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Chapter 1
PARTS OF SPEECH
WHAT IS A “PART OF SPEECH”?
The words “Parts of Speech” tell us about the work which a word does in a sentence. There
are EIGHT different kinds of this work, so the words are divided into EIGHT DIFFERENT KINDS
OR Parts of Speech. They are: Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction
and Interjection.
1. THE NOUN
The noun is the name of a person, place, thing, quality, state, or action as : Amjad, pencil,
honesty, school, happiness.
COMMON NOUN: A common nun is a general and common name of things, as : Furniture,
Dress, Man, Hill, Book.
PROPER NOUN: A proper noun is a particular name of men or things, as : Amjad Ali, Bang-edara, Lahore.
ABSTRACT NOUN: An abstract noun is the name of a quality, state, or action, as : Happiness,
Truth, Imagination, Beauty.
COLLECTIVE NOUN: A collective noun is that which names a group of persons or things which
are taken as one unit, for example : Committee, Government, Board, Company, Team, Class. The
collective noun is considered either singular or plural according to the purpose it serves. See
examples in the Chapter on Nouns on page 5.
VERBAL NOUNS: A verbal noun is derived from a verb but it works as a Noun, for
example : Eating, Running, Walking, Eating, Speaking. Since it is derived from a verb, it is called a
verbal Noun. It is also called a Gerund.
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2. PRONOUN
A pronoun is a word used in place of a Noun. When a noun is used in a long sentence. It may
have to be used again. To avoid repetition, a pronoun is used in its place; for example : “Amjad
is a nice boy and he is a member of the college cricket team but he is not regular in his studies.”
Pronouns are divided into many different kinds. The most important, however, are these:
Personal Pronouns, Possessive Pronoun, Relative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, Distributive
Pronouns.
Personal Pronouns express the three persons: the first persons (singular and plural), the
second person, the third persons (singular and plural). Example: I, me, we, us, you he, him, they,
them, she, her, and it are all Personal Pronouns.
Possessive Pronouns show possession of a thing, for example: “This book is mine”, or “Is
this yours?” or “It is their Land,”
Relative Pronouns serves two purposes. It is used in place of a noun which has been used
earlier in the sentence, and it also joins two clauses. The Relative Pronouns are: Who, Which,
What, That and as.
Interrogative Pronouns are those which ask a question such as: Who, Which, What, for
example: “What do you have in your pocket?” OR “Who committed this crime?”
Distributive Pronouns are those which point out a number of individuals or things
collectively but they are considered individually, for example: “Each of the students came here”,
OR “Is Anybody home,” OR “Everybody was taken to play hockey.”
3. ADJECTIVE
An Adjective is a word used to qualify Noun. There are six kind of Adjectives:
Demonstrative, Descriptive, Interrogative, Possessive, Distributive, Quantitative.
Demonstrative Adjectives are those which specify a Noun, for example: “This year has
been a cold one.”
Descriptive adjectives are those which describe a Noun, for example: “This is a round
table,”
Interrogative Adjectives put a question: “Which of these hats is yours?” Possessive
Adjectives: “His son is studying at a college,”
Distributive Adjectives: “Every seat has already been taken in this cinema hall,”
Quantitative Adjectives: “Twelve rupees is too much for this tie,”
4. VERBS
The verb is a word used to show Action. Most words denote Action: “He ate his dinner”, OR
“I ran fast,” OR “The sun rises at seven.” However, there are many Verbs which show a state of
being; for example : “She is happy,” OR “They seem angry,” Such verbs too are taken as action
verbs.
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Verbs are of two kinds: Transitive and Intransitive. A Transitive Verb is that which is
followed by an Object, for example: “He caught the bird.” And “The enemy attacked the islands.”
An Intransitive Verb is that which does not need an Object; for example: “He laughed loudly”, and
“the engine runs well.” Some words, however, may be used both transitively as well as
intransitively. For example;
His duties begin soon (Intransitive).
He begins work soon (Transitive).
Verbs are often used in compound forms; for example: I have written, I am writing, they
should come here. Have, has, had, is, was, were, am are, can, could, shall, will, should, would, may,
might, be, being are called Auxiliary Verbs. An Auxiliary Verb is considered as part of the regular
verb.
5. ADVERB
An Adverb is a word used to qualify a Verb an Adjective or another Adverb. Many adverbs are
formed from adjectives by adding “---ly”; for example: happily, quickly, extremely the following
are examples of other kinds of ADVERBS:
(1) He works hard ((hard qualifies works).
(2) it is a very good job (very qualifies the adjective good).
(3) He works extremely well (extremely qualifies the adverb well).
6. PREPOSITION
A preposition is a word which joins another word with a noun (or non-equivalent), and
shows the relations between them. The noun, or noun-equivalent, is the object of the preposition.
For example: “He went to school,” (here went and school is joined by the preposition to, and school
is the object of to).
Some of the chief prepositions are these:
about, above, across, after, against, along, at, before, behind, beneath, beside, between, by,
down, during, except, for, from, in, into, off, on, over, round, since, through, till, to , towards, under,
underneath, up, upon, with.
There are many prepositions used as Idioms with other words: for example:
Avail of, A muse at, Believe in, Militate against, Go through, Immune from.
There are some Double or Compound Prepositions also, for example:
According to, Owing to, out of, As to, etc.
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7. CONJUNCTION
A Conjunction is a word used to connect words, or groups of words, or clauses; for example:
“He and I will go,” “Give it to Jameel or me,” “He came but I was not at home.”
Some important conjunctions are these:
And, Or, Nor, Since, Though, If, Unless, Because, When, How, As well as, Either …. Or, Neither ….
Nor.
When the two parts of a sentence are grammatically complete, the conjunction joining them
is called a Coordinating Conjunction. When one part of a sentence is incomplete, the conjunction
joining the two parts is called a Sub-coordinating Conjunction; for example; “I could not come
yesterday because of rain.”
8. INTERJECTION
As Interjection is a word used to call the attention of some person, or to express a feeling of
happiness, anger, grief, or surprise, etc.
For example: “Hurrah!” “Hello!” “Alas!”.
Interjections have no special relation with other parts of speech. Interjections usually take the
mark of exclamation after them.
EXERCISES
Q: Pick out the Parts of Speech of words in Italics in the following sentences:
1. Before accepting their jobs some of the applicants visited the factory offices.
2. Enough housing is the main purpose of this plan.
3. I was unable to attend to my duties because. I received guests whom I had to meet and see
off at the airport.
4. I am staying here till Friday.
5. Can you run fast?
6. His uncle gave him an inkpot.
7. Coming from the airport, he slipped and fell down.
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Chapter 2
ABOUT NOUNS
1. COMMON AND PROPER NOUNS.
A Common noun is a general name common to all persons, while a Proper Noun is a particular
name of a person or thing. Examples of Common Noun: Book, Village, School, Boy, Road,
Examples of Proper Nouns. Jameel Ahmed, Lahore, Bang-e-dara, Ravi.
2. ABSTRACT AND CONCERETE NOUNS.
An Abstract Noun is the name of a quality, action or state. It cannot be felt by any of our five
senses. Examples of Abstract noun: Honesty, Weakness, Poverty, Courtesy. A CONCRETE
NOUN is quite opposite to an abstract noun. Any noun which is not an abstract noun or any noun
which can be felt by any of our five senses is a CONCRETE NOUN: Examples: Pencil, House,
Table, Road, Face, Glasses and Shirts. If you understand what is a Concrete Noun. you will also
understand and easily recognize an Abstract Noun.
2. COLLECTIVE NOUN.
A Collective Noun is the name of a group of individuals. This name is considered as one
individual. It is singular in form but plural in meaning. Examples: Committee, Board, Team, Family,
government.
The collective noun can be singular or plural. It depends on the purpose it serves in the sentence.
Examine the following examples in which the name word (committee) is used as a singular noun in
the first sentence and as a plural noun in the second sentence:
1. The committee was unanimous (that is, the committee acted as a single unit).
2. The committee were arguing among themselves. (that is , the committee were acting as
individuals. Not as one unit)
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“NUMBER” IN NOUNS
“Number” is the form of a noun that shows whether it is singular or plural. Benerally the
plural of nouns is formed by adding –s to singular nouns. As: books, lands, pencils, friends. Other
rules of making plurals are these:
(1)
Singular nouns ending in –s, -x, -z,-sh, or-eh form the plural by adding –es: misses, faxes,
waves, mazes, blazes, dishes, wishes, churches.
NOTE. –s is added when the plural has the same syllables as the singular: -es is added when
the plural has one more syllable than the singular. Thus the singular book and the plural
books have only one syllable each. But singular miss has one syllable and plural misses has
two: therefore, -es is to be added to form the plural.
(2)
Singular nouns ending in –y, preceded by a consonant, form the plural by changing the –y to
–I and adding –es, as: fly, flies; variety, varieties.
Note: that singular nouns ending in –y, preceded by a vowel, form the plural by adding –s,
as: day, days; monkey, monkeys.
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
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Singular nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant form the plural by adding –es, as: hero,
heroes; Negro, Negroes; Potato, Potatoes. But there are exceptions also, as: Piano, Pianos;
halo, halos.
Singular nouns ending in –f or -fe form the plural by changing f to v and adding -es.
Examples: thief, thieves; calf, calves; self, selves; wife, wives; knife, knives. (But there are
exceptions to this rule: grief, griefs; safe, safes; strife, strifes; turf, turfs)
SEVEN nouns form their plural by changing a vowel. Examples: Man, Men; Woman,
Women; Tooth, Teeth; Foot, Feet; Mouse, Mice; Goose, Geese; Louse, Lice.
THREE nouns form their plurals by adding –en: Ox, oxen; brother, brothern; child, children.
Compound nouns form their plural by adding –s to the most important words of the
compound, for example, mother-in-law, mothers-in-law; court-martial, courts-martial; goodbye, good-byes.
