OMISSION OF PREPOSITION ( PART- 26)

    

   Omission of prepositions

Rule:-1. Don’t use preposition before these words.

Yesterday, last day, last week, last month, last year, last night, today, tomorrow, the following day, the next day, yesterday evening, this morning, this afternoon, tonight, tomorrow morning, tomorrow evening.

Examples

1. One of my friends came across me in last night. (drop ‘in’)

2. I will call you on tomorrow morning. (drop ‘ on’)

Rule:-2. Don’t use preposition before these verbs when they are used in active voice.

Stress, emphasize, discuss, investigate, comprise, accompany, consider, violate, demand, resemble, pervade, precede, succeed, reach, attack, invade, resist, enter, eschew, befall, order, direct, join, sign, affect, ensure, board, describe, await, lack, regard.

Examples

1. They ordered for a cup of coffee. (drop ‘for’)

2. Your face resembles with your brother’s. (drop ‘with’)

3. This book comprises of many pages. (drop ‘of’)

4. The Indian army attacked on the terrorist. (drop ‘on’)

5. The police are investigating into the case. (drop ‘into’)

Rule:-3. Don’t use ‘to’ with the following verbs.

Advise, tell, ask, beg, command, encourage, request, inform, thank, welcome, warn, forbid, remind, congratulate, compliment.

Examples

1. Do you compliment to people on good dress sense? (drop ‘to’)

2. He told to me that he had already visited that place. (drop ‘to’)

3. She congratulated to me on my success. (drop ‘to’)

Rule:-4.To can be used after these verbs if the object is a person.

Say, suggest, propose, speak, reply, explain, complain, listen, write, report, pray, describe.

Examples

1. Please listen to me carefully.

2. Why didn’t you write any letter to me?

Rule:-5. Don’t use a single preposition for two words that take different prepositions.

Examples

1. Neither he is ashamed nor sorry for his misconduct. (incorrect)

2. Neither he is ashamed at nor sorry for his misconduct. (correct)

3. She neither looked me nor talked to me. (incorrect)

4. She neither looked at me nor talked to me. (correct)

5. Her nature is different and inferior to her brother’s. (incorrect)

6. Her nature is different from and inferior to her brother’s. (incorrect)

PREPOSITION ( PART - 25 )

                      

               Preposition

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show in what relation the person or thing denoted by it, stands in regard to something else.

Examples

1. There is a plate on the table.

2. A cat jumped upon the table.

3. He has died for his country.

Note- Prepositions are generally placed before a noun or pronoun as in the above sentences but not always.

Examples

1. Where do you belong to?

2. What are you preparing for?

  Some important prepositions

1. Between and Among 

Rule:-1. Between is used for two persons or things while among is used for more than two persons or things.

Examples

1. This property has been divided between two brothers.

2. Books were distributed among five boys.

3. Sweets were distributed between/among them. (both are correct because them does not define any definite number)

Rule:-2. Between is followed by and, from is followed by to.

                     Between……………………and

                     From…………………………..to

Examples

1. The distance from Lucknow to Kanpur is about 80 kilometers.

2. She was sitting between her brother and mother.

Rule:-3. We always use objective case of a pronoun after between…….and, and all prepositions.

Examples

1. There is no love lost between she and I.(use her and me instead of she and I)

2. He tried to talked to she, but she gave him a cold shoulder. (use her instead of she)

Rule:-4. Difference is followed by between (not among)

Difference….………….between

Different………………..from

Examples

1. There are many differences between you and her.

2. His nature is quite different from his sister’s.

Rule:-5. Always use plural noun/pronoun after between and among.

Examples

1. This matter can be solved among them.

2. A beautiful girl was sitting between them.

3. There is a cat among the tiger. (Use tigers instead of tiger)

Rule:-6. Each and every can not be used after between.

Examples

1. There are many trees between each road. (incorrect)

2. There are many trees between the roads. (correct)

Rule:-7. Between can also be used for more than two persons or things to show a reciprocal relation.

