Monday, May 30, 2011

Subject-Verb Agreement: RULE 5

When two ore more nouns or pronouns in the singular are connected by or or nor, either...or, neither....nor they take a singular verb; as-
Neither Nick nor his sister is to blame.
Either the dog or the cat has been killed.

Subject-Verb Agreement: RULE 4

When two subjects are joined by 'as well as', the verb agrees in number and person with the first one; as
  • He, as well as they, is ready to jump.
  • My comrades, as well as I, are visiting Nepal.

Subject-Verb Agreement: RULE 3

When words are added to a singular subject by with, together with, along with, in addition to, as well as, except, besides, and not, and no less than, the number of the subject remains singular.
  • The ship, with all its passengers, was downed.
  • The latter, together with other documents, was lost.
  • He, along with his parents, is coming today.
  • A watch, in addition to rupees fifty, was given to Hari.
  • Ram, as well as Shyam was laughing.
  • No one, except a few students, was there.
  • Milk, besides vegetables, is good for health.
  • Satish, and not you, has passed.
  • He, no less than his friends, is guilty
Note: In informal English, with and together with are considered as making the subject plural. A plural verb is thus used. The omission of commas is a hint that the subjects are to be treated as more than one, like a compound subject; e.g.,
  • The servant together with his master were left standing there.

Subject-Verb Agreement: RULE 2

Plural words that come in between a singular subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject; as-
  • The sound of the bells was heady by everyone.
  • One of the books is missing.
  • The water of those streams was sweet.
  • The trouble with those cars was slow speed.

Subject-Verb Agreement: RULE 1

A compound subject joined by and generally takes a plural verb; as-
  • You and I are walking.
  • Four and Five make eight.
  • Are not your sister and brother ill?
  • Wealth and happiness are all Ravi wants.
  • Bed and table were both very costy.
  • Rice and wheat purchased a week before, were both rotten.
Exception: When several singular subjects represent the same person or thing, or when they form one collective idea, a singular verb is used; as-
  • Rice and Curry is his favourite dish.
  • Truth and honesty is the best policy.
  • Slow and Steady wins the race.
  • Bread and Butter is our daily need.
  • Whisky and soda was his only food.
  • The crown and glory of life is character.

One-word Substitution: Part 11

  1. Words opposite in meaning: antonym
  2. Words different in meaning but similar in sound: homonym
  3. Words similar in meaning: synonym
  4. Anything which is no longer in use: obsolete
  5. Article sold by one country to another: export
  6. Article bought by one country from another: import
  7. A state which is impartial to all religions: secular
  8. That which cannot be heard: inaudible
  9. That which cannot be consumed by fire: incombustible
  10. That which cannot be believed: incredible

One-word Substitution: Part 10

  1. The life-history of a man written by himself: autobiography
  2. The life-history of a man written by someone else: biography
  3. Animals which live both on land and in water: amphibians
  4. Animals which give milk and suckle their young ones: mammals
  5. An animal which lives on the flesh of others: carnivorous
  6. Animals which live in water: aquatic
  7. A style full of words: verbose
  8. A style in which a writer displays his knowledge: pedantic
  9. Repetition of writing word for word: verbatim
  10. Matter written by hand: manuscript

One-word Substitution: Part 9

  1. A short story in which animals or objects speak a story that gives wholesome moral lesson: fable
  2. A talk between two people: dialogue
  3. An old story about great events and people in ancient times, which may not be true: legend
  4. A long speech for a single actor or actress, usually alone on the stage: monologue
  5. An introduction to a long poem, a play, etc : prologue
  6. A speech made by one of the actors at the end of a play: epilogue
  7. A string of beads used for prayer: rosary
  8. The act of speaking aloud one’s thoughts when alone: soliloquy
  9. A speech which is delivered without any previous preparation: extempore
  10. The first venture of a person: maiden