Foreign words form their plurals according to their own rules. Examples: (Latin Words):
addendum, addenda; datum, data; erratum, errata; alumnus, alumni. (Greek): analysis,
analyses; basis, bases; crisis, crises; thesis, theses; phenomenon, phenomens; (French):
Monsieur, Messleurs.
Foreign nouns commonly used in English Generally have two plurals. Examples: apparatus,
apparatuses, apparatus; formula, formulae, formulas; aquarium, aquariums, aquaria;
gymnasium, gymnasiums, gymnasia.
Some nouns have two plural forms each form with its own different meaning. For example;
the singular noun index has two plural: Indexes and Indices: (i) Books have indexes; and (ii)
Numbers have indices. Similarly genius has two plurals; geniuses and genie; (i) Geniuses are
highly intelligent people; and (ii) Genie can act as guardians or spirits.
Some nouns are used only in plural as: aims, economics, athletics, forceps and news.
GENDER OF NOUNS
In English nouns, Gender denotes sex or the absence of sex.
Four genders are well known:
(a) Masculine – male sex
(b) Feminine – female sex
(c) Common – either sex
(d) Neuter – neither sex
Examples: masculine gender (man, he); feminine gender (woman, she); neuter gender (book, it);
common gender (child, student)
There are three different ways of making genders:
(a) By use of different words:
MASCULINE
FEMININE
MASCULINE
FEMININE
Father
Mother
Gentleman
Lady
Brother
Sister
Bachelor
Spinster
Uncle
Aunt
Horse
Mare
Nephew
Niece
Cock
Hen
Sir
Madam
Bull
Cow
Drake
Duck
Dog
Bitch
(b) By adding “ess”, or by changing “or” and “er” into “ress”;
MASCULINE
FEMININE
MASCULINE
FEMININE
Prince
Actor
Host
Master
Princess
Actress
Hostess
Mistress
Tiger
Negro
Lad
Lion
Tigress
Negress
Lass
Lioness
(c) By Prefixing a word denoting the sex, as:
MASCULINE
Man-servant
He-goat
Cock-sparrow
FEMININE
Maid-servant
She-goat
Hen-sparrow
MASCULINE
Grand father
Land Lord
Tom-cat
FEMININE
Grand mother
Land Lady
She-cat
But here are exceptions as:
MASCULINE
Bridegroom
Widower
Fox
FEMININE
Bride
Widow
Vixen
MASCULINE
FEMININE
Hero
Heroine
Sultan
Sultana
(Vixen now means an Unpleasant woman)
EXERCISE
1.
2.
3.
Pick out Common and Abstract nouns in the following list and then write them down on
your note book:
Manner, custom, nations, schools, bulls, thoughts, air, rail, station, imagination.
Pick out Abstract, Collective, Proper and Common Noun from the following list and then
write them down on you notebook:
Board, Rajab Ali, Idea, company, colleges, ideology, engine, team, Amsterdam, thought,
quickness lamps, Lahore, art, watch, grammar, good.
In the list below, change singular nouns into plural numbers and plural nouns into singular
numbers:
Duty, flies, spoonful, monkey, goose, half, oasis, passer-by, apparatus, genius, series,
brethren, mongooses, brother-in-law, formulae, alumni, glass, a pair of scissors, thief, hand,
kerchief.
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Chapter 3
ABOUT PRONOUNS
The PRONOUN is a word used instead of a noun for example:
I, we, me, us, mine, ours, he, they, him, them, his, theirs, etc.
The pronouns make a sentence readable. If they are not used, the sentence will look funny.
Examine this sentence:
I saw the Gardner, and asked the Gardner if the Gardner would meet me tonight.
By using pronouns, this sentence will be greatly improved:
I saw the Gardner and asked him if he would meet me tonight.
The word for which a noun is used is called its Antecedent. The pronouns are of several different
classes but the following are most commonly used:
(1) PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Personal pronouns are so called because they stand for anyone of the three persons used with a
Verb:
(a) First Person: he person or persons who are speaking:
I bought a new car.
My father did not come with us.
(b) Second Person: the person or persons addressed:
You should try to be good to all.
This book will be given to you.
(d) Third Person: the person or thing spoken about:
They passed their examinations.
I found it in the sitting room.
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(2) POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive pronouns show possession. These pronouns are: my, mine, his, her, hers, ours,
their, theirs, your, yours.
(3) RELATIE PRONOUNS
The relative pronouns relate to some preceding nouns called Antecedent. At the same time, it
performs the function of a conjunction by joining two sentences to make them one.
The relative pronouns are: that, which, who, whom, whose and what.
Examples of heir use:
This is the house that Jameel built.
Mr. Khalil whom you met yesterday is my secretary.
THE WRONG USE OF PRONOUNS
(I) The two forms of the personal pronouns are often confused. i.e., me is used for I, him for he, and
them for they.
Examine these sentences:
Our buyers say that it is WE (not us) who are art fault.
It is I (not me) who must make a decision.
(2) “THEN” & “AS”
When used for the purpose of comparing two pronouns, than and as are used as conjunctions
and are followed by the subject-form of he pronouns:
Our friends have been more successful then WE (not us).
We cannot serve the market as well as THEY (not them).
But note the meaning the following sentences. Both are grammatically correct:
The manager blamed the cashier more than me (that is, more than he blamed me).
The manager blamed the cashier more than I (that is, more than I blamed him).
(3)
“WHO”, “WHOM”
Whether who or whom is correct depends upon whether the pronoun is the subject or the object
of the clause where it is used:
I met our new salesman who (not whom), I am sure, will do well (subject of will do well)
We do not know whom (not who) he will appoint (object of he will appoint).
(4) “BACH OTHER”, “ONE AN OTHER”
The first is used in reference in two things, and the second in reference to three or more.
We both congratulated each other (not one another).
We three discussed the matter with one another (not each other)
(5) “WHICH”
When used as a relative pronoun, “which” must relate to its noun to the sentence. It is a common
error to use “which” without its antecedent (Antecedent is the Noun for which a pronoun is
used).Thus the following sentence is not correct:
He completed the report in time. Which pleased the directors.
The pronoun “which” in this sentence relates neither to he not to report but to the fact of
completion but as this word has not been included in the sentence. The pronoun “which “is
without an Antecedent. The sentence should be rewritten in some such way:
His completion of the report in time pleased the directors.
You must always be careful to avoid confusion. Look at this:
No one objected to his suggestion, which was disappointing.
What was disappointing? (The suggestion, or the fact that no one objected).
(6) “AND WHO”, “AND WHICH”
A common mistake is to use an extra and with the relative pronoun who, whom, which. And is
correctly used only when the pronoun introduces a second clause. Examine these sentences:
The new operator is an excellent worker, who (not and) knows his job.
The new operator is an excellent worker, who knows his job, and enjoys it.
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(7) “MYSELF”
The pronoun myself, himself, etc. cannot stand by themselves in the subject of a sentence:
Jameel and I (not myself) will play the match.
We can, however, say I myself, Jameel himself, the members themselves, etc.
I myself will see to it.
(8) “EACH”, “EVERYONE”, “ANYONE”, “EITHER”, “NEITHER”,
Indefinite pronouns, i.e., each, everyone, anyone, anybody, everybody, either, neither, etc,
are those pronouns which refer to their nouns in a general way. They refer to only singular
members and must be treated as singular:
Everybody knows that he (not they) will receive a bonus.
Neither of the players was (not were) absent.
Another common mistake is to mix the indefinite pronoun one with a personal pronoun. If we
begin with one we must continue with one and not slip into he or you, or some other pronoun.
You must be consistent with the use of your pronouns:
If one wants to drive a car, one must get a license.
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(I)
1.
2.
3.
4.
EXERCISES
Choose the correct form of the pronouns given in brackets and then write them down
in your notebook:
A mosquito bit (me, myself) one the arm.
Psychologists know (us, we, ourselves) but sometime the hate (us, ourselves)
Here we are : Amjad, Naeem, and (I, me, myself)
Let us you and (I, me) kill these rats.
5. The two soldiers saluted (each other, one another).
6. He was good to (whoever, whomever) came to him.
(2)
Select personal pronouns. Possessive pronouns, and Relative pronouns from the list
given below, then write them down in your notebook:
Whom, whose, yours, his whom, I, hers, what, they, its, you, which, mine, what, theirs.
(3)
Correct the following sentences:
1. Yesterday I invited you, he and they.
2. Let you and I go to the hotel to me he.
3. He is the man who I met in Lahore.
4. I will not go there without they, she, and he.
5. Do you know whom the manager was?
6. Whenever one can, he should do your dirty.
7. He came to see my father and I.
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Chapter 4
ABOUT ADJECTIVES AND ARTICLES
An ADJECTIE is a word that qualifies a Noun or a Pronoun
POSITION OF ADJECTIVES:
An Adjective is generally used before the Noun It modifies.
Note these examples:
We are brave men. He has a kind heart.
They are gentle people. He has a warm heart.
But Note these sentences where the adjective is used after the noun it modifies:
The streets were wide. I had time enough.
The sea is calm tonight. The tide is fall.
I want to paint my doors white.
FORMING DEGREES OF COMPARISON:
The Positive Degree or the first degree is the simple form of the Adjective: Good bad, old.
Comparative Degree:
Almost all adjectives of one syllable and many of two syllables form the comparative degree by
adding r or er to the adjective.
Note there examples:
Braver, higher, lower, smaller, larger, thinner, cleverer, narrower and pleasanter.
The remaining word of two syllables and words of three or more syllables form the
comparative degree by using more before the simple adjective.
Note these examples:
More careful, more beautiful, most dangerous, more practical, etc.
Superlative Degree:
All adjectives of one syllable form the superlative degree by adding –st or –est.
Examples: bravest, highest, largest, etc.
All other adjectives form the superlative degree by using most before the simple adjective.
Example: most careful, most dangerous, more practical, etc.
