ARTICLES

The adjectives 'a',  'an' and 'the' are usually called Articles.  They are infact "Demonstrative Adjectives".  These articles are classified into two types 1) Indefinite Articles and 2) Definite Article.

1) INDEFINITE ARTICLES:

'A' and 'AN' are treated as indefinite articles, because it does not point out any definite or particular person or thing.

These are weakened form of "ONE".  They are only used before a singular countable nouns.  'A' and 'AN' are not used with uncountable Nouns.  A singular countable Noun always takes an article 'or' an adjective.

An article combines with Noun to indicate the type of reference being made by Noun.

An article is sometimes called a Noun marker also:
Eg:- I play a game (any game)
        We saw an Elephant
         Raju is a boy.
         Rani is an intelligent girl.

2) DEFINITE ARTICLE:

'The' is a definite article; because it points out some definite or a particular person or thing.  'The' is used before a singular or plural Noun, whether countable or uncountable.  When that Noun is specifically identified or its identity is already understood.

As a general rule, a common Noun in the singular number should have an article before it.
Eg:- I have seen an 'a' the umbrella.

As an exception, 'A' and 'An' are used with some of the uncountable Nouns.
Have a drink/a meal/a bath/a shower/a shave/a rest/a talk/a walk/a sleep/a conversation/a dream/a surprise/a chat/ a quarrel/a fight/a tussle/a swim/a ride/a good day/a bad day/a head ache/a disagreement/a cold/a cough/a try/a good education/make a noise/make a mistake/in a hurry/in a diagram, etc.

Usage of 'A':

Article 'A' is used before a Noun whose first letter sound as consonant irrespective of the first letter being a vowel or consonant.
Eg:- a boy, a doctor, a girl, a system etc.,
        a useful book, a university,  a European, a unit, a ewe etc.,
        a one-eyed man, a one rupee note, such a one etc.

Usage of 'An':

Article 'An' is used before a Noun/word.  Whose first letter sounds as vowel irrespective of the first letter being a vowel or consonant;
Eg:- an eye, an idiot, an ox, an egg, an idea, etc.,
        an honest man, an hour, an M.A., an hier, an x-ray etc.,
        an RTC-Bus, an M.L.A., an M.P.,
        an umbrella, an uncle,
        an historical novel, an heroic deed, an hotel.

Sometimes 'A' or "An' is used before a noun to indicate a class.

A child should obey her parents.
An ant is an industrious creature.

Sometimes 'A' is used as a preposition.
Eg:- Anil went a voyage/on voyage.
        Tomatoes sell at one kilo a rupee/One rupee.
        I get five thousand rupees a month/Every month.

'A' is used before other determinatives like few, little,
a few =  a small number(it has a positive meaning) a little,
a little = A small amount.
There are a few mangoes in the basket.
There are a lot of books on the shelf.
There is a little milk left in the bottle.
A few boys passed the examination.
There is a little water in the pot.

'A' or 'An' is also used in certain exclamatory sentences beginning with 'what' 'OR' before singular countable Nouns in the exclamatory sentence.
Eg:- What a comment she has made!
         What a amazing beauty it is!
         What a beautiful picture it is!

The indefinite article 'a' or 'an' is used before singular nouns that come immediately after verbs in sentence.
Eg:- He wanted to be a teacher.
        My brother wants to be an engineer.
        You are a stupid person to miss such a fine opportunity.

In adverbials or adjuncts introuduced by 'as' 'for' etc., the indefinite article 'a' or 'an' is used.

Wrong:As a teacher of post graduate classes he was great success.
Right  : As a teacher of post graduate classes, he was a great success.

Wrong: As a trainer, he was responsible for in-service training.
Right  : As a trainer, he was responsible for an in-service training.

Wrong: She was punished for being plagiarist.
Right  : She was punished for being a plagiarist.

Nouns that come after verbs are often used without the indefinite articles ('a' or 'an) when a contrast between different capacities of a person is expressed.

Wrong: Bharat Ratna Abdul Kalam is first an Indian and a Scientist next.
Right  : Bharat Ratna Abdul Kalam is first Indian and scientist next.

Wrong: A.K.Ramanujam is known as a translator and as a poet.
Right  : A.K.Ramanujam is known as translatior and as poet.

Indefinite article is used before certain words such as 'cold', 'headache' and 'noise'.
He has a bad headache.
Don't make a noise.

Indefinite article is used in the expressions of price, speed etc.,
The scooter runs at 50 km an hour (per hour).
These mangoes cost Rs.50 a dozen (Every dozen).

