples- cat, dog, pen, paper, boy, girl, orange, apple, flower, leaf etc

7. Uncountable Nouns In contrast to countable nouns, anything that you see and cannot count is classified under Uncountable Nouns. Instead these can be weighed or measured. Illustration 8:

8. Sugar 9. Salt 10. Water 11. Sand 12. All units of measurements 13. Abstract Nouns 14. Butter 15. Jam

DO NOT CONFUSE YOURSELF BETWEEN A CONCRETE AND AN ABSTRACT NOUN. It is fairly easy to distinguish them by asking a few questions. For e.g.: Loyalty (abstract noun) - How does loyalty look? You cannot answer it, because you can’t see it. How does it taste? You can’t comment this question either because you can’t taste it. On the other hand, for a concrete noun, these questions can be answered for;



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Computer (concrete noun) - How does it look? You can answer this because you can see it. What texture is it? You can answer this too, because you can touch it. The other subdivisions of nouns are: Plural Nouns: All nouns change their form when plurals are considered. The most common pattern is by addition of –s/-es at the end of the noun. Illustration 8: 1. by addition of –s to form plural- dog – dogs ; chair – chairs ; car – cars ; pen – pens ; phone – phones ; cart – carts 2. by addition of –es to form plural; Wish – wishes; pitch – pitches; glass – glasses; kiss – kisses; bus – buses ; mix – mixes 3. Plurals in which –fe or -f is replaced by -ves; Knife – knives; life – lives; leaf – leaves ; shelf – shelves ; hoof – hooves 4. Plurals which are formed by replacing –us by –i; Cactus – cacti; focus – foci; nucleus – nuclei; fungus – fungi 5. And some special cases- phenomenon – phenomena ; child – children ; person – people ; man – men ; woman – women ; mouse – mice ; barracks – barracks ; deer – deer; hair-hair; sheep-sheep

B) PRONOUNS Simply speaking, Pronouns are words which replace nouns. These are substitutes to nouns. Pronouns are used to simplify a sentence and to reduce the repetition of nouns. Pronouns may be classified into the following categories: 1. Personal Pronouns: As the name suggests they originate from ‘person’. They refer to specific individual or individuals.



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There are three persons in English- First, Second and Third each having a single and a plural form. All these three persons have a subjective, objective and a possessive case depending on their usage in the sentence. SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE POSSESSIVE 1st Person Single- I I Me My, mine Plural- We We Us Our, ours 2nd person Single- You

You You Your, yours

Plural- You You You Your, yours 3rd Person Single- He, She, It

He, She, It Him, Her, It His, Her/hers, Its

Plural- They They Them Their, theirs Illustration 9: First Person Single:

1. I am travelling tonight.( Subjective case) 2. The principal called me to the office.( Objective case) 3. This is my school. ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 4. This school is mine. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice)

First Person Plural:

1. We are good friends. (Subjective case) 2. The principal has called us to the office.( Objective case) 3. This is our project report. ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 4. This project report is ours. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice)

Second Person Single:

1. You have scored very well in your exams.( Subjective case) 2. He will call you. ( Objective case) 3. Is this your book? ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 4. Is this book yours? ( Possessive case in Passive Voice)

Second Person Plural:

1. You are my students.(Subjective case) 2. The principal has asked you to submit your list of names by tomorrow.(Objective

case) 3. These are your books. ( Possessive case in Active Voice)



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4. These books are yours. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice) Third Person Single:

1. He is my brother. (Subjective case) 2. She will perform before you. (Subjective case) 3. It is my pet. (Subjective case) 4. The University has awarded him a scholarship. ( Objective case) 5. The captain has asked her to be confident. ( Objective case) 6. I will take it for a walk. ( Objective case) 7. Everyone has appreciated his work. ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 8. His work has been appreciated by everyone. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice) 9. This is her first performance. ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 10. This book is hers. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice) 11. This is its kennel. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice)

Third Person Plural:

1. They are my competitors. (Subjective case) 2. I do not fear them. ( Objective case) 3. This is their apartment. ( Possessive case in Active Voice) 4. This apartment is theirs. ( Possessive case in Passive Voice)