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Some commonly used adjectives are formed irregularly:
Bad
worse
worst
Far
farther, further
farthest
Good
better
best
Late
later, latter
latest, last
Little
less, lesser
least
Much, many
more
most
Old
older, elder
oldest, eldest
COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES:
There are three degrees of comparison:
1.
The Positive Degree tell the simple quality: Iqbal was a great poet. He was a wise man.
2.
The Comparative Degree expresses comparison: Jameel is wise than Khalil. Iqbal was a
greater poet than Hali.
3.
The Superlative Degree expresses the highest degree of quality: Socrates was the wisest
Greek of all. Shakespeare was the greatest English poet.
Note that the superlative degree is used to compare at least three or more persons or things.
ARTICLES:
The definite article the, and indefinite articles a and an are also Adjectives because they limit
the meanings of nouns. They are called limiting Adjectives.
Definite Article:
The is called the Definite Article. It always particularizes a noun, that is, It specifies a
particular noun, distinct from others.
Note these examples:
He is not the man I was talking about.
The monkey has a beard.
The children are monsters.
Note also these uses of the:
Only the brave deserve the fair.
He was the Socrates of our society.
The brave never taste of death but once.
The gold in my ring is too soft.
The summery of last car was very hot.
Indefinite Article:
A is used words beginning with a consonant sound, a boy, a crowd, a union.
An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound: an apple, an eagle, an idiot, an island.
NOTE: An is preferred before silent b: an heir, an hour
NOTE: With some words a or an is used according to whether the speaker pronounces the h
or not: a hotel or an hotel, a historical book or an historical book.
THE WRONG USE OF ADJECTIVES
1. “Any”, “Either”: Either means any one of two any means one of three or more. Note
these sentences:
Either (not any) of the two shirts is suitable.
Any (not either) of these three trains will be convenient.
Any means only one: hence, in comparative or superlative sentence it cannot stand alone. Use it like
this:
Iqbal is greater than any other (not any) poet.
2. “Some”: Some is an adjective. Never use it as a pronoun. Look at these sentences:
Wrong:
We received your letter. Thank you for the same.
Right:
Thank you for your letter which we received today.
Wrong:
The parcel was received today and we sent the same to him.
Right:
The parcel was received today and we sent it to him.
3. The “Two First”, “The Three last”: It is impossible to have more than one first or last
of anything. Therefore, the expression the “Two First” or the “Three Last” is absolutely
incorrect.
Note these:
Your first two orders were sent today.
We have accepted your last three quotations.
EXERCISES
(1) Underline each Adjective in these sentences:
1. One full glass of milk was spilt by him.
2. He offered effective and convincing arguments.
3. The coffee he offered me was sweet and delicious.
4. He suffered from chranic dysentery.
5. The lawyer said that he would prepare the case well.
6. Which is that man who called you names.
(2) Supply Adjectives for these Nouns:
Account
economy
problem
Advantage
example
regret
Access
habit
reputation
Benefit
island
Comparison
discipline
secretary
Crisis
practice
tennis
(3) Change the italicized adjectives to their Comparative superlative form:
1. You are very kind to me
2. She is an old lady.
3. Of the two apples, take the small one.
4. I like your good habits.
5. your arguments are absurd.
6. I have never eaten such a big apple.
7. Are you happy with your new position?
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Chapter 5
ABOUT VERBS
The Verb is a word that says something in a sentence about something else. It is the key
word in a sentence. Without it you can never make a sentence. A verb may sometime form the
whole part of a sentence which is expressed. The remainder may be understood or implied. Thus we
may say Stop to mean that you must stop, and the word by itself makes sense.
The verb may make a statement, ask a questions, or give an order:
The good arrived yesterday.
(a statement)
Have you received the invoice?
(a question)
Invite Mr. Jameel to dinner.
(an order).
KINDS OF VERBS
Verbs are divided into three classes:
(i)
Transitive (ii) Intransitive (iii) Auxiliary
Examples:
1. Jameel killed a tiger. (transitive)
2. The laborer works well. (intransitive)
3. Jameel was writing a poem. (auxiliary).
In sentence I, the action denoted by the very killed passes over from jameel (subject) to his object
tiger. Therefore, the verb killed is a Transitive Verb.
In sentence 2, the action denoted by the verb works stops with the subject laborer and does not pass
over to any object. Therefore the verb works is an Intransitive Verb.
In sentence 3. the verb has two parts: was and writing. The first, i.e, was is an Auxiliary or Helping
Verb, and the second is the Principal Verb.
THEREFORE: A verb is Transitive if the action does not stop with the subject but passes over
from the subject to some other word, i.e, the object.
(ii)
A verb is intransitive when the action stops with the subject and does not pass
from the subject to its object.
(iii) A verb is Auxiliary when it helps the principal Verb.
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PRINCIPAL PARTS OF VERBS
The Principal Parts of a verb are three: (1) The Infinitive. i.e, the first form of the verb: go, sir, rise,
(2) The Past Tense, i.e. the second form of the verb: went, sat, rose, etc. (3) The Past Participle, i.e.,
the third form of the verb: gone, sat, risen.
IRREGULAR VERBS: The three parts of the Irregular Verbs give much trouble to students. Most
of the irregular verbs and their parts are these:
PRESENT PAST
PAST PARTICIPLE
(INFINITIVE)
Awake
awoke
awaken
Bear
bore
born
Begin
began
begun
Bid
bade
bidden
Break
broke
broken
Burst
burst
burst
Dive
dived
dived
Do
did
done
Drink
drank
drunk
Flee
fled
fled
Fly
flew
flown
Forsake
forsook
forsaken
Get
got
got
Go
went
gone
Hang
hang, hanged
hang, hanged
Have
had
had
Know
knew
know
Lay
laid
laid
Lie
lay
lain
Light
lit, lighted
lit, lighted
Ring
rang
rung
Rise
See
Sing
Slay
Stink
Swear
Swim
Wake
Wring
Write
rose
saw
sang
slew
stunk
swore
swam
woke, waked
wrung
wrote
risen
seen
sung
slain
stunk
sworn
swum
waked
wrung
written
Page 20
THE RULES OF AGREEMENT OF VERB WITH ITS SUBJECT
The verb must agree with its Subject in number. The verb has two numbers: Singular & Plural. Not
the following rules:
(1) A Compound Subject Takes a Plural Verb:
Jameel and Aleem both need new uniforms.
But note that when the compound subject denotes a single idea, it may take a singular verb:
Simple living and high thinking is my golden rule.
(2) Use Plural Verb after the Phrase One of those who:
Wrong:
He is one of those men who walks barefoot.
Right:
He is one of those men who walk barefoot.
(2) Use Singular Verb With Words Like Each, Everybody.
Everyone none, etc.,
Everybody was shouting
Each day was counted.
4. In Case of Subjects Joined by “Either…. Or”, “Neither…. Nor”, the Verb will Agree with
the subject Nearest to it:
Either you or he is mistaken.
Either yu or they are mistaken
Neither you nor I am mistaken.
Neither the chairman nor the directors were present.
Page 21
5. A Collective Noun Will Take a Singular Verb if the Noun is Taken as One unit: it will Take
a Plural Verb if Members of the Noun are More Important:
The Committee is unanimously of the opinion……
The committee were divided on this point.
This staff is the best our office ever had.
The staff were called for a meeting.
6. Some Nouns, Singular in Form but Plural in Meaning. Take Plural Verb:
The cattle are drinking water.
The fish were of different sizes.
The people were going to the movies.
7. Some Nouns, Plural in Form but Singular in Meaning. Take a Singular Verb:
Economics is a very useful subject.
Electronics is a science and her become an industry.
The news was received from Peshawar.
8. Words joined With Singular Subjects by “with”, “Together with”, In addition to”, “As
well as”, etc., do not affect the verb:
The Foreman as well as his assistant, was dismissed.
The Secretary, in addition to many officers, was transferred.
The lawyer, with his clerks, is attending the court.
Mr. Jameel, together with his friends, is coming here tonight.
Page 22
TENSES IN THE VERB
There are three tenses and each tense has the following four different forms:
1. Indefinite: This form shows pas, present, or future time in its simplest form: I write, I wrote,
I shall write, etc.
2. Continuous: This tense denotes that the action is still continuing, for example: I was eating,
I am eating, I shall be eating. Etc.
3. Perfect: This form denotes that the action has been completed. For Example: I have eaten, I
had eaten, I shall have eaten, etc.
4. Perfect Continuous: This form combines the meanings of the two preceding forms, for
example: I have been writing, I had been writing, etc.
TABLE OF TENSES
The Present Tense
Indefinite
First Person
I eat.
We eat.
Second Person
You eat.
Third Person
He
She} eats.
It
They eat.
The Past Tense:
Indefinite
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect
Continuous
I am eating.
I have eaten.
I have been
We are eating.
We have eaten. eating.
We have been
eating.
You are eating You have eaten. You have been
eating.
He is eating.
He has eaten
He has been
She is eating.
She has eaten.
eating.
It is eating
It has eaten.
She has been
They are eating. They
have eating.
eaten.
It has been
eating.
They have been
eating.
Continuous
Perfect
Perfect
Continuous
First Person
I ate.
We ate.
Second Person
You ate.
Third Person
He ate.
She ate.
It ate.
They ate
The Future Tense:
Indefinite
First Person
I Shall eat.
We Shall eat.
Second Person
You Will eat.
Third Person
He will eat.
She will eat.
It will eat.
They will eat.
I was eating
We were eating
You
were
eating
He was eating
She was eating
It was eating.
They
were
eating
Continuous
I
shall
eating.
We shall
eating.
You will
eating.
He will
eating.
She will
eating.
It
will
eating.
They will
eating.
I had eaten
We had eaten
You had eaten
He had eaten
She had eaten
It had eaten
They had eaten.
Perfect
be I shall
eaten
be We shall
eaten.
be You will
eaten.
be He will
eaten.
be She will
eaten.
be It will
eaten.
be They will
eaten.
have
have
have
have
have
have
have
I had
eating.