Example

1. The match is to be played between India, Australia and Pakistan.

Rule:-8. Amongst is also used for more than two persons or things, before a noun that starts with a vowel.

Examples

1. Sweets were distributed amongst all the boys.

2. This matter can be solved amongst us.

                 At and In

At is used comparatively for small places while in is used for bigger places.

Examples

1. He lives in Kapoorthala at Lucknow. (incorrect)

2. He lives at Kapoorthala in Lucknow. (correct)

                 In and Into

In is used to indicate the things at rest while into is used to indicate an act of entry in something/somewhere.

Examples

1. She is in the room.

2. He jumped into the river.

                 With and By

With is used for instruments while by is used for persons to express the means.

Examples

1. She was killed by an unknown man with a knife.

2. He was thrashed soundly by his teacher with a stick.

Note- By is also used for mode of transformation.

Examples

1. She goes to school by car.

2. She to school by her car. (incorrect)

3. She goes to school in her car. (correct)

4. She goes to school by a bicycle. (incorrect)

5. She goes to school by bicycle. (correct)

             Beside and Besides

Beside is used for adjacent/near position while besides is used for something additional.

Examples

1. I take two meals besides a light breakfast.

2. He was sitting beside his father in the hall.

                 On and Upon

On is used for the things at rest while upon is used to show motion.

Examples

1. Your book is on the table.

2. A cant jumped upon the table.

                                 

                  In and With

Both in and with are used for instruments but in is used for uncountable nouns and with is used for countable nouns.

Examples

1. She wrote a letter to me in ink with a pen. ( correct)

2. Why don’t you write with pencil? (incorrect)

3. Why don't you write with a pencil ? ( correct)

4. Why don’t you write in a pencil? (Incorrect)

5. Why don’t you write in pencil? (correct)

               Since and For

Since is used for point of time while for is used for period of time.

Examples

1. He has been living in Lucknow since 2011.

2. She has been reading newspaper for 4 hours.

             At and Towards

At shows a sense of aim while towards shows direction.

1. A deer was running towards the forest.

2. The people whose houses are made of stone, don’t throw stone at others.

                At, In and On

At:- Exact time, festivals.

In:-  months, years.

On:-  days, dates.

Examples

1. She called me at 9:30 in the morning. (exact time)

2. He will come to your house at Christmas. (festival)

3. He will go to Mumbai in January. (month)

4. He completed his graduation in 2012. (year)

5. She goes to temple on Monday. (day)

6. He gave me a tinkle on 26th of Jan. (date)

Note :-(i)"in" is generally used with morning, evening, afternoon, but if a day or date is mentioned before them we use ‘on’.

Examples

In the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon .

On Tuesday morning, on the evening of 26th January, on the evening of June.

Note:-( ii) Use ‘At’ with the following words.

Examples

At dawn, at dusk, at day break, at sunrise, at sunset, at noon, at night, at midnight etc.

            During and Within

During shows something continuing in a time period while within indicates inside the time period.

Examples

1. You are not allowed to attend your phones during the class.

2. She promised to call me within an hour.

              Until, till and By

Rule:-(1) By is used to talk about a deadline when something will happen before that time.

By tomorrow                          

 by 6 o’clock              

 by next month

Examples

1. I will be back by 6 o’clock.

2. We will have got our university degrees by next month.

Rule:-2 Until and till are used to talk about something that will keep going on for a duration of, time from a specific time to another. 

Example

1. He came here yesterday and he will stay with us until/till the weekend. (means from now to weekend)

Rule:-3. Sometimes we can use both ‘by’ and ‘until’ in a sentence but their meanings will differ from each other.

Examples

1. He is down with fever, he needs to be in bed until 10 o’clock. (means he is already in bed)

2. He is running with high temperature, he needs to be in bed by 10 o’clock. (means he is not in bed)

                                 

            Below and Under

Rule:-1. Both are used to show something down, however under is used to objects in motion.

Examples

1. The river is flowing below the bridge. (incorrect)

2. The river is flowing under the bridge. (correct)

Rule:-2. Under indicates physical contact while below is used when there is a space between two objects.

