WRITERS' DIARY: English as a Foreign Language

LESSON-SIX

ERRORS IN USING VERBS

The principal errors in the use of verbs can be classified logically under the following headings: (1) errors in agreement with subject; (2) errors in tense; (3) errors in voice; (4) errors in mood; and (6) miscellaneous errors.

Errors in agreement are treated under the section on ‘Errors in Using Nouns’. This section treats the other principal classifications. To speak one’s English one must be well conversant with the irregular forms of verbs. It is also known as strong verbs. Below are listed the three forms, i.e., the principal parts, of verbs most likely to present difficulty:

Present Past Past Participle

beat beat beaten (beat in the US)

bet bet, betted bet, betted

bid (offer) bid bid

bid (command) bade bidden

broadcast broadcast broadcast

(broadcasted in the US) (broadcasted in the US)

burn burnt, burned in the US burnt, burned in the US

bust bust, busted (US) bust, busted (US)

dive dived, dove (US) dived

dream dreamt, dreamed dreamt, dreamed

dwell dwelt, dwelled dwelt, dwelt

forecast forecast, forecasted forecast, forecasted

get got got, gotten (US)

hang (kill someone) hanged hanged

hang (to fasten) hung hung

input input, inputted input, inputted

kneel knelt, kneeled knelt, kneeled

lean leaned, leant lean, leant

leap leaped, leapt leaped, leapt

learn learned, learnt learned, learnt

let let, letted let, letted

lie lay, lied lain, lied

light lit, lighted lit, lighted

mow mowed mown, mowed

plead pleaded, pled (US) pleaded, pled (US)

prove proved, proven (US) proved, proven (US)

saw sawed sawn, sawed (US)

sew sewed sewn, sewed

shear sheared shown, showed

sow sowed sown, sowed

speed sped, speeded sped, speeded

spit spat, spit (US) spat, spit (US)

stink stank, stunk (US) stunk

strive strove, strived striven, strived

swell swelled swollen, swelled

weave wove, weaved woven, weaved

wet wet, wetted wet, wetted

Shifts of Tense

Many non-native speakers of English cannot maintain consistency in their use of tense; they must be very careful while shifting tense.

Wrong: I told my teachers that I will be a good citizen.

Right: I told my teachers that I would be a good citizen. (Right because I am talking about the past action.)

Wrong: I should have liked to have heard Sabin Rai sing. (Wrong because the two present perfect constructions create a conflict that cannot be resolved.)

Right: I should like to have heard Sabin Rai sing. (Right because action of ‘liking’ is now present, thereby preventing a conflict that cannot be resolved.)

General Truth

The general truth is a fact that was true in the past, is true now, and in all probability will be true in the future. For example,

Necessity is the mother of invention.

The general truth presents difficulty when it appears in a sentence with a past tense, because a tendency to use the past tense to express the general truth arises.

Wrong Last week a philosopher reminded us that sitting upright was a sign of attention.

Right Last week a philosopher reminded us that sitting upright is a sign of attention.

LESSON-SEVEN

ERRORS IN MISCELLANEOUS AREAS

ELISION

Elision is leaving out a word, sound or phrase completely. In the following words, some vowel letters/sounds are ellipted.

camera ‘e’ in the word is ellipted.

chocolate ‘o’ between c and l is ellipted.

Comfortable ‘o’ between f and r is ellipted.

comparable ‘a’ between p and r is ellipted.

dictionary ‘a’ in the word is ellipted.

difference ‘e’ between f and r is ellipted.

history ‘o’ in the word is ellipted.

incidentally ‘a’ in the word is ellipted.

interesting ‘e’ in the word is ellipted.

Laboratory ‘o’ between t and r is ellipted.

library ‘a’ in the word can be ellipted.

memory ‘o’ in the word is ellipted.

mystery ‘e’ in the word is ellipted.

