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Monday, 8 August 2016

Good Insurance companies in USA

A.M. Best Company

www.ambest.com/
A.M. Best Company provides news, credit ratings and financial data products and ... A.M. Best Removes from Under Review and Upgrades Ratings of Starmount Life Insurance Company ... Kemper CEO: Strategy Change Will Address Self-Inflicted Wounds.
Great American Insurance Group is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance (“P&C”), focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses.

Best Car Insurance Companies of 2016 - The Simple Dollar

www.thesimpledollar.com/best-car-insurance-companies/
Jul 25, 2016 - Financial Strength Ratings: I used A.M. Best to gauge financial stability. ... Few online resources: There are a few FAQs on the site, but Amica ... State Farm is the largest car insurance company in the nation, per Insurance Journal in 2016.

Best Auto Insurance Companies for 2016 - ConsumerAffairs

www.consumeraffairs.com › Insurance
Compare the best auto insurance companies using expert ratings and ... Online claims status: The company's website makes it easy for policyholders to check .... Southwestern and Southeastern United States, with over 525 office locations.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief.

Chubb in the US

www.chubb.com/
Chubb insurance products and services in the United States

Auto Insurance Companies With The Most-Satisfied Customers - Forbes

www.forbes.com/sites/.../auto-insurance-companies-with-the-most-satisfied-customers/
May 11, 2012 - While many motorists shopping for car insurance tend to focus on their monthly ... Contain personal phone numbers, addresses or other information that can be ... more detailed ratings can be found on the J.D. Power consumer website.

Friday, 5 August 2016

Important Pair of Words

accede, exceed

Accede means to agree, to allow; exceed means to go beyond, to surpass, as in
“Drivers who exceed the speed limit are asking for hefty fines.”

accept, except

Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who are probably familiar with the difference because they’re all waiting for an acceptance!
“We accept your invitation to your party, except for Bill, who will be away on that day.”
However, I recently saw (on a publisher’s web site!) the statement, “We are excepting submissions … ” Can you believe it?

adapt, adept, adopt

Adapt means to adjust, adept means skilled and adopt means to take as your own:
“Some people cannot adapt to new surroundings.”
“He is very adept at dodging awkward questions.”
“He tends to adopt the attitudes of those around him.”

addition, edition

I saw this confusion on a review on amazon.com—“a nice edition to the series”. Obviously the writer meant addition. However, if one person can get these confused, maybe others do too. Addition is something that is added; edition is a particular version, issue or publication of a book, play, etc.

adverse, averse

Adverse means inauspicious, hostile; averse means disinclined, repelled.
“I’m very much averse to making a long, arduous journey under such adverse weather conditions.”

advice, advise

Advice is the noun and advise the verb.
“His advice was that we should advise everybody to either stay away or be extremely careful.”

affect, effect

Affect is a verb; effect is more usually a noun. When used as a verb it means to achieve, fulfil, realise.
“Bad weather will affect the quality of the fruit.”
“The effect of bad weather is a reduction in fruit quality.”
I can’t think of any sentence using effect as a verb where one of the other three mentioned above wouldn’t be a much better choice, but perhaps a politician might say, “To effect our goal of saving 10%…”

aloud, allowed

Aloud means out loud, speaking so that someone else can hear you; allowed means permitted.

altar, alter

Altar is the table in a church; alter means to change.

already, all ready

Already means by this time; all ready means prepared.
“Are you already packed?”
“Yes, I’m all ready to leave.”

altogether, all together

Altogether means wholly; all together means everybody in a group:
“It’s altogether too bad that you can’t come.”
“All together, now: ‘Good morning, Sir!’”

all right, alright

All right is the correct form; alright is grammatically incorrect.

allude, elude

Allude means to refer to; elude means to dodge or escape.

allusion, illusion

Allusion is an indirect reference or hint; illusion means deception or mirage.

all ways, always

All ways means by every way or method; always means all the time, forever.

amoral, immoral

amoral describes someone who has no morals; immoral describes someone with low morals.

annual, annul

Annual means yearly; annul means to make void or invalid.

anyone, any one

This is quite tricky. Anyone means anybody, any person at all; any one means any one person and is followed by “of”.
“Does anyone else want to come?”
“Any one of you is welcome to come along.”

appraise, apprise

Appraise is to assess or estimate. Apprise is to inform or notify:
“I will appraise the situation and immediately apprise everybody of my conclusions.”
Please don’t make your character say or write anything like this, though—unless you want him to sound like a pompous twit!

ascent, assent

Ascent is an upward movement; assent means agreement.

assistance, assistants

Assistance means help or aid; assistants is the plural of assistant, one who gives help.

assure, ensure, insure

Assure means to guarantee; ensure means to make sure; insure means to protect against loss or damage:
“I assure you there’s no call for alarm.”
“To ensure your crockery doesn’t get broken, wrap it all in bubble wrap.”
“In case of breakage or loss, you should insure everything with a good insurance company.”

auger, augur

Auger is a tool; augur means to predict.

baited, bated

Baited usually refers to traps or snares. When the reference is to someone who is hardly daring to breathe, the correct word is always bated:
“She watched with bated breath.”
I’ve yet to read that someone “bated a trap” instead of baiting it, but there’s always a first time.

bare, bear

Bare means naked; bear (apart from being a large animal) means to carry.

bazaar, bizarre

Bazaar is mostly a term for a market place but can also refer to a fete, gala exhibition; bizarre means weird, grotesque, alien.

berth, birth

Berth is a place to sleep on a boat or ship; birth is the beginning (usually of life).

beside, besides

Beside means by the side of; besides means in addition to.

biannual, biennial

These two are really tricky! Biannual means happening twice a year; biennial means every two years.

blonde, blond

Because these are borrowed from French there is a feminine and masculine form. Blonde is feminine and blond is masculine.

bore, boar, boor

Bore as a noun is a boring or tiresome person, or something that you don’t like doing; it can also be used to refer to something used for drilling (e.g., an oil bore). As a verb it also means to drill; boar is a male pig; boor is a vulgar person.

board, bored

Board is a long sheet of wood, also a group of people as in “Board of Directors”, and as a verb means to go onto a ship, plane or other form of public transport; bored means not interested.

born, borne

Born is always the beginning of life, borne means carried.
“I was born in the middle of a particularly severe winter.”
“The logs were borne down the river to the mill.”

bought, brought

Bought is the past tense of buy, brought is the past tense of bring. So, I bought (paid for) a load of topsoil, and a truck driver brought (delivered) it to my home.

braise, braze

Braise means to cook slowly in liquid (usually meat); braze most commonly means to solder with an alloy of copper and zinc.

brake, break

Brake means to stop; break means to smash.

bridal, bridle

Bridal has to do with brides and weddings; bridle as a noun means a halter or restraint; as a verb it means to restrain or to draw oneself up in anger.

by, buy, bye

By is a preposition meaning next to; buy means purchase; bye means farewell or good-bye.

canvas, canvass

Canvas is cloth or fabric; canvass means to seek votes, to survey, to sell door-to-door.

capital, capitol

Capital means the seat of government; money invested; excellent, as in “What a capital idea!”. Capitol is the building where government meets, although in New Zealand that’s simply called The Beehive.

caught, court

Caught is the past tense of catch. Court is a place where criminals are tried; a place where ball games are played; a royal household or residence. As a verb it means to curry favour, to strive for or seek; or (in relationship terms) to date someone of the opposite gender.

cereal, serial

Cereal is something you might eat for breakfast, such as porridge. Serial is something in a series; something that continues one after another, as in a weekly instalment of chapters from a book.

censor, sensor

Censor as a verb means to officially inspect and make deletions or changes (in books, letters, movies, etc.) usually because the deleted or changed material is regarded as offensive or harmful in some way, though movies these days are more likely to be given a rating instead; as a noun it refers to the official who does the censoring. Sensor is something that senses (for instance a burglar alarm has many sensors: for movement, body heat, etc.)

coarse, course, cause

It didn’t occur to me that these could be confused until I saw “of cause” instead of “of course”. Coarse means rough-textured or scratchy; large (as in coarse gravel); heavy and ugly (as in coarse features); loutish, vulgar, crude, improper. Course (apart from its use in “of course”) is a noun meaning: route, track, a raceway; progression, development; plan, plan of action; a programme of study; a schedule or sequence. Cause as a noun means origins, beginnings; grounds, justification; an ideal or belief; a case or lawsuit. As a verb it means lead to, result in, make happen.

collaborate, corroborate

Collaborate means to work with someone; corroborate means to establish the truth of something.

compliment, complement

Compliment means praise or congratulate. You always pay someone a compliment, not a complement. Complement means to supplement, round out. Mustard complements ham, for instance, by “rounding out” the flavour.

continual, continuous

Continual means something that happens frequently, with breaks between the occurrences. Continuous means something that happens without stopping!
“Continual interruptions distract me from writing.”
“The continuous noise of the motor mower distracts me from writing.”

co-operation, corporation

Co-operation (usually spelt without the hyphen in US English) means working together; corporation is a business organisation.

copyright, copywrite

Copyright is the legal ownership of a book, film, play, piece of artwork, musical composition, etc, or the right to print, publish, film, record or perform them; copywrite is something you do if you are creating advertising or publicity material.

correspondence, correspondents

Correspondence is written communication; correspondents are those who write it.

creak, creek

Creak is both a noun and a verb and means squeak or groan (for instance, rusty hinges and loose floorboards creak); creek is a noun and means a waterway or stream.

credible, creditable

Credible means believable; creditable means praiseworthy or deserving credit.

criteria, criterion

Criterion is singular; criteria is plural.

curb, kerb

Curb means to control, as in “curb your temper”, while kerb is the edge of a footpath or sidewalk.

