Wren & Martin's High School English Grammar & Composition PDF

NEW EDITION HIGH SCHOOL English Grammar & Composition BY WREN & MARTIN (With New Appendices) REVISED BY N.D.V. PRASADA RAO S. CHAND Page i New Edition HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND COMPOSITION By P.C. WREN, MA. (OXON) and H. MARTIN, M.A. (OXON), O.B.E. Revised By N.D.V. PRASADA RAO, M.A., D.T.E., Ph.D. Dear Students, Beware of fake/pirated editions. Many of our best selling titles have been unlawfully printed by unscrupulous persons. Your sincere effort in this direction may stop piracy and save intellectuals' rights. For the genuine book check the 3-D hologram which gives a rainbow effect. S. CHAND AN ISO 9001: 2000 COMPANY S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. RAM NAGAR, NEW DELHI -110 055 Page iii PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION Wren and Martin's monumental work High School English Grammar and Composition now appears in two editions. One is a de luxe edition, illustrated in full-colour, and the other is an ordinary edition without illustrations. The material in the book has been further updated where called for. It has been felt necessary in particular to revise some material in the chapters dealing with adjectives, active and passive voice, articles and prepositions. Appendix I, which deals with American English, has been expanded. Appendix II has been replaced with a newer set of tests covering the important areas of grammar. It was in the year 1972 that the shrewd visionary Mr. Shyam Lai Gupta obtained the permission of Manecji Cooper Education Trust for the revision of this book and commissioned me to revise it thoroughly. The revised edition came out in 1973 and was well received. One of the main features of the revised edition was the addition of a great deal of new material (such as the three chapters on structures) based on the new developments in the study of English structure and usage. Subsequently the book was revised every four or five years and most extensively in 1999. Unlike many traditional grammar books, the book in the present form helps the student to use the language as well as giving detailed information about the language. It provides ample guidance and practice in sentence building, correct usage, comprehension, written composition and other allied areas so as to equip the student with the ability to communicate effectively in English. It is gratifying to learn that this classic work, though primarily intended for use in the Indian subcontinent, is also used in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, etc. It is hoped that the book will be found useful in many more countries where English is used as a second or foreign language. N.D.V. Prasada Rao Your Attention Please In this work, on some pages, the Publishers have stated between parallel lines, “A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD.” This has been done to establish that this is a genuine edition of the work. Publishers Page iv CONTENTS BOOK I. GRAMMAR CHAPTER -- PAGES 1. THE SENTENCE -- 1 2. SUBJECT AND PREDICATE -- 1 3. THE PHRASE AND THE CLAUSE -- 2 4. PARTS OF SPEECH -- 3 5. THE NOUN: KINDS OF NOUNS -- 5 6. THE NOUN: GENDER -- 8 7. THE NOUN: NUMBER -- 10 8. THE NOUN: CASE -- 15 9. THE ADJECTIVE -- 19 10. COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES -- 24 11. ADJECTIVES USED AS NOUNS -- 33 12. POSITION OF THE ADJECTIVES -- 34 13. THE CORRECT USE OF SOME ADJECTIVES -- 34 14. ARTICLES -- 37 15. PERSONAL PRONOUNS -- 43 16. REFLEXIVE AND EMPHATIC PRONOUNS -- 48 17. DEMONSTRATIVE, INDEFINITE AND DISTRIBUTIVE PRONOUNS -- 49 I8. RELATIVE PRONOUNS -- 52 19. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS -- 62 20. THE VERB -- 65 21. VERBS OF INCOMPLETE PREDICATION -- 68 22. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE -- 70 23. MOOD -- 75 24. TENSES: INTRODUCTION -- 78 25. THE USES OF THE PRESENT AND PAST TENSES -- 81 26. THE FUTURE -- 86 27. THE VERB: PERSON AND NUMBER -- 88 28. THE INFINITIVE -- 90 29. THE PARTICIPLE -- 93 30. THE GERUND -- 99 31. IRREGULAR VERBS -- 102 32. AUXILIARIES AND MODALS -- 109 33. CONJUGATION OF THE VERB LOVE -- 115 34. THE ADVERB -- 118 35. COMPARISON OF ADVERBS -- 123 36. FORMATION OF ADVEBS -- 124 37. POSITION OF ADVERBS -- 125 38. THE PREPOSITION -- 127 39. WORDS FOLLOWED BY PREPOSITIONS -- 136 40. THE CONJUNCTION -- 149 41. SOME CONJUNCTIONS AND THEIR USES -- 157 42. THE INTERJECTION -- 163 43. THE SAME WORD USED AS DIFFERENT PARTS OF SPEECH -- 163 BOOK II. COMPOSITION PART I ANALYSIS, TRANSFORMATION AND SYNTHESIS 1. ANALYSIS OF SIMPLE SENTENCES -- 169-178 Exercise 1-7 -- 170 Page v 2. PHRASES -- 179-185 Adjective Phrases -- 179 Exercises 8-12 -- 179 Adverb Phrases -- 181 Exercises 13-19 -- 182 Noun Phrases -- 184 Exercises 20-22 -- 184 3. CLAUSES -- 185-193 Adverb Clauses -- 185 Exercises 23-26 -- 186 Adjective Clauses -- 188 Exercises 27-30 -- 188 Noun Clauses -- 190 Exercises 31-34 -- 190 Exercises 35-36 -- 192 4. SENTENCES: SIMPLE, COMPOUND AND COMPLEX -- 193-196 Exercise 37 -- 195 5. MORE ABOUT NOUN CLAUSES -- 196-198 Exercises 38-39 -- 197 6. MORE ABOUT ADJECTIVE CLAUSES -- 198-201 Exercises 40-42 -- 200 7. MORE ABOUT ADVERB CLAUSES -- 201-208 Adverb clauses of Time -- 201 Exercise 43 -- 201 Adverb clauses of Place -- 201 Exercise 44 -- 202 Adverb Clauses of Purpose -- 202 Exercise 45 -- 202 Adverb Clauses of Cause or Reason -- 202 Exercise 46 -- 202 Adverb Clauses of Condition -- 202 Exercise 47 -- 203 Adverb Clauses of Result and Consequence -- 203 Exercise 48 -- 204 Adverb Clauses of Comparison -- 204 Exercises 49-50 -- 204 Adverb Clauses of Supposition or Concession -- 204 Exercise 51 -- 205 Exercises 52-55 -- 205 8. ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX SENTENCES (Clause Analysis) -- 208-211 Exercise 56 -- 210 9. ANALYSIS OF COMPOUND SENTENCES (Clause Analysis) -- 211-215 Exercise 57 -- 213 Exercise 58 (Miscellaneous) -- 214 10. TRANSFORMATION OF SENTENCES -- 215-223 Sentences containing the Adverb "too" -- 215 Exercise 59 -- 215 Interchange of the Degrees of Comparison -- 216 Exercise 60 -- 216 Interchange of Active and Passive Voice -- 217 Exercises 61-63 -- 218 Interchange of Affirmative and Negative sentences -- 219 Exercises 64-65 -- 219 Interchange of Interrogative and Assertive sentences -- 220 Exercises 66-67 -- 220 Interchange of Exclamatory and Assertive sentences -- 221 Exercises 68-69 -- 221 Page vi Interchange of one Part of Speech for another -- 221 Exercise 70 -- 222 11. TRANSFORMATION OF SENTENCES (Contd.) -- 223-239 Conversion of Simple sentences to Compound (Double) sentences -- 223 Exercises 71-72 -- 223 Conversion of Compound (Double) sentences to Simple sentences -- 224 Exercises 73-74 -- 225 Conversion of Simple sentences to Complex -- 226 Exercises 75-78 -- 227 Conversion of Complex sentences to Simple sentences -- 230 Exercises 79-82 -- 230 Conversion of Compound sentences to Complex -- 235 Exercises 83-84 -- 235 Conversion of Complex sentences to Compound -- 237 Exercises 85-86 -- 237 Exercise 87 (Miscellaneous) -- 239 12. SYNTHESIS OF SENTENCES -- 240-246 Combination of two or more Simple sentences into a single Simple sentence -- 240 Exercises 88-93 -- 241 Exercise 94 (Miscellaneous) -- 244 13. SYNTHESIS OF SENTENCES (Contd.) -- 246-248 Combination of two or more Simple sentences into a single Compound sentence -- 246 Exercise 95 -- 247 14. SYNTHESIS OF SENTENCES (Contd.) -- 249-255 Combination of two or more Simple sentences into a single Complex sentence -- 249 Exercises 96-100 -- 250 15. THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES -- 255-258 Exercises 101-103 -- 256 16. DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH -- 258-266 Exercises 104-109 -- 261 PART II CORRECT USAGE 17. AGREEMENT OF THE VERB WITH THE SUBJECT -- 267-270 Exercise 110 -- 269 18. NOUNS AND PRONOUNS -- 270-275 Exercises 111-114 -- 273 19. ADJECTIVES -- 275-278 20. VERBS -- 278-282 Exercise 115 -- 281 21. ADVERBS -- 282-284 Exercise 116 -- 283 22. CONJUNCTIONS -- 284-285 23. ORDER OF WORDS -- 285-287 Exercises 117-118 -- 286 24. IDIOMS -- 288-294 25. IDIOMS (Contd.) -- 294-311 26. PUNCTUATION -- 312-319 Exercises 119-122 -- 316 27. SPELLING RULES -- 319-320 28. THE FORMATION OF WORDS -- 321-333 Page vii 29. FIGURES OF SPEECH -- 333-344 Exercise 125 -- 339 PART III STRUCTURES 30. VERB PATTERNS -- 341-347 Exercise 126 -- 347 31. QUESTION TAGS, SHORT ANSWERS, ETC.... 347-351 Exercises 127-130 349 32. MORE STRUCTURES -- 351-354 Exercise 131 -- 354 PART IV WRITTEN COMPOSITION 33. PARAGRAPH-WRITING -- 355-358 Introductory Remarks -- 353 Principles -- 355 Examples -- 356 The Writing of Single Paragraphs -- 357 Exercise 132 -- 358 34. STORY-WRITING -- 359-363 Introductory Remarks -- 359 Hints -- 359 Specimen -- 359 Exercise 133 -- 360 35. REPRODUCTION OF A STORY-POEM -- 364-367 Introductory Remarks -- 363 Hints -- 363 Specimens -- 363 Exercise 134 -- 366 36. LETTER-WRITING -- 367-389 Introductory Remarks -- 367 The form of Letters -- 367 Classification of letters -- 370 Social Letters -- 370 Friendly Letters -- 370 Specimens -- 371 Exercise 135 -- 372 Specimens -- 373 Exercise 136 -- 374 Specimens -- 374 Exercises 137-139 -- 375 Specimens -- 376 Exercises 140-141 -- 378 Notes of Invitations -- 379 Specimens -- 379 Business Letters -- 380 Specimens -- 381 Exercise 142 -- 384 Letters of Application -- 384 Specimens -- 389 Exercise 143 -- 385 Official Letters -- 385 Specimens -- 385 Exercise 144 -- 386 Letters to Newspapers -- 386 Specimens -- 386 Exercise 145 -- 387 Specimens -- 387 Exercise 146 -- 388 Page viii 37. COMPREHENSION -- 389-403 Introductory Remarks -- 389 Specimen -- 389 Exercise 147 -- 390 38. PRECIS-WRITING -- 404-420 Introductory Remarks -- 404 Uses of Precis-Writing -- 404 Method of procedure -- 405 To Sum up -- 408 Specimens -- 408 Exercise 148 -- 409 39. EXPANSION OF PASSAGES -- 420-423 Introductory Remarks -- 420 Method of procedure -- 420 Specimens -- 421 Exercise 149 -- 422 40. ESSAY-WRITING -- 423-436 Introductory Remarks -- 423 Characteristics of a good School Essay -- 424 Classification of Essays -- 425 Hints on Essay-writing -- 426 Method of Collecting Materials -- 427 Bare Outline -- 429 Full Outline -- 430 Writing the Essay -- 430 Specimens -- 432 Exercises 150-151 -- 435 41. AUTOBIOGRAPHIES -- 436-438 Introductory Remarks -- 436 Specimens -- 436 Exercises 152-154 -- 437 42. DIALOGUE-WRITING -- 438-447 Introductory Remarks -- 438 Method of Procedure -- 439 Special Hints -- 439 Specimens -- 440 Exercises 155-162 -- 445 43. THE APPRECIATION OF POETRY -- 447-458 Introductory Remarks -- 447 Specimens -- 454 Exercise 163 -- 456 44. PARAPHRASING -- 459-470 Introductory Remarks -- 459 Uses of Paraphrasing -- 459 Characteristics of a good Paraphrase -- 459 The Paraphrase of Poetry -- 462 Special Hints -- 464 Method of Procedure -- 464 Specimens -- 466 Exercise 164 -- 467 APPENDICES -- 471-482 Appendix -1 Differences between British and American English -- 471 Appendix - II General Review of Grammar -- 475 An authentic and useful solution of this book entitled. "A Key to Wren and Martin's High School English Grammar and Composition " is also available, Page 1 HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH GRAMMAR CHAPTER 1 THE SENTENCE 1. When we speak or write we use words. We generally use these words in groups; as, Little Jack Homer sat in a corner. A group of words like this, which makes complete sense, is called a Sentence. Kinds of Sentences 2. Sentences are of four kinds: (1) Those which make statements or assertions; as, Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. (2) Those which ask questions; as Where do you live? (3) Those which express commands, requests, or entreaties; as, Be quiet. Have mercy upon us. (4) Those which express strong feelings; as, How cold the night is! What a shame! A sentence that makes a statement or assertion is called a Declarative or Assertive sentence. A sentence that asks a question is called an Interrogative sentence. A sentence that expresses a command or an entreaty is called an Imperative sentence. A sentence that expresses strong feeling is called an Exclamatory sentence. CHAPTER 2 SUBJECT AND PREDICATE 3. When we make a sentence: (1) We name some person or thing; and (2) Say something about that person or thing. Page 2 In other words, we must have a subject to speak about and we must say or predicate something about that subject. Hence every sentence has two parts: (1) The part which names the person or thing we are speaking about. This is called the Subject of the sentence. (2) The part which tells something about the Subject. This is called the Predicate of the sentence. 