One-word Substitution: Part 8

  1. A child born after the death of its father: posthumous
  2. A child brought up by person who are not its parents: foster-child
  3. Having a tendency to break the law to do socially unacceptable things: delinquent
  4. A disease caused by bacteria and passed from one person to another: infectious
  5. A remedy for all kinds of diseases: panacea
  6. An office which has no work but high salary: sinecure
  7. A game or battle which no party gains victory: drawn
  8. A roundabout way of expression: circumlocution
  9. A story in which ideas are symbolized as people: allegory
  10. A short simple story designed to teach a moral or religious story: parable

One-word Substitution: Part 7

  1. A man whose wife is dead: widower
  2. A woman whose husband is dead: widow
  3. A person who takes advantage of every chance in success, sometimes to other people’s disadvantage: opportunist
  4. A girl or woman who flirts, that is , tries to attract people and make advances in love simply to satisfy her vanity: coquette
  5. A person who has a long experience of any occupation: veteran
  6. A person who does clever tricks which appear magical: conjuror
  7. A person who travels into or through a country for the purpose of learning about it: explorer
  8. A disease that can be spread by touch: contagious
  9. A disease that is found regularly in a particular place: endemic
  10. A disease that causes death: fatal

One-word Substitution: Part 6

  1. To send out of one’s native country: expatriate
  2. One who leads others in any field: pioneer
  3. One who commits the first act of attack: aggressor
  4. One who speaks for others : spokesman
  5. One who wastes money for luxury: extravagant
  6. One who is unable to bay his debt: insolvent/bankrupt
  7. One who abandons his religious faith: apostate
  8. One who makes an eloquent public speech: orator
  9. One who undergoes the penalty of death for persistence in his faith: martyr
  10. A child whose parents are dead: orphan

One-word Substitution: Part 5

  1. One who talks in sleep: somniloquent
  2. One who makes scientific study of language: linguist
  3. One who knows many languages: polyglot
  4. One who enjoys another person's confidence: confidant
  5. One who is appointed by parties to settle disputes: arbitrator
  6. One who breaks in a house to steal: burglar
  7. One who sails around stopping and robbing ships at sea: pirate
  8. One who abstains from alcoholic drink: teetotaller
  9. One who leaves his own country and goes to live in another: emigrant
  10. One who comes to one country from another to settle: immigrant

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Subject Verb Agreement

Errors in agreement of subject and verb are most common. They at times pose a difficult problem because they are invariably the result of 'ingrained speech habits'. The difficulties arise when

  1. Several other words intervene between your subject and verb.
  2. The subject seems to be singular and plural at the same time.
  3. Your word order is such that you may forget what your subject was and so make an error.

The general principal is this: The subject must agree with the verb in person and number. However, very few errors are made because of lack of agreement of person. Most mistakes arise out of your failure to match a singular subject with a singular verb, or a plural subjects with plural verb.

You can find the rules of subject-verb agreement in my other posts under the category Subject-Verb Agreement.

Cold and Cool Vs Hot and Warm

Cold suggests a lower temperature than cool. Temperature is uncomfortably low. Cool suggests a pleasantly low temperature; as-
  • I can't stand this cold wave.
  • A nice cool breeze is blowing.
Hot, likewise suggest a higher temperature than warm. It is often uncomfortable. But warm is a pleasantly high temperature; as-
  • You can't work long hours on a hot day.
  • It was warm, but not hot, day before yesterday.

Client Vs Customer

A person who goes to a solicitor or an architect and pays for his help of advice is a client. People who buy goods from shopkeepers and tradesmen are customers; as-
  • A successful solicitor has a large number of clients.
  • This shopkeeper is all attention to his customers

Ceiling Vs Roof

Ceiling is the under surface or the overhead interior lining of a room. Roof is the top covering of a building, bus, car, or tent; as-
  • The ceiling of my drawing-room is being painted.
  • The roof of his house is leaking.
  • Even the roof of this bus is crowded with passengers.

Cause Vs Reason

Cause is something that produces a result or an effect whereas reason is something that justifies or explains result; as-
  • She is the cause of all my unhappiness.
  • The reason of my silence is my illness.

Beautiful Vs Handsome

Beautiful and pretty are generally used for women, children and things, but not usually men. We use handsome for men; as-
  • Look at that beautiful girl.
  • How pretty the Chinese doll is!
  • Lo! there comes a pretty child.
  • He is a handsome young man.
We can use handsome for women having a fine figure, vigour and dignity; as-
  • Jane Austen was a handsome lady with chiselled face and fine figure.




