Useful English Grammar Tips

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Useful English Grammar Tips Part-I
ARTICLES:
Introduction about Articles:
A, An, The are the Articles in English. They are also called Determiners or Limiting
Adjectives or Demonstrative Adjectives.
Articles are grouped in two:
Indefinite Articles
Definite Articles
Indefinite Articles A, An
A and An are called Indefinite Articles. A and An mean the same thing anyone. They are
used with singular countable nouns only. They are not used with plural nouns.
Definite Article The
i.) The is used to specify a noun. It shows some particular thing or person that we know
already.
ii.) The - is used to represent the whole class or group.
iii.) The is used before the names of rivers, seas, oceans and ranges of mountains.
Use An:
1. Before words beginning with vowel sounds ( a, e, i, o, u and called vowels, others are
consonants) an apple, an egg, an owl.
2. Before words beginning with slient h. an hour, an honourable man, an heir, an honest man.
3. F, H, L, M, N, R, S, X are letters that are not vowels but begin with vowel sound e.g. M has
the sound of em. So, an is used before abbreviations beginning with vowels or these letters.
Example:
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An M.L.A., an R.A.F., an N.C.C. officer, an F.I.R., an X-ray, an H.E., school, an S.P., an
LEA school.
Use of A:
1. (i) In the sense of one.
E.g. He couldnt speak a word to save himself.
( ii) With one (one begins with sound of w) a One-man, a one-rupee note.
2. Before words beginning with consonant sound

E.g : a boy, a box, a dog.
3. With vowel letters having consonant value:
E.g: A university, a unique article, a euphemism, a unit, a European language.( all these
begin with consonant sound of yu)
4. with units and rate (per):
Eg: He earns rupees five hundred a month.
Rice sells ten rupees a kilo.
Give me a meter length of the cloth.
5 . In exclamatory expressions before singular countable nouns:
Eg: What a pretty girl!
How sunny a day!
6. When two subjects or articles are thought of as a single unit.
Eg: He was ready with a cup and saucer.
A cigarette is made of a paper and tobacco.
7. With a persons name to indicate that the person is perhaps unknown to the person
addressed:
Eg: A Mr. Roy is at the door.
8. With certain expressions of quantity:
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Eg: A lot of, a dozen, a great deal of, a couple.
9. With a special meal (to celebrate something or in someones honour)
Eg: I called friends to a lunch to celebrate my success, A dinner was arranged to welcome the
principal.
10. To make a common noun of a proper noun.
Eg: This man is a second Newton.
This phrase means a philosopher as great as Newton ).
A Daniel came to judgement, (The pharse means a wise man).
Usage of The:
When we speak of a particular person or thing already referred to:
(i) I dislike the follow
(ii) The boy near the taps is my brother.
When a singular noun represents a whole class:
Example:
(i)
The mango is considered the king among fruits.
(ii)
The ass is used as a beast of burden.
Remark:
The nouns man and woman do not take the before them.
Example:
Man is the greatest of Gods creations.
With names of:
(a) Gulfs, rivers, oceans, islands and mountains.

Examples:
The Himalayas, the Indian ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red sea, the Andaman
islands, the Brahmaputra river.
Certain books:
Example:
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The Vedas, the Puranas, the Bible, the Ramacharitmanas.
Musical instruments:
Example:
The flute, the violin, the table, the trumpet.
The inventions:
Example:
(i)
I hate the telephone for its constant ringing.
(ii)
The television is a gift of science.
Parts of body:
Example:
(i)
He was wounded in the leg.
(ii)
They hit him on the hands
Religious groups:
The Sikhs, the Hindus, the Parsees.
Names enforcing law:

The police, the Navy, the Air Force.
Political parties:
The Congress, the Janata Pary, the B.J.P.
Aeroplanes, ships, trains etc:

The Makalu (aeroplane), the Vikrant (ship), the Rajdhani express (train).
Before names of an empire, dynasty or historical event

