-1- SMART NOATES FOR B.

A PAPER (B)[Title]

AshrafBy Ashraf
Khan Yasin Khan
(M.PhillYasin
English
-2-
The Toper’s English Notes

An attribute to all my great teacher.

Contact# +92(0306-7394899)

Author of the book Ashraf Khan Yasin M.A English & Phil

Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English)

-3-
The Toper’s English Notes

A MESSAGE BY THE AUTHOR TO DEAR STUDENTS.

Respected students always train your mind to set the good in everything .Positivity is a choice. The happiness of your
life depends on the quaility of your thoughts. Because ,one great lesson I learnt from bitter experience of life ,that
is…there is no market for your emotions. So never advertise your feelings just show your attitude and keep on your
work. It is the simple formula of success in life .The best thing in your life is your time . If you have a good
time ,everyone is your .If you have bad time nothing is your , you will have to pass through this period of life alone and
all alone. Your books are your best friends ,these will give completeness to your wishes ,these will send you towards
near your destination.

May Allah Bless you all with all your good wishes. (Amen)

Your best wisher ,

Ashraf Khan Yasin.

Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English)

1 SMART NOATES FOR B.A PAPER (B)[Title]

INDUX OF LESSON

1. Subject verb combination +common error………………………………02

2. Correct use of preposition……………………………………….……….78

3. Rules for using article with example………………………..….………103

4. Précis writing rules and practice example……………………….….. 110

SQUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural). Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if
a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.

In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways:

nouns ADD an s to the singular form,

BUT

verbs REMOVE an s from the singular form.

Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

2
The Toper’s English Notes

Here are nine subject-verb agreement rules.

1. A phrase or clause between subject and verb does not change the number of the subject.

Examples:

2. Indefinite pronouns as subjects

• Singular indefinite pronoun subjects take singular verbs.

• Plural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs.

PLURAL: several, few, both, many

• Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural: with uncountable, use singular; with countable, use plural.

EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, any, none, all, most

Sugar is uncountable; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.

2 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

3
The Toper’s English Notes

Marbles are countable; therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.

3. Compound subjects joined by and are always plural.

4. With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.

In the above example, the plural verb are agrees with the nearer subject actors.

In this example, the singular verb is agrees with the nearer subject director.

5. Inverted Subjects must agree with the verb.

6. Collective Nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may be singular or plural, depending on meaning.

In this example, the jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the verb is singular.

3 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

4
The Toper’s English Notes
In this example, the jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore, the verb is plural.

7. Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries, etc.) are always singular.

8. Plural form subjects

• Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb. (e.g. news, measles, mumps, physics, etc.)

• Plural form subjects with singular or plural meaning take a singular or plural verb, depending on meaning. (e.g. politics, economics, etc.)

In this example, politics is a single topic; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.

In this example, politics refers to the many aspects of the situation; therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.

• Plural form subjects with a plural meaning take a plural verb. (e.g. scissors, trousers)

Note: In this example, the subject of the sentence is pair; therefore, the verb must agree with it. (Because scissors is the object of
the preposition, scissors does not affect the number of the verb.)

9. With subject and subjective complement of different number, the verb always agrees with the subject.

4 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

5
The Toper’s English Notes

10-A. With one of those ________ who, use a plural verb.

The above example implies that others besides Hannah like to read comic books. Therefore, the plural verb is the correct form to use.

10-B. With the only one of those ________who, use a singular verb.

The above example implies that no one else except for Hannah likes to read comic books. Therefore, the singular verb is the correct for to
use.

11-A. With the number of _______, use a singular verb.

11-B. With a number of _______, use a plural verb.

12. With every ______ and many a ________, use a singular verb.

5 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

6
The Toper’s English Notes

FURTHER EXPLANATION WITH SUITABLE EXAMPLES

Subject-Verb Agreement

Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.

Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.

If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.

Exceptions to the Basic rule:

a. The first person pronoun I takes a plural verb (I go, I drive).

b. The basic form of the verb is used after certain main verbs such as watch, see, hear, feel, help, let, and make. (He watched Ronaldo score the
winning goal

Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many,
perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.

Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:

Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.

Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)

Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.

Examples:

My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.

Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.

Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.

Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it.

6 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

7
The Toper’s English Notes

Examples:

Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.

Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.

This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd sentence:

Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to the festival.

If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.

Better:

Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.

OR

She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.

Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.

Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

But note these exceptions:

Exceptions:

Breaking and entering is against the law.

The bed and breakfast was charming.

In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.

NOTE

Some think it is incorrect to place a personal pronoun first in a multi-subject sentence.

Examples:

I, my dad, and my step-mom are going to the movies.

She and Orville bought a dog.

While not grammatically incorrect per se, it is a courtesy to place the pronoun last, except when awkward to do so as shown under Rule 3 above.

7 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

8
The Toper’s English Notes
Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases
are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.

Examples:

The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.

Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 5b. Parentheses are not part of the subject.

Example: Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always welcome.

If this seems awkward, try rewriting the sentence.

Rule 6. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.

Examples:

There are four hurdles to jump.

There is a high hurdle to jump.

Here are the keys.

NOTE:

The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences like There's a lot of people here today, because it's easier to
say "there's" than "there are." Take care never to use there's with a plural subject.

Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.

Examples:

Three miles is too far to walk.

Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

Ten dollars is a high price to pay.

BUT

Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.

Rule 8a. With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a majority, some, all—Rule 1 given earlier in this section is reversed, and we are guided by
the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:

A lot of the pie has disappeared.

A lot of the pies have disappeared.

Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.

Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.

8 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

9
The Toper’s English Notes
A third of the city is unemployed.

A third of the people are unemployed.

All of the pie is gone.

All of the pies are gone.

Some of the pie is missing.

Some of the pies are missing.

NOTE

Some teachers, editors, and the SAT testing service, perhaps for convenience, have considered none to be strictly singular. However, authorities
agree that none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is. If in context it seems like a singular to you, use a singular verb;
if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. When none is clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular verb.

Rule 8b. With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's
intent.

Examples:

All of my family has arrived OR have arrived.

Most of the jury is here OR are here.

A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.

NOTE

Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be done carelessly. The
following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:

The staff is deciding how they want to vote.

Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staff in the same sentence.

Consistent: The staff are deciding how they want to vote.

Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:

The staff members are deciding how they want to vote.

Rule 9. The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:

Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.

9 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

10
The Toper’s English Notes
Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not was. The sentence
demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express a hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory thought. The
subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs.

Examples:

I wish it were Friday.

She requested that he raise his hand.

The foreman demanded that Joe wear safety goggles.

In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a plural verb, is used with
the singular it. (Technically, it is the singular subject of the object clause in the subjunctive mood: it were Friday.)

Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is
correct.

Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.

Using If conditionals

Incorrect: If I will visit London, I will meet you.

Correct: If I visit London, I will meet you.

Rule

Use simple present tense to refer to the future after conjunctions like when, after, if, as soon as.

Examples

I will talk to him when I see him in the next two days.

I will call you as soon as I arrive at the airport.

If the plan succeeds, I will come.

PAST PAPER PRACTICE

2. Married with/married to

10 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

11
The Toper’s English Notes
Incorrect: She is mar𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 1ried with an engineer

Correct: She is married to an engineer.

Rule

To is a correct preposition to use with married.

3. Every with (singular noun)/ Every with (plural noun)

Incorrect: Every students is intelligent in the class.

Correct: Every student is intelligent in the class.

Rule

A Singular noun is used with every.

4. Using but and although together

Incorrect: Although it was raining, but we went to market.

Correct: Although it was raining, we went to market.

Rule

If the sentence starts with although, don't use but with that.

Examples

Although cell phones have many merits, demerits cannot be overlooked.

Although he was not well, he attended the function.

5. Your/you’re

Incorrect: What were your answer?

Correct: What was your answer?

Rule

Your indicates possession that is something belonging to you while “You’re” is a contraction for “you are”.

Examples

Where is your cell phone?

You're responsible for this project.

6. Its/it’s

Incorrect: Its Sunday morning.

11 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

12
The Toper’s English Notes
Correct: It's Sunday morning.

Rule

“It's” is a contraction for it is.

“Its” is a possessive pronoun for things.

Examples

The floor looks great with its new mat.

It's raining outside.

7. There/their/they’re

Incorrect: Parents work for there children.

Correct: Parents work for their children.

Rule

There is generally used for a place.

Their refers possession, something belonging to them.

They're is a contraction for They are.

Examples

Children are playing with their toys.

There are many shops.

They're going to Delhi.

8. Unique/most unique

Incorrect: This is the most unique dress.

Correct: This is the unique dress.

Rule

Adjectives like unique, ideal, entire, extreme, perfect do not admit different degrees of comparison.

Examples

That job is perfect for him.

These conditions are ideal.

9. Me/ I

Incorrect:Safia and me went to the mall.

Correct: Safia and I went to the mall.

Rule

When talking about doing some activity with someone else, use his/her name followed by I.

12 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

13
The Toper’s English Notes
Examples

My brother and I love ice cream.

Fizan and I are planning a trip.

10. Then/than

Incorrect: She is beautiful then her.

Correct: She is beautiful than her.

Rule

Than is used for a comparison.

Then is used for planning a schedule or to indicate instructions.

Examples

He is clever than her.

First I will go to Multan then Lahore

11. Amount/number

Incorrect: A greater amount of people are visiting the stadium.

Correct: A greater number of people are visiting the stadium.

Rule

The amount is used for uncountable commodities.

The number is used for countable things.

Examples

A large amount of sand is needed for the project.

We can watch a number of TV shows.

12. Fewer/less

Incorrect: There are less dresses.

Correct: There are fewer dresses.

Rule

Fewer is used for countable items.

Less is used for uncountable commodities.

Examples

There was a less rainfall last year.

There are fewer students in the class.

13 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

14
The Toper’s English Notes
13. Did not

Incorrect: I did not saw him yesterday.

Correct: I did not see him yesterday.

Rule

Use base form of the verb with did.

Examples

I did not study Mathimatics.

He didn't get up early today.

Her mother did not allow her to go out with her friends.

14. Too/enough

Incorrect: This shirt is too enough for me.

Correct: This shirt is too big for me.

Rule

Too is used before adjectives and adverbs. So,, in the above sentence use too with the adjective big.

Enough is used before nouns.

Examples

I don't have enough time.

The ring was too small.

15. Gerunds

Incorrect: We enjoy to go for walk after dinner.

Correct: We enjoy going for walk after dinner.

Rule

A gerund is a verb form which functions as a noun. In other words, a gerund is a noun made from a verb by adding "-ing." There are some verbs
like dislike, which are always followed by a gerund.

Examples

We, enjoy going for a walk. (The gerund always follows the verb ‘enjoy'.)

I love eating ice cream.

16. Every day/every day

Incorrect: He need a car for his every day activities.

Correct: He need a car for his everyday activities.

Rule

14 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

15
The Toper’s English Notes
Every day is an adjective that means commonplace or happening every day.

Every day is an adverbial phrase that means each day or daily. It can be replaced with each day or all days.

Examples

I meet him every day.

He goes to college every day.

I need a laptop for my everyday work.

17. Possession shared by two persons

Incorrect: It is Amen’s and Rimsha’s car.

Correct: It is Amen and Rimsha’s car.

Rule

Use apostrophe only, after the name of the second person

Example

This is Maryam and Amen's house.

18. His/hers/its

Incorrect: The dog lost his bone. (The gender is unknown.)

Correct: The dog lost its bone.

Rule

Use “it” if you don’t know the gender of an animal.

Example

His dog participates in many dog shows. It has won many prizes.

19. Well/good (happiness)

Incorrect: He feels well.

Correct: He feels good.

Rule

Use good when expressing happiness.

Examples

She feels good after attending a concert.

feels good by working for the company.

20. Well/good (quality)

15 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

16
The Toper’s English Notes
Incorrect: She cooks good.

Correct: She cooks well.

Rule

Use well when expressing a quality of someone or something.

Examples

The machine works well.

She sings well.

21. Each is/ Each are

Incorrect: Each of the cars are fast.

Correct: Each of the cars is fast.

Rule;

Use singular verb (is) with indefinite pronouns (such as each, none, neither)

Example;

Each of the students is fast.

Neither of them is my classmate.

One of my friends is obese.

22. One of the ...

Incorrect: One of the train is late.

Correct: One of the trains is late.

Rule;

In the above sentence, the singular countable noun train follows the quantifier one, which requires a plural noun.

Examples;

Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world.

He is one of my best friends.

23. Police is / police are

Incorrect: The police is coming.

Correct: The police are coming.

Rule;

Use plural form 'are' when referring to police in general. The word police is an aggregate noun, a word representing an indefinite number of
parts; aggregate nouns have a plural form. When referring to a single person or a specific department, use singular 'is'.

Examples;

The police are blocking off the street where the robbery occurred.

16 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

17
The Toper’s English Notes
The police department is at the corner of the Main street.

24. Misplaced adverbs

Incorrect: He almost washed all of the cars.

Correct: He washed almost all of the cars.

Rule;

Be careful where the adverb is placed in the sentence as it has a different meaning. Both the sentences above have the different meaning.

25. The omission of second part of comparison

Incorrect: Smith likes Maths more than English.

Correct: Smith likes Maths more than he likes English.

26. An/a

Incorrect: It is a old television set

Correct: It is an old television set

Rule: If the beginning of the word sounds like a consonant, we use a. If it sounds like a vowel, we use an. We hear a vowel sound at the
beginning of uncle and a consonant sound at the beginning of university (you-ni-ver-sity).

