Best Readers

Friday, April 13, 2012

OMISSION OF ARTICLES

Cases where articles should not be used

With uncountable nouns

Articles are not used with uncountable nouns when we make general statements.

I love coffee. (NOT... a coffee OR the coffee)
Milk is rich in nutrients. (NOT The milk OR a milk)
We can't do without water. (NOT The water OR a water)
She likes reading books. (NOT...the reading books OR a reading books)

With the names of countries

We do not use articles with the names of countries.

Japan is a developed nation. (NOT The Japan)
I have been to England. (NOT...to the England) Cases where articles should not be used

With uncountable nouns

Articles are not used with uncountable nouns when we make general statements.

I love coffee. (NOT... a coffee OR the coffee)
Milk is rich in nutrients. (NOT The milk OR a milk)
We can't do without water. (NOT The water OR a water)
She likes reading books. (NOT...the reading books OR a reading books)

With the names of countries

We do not use articles with the names of countries.

Japan is a developed nation. (NOT The Japan)
I have been to England. (NOT...to the England)
India is a secular republic. (NOT The India)
He has just returned from South Africa. (NOT …the South Africa)
But we use 'the' if the name of the country or organization specifically states that it is a collection of states. (For example, The United States, The United Arab Emirates, The United Nations etc.)

He is leaving for the United States tomorrow.
The United Nations is an international organization of countries created to promote world peace and cooperation.
With the names of languages

We do not use articles with the names of languages.

Hindi is the national language of India.
It is not easy to learn French.
English is spoken in many parts of the world.
With the names of meals

We do not use articles with the names of meals.

We have lunch at midday. (NOT...the lunch)
We have dinner in the evening. (NOT...the dinner)
Breakfast is the first meal of the day. (NOT...the breakfast)
With proper nouns

We do not use articles with proper nouns (the names of people, places etc.)

Alice is an architect. (NOT The Alice or a Alice)
Mary is my friend. (NOT The Mary)
Delhi is the capital of India.
But we use 'the' with plural names.

We are having dinner with the Smiths.
The Sharmas are very kind.
With titles and names

We do not use articles with titles and names.

Princess Diana was killed in a car accident.
President Kennedy was assassinated.
But we say, the queen of England, the President of USA

With years

We do not use articles before years.

India won freedom in 1947. (NOT...in the 1947)
I was born in 1979.
With possessives and demonstratives

We do not use articles before possessives (my, your, their etc.) and demonstratives (this, that, these, those).

This is my book. (NOT This is a my book.)
I like this car. (NOT I like the this car.)
With days

Articles are not used to talk about the coming or last day/month.

See you on Friday. (=Coming Friday)
We are leaving for the US next week. (NOT …the next week.)
But we use articles with the names of days of the week and months if we are talking about particular days or months.

We met on a rainy Friday.
It was a wet Monday in May.
She died on the Thursday after the accident.

The articles are not used:

1. Before proper, material and abstract nouns used in a general sense:

London, France, Tom, gold, rice, honesty, virtue

Paris is the capital of France. (NOT The Paris is …)
Gold is a precious metal. (NOT The gold is a …)
Honesty is the best policy.
But we say, the United States, the United Arab Emirates etc.

2. Before a common noun used in its commonest sense:

Man is mortal.
Iron is a useful metal.

3. In certain phrases made up of a preposition + noun:

Examples are: on foot, at school, from top to bottom, at home, in bed, by train, by car, in debt, in hand, on earth, at noon, on board, in jest, at best, at worst etc.

He is in debt. (NOT He is in the debt.)
He is at school. (NOT He is at the school.)
He spent the whole day in bed.

4. In certain phrases consisting of a transitive verb and its object:

Give ear, set sail, take heart, send word, catch fire, take offence, leave office, leave home, leave office etc.

He took offence at my words. (BUT NOT He took the offence at my words.)
She left home in the morning. (BUT NOT She left the home in the morning.)