The Gupta dynasty, the Old Stone Age, the First World War, the American
Revolution.
With superlatives:
Examples:
(i)
He is the best boy in the class,
(ii)
Prizes would be given for the most outstanding performances.
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Clubs, foundations etc:

The Lions Club, the Ford foundation.
Before common nouns denoting unique things:

The sun, the sky, the earth, the world, the stars.
With ordinals:
Example:
(i)
He took the first taxi that came his way.
(ii)
He lives in the tenth block.
(iii)
Our class is on the second floor.
Before the comparative degree:

Example:
(i)
The more they get, the more they want.
(ii)
He is the cleverer of the two.
Before an adjective when the noun is understood:

Example:
(i)
The poor would favour him.
(ii)
We must not shun the disabled.
PREPOSITIONS:
Introduction about Prepositions:
Prepositions are the words which are used to connect the different nouns, pronouns and
phrases in a sentence. It usually indicates the relation between the words it is connecting.
Usage of at, in and on:
at
in
on
POINT
ENCLOSED SPACE
SURFACE
At the entrance
In India
On the menu
At the front of the desk
In a building
On the cover
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At the corner
In my wallet
On the floor
At the bus stand
In my shirt
On the carpet
At 12 pm
In a car
On the page
At the crossroads
In a box
On the door
At the top of the page
In September
On the ceiling
At the end of the road
In the garden
On the wall
Preposition:
A preposition is a word which shows the relation between a noun or a pronoun and some
other word in a sentence.
Kinds of Prepositions:
Prepositions of Place and Direction
Prepositions of Time and Date.
Prepositions of Place and Direction:

These Prepositions include:
In, into, at, on, for, over, under, below, beyond, down
Prepositions of Time and Date:

These Prepositions include:
At, on, in, by, from, to, till, until, during, for, since, after.
1.) At is used:
(a) With a definite point of time
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Example: I usually get up at 5 oclock.
She leaves her house every day at 9 a.m.
(b) With festivals
Example: He will come at Holi.
2.) In is used:
(a) With the parts of the day, (with noon, use at), months, seasons and years
Example: He takes a walk in the afternoon.
In summer the weather is warm.
(b) With the future tense referring to the period in which action may take place
Example: you must be careful in future.
3.) On is used with days and dates
Example: My brother will arrive on Monday.
My birthday is on the first of June.
4.) By refers to the latest time at which an action will be over.
Example: the examination will be over by 5 p.m.
5.) For is used with perfect continuous tense showing the duration of action.
I have been here for three years.
6.) Since is used with the point of time
When action begins and continues.
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Example: He has been ill since last Tuesday.
Since 1980, Shalini has lived in Delhi.
7.) From refers to the starting point of action.
Example: This water came from a spring.
She came from USA.
Prepositions of position:
1.) At refers to an exact point.
Example: The tourist stayed at the Tourist hotel.
He studied at Oxford.
He is waiting at the door.
2.) In refers to larger areas.
Example: He lives in Bombay.
3.) Between is used for two person or two things.
Example: Share these sweets between him and me.
It is a secret between you and me.
4.) Among is used with more than two persons or things but before the word which starts with
a consonant letter.
Divide the sweets among the three boys.
5.) Amongst is also used with more than two persons or things but before the word which
starts with a vowel letter.
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Example: Divide the sweets amongst us.
6.) Above is used for higher than.
Example: The sun rose above the horizon.
We were flying above the clouds.
7.) Under is used for vertically below.
Example: It is shady under the trees.
8.) Below is used for lower than.
Example: When the sun sets it goes below the horizon.
Your work is below average.
9.) Over is used for vertically above.
Example: There is an aircraft coming over.
The bathroom is over the kitchen.
10.) Beneath means a lower position.
Example: The ground was slippery beneath her.
At, in, on, by, for, since, from, between, among, amongst, above, under, below, over, beneath,
to, into, against, off, from, about, along, after, across, before, behind, beyond, besides, etc.
COMMON ERRORS IN USE OF PREPOSITIONS:
1). No preposition should be used after a transitive verb (tell, order, describe, discuss,
resemble, etc.)
For example,
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The lawyer describes about the nature of the case to the client. (Incorrect)
The lawyer describes the nature of the case to the client. (Correct)
2). Objective case of noun or pronoun is used after preposition.

