VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY

AFFIXES

            In English, a word is sometimes made up of one or more than one element such as root plus an Affix (prefix or suffix)

 PREFIX

            A prefix refers to a word or part of a word fixed before another word to add something to its meaning. It may even be a syllable. Most of the English prefixes are borrowed from Latin and Greek.

PREFIX                                                 MEANING                                           EXAMPLE

a/an                                                     without, not                              amoral,  amorphous, anemia

circum                                                 around, on all sides                 circumference, circumscribe

di/bi                                                     two                                          disyllabic, bicycle                   

homo                                                   same                                       homogeneous, homonym

inter                                                    between, among                     interrupt, intersect

SUFFIX

            A suffix refers to a word or a part of a word fixed after another word to add something to or modify its meaning. Suffixes can change the word-class and meaning of a word i.e. suffixes can form nouns from nouns and adjectives, and adjectives from nouns and verbs.

NOUNS FROM VERBS

SUFFIX                                              VERBS                                                    NOUNS

-ment                                      appoint, arrange, agree                     appointment, arrangement,

                                                judge, argue, commit                             judgment, argument,    

                                                                                                                                commitment      

-ion/tion                                  act, attract, add, combine                  action, attraction, addition,

                                                            converse                                  combination, conversation

NOUNS FROM ADJECTIVES

SUFFIX                                                 ADJECTIVES                                        NOUNS

-ity                                           able, active, inferior, local                 ability, activity, inferiority,

Locality

-ness                                        happy, kind, weak, fond                      happiness, kindness,

                                                                                                                          weakness,  fondness

ADJECTIVES FROM NOUNS

SUFFIX                                                 NOUNS                                               ADJECTIVES

-y                                             air, cloud, grass, rose, oil                   airy, cloudy, grassy, rosy, oily

-ish                                          book, red, boy                                     bookish, reddish, boyish                     

ADJECTIVES FROM VERBS

SUFFIX                                                 VERBS                                                 ADJECTIVES

-able                                        admire, avoid, compare, prefer,        admirable, avoidable,

                                                            read                                         comparable, preferable,

                                                                                                                        readable

-ful                                           thank, help, use                                   thankful, helpful, useful

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

Synonyms are words with similar meaning.

Antonyms are words with dissimilar/opposite meaning.

WORD authentic benevolence captivity cognizance concise deflate discard discretion elegant emancipate erudite esteem facsimile fickle fragile hazardous impromptu lucid momentous phobia pretence

SYNONYM Reliable, authoritative Generosity, charity Bondage, imprisonment Understanding, wisdom Compact, succinct Empty, exhaust, humble Abandon, reject Carefulness, caution Fine, beautiful, handsome Liberate, release Scholarly, enlightened Admiration, regard Replica, copy Unstable, volatile Breakable, frail Dangerous, risky Spontaneous, offhand Clear, obvious Memorable, significant Fear, dislike Deceit, disguise

ANTONYM False, spurious Cruelty, malevolence Liberty, independence Ignorance Verbose, redundant Inflate, fill, flatter Keep, adopt, embrace Foolishness, rashness Common, vulgar, rustic Subjugate, confine Ignorant, unlettered Criticism, blame Variation, opposite Steady, reliable, constant Strong, tough Safe, secure Rehearsed, prepared Dark, obscure Trivial, immaterial Liking, attraction Frankness, honesty

QUESTIONS FROM JUNE 2014 PAPER

1. It is unusual to find the class so quiet. Choose the right synonym of the underlined word.

a) strange b) beautiful c) casual d) shocking

2. The callous government approach is shocking. Choose the right antonym of the underlined word.

a) sensitive b) insensitive c) aggressive d) timid

ONE-WORD SUBSTITUTES

One – word substitution refers to the expression of lengthy phrases and clauses in the form of a single word without a change in the meaning. Acquiring command over one-word substitutes enables a person to use the language with comfort and ease.

1. A person who can neither read nor write –illiterate

2. A person who eats human flesh – cannibal

3. one who looks on the brighter side of things – optimist

4. one who carves in stone – sculptor

5. the art of gardening – horticulture

6. one who looks on the dark side of things – pessimist

7. one who collects postage stamps – philatelist

8. one who compiles a dictionary – lexicographer

9. the sleeping rooms in a college or public institution – dormitory

10. a residence of monks and priests – monastery

11. a person who is fluent in two languages – bilingual

12. one who devotes his service and wealth for the service of mankind – philanthropist