We had
eating.
You had
eating
He had
eating.
She had
eating.
It had
eating.
They had
eating.
been
been
been
been
been
been
been
Perfect
Continuous
I shall have
been eating.
We shall have
been eating.
You will have
been eating.
He will have
been eating.
She will have
been eating.
It will have
been eating.
They will have
been eating.
Page 24
EXERCISE
Q. Correct the following sentences which contain mistakes of agreement:
1.
Neither jameel nor Ajmal ate at fault in this case.
2.
Slow and already win the race.
3.
The selection board disagreed among itself.
4.
5.
6.
7.
A list of chairs. Tables and other things have been prepared.
Our Company have a good sales policy.
Five thousand dollars are a lo of money.
Do both companies shows increases in its records.
Q. Write the names of Tenses used in these sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Jameel had been to Karachi last month.
What are you eating?
I like meat but I don’t like vegetables.
Do you also like meat?
What he went to Anafkali, he slipped in the chowk, fell and sprained his ankle.
Ajmal said he had seen a ghost.
By Monday next, they will have taken their examination.
He said, “I wish I were a millionaire”.
He was very, very frightened as if he had seen ghost.
Page 25
THE USE OF SHALL AND WILL
SHAL, is used with the first person, and WILL with the second and Third person. This is the
general rule if simple future time is to be expressed.
However, If the idea of promise, or determination, or threat, or order is to be expressed, then
Will is used with the First Person, and Shall with the Second and Third Persons. Examine the
following Sentence:
FIRST PERSON:
I Shall go there if it is fine.
(Mere futurity)
I will go there.
(Determination)
SECOND PERSON:
Will you go there tomorrow.
(Mere futurity)
You shall go there tomorrow.
(Command)
THIRD PERSON
He will go there with us.
(Mere futurity)
He shall not go there with us.
(Command)
NOTE: That similar difference exists in the use of should and would, too. Use should in the first
person and would in the second and third persons to express simple future time.
Note these examples
I said that I should start my work.
(Mere futurity)
You said that you would start your work.
(Mere futurity):
He said that he would start his work.
(Mere futurity)
But to the following examples would is used in place of should, and should in place of would
to express promise, determination, etc.:
I said that I would go there.
(Determination)
I said that he should go there.
(Suggestion)
NOTE: Remember that if shall or will is used in the main clause, it must be followed by shall and
will in the subordinate clause. It is wrong to say: “WE shall be pleased if you would come.” It is
right to say: “We shall be pleased if you will come.”
Page 26
MORE ABOUT SHOULD AND WOULD
(a) It is a common mistake to use would with the verb Like, as:
“I would like to …” Say “I should like to….”.
(b) Sometime should is used of all persons in place of if as:
(i)
Should he come in my absence, tell him to wait for me:
(ii)
Should you happen to meet him, tell him to come to my office tomorrow?
(c) Would express habit also, and is used for all persons, as:
“When they lived in our neighborhood. We would often visit them.”
(e) “Would you mind….” These are pleasant words for making a request. By using them, you
can ask almost anything.
Note the following ways of using them:
(i)
Would you mind if I opened this window?
(ii)
Would you mind if I smoked a cigarette?
(iii)
Would you mind telling me the time?
NOTE: Remember the abbreviation ‘ll (l’ll come to see you) should be used only for will, Shall
must be written (and spoken) in full.
THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES
When a sentence is made of more than one clause, it is necessary to use the verb in the
subordinate clause very carefully.
Note the following rules:
1. When the main verb of a sentence is in the Past Tense. The verbs in the subordinate clause must
also be in the past Tense. For example:
He worked hard so he was tired.
She thought that it would not rain.
They did not say anything which was meaningless.
BUT this rule does not apply if a universal or general truth his described in the subordinate
clause. In such a case present tense can be used in the subordinate clause even if past tense has
been used in the main clause: for example:
My teacher told me that the earth is round.
He told me that honesty is the best policy.
The child knew that as hour has sixty minutes.
2. In a comparative Clause (that is, where two persons or things are compared) any tense that the
sense requires may be used.
Note these examples:
He learnt English better than he learnt French.
He learnt English better than he will learn French.
He learnt English better than he learnt French.
3. If the verb in the main clause is in Present or in the Future, in the subordinate clause any tense
may be used. For example:
I know that he likes (liked, will like) you.
I shall know that he come (will come, comes).
Page 27
EXERCISES
Q. Find out which of these Sentences are wrong, and then correct them:
1. He worked very hard, so he is feelings tired.
2. He said that he will certainly accompany me to the movies.
3. The scientist told his pupils that our earth was in a certain orbit around the Sun.
4. She says that the sun never rose from the west.
5. I would be very happy if you will have your dinner with me next Friday.
6. Did you know that a month has thirty days?
7. He drew long breath and said, “I wish I was dead his moment”.
Page 28
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
DEFINITION OF VOICE:
Voice is that form of a verb which shows whether the subject in the sentence does
something, or something is done to the subject.
Note the change from the Active voice to the Passive Voice in the following sentences:
Active Voice
Passive Voice
1 I like my friends.
My friends are liked by me.
2. The carpenter is making a table.
A table is being made by the carpenter.
3. He will finish the work.
The work will be finished by him.
4. Who did this?
By whom was this done?
5. Why did you send me a gift?
Why was a gift sent to me by you?
It may be noted that when the verb is changed from the Active Voice to the Passive Voice,
the Object of the transitive verb is the Active Voice becomes the Subject of the Verb in the
Passive voice.
Since the Object of the verb in the Active Voice becomes the subject of the Passive form, it
means that only transitive verbs can be used in the Passive form.
MORE EXAMPLES OF THE CHANGE FROM THE ACTIVE TO THE PASSIVE
VOICE
SENTENCES showing ACTIVE VOICE
4. I like mangoes.
5. My mother loves me
6. She bought a book.
7. He ate five apples.
8. we shall play tennis.
9. She is singing a song.
10. You are cheating me.
11. I have bought a house.
12. He has kept a large dog.
13. They had lost nothing.
14. they will have killed the bear.
15. I shall have praised her.
Page 29
CHANGED TO PASSIVE VOICE
1. The mangoes are liked by me.
2. I am loved by my mother.
3. was bought by her.
4. Five apples were eaten by him.
5. Tennis will be played by us.
6. A song is being sung by her.
7. I am being cheated by you.
8. A house has been bought by me.
9. A large dong has been kept by him.
10. Nothing was lost by them.
11. A bear will have been killed by them.
12. She will have been praised by me.
NOTE: When a sentence is changed from the Active Voice to Passive Voice, the following
changes take place:
(i)
The Subject becomes the Object, and the Object becomes the Subject.
(ii)
The Principal Verb is Changed into the Past participle.
(iii) The Principal Verb is Preceded by some form of the Verb be.
(iv)
The Preposition by the placed before the Object.
IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE VOICE
1. Only Transitive Verbs can be used in the Passive Voice.
2. When a Verb has two objects, only one of them can be used as the Subject in the Passive Voice,
the other remains as it is:
Active Voice:
I gave him an apple.
Passive Voice:
An apple was given him by me.
3. When a Verb in the Active Voice expresses an order (command) or request, or an advise, the
Verb “let” is used to change it into the passive Voice:
Active Voice:
Polish my shoes.
Passive Voice:
Let my shoes be polished.
Active Voice:
Always help the poor.
Passive Voice:
Let the poor be helped always.
Page 30
EXERCISES
Q. Change the VOICE of these Sentences:
1. They are knocking at the door.
2. The house will be built by me.
3. Zahid is driving this car.
4. I gave him some instructions.
5. They have written many letters.
6. Jameel has selected a book.
7. Do it at once.
8. Why are you laughing at him?
9. They have pulled down the old building.
VERBAL
WHAT IS A VERBAL?
A Verbal is a word made from a verb. There are three kinds of Verbal: Participles,
Gerunds, and Infinitives. These names, as you can see, seen rather difficult ones and the
readers, therefore, try to avoid them. But they add to the richness of sentences, and
anyone who ants to enrich his own speech and writing should make use of them.
As stared above, these are: Participles. Gerunds and Infinitives. These are all derived
from ordinary verbs and are therefore known as VERBALS.
GERUND:
The Gerund is made from a verb but works as a NOUN. It is made by adding ing to the
first form of the Verb. E.g. Playing, Marrying, and Turning.
Note this sentence:
Marring is his object. Marrying (Gerund) is used here as a Noun. If you rewrite this
sentence as: Marriage is his object, you will find that Marriage, the noun, serves the
same functions as Marrying in the first sentence.
More Examples of the Use of Gerund:
We listened to the playing of the band
(Playing, Gerund)
Have you an opening in your office.
(Opening, Gerund)
We live in good surroundings.
(Surroundings, Gerund)
The road has a sharp turning.
(Turning, Gerund)
Take the first turning on the right.
(Turning, Gerund)
The turning of the handle is easy.
(Turning, Gerund).
Page 31
PARTICIPLE:
Participle is also a form of the verb but it functions as an adjective, or verbal adjective. Like
the gerund, it is also made by adding—ing to the first form of the verb. But the third form a verb
(gone, broken, permitted) is also used as a Participle. Read this sentence:
Hearing the noise, the child began crying.
The Participle hearing qualifies the noun child like an Adjective. Hearing has been formed
by adding-ing to the verb hear. He word hearing is both a Verb as well as an Adjective. So it may
be called a Verbal Adjective.
Definition: A Participle is a word which functions both as a Verbal as well as an Adjective.
Examples of the use of a Participle:
Generally speaking, we get what we deserve.
I saw the storm approaching.
Hearing great noise. I turned round.
The enemy, beaten, fled from the field.
Being dissatisfied, he resigned his position.
