Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. · 5 Rapidex Eng Grammar Course (inHindi,Marathi,Punjabi,Telu Telugu and Tamil also) 6 Rapidex Book of Common Errors in English 7 Rapidex Improve

Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.

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Steps to Confusion-Free English


ii

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© Copyright, 2018, TKB Sinha

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Printed in India


iii

Steps to

Confusion-Free

English

TKB Sinha

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


iv


v

INDEX

Other works by the author:

1

Essentials of Spoken English

2 Enrich Your English

(International edition by

McGraw Hill)

3 Better English Pronunciation

(International edition by

McGraw Hill)

4 Vocabulary for Juniors (Re-

published by McGraw Hill)

5 Rapidex Eng Grammar Course

(inHindi,Marathi,Punjabi,Telu

Telugu and Tamil also)

6 Rapidex Book of Common

Errors in English

7 Rapidex Improve Your English

8 Rapidex English Speaking

Course (Bhojpuri)

9 A Descriptive Dictionary of

Gram. & Lit. Terms in English

10 A Treasury of Phrases,

Proverbs & Idiomatic

expressions

11 Vocabulary for Schools


vi

Non-Academic Works

12

Mahabharata-an epic full of

bizarre,weird & interesting

episodes.

13 Lansdowne Road (fiction)

14 Yes, Mr Monster (fiction)

15 A Slice from the Past (fiction)

16 Devyani (fiction)

17 Draupadi (fiction)

18 My Indulgent Father ( a

collection of poems)

19 SST: The Initial Years (a

memoir)

20 blesa xyr D;k gS \& dgkuh

laxzg

22 gegwa ns[kyha ;wjksi&;k=k o`Rrkar %

Hkkstiqjh Hkk’kkesa

23 fofp=k &&vaxzsth ,oa fgUnh

jpukvksa dk vusk[kk ladyu

&&&&&&


vii

Why this book?

By the word `confusion` is meant a state wherein

someone is unable to decide what is right and what

is wrong. He is unable to focus on a point because

to him all the given data / information look

plausible. But if he has the right information and the

right data, it grants him strength and lets him decide

correctly. This applies also to the users of English

language. The ignorance of the rules of grammar,

spellings, distinction between the words of similar

sounds and meaning and the peculiar usage of the

language, create the problem.

This work tries to look into the reasons of confusion

on several counts one by one, and explain to the

learner why `X` is right and `Y` is wrong. This

work is NOT a book on grammar but talks about

some grammatical items while talking about the

confusion. As has already been pointed out, the sole

purpose of this work is to do away with the

confusing situations by explaining an item / point.

I have also added a section on Revision called

“Looking Back” where detailed revision of all the

points dealt with, in the previous pages, have been

covered. There are Tests too to reinforcethe

learning.

Another Unique feature of this work is `Ànd

Finally: Some Don`ts & Nevers.`` which further


viii

caution the learner to be mindful while using similar

expressions.

It is sincerely hoped that this work will prove to be

of `real help` to the learners/users of English and

succeed in its aim.

The author would welcome suggestions for

improvement in the future edition of the work.

***********


ix

List of Contents.

STEP---1 Page

VOCABULARY

a. Synonyms 1

Exercise –1 27

Exercise –1 30

Answers to Exercise-1 & 2 30,33

b. Homonyms 35

(words having similar sounds)

Exercise – 1 57

Exercise – 2 61

Answers to 1 & 2 59,64

STEP---2

FROM THE WORLD OF GRAMMAR

(A) The Noun—

a. Different Meanings of nouns in

Plural forms.

65

b. Singular & Plural forms of some

Nouns

68

(i) Nouns used BOTH as Singular

& plural

68

(ii) Nouns used ONLY as Plurals 68

(iii) Nouns used ONLY as

Singulars

68

Exercises on Noun---

Exercise—1 69


x

Exercise---2 69

Answers to Ex. no.—1 71

Answers to Ex. no.----2 71

(B) The Adjective---

Something about the Articles of Adjective 72

(i) Indefinite & Definite Adjectives 72

(ii) The use of À` 73

(iii) A` used in typical expressions 73

(iv) The use of Àn` 74

(v) The use of `The` 74

Exercise on the Articles---no 1 & 2 77,78

Answer to Ex. no. 1 & 2 78,79

(C) The Verb—

(1)

(i) No Change in different Conjugations 80 (ii) Different meanings in their conjugations 81

(2)

a) Subject-Verb Agreement 84

b) Error of Proximity 84

c) Verb for different subjects / Persons 83

d) Verbs in sentences with èither---or---` 84

e) Verb as per antecedent 84

f) Verb for Adjective used in Plural Noun. 84

g) Verb for 2nd subject in `Not only---but

also--`

84

Exercise on the Agreement no. 1 & 2 85

Answer to Ex no. 1 87

Answer to Ex no. 2. 87

(3)

The Sequence of Tenses 88

(a) Past follows Past 88


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(b) Present & future followed by ANY

tense

89

(c) Any tense in case of conjunction

`than`.

89

Exercise on the Sequence no 1 & 2. 90-

91



(D) Some confusing Pronouns /

Adjectives / Adverbs / Prepositions.