4. The Subject of a sentence usually comes first, but occasionally it is put after the Predicate; as, Here comes the bus. Sweet are the uses of adversity. 5. In Imperative sentences the Subject is left out; as, Sit down. [Here the Subject You is understood]. Thank him. [Here too the Subject You is understood.] Exercise in Grammar 1 In the following sentences separate the Subject and the Predicate: 1. The cackling of geese saved Rome. 2. The boy stood on the burning deck. 3. Tubal Cain was a man of might. 4. Stone walls do not make a prison. 5. The singing of the birds delights us. 6. Miss Kitty was rude at the table one day 7. He has a good memory. 8. Bad habits grow unconsciously. 9. The earth revolves round the sun. 10. Nature is the best physician. 11. Edison invented the phonograph. 12. The sea hath many thousand sands. 13. We cannot pump the ocean dry. 14. Borrowed garments never fit well. 15. The early bird catches the worm. 16. All matter is indestructible. 17. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan. 18. We should profit by experience. 19. All roads lead to Rome. 20. A guilty conscience needs no excuse. 21. The beautiful rainbow soon faded away. 22. No man can serve two masters. 23. A sick room should be well aired. 24. The dewdrops glitter in the sunshine. 25. I shot an arrow into the air. 26. A barking sound the shepherd hears. 27. On the top of the hill lives a hermit. CHAPTER 3 THE PHRASE AMD THE CLAUSE 6. Examine the group of words “in a corner”. It makes sense, but not complete sense. Such a group of words, which makes sense, but not complete sense, is called a Phrase. In the following sentences, the groups of words in italics are Phrases: The sun rises in the east. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. There came a giant to my door. Page 3 It was a sunset of great beauty. The tops of the mountains were covered with snow. Show me how to do it. 7. Examine the groups of words in italics in the following sentences: He has a chain of gold. He has a chain which is made of gold. We recognize the first group of words as a Phrase. The second group of words, unlike the Phrase of gold, contains a Subject (which) and a Predicate (is made of gold). Such a group of words which forms part of a sentence, and contains a Subject and a Predicate, is called a Clause. In the following sentences, the groups of words in italics are Clauses: People who pay their debts are trusted. We cannot start while it is raining. I think that, you have made a mistake. CHAPTER 4 PARTS OF SPEECH 8. Words are divided into different kinds or classes, called Parts of Speech, according to their use; that is, according to the work they do in a sentence. The parts of speech are eight in number: 1. Noun. 2. Adjective. 3. Pronoun. 4. Verb. 5. Adverb. 6. Preposition. 7. Conjunction. 8. Interjection. 9. A Noun is a word used as the name of a person, place, or thing; as, Akbar was a great King. Kolkata is on the Hooghly. The rose smells sweet. The sun shines bright. His courage won him honour. Note: The word thing includes (i) all objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell; and (ii) something that we can think of, but cannot perceive by the senses. 10. An Adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun; as, He is a brave boy. There are twenty boys in this class. 11. A Pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as, John is absent, because he is ill. The book are where you left them Page 4 12. A Verb is a word used lo express an action or state; as The girl wrote a letter to her cousin. Kolkata is a big city. Iron and copper are useful metals. 13. An Adverb is a word used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, He worked the sum quickly. This flower is very beautiful. She pronounced the word quite correctly. 14. A Preposition is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else; as, There is a cow in the garden. The girl is fond of music. A fair little girl sat under a tree. 15. A Conjunction is a word used to join words or sentences; as, Rama and Hari are cousins. Two and two make four. I ran fast, but missed the train. 16. An Interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feel ing; as, Hurrah! We have won the game. Alas! She is dead. 17. Some modern grammars include determiners among the parts of speech. Determiners are words like a, an, the, this, that, these, those, every, each, some, any, my, his, one, two, etc., which determine or limit the meaning of the nouns that follow. In this book, as in many traditional grammars, all determiners except a, an and the are classed among adjectives. 18. As words are divided into different classes according to the work they do in sentences, it is clear that we cannot say to which part of speech a word belongs unless we see it used in a sentence. They arrived soon after. (Adverb) They arrived after us. (Preposition) They arrived after we had left. (Conjunction) From the above examples we see that the same word can be used as different parts of speech. Exercise in Grammar 2 Name the part of speech of each italicized word in the following sentences, giving in each case your reason for the classification: 1. Still waters run deep. 2. He still lives in that house 3. After the storm comes the calm 4. The after effects of the drug are bad. 5. The up train is late. 6. It weights about a pound. Page 5 7. He told us all about the battle. 8. He was only a yard off me. 9. Suddenly one of the wheels came off. 10. Mohammedans fast in the month of Ramzan. 11. He kept the fast for a week. 12. He is on the committee. 13. Let us move on. 14. Sit down and rest a while. 15. I will watch while you sleep. 16. They while away their evenings with books and games. A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. CHAPTER 5 THE NOUN: KINDS OF NOUNS 19. A Noun is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing. Note: The word thing is used to mean anything that we can think of. 20. Look at the following sentence: Asoka was a wise king. The noun Asoka refers to a particular king, but the noun king might be applied to any other king as well as to Asoka. We call Asoka a Proper Noun, and king a Common Noun. Similarly: Sita is a Proper Noun, while girl is a Common Noun. Hart is a Proper Noun, while boy is a Common Noun. Kolkata is a Proper Noun, while city is a Common Noun. India is a Proper Noun, while country is a Common Noun. The word girl is a Common Noun, because it is a name common to all girls, while Sita is a Proper Noun because it is the name of a particular girl. Def. - A Common Noun is a name given in common to every person or thing of the same class or kind. [Common here means shared by all.] Def. - A Proper Noun is the name of some particular person or place, [Proper means one's own. Hence a Proper Name is a person's own name.] Note 1 - Proper Nouns are always written with a capital letter at the beginning. Note 2 - Proper Nouns are sometimes used as Common Nouns; as, 1. He was the Lukman (= the wisest man) of his age. 2. Kalidas is often called the Shakespeare (= the greatest dramatist) of India. Common Nouns include what are called Collective Nouns and Abstract Nouns Page 6 21. A Collective Noun is the name of a number (or collection) of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole; as, Crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, family, nation, parliament, committee. A fleet = a collection of ships or vessels. An army = a collection of soldiers. A crowd = a collection of people. The police dispersed the crowd. The French army was defeated at Waterloo. The jury found the prisoner guilty. A herd of cattle is passing. 22. An Abstract Noun is usually the name of a quality, action, or state considered apart from the object to which it belongs; as. Quality - Goodness, kindness, whiteness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty, wisdom, bravery. Action - Laughter, theft, movement, judgment, hatred. State - Childhood, boyhood, youth, slavery, sleep, sickness, death, poverty. The names of the Arts and Science (e.g., grammar, music, chemistry, etc.) are also Abstract Nouns. [We can speak of a brave soldier, a strong man, a beautiful flower. But we can also think of these qualities apart from any particular person or thing, and speak of bravery, strength, beauty by themselves. So also we can speak of what persons do or feel apart from the persons themselves, and give it a name. The word abstract means drawn off.] 23. Abstract Nouns are formed: (1) From Adjectives; as, Kindness from kind; honesty from honest. [Most abstract nouns are formed thus.] (2) From Verbs: as, Obedience from obey; growth from grow. (3) From Common Nouns; as, Childhood from child; slavery from slave. 24. Another classification of nouns is whether they are “countable” or “uncountable”. Countable nouns (or countables) are the names of objects, people, etc. that we can count, e.g., book, pen, apple, boy, sister, doctor, horse. Uncountable nouns (or uncountables) are the names of things which we cannot count, e.g., milk, oil, sugar, gold, honesty. They mainly denote substances and abstract things. Countable nouns have plural forms while uncountable nouns do not. For example, we say “books” but we cannot say “milks”. Exercise in Grammar 3 Point out the Nouns in the following sentences, and say whether they are Common, Proper, Collective or Abstract: Page 7 1. The crowd was very big. 2. Always speak the truth. 3. We all love honesty. 4. Our class consists of twenty pupils. 5. The elephant has great strength. 6. Solomon was famous for his wisdom. 7. Cleanliness is next to godliness. 8. We saw a fleet of ships in the harbour. 9. The class is studying grammar. 10. The Godavary overflows its banks every year. 11. A committee of five was appointed. 12. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. 13. The soldiers were rewarded for their bravery. 14.Without health there is no happiness. 15. He gave me a bunch of grapes. 16. I recognized your voice at once. 17. Our team is better than theirs. 18. Never tell a lie. 19. Wisdom is better than strength. 20. He sets a high value on his time. 21. I believe in his innocence. 22. This room is thirty feet in length. 23. I often think of the happy days of childhood. 24. The streets of some of our cities are noted for their crookedness. 25. What is your verdict, gentlemen of the jury? Exercise in Composition 4 Write the Collective Nouns used to describe a number of (1) Cattle; (2) Soldiers; (3) Sailors. Write the qualities that belong to boys who are (1) Lazy; (2) Cruel; (3) Brave; (4) Foolish. Exercise in Composition 5 Form Abstract Nouns from the following Adjectives: Long, young, humble, decent, cruel, bitter, strong, true, short, prudent, dark, deep, wide, wise, good, vacant, sweet, human, broad, free, proud, brave, novel, quick, high, poor, just, vain, sane, ignorant. Form Abstract Nouns from the following Verbs: Laugh, obey, live, expect, excel, know, steal. Believe, Serve, Hate, Please, Act, Starve, Occupy, Choose, Move, Conceal, Seize, Flatter, Depart, Persevere, Defend, Think, Protect, Advise, Punish, Die, Succeed, Free, See, Judge, Pursue, Relieve, Converse, Discover. Form Abstract Nouns from the following Common Nouns: King, man, thief, woman, bankrupt, infant, owner, rogue, regent, author, mother, agent, hero, beggar, coward, priest, boy, bond, pirate, pilgrim, friend, caption, rascal, patriot, glutton. Page 8 CHAPTER 6 THE NOUN: GENDER 25. You know that living beings are of either the male or the female sex. Now compare the words in the following pairs: Boy (Lion, Hero, Cock-sparrow) Girl (Lioness, Heroine, Hen-sparrow) What do you notice? The first word of each pair is the name of a male animal. The second word of each pair is the name of a female animal. A noun that denotes a male animal is said to be of the Masculine Gender. [Gender comes from Latin genus, kind or sort.] A noun that denotes a female animal is said to be of the Feminine Gender. 