2. Reflexive Pronoun: The composition of a Reflexive Pronoun is a personal pronoun + self. When a pronoun is written after the verb to show that the action is reflected back on the pronoun mentioned in the beginning, then it plays the role of a reflexive pronoun. Illustration 10:

1. I burnt myself. 2. She tripped herself. 3. He rewarded himself. 4. They failed themselves.

3. Intensive/Emphatic Pronouns As the name suggests, these types of pronouns emphasize on the pronoun that they are written next to. These pronouns also are made by adding self to a personal pronoun. Illustration 11:

1. I myself invited you for the party.



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2. She herself came to give the invitation. 3. He himself informed the police. 4. They themselves withdrew their names from the competition.

5. Interrogative Pronouns:

These pronouns are the interrogative words like who, whom, where, etc that are usually used in questions. Fairly easy to understand, if you go by the name, they interrogate or in simple words, ask questions. So every time you have to identify an interrogative pronoun you might as well identify the subject of the question. Illustration 12:

1. Where is the bag kept? 2. Who has taken my luggage? 3. Whom should I ask for? 4. What does he want? 5. What did she eat? 6. Whom should I address the letter to? 7. Who will help me? 8. Which will suffice my needs? 9. Whoever wins, will take the cash reward.

6. Reciprocal Pronoun As the name suggests, these pronouns are used to express something from one to the other.

Illustration 13:

1. They like each other.( Specific case) 2. We must love one another. (General usage)

7. Relative Pronouns

Pronouns that relate one thing in a sentence to something else in a sentence are the Relative Pronouns. Again as the name suggests, they relate back to some noun. However, the point of difference is: mostly the other pronouns can replace nouns; relative pronouns cannot replace nouns, but can only relate back to them.



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Illustration 14:

1. The student who scores the best will get the award. 2. The garage that my uncle built is on fire. 3. The law which was passed last year is in force now. 4. The girl, who played brilliantly, also clinched the man of the match award.

Observe that ‘who’ is not used to replace girl but it IS relating back to the noun girl. 5. Jones was the person who took the initiative to replace the hanging board.

Again ‘who’ cannot be replaced back with the noun, but it is referring back to the noun Jones.

6. The phenomenon, which needed to studied carefully. 7. Rahul is a person, whom you would love to talk to. 8. The man, whose father is the professor, forgot to eat. 9. The car, whose driver is a young girl, is from Germany. 10. That’s Ronnie, who has just arrived from Amsterdam. 11. Thank you for your e-mail, which was very interesting to read. 12. I often visit my friend, who lives in Goa.

8. Demonstrative pronouns: As the name suggests, they demonstrate objects. They show to or point to or identify a noun. Illustration 15: 1. This is a very interesting phenomenon. 2. This is the computer and that is the laptop. 3. These rabbits have to be fed, whereas those rabbits have to be given a bath. If you carefully read and understand the sentences, you will observe the words ‘this’ and ‘these’ refer to objects closer in space. However, words like ‘that’ and ‘those’ refer to objects distant in space. Again, ‘this’ & ‘that’ are singular and ‘these’ & ‘those’ are plural in nature.

9. Indefinite pronouns: In characteristics, they may be considered opposite to the personal pronouns. Although they do identify objects but are not specific in nature and do not define anyone in particular. Words like anyone/body/where, someone/body/where, noone/body/where, everyone/body/where, some, all, few, one etc are Indefinite Pronouns.



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Illustration 16: 1. Is there anybody in there? 2. Only a few people witnessed the horror. 3. The cops searched everywhere in the house. 4. Nobody seemed to know the answer.