currant, current

Currant is a fruit, usually dried. Current as an adjective means contemporary, fashionable; as a noun it means stream, flow.

desert, dessert

Desert means to abandon (and can also be a noun, meaning a wasteland); dessert is the sweet course of a meal.

device, devise

Device is a noun, meaning a gadget or (particularly in writing terms) an invention; devise is a verb, meaning to invent or plot.

discreet, discrete

Discreet means respectful, prudent; discrete means separate or detached from others.

draft, draught

Draft refers to the first writing of your novel or story (or any other document). You can also be drafted (enlisted or recruited) into the army, navy, etc.
Draught is an air movement, a drink (as in “draught of ale”) or refers to a horse (or other animal) used for pulling ploughs, etc (e.g., “draught horse”).

elicit, illicit

Elicit means to extract or draw out; illicit means not legal.

eminent, imminent

Eminent means distinguished, famous; imminent means near, close at hand.

everyday, every day

Everyday means commonplace, ordinary; every day is used for something that happens daily.

everyone, every one

Everyone means every person in a group; every one means each person and is always followed by “of”.
“Everyone needs to know how to swim.”
“Every one of you should be able to swim.”

fair, fare

Fair means average, good-looking, pale, unbiased (what a lot of meanings for one little word!); fare is the money you pay to go somewhere by bus, train, plane, taxi, etc. It can also refer to a passenger. As a verb it means do, as in:
“I didn’t fare as well in my exams this year as I’d hoped.”

farther, further

Farther is used for physical distance; further for non-physical. For instance:
The farther we walked the more hostile the terrain became.
I promised to give the plan further thought.

faze, phase

The most common error is the use of phase when the writer means faze. To faze someone is to fluster or confuse them, whereas phase is mostly used in reference to a stage in someone’s life—though it can be a stage in almost anything else:
“Like most children, Danny’s going through a phase of refusing to eat his vegetables.”
“Nothing fazes my mother, who can produce a meal for unexpected guests at a moment’s notice.”

flare, flair

Flare means to flash or blaze and (as a noun) is a pyrotechnic device; flair means ability or skill.

forbear, forebear

Forbear means to refrain from; forebear is an ancestor or forefather.

foreword, forward

Foreword is the preface in a book, usually written by someone who is not the author; forward means ahead, near the front.

forth, fourth

Forth means forward; fourth is after “third”.

foul, fowl

Foul can mean dishonourable (by foul means), disgusting (a foul smell), entangle (rubbish dumped in the river can foul fishing lines); fowl is a bird.

found, founded

Found is the past tense of find; founded means started, as in “My great grandfather founded this company nearly a hundred years ago.”

gibe, jibe

Gibe means to taunt; jibe means to agree, correspond or tally; in boating it means to shift the sails.

gorilla, guerrilla

Gorilla is a large ape; guerrilla is a particular kind of soldier.

hail, hale

Hail means to greet or to come from (as in “She hails from Texas”) and as a noun it is frozen raindrops; hale means healthy or (as a verb) to haul.

hanged, hung

A criminal is always hanged; a picture is hung:
“We hung the portrait where everybody could see it.”
“John Smith was hanged yesterday at dawn.”
Just remember, “I’ll be hanged if they’re going to hang me,” and you won’t forget the difference again!

herd, heard

Herd is a group of animals; heard is the past tense of hear.

here, hear

Here refers to a location (as in “over here”). Hear is always what your ears do. I can’t see why writers should get confused here, but they must do because I have seen this more than once. (And, no, that’s not a sample sentence!) I’ve even seen “Here! Here!” when the writer wasn’t having a character call another character, but was expressing support for a real person!

hoard, horde

Hoard means to stockpile and as a noun it is a cache of stockpiled stuff; horde is a large group.

hole, whole

Hole is an opening; whole means complete.

home, hone

In this case the error is always using “hone in” instead of “home in”. Hone means to sharpen.

idle, idol

Idle means inactive, lazy; idol is something that is worshipped or (in the case of a person) looked up to as a hero.

immemorial, immortal

Immemorial means ancient beyond memory (as in the cliché “since time immemorial”); immortal means deathless, eternal.

incite, insight

Incite is a verb that means to stir up; encourage: “Talk like this is likely to incite a riot.” Insight is a noun meaning intuition; awareness; understanding.

intolerable, intolerant

Intolerable means tiring, onerous crushing; intolerant means biased, prejudiced. Someone cannot be intolerable of another’s beliefs.

irregardless, regardless

There is no such word as irregardless; the correct word is regardless

its, it’s

This is confusing because possessives normally have an apostrophe, but in this case it’s is short for it is and its is possessive—always.
“Its colour is green and it’s quite beautiful.”
Other possessives that don’t have an apostrophe are theirs, hers, yours and his—though I doubt anyone is likely to try putting one in his!

knew, new

knew is the past tense of know; new is the opposite of old.

later, latter

Later means afterwards; latter is the second of two things.
“Later that day we went for a walk.”
“We have two choices. The latter is the more reliable, but the former would be cheaper.”

lay, laid

This pair confuses writers almost more than any other.
“He lay on his bed.” Although this sentence is past tense, “laid” would be incorrect and suggests he was laying eggs.
“She sighed as she laid the visitors’ book beside the pen and lay back wondering if she would ever make an entry in it again.”
In present tense the sentence would read, “She sighs as she lays the visitors’ book beside the pen and lies back, wondering if she will ever make an entry in it again.”
BUT “I sigh as I lay the visitors’ book beside the pen and lie back, wondering if I will ever make an entry in it again.”
(In practice, I would probably write I place/placed and she places/placed. It’s so much less confusing, not to mention less repetitive!)
“It lay on the desk beside an open book.” Present tense would read, “It lies on the desk beside an open book.”
“Our hens lay every day.”
“The hens laid ten eggs yesterday.”

lay, lie

When these two are confused it’s usually because the writer is in the wrong tense for a word that means recline. “I am going to lay down because I don’t feel well” or “I am going to lay on my bed and read” are both incorrect; the word should be lie. In the second sentence it sounds as though the writer is going to lay an egg as well as read! In past tense, however, the correct usage is “I lay down because I didn’t feel well” and “I lay on my bed and read”.

lead, led

Lead (pronounced led) is a heavy metal or (pronounced leed) the present tense of led. So:
“He opens the door for me and I lead the guests upstairs to their rooms.”
“He opened the door for me and I led the guests upstairs to their rooms.”

lend, loan

Lend is a verb meaning to give something temporarily to someone; loan is a noun, meaning the temporary transfer of something to someone else. So, “Dad, can you loan me a few dollars until pay day?” is incorrect.

lessen, lesson

Lessen means to make less; lesson is something you learn.

liable, libel

Liable means subject to, answerable for or likely; libel is written (as opposed to spoken) untruths about someone, for which you may be taken to court.
“He is liable to sudden attacks of ill temper for no apparent reason.”
“Politicians should be made liable for their bad decisions.”
“Pollen is liable to cause hay fever or even asthma attacks in certain individuals.”

licence, license

In British usage, licence is always the noun and license the verb.

lightening, lightning

Lightening means making lighter or brighter; lightning (which is always a noun) is what comes out of the sky, usually followed by a crack of thunder.

lose, loose

Lose always means mislaying or dropping something and not being able to find it, while loose means slack or free:
“If the fastening on your wrist-watch is loose (slack) you may lose your watch.”

manner, manor

I saw this pair confused in an email (“all manor of complaints”) and figured if one person could get them confused others could too. Manner means method, appearance, class, character; manor is strictly a large, stately house.

mantel, mantle

Mantel is the shelf above a fireplace, or the fireplace surrounding; mantle is a cloak or blanket.

marshal, marshall

Marshal is a military officer or a sheriff; marshall is a verb meaning to muster, usher, guide; align, array, organise.

maybe, may be

Another tricky one, best explained by demonstration:
Maybe you could explain this to us a little clearer.”
“It may be a good idea to give us a clearer explanation of this.”

meet, mete, meat

The two more often confused are meet and mete. Meet means to encounter (and can also mean fit or suitable); mete means to allot, apportion or distribute; meat refers to flesh as food.

moat, mote

Somebody found this confusion in Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Moat is a deep, wide ditch surrounding a castle, fort or town. Usually filled with water, it is intended as a defence against attack. Mote is a tiny piece of substance, as in motes of dust that can show up in a sunbeam. Apparently Meyer had written “dust moats”.

mute, moot

Mute as a verb means to silence or quieten down, as a noun it’s a little gadget used by string players (particularly violinists) to soften the sound from their instruments. As an adjective it means dumb or making no sound, as in “He looked at me in mute appeal.” Moot means debatable. So, it’s a “moot point” not a “mute point”.

no, know

Strange that these two should get confused, but they do. No is always the opposite of yes; know is to be certain (that you know the difference!)

none, nun

I could hardly believe my eyes when I read “and nun at the top” instead of “and none at the top”. A nun is strictly a woman belonging to a religious community. When you mean “not any” the spelling is none.

overdo, overdue

It baffles me that people get these mixed up, but they do. Overdo means to exaggerate or carry something too far; overdue is what your bills are when you forget to pay them!

passed, past

Passed is the past tense of pass. Past means a time that has gone.
“Time passed and we all forgot the incident.”
“In times past it was the custom for women to wear hats in church.”
"I passed him at the crossroads; he went past at a stagger."

peace, piece

Peace means the absence of war (or even noise); piece is a portion of something.

pedalled, peddled

Pedalled is the past tense of pedal, which as a verb means to use your feet to turn the pedals on something, such as a bicycle, to make it move; or to operate the sustaining and/or soft pedals on a piano, or the lower keys on an organ; peddled is the past tense of peddle, which means to sell.