USING THE PARTICIPLE CORRECTLY:
The Participle is an Adjective. It must, therefore, be attached to a Noun, or a word used in
place of a Noun. If it is not clearly and logically attached to a noun, the construction of the sentence
will be wrong. We shall say that there is an UNATTACHED PARTICIPLE or a DANGLING
PARTICIPLE to this sentence.
Note these sentences:
Dangling:
Riding round the mountain, other mountains came into view.
Correct:
When we rode round the mountain, we saw other mountains.
Dangling:
Walking on the footpath, he saw a ten-rupee note.
Correct:
When he was walking on the footpath, we saw a ten-rupee note.
Dangling:
After seeing the doctor, his head stopped aching.
Correct:
After he had seen the doctor, his head stopped aching.
Page 32
THE WRONG USE OF VERBS
1. Two Singular Nouns: When two singular nouns joined by and refer to the same person or thing,
or are very closely related meaning, they take a verb in the singular:
(1) Our chairman and managing director spends (not spend) much time abroad (the same
man is chairman and director).
(2) The rise and fall in prices results (not result) from movements in supply and demand.
2. Collective Nouns: There is no strict rule for the use of singular or plural verb. Thus we may say:
The commission has recently published its report.
The Council have decided to increase their rates….
But while there are no hard-and-fat rules, the general practice is that you must distinguish
between: (1) the collective noun which is used as one group or one unit, and (2) the collective noun
which draws our attention towards its members. The former takes a verb in the singular: the latter a
verb in the plural.
Note these examples:
(i)
Collective noun used as one unit:
The committee consists of then members.
This crew is the best the ship ever had.
(ii)
Collective noun stressing its members:
The committee were unable to agree among themselves.
The crow were on the ship when the storm came.
3 Wrong Tense Sequence:
When a sentence contains an if clause both verbs must refer to the action in the same manner:
(i) I shall be pleased if you will (not would) come.
(ii) I should be pleased if you would (not will) come.
(iii)If you would phone me, I should (not shall) be grateful.
Page 33.
4 “Lay” and “lie”:
You will avoid confusion between lay and lie if you remember that they are quite different
words. Their main parts are as follows:
LAY
Present
I lay
You lay
He lays
We lay
You lay
They lay
Past
Laid
LIE
Present
I lie
We lie
You lie
He lies
They lie
Past
Lay
Or
Lied
EXERCISES
1. Correct the verbs in the following sentences:
(1) I talk to him when he reach the market.
(2) When the peon rung the bell, I eat a banana.
(3) Don’t ate so much that you died.
(4) When the dog bark run away.
2. Correct the number and person in these sentences:
(1) Neither Jameel nor Kareem are poets.
(2) The hard of cows which are grazing on the field have been sold out to a farmer.
(3) There is a table, a chair, and a sofa in this room.
3. Name the tenses used in the following sentences:
(1) It rains in autumn; it is also raining now.
(2) I have already sent him a letter and a telegram.
(3) He met me before I had reached Karachi.
(4) If you had informed me I would have received you at the airport.
(5) By march next, we will have passed our examination.
(6) He has been learning Persian since 1975.
(7) He said that he would abstain from smoking.
4, Construct sentences using each of the following word first as a VERB, and then as a
NOUN:
Transfer, report, guarantee, return, supply, order, market, book, advances, share, speed, export,
court, dance, draw, labor, land, match, matter, signal.
4. Copy the following sentences, selecting the correct VERB given in the breakets:
(1) The road and rail system (appear, appears) to be satisfactory.
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
It is one of the best compliments that (have, has) been paid to him.
Your scooter, and mine too, (need, needs) overhauling.
Everyone, as we know, (know, knows) this open secret.
The chairman, with his directors, (deny, denies) the allegation.
Very large number of applications (have, has) been received.
I have received to reports neither of which (seems seem) to be satisfactory.
Page 35
ABOUT ADVERBS
An Adverb is a word that may modify a verb, an adjective or adverb. There are three classes
of Adverbs: Simple, Interrogative, Conjunctive.
Note these Example:
Slowly, quickly, soon (simple Adverbs); where, why, how (Interrogative adverbs); where, why, how,
what (Relative Adverb).
THE USE OF ADVERBS
1. An Adverb is generally used nearest to the verb it modifies.
Example:
(a) He eats slowly (slowly modifies “eats”).
(b) He only ate one apple (only modifies “ate”).
2. Don’t me Adjectives in place of Adverbs:
(a) He ate more quickly (not quicker) than I thought.
(b) He will pay dearly (not dear) for his faults.
3. The Adverbs but, hardly, never, only, scarcely have negative meanings and do not
require another “negative” when used in a sentence:
Wrong: I hardly had no time to eat.
Right:
I had hardly any time to eat.
Right:
I had no time to eat.
THE WRONG USE OF ADVERBS
1. LESS and FEVER: Less is used in reference to quantity: fewer in reference to number. It is
a common mistake to use less in place of fewer.
He owes me less (not fewer) then Rs. 50.
I ate fewer (not less) than five mangoes.
2. WELL & GOOD: Well is an adverb, Good is an adjective. Use them carefully. This sentence
will clear the confusion:
Sharif is a good worker; he always works well.
2. SCARCELY, HARDLY: Scarcely and hardly are always followed by when and not by
than. Than is used only in comparisons:
Scarcely had the phone rung, when I was called away.
He had hardly left me when he was attacked.
3. MISPLACEMENT OF “ONLY”: As stared earlier. It is a general rule that an adverb
should be placed as near as possible to the word it modifies. Care should be takes with only.
Its correct position is before or immediately after the word it modifies:
Only he borrowed Rs, 300.
He borrowed only Rs, 300.
He only borrowed Rs. 300.
All these sentences are correct. But if there is any confusion, only should be put at the right place
in the sentence.
4. ALL RIGHT: The spelling of the adverb as a single word alright is wrong. The confusion is
due to words like almost, already, and altogether, It should always be written as two words:
all and right.
Page 36
EXERCISES
Q. In the following sentences, underline each Adverb:
1. He plays cricket professionally.
2. When he is ill, he feels badly and behaves badly.
3. He stopped but then started walking slowly.
4. He is a man who will always do his duty well.
5. Ajmal is a good man and works conscientiously.
6. The wind was blowing swiftly.
7. She was a decent lady of queenly habits but she married an ugly man of slovenly nature.
8. He held fast to his views.
9. He seldom comes here.
Page: 37
Chapter 6
ABOUT PREPOSITIONS AND CONJUNCTIONS
A preposition is a word which comes always before a Noun (or Pronoun) and shows the
relation between this noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. Preposition means preposition, I.e., a position inffront of or before. This is why it must be used before a noun or
pronoun.
Note this example:
The book is on (under behind) the table.
On, under, behind are all prepositions which show the position of the book in relation to the
table.
There are certain words in English which must always be followed by special prepositions.
The use of these special prepositions is a matter of usage or custom. Remember no definite rules
can be given for the use of many prepositions and there is often no particular reason why one
preposition should be used and not another, yet the correct use of propositions is a test of your
ability to write and speak good, modern English. You must, therefore, do your best to learn the
correct use of prepositional phrases by heart. The following is a list of common prepositional
phrases:
Absolve from (blame)
Accede to (a request)
Accompanied by (some one)
Acquit of (a charge)
Adapt for (a purpose)
Adapt from
Adequate to or for
Agree to (a proposal)
Agree with (a person)
correspond with (a Person)
defer to (an opinion)
differ from (a person in some
quality)
differ with (a person in opinion)
different from
divide between (two)
divide amongst (more than two)
encroach on or upon
Agree upon (a plan)
Angry at (a thing)
Angry with (a person)
Anxious for (someone’s recovery)
Anxious about (an event)
Approve of (a thing)
Averse to
Centre on or in
Compare to (one thing with another generally)
Compare with (compare differences or resemblances)
Compatible with (a condition)
Compensate for (a loss)
Comply with (a request)
Concerned at (some occurrence)
Concerned for (someone’s welfare)
Confer with ( a person)
Conform to (a pattern)
Conscious of (circumstance)
Consist of (composed of)
Contemporary with, of
Conversant with a thing)
Correspond to (a thing)
enter into (an agreement)
impatient with (a person)
interfere in (a matter)
interfere with (a man)
invest in (a business)
invest with (an authority)
jump to (a conclusion)
jump at (a bargain)
oblivious of (circumstances)
opposite to (a thing)
Part from ( a friend)
Personal to (a person)
prevail upon, not on
profit by (a bargain)
profuse in (apologies)
reconcile with (a friend)
reconcile to (circumstances)
replaced by, not with
similar to (a thing)
substitute for not by
synonymous with (a thing)
tendency to (an action)
tendency towards (a state)
typical of ( a person or things)
Page 38
CONJUNCTIONS
The CONJUNCTION is a word used to join the parts of one sentence expressing similar
idea. Example:
It was quite dark and I had no torch with me.
Khalil is unpopular because he is ill-tempered.
He said that he would write a poem.
Give it to Jameel or me.
He came but I was not home.
Page 39
(iv)
Some important conjunctions are these: and, but, as, or, nor, since, thought, if, unless,
because when, how, a well as, either….or, neither …. Nor.
Note that a conjunction is simply a word that concerts other words: it does not show (like a
preposition) any relationship between them. The preposition is always followed by an OBJECT
the conjunction is never followed by an object but doews the simple work of joining words.
Conjunctions have been divided into two classes. Do not be confused by these two terms,
here they are simply explained below:
CO-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
A coordinating conjunction is that which joins together words and sentences of equal value,
that is, of similar ideas and construction. This is why such a conjunction is called a coordinating
conjunction. None of the two parts of the sentence is dependent on the other. Example:
I must go today, otherwise. I might be too late.
She has made a mistake but she did not do it knowingly.
The ground was full of water so the match could not be played.
(v)
SUB-ORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
A clause in a sentence is said to be subordinate when it depends upon the other clause of the
same sentence. The clause on which it depends for its meaning is called the Principal Clause.
