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Tag: English Grammar

  • Reflexine, Emphotic Pronouns English Grammar

     

    MARK THE PRONOUNS IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES AND STATE WHAT IT STANDS FOR

     

    1.    Lord Rama broke the Bow and he married Sita.

    2.    The Eastern Puranas are the Reservoir of Indian culture and they are the                      binding force of the country.

    3.    I wish I had not come to the battlefield said Arjuna to Lord Krishna.

    4.   Thirukkuran was written by Thiruvalluvar and it is a repository of wisdom.

    5.   Jesus said, Thou shall not kill.

    1. Has Shankar not come?  It is time he is disciplined said the teacher to Raja.

    7.   This is beyond everybody, but me.

    8.   Either the Governor should have taken direct action or sent in his report to the centre.

    9.    While the centre has the final say in respect of Central list, it has no jurisdiction over State list.

    10. Neither the Politician nor the beauracates are doing their duty.

    11.  Each and Every one of us showed set high moral standards in whatever he / she does.

    12.  Cleopatra on the Asp (a small snake):  Does not the man see the baby that                          such the Nurse asleep?

    13.  Every action has its equivalent and opposite reaction.

    14.   It is the commitment and passion that matters in achieving success in any field.

    15.   Either you speak or let him speak.

    16.   Train a child on a mankind would and it would become a disciplined Adult.

    17.   People of lovable nature, whenever they perform an action, it would be for the benefit of us.

    18.   Tenth often appears to be self-contradictory but unfortunately it is the way it is.

    19.   Sekkizar compiled Periya Puranam and he hailed as a Nayanmar as well.

     

    Write the correct form of Pronoun.

     

    1.    We scored as many sixers in Twenty Twenty as …………… (they / their).

    2.    In the PTA meeting …………… and my father were present.  (me / I).

    3.    It was …… who tipped you ( I, me).

    4.   Rama is as old as ….. ( I , me).

    5.    It is not for …………………… to dictate terms to us ( they , them).

    6.    Between you and ….. the whole proposal is nonsense ( I , me).

    7.   Let ……. who can answer this question (He, Him).

    8.   You know the facts as well as …………… ( I, me).

    9.    We are not so poor as ……….. (they, them).

    10. Wait for Subash and ………… ( I, me).

     

    REFLEXINE  AND EMPHOTIC PRONOUNS

     

    Let us imagine that you have hurt yourself while using a knife.  How do you say it?

     

    I have hurt myself while using the knife.

     

    The action of hurting has been done on by you.  That is the action refers to the one being done on one’s self.  In other words, ‘myself’ is the object of the verb in the above sentence.

     

    I have hurt myself  –    I is the subject, Have hurt is the verb, myself is the object

    Therefore, Reflexine Pronoun are those process that are used as the object of the verb.  The object in this case, myself refers to the same subject (I) as that of the object (myself).

     

    This is applicable to second and third persons as well (for both Singular and Plural).

     

    Plural

     

    I have hurt myself                               –           We have hurt ourselves

    You have hurt yourself                       –           You have hurt yourselves

    He / She hurt himself / herself            –           They hurt themselves

    The horse hurt itself                            –           They hurt themselves

     

    We add  ‘Self’ to the words (my, your, him, it).

     

    This is also called Compound Personal Pronouns.

     

    –           Sometimes we use ‘Self’ as Nouns.

    He thinks too much of self.

     

    –           Sometimes we use ‘Self’ to emphasis

    I will correct it myself

     

    The accused themselves admitted their guilt.

     

    When we use self for emphasis, then Compound Personal Pronouns (self, selves) are called Emphasis Pronouns.  (Singular – self; Plural  – selves).

     

    We have to sometimes point out the objects.  These Pronouns are called Demonstrative Pronouns.

     

    That is the Tanjore Temple.

     

    His views are the same as those of his father.

     

    I have scolded him to correct him and such was my intension.

     

    Some words are adjectives (demonstrative), when they are used with Nouns.

     

    They are ‘This’ and ‘That’.

     

    This watch is mine.  The word watch is the subject.

     

    ‘THE’ adds more meaning by pointing out the particular subject (watch)(.  The adjective ‘THIS’ demonstrates or states clearly of the subject.

     

    Hence, “THIS’ is demonstrating that the watch is specifically pointed out. ’THIS’ therefore, is an adjective and it demonstrates.  So, it is called ‘DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE’.