peer, pier

Peer as a noun means a person who is your equal and as a verb it means to squint or look obliquely at something; pier is a type of wharf or dock. Two other words that sound similar are pear (a fruit) and pare (to peel) but I haven’t seen any instances where these have been confused.

plain, plane

Plain means obvious, also unadorned or lacking in good looks; plane is a carpenter’s tool or an abbreviation of aeroplane.

patience, patients

Patience means forbearance; patients are people under medical care.

peek, pique, peak

Pique means to excite or irritate; peek means to peep or snoop; peak as a noun means the summit or tip, and as a verb means to climax. So, you pique someone’s curiosity; you don’t peek or peak it. If someone annoys you, you become piqued rather than peeked or peaked.

perspective, prospective

These two sound only vaguely alike yet seem to get confused. Perspective means point of view; also panorama; prospective means future, inevitable, destined.

pour, pore, poor

You pour sauces, gravies, etc, over your dinner, while pore means to study something—so, “pore over the book”, not “pour over the book”, which reads as though you might be damaging the book with an unnamed liquid substance! Poor is what you are when you don’t earn enough money, but I’ve seen it used when the writer meant pour.

practice, practise

In British usage, practice is always the noun and practise the verb.

pray, prey

Pray is usually what you do when you talk to God; prey as a verb means to hunt, to stalk,; as a noun it means the subject of the hunt.

premise, premises

Premise usually means assumption, supposition, while premises means an apartment, house or building and its grounds.

presence, presents

Presence means being near at hand; presents are gifts.

principal, principle

Principal means chief or main, also the amount borrowed in a loan; principle means regulations or ideals.
“The principal reason for the company’s failure was lack of money.” (or)
“The new principal is making a real difference to our school.”
“We are paying both principal and interest each month on our mortgage.”
“She is completely without principles and would steal from her own mother.”
“The principle of a clause like this in your employment contract is to protect you against unfair dismissal.”

profit, prophet

Profit means gain, earnings, advantage, and is usually associated with business. A prophet is a seer, a diviner. I saw this mix-up in a writer’s group, of all places!
“What doth it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loseth his soul?”
“A prophet is without honour in his own country.”

quiet, quite

Quiet means without noise; quite when used in fiction usually means moderately, but can also mean totally or entirely. Use of the wrong word here could, of course, simply be a typing error that went unnoticed in the proof-reading stages!

rain, reign, rein

Rain is the water that comes down from clouds; reign means to rule; rein is a strap, usually leather, for controlling an animal, especially a horse.

raise, raze

These two are exact opposites. Raise means to lift or build up and raze means to pull down:
“We will raise the reputation of our village to new heights.”
“He instructed his army to raze the village to the ground.”

rapt, rapped, wrapped

Rapt means enchanted, engrossesd; rapped is the past tense of rap, to hit or criticise; wrapped is the past tense of wrap, to coat or enfold.

reality, realty

Reality is real life; realty is real estate.

reference, reverence

I don’t know if this confusion is common. I didn’t even realise the words could be confused until I saw one wrongly used in something written by … a writer! Maybe it was just a typing error. Reference is something referred to, reverence means respect.

regimen, regiment

Regimen is a noun and is mostly used to refer to to a prescribed way of life, or diet or exercise. It is also the action of governing. Regiment as a verb means to direct, command; as a noun it refers to a military unit.

residence, residents

Residence is a house; residents are the people who live there.

respectfully, respectively

Respectfully means politely; respectively means in the order stated.
“The containers stood in a row and were numbered 1, 3, 2, 5 and 4 respectively” means they were standing in this order rather than numerical order.

retch, wretch

Retch means to gag or try to vomit; wretch is a grovelling person, a creep.

rifle, riffle

Rifle (apart from being a firearm) means to steal; riffle means to leaf through or browse. So your character doesn’t rifle through someone’s belongings and only rifles them if stealing them.

right, rite, write

Right means correct; rite is a ceremony, usually religious; write means to make words.

road, rode

Road is a long surface for cars and other vehicles; rode is the past tense of ride.

role, roll

Role is a part in a play or film; roll as a noun is a document or something that is cylindrical in shape and as a verb it means to make something into a cylindrical shape, to turn or spin:

sale, sail

Sale is either offering something for purchase (“for sale”) or offering it at a special price (“on sale”); sail is part of a ship or boat.

scene, seen

Scene is the place where something happens; seen is the past participle of see.
“Yet he had seen nothing suspicious at the scene of the accident.” (Of course you wouldn’t write a sentence like that; the two words make for a clumsy combination. I would probably replace “scene” with “site”.)

seam, seem

Seam is most often used to refer to the joining of two pieces of fabric with thread, but it can refer to other types of joins; seem means appear: “He makes it seem so easy to do.”

sell, cell

Sell is to exchange for money; cell is a small room (invariably lacking in comfort); also an organism (as in “stem cells”); the small divisions in something large such as a container or a table in a web page or word-processed document.

sever, severe

Sever means to separate, detach; severe means grim, stern.

serf, surf

Serf means slave or servant; surf is a wave and as a verb is also the action of riding the waves on a board or using a computer to find something on the Internet.

shear, sheer

Shear means to cut or clip; sheer means transparent (as in “sheer nylon hosiery”); steep (as in “a sheer drop”); total or absolute (as in “sheer stupidity”).

shore, sure

Shore as verb means to brace or support; as a noun it is usually a beach but can also be a support or a brace; sure means certain, confident. So you do not sure up a company by borrowing more capital; you shore it up.

singly, singularly

Singly means individually, one-by-one; singularly means strangely, uniquely. I found the wrong use of this pair on a writer’s site, where singularly was used instead of singly, and figured if one person could get it wrong so could others.

site, sight, cite

Site always refers to location or place: building site; archaeology site.
“We will site the house to take advantage of the panoramic views.”
Sight always refers to vision, as in the cliché “a sight for sore eyes”.
“We sighted two horsemen coming over the hill.”
“It was a sight I would never forget.”
“She feared she might lose her sight.”
Cite means to summon, or to refer to a source, as in the following sentences:
“I was cited as a witness to the accident.”
“He cited in his defence an incident in which these same people were involved.”

sleight-of-hand, slight-of-hand

It occurred to me that these could be confused only when an editor changed my “sleight-of-hand” to “slight-of-hand”, making me wonder how come I had made such a mistake. The latter is definitely incorrect; it suggests hands that are slender rather than deft or skilful, which is what the word sleight means.

slither, sliver

A colleague found these words constantly confused in a book published by a big-name publisher. Slither means to slip, slide; sliver is a noun, meaning a thin piece, such as a flake, paring or chip.

some time, sometime

This is a common confusion. Some time is a period of time and sometime means at some time not specified.
“Some time ago you promised to introduce me to your brother.”
“Sometime when you’re not busy we must do this again.”

sole, soul

Sole as an adjective means single, as in “the sole cause of the problem”; as a noun it is a type of fish and the under part of a foot or a shoe. Soul generally refers to the invisible part of you that lives on after you die; also heart or mind; a human being (as in “no living soul”).

sort, sought

I’ve seen these two wrongly used several times on a certain auction site that shall remain nameless. (But I’ll give you a clue: it’s haunted almost exclusively by New Zealanders.) So possibly other people might get them confused. Sort as a verb is what you do when you put things in alphabetical or numerical order, or according to size, etc. As a noun it means a type or kind. Sought is the past tense of seek and it’s what these sellers meant when they claimed the article they were selling was “sort after”.

stationary, stationery

Stationary means standing still. Stationery refers to writing paper.

statue, statute, stature

Statue is a carved or moulded likeness; statute is law; stature means height or status.

straight, strait

Straight means without bends; strait is a passage of water.

taut, taught, taunt

Taut means tight, firm; taught is the past tense of teach; taunt equals jeer, insult.

tenant, tenet

Tenant is one who rents a property; tenet is a principle or belief.

there, their, they’re

There is a location: “Put it over there.”
Their is the possessive of they: “their coats”
They’re is short for they are: “They’re unlikely to miss seeing them.”
So: “They hung their coats over there by the door where they’re unlikely to miss seeing them on their way out.” Dreadful sentence I know, but at least it demonstrates the correct usage for all three words.

to, too, two

To is a preposition meaning towards; too means also or extremely (as in “You are walking too fast for me”); two is the number after one.

throes, throws

Throes are violent spasms or painful struggles, though not always physical. For example, “She is in the throes of a nasty divorce case.” Throws means hurls or tosses. As a noun it means blankets or other types of covering.

through, threw

Through is a preposition meaning in and out of, as in: “We drove through the tunnel.” Threw is the past tense of throw; see the entry immediately above this one .

vane, vain, vein

Vane is something that shows from which direction the wind is blowing; also (among other things) the sail of a windmill, the flat part on either side of the shaft of a feather, a revolving fan or flywheel; vain means too concerned about how one looks (though one can be vain about other things, of course!) and also means useless, as in “a vain attempt”; vein is a blood vessel, a channel. When you blaspheme you are “taking the Lord’s name in vain”.

venal, venial

Venal means dishonest, dishonourable; venial means forgivable, unimportant (as in “venial sins”).

verses, versus

I saw this mix-up—the use of verses instead of versus—in a small newspaper. Verses is the plural of verse, something a poet writes; versus means against, in comparison with.

vicious, viscous

Vicious means savage, cruel; viscous means thick, gummy.

waist, waste

Waist is the part of your body around which you fasten your belt; waste as a noun mostly refers to stuff that’s thrown away. As a verb it usually means to squander.

wary, weary

Wary means careful; weary means tired.

wave, waive

Wave means to flap your hand in farewell and as a noun is also a breaker on the beach; waive means to give up one’s rights or claim.

waver, waiver

Waver means to be undecided; waiver means the giving up of rights or claims.

way/ways, weigh/weighs

It didn’t occur to me that these could be confused until I read (in an email) that something probably “ways a tonne”.

weak, week

Weak is the opposite of strong; week is seven days, Sunday to Saturday.

weather, whether, wether

Weather has to do with meteorological conditions, climate; whether is a conjunction of condition (a bit like the word if) e.g.,“Whether it rains or shines, I have to go.” A wether is a castrated sheep.

wet, whet

Wet as a verb means strictly to pour liquid on something. You do not “wet” somebody’s appetite for anything; you’ll only land up doing the opposite of what you want! Instead, you whet it, which means to sharpen or stimulate.

which, witch

As a fantasy writer, I have trouble believing people get these two confused! Which is one of a group; witch is a sorcerer.

whose, who’s

This confusion is similar to its and it’s. Whose is possessive, and who’s is short for “who is”.

wont, won’t

Wont means accustomed; won’t is short for “will not”. The usual confusion here is to use won’t instead of wont.

yoke, yolk

Yoke as a verb means to bind or confine. In olden days, for instance, oxen were yoked together for ploughing. As a noun it is more usually the means by which something is bound or confined, though I remember the upper part of a two-piece bodice on a dress or blouse being referred to as a yoke. Yolk is the yellow part of an egg.

your, you’re

As in the entry for whose and who’s, this confusion is similar to its and it’s. Your is possessive and you’re is short for “you are”.