Incidentally ‘a’ in the word is ellipted.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES

confide in sink in meddle in

confirm in include in involve in

dabble in increase in join in

excel in equal in interfere in

invest in fail in indulge in

Noun + in

faith in a graduate in error in

confidence in an interest in improvement in

a defect in origin in a delight in

belief in much progress in an expert in

agree on step on experiment on

confer on spy on lie on

elaborate on depend on lecture on

focus on inflict on rely on

Noun + On

limit on restriction on opinion on

view on ideas on tips on

raid on attack on discount on

influence on seminar on mark on

stain on remark on information on

effect on article on presentation on

lecture on bet on file on

congratulations on programs on test on

improvement on attack on agreement on

survey on reflection on knock on

bang on tap on hold on

prevail on dwell on

On + Noun

on request on scale on fire

on salary on low income on a committee

on a council on a board on a regular basis

on good terms on someone’s return on English (subject)

acquit of assure of complain of dispose of approve of clear of consist of tell of beware of brag of

Noun + of

combination of relative of exhibition of

description of result of descendent of

exchange of proof of collection of

ignorance of the end of the envy of

satisfaction of judge of an example of

Into

pry into walk into fall into dive into

run into dip into flow into inject into

book into expand into bump into make into

Adjective + at

annoyed at surprised at pleased at

amazed at shocked at clever at

good at marvelous at disappointed at

poor at angry at terrible at

lucky at quick at expert at

astonished at skillful at efficient at

From

dismiss from divert from inherit from

divorce from abstain from free from

disconnect from shrink from buy from

escape from abstract from prevent from

exclude from refrain from disappear from

graduate from hide from release from

Adjective + from

safe from absent from alienated from

different from aloof from free from

separate from

Against

compete against bump against revolt against

brush against fight against appeal against

band against lead against guard against

clash against unite against secure against

lean against voice against

With

acquaint with cover with combine with

balance with equip with occupy with

illustrate with meet with pair with

collide with rhyme with deal with

Adjective + with

angry with busy with acquainted with

disappointed with clever with (a brush) tormented with

pleased with ill with (a cold)

About

complain about rave about consult about

quarrel about talk about worry about

debate about joke about think about

dream about care about boast about

Adjective + about

nervous about upset about clear about

confused about worried about careful about

glad about anxious about annoyed about

address to confine to confess to

adjust to connect to object to

amount to cease to pretend to

consent to stoop to resolve to

belong to succumb to promise to

Adjective + to

tempted to entitled to applicable to

prone to subject to fatal to

addicted to accustomed to liable to

obliged to superior to impossible to

indifferent to equal to difficult to

senior to adjacent to common to

prefer to beneficial to cruel to

kind to useful to rude to

detrimental to obedient to unknown to

polite to answerable to hostile to

true to contrary to oblivious to

alternative to loyal to inferior to

hostile to

NOUN + to

access to attention to addition to

addiction to admiration to admittance to

affront to allegiance to amendment to

engagement to entitlement to improvement to

introduction to journey to visit to

dedication to supplement to approximation to

extension to trip to return to

tribute to affinity to complaint to

succession to reaction to ambassador to

solution to export to import to

aversion to trial to ticket to

thanks to testimony to exposure to

incentive to attraction to gratitude to

inducement to menace to memorial to

priority to preference to envoy to

object to exception to hindrance to

attentive to

Adjective + of

greedy of afraid of worthy of

fond of tired of proud of

envious of scared of suspicious of

weary of sure of rid of

full of innocent of negligent of

avoid of terrified of bereft of

desirous of repentant of oblivious of

cautious of accused of capable of

deprived of assured of sick of

beware of ashamed of regardless of

certain of ignorant of acquitted of

convicted of aware of irrespective of

hopeful of jealous of born of

boast of

Verb + at

snap at knock at rejoice at

wave at sneer at peer at

peek at wink at jeer at

smile at laugh at prompt at

grab at grasp at yell at

bark at throw at guess at

work at glance at gape at

glare at stream at clutch at

shoot at shout at scream at

frown at excel at point at

scoff at rush at aim at

smirk at

on my right make an attack on the enemy

trees on both sides of the road

on my way to college on his arrival on the morning of 10^th

on thinking of the idea on foot on horseback

on a ship on the 9 o’clock train on five

on sale on strike on holiday

on the run on offer on purpose

on a journey a tax on income on credit

on good terms interest on the loan

UNDER

under water under orders under the rules under control

under the circumstances under the impression under the name of

under threat under great difficulties under fifty rupees

under repairs under your sweater

NEWS VOCABULARIES

Newspapers are the windows to look at the world. Everything seen from the eye-windows are the issues of the newspapers. It is said that, in today’s world newspaper have become almost as necessary as food and clothing. The primary function of a newspaper is to provide news of all kinds. The world moves so fast, events happen so quickly in every sphere of life, that success is impossible without keeping in close touch with the latest developments. One must be posted up-to-date if one desires to make any progress.