2) DEFINITE ARTICLE:

i) Definite article 'The' is used before;
       Before                                                                         Examples:
1) The names of mountain ranges.                         The Himalayas, The Aravalis.
2) The names of Rivers.                                         The Ganga, The Brahmaputra, The Godavari.
3) The names of Bay.                                              The Bay of Bengal, The Hudson Bay.
4) The names of Gulfs.                                            The Persian Gulf, The Gulf of Mannar.
5) The names of Seas.                                              The Black Sea, The Arabian Sea.
6) The names of Oceans.                                          The Atlantic Ocean, The pacific Ocean.
7) The names of group of islands.                           The Anadamans, The Indonesia.
8) The names of News papers.                                 The Hindu, The Asian age, The times of India.
9) The names of Ships.                                            The Titanic.
10)The Names of Holy Books.                                The Bible, The Bhagavat Geeta, The Quran.
11)The names of Noted Public Places.                    The Secretariat, The I-Max, The High Court.
12)The names of Trains.                                          The Ajantha Express, The Rajadhani.
13)The names of plans.                                            The Airbus.
14)The names of space Crafts.                                The Discovery, The Atlantis.
15)The names of Canals.                                         The Kakatiya Canal, The Sarswathi Canal.
16)The names of Deserts.                                         The Thar Desert, The Gobi desert, The Sahara.
17)The names of musical Instruments.                    The Guitar, The Violin.
18)The names of Hotels & Restaurants.                  The Taj, The Oberoi.

NOUNS & NUMBERS

Generally Nouns appear in two Numbers i.e. Singular Number and Plural Number.

1) Several Nouns form their plural forms by adding 's' to its singular form.
Eg:- Book - Books,  Table - Tables,  Car - Cars.

2) But, specifically the Nouns that end in 's',  'sh',  'ch',  'x' and 'z' takes 'es' to form its plural Number.

  Singular                    Plural                                      Singular                        Plural 
  Loss                           Losses                                      Bus                                Buses
  Bush                           Bushes                                     Box                               Boxes
  Brush                          Brushes                                   Bench                            Benches
  Church                        Churches                                Topaz                             Topazes
  Buzz                            Buzzes.

Exceptions: 
i) A word that end in 'ch' which is pronounced in 'k' sound is added by 's' to forms its plural Number.
Eg:- Monarch - Monarchs.

ii)  Ox  - Oxen
iii) Fox -  Foxen.

3)(i) Nouns that end in 'y' preceded by a consonant 'or' 'qu' replaces 'ys' with 'ies' to form its plural Number.
Baby - Babies,   Lady - Ladies,    Soliloquy - Soliloquies,   City - Cities.

ii) But, in nouns that end in 'y' preceded by a Vowel, only 's' is added to form its plural Number.
Boy - Boys,   Key - Keys.

4) Nouns that end in 'f' or 'fe'  replaces 'f' or 'fe' with 'ves' to form its plural Number.
Calf - Calves,   Life - Lives,   Knife - Knives,   Leaf - Leaves,   Wife - Wives,   Thief - Thieves.

Exception: Safe - Safes;  Strife - Strifes.
- But Nouns that end in 'ief', 'ff', 'oof', 'rf', 'eef', generally take only 's' to form its plural number.
Chief - Chiefs,   Proof - Proofs,   Cliff - Cliffs,   Dwarf - Dwarfs,  Reef - Reefs.

5) i) Nouns that in 'O' preceded by a consonant generally takes 'es' to form its plural Number.
Eg:- Hero - Heroes,  Mango - Mangoes,  Volcano - Volcanoes.

Exception:

Canto - Contos,  Piano - Pianos,  Manifesto - Manifestos,  Photo - Photoes,  Dynamo - Dynamos.
Note: Photo takes both forms, Photo - Photos/Photoes.

ii) Nouns that end in 'O' preceded by a vowel takes 's' to form its plural Number;
Folio - Folios,  Radio - Radios,  Bamboo - Bamboos.

7) Some Nouns form their plurals by changing the vowels in it.
Man - Men,  Woman - Women,  Foot - Feet,  Tooth - Teeth,  Mouse - Mice,  Goose - Geese,
Louse - Lice.

8) Some other Nouns form their plurals by adding 'en' to it.
Child - Children,  Ox - Oxen,  Brother - Brothren/Brothers.

9) Some Nouns have plurals that made in an usual way;
Criterion - Criteria,  Stratum - Strata,  Crisis - Crises,  Datum - Data('Data' though plural, generally is treated as singular),  Syllabus - Syllabuses/Syllabi,  Formula - Formulas/Formulae,  Gymnasium - Gymnasiums/Gymnasia.