13. a substance used in surgery to produce unconsciousness – anesthetic

14. a book which gives information on all branches of knowledge – encyclopedia

15. a person working in the same institution – colleague

WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED/MISUSED/MISSPELT

affect / effect

Effect is usually a noun that means a result or the power to produce a result: “The sound of the falling rain had a calming effect, nearly putting me to sleep.” Affect is usually a verb that means to have an influence on: “His loud humming was affecting my ability to concentrate.” Note that effect can also be a verb meaning to bring about or execute: “The speaker's somber tone effected a dampening in the general mood of the audience.”

beside / besides

Beside is a preposition that means next to: “Stand here beside me.” Besides is an adverb that means also: “Besides, I need to tell you about the new products my company offers.”

their / there / they're

Their is the possessive form of they; there refers to place; and they're is the contraction of they are. “They're going there because their mother insisted they become proficient in Serbo-Croatian.”

stationary / stationery

Stationary is an adjective that means fixed or unmoving: “They maneuvered around the stationary barrier in the road.” Stationery is a noun that means writing materials: “We printed the letters on company stationery.”

principal / principle

Principal is a noun that means a person who holds a high position or plays an important role: “The school principal has 20 years of teaching experience.” Principal is also an adjective that means chief or leading: “The necessity of moving to another city was the principal reason I turned down the job offer.” Principle is a noun that means a rule or standard: “They refused to compromise their principles.”

lightening / lightning

Lightening is a verb that means to illuminate; lightning is a noun referring to the electrical charges the cause flashes of light during storms: “The lightning struck, lightening the sky.”

laid / lain / lay

Laid is the past tense and the past participle of the verb lay and not the past tense of lie. Lay is the past tense of the verb lie and lain is the past participle: “He laid his books down and lay down on the couch, where he has lain for an hour.”

hanged / hung

Hanged is the past tense and past participle of hang when the meaning is to execute by suspending by the neck: “They hanged the prisoner for treason.” “The convicted killer was hanged at dawn.” Hung is the past tense and participle of hang when the meaning is to suspend from above with no support from below: “I hung the painting on the wall.” “The painting was hung at a crooked angle.”

flammable / inflammable

These two words are actually synonyms, both meaning easily set on fire. The highly flammable (inflammable) fuel was stored safely in a specially built tank. Use nonflammable to mean not flammable.

farther / further

Farther is an adjective and adverb that means to or at a more distant point: “We drove 50 miles today; tomorrow, we will travel 100 miles farther.” Further is an adjective and adverb that means to or at a greater extent or degree: “We won't be able to suggest a solution until we are further along in our evaluation of the problem.” It can also mean in addition or moreover: “They stated further that they would not change the policy.”

emigrant / immigrant

Emigrant is a noun that means one who leaves one's native country to settle in another: “The emigrants spent four weeks aboard ship before landing in Los Angeles.” Immigrant is a noun that means one who enters and settles in a new country: “Most of the immigrants easily found jobs.” One emigrates from a place; one immigrates to another.

capital / capitol

The city or town that is the seat of government is called the capital; the building in which the legislative assembly meets is the capitol. The term capital can also refer to an accumulation of wealth or to a capital letter.

cite / site

Cite is a verb that means to quote as an authority or example: “I cited several eminent scholars in my study of water resources.” It also means to recognize formally: “The public official was cited for service to the city.” It can also mean to summon before a court of law: “Last year the company was cited for pollution violations.” Site is a noun meaning location: “They chose a new site for the factory just outside town.”

IDIOMS

            Idioms are expressions which function as single units and whose meaning cannot be deduced from its separate parts. For example, the idiomatic expression ‘kick the bucket’ means ‘to die’. The meaning of this expression cannot be derived from the meanings of the words kick or bucket.

Write the meanings of the following idiomatic expressions and use them in sentences of your own.

1. all and sundry: everyone

We cannot invite all and sundry to dinner.

2. bag and baggage: with all belongings

He migrated to Bombay bag and baggage.

3. hard and fast: strict

There are no hard and fast rules for becoming rich.

4. in the nick of time: just on time

I was able to catch the train in the nick of time.

5. a man of letters: a scholar

Mulk Raj Anand was a man of letters.

PHRASES

            A phrase is a group of words equivalent to a single part of speech and not having a Subject and a predicate of its own.

e.g.: I saw a boy, who was carrying a basket of flowers.

In the above example, ‘a basket of flowers’ is a phrase; ‘who was carrying a basket of flowers’ and ‘I saw a boy’ are clauses.

Phrases are of three kinds –

1. Noun Phrase: A phrase that does the work of a noun.

e.g.: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush

2. Adjectival Phrase: A phrase that does the work of an Adjective.

e..g: The house on the hill is mine.

3. Adverbial Phrase: A phrase that does the work of an adverb.

e.g.: I will come in the evening.