Short words save space, and so they are very common in headlines. Some of the short words in headlines are unusual in ordinary language (e.g. curb, meaning ‘restrict’ or restriction), and some are used in special senses which they do not often have in ordinary language (e.g. bid, meaning ‘attempt’). Other words are chosen not because they are short, but because they sound dramatic (e.g. blaze, which means ‘big fire’, and is used in headlines to refer to any fire. The following is a list of common headlines vocabulary.

act take action; do something

aid military or financial help; to help

alert alarm, warning

allege make an accusation, blame

appear appear in court accused of a crime

axe abolish, close down, abolition, closure

back support

ban forbid, refuse to allow something or prohibition

bar refuse, refusal to allow entry

bid attempt

blast explosion, criticize violently

blaze fire

block fire

blow bad news, discouragement unfortunate happening

bolster give support, encouragement to

bond political/business association

boom big increase, prosperous period

boost encourage, increase

brink edge

call for demand, appear

campaign organized effort to achieve social or political result

charge accusation (by police)

chop abolition, closure

claim make a statement that something is true

clash quarrel, fight

clear find innocent

con swindle

crackdown firm application of the law

crash financial failure

curb restrict, restriction

cutback reduction (usually financial)

dash quick journey

deadlock disagreement that cannot be solved

deal bargain, agreement

demo demonstration

dole unemployment pay

drive united effort

drop give up

due expected to arrive

duo two people

edge move gradually

envoy ambassador

face be threatened by

feud long lasting dispute

firm determined not to change

flak heavy criticism

flare begin violently

foil prevent someone from succeeding

fraud deceit

freeze keep prices etc at their present level, block a bank account

fuel anger, protest

gag censor, prevent from speaking

go disappear

go-ahead approval

grip control, hold tightly

gun down shoot

hail welcome, praise

halt stop

haul amount stolen in robbery, or seized by police or customs

head move

heed pay attention to

hike rise in costs, prices, etc

hit affect badly

hit out at attack with words

hitch problem that causes delay

hold arrest, making a financial loss

key important, vital

landslide victory by large majority in election

lash criticize violently

launch send into space, begin a campaign or put new products on market

leak unofficial publication of secret information

leap big increase

life imprisonment for life

link connection, contact

loom threaten to happen

lotto the national lottery

mar spoil

mission delegation

mob angry crowd

move step towards a particular result (often political)

MP Member of Parliament

nail force someone to admit the truth

net win, capture

OAP old age pensioner

oust drive out, replace

out to intending to

over about, on the subject of, because of

pact agreement

pay wages

PC police constable

peak high point

peer lord

peg hold (prices etc) at present level

peril danger

pit coal mine

plant factory

plea call for help

pledge promise

poised to ready to, about to

poll election, public opinion survey

pools football pools, a form of gambling in which people guess of results of football matches

premier head of the government

press the newspapers

press for urge, encourage

probe investigate

pull out withdraw

push for ask for, encourage

quake earthquake

quit resign, leave

quiz question

raid enter and search, attack, rob

rampage riot

rap criticize

record bigger than ever before

riddle mystery

rift division

rock shock, shake

row quarrel

rule out reject the possibility of

sack dismissal from job

saga long-running news story

scare public alarm, alarming rumour

scoop win

scrap throw out

seek look for

seize take

set to ready to

shed get rid of

slam criticize

slash cut, reduce drastically

slate criticize

slump fall economically

snatch rob

soar rise dramatically

spark cause

split disagree

spree wild spending expedition

stake financial interest

storm angry public disagreement

storm out of leave angrily

stun surprise, shock

surge sudden increase, ride suddenly

swap exchange

sway persuade

switch to change

swoop to raid

threat danger

toll number killed

top senior, most important

top (verb) exceed

trio three people

troops soldiers

urge encourage

walk out leave in protest

KEYWORDS

SN	Keywords	Examples
1	comparison	like, both, similarly, as____as, just as, so, in the same way, neither_______nor
2	contrast	but, though, although, in contrast to, instead of , while, on the other hand, whereas, on the contrary to , yet , however, nevertheless
3	cause, reason	as, because, for, since, due to, owing to, since, inasmuch as
4	giving examples	for example, that is, in other words, for instance
5	result, effect	therefore, so, thus, so that, as a result, consequent
6	adding information	and, also, besides, as well as, apart from, moreover, further, similarly, aside from, incidentally
7	express time	when, as, since, while, at the time, after, before, during, then, next
8	topic change	well, now, incidentally, by the way
9	listing	firstly, secondly, first of all, thirdly, finally
10	summary	in short, to sum up, in a nutshell, thus
11	explanation	namely, for example, for instance, thus
12	condition	or else, otherwise, in that case, if, unless
13	alternatives	or, alternatively, otherwise
14	reference	in this respect, in this connection, apart from this
15	focusing	let us consider, we must now turn to
16	purpose	with this in mind, to this end, in order to , so that, etc.