10) Some Compound Nouns will form their plural Number in following manner.\
Eg:- Son-in-Law - Sons-in-Law,  Father-in-Law - Fathers-in-Law,
Director-General of Police - Directors-General of Police,  solicitor - General - Solicitors-General,
Attorney-General - Attorneys-General,  Officer-in-charge - Officers-in-Charge.

11) Nouns that have same form in both singular and plural form;
Series - Series,  Public - Public,  Innings - innings,  Cannon - Cannon,  Sheep - Sheep,
apparatus - apparatus,  Species - Species,  Swine - Swine.

12) Nouns that have no singular form;
Billiards, Assets, Alms, Annals, Ashes, Wages, Scissors, Proceeds, Thanks, Spectacles, Shears, Pants, trousers, Pyjamas, Odds, Nuptials, Mumps, Measles etc.

13) Nouns that have no plural forms;
Offspring, Furniture, Information, Alphabet, Luggage, Expenditure, Scenery, Pottery etc.

14) Nouns plural in form but singular in use;
Mathematics, Physics, News, Politics etc.

15) Nouns singular in form but plural in sense;
Aristocracy, Mobility, Gentry, Clergy, Cattle, Poultry, People, Folk etc.,

16) Nouns having different meanings in different numbers;
Advice,    Advices.

Advice : Counsel .>> you should take my advice.
Advices: Information >> He went to seek advices from his dad.

Return,   Returns

Return = Coming back >> I am waiting for him to return.
Returns = Statics >> I have submitted my IT returns.

Iron,  Irons:

Iron = The metal >> India has vast store of Iron ore.
Irons = Chains made of iron >> The criminal was put in irons.

Sand,  Sands:

Sand = The material >> Concrete is a mixture of sand and cement.
Sands = Sandy place >> We went to sands of Saudi Arabia.

Good,  Goods:

Good = Benefit >> Elders suggestions make you good.
Goods = Things >> She lost all her goods.

17) Nouns with one meaning when in singular form, but two in the plural;
Arm(singular)  Arms (plural)
Arm = Part of the body,  
Arms = Parts of the body (human have two arms)
             Weapons (Terrorists supplied arms)

Circumstance (singular,  Circumstances (plural)
 = Facts (these circumstances have bounded him to resign)
 = Condition ( under these circumstances, I did it).

Colour (singular),  Colours (plural)
 = Hue(hues)(a rainbow has seven colours)
 = Flag of a regiment (the military entered the city with their colours flying)

Custom (singular),  Customs (plural):
 = Habit(habits)(you should respect one's customs)
 = Revenue Duties (the Govt. has imposed heavy customs on him)

Minute (singular),  Minutes(plural):
 = 1/60 part of an hour (I will reach there within a minute)
 = Proceeding of a meeting (Please email me the minutes of the meeting)

Quarter (singular),  Quarters (plural)
 = 1/4 part (the teacher asked the boy to read out 1/4 of the poem)
 = lodging (the company provided him quarters).

Spectacle (singular),  Spectacles (plural)
 = a Sight (i was charmed by the spectacle of Kashmir)
 = Eye Glasses (I bought a pair of spectacles).

To spot out the errors in Nouns, we need to make out the difference between singular and plural Nouns.  Nouns are of two types 1) Countable Nouns and 2) Uncountable Nouns.

Uncountable Nouns cannot be counted & do not have plural forms:
Eg:- Cattle, Sheep, Deer, Police, Information, Advice, Machinery, scenery, Luggage, Clothing, Music.

The word 'Police' should be preceded by the definite article 'the'.

Poem - Countable Noun.
Poetry - Uncountable Noun.

The word 'fish' & 'People' have two plural forms, one with 's' and other without 's'.
Fish (Singular), fish/fishes (Plural).
People (Singular), People/Peoples (Plural).

Usage of 'pair of': Pair of scissors,  Pair of trousers, Pair of Pyjamas.

Usage of 'Many a': Many a Day      = Many days       >> Many a day is/ Many days are.
                               Many a teacher = Many teachers >> Many a teacher is/Many teachers are.
                               Many a village = Many villages  >> Many a village is/ Many villages are.



 

SEQUENCE OF TENSES

1. A Past Tense in principal clause follows a Past Tense in subordinate clause.
Eg:- The patient said that he felt better.
         He worked hard that he might pass.

2. A Past Tense in principal clause may be followed by a present in the subordinate if Universal Truths are expressed.
Eg:- He said that two plus two is four.
        He said that time and tide waits for none.

3. A Past Tense in principal clause may be followed by any Tense if the subordinate clause is introduced by "Than".
Eg:- He came often than we expected.
        He comes often than we expect.
        He comes often than we will expect.