Examples:

a horse

an hour

a university

27. Alternative/alternate

Incorrect: The salad is a healthier alternate.

Correct: The salad is a healthier alternative.

Rule;

Alternate: Occur in turn repeatedly.

Alternative: Available as another possibility or choice.

Examples

The government alternate between the two parties.

The various alternative methods for resolving disputes.

28. Amicable / Amiable

17 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

18
The Toper’s English Notes
Incorrect: The teams were amicable.

Correct: The teams were amiable.

Rule;

Amicable: Used for arrangements or settlements agreed peacefully by parties.

Amiable: used to describe kind, gentle and friendly people.

Examples

The amiable young man greeted me.

The meeting was amicable.

29. Among/between

Incorrect: She could not decide among the two shirts.

Correct: She could not decide between the two shirts.

Rule;

Use ‘between’ when the comparison involves only 2 choices. ‘Among’ is used when there are 3 or more choices.

Examples;

They had to choose the winner between the red and the blue teams.

They had to choose the winner among the 5 competing teams.

30. Beside /besides

Incorrect: Ask him to sit besides me.

Correct: Ask him to sit beside me.

Rule;

Beside means next to

Besides means in addition to

Examples;

The bride was sitting beside the groom at the reception.

Besides her famous cupcakes, she will donate cookies and a pie to the bake sale.

31. Bring /take

Incorrect: He will bring the book from his friend.

Correct: He will take the book from his friend.

Rule;

Bring: Take or go with (someone or something) to a place.

Take: Lay hold of (something) with one's hands; reach for and hold.

18 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

19
The Toper’s English Notes
Examples;

In an emergency, my son could drive up and bring us home.

He leaned forward to take her hand.

32. Can /may

Incorrect: I may drive because I passed the driving test.

Correct: I can drive because I passed the driving test.

Rule;

Can is used to express ability.

May is used for Expressing possibility.

Examples;

I can talk to her as she is my friend.

It may rain tomorrow.

33. Deadly/deathly

Incorrect: A bee sting can be deathly.

Correct: A bee sting can be deadly.

Rule;

Deadly: Causing or able to cause death.

Deathly: Resembling or suggestive of death.

Examples

It is a deadly weapon.

His face was deathly pale.

34. Farther /further

Incorrect: We will drive no further tonight.

Correct: We will drive no farther tonight.

Rule

Farther refers to physical distance.

Further refers to moreover; in addition; to a greater extent.

Examples

We had to walk farther than the map indicated.

New Delhi is farther from Mumbai than from Noida.

We need to discuss this further.

19 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

20
The Toper’s English Notes

35. Since/for

Incorrect: I’ve been in America since 3 months.

Correct: I’ve been in America for 3 months.

Rule

Preposition For indicates the length of a period of time.

Preposition Since is used for a precise moment in time

Examples

for 20 minutes

for three days

for 6 months

for 4 years

for 2 centuries

for a long time

since 9am

since Monday

since January

since 1997

since 1500

since I left school

36. On/in

Incorrect: In January 13th, I will be twenty.

Correct: On January 13th, I will be twenty.

Rule

On: Indicating the day or part of a day during which an event takes place.

In: used for unspecific times during a day, month, season, year:

Examples

He will report on September 26

On a very hot evening in July.

She always reads newspapers in the morning.

In the summer, we have a rainy season for three weeks.

The new semester will start in March.

20 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

21
The Toper’s English Notes
I was born in 1990.

37. No one/anyone

Incorrect: At the party, I didn’t meet no one.

Correct: At the party, I didn’t meet anyone.

Rule

The sentence becomes a double negative with the inclusion of both didn't and nobody.

Examples

I don't talk to anyone in the evening.

I like no one in their family.

38. If I was/If I were

Incorrect: If I was going to the movies...

Correct: If I were going to the movies...

Rule

Use were after I when wishing something.

Examples

If I were the prime minister...

If I were given the chance...

39. Themself/themselves

Incorrect: They organized the party themself.

Correct: They organized the party themselves.

Rule

The word Themselves is not in a dictionary. Themselves is a correct word to use.

Examples

They will do their work themselves.

They do the arrangements themselves.

40. Very/really

Incorrect: I felt very fantastic.

Correct: I felt really fantastic

Rule

21 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

22
The Toper’s English Notes
In many sentences both really and very can be used but there are some exceptions like

Really is Used to emphasize a statement or opinion.

Examples

I really want to go.

I really think she is beautiful.

Very cannot be used in these sentences.

41. Superlative

Incorrect: She is more tall than Sita.

Correct: She is taller than Sita.

Rule

Comparative adjectives describe a noun as having more of a certain quality than another person or thing. Many adjectives take the comparative
form by adding -er to the word (softer, nicer, taller).

Examples

She is shorter than Ram.

He is smarter than David.

42. In my point of view/From my point of view

Incorrect: In my point of view, the coaching class really helps.

Correct: From my point of view, the coaching class really helps.

Rule

Use either from my point of view or In my view. In my point of view is incorrect.

Examples

From my point of view, she has taken a good decision.

In my view, Robbert is the right person for the job.

43. During/for

Incorrect: She studied for the football game.

Correct: She studied during the football game.

Rule

During: Throughout the course or duration of a period of time.

For: Indicating the length of a period of time.

Examples

The restaurant is open during the day.

22 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

23
The Toper’s English Notes
My sister studied for five hours.

He was jailed for 12 years.

44. Could be better than that/Couldn’t be better than that

Incorrect: It could be better than that. (when it is the best)

Correct: It couldn’t be better than that (when it is the best)

Rule

It couldn’t be better than that is used when the thing is the best.

It could be better than that is used when there is room for improvement.

45. Awhile /a while

INCORRECT: I'll stay in Mumbai for awhile.

CORRECT: I'll stay in Mumbai for a while.

Rule

Awhile: Adverb that means "for a while." That is for a short time.

While: means “a period of time."

So in the above sentence, we cannot use awhile with for as there will be a repetition of "for".

Examples

We chatted for a while.

Stand here awhile.

46. Alot/a lot

INCORRECT: He likes her alot.

CORRECT: He likes her a lot.

Rule

Alot is not a word. A lot is the correct word.

Examples

They travel a lot.

They do a lot of shopping.

47. Forty/fourty

INCORRECT: She gave me fourty dollars.

CORRECT: She gave me forty dollars.

23 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

24
The Toper’s English Notes
Rule

Spellings of the number 4 is four and spellings of the number 40 is forty.

48. lightning/lighting

Incorrect: A tremendous flash of lighting.

Correct: A tremendous flash of lightning.

Rule

Lightning: Natural electrical discharge of very short duration in the atmosphere, accompanied by a bright flash.

Lighting: Equipment in a room, building, or street for producing light.

Examples

These clouds often bring thunder and lightning.

They use fluorescent bulbs for street lighting.

49. Loose/lose

Incorrect: I don't want to loose the job.

Correct: I don't want to lose the job.

Rule

Loose: Not firmly or tightly fixed in place.

Lose: Be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something)

Examples

The lid of the container is loose.

I don't want to lose her.

50. Passed/past

INCORRECT: The car past the bus.

CORRECT: The car passed the bus.

Rule

Passed: Move or cause to move in a specified direction.

Past: Gone by in time and no longer existing.

Examples

He passed through towns and villages.

The danger is now past.

51. Pore/pour

24 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

25
The Toper’s English Notes

INCORRECT: Words pored from his mouth

CORRECT: Words poured from his mouth

Rule

Pore: A minute opening in a surface

Pour: Flow rapidly in a steady stream.

Examples

Skin cleansing products help remove dirt and germs from the skin surface and pores.

Water poured off the roof.

52. Pronunciation/pronounciation

INCORRECT: I cannot understand his pronounciation.

CORRECT: I cannot understand his pronunciation.

Rule

The verb is pronounce but the noun is pronunciation.

53. Tough/though

Incorrect: You will be informed of its progress, slow tough that may be.

Correct: You will be informed of its progress, slow though that may be.

Rule

Though: Despite the fact that; although.

Tough: Difficult and requiring determination or effort.

Examples

Though they were speaking in undertones, I could hear them.

We have six tough matches in a row.

54. Two / too

Incorrect: He wore suits that seemed a size two small for him.

Correct: He wore suits that seemed a size too small for him.

Rule

Two: A number two.

Too: To a higher degree than is desirable, permissible, or possible; excessively.

Example

A romantic weekend for two in Paris.

25 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

26
The Toper’s English Notes
He was driving too fast.

55. Weather/whether

Incorrect: If the whether is good we can go for a walk.

Correct: If the weather is good we can go for a walk.

Rule

Weather: The state of the atmosphere at a particular place.

Whether: Expressing a doubt or choice between alternatives.

Example

The forecast is for brighter weather after days of rain.

He seemed undecided whether to go or stay.

56. Wreck/wreak

Incorrect: The plane was reduced to a smouldering wreak.

Correct: The plane was reduced to a smouldering wreck.

Rule

Wreak means to cause a large amount of damage or harm.

Wreck means debris or remainder.

Examples

The wreck of their marriage.

Torrential rainstorms wreaked havoc yesterday.

57. Who's/whose

Incorrect: Whose there?

Correct: Who's there?

Rule

Who's: Contraction of Who is or who has.

Whose: Belonging to or associated with which person.

Examples

Whose round is it?

Then there's the blogger who's only blogging because he has no one else to turn to.

58. Averse/adverse

26 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

27
The Toper’s English Notes
Incorrect: Taxes are having an averse effect on production.

Correct: Taxes are having an adverse effect on production.

Rule

Averse means having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.

Adverse means harmful or unfavourable

Examples

Adverse weather conditions.

He is averse to smoking.

59. "Too....to" format

Incorrect: She is too honest so that she cannot lie.

Correct: She is too honest to lie.

Rule

Don't use so that in the above sentence structure. It can either be She is too honest to lie or She is so honest that she cannot lie.

Example

John is too weak to walk.

60. Before/ago

INCORRECT: He went five minutes before.

CORRECT: He went five minutes ago.

Rule

Ago: Before the present; earlier.

For ago, a specific time must be mentioned.

Examples

I met my wife twenty years ago.

Your boss phoned five minutes ago.

Before: During the period of time preceding (a particular event or time)

They lived rough for four days before they were arrested

61. Disinterested / uninterested

INCORRECT: He is totally disinterested in Maths.

CORRECT: He is totally uninterested in Maths.

Rule

Disinterested: Not influenced by considerations of personal advantage.

27 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

28
The Toper’s English Notes
Uninterested: Lack of interest.

Example

The financial dispute was settled by a disinterested third party. Many students are uninterested in sports.

62. Either is/either are

Incorrect: Either Jack or Joan are correct.

CORRECT: Either Jack or Joan is correct.

Rule

Generally, a singular verb is used with either.

Examples

He will buy either the Honda of the Ford.

I will eat either ice cream or pancakes.

Either the novel or the textbook belongs to John.

However, when we have one singular choice and one plural, then the verb agrees with the nearer one.

Examples

Either the house or flats are for sale.

Either the flats or the house is for sale.

63. Each ... their/All ... their

INCORRECT: Each candidate should have their own stationery.

CORRECT: All candidates should have their own stationery.

Rule

Each is singular and their is plural. So use all.

Examples

All students should have their own lunch.

All employees should use their own computers.

64. Better/best

INCORRECT: Who's the best performer, John or Smith?

CORRECT: Wh

62. Either is/either are

Incorrect: Either Khan or khal are correct.

CORRECT: Either khan or Joan is correct.

28 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

29
The Toper’s English Notes
Rule

Generally, a singular verb is used with either.

Examples

He will buy either the Honda of the Ford.

I will eat either ice cream or pancakes.

Either the novel or the textbook belongs to Ali.

However, when we have one singular choice and one plural, then the verb agrees with the nearer one.

Examples

Either the house or flats are for sale.

Either the flats or the house is for sale.

63. Each ... their/All ... their

INCORRECT: Each candidate should have their own stationery.

CORRECT: All candidates should have their own stationery.

Rule

Each is singular and their is plural. So use all.

Examples

All students should have their own lunch.

All employees should use their own computers.

64. Better/best

INCORRECT: Who's the best performer, John or Smith?

CORRECT: Who's the better performer, John or Smith?

Rule

Use the word better for comparing two people or things and use the word best to compare three or more people or things.

Examples

Which colour is better, red or blue?

Smith is the best student in the class.

65. These/those

INCORRECT: Do you visit these temples over there?

CORRECT: Do you visit those temples over there?

Rule

The plural of this is these. Use these for nearby things or people.

29 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

30
The Toper’s English Notes
The plural of that is those. Use those for things or people at a distance.

Examples

You can purchase these dresses now. Later, we may not visit the same mall.

I will purchase those dresses next week when I visit the mall.

66. Waiting on/waiting for

INCORRECT: She waited on the train, but it didn't come.

CORRECT: She waited for the bus, but it didn't come.

Rule

Wait on means to serve.

Wait for means waiting for someone or something.

Examples

A maid was appointed to wait on her.

The children are waiting for their parents.

67. Ran/run

INCORRECT: The thief has ran away.

CORRECT: The thief has run away.

Rule

Run is an irregular verb.

Simple past of run: ran

Past participle of run: run

The above sentence is present perfect so past participle (run) has to be used.

Examples

She runs every day.

She ran yesterday.

They have run every day this week.

68. suppose to/supposed to

INCORRECT: I'm suppose to write assignments.

CORRECT: I'm supposed to write assignments.