50 Idioms of daily use.

A hot potato
Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed
A penny for your thoughts
A way of asking what someone is thinking
Actions speak louder than words
People's intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.
Add insult to injury
To further a loss with mockery or indignity; to worsen an unfavorable situation.
An arm and a leg
Very expensive or costly. A large amount of money.
At the drop of a hat
Meaning: without any hesitation; instantly.
Back to the drawing board
When an attempt fails and it's time to start all over.
Ball is in your court
It is up to you to make the next decision or step
Barking up the wrong tree
Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person
Be glad to see the back of
Be happy when a person leaves.
Beat around the bush
Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue.
Best of both worlds
Meaning: All the advantages.
Best thing since sliced bread
A good invention or innovation. A good idea or plan.
Bite off more than you can chew
To take on a task that is way to big.
Blessing in disguise
Something good that isn't recognized at first.
Burn the midnight oil
To work late into the night, alluding to the time before electric lighting.
Can't judge a book by its cover
Cannot judge something primarily on appearance.
Caught between two stools
When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives.
Costs an arm and a leg
This idiom is used when something is very expensive.
Cross that bridge when you come to it
Deal with a problem if and when it becomes necessary, not before.
Cry over spilt milk
When you complain about a loss from the past.
Curiosity killed the cat
Being Inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situation.
Cut corners
When something is done badly to save money.
Cut the mustard [possibly derived from "cut the muster"]
To succeed; to come up to expectations; adequate enough to compete or participate
Devil's Advocate
To present a counter argument
Don't count your chickens before the eggs have hatched
This idiom is used to express "Don't make plans for something that might not happen".
Don't give up the day job
You are not very good at something. You could definitely not do it professionally.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Do not put all your resources in one possibility.
Drastic times call for drastic measures
When you are extremely desperate you need to take drastic actions.
Elvis has left the building
The show has come to an end. It's all over.
Every cloud has a silver lining
Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days.
Far cry from
Very different from.
Feel a bit under the weather
Meaning: Feeling slightly ill.
Give the benefit of the doubt
Believe someone's statement, without proof.
Hear it on the grapevine
This idiom means 'to hear rumors' about something or someone.
Hit the nail on the head
Do or say something exactly right
Hit the sack / sheets / hay
To go to bed.
In the heat of the moment
Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment.
It takes two to tango
Actions or communications need more than one person
Jump on the bandwagon
Join a popular trend or activity.
Keep something at bay
Keep something away.
Kill two birds with one stone
This idiom means, to accomplish two different things at the same time.
Last straw
The final problem in a series of problems.
Let sleeping dogs lie
Meaning - do not disturb a situation as it is - since it would result in trouble or complications.
Let the cat out of the bag
To share information that was previously concealed
Make a long story short
Come to the point - leave out details
Method to my madness
An assertion that, despite one's approach seeming random, there actually is structure to it.
Miss the boat
This idiom is used to say that someone missed his or her chance
Not a spark of decency
Meaning: No manners
Not playing with a full deck
Someone who lacks intelligence.
Off one's rocker
Crazy, demented, out of one's mind, in a confused or befuddled state of mind, senile.
On the ball
When someone understands the situation well.
Once in a blue moon
Meaning: Happens very rarely.
Picture paints a thousand words
A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.
Piece of cake
A job, task or other activity that is easy or simple.
Put wool over other people's eyes
This means to deceive someone into thinking well of them.
See eye to eye
This idiom is used to say that two (or more people) agree on something.
Sit on the fence
This is used when someone does not want to choose or make a decision.
Speak of the devil!
This expression is used when the person you have just been talking about arrives.
Steal someone's thunder
To take the credit for something someone else did.
Take with a grain of salt
This means not to take what someone says too seriously.
Taste of your own medicine
Means that something happens to you, or is done to you, that you have done to someone else
To hear something straight from the horse's mouth
To hear something from the authoritative source.
Whole nine yards
Everything. All of it.
Wouldn't be caught dead
Would never like to do something
Your guess is as good as mine
To have no idea, do not know the answer to a question

Six basic difference between American and British English.



There is an old saying that America and Britain are “two nations divided by a common language.”
No one knows exactly who said this, but it reflects the way many Brits feel about American English. My British friend still tells me, “You don’t speak English. You speak American.”
But are American and British English really so different?
Vocabulary
The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary. There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the front of a car the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood.
Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.
New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats.
There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a sentence.

There are a few grammatical differences between the two varieties of English. Let’s start with collective nouns. We use collective nouns to refer to a group of individuals.
In American English, collective nouns are singular. For example, staff refers to a group of employees; band refers to a group of musicians; team refers to a group of athletes. Americans would say, “The band is good.”
But in British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. You might hear someone from Britain say, “The team are playing tonight” or “The team is playing tonight.”
Auxiliary verbs
Another grammar difference between American and British English relates to auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are verbs that help form a grammatical function. They “help” the main verb by adding information about time, modality and voice.
Let’s look at the auxiliary verb shall. Brits sometimes use shall to express the future.
For example, “I shall go home now.” Americans know what shall means, but rarely use it in conversation. It seems very formal. Americans would probably use I will go home now.”
In question form, a Brit might say, “Shall we go now?” while an American would probably say, “Should we go now?”
When Americans want to express a lack of obligation, they use the helping verb do with negative not followed by need. “You do not need to come to work today.” Brits drop the helping verb and contract not. “You needn’t come to work today.”
Past Tense Verbs
You will also find some small differences with past forms of irregular verbs.
The past tense of learn in American English is learned. British English has the option of learned or learnt. The same rule applies to dreamed and dreamt, burned and burnt, leaned and leant.
Americans tend to use the –ed ending; Brits tend to use the -t ending.
In the past participle form, Americans tend to use the –en ending for some irregular verbs. For example, an American might say, “I have never gotten caught” whereas a Brit would say, “I have never got caught.” Americans use both got and gotten in the past participle. Brits only use got.
Don’t worry too much about these small differences in the past forms of irregular verbs. People in both countries can easily understand both ways, although Brits tend to think of the American way as incorrect.
Tag Questions
A tag question is a grammatical form that turns a statement into a question. For example, “The whole situation is unfortunate, isn’t it?” or, “You don’t like him, do you?”
The tag includes a pronoun and its matching form of the verb be, have or do. Tag questions encourage people to respond and agree with the speaker. Americans use tag questions, too, but less often than Brits.
Spelling
There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American English. You can thank American lexicographer Noah Webster for this. You might recognize Webster’s name from the dictionary that carries his name.
Noah Webster, an author, politician, and teacher, started an effort to reform English spelling in the late 1700s.
He was frustrated by the inconsistencies in English spelling. Webster wanted to spell words the way they sounded. Spelling reform was also a way for America to show its independence from England.
You can see Webster’s legacy in the American spelling of words like color (from colour), honor (from honour), and labor (from labour). Webster dropped the letter u from these words to make the spelling match the pronunciation.
Other Webster ideas failed, like a proposal to spell women as wimmen. Since Webster’s death in 1843, attempts to change spelling rules in American English have gone nowhere.
Not so different after all
British and American English have far more similarities than differences. We think the difference between American and British English is often exaggerated. If you can understand one style, you should be able to understand the other style.
With the exception of some regional dialects, most Brits and Americans can understand each other without too much difficulty. They watch each other’s TV shows, sing each other’s songs, and read each other’s books.
They even make fun of each other’s accents.
I’m Jill Robbins.
And I’m John Russell.
And I'm Claudia Milne.

Thursday, 4 August 2016

100 Golden rules for correct English





A. SUBJECT - VERB AGREEMENT

1 . Two or more Singular Subjects connected by and usually take a Verb in the Plural.

For example,

Incorrect- Hari and Ram is here.

Correct- Hari and Ram are here.


2. If two Singular Nouns refer to the same person or thing, the Verb must be Singular.

Incorrect- The Secretary and Principal are coming.

Correct- The Secretary and Principal is coming.

(Here the same person is .Secretary as well as Principal)


3. If the Singular Subjects are preceded by each or every, the Verb is usually Singular.

For example,

Incorrect- Every boy and girl were ready.

Correct- Every boy and girl was ready.

4. Two or more Singular Subjects connected by or, nor, either ..... or, neither .... nor take a Verb in the Singular.

For example,

Incorrect- Neither he nor I were there.

Correct- Neither he nor I was there.

5. When the Subjects joined by 'or/nor are of different numbers, the Verb must be Plural, and the Plural Subject must be placed next to the Verb.

