മത്സരത്തിലെ ഇംഗ്ലീഷ്

 മത്സരത്തിലെ ഇംഗ്ലീഷ്– 21

(ചൂര്യയി ചന്ദ്രന്‍)

 

English Structure – 7

 

41. Introductory ‘there’

• There is / There was / There will be / There has been / etc.

Eg:    1.  There is something wrong with him

( =  something is wrong with him)

2. There are clouds in the sky.

( = clouds are in the sky )

3. There is a picture on the wall

( = A picture is on the wall )

4. There are two birds on the tree

( = Two birds are on the tree )

• In the above examples there appears to be the subject. The real subject is the noun that follows the verb. If this noun is plural the verb must be plural too.
• In the there construction
• There + be + noun is the order.
• There + be + something / nothing / anything + adj is also

possible

• There + seem / come / arise / spread / remain / exist + noun are also used.

eg: 1.  There seems to be something wrong here.

2. There came a knock at the door.
3.   There arose a dispute among them
4. There spread a rumour that he was a spy.

• The there construction is replaceable by

           Noun / pronoun + verb

eg:

5. There remain more than five essays to be typed.

Rewrite the following sentences beginning with ‘there’.

1. A few books lay on the table.
2. I could do nothing about it.
3. A lot of people have been killed in the war
4. Some of them remained till the end
5. Hundreds of people waited outside the hall.
6. Something is wrong with my pen.
7. Nobody is to help them
8. Many such rumours there have been.
9. It is impossible to go back on it.
10. Plenty of room will be there fore everyone

Answers :

1. There lay a few books on the table
2. There was nothing I could do about it
3. There have been killed a lot of people in the war
4. There remained some of them till the end
5. There waited hundreds of people outside the hall
6. There is something wrong with my pen
7. There is nobody to help them
8. There have been many such rumours.
9. There is no going back on it.
10. There will be plenty of room for everyone.
11. Introductory ‘it’

• The would ‘it’ is often used at the beginning of a sentence to replace the real subject of the sentence.

eg:      1. It is easy to learn stitching

2. It is costly to travel by plane
3. It will be a pleasure to sit on the beach
4. It is not easy to solve that problem
5. It must be tempting to get such an offer.

• ‘it’ is also used for emphasis

eg:     1.  The Prime Minister made the speech

It was the Prime Minister who made the speech.

      It + be + Object + Relative Pronoun + S + V

2. Lalu won the first prize.

It was the first prize that Lalu won.

The first prize is emphasized.

     It was Lalu who won the first prize.

Lalu is emphasized

3. The Principal gave away the prizes.

It was principal who gave away the prizes.

The principal is emphasized.

      It was the prizes that the principal gave away.

The prizes is emphasized.

• ‘it’ is used in questions.

eg:     1. It was Jack who broke the window

who was it that broke the window.

2. It is because he is ill that he is absent why is it he is absent ?

(Pronoun that is omitted)

3. It was at Kannur that the conference meet

What was it that the conference meet ?

4. It was at 5 p.m that the V.I.P. arrived.

When was it the V.I.P arrived ?

5. It was Nehru who introduced the five year plan.

Who was it that introduced the five year plan ?

• ‘It’ is used instead of infinitive.

1. To err is human ; to forgive is divine

It is human to err ; it is divine to forgive.

2. To have learnt many languages is an asset.

It is an asset to have learnt many languages.

3. To become a pilot was his life long ambition.

It was his life long ambition to become a pilot.

4. To play with fire is dangerous.

It is dangerous to play with fire.

5. To give advice is very easy.

It is very easy to give advice.

Rewrite the following sentences by emphasizing the subject and object.

1. I met Abhi last Sunday
2. Baby broke the window
3. He liked my pen
4. The carpenter made a chair with the word
5. Peter built a new house for her his son.

Answers

1. It was I who met Abhi last Sunday

It was Abhi whom I met last Sunday

2. It was Baby who broke the window

It was the window that was broken

3. It was he who liked my pen.

It was my pen that he liked

4. It was the carpenter who made a chair with the word.
5. It was a chair which the carpenter made with the word.

Rewrite the following sentences using ‘it’

1. How the robbers got into the strong room is still a mystery.
2. That the geography of a country influences its history cannot be denied.
3. That he is an industrious boy is a fact.
4. Why she did it is not known
5. Whether we shall be able to go is uncertain.
6. What you mean is not clear
7. What will happen to him is unknown.