Examples

1. A cat was sleeping below the blanket. (use under instead of below)

2. I felt that he was hiding something below his jacket. (use under instead of below)

3. They live below us. (means we live above them)

Note- There are a few expression where only under can be used.

Under fire, under construction, under attack, under arrest, under pressure, under these conditions .

             Above and Over

Both are used to show higher than, however over is used to indicate a sense of movement, across, from one side to the other and in every part of the region.

Examples

1. We put a blanket over her body. (across)

2. A cat jumped over the fence. (movement)

3. There is a bridge over the river. (from one side to other)

4. Shakespeare is known all over the world. (everywhere in the world)

5. An aeroplane was flying above the clouds.

     Make of and Make from

Make of is used for physical change while make from is used for chemical change.

Examples

1. This ring is made of gold.

2. Curd is made from milk.

   Compare to and compare with

Compare with:- comparison with similar things

Compare to:- comparison with different things

Examples

1. Thomas Hardy’s novels can be compared with Shakespeare’s.

2. Yuvraj’s  batting can be compared to a thunder storm.

  On time, in time, in good time

(1) On time  -means- exact time

Example

Trains are running on time now a days.

 (2)  In time  - means-  a little bit earlier

Example

The train is running on time so you should reach station station in time.

(3) In good time - means- with comfortable margin

Example

He reached the station in good time as he had to buy a ticket.

                Up and Down

Up is used to show a movement step by step upward while down indicates step by step downward movement.

Examples

1. He climbed up the tree.

2. She ran down the stairs.

                   Of and Off

'Of' is used to show possession for non-living things while 'off 'is used to show physical separation.

Examples

1. Table’s leg. (incorrect)                    The leg of the table. (correct)

2. Fan’s blade. (incorrect)                   The blade of the fan. (correct)

3. A cat jumped off the table. (means from table to the ground)

ADVERB - EXERCISE ( PART- 24)

              

 Directions(Q.1-50): Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error or idiomatic error in it. The error if any, will be in one part of the sentence. The number of that part is the answer. If there is “No error” the answer is ‘E'.(Ignore errors of punctuation if any.)    

                         

                                                       Questions

1. (a) When he saw her sister (b) he shouted out that he had (c) never seen such (d) a beautiful girl before. (e) No error.

2. (a) When insisted, she (b) took a sip of coffee (c) and said that it (d) tasted bitterly.(e) No error.

3. (a) The old lady is deafly, (b) so don’t call her a liar when (c) she says that she (d) can’t hear you. (e) No error.

4. (a) Such people can (b) not bother him; nothing never (c) did; this is why he is making progress (d) by leaps and bounds. (e) No error.

5. (a) Not only walking (b) but also cycling (c) is a very good exercise  (d) for you in the morning.(e) No error.

6. (a) He said, (b) “Sonia is quite all right and she is taking classes for dancing now a days (c) but I can’t give you (d) much update about Rahul.”(e) No error. 

7. (a) It was two thirty (b) only in the afternoon (c) but she did not want (d) to go back to sleep. (e) No error.

8. (a) “No one can dare (b) to drag me (c) into this affair without any rhyme or reason,” (d) he said to his colleagues. (e) No error.

9. (a) Who doesn’t know (b) that she was not (c) working hardly (d) to crack the exam ?(e) No error.

10. (a) He told me that (b) the owner of this house(c) had only died (d) a month before. (e) No error.

Solutions

1. (e) No error.

2. (d) Use ‘bitter’ instead of ‘bitterly’.

3. (a) Use ‘Deaf’ instead of ‘deafly’.

4. (b) Use ‘ever’ instead of ‘never’ because ‘nothing and never’ can not come together.

5. (e) No error.

6. (b) Remove ‘quite’ because ‘quite and all right’ can not come together.

7. (b) Use ‘only two thirty’ to make the sentence correct.

8. (e) No error.

9. (c) Replace ‘Hardly’ by ‘hard’ because ‘hardly’ gives negative meaning.