For example,

incorrect- Neither the Assistant Masters nor the Headmaster was present.

Correct- Neither the Headmaster nor the Assistant Masters were
present. '

6. When the Subjects joined by or, nor are of different persons, the Verb agrees in person with the one nearest to it.

For example,

Incorrect- Either he or I is mistaken.

Correct- Either he or I, am mistaken.

7. A Collective Noun takes a Singular Verb when the collection is thought of as a whole, a Plural Verb when the individuals of which it is composed are thought of.

For example,

Correct- The Council has chosen the President.

Correct- The military were called out.

8. Some Nouns which are singular in form but plural in meaning, take a Plural Verb.

For example,

Incorrect- Mathematics are a branch of study in every school.

Correct- Mathematics is a branch of study in every school.

9. Words joined to a Singular Subject by with, together with, in addition to, or, as well as, etc. are parenthetical, and therefore do not affect the number of the Verb.

For example,

Incorrect- The Chief, with all his men, were massacred .• Correct-The chief, with all his men, was massacred.

10. When the Subject of the Verb is a Relative Pronoun care should be taken to see that the Verb agrees in Number and Person with the Antecedent of the relative.

For example,

Incorrect- I, who is your friend, . will guard you,r interests.

Correct- I, who am your friend will guard your interests.


B. USES OF PARTICIPLES AND INFINITIVES


11. Ask, advise, allow, command, force, forbid, invite, encourage, compel, beg, order•, imagine, instruct, permit, persuade, tell, require, remind, teach, etc. are followed by Object + To +V2

For example,

Incorrect- He advised to do it by me.

Correct- He advised me to do it. But if these are used in Passive Voice, then they are followed by To +V,.

For example,

Correct- She was permitted to go with him.

12. Know is followed by how/ where/when/why and Infinitive.

For example,

Incorrect- I know to write a letter.

Correct- I know how to write a letter.

13. After let, bid, behold, watch, see, feel, make etc. we use Bare-Infinitive and not To-infinitive.

For example,

Incorrect- I heard him to speak on several subjects.

Correct- I heard him speak on several subjects.

14. Bare Infinitive is used after Modal Auxiliaries (can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, dare not, need not).

For example,

Incorrect- You need not to work hard.

Correct- You need not work hard.

15. Had better, had rather,had as soon ... as ... , had sooner etc. are fol-lowed by Bare Infinitive.

For example,

Incorrect- He had better to go now.

Correct- He had better go now. 16. Conjunction than is also fol¬lowed by Bare Infinitive.

For example,

Incorrect- He had better read than to write.

Correct- He had better read than write.

17. When but is used as a Preposition and preceded by any form of the Verb do, then but is followed with Bare Infinitive.

Incorrect- He did nothing but to wander.

Correct- He did nothing but wander.

18. Every Participle must have a Subject of Reference.

For example,

Incorrect- Being a rainy day Vijay decided to stay at home.

Correct- It being a rainy day Vijay decided to stay at home.

19. For completed action Having + Va is used in Active Voice, whereas Having + been + Va or Being + Va is used in Passive Voice. After should not be used in such a sentence.

For example,

Incorrect- After the leader having been killed, the followers ran away.

Correct- The leader having been killed, the followers ran away.

20. Participles like considering, judging, referring, concerning, regarding, viewing, broadly speaking etc. do not take any Subject of Reference.

For example,

Correct - Considering the case, I took the decision.

Here I is not a Subject of Reference of considering. So, there is no Subject of Reference for 'considering, still the sentence is correct.

C. USES OF VERBS

21. When there are two Subjects in a sentence and they are not in the same Number, then we must have to use separate Auxiliaries (is, are, am, was, were, have, has) for both of them.

For example,

Incorrect- Three- killed and one were injured.

Correct- Three were killed and one was injured.

22. A single Verb should be made to serve two Subjects, only when the form of Verb is same for both the subjects.

Incorrect- I am seventeen years old and my sister fourteen.

Correct- I am seventeen years old and my sister is fourteen.

23. Two auxiliaries can be used with one principal Verb, only when the form of the principal Verb is appropriate to both the auxiliaries. '

Incorrect- He never has, and never will take such strong measures.

Correct- He never has taken, and never will take such strong measures.

24. When there is only one auxiliary to two principal Verbs it should be correctly associated with the both.

Incorrect- Ten candidates have passed one failed.

Correct- Ten candidates have passed, one has failed.

25. A Past Tense in the main clause should be followed by a Past Tense in the subordinate clause.

Incorrect- He succeeded because he works hard.

Correct- He succeeded because he worked hard.

26. A Past Tense in main clause may be followed by a Present Tense

in the subordinate clause when the subordinate clause expresses a universal truth.

Incorrect- Our teacher said that the earth moved round the sun.

Correct- Our teacher said that the earth moves round the sun.

27. When the subordinate clause comes after 'lest', the auxiliary Verb 'should' must be used, whatever be the Tense of the Verb in the main clause.

Incorrect- We start early lest we shall miss the train.

Correct- We start early lest we should miss the train.

28. An Adverb or Adverbial phrase should not be placed between 'to' and verbal part of,the infinitive. (This is called the split infinitive).

Incorrect- I hoped to immediately reply to your letter:

Correct- I hoped to reply immediately to your letter.

29. An infinitive should be in the present tense unless it represents' an action prior to that of the governing Verb.

Incorrect- I should have liked to have gone-there.

Correct- I should have liked to go there.

30. Gerund if preceded by a Pr-o-noun, that Pronoun must be in Possessive case.

Incorrect - He emphasised me going there.

Correct- He emphasised my go-ing there.

31. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used for an action that began in the past time and still. going at the time of speaking~ It is used with, Adverbials of time introduced by 'since', 'for' and 'how long~.

Incorrect- How long are you working i~ this office?

. Correct- How long have you been working in this office?

32. A Verb when preceded by a Preposition must be the Gerund.

Incorrect- They were punished for come late.

Correct- They were punished for, coming late.

33. The Future Indefinite Tense is not used in the clauses of time, place and condition. Here the Present In¬definite Tense is used.

Incorrect- I shall wait for you till you will finish your work.

Correct- I shall wait for you, till you finish your work.

34. The Present Perfect Tense is not used with the Adverbs of past time like yesterday, in 1990 etc. Here Past Indefinite Tense is used.

Incorrect~ I have bought a cycle yesterday.

Correct-I bought a cycle yesterday.

The Past Perfect Tense is used to represent the earlier of the two past actions.

Incorrect- When I reached the station, the train already left.

Correct- When I reached the station, the train had already left.

35. Modal Auxiliaries are not used together. But two Auxiliaries can be connected by a Conjunction.

For example,

Incorrect-He should must do it. Correct- He should and must do

it.

36. When need or dare is fol-lowed by not, it turns into modal auxiliary. In that situation it takes Bare Infinitive 'and we cannot use needs not or dares not.

For example,

Incorrect- He needs not do it. Correct- He need not do it.

D. USES OF ADJECTIVES

37. Adjectives of quantity show how much of a thing is meant. Adjectives of quantity (some; much, little, enough, all, no, any, great, half, sufficient, whole) are used for Uncountable Nuns only.

For example,

Incorrect-I ate a few rice. Correct- I ate some rice.

38. Numeral Adjectives are used for Countable Noun only and they show how many persons or things are meant or in what order a person or thing stands,

For example,

Incorrect- I have taught you little things.

Correct- I have taught you a few things.

39. When cardinal and ordinal are used together ordinal preceds the cardinal.

For example,

Incorrect- The four first boys will be given the chance.

Correct- The first four boys will be given the chance.

40. Later, latest refer to time, latter and last refer to position.

For example,

Incorrect- I reached at 10 am.

But he was latter than I expected.

Correct- I reached at 10 am. But he was later than I expected,

41. Farther means more distant or advanced; further means additional.

For example,

Incorrect- He insisted on farther improvement.

Correct- He insisted on further improvement.

42. Each is used in speaking of two or more things, every is used only in speaking of more than two.

For example,

Incorrect- Every of the two boys will get a prize.

Correct- Each of the two boys will get a prize.

43. To express quantity or degree some is used in affirmative sentences, any in negative or interrogative sentences.

For example,.

Incorrect- Have you bought some mangoes?

Correct- Have you bought any mangoes?

44. In comparing two things, the Comparative should be used, The Superlativ should not be used.

Incorrect- Which is the best of the two?

Correct- Which is the better of the two?

45. When two qualities of the same person or thing are compared,the Comparative in-er is not used. 'More' is used for this purpose.

Incorrect- He is wiser than brave.

Correct- He is more wise than brave.

46. When comparison is made by means of a comparative, the thing compared should be excluded from the class of things with which it is compared by using 'other' or some such word.

Incorrect- He is cleverer than any boy in the class.

Correct- He is cleverer than any other boy in the class.

47. When comparison is made by means of a superlative, the thing com-pared should include the class of things with which it is compared.

Incorrect- He is the strongest of all other men.

Correct- He is the strongest of all men ..

48. When two persons or things are compared, it is important that the same parts of things should be compared.

Incorrect- The population of Bombay is greater than Delhi.

Correct- The population of Bombay is greater than that of Delhi.

49. Double comparatives and superlatives should not be used.

1. Incorrect- He is the most cleverest boy in the class.

Correct- He is the cleverest boy in the class.

2. Incorrect- He is more wiser than his brother.

Correct- He 'is wiser than his brother.

50. The comparative Adjectives superior inferior, senior, junior, prior, anterior, posterior prefer, etc., should be followed by 'to' instead of 'than'.

Incorrect- He is senior than me.

Correct- He is senior to me.

51. Adjectives like 'unique', ideal,

perfect, complete, universal, entire, extreme, chief, full square and round, which do not admit different degrees of comparison should not be compared.