For example,
She will not talk to he. (Incorrect)
She will not talk to him. (Correct)
3). No preposition can be used before the word home in a sentence. At home individually is
a correct phrase which bears a different meaning but its incorrect in a sentence.
For example,
He came at home. (Incorrect)
He came home. (Correct)
4). If the prepositions like about, after, before, at, for, in, on, to, from are followed by a present
participle verb, then the verb should be in the ing form.
For example,
He stopped me from go there. (Incorrect)
He stopped me from going there. (Correct)
5).for is used to indicate a period of time.

For example,
She has been working since three hours. (Incorrect)
She has been working for three hours. (Correct)
6). Since is used to indicate a particular point of time.

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For example,
Arnav is sleeping for morning. (Incorrect)
Arnav is sleeping since morning. (Correct)
7). The prepositions on, in, at are not used before the following words:
Today, tomorrow, yesterday, the following day, the next day, etc.,
For example,
John will come there on today. (Incorrect)
John will come there today. (Correct)
8). The word than is normally used for the comparative degree to compare two objects. But
with words like prefer, senior, junior, prior, superior, inferior, etc., are used in the sentence then
the preposition to is used instead of than.
For example,
She prefers walking than running. (Incorrect)
She prefers walking to running. (Correct)
9). The preposition at can be used in four different context:

With a definite point of time like 2a.m., 5 oclock, etc.
For example,
He usually comes home on 9 p.m. (Incorrect)
He usually comes home at 9 p.m. (Correct)
With common festivals like Diwali, holi, etc.

For example,
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She will come for diwali. (Incorrect)
She will come at diwali. (Correct)
To refer to an exact point

For example,
He is waiting by the entrance. (Incorrect)
He is waiting at the entrance. (Correct)
To refer to aim at a particular direction

For example,
She aimed on the bird. (Incorrect)
She aimed at the bird. (Correct)
10). Similarly the preposition in is used in the following three context:

It is used with parts of the day, months, seasons and years
For example,
At winter the weather is cool. (Incorrect)
In winter the weather is cool. (Correct)
It is used with the future tense referring to the period in which action may take place
For example,
He must be careful for future. (Incorrect)
He must be careful in future. (Correct)
When referring to larger areas like cities or countries
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For example,
She lives at London. (Incorrect)
She lives in London. (Correct)
CONJUNCTIONS:
Introduction about Conjunctions:
Conjunctions or connectives are words that are used to connect two words or phrases or
clauses in order to show the relationship between the ideas in them. The use of conjunctions
makes the expressions neat and compact.
Conjunctions can be single words such as and, or, but, so, yet, therefore, though, when,
although, if, after, also, however, that, where, before etc.
Conjunctions can be coordinating conjunctions, connecting two items of equal status or
ideas, or subordinating conjunctions, connecting items of unequal status and meaning.
1.) Scarcely or hardly is followed by when.
Example: Scarcely had I entered the room when I heard a shriek.
Hardly had I slept when the telephone rang.
2.) Though is followed by yet.
Example: Though he worked hard yet he failed.
3.) No sooner if followed by than.
Example: No Sooner did we reach there than it began to rain.
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4.) Not only is followed by but also.
Example: Not only did he help her, but also dropped her home safely.
5.) Lest is negative and so should not be followed by not; it is followed by should.
Example: Work hard lest you should fail.
6.) If would or may is used in place of should, then else should be used in place of lest.
Example: Give him water, else he may die.
Leave on time, else you would miss the train.
7.) Both is complemented by and, not by as well as.
Example: Both Amit and Sathish are good at Physics.
8.) So as is used in negative sentences, where, as..as is used in affirmative sentences.
Example: He is not so tall as his brother.
He is as tall as his brother.
9.) Other is followed by than.
Example: He has no other claim than his wealth.
10.) The word reason is not followed by because, but by that.
Example: The reason why he didnt go was that his mother was ill.
COMMON ERRORS IN USE OF CONJUNCTIONS
1). That should not be used
- Before a sentence in Direct Speech
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For example,
She said that, I will not return. (Incorrect)
She said, I will not return (Correct)
- Before Interrogative Adverbs and Pronouns in Indirect Speech