C) Verbs: Verbs are words which denote an action or state of the noun. Hence, it is essential for every sentence to have a verb. In simple language, the action words or the words which denote the state of the noun are verbs. Consider the following: Illustration 17: 1. Noah walks fast. Noah: noun (can you identify the type of noun) walks: verb Observe the significance of the word ‘walks’, it indicates that the subject (noun) ‘Noah’ is walking. It is denoting the action of Noah in the sentence. Hence, it is a verb. 2. Sophia looks wonderful. Sophia: noun (can you identify the type of noun) Looks: verb Here again as we can understand the word ‘looks’ is denoting or representing the state of the subject or noun, which in this case is Sophia. 3. Cheetahs run fast. Cheetahs: noun (can you identify the type of noun) run: verb The word ‘run’ is denoting the action of cheetahs. More Examples:



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Akshay fell down. Taj Mahal looks beautiful during night. The dogs looked petrified. We were hungry. She finished the painting. Verbs can be broadly classified into the following categories depending on their significance in the sentence: 1. Action Verbs: These are words which denote the action of the doer or the subject. Action verbs tell us what the doer or the subject does or done or going to do. Action verbs can represent either physical or mental action of the doer or the subject. Illustration 16: Physical action : John eats fast. Sita sings well. Ram is fighting. The dogs were running after the intruder. Observe in each of the sentences, the highlighted words are denoting the physical action of the subject. These verbs are visible in nature. Mental action: Rahul was thinking of his old days. Jones was learning the tables. The boys study till late night. She considered going for the classes. Observe in each of the sentences, the highlighted words are denoting the mental action of the subject or the doer. 2. State/ Linking Verbs:



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State verbs indicate the state of the subject. They connect the subject and the predicate*. Hence, are also called linking verbs. {*What is predicate? A predicate is the sentence without the subject of the sentence.} For e.g.: Jones exercises hard. Jones is the doer of the action exercise. Hence, Jones is the subject. Predicate: ‘exercises hard’ Shweta likes snowboarding. Shweta is the person/subject who likes snowboarding. Hence, Shweta is the subject. Predicate: ‘likes snowboarding’} Illustration 17: 1. Swati likes perfumes. Observe ‘likes’ signifies or represents the state of ‘Swati’. However, it does not denote any action. Also it connects the subject to the predicate. 2. Taj Mahal looks magnificent. Observe ‘looks’ again signifies the state of ‘Taj Mahal’ and does not denote any action. Again ‘looks’ here is connecting the subject to the predicate. More Examples: 3. She sounds tired. 4. Jones has become very irritating nowadays. 5. Sita is married. 6. I am being optimistic. 7. Paul was not satisfied with the match. 8. Sensex is like a wild gamble zone. 9. Juan will soon turn 30.



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10. The meat smells bad. 11. The hostage stayed calm. 12. John has become a cricketer. The other classifications of verbs are as follows: 3. Transitive verbs: These verbs require an object for their existence. In simple words, without an object in a sentence, a transitive verb cannot exist. Consider the following examples: Illustration 19: 1. Jones gave money to Sarah. Here ‘gave’ is the verb. Now, if I had removed everything after ‘gave’, Jones ‘gave’…. The sentence would not have been complete or in other words it would not mean anything. You can ask a question on it; what did Jones give? You can immediately realize that the next part of the sentence is answering the question. Jones gave money. Hence, you can easily conclude that without the object ‘money’, the action ‘gave’ cannot exist. 2. Sarah likes ice-cream. As explained in the above example, if you remove ice-cream from the sentence, it would cease to exist. You can raise a question, Sarah likes what? Again you would realize that the answer to the question lies in ice- cream (an object). Hence, here again as we see, without ice-cream, the action ‘likes’ would not make any sense. More examples: 3. The boys visited home. 4. Shweta eats rice. 5. I took a cab. 6. I understood the passage. 7. Michael rides a bike.



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8. John wrote a letter. 9. She is beautiful. 10. Sarah sold the antique furniture from her yard. In all of the above examples the object or the receiver of the action can be found out by asking a simple question what? You would immediately find an answer. This essentially means the existence of an object or receiver, which makes the verb a transitive verb. 4. Intransitive Verbs: These verbs do not require any object for their existence. In other words, they can exist without an object. They express action or tell something about the subject without this action referring to an object as was the case in Transitive verbs. Consider the following examples: Illustration 20: 1. The train stopped. Now look carefully, the verb ‘stopped’ does not tell us where or how the train stopped. The sentence makes perfect sense without even mentioning the other details like what or how the train stopped. Although the action is present, it does not necessarily need an object to exist. 2. Who called? Again, as you can see action exists, but is not directed towards an object. Hence, it is an intransitive verb. 3. The boys play quietly. Here again, as we can see the action ‘play’ exists but it is not passing on to an object or a receiver. It just mentions that boys play games in a quiet manner. It does not answer the question what? Or in other words, there is no receiver of the action ‘play’ in the sentence. If the sentence had answer to the questions, it would have been obvious that the sentence would have had an object or a receiver. For e.g. The boys play games. As we can see in the above sentences, we have an object or the receiver ‘games’ to which the action ‘play’ is being directed to. More examples:



