Tuesday 28 August 2012
Monday 27 August 2012
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word which joins to sentences to complete their meaning.There are two kinds of conjunctions:
-
Co-ordinating Conjunctions:
When the conjunction is used to join two statements of equal
importance, the conjunction is said to be a co-ordinating conjunction.
Examples : and, but, or, not, for, either, neither
-
Subordinating Conjunctions:
When the conjunction joins two statements, one of which depends on the
other for its full meaning, the conjunction is said to be a
subordinating conjunction.
Examples : before, after, since, because, if, though, which, who
Preeti is weak in Physics. Shalini is weak in Physics.
Preeti and Shalini are weak in Physics.
My sister went to the market. I went to the market.
My sister and I went to the market.
It was cold. I wore a sweater.
It was cold so I wore a sweater.
I will be late. There is a lot of traffic today
I will be late because there is a lot of traffic today.
Manoj studied hard. Manoj failed in his exams.
Manoj studied hard but he failed in his exams.
Prepositions
A preposition is a word which shows the relation between the noun or pronoun and other words in the sentence.There are three kinds of prepositions which are commonly used:
-
Simple Prepositions:
Prepositions like for, by, at, on, of, off, with, above, across
-
Compound and Phrase Prepositions:
They are a group of words used like a single preposition. Examples - in regard to, according to, in favour of, because of, in order to
-
Participial Prepositions:
They are used without any noun or pronoun attached to them. Examples - considering, regarding, barring, concerning
Prepositions of Place
There are three prepositions of place:
At
‘At’ is used for a point:
At the end of the lane.
At the door/entrance/exit.
At the corner.
At the desk.
Note: There are many standard expressions that are exceptions to this rule:
At home.
At work.
At school/college/university.
At the side.
In
‘In’ is used for enclosed spaces:
In Mumbai/India.
In the room.
In the store.
In my pocket/bag.
In the building/tower.
Note: There are some standard expressions that are an exception to this rule:
In the book/magazine/newspaper.
In the sky.
On
‘On’ is used for surfaces:
On the table.
On the rug.
On the floor.
On the cover.
On the page.
Note: There are many standard expressions that are exceptions to this rule:
On the bus/train/plane/ship.
On the radio/television.
On the left/right.
On the way.
Prepositions of Time
There are three prepositions of time:
At
‘At’ is used for precise times:
At ten o’clock.
At 10.30am.
At the moment/present/same time.
At sunrise/sunset/noon/dinnertime/bedtime/dusk/dawn.
Note: At night is a standard expression that is an exception in this case.
In
‘In’ is used for months, years, decades, centuries, and long periods of time:
In January.
In 1991.
In the 70s.
In this century.
In the Dark Ages.
Note: In the morning(s)/afternoon(s)/evening(s) are standard expressions that are exceptions in this case.
On
‘On’ is used for days and dates:
On Wednesday.
On Wednesdays.
On the 10th of January
On Christmas.
Note: ‘on’ is also used when you specify the day followed by the part of the day. For e.g. on Wednesday mornings.
Prepositions of Movement
There are 9 prepositions that pertain to movement:
To
‘To’ is used when there is a specific destination in mind. The destination can be a number of things:
A place:
I’m going to the doctor’s.Can you direct me to the nearest post office?An event:
Are you going to the party?I have never been to a concert.
A person:
She came up to me.
I go to my father for advice.
A position:
The bathroom is to your left.
Keep to the left.
Towards
‘Towards’ is used in the following instances:
When one has movement in a particular direction in mind, rather than simply a destination:
He was walking menacingly towards me.
Or to refer to a position, in relation to a direction from the point of view of the speaker:
He was sitting with his back towards me.
Through
‘Through’ refers to the following types of movement:
Within a space, which can be thought of as surrounding, enclosing or around the object:
The train went through the tunnel.
Movement across something, i.e. from one side of it the other:
He cut through the gauze.
Into
‘Into’ refers to the following types of movement:
Movement from the outside to the inside of something that can be imagined as surrounding, enclosing or around the object:
He got into the car.Movement causing something to hit something else:
He swerved into the tree.
Across
‘Across’ is used to describe:
Movement from one end of something to the other:
He walked across the road.
He strode across the bridge.
Something’s position when it stretches over the surface it is on:
There was a barricade across the road.
To describe something’s position when it is at the opposite end from one’s position:
We went to the restaurant across the road.
Over
‘Over’ is used in the following instances:
To describe something’s position when it is above something else:
The bottle is in the cabinet over the sink in the kitchen.To describe something’s position when it covers a surface:
A white cloth had been spread over the corpse.