     

    You may also see that ‘THIS’ means not the thing we speak of  very near or close to us.

     

    When we say ‘ What is that Noise’?

     

    We know that the noise is taking place slightly away from us.  We should use ‘THIS’ when we refer to things that happen near us and ‘THAT’ when they occur slightly away from us.

     

    ‘THIS’ is Singular and the Plural is ‘THESE’.

     

    ‘THAT’ is Singular and the Plural is ‘THOSE’.

     

    When we want to say something about something near us and something away from us in the same sentence we can us ‘THIS’ and ‘THAT’ as follows:

     

    ‘THIS’ shirt is better than ‘THAT’.  (Here this also shows your preference).

     

    We can use ‘THAT’ with ‘THOSE’ (Plural of ‘THAT’) in a sentence to avoid repetition of the preceding (the nouns just before) Noun as in:

     

    The habits of Dravidians are similar to those of the Red Indians.

     

    We use both ‘THIS’ and ‘THAT’ while referring to things we have mentioned already.

     

    Kindness and cruelty are both Natural, while ‘THIS’ leads destruction ‘THAT’  leads to  happiness.

     

    Here, ‘THIS’ refers to ‘cruelty’ (which appears last) i.e. after kindness.  ‘THAT’ a refers to ‘Kindness’ and it appears first.  So, ‘THIS’ in these kinds of statements will refer to what is said last. ‘THAT’ will refer to what is said first.

     

    Many times we are vague in statements. (may be we are doing it deliberately or as a matter of fact), even when we point out.

     

    One does not know how to correct him.

    Many in the Defense forces are Gurkhas.

    They say limited Alcohol is good for heart.

     

    In Government, everybody’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility.

     

    (Some words that can be used as one, none, they, some, few, many, other, others).

     

    These nouns are used in general or in an indefinite way.  they are called Indefinite Pronouns.

     

    Some of these words may be used as adjectives.

     

    I will own Rupees one core one day.

    Krishna is a man of few words.

     

    –   When we use ‘Anybody, Everybody, Everyone, Each one, anyone, we should use either he / she as the content requires.

     

    Father guides any one of his sons in his career.

     

    But, in modern usage we use Plural.

     

    Father guides every one of his sons, in their studies.

     

    Some words – Either, Neither points our person / thing one at a time.  They are distributed among the group indicated.  These types of words are called Distributive Pronouns.

     

    As they point out a particular Person / Thing, it is always in Singular.  Therefore, the verb showed always be in Singular.

     

    Each of the boys stand up.

    Either of these Religions lead to God.

    Neither of y our parents turned up for the function.

     

    Each points out to everyone / thing.

     

    Either means one or the other.  (There is ………….)

    Neither means not this or not that or not anything.  It is negative.  It is the opposite of (ANTONYM/ of Either).  Either and Neither should be used.

     

    When speaking of two persons or things, any, no one, neither, none is to be used when we speak of more than two things.

     

    POSITION OF EACH

     

    Each has these positions in a sentence.

     

    1.         Each of the students received a prize.

    2.         These students received each a reward.

    3.         These DVDs cost Rs.150/- each.

     

    When Each, Either or Neither is used as adjective, it is followed by a Singular Noun

     

    Each player should play well.

     

    Each and one belong to the subject

     

    Other and another belong to object.

     

    In practice, they are called Compound Pronouns or Reciprocal Pronouns.  They are, in correct usage not even separated even by a preposition.

     

    Make Reflexive and Emphatic Pronouns in the following sentences:

     

    1.         They enjoyed themselves.

    2.         He could not bring himself to terms with his loss.

    3.         Lord Krishna was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself.

    4.         Some people are fond of talking about themselves.

    5.         Don’t hurt your self.

    6.         I myself can work for him.

    7.         Those who worry others worry themselves in the long run.

    8.         I blame myself for my failure.

    9.         Love of oneself is an impediment to spiritual growth.

    10.       Some often deceive themselves.

     

    The friends quarreled with each other.  They gave evidence against one another.

     

    Normal rule is that we should use each one when we speak of two persons or things and one another when we speak of more than two persons or things.

     

    However, in modern usage, we use ‘EACH OTHER’, even while we speak of more than two Persons / things as in ‘The three friends quarreled with each other’.

     

    RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

     

    There are some words which stand for Nouns (Pronouns).  They also do the work of a Conjunction.  (It is called Conjunctive Pronoun).