5. Before the names of continents, countries, capes, cities, towns, days, months, arts, languages, sciences, some diseases etc.

January, March, physics, English, Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi, Tuesday, Friday, Asia, America etc.

December is a cold month.
English is spoken all over the world.

6. Before common nouns when they go in pairs:

Both husband and wife received serious injuries.

7. Before plural nouns used to denote a class:

Apples are red.
Camels are useful animals.
Warm clothes are necessary in cold climates.

8. Before the nouns following kind of:

What kind of flower is it? (NOT What kind of a flower is it?)

9. Before meal-time

He was at dinner.
Breakfast was served at night. (BUT NOT The breakfast was served at night.)

Some special points

Compare the pairs of sentences given below:

I have a black and white cow. (Only one cow)
I have a black and a white cow. (Two cows)
The secretary and accountant is present. (Here the nouns secretary and accountant refer to the same person.)
The secretary and the accountant were present. (Here the repetition of the articles implies that the secretary and the accountant are different persons.)
Articles are not used:

1. before the name of a person:

Example: I am a fan of Michael Jackson. (NOT: I am a fan of the Michael Jackson)



2. before the name of a place, town, country, street, or road.

Example: Barcelona is a beautiful city. (NOT: The Barcelona is a beautiful city.)



3. before names of materials.

Example: Gold is found in Australia. (NOT: The gold is found in Australia.)



4. before abstract nouns used in a general sense.

Example: You cannot buy happiness.
4. Difference in Meaning with Use of Articles
It helps to observe the following rules:

When we use two or more adjectives to describe the same person or thing, we use the article only before the first adjective.
EXAMPLE: He talked to a tall and blonde woman. (He talked to a (one) woman who was tall and blonde.)



When we use two or more adjectives to refer to more than one person or thing, we use the article before each adjective
India is a secular republic. (NOT The India)
He has just returned from South Africa. (NOT …the South Africa)
But we use 'the' if the name of the country or organization specifically states that it is a collection of states. (For example, The United States, The United Arab Emirates, The United Nations etc.)

He is leaving for the United States tomorrow.
The United Nations is an international organization of countries created to promote world peace and cooperation.
With the names of languages

We do not use articles with the names of languages.

Hindi is the national language of India.
It is not easy to learn French.
English is spoken in many parts of the world.
With the names of meals

We do not use articles with the names of meals.

We have lunch at midday. (NOT...the lunch)
We have dinner in the evening. (NOT...the dinner)
Breakfast is the first meal of the day. (NOT...the breakfast)
With proper nouns

We do not use articles with proper nouns (the names of people, places etc.)

Alice is an architect. (NOT The Alice or a Alice)
Mary is my friend. (NOT The Mary)
Delhi is the capital of India.
But we use 'the' with plural names.

We are having dinner with the Smiths.
The Sharmas are very kind.
With titles and names

We do not use articles with titles and names.

Princess Diana was killed in a car accident.
President Kennedy was assassinated.
But we say, the queen of England, the President of USA

With years

We do not use articles before years.

India won freedom in 1947. (NOT...in the 1947)
I was born in 1979.
With possessives and demonstratives

We do not use articles before possessives (my, your, their etc.) and demonstratives (this, that, these, those).

This is my book. (NOT This is a my book.)
I like this car. (NOT I like the this car.)
With days

Articles are not used to talk about the coming or last day/month.

See you on Friday. (=Coming Friday)
We are leaving for the US next week. (NOT …the next week.)
But we use articles with the names of days of the week and months if we are talking about particular days or months.

We met on a rainy Friday.
It was a wet Monday in May.
She died on the Thursday after the accident.

The articles are not used:

1. Before proper, material and abstract nouns used in a general sense:

London, France, Tom, gold, rice, honesty, virtue

Paris is the capital of France. (NOT The Paris is …)
Gold is a precious metal. (NOT The gold is a …)
Honesty is the best policy.
But we say, the United States, the United Arab Emirates etc.