Along
‘Along’ is used to describe:
Movement in a line:
We walked along the river.The collective position of a group of things that are in a line:
He lived one of the houses along the river.
In
‘In’ is used in the following instances:
Something’s position in relation to the area or space or place surrounding it:
We are going to have our picnic in the park.I left my car in the garage.To express towards the inside of something:
Put the pickle in the cabinet.
On
‘On’ is used in the following instances:
To describe something’s position in relation to a surface:
There was an array of food on the table.
To describe movement in the direction of a surface:
The rain falling on the roof kept me from sleeping.
Saturday 25 August 2012
Could, Would and Should
‘Would’, ‘should’ and ‘could’ are auxiliary verbs, meaning that their function is to assist main verbs. For example, in the sentence, ‘I would like to meet him’, ‘like’ is the main verb that is assisted by ‘would’. They can be defined as the past tenses respectively of will, shall and can, but each has many uses that sometimes even express the present tense. It is important to be able to differentiate between the three so as not to use them incorrectly. We shall discuss some of the common functions of the three words here.
Would
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To ask questions:
-
With ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’, ‘how’:
What would she do?
In both sentences, ‘would’ is more or less interchangeable with ‘will’.
-
To make polite requests:
-
To show a different response if the past had been different:
-
To explain an outcome to a hypothetical situation:
-
To show habitual past action:
Think of ‘would’ as ‘did’.
-
To show preference between two choices, used with rather or sooner:
-
To show intention:
Should
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To ask questions (it is generally interchangeable with ‘ought’ in such cases):
-
To show obligation:
Here, too, ‘should’ can be replaced with ‘ought to’, but in this context it is used to make a persuasive statement.
-
To express a hypothetical situation:
-
To express what is likely:
Here ‘should’ means something like ‘probably will’.
Could
-
As the past tense of can:
-
To ask questions:
-
To show possibility:
-
To express tentativeness or politeness:
Can and May
Many English speakers are confused about the usage of the words ‘can’ and ‘may’. For e.g., ‘Can I drink water?’ is incorrect. ‘May I drink water?’ is the correct phrase to use in this case.The key difference between ‘can’ and ‘may’ is that ‘can’ talks about ability and ‘may’ talks about permission.
CAN
Can is used in two cases:
To talk about ability.
- I can finish my homework by 5 pm.
- Can you finish your homework tonight?
To ask or give permission informally.
- Can I use your pen? (To a friend)
- You can use my pen. (To a friend)
May is generally used to ask or give permission formally.
Let us take a situation between a student and a teacher.
- May I drink water?
- Teacher: Yes, you may.
- May I borrow your pen?
- Yes, you may.
Usage of 'Then' and 'Than'
The similar sounding words ‘then’ and than’ confuse many English speakers and if you find yourself using one for the other, please go through this article.The word ‘than’ is used to show comparison and is a conjunction (A conjunction is a word that joins two sentences).
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Adhir is smarter than Dinesh.
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Homemade food is healthier than fast-food.
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He is older than you.
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If you get full marks, then I will buy you a car.
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Finish your homework and then we will go out for dinner.
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I will reach home at night. I will call you then.
-
I will get free at 5. Can we meet then?
Note:- When confused, think about what you’re trying to say/write. Only if you’re comparing will you use ‘than’, for every other situation, use ‘then’.
Correct Usage of 'I' and 'Me'
Speakers of English often use ‘I’ and ‘me’ in place of each other. The difference is actually very simple. Allow us to explain.
Let us begin with an exercise. Fill in the blanks with either ‘I’ or ‘me’ in the following sentences.
-
__ want to watch a movie.
-
This is the house __ want to buy.
-
Sudhir and __ will go to Delhi.
-
You and __ will play today.
-
He asked __ to drive.
-
She needs to pay __.
-
He gave __ the key.
On the other hand, ‘me’ is a pronoun that must be the object of the verb (me is an object pronoun and will always refer to the person that the action of a verb is being done to.)
Thursday 23 August 2012
Circles
AB & CD are two parallel chords drawn on two opposite sides of
their parallel diameters such that AB=6cm,CD= 8cm.if the radius of the
circle is 5cm,the distance between the chords,in cm, is
A 2 B 8
C 5 D 3
A 2 B 8
C 5 D 3
Draw a green diameter perpendicular to the red diameter, which biscects chord AB at E into two 3 cm parts, chord CD at F into two 4 cm parts, and the red diameter into two 5 cm radii
Draw in radii OA and OC, which are 5 cm each.