Incorrect- It is the most unique thing.

Correct- It is a unique thing.

52. All the Adjectives which refer to the same Noun should be in the same degree of comparison.

Incorrect- He is the wisest and honest worker in the office.

Correct- He is the wisest and most honest worker in the office.

53. 'Elder' and 'eldest' should be used for persons only, strictly speaking, they are used for the members of the same family only. 'Older' and 'oldest' are used for both persons and things.

Incorrect- He is my older brother.

Correct- He is my elder brother.

E. USES OF ADVERBS

54. To modify a Verb, an Adjective or another Adverb, we use an Adverb.

Incorrect- She writes very careful.

Correct- She writes very carefully.

Carefully is an Adjective which cannot modify the Adverb very, therefore carefully (Adverb) must be used in place of Adjective careful.

55. Too means more than required and it is used with Unpleasant Adjective. So, we cannot use too glad, too happy, too pleasant, too healthy.

For example,

Incorrect- I am too glad to meet you.

Correct- I am very glad to meet you.

56. A sentence which is based on ''Too .... To" format, we cannot replace to with so that. If we replace to with so that, too also must be replaced with cannot.

For example,

Incorrect- He is too weak so that he cannot walk.

Correct- He is too weak to walk. Correct- He is so weak that he cannot walk.

57. Much too is followed by Unpleasant Adjective, whereas too much is followed by Noun.

Much too + Unpleasant Adjective.

Too much + Noun.

For example,

Incorrect- His failure is too much painful for me.

Correct- His failure is much too painful for me.

Incorrect- His wife's rude behavior gives him much too pain.

Correct- His wife's rude behavior gives him too much pain.

58. Quite and all are not used together.

For example,

Incorrect- He is quite all right. Correct- He is quite right. or He

is all right-

59. A/An + Fairly + Adjective +

Noun or Rather + A + Adjective For example,

(i) a fairly good book

(ii) rather a difficult problem.

But we cannot use Pleasant Adjective with rather and Unpleasant Adjective with fairly.

For example,

Incorrect- It was a rather good book.

Correct- It was a fairly good book.

60. Enough, when used as an Adverb, is preceded by a positive degree Adjective or Adverb.

For example,

Incorrect- He is greater enough to pardon you.

Correct- He is great enough to

pardon you. '

61. Two negatives cancel each other. Hence two negatives should not be used in the same sentence unless we make an affirmation.

Incorrect-I have not got none.

Correct- I.have not got any.

62. 'At present' means 'at the present time', 'presently' means 'shortly'. These should not be confused.

1. Incorrect- Nothing more can be done presently.

Correct- Nothing more can be done at present.

2. Incorrect- He will come back at present.

Correct- He will come back presently.

63. 'Hard' means 'diligently', strenuously', 'Hardly' means 'scarcely at all'. These two Adverbial forms of 'hard' must not be confused.

1. Incorrect- He tried hardly to win the race.

Correct- He tried hard to win the race.

2. Incorrect- She has eaten hard anything today.

Correct- She has eaten hardly anything today.

64. 'Much' is used before past participles and Adjectives or Adverbs of comparative degree. 'Very' is used before the present participles and Adjectives and Adverbs of positive degree.

1. Incorrect- The news is much surprising.

Correct- The news is very surprising.

2. Incorrect-I was very surprised at hearing the news.

Correct- I was much surprised at hearing the news.

65. Hardly is an Adverb which means rarely. Whereas hard is an Adjective which means tough, rigid.

For example,

Incorrect- It is a hardly job.

Correct- It is a hard job.

66. Ago is always used with Past Indefinite Tense. So, if ago is used in a sentence, that sentence must be in the Past Indefinite Tense.

For example,

Incorrect- He has come a month ago.

Correct- He came a month ago. 67. At present means at this moment and it is used with •Present Tense, whereas presently and shortly are used for future' action and generally' used with Future Indefinite Tense.

For example,

Incorrect- Presently he is in the room.

Correct- At present he is in the room.

68. Early means "just after the beginning of anything" and soon means just after a point of time.

For example,

Roses blossomed early this spring.

69. The sentence which starts with seldom, never. hardly. rarely or scarcely takes an inverse structure, Le., Verb + Subject - Structure. For example,

Incorrect- Seldom I had seen such a beautiful sight.

Correct- Seldom had I seen such a beautiful sight.

70. Inversion is also used in a sentence which starts with here/there/ away/out/up/indoor or outdoor and Main Verb, or Aux + Main Verb is used before the Subject.

For example,

Incorrect- Away Sita went Correct- Away went Sita.

F. USES OF CONJUNCTIONS

71. Two Conjunctions should not be used in the same sentence.

Incorrect- Although she was tired, but she still went on working.

Correct- Although she was tired, she still went on working.

72. 'Both' should be followed by 'and'. It should be used in the positive sense. In the negative sense, 'neither' ..... .'nor• should be used in place of 'both'.

incorrect- Both Ravi as well as Raja were present there.

Correct- Both Ravi and Raja were present there.

73. 'Either ... or', 'neither .... nor:

'both and', 'not only but also'

should be followed by the same parts of speech.

Incorrect- He not only lost his ticket, but also his luggage.

Correct- He lost not only his ticket but also his luggage.

74. 'Neither' should be followed , by 'nor', 'either' should be followed by 'or'. Both these should not be con¬fused.

Incorrect- He washed neither his hands or his face.

Correct- He washed neither his hands nor his face.

75. 'No sooner' should be fol¬lowed by 'than', not by 'but' or 'then'.

Incorrect- No sooner do I finish this book then I shall begin another.

Correct- No sooner do I finish the book, than I shall begin another.

76. 'Hardly' and 'scarcely' should be followed by 'when' or 'before', but not by 'than' or 'that'.

Incorrect- Hardly did I reach the station, than the train left it.

Correct- Hardly did I reach the station when the train left it.

77. 'That' should not be used before a sentence in Direct Speech and before Interrogative Adverbs and Pronouns in the Indirect Speech.

1. Incorrect- He said that, "I shall go there."

Correct- He said, "I shall go there".

2. Incorrect- He asked me that who I was.

Correct- He asked me who was.

G. USES OF PREPOSITION

78. Objective case (of Noun or• Pronoun) is used after Preposition.

For example,

Incorrect- I do not depend on he.

Correct- I do not depend on him.

79. The Prepositions used after two words must be made clear if these two words are connected by and or or.

For example,

Incorrect- She is conscious and engaged in her work.

Correct- She is conscious of and engaged in her work.

80. If a Principal Verb is used after about, after, at, before. for, from, in, on. to, that Verb must be in ing (V4) form.

For example,

Incorrect- You prevented me from do it.

Correct- You prevented me from doing it. .

81. On, in, at, are not used before today, tomorrow, yesterday, the following day, the next day etc.

For example,

Incorrect- He will go there on to-morrow.

Correct- He will go there tomorrow.

82. No Preposition is used before the word home. At home is a phrase which bears a different meaning.

For example,

Incorrect- Bring a T.V. set at home.

Correct- Bring a T.V. se$ home. 83. After Transitive Verbs, like dis¬cuss, describe, reach, order, tell, demand, attack, resemble, ridicule, etc. we directly use the object and no Preposition is used after the Verb.

For example:

Incorrect- The poet describes about the beauty of naturel in this poem.

Correct- The poet describes the beauty of nature in this poem.

84. Say/suggest/propose/speak/reply/explain/talk/listen/write is followed by to-Preposition if there is a person in the form of object.

For example,

1. Incorrect- He did not reply me.

Correct- He did not reply to me. 2. Incorrect- He did not write to a letter.

Correct- He did not write a letter.

H. USES OF PRONOUNS

85. When a Pronoun is used as the complement of the Verb 'to be', it should be in the nominative case.

Incorrect- If I were him, I would not do it.

Correct- If I were he, I would not do it.

86. When the Pronoun is used as the object of a Verb or of a Preposition, it should be in the objective case.

1. Incorrect- Let you and I do it.

Correct- Let you and me do it.

2. Incorrect- These presents are for you and I.

Correct- These presents are for you and me.

87. Emphatic Pronouns can not

stand alone as Subjects~ Incorrect- Himself did it. Correct- He himself did it.

88. The Indefinite Pronoun 'one' should be used throughout if used at all.

Incorrect- One must not boast of his own success.

Correct- One must not boast of one's own success.

89. 'Either' or 'neither' is used only in speaking of two persons or things; 'any', 'no one' and 'none' is used in speaking of more than two.

1. Incorrect- Anyone of these two roads leads to the railway station.

Correct- Either of these two roads leads to the railway station.

2. Incorrect- Neither of these three boys did his homework.

Correct- No one of these three boys did his homework.

90. 'Each other' is used in speaking of two persons or things; 'one an¬other' is used in speaking of more than two.

Incorrect- The two brothers loved one another.

Correct- The two brothers loved each other.

91. A Noun or Pronoun governing a Gerund should be put in the possessive case.

Incorrect- Please excuse me being late.

Correct- Please excuse my being late.

92. A Pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, number and gender.

Incorrect- Each of these boys has done their homework.

Correct- Each of these boys has done his homework.

93. When two or more Singular Nouns are joined by 'and', the Pronoun used for them must be in Plural.

Incorrect- Both Raju and Ravi have done his homework.

Correct- Both Raju and Ravi have done their homework.

94. When two or more Singular Nouns joined by 'and' refer to the same person or thing, a Pronoun used for them must be in the singular.

Incorrect- The collector and District Magistrate is not negligent in their duty.

Correct- The collector and District Magistrate is not negligent in his duty.

95. When two or more singular nouns joined by 'or' or 'nor', 'either ... or', 'neither .. nor', the Pronoun used for them should be in the singular.

Incorrect- Neither Ravi nor Raju has done their homework.