2. Before a common noun used in its commonest sense:

Man is mortal.
Iron is a useful metal.

3. In certain phrases made up of a preposition + noun:

Examples are: on foot, at school, from top to bottom, at home, in bed, by train, by car, in debt, in hand, on earth, at noon, on board, in jest, at best, at worst etc.

He is in debt. (NOT He is in the debt.)
He is at school. (NOT He is at the school.)
He spent the whole day in bed.

4. In certain phrases consisting of a transitive verb and its object:

Give ear, set sail, take heart, send word, catch fire, take offence, leave office, leave home, leave office etc.

He took offence at my words. (BUT NOT He took the offence at my words.)
She left home in the morning. (BUT NOT She left the home in the morning.)

5. Before the names of continents, countries, capes, cities, towns, days, months, arts, languages, sciences, some diseases etc.

January, March, physics, English, Tokyo, Beijing, Delhi, Tuesday, Friday, Asia, America etc.

December is a cold month.
English is spoken all over the world.

6. Before common nouns when they go in pairs:

Both husband and wife received serious injuries.

7. Before plural nouns used to denote a class:

Apples are red.
Camels are useful animals.
Warm clothes are necessary in cold climates.

8. Before the nouns following kind of:

What kind of flower is it? (NOT What kind of a flower is it?)

9. Before meal-time

He was at dinner.
Breakfast was served at night. (BUT NOT The breakfast was served at night.)

Some special points

Compare the pairs of sentences given below:

I have a black and white cow. (Only one cow)
I have a black and a white cow. (Two cows)
The secretary and accountant is present. (Here the nouns secretary and accountant refer to the same person.)
The secretary and the accountant were present. (Here the repetition of the articles implies that the secretary and the accountant are different persons.)
Articles are not used:

1. before the name of a person:

Example: I am a fan of Michael Jackson. (NOT: I am a fan of the Michael Jackson)



2. before the name of a place, town, country, street, or road.

Example: Barcelona is a beautiful city. (NOT: The Barcelona is a beautiful city.)



3. before names of materials.

Example: Gold is found in Australia. (NOT: The gold is found in Australia.)



4. before abstract nouns used in a general sense.

Example: You cannot buy happiness.
4. Difference in Meaning with Use of Articles
It helps to observe the following rules:

When we use two or more adjectives to describe the same person or thing, we use the article only before the first adjective.
EXAMPLE: He talked to a tall and blonde woman. (He talked to a (one) woman who was tall and blonde.)



When we use two or more adjectives to refer to more than one person or thing, we use the article before each adjective

USES OF ARTICLES

In English, knowing when to use 'a' or 'the' can be difficult. Fortunately, there are rules to help you, but you need to know what type of noun you are using.

Grammar rule 1

When you have a single, countable English noun, you must always have an article before it. We cannot say "please pass me pen", we must say "please pass me the pen" or "please pass me a pen" or "please pass me your pen".

Nouns in English can also be uncountable. Uncountable nouns can be concepts, such as 'life', 'happiness' and so on, or materials and substances, such as 'coffee', or 'wood'.

Grammar rule 2

Uncountable nouns don't use 'a' or 'an'. This is because you can't count them. For example, advice is an uncountable noun. You can't say "he gave me an advice", but you can say "he gave me some advice", or "he gave me a piece of advice".

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. For example, we say "coffee" meaning the product, but we say "a coffee" when asking for one cup of coffee.

Grammar rule 3

You can use 'the' to make general things specific. You can use 'the' with any type of noun – plural or singular, countable or uncountable.

"Please pass me a pen" – any pen.
"Please pass me the pen" – the one that we can both see.

"Children grow up quickly" – children in general.
"The children I know grow up quickly" – not all children, just the ones I know.

"Poetry can be beautiful"- poetry in general.
"The poetry of Hopkins is beautiful" – I'm only talking about the poetry Hopkins wrote.