26. A noun that denotes either a male or a female is said to be of the Common Gender; as Parent, child, friend, pupil, servant, thief, relation, enemy, cousin, person, orphan, student, baby, monarch, neighbour, infant. 27. A noun that denotes a thing that is neither male nor female (i.e., thing without life) is said to be of the Neuter Gender; as, Book, pen, room, tree. [Neater means neither, that is, neither male nor female] It will be thus seen that in Modern English the Gender of a noun is entirely a matter of sex or the absence of sex. It has nothing to do with the form of a noun, which determines its gender in many other languages, e.g., in Urdu where bagiche is masculine and lakri is feminine. 28. Objects without life are often personified, that is, spoken of as if they were living beings. We then regard them as males or females. The Masculine Gender is often applied to objects remarkable for strength and violence; as, The Sun, Summer, Winter, Time, Death, The sun sheds his beams on rich and poor alike. The Feminine Gender is sometimes applied to objects remarkable for beauty, gentleness, and gracefulness; as, The Moon, the Earth, Spring, Autumn, Nature, Liberty, Justice, Mercy, Peace, Hope, Charity. The moon has hidden her face behind a cloud. Spring has spread her mantle of green over the earth. Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. This use is most common in poetry but certain nouns are personified in nrose too. A shin is often spoken of as she; as, The ship lost her boats in the storm. Page 9 Ways of Forming the Feminine of Nouns 29. There are three ways of forming the Feminine of Nouns: (1) By using an entirely different word; as Masculine -- Feminine Bachelor -- maid, spinster Boy -- girl Brother -- sister Buck -- doe Bull (or ox) -- cow Bullock -- heifer Cock -- hen Colt -- filly Dog -- bitch Drake -- duck Drone -- bee Earl -- countess Father -- mother Gander -- goose Gentleman -- lady Hart -- roe Horse -- mare Husband -- wife King -- queen Lord -- lady Man -- woman Monk (or friar) -- nun Nephew -- niece Papa -- mamma Ram -- ewe Sir -- madam Son -- daughter Stag -- hind Uncle -- aunt Wizard -- witch (2) By adding a syllable (-ess, -ine, -trix, -a, etc) as, Masculine -- Feminine Author -- authoress Baron -- baroness Count -- countess Giant -- giantess Heir -- heiress Host -- hostess Jew -- Jewess Lion -- lioness Manager -- manageress Mayor -- mayoress Patron -- patroness Peer -- peeress Poet -- poetess Priest -- priestess Prophet -- prophetess Shepherd -- shepherdess Steward -- stewardess Viscount -- viscountess [Note that in the following -ess is added after dropping the vowel of the masculine ending] Masculine -- Feminine Actor -- actress Benefactor -- benefactress Conductor -- conductress Enchanter -- enchantress Founder -- foundress Hunter -- huntress Instructor -- instructress Negro -- negress Abbot -- abbess Duke -- duchess Emperor -- empress Preceptor -- preceptress Prince -- princess Songster -- songstress Tempter -- temptress Seamster -- seamstress Tiger -- tigress Traitor -- traitress Waiter -- waitress Master -- mistress Murderer -- murderess Sorcerer -- sorceress Note:- The suffix -ess is the commonest suffix used to form feminine nouns, from the masculine, and is the only one which we now use in forming a new feminine noun. Page 10 Masculine -- Feminine Hero -- heroine Testator -- testatrix Czar -- czarina Sultan -- sultana Signor -- signora Fox -- vixen (3) By placing a word before or after; as, Masculine -- Feminine Grandfather -- grandmother Greatuncle -- greataunt Manservant -- maidservant Landlord -- landlady milkman -- milkwoman peacock -- peahen salesman -- saleswoman washerman -- washerwoman CHAPTER 7 THE NOUN: NUMBER 30. Notice the change of form in the second word of each pair: Tree (Box, Fox, Man) Trees (Boxes, Oxen, Men) The first word of each pair denotes one thing, the second word of each pair denotes more than one. A Noun that denotes one person or thing, is said to be in the Singular Number; as, Boy, girl, cow, bird, tree, book, pen. A Noun that denotes more than one person or thing, is said to be in the Plural Number; as, Boys, girls, cows, birds, trees, books, pens. Thus there are two Numbers in English-the Singular and the Plural. A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. How Plurals are Formed 31. (i) The Plural of nouns is generally formed by adding -s to the singular ; as, boy, boys; pen, pens; girl, girls; desk, desks; book, books; cow, cows. (ii) But Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch (soft), or -x form the plural by adding -es to the singular; as, class, classes; kiss, kisses; dish, dishes; brush, brushes; match, matches; watch, watches; branch, branches; tax, taxes; box, boxes. (iii) Most Nouns ending in -o also form the plural by adding -es to the singular ; as, buffalo, buffaloes; mango, mangoes; hero, heroes; potato, potatoes; cargo, cargoes, echo, echoes; negro, negroes; volcano, valcanoes. (iv) A few nouns ending in -o merely add -s; as, Page 11 dynamo, dynamos; solo, solos; ratio, ratios; canto, cantos; memento, mementos; quarto, quartos; piano, pianos; photo, photos; stereo, siereos. kilo, kilos; logo, logos; commando, commandos (v) Nouns ending in -y, preceded by a consonant, form their plural by changing -y into -i and adding -es; as, baby, babies; lady, ladies; city, cities; army, armies; story, stories; pony, ponies. (vi) The following nouns ending in -f or -fe form their plural by changing -for -fe into v and adding -es ; as, thief, thieves; wife, wives; wolf, wolves; life, lives; calf, calves; leaf, leaves; loaf, loaves; knife, knives; shelf, shelves, half, halves; elf, elves; self, selves; sheaf, sheaves. The nouns dwarf, hoof, scarf and wharf take either -s or -ves in the plural. dwarfs or dwarves; hoofs or hooves; scarfs or scarves; wharfs or wharves Other words ending in -for -fe add -s; as, chief, chiefs; safe, safes; proof, proofs gulf, gulfs; cliff, cliffs; handkerchief, handkerchiefs 32. A few nouns form their plural by changing the inside vowel of the singlar; as, man, men; woman, women; foot, feet; tooth, teeth; goose, geese; mouse, mice; louse, lice. 33. There are a few nouns that form their plural by adding -en to the singular; as, ox, oxen; child, children. The plural offish is fish or fishes. The form fishes is less usual. 34. Some nouns have the singular and the plural alike; as, Swine, sheep, deer; cod, trout, salmon; aircraft, spacecraft, series, species. Pair, dozen, score, gross, hundred, thousand (when used after numerals), I bought three dozen oranges. Some people reach the age of three score and ten. The sari cost me five thousand rupees. Stone, hundredweight. He weighs above nine stone. Twenty hundredweight make one ton. 35. Some nouns are used only in the plural. (1) Names of instruments which have two parts forming a kind of pair; as, Bellows, scissors, tongs, pincers, spectacles. Page 12 (2) Names of certain articles of dress; as, Trousers, drawers, breeches, jeans, tights, shorts, pyjamas. (3) Certain other nouns; as, Annals, thanks, proceeds (of a sale), tidings, environs, nuptials, obsequies, assets, chatels. 36. Some nouns originally singular are now generally used in the plural; as, Alms, riches, eaves. Riches do many things. 37. The following nouns look plural but are in fact singular: (1) Names of subjects mathematics, physics, electronics, etc. (2) The word news (3) Names of some common diseases measles, mumps, rickets (4) Names of some games billiards, draughts Mathematics is his favourite study. No news is good news. India won by an innings and three runs. Measles is infectious. Billiards is my favourite game. ‘Means’ is used either as singular or plural. But when it has the meaning of ‘wealth’ it is always plural; as, He succeeded by this means (or, by these means) in passing the examination. His means are small, but he has incurred no debt. 38. Certain Collective Nouns, though singular in form, are always used as plurals; as, Poultry, cattle, vermin, people, gentry. These poultry are mine. Whose are these cattle? Vermin destroy our property and carry disease. Who are those people (= persons)? There are few gentry in this town. Note:- As a Common Noun 'people' means a 'nation' and is used in both singular and plural; as, The Japanese are a hard-working people. There are many different peoples in Europe. 39. A Compound Noun generally forms its plural by adding -s to the principal word; as, Singular -- Plural Commander-in-chief -- commanders-in-chief Coat-of-mail -- coats-of-mail Son-in-Law -- sons-in-law Page 13 Daughter-in-law -- daughters-in-law Step-son -- step-sons Step-daughter -- step-daughters Maid-servant -- maid-servants (but man-servant, plural men-servants) Passer-by -- passers-by Looker-on -- lookers-on Man-of-war -- men-of-war. We say spoonfuls and handfuls, because spoonful and handful are regarded as one word. Note that the Proper Nouns Brahman and Mussulman are not compounds of man; therefore their plurals are Brahmans and Mussulmans. 40. Many nouns taken from foreign languages keep their original plural form; as, Form Latin- Erratum, errata; -- formula, formulae (or formulas): index, indices; -- memorandum, memoranda; radius, radii; -- terminus, termini (or terminuses). From Greek- Axis, axes; -- parenthesis, parentheses; crisis, crises; -- hypothesis, hypotheses; basis, bases; -- phenomenon, phenomena; analysis, analyses; -- criterion, criteria. From Italian- Bandit, banditti, (or bandits) From French- Madame (madam), mesdames; monsieur, messieurs. From Hebrew- Cherub, cherubim (or cherubs); seraph, seraphim (or seraphs). 41. Some nouns have two forms for the plural, each with a some what different meaning. Singular -- Plural Brother -- brothers, sons of the same parent. brethren, members of a society or a community. Cloth -- cloths, kinds or pieces of cloth, clothes, garments. Die -- dies, stamps for coining, dice, small cubes used in games. Index -- indexes, tables of contents to books, indices, signs used in algebra. Page 14 Penny pennies, number of coins, pence, amount in value. 42. Some nouns have two meanings in the singular but only one in the plural. Singular -- Plural Light: (1) radiance, (2) a lamp -- Lights: lamps. People: (1) nation, (2) men and women -- Peoples: nations. Powder: (1)dust, (2) a dose of medicine in fine grains like dust -- Powders: doses of medicine. Practice: (1) habit (2) exercise of a profession -- Practices: habits. 43. Some nouns have one meaning in the singular, two in the plural. Singular -- Plural Colour: hue. -- Colours: (1) hues, (2) the flag of a regiment. Custom: habit. -- Customs: (1) habits, (2) duties levied on imports. Effect: result -- Effects: (1) results, (2) property. Manner: method. -- Manners: (1) methods, (2) correct behaviour. Moral: a moral lesson. -- Morals: (1) moral lessons, (2) conduct Number: a quantity. -- Numbers: (1) quantities, (2) verses. Pain: suffering. -- Pains : (1) sufferings, (2) care, exertion. Premise: proposition -- Premises: (1) propositions; (2) buildings. Quarter: fourth part. -- Quarters: (1) fourth parts; (2) lodgings. Spectacle: a sight. -- Spectacles: (1) sights; (2) eye-glasses. Letter: (1) letter of the alphabet; (2) epistle -- Letters: (1) letters of the alphabet; (2) epistle; (3) literature. Ground: (1) earth; (2) reason -- Grounds: (1) enclosed land attached to house. (2) reason; (2) reasons; (3) dregs. 44. Some nouns have different meanings in the singular and the plural. Singular -- Plural Advice: counsel. -- Advices: information. Air: atmosphere. -- Airs: affected manners. Good: benefit, well-being. -- Goods: merchandise. Compass: extent, range. -- Compasses: an instrument for drawing circles. Respect: regard. -- Respects: compliments. Page 15 Physic: medicine. -- Physics: natural science. Iron: a kind of metal. -- Irons: fetters. Force: strength. -- Forces: troops. 45. Letters, figures and other symbols are made plural by adding an apostrophe and s; as, There are more e's than a's in this page. Dot your i's and cross your t's. Add two 5's and four 2's. 46. It is usual to say- The Miss Smiths. (Singular, Miss Smith.) 