Rule

Suppose is a verb. Its past participle form is -ed. With a helping verb, its past participle form is used.

Examples

30 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

31
The Toper’s English Notes
I am supposed to call her.

I am supposed to help her.

69. Let he/let him

Incorrect: Let he go there.

Correct: Let him go there

Rule

After let pronoun is used in the objective form.

Examples

Let him call her.

Let her try.

70. Whom/who

Incorrect: The person whom we met yesterday was Smith's uncle.

Correct: The person who we met yesterday was Smith's uncle.

Rule

Who is used to refer to the subject of a sentence.

Whom is used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition.

Ask yourself the question:

Who called me?

OR

Whom called me?

If the answer is he, then who is correct.

If the answer is him, then whom is correct.

So, who called me is the right option.

Examples

Who is the team leader? (He is)

Who ate my sandwich? (He has)

Whom should I call? (Call him)

71. We, you, they

Incorrect: You, they and we should go together.

Correct: We, you and they should go together.

Rule

31 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

32
The Toper’s English Notes
First use personal plural (we), followed by second person plural (you), and the third person plural (they).

72. Each other/ one another

Incorrect: They both love one another.

Correct: They both love each other.

Rule

Each other is used for two persons.

One another is used for three or more people.

Examples

The two brothers love each other.

His family members love one another.

73. Mathematics is/Mathematics are

Incorrect: Mathematics are his favourite subject.

Correct: Mathematics is his favourite subject.

Rule

The plural verb (are) does not agree with the singular subject Mathematics. There are some nouns that appear to be plural but in actual they are
singular. For example, Physics, Robotics, Civics, Diabetes, Mechanics, Billiards, Gymnastics.

Examples

Robotics is the emerging branch of engineering.

She thinks Physics is a difficult subject.

74. Know

Incorrect: I know to drive a car.

Correct: I know how to drive a car.

Rule

Know is generally followed by how, when, where and why.

Examples

They know how to write a letter.

She knows how to cook.

75. Past tense in subordinate clause

Incorrect: She succeeded because she works hard.

Correct: She succeeded because she worked hard.

32 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

33
The Toper’s English Notes
Rule

A past tense in the main clause is followed by a past tense in a subordinate clause.

Example

I visited the restaurant as I liked it.

He tried my number because he felt helpless.

76. Universal truth

Incorrect: My father said the earth moved round the sun.

Correct: My father said the earth moves round the sun.

Rule

In the case of a universal truth, a past tense in the main clause can be followed by a present tense in a subordinate clause.

Example

Our teacher said the sun rises in the east.

77. Present perfect continuous tense

Incorrect: I am waiting for you in the office for the last two hours.

Correct: I have been waiting for you in the office for the last two hours.

Rule

Use Present Perfect Continuous Tense when an action began in the past and it is still going on at the time of speaking. Generally, it is used with
adverbs of time (for, since, how long).

Examples

How long have you been working as a trainer?

78. Future Indefinite Tense

Incorrect: I will wait for them, till they will finish their work.

Correct: I will wait for them, till they finish their work.

Rule

Present Indefinite Tense is used in the clause of time, place and position. Future Indefinite Tense is not used in this case.

79. Past Indefinite Tense.

Incorrect: I have completed my project yesterday.

Correct: I completed my project yesterday.

Rule

Use Past Indefinite Tense with the Adverbs of Past time (yesterday, last week, in 2000).

33 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

34
The Toper’s English Notes
Examples

My mother bought a gift for me yesterday.

We visited Agra last week.

80. Some/any

Incorrect: Can I borrow any money?

Correct: Can I borrow some money?

Rule

Some is used in questions for making a request or for offering something.

Any is generally used in negative sentences.

Examples

Would you like some milk? (offering)

Can I borrow your laptop? (request)

I don't have any friends. (negative)

There isn't any food left. (negative)

81. Comparing two qualities of the same person.

Incorrect: Jack is wiser than strong.

Correct: Jack is more wise than strong.

Rule

The comparative in -er is not used while comparing two qualities of the same person or thing.

Example

Rohit is wiser than brave.

82. Senior than/senior to

Incorrect: She is senior than me.

Correct: She is senior to me.

Rule

To is the right preposition to use with senior

83. Phrasal Verb

Incorrect: Smith came across with a beggar.

34 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

35
The Toper’s English Notes
Correct: Smith came across a beggar.

Rule

Came across is a phrasal verb which means happened to see or spot. So, use of with is unnecessary here.

Example

I came across my aunt.

84. Cardinal and Ordinal numbers

Incorrect: The two last columns of the article are not clear.

Correct: The last two columns of the article are not clear.

Rule

A Cardinal Number is used for counting such as one, two, three, four, five.

An Ordinal Number is a number that tells the position of something, such as first, second, fourth, last.

An ordinal number always precedes the cardinal number.

Example

Last two overs were really interesting.

85. Missing subject

Incorrect: We noticed the man lying seriously ill and died shortly afterwards.

Correct: We noticed the man lying seriously ill and he died shortly afterwards.

Rule

The subject was missing after the conjunction and. So, add subject he to complete the sentence.

86. Neither nor

Incorrect: The company decided not to appoint him neither for the position of clerk nor for that of a stenographer.

Correct: The company decided to appoint him neither for the position of clerk nor for that of a stenographer.

Rule

Neither nor makes a statement negative. So, we use of not is extra.

Example

I eat neither chocolate nor ice cream.

87. Habit to/ habit of

Incorrect: She has the habit to arrive late.

Correct: She has the habit of arriving late.

35 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

36
The Toper’s English Notes
Rule

The word habit is followed by of + ing.

Examples

I have the habit of going to bed early.

She has the habit of biting nails.

88. The number is / The number are

Incorrect: The number of vehicles are increasing on the road.

Correct: The number of vehicles is increasing on the road.

Rule

The number of.... is treated as singular, so singular verb(is) should follow it.

A number of.... is treated as plural, so plural verb (are) should follow it.

Examples

The number of animals is decreasing.

A number of people are going to the movies.

89. Collocations

yIncorrect: The reason I have been unable to pay the bill is due to fact that I did not receive pay on time.

Correct: The reason I have been unable to pay the bill is due to the fact that I did not receive pay on time.

Rule

Collocations are a pair or group of words that are habitually used together. Strong tea and heavy drinker are typical English collocations. It is
due to the fact is also a collocation.

90. Superfluous errors (Repetition of words having the same meaning)

Incorrect: You must have to complete your assignment.

Correct: You have to complete your assignment.

Rule

Either use must or have to because both have the same meaning.

Examples

You have to be more cautious.

You must call him.

91. As well as

Incorrect: The ring as well as necklaces are available at the shop.

36 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

37
The Toper’s English Notes
Correct: The ring as well as necklaces is available at the shop.

Rule

As well as follows the primary subject. The primary subject, the ring is singular so singular verb (is) should be used.

92. Missing article before the Epic

Incorrect: Gita is his favourite holy book.

Correct: The Gita is his favourite holy book.

Rule

The Gita is the epic so the is used before it.

Example

The Mahabharata is the longest epic.

93. Emphasizes/emphasizes on

Incorrect: Our teacher emphasizes on the need for a lot of practice.

Correct: Our teacher emphasizes the need for a lot of practice.

Rule

The word emphasizes means features. So, the preposition on is unnecessary after emphasizes.

94. Admission for/admission to

Incorrect: The ticket grants admission for the show.

Correct: The ticket grants admission to the show.

Rule

To is the right preposition after admission.

95. Preposition after but

Incorrect: He does nothing but to find faults with others.

Correct: He does nothing but find faults with others.

Rule

But is not followed by a preposition in the phrase.

Example

He does nothing but sits in front of the TV all day.

96. Blind with/ Blind in

37 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

38
The Toper’s English Notes
Incorrect: Ram is blind with one eye.

Correct: Ram is blind in one eye.

Rule

With is used for accompanying/together. So, in is the right preposition to use after blind.

97. Use of the indefinite pronoun 'one'.

Incorrect: One should respect the religion of others as much as his own.

Correct: One should respect the religion of others as much as one's own.

Rule

The pronoun one's should follow the one. The pronoun his follows he.

Examples

He is responsible for his behavious.

One should realise one's responsibilities.

98. Hard/hardly

Incorrect: It is a hardly job.

Correct: It is a hard job.

Rule

Hardly means rarely

Hard means difficult or tough.

Examples

He hardly gets up early.

I hardly knew any answer.

The question is really hard.

99. Early/soon

Incorrect: He'll be home early.

Correct: He'll be home soon.

Rule

Early: Happening or done before the usual or expected time.

Soon: In or after a short time.

Examples

We ate an early lunch.

Everyone will soon know the truth.

38 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

39
The Toper’s English Notes

100. Listen/listen to

Incorrect: She is listening music.

Correct: She is listening to music.

Rule

Intransitive verb listening follows a preposition too.

Example

I like to listen to music

PRECTICS WITH PAST PAPERS

1. Army is ×/are going to deploy at border.

2. Police is × /are going to rate the criminal.
REASON; Collective nouns are singular in form but plural in sense.

1. Neither of them is /are× to be trusted.

REASON; “Neither” is always stand to be singular noun.

1. I want to meet direct/ dirctly to him.

REASON;

1.Direct means to say something in clear manner.

2. Directly means to say something face to face.

1. Bring me any ×/some water.

2. He has not any/some book to read.

REASON;

1.We use ‘any’ in negative sentences (with doesn’t, don’t, didn’t, etc.) and with words that have a negative meaning, such as ‘never’, ‘without’,
‘refuse’, etc. So we can say,

“He never says anything.”

“We didn’t stop anywhere.”

“They did it without any difficulty.”

“She refused to give him any attention.”

We also use ‘any’ in most questions, and often with ‘if’. For example,

“Did anyone understand this?”

“Do you know any good bars?”

“Have you seen any good movies lately?”

39 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

40
The Toper’s English Notes
“If they need any help, tell them to call me.”

2.We generally use ‘some’ and words that start with ‘some’ (someone, somebody, etc.) in affirmative sentences. So we can say,

“There is someone at the door.”

“He has some interesting stories.”

We use ‘some’ when we don’t care about the quantity or the amount. For example,

“There’s some spaghetti sauce on your face.”

We also use ‘some’ when something or someone is unknown or unfamiliar. So we can say,

“Some guy called for you while you were gone. Here’s his number.”

“Some lady was asking about you. I told her to come back in an hour.”

As I mentioned earlier, we use ‘any’ in most questions. But there are some exceptions. For instance, when we make offers or requests, we use ‘some’.
So, if you’re with friends and you’d like to offer them drinks, you can say,

“Would you like some wine?”

“Would you like something to drink?”

Similarly, if you’re making a request, you can say,

“Can I have some water?”

“Could you lend me some money?”

3.
1. He is more× taller than his sister.
2. She is more× clever than her friend Pinky.

REASON; Double use of same degree is wrong.

4.

1.This table is more× circular .

2.This table is circular.

REASON; Adjective,like;preferable,cicular,blind,dead,fatel, final, left, right, unique, universal, vertical, and wrong can not be compere.

5.
1.Each team wears/wear× of different colour.
2. Neither were×/was participating in IQs test.

REASON; Each, everyone, everything, everywhere ,nowhere, everybody, someone, something, somewhere, somebody, no one, nowhere, nothing,
nobody, nothing, anyone ,anything, anybody, anywhere ,neither and either are SINGULAR NOUN and also use SINGULAR VERB.

6.
1.One of the windows were×/was open.

40 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

41
The Toper’s English Notes
2.One of the boys is /are × in Pak Army.

REASON; one of also shows the singular noun and use singular verb .

7.
1.One third of the boys are / is × absent frome here.

REASON; half of , quarter of, heap of, heaps of, the rest of, most of, a lot of, lots of, some of, and two third of , all of these words use verb according
to the noun after this.

8. 1.If he failed, I would / will ×help him.

REASON; First conditional sentence.

(If + simple past,+ subject +would + first form of verb+ object.)

9. There sheeps /sheep are grazing in field.

Reason; There is no plural form of sheep.

10. His hairs/hair are white.

Reason; Hair also have no plural form. If someone has some hair in his head or bare ,than use numeric of one, two or three etc.

11. We read poetry/ poems.

Reason; Poetry is written and poems are read.

12. The scenery/ scenries of swat are/ is wonderful.

Reason; There is no plural form of scenery.It id uncountable noun.

13. Aslam lost his trouser / trousers.✓

Reason; The actual word is trousers not trouser.

14. The table’s/The leg of✓ table is brocken.

Reason; Apostrophe is only used with human name or animal name.Fot the possession of other things ,it is used preposition “OF”.

15. Maryam bought two dozens /✓ eggs/egg.✓

Reason; egg and dozen have no plural form for making its plural form ,numeric are used.

16. I gave ten paisa✓/ paisas to the begger.

Reason; paisa ,rupee, wealth and treasure have no plural form.

17. I weight about ten stones/stone.✓

Reason; stone is uncountable noun it has no plural form.

18. The litters of milk is✓ / are enough for a day.

Reason; actually the word is litters not litter and it is singular so ,here we use “is” not “are”.

19. Five miles is /are a long distance.

41 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

42
The Toper’s English Notes
Reason; actually here main subject is “distance” and distance is uncountable noun.

20. Twenty thousand rupee is /are a large amount.

Reason; verb is dealing here with amount is uncountable noun and is correct use of verb with it.

21. The news is/ are true.

Reason; News is singular noun and can not be plural .So it will use singular noun.