We use the Pythagorean theorem on right triangles OAE and OCF to find OE and OF OA² = AE² + OE² OC² = CF² + OF² 5² = 3² + OE² 5² = 4² + OF² 25 = 9 + OE² 25 = 16 + OF² 25 - 9 = OE² 25 - 16 = OF² 16 = OE² 9 = OF² 4 = OE 3 = OF
The distance between the chords = EF = OE + OF = 4 + 3 = 7cm. Therefore it is none of the choices you gave. The correct distance is 7 cm. Edwin
Thursday 16 August 2012
Prepositions
Use of Prepositions On, Upon and Onto
ON
Part I – on Something1. The books are on the table.
2. There is no name plate on the door.
3. Let’s sit on the grass.
4. Don’t hit anybody on the head.
Part II – Day and date
1. I shall come to meet you on Monday.
2. He will return this money on 5th Sep.
3. He reached on the morning of 9th June.
Misc.
- He has gone to Mumbai on business.
- Are you going on picnic?
- On reaching home he called his friend.
- He read a lesson on philosophy.
- This car runs on patrol only.
- He was arrested on a charge of cheating.
- Nine percent interest will be charged on loan.
- They live on bread and tea.
- Is he on leave now-a-days?
- The factory was on fire.
UPON
Moving to an on position.1. He threw books upon the table.
2. The tiger jumped upon the jackal.
3. The last date of income tax payment is almost upon us. (very near)
ONTO
Moving to a upper position1. He climbed onto the horse.
2. He moved the books onto the third shelf.
Friday 3 August 2012
Direct and Indirect Speech
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech)
Here what a person says appears
within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations," she said.
Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use
quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to
be word for word.
When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is
because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time
in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in
the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
Direct speech - "I'm going to the cinema", he said.
Indirect speech-He said he was going to the cinema.
Indirect speech-He said he was going to the cinema.
Thursday 2 August 2012
Identify The Kinds of Sentences as Exclamatory, Imperative, Assertive or Interrogative Sentences :
- Go there. -----Imperative Sentence(अनिवार्य,आदेशात्मक)
- Do you have a pen? -----Interrogative Sentence(प्रश्नवाचक वाक्य)
- Mohan planned a tony. -----Assertive Sentence(स्वीकारात्मक)
- How gracefully he played! -----Exclamatory Sentence(विस्मयादिबोधक)
- What is your aim in life? -----Interrogative Sentence
- Be quite. -----Imperative Sentence
- My father started a business. -----Assertive Sentence
- Ah! I have got the first prize. -----Exclamatory Sentence
- Ravi is a good boy.-----Assertive Sentence
- Do your duty. -----Imperative Sentence
- Where do you live? -----Interrogative Sentence
- What a beautiful plate this is! -----Exclamatory Sentence
- Stop the car.-----Imperative Sentence
- What day is today? -----Interrogative Sentence
- What a lucky man he is! -----Exclamatory Sentence
- The Police arrested the thief. -----Assertive Sentence
- The teacher teaches well. -----Assertive Sentence
- Take these books.-----Imperative Sentence
- Where is your school? -----Interrogative Sentence
- Oh! I missed the bus. -----Exclamatory Sentence
- What is your pet animal? -----Interrogative Sentence
- Pakistan is our neighbouring country. -----Assertive Sentence
- Throw the ball. -----Imperative Sentence
- What a tasty food! -----Exclamatory Sentence
- What is your optional subject? -----Interrogative Sentence
- Alas! The sun is very hot to go out! -----Exclamatory Sentence
- Kalpana Roy is a brilliant girl.-----Assertive Sentence
- Remove your shoes.-----Imperative Sentence
One word Substitution
Anthropology's basic concerns are the definition of human life and origin, how social relations among humans are organized
2) Intentional destruction of racial groups-Genocide जातिवध
3). Extreme old age when a man behaves like a fool – Dotage मतिक्षीणता
5).The study of ancient societies- Archaeology पुरातत्व
6). A person of good understanding knowledge and reasoning power- Intellectual बुद्धि - संबंधी
7). A person who insists on something- Stickler
8). State in which the few govern the many- Oligarchy कुलीनतंत्र(government by a small group of people )
9). A style in which a writer makes a display of his knowledge- Pedantic पंडिताऊ ,ज़रूरत से ज़्यादा परिशुद्ध
10) Supreme power or sovereignty held by a single person-Monarchy (Mono-Ruling of one) राजतन्त्र
11)Government by an individual with unrestricted authority- Autocracy (autocrat-"ruling by oneself,") निरंकुशता
12) A government or state in which the wealthy class rules.- Plutocracy ( ploutos "wealth")धनिक तन्त्र
13) One who is interested in welfare of women's -Feminist स्त्री अधिकारवादी
14) Study of statics of birth ,death,disease to show the state of community-Demography (Demo-People:; Graphy Represent) जनसांख्यिकी
15)A sudden rust of wind-Gust (झोंका)
16)One who takes delight in excessive cruelty- Sadist पीड़न कामुक
17)An UN-expected Stroke of good luck- Windfall अप्रत्याशित आय
18) A person who helps you Break the rule-Accomplice सहकारी,अपराध का साथी
19) Not conforming to ordinary rule of behavior- Eccentric केंद्रभ्रष्ट,
20)Stealing from writing of others-Plagiarism साहित्यिक चोरी
21) Short Descriptive poem of picturesque scene or incident-Idyll सुखद जीवन
22)A man who starves body for god and soul- Ascetic तपस्वी
23)A Person who is reserved in talks-Reticent अल्पभाषी
24) A short stay at a place-Sojourn डेरा डालना
25)A Raised place on which offering to god are made-Altar वेदी
26) To talk much without coming to point-Circumlocution कपटपूर्ण बातें
27) Capitulate- to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms. 2. to give up resistance:
Wednesday 1 August 2012
Sentence Improvement
1
1)
The more
they earn, more they spend.
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More they earn, more they spend
|
|
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More they earn, the more they
spend
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|
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The more they earn, the more they spend
|
|
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No improvement
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2)
It became clear that the strangers
were heading into a serious disaster.
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along
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towards
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||
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for
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No improvement
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.
3) If you are living near a market
place you should be ready to bear the disturbances caused by
traffic.
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[A].
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to bear upon
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[B].
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[C].
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to bear away
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[D].
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No improvement
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4)
I would have waited for you at the
station if I knew that you would come.
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had known
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was knowing
|
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have known
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No improvement
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The dissidents hold a