10. (c) Use ‘Only a month before’ to make the sentence correct.

Questions

11. The government has asked individuals (a)with income of over Rs.10 lakhs(b) to electronic file tax returns for the year 2011-12, (c)something which was (d)optional till last year.(e) no error

12. (a) This is only one of (b) the best books (c) that is carefully written (d) with a view to competitive exams. (e) No error.

13. (a) She talked (b) to him lovely (c) but he always (d) gave her a cold shoulder. (e) No error.

14. (a) He did not like (b) to treat his colleagues friendly, (c) that’s why he could not (d) win their love and support. (e) No error.

15. (a) I am very senior (b) to them (c) so they don’t dare to play a joke (d) on me. (e) No error.

16. (a) I hardly

 ever (b) talk to him because (c) in my opinion he is not (d) a man to be appreciated. (e) No error.

17. (a) Before preparing for SSC she felt surely (b) of qualifying in one attempt, but after appearing in the examination (c) she realized that it was not (d) going to be so easy. (e) No error.

18. (a) We know that eventually (b) he will come to us (c) and confess that he (d) has committed a crime. (e) No error.

19. (a) “Where else (b) do you want to go besides (c) the zoo ?”(d) he asked his wife. (e) No error.

20. (a) He said that the question paper was very difficult (b) and added further that he could not attempt (c) questions enough (d) to pass it .(e) No error.

Solutions

11. (b) Use ‘to file electric’ to make the sentence correct.

12. (e) No error.

13. (b) Replace ‘lovely’ by ‘lovingly’ because ‘lovely’ is an adjective.

14. (b) Use ‘in a friendly manner’ because ‘friendly’ is an adjective.

15. (a) Replace ‘very’ by ‘much’ because ‘senior’ is a comparative degree.

16. (e) No error.

17. (a) Replace ‘surely’ by ‘sure’ to make the sentence correct.

18. (e) No error.

19. (a) Remove ‘ else’ because it is superfluous.

20. (c) Use ‘enough questions’ to make the sentence correct.

Questions

21. (a) Every member (b) of the family is (c) addicted to drinking (d) and so Ram is.(e) No error.

22. (a) He pioneered surgery on (b) newborns and successful(c) separated three sets (d) of conjoined twins. (e) no error

23. (a) He is too poor (b) that he can not afford, (c) to buy books (d) for his children. (e) No error.

24. (a) “Under no circumstances (b) we can stand by (c) you in this illegal (d) work”, said the leader.(e) No error.

25. (a) Under a tree (b) were sitting a lot of people (c) and most of them were farmers.(e) No error. 

26. (a) Although he is my bosom friend, (b) I cannot ask him for (c) money without any (d) apparantly reason. (e) No error.

27. (a) People were surprised (b) to see gems how skilful they were (c) engraved (d) on the ring. (e) No error.

28. (a) The inspector came (b) in a giffy but I (c) can’t say from where he has (d) disappeared all of a sudden. (e) No error.

29. (a) He is an exceptional good (b) teacher and has full command of his subject, (c) so all of us don’t miss his lectures (d) and respect him from the bottom of my heart. (e) No error.

30. (a) We have people (b) to do these kinds of work (c) because we have not still developed the technology (d) to  make machines do it. (e) No error. 

Solutions

21. (d) Use ‘and so is Ram’.

22. (b) Use ‘successfully’ to make the sentence correct.

23. (a) Replace ‘too’ by ‘so’ to make the sentence correct.

24. (b) Use ‘can we stand by’ to make the sentence correct.

25. (e) No error.

26. (d) Use ‘apparent’ instead of ‘apparently’ because ‘reason’ is a noun.

27. (b) Use ‘skillfully’ instead of ‘skillful’.

28. (e) no error.

29. (a) Use ‘exceptionally’ instead of ‘exceptional’ because ‘good’ is an adjective.

30. (c) Replace ‘still’ by ‘yet’ because we use ‘yet’ in present perfect tense.