4. A principal clause in present/future may be followed by any Tense required by the sense.
Eg:- He says that he is a teacher.
        He says that he was a teacher.
        He says that he will be a teacher.
        He will say that he is a teacher.
        He will say that he was a teacher.
        He will say that he will be a teacher.

CONCORD(Subject Verb Agreement)

CONCORD

(Subject and Verb Agreement)

CONCORD: The Agreement between the Subject and Verb is known as Concord.

Kinds of Concord: Concord can be of three kinds as shown below;

CONCORD

___________________________________|__________________________________

            |                                                                     |                                                                    |

Grammatical Concord                                Notional Concord                           Concord by Proximity

I. Grammatical Concord:- Concord by form of the Subject and the Verb.  

If the Subject is singular Verb should be singular.  

If the Subject is Plural, Verb should also be in Plural form.

Eg: 1. Cow gives milk (Third person singular Subject takes singular Verb)

       2. Cow give milk (Third person plural Subject takes Plural Verb)

       3. She is glad on your success.

       4. They are very helpful to us.

II Notional Concord: Notional Concord is agreement of Verb with Subject according to how we look, at the subject, either as singular or plural, depending on the contextual sense.

Eg:- The Committee is meeting next week (Subject is Singular).

         The Committee were divided in their opinion (Plural).

III. Concord of Proximity:  It denotes agreement of the Verb is more common.

Eg:- Either the manager or the clerks are responsible for this mistake.

        Either the clerks or the manager is responsible for this mistake. 

USEFUL CONCORD RULES:

1. If the Subject is singular, the Verb must be singular.

2. If the Subject is Plural, the Verb also must be Plural.

3. Two or more singular Subjects connected by 'and' take a Verb in Plural.

Eg:- Suresh and Siva are working in our factory.

        He and I have  discussed the problem.

4. Two or more singular Subjects when connected by 'or/nor' takes a Verb in singular.

5. One singular and one plural Subject are connected with 'or/nor', the singular must be placed first and the plural next and this combination of Subjects takes plural Verb.

Eg:- Rama or her friends are responsible for this .

        Neither the principal nor the lecturers were there.

        Either the doctor or the patients have to be here.

6. Words joined to a singular Subject with 'along with',   'as well as',   'in addition to',   'together with'   or   'with' take a singular Verb. 

Eg:- Siva along with his friends is at the playground.

        Ramya as well as her friends likes sweets.

        His pay in addition to the allowance was paid.

        Ranga Rao together with his friends was arrested for cheating an actor.

        Madhu with his classmates has attended the function. 

7. When the Subject of the Verb is a relative pronoun, the Verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative pronoun.
Eg:- She, who is my enemy, always criticizes me.
        One of the books which have been missing in the library is in his house.

8.If two Subjects express one idea, the Verb shall be in the singular.
Eg:- Slow and steady wins the race.
        Time and tide waits for none.
         Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy.
         Bread and butter is expensive these days.
         Egg and mutton often forms his breakfast.

9. If two singular Subjects are preceded by 'each' or 'every' and connected by 'and' the Verb shall be in the singular form.
Eg:- Each hour and each day reminds us of our duty.
        Every man and every woman has the right to vote.

10. When the Subject of a sentence is 'there' (dummy Subject) the Verb agrees with the noun that follows the Verb.
Eg:- There was a king called Rama in Ayodhya.
        These is a book on the table.
        There are ten girls in the class.
        There were ten rooms in that house.

11.Phrases which express 'an amount',  'a period of time',   'a quality' or a  'unity' take a singular Verb.
Eg:- Two hundred rupees was paid for the taxi.
        Three months in prison was the punishment given to soapy.
        Three miles is not a long distance.
        Five kilos of rice is needed.

Note: If the quantity is treated as separate units, the Subject takes a plural Verb.
Eg:- Two thousand rupees were paid to the workers.
        Ten acres of land were distributed to the poor in our village.

12. Phrases which are names of books, organizations or countries take a singular Verb.
Eg:- "The Three Musketeers" is an interesting book.
        The Bharat Scouts is a well known organization.
        The United states of America is a rich country.

13. A collective noun takes singular Verb when the collection refers to one unit.
Eg:- The committee has taken the decision unanimously.
        The majority is in favor of the bill.

Note: If the collection refers to individuals, the plural Verb is used.
Eg:- The committee are divided on the issue.
         The crew were taken prisoners.

14. If two nouns refer to the same person or thing, the Verb must be singular.  The article is used only once.
Eg:- The secretary and correspondent is no more.
        By the death of Radha Krishna, a great philosopher and patriot was lost to India.
        Her pet and companion is her little dog.