Note these examples of Subordinating Conjunctions:
I could not come yesterday because of rain.
The shots of gunfire were heard before the sunrise.
Here is the boy who phoned you this morning.
As already explained, both conjunctions and prepositions are linking words but the
preposition is always followed by a NOUN which is its object: the conjunction is not followed
by an object. The only function of conjunctions is to join words.
There is another kind of conjunctions also which is termed Correlative Conjunction: it is
always used in pairs such as: either…. Or, neither … nor, as well as, but also.
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EXERCISE
1. Use each of the following Conjunction in your own sentences:
Although
otherwise
that
Because
neither…nor
then
Yet
both….and
unless
When
but
so
2. Pick out each conjunction in the following sentences and tell whether it is a
coordinating or a Subordinating Conjunction:
1. A postman is frightened neither by heat nor by cold.
2. It is certain because I know.
3. He always reads his books when it rain.
4. He left us as good cooks always do.
5. Don’t wait; otherwise, you will be late.
6. Your friends do not trust you yet I will.
7. Your answer is wrong because your question was wrong.
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Chapter 7
THE GRAMMER OF A SENTENCE
KINDS OF A SENENCE:
There are three kinds of sentence: Simple, Compound, and Complex.
The Simple Sentence: A Sentence made of one independent clause is called a simple sentence.
Both sentences given below are simple sentences. Each contains only one independent clause. The
second sentence is long only because of its compound verbs (two verbs joined by and) and some
more words strictly belonging to the same clause:
(i)
Jameel laughs.
(ii)
Khalil jumped and threw the ball towards the goalkeeper in one quick motion.
The compound Sentence: A compound sentence is composed of two or more independent clause:
Traffic was moving slowly on the Mall, and the windstorm continued to blow.
This sentence contains two independent clauses. If you put a ful stop in the place of comma
and take our “and”, these two independent clauses will become two independent sentences. A
compound sentence is often formed by using a semicolon between the two clauses:
Ali is a great champion; even his enemies know that.
The semi-colon takes the place of the conjunction and in this sentence, and there is similarity of
thought also in both clauses.
The Complex Sentence: This is a sentence composed of one independent clause and one or more
dependent clauses:
As we moved along the Mall, the storm continued to blow.
This sentence contains one independent clause (The storm continued to blow), and one dependent
(As we moved along the Mall) clause.
B. THE CLAUSES
WHAT IS A CLAUSE?
A clause is a group of a Subject and a Verb or a predicate.
THE TWO KINDS OF CLAUSES:
There are two kinds of clauses: the Main Clause and the Sub-ordinate Clause. The main
clause is also called the Principal clause or independent clause. The sub-ordinate clause is also
called the Dependent Clause.
The Main Clause: As already stared, it is also called an Independent Clause because it can
stand alone, that is, it is a Complete Sentence in itself. Example:
I will discuss that matter with him after I finish my work
You may come to see me whenever you like.
The Sub-ordinate Clause: As already stared, a subordinate clause is also called a dependent
clause because it depends on the Main Clause for its complete meaning. Examine the above stated
two sentences again:
I will discuss that matter with him after I finish my work.
You may come to see me whenever you like.
Some time a sentence is made of two main clauses and joined by and in such sentences both clauses
are called CO-ORDINATE CLAUSES because they are both equal in rank:
It is a slow process and we may not finish it today
He made a good statement but I was not convinced.
C. SUBJECT & VERB (in agreement)
WHAT IS A SUBJECT?
A subject is that word in a sentence about which something is said. In this sentence; Jameel
is an efficient office assistant “Jameel” is Subject because the sentence tells the reader something
about him.
WHAT DOES THE AGREEMENT MEAN?
When it is said that the verb in a sentence must agree with its subject, it means that if the
subject in a sentence is singular, its verb must also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must
also be plural.
Now read these sentences:
(i)
Everyone present in the room was surprised when I told him the true story.
(Everyone, the subject, is singular).
(ii)
Jameel and Khalil were always good to each other.
D. PRONOUN & ANTECEDENT (IN AGREEMENT)
WHAT IS AN ANTECEDENT?
An Antecedent is that word (or words) for which a pronoun is used in a sentence. Since a
pronoun in a sentence is used for a certain noun, the Antecedent is that noun for whicha pronoun is
used.
Note these examples:
(i)
My country expects every man to do his duty.
(ii)
The inquiry committee completed its report today.
E. MODIFIERS
WHAT IS AN MODIFIER?
A Modifier is a word that modifies the meaning of other word or words: for example:
Iqbal was a great poet.
He was running fast.
He had only five rupees with him.
KINDS OF MODIFIERS:
There are two kinds of Modifiers:
1. Adjectival modifier.
2. Adverbial modifier.
1. Adjectival Modifier: Adjectival Modifiers limit or describe the meanings of nouns and
pronouns. The modifier may be a word, a phrase or even a whole clause.
Note the following examples:
Ajmal has a tall figure: It is a library of a million books.
(a phrase):
A libeary which has one million books must be a big library:
(a clause0
2. Adverbial Modifiers: Adverbial modifiers limit or describe the meaning of verbs adverbs and
adjectives. Such a modifier may be a word, or words, or a clause.
Note these examples:
Fat men move slowly (adverb modifying verb); Bananas are sometimes quite tasteless (adverb
modifying another adjective); Hungry men eat very fast (adverb modifying another adverb); I once
flew across the Indian ocean (phrase); Since there was no gas, we could not light our stove (clause).
F. IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF MAKING SENTENCES
1. EACH SENTENCE MUST EXPRESS A COMPLETE THOUGHT:
(a) Express in separate sentences ideas which are not closely connected:
Wrong:
The seating arrangement was good but the question paper was difficult and
ambiguous.
Right:
The seating arrangement was good. However the question paper was difficult and
ambiguous.
(b) If there is a series of short statements which are closely connected to one another,
write them in one sentence.
Wrong:
My class begins at eight. The students come in time. I sit on a front bench.
Right:
I sit on the front bench in my class which begins at eight and which the student attend
punctuality.
3. BE VERY CAREFUL TO MAKE YOUR MEANING ABSOLUTELY CLEAR:
(a) Place modifiers, adjectives and adverbs near the word they modify:
Wrong:
He came to the heart of the question quickly which was the cost of the new building.
Right:
He quickly came to the heart of the question the cost of the new building.
(b) Make quite clear the connection or reference of every Participle and Pronoun:
Wrong:
Walking on the footpath, I saw a ten rupee note.
Right:
When I was walking on the foot path, I saw a ten rupee note.
Wrong:
Jameel’s father is returning from abroad which will make him happy.
Right:
Jameel will feel happy because his father is returning from abroad.
(c) Be consistent. Keep the same Tense, Voice and form throughout the sentence:
Wrong:
I visited the class and the lesson was found interesting.
Right:
I visited the class and found the lesson interesting.
Wrong:
The advantages of the new house were the size, the price, the color and I could walk
on foot to my office.
Right:
The advantages of the new house were the size, the price, the color and the nearness
to my office.
Wrong:
Playing Tennis is good but to box is bad.
Right:
Playing Tennis is good but boxing is bad.
4. ALWAYS FORM SENTENCES WHICH ATTRACT ATTENTION TO PARTS OF
GREATEST IMPORTANCE:
(a) Place important words or phrases in the beginning of the sentences:
“Loyalty to your duty is an excellent virtue, whatever your duty may be, if you make
a habit of doing your duty under all circumstances, you will achieve a moral capacity
which is beyond price.”
(b) Place words, phrases or clauses in order of their importance:
“In our best schools, pupils are punctual and regular in attendance, curious to their
instructors and to one another and faithful in all their school duties.”
(c ) sometimes make a sentence whose meaning are given only at the end:
“The boy, an earnest sudent, made in all his classes very good record.”
(c) Use strong and specific words:
(d) “You will have to work very hard. There is no royal road to knowledge.
G. THE USE OF MAY AND CAN:
MAY
(1) There are three uses of MAY and MIGHT. Might is the past tense of MAY. According to
the first use, MAY means to allow, permitting.
Note these examples:
May I offer you another cup of coffee?
May I go out for a minute?
These sentences ask permission for doing something. It is in sentences of this kind that CAN is
so often misused to do the work of MAY. A candidate who had come for an interview by a
selection board asked permission to enter the room in these words: “Can I come in, please?”
This was the reply he received from the board’s president: “You may if you can!” In a certain
office with a “No smoking” label, when a visitor asked an officer, “Can I smoke here?” he
received this reply “You can but you may not”
Note these uses of MAY and MIGHT:
(i)
You MAY not borrow (you are not allowed to) more than one book at a time fromthis
library but you MAY change them (you are permitted to) whenever you like.
(ii)
When we were at school, we MIGHT not (we were not allowed to)borrow more than two
books but we MIGHT change them (we were permitted to) whenever we liked.
For the future, we use MAY and MIGHT with a future word:
MAY I see you some day next week?
(2) According to the SECOND kind of use, MAY and MIGHT mean possibility or uncertainly.
Note these examples:
(i) He may arrive any time or he may not come at all (perhaps he ill come).
(ii) He may think this price is too high but I paid even more for mine (perhaps you think….)
(iii)It may be fine tomorrow (perhaps it will be…..).
MIGHT is often used in place of MAY in the meaning of perhaps because it is more forceful than
MAY:
He MIGHT have gone to the movies.
She MIGHT arrive today.
But MIGHT is also used for complaint at reproach.
I think you MIGHT do something for her.
This sentence means that you are in a position of helping her but you are not doing so.
Note this example:
Ajmal who was alone on his scooter MIGHT have offered me a lift when he saw me.
This means I wanted a lift and Ajmal could have easily offered me one, but he did not.
(3) According to the THIRD kind of use. MAY expresses a wish or request.
Note these sentences:
MAY you have a very happy life.
MAY God bless you.
Long MAY your good luck last.