More uses of articles in English

Rivers, mountain ranges, seas, oceans and geographic areas all use 'the'.
For example, "The Thames", "The Alps", "The Atlantic Ocean", "The Middle East".

Unique things have 'the'.
For example, "the sun", "the moon".

Some institutional buildings don't have an article if you visit them for the reason these buildings exist. But if you go to the building for another reason, you must use 'the'.

"Her husband is in prison." (He's a prisoner.)
"She goes to the prison to see him once a month."

"My son is in school." (He's a student.)
"I'm going to the school to see the head master."

"She's in hospital at the moment." (She's ill.)
"Her husband goes to the hospital to see her every afternoon."

Musical instruments use 'the'.
"She plays the piano."

Sports don't have an article.
"He plays football."

Illnesses don't have an article.
"He's got appendicitis."
But we say "a cold" and "a headache".

Jobs use 'a'.
"I'm a teacher."

Countries
We don't use 'a' if the country is singular. "He lives in England." But if the country's name has a "plural" meaning, we use 'the'. "The People's Republic of China", "The Netherlands", "The United States of America".

Continents, towns and streets don't have an article.
"Africa", "New York", "Church Street".

Theatres, cinemas and hotels have 'the'.
"The Odeon", "The Almeira", "The Hilton".

Abbreviations use 'the'.
"the UN", "the USA", "the IMF".

We use 'the' before classes of people.
"the rich", "the poor", "the British".

ARTICLES

Here are the rules for when to use "A, An or The":

a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants
She has a dog.
I work in a factory.
an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
Can I have an apple?
She is an English teacher.
the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know)
The car over there is fast.
The teacher is very good, isn't he?
The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the".
I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.
DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection of states such as "The United States".
He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.
They live in northern British Columbia.

Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas -
My country borders on the Pacific Ocean
DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general
I like Russian tea.
She likes reading books.

DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport
He has breakfast at home.
I go to university.
He comes to work by taxi.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Problem-solving Skill
Problem-solving skill is beginning to be considered as a strategic tool nowadays.
Industries are spending a lot of time and money to promote the managerial skills,
technical skills and interpersonal skills of their employees. Problem-solving is one of the Problem-solving requires a range of critical thinking skills from identification,description and analysis to synthesis and evaluation. It also requires understanding of the theoretical principles and governing frameworks behind classification of the problem and application of the solution method. The students need to understand and be able to explain what it is that you are doing as you proceed to solve the problems. The common stages of problem solving are:
• Identification
• Classification
• Transformation
• Substitution and
• Comparison

Problem-solving exam questions are favoured in a range of disciplines from physics,
engineering and mathematics to architecture, law and linguistics (Exam. Wing,
University of Melbourne). In problem-solving questions the students may be asked to
propose and justify a course of action to address a specified situation, or to develop a reasoned explanation based on data analysis.

STYLE and TONE

Style and Tone

Style and Tone are important to identify in a passage. Their identification helps in better understanding of the passage and also helps in solving related questions. Students often get confused between style and tone of a passage. Let us try and understand the difference.

Style
Of a passage is the way an author presents his thoughts or what mode/kind of writing does he use to convey his ideas. It can be descriptive, narrative, data driven etc. The style remains same throughout the passage. In simple words, style tells us ‘how’ a passage has been written. Following are two passages with different styles.


Passage-1
Last year I won $18,200 in cash and $800 in prize as a contestant on a now-defunct CBS-TV game show called “Now You See It.” I was a “good” contestant: tearful, swooning and avarice-driven. But now, 15 months later, I have flunked out as a bookkeeper. I can’t figure what happened to the winnings I eked out during eight shows, the bulk of which came when I answered this esoteric question: “ Who was Popeye’s hamburger-eating friend?” All know for sure is that it’s gone, and I’m back to living pay check to pay check. That’s why; it seems to me, the show would have been more aptly named. “Now You See It… Now You Don’t “- since the mullah that came my way has vanished much like magicians’ rabbits.