Note: If two nouns refer to different persons or things the Verb must be plural.  The article is used before each noun.

Eg:- The secretary and the correspondent are no more.
        The clerk and the typist are on leave.

15. Words like 'majority', 'lot' etc., are singular.  They take a plural Verb because each Subject taken as a whole is plural in meaning.
Eg:- A lot of tree have been cut in this forest.
        A large number of students have passed in our institutions.

16. The following words are plural and they take Verbs in plural number;
        'a few',    'both',    'many',    'several'. 
Eg:- A few of us know French well.
         Both are interesting novels.
         Many are invited to the party.
         Several have passed in the test.

17. "All",  "Most"  and  "Some" take a singular Verb if they stand for uncountable nouns and plural Verb if they stand for countable nouns.
Eg:- All has been sold. (uncountable).
        All have passed. (countable).

18. Mathematical statements take a singular Verb.
Eg:- Five times four is twenty.
        Twenty minus five is fifteen.

19. Words such as "Spectacles",  "Glasses", "Tongs", "Binoculars", "Gloves", "Shoes" and "Scissors" are regarded as plural and require plural Verbs.  They are called pair nouns.
Eg:- My spectacles are in my pocket.
        Five plus three is eight.
        My pants are torn.
        Three times four is twelve.
        Two and two is four (or two and two are four).

If these words are preceded by the phrase"pair off", the word "pair" becomes Subject.
Eg:- A pair of trousers is found in the cup board.

20.Some words end in "s" and appear to be plural but they are really singular and require singular Verbs.  These are the words: Measles, News, Mumps, Billiards, Gallows, Innings, Phonetics, Politics, Ethics, Economics and other words like Barracks, AIDS, Rickets etc.
Eg:- Measles is an infectious disease.
        The news from the desk is bad.

21. Phrases like "half of", "a part of", "a percentage of", a majority of" are sometimes singular and sometimes plural depending on the meaning.
Eg:- A large part of the army is placed at the border.
        One third of the seats are reserved for women.

22. If a compound Subject consists of one negative and one positive Subject and one is plural and the other is singular, the Verb should agree with the positive Subject.
Eg:- It was the minster, not the members that has raised the issue.
        It is the Subjects not the principal who elect their leader.

23. An indefinite pronoun "None" can be either singular or plural and it often does not matter whether you use a singular or plural Verb unless something else determines its number.
Eg:- None of the students have come/has come.
        None of the computers are/is working.

24. "Each" is always followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word.
Eg:- Each of the cars is well designed by the company.
        Each of the students is responsible for keeping the classroom clean.

25. Collective Nouns like 'Equipment', 'Machinery', 'Stationery', 'Scenery', 'Baggage', 'Luggage', 'Furniture', 'Clothing' are singular nouns and take the singular Verb.
Eg:- The Equipment was imported from the United Kingdom.

26. Some Nouns like 'People', 'Police', 'Cattle', 'Clergy', 'Poultry' are singular in form but plural in meaning.  They take the plural Verb.
Eg:- The cattle are returning home.

27. All in the sense of "everything", "The whole of" takes a singular a singular Verb;
Eg:- All that glitters is not gold.

 

28. Though more than one is notionally plural, it takes a singular Verb:

Eg:- More than one person is involved in this.

 

29. The great/greatest part is singular when it refers to amount of quantity, plural when it refers to numbers.  The Verb is used according to the context.

Eg:- The greater part of the land is uncultivated.

        The greater part of the apples are bad.

 

30. In case of specifications of sums of sums of money, the singular generally refers to the amount, the plural to the coins etc., concerned.

Eg:- Here is five shilliongs (amount).

        Here are five rupees (coins).

 

31. In formal style lot and lots present  no agreement problem, since they are connected with singular and plural nouns respectively;

Eg:- A lot of money was needed.

        There were lots of people.

 

But in colloquial speech this does not apply, and here the phrases take the singular of the Verb with uncountable and the plural with countable.

Eg:- There was heaps of fun.

        There was lots of fun.

        There were lots of people.

        There is heaps more to say on this question.

        There are heaps of books on the subject.    

 

32. If a fraction - "half", "a quarter", "two-third", "ten percent", etc., is related to a singular noun, it takes a singular Verb.  If it is related to a plural noun, it takes a plural, Verb:

 Eg:- Half of the land is cultivated.

         Half of the apples are bad.   

 

33. One of + plural Noun + singular Verb.

Wrong: One of the teachers like western music. 

Right   : One of the teachers likes western music.

 

Wrong : One of my friends are an engineer.

Right    : One of my friends is an engineer.