But these kinds of sentences are not greatly in use these days. It is more natural to use the words
wish and hope, as in these sentences:
(1) I hope you will have a very happy life. (2) I whish you a long and happy vocation.
CAN
CAN comes from an old English word which means know how. Therefore, the following sentences:
1. CAN you ride a bicycle?
2. CAN you sing a song?
Mean Do you know how to….
“CAN you lift this stone?” means Are you strong enough to…”
The uses of COULD are:
1. I would do it if I COULD.
2. I would have done it if I COULD.
3. We COULD have come yesterday if….
CANNOT is one word, and CAN’T is pronounced as Kant. Do not confuse CAN with the regular
word can (canned, canned)
H. THE USE OF MUST, OUGHT, HAVE TO
MUST is used for a necessity, and OUGHT for a duty. HAVE TO denotes necessity or duty when
the distinction between the two is not important.
Note the following uses of MUST:
You must work hard if you want to succeed.
I must say you are on the wrong side.
Must you make noise when we are working?
She must be a rich woman.
That must have been a mistake.
You must tell us when you are coming.
MUST have no grammatical future but it is used in a sentence with a word having a future meaning:
Ajmal must go to Karachi tomorrow.
OUGHT has only one form. It has no past tense.
Note the following examples:
He ought to return your books.
You ought to have told me about this.
Ajmal ought to write to his father today.
There is only one construction in which OUGHT is used in the past:
He ought to have returned your books.
He ought to have told me about this.
Ajmal ought to have written to his father today.
The following sentences explain the use of HAVE TO:
1. I shall have to go if he doesn’t answer my letter.
2. I had to have a cold bath on every Friday.
3. Excuse me, I must leave you now because I have to be at the airport at seven.
4. In Lahore, you have to drive carefully.
5. I had to (past form) but my books because they were a part of my course.
J THE USE OF USED TO:
USED has only one form and it is always the part of another verb but it is used in two
meanings. The first meaning denotes a habitual action in the past.
1. Ajmal used to tell me that there was always plenty of room at the top.
2. I do not see him as often as I used to.
3. used they to live in Lahore?
4. She used not to know French: she must have learnt it now.
The second meaning is accustomed to in all tenses:
1. He is used to making long speeches.
2. Are you used to getting up early?
3. He will be used to the climate when he has been in Iran for a month or two.
4. We shall soon get used to it.
5. I found that Ajmal was not used to the motor cycle he was driving.
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Chapter 8
THE TENSES
THE PRESENT TENSE
There are two kinds of Present Tenses in English:
1. The Simple Present, e.g, I eat.
2. The Present Continuous, e.g, I am eating.
(i) The Simple Present Tense is used to express an action which is habitual. This is its main use:
for example:
He sleeps.
I drink milk.
They swim.
(ii) The Simple Present Tense can also be used to describe an action which will happen in future,
for example:
We have Hailey College of Commerce at 9a.m tomorrow and arrive at Karachi Airport at 3
pm.
(iii) The Simple Present Tense must be used with verbs which cannot be used in the continuous
form, for example.
Believe, see, love, etc. We say “I believe in God”, but not “I am believing in God.”
2 (i) The Present Continuous Tense is used for an action which a happening now,
for
example:
I am eating a cake.
Why are you weeping?
What are you doing/
I am looking out of the window.
(ii) The Present Continuous Tense is also used for an action which is not happening now but
which is likely to happen is the near future, for example:
I am going there tomorrow.
Where are you going?
I am leaving for Karachi tonight.
(iii) The Present Continuous Tense is also used to express an action which may not be happening
at the moment of speaking.
I am reading Iqbal these days.
I am working hard for my B.Com examination:
(iv) The Present Continuous Tense is also used to express an action which may have become a
habit, for example:
Amjad is always losing his book,
He is always asking questions.
THE PAST TENSE
(i) The Simple Past Tense: This tense is used for a certain action which has been completed at a
known time in the past, for example:
I saw him yesterday.
The bus reached here three hours ago.
I enjoyed my meals.
I saw this in Peshawar also.
(ii) The Simple Past Tense is also used for a past habit, for example:
He always ate beef when he was at Lahore.
He never drank wine.
He never smoked cigarettes.
(i) The Past Continuous Tense: This tense is often used without expressing time, for example:
The water was rising.
He was reading.
(ii) Sometimes two Past Continuous Tenses can be used together to express two actions, for
example:
He was singing while she was drinking tea.
(iii) This tense can also be used in combination with Simple Past Tense:
When I was writing. Jalal came to my house.
He was smoking when it began to rain.
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(iv) It may be noted that the use of this tense at © is very common. This combination of Past
Continuous Tense with the Simple Present Tense can also be used in two separate sentences.
He was swimming in the sea. A crocodile rushed at him with jaws wide open.
The Present Perfect Tense: This tense is a kind of a mixture of Past Tense and Present
Tense. This tense always shows a very strong connection with the present.
(i) This tense is used for a Past action whose time is not given:
They have taken away their books.
Has my brother come? Yes, he has.
I have been to Jinnah Garden.
I have got my books.
However, it should be noted that if time of action is already given, then the simple Past
Tense must be used, for example:
He met me yesterday.
They had lunch at 2 p.m.
I ate a cake this morning.
He wrote a letter two days ago.
(ii) The Present Perfect Tense is used for those actions which were completed in the very recent
part, but it is also used for those actions which were completed farther back in the past
provided that action can be repeated in the present, for example:
I have borrowed books from Public Library.
This sentence means that I can still borrow books from the Public Library. That library has
not closed down. If it had closed down, I would say, “I once borrowed books from the Public
Library.” Which is Simple Past Tense. Similarly we can say, “He has heard Nur Jehan singing.”
However, we cannot say, “I have seen Dr Mohd Iqbal” because he is not alive. We would say. “I
saw Dr. Mohd Iqbal.”.
(iii) The Present Perfect Tense is also used for an action which started in the past and is still
continuing, for example:
“I have known him for years” means I still know him.
“She has been here for hours” means she is still here.
“She has been ill for a week” means she is still ill.
(iv) The Present Perfect Tense and the Simple Past Tense can be used in combination also. They are
often used in conversation, as:
I have lost my bat. Did you see it?
Have you been to the gardens? Yes, I went there yesterday evening.
The Present Perfect Continuous:
(i) As we have seen, the Present Perfect Tense is used for an action which began in the past and is
still continuing. The Present Perfect Continuous is used in place of Present Perfect when the
action is not broken up but appears as one continuous action, for example:
I have been eating cakes.
I have been calling him for the past ten minutes.
She has been working for ten hours.
They have been drinking soup.
They have been sleeping for nine hours. It is time they woke up.
He has been reading Shakespeare for the last one year.
The Past Perfect Tense:
(i) The following sentences may serve as examples of this tense:
Akbar was a middle aged man and had lived in Kashmir all his life.
Ajmal’s work was easy because he had worked hard.
We may say that this tense expresses an action which concluded before a certain time in the
past or before the time of the occurrence of another action, for example:
When we reached the college, the bell had gone.
We had reached the college before it began raining.
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Sometimes, this tense is used with the word “just”, for example:
When I reached the stadium, the match had just begun.
In this kind of a sentence, this tense denotes an action which happened immediately before
the time of speaking in the past.
The Past Perfect Continuous:
Examples:
I had been running.
I had not been running.
Had I been running?
He had been eating mangoes.
The Past perfect Tense Continuous replaces the past in exactly the same way as the Present
Prefect Continuous replaces the Present Perfect.
Examples:
Present:
I am tired because I have been running.
Past:
I was tired because I had been running.
Present:
It is known that he has not been sleeping.
Past:
It was known that he had not been sleeping.
The Future Tense:
(i) This tense is used to express an action which is rather far away, for example:
He will die one day.
I shall write a book one day.
(ii) This tense is also used with the time clause, for example:
When he meets me, I’ll tell him the whole story.
When the bus stops; all passengers will come out.
(iii) The tense is also used to make announcements, for example.
This Minister will make a speech on “character-building”
The University of the Punjab will open tomorrow.
This tense is also used to express doubt or condition:
He will be successful, perhaps.
I Shall warn him seriously, if I meet him.
Future with intention: The phrase “ Future with intention” means that it expresses a future
action which has been planned by the speaker knowingly. This can be expressed in tow ways, either
by the use of “will” (I will go and teach him a lesson), or by the use of “going to” (I am going to
teach him a lesson). Following are some examples:
I will make it a point never to help him in future.
I will go now and take him to task.
Ajmal is going to sit in the Civil Service examination.
Akber has left his town because he is going to make Lahore his permanent home.
The feeling of determination is also expressed by “will”. In speech, “will” is spoken emphatically to
express determination.
The Future Continuous Tense: This tense expresses an action in the future without intention.
It is interesting to note that another tense, Present Continuous, is very similar to it. The main
difference between the two is that the Future Continuous does not express intention, while the
Present Continuous expresses a deliberate action in future for example.
I shall be seeing Ajmal tomorrow.
I am seeing Ajmal tomorrow.
However, sometimes either of the two tenses can be used like those sentences:
They will be coming next Friday.
They are coming next Friday.
OR
She will not be coming to tea.
She is not coming to tea.
The Future Perfect Tense: This tense is used to express an action which, at a given time in future,
will, be in the past, for example:
In six months I shall have passed my examination.
By tomorrow Ajmal will have forgotten all his promises.
I Shall have written all my letters before sunset.
We shall have finished our courses by the month of June.
The Movie show will have started before we reach the cinema.
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THREE OTHER WAYS OF MAKING FUTURE SENTENCES
There are three ways of making future sentences without using future tense. These three
forms are more commonly used than the future with SHALL and WILL.
1. The Present Continuous.
I am having dinner with Amjad tonight.
She is selling her house next month.
I am working tomorrow all day.
2. The Present Indefinite.
Ajmal begins his new job tomorrow.
They arrive here next week.