Questions

31. (a) The amount which the government (b) has paid to the dependents of workers who were killed in a thunderstorm (d) was fairly unsatisfactory. (e) No error. 

32. (a)We met an old little man yesterday (b) he was almost quite accomplished in painting, (c) his head was long, (d) and entirely bald. (e) No error.

33. (a) The new magazines (b) which you sell, are (c) enough expensive to allow the pocket (d) of an ordinary man to buy them. (e) No error.

34. (a) It was enough light (b) to see a long way (c) in the deserted street and it seemed more like (d) morning or evening than night. (e) No error.

35. (a) He talked to me (b) over the phone some days ago (c) and  has remembered me  (d) ever for . (e) No error.

36. (a) We all listened very careful (b) to the ideas of the people whom (c) we genuinely (d) respect. (e) No error.

37. (a) Although he is only paid (b) five thousand rupees a month (c) he manages to support (d) his family very well. (e) No error.

38. (a) If he had only been(b) the child in the family, (c) things might have been (d) quite different (e) No error

39. (a) She ran across (b) me in Mumbai last week (c) and invited me (d) to come to Lucknow. (e) No error.

40. (a) Scarcely  she likes (b) to talk to me (c) after the rift that occurred (d) between her and me. (e) No error.

Solutions

31. (d) Replace ‘fairly’ by ‘rather’ to make the sentence correct.

32. (b) ‘almost and quite’ can not come together, so use either ‘quite’ or ‘almost’.

33. (c) Use ‘expensive enough’ to make the sentence correct.

34. (e) No error.

35. (d) Replace ‘ever for’ by ‘so far’ to make the sentence correct.

36. (a) Use ‘carefully’ instead of ‘careful’ to make the sentence correct.

37. (a) Use ‘only’ before ‘five thousand rupees a month’ to make the sentence correct.

38. (a) Use ‘only’ before ‘child’ to make the sentence correct.

39. (e) No error.

40. (a) Use ‘scarcely does she like’ it is the case of inversion.

Questions

41. (a) The rooms of this building are big (b) airy but too much (c) expensive for an ordinary man (d) to afford .(e) No error.

42. (a) The building was fortunately (b) empty and people had (c) gone their homes when (d) the bomb exploded. (e) No error.

43. (a) His brother does (b) not know to drive a (c) bicycle, so he foots (d) the distance to school daily. (e) No error.

44. (a) I could not forget that opportune moment (b) where we went to Goa (c) we enjoyed ourselves a lot (d) and have a lot of fun. (e) No error.

45. (a) She was very (b) tired of work, (c) so she went home early (d), rested for a while and went to bed without having lunch. (e) No error.

46. (a) She is not a linguist (b) and always tries to (c) make her students (d) pronounce each and every word correctly. (e) No error.

47. (a) Despite financial problems (b) she and her husband who is a driver (c) are living happily (d) and they are very contented. (e) No error.

48. (a) I don’t like to talk (b) such people who (c) don’t respect others (d) Nor does she. (e) No error

49. (a) She has given (b) me much too pain, (c) so I can not help (d) her at any cost. (e) no error 

50. (a) I lately wrote my grandfather (b) to tell him about my first year (c) in college and he answered me (d) with a very funny letter. (e) no error

Solutions

41. (b) Replace ‘too much’ by ‘much too’ because ‘expensive’ is an adjective.

42. (a) Use ‘fortunately the building was empty’ because it qualifies the whole sentence.

43. (b) Use ‘know how to drive’ to make the sentence correct.

44. (b) Replace ‘where’ by ‘when’.

45. (e) No error.

46. (b) Replace ‘and’ by ‘but’ because the sentence is used in the contrast sense.

47. (e) No error.

48. (b) Replace ‘who’ by ‘that’ because after ‘such’ we use only ‘as/that.

49. (b) Use ‘too much pain’ because ‘pain’ is a noun.

50. (a) Replace ‘lately’ by ‘recently’ because ‘lately’ is not used in simple past tense.