great problem in every political party.
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cause
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give
|
||
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pose
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No improvement
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The end of the examinations is (an) oppurtunity
for celebrating.
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chance
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moment
|
||
|
occasion
|
No improvement
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We were not the wiser
for all this effort to explain the case to us.
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none
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neither
|
||
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nevertheless
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No improvement
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My opinion for the
film is that it will bag the national ward.
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opinion to
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opinion about
|
||
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opinion on
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No improvement
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Practically every part
of the banana tree is used by man.
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each part
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any part
|
||
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most part
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No improvement
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No sooner he had returned home
then his mother felt happy.
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had he returned home when
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|
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he had returned home than
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did he return home than
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|
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No improvement
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You are warned against
committing the same mistake again.
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to commit
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for committing
|
||
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against to commit
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No improvement
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If you are not clear about the
meaning of a word, it is wise to look to a dictionary.
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look for
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look at
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look up
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No improvement
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Either he or I am going.
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he or I are going
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he is going or I am
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||
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I or he is going
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No improvement
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I hope you vividly remember the
premier of the film when I, my wife and you were present in the
hall.
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my wife, I and you
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you, I and my wife
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||
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my wife, you and I
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No improvement
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(It's characteristic of complex-compound sentence that in
case of having this type of situation 'I' always comes at-last.)
Realising is the significance of
technical education for developing country, the government laid aside
a large sum on it during the last plan-period.
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laid up
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set aside
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laid out
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No improvement
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To get one's name in the Rowland
Ward's book of hunting records was the hot ambition of every
serious hunter.
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extreme
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burning
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||
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high
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No improvement
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As she was suffering from high
fever, she could not face the examination.
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bear
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suffer
|
||
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take
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No improvement
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The demonstration passed off
peacefully.
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passed out
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passed away
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||
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passed on
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No improvement
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Every time I go in a lift
to my sixth floor apartment, I remember the calm and serenity of my ancestral
home in the village.
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move in a lift
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ascend in a lift
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take a lift
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No improvement
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If you cross the line
you will be disqualified.
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cross upon the line
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cross on the line
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cross out the line
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No improvement
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There is dearth of woman
doctor in our state. We shall have to recruit some from the other
states.
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women doctor
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woman doctors
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||
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women doctors
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No improvement
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With a thundering roar the huge
rocket soared up from the launching pad.
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flew up
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went upwards
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took off
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No improvement
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But in all these cases conversion
from scale have well-formulated.
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can be well-formulated
|
are well-formulated
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