We meet them tomorrow at Karachi and then we all go to Hyderabad for inspection of the
new buildings.
3. By using “going to”,
I am going to request him for a loan.
At Karachi, he is going to spend all his holidays.
We are going to buy a new house soon.
THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES
When a sentence is made of more than one clause, it is necessary to me the verb in the
subordinate clause carefully. Note these rules:
1. When the main verb in a sentence is in the Past Tense, the verb in the subordinate clause must
also be in the Past, for example:
He worked hard so he was tired.
She thought that it would not rain.
He told me her name when she had left.
But this rule does not apply if a universal or general truth is described in the subordinate clause.
Present tense is used in such a case:
My teacher told me that the earth is round.
He told me that honesty is the best policy.
2. If the verb in the main clause is in the Present or the Future Tense, any tense that the meanings
require may be used:
I know that he likes (liked, will like) me.
I Shall know that he came, comes, will come.
3. In a Comparative Clause (i.e., where two persons or things are compared any tense that the
meanings require may be used:
He learnt English better than he learns French.
He learnt English better than he will learns French.
He learnt English better than he learnt French.
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REVISION OF ALL TENSES
EXERCISE 1
Present Indefinite and Present Continuous Tenses
Note: REMEMBER Simple Present Tense is used for Habitual action, and for General and
Universal Truths. It is not always used for actions being done now. The Present Continuous Tense is
used for actions being done NOW, as This moment. Example:
(1) He gets up at 6 o’clock in the morning (present indefinite tense).
(2) I am eating a cake (present continuous).
Supply correct PRESENT TENSE of Verbs given in brackets:
1. He generally (write) in Urdu but now he (write) in English.
2. It (rain) in autumn; it also (rain) now,
3. An engineer (make) the plan of this building now.
4. My mother (cook) food in the kitchen; she always (cook) there in the evening.
5. He always (go) out without an umbrella, when the sun not (shine).
6. Why he (go) out with an umbrella now?
7. He (call) his servant now because he (want) something.
EXERCISE 2
Present Continuous as Future Tense
Note: Present Continuous is also used as a Future Tense. Example: He is coming to Lahore
next week.
Supply correct PRESENT TENSE of verbs given in brackets:
1. I (have) dinner with Amjad tonight.
2. Ajmal (travel) to England tomorrow.
3. We (leave) for Karachi tomorrow.
4. Amjad (go) to buy a refrigerator.
5. When you (go) to sell your plot of land?
6. Ajmal (come) from Karachi by PIA’s evening flight tonight.
7. I (no more go) to put up with this kind of nonsense.
EXERCISE 3
Present Perfect Tense
Note: The PRESENT PERFECT TENSE is a very common Tense but some students find it
difficult to use it correctly. Here are a few simple tips.
REMEMBER Present Perfect Tense is a kind of a Present Tense because we are not
interested when the action took place in the Past, we are interested only in its effect now. So, this
tense should never be used if an action began in the past and also finished in the past.
Example: Wrong: I have received these books yesterday. Right: I received these books
yesterday.
Put the Verbs in brackets in PRESENT PERFECT AND PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS TENSES:
1. He (not see) me for a long time.
2. What you (do) since I saw you last?
3. Amjad (not be) here since Eid.
4. She (try) to learn French for many years but she (not succeed) yet.
5. Since you gave me your number, I (phone) you thrice a day.
6. He (be asleep) all the morning.
7. How long you (learn) French?
8. That tree (stand) here as long as I can remember.
9. I (wait) here for the bus for half an hour.
10. I (lose) my books. I look for them all the evening but (not find) them yet.
11. I (read) all the books by Iqbal. How many you (read)?
12. The insects (make) holes to my overcoat which (hang) in the wardrobe for the last two years.
EXERCISE 4
The Use of “Since” and “For” With Present Perfect:
Note: The two words SINCE and FOR are used with Present Perfect Tense. SINCE denotes time
from some point in the past till NOW. FOR denotes a length of time till NOW.
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Examples:
1. I have not seen you SINCE Monday.
2. I have not seen you FOR a week.
Put VERBS in the correct TENSE and also insert SINCE and FOR:
1. I (not wash) my face
Monday.
2. You (wait) here
morning?
3. Ajmal (wait) here
Three hours but his brother (not come) yet.
4. How long that stove (burn)
last evening.
5. I (not buy) a pair of shoes
the last two years.
6. Kareem (deal) in cosmetics
three months.
7. Gold (become) dearer
the end of World War II.
EXERCISE 5
Indefinite Past Tense:
Note: Past Tense (Indefinite) is used for an action which is definitely in the Past. Example: I
received a letter yesterday. He did not pass his examination.
Put the VERBS in brackets into correct PAST TENSE:
1. You (see) my new book?
2. When you (pass) your last examination?
3. Madame Curie (discover) radium a century ago.
4. When the thief (run) away to jump over the wall, he (fall) and (break) his leg.
5. We (catch) him and (hand) him over to the police.
6. When you were not looking, I (take) another biscuit.
7. Kareem’s servant (leave) yesterday.
EXERCISE 6
Indefinite Past (Continuous) Tense:
Put the VERBS in brackets in the PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The man jumped off the bus when it (move).
When Amjad came in, I (write)
The light went out when we (have) our meals.
I took another biscuit when you (not look)
The servant cut his finger when he (cut) bread with a knife.
When she (listen) to radio, I came in.
EXERCISE 7
Past Tense (Indefinite & Continuous):
Note: CONTINUOUS PAST TENSE is used when an action is a progress (not completed)
and at the same time something else happens.
Put the VERBS in bracket in the correct PAST TENSE:
1. Amjad (sit) in a café when I (see) him.
2. When the bell (ring),the boys (play).
3. When I (have) my supper, the light (go) out.
4. He (sing) when I (come) in.
5. Ajmal (wear) his new coat when I (meet) him.
6. A man (die) when he (run) after a bus.
7. When we (live) in that house we (have) six servants.
EXERCISE 8
Past Perfect Tense
Note: THE PAST PERFECT TENSE describes an Action completed BEFORE SOME
SPECIAL PAST MOMENT. Example: Ajmal come when we had eaten out dinner.
Put the VERBS in brackets into their correct PAST PERFECT FORM:
1. He told me her name after she (leave)
2. I (sit) down and (smoke) a cigarette when he (go).
3. I dressed after I (wash).
4. He told me her name after I (ask) him twice.
5. He rose after it (rain) heavily.
6. I went to sleep after he (go).
7. The rain come last month after it (be) dry for months.
Page 62
EXERCISE 9
Past Perfect Tense
Put the VERBS in brackets in their correct PAST PERFECT form:
1. Before (write) a novel about a place he never (visit) himself.
2. I (tell) him my name after I (return) from my class.
3. It (he) a murderer who (kill) the innocent man.
4. The accused (refuse) to admit that he (steal) the money.
5. The politician (declare) that he always (stand) for honest politics.
6. The lawn was wet; it (mean) that dew (fall) in the night.
EXERCISE 10
Past Perfect Continuous
Put the verbs in brackets in correct Past Perfect Continuous:
1. I was tired because I (run).
2. It was known that he (not sleep).
3. I did not know that he eat (mango).
Note: See Exercise 12 A also.
EXERCISE 10A
REVISION of All Present & Past Tenses:
SUPPLY the correct FORMS of PRESENT or PAST TENSES:
1. I (see) my friend, Ajmal, yesterday. He (sit) in a café.
2. I already (write) nine letters, but you (write) not even three.
3. You (see) my book? I (lose) it.
4. I see you (get) a new) pair of shoes. How much you (pay) for it?
5. You (go) to the library yesterday? No, I (not be) there fore a week
6. .It (rain) in the rainy season; It also (rain) now.
7. When he last (meet) me; He (live) in Paris.
8. They rose after it (rain) heavily.
9. When I (have) my supper, the light (go) out.
10. I (not play) Ping-pong since September last.
11. Amjad (learn) French for the last two years; Now he (study) higher Urdu.
12. Do you know that when water (bail), it (change) to a (vapor) that (be) called steam?
13. Please help me correct that sentence. I (make) a mistake.
14. I (go) to the Museum tomorrow; You ever (be) there?
15. I know he just (get) married. When the ceremony (take) place?
16. We (go) to the zoo yesterday. When we (eat) our lunch, a man (stumble) over
17. some stones and (fracture) his leg. We (take) him to hospital. He (get) better now.
18. I (lose) my pen. When you (lose) it?
19. I think I (drop) it When I (go) to the college this morning.
20. When the athlete (ran) to jump, he (fall) and (twist) his ankle we (have) to carry him in an
ambulance.
21. We (call) in a doctor who just (leave).
22. The accused (refuse) the admit that (steal) money.
EXERCISE 11
Simple Future or Future Indefinite Tense:
Note: Simple Future or Indefinite Future Tense is mostly used in the following manner: (1) To
describe an action which is far away; for example: (a) He will go to Karachi next month, (b) We
shall die one day; (2) With the time clause, that is, to describe an action with some other action
happening in future; for example: (to) When the bus stops, the driver will come out; (b) When he
meets me, I will tell him the whole story. (3) To express doubt or a condition; for example: (a) He
will be successful, perhaps; (b) I shall warm him, if I meet him.
Note: Read “THE USE OF SHALL AND WILL” on Page 25 also.
Put the Verbs in brackets into any future tense:
1. They (go) to Jeddah next week.
2. When you (come) to pay me a visit?
3. Ajmal (pass) his examination this year.
4. He (pay0 me a visit next Friday.
5. I (not go) to school tomorrow.
6. He (buy) new clothes next month.
7. We (play) a hockey match tomorrow.
Page 64
EXERCISE 11A
Future Perfect Tense
Note: FUTURE PERFECT TENSE Shows that a certain Action will be completed by a CERTAIN
FUTURE DATE. Its continuous form is not often used. EXAMPLE: By next month, he WILL
HAVE SOLD all his property