 

ADVERB - INVERSION ( PART- 23)

       

                       Inversion

If the sentence starts with An adverb, we follow this structure in the case of inversion.

Adverb + Auxiliary verb + Subject + main verb .

Examples

1. Seldom he gets up with the lark. (incorrect)

2. Seldom does he get up with the lark. (correct)

3. Never I shall call you again. (incorrect)

4. Never shall I call you again. (correct)

5. No sooner I put my phone into my pocket than It started ringing. (incorrect)

6. No sooner had I put my phone into my pocket than It started ringing. (correct)

7. So quickly she got dressed that she left the phone at her home. (incorrect) 

8. So quickly did she get dressed that she left the phone at her home. (correct)

          Use of Too and Very

Rule:- 1. Too is used in the negative sense while very is used in the positive sense.

Too bad, too difficult, too terrible, too wicked etc .

Very smart, very beautiful, very good, very nice etc .

Examples

1. He is too smart. (incorrect)

2. He is very smart. (correct)

Note- Too is also used with the positive words to indicates more than required.

Examples

1. She is too beautiful. (means She is awkwardly beautiful)

2. He is too tall. (means He is awkwardly tall )

3. This question paper is too tough. (means the question paper is so tough that we can not pass)

4. This question paper is very tough. ( means question paper is tough but we can pass)

Rule:- 2. If an infinitive comes after adjective we always use too.

Too + Adjective (+ve/-ve) + infinitive (to + V 1st)

Examples

1. This news is very good to be true. (incorrect)

2. This news is too good to be true. (correct)

3. This soup is very cold for him to eat. (incorrect)

4. This soup is too cold for him to eat. (correct)

            Use of so and very

Rule:-1. So can not be used in the absolute sense . (means in the place of very)

Examples

1. She is so beautiful. (incorrect)

2. She is very beautiful. (correct)

3. He is so handsome. (incorrect)

4. He is very handsome. (correct)

Rule:-2. In the structure of So………..that, we can not use very or too.

Examples

1. She very/ too poor that she can not buy a car. (incorrect)

2. She so poor that she can not buy a car. (correct)

3. This news is very/too good that It can not be true. (incorrect)

4. This news is so good that It can not be true. (correct)

5. It was so hot that we can not go out of the house. (use could not in the place of can not) 

Note- If the 1st sentence is in present tense, use “can not” And if the 1st sentence is in past tense, use “could not”

            Very and Much

Rule:-1. Very is used before positive degree while much is used before comparative degree of an adjective.

Very good, very, innocent, very nice etc .

Much better, much luckier, much wiser, much more intelligent etc .

Examples

1. She must be very luckier than you. (incorrect)

2. She must be much luckier than you. (incorrect)

Note- Very much is also used before comparative degree of an adjective.

Very much better, very much wiser, very much hotter etc .

Example

1. He is very much faster than his brother.

Rule:-2. Very is used before present participle while much is used before past participle.

Very interesting, Very boring, very confusing, very daring etc .

Much surprised, much annoyed, much admired, much grieved etc .

1. They were very surprised at my answers. (incorrect)

2. They were much surprised at my answers. (correct)

Exception-

Very tired, very dejected, very contented, very discontented, very pleased, very drunk, very limited, very delighted etc .

Rule:-3. Very and much are also used to emphasize a superlative degree.

             Structure

 1. very + superlative degree .

2. Much + the + superlative degree .

1. If you want further information the very best thing to do is, have a word with the driver as you get on the bus.

2. This is not much the best place to live If you wish to develop your knowledge and love of mountains.

              Use of Enough

Enough means ‘sufficient’ It is used before a noun as an adjective and after an adjective as an adverb.

1. Enough + Noun.

2. Adjective + Enough.

Examples

1. She is enough gorgeous to attract the young. (incorrect)

2. She is gorgeous enough to attract the young. (correct)

3. He has money enough to buy a car. (incorrect)

4. He has enough money to buy a car. (correct)

Use of too much and much too

Both too much and much too mean ‘ more than necessary’ they are followed by a noun and adjective respectively.

