Spot the errors and correct them:-1

Thursday, August 1, 2013

1.           I have to buy any articles from the market.

2.           I will not eat something.

3.           Little tact would have avoided the embarrassment.

4.           No less than fifty roses were brought.

5.           I want little milk.

6.           She has started leading a luxurious life after her marriage.

7.           Good begun is half-done.

8.           All is good that ends good.

9.           He has always been the dearer of all the nephews.

10.      The flowers smell sweetly.

11.      He looks very smartly in her uniform.

12.      She is the kindest of the two girls.

13.      This is the eldest monument in India.

14.      Is your uncle older to your mother?

15.      A little further down, you will see a turn.

16.      Let us not discuss it farther.

17.      He is the most ablest employer we have.

18.      My boss is senior than me by five years.

19.      Somesh is junior than me.

20.      The quality of this blanket is inferior than that.

21.      I prefer pizza than pasta.

22.      Have you met the eldest woman of this village?

23.      My car is longer to yours.

24.    This is the best of the two options available.

25.    Lakshmi and kamakshi are sisters. The later is elder to Lakshmi.

The Key

1.     ‘a few’ instead of ‘any’

2.     ‘anything’ instead of ‘something’ ( ‘anything’ is used for interrogatives and negatives)

3.     ‘a little’ instead of ‘little’ (‘a little’ means ‘some’. ‘Little’ means almost nothing)

4.     ‘not less’ instead of ‘ No less’

5.     ‘a little’ instead of ‘little’

6.     ‘wedding’ instead of ‘marriage’ (‘Marriage is a long term relationship. Wedding is the ceremony of getting married.)

7.     ‘Well-begun’ instead of ‘good begun’.

8.     ‘well’ instead of ‘good’ in both places.

9.     ‘the dearest’ instead of ‘the dearer’.

10.        ‘sweet’ instead of ‘sweetly’.

11.       ‘smart’ instead of ‘smartly’

12.       ‘the kinder’ instead of ‘the kindest’ ( Though, usually, the superlative form of the adjective comes after ‘the’, when there are only two objects, there is no possibility for a superlative. Hence, only comparative degree is used.)

13.       ‘oldest’ instead of ‘eldest’. ( elder, eldest, etc., are used when it concerns members of the same family. However, we can refer to an old man of the village, as the ‘village elder’.

14.       ‘elder’ instead of ‘older’

15.       ‘farther’ in stead of ‘further’. (‘farther’ means ‘to agreater distance’)

16.       ‘further’ in stead of  ‘farther’ ( ‘further’ means ‘to a greater extent, more, additional)

17.       ‘ablest’ in stead of  ‘most ablest’ ( Two superlatives will not occur together)

18.       ‘to’ in stead of ‘than’

19.       ‘to’ in stead of ‘than’

20.       ‘to’ in stead of ‘than’

21.       ‘to’ in stead of ‘than’

22.       ‘oldest’ in stead of ‘eldest’

23.       ‘than’ in stead of ‘to’

24.       ‘better’ in stead of ‘best’

25.       ‘latter’ in stead of ‘later’ (‘latter’ means the one mentioned second. ‘former’ is one mentioned first).

Words often confused and misused: 4

1.     Between and among

Between       To and from

I would like to meet you between 2 p.m and 4.p.m. ( ‘Between’ is used only when there are two things. If there are more than two numbers, ‘among’ is used.)

Among          In the midst of

Please distribute the sweets among the students.

2.    Canvas and Canvass

Canvas          A kind of rough cloth

Bags made out of canvas cloth are strong and last long.

Canvass       To ask for votes

Nowadays, film actors have started canvassing for votes.

3.    Cast and Caste      

Cast         To throw somebody or something ( The word does not change in its past tense of past participle form)

We should think of donating our old clothes instead of casting them away.

Caste       Hindu class system

In the olden days, castes were decided based on the professions of individuals.

4.    Ceremonious and Ceremonial

Ceremonious          Carefully formal or polite

The chief minister was given a   Ceremonious welcome.

Ceremonial              Done as part of a ceremony

The award was given at a ceremonial function.

5.    Childish and Childlike

Childish        Immature, suiting a child (mainly negative) ( Better to avoid this adjective when one wants to give someone a compliment)

Her behavior was quite childish. She must learn to exercise more restraint.

Childlike        Having the innocent, unspoiled quality of a child (positive)

Everyone is fascinated by Divya’s childlike smile.

Words often confused and misused:3

1.     Between and among

Between       To and from

I would like to meet you between 2 p.m and 4.p.m. ( ‘Between’ is used only when there are two things. If there are more than two numbers, ‘among’ is used.)

Among          In the midst of

Please distribute the sweets among the students.

2.    Canvas and Canvass

Canvas          A kind of rough cloth

Bags made out of canvas cloth are strong and last long.

Canvass       To ask for votes

Nowadays, film actors have started canvassing for votes.

3.    Cast and Caste      

Cast         To throw somebody or something ( The word does not change in its past tense of past participle form)

We should think of donating our old clothes instead of casting them away.

Caste       Hindu class system

In the olden days, castes were decided based on the professions of individuals.

4.    Ceremonious and Ceremonial

Ceremonious          Carefully formal or polite

The chief minister was given a   Ceremonious welcome.

Ceremonial              Done as part of a ceremony

The award was given at a ceremonial function.