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4. Jones would cook. 5. We must leave. 6. The glass broke. 7. The cat ran away. 8. Tyron’s dog is friendly. 9. We went to the store yesterday. Don’t confuse yourself here by saying that the action ‘went’ is being directed to the object ‘store’. The store is not receiving the action ‘went’. This can simply be confirmed by asking a question went what? If ‘went’ was a transitive verb, it should have answered the question. Reason for this is ‘to the store’ is a prepositional phrase and ‘yesterday’ is an adverb. (More on adverbs and prepositions later.) 10. John’s car is green. Exercises Exercise:-1 Which one of these has/ have errors? What are these errors? How to correct them? I sat outside in the shadow. My school professors were friendly. I work like a waitress on Saturdays. I go to my work by bicycle. I work in a finance company. Solution Key: I sat outside in the shade. A shadow is made by your body or your hand and is too small to sit in. If it’s too hot, you sit in the shade (made by something bigger – a building or a tree, for example). My school teachers were friendly. Only universities have professors or lecturers. Schools have teachers.



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I work as a waitress on Saturdays. In work like, like means similar to e.g. I work like a slave. To tell someone your position at work, use as. I go to work by bicycle. You go to work, without any possessive case i.e. my, your, his etc. I work for a finance company. Use in to say where exactly you work in a company, e.g. in the accounts department. To tell someone about your employer use for. You can get to Anil Nair classes on foot. You go by car by plane etc., but on foot She arrived at the class late. You can never arrive to a place. You can arrive in a town or country, or at other places. There’s a cinema opposite my house. in front of is used when the items/persons are one behind the other but looking at the same directions, for instance, a row of students sitting in a classroom (you can see the back side of the person in front of you) opposite is when you are facing the object/person, just as I’m opposite the monitor of my PC in this moment. I love going for walks in the country. Nature is the world of plants and animals that biologists study. If you love fields and trees, you go for walks in the country. The scenery in the Lake Mulshi is very beautiful. Landscape is normally used by artists or geographers. When you go to the country you enjoy the beautiful scenery. Exercise 2:- Which one of these has/ have errors? What are these errors? How would you correct them? 1. I work in the personal department of my company.



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2. Whether you steal or not is a matter of principals. 3. The price of living in Bombay is very high. 4. Your children are much taller – they really have grown up. 5. I am born in Baramati. Solutions:- 1. I work in the personnel department of my company. You probably do not have a department all to yourself! Personnel relates to the people working in an organization. Personal relates to things that belong to you. 2. Whether you steal or not is a matter of principles. Principals have authority over you while you are in school. ‘Principal’ relates to someone or something in a position of leadership. Principles on the other hand are a set of rules that one must follow, or choose to live by. 3. The cost of living in Bombay is very high. Living in Bombay is not a commodity you can pick up at your local convenience store! So price would be the wrong term to use. 4. Your children are much taller – they really have grown. If the children are taller, there is really only one direction that they could have grown in. It is unnecessary to say grown ‘up’. Just ‘grown’ is sufficient. 5. I was born in Baramati. The action of being born is already complete and will not repeat itself again, right? (Hopefully). Therefore we say, ‘was born’ and not am born when referring to birth, other people’s included. Exercise 3:- Which one of these has/ have errors? What are these errors? How would you correct them? 1. I never do mistakes in English. 2. I want to go to my house. 3. I don’t usually eat breakfast.



