Words Often Confused

    1.      Accept – to agree, to take: We do not accept credit cards.

    Except – Every student except Nilima was present in the class.

    2.      Accident – something unexpected, usually tragic in nature: My car was damaged in an accident.

    Incident – some ordinary event: Tell us some interesting incidents of your life.

    3.      Advice (noun) – We must follow the advice of our teachers.

    Advise (verb) – The teacher advised me to be punctual in the class.

    4.      Angel – The black boy saw an angel in a dream.

    Angle – A right angle has ninety degrees.

    5.      Bail – security: The accused was released on bail.

    Bale – bundle: Fifty bales of cotton are lying on the platform.

    6.      Bare – uncovered, naked: The dog laid bare its sharp teeth.

    Bear – to tolerate: I cannot bear so much pain.

    7.      Berth – a bed on a boat or train: We got two berths reserved in the Rajdhani Express.

    Birth – What is your date of birth?

    8.      Beside – next to, by the side of: We sat beside thw eindow and talked.

    Besides – in addition to, as well as: Besides being a distinguished scholar, she is also a good               dancer.

    9.      Brake – The driver applied the brakes in time.

    Break – This vase is made of glass. It can break easily.

    10.  Cattle – cows, bulls, buffaloes etc.: The cattle are grazing in the field.

    Kettle – The kettle is full of tea.

    11.  Check – to look at something carefully to ensure that it is right: The teacher has checked all the           notebooks.

    Cheque – My father sent me a cheque for five hundred rupees.

    12.  Cite – to quote: She cited many examples to prove her point.

    Sight – view: The train left the station and soon disappeared from sight.

    13.  Coarse – rough: Villagers often wear garments made of coarse cloth.

    Course – path: The river is changing its course.

                -   A series of lessons: We had finished all our courses by the end of January.

    14.   Complement – that which completes: Point out the complement of the verb in this sentence.

    Compliment – to express regards: I complimented Ravina on her fine performance.

    15.  Custom – Many old customs should be changed now.

    Habit – Going for a daily morning walk is a very good habit.

    16.  Dairy – We buy milk from a government dairy.

    Diary – we should not read anyone’s personal diary.

    17.  Die – very few people die of tuberculosis now.

    Dye – The shirt was dyed green.

    18.  Discover – to find out something which is already there: Madame Curie discovered radium.

    Invent – to make a new thing: Charles Babbage invented the computer.

    19.  Dose (medicine) – Take three doses of this medicine daily.

    Doze – light sleep: He had no work to do, so he dozed off for a while.

    20.  Drown – used for living beings: The child got drowned in the river.

    Sink – used for non-living things: The ship sank but fortunately all the passengers were rescued.

    21.  Feat – an action that shows great skill or courage: The pilot amazed everyone with his daring feats.

    Feet – Tight shoes have caused blisters on my feet.

    22.  Farther – comparative degree of ‘far’, suggests distance: Whose house is farther from the school –       yours or Geetu’s?

    Further – suggests position: Please read further.

    23.  Heal – to cure: Deep wounds take longer to heal.

    Heel – The heel of this shoe is completely worn out.

    24.  Hear – The old man cannot hear clearly

    Here – at this place: I shall wait for you here.

    25.  Idle – without work: Time is precious; so do not sit idle.

    Idol – image: Many Hindus worship idols.

    26.   Later – comparative degree of ‘late’, suggests time: Varun reached the station later than Ila.

     Latter – suggests position: Rashmi and Uma are sisters; the latter of the two sings better.

    27.  Loose – the opposite of tight: Children should always wear loose clothes.

    Lose – Where did you lose your bag?

    28.  Peace – A nation can progress only during peace time.

    Piece – I want a piece of paper to write a letter on.

    29.  Plain – not pretty: She is a plain-looking girl.
                                       - This piece of ground is quite plain.
          Plane – a flat, level surface: This house is at a higher plane.

    30.  Pray – We pray to God daily.

    Prey – victim: The jackal fell a prey to the lion.

    31.  Principal – our Principal believes in strict discipline.

    Principle – a basic rule: We should never give up our principles.

    32.  Quiet – silent, peaceful, still: Children, please keep quiet.

    Quite – I found the questions quite easy.

    33.  Rain – Heavy rains often cause floods.

    Reign – rule: The Mughal empire progressed a great deal during Akbar’s reign.

    34.  Root – Root is the most important part of the plant.

    Route – Our school bus does not go by this route.

    35.  Sail – Soon the ship sailed away and got out of sight.

    Sale – These goods are not for sale.