     

    We also call them ‘Relative Pronouns’.  This word also relates or refers or is connected to the noun that appears before ‘h’.

     

    The words under this heading are ‘Who, Which and What’.

     

    Ex:       I saw Ram.  He was going home.

     

    When we join these two sentences it  becomes

     

    I saw Ram who was going home.

     

    Here, who stands for Ram (Noun). Therefore, who is a Pronoun ‘WHO’ also joins the two sentences.  Therefore, it is also a conjunction. The word ‘WHO’ also refers to ‘RAM’ which occurs before it.  So, ‘WHO’ is a conjunctive or Relative Pronoun.  The Noun (Ram) which appears just before ‘WHO’ (Relative Pronoun) is called Antecedent (Antecedent means before).

     

    What are the forms of Relative Pronouns?

     

    As Relative Pronouns stand in for Noun, some of the rules of Nouns are also applicable to them.  i,e. cases:

     

    WHO              Singular & Plural

     

    Nominative                 Who

     

    Relative                       Whose

     

    Accusative                  Whom /  ……….

     

    –           This is the student who secures first rank.

    –           This is the girl whose handwriting is excellent.

    –           This is the girl who / whom all praise.

    –           These are the students who work hard.

    –           These are the students whose handwriting is good.

    –           These are the students whom / who we all praise.

     

    The forms are the same for Masculine, Feminine, Singular and Plural.

     

    –           ‘WHO’ is used for persons only.

     

    We say   ‘I saw Ram who was going home’.

     

    But, we do not say ‘I saw a book who was lying on the table’.

     

    ‘He succeeds who works hard.

     

    Sometimes, we use ‘WHO’ for referring to animals as in :

     

    This is the horse who came to us from our friend.

     

    The Possessive Noun of who i.e. ‘WHOSE’ is also used for animals and things.

     

    This is the horse whose record in DERBY (Racing Event) is excellent.

     

    This is the problem whose solution has been evading me.

     

    ‘WHOSE’ can be used in Singular and Plural.

     

    –           The Relative Pronoun, which has the same form for Nominative and                                               Accusative cases.

     

    This is the property that belongs to my uncle.

     

    This house which is in heart of the city is very costly.

     

    –           ‘WHICH’  – has no genitive case.  We use ‘WHOSE’ in its place.

     

    –           The effects of the earth quake which shock waves traveled from afar was               devastating.

     

    Note that the language employed in this book will gradually become less simple and the exercises will be tough to grade.  This is done deliberately to ensure that your communication skills improve.  As has been said earlier, it is essential that you read more and refer to Dictionary when you do not understand a word.  This is the only way you can improve your communication skills.  There are no short cuts.

     

    –           Which is used for thing without life or animals.  It can be singular or plural.

     

    –                      The momentum of  ……………. which is lost is difficult to regain.

     

    –           Which is used for thing without life or animals.  It can be singular or plural.

     

    –           The momentum of  ……………. which is lost is difficult to regain.

     

    –           The books which are glamorous looking are those that are normally without substance.

     

    We may also use ‘WHICH’ to refer to sentences or thoughts.

     

    –           He said that he saw the murder which was untrue.

     

    Many of our thoughts, which are of impulsive Nature, may lead to ruin.

     

    THAT

     

    Has the same form in Singular and Plural.  It has Nominative and Accusative case.  It has no genitive case.

     

    He that is humble, shall conquer the world.

     

    They that touch the Midas shall become Gold.

     

    Take everything that you like.

     

    THAT refers to persons or things.

     

    That is how I spoke of.

     

    That is the building when I lived in my childhood.

     

    That can also be used as an adverbial accusative (we shall discuss in details later).

     

    I recall the day that he visited.

     

    It is equivalent of        – on which, in which, at which.

     

    In some cases, ‘THAT’ cannot be used in place of who or which.

     

    My son, who is five years old, is very mischievous.

     

    We should not say  – My son that is five years old, is very mischievous.

     

    For more on English Grammar check under’ Language’

     

    http://ramanisblog.in/2012/09/10/personal-pronouns/

  • PERSONAL PRONOUNS. English Grammar.

    We have already seen Pro-Noun stands for a Noun.

    Personal Pronoun stand for Persons.

    There are three kinds

    Singular Plural

    First Person I We

    Second Person You You

    Third Person He / She/ It They

    Note that you is the same for Singular and Plural.