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4. I have very good relations with my siblings. 5. I couldn’t understand anything, so she explained me the problem. Solutions:- 1. I never make mistakes in English. You cannot do mistakes like you do the tango (Spanish Dance Style...Google it!) Mistakes are and will always be there to be made. 2. I want to go home. It is your neighbor’s house but your “home”. By saying home you automatically imply that it belongs to you. 3. I don’t usually have breakfast. ‘Breakfast’ as a term refers to an event that takes place at the start of the day. After the long night of no food, it signals that it’s time to break your fast. See? Considering you can’t eat an event, you can’t eat breakfast either. You ‘have’ it. 4. I have very good relationships with my siblings. America has good relations with India. You have a good relationship with your father or mother. 5. I couldn’t understand anything, so she explained the problem to me. She could not have explained you. You explain ‘something’ to ‘someone’. Not the other way around. Exercise 4:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1) I came to Anil Nair Classes for learning English. 2) I am understanding this Grammar now. 3) When he will arrive tomorrow, I will talk to him. 4) If I will see him, I will give him your number. 5) Have you tried to take some Crocin for your fever? Solutions:- 1) I came to Anil Nair Classes to learn English.



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The reason you would be at a particular place, would be ‘to do’ something not ‘for doing’ something. You would go out ‘to dance’ not ‘for dancing’. 2) I understand this Grammar now. Once something has been understood there is not much one can do to reverse the process. Therefore it is permanent. I ‘am understanding’ would signify something that is in progress or temporary. 3) When he arrives tomorrow, I will talk to him. This is a case of something in the present tense showing future intention. The ‘will’ in the second half of the statement confirms that the action will take place in the future. 4) If I see him, I will give him your number. We do not use will after if. The verb in the first part of the sentence will be in present tense followed by the use of will in the next part. 5) Have you tried taking some Crocin for your fever? ‘Tried taking’ would imply an attempt to take the tablet. The actual statement is being used to ask/ find out whether or not you have attempted the use of the tablet to cure your fever. Exercise 5:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1. The culprit was caught red-handedly. 2. He confessed to having misappropriated the funds. 3. The money was meant for poor children. 4. He cannot escape the punishment easy. 5. I had my meals at 2 p.m. every day. 6. First we would be given a cup of tea and then fruits were served after that. Solutions:- 1. The culprit was caught red-handed. The ‘culprit’ is the subject of this sentence and he/she is being described. The subject of a sentence will always be a noun or pronoun, and words that describe nouns or pronouns are called



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adjectives. The suffix ‘-ly’ is not used at the end of adjectives. It is usually used at the end of adverbs. 2. He confessed to having misappropriated the funds. This sentence is correct 3. The money was meant for poor children. This sentence is correct 4. He cannot escape the punishment easily. The word easy is being used to describe or add meaning to verb escape. Therefore it is called an adverb. Adverbs usually appear with the suffix ‘-ly’. 5. I have my meals at 2 p.m. every day. The sentence should be in the present simple tense as it is talking about an event that takes place every day and a regular time. 6. First, we will be given a cup of tea and then fruit will be served. Since we are talking about something that is going to happen, in the future, the verb should be in the future tense. We never say fruits. It is adequate to say, “the ‘fruit’ will be served.” Exercise 6:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1. Green vegetables are good for health. 2. We enjoyed a lot there. 3. The road is under repair. 4. Vehicles are diverted into other roads. 5. Two-third of the work is completed. 6. The road will be open for traffic next week. Solutions:- 1. Green vegetables are healthy.



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‘Good for health’ is a very common error in spoken English. Similarly ‘Bad for health’ would be replaced by ‘unhealthy’. I find it helpful to follow the rule, “If there is a word for it.” (Vocabulary building exercises would be helpful here. Try checking this blog more often!) 2. We enjoyed ourselves a lot there. To just say ‘we enjoyed’ would leave this sentence incomplete. You enjoyed what? Enjoyed will always need an object; this can be a reflexive pronoun (E.g.: They enjoyed themselves. Enjoy yourself.), or otherwise as well (E.g.: Enjoy the show. I hope you enjoyed your meal.). 3. The road is under repair. 4. Vehicles are diverted onto other roads. You could drive ‘into’ a tree but not the road. Given that we drive on the road, vehicles would be diverted onto other roads. 5. Two-thirds of the work is completed. When referring to a ratio we always use a plural form depending on the first number. (E.g.: Three – fifths of the population is hungry.) However if the first number is singular then the next one will be singular as well. (E.g.: One – fifth of the city is covered in slums.) 6. The road will be open to traffic next week. The road is not opening for business is it? It’s a road, and it opens to people. Like a shopping center. You would normally say the mall is open ‘to the public’ not ‘for it’. While both may provide services, and the public may be at the receiving end of these services, this is a case of accessibility, not belonging. Exercise 7:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1. I accepted the diamond necklace as a gift without inquiring as to its quality or history. 2. The reason you are feeling better today is because you slept well last night. 3. Lewis was confused as to whether he should take the highway or travel through the city. 4. The media is misleading the public. 5. Incredible phenomenons happen around us every day if we only choose to look carefully.