22. I have much ✓/ many work to do.

Reason; Many is used for countable and much is used for uncountable noun here, the word work is uncountable.

23. She has a seaours / pair of seasour.✓

Reason; Real word is a pair of seaour.

24. We have no issues/ issue.✓

The issue is singular noun it has no plural form.

25. I have bought stationary ✓/ stationries.

Reason; The word “stationary” has no plural form.

26. I eat fruit /fruits.✓

Reason; The is fruits not fruit.

27. I have finished my meals /meal.✓

Reason; words such as; lunch,breakfast,meal , supper and dinner are singular.

28. We saw many deers / deer ✓ in jungle.

Reason;Deer is singular noun ,it has no plural form.

29. He eats a bread / loaf of bread.✓

Reason;

Furniture, information, knowledge, jewellery, homework, marketing , education ,courage ,bravery, luck , clarity, honesty evidence,
insurance ,butter ,love, news ,curiosity ,satisfaction work, mud ,weather , patriotism, chaos , advice, water, fun, wisdom ,silence,
sugar ,School ,spelling, and money. All these words are Mass Noun. And all Mass known have no plural Form. For making their plural form, we have
to use some different words with them . Such as loafer of , piece of slice of, and particle of.

30. I want the same shirt as my friend /friend's.✓

Reason; if a noun comes fast and again point to the same noun then use the possessive case.

31. Bread and butter is✓ / are what we need.

Reason; when to noun join with “ and” and both noun have same meaning then in this situation verb be singular.

32. If he had failed ,I would help /would have helped him✓.

Reason; Third conditional sentence.

42 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

43
The Toper’s English Notes
(If+past perfect+subject+ would have+V3+ object.)

33. Each of the questions is✓ / are compulsory .

Reason; Each every one everyone each one anyone anything everything everywhere anywhere and each where.

All these word used as a singular noun and so these words take singular verb.

34. he was slowly lest he would / should fail.✓

Reason; Lest...should' is used to extend a warning and also suggest the consequences of not paying attention to that warning.

Warning + Lest+ Person + Should + Consequence

Work hard lest you should fail.

The use of this conjunction in any sentence conveys a negative sense. As such, 'no' or 'not' should not be used in that sentence.

Remove 'not'.

'Lest...should' already conveys a negative sense.

The correct sentence should be: Study hard lest you should fail.

** Lest is always followed by should, with a ‘not’ anywhere.

'should' here can not be replaced by 'would' or 'may'.

For e.g. Go through the notes again and again lest you would/may fail, is incorrect.

35. You had better work✓/ worked hard.

Reason;
We use “had better” plus the infinitive without “to” to give advice. Although “had” is the past form of “have”, we use “had better” to give advice
about the present or future.

• You’d better tell her everything.

• I’d better get back to work.
• We’d better meet early.
The negative form is “had better not”.

• You’d better not say anything.

• I’d better not come.
• We’d better not miss the start of his presentation.
We use “had better” to give advice about specific situations, not general ones. If you want to talk about general situations, you must use
“should”.

•You should brush your teeth before you go to bed.

•I shouldn’t listen to negative people.
•He should dress more appropriately for the office.
When we give advice about specific situations, it is also possible to use “should”.

•You shouldn’t say anything.

•I should get back to work.
•We should meet early.
However, when we use “had better” there is a suggestion that if the advice is not followed, that something bad will happen.

• You’d better do what I say or else you will get into trouble.
• I’d better get back to work or my boss will be angry with me.
• We’d better get to the airport by five or else we may miss the flight.
36. He is always fond to talk/ fond of talking.✓
Reason; 1. Fond of meaning (eager ) and fond to is nothing.
37. since he came we are / ✓have been happy.
43 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
44
The Toper’s English Notes
Reason; for the long time a long period of work, perfect tense is used .

38. This class is consisting of/ ✓ consist of 50 students.

Reason;
• “The medicine is a mixture, consisting of …” This uses the present participle of the verb “consist.”
• “The medicine consists of …” This uses the verb “consist” itself.
39. I have not some / any✓ lesson to prepare.

Reason; 1. Any Is used for negative sense.And some is used for positive sense.

40. It was very hot / too hot✓ to play hockey.

Reason; too hot is used for heatness ,when use of anything is impossible. Very hot is used when something hotness but it can be used or
useable.

41. I have been waiting for /✓ sense ten past six.

Reason; We use for with a period of time in the past, present or future.
We use since with a point in time in the past.
42. The passenger had to stand in ✓ / on / at a queue.

Reason; with queue or row or furrow normally use “In”

43. 4 Did you take notes while /✓during lecture.

Reason; 1.While; Actions are/were happening at the same time (the actions do not influence each other). The word while starts
a subordinate clause.
Example; I was listening to the radio while I was cleaning the kitchen.
2.During; Something happens from the beginning to the end of a period or at some time between it. The word during is a preposition. It is
followed by a noun.
Example; I went shopping during my lunchbreak
44. I had passed my driving test three months ago / ✓before.

Reason; 1.Ago is used with a past tense and a use time expression to count back from the present.

(1)His father died three years ago.

(2)He left ten minutes ago.

2.Before is used with a past perfect tense to count back from a past moment. Before can also be used to mean ‘at any time before now /
then’. With this meaning, it can be used with both present and past perfect tenses.
(1)I have seen her before.
45. the cars are going into /✓ through The funnel.

Reason; The difference between Through and Into is that through means in and out of something. whereas ‘into’ signifies movement towards the
inside of a place.

46. number of police officers hair work / ✓works with dogs.

Reason; 1. “A number of” takes a plural verb;a number of means many. Because “many + plural noun” takes a plural verb, you would say “Many
cars are on the freeway during rush hour.” Likewise, you would say “A number of cars are on the freeway during rush hour.”

The important thing to remember is that this expressions is acting like a quantifier. So even though it involves a singular noun “number,” it is serving
the same role in the sentence as a quantifier such as “many,” “a lot of,” “lots of,” “hundreds of,” etc. You would say “A number of people have
started the test” just like you would say “A lot of people have started the test.”

2. “The number of” takes a singular verb

44 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

45
The Toper’s English Notes
Here’s where it gets even more confusing. In English, “the number of” doesn’t mean “many.” So even though that number might be large,
the purpose of this expression is to compare this one number/amount with another number/amount. For example, we would say “The
number of crimes in New York has increased this year.” There might be 56 more crimes committed this year compared to last year.
Another example is “The number of people who are writing the test today is larger than yesterday.” There might be 20 more people
writing the test today.

47. I wear this glass /✓ these glasses when I go out.

Reason; Glass is an uncountable noun and it uses a singular verb but glasses are a pairs of glass and it is used for opticals and it takes plural noun.

48. The athletics we watched was✓ / were quite exciting.

Reason; The words having ice or tics in ending are mostly singular noun and singular noun is used singular verb.

49. Our friends are going to✓ / will be going to meet us at the airport to night.

Reason; For future nearest , present continues tense is used.

50. We can't go along here because the road is repaired /✓ is being repaired.

Reason; Passive voice of present continues tense has "being" as a helping verb.

51. The band is /✓ are proud of their success.

Reason; The word band is a singular noun and has no plural form, when we use with it definite article it shows its plural form.

52. I haven't much / ✓many friends.

Reason; 1. the word many is used for the countable noun.

2. the word much is used for the uncountable noun. For example; I have much knowledge in English.

53. we make furniture out of wood ✓/ woods.

Reason;1. "Wood" refers to the bark or the log of a tree, which is used for making furniture and toys.And This word uses a singular verb.

2.“Woods" refer to a group of different trees, growing in a big area. And This word uses a plural verb.

54. Three hours are /✓ is long enough to look around the museum.

Reason; Here three hours are showing a period of time ,so, singular verb will be used.

55. let me give you an advice /✓ a piece of advice.

Reason; noun and it has no plural form for making its plural form we use the word piece our pieces of advice.

56. he is reading✓ / studying the newspaper.

Reason; Studying and Reading are two different processes related while completion of studies.

1.Studying means to concentrate and devote time in completing or researching any task .
2.Reading means to understand and grasp the meaning of any content without devoting much time to it.
In news paper we don't concentrate but also just understand a topic so ,the word "reading" Will be used with news paper.
57. Alms were ✓/ was distributed among the poor.

Reason; The word "alms" meaning is donation and it is use in plural form in English language.
45 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
46
The Toper’s English Notes
58. He gave me many abuses / words of abuse.

Reason; As a noun the word abuse is uncountable noun for making its plural for form we put word "Words"

59 Please untie ✓ / open the knot.

Reason; 1.Untie refers to a knot or a bow, in a ribbon, a rope, a string or the like.

2.Open refers to unclose a box, a door, book, or like others things .

60. He cried as if he was /✓ were mad.

Reason; We use as if and as though to make comparisons. They have a similar meaning. We use as if and as though to talk about an imaginary
situation or a situation that may not be true but that is likely or possible. As if is more common than as though:

It is also called unreal situation and this case we "use were" instead other verb .

Concept two:

As if & As Though Grammar Rules

Using as if and as though in different Tenses

After as if and as though we often use a past tense with present meaning. This shows that the comparison is unreal. A present tense, on
the other hand, shows that we are talking about real and possible situations.

Examples:

She talks as if/as though she knows everything. (Perhaps she knows everything.)

She talks as if/as though she knew everything. (But she doesn’t.)

He looks as if/as though he knows the answer. (Perhaps he knows the answer.)

He looks as if/as though he knew the answer. (but he doesn’t know or we don’t know whether he knows or not)

If we put the verb preceding as if/as though into the past tense, the present simple knows changes into past simple, whereas the past
subjunctive knew stays the same.

Example:

He looked as if he knew the answer. (Consequently, the meaning of this sentence (whether he knew the answer or not) can only be
deduced from the context.)

The past perfect subjunctive after as if/as though is used to refer to an unreal past situation. if the situation is true, we use a real tense to
express past time.

He seems as if he hadn’t slept for days. (it seems that he hasn’t slept for days, but he (probably) has or we don’t know whether he has or
not)

He seems as if he hasn’t slept for days. (he hasn’t slept for days)

Note:
When the main clause is in the past tense, we do not use past perfect after as if/as though to show that comparison is unreal. Instead, we
use simple past in both clauses.

46 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

47
The Toper’s English Notes
61. Someone has✓ / have kidnapped the president.

Reason; Some, everyone, everything, something, somebody ,nothing, nobody, nowhere, somewhere, everywhere, anything, anybody ,anywhere,
each , neither and either are indefinite pronouns and these nouns

use singular singular verb.

62. Cattle was✓ / were driven hundreds of Miles by cowboys.

Reason; The term ‘cattle doesn't mean more cows than that indicated by simple cattle. It's a collective noun.

The word cattle does not exist in the dictionary. As a consequence, the verb ‘are' is used to explain what they are or what they do. Eg.
Cattle are domestic animals. Cattle eat grass. Cattle are grazing in the field. The following are some other examples from the New York
Times:

• any roads remain closed in the area not because they are impassable but because roaming cattle pose a threat to motorists.

63. One of the windows ✓/ are open.

Reason; Correct :One of the students was selected to visit England.

Incorrect : One of the student was selected to visit England.

Rule no 01 : The one of is a singular term and generally used to talk about a noun or a pronoun.

Rule no 02 : The noun or a pronoun used after the phrase “one of” is always in the plural form ( as we are talking of one
person/place/thing out of many)

Rule no 03 : The helping verb will always be in the singular form, as the helping verb agrees with “one of” and not with the plural noun in
the sentence

64. The contents of the box was✓ / were thrown away.

Reason; when to nouns are joined with preposition "of" then verb will be used according to the noun occurring before the of.

Content and contents are nouns.

Content (uncountable)

Content as a singular noun is uncountable. It means the ideas that are contained in a piece of writing or a film or a speech:

This film has adult content; it is not suitable for children.

His speech was very flowery, but it lacked content and was quite superficial.

Content can also mean the amount of a particular substance contained in something:

These mutton curries have a high fat content; they’re not good for you.

Contents (plural)

The contents of a book is the list of chapters or articles or parts that are in the book, with the number of the page they begin on:
If you look at the contents, you’ll see there’s a chapter on Srieky folk music.

47 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

48
The Toper’s English Notes
65. The Pakistani people loves / love ✓their country.

Reason; People is the collective noun and it is only dealt with plural verb. Further explanation is being given below.

Always plural collective noun ( we use plural verb )

• police

• people

Examples:

The police have found Sarah’s bicycle.

People like to be made to feel important..

What is Collective Noun?

Collective noun is a noun which describes a group of things oe people. It means collective noun is a single noun that is made up of more
than one thing or person or etc. For example: family, group, herd, team.
Whether a Collective Noun is used with Singular or Plural Verb?

In American English;

Many collective nouns are treated as singular so they are used with singular verbs.
Examples:
• My family comes from Swedish.
• Our team has worked several weeks on this project.
• The staff of the company was working very hard.
• The new family has moved into this flat.
In British English;
Many collective nouns are treated both as singular and plural so they can used both with singular and plural verbs.
Examples:
• My family come from Swedish.
• Our team have worked several weeks on this project.
• The staff of the company were working very hard.
• The new family have moved into this flat.
66. But you work very hard don't you ?✓ / aren’t you and you?
Reason; If the first part of a sentence is in present indefinite tense then the tag sentence of this sentence will be in present indefinite tense.

67. He will open the book if you ask ✓/will ask.

Reason; Commonly in sentence we use Present Tense + Future Tense combination.