    I, you can refer to both Male and Female.

    In third person, He and She refers to Gender, while IT refers to NEUTER GENDER (without life). Plural THEY is used for all the three, HE / SHE / IT in Third Person.

    DIFFERENT FORMS OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

    FIRST PERSON – MASCULINE OR FEMININE

    Singular Plural

    Nominative I We

    Possessive my / mine our / ours

    Accusative me Us

    SECOND PERSON – MASCULINE OR FEMININE

    Singular Plural

    Nominative You You

    Possessive Your / Yours Your / Yours

    Accusative You You

    In second person, Nominative, Possessive and Accusative cases have the same Singular and Plural. This is because Second Person is always used when the person /s are right in front of us. The communication can be clearly understood as they are before us.

    THIRD PERSON

    Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural for all genders

    Nominative He She It They

    Possessive His Her / Hers Its Their / Theirs

    Accusative Him Her It Them

    NOTE: In the First Person, we use the same singular and plural for both Mas gender; for the Second Person who is in front we also know their gender. The same logic is applied to ‘Second Person’.

    But, in Third Person, who may not be present, we have to differentiate between male and female.

    Note that Possessive cases of Personal Pronouns (mostly) have two forms. Of these, two, my, our, your, her, their are used with Nouns as in ………

    This is my shirt

    This is our house

    That is your car

    This is her eyeliner

    It is their office

    These are called Possessive Adjectives. These are also called Pro-nominal Adjectives as they are formed from Pro-Nouns.

    Third Person Masculine Possessive (his) and Feminine Possessive (her) are used both in Adjective and Pronouns.

    This is his Computer (Possessive Adjective).

    This Computer is his. (Possessive Pronoun).

    This is her make-up kit (Possessive Adjective). This make-up kit is hers. (Possessive Pronoun).

    We cannot use these for third Person Neuter Gender.

    It is its Nest

    The Nest is its.

    See, how ridiculous it sounds?

    When to use IT

    – For things without life.

    Here is you key, take it.

    – For animals

    The dog keeps on barking but it won’t bite.

    – For a child when we do not want to refer to sex (male / female).

    I saw the new born baby. It was crying.

    – For some statement or action taken place before.

    Harbhajan Singh slapped SreeSai. He knew he would be punished for it.

    – To give emphasis to the Noun or Pronoun that follows.

    It was you who started the quarrel.

    We find many use to convey the same meaning. It was you only ……. quarrel.

    This is not English.

    – Use as a temporary subject before the verb ‘To be’.

    The real subject follows.

    It is easy to speak (To speak is easy).

    – Use as an indefinite Nominative of an Impersonal verb (We shall deal extremely what Impersonal verb under ‘VERBS’.

    It rains

    The ‘IT’ used here is also called Impersonal Pronoun. The ‘Verb’ rains is called Impersonal Verb.

    – Personal Pronoun should be of the same gender Neuter and person on the Noun.

    Ronaldo is a great football player. He has joined “Real Madrid’.

    Here, Ronaldo is masculine and in third person. So, we should use adjective HE and not SHE or IT. Since Ronaldo is singular, we use only singular.

    The IPL Twenty 20 Players are committed and so they are paid huge sums. We have used players Plural. Here, Plural ‘THEY’ are used.

    – When a Pronoun stands in for a collective Noun, it must be in singular and Neuter Gender.

    The Pakistani army suffered its worst defeat in Bangladesh war.

    – If the collective Noun refers / indicates to separate individual of the group, the Pronoun should be in Plural.

    The Supreme Court Judges were divided in their opinion.

    – When two or m ore Singular Nouns are joined by ‘And’, the Pronoun must be in Plural.

    DHRYODHANA AND his brothers Nero evil personified. They paid for it.

    – When two Singular Nouns are joined by ‘and’ and refer to the same person, the Pronoun should be in Singular.

    The Secretary and Treasurer are negligent of their duty.

    – When two Singular Nouns jointly and are precede by EACH / Every Pronoun in Singular.

    EACH and every grain one eats, has his name written on it.

    When two or more singular Nouns are jointly or either …… or Neither ……. nor use Singular.

    Lord Rama or Krishna should shower their grace on us.

    Neither Ravana’s army or his personal valour helped him save his life.

    – When a Plural Noun and a Singular Noun are joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, Pronoun is Plural.

    Rahul David and his Players failed in their matches.