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Solutions:- 1. I accepted the diamond necklace as a gift without inquiring about its quality or history. ‘As to’ seems to be used often by people who are merely trying to sound businesslike and official. It is used as a replacement for prepositions and this is not correct. It is enough to say ‘inquire about’ the meaning comes across just as well. 2. The reason you are feeling better today is that you slept well last night. Once we have used the word reason in a sentence we are have already expressed or signaled to the readers that we are going to show a cause – effect relationship. Using the word because as well is an unnecessary double emphasis. 3. Lewis was confused whether he should take the highway or travel through the city. Once again this is a case of placing ‘as to’ ahead of the word ‘whether’. It is not required. 4. The media are misleading the public. The media is a plural noun that refers to a group of people who provide us with information and the (so called) NEWS. It is not a collective noun and does not represent an entire unit. Therefore we use the plural form of the verb as well. 5. Incredible phenomena happen around us every day if we only choose to look carefully. ‘Phenomenon’ comes from a Greek word and refers to something that we experience with our senses rather than by thought. The plural form of phenomenon is ‘phenomena’ not ‘phenomenons. Exercise 8:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. HOMONYMS/HOMOPHONES: 1. My advise to you would be to stop wasting time and start working. 2. The public was deeply effected by the governments decision to increase taxes. 3. Other than a few rashes the medication did not have any averse effects. 4. There are others beside you who have been waiting in line as well. 5. Did the actor elude to the scandal during his interview? Solutions:-



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1. My advice to you would be to stop wasting time and start working. ‘Advise’ is a verb; the noun form of which is ‘advice’. For example, we would say, “I advise you to kindly keep your hat on.” where the action being performed is the action of advising someone. 2. The public was deeply affected by the government’s decision to increase taxes. The public could have felt the ‘effects’ of something that the government has done, however that process would leave them ‘affected’. The verb “affect” means to influence or touch the feelings of someone. On the other hand effects, means to bring something about. Effect may also be used as a noun to identify the result of the thing that has been brought about. 3. Other than a few rashes the medication did not have any adverse effects. ‘Averse’ means to be in opposition of something. ‘Adverse’ however means unfavorable or bad. For example, one could be averse to the adverse effects of an earthquake. 4. There are others besides you who have been waiting in line as well. When we say ‘beside’ (without an ‘s’) it means to be at the side of. “Besides’ (with an ‘s’) means in addition to as well as, as is in this case, other than someone or something. 5. Did the actor allude to the scandal during his interview? These two words are extremely different in meaning. To ‘elude’ means to avoid or escape, as in the thief eluded the police by climbing up the drain pipes. ‘Allude’ however means to refer to something secretly or indirectly. For example, “He alluded to his plans, but would not tell us about them.” Exercise 9:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1. The teacher’s childish qualities made him very popular with his students. 2. The former teacher flouted his authority, even after he left. 3. The student’s moral was very low after almost all of them fared badly in their examinations. 4. We waited for him to finish his phone call so that we could precede with the meeting. 5. How can one be respective of your feelings when no one knows what they are? Solutions:- 1. The teacher’s childlike qualities made him very popular with his students.