SOUNDS OF ANIMALS

An ass brays

An owl hosts

An elephant trumpets

A bee buzzes

A bird chirps

A cat meows

A cock crows

A crow crows

A cow lows

A duck squaks

A hen cackles

A frog croaks

A dog barks

A horse neighs

A sheep bleats

A snake hisses

A parrot talks

A wolf howls

A dove coos

A lion roars

FOOD PREPARATION

Shell the peas

Peel the potatoes

Slice the onion

Chop the chicken

Shred the lettuce

Dice the carrots

Grate the coconut

Beat the yoghurt

Knead the dough

Grease the tin

Mash the potatoes

SOUNDS OF OBJECTS

Two cups clink

A whip cracks

A fire crackles

Two dishes crash

An apple crunches when someone bites it.

Water fizzes when a coin is dropped.

Air hisses when a tyre deflates.

Two keys jingle

A lid of a bottle pops.

Fallen leaves rustle when someone walks.

Meat sizzles when it is fried in flake.

When a pencil is broken, it snaps.

When a man walks with gumboots in mud, it squelches.

When a table fan is turned on, it whirrs.

FAMOUS ENGLISH IDIOMS

a) ants in your pants overactivity, restlessness

b) apple of discord a cause of quarrel

c) apple of my eye a person or thing that is loved greatly

d) at the end of my rope at the limit of ability or patience

e) black sheep good for nothing

f) beat the band with much noise, excitement

g) bed of roses a wonderful position, pleasant situation

h) bite your tongue be ashamed of what you have said

i) bite the bullet brace yourself to endure unpleasant experience

j) break the ice to ease the nervousness in a situation

k) cooking with gas performing with skill, enthusiasm, excellence

l) crocodile tears pretended grief

m) cut the mustard to be able to handle a job

n) dead duck a person who is ruined

o) fair weather friends friends in favourable time only

p) wet blanket a person who spoils other’s fun, being depressed, nagging dull

q) wet behind the ear inexperienced, immature

r) take a backseat to be in an inferior

s) take a powder leave quickly

t) two faced dishonest

u) true, blue faithful

v) upper crust high society

w) with flying colour with great anxious

x) fat cat a wealthy person

y) feet of day a weak point

z) flow of the handle to lose your temper

aa) follow his nose go straight ahead in the same direction

bb)for the birds worthless, stupid

cc) go fly a kite go away, stop bothering me

dd) give my eyeteeth to want something very badly

ee) in the bag fixed

ff) in hot water in serious trouble

gg) in the dog house in disgrace, facing punishment

hh) jack of all trades person who can turn his/herhand to anything

ii) lend me your car pay attention to

jj) make waves to cause trouble

kk) miss the boat to lose an opportunity

ll) monkey business illegal activities

mm) on the ropes almost failing, nearly ruined

nn) on the rocks financially ruined

oo)pass the hat ask for contribution

pp)play the field to have many sweet hearts on dates without going steady commitment

qq) rat race stressful competition in society business

rr) shake a leg to speed up, go faster

ss) sick as a dog very sick

tt) storm in a tea pot quarrel over a trifling matter

uu) to hold one’s tongue to be silent

vv) to blow one’s own trumpet to speak highly of oneself

THE STRUCTURES OF TENSE

The tense is any of the forms of a verb that may be used to indicate the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. There are of three types of tense.