    – When you use a Pronoun to refer to more than one Person (Noun) or Pronoun of different persons, you must use First Person Plural and not the third.

    You and I have done our part.

    – When we speak or write, we must use first person later and give preference to second and third person. That is we should use II / III Persons first.

    You and I and not I and You

    He and I and not I and He

    You and He and not He and You

    Personal Pronouns – I, He, She, We, They have different forms of Reaccurative cases viz ; me, him, her, u, them.

    Correct Usage Incorrect Usage

    These books are These Books are

    Meant for me Meant for I

    Always use accusative case after ‘but’.

    Nobody shall come to your rescue but me.

    http://ramanisblog.in/2012/09/10/articlesknow-your-grammar/

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  • ARTICLES,Know Your Grammar.

    A, AN and THE are called ARTICLES. They are nothing but demonstrative Adjectives.

    Whenever we want to point out a Person / Place / Thing, we need to use or employ the article.

    Let us say, there are three books on the table.

    I ask you to pick up a book. You pick up any one of the three books.

    You do not pick a specific or particular book. Here we have used ‘a’ right before on the word ‘book’. As we are not particular or definite about the book, ‘a’ is called the ‘Indefinite Article’.

    When we are not sure or particular or definite about the Person or thing, we speak, of we use the indefinite article ‘a’.

    Normally, we use ‘a’, the indefinite article before singular countable Nouns.

    When I ask you (take the book, you normally take a book that is pointed out or already known to you and to me. that is both of us are sure what we are speaking about.

    When we are sure of what we are referring about, we use the Article ‘The’.

    The is to be used when we are sure of what we intend. ‘The’ therefore, is called the DEFINITE article.

    The House, The School, The Car.

    When you say ‘a’ school, a car, or a house, it may refer to any school, any car or any house. But, when you say the school, the car, the house, you refer to a school a car or a house you are sure or definite about.

    We use ‘the’ definite article before singular countable Nouns. Plural countable Nouns and uncountable Nouns. The rice, the pen, the computer.

    There are time when we want to use the Vowels – a, e, i, o, u.

    ‘a’ the indefinite Article, we can use ‘a’ or ‘an’. this is determined by the above five vowels.

    Vowels relate to or refer to sound or how we pronounce a word. We should use ‘an’, when the pronunciation of a word starts with the sound of ‘ a, e, i, o, u’.

    an honest man.

    an elephant

    an irate customer

    an odour

    an umbrella

    an hour

    The word EDUCATION consists all the five vowels. (a,e,i,o,u).

    The word ABSTEMIOUS contains all the vowels, a,e,i,o,u in the same order. Abstemious means to refrain / from doing certain things we do. It has negative connotation or meaning.

    For words beginning with a consonant, we use ‘a’. – a boy, a University.

    (here we do not use an for University because, the pronunciation is ‘University’

    Where to use DEFINITE ARTICLE.

    When we are particular about a Person / thing as in The Book.

    When we refer to a particular / Singular Nouns meant to mean a whole class.

    The dog is a faithful animal.

    Here we refer to the whole class of dogs.

    We can use indefinite Article before Proper nouns like river, ocean, mountain, countries.

    The Ganges

    The Indian Ocean

    The Republic of India

    The Vindhyas

    We can also use the …………… something which represents our identity / culture.

    The Mahabharatha

    The Bible

    The Korean

    The Vedas

    We can also use ‘the’ before words that are special or unique – the sun, the moon.

    We can use before a Proper Noun to indicate emphasis. Normally, we use a quality that makes the Person / Place noticeable.

    The Great Rama

    Use before Superlatives.

    The Ganges is the holiest river for Hindus.

    Use before ordinals.

    Neil Arm Strong was the first man to set foot on the moon.

    Use before an adjective when the Noun is understood.

    The rich do not know the misery of the poor.

    Use before musical instruments

    The Veena, the Sitar, the Bingos.

    Use an adverb with Comparatives.

    The more the senses have, the more they want.

    How to use Indefinite Articles?

    To indicate one unit.

    – A kilo

    – Not a hair out of place

    – In a vague sense of ‘a certain’.

    A certain Krishna (somebody called Krishna).

    enquired of you.

    To refer / point out a particular individual representing a group / class.

    A son should respect his parents.

    – Certain / Some – Here we know the Noun. But completely or we are not completely familiar. i.e we are vague. Still we have an idea.

    Where to omit Articles?