47. Abstract Nouns have no plural. They are uncountable. Hope, charity, love, kindness. When such words do appear in the plural, they are used as countables; as Provocations = instances or cases of provocation. Kindnesses = acts of kindness. Names of substances are also uncountables and are not therefore used in the plural. Copper, iron, tin, wood. When such words are used in the plural, they become countables with changed meanings; as, Coppers = copper coins; irons = fetters; tins = cans made of tin; woods = forests. A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. CHAPTER 8 THE NOUN: CASE 48. Examine these sentences:- 1. John threw a stone. 2. The horse kicked the boy. In sentence 1, the noun John is the Subject. It is the answer to the question, “Who threw a stone?” The group of words threw a stone is the Predicate. The Predicate contains the verb threw. What did John throw?-A stone. Stone is the object which John threw. The noun stone is therefore called the Object. In sentence 2, the noun horse is the Subject. It is the answer to the question, 'Who kicked the boy?” The noun boy is the Object. It is the answer to the question, 'Whom did the horse kick?” 49. When a noun (or pronoun) is used as the Subject of a verb, it is said to be in the Nominative Case. Page 16 When a noun (or pronoun) is used as the Object of a verb, it is said to be in the Objective (or Accusative) Case. Note-To find the Nominative, put Who? or What? before the verb. To find the Accusative put, Whom? or What? before the verb and its subject. 50. A noun which comes after a preposition is also said to be in the Accusative Case; as, The book is in the desk. The noun desk is in the Accusative Case, governed by the preposition in. 51. Read the following sentences:- Hari broke the window. (Object) The window was broken. (Subject) It will be seen that Nouns in English have the same form for the Nominative and the Accusative. The Nominative generally comes before the verb, and the Accusative after the verb. Hence they are distinguished by the order of words, or by the sense. 52. Compare:- 1. Rama gave a ball. 2. Rama gave Hari a ball. In each of these sentences the noun ball is the Object of gave. In the second sentence we are told that Hari was the person to whom Rama gave a ball. The noun Hari is called the Indirect Object of the verb gave. The noun ball, the ordinary Object, is called the Direct Object. It will be noticed that the position of the Indirect Object is immediately after the verb and before the Direct Object. Note: Rama gave Hari a ball = Rama gave a ball to Hari. Will you do me a favour? = Will you do a favour to me? I bought Rama a ball = I bought a ball for Rama. Fetch the boy a book = Fetch a book for the boy. She made Ruth a new dress = She made a new dress for Ruth. Get me a taxi = Get a taxi for me. We see that the Indirect Object of a verb denotes the person to whom something is given, or for whom something is done. 53. Examine the sentence:- This is Ram's umbrella. Ram's umbrella = the umbrella belonging to Rama. The form of the noun Rama is changed to Rama's to show ownership of possession. The Noun Rama’s is therefore said to be in the possessive (or Genitive) Case Page 17 The Possessive answers the question, ‘Whose?’ Whose umbrella? - Rama's. 54. The Possessive Case does not always denote possession. It is used to denote authorship, origin, kind, etc. as, Shakespeare's plays = the plays written by Shakespeare. A mother's love = the love felt by a mother. The President's speech = the speech delivered by the President. Mr. Aggarwal's house = the house where Mr. Aggarwal lives. Ashok's school = the school where Ashok goes. A children's playground = a playground for children. A week's holiday = a holiday which lasts a week. Formation of the Possessive Case 55. (1) When the noun is Singular, the Possessive Case is formed by adding ‘s to the noun; as, The boy's book; the king's crown. Note:- The letter s is omitted in a few words where too many hissing sounds would come together; as, For conscience' sake; for goodness' sake; For justice' sake; for Jesus' sake; Moses' laws. (2) When the noun is Plural, and ends in s, the Possessive Case is formed by adding only an apostrophe; as, Boys' school; girls' school; horses' tails. (3) When the noun is Plural but does not end in s, the Possessive sign is formed by adding 's as, Men's club; children's books. 56. When a noun or a title consists of several words, the Posses sive sign is attached only to the last word; as, The King of Bhutan's visit. The Prime Minister of Mauritius's speech. 57. When two nouns are in apposition, the possessive sign is put to the latter only; as, That is Tagore the poet's house. 58. Also when two nouns are closely connected, the possessive is put to the latter; as, Karim and Salim's bakery. William and Mary's reign. 59. Each of two or more connected nouns implying separate possession must take the possessive sign; as, Raja Rao's and R.K. Narayan's novels. Goldsmith's and Cowper's poems. Use of the Possessive Case 60. The Possessive Case is now used chiefly with the names of living thing; as, The Governor’s bodyguard; the lion’s mane. Page 18 So we must say: The leg of the table [not, the table's leg]. The cover of the book [not, the book's cover]. The roof of the house [not, the house's roof). 61. But the Possessive is used with the names of personified (When n inanimate thing has ascribed to it the attributes of a person it is said to be personified. (See § 28)) objects; as, India's heroes; Nature's laws; Fortune's favourite; at duty's call; at death's door. 62. The Possessive is also used with nouns denoting time, space or weight; as, A day's march; a week's holiday; in a year's time; a stone's throw; a foot's length; a pound's weight. 63. The following phrases are also in common use:- At his fingers' ends; for mercy's sake; to his heart's content; at his wit's end; a boat's crew. 64. The possessive of a proper name or of a noun denoting a trade, profession, or relationship may be used to denote a building or place of business (church, house, school, college, shop, hospital, the atre; etc.) as, She has gone to the baker's ( = baker's shop). Tonight I am dining at my uncle's ( = uncle's house). Can you tell me the way to St.Paul's ( ='St. Paul's church)? I attend the Town High School but my cousin attends St. Xavier's. He was educated ai St. Joseph's. 65. When you are in doubt whether to use a noun in the possessive case or with the preposition of, remember that, as a general rule, the possessive case is used to denote possession or ownership. Thus it is better to say 'the defeat of the enemy' than 'the enemy's defeat', even though no doubt as to the meaning would arise. Sometimes, however, a noun in the possessive case has a different meaning from a noun used with the preposition of; as, ‘The Prime Minister's reception in Delhi’ means a reception held by the Prime Minister in Delhi. ‘The reception of the Prime Minister in Delhi’ means the manner in which the people welcomed him when he entered Delhi. The phrase 'the love of a father' may mean either 'a father's love of his child' or 'a child's love of his father'. Nouns in Apposition 66. Read the following sentence:- Rama, our captain, made fifty runs. We see that Rama and our captain are one and the same person. The noun captain follows the noun Rama simply to explain which Rama is referred to. Page 19 When one noun follows another to describe it, the noun which follows is said to be in apposition to the noun which comes before it. [Apposition means placing near.] A noun in apposition is in the same case as the noun which it explains. In the above sentence the noun captain is in apposition to the noun Rama, and is in the Nominative Case (because Rama is in the Nominative Case.) Further examples:- 1. Kabir, the great reformer, was a weaver. 2. Yesterday I met your uncle, the doctor. 3. Have you seen Ganguli, the artist's drawings? In sentence 1, the noun in apposition is in the Nominative Case. In sentence 2, the noun in apposition is in the Accusative Case. [Why?] In sentence 3, the noun in apposition is in the Genitive Case. [Why?] CHAPTER 9 THE ADJECTIVE 67. Read the following sentences :- 1. Sita is a clever girl. (Girl of what kind1?) 2. I don't like that boy, (Which boy ?) 3. He gave me five mangoes. (How many mangoes?) 4. There is little time for preparation. (How much time ?) In sentence 1, ‘clever’ shows what kind of girl Sita is; or, in other words, ‘clever’ describes the girl Sita. In sentence 2, ‘that’ points out which boy is meant. In sentence 3, ‘five’ shows how many mangoes he gave me. In sentence 4, ‘little’ shows how much time there is for preparation. A word used with a noun to describe or point out, the person, animal, place or thing which the noun names, or to tell the number or quantity, is called an Adjective. So we may define an Adjective as a word used with a noun to add something for its meaning. [Adjective means added to.] 68. Look at the following sentences:- 1. The lazy boy was punished. 2. The boy is lazy. In sentence 1, the Adjective lazy is used along with the noun boy as an epithet or attribute. It is, therefore, said to be used Attributively. In sentence 2, the Adjective lazy is used along with the verb is, Page 20 and forms part of the Predicate. It is, therefore, said to be used Predicatively. Some Adjectives can be used only Predicatively; as, She is afraid of ghosts. I am quite well. A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. Kinds of Adjectives Adjectives may be divided into the following classes:- 69. Adjectives of Quality (or Descriptive Adjective) show the kind or quality of a person or thing; as, Kolkata is a large city. He is an honest man. The foolish old crow tried to sing. This is a Grammar of the English (Adjectives formed from Proper Nouns (e.g., French wines, Turkish tobacco, Indian tea, etc.) are sometimes called Proper Adjectives. They are generally classed with Adjectives of Quality) language. Adjectives of Quality answer the question : Of what kind ? 70. Adjectives of Quantity show how much of a thing is meant as, I ate some rice. He showed much patience. He has little intelligence. We have had enough exercise. He has lost all his wealth. You have no sense. He did not eat any rice. Take great care of your health. He claimed his half share of the booty. There has not been sufficient rain this year. The whole sum was expended. Adjectives of Quantity answer the question: How much? 71. Adjectives of Number (or Numeral Adjectives) show how many persons or things are meant, or in what order a person or thing stands; as, The hand has five fingers. Few cats like cold water. There are no pictures in this book. I have taught you many things. All men must die. Here are some ripe mangoes. Most boys like cricket. There are several mistakes in your exercise. Sunday is the first day of the week Page 21 72. Adjectives of Number (or Numeral Adjectives) are of three kinds:- (i) Definite Numeral Adjectives, which denote an exact number; as, One, two, three, etc. -- These are called Cardinals. First, second, third, etc. -- These are called Ordinals. [A Cardinal denotes how many, and an Ordinal the order of things in a series. It will be seen that Ordinals really do the work of Demonstrative Adjectives. See 74] (ii) Indefinite Numeral Adjectives, which do not denote an exact number; as, All, no; many, few; some, any; certain, several, sundry. (iii) Distributive Numeral Adjectives, which refer to each one of a number; as., Each boy must take his turn. India expects every man to do his duty. Every word of it is false. Either pen will do. On either side is a narrow lane. Neither accusation is true. 73. The same Adjective may be classed as of Quantity or Number, according to its use. Adjectives of Quantity -- Adjectives of Number I ate some rice. -- Some boys are clever. He has lost all his wealth. -- All men must die. You have no sense. -- There are no pictures in this book. He did not eat any rice. -- Are there any mango-trees in this garden? I have enough sugar. -- There are not enough spoons. 74. Demonstrative Adjectives point out which person or thing is meant; as, This boy is stronger than Hari. That boy is industrious. These mangoes are sour. Those rascals must be punished. Yonder fort once belonged to Shivaji. Don't be in such a hurry. I hate such things. Demonstrative Adjectives answer the question: Which ? [It will be noticed that this and that are used with Singular nouns and these and those with Plural nouns.] 