68.You will not progress unless you don't work /✓ work hard.

Reason; Use of "not" after the "Until and Unless" is not correct.

The word unless is used in the context of a precondition and means if this condition is not met. For example,

I will not shoot that squirrel unless someone puts a gun to my head.

Amen will not go to the picnic unless her cat is allowed to accompany him .

69No sooner had he shut the door when /✓ then the power failed.

Reason; No sooner always makes combination with then not with when.

48 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

49
The Toper’s English Notes
• No sooner is used to show that one thing happens immediately after another thing. It is often used with the past perfect, and usually followed
by than.

69. They couldn't find an / ✓any accommodation.

70. Is there a sport club / ✓sports club near here.

Reason; The word supports refers to the game and support refers to the backup energy.

71. The poor deserve✓ / deserves our love.

Reason; Poor, rich , virtuous etc are adjective for making its plural form ,we put definite article "The" then we don't add "s" or "es" with the verb.

72. The girl would have secured highest marks if she took / ✓had taken examination seriously.

Reason; Third conditional sentence.

(If +past perfect, + subject + would have + 3rd form of verb + object.)

73. Hardly had I come out then /✓ when the rain started.

Reason; Hardly, scarcely and barely are used when for sentence completion.

• SCARCELY / BARELY ... WHEN

• SOONER ... THAN

74. The best part of the sceneries / scenery was the fantastic.

Reason; The noun 'scenery' is an uncountable (mass) noun, it has NO plural form.

Explanation:

The noun 'scenery' is a type of uncountable noun called an aggregate noun, a word representing an indefinite number of elements.

A partitive noun (also called a noun counter) is a noun used to count or quantify an uncountable noun; for example:

a view of scenery

a lot of scenery

a background of scenery

The noun 'scenery' is also used on its own; for example:

We enjoyed the scenery on the drive.

It's a depressed neighborhood with a lot of sad scenery.

We spent the afternoon painting the scenery

49 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

50
The Toper’s English Notes
75. Do you have any ✓/ some news for me?

Reason; Any is used with interrogative and negative sentence and some is used for positive or simple sentences.

76. Every year a lot of pollution is✓ / are created.

Reason; Singular nouns use singular verb.

77. The police has / ✓ have warned motorist to take extra care.

Reason; The word police normally uses plural form of verb with it.

78. Five minutes do /✓ does not seem long to wait.

Reason; five minutes are showing a period of time and with period of time singular verb is used.

79. The gas explosion caused some damage✓/damages to the flats.

Reason; Remember that damages is not the plural of damage, but actually has a different meaning.

Damage means “loss or injury to a person or property”. It is an uncountable singular noun and has no plural form.

E.g.: The cost of the damage to the US caused by Hurricane Ike was estimated at USD 18 billion.

Other words you could use instead of damage: loss, injury

Damages means “money claimed by, or ordered to be paid to, a person as compensation for loss or injury”. It is an uncountable plural noun and has
no singular form.

80. The cattle are✓ / is are going to be sold with the form.

Reason; when article "the" is uses with the word "cattle" it shows the plural form of this word. So, verb will be used in plural form with this condition.

81.your jeans ✓/ jean washing.

Reason; Jeans are always used in the plural form (just like trousers or pants), so the word jean is incorrect.

82. One of the minister / ✓ministers has resigned.

Reason; After the one of and None of noun we use Plural noun.

83. He issued order / orders✓ to release him.

Reason; The word orders is used for commandments. And order is used for sequence.

84. He drives too fast✓ / fastly.

Reason; Too is used to qualify the adjective. Fast is adjective and fastly is adverb of manner.

50 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

51
The Toper’s English Notes
85. The scenery is really depressed /✓ depressing.

Reason; Any work in continues tense uses fourth form of verb.

86. One out to respect one's ✓/ his elders.

Reason; possessive case of one is one's not his.

87. He brought for us two informations /bits of information.

Reason; Information is uncountable known for making its plural form we use the word bits.

88. Maryam studies her lessons carefully lest she should ✓/ should don't miss anything.

Reason; The word lest is followed by "should" not / shouldn't. It is normally used for the warning it's structure is following.

(Warning sentence + lest + pronoun + should + consequences.)

89. She has been✓ / is a teacher since 2000.

Reason; If you find "since" in the second part of sentence than with the subject will use "Have been ,has been or had been"

90. This scientist is more intelligent✓ / most intelligent than any other scientist in the world.

Reason; when a comparison occur between two noun we use comparative degree instead of superlative degree or positive degree.

91. many a student studies ✓/ study at this college.

Reason; The difference between "many" and "many a...."

Many

The word many has two common functions:

A) It is often used as an adjective that describes a plural noun and tells us that there is a large number of that noun, as in these examples:

She worked hard for many years.

They were one of the many, many families that came to watch the parade.

B) Many is also commonly used as a pronoun, to mean “many people or things,” as in these examples:

Some people will come to the meeting, but many [=many people] will not.

We were hoping to sell our old books, but many [=many books] were not in good condition.

51 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

52
The Toper’s English Notes

I know some of the people here, but not very many.

Many a/an...

The fixed expression many a/an... is more formal than the single word many, and it is much less common. Many a/an... is used mainly in literary
writing and newspapers. Like the adjective and pronoun many discussed above, many a/an... is used to indicate a large number of something.
However, it takes a singular noun, which can be followed by a singular verb. Here are some examples:

It remained a mystery for many a year. [=for many years]

I've been there many a time. [=many times]

Many a politician has promised to make changes. [Politician and has are singular.]

92. The news was✓/ were worse than I expected.

Reason; The word news is an uncountable noun and it always use singular verb with it.

93. Each of the questions was✓ /were compulsory.

Reason; The word like each, every , and one always use singular noun.

94.Savendollars is✓ / are a lot of money.

Reason; when in any sentence an object takes part same time with subject then verb will be used according to the object.

95. He was/ ✓ had been playing cricket for 6 years.

Reason ; If in any sentence you find "since" or "for" then helping verb will be use "has been" " had been" or "have been" according to the tense.

96. Either Ali or I are /✓am mistaken.

Reason; when a has the word like "either--or" or "neither - nor " in this case verb will be used according to the last word.

97. I hope /✓ fare you will get fever today.

Reason;

As nouns the difference between hope and fear

is that hope is (uncountable) the belief or expectation that something wished for can or will happen or hope can be a sloping plain between mountain
ridges while fear is (lb) a strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.

As verbs the difference between hope and fear

52 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
53
The Toper’s English Notes
is that hope is to want something to happen, with a sense of expectation that it might while fear is to cause fear to; to frighten.

As an adjective fear is

(dialectal) able; capable; stout; strong; sound.

98.she would Sooner quiet then doing ✓/ do it.

Reason; If you found the word THAN after an adjective then we will use the fourth form of the verb that means ING form of the verb.

( Adjective + than + 4th form)

99. we would rather that you come ✓/ came tomorrow.

Would rather

We use would rather or ’d rather to talk about preferring one thing to another. Would rather has two different constructions. (The subjects are
underlined in the examples.)

Compare

same subject (+ base form)

different subject (+ past simple clause)

I’d rather stay at home than go out tonight.

I’d rather you stayed at home tonight.

I’d rather not go out tonight.

I’d rather you didn’t go out tonight

In negative sentences with a different subject, the negative comes on the clause that follows, not on would rather:

She’d rather you didn’t phone after 10 o’clock.

Not: She wouldn’t rather you phoned after 10 o’clock.

Same subject

When the subject is the same person in both clauses, we use would rather (not) followed by the base form of the verb:

We’d rather go on Monday.

Not: We’d rather to go … or We’d rather going …

More than half the people questioned would rather have a shorter summer break and more holidays at other times.

I’d rather not fly. I hate planes.

When we want to refer to the past we use would rather + have + -ed form (perfect infinitive without to):

She would rather have spent the money on a holiday. (The money wasn’t spent on a holiday.)

53 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

54
The Toper’s English Notes
I’d rather have seen it at the cinema than on DVD. (I saw the film on DVD.)

Different subjects

When the subjects of the two clauses are different, we often use the past simple to talk about the present or future, and the past perfect to talk about
the past:

I would rather they did something about it instead of just talking about it. (past simple to talk about the present or future)

Would you rather I wasn’t honest with you? (past simple to talk about the present or future)

Not: Would you rather I’m not honest with you? or … I won’t be honest with you?

I’d rather you hadn’t rung me at work. (past perfect to talk about the past)

Much rather

We can use much with would rather to make the preference stronger. In speaking, we stress much:

I’d much rather make a phone call than send an email.

She’d much rather they didn’t know about what had happened.

Short responses: I’d rather not

We often use I’d rather not as a short response to say no to a suggestion or request:

A:Do you want to go for a coffee?

B:I’d rather not, if you don’t mind.

Would sooner, would just as soon

We use the phrases would sooner and would just as soon when we say that we prefer one thing to another thing. They mean approximately the same
as would rather:

I don’t really want to go back to France again this year. I’d sooner go to Spain.

Thanks for the invitation, but, if you don’t mind, we’d just as soon stay at home and watch it all on TV.

Would sooner is more common than would just as soon. However, would rather is more common than both of these phrases.

See also:

Would rather

Would rather, would sooner: typical errors

We don’t use would rather or would sooner with an -ing form or a to-infinitive:
54 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
55
The Toper’s English Notes
I don’t need a lift, thanks. I’d rather walk.

Not: I’d rather to walk. or I’d rather walking.

When we use not referring to a different subject, we attach not to the second clause, not to would rather or would sooner:

I’d rather they didn’t tell anyone

Not: I’d rather not they told anyone.

100. these days computers do not cost✓ / are not cost much money.

Reason; In present indefinite tense with the plural noun we use a do not as a helping verb not are not.

101; The minister has open / ✓opened the overhead bridge yesterday.

Reason; the world like “ ago , yesterday , last and previous “occurs in the last of a sentences then these world will show the past indefinite tense
and we will use the second form of verb.

102. If work is done ✓/will be done on time, better wages will come.

Reason; If two jobs are being described in a one sentences then the first part of the sentence will be in present indefinite tense and the second part of
the sentence will be in future indefinite tense.

103. I hanged / ✓hung the picture on the wall.

Reason; “Hanged” is used for living things and “hung” is used for nonliving things.

104. Owing to✓ / to illness, he couldn't come to the College.

Reason; we use “owing “ in the start of the sentence and “due “ in the middle of the sentence to show the reason or cause.

105. you as well as he is / ✓are lucky enough to have this golden opportunity.

Reason; If in a sentence two nouns or pronouns are being joint quietly together by using the words “as well as “ with” or “along” then the verb will
be used according to the first nouns or pronouns.

Other use of (as well as)

Bottom of Form

AS WELL (AS)

AS WELL (AS) MEANING ‘IN ADDITION’

As well is an adverb which means ‘also’, ‘too’ or ‘in addition’. We usually use as well at the end of a clause:
We look forward very much to seeing you again and to meeting your wife as well.
As well as is a multi-word preposition which means ‘in addition to’:
She has invited Jill as well as Kate.
When they go to Austria, they like walking as well as skiing.

MIGHT AS WELL AND MAY AS WELL

We use might as well and may as well informally to mean that something is worth doing only because other things are not happening. Might as well is more
common:
I might as well paint the bedroom myself; no one else is going to do it.

We may as well go out tonight because there’s not much on TV.

55 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

56
The Toper’s English Notes
AS WELL

We use as well and the phrase just as well when we say that something is probably a good thing:
It’s as well to have a good camera with you when you visit the bird park. (as well here means ‘it’s a good idea’)
It’s just as well we didn’t go to the lecture, because it was cancelled.

CORRECT USE OF PREPOSITION.

Six Preposition Rules

Prepositions form a small but very important word class. We use prepositions very frequently. In fact, the prepositions to, of, in, for, on, with, at, by,
from are all in the top 25 words in English. If you can understand and correctly use prepositions, it will greatly improve your fluency. And remember,
there are not very many prepositions. There are only 150 prepositions and we only use about 70 of these commonly. The following rules will help you
understand and use prepositions correctly.

1. A preposition must have an object

All prepositions have objects. If a "preposition" does not have an object it is not a preposition—it's probably an adverb. A preposition always has
an object. An adverb never has an object. Look at these example sentences:

They are in the kitchen. (preposition in has object the kitchen)

Please come in. (adverb in has no object; it qualifies come)

There was a doorway before me. (preposition before has object me)

I had never seen it before. (adverb before has no object; it qualifies seen)

I will call after work. (preposition after has object work)

He called soon after. (adverb after has no object; it qualifies called)

2. pre-position means place before

The name “preposition” indicates that a preposition (usually) comes before something (its object):

I put it in the box.

56 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

57
The Toper’s English Notes
But even when a preposition does not come before its object, it is still closely related to its object:

Who did you talk to? / I talked to Jane.

3. A pronoun following a preposition should be in object form

The noun or pronoun that follows a preposition forms a ‘prepositional object’. If it is a pronoun, it should therefore be in the objective form (me, her,
them), not subjective form (I, she, they):

This is from my wife and me.

That’s between him and her.

Mary gave it to them.

4. Preposition forms

Prepositions have no particular form. The majority of prepositions are one-word prepositions, but some are two- or three-word phrases known as
complex-prepositions:

one-word prepositions (before, into, on)

complex prepositions (according to, but for, in spite of, on account of)

5. to preposition and to infinitive are not the same

Do not confuse the infinitive particle “to” (to sing, to live) with the preposition “to” (to London, to me).

to as preposition

I look forward to lunch

I look forward to seeing you

I look forward to see you

They are committed to the project.