    – Before noun of substances and uncountable Nouns.

    Sugar is bad for people with Diabetes.

    – Before Plural countable Noun used in the General ………..

    Computers serve 17 industries.

    – Before names of Meals

    Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. e.g. Lunch will be ready. We use ‘a’ when we refer to a particular meals – a Breakfast , a Dinner

    If we are sure of the meals, we can use ‘the’.

    The Dinner at my friends marriage was sumptuous.

    – Before languages / schools / hospitals when they have been referred to invite for their primary functions.

    We study French at school.

    We study English.

    My father is in hospital.

    But, when you are specific about these places, you can use ‘the’.

    My father is in the hospital. i.e. We know the hospital where he is in; we have ……

    – Do not use before Names of Relations – Father, Mother

    – Do not use before Predicative Nouns. (We shall discuss this later denoting a unique position).

    Mr. Venkatraman was Principal of Vivekananda College.

    – Do not use in phrases which have transitive verb followed by its object. (We shall deal with transitive verb later).

    – to cast anchor

    – to catch fire

    – to take offence.

    – Do not use in phrases that contain a Preposition followed by its object.

    at home, by day, at sundown, by air, on tour, on demand, underground, above ground, at ease.

    When are Articles repeated…?

    I have a car and a bike.

    When we have two names, we use the article before each Noun.

    I have a Noun. I want to use two adjectives for the same Noun. Where should I use the Article?

    I have a black car a white car.

    Here, we use Article before each Noun. But, in the present case where we have only one Noun, we should write the Article thus:

    I have a black and white car.

    Here, it means that I have a car which is partly white and partly black. There is only one car.

    In the earlier case, there were two cars. In this case, we use the Article before the first Noun only. Let us see another case.

    The President of India and Commander-in-Chief of India participated in the Republic Day Parade.

    The President of India is also the Commander-in-Chief of armed forces. So, we use the Article ‘The’ only once.

    The President of Pakistan and the Commander-in-Chief were present when they held talks with the Prime Minister of India.

    In Pakistan, the President and Commander-in-Chief are two different persons. So, we use the Article before each Noun.

    When we have two Nouns that are connected or mean the same thing, we use the Article once before the first Noun.

    When the Nouns are not connected and are different, we use Article before each Noun.

    While comparing Thing / Persons, use the Article before first Noun.

    Sachin is better batsman than a bowler.

    http://ramanisblog.in/2012/09/05/correct-usage-of-adjectives-know-your-grammar/

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  • CORRECT USAGE OF ADJECTIVES, Know Your Grammar.

    Suppose we want to use an adjective relating to quantity e.g. some, any.

    Some is used in affirmative sentences; Any in negative and interrogative sentences.

    I can use some sugar. (Affirmative).

    Do you have any sugar? (Interrogative).

    Is any one there? (Though Interrogative, we expect a negative reply i.e. nobody is there).

    I do not have anything left to eat. (Negative).

    In the sentence, I can use some sugar, we normally assume the reply to be ‘yes’. So, we can use some in cases when we need to make requests or when we want to offer.

    ‘ANY’ can be used in the affirmative sentence also if it follows ‘ if ’, If you need any cash, I shall provide you.

    EACH, EVERY

    ‘Each’ is used when we speak of two or more things.

    ‘Every’ is used only when we speak of more than two things.

    ‘Each’ places emphasis on the individual.

    ‘Every’ emphasis to total group.

    ‘Each’ is used when the number in the group is limited or definite.

    ‘Every’ is used when the number is indefinite.

    India expects every citizen to do his / her duty.

    Each row in the Auditorium has twenty-five seats.

    Everyone should play his part in Twenty 20 tournament to ensure to win.

    LITTLE, A LITTLE, THE LITTLE

    Little – more or less nothing.

    Little – There is little hope of his getting through the final examination (He has no chance).

    (Normally few, a few, the few are used along with countable Nouns).

    A Little – There is a little hope of his getting through the final examination. (He has some chance).

    The Little – Whatever is available (it is not much).

    The little information on the type of explosives used, has been very vital in nabbing the culprit.

    (The information on the explosive was not much, but, it was very important in catching the culprit).

    FEW, A FEW, THE FEW

    Few – more or less nothing, insignificant. Few honest persons become politicians.

    A Few – some

    May I request the Chief General to say a few words?

    The Few – Whatever available, though not much.

    The few friends I have would give their life for me, if need be.