Present

a) Simple Present sub+v1/v5+ob

b) Present tcontinous sub+is/am/are+ving+obj

c) Present perfect sub+has/have+v3+obj

d) Present perfect continuous sub+has/have been+ving+obj

Past

a) Simple past sub+v2+obj

b) Past continuous sub+was/were+v4+obj

c) Past perfect sub+had+v3+obj

d) Past perfect continuous sub+had been+v4+obj

Future

a) Simple future sub+will/shall+v1+obj

b) Future continuous sub+will/shall+be+ving+obj

c) Future perfect sub+will/shall have+v3+obj

d) Future perfect continuous sub+will/shall have been +ving+obj

CORRECT USE OF “OTHER”

an other + singular noun one more

Can I have an other biscuit?

the other + singular noun the last of the set

I want to eat the other biscuit.

the other + plural noun all the remaining items

I am hungry, so I wanna eat the other biscuits.

other + plural noun some items/pieces

All right, I will eat other biscuits.

other + non-count noun some more

Will you give me other water?

the other + non-count noun the remaining

I am so thirsty that I will drink the other water.

The Infinitive is the base of a verb, often followed by ‘to’.

For instance, Siddhant aimed to kill a tiger with a pointed stone. (Not aimed killing)

The following verbs are followed by ‘to’.

aim attempt bother care choose

condescend consent fail hesitate hope long

manage neglect offer plan prepare proceed refuse

tend trouble try volunteer vow

A Gerund is that form of verb which ends in –ing and has the force of a Noun and a Verb.

For instance, Garima enjoys dancing. (not Garima enjoys to dance.)

The following verbs take gerunds as a noun or object.

appreciate avoid defer delay detest dislike

dread enjoy escape excuse finish

forgive involve keep loathe miss pardon

postpone practice prevent resent resist risk

save stop admit deny fancy mean

propose suggest remember consider imagine

recollect understand

Following verbs can construct either infinitive or gerund.

advise agree allow begin can bear case

continue forget hate intend like love

mean need permit prefer propose

recommend regret remember require start stop

try used to want

REPETIION

Avoidance of repetition

In English, unnecessary repetition is usually considered to be a bad thing. Careful writers generally try not to use the same words and structures in successive clauses and sentences without a good reason; when expressions are repeated, it is often for deliberate emphasis or other stylistic purposes. Casual repetition is more common in informal language, but even in conversation people often sound monotonous or clumsy if they do not vary their sentence structure and vocabulary. Some kinds of repetition are actually ungrammatical in both writing and speech.

Right We got that dog because the children wanted it.

Wrong We got that dog because the children wanted that dog.

Wrong She is staying at the Royal Hotel, so we said we’d meet her at the Royal Hotel.

Right She is staying at the Hotel, so we said we’d meet her there.

Questionable That wall, it needs painting.

Better That wall needs painting.

Wrong We planned wonderful plans.

Right We made wonderful plans. Or , We planned wonderful things.

Wrong She wrote an interesting piece of writing.

Right She wrote an interesting paper. Or She did an interesting piece of writing.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Two and two make/makes four. (singular verbs are often possible after plural number subjects in spoken calculations.)
The rise and fall of the tide is due to lunar influence. (rise and fall are indispensable in the sentence.)
Each of the boys has books. (each indicates one by one)
Ram or they have played lawn tennis. (first subject is omitted)
Ramesh as well as his friends has won the prize. (The subject that comes before the conjunction ‘as well as’ go with the verb.)
In addition to, accompanied by, along with, among, together with is used with singular verbs.
Two miles is too much to run in one day. (numbers take singular verbs.)
There was an accident last year.
There were two marbles in my pocket.
The robber made the writers give him the money. (made-a causative verb)
The writers were made to give him the money. (passive)
None of the students has finished the exam yet. (formal)
None of the students have finished the exam yet. (informal)
No example is relevant to the case.
No examples are relevant to the case.
If either of takes a vacation now.
Neither boys nor girl has seen this movie.
A number of students are going for the class picnic.
The number of days in a week is seven.
The majority believes that we’re in no danger.
The majority of the lawmakers believe him to be innocent.
The committee is/are divided in regard to detail of the plan.
School, college, university, church, market, court, prison, work, hospital, office, town, sea, home etc is used without articles if it denotes primary purposes.
One must do his work. (US English)
One must do one’s work. (UK English)
Some comparative words such as senior, junior, inferior, superior etc are not followed by ‘than’.
She is one of the few women who has/have climbed Mt Everest. (Strictly speaking, a plural verb is correct because ‘she’ is not only a woman who has climbed Everest).
Here comes Amar. (here+come+noun)
Here he comes. (here+pronoun+come)

Mental Verbs

The following is a list of verbs that are not used in progressive (continuous) form.

a) Verb of perception see, hear, smell, notice, recognize, know, etc.

b) Verb of appearing appear, look, seem, etc.

c) Verb of emotion want, wish, desire, like, love, hate, hope, refuse, proper, etc.

d) Verb of thinking think, suppose, believe, agree, consider, trust, forget, remember, know, understand, imagine, mean, mind, etc.

e) Verb of possession own, possess, belong, contain, consist of, etc.

BRITISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH IN PRACTICE

These two varieties of English are very similar. There are a few differences of grammar and spelling, and rather more differences of vocabulary and idiom. Modern British English is heavily influenced by American English, so some contrasts are disappearing. Pronunciation is sometimes very different, but most American and British speakers can understand each other easily. Sometimes, the same word has different meanings (UK English mad=crazy; US English mad=angry). And very often, different words are used for the same idea. Hence, those individuals who are speaking English as a second language must be well aware of these two varieties so as to communicate effectively in English. Here are a few examples, with very brief information about the words and their meanings. A larger list with more complete information, can be found in The British/American Dictionary by Norman Moss, published by Hutchinson or can be obtained from libraries.

UK English	US English	UK English	US English
slaughter house	abattoir	motorway	expressway
about	around	mudguard	fender
antenna	aerial	flask	thermos
aeroplane	airplane	foetus	Fetus
aesthetic	esthetic	full stop	period
ageing	aging	rubbish	garbage
anaemia	anemia	garden	yard
analyse	analyze	petrol	gasoline
analoghue	analog	got (past participle)	gotten
anapaest	anapest	learnt (past participle)	learned
artifact	artifact	level crossing	grade crossing
backward & forward	back and forth	grey	gray
banknote	bill	gynaecology	gynecology
baulk	balk	hall of residence	dormitory
bath	bathtub	headteacher	principal
hamburger	beef burgar	holiday	vacation
bicenenary	bicecennial	holdall	carryall
wallet	billfold	in hospital	in the hospital
hairpin	babypin	illegal immigrant	illegal alien
blusher	blush	industrial estate	industrial park
bookshop	bookstore	letter box	mailbox
car	trunk	postman	letter carrier
plait	braid	queue	line
braces	suspender	off-licence	liquor store
camposite	campground	long-sighted	farsighted
chemist	pharmacist	hob	stove
cinema	movie-theatre	tap	faucet
anti-clockwise	counter clockwise	bread bin	bread box
clothes-peg	clothes pin	tin opener	can opener
wardrobe	closet	baking tray	baking pan
conductor	guard	fish slice	spatula
credit account	charge account	cotton wool	cotton
current affairs	current events	flannel	washcloth
curriculum vitae	resume	toilet roll	toilet paper
bonnet	hood	tyre	tire
number plate	license plate	wing mirror	side mirror
wind screen	wind shield	hand brake	emergency brake
12 September	September 12	trousers	pants
mac	raincoat	waistcoat	vest
swimming costume	swimming suit	organisation	organization
biscuits	cookies	crisps	chips
quarter past two	quarter after two	medical	physical
mould	mold	multi-storey house	multistory house
nappy	diaper	omelette	omelet
pavement	sidewalk	peoplecarrier	minivan
repeat	rerun	scepticism	skepticism
Slip-road	ramp	sulphur	sulfur
trapezium	trapezoid	cheque	check
brackets	parenthesis	fulfilment	fulfillment
travelling	traveling	axe	ax
spanner	wrench	truck	lorry
dependant	dependent	tea towel	dish towel
draughtsman	draftsman	dustman	garbage man
rubber	eraser	colour	color
crossroads	intersection	nasty	mean
dialing code	area code	engaged (phone)	busy
sweets	candy	purse	coin-purse
cot	crib	lift	elevator
rubber, eraser	eraser	torch	flashlight
crossroads	intersection	single ticket	one-way ticket
jug	pitcher	return ticket	round trip
timetable	schedule, timetable	trainers (sports shoes)	sneakers
mean	stingy	underground	subway
fortnight, two weeks	two weeks	zed (z, last letter)	zee (z, last letter)