They are committed to keeping the price down.

They are committed to keep the price down.

I am used to cars.

I am used to driving.

I am used to drive.

to as infinitive particle

They used to live in Moscow.

They love to sing.

6. The golden preposition rule

A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is NEVER followed by a verb.

57 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
58
The Toper’s English Notes
Rules of Preposition

Rule 1 A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. Verb placed immediately after preposition must be in gerund form.
Examples (a) He prevented me from drinking hot water.
(b) He insists on trying once again.
Rule 2 When ‘object’ of the preposition is an Interrogative Pronoun What, Who, Whom, Which, Where etc., the preposition usually takes end or front position.
Examples (a) May I know who were you talking to?
(b) What are you thinking of?
It used to be thought as ungrammatical, to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now well accepted.
Rule 3 When ‘object’ of the preposition is a relative Pronoun ‘that’, the preposition takes end position.
Examples (a) Here is the magazine that you asked for.
(b) This is the dish that she is fond of.
Rule 4 When the ‘object’ of the preposition is infinitive (to + verb), preposition is placed after infinitive.
Examples (a) This is a good hotel to stay at.
(b) I need a pencil to write with.
Rule 5. In some sentences, preposition is attached with the verb.
Examples (a) I hate being laughed at.
(b) This I insist on.
Rule 6. In interrogative sentences preposition comes in the beginning.
Examples (a) By which train did you come?
(b) For whom was instructions given?
Use and examples of Some Important Prepositions

At/In/On

In reference of ‘Time’
1. At is used for a precise time.
2. In is used for months, years, centuries and long periods.
3. On is used for days and dates.
In reference of ‘Place’
1. At is used for a point.
2. In is used for an enclosed space.
3. On is used for a surface.
(A) At shows stationary position or existing state while In shows movement.
Examples i. She is at home.
ii. The train is in motion.
(B) At for small place, town etc. while In for big place, town, city, country etc.
Examples i. He lives at Alwar in Rajasthan.
ii. A temple is situated at Madurai in Chennai.
(C) At is used for Point of time, and In is used for Period of time.
Examples i. The train will arrive at six in the morning.
ii. He will meet you in the morning.
(D) In/Into In shows the existing state of things, while Into shows movement.
Examples i. He jumped into the river.
ii. There are three students in the class.
To/Into/To
1. In the direction of Turn to the right.
2. Destination I am going to Jaipur.
3. Until From Monday to Friday; five minutes to ten
4. Compared with They prefer hockey to soccer.
5. With indirect object Please give it to me.
6. As part of infinitive I like to ski; he wants to help.
7. In order to We went to the store to buy soap.
8. To the inside of We stepped into the room.
9. Change of condition The boy changed into a man.
On/Onto
On can be used for both existing position and movement.
Example (a) He was sitting on his bag.
(b) Snow fell on the hills.

On can also be used as an adverb

Examples (a) Go on.
(b) Come on.

Onto is used when there is movement involving a change of level.

Examples (a) People climbed onto their roofs.
(b) He lifted her onto the table.

With/By With is used for instruments, and By is used for agents.

Examples (a) The snake was killed by him with a stick.
(b) The letter was written by Suresh with a pencil.

58 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

59
The Toper’s English Notes
Since/For/From Since is often used with Present Perfect or Past Perfect Tense
Examples (a) It has been raining since two O’Clock.
(b) He had been ill since Monday.Since can also be used as an adverb
Examples (a) He left school in 1983. I haven’t seen him since.
(b) It is two years since I last saw Tom.

Beside/Besides Beside and Besides have altogether different meanings.

Don’t confuse beside with besides. beside = at the side of
Example: a)He was sitting beside Sarla.b) besides = in addition to / as well asExample

• He has a car besides a motor cycle.

Between/Among
Between is normally used for ‘two things or persons, but it can also be used more, when we have a definite number in mind and there is a close relationship/
association within them.
Example
• He distributed his property between his two daughters.
Among is usually used for more than two persons or things when we have no definite number in mind.
Example

• He was happy to be among friends again.

Among/Amongst
Both have the same meaning. Either of them can be used if followed by ‘the’. If followed by a word, beginning with a vowel ‘amongst’ be used.
Examples
• He distributed the toffees among/amongst the poor.
• He distributed the toffies amongst us

Common Prepositional Phrases with Meaning and Examples

• At the end: a time period

At the end of the day

• In the end: after all, ultimately

They will surely succeed in the end.

• In time: before the given time

The school starts at 7:30. She ‘ll be in time for the start of class.

•On time: at exactly given time

The meeting starts at 8 o’clock. They are here on time.

• In common: If two or more things have something in common, they have the same characteristic of feature.
Jane and I have nothing in common.

• In general: as a whole, without giving details

In general, the standard of your work is very high.

• In love: inspired by affection

Peter had fallen in love with that girl.

• In touch: in a state which people communicate with each other especially by calling or writing to each other.
We kept in touch after college.

• In danger: in the situation in which something bad or harmful is possible

We’re all in danger of losing our jobs.

• In doubt: in a state of being uncertain or unsure

The outcome was in doubt until the final seconds of the game.

•In other words: used to introduce a statement that repeats what has been said in a different and usually a simpler or more exact way.
She said the movie was a bit predictable. In other words, she didn’t like it.

• In fact: in truth
He looks younger, but in fact, he is 60 years old.

59 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

60
The Toper’s English Notes
• In debt: having debts
I am in debt to the bank for my car loan.

Common Prepositional Phrases with Meaning and Examples

• At the end: a time period

At the end of the day

• In the end: after all, ultimately

They will surely succeed in the end.

• In time: before the given time

The school starts at 7:30. She ‘ll be in time for the start of class.

• On time: at exactly given time

The meeting starts at 8 o’clock. They are here on time.

• In common: If two or more things have something in common, they have the same characteristic of feature.
Jane and I have nothing in common.

• In general: as a whole, without giving details

In general, the standard of your work is very high.

• In love: inspired by affection

Peter had fallen in love with that girl.

• In touch: in a state which people communicate with each other especially by calling or writing to each other.
We kept in touch after college.

• In danger: in the situation in which something bad or harmful is possible

We’re all in danger of losing our jobs.

• In doubt: in a state of being uncertain or unsure

The outcome was in doubt until the final seconds of the game.

• In other words: used to introduce a statement that repeats what has been said in a different and usually a simpler or more exact way.
She said the movie was a bit predictable. In other words, she didn’t like it.

• In fact: in truth
He looks younger, but in fact, he is 60 years old.

• In debt: having debts

I am in debt to the bank for my car loan.

• In vain: to no end, without success or result

Her efforts were in vain.

• In any case: without regard to or in spite of other considerations: Whatever else is done or is the case
In any case the report will be made public next month.

• In case: as a precaution
Took an umbrella, just in case.

• In case of: in the event of

In case of trouble, yell.

• In advance: before a particular time, or before doing a particular thing

If you’re going to come, please let me know in advance.

• In conclusion: used to introduce the final comments at the end of a speech or a piece of writing
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak tonight.

• At least: as much as, or more than, a number or amount

It will cost at least $100.

• At least: used to reduce the effect of an statement

I’ve met the president – at least, he shook my hand once.

60 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

61
The Toper’s English Notes
• At once: immediately
You have to call him at once.

• At once: at the same time

Everything happened at once – she graduated, got a job, and got married, all in June!

• By accident: without intending to, or without being intended

I found her letter by accident as I was looking through my files.

• By force: using physical power

He took the purse from her by force.

• By order of: according to directions given by the proper authority.

The road was closed all day by order of the police.

• By request: by asking for something usually in a formal way.

Catalogs are available by request.

• By sight: on the basic of one’s look

I know her by sight but not by name.

• By nature: used when describing someone’s character, job, etc.

She is, by nature, a sunny, positive kind of person.

• For lack of: not having (the thing specified)

For lack of anything better to do, we went to the park.

• For sure: certain or certainly

One thing’s for sure – once the baby’s born, your lives will never be the same again.

• For hire: available for use or service in return for payment

They have boats for hire.

• For fear of: Because you are worried that a particular thing might happen.
I didn’t want to move for fear of waking her up.

• For life: for the whole of a person’s life

I believe marriage is for life

• For the good of: in order to help (someone or something)

She did it for the good of the community.

Mistakes are often made by using the wrong preposition after certain words. The following list includes the words which most often give trouble:

1. Absorbed (- very much interested) in, not at.

Don’t Say: The man was absorbed at his work.

Say: The man was absorbed in his work.

2. Accuse of, not for.

61 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English
62
The Toper’s English Notes

Don’t Say: She accused the man for stealing.

Say: She accused the man of stealing.

Note: Charge takes with the man was charged with murder.

3. Accustomed to, not with.

Don’t Say: I'm accustomed with hot weather.

Say: I'm accustomed to hot weather.

Note: Also used to: He is to the heat.

4. Afraid of, not from.

Don’t Say: James is afraid from the dog.

Say: James is afraid of the dog.

5. Aim at, not on or against.

Don’t Say: She aimed on {or against) the target.

Say: She aimed at the target.

62 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

63
The Toper’s English Notes

Note: Use the preposition at to denote direction, throw at, shout at, fire at shoot at, Shoot (without the at) means to kill. He shot a bird (= he hit
and killed it)

6. Angry with, not against.

Don’t Say: The teacher was angry against him.

Say: The teacher was angry with him.

7. Anxious (= troubled) about, not for.

Don’t Say: They're anxious for his health.

Say: They're anxious about his health.

Note: Anxious meaning wishing very much takes for. Parents are anxious

8. Arrive at, not to.

Don’t Say: We arrived to the village at night.

Say: We arrived at the village at night.

Note: Use arrive in with countries and large cities. Mr. Smith has arrived in London (or New York, India, etc.)

63 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

64
The Toper’s English Notes

9. Ashamed of, not from.

Don’t Say: He's now ashamed from his conduct.

Say: He's now ashamed of his conduct.

Note: It isn't correct to use ashamed of meaning shy. Ashamed means feeling shame or guilt about something. Shy means feeling nervous with
someone. Instead of saying: I'm ashamed (or shamed) of my teacher, Say: I'm shy of my teacher.

10. Believe in, not to.

Don’t Say: We believe to God.

Say: We believe in God.

Note: To believe in means to have faith in. To believe (without the in) means to regard something as true: I believe everything he says.

Using the wrong preposition: Rules 11 to 20

Mistakes are often made by using the wrong preposition after certain words. The following list includes the words which most often give trouble:

11. Boast of or about, not for.

Don’t Say: James boasted for his strength.

Say: James boasted of (or about) his strength.

64 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

65
The Toper’s English Notes

12. Careful of, with or about, not for.

Don’t Say: Elke's very careful for her health.

Say: Elke's very careful of/about her health.

Or: You should be more careful with your money.

Note: Take care of: Ram take care of his money.

13. Travel by train, etc., not with the train, etc.

Don’t Say: He travelled with the train yesterday.

Say: He travelled by train yesterday.

Note: We Say: by train, by boat by plane, by bike; also, by land, by sea, by air, by bus; in a bus or on a bus; by car or in a car, by taxi or in a taxi;
on horse-back, on a donkey, on a bicycle; on foot.

14. Complain about, not for.

Don’t Say: Annette complained for the weather.

Say: Annette complained about the weather.

Note: When talking about illness we use complain of.

65 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

66
The Toper’s English Notes
We Say: She complained of a sore throat.

15. Composed of, not from.

Don’t Say: Our class is composed from thirty students.

Say: Our class is composed of thirty students.

16. Confidence in, not to.

Don’t Say: I have great confidence to you.

Say: I have great confidence in you.

Note: In confidence: Let me tell you something in confidence (= as a secret)

17. Conform to, not with.

Don’t Say: We must conform with the rules.

Say: We must conform to the rules.

Note: comply takes with. We'll comply with your request.

18. Congratulate on, not for.

66 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

67
The Toper’s English Notes

Don’t Say: I congratulate you for your success.

Say: I congratulate you on your success.

19. Consist of, not from.

Don’t Say: A year consists from twelve months.

Say: A year consists of twelve months.

Note: Take great care never to use consist in the passive form.

20. Covered with, not by.

Don’t Say: The mountains are covered by snow.

Say: The mountains are covered with/in snow.

Using the wrong preposition: Rules 21 to 30

Mistakes are often made by using the wrong preposition after certain words. The following list includes the words which most often give trouble:

21. Cure of, not from.

Don’t Say: The man was cured from his illness.

Say: The man was cured of his illness.

67 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

68
The Toper’s English Notes

22. Depend on or upon, not from.

Don’t Say: It depends from her.

Say: It depends on (or upon) her.

Note: Rely on or upon. I can't rely on (or upon) him.

23. Deprive of, not from.

Don’t Say: Nelson Mandela was deprived from his freedom.

Say: Nelson Mandela was deprived of his freedom.

24. Die of an illness, not from an illness.

Don’t Say: Many people have died from malaria.

Say: Many people have died of malaria.

Note: People die of illness, of hunger, of thirst, of or from wounds; from overwork; by violence, by the sword, by pestilence; in battle; for their
country, for a cause; through neglect; on the scaffold; at the stake.

25. Different from, not than

Don’t Say: My book is different than yours.

68 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

69
The Toper’s English Notes
Say: My book is different from yours.

26. Disappointed by, about or at, not from.

(a) by/at/about:

Don’t Say: Phillipa was disappointed from the low mark she got in the test.