    We must ensure that we use the correct adjective at the correct position. Otherwise, the meaning will become different.

    e.g.: give me some rice – The emphasis here is on ‘me’. Give some rice to me – Emphasis ‘rice’.

    Many of us make mistakes in this respect and often we convey a wrong meaning.

    Fill in with few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little.

    1. I have time.

    2. drops do not make an ocean.

    3. I havefriends.

    4. rupees he had saved, when he was affluent, had stood him instead.

    5. Havemore.

    6. fact would have prevented misunderstanding.

    7. Aurangzeb showed mercy on his enemies.

    8. knowledge of dehydration thereby saved his life.

    Related:

    http://ramanisblog.in/2012/09/05/some-examples-on-degrees-of-comparison-and-tipsenglish-grammar/

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  • Some Examples On Degrees of Comparison and Tips,English Grammar.

    Some examples of Positive, Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Comparison.

    Positive Comparative Superlative

    Good Better Best

    Hot Hotter Hottest

    Sharp Sharper Sharpest

    Tall Taller Tallest

    Short Shorter Shortest

    Large Larger Largest

    Small Smaller Smallest

    Dry More dry (drier) Most dry (driest)

    Cold More cold (colder) Most cold (coldest)

    Proud More proud (prouder) Most proud (proudest)

    High Higher Highest

    Legible More legible Most legible

    Great Greater Greatest

    Cut Cut Cut

    Put Put Put

    Useful More useful Most useful

    Ferocious More ferocious Most ferocious

    Nutritive More nutritive Most nutritive

    Pretty More pretty (prettier) Most pretty (Prettiest)

    We should remember that we have two things to compare in Comparative degrees. We can say one is better than the other.

    In cases, when we have to make comparison between more than two Persons / Objects, we have to say one or one group is better or worse than the other.

    Ex: A, B, C and D are compared.

    A is taller than B

    B is taller than C

    D is of the same height of C

    B is taller than C and D, but, shorter than A.

    Changing the Degrees of Comparison

    – POSITIVE Degree occurs when we make a statement or a matter of fact without comparison.

    – COMPARITIVE Degree occurs when we compare two things / place / persons.

    – SUPERLATIVE Degree occurs when more than two things / place / persons are involved. Remember, beyond Superlative there is nothing more to be compared. If only two persons / places need to be compared, then one can use the Superlative.

    – When forming comparative degree, normally add

    a) ‘er’ to positive

    Ex: tall – taller sharp – sharper

    old – older short – shorter

    young – younger long – longer

    large – larger high – higher

    b) for superlative, add ‘est’ to positive.

    tall – taller – tallest sharp – sharper – sharpest

    old – older – oldest short – shorter – shortest

    young – younger – youngest long – longer – longest

    large – larger – largest high – higher – highest

    c) for word ending with ‘ y ’ remove ‘ y ‘ from positive and add ‘ier’ for comparative and ‘iest’ for superlative.

    heavy – heavier – heaviest lucky – luckier – luckiest

    pretty – prettier – prettiest dirty – dirtier – dirtiest

    merry – merrier – merriest dirty – more dirty – most dirty

    The Adjectives which have two syllables, will have ‘more’ for comparative and ‘most’ for superlative.

    Ex: beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful

    honest – more honest – most honest

    popular – more popular – most popular

    reliable – more reliable – most reliable

    pretty – more pretty (prettier) – most pretty

    (prettiest)

    Some form themselves into comparative and superlative in an irregular pattern.

    Positive Comparative Superlative

    good / well better best

    bad / ill worse worst

    high higher highest

    little less least

    much / many more most

    far farther farthest

    fore former foremost / first

    You will become familiar with more words to use in Degrees of comparison by reading.

    For changing from one degree to another.

    From Positive to Comparative.

    a) Find out the comparative form of positive and place it in the place of positive adjective and follow it with ‘than’ or ‘to’ and follow it with the object.

    Rama is elder (comparative) to Lakshmanan

    To change into superlative, you should make sure or ensure that all the persons / places / things compared are taken into account. In superlative, you should leave nothing out of comparison.

    In the above example, in comparative, we have taken only two persons ; Rama and Lakshmanan

    If we are certain that we have to make a statement involving Rama and Lakshmanan to indicate who is elder of the two, comparative degree will do. But, if we have more than two people, if we say, ‘Rama is elder to Lakshmanan’, when two others namely, Bharata and Shatrugana are involved, if we say Rama is elder to Lakshmana, we will not know if Bharata or Shatrugana is elder to Rama. So, if we say, Rama is the eldest of four brothers, we have taken into account Bharata and Shatrugana. We get the clear picture that Rama is the eldest of the four.