93

Exercise no. 1 99 Answer to Ex no. 1 100

(E) The Preposition 101

Something about Prepositions

(a) Nouns followed by Prepositions 102

(b) Verbs followed by prepositions 103 (c) Adjectives followed by prepositions. 105

Exercise no 1, 2 & 3. 108-

10

Answer to Ex no. 1. 111

Answer to Ex no 2 112 Answer to Ex no 3 113

(F) The Conjunction

Correlative Conjunctions: -- 113

(i) Hardly had ---------when----

(ii) Scarcely head------when-----

(iii) No sooner did--------than----

(iv) Not only--------but also------

(v) (Al)though------but------------

(vi) (N)either--------(n)or---------


xii

Some TYPICAL sentences denoting

condition;

For example, `Had I…. ` If He were ---

Should he be----ètc.

116

STEP---3

SPELLINGS

a) The problem of èi ` & ìe` 119

b) Doubling the Consonant 120

c) Changing `Y` into ìe` 122

d) Silent è` with exceptions 122

e) Dropping of `L` 124 f) The Silent consonants--B,K,P,T,H,L,G,

GH,N,U & W.

124

g) Words NOT sounded as spelt 127

h) `ch` sounded as `k`, `sh`, `ch` : `gh` as

`f` :

i) `sh` sound in words with different

spellings.128

128

Spelling test no.1 to 5 128-

33 Answers to Tests 1 to 5. 133-

37 STEP---4

Idiomatic Expressions. 138-

46

LOOKING BACK : REVISION

STEP-1

(A) Synonyms 147


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Short Test with answers 151

(B) Homonyms 153 Short Test with Answers 156

STEP-2

GRAMMAR

(A) Different meanings of Noun as Plural 158

Test on Nouns with answers 160

(B) The Use of Articles 162

Test on the Articles with answers 164

(C) Conjugation of verbs with NO change

in form

Test on the Verb with Answers 167

(D) Agreement of subject with verb 168

Test on Agreement with Answers 170

(E) The Sequence of Tenses 171

Test on the Sequence with Answers

(F) Spellings:

(i) Problem of èi` & ìe`. 175

(ii) Dropping `L` 176

(iii) Doubling the Consonants 176

(iv) The silent Consonants 177 (v) Words sounding different 182

(G) Some confusing

Pronouns/Adjectives/Advbs/Prepositions.

182

(H) A Quick look at common

Prepositions

183

A Test on Prepositions 187


xiv

AND FINALLY

SOME DON`TS & NEVERS.

NEVER say--`discuss about`, `describe abou`t

etc..

192

(i) DON`T use double

Comparatives/superlat..

193

(ii) e.g. ‘more better`, `more shorter`.

‘most fastest’ , ‘most strongest’ etc.

(iii) The 0rder of Pronouns; 194


TKB Sinha

1

STEP -1

Cause of confusion.

Many words in English have similar meaning

but actually they ARE DIFFERENT from each

other. So they must be examined and used with due

diligence. We are going to examine such

similar-meaning words below for a clear

understanding.

(A) SYNONYMS (words of similar meaning: in

Alphabetical 0rder)

Ability-(having necessary skill & intelligence)--

.The Boss lacked the ability to handle the

situation and make it normal.

Capacity-(ability to hold/accommodate) ---This

container has the capacity to hold 10 litrs.

Able-(having necessary skill & intelligence)—He

was able to solve the problem.

Capable-(having the strength to handle)-Not every

one is capable of lifting this huge box.

Abstain-(keep oneself away from evil)-My

grandmother abstains from non-vegetarian food.

Refrain-(to hold back)-He refrained from smoking

and drinking as per doctor`s advice.


Steps to Confusion-Free English

2

Air-(a mixture of gases)—The air we breathe must

be pure.

Wind-(air in motion)—A strong wind blew last

night & uprooted the trees.

Accident-(unpleasant, sudden happening)- Twenty

passengers were killed in the train accident.

Incident-(a happening)—Such minor incidents

should not discourage you.

Acquaintance-(someone one knows)—I have no

acquaintance with him.

Friend-(someone who is very close to you)—His

friends helped him in his difficult days.

Act-( an activity, a govt law)-This act of yours will

not be liked by anyone.

The new Act of Parliament will be welcomed by the

people.

Action-(doing something)-No action was taken

against the culprits, so they are bold now.

Acute-(extreme situation)-The pain in his throat

was acute.

Chronic –(since long past)-My father is a patient of

chronic bronchitis.

Addicted-(used to vices)-Ramesh is addicted to

gambling.

Habituated-(in the habit of)-Your brother is

habituated of telling lies.


TKB Sinha

3

Admit-(to make a confession)-The boy admitted

that he was one of the students who had broken the

window.

Confess-(accept one`s participation in crime)-The

police asked the burglar to confess his crime.

Adverse-(not favourable)-The Manager made

adverse entry into the Service Book of the erring

employee.

Averse-( not liking something)-He is averse to hard

work.

Ago-(long time in the past)-Mr Rajan left his city

twenty years ago.

Before-(happening before an act)-I reached the

station much before you.

Alternate-(leaving a gap in a series)-The doctor

advised me to take the medicine on alternate

days.

Alternative-(an option)-There is no alternative to

hard work.

Amateur-(not an expert in sport)-I soon joined the

Amateur club in my town.

Novice-(just a beginner)- Suresh was a novice to

this kind of job.

Among-(in a group)-Someone among us has to pick

up the stick.

Between-(two persons/objects)-The property was

divided between two brothers.


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Sample Copy. Not For Distribution. · 5 Rapidex Eng Grammar Course (inHindi,Marathi,Punjabi,Telu Telugu and Tamil also) 6 Rapidex Book of Common Errors in English 7 Rapidex Improve