NOTE: i) Adverb phrase and Adjective phrase usually start with a preposition

ii) When two or more words join together and function as a preposition, then such combinations are called Phrasal prepositions.

e.g.: in spite of, with respect to, on account of.

Write the meaning of the following phrases and use them in sentences of your own:

1. break into: enter by force

The burglars broke into the bank yesterday.

2.  run over: hit by a vehicle

A school boy was ran over by a lorry at the cross-roads yesterday.

3. look into: investigate

The CBI is looking into the Telecom scam.

4. run across: discover by chance

While digging a pit to plant some saplings, the farmer ran across a nugget of gold.

5. preside over : The General Manager presided over the Annual General Body Meeting.

CONCORD/SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

            The ‘subject’ of a sentence and its ‘verb’ must agree with each other for grammatical accuracy of the sentence. This subject-verb agreement in a sentence is referred to as ‘Concord’. Errors in the subject-verb agreement communicate wrong meaning to the reader or listener.

The following points are important to avoid errors related to subject-verb agreement:

1. Verbs should agree with subjects. Identifying the correct subject is very important.

e.g.: i) The teacher along with the students was ( not ‘were’) killed in the accident. ( Here the subject is ‘the teacher’ not ‘the students’)

ii) A teacher’s understanding of the problems of his/her students is (not ‘are’) the key to effective teaching. ( the subject is ‘a teacher’s understanding’ and not ‘problems’ or ‘ his/her students’)

2. A singular verb should be used in the following conditions:

i) The subject is singular

e.g.: a) Ravi is going to attend the session.

b) She was present in the party.

ii) The subject begins with an indefinite pronoun i.e. each, every, everyone, neither, either, many, a, anyone, anybody, anything, everybody, everything, someone, something, and so on.

e.g.: a) Every student is supposed to show his/her identity card during the examination.

b) Neither of the candidates is selected.

iii) The subject is a noun that is collective in sense but singular in form.

e.g.: The committee is not able to take the decision.

iv)The subject consists of two singular nouns which are joined by ‘and’ but convey a single sense. 

e.g.: a) The Managing Director and the Chairperson of the company is out of station.

b) The Secretary and Treasurer has submitted the report.

 Note: The Secretary and the Treasure have submitted the report.

3. A plural verb should be used in the following conditions:

i) The Subject is plural

e.g.: a) They are not coming to the meeting.

b) Children are playing in the garden.

c) Many students have not submitted the project reports.

ii)Two Subjects are joined by ‘and’

e.g.: a) Ravi and Sunitha are colleagues.

b) He and I are going to join the club.

iii) The Subject is singular in form but plural in number.

e.g.: The people of India love their culture and tradition.

4. Ensure that the verb agrees with the closest subject in the following conditions:

i) Two Subjects are joined by’ or’ or ‘nor’.

e.g.: a) Either Ravi or Sunitha is to be blamed.

b) Neither John nor his brother is responsible for this situation.

5. Make the verb agree with the first Subject if two Subjects are joined by ‘with’, ‘together with’, ‘along with’, ‘in addition to’, ‘as well as’, ’and not’.

e.g.: a) The Captain along with the soldiers was given the bravery awards.

b) The Chairman along with the directors of the company is responsible for the rowing losses of the company.

CORRECTION OF SENTENCES/ COMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH

1. The Committee have submitted their findings.

2. “Gulliver’s Travels” are a favourite of children.

3. The Committee is divided on one important issue.

4. The United Arab Emirates are an attractive location for job opportunities today.

5. One thousand grams are a kilogram.

6. The quality of oranges were not good.

7. The results of her hard work is seen in the marks.

8. If you were to see when one of the birds fly, you would appreciate the beauty in it.

9. As per the shopkeeper, five dozen costs eighty rupees.

10. The means used by them are enough.

11. All possible means has been tried.

12. Many a man have succeeded in this task.

13. Each of these plants are available in our nursery.

14. Each adult and every child were required to buy a ticket.

15. Neither of the students are good at arithmetic.

16. Either of the questions have to be answered.

17. Everyone of the counseling rooms are full.

QUESTIONS FROM JUNE – 2014 PAPER

18. Last month, I went to Chennai for attending a Conference.

19. I think you completed the work, aren’t you?

20. The  clerk signed on the receipt.

21. This flat is not advertised for sale but rent.

22. You promised me to send the cheque in a few days.

23. The professor gave me valuable advices.

24. The climate of India is better than Africa.

25. Jhansi is senior than me.

26.The gold is a precious metal.

27. Realizing mistake, Kavitha apologized.

28. I prepared very well before I wrote the exam.

29. Pradeep has two aircrafts.

30. One of the co-ordinator has attended the meeting.

31. Manya could able to complete the project in time.

32. Neither the birds nor the animal was active in the zoo.