5.    Childish and Childlike

Childish        Immature, suiting a child (mainly negative) ( Better to avoid this adjective when one wants to give someone a compliment)

Her behavior was quite childish. She must learn to exercise more restraint.

Childlike        Having the innocent, unspoiled quality of a child (positive)

Everyone is fascinated by Divya’s childlike smile.

1

Words often confused and misused: 2

One of my friends wanted me to talk about the usage of the words ‘repair’ and ‘prepone’.

·       In English, we use the word ‘repair’ to mean that something is in good condition/that which was not working well has been brought back to its original good condition. We talk about a car that is in good repair.In Tamil also, we use the word correctly, in sentences such as–– கார் ரிப்பேர் செய்தாகி விட்டது.But most often, the word is used in its opposite sense. We say, ‘கார் ரிப்பேர் ஆகி விட்டது’,  to mean, the car has broken down. This usage should be avoided.

·       The word ‘prepone’ is widely used to mean ‘a date or function has been ‘advanced’.

E.g., The meeting that was scheduled for 10^th April has been preponed to 8^th April.

We can easily understand how this expression came into being. Actually, it is a word coined by the Indians. The word ‘postpone’ means ‘to put off something.’

E.g., The meeting that was scheduled for 7^th April has been postponed to 10^th April.

The prefix ‘post’ means ‘after’ and it is used in that sense in phrases such as– post-dated checques, post-war period, post-independence era, etc.

The opposite of ‘post’ is ‘Pre’. We have expressions such as –‘pre-independence era’, ‘pre-school children’, ‘pre-teen behaviour’ etc.

A prefix should be added to a word that can make sense independently. In the examples given above, if we remove the prefix ‘post’/ ‘pre’, the rest of the word will make sense. But if we remove ‘post’ from the word ‘postpone’, what remains  (pone) will not make sense. So we cannot treat ‘ post’ as a ‘prefix’. For the same reason, we cannot add ‘pre’ as a prefix and coin the word ‘prepone’. It is better to use the word ‘advance’ in the place of ‘prepone’.

E.g. , The examinations have been advanced due to the General Elections.

Words often confused and misused: 1

After many months, I am back and hope to continue with my blogging.

We tend to get confused between words either because they look alike or sound alike. They need not necessarily be homonyms or homophones. Some kind of similarity can make people get confused. When we misuse words, the greatest disadvantage is that we fail to get our ideas across. They can also prove hilarious or dangerous. It is better to know the difference between words and use them appropriately.

1.                 Abuse                  Maltreatment of a person or animal

                              In some houses, children are abused even today.

            Misuse                 The incorrect or improper use of something.

                                          The officer was arrested for misusing his authority.

2.         Adapt                   Adjust

                                          My sister easily adapted to her new home after her wedding.

            Adopt                   Follow; legally raise another’s child

                                          The childless couple adopted a baby girl last month.

            Adept                   Expert

                                          He is an adept at playing saxophone.

3.         Affect                   Influence somebody or something

                              Meera is affected by the chill weather.

          Effect                   Result; being in force or operation; power to influence

                                          This medicine has very good effect.

4.         Alibi                       The accused’s claim of having been somewhere else

                              The  movie, ‘Drishyam’ revolves round the concept of alibi.

          Alias                       Also known as (a.k.a)

                                          Chanakya alias Kautilya was the author of Arthashastra.

5.        Alone                     Without company

                                    I don’t like to stay alone in the house.

         Lonely                    Feeling alone

                                          We at times feel lonely in the midst of a crowd.

More will follow.

May have, might have, must have

·       May have and might have are used when we wish to state that something has possibly happened now or sometime ago.

E.g.,

The bride groom’s party might have arrived by now. ( Perhaps they have arrived.)

They may have given the advance for the flat.( Perhaps they gave the advance, long back).

·       Must have is used to express a probability in the past.

E.g.,

Geetha must have taken the umbrella.

The thief must have escaped  through that window.

Now, go through the following sentences:

·       They could have easily solved the problem. (It was possible for them but they did not do so).

·       They will have finished writing the examination by now.

·       I thought you would have informed your parents about this.

·       You should have been more careful.( You were not and so you are in trouble now.)

·       Nilesh may have repaid the loans.( Perhaps he repaid them long back).

·       Meena is not at home now. She might have taken her child to the music class. ( Perhaps she has)

·       Don’t worry about your cell phone. Your mother must have kept it safe.(It is quite probable that she has)

*We will discuss the difference between ‘possible’ and ‘probable’ in the next post.

Hope /expect/ think

Hope /expect/ think

I find there is some confusion in the use of the above three words.

People especially use hope in the place of think.

When we use hope, there is a wish that it should be so.

E.g.,

We hope to reach there before 5 p.m.

( We wish to reach there before 5. p.m. Hopefully, it will happen).

But, think does not have any such connotation.

E.g.,

I think we will reach there before 5. p.m.

( Given the present circumstances, we should be there by 5. p.m. What we wish does not matter. It is just a statement.)

Also, note that there is a slight difference in the usage of expect and think.

Expect is more reliable. You expect certain things because you have either factual proof or previous experience.

E.g.,

We are driving quite fast. The road is very good. There is no traffic. We expect to be there by 5 p.m.

Now go through the three sentences below.

I hope you will do well in the examination. ( I wish it so).

I think you will do well in the examination. ( I am almost sure).

I expect you to do well in the examination. ( I know you. You are a studious person. You have to do well.)

*I hope I have made it clear.