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When someone manages to hold on to qualities from their childhood like, laughter and wonder, we call them childlike. This is different from childish, which refers to people who are immature and have not grown up at all. While childlike is seen as a positive quality, childish is not. 2. The former teacher flaunted his authority, even after he left. To flaunt something means to show something off. For example, He walks around the house flaunting his new hairstyle. To flout is to disobey or have complete disregard for something. For example, he spends all his time thinking of ways in which he can flout the rules of the school. 3. The student’s morale was very low after almost all of them fared badly in their examinations. Morals refer to people’s values and ethical codes. Morale however talks about a person’s self confidence or self esteem. It refers to their state of mind and spirit. 4. We waited for him to finish his phone call so that we could proceed with the meeting. To precede something is to come before. For example, “The trailers precede the movie.” Proceed however means to continue or move forward. To proceed with something is to continue with something. For example, “The evening proceeded with coffee after dessert.” 5. How can one be respectful of your feelings when no one knows what they are? Respective refers to things that belong to us. “Go to your respective homes’ means to go to your own, personal or individual home. Respectful is ‘with respect’. To be respectful of something means to have respect or regard for something. Exercise 10:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. MODIFIERS: 1. (a) We have in Agra many tourists. (b) She often is ill. 2. Your garden is too beautiful. 3. I need a more smaller car. 4. He works slow. 5. My computer has been great; I’ve had a few problems with it. 6. There are very little people on the bus today.



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7. (a) We had a good weather yesterday. (b) There’s a program on TV about the dogs. 8. Chris’s mother went to prison to see him. 9. Everything is more cheap in this shop than in the mall. 10. She likes dancing very much. Solutions:- 1. (a) We have in Agra many tourists. “We have many tourists in Agra.” The question that needs to be asked is ‘Where are there many tourists?’ the answer would be, ‘In Agra.’ Therefore the term ‘many tourists’ would be placed before Agra. Adverbs do not go between a verb and a subject; they go either before or after both of them. (b) She often is ill. “She is ill often.” Once again we must ask ourselves, ‘What does often modify?’ Therefore we will know that we have to place it after the word ‘ill’. Adverbs are always placed after ‘to be’ forms of the verbs. 2. Your garden is too beautiful. ‘Your garden is very beautiful.’ We use the word too to show something negative. When something is too much it means it is more than it should be to an undesirable extent. 3. I need a more smaller car. ‘I need a smaller car.’ The word smaller is already in the comparative degree. (Degrees of comparison are: positive, comparative and superlative) Therefore it is not necessary to add ‘more’ before it. there would be pointless double emphasis. 4. He works slow. ‘He works slowly’.



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The word being modified here is works, which is a verb. Adverbs modify verbs and they almost always end with an ‘ly’ when they perform that exact function. 5. My computer has been great; I’ve had a few problems with it. This sentence means that there haven’t been too many problems with the computer. When we say ‘quite a few’ it actually means quite a large amount. 6. There are very little people on the bus today. ‘There are a very few people on the bus today.’ When we speak of people in numbers we say ‘few’ and not little. This is because ‘people’ are countable. We will not therefore say, “There is very few oxygen in the atmosphere.” As oxygen is an uncountable noun, we will say, “There is very little oxygen in the atmosphere.” 7. (a) We had a good weather yesterday. ‘We had good weather yesterday.’ The use of articles is unfortunately, something that seems to confuse many. When speaking of things like climate, weather, work, permission, or other common uncountable nouns we cannot use an ‘a’ before them. (b) There’s a program on TV about the dogs. “There’s a program on TV about dogs.” Unless we are being specific about which dogs we are talking about exactly, we cannot say ‘the dogs‘. If we were talking about one specific dog or pack of dogs, then we would say ‘the dog’ or ‘the dogs’. 8. Chris’s mother went to prison to see him. “Chris’s mother went to the prison to see him.” When we are talking about institutions like prison or school, we must remember that the appropriate article before the name will change the meaning of the sentence. For example, saying that “I go to school every day.” means that I attend the school as a student on a daily basis. However, “I go to the school every day.” means that I visit the school on a regular basis. 9. Everything is more cheap in this shop than in the mall. “Everything is cheaper in this shop than in the mall.”