Style:
The author has used first person narration. Hence the style is Narrative.

Passage 2
There is always the danger of a specific type of pneumonia that may result from the inhalation of oily substances into the
lungs. For all of these reasons, nose and throat specialists warn against the introduction of medicinal preparations into the nose. It should be done only when definitely indicated and recommended by a physician for the treatment of some specific condition.
Equally useless are the mouthwashes, gargles and antiseptics urged by advertisers upon the public. These preparations may destroy germs in test tubes if given sufficient time. But none of them acts instantaneously, nor are they effective in the weak solutions that can be tolerated by the membranes of the nose and throat. Furthermore, only a very small proportion of the membranes of the nose and throat can possibly be reached by sprays and gargles.

Several other more or less universal home remedies proved valueless in our studies. Cathartics of various kinds, for example, have long figured in home treatment of colds, and are included in many of the advertised remedies. Fear of increasing that popularity prevented us from using it in our series of studies. Scientifically, there may be some basis, or perhaps excuse, for the use of alcohol in colds. It causes an increase in the blood flow to the skin, with a resultant feeling of warmth if one is wet and chilled. On the other hand, alcohol itself causes nasal congestion in some people; and many reliable studies have shown that its continuous or excessive use lowers resistance to pneumonia, the most serious complication of colds.


Style: The author has given a detailed description about the use of old and new remedies for curing common ailments. He quotes studies and investigations. Hence, the style is Descriptive.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

notification

I am back with new ideas....


Thursday, January 20, 2011

MODEL PAPER

MODEL QUESTION PAPER FOR FIRST YEAR BE/B.TECH

and B.PHARM ENGLISH OF JNTU-K

MAX.MARKS:75

TIME: 3hrs.

PART-A

ALL QUESTIONS CARRY EQUAL MARKS(4X10:40)

ALL QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN FULL. PART-ANSWERS WILL NOT BE AWARDED ANY MARK.

ANSWER ANY FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING:

I. a) Write a dialogue that might occur in the following situation:

You are seeking admission into a college for your graduation. You wish to know the infrastructure facilities available at the institution. Write a dialogue in maximum10 turns based on the situation. Use polite forms of expression and appropriate tone.

b) What are the ways by which you can improve your team work? Give 3 illustrations from your personal experience of being part of a team.

c) Plan a short family trip to a nearby tourist spot keeping in mind the logistics involved.

d) Present an argument in about 250 words on ‘Women are not suitable to work in the industry.’ Substantiate your argument with reasons.

e) Give the meanings of the highlighted words and write sentences of your own using each word. Passage from the text with 8 words highlighted

PART-B

ALL QUESTIONS CARRY EQUAL MARKS(3X10:30)

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS.

1. Write the synonyms of the following words:

6 words to be given.

2. Write the antonyms of the following words:

6 words to be given.

3. Rearrange the following sentences and make a meaningful paragraph:

Paragraph of 6 sentences to be given from the text.

  1. Identify the types of the following sentences and write a similar sentence for each type.

6 sentence to be given

  1. Fill in the blanks using the appropriate forms of verbs given in the brackets.

Choose a passage where as many verb forms occur. Verb forms to be limited to 6.

  1. Match the following.

Column A: Adjectives

Column B: Nouns

  1. Correct the following words:

6 mis-spelt words to be given

  1. Correct the following sentences:

6 sentences to be given

  1. Read the following passage and list the adjectives and the adverbs:

Give a passage of 10 sentences.

  1. Write 3 sentences of your own using to + infinitive.

PART:C

ALL QUESTIONS CARRY EQUAL MARKS(1X2.5:05)

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS

1. Read the following paragraph and answer the questions given at the end:

The reading comprehension to be followed by 5 questions.

2. Identify the tone of the given passage by identifying the words which determine the tone.

A paragraph of 6 to 8 sentences.

******