Thursday, May 19, 2011

One-word Substitution: Part 4

  1. One who supplicates or entreats earnestly: supplicant
  2. One who has narrow religious views: bigot
  3. One who plays for pleasure: amateur
  4. One who plays for money: professional
  5. One who eats too much: glutton
  6. One who feeds on vegetables: vegetarian
  7. One who eats human flesh: cannibal
  8. One who breaks images and idols: iconoclast
  9. One who is over-enthusiastic about some religious principles or beliefs: fanatic
  10. One who walks in sleep: somnambulist

One-word Substitution: Part 3

  1. A person who loves his own country: patriot
  2. A person who regards the whole world as his country: cosmopolitan
  3. A person who believes in the total abolition of war: pacifist
  4. A person who is fond of fighting: bellicose
  5. A man who is womanish in his habits: effeminate
  6. A person who is devoted to the welfare of women: feminist
  7. One who is all-powerful: omnipotent
  8. One who is present everywhere: omnipresent
  9. One who knows everything: omniscient
  10. One who believes in fate: fatalist

One-word Substitution: Part 2

  1. A minister representing a sovereign or a state in a foreign country: ambassador
  2. A person sent on a mission: emissary
  3. A person who spends his money recklessly: spendthrift
  4. A person who can neither read nor write: illiterate
  5. A person who lives at the same time as another: contemporary
  6. A lover of mankind: philanthropist
  7. A lover of womankind: philogynist
  8. A lover of oneself: egoist
  9. A lover of others: altruist
  10. A lover of food: gourmand

One-word Substitution: Part 1

A collection of People

  1. at a lecture: audience
  2. at a match: spectators
  3. in the street: crowd
  4. in a riot: mob
  5. in a church, mosque, temple: congregation
  6. in a rowdy scene: rabble
  7. watching a TV programme: viewers
  8. attending a funeral: mourners
  9. listening to a broadcast programme: listeners

Bank Vs Shore Vs Coast Vs Beach

The place where the land meets the water can be either the bank or the shore or the coast or the beach. The edge of a river is called its bank whereas the edge of a sea is its shore. The land bordering the sea is coast. We use it when we think of places on maps, of weather, or naval defence. A beach is part of the shore that is smooth, without rocks or cliffs:The only word that can be used for lakes is shore; as
  • Calcutta is situated on the bank of the river Hoogly.
  • He has house on the shore of lake Phewa.
  • Our ship is fast heading towards the shore.
  • Our ship sailed from port to port along the coast.

Anxious Vs Eager

Anxious means 'nervous' or 'worried' and is usually followed by about. Eager means 'looking forward'. It is usually followed by to; as-
  • I am terribly anxious about these children.
  • Our company is eager to expand into new markets.

Anticipate Vs Expect

To 'anticipate' is to guess or imagine in advance what will happen, and take the necessary action to face it; as
  • I tried to anticipate the kind of questions they were likely to ask me.
To 'expect' is to believe or think that something will happen or come; as-
  • We are expecting a letter from our Boss.

Ancient Vs Old

'Ancient' is the opposite of 'modern' whereas 'old' is the opposite of 'young'. Moreover 'ancient' refers to very old things. And 'old' can at times be used in the case of a very young child as well. As for example,
  • The ancient Rome was the cradle of civilization.
  • The ancient Mariner narrated his story of adventure.
  • Death overtakes all alike, the young and the old.
  • My baby is only two months old.

Amount Vs Number

Amount refers to a quantity of something (a singular noun) that cannot be counted- a large amount of money. Number refers to countable items (a plural noun). With most plurals it is better to use number- a large number of mistakes.
  • The amount of money paid is none of my concern.
  • A large number of teachers have gone on strike.
Note: A number of (many) is plural in sense and takes a plural verb.(A number of people were shot dead.) The number of (= a mathematical or numerical figure) is singular. It takes a singular verb. (The number of boys present is very small)