The differences between British English and American English

	British English (UK English)	American English (US English)
1.	He has just gone home.	He just went home.
2.	Ram has got to know his relatives.	Ram has gotten to know his relatives.
3.	It is important that Anu should be informed.	It is important that Anu be informed. *(subjunctive)*
4.	The committee is/are meeting tomorrow at school.	The committee are meeting tomorrow at school.
5.	Please check your bag for security.	Please check your bag out for security.
6.	Arjun met Sital last week in a cinema hall.	Arjun met Sital last week in a cinema hall. *(by chance)* Arjun met with Sital last week in a cinema hall. (planned)
7.	‘r’ is pronounced before a vowel sound not a letter.	‘r’ is pronounced in all positions.
8.	Navin was unhappy at the school. *(not a student)*	Navin was unhappy at the school. *(may/mayn’t be a student)*
9.	She’s not/ she isn’t *(contractions)*	She’s not
10.	Daren’t/ shan’t / usedn’t are usual	Daren’t/ shan’t /usedn’t are not usual
11.	16 April, 2014 *(date)*	April 16, 2014 *(date)*
12.	All of the candidates need to fill in a form.	All of the candidates need to fill out a form.
13.	We haven’t seen Priyanka for ages.	We haven’t seen Priyanka in ages. (moving into UK English)
14.	Can I speak to Ram?	Can I speak with Ram? *(moving into UK English)*
15.	What are you doing at the weekend?	What are you doing on the weekend? *(moving into UK English)*
16.	3074922( phone no) Three oh (letter) seven, four nine double two.0= naught in Maths, 0= nil in sports	3074922 (phone no) Three zero seven, four nine two two.
17.	Soniya went out of the back exit.	Soniya went out the back exit.
18.	Sorry? Excuse me? What? (informal)	Pardon? I beg your pardon?
19.	Etc / UN/ USSR *(abbreviation)*	Etc./U.N./U.S.S.R. *(abbreviation)*
20.	Line is engaged. *(telephone)*	Line is busy.
21.	/ju:/= enthusiastic, duty, tune, new, illuminate	/u:/= enthusiastic, duty, tune, new, illuminate
22.	/ail/= fertile, reptile, missile, senile	/l/= fertile, reptile, missile, senile
23.	30 per cent of the profits go to an old age home.	30 percent of the profits go to an old age home.

DESCRIBING PEOPLE

Providing a good clear description of someone may be particularly useful when participating in in Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking Test or in our everyday life. Using a variety of adjectives, which refer to a person’s appearance or provide information about a person’s character can make your description more interesting and exciting. It can create a word picture of a person, which may leave a good impression on your listener.

Also, providing such a description allows you to demonstrate your vocabulary range.

Organisation of description—appearance

When describing someone’s appearance, it is important to think about various headings to help organize your descriptions.

SN	Category	Language Examples
1	Age	late teens, middle-aged, early twenties, a twenty-seven-year-old, mid seventies
2	Height	tall, short, average height
3	Build	heavy, heavy set, stocky, plump, fat, skinny, slim, long-legged, muscular, broad shouldered, well-built, average build
4	Hair	Colour: blond, brunette, black, red, auburn Length: long, short, a number one (very short, almost shaved), bald Style: straight, curly, wavy, frizzy
5	Eyes	Colour: blue, green, brown, black Qualities: cold, dreamy, shifty Size: big, tiny Shape: almond, oriental, round
6	Face	long, thin, narrow, with narrow lips, chubby cheeks, huge forehead, no chin, pointed chin, pretty face
7	Skin	Colour: white, pale, tanned, yellow, dark, black Texture: wrinkled, lined, aged, pimply, oily, greasy
8	Distinguishing features	glasses, beard, mole, tattoo, scar, birthmark, bushy eyebrows, freckles, pimples

Organization of description—character

When describing someone’s character, think about the following headings to help organize your description for character features.

SN	category	Language Examples
1	Intellectual ability	silly, clever, wise, intelligent, bright, dumb, stupid, foolish, cunning, smart, modest
2	Attitudes	a. towards life: optimistic, pessimistic, introverted, extroverted, sensible, down-to-earth, sensitive b. towards others: polite, impolite, cruel, generous, kind, mean, sociable, honest, reliable, sincere, jealous, envious, rude
3	Behaviour	Positive: determined, economical, confident, assertive, interesting Negative: stubborn, miserly, stingy, arrogant, aggressive, weird, odd, strange

Organization of description—physical

When describing someone physically, think about the following headings to help organize your description.