75. What, which and whose, when they are used with nouns toask questions, are called Interrogative Adjectives; as, What manner of man is he? Which way shall we go? Whose book is this? [It will be seen that what is used in a general sense, and which in a selective sense.] Page 22 Exercise in Grammar 6 Pick out all the Adjectives in the following sentences, and say to which class each of them belongs:- 1. The ship sustained heavy damage. 2. I have called several times. 3. Every dog has his day. 4. A live ass is better than a dead lion, 5. Every man has his duties. 6. Say the same thing twice over. 7. Several persons were present at the time, 8. He is a man of few words. 9. Neither party is quite in the right. 10. What time is if? 11. Which pen do you prefer? 12. The way was long, the wind was cold, the minstrel was infirm and old. 13. He comes here every day. 14. I have not seen him for several days. 15. There should not be much talk and little work. 16. Abdul won the second prize. 17. The child fell down from a great height. 18. He was absent last week. 19. He died a glorious death. 20. A small leak may sink a great ship. 21. Good wine needs no bush. 22. I like the little pedlar who has a crooked nose. 23. King Francis was a hearty King and loved a royal sport. 24. In the furrowed land the toilsome patient oxen stand. 25. My uncle lives in the next house. 26. Some dreams are like reality. 27. A cross child is not liked. 28. It is an ill wind that blows nobody any good. 76. In the following sentences the words own and very are used as Emphasizing Adjectives:- I saw it with my own eyes. He was beaten at his own game. Mind your own business. He is his own master. That is the very thing we want. “When all else left my cause. My very adversary took my part”. 77. The word what is sometimes used as an Exclamatory Adjective; as. What genius! What folly! What an idea! What a blessing! What a piece of work is man! 78. As already pointed out (§ 74) this and that are the only Adjectives which are inflected or changed in form to show number. This girl sings. These girls sing. That boy plays. Those boys play. This, these indicate something near to the speaker. That, those indicate more distant objects. Formation of Adjectives 79. (i) Many Adjectives are formed from Nouns. Noun -- Adjective Boy -- boyish Fool -- foolish Dirt -- dirty Storm -- stormy Page 23 Care -- careful Pardon -- pardonable Play -- playful Laugh -- laughable Hope -- hopeful Outrage -- outrageous Venture -- venturesome Courage -- courageous Trouble -- troublesome Glory -- glorious Shame -- shameless Envy -- envious Sense -- senseless Man -- manly Silk -- silken King -- kingly Gold -- golden Gift -- gifted (ii) Some Adjectives are formed from Verbs. Verb -- Adjective Tire -- tireless Cease -- ceaseless Talk -- talkative Move -- moveable (iii) Some Adjectives are formed from other Adjectives. Adjective -- Adjective Tragic -- tragical Black -- blackish Whole -- wholesome White -- whitish Three -- threefold Sick -- sickly Exercise in Composition 7 Supply suitable Adjectives:- 1. The town stood a --- siege. 2. The --- prize was won by a Hindu. 3. The --- woman lives in a wretched hut. 4. This is a very --- matter. 5. The battle of Waterloo ended in a --- victory. 6. Suddenly there arose a --- storm. 7. It is a --- lie. 8. The --- tidings were a heavy blow to the old man. 9. Here is a rupee: pay the fare and keep the --- money. 10. His reading is of a very --- range. 11. The injured man wants --- advice. 12. You cannot have it --- ways. 13. India expects --- man to do his duty. 14. The --- bird catches the worm. 15. Have you any --- reason to give? 16. ---anxiety has undermined his health. 17. There were riots in --- places. 18. An --- man will not reason calmly. 19. He stands --- feet in his stockings. 20. Nelson won for himself --- fame. 21. I have no --- cash. 22. He always walks with a --- step. 23. --- errors are not easily corrected. 24. Every cloud has a --- lining. 25. He was a man of --- ambition. 26. He was listened to in --- silence. Exercise in Composition 8 Form Adjectives from the following Nouns: [Attach each Adjective to a suitable noun.] Ease, pity, time, heaven, health, wealth, love, hill, need, green, room, cost. Page 24 pain, doubt, wonder, peace, child, prince, mountain, ridicule, picture, labour, wood, pomp, artist, progress, slave, contempt, tempest, sense, quarrel, I thought, hope, friend. Exercise in Composition 9 Use each of the following Adjectives in a sentence: [Models.- A soft answer turneth away wrath. His polite manners have endeared him to all. Swimming is a healthy exercise. A certain man fell among thieves.] Happy, sad, industrious, lazy, big, small, soft, harsh, hard, polite, rude, wise, foolish, rich, poor, young, new, old, long, short, quick, slow, strong, weak, handsome, ugly, clever, dull, kind, cruel, healthy, dutiful, distant, certain. Exercise in Composition 10 Use a suitable Adjective with each of the following Nouns : [Models.- A violent storm. A long siege. A decisive victory. A populous city. A devoted husband. Storm, siege, sleep, victory, advice, blow, silence, hands, water, servant, flower, city, artist, dealer, voice, husband, subject, child, king, dog. Exercise in Composition 11 Use as many suitable Adjectives as you can with each of the following Nouns: [Models. - A narrow street, a wide street, a crooked street, a dirty street A clean street. A deliberate lie, a black lie, a white lie.] Fortune, man, news, storm, health, noveh progress, room, incident. Exercise in Composition 12 Write down the Adjectives opposite in meaning to the following:- Courageous, many, wild, hot, lean, heavy, costly, barren, beautiful, patient, honest, civilized, careful, strong, experienced, slow, friendly, cruel, soft. CHAPTER 10 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 80. Read these sentences: 1. Rama's mango is sweet. 2. Hari's mango is sweeter than Rama's. 3. Govind's mango is the sweetest of all. Page 25 In sentence 1, the adjective sweet merely tells us that Rama's mango has the quality of sweetness, without saying how much of this quality it has. In sentence 2, the adjective sweeter tells us that Hari's mango, compared with Rama's, has more of the quality of sweetness. In sentence 3, the adjective sweetest tells us that of all these mangoes Govind's mango has the greatest amount or highest degree of the quality of sweetness. We thus see that Adjectives change in form (sweet, sweeter, sweetest) to show comparison. They are called the three Degrees of Comparison. The Adjective sweet is said to be in the Positive Degree. The Adjective sweeter is said to be in the Comparative Degree. The Adjective sweetest is said to be in the Superlative Degree. The Positive Degree of an Adjective is the Adjective in its simple form. It is used to denote the mere existence of some quality of what we speak about. It is used when no comparison is made. The Comparative Degree of an Adjective denotes a higher degree of the quality than the Positive, and is used when two things (or sets of things) are compared; as, This boy is stronger than that. Which of these two pens is the better? Apples are dearer than oranges. The Superlative Degree of an Adjective denotes the highest degree of the quality, and is used when more than two things (or sets of things) are compared; as, This boy is the strongest in the class. Note 1:- There is another way in which we can compare things. Instead of saying 'Rama is stronger than Balu we can say 'Balu is less strong than Rama'. Instead of saying 'Hari is the laziest boy in the class', we can say 'Hari is the least industrious boy in the class7. Note 2:- The Superlative with most is sometimes used where there is no idea of comparison, but merely a desire to indicate the possession of a quality in a very high degree; as, This is most unfortunate. It was a most eloquent speech. Truly, a most ingenious device! This usage has been called the Superlative of Eminence, or the Absolute Superlative. Formation of Comparative and Superlative 81. Most Adjectives of one syllable, and some of more than one, form the Comparative by adding er and the Superlative by adding est to the positive. Page 26 Positive -- Comparative -- Superlative Sweet -- sweeter -- sweetest Small -- smaller -- smallest Tall -- taller -- tallest Bold -- bolder -- boldest Clever -- cleverer -- cleverest Kind -- kinder -- kindest Young -- younger -- youngest Great -- greater -- greatest When the Positive ends in e, only r and st are added. Brave -- braver -- bravest Fine -- finer -- finest White -- whiter -- whitest Large -- larger -- largest Able -- abler -- ablest Noble -- nobler -- noblest Wise -- wiser -- wisest When the Positive ends in j, preceded by a consonant, the y is changed into i before adding er and est. Happy -- happier -- happiest Easy -- easier -- easiest Heavy -- heavier -- heaviest Merry -- merrier -- merriest Wealthy -- wealthier -- wealthiest When the Positive is a word of one syllable and ends in a single consonant, preceded by a short vowel, this consonant is doubled before adding er and est. Red -- redder -- reddest Big -- bigger -- biggest Hot -- hotter -- hottest Thin -- thinner -- thinnest Sad -- sadder -- saddest Fat -- fatter -- fattest 82. Adjectives of more than two syllables form the Comparative and Superlative by putting more and most before the Positive. Positive -- Comparative -- Superlative Beautiful -- more beautiful -- most beautiful Difficult -- more difficult -- most difficult Industrious -- more industrious -- most industrious Courageous -- more courageous -- most courageous Two-syllable adjectives ending infill (e.g. useful), less (e.g. hope less), ing (e.g. boring) and ed (e.g. surprised) and many others (e.g. modern, recent, foolish, famous, certain) take more and most. The following take either er and est or more and most. : polite simple feeble gentle narrow cruel common handsome pleasant stupid She is politer/more polite than her sister. He is the politest/most polite of them. A work from S CHAND & COMPANY LTD 83. The-Comparative-in er is not used when we compare two qualities in the same person or thing. If we wish to say that the courage of Rama is greater than the courage of Balu, we say Page 27 Rama is braver than Balu. But if we wish to say that the courage of Rama is greater than his prudence, we must say, Rama is more brave than prudent. 84. When two objects are compared with each other, the latter term of comparison must exclude the former; as, Iron is more useful than any other metal. If we say, Iron is more useful than any metal, that is the same thing as saying 'Iron is more useful than iron' since iron is itself a metal. Irregular Comparison 85. The following Adjectives are compared irregularly, that is, their Comparative and Superlative are not formed from the Positive:- Positive -- Comparative -- Superlative Good, well -- better -- best Bad, evil, ill -- worse -- worst Little -- less, lesser -- least Much -- more -- most (quantity) Many -- more -- most (number) Late -- later, latter -- latest, last Old -- older, elder -- oldest, eldest Far -- farther -- farthest (Nigh) -- (nigher) -- (nighest), next (Fore) -- (former) -- foremost, first (Fore) -- further -- furthest (In) -- inner -- inmost, innermost (Up) -- upper -- upmost, uppermost (Out) -- outer, (utter) -- utmost, uttermost Note:- The forms nigh, nigher, nighest, fore and utter are outdated. Exercise in Grammar 13 Compare the following Adjectives:- Black, excellent, ill, gloomy, mad, safe, bad, unjust, gay, able, dry, timid, ugly, true, severe, exact, agreeable, difficult, little, few, numerous, merry. 86. The double forms of the Comparative and Superlative of the Adjectives given in § 85 are used in different ways. Later, latter; latest, last. - Later and latest refer to time; latter and last refer to position. He is later than I expected. I have not heard the latest news. The latter chapters are lacking in interest. The last chapter is carelesslv written Ours is the last house in the street. Page 28 Elder, older; eldest, oldest.- Elder and eldest are used only of persons, not of animals or things; and are now confined to members of the same family. Elder is not used with than following. Older and oldest are used of both persons and things. John is my elder brother. Tom is my eldest son. He is older than his sister. Rama is the oldest boy in the eleven. This is the oldest temple in Kolkata. Farther, further.