Answers

1. It is still a mystery how the robbers got into the strong room
2. It cannot be denied that the geography of a country influences its history.
3. It is a fact that he is an industrious boy
4. It is not known why she did it
5. It is uncertain whether we shall be able to go
6. It is not clear what you mean
7. It is unknown what will happen to him.

 

43. Adverbs and their Positions

• An adverb is a modifier.
• It modifies a verb or an adjective or another adverb or a whole sentence.
• It adds the sense of time to a verb [answer to when ? ]
• It adds manner to a verb. [ answer to how ? ]
• It adds duration to a verb [ how long ? ]
• It adds frequency to a verb [ how option ? ]

eg:      1.  He met her yesterday

2.   He does his work completely
3. She has been serving for hours
4. They always come late
5. Rewrite it twice

• When an adverb modifies a whole sentence, punctuation becomes very important.

eg:  1.  Naturally, he was pleased

2. Fortunately, I have some connections with his father.

Note 1 :  Adverb phrases of time beginning with the, this, that, one, next, last

etc should not be preceded by on, at, in.

 

eg:    1.  He is going to Chennai next Monday and will return the

following Monday.

2. The island was captured one morning
3. He came here last Sunday

• He is going to Chennai on next Monday and will return on the following Monday (wrong)
• The island was captured in one morning (wrong)
• He came here on last Sunday (wrong)

Note 2 :  Adverb of frequency such as always, often, rarely, usually,

generally,  frequently, occasionally, sometimes and never stand with

    the verb they modify.

eg:    1.  We generally discuss subject like this only after office hours.

2. Barking dogs seldom bite
3. He can never pass an examination
4. He never could pass an examination
5. He is always late
6. They are often a nuisance

Note 3 :  Adverbs like nearly, almost, hardly, even, quite, only etc precede

the verb.

eg:    1.  I quite remember what happened.

2. He only pointed out a mistake
3. I hardly recognized him
4. The culprit nearly escaped
5. The child was almost run over by the car.

Note 4 :  Some adverbs are placed between the auxiliary and the main verb.

eg:    1.  The farmers have been badly affected by the floods

2. The oldman was seriously injured in the accident
3. I shall soon come and see you

• Adverbs ending in -ly are adverbs of manner

eg:    badly, hurriedly, carefully, wisely etc.

• Adverbs like thus, so well ill, amiss etc are also adverb of manner.
• Adverbs like much, very, quite, too, almost, little, a little, enough, half, partly, wholly etc are called adverbs of degree or quantity.
• Adverbs like hence, thus, thereby, consequently etc are called adverbs of result.

Note 5 :  Adverbs of manner usually stand at the end of their clause or sentence.

eg:    1.  He does his work carefully

2. He speaks wisely
3. He writes well

	Special Case Adverb ‘badly’never has the middle position He badly wrote his essay (wrong) He badly needs a new pen (correct) Here, badly means very much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note  6  :  Adverb phrases like

in the morning, in a rage, at the end of the road etc

stand at the end of their clause.

eg:  we can see a hut at the end of the road

Note  7  :  Adverb qualifying adjectives are usually placed before them. But

enough comes after the adjective.

eg :  1.  He is an industrious boy

2.   He is an extremely clever boy.
3.   He is rich enough to buy a car.
4.   She intelligent enough to solve the problem.

Note  8  :  Adverb phrases of duration begin with for. Some of them begin with

till.

eg:  1.  He has been reading for two hours.

2. He has been away for twenty years
3. He was here till ten of clock

Note  9  :  Adverb very goes with present participles and adjectives and

adverbs  in the positive degree.

eg:  1.  It is a very interesting story

2. This is a very good book.

Note  10 :  Adverb much goes with past participles and adjectives and adverbs

in the comparative degree.

eg:  1. My pen writes much better than yours.

2. We were all very much happy to hear of his success. (wrong)

We were all very happy hear of his success.

Note  11 :  Superior takes only much before it.

eg:   This silk is much superior to that