    36.  Soar – to fly high: The kite soared over the treetops.

   Sore – painful: She is suffering from a sore throat.

   Sour – sharp and bitter taste: Lemons have a sour taste.

    37.  Steal – The thief could not steal anything from the house.

    Steel – Steel is a very useful metal.

    38.  Story – I like to read adventure stories.

    Storey – My room is on the upper storey of the house.

    39.  Tail – The monkey uses its tail to hang from branches.

    Tale – story: Children are fond of fairy tales.

    40.  Their – They live in their own house.

    There – We went to the ground but did not find anybody there.

    41.  Vain – fruitless: All our efforts to get a suitable house proved vain.

    Vein – a blood vessel: Veins carry impure blood to the heart.

    42.  Way – She lost her way in the forest.

    Weigh – How many kilograms does this box weigh?

    43.  Wait – I had to wait for fifteen minutes for the bus.

    Weight – Her doctor told her to reduce her weight.

    44.  Waste – Time is precious; don’t waste it.

    Waist – The soldier tied a belt round his waist.

    45.  Weather – The weather is very pleasant. Let us go for a picnic.

    Whether – I am not sure whether I shall be able to come.

Punctuation & Capital Letters

     A.    When we speak, we do not go on speaking simultaneously and in the same tone. We pause while speaking. Even our pauses are not of the same duration. Some of them are short while some of them are pretty long. And sometimes we raise over voice while at others we lower it. We lend a particular quality of voice to the same words to convey a particular meaning. Marks of punctuation perform the same function as pauses and stresses perform in speech.

Look at these four words: he has gone away.

Try speaking these words in different ways. Try to make a simple statement. Next try to ask a question. Still next, try to turn them into an exclamation, that is, try to give them a strong feeling, that of regret or surprise. You will notice that you have spoken these words in different ways. How do we convey this in writing? We use different punctuation marks:

He has gone away. (full stop for a simple statement)

He has gone away? (question mark, for a question)

He has gone away. (mark of exclamation, for an exclamation – for regret or surprise)

The example taken above should also suggest that a wrong mark of punctuation or the absence of a punctuation mark where there should have been one would convey a wrong meaning. Take these examples:

    1.      When are we going to eat mother?

    2.      I hope you like her, Father because she is my best friend.

         Do these sentences convey any meaning? Are we going to eat mother? In sentence 2, have we used she for her father? Let us now put some commas:

    1.      When are we going to eat, mother?

    2.      I hope you like her, Father, because she is my best friend.

Now these sentences look meaningful.

    B.     The main marks of punctuation are:

1.      Full stop (.)

2.      Comma (,)

3.      Semicolon (;)

4.      Colon (:)

5.      Mark of interrogation (?)

6.      Mark of exclamation (!)

7.      Apostrophe (’)

8.      Quotation marks or inverted commas (“ ’’)

    C.    The full stop (.)

1.      We use a full stop to close a statement or a command:

Eggs are rich in protein. (Statement)

Bring a dozen eggs from the market. (Command)

2.      We use a full stop after initials or abbreviations:

Mr. S.K. Verma : Mister Surendra Kumar verma

P.M. : Prime Minister  

In modern English, full stops are often omitted in abbreviations. U.S.A. and USA are both acceptable.

In Mr, Mrs, Dr, full stops can be omitted.

3.      We use a full stop to indicate a decimal fraction.

56.2, 22.9

    D.    The comma (,)

The comma is the shortest pause. It is used

1.      To separate words in series:

Our new teacher is competent, experienced and sincere.

The food they served was delicious, nourishing and cheap.

*Note that before the last word, which is preceded by and, we have not used a comma.

2. to separate phrases in series:

    Standing or sitting, eating or drinking, sleeping or walking, he is always thinking of his past.

3. to separate short clauses in series:

I do not know who he is, how he got in, or why he is here.

4.      To set off a noun of address:

Mother, may I have something to eat?

May I have something to eat, Mother?

5.      To separate the parts of a date from one another or any words following the date:

October 19, 2007

On November 4, 2010, we shifted to our new house.

6.      To separate the parts of an address:

Ram Chand & Sons

9 – Miller Ganj, Ludhiana.

7.      In a letter after the salutation and after the complimentary close:

Dear Megha,

Yours sincerely,

8.      To separate expressions like ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘oh’ and well:

Yes, I will certainly come.

Oh, I have not got that letter.

Well, I’ll see what I can do for you.

9.      To separate expressions that are in apposition:

Shri S.D. Rastogi, the Chief Secretary, was the chief guest.

Mrs. Mukherji, the new manager, is a very gentle lady.

10.  To separate a question tag from a statement:

This news is true, isn’t it?