    Let us see another example for changing from one degree to another.

    Madurai is the oldest town in Tamil Nadu (Superlative).

    The meaning is that there is no other city in Tamil Nadu which is older than Madurai. So, to convert the above into superlative and convey the same meaning, we should say ‘Madurai is older than any other city in Tamil nadu’. We can also express the same in another way.

    No other city in Tamil Nadu is older than Madurai.

    However, the emphasis we want to give on Madurai is slightly different or varied. This, we shall discuss later.

    Shakespeare is greater than any other English poet. (Comparative)

    Shakespeare is the greatest of English Poets (superlative).

    As a rule, make sure the meaning in various degrees remain the same, instead of blindly following hints. In fact, while dealing with grammar, we should pay more attention to the meaning conveyed, whatever be the circumstances.

    Change the degree of comparison without changing the meaning.

    1) The pen is mightier than the sword.

    2) Cow is more useful than any other animal.

    3) Mount Everest is the highest peak in the World.

    4) Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the ocean

    5) It is better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all.

    6) Mango is sweeter than Lime.

    7) Very few Nations are as materialistic as the USA.

    8) Samudra Gupta was greater than any other King in India.

    9) No other orator was more powerful as Demosthenes.

    10) I have more books than you.

    ADJECTIVES USED AS NOUNS

    ‘The rich do not know the condition of the poor’

    The adjectives are ‘rich’ and ‘poor’.

    What do we mean by these adjectives?

    Rich – people who are rich or rich people.

    Poor – people who are poor or poor people.

    The nouns ‘People’ are not stated openly. They are implied or hidden behind the adjectives. So, when we say rich or poor in the above sentences, we mean rich (adjective) people (noun – collective noun), do not to know the sufferings of the poor (adjective) people (noun – collective noun). In practice, we use rich and poor. Hence, adjective is used as Plural Nouns.

    The future is happy. Here, future means futurity. It is an Abstract Noun. In such cases, the adjective (future) becomes Noun. It is in Singular.

    Some other adjectives derived from Proper Nouns become adjectives. They may relate to proper ethnicity – Indians, Americans, Tamilians.

    Some adjectives indicating persons also become Nouns. They may belong to particular profession or an activity that is common to all of them – juniors, seniors, Criminals.

    Yet some other adjectives denoting quantity / things in general become Nouns. It can be both in Singular and Plural.

    – Secrets, total, solids, liquids, gases, valuables.

    Some adjectives like sweet are used as Nouns in Plural and not in Singular. We can say sweets, it, that is, in a many eatables that are sweet.

    Some phrases also become Nouns whenever this make appear into the sentence below the proceeding one. In short, Before long, Ere long, At Best, At the very least, in black and white.

    In general, to identify an adjective functioning as a Noun, look for Plural Nouns, Singular Nouns of quality, derivatives of Nouns (means Adjectives formed of Noun). Or some phrases that indicate Nouns implicitly.

    Also, ‘the’ appears before Adjective functioning as Noun (in general).

    Remember the above guidelines are only indicative. Best way is to look for the meaning. i.e. what we speak about Persons / Places / Things and what we add to give more meaning to the forms and decide if the Noun is implied.

    Sometimes we use Noun as adjectives as well.

    I am a city boy.

    He always plays computer games.

    Adjective is normally placed before the Noun.

    He is a great man.

    In poetry, the adjective may appear after the Noun – ‘Men’, of great valour never die more than once’.

    We place adjectives after Noun in Prose also, when we have more than one adjective to emphasis.

    Lord Krishna was a great King, Philosopher and Leader.

    He was a kind man, patient, forbearing and of compassion.

    We also place adjectives after a Noun when we join some words or phrases to adjectives. This is to place emphasis.

    MS Dhoni is fertile in imaginative tactics..

    In some cases, in some phrases, Adjectives come after the Noun.

    God Almighty, time immemorial.

    In some instances, the adjectives are more of explanatory in nature or indicate a specific quality which we want to emphasis.

     

    Related:

    http://ramanisblog.in/2012/08/30/comparison-of-adjectives-or-degrees-of-comparisonenglish-grammar/

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