1. Too much + Noun

2. Much too + adjective

Examples

1. She did not give him much too attention at the party. (incorrect)

2. She did not give him too much attention at the party. (correct)

3. His condition was too much pathetic. (incorrect)

4. His condition was much too pathetic. (correct)

         Use of fairly and rather

Rule:-1. Fairly is used in the positive sense while rather is used in the negative sense.

• Fairly wise, fairly beautiful, fairly hot etc.

• Rather cold, rather bad, rather difficult etc.

Examples

1. The tea is fairly hot.

2. It is rather cold today.

Rule:-2. Rather is also used to indicate more than required.

Examples

1. The coffee is rather hot. (means coffee is so hot that we can not sip)

2. The coffee is fairly hot. (means coffee is very hot but we can sip)

Rule:-3. Rather is also used with comparative degree of an adjective.

Rather worse, rather hotter, rather colder etc.

Examples

1. Today’s weather is rather colder today than Yesterday’s.

Rule:-4. Rather is also used in the case of preference.

Examples

1. Rather than going to Shimla, he went to Goa.

2. She would rather die than starve. 

            Use of hard and hardly

Hard                                               Hardly

(With great effort)                      (rarely/almost not)

Examples

1. He labour hardly to land a job. (incorrect)

2. He labour hard to land a job. (correct)

3. He hardly helps anyone. (correct)

        Use of Loudly and Aloud

• Both loudly and aloud are adverbs but they have different meaning.

Loudly- In a high pitch/volume.

Aloud- Audibly/ that can be heard.

Examples

1. Please read the passage aloud, I am unable to hear you.

2. She was speaking loudly and angrily.

      Use of Recently and Lately

Both recently and lately mean ‘ in recent time/ not long ago’

Recently- It is used in both present perfect and simple past tense.

Lately- It is used only in present perfect tense. 

Examples

1. Have you visited Nainital recently/ lately? ( Correct)

2. RBI opened a new branch in Lucknow Lately. (use recently instead of lately)

ADVERB ( Part -22)

  

      Some Important Rules

Rule:- 1 Adverbs ending in ‘ly’ generally come in adverbs of manner and they are generally used after the main verb and object if there is any.

Well, fast, carefully, bravely, immediately, heavily, boldly, fluently etc.

Examples

1. She speaks fluently English. (incorrect)

2. She speaks English fluently. (correct)

3. He disappeared immediately. (correct)

Note- There are some words that end in ‘ly’ they are not adverbs.

Noun Adjective Adverb

Miser Miserly  In a miserly manner

Coward Cowardly In a cowardly manner

Niggard Niggardly In a niggardly manner

Scholar Scholarly In a scholarly manner

Examples

1. He is coward.  incorrect

 (use a before coward because coward is a noun)

2. He is a coward. (correct)

3. She accused her husband of being a coward man.(Incorrect)

 because both "coward" and man" are nouns, and two nouns can not come together)

4. She accused her husband of being a cowardly man. (correct)

5. She is too coward to complain against the student to her teacher. (use cowardly in the place of coward)

Rule:- 2 Adverbs of place and times are usually placed after the verb and object if there is any.

Time:- Now, then, yet, today, next day, tomorrow, yesterday.

Place:- Here, there, everywhere, on the road, in the field, on the roof etc.

Examples

1. She met yesterday me. (incorrect)

2. She met me yesterday. (correct)

3. When you called me I was then not at my home. (incorrect)

4. When you called me I was not at my home then. (correct)

Rule:- 3 Adverbs of frequency and some other adverbs are generally used before the main verb.

Frequency:- Always, never, ever, often, hardly, scarcely, rarely, usually, generally, seldom, frequently.

Others:- Almost, already, nearly, just, quite, still, rather.

Examples

1. She never has been to America. (incorrect)

2. She has never been to America. (correct)

3. Kareem just has left for his school. (incorrect)

4. Kareem has just left for his school. (correct)

Rule:- 4 When we have to use adverbs of manner, place and times, we follow MPT (MP, PT, MT) order.