Say: Phillipa was disappointed by/about/at the low mark she got in the test.

(b) with/in:

Don’t Say: Jane was disappointed from her son.

Say: Jane was disappointed with/in her son.

Note: Before a person we use with or in, before a thing we use at, about or by and before a gerund we use at; Keith is very disappointed at not
winning the prize. We use that (optional before a new clause): I was disappointed (that) I didn't get an invitation.

27. Divide into parts, not in parts.

Don’t Say: I divided the cake in four parts.

Say: I divided the cake into four parts.

Note: A thing may be divided in half or in two: Paul divided the apple in half (or in two).

69 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

70
The Toper’s English Notes

28. No doubt (n) of or about, not for.

Don’t Say: I've no doubt for his ability.

Say: I've no doubt of (or about) his ability.

Note: Doubtful of: I am doubtful of his ability to pass.

29. Dressed in, not with.

Don’t Say: The woman was dressed with black.

Say: The woman was dressed in black.

Note: The woman was in black is also correct.

30. Exception to, not of.

Don’t Say: This is an exception of the rule.

Say: This is an exception to the rule.

Note: We say with the exception of: She liked all her subjects with the exception of physics.

Mistakes are often made by using the wrong preposition after certain words. The following list includes the words which most often give trouble:

70 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

71
The Toper’s English Notes

31. Exchange for, not by.

Don’t Say: He exchanged his collection of matchboxes by some foreign stamps.

Say: He exchanged his collection of matchboxes for some foreign stamps.

Note: In exchange for: He gave them his old car in exchange for a new one.

32. Fail in, not from.

Don’t Say: Steven failed from math’s last year.

Say: Steven failed in math’s last year.

33. Full of, not with or from.

Don’t Say: The jar was full with (or from) oil.

Say: The jar was full of oil.

Note: Fill takes with: Jane filled the glass with water.

34. Get rid of, not from.

Don’t Say: I'll be glad to get rid from him.

71 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

72
The Toper’s English Notes
Say: I'll be glad to get rid of him.

35. Glad about, not from or with.

Don’t Say: Francis was glad from (or with) receiving your letter.

Say: Francis was glad about receiving your letter.

36. Good at, not in. (Good at means Skill)

Don’t Say: My sister's good in math’s.

Say: My sister's good at math.

Note 1: Bad at, clever at, quick at, slow at, etc. However, weak in: He's weak in grammar.

Note 2: He's good in class means that his conduct is good.

37. Guard against, not from.

Don’t Say: You must guard from bad habits.

Say: You must guard against bad habits.

38. Guilty of, not for.

Don’t Say: He was found guilty for murder.

72 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

73
The Toper’s English Notes

Say: He was found guilty of murder

39. Independent of, not from.

Don’t Say: Clare's independent from her parents.

Say: Clare's independent of her parents.

Note: We say dependent on: A child is dependent on its parents.

40. Indifferent to, not for.

Don’t Say: Thmmuuuuiuuuuey’re indifferent for politics.

Say: They’re indifferent to politics.

Using the wrong preposition: Rules 51 to 60

Mistakes are often made by using the wrong preposition after certain words. The following list includes the words which most often give trouble:

51. Pleased with, not from.

Don’t Say: The teacher is pleased from me.

Say: The teacher is pleased with me.

Note: We say pleased at or pleased with if an abstract noun or a clause follows: They were pleased at (or with) what he said; They were pleased
at (or with) her results.

73 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

74
The Toper’s English Notes

52. Popular with, not among.

Don’t Say: John’s popular among his friends.

Say: John's popular with his friends.

53. Prefer to, not from.

Don’t Say: I prefer a blue pen from a red one.

Say: I prefer a blue pen to a red one.

Note: Also preferable to: This car is preferable to my old one.

54. Preside at or over, not in.

Don’t Say: Who presided in the last meeting?

Say: Who presided at (or over) the last meeting?

55. Proud of, not for.

Don’t Say: He's very proud for his promotion.

Say: He’s very proud of his promotion.

74 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

75
The Toper’s English Notes

Note: We say take (a) pride in A craftsman takes a pride in his work.

56. Rejoice at or in, not for.

Don’t Say: We rejoiced for her success.

Say: We rejoiced at (or in) her success.

57. Related to, not with.

Don’t Say: Are you related with Simon in any way?

Say: Are you related to Simon in any way?

Note: Also, relation to: Is he any rel

CORRECT USE OF SOME PREPOSITION FROM PAST PAPER.

1. I am sure that you are not ignorant of from the facts.

1.I am sure that you are not ignorant of✓ /from the facts.

Reason; The adjective ignorant, which means “lacking knowledge or information,” is often used with the prepositions of and about, as
shown in the three examples below. In each of these sentences, either ignorant of or ignorant about can be used:

They were ignorant of/about the facts.

I am totally ignorant of/about Chinese history.

He remains ignorant of/about their finances.

On the other hand, ignorant to is rarely used, and in your example sentence:

75 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

76
The Toper’s English Notes
2. to get rid of ✓/ from bad habits.

Get rid of means is to remove something that you do not want any longer:

3. mother has a great affection of / ✓for her children.

Affection for means to have love for someone.

4.It is injurious for /✓ to health.

Injurious to means not good for something

5. brother is waiting on for you outside the market.

The difference between Wait and Wait for

When used as verbs, wait means to delay movement or action until the arrival or occurrence of, whereas wait for means to wait until the specified
event occurs.

6.I said it on/✓ to his face.

Reason; Say to face means say to say face to face, fac on is not correct.

7. careful of /✓about what you say.

Reason; Of is used with careful when the sentence has negative sense.

About is used with careful when a sentence has a phrase after it.

8.They were alarmed at✓/of sight of snake.

Alarmed at means to be careful.

9. preferred her education to✓ / with her job.

Prefer and Prior uses preposition "to" commonly.

10. met me in the way✓ / on the way.

If the destination is clear then put "on the way" and if destination is not clear then put "in the way"

11. The robbers deprived him of✓ / on all he had.

Deprived of means to remove the right of someone.

12. Please excuse me for✓ / to coming late.

Excuse for means to forgive on mistake.

Excuse to means apologize on mistake.

13. Distribute these mangoes among✓ / between these five children.

More than two is used “among” and “between is only used for two.

14. What is the time bye✓ / on your watch?

76 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

77
The Toper’s English Notes
Time by means know about time through any source.

15. Don’t be an Axis about the result of the match.

RULES OF USING ARTICLES WITH EXAMPLES

Definite article or Indefinite article, each of the articles has different uses in different situations.

Using Indefinite Article: a & an

Rule 1:A common noun in the singular number always requires an article before it. But a plural common noun does not require an article always. A
plural common noun can have the article ‘the’ if we want to particularise that noun.

Example: I saw a snake. (Refers to a random snake)

I saw snakes in a zoo. (No article is required)

I have seen the snake again. (Refers to the snake I have already seen earlier)

I have seen the snakes again before leaving the zoo. (Refers to the particular snakes of the zoo which I saw earlier.)

Rule 2:The choice between the two indefinite articles – a & an – is determined by sound. Words beginning with consonant sounds precede ‘a’ and
words beginning with vowel sounds precede ‘an’. There are some special cases also. For instance, a university, a union, a useful book, etc.

a one-dollar note, a one-man army, etc.

an MA, a BA, an LLB, a BSC, etc.

Rule 3:A or an - sometimes makes a Proper Noun a Common Noun. Proper nouns generally do not take any articles, but when a proper noun needs to
be used as a common noun, you must bring a or an - for it.

Example: He thinks he is a Shakespeare. (Here, ‘Shakespeare’ does not refer to the actual person but someone like him.)

77 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

78
The Toper’s English Notes
He seems to be an Australian. (‘Australia’ is a proper noun but ‘Australian’ is a common noun because there is only one Australia but a million of
Australians.)

Rule 4:Sometimes indefinite articles are used to refer the number ‘one’/’each’/’per’.

Example: I earned a thousand dollar in that job. (One thousand dollar)

I have a car. (One car)

It goes 50 miles an hour. (Per Hour)

Rule 5:Indefinite articles often precede descriptive adjectives.

Example: He is a good boy.

What a nice car!

Rule 6:‘A’ sometimes comes before determiners, for example, a few, a little, a lot of, a most, etc. but in the case of many, a or an - comes after.

Example: I have a few friends coming over.

There is a little milk in the jar.

Many a fan welcomed

Using Definite Article: the

Rule 1:‘The’ is used to indicate a particular person(s) or thing(s) in the case of common nouns. Proper nouns generally do not take an article.

Example: The man is running. (A particular man)

I saw the boy stealing.

Where is the pen I gave you last year?

I gave him a ball, but he lost the ball. (‘a ball’ became ‘the ball’ in the second clause because that ball was not a random ball anymore.)

Rule 2:Sometimes ‘the’ is used to generalize a group/whole class.

78 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

79
The Toper’s English Notes

Example: The dog is a faithful animal. (Refers to the whole species of dog.)

The English are industrious. (Refers to the people of England as a nation)

The honest are respected. (The+adjectives = plural noun)

The poor are not always dishonest. (The+adjectives = plural noun)

Rule 3:To particularize a non-count noun ‘the’ is required before it.

Example: The water of the Arctic ocean is freezing.

Please return the money I lent you last year.

Rule 4:‘The’ is mandatory before a thing which is only one of a kind in the universe.

Example: The moon is shining tonight.

The earth is moving around the sun.

Use of ‘the’ before geographical places :

Rule 5:Using ‘the’ with geographical nouns generally depends on the size and plurality of the things those nouns refer to. ‘The’ is generally used
everywhere except some cases. So, it’s better to know those exceptions first.

‘The’ must not precede:

➢ Names of continents: Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, North America, Antarctica.
➢ Names of countries: Australia, Bolivia, England, France, Spain, etc.
➢ Names of states, cities, or towns: Los Angeles, Alaska, Sydney, London,
➢ Names of streets: George street, Albion Street, New town street,
➢ Names of singular lakes and bays: Lake Carey, Lake Eyre, Lake Hillier, Shark Bay,
➢ Names of single mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Solitary, Mount Bindo, Mount Fuji, etc.
➢ Names of single islands: Easter Island, Bare Island, Bird Island, Fatima Island,
➢ Names of languages: Spanish, Russian, English, (When ‘the’ precedes these nouns, they refer to the population of those languages.)
➢ Names of sports: cricket, football, basketball,

79 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

80
The Toper’s English Notes
➢ Names of discipline/subject of studies: biology, history, computer science, mathematics,

NOTE:

‘The’ is a widely used article in English. Except for the list mentioned above and proper nouns, ‘the’ is used before almost all the nouns which mean
something definite/particular. The above list has some opposite factors also. Those factors are explained in the following list:

‘The’ must precede:

➢ Names of oceans, gulfs, seas, and rivers: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Coral Sea, the Timor Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Nile, the Murray River,
the Darling River, etc.
➢ Names of countries with united states or islands: the United States of America (the USA), the UK, the UAE, the Philippines, etc.
➢ Names of great lakes: the Great Lakes, the African Great Lakes
➢ Names of mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Alps, the Andes, etc.
➢ Names of a group of Islands: the West Indies, the Andamanese, etc.

PRECISE WRITING EXERCISES WITH ANSWERS FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS

What is Precise Writing?

Precise writing is nothing but summarising a given passage in limited words, covering all the important aspects and details of the passage
given.

“Prices denotes a brief, concise, clear and well connected abstract, summary of a given passage”. Ability to produce a satisfactory prices is
very important for many purposes in practical life. Government Officials & Businessman have no time to go through long and unnecessary
details; thus a prices is a good tool for saving their valuable time.

So it is necessary for the officials working as secretary or as private secretary to have expertise in the art of precise writing. The candidates are
required to write a precise of a given composition. Thus, the art of writing precise helps one to secure good marks in the examinations.

ESSENTIAL OF A GOOD PRECIS

One must keep the following points in mind while writing a precise

1. Conciseness

It is the soul of a good precise. The precise must not exceed one third of the length of original passage.

2. Completeness :

Precise must give a complete idea of the passage. The main idea of the original passage should be presented in the same order in precise
writing.

3. Clarity

A precise should be clear and lucid, free from any ambiguity or obscurity. In an attempt to shorten the passage, you must take care that the
sentences constructed by you are free from any error, like improper use of words.

80 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

81
The Toper’s English Notes
4. Grammatical Accuracy

A precise must be free from grammatical errors, spelling and punctuation errors etc.

1. One-third of total paragraph

2. Own words
3. Clarity
4. Complete
5. Avoid mistakes
6. Single Paragraph

Rules for Good Precise Writing

For avoiding errors in writing a precise, follow a set of rules as given below :

• Read the passage carefully

• Decide Theme of the Passage
• Brevity and Clarity
• Use Own Language
• Accuracy of the Language
• Avoid Direct Speech and
• Use Indirect Speech

Do’s and Don’ts

• Start with basic idea

• Include all the important keywords
• Use easy vocabulary
• Do not make assumptions
• Avoid using abbreviations
• Title can be underlined
• Use Statistical data
• Proper Tense usage

SOME EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRECISE MAKING.