You weren’t, were you?

11.  To separate a reported speech from the rest of the sentence:

He said, “We should learn from our mistakes.”

12.  Whenever a brief pause is needed to give greater clarity to our writing:

To prove my point, I produced a certificate.

She is, as far as I know, a very reliable person.

    E.     The semicolon (;)

The semicolon is stronger than a comma but weaker than a full stop.

1.      It is used between independent clauses not connected by a conjunction:

Rosy is quiet and hardworking; Ruchi is jovial and active.

2.      It is used before such expressions as ‘however’, ‘then’, ‘moreover’, ‘nevertheless’, ‘hence’, ‘thus’, ‘for instance’, ‘consequently’, ‘that is’, ‘therefore’, if they come between independent clauses not connected by a conjunction:

Our Principal insists on strict discipline; therefore I try to be very punctual.

You have already taken three days’ leave; hence, you cannot be on leave tomorrow.

3.      It is used to separate clauses, particularly if the clauses have internal commas:

The family is going on a picnic; father carries the rugs; mother, the food; and the children, the rest of the things.

    F.     The colon (:)

The colon is used after a statement which introduces examples:

India has several large cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai.

My subjects this year are the following: English, Hindi, Mathematics, General Science and Social Studies

    G.    The mark of interrogation (?)

The mark of interrogation is placed at the end of an interrogative sentence:

Are you sure this news is true?

How old is he?

    H.    The mark of exclamation (!)

The mark of exclamation is placed at the end of an exclamatory sentence:

How stupid!

What an excellent idea!

Alas! Gambling has ruined him.

    I.       The apostrophe (’)

1.      To form the possessive of any singular noun, we add an apostrophe and ‘s’ to the noun:

The girl’s dress, Sonali’s books

2.      To form the possessive of a plural noun ending in ‘s’, we add only an apostrophe:

The boys’ school, a ladies’ tailor

3.      To form the possessive of a plural noun that does not end in ‘s’, we add an apostrophe and ‘s’:

Children’s programmes, men’s clothes, women’s colleges

4.      We use an apostrophe with expressions of time, space and money:

Two weeks’ holidays, a stone’s throw

5.      We use an apostrophe to make short forms:

I’ll (I will), it’s (it is), he doesn’t

6.      We use an apostrophe to form the plurals of letters, figures etc.:

Two 5’s, three M.A.’s, two a’s

7.      We don’t use the apostrophe with these words:

Ours, yours, its, hers, theirs, whose

    J.      The quotation marks or inverted commas (“ ’’)

The quotation marks are used to set off the actual words used by a speaker:

Gopal said, “ I want to become a lawyer when I grow him.”

The speaker said, “ It is our duty to defend our country.”

    K.    Capital letters

1.      Capital letters with proper nouns

(a)    Capitalize the names of persons:

Subodh Kant, Sushmita Seth

(b)   Capitalize the names of the days of the week and of the months (but not the names of the seasons):

Monday, the third Tuesday in June, the August

(c)    Capitalize the names of religions and other words used with them:

Islam, the Bible, Id-ul-fitr, the Buddhists

(d)   Capitalize the names of countries, nationalities, races, languages and all adjectives derived from them:

India, Indian, Tamil, the Germans

(e)    Capitalize the names of schools, colleges, business houses, political parties:

Delhi Public School, Hans Raj College, Vardhman Silk Mills, Indian National Congress

(f)    Capitalize the names of buildings, the names of trains and ships, brand names:

The Red Fort, the Rajdhani Express, Hero Honda

(g)   Capitalize the names of special days, special events, etc.:

the Republic Day, Quit India Movement

2.      Capitalize the first word of every sentence.

3.      The first word of each line of a poem ofter begins with a capital letter:

The sweetest thing that ever grew

Beside a human door!

4.      The first word of a direct quotation is capitalized:

She said,‘‘All my demands have been met.”

5.      While writing the titles of stories, essays etc., we capitalize the first word, all the other words except articles, prepositions and conjunctions:

The Advantages of Rising Early

6.      We capitalize the official names of government departments, the titles of high-ranking officials etc.:

The Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance

7.      We capitalize the pronoun I and all the words standing for God.

the Almighty, the blessings of God.

Articles

The words a, an and the are called articles. Articles are actually demonstrative objectives and are used to point out people or things. So they are used before nouns.

A and an are indefinite articles while the is the definite article.

A/an

    1.       A is used before words starting with a consonant sound.

 An is used before words starting with a vowel sound.