Correct- Neither Ravi nor Raju has done his homework.

96. When two or more singular Pronouns of different persons come together, the Pronoun of second per¬son singular (you) comes first, the pronoun of the first person singular (I) comes last and the pronoun of the third person singular (he) comes in between.

Incorrect- I, You and he must work together ..

Correct- You, he and I must work together.

97. When two or more plural Pro-nouns of different persons come together first person plural (we) comes first, then second person plural (you) and last of all third person plural (they).

Incorrect- You, they and we must work together ..

Correct- We, you and they must work together.

98. The Relative Pronoun who is in subjective case, whereas whom is in objective case. Therefore, for who there must be a Finite Verb in the sentence. Or otherwise, when whom (Object) is used in the sentence and there is more Finite Verb's than the number of Subjects in the sentence, then whom should be changed into who (Subject).

For example,

Incorrect- The doctor whom came here was Ram's brother.

Correct- The doctor who came here was Ram's brother.

99. With Superlative Degree Adjective, only, none, all etc., as Relative Pronoun we use that and not which or who.

For example,

Incorrect- All which glitters is not gold.

Correct- All that glitters is not gold.

100. After let, if a Pronoun is used, that Pronoun must be in the Objective Case.

For example,

Incorrect- Let he go there.

Correct- Let him go there.





17. When but is used as a Preposition and preceded by any form of the Verb do, then but is followed with Bare Infinitive.

Incorrect- He did nothing but to wander.

Correct- He did nothing but wander.

18. Every Participile must have a Subject of Reference.

For example,

Incorrect- Being a rainy day Vijay decided to stay at home.

Correct- It being a rainy day Vijay decided to stay at home.

19. For completed action Having + Va is used in Active Voice, whereas Having + been + Va or Being + Va is used in Passive Voice. After should not be used in such a sentence.

For example,

Incorrect- After the leader having been killed, the followers ran away.

Correct- The leader having been killed, the followers ran away.

20. Participles like considering, judging, referring, concerning, regarding, viewing, broadly speaking etc. do not take any Subject of Reference.

For example,

Correct - Considering the case, I took the decision.

Here I is not a Subject of Reference of considering. So, there is no Subject of Reference for 'considering, still the sentence is correct.



C. USES OF VERBS




21. When there are two Subjects in a sentence and they are not in the same Number, then we must have to use separate Auxiliaries (is, are, am, was, were, have, has) for both of them.

For example,

Incorrect- Three- killed and one were injured.

Correct- Three were killed and one was injured.

22. A single Verb should be made to serve two Subjects, only when the form of Verb is same for both the subjects.

Incorrect- I am seventeen years old and my sister fourteen.

Correct- I am seventeen years old and my sister is fourteen.

23. Two auxiliaries can be used with one principal Verb, only when the form of the principal Verb is appropriate to both the auxiliaries. '

Incorrect- He never has, and never will take such strong measures.

Correct- He never has taken, and never will take such strong measures.

24. When there is only one auxiliary to two principal Verbs it should be correctly associated with the both.

Incorrect- Ten candidates have passed one failed.

Correct- Ten candidates have passed, one has failed.

25. A Past Tense in the main clause should be followed by a Past Tense in the subordinate clause.

Incorrect- He succeeded because he works hard.

Correct- He succeeded because he worked hard.

26. A Past Tense in main clause may be followed by a Present Tense

in the subordinate clause when the subordinate clause expresses a universal truth.

Incorrect- Our teacher said that the earth moved round the sun.

Correct- Our teacher said that the earth moves round the sun.

27. When the subordinate clause comes after 'lest', the auxiliary Verb 'should' must be used, whatever be the Tense of the Verb in the main clause.

Incorrect- We start early lest we shall miss the train.

Correct- We start early lest we should miss the train.

28. An Adverb or Adverbial phrase should not be placed between 'to' and verbal part of,the infinitive. (This is called the split infinitive).

Incorrect- I hoped to immediately reply to your letter:

Correct- I hoped to reply immediately to your letter.

29. An infinitive should be in the present tense unless it represents' an action prior to that of the governing Verb.

Incorrect- I should have liked to have gone-there.

Correct- I should have liked to go there.

30. Gerund if preceded by a Pr-o-noun, that Pronoun must be in Possessive case.

Incorrect - He emphasised me going there.

Correct- He emphasised my go-ing there.

31. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used for an action that began in the past time and still. going at the time of speaking~ It is used with, Adverbials of time introduced by 'since', 'for' and 'how long~.

Incorrect- How long are you working i~ this office?

. Correct- How long have you been working in this office?

32. A Verb when preceded by a Preposition must be the Gerund.

Incorrect- They were punished for come late.

Correct- They were punished for, coming late.

33. The Future Indefinite Tense is not used in the clauses of time, place and condition. Here the Present In¬definite Tense is used.

Incorrect- I shall wait for you till you will finish your work.

Correct- I shall wait for you, till you finish your work.

34. The Present Perfect Tense is not used with the Adverbs of past time like yesterday, in 1990 etc. Here Past Indefinite Tense is used.

Incorrect~ I have bought a cycle yesterday.

Correct-I bought a cycle yesterday.

The Past Perfect Tense is used to represent the earlier of the two past actions.

Incorrect- When I reached the station, the train already left.

Correct- When I reached the station, the train had already left.

35. Modal Auxiliaries are not used together. But two Auxiliaries can be connected by a Conjunction.

For example,

Incorrect-He should must do it. Correct- He should and must do

it.

36. When need or dare is fol-lowed by not, it turns into modal auxiliary. In that situation it takes Bare Infinitive 'and we cannot use needs not or dares not.

For example,

Incorrect- He needs not do it. Correct- He need not do it.






D. USES OF ADJECTIVES




37. Adjectives of quantity show how much of a thing is meant. Adjectives of quantity (some; much, little, enough, all, no, any, great, half, sufficient, whole) are used for Uncountable Nuns only.

For example,

Incorrect-I ate a few rice. Correct- I ate some rice.

38. Numeral Adjectives are used for Countable Noun only and they show how many persons or things are meant or in what order a person or thing stands,

For example,

Incorrect- I have taught you little things.

Correct- I have taught you a few things.

39. When cardinal and ordinal are used together ordinal preceds the cardinal.

For example,

Incorrect- The four first boys will be given the chance.

Correct- The first four boys will be given the chance.

40. Later, latest refer to time, latter and last refer to position.

For example,

Incorrect- I reached at 10 am.

But he was latter than I expected.

Correct- I reached at 10 am. But he was later than I expected,

41. Farther means more distant or advanced; further means additional.

For example,

Incorrect- He insisted on farther improvement.

Correct- He insisted on further improvement.

42. Each is used in speaking of two or more things, every is used only in speaking of more than two.

For example,

Incorrect- Every of the two boys will get a prize.

Correct- Each of the two boys will get a prize.

43. To express quantity or degree some is used in affirmative sentences, any in negative or interrogative sentences.

For example,.

Incorrect- Have you bought some mangoes?

Correct- Have you bought any mangoes?

44. In comparing two things, the Comparative should be used, The Superlativ should not be used.

Incorrect- Which is the best of the two?

Correct- Which is the better of the two?

45. When two qualities of the same person or thing are compared,the Comparative in-er is not used. 'More' is used for this purpose.

Incorrect- He is wiser than brave.

Correct- He is more wise than brave.

46. When comparison is made by means of a comparative, the thing compared should be excluded from the class of things with which it is compared by using 'other' or some such word.

Incorrect- He is cleverer than any boy in the class.

Correct- He is cleverer than any other boy in the class.

47. When comparison is made by means of a superlative, the thing com-pared should include the class of things with which it is compared.

Incorrect- He is the strongest of all other men.

Correct- He is the strongest of all men ..

48. When two persons or things are compared, it is important that the same parts of things should be compared.

Incorrect- The population of Bombay is greater than Delhi.

Correct- The population of Bombay is greater than that of Delhi.

49. Double comparatives and superlatives should not be used.

1. Incorrect- He is the most cleverest boy in the class.

Correct- He is the cleverest boy in the class.

2. Incorrect- He is more wiser than his brother.

Correct- He 'is wiser than his brother.

50. The comparative Adjectives superior inferior, senior, junior, prior, anterior, posterior prefer, etc., should be followed by 'to' instead of 'than'.

Incorrect- He is senior than me.

Correct- He is senior to me.



51. Adjectives like 'unique', ideal,

perfect, complete, universal, entire, extreme, chief, full square and round, which do not admit different degrees of comparison should not be compared.

Incorrect- It is the most unique thing.

Correct- It is a unique thing.

52. All the Adjectives which refer to the same Noun should be in the same degree of comparison.

Incorrect- He is the wisest and honest worker in the office.

Correct- He is the wisest and most honest worker in the office.

53. 'Elder' and 'eldest' should be used for persons only, strictly speaking, they are used for the members of the same family only. 'Older' and 'oldest' are used for both persons and things.

Incorrect- He is my older brother.

Correct- He is my elder brother.



E. USES OF ADVERBS




54. To modify a Verb, an Adjective or another Adverb, we use an Adverb.

Incorrect- She writes very careful.

Correct- She writes very carefully.

Carefully is an Adjective which cannot modify the Adverb very, therefore carefully (Adverb) must be used in place of Adjective careful.

55. Too means more than required and it is used with Unpleasant Adjective. So, we cannot use too glad, too happy, too pleasant, too healthy.

For example,

Incorrect- I am too glad to meet you.

Correct- I am very glad to meet you.

56. A sentence which is based on ''Too .... To" format, we cannot replace to with so that. If we replace to with so that, too also must be replaced with cannot.

For example,

Incorrect- He is too weak so that he cannot walk.

Correct- He is too weak to walk. Correct- He is so weak that he cannot walk.

