ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Saying of the Day

1. “The secret of discipline is motivation. When a person is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself.”

          - When you intrinsically have a desire toward something you will do it at any cost.

2. All that glitters are not gold

          - The attractive exterior of something is not a good indicator of its real nature. It may look valuable, but not be valuable.

3. Bad news travels fast

          - “Bad news” means news about “bad” things like accidents, death, illness, etc. People tend to tell this type of news quickly. But “good news” passing an exam, winning some money, getting a job, etc travels more slowly.

4. Many a true word is spoken in jest

          - Something said as a joke may often contain wisdom and truth.

          Note: Jest (noun): a joke

Author: 

Dr M. Selvam

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore – 641 020

Subject-Verb Agreement and Common Errors - I

 

Subject-Verb Agreement and Common Errors - I

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with framing questions that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. This present post highlights the common errors that people tend to commit in terms of Subject-Verb Agreement.

Mostly, we commit mistakes based on subject-verb agreement in our English. We should learn that the verb agrees with the subject. If a subject is singular, it takes a singular verb; if a subject is plural, it takes a plural verb. Let us look at some of the common errors that we might encounter in our daily conversations.

1.   Naren play kabaddi.                                                         (Incorrect)

Naren plays kabaddi.                                                       (Correct)

If the subject is singular, the verb takes ‘s’ though the verb is singular. Here the subject is third person singular and hence, we should add ‘s’ with main verb.

2.   John and Henry works together.                                     (Incorrect)

John and Henry work together.                                      (Correct)

Here we use two subjects, so the verb should be plural. If the subject is plural, the verb is also plural.

3.   Students prepares for the exam.                                     (Incorrect)

Students prepare for the exam.                                       (Correct)

Here the subject ‘students’ is a plural word, and therefore we should not add ‘s’ with the verb.  

4.   Children likes ice cream.                                                  (Incorrect)

Children like ice cream.                                                   (Correct)

The word ‘children’ is a plural subject, though it does not take the

suffix ‘s’. Therefore, we should not add ‘s’ with the verb.

5.   I and you are good friends.                                               (Incorrect)

You and I are good friends.                                              (Correct)

When we use personal pronouns in the same sentence, first preference should be given to the second person, who is our listener. The third and first person will take secondary preference only in a sentence.

 Let us discuss some more ideas on the same topic in the next post.

 

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

English Phrasal Verbs

                                                       English Phrasal Verbs

1. Wear out

          -When something is damaged or weakened from use and age.

          Ex: The carpet looks worn out, we should replace it.

2. Dry Up

          - When all the liquid and/ or moisture evaporates.

          Ex: The streets will dry up once the sun is out.

3. Count On

          - To rely on someone for support when you need it most.

          Ex: I can always count on my best friend to be there for me.

4. Get Behind

          - To learn, work, and progress more slowly than others.

          Ex: He had gotten behind in his classes because he was always absent.

Author: 

Dr M. Selvam

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore – 641 020

Punctuations with Conjunctions

 

Punctuations with Conjunctions

Two independent clauses in a sentence must be separated by a comma and that goes for no matter what conjunction is used. If the clauses attached by the conjunction can stand as complete sentences, a comma must be used between them.

Examples:

o   I'm doing fine, but I have my own struggles.

o   You were running the marathon, and I was cheering you on.

o   My father was unsure of the result, though he was keeping it together.

While using the Subordinating Conjunctions to attach Dependent and Independent Clauses in a sentence, there are two ways to construct these complex sentences and one of them requires a comma separating the two clauses. The comma becomes an integral part of the sentence when the Subordinating Conjunctions are placed at the start of the sentence.

Examples:

o   (Comma) If you are going for gold, I'll come with you.

o   (No comma) I'll come with you if you are going for gold.

o   (Comma) Though we are running late, we can help you install your home theatre.

o   (No comma) We can help you install your home theatre though we are running late.

In the case of Adverbial Conjunctions joining two independent clauses, the most common punctuational practice is to use a semicolon before. It and a comma after that while the two complete thoughts are situated on either side. Some opt for two commas on both sides of the conjunction and there is another practice to separate the two clauses with a period while the capitalized conjunction starts the next sentence followed by a comma.

Examples:

o   Sam was worried about the rain; therefore, she didn’t do her laundry today.

o   I was there with her 24/7. Moreover, I kept a close eye on her every move.

o   Matt was agitated, however, the rest of us were trying to convince him to stay.