SN	Category	Language Examples
1	Head	forehead, nose, eye (eyebrows, eyelid, eyelash, pupil), nose, mouth (tooth, gum, lips), chin, jaw, cheek, throat, ear (earlobe), face
2	Torso	chest, breast, stomach, abdomen, hip, back, spine, shoulders, bottom (buttocks), armpit, waist
3	Arm	hand (fingers, fingernail, thumb, index finger, forefinger, knuckle), wrist, palm,
4	Leg	thigh, knee, calf, shin, foot (toes, toenail, ankle, heel, sole)
5	Organs	heart, kidney, skin, lungs, tongue, brain, intestines, pancreas, colon, liver, appendix, gall bladder, diaphragm, stomach
6	Senses	touch, feel, smell, hear, see
7	Other	bones, muscles, veins, arteries, nerves, joints, ribs, pelvis, blood, skull

CHOOSING RIGH WORD FOR RIGHT PERSONS

adventurous always ready to try different and exciting things, even if they are dangerous
aesthetic appreciating beauty and beautiful things
amiable friendly, inspiring
ardent enthusiastic, showing strong feeling
articulate able to express ideas clearly
artistic good at painting and drawing, and at making and designing things using your skills and imagination
bashful easily shy and embarrassed, unconfident
comical looking funny
conceited too confident about your own abilities and achievements, in a way that annoys people
crafty clever at getting what you want, especially by deceiving people
critical who always says negative things about other people’s work or things they do and say
decent looking honest or well-cultured
delicate becoming ill easily, not strong
differently-abled physically challenged
down sad, depressed
dressy fond of special dress
eccentric behaving in a strange and unusual way
errant behaving in a bad, irresponsible way
erudite showing deep knowledge and learning
Eyeful remarkable, attractive person
featherweight very light in terms of weight
frenetic fast or energetic in a wild way
fussy difficult to please because they only like a few things and will only accept exactly what they want
generous ready to give freely or giving
good-looking handsome
haughty showing that you are better or important than other people
hearing-impaired who cannot hear or hear well
hen-pecked afraid of wife (a husband)
hypocrite who says one thing and does something else
indecisive not good at making decisions quickly and keeps changing their mind
lenient not severe, especially in punishing people
loyal always ready to help and support your friend
materialistic thinking that money and possessions are more important than anything else
meek very quiet and gentle and unwilling to argue or express an opinion
mischievous (child) showing a playful desire to cause trouble
modest doesn’t talk in a proud way about your success and skills
moody often getting angry or annoyed
nominal existing in name only
nosy always trying to find out private things about other people
stunning (a woman) extremely beautiful and sexually attractive
meticulous is very careful about every small detail
nasty deliberately unkind
observant good or quick at noticing things
offhand not giving people much attention when you are talking to them, so you are always well prepared
officious who always butters up to earn others’ approval
organized good at organizing your life and making plans
outspoken expressing an opinion without worrying about what other people think
passionate has strong sexual desire or romantic feelings
pigheaded refusing to change your opinion or the way you are doing something although it would be better if you did
pompous who try to sound important by using very long and formal words
preoccupied thinking or worrying about something a lot
promising who is likely to be very successful in the future
querulous often complaining unnecessarily
receptive willing to think about and accept new ideas
responsive responding with interest or enthusiasm
ruthless so determined to get what you want that you do not care how much other people suffer
reckless behaving in an irresponsible or dangerous way, and not caring whether you harm yourself or other people
sharp-tongued saying unkind things to others
sharp-witted able to think and react quickly
sloppy careless
slow-witted not good at understanding
sensible always behaving in a responsible way, making good decisions, and not doing anything stupid or risky
snobbish think that they are better than people from lower social class
sociable enjoys being with people and meeting new people
soft-spoken having a quiet, gentle voice
standoffish cold and distant in manner or behavior
sympathetic ready to try to understand people’s problems and to help them if you can
telepathic who has the ability to know what will happen in the future
vain very proud of yourself, especially because you think that you look very attractive or beautiful
visually-impaired not able to see or see well
voluptuous a woman having large breasts
warm-hearted kind, friendly and sympathetic
witty always says clever and amusing things

Actions Expressing Emotions

Often parts of the body are closely linked to particular verbs. The combination of the verb and part of the body expresses emotions or attitudes.

Actions parts of body possible emotion or attitude expressed

clench fist anger, aggression

crease/furrow/knit brow concentration, puzzlement

drum fingers impatience

lick lips anticipation

purse lips disapproval, dislike

raise eyebrows inquiry, surprise

shrug shoulders doubt, indifference

stick out tongue disrespect

wrinkle nose dislike, distance

WRITERS' DIARY

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Wednesday, 29 October 2014

English as a Foreign Language

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