57. Much too is followed by Unpleasant Adjective, whereas too much is followed by Noun.

Much too + Unpleasant Adjective.

Too much + Noun.

For example,

Incorrect- His failure is too much painful for me.

Correct- His failure is much too painful for me.

Incorrect- His wife's rude behavior gives him much too pain.

Correct- His wife's rude behavior gives him too much pain.

58. Quite and all are not used together.

For example,

Incorrect- He is quite all right. Correct- He is quite right. or He

is all right-

59. A/An + Fairly + Adjective +

Noun or Rather + A + Adjective For example,

(i) a fairly good book

(ii) rather a difficult problem.

But we cannot use Pleasant Adjective with rather and Unpleasant Adjective with fairly.

For example,

Incorrect- It was a rather good book.

Correct- It was a fairly good book.

60. Enough, when used as an Adverb, is preceded by a positive degree Adjective or Adverb.

For example,

Incorrect- He is greater enough to pardon you.

Correct- He is great enough to

pardon you. '

61. Two negatives cancel each other. Hence two negatives should not be used in the same sentence unless we make an affirmation.

Incorrect-I have not got none.

Correct- I.have not got any.

62. 'At present' means 'at the present time', 'presently' means 'shortly'. These should not be confused.

1. Incorrect- Nothing more can be done presently.

Correct- Nothing more can be done at present.

2. Incorrect- He will come back at present.

Correct- He will come back presently.

63. 'Hard' means 'diligently', strenuously', 'Hardly' means 'scarcely at all'. These two Adverbial forms of 'hard' must not be confused.

1. Incorrect- He tried hardly to win the race.

Correct- He tried hard to win the race.

2. Incorrect- She has eaten hard anything today.

Correct- She has eaten hardly anything today.

64. 'Much' is used before past participles and Adjectives or Adverbs of comparative degree. 'Very' is used before the present participles and Adjectives and Adverbs of positive degree.

1. Incorrect- The news is much surprising.

Correct- The news is very surprising.

2. Incorrect-I was very surprised at hearing the news.

Correct- I was much surprised at hearing the news.

65. Hardly is an Adverb which means rarely. Whereas hard is an Adjective which means tough, rigid.

For example,

Incorrect- It is a hardly job.

Correct- It is a hard job.

66. Ago is always used with Past Indefinite Tense. So, if ago is used in a sentence, that sentence must be in the Past Indefinite Tense.

For example,

Incorrect- He has come a month ago.

Correct- He came a month ago. 67. At present means at this moment and it is used with •Present Tense, whereas presently and shortly are used for future' action and generally' used with Future Indefinite Tense.

For example,

Incorrect- Presently he is in the room.

Correct- At present he is in the room.

68. Early means "just after the beginning of anything" and soon means just after a point of time.

For example,

Roses blossomed early this spring.

69. The sentence which starts with seldom, never. hardly. rarely or scarcely takes an inverse structure, Le., Verb + Subject - Structure. For example,

Incorrect- Seldom I had seen such a beautiful sight.

Correct- Seldom had I seen such a beautiful sight.

70. Inversion is also used in a sentence which starts with here/there/ away/out/up/indoor or outdoor and Main Verb, or Aux + Main Verb is used before the Subject.

For example,

Incorrect- Away Sita went Correct- Away went Sita.






F. USES OF CONJUNCTIONS





71. Two Conjunctions should not be used in the same sentence.

Incorrect- Although she was tired, but she still went on working.

Correct- Although she was tired, she still went on working.

72. 'Both' should be followed by 'and'. It should be used in the positive sense. In the negative sense, 'neither' ..... .'nor• should be used in place of 'both'.

incorrect- Both Ravi as well as Raja were present there.

Correct- Both Ravi and Raja were present there.

73. 'Either ... or', 'neither .... nor:

'both and', 'not only but also'

should be followed by the same parts of speech.

Incorrect- He not only lost his ticket, but also his luggage.

Correct- He lost not only his ticket but also his luggage.

74. 'Neither' should be followed , by 'nor', 'either' should be followed by 'or'. Both these should not be con¬fused.

Incorrect- He washed neither his hands or his face.

Correct- He washed neither his hands nor his face.

75. 'No sooner' should be fol¬lowed by 'than', not by 'but' or 'then'.

Incorrect- No sooner do I finish this book then I shall begin another.

Correct- No sooner do I finish the book, than I shall begin another.

76. 'Hardly' and 'scarcely' should be followed by 'when' or 'before', but not by 'than' or 'that'.

Incorrect- Hardly did I reach the station, than the train left it.

Correct- Hardly did I reach the station when the train left it.

77. 'That' should not be used before a sentence in Direct Speech and before Interrogative Adverbs and Pronouns in the Indirect Speech.

1. Incorrect- He said that, "I shall go there."

Correct- He said, "I shall go there".

2. Incorrect- He asked me that who I was.

Correct- He asked me who was.



G. USES OF PREPOSITION




78. Objective case (of Noun or• Pronoun) is used after Preposition.

For example,

Incorrect- I do not depend on he.

Correct- I do not depend on him.

79. The Prepositions used after two words must be made clear if these two words are connected by and or or.

For example,

Incorrect- She is conscious and engaged in her work.

Correct- She is conscious of and engaged in her work.

80. If a Principal Verb is used after about, after, at, before. for, from, in, on. to, that Verb must be in ing (V4) form.

For example,

Incorrect- You prevented me from do it.

Correct- You prevented me from doing it. .

81. On, in, at, are not used before today, tomorrow, yesterday, the following day, the next day etc.

For example,

Incorrect- He will go there on to-morrow.

Correct- He will go there tomorrow.

82. No Preposition is used before the word home. At home is a phrase which bears a different meaning.

For example,

Incorrect- Bring a T.V. set at home.

Correct- Bring a T.V. se$ home. 83. After Transitive Verbs, like dis¬cuss, describe, reach, order, tell, demand, attack, resemble, ridicule, etc. we directly use the object and no Preposition is used after the Verb.

For example:

Incorrect- The poet describes about the beauty of naturel in this poem.

Correct- The poet describes the beauty of nature in this poem.

84. Say/suggest/propose/speak/reply/explain/talk/listen/write is followed by to-Preposition if there is a person in the form of object.

For example,

1. Incorrect- He did not reply me.

Correct- He did not reply to me. 2. Incorrect- He did not write to a letter.

Correct- He did not write a letter.



H. USES OF PRONOUNS




85. When a Pronoun is used as the complement of the Verb 'to be', it should be in the nominative case.

Incorrect- If I were him, I would not do it.

Correct- If I were he, I would not do it.

86. When the Pronoun is used as the object of a Verb or of a Preposition, it should be in the objective case.

1. Incorrect- Let you and I do it.

Correct- Let you and me do it.

2. Incorrect- These presents are for you and I.

Correct- These presents are for you and me.

87. Emphatic Pronouns can not

stand alone as Subjects~ Incorrect- Himself did it. Correct- He himself did it.

88. The Indefinite Pronoun 'one' should be used throughout if used at all.

Incorrect- One must not boast of his own success.

Correct- One must not boast of one's own success.

89. 'Either' or 'neither' is used only in speaking of two persons or things; 'any', 'no one' and 'none' is used in speaking of more than two.

1. Incorrect- Anyone of these two roads leads to the railway station.

Correct- Either of these two roads leads to the railway station.

2. Incorrect- Neither of these three boys did his homework.

Correct- No one of these three boys did his homework.

90. 'Each other' is used in speaking of two persons or things; 'one an¬other' is used in speaking of more than two.

Incorrect- The two brothers loved one another.

Correct- The two brothers loved each other.

91. A Noun or Pronoun governing a Gerund should be put in the possessive case.

Incorrect- Please excuse me being late.

Correct- Please excuse my being late.

92. A Pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, number and gender.

Incorrect- Each of these boys has done their homework.

Correct- Each of these boys has done his homework.

93. When two or more Singular Nouns are joined by 'and', the Pronoun used for them must be in Plural.

Incorrect- Both Raju and Ravi have done his homework.

Correct- Both Raju and Ravi have done their homework.

94. When two or more Singular Nouns joined by 'and' refer to the same person or thing, a Pronoun used for them must be in the singular.

Incorrect- The collector and District Magistrate is not negligent in their duty.

Correct- The collector and District Magistrate is not negligent in his duty.

95. When two or more singular nouns joined by 'or' or 'nor', 'either ... or', 'neither .. nor', the Pronoun used for them should be in the singular.

Incorrect- Neither Ravi nor Raju has done their homework.

Correct- Neither Ravi nor Raju has done his homework.

96. When two or more singular Pronouns of different persons come together, the Pronoun of second per¬son singular (you) comes first, the pronoun of the first person singular (I) comes last and the pronoun of the third person singular (he) comes in between.

Incorrect- I, You and he must work together ..

Correct- You, he and I must work together.

97. When two or more plural Pro-nouns of different persons come together first person plural (we) comes first, then second person plural (you) and last of all third person plural (they).

Incorrect- You, they and we must work together ..

Correct- We, you and they must work together.

98. The Relative Pronoun who is in subjective case, whereas whom is in objective case. Therefore, for who there must be a Finite Verb in the sentence. Or otherwise, when whom (Object) is used in the sentence and there is more Finite Verb's than the number of Subjects in the sentence, then whom should be changed into who (Subject).

For example,

Incorrect- The doctor whom came here was Ram's brother.

Correct- The doctor who came here was Ram's brother.

99. With Superlative Degree Adjective, only, none, all etc., as Relative Pronoun we use that and not which or who.

For example,

Incorrect- All which glitters is not gold.

Correct- All that glitters is not gold.

100. After let, if a Pronoun is used, that Pronoun must be in the Objective Case.

For example,

Incorrect- Let he go there.

Correct- Let him go there.