A and an are used before singular nouns and countables like a book, a chair, a tree, an apple, an ant and an island. It is clear that we cannot say a milk, a strength, a tea, since milk, strength and tea are not countables. Similarly we cannot say an apples, an ants, a trees. Apples, ants and trees are countables but they are in the plural number.

    2.      Now look at these examples:

·         an hour

·         an honest person

·         an heir

We use an before these words because the h is silent in these words. So, hour sounds like our, honest sounds like onest and heir sounds like eir. Thus we see that all of these words begin with vowel sounds.

    3.      We use a before some words that begin with a vowel but produce a consonant sound. For example,

·         a one rupee coin (because the o in one sounds like won)

·         a university (because the u in university sounds like yoo).

·         a uniform (because the u in uniform sounds like yoo)

Remember in the use of a/an, it is sound that matters, not the spellings.

    4.       We also use the articles a and an when we are not sure which particular noun they refer ro. For example,

·         There is a boy at the door. (We are not sure which boy is meant here).

·         Give me a pen. (It could be any pen).

·         Give me an umbrella. (It can be any umbrella).

    5.      In abbreviations, if consonants begin with a vowel sound, they take an with them:

·         an M.A.

·         an M.P.

·         a Ph.D.

·         a B.A.

    6.      Note the use of a in the following phrases:

·         To be in a hurry

·         In a loud voice

·         A bad cold

·         A pleasure

·         To have a headache

·         In a low voice

·         A noise

·         A nuisance

·         A pity

·         A shame

    A.    Unlike the indefinite articles a or an, the article the speaks of something that is definite. It refers to a particular person/thing and  already mentioned person/thing. The is said to be the definite article.

We use ‘the’

    1.      Before any noun when we want to make it particular

·         I have read the book you are talking of.

(not any book but the book you are talking of.)

·         Let us walk towards the front gate.

(not any gate but the front gate.)

    2.      With superlatives

The sweetest song, the most intelligent student

    3.      With such words as ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘next’, ‘only’, ‘same’, ‘following’, ‘previous’:

The last bench, the only son, the next house.

But the is not used with such expressions as:

Last night/week/month/year;next week/month/year

·         What did you eat last night?

·         Will you come here next Sunday?

    4.      With a common noun when that noun represents the whole class:

·         The dog is a faithful animal.

·         The elephant has a remarkable memory.

Or we can say

·         Elephants have a remarkable memory.

    5.      With such nouns as ‘earth’, ‘moon’, ‘sun’, ‘sky’, etc: (These thing are the only ones of their kind but they are not proper nouns.)

·         We could see the moon in the sky.

·         The earth revolves around the sun.

    6.      With the names of

Rivers: the Ganga, the Mahanadi

Seas and oceans: the Arabian sea, the Indian Ocean

Mountain ranges: the Himalayas, the Alps

Holy books; the Bible, the Mahabharata

Trains, ships, aeroplanes: the Taj Express, the Kanishka

Newspapers:the Indian Express, the Hindu

Well known buildings: the Taj, the Gateway of India.

The directions: the North, the West

The whole families: the Bhatias, the Mangeshkars

Countries if the name contains a common noun: the United States of America, the United Kingdom

    7.      In such word combinations as:

·         To speak the truth

·         On the one hand

·         In the morning

·         To play the violin

·         On the other hand

·         In the afternoon

    8.      Note the use of the in the following

·         The rich should help the poor.

( Rich people should help poor people.)

·         The more we get, the more we desire.

·         The higher we go, the cooler it is.

·         Cloth is sold by the metre.

·         We can buy bananas by dozen.

    B.     The omission of the

1.      Normally we do not use the with proper nouns, abstract nouns and such nouns as gold, silver, water, wood etc., which name materials:

·         India is a great country.

·         Beauty is admired by all.

·         Gold is a precious metal.

But when we use these nouns as particular ones, we have to use the with them:

·         The India of the 21^st century is going to be a super power.

·         The beauty of Nur Jahan is famous all over the world.

·         The gold we have purchased today seems to be pure.

2.      We do not use the with these phrases:

·         To take place

·         To take interest in

·         To make use of

·         To pay attention to

·         On foot

·         By train

·         To take part in

·         To take heart

·         To lose heart

·         From head to foot

·         At home

·         By bus

·         To take care of

·         To be at fault

·         Out of doors

·         Day by day

·         By mistake

·         By chance

·          

    C.    The repetition of the

Look at these two sentences:

The poet and the dramatist have been honoured.

The poet and dramatist has been honoured.

The first sentence in which we have used the twice speaks of two different persons, one of whom is a poet and the other a dramatist. The second sentence suggests that the same person is both a poet and a dramatist.