For example,
He asked me that who he was. (Incorrect)
He asked me who he was. (Correct)
2). hardly & scarcely should be followed by when or before and not by than or that
For example,
Hardly did I reach the station, than the train left it. (Incorrect)
Hardly did I reach the station when the train left it. (Correct)
3). Not is never used with until

For example,
Wait here until I do not return. (Incorrect)
Wait here until I return. (Correct)
4). No sooner should be followed by than, not by but or then

For example,
No sooner do I finish this work then I shall start another. (Incorrect)
No sooner do I finish the book, than I shall begin another. (Correct)
5). Two conjunctions should not be used in the same sentence

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For example,
Although she was tired, but she still went on working. (Incorrect)
Although she was tired, she still went on working. (Correct)
6). When two singular nouns are joined by either or , neither nor, then the sentence is
treated as singular
For example,
Neither Priya nor George were late. (Incorrect)
Neither Priya nor George was late. (Correct)
7). If one of the nouns is plural then the verb should agree with the noun close to it
For example,
Neither Ashok nor his friends has finished. (Incorrect)
Neither Ashok nor his friends have finished. (Correct)
8). Both should be followed by and in the positive sense.

For example,
Both Ted as well as John were present there. (Incorrect)
Both Ted and John were present there. (Correct)
9). In the negative sense, neither nor should be used in the place of both
For example,
Both Ted and John did not come there. (Incorrect)
Neither Ted nor John came there. (Correct)
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2. Before words beginning with consonant sound

When a singular noun represents a whole class:

The mango is considered the king among fruits.

The ass is used as a beast of burden.

With names of:

(a) Gulfs, rivers, oceans, islands and mountains.

For More English Grammar Tips Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

I hate the telephone for its constant ringing.

The television is a gift of science.

He was wounded in the leg.

They hit him on the hands

Names enforcing law:

Aeroplanes, ships, trains etc:

Before names of an empire, dynasty or historical event

He is the best boy in the class,

Prizes would be given for the most outstanding performances.

For More English Grammar Tips Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

Clubs, foundations etc:

Before common nouns denoting unique things:

He took the first taxi that came his way.

He lives in the tenth block.

Our class is on the second floor.

Before the comparative degree:

The more they get, the more they want.

He is the cleverer of the two.

Before an adjective when the noun is understood:

The poor would favour him.

We must not shun the disabled.

At the front of the desk

For More English Grammar Tips Visit: www.ibpsguide.com

At the bus stand

At the top of the page

At the end of the road

Prepositions of Place and Direction

Prepositions of Time and Date.

Prepositions of Place and Direction:

Prepositions of Time and Date:

2). Objective case of noun or pronoun is used after preposition.

She will not talk to he. (Incorrect)

She will not talk to him. (Correct)

He came at home. (Incorrect)

He came home. (Correct)

He stopped me from go there. (Incorrect)

He stopped me from going there. (Correct)

5).for is used to indicate a period of time.

She has been working since three hours. (Incorrect)

She has been working for three hours. (Correct)

6). Since is used to indicate a particular point of time.

Arnav is sleeping for morning. (Incorrect)

Arnav is sleeping since morning. (Correct)

John will come there on today. (Incorrect)

John will come there today. (Correct)

She prefers walking than running. (Incorrect)

She prefers walking to running. (Correct)

9). The preposition at can be used in four different context:

He usually comes home on 9 p.m. (Incorrect)

He usually comes home at 9 p.m. (Correct)

With common festivals like Diwali, holi, etc.

She will come for diwali. (Incorrect)

She will come at diwali. (Correct)

To refer to an exact point

He is waiting by the entrance. (Incorrect)