Example 1. :

, Everyone knows that most birds build houses, and very efficiently,too.Although not usually artistic, their nests are careful and often ingenious. The
tailorbird puts nesting material inside a large leaf,Then C use up the edges in a curve so that the leaf cannot unroll. The South American ovenbird,Which
wiehs Less than 3 ounces, Makes a nest weaving between makes a nest weighing Between 7 and 9 pounds, out of ahollow ball of earth affixed to a branch.
In Australia the rock warbler makes a long hanging nest and attaches it to a remove of a cave by spider’s webs;The reaction of the spiders is not described.

Questions:

1. How does a tailorbird build its nest?

Answer. The tailorbird puts the nesting material inside a large leaf and it’s use up the edges of these leaves in a car of type so that then leave cannot unroll.
this is the way it makes it’s nest and it is really an artistic job.

2. What is the astonishing fact about the nest of an own bird?

Answer; The astonishing factor about the nest of own bird is that, It makes a nest weighing between seven and nine pounds. It makes is nest out of clay and
fix it to a branch off a tree. It is really Anne a staunching factory that itself weight is less than three ounces and its nest is 7 to 9 pounds heavy.

3. How does a rock warbler hang its nest?

81 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

82
The Toper’s English Notes
Answer: Roc verbal belongs to Australia. It makes a long hanging nest and attaches it to the roof of a cave by spiders webs and what is the action of
spiders against this it is not mentioned.

4. Which bird is the most artistic in making its nest?

Answer; Tailorbird is the most autistic bird then all of the birds. It’s making style of nest is different than others. It makes its nest in such a style there too it
warms up it's eggs. It makes its nest by putting nesting material on a big leave and then sees its edges in a very artistically manner.

Make precis : Everyone knows that all birds build their houses and very artistically ,too. But tailorbirds method of making its nesting is different than all other
birds.It puts nesting material on a big leaf and then sews up the edges of the leaf. Tailorbird also makes its nest out of clay and it is also very fantastic that
its own weight is less than 3 ounces but its nest is 7 to 9 pounds heavy.

Title; Birds are Interesting Thing

Beautiful artist of the world

2. Read the passage and answer the following question (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

All the time, Mrs.Thurlow saved money. It was her creed. Sometimes, people went away and there was no cleaning. She then made up the gap in her life by
work, picking potatoes, planting potatoes, dibbling cabbage, scudding roots, pea packing more washing. In the field , she pinned up her shirt likes a thick
stiff tail, making her look like some body Ox. She did washing from five to six in the morning and again from seven to nine in the evening. Taking in more
washing , she tried to wash more quickly against time. Somehow she succeeded so that from nine to ten, she had time for Ironing. She worked by candle
light. Her movements were largely instinctive.

Question:

1.What was Mrs.Thurlow creed?

Ans: Mrs. Thurlow was a great worker.. She worked from dawn to dusk .She did all this work to save money as was her creed. She believed that only
money could bring good future to her children.

2. What did she do with her shirt while working in the field?

Ans: Whenever she water in the field, She painted up her shirt like a thick stiff nail. In this way, she could save her Shard from becoming filthy.

3. Add what time she did do washing?

Ans: She did washing from five to six in the morning and is 7 to 9 in the evening. she used to work against time while washing.

4.Why did she try to wash quickly against time?

She always tried to work quickly against time because she had to iron the clothes.

Precise:

To save money ,was a Mrs. Thurlow’s first purpose of life.Whenever she had no work for cleaning, she went to the field and picking potatoes, planting
potatoes, dibbling cabbage, pea packing And more washing. She did washing from 5 to 6 in the morning. She worked from dawn to dusk even she had to
light up the candle far is last working.

Q.no: 3. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

It was perfectly clear to me what I ought to do. I ought to walk up to within say, 25 yards after elephant and test his behavior. If he charged I could shoot, if
he took no notice of me it would be safer to leave him until the mahout came back. But also I knew that I was going to do no such thing. I was a poor
shooter with a rifle and the ground was soft mud into which one would sink at every step. If the elephant charged and I missed him, I should have about as
much chance as a toad under a steamroller. But even then I was not thinking particularly of my own skin, only off the voice full yellow faces behind. Far at
that moment, with the crowd watching me, I was not afraid in the ordinary sense, as I off native and so in general, he isn’t frightened. The sole thought in my
mind was that if anything went wrong those 2000 Burmans would see me pursued, Caught, trampled on and reduced to a green grinning crops like that of
Indian up the hill. And if that happened it was quite probable that some of them would laugh. That was only one alternative. Are you sure the cartridges into
the magazine and lay down on the road to get a better aim.

Questions:

• Where was the writer has it end about going near the elephant?

Ans: He was pure shooter with rifle and Ground was stiff mud in which one could be sink at every step. if elephant charged ,and he missed him, he would be
crushed there under the feet of elephant. that's why he was hesitating in that situation.

82 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

83
The Toper’s English Notes
• What would happen if anything went wrong?

Ans: If anything went wrong, the 2000 Burmans would see him pursued, ought, trampled on and reduced to a grinning crops like that of Indian up the hill.

• What was the only option did the writer have in the situation?

Ans: He had only one alternative, he showed the cartridges into the magazine and lay down on road to get better and shot the elephant.

• ‘That would be only one alternative’ interpret rightly

Ans: He had only one alternative to shoot the elephant because if he didn’t do such act,He would have to face the taunting, laughing and insult by the 2000
Burmans, Which he couldn’t bear at any rate.

Precise:

He was poor in rifle shoot. if elephant charged him and he failed to shoot him then he would be crumbled under his feet are like a toad under a steamroller.
And he had to face the shamefulness before the 2000 Burmans. he was in hesitated situation. so , he lay down on road and for getting an aim to shoot
elephent.

• Title:

• An Ego of a white man

• An elephant and an English police officer

• English ruler over Burmans

Q.No: 4. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

One of the causes of unhappiness among intellectuals in the present day is that so many of them, especially those whose skill is literary, find no opportunity
for the independent exercise of their talents, but have to hire themselves out to corporations directed by philistines. Who insisted upon their producing what
they themselves regard as pernicious nonsense. If you were to inquire among journalists either in England or America whether they believed in the policy of
the newspaper for which they worked, you would find, I believe, that only a small purpose which they believe to be harmful. such work cannot bring any real
satisfaction, add in the course of reconciling Himself to the doing of it a man has to make himself so Senegal that he can no longer derive wholehearted
satisfaction from anything whatever. I cannot condemn who undertake work of this sort, since starvation is to see Is an alternative, but i think that where it is
Possible to Work that is satisfactory to aman’s constructive impulses without entirely starving, he will be well advised from the point view of his own
happiness, if he chooses it in preference to work much more highly paid but not seeming to him worth doing on its own account. Without self-respect
genuine happiness is scarcely possible. And the man who is ashamed of his work can hardly achieve self-respect.

Questions:

• Why are some present day intellectuals Unable to retrieve pleasure from their work?

Ans: Some present day intellectuals are in able to derive pleasure from their worker ‘cause they have to write against their will and taste. They have to write
something which is not liked by them.

• Why do the majority of journalists prostitute dear skill for harmful purpose?

Ans: To getting their livelihood, the majority of journalist have to prostitute their skill becausr they have no other sources for getting their earning. So,
prostitution is better than starvation.

• Where does the writer not like to condemn those wonder the work which they believe to be harmful?

Ans: The writer doesn’t condemn such people be cause he knows , They have to do all this for their livelihood. They have no such opportunities in society
Through which they could fillful their needs.

• What advice does the writer gave to the job seekers from the point of view of their own happiness?

Ans: The writer advises to the job seeker to choose such type of job that gave you more respect and Caring for their self respect. Without self respect to no
one can be get genuine happiness in his life.

Precise:

One of the cause of unhappiness among intellectual is that they have no job according to their taste and like. They have to work against their conscience
and wish. In a result , they become cynical and accept the worst human nature . They start to believing that they can not get satisfaction and happiness from
anything . In this case ,the writer advises them , they adopt such type of services which could give them more happiness and satisfaction than money. In
this way will be able to get their self-respect and honour.Other wise they will have to prostitute their skills which and they would have to be ashamed of their
work.

83 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

84
The Toper’s English Notes
Q.No: 5. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

To begin with, work fills a good many hours of the day without the need of deciding what one shall do. Most people , when they are left free to fill their
sufficiently pleasant to be worth doing. And whatever, they decide on, they are trouble by the feeling that something else would have been pleasanter.
Moreover , the exercise of choice is in itself tiresome. Most of the idle rich suffer unspeakable boredom as price of their freedom from drudgery. At times
they may find relief by hunting big game in Africa, or by flying round the world, but the number of such sensations is limited, especially after youth is passed.
Accordingly, the most intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich women for the most part deep themselves busy with
innumerable trifles whose earthshaking importance they are firmly persuaded.

Questions:

• How do rich men spend their free time?

Ans: Most of the rich men spend their free time in hunting big games in Africa ,or they make rounds about the world. Rich women mostly spend their free
time in doing many little tasks and they consider their work has many importance .

• How does freedom of choice become a problem?

Ans: Freedom of choice becomes a problem when someone is asked to do his job according to his own wish.

• How, according to the author, do the intelligent rich work?

Ans: According to the author, most of intelligent rich men work nearly as hard as if they were poor, while rich woman for the most part of deep themselves
busy weather in numerable trifles job and they consider they have Much important in their work.

• What do the rich woman believe about their work?

Ans: The rich woman believed that their work has much importance for the society. So they busy themselves some small jobs thinking that their tasks are
important .

Precise: Most people, when they have opportunity to do their work according to their own wishes, it becomes a very difficult for hem. The choice of work is
not easy for them.Some rich people make big hunting or adopt journey for the other countries. Most intelligent rich men work as hard as do poor people in
their free time. Whatever they do best their life but they remain dissatisfied and always continue searching something else would be pleasurable for them.

Q.no:6. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

the caveman did not form; they were hunters and fishermen, Earn dear woman collected wild fruits,Vegetables and grain…. They lived lives rather like those
of the American plains Indians before the introduction of the horse. They are designed to domesticate animals are at best only one animal, our oldest friend,
the dog.They lived largely on animals. They ran them over a cliff and then at them. they knew something about clay and it hardens in the fire. But so far we
have found no real clay dishes or continue among their remains.

Questions:

• What were the main occupations of the people of the cave?

• What type of relation did the cavemen have with animals?

• What did the cavemen know about the use of clay?

• Precise the passage.

Q.No: 7. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

Do not, in your desire to be a good wife . No need for all the thought and care to be only for one . Do not, whenever poor Edwin wants you to come out,
answer indignantly, “ What, and leave baby? Do not spent all your evenings upstairs, and do not confine your conversation exclusively to whooping – cough
and measles. My dear little women, the child is not going to die every time it sneezes, the house is not bound to get bunt down, and the nurse run away with
a soldier, every time child’s chest the moment you leave the bedside else two. Try and think of your other duties and your pretty face will not have always
puckered into wrinkles, and there will be cheerfulness in the parlor as well as in the nursery . Think of your big baby a little. Dance him about a bit; call him
pretty names; lough at him now and then. It is only first baby that takes up the whole of a women’s time. Five or six do not required nearly so much attention
as one. But before then the mischief has been done. A house where there seems no room for him, and a wife too busy to think of him have lost their hold on
that so unreason able husband of yours, and he has learnt to look elsewhere for comfort and companionship.

Questions:

• What does the writer advise woman about their role as wives and mother?

• How should the women take care of their big baby?

84 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English

85
The Toper’s English Notes
• Why do husbands begin to take interest in women other than their wives?

• Explain the following words,

1- Indignantly Furiously ,angrily, annoyingly

2- Solitary chick Alone person, Solitude man

3- Cheerfulness Happiness, pleasure , delight

• Suggest a suitable title and make a précis of the passage .

Précis: Women ought to keep balance between love of children and husbands. Mostly women forget their husbands’ right and only keep busy themselves
with their children. In consequence, they start to take interest outside and this becomes painful for the wives. If , they give some time to their husbands
nothing will be wrong with their children. Instead of making subject of discussion every time measles and cough , they ought to smile with their husbands,
dance with them, call them with their pretty name . Doing this , neither child will die nor nurse will run away with a soldier. In case of other their husbands will
be out of their control and result will be painful.So, they are advised, if they want escape such circumstances ,they do proper care of their husbands as well
as children.

Q.No: 8. Read the following passage an answer the questions given at the end: (3+3+3+3+2+6=20)

I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes-faces all happy and entitled over this of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot.
They were watching me as they would watch a conjure about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands , I was
momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. . the people expected it of me and I had got to do it. I
could feel their 2000 wills, Pressing me forward irresistibly. And it was this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands.

Then I first grasped hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East. Here, I was , the white man with his gun, standing in front of the
unarmed native crowed seemingly the leading actor of the piece, but in reality I was only an absurd puppet, pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow
faces behind . I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant , it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing
dummy, the conventionalized figure of a Sahib.

Questions:

• Why had the writer becomes momentarily worth watching?

• What did the writer grasp for the first time?
• What dud the writer feel about himself?
• What is a “ Conventionalized” figure of a sahib?
• Make a précis and give a suitable title of the passage.
Summary of the passage.

There was huge crowed of people warring all garish clothes. They were hoping to kill the elephant by him. He was looking as a funny thing before
them.. They were persuading him to shoot down the elephant. In the East a white man was consider a sahib and a sigh of bravery but at that position
he was considering himself a puppet . At this moment he learnt a lesson that when white terns cruel ,it his own freedom that is destroyed by himself.

• 1 Helplessness of a sahib
• A man of ego and selfish
• A puppet officer of English rule..

85 Ashraf Khan Yasin (M.Phill English