- Both farther and further are used to express distance. Further, not farther, is used to mean “additional”. Kolkata is farther/further from the equator than Colombo. After this he made no further remarks. I must have a reply without further delay. Nearest, next.- Nearest means the shortest distance away. Next refers to one of a sequence of things coming one after the other. Mumbai is the seaport nearest to Europe. Where is the nearest phone box? Karim's shop is next to the Post Office. My uncle lives in the next house. Exercise in Composition 14 (a) Fill the blank spaces with 'later' or 'latter' :- 1. The majority accepted the --- proposal. 2. The --- part of the book shows signs of hurry. 3. At a --- date, he was placed in charge of the whole taluka. 4. I prefer the --- proposition to the former. 5. Is there no --- news than last week's? (b) Fill the blank spaces with ‘older’ or ‘elder’ :- 1. I have an --- sister. 2. Rama is --- than Had by two years. 3. His --- brother is in the Indian Police Service. 4. She is the --- of the two sisters. 5. The nephew is --- than his uncle. (c) Fill the blank spaces with 'oldest' and 'eldest' :- 1. Rustam is the --- of my uncle's five sons. 2. He is the --- member of the School Committee. 3. That is Antonio, the duke's --- son. 4. The --- mosque in the town is near the railway station. 5. Mr. Smith is the --- teacher in the school. (d) Fill the blank spaces with 'farther' or 'further':- 1. I can't walk any ---. 2. No --- reasons were given. 3. He walked off without --- ceremony. 4. Until --- orders Mr. K.S. Dave will act as Headmaster of Nira High School. 5. To let, a bungalow at Ridge Road. For --- particulars apply to Box. No. 65. Page 29 (e) Fill the blank spaces with 'latest' or 'last':- 1. The --- news from China is very disquieting. 2. The --- time I saw him, he was in high spirits. 3. To-day is the --- day for receiving lenders. 4. We expect to get the --- news in a few hours. 5. The --- Moghul Emperor came to an ignominious end. (j) Fill the blank spaces with 'nearest' or 'next':- 1. This is the --- post office to my house. 2. The pillar-box is --- to my house. 3. The burglar was taken to the --- police station. 4. His house is --- to mine. 5. The --- railway station is two miles from here. 87. Certain English Comparatives have lost their comparative meaning and are used as Positive. They cannot be followed by than. These are:- Former, latter, elder, upper, inner, outer, utter. Both the tiger and (he leopard are cats; the former animal is much larger than the latter. The inner meaning of this letter is not clear. The soldiers ran to defend the outer wall. My elder brother is an engineer. This man is an utter fool. 88. Certain Comparatives borrowed from Latin have no Positive or Superlative degree. They all end in or, not er. They are twelve in all. Five of them have lost their Comparative meaning, and are used as Positive Adjectives. These are:- Interior, exterior, ulterior, major, minor. The exterior wall of the house is made of stone; the interior walls are of wood. His age is a matter of minor importance. I have no ulterior motive in offering you help. The other seven are used as Comparative Adjectives but are followed by to instead of than (See § 89) 89. The comparative degree is generally followed by than; but Comparative Adjectives ending in -or are followed by the preposition to; as, Inferior, superior, prior, anterior, posterior, senior, junior. Hari is inferior to Ram in intelligence. Rama's intelligence is superior to Hari's. His marriage was prior to his father's death. He is junior to all his colleagues. All his colleagues are senior to him. 90. Adjectives expressing qualities that do not admit of different degrees cannot, strictly speaking, be compared; as, Square, round, perfect, eternal, universal, unique. Strictly speaking, a thing cannot be more square, more round, more perfect. But we say, for instance, Page 30 Exercise in Grammar 15 Point out the Adjectives and name the Degree of Comparison of each:- 1. The poor woman had seen happier days. 2. Do not talk such nonsense. 3. Make less noise. 4. That child has a slight cold. 5. A live ass is stranger than a dead lion. 6. Say the same thing twice over. 7. Soloman was one of the wisest men. 8. Hunger is the best sauce. 9. His simple word is as good as an oath. 10. There was not the slightest excuse for it. 11. My knife is sharper than yours. 12. Small people love to talk of great men. 13. Of two evils choose the less. 14. I hope the matter will be cleared up some day. 15. Your son makes no progress in his studies. 16. Open rebuke is better than secret love. 17. We never had such sport. 18. I have other things to attend lo. 19. Hari is the idlest boy in the class. 20. I promise you a fair hearing. 21. There is much to be said on both sides. 22. He gave the boys much wholesome advice. 23. He thinks he is wiser than his father. 24. No news is good news. 25. Bangladesh has the largest tea garden in the world. 26. Lead is heavier than any other metal. 27. I congratulated him on his good fortune. 28. He has many powerful friends. 29. The longest lane has a turning. Exercise in Grammar 16 Make three columns, and write the following Adjectives in the Positive, Comparative and Superlative Degrees:- [Be careful to use the form of comparison that is pleasing to the ear.] Shameful, clever, pretty, interesting, hopeful, honest, important, patient, rude, delightful, stupid, attractive, heavy, beautiful, fortunate, pleasant. A work from S. CHAND & COMPANY LTD. Exercise in Composition 17 Supply the proper form (Comparative or Superlative) of the Adjective:- [Note:-The Comparative and not the Superlative should be used to compare two things.] 1. Good - How is your brother to-day? Is he ---? 2. Hot - May is --- here than any other month. 3. Pretty - Her doll is --- than yours. 4. Idle - Hari is the --- boy in the class. 5. Sharp - Your knife is sharp, but mine is ---. 6. Dear - Honour is --- to him than life. 7. Rich - He is the --- man in our town. 8. Old - Mani is two years --- than Rati. 9. Large - Name the --- city in the world. 10. Good - He is the --- friend I have. Page 31 11. Bad - He is the --- boy of the two. 12. Bad - Raman's work is bad, Hari's is ---, but Govind's is the ---. 13. Ferocious - There is no animal --- than the tiger. 14. Bad - The trade is in a --- condition to-day than it was a year ago. 15. Tall - He is the --- of the two. 16. Dry - Sind is the --- part of Pakistan. 17. Useful - Iron is --- than any other metal. 18. Useful - Iron is the --- of all metals. 19. Great - Who is the --- living poet ? 20. Nutritious - I think he requires a --- diet. 21. Proud - It was the --- moment of his life. 22. Good -The public is the --- judge. 23. Little - That is the --- price I can take. 24. Light - Silver is --- than gold. Exercise in Composition 18 Supply appropriate Comparatives or Superlatives to each of the following:- 1. Prevention is --- than cure. 2. Akbar had a --- region than Babar. 3. Sachin Tendulkar is the --- batsman in the world. 4. The pen is --- than the sword. 5. The --- buildings are found in America. 6. The Pacific is --- than any other ocean. 7. Which of the two girls has the --- dress? 8. Honour is --- to him than life. 9. This pen is --- than the other. 10. Who is the --- boy in the class ? 11. The Eiffel Tower is --- than Qutab Minar. 12. My uncle is --- than my father. 13. The multi-millionaire Mr. Sen is the --- in this town. 14. Wordsworth is a --- poet than Cowper. 15. Balu is the --- bowler in the eleven. 16. The streets of Mumbai are --- than those of Ahmedabad. 17. Ooty is --- than Chennai. 18. The piano was knocked down to the --- bidder. 19. Mount Everest is the --- peak of the Himalayas. 20. He writes a --- hand than his brother. 21. He writes the --- hand in his class. 22. He is one of the --- speakers in Punjab. 23. Who was the --- general, Alexander or Caesar? 24. The --- fables are those attributed to j45sop. 25. The Arabian Nights is perhaps the --- story-book, 26. Shakespeare is --- than any other English poet. 27. Of all countries, China has the --- population in the world. 28. Clouds float in the sky because they are --- than the air. 29. There are two ways of doing the sum, but this one is the ---. 30. It is good to be clever, but it is --- to be industrious. 31. This is the --- of my two sons. 32. This is the --- that I can do? Page 32 Exercise in Composition 19 Change the following sentences by using 'less' or 'least' without changing the meaning:- 1. The mango is sweeter than the pine-apple. 2. Silver is more plentiful than gold. 3. This is the most useless of all my books. 4. Wolfram is one of the rarest minerals. 5. The wild-apple is the sourest of all fruits. 6. Iron is more useful than copper. Interchange of the Degrees of Comparison 91. As the following examples show, it is possible to change the Degree of Comparison of an Adjective in a sentence, without changing the meaning of the sentence:- Superlative - Lead is the heaviest of all metals. Comparative - Lead is heavier than all other metals. Comparative - Mahabaleshwar is cooler than Panchgani. Positive - Panchgani is not so cool as Mahabaleshwar. Positive - He is as wise as Solomon. Comparative - Soloman was not wiser than he is. Superlative - Shakuntala is the best drama in Sanskrit. Comparative - Shakuntala is better than any other drama in Sanskrit. Positive - No other drama in Sanskrit is so good as Shakuntala. Superlative - Chennai is one of the biggest of Indian cities. Comparative - Chennai is bigger than most other Indian cities. Positive - Very few Indian cities are as big as Chennai. Positive - Some poets are at least as great as Tennyson. Comparative - Tennyson is not greater than some other poets, I Some poets are not less great than Tennyson. Superlative - Tennyson is not the greatest of all poets. Exercise in Composition 20 Change the Degree of Comparison, without changing the meaning:- 1. Malacca is the oldest town in Malaysia. 2. Soya beans are at least as nutritious as meat. 3. No other planet is so big as Jupiter. 4. Very few boys are as industrious as Latif. 5. He would sooner die than tell a lie. 6. India is the largest democracy in the world. 7. Shakespeare is greater than any other English poet. 8. Samudra Gupta was one of the greatest of Indian Kings. 9. The tiger is the most ferocious of all animals. 10. Australia is the largest island in the world. 11. Lead is heavier than any other metal. 12. Some people have more money than brains. 13. A wise enemy is better than a foolish friend. 14. The Marwaries are not less enterprising than any other community in India. 15. I know him quite as well as you do. 16. You do not know him better than I do. 17. No other man was as strong as Bhim. 18. Some boys are the list as industrious as Suresh. 19. Mount Everest is the highest peak of the Himalayas. Page 33 20. Very few animals are as useful as the cow. 21. America is the richest country in the world. 22. It is easier to preach than to practise. 23. Iron is more useful than all the other metals. 24. Open rebuke is better than secret love. 25. The Sears Tower is the tallest building in the world. 26. Sir Surendranath was at least as great an orator as any other Indian. 27. Ooty is as healthy as any resort in India. 28. The pen is mightier than the sword. CHAPTER 11 ADJECTIVES USED AS NOUNS 92. Adjectives are often used as Nouns. (1) As Plural Nouns denoting a class of persons; as, The cautious (= cautious persons) are not always cowards. The rich (= rich people) know not how the poor (= poor people) live. The wicked (= wicked people) flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous (= righteous people) are bold as a lion. Blessed are the meek. (2) As Singular Nouns denoting some abstract quality; as, The future (= futurity) is unknown to us. He is a lover of the beautiful (= beauty in general) (3) Some Adjectives actually become Nouns, and are hence used in both numbers:- (a) Those derived from Proper Nouns; as, Australians, Canadians, Italians.