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Once again a case of a word misused in a comparative sentence. The word cheap has a comparative and superlative form. (i.e., Cheap, cheaper and cheapest) When showing comparison we will therefore use one of these versions. For words like ‘expensive’ that do not have forms in the comparative and superlative degree we will use words such as more and most before them to show the degree. 10. She likes dancing very much. This is the correct usage of the words. We place the term ‘very much’ after the verb that we want to modify. Idioms: Exercise 11:- Idiomatic phrases have been used in the following sentences. Read them and identify where they have been used wrongly and make the necessary changes. 1. The old caretaker was pushing in daisies by the time we reached the farmhouse. 2. After trying for over two hours to get the door open, we decided it was finally time to call out quits. 3. He didn’t want to make a public announcement so he decided to go of the record during the interview. 4. He was a force to be reckoned to on the market floor because of his aggression. 5. His lifestyle wasn’t out of choice; he was after all Prince in the blood. Solutions:- 1. The old caretaker was pushing up daisies by the time we reached the farmhouse. ‘Pushing up daisies’ is a term used to signify someone who has died and is buried. Therefore being able to push up daisies, so to speak. (Daisies are a type of flower.) 2. After trying for over two hours to get the door open, we decided it was finally time to call it quits. To stop doing what one is doing for whatever reason, or to give up on doing what one is doing is also known as ‘calling it quits’. Another example would be, ‘It was past 3am, so he decided to close his books and call it quits. 3. He didn’t want to make a public announcement so he decided to go off the record during the interview.



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To go ‘off the record’ implies that someone does not want it to be known that they are the source of certain information; however they want to divulge the information. 4. He was a force to be reckoned with on the market floor because of his aggression. When we use the term ‘force to be reckoned with’, we are talking about something/someone that is powerful. It talks about ideas or things that are considered so big, so strong or so important that they cannot be ignored and must be confronted or taken into consideration 5. His lifestyle wasn’t out of choice; he was after all Prince of the blood. ‘Prince of the blood’ is a term used to talk about someone who holds a certain position or title because they were born into that kind of family or lifestyle , and not because they inherited it or won it in a contest. Exercise 12:- Identify the incorrect sentence/sentences and make the necessary changes. 1. How can I be respective of your customs if I do not know them?? 2. Try not to over complicate your life. Find simplistic solutions to your problems. 3. I am utterly disinterested in politics. 4. They were used to being prosecuted by everyone just because they were considered to be ‘different’. 5. It was a very fancy vacation. They ate the best food and stayed at the most luxuriant hotel they could find. Solutions:- 1. How can I be respectful of your customs if I do not know them? ‘Respective’ as a word refers to something that belongs to something/someone. Eg: Please keep your respective rooms tidy. ‘Respectful’ talks about having respect or being respectful towards something. 2. Try not to over complicate your life. Find simple solutions to your problems. ‘Simple’ means modest, uncomplicated and free of any ornamentation, which is the meaning that we are looking for in the sentence above. The term ‘Simplistic’ however is used to describe something that is over-simplified. It’s a negative term usually used to talk about something that has in effect ignored complexity. E.g.: The simplistic report was an insult to the amount of work that had been put into the research paper.



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3. I am utterly uninterested in politics. ‘Uninterested’ means something that does not interest or even bores you. That would be the meaning that we are trying to convey here. ‘Disinterested’ on the other hand has quite a different meaning. The meaning of disinterested is more on the lines of unbiased or impartial. E.g.: She managed to provide an extremely disinterested and accurate impression of the new employee. 4. They were used to being persecuted by everyone just because they were considered to be ‘different’. ‘Prosecute’ means to bring legal action against someone who is charged with a crime. Persecute on the other hand is used more to shoe discrimination or criticism towards something. E.g.: You may be persecuted for choosing a career path that is out of the ordinary. 5. It was a very fancy vacation. They ate the best food and stayed at the most luxurious hotel they could find. ‘Luxuriant’ means something that is growing profusely. E.g.: A luxuriant garden or forest. Luxurious however means something that is supplied with or comes with extreme comfort and luxury. This is the meaning that we are trying to bring across over here. -- Happy Learning.. Anil Nair (Excited to be a Teacher ) www.anilnair.in http://anilnairs.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/excitedtobeateacher.



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http://www.anilnair.in/

http://anilnairs.blogspot.com/

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