AUTHOR

Dr L Suresh

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore - 641020

Contact: 9944138137

e-mail ID: sureshenglit@rmv.ac.in

Questions and Common Errors-II

 

Questions and Common Errors-II

            Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed the errors that we tend to commit while speaking and writing in English in terms of framing questions. This topic helps us understand the significant rules to be followed while framing questions in conversations.

Let us look at the common errors associated with framing questions in the following:

1. When did you came yesterday?                                                                      (Incorrect)

     When did you come yesterday?                                                                     (Correct)

      Did you meet him yesterday?                                                                       (Correct)

When we use “did” as auxiliary verb the main verb should be in present form.

2. Do he have any doubt?                                                                                  (Incorrect)

     Does he has any question?                                                                            (Incorrect)

     Does he have any doubt?                                                                              (Correct)

     Does he have any question?                                                                          (Correct)

When the subject is third person singular, i.e., he/she/it, always use “does” in the question. When we use “does” we should use only “have”.

3. Where was bought the car?                                                                            (Incorrect)

     Where was the car bought?                                                                           (Correct)

     How is done online booking of seats?                                                            (Incorrect)

     How is online booking of seats done?                                                            (Correct)

Before the subject, we can use only the auxiliary and modal verbs, not main verbs.

4. Which is the name of the book you prepared for semester examinations?          (Incorrect)

     What is the name of the book you prepared for semester examinations?          (Correct)

   We should use “what”, to ask about specific information from a general range of possible answers, not “which”.

5. Magizhan asked me that do you like going out on weekends.                            (Incorrect)

    Magizhan asked me whether I liked going out on weekends.                           (Correct)

    Magizhan asked me if I liked going out on weekends.                                     (Correct)

When we report other’s statement, it will undergo several changes. When we report any question which has a “yes” or “no” answer, then we should use “if” or “whether”. Also, the tense of the main verb (here, “like”) changes and the auxiliary verb (here “do”) is not used while reporting questions. And, the word order should be like that of a sentence, not of a question.   

In the next post, we shall discuss some other interesting topics.

 

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore

ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS

                                       ENGLISH PHRASAL VERBS

1. Monkey Around With

          - To try to play with or repair a device that you have no true knowledge about.

          Ex: Are you really a certified technician?! I don’t want anyone monkeying around with my computer.

2. Dash off

          - Write something quickly or hastily.

          Ex: I dashed off a quick letter.

3. Leave up to

          - If you leave something up to someone, you let them do it or you give them responsibility for it.

          Ex: We need to upgrade our computer network, and Harry is our computer expert so we will leave it up to him.

4. Warp up

          - To cover something with some kind of special paper.

          Ex: We need to warp up all these gifts in two hours. Let’s get started!

Author: 

Dr M. Selvam

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore – 641 020

Questions and Common Errors-I

 

Questions and Common Errors-I

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with Relative Clauses that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. This present post deals with the common errors that might occur when we frame questions on both formal and informal occasions.

Making questions in English is quite confusing, because there is no any fixed format for making questions. We can frame questions in two different ways, namely, WH Questions and Yes/No Questions. For instance,

-Where are your now?

-How is your father?

-Do you like tea?

-Is it your college?

Let us look at some of the serious and common grammatical mistakes non-native speakers of English likely to make in their conversations.

1.   What Ganesh is doing in the college now?                      (Incorrect)

What is Ganesh doing in the college now?                      (Correct)

Where do you work?                                                        (Correct)

In WH-questions, the word order changes from subject + (auxiliary/modal) + main verb to WH word + auxiliary /modal verb + subject + main verb. So, the ‘auxiliary’ was follows the WH- word What.

2.   You are living in Coimbatore?                                          (Incorrect)

Are you living in Coimbatore?                                         (Correct)

Is he Arun?                                                                        (Correct)

In Yes/No Questions, the word order changes from subject + (auxiliary verb) + main verb to auxiliary verb + subject + main verb.

3.   You told Principal about what happened?                           (Incorrect)

Did you tell Principal about what happened?                    (Correct)

Did you meet the person whom I suggested?                     (Correct)  

4.   You agree?                                                                            (Incorrect)

Do you agree?                                                                      (Correct)

Will she agree?                                                                     (Correct)

5. What dharma means?                                                            (Incorrect)

    What means dharma?                                                            (Incorrect)

    What does dharma mean?                                                    (Correct)

If there is no auxiliary verb in the affirmative question, use do before the subject.  

 Practising all the above-mentioned statements in daily conversation will help us improve our English. Let us discuss some more ideas in the next post.

 

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

Reference:

Saumya Sharma. (2017). Common Errors in Everyday English.