1. She was writing carefully an essay yesterday at home. (incorrect)

2. She was writing an essay carefully at home yesterday. (correct)

3. We will come tomorrow to your home. (incorrect)

4. We will come to your home tomorrow. (correct)

Rule:-5. Negative adverbs like “not, never” are not used with these words.

Deny, forbid, both, until, unless, lest, hardly, scarcely, rarely, nothing, , too….to, seldom etc.

Examples

1. He denied that he had not committed that crime. (incorrect)

2. He denied that he had committed that crime. (correct)

3. Both of these women do not have strong memories of the world war II. (incorrect) 

4. Both of these women have strong memories of the world war II. (correct)

5. Neither of these women has strong memories of the world war II. (correct)

6. He does not intend to go nowhere. (incorrect)

7. He does not intend to go anywhere. (correct)

8. I hardly know some celebrated fashion designer in this town. (incorrect)

9. I hardly know any celebrated fashion designer in this town.

Note- Some is used in the positive sentence and any is in the negative sentence, hardly is a negative word therefore any is correct.

Rule:- 6. Else is followed by but

                Other…………………than

                Rather……………….than

Examples

1. He would rather die but starve. (use than instead of but)

2. Nothing else than his overconfidence ruined him. (use but instead of than)

3. He has no other option but to go to America. (use than instead of but)

Rule:-7. Seldom or never, seldom if ever, little or nothing, little if anything.

Examples

1. We seldom or ever exercise in the morning. (incorrect)

2. We seldom or never exercise in the morning. (correct)

3. You will find little or anything disputable in this book. (incorrect)

4. You will find little or nothing disputable in this book. (correct)

Rule:-8. Don’t use ‘never’ in the place of ‘not’.

Examples

1. I made several calls to you but you never picked up the phone. (incorrect)

2. I made several calls to you but you did not pick up the phone. (correct)

3. He never went to Goa last year. (incorrect)

4. He did not go to Goa last year. (correct)

5. After having completed his graduation, he never went to college again. (correct)

Rule:-9. “Too, as well, also” are used to give the meaning of in addition to in affirmative sentence, but “also” can not be used at the end.

Examples

1. They got their degrees and scholarship too/as well.

2. He knows how to drive a bike and a car too/as well.

3. She presented me a pen and a wallet also. (use- also a wallet)

Rule:-10. Manly, masterly, slovenly, monthly, weekly, sickly, friendly, orderly, gentlemanly are adjective, they should not be used as an adverb.

1. He behaves friendly with everyone. (incorrect)

2. He behaves in a friendly manner with everyone. (correct)

Rule:- 11. Some words have the same form both in adjective and adverb.

Fast, straight, Outright, direct, hard, late, high, quiet, near.

Adverb                                                             Adjective

1. Sit here as quiet as you can.    1. The room was dark and quiet

2. Children came to school late.   2. he took a late flight.

3. He slammed the door hard.     3. Why is it too hard for you to                                                                                                                .                                                                              keep the secret. 

Rule:-12. Adverb ‘As’ is used with these verbs.

Regard, describe, define, treat, view, know.

Examples

1. Sir Francis Bacon is regarded the father of English essays. (incorrect)

2. Sir Francis Bacon is regarded as the father of English essays. (correct)

Rule:-13. Adverb ‘As’ can not be used with these verbs.

Name, elect, think, call, appoint, make, choose.

Examples

1. She is considered as the most beautiful girl of my class. (incorrect)

2. She is considered the most beautiful girl of my class. (correct)

Rule:-14. Only, merely, solely and chiefly are used before the word they modify.

Examples

1. Only he gave me fifty rupees. (means- he and nobody else gave me)

2. He only gave me fifty rupees. (means- he merely gave me fifty rupees and did nothing for me)

3. He gave only me fifty rupees. (means- he gave fifty rupees to me and to nobody else)

4. He gave me only fifty rupees. (means- he gave fifty rupees to me and nothing more)