- (b) Some denoting persons; as, juniors, seniors, mortals, inferiors, superiors, nobles, criminals, savages, elders, minors. (c) A few denoting things generally; as. secrets, totals, liquids, solids, valuables. [Some adjectives arc used as Nouns only in (he plural; as, valuables, eatables] (4) In certain phrases; as, In general; in future; in short; in secret; before long; at present; for good; at best; through thick and thin; for better or for worse; in black and white; right or wrong; from bad to worse; the long and short. In future I shall charge you for medical advice. In short, we know nothing. The negotiations were carried on in secret. I shall see you before long. Before long, he will be appointed to a higher post. At present, he is in pecuniary difficulties. I do not want any more at present. He has left India for good. At best we shall get no more dividend than five paise in a rupee. At best he is a clever versifier : but a poet he is certainly not. It must be said to his credit that he stood by his friend through thick and thin. I must have your teams down in black and white. Page 34 Right or wrong, my country. I am afraid the young man is going from bad to worse. The long and short of it is that I distrust you. Nouns used as Adjectives 93. The use of Nouns as Adjectives is very common in English; as, I met a little cottage girl. He is always playing computer games. CHAPTER 12 POSITION OF ADJECTIVES 94. An Adjective used attributively is generally placed immediately before the noun; as, King Francis was a hearty king, and loved a royal sport. Where are you going, my pretty maid, with your rosy cheeks and golden hair? O Captain ! my Captain ! our fearful trip is done. Observe the difference in meaning between:- (i) a great nobleman's son, and (ii) a nobleman's great son. 95. In poetry, however, the Adjective is frequently placed after the noun; as. Children dear, was it yesterday. We heard the sweet bells over the bay. man with sisters dear! 96. When several Adjectives are attached to one noun they are sometimes placed after it for emphasis; as There dwelt a miller hale and bold. The King, fearless and resolute, at once advanced. Franklin had a great genius, original, sagacious, and inventive. 97. When some word or phrase is joined to the Adjective to explain its meaning, the Adjective is placed after its noun; as, He was a man fertile in resource. A Sikh, taller than any of his comrades, rushed forward. 98. In certain phrases the Adjective always comes after the noun; as Heir apparent, time immemorial, lord paramount, viceroy elect, letters, patent, knights temporal, notary public, body politic, God Almighty. CHAPTER 13 THE CORRECT USE OF SOME ADJECTIVES 99. Some, any- To express quantity or degree some is used normally in affirmative sentences, any in negative or interrogative sentences. Page 35 I will buy some mangoes. I will not buy any mangoes. Have you bought any mangoes? But any can be used after if in affirmative sentences. If you need any money I will help you. Some is used in questions which are really offers/requests or which expect the answer “yes”. Will you have some ice-cream? (Offer) Could you lend me some money? (Request) Did you buy some clothes? (= I expect you did.) 100. Each, every.- Each and every are similar in meaning, but every is a stronger word than each; it means, 'each without exception'. Each is used in speaking of two or more things; every is used only in speaking of more than two. Each directs attention to the individuals forming any group, every to the total group. Each is used only when the number in the group is limited and definite; every when the number is indefinite. Every seat was taken. Five boys were seated on each bench. Every one of these chairs is broken. Leap year falls in every fourth year. He came to see us every three days [i.e., once in every period of three days]. It rained every day during my holidays. I was away ten days and it rained each day. 101. Little, a little, the little.- Note carefully the use of- (1) little, (2) a little, (3) the little. Little = not much (i.e., hardly any). Thus, the adjective little has a negative meaning. There is little hope of his recovery, i.e., he is not likely to recover. He showed little concern for his nephew. He has little influence with his old followers. He showed little mercy to the vanquished. He has little appreciation of good poetry. A little = some though not much. 'A little' has a positive meaning- There is a little hope of his recovery, i.e., he may possibly recover. A little tact would have saved the situation. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The little = not much, but all there is. The little information he had was not quite reliable. The little knowledge of carpentry that he possessed stood him in good stead. [The sentence means-The knowledge of carpentry he possessed was not much; but all that knowledge stood him in good stead.] A work from S CHAND & COMPANY LTD Page 36 Exercise in Composition 21 Insert 'a little', or 'the little' whichever is suitable:- 1. --- grain they had was damaged by sea water. 2. --- precaution is necessary in handling that machine. 3. --- care could have prevented the catastrophe. 4. --- influence that he has, he uses to the best advantage. 5. --- knowledge of French that he has is likely to be very useful to him on the Continent. 102. Few, a few, the few. Note carefully the use of :- (1) few, (2) a few, (3) the few. Few = not many, hardly any, 'Few' has a negative meaning. Few persons can keep a secret. Few people are so hopeless as drunkards. Few towns in India have public libraries. Few works of reference are so valuable as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Few men are free from faults. Few men reach the age of one hundred years. Few Parsees write Gujarati correctly. A few = some. 'A few' has a positive meaning, and is opposed to 'none'. A few words spoken in earnest will convince him. A few Parsees write Gujarati correctly. The few = not many, but all there are. The few remarks that he made were very suggestive. [The sentence means- The remarks that he made were not many; but all those remarks were very suggestive.] The few friends he has are all very poor. The few clothes they had were all tattered and torn. Exercise in Composition 22 Insert 'a few' or 'the few' whichever is suitable:- 1. --- public libraries that we have are not well equipped. 2. --- days that are left to him he spends in solitude and meditation. 3. Many Hindus study Sanskrit, but only --- Parsees study Avesta. 4. --- days' rest is all that is needed. 5. Have you got --- potatoes left? 6. It is a question of spending --- rupees. 7. --- hints on essay-writing are quite to the point. 8. --- months that he spent in Ooty did him a lot of good. 9. When I met him --- years after, he looked old and haggard. 10. --- short poems in the volume show signs of genius. 11. In --- words he expressed his gratitude to his friends. 12. --- Americans have their offices in Kolkata. 13. --- trinkets she has are not worth much. 14. --- poems he has written are all of great excellence. Page 37 CHAPTER 14 ARTICLES 103. The words a or an and the are called Articles. They come before nouns. 104. There are two Articles - a (or an) and the. 105. A or an is called the Indefinite Article, because it usually leaves indefinite the person or thing spoken of; as, A doctor; that is, any doctor. 106. The is called the Definite Article, because it normally points out some particular person or thing; as, He saw the doctor; meaning some particular doctor. The indefinite article is used before singular countable nouns, e.g. A book, art orange, a girl The definite article is used before singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns, e.g., The book, the books, the milk A or An 107. The choice between a and an is determined by sound. Before a word beginning with a vowel sound an is used; as, An ass, an enemy, an ink-pad, an orange, an umbrella, an hour, an honest man. An heir. It will be noticed that the words hour, honest, heir begin with a vowel sound, as the initial consonant h is not pronounced, 108. Before a word beginning with a consonant sound a is used; as, A boy, a reindeer, a woman, a yard, a horse, a hole, also a university,, a union, a European, a ewe, a unicorn, a useful article. because these words (university, union, etc.) begin with a consonant sound, that of yu. Similarly we say, A one-rupee note, such a one, a one-eyed man. because one begins with the consonant sound of w. 109. Some native speakers use an before words beginning with h if the first syllable is not stressed An hotel (More common: a hotel) an historical novel (More common: a historical novel) Use of the Definite Article 110. The Definite Article the is used- (1) When we talk about a particular person or thing, or one already referred to (that is, when it is clear from the context which one already referred to (that is, when it is clear from the constant which one we mean); as, Page 38 The book you want is out of print. (Which book? The one you want.) Let's go to the park. (= the park in this town) The girl cried, (the girl = the girl already talked about) (2) When a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class; as, The cow is a useful animal. [Or we may say, "Cows are useful animals."] The horse is a noble animal. The cat loves comfort. The rose is the sweetest of all flowers. The banyan is a kind of fig tree. [Do not say, "a kind of a fig tree". This is a common error.] The two nouns man and woman can be used in a general sense without either article. Man is the only animal that uses fire. Woman is man's mate. But in present-day English a man and a woman (or men and women) are more usual. A woman is more sensitive than a man. (3) Before some proper names, viz., these kinds of place-names: (a) oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the black Sea (b) rivers, e.g. the Ganga, the Nile (c) canals, e.g. the Suez Canal (d) deserts, e.g. the Sahara (e) groups of islands, e.g. the West Indies (f) mountain-ranges, e.g. the Himalayas, the Alps (g) a very few names of countries, which include words like republic and kingdom (e.g. the Irish Republic, the United Kingdom) also: the Ukraine, the Netherlands (and its seat of government the Hague) (4) Before the names of certain books; as, The Vedas, the Puranas, the Iliad, the Ramayana. But we say- Homer's Iliad, Valmiki's Ramayana. (5) Before names of things unique of their kind; as, The sun, the sky, the ocean, the sea, the earth. [Note-Sometimes the is placed before aCommon noun to give it the meaning of an Abstract noun; as, At last the wamor(the warlike or martial spirit) in him was thoroughly aroused.] (6) Before a Proper noun when it is qualified by an adjective or a defining adjectival clause; as, The great Caesar : the immortal Shakespeare. The Mr. Roy whom you met last night is my uncle. (7) With Superlatives; as, The darkest cloud has a silver lining. This is the best book of elementary chemistry. (8) With ordinals; as, He was the first man to arrive;l Page 39 (9) Before musical instruments; as, He can play the flute. (10) Before an adjective when the noun is understood; as, The poor are always with us. (11) Before a noun (with emphasis) to give the force of a Super lative; as, The Verb is the word (= the chief word) in a sentence. (12) As an Adverb with Comparatives; as, The more the merrier. (= by how much more, by so much the merrier) The more they get, the more they want. Use of the Indefinite Article 111. The Indefinite Article is used- (1) In its original numerical sense of one; as, Twelve inches make a foot. Not a word was said. A word to the wise is sufficient. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. (2) In the vague sense of a certain; as, A Kishore Kumar (= a certain person named Kishore Kumar) is suspected by the police. One evening a beggar came to my door. (3) In the sense of any, to single out an individual as the representative of a class; as, A pupil should obey his teacher. A cow is a useful animal. (4) To make a common noun of a proper noun; as, A Daniel comes to judgement! (A Daniel = a very wise man) Omission of the Article 112. The Article is omitted- (1) Before names of substances and abstract nouns (i.e. uncountable nouns) used in a general sense; as, Sugar is bad for your teeth. Gold is a precious metal. Wisdom is the gift of heaven. Honesty is the best policy. Virtue is its own reward. Note:- Uncountable nouns take the when used in a particular sense (especially when qualified by an adjective or adjectival phrase or clause); as, Would you pass me the sugar? (= the sugar on the table) The wisdom of Solomon is great. I can't forget the kindness with which he treated me. (2) Before plural countable nouns used in a general sense; as, Children like chocolates. Computers are used in many offices. Page 40 Note that such nouns take the when used with a particular meaning; as, Where arc the children? (= our children) (3) Before most proper nouns (except those referred to earlier), namely, names of people (e.g. Gopal, Rahim), names of continents, countries, cities, etc. (e.g. Europe, Pakistan, Nagpur), names of individual mountains (e.g. Mount Everest), individual islands, lakes, hills, etc. (4) Before names of meals (used in a general sense); as, What time do you have lunch? Dinner is ready. Note: We use a when there is an adjective before breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. We use the when we specify. I had a late lunch today. The dinner we had at the Tourist Hotel was very nice (5) Before languages; as, We are studying English. They speak Punjabi at home. (6) Before school, college, university, church, bed, hospital, prison, when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose; as, I learnt French at school. We go to church on Sundays. He stays in bed till nine every morning. My uncle is still in hospital. Note- The is used with these words when we refer to them as a definite place, building or object rather than to the normal activity that goes on there; as, The school is very near my home. I met him at the church. The bed is broken. I went to the hospital to see my uncle. (7) Before names of relations, like father, mother, aunt, uncle, and also cook and nurse, meaning 'our cook', 'our nurse', as, Father has returned. Aunt wants you to see her. Cook has given notice. (8) Before predicative nouns denoting a unique position, i.e., a position that is normally held at one time by one person only; as, He was elected chairman of the Board. Mr. Banerji became Principal of the College in 1995. (9) In certain phrases consisting of a transitive verb followed by its object; as, to catch fire, to take breath, to give battle, to cast anchor, to send word, to bring word, to give ear, to lay siege, to set sail, to lose heart, to set foot, to leave home, to strike root, to take offence. A work forms S.CHANDA & COMPANY LTD. Page 41 (10) In certain phrases consisting of a preposition followed by its object; as, at home, in hand, in debt, by day, by night, at daybreak, at sunrise, at noon, at sunset, at night, at anchor, at sight, on demand, at interest, on earth, by land, by water, by river, by train, by steamer, by name, on horseback, on foot, on deck, in jest, at dinner, at ease, under ground, above ground. Exercise in Composition 23 Complete the following sentences by filling in a or an or the as may be suitable:- 1. Copper is --- useful metal. 2. He is not --- honorable man. 3. --- able man has not always a distinguished look. 4. --- reindeer is a native of Norway. 5. Honest men speak --- truth. 6. Rustum is ---. 7. Do you see --- blue sky. 8. Varanasi is --- holy city. 9. Aladdin had --- wonderful lamp. 10. The world is --- happy place. 11. He returned after --- hour. 12. --- school will shortly close for the Puja holidays. 13. --- sun shines brightly. 14. I first met him --- year ago. 15. Yesterday --- European called at my office. 16. Sanskrit is --- difficult language. 17. --- Ganga is --- sacred river. 18. --- lion is --- king of beasts. 19. You are --- fool to say that. 20. French is --- easy language. 21. Who is --- girl sitting there? 22. Which is --- longest river in India? 23. Rama has come without --- umbrella. 24. Mumbai is --- very dear place to live in. 25. She is --- untidy girl. 26. The children found --- egg in the nest. 27. I bought horse, ox, and --- buffalo. 28. If you see him, give him --- message. 29. English is language of --- people of England. 30. The guide knows --- way. 31. Sri Lanka is --- island. 32. Let us discuss --- matter seriously. 33. John got --- best present. 34. Man, thou art --- animal. 35. India is one of --- most industrial countries in Asia. 36. He looks as stupid as --- owl. 37. He is --- honour to this profession. Exercise in Composition 24 Insert Articles where necessary:- 1. While there is life there is hope. 2. Her knowledge of medicine had been acquired under aged Jewess. 3. Sun rises in east. 4. The brave soldier lost arm in battle. 5. The doctor says it is hopeless case.. 6. I like to live in open air. 7. Get pound of sugar from nearest grocer. 8. Set back clock; it is hour too fast. 9. The poor woman has no rupee. 10. You must take care. 11. Eskimos make houses of snow. 12. Where did you buy umbrella? 13. Have you never seen elephant? 14. Draw map of India. 15. Do not look gift horse in mouth. 16. Have you told him about accident? 17. Tagore was great poet. 18. How blue sky looks! 19. Who wishes to take walk with me? 20. What beautiful scene this is! 21. The musician was old Mussalman. 22.The river was spanned by iron bridge. 23. Moon did not rise till after ten. Page 42 24. Like true sportsmen they would give enemy fair play. 25. They never fail who die in great cause. 26. There is nothing like staying at home for comfort. 27. He likes to picture himself as original thinker. 28. It is never thankful office to offer advice. 29. Umbrella is of no avail against thunderstorm. 30. I have not seen him since he was child. 31. For Brutus is honourable man. 32. Neil Armstrong was first man to walk on moon. 33. Man has no more right to say uncivil thing than to act one. 34. We started late in afternoon. 35. It is a strange thing how little, in general, people know about sky. 36. Scheme failed for want of support. 37. Tiger, animal equal to lion in size, is native of Asia. 38. Time makes worst enemies friends. 39. My favourite flower is rose. 40. Time we live ought not to be computed by number of years, but by use that has been made of them. 41. Mumbai is largest cotton textile centre in country. 42. Men are too often led by astrayed- prejudice. 43. Only best quality is sold by us. 44. What kind of bird is that ? 45. Wild animals suffer when kept in captivity. 46. May we have pleasure of your company? 47. It was proudest moment of my life. 48. Andamans are group of islands in Bay of Bengal. 49. He started school when he was six years old. 50. He neglects attending church, though church is only few yards from his house. 51. March is third month of year. 52. Dr. Arnold was headmaster of Rugby. 53. Man cannot live by bread alone. 54. When will father be back? 55. Appenines are in Italy. Repetition of the Article 113. If I say- I have a black and white dog. I mean a dog that is partly black and partly white. But if I say- I have a black and a white dog, I mean two dogs, one black and the other white. Hence when two or more adjectives qualify the same noun, the Article is used before the first adjective only; but when they qualify different nouns, expressed or understood, the Article is normally used before each adjective. 114. Compare:- 1. The Secretary and Treasurer is absent. 2. The Secretary and the Treasurer are absent. The first sentence clearly indicates that the posts of Secretary and Treasurer are held by one person. The repetition of the article in the second sentence indicates that the two posts are held by two different persons. Hence we see that when two or more connected nouns refer to the same person or thing, the article is ordinarily used before the Page 43 first only; but when two or more connected nouns refer to different persons or things, the Article is used before each. Also examine the following sentences :- Sir Surendranath was a great orator and statesman. There are on the committee among others a great economist and a great lawyer. 115. We may either say- The third and the fourth chapter. [Or] The third and fourth chapters. 116. In expressing a comparison, if two nouns refer to the same person or thing, the Article is used before the first noun only; as, He is a better mechanic than clerk. He is a better poet than novelist. He is a better thinker than debater. He would make a better engineer than lawyer. But if they refer to different persons or things, the Article must be used with each noun; as, He is a better mechanic than a clerk (would make). He would make a better statesman than a philosopher (would make). CHAPTER 15 PERSONAL PRONOUNS 117. We may say- Hari is absent, because Hari is ill. But it is better to avoid the repetition of the Noun Hari, and say- Hari is absent, because he is ill. A word that is thus used instead of a noun is called a Pronoun {Pronoun means for-a- noun.] Def.- A Pronoun is a word used instead of a Noun. 118. Read the following sentences :- I am young. We are young. You are young. They are young. He (she, it) is young. I, we, you, he, (she, it), they are called Personal Pronouns because they stand for the three persons. (i) the person speaking.. (ii) the person spoken to, and (iii) the person spoken of. The Pronouns I and we, which denote the person or persons speak-mg, are said to be Personal Pronouns of the First Person The Pronoun you, which denotes the person or persons spoken to, is said to be a Personal Pronoun of the Second Person. You is used both in the singular and plural Page 44 The pronouns he (she) and they, which denote the person or persons spoken of, are said to be Personal Pronouns of the Third Person. It, although it denotes the thing spoken of, is also called a Personal Pronoun of the Third Person. [The Personal Pronouns of the Third Person are, strictly speaking, Demonstrative Pronouns.] Forms of the Personal Pronouns 119. The following are the different forms of the Personal Pronouns :- FIRST PERSON (Masculine or Feminine) SINGULAR -- PLURAL Nominative -- I -- We Possessive -- my, mine -- our, ours Accusative -- me -- us SECOND PERSON (Masculine or Feminine) SINGULAR/PLURAL Nominative -- You Possessive -- Your, Yours Accusative -- You THIRD PERSON SINGULAR -- PLURAL Masculine -- Feminine -- Neuter -- All Genders Nominative -- he -- she -- it -- they Possessive -- his -- her, hers -- its -- their, theirs Accusative -- him -- her -- it -- them Note 1.- It will be seen that the Possessive Cases of most of the Personal Pronouns have two forms. Of these the forms my, our, your, her, their, are called Possessive Adjectives because they are used with nouns and do the work of Adjectives; as, This is my book. Those are your books. That is her book. Possessive Adjectives are somethings called Pronominal Adjectives, as they are formed from Pronouns. Note 2.- The word his is used both as an Adjective and as a Pronoun; as This is his book. (Possessive Adjective) This book is his. (Possessive Pronoun) In the following sentences the words in italics are Possessive Pronouns:- This book is mine. Those books are yours. That book is hers. That idea of yours is excellent. 120. The pronoun of the Third Person has three Genders :- Masculine -- he Feminine -- she Neuter -- it 121. It- The Pronoun it is used- (1) For things without life; as, Here is your book; take it away. (2) For animals, unless we clearly wish to speak of them as male and female; as, He loves his dog and cannot do without it. The horse fell and broke its leg. (3) For a young child, unless we clearly wish to refer to the sex; as, When I saw the child it was crying. That baby has torn its clothes. (4) To refer to some statement going before; as, He is telling what is not true; as he knows it. He deserved his punishment; as he knew it. (5) As a provisional and temporary subject before the verb to be when the real subject follows; as, It is easy to find fault. [To find fault is easy.] It is doubtful whether he will come. It is certain that you are wrong. (6) To give emphasis to the noun or pronoun following; as, It was you who began the quarrel. It was I who first protested. It was at Versailles that the treaty was made. It is a silly fish that is caught twice with the same bail. It is an ill wind [hat blows nobody good. (7) As an indefinite nominative of an impersonal verb; as, It rains. It snows.

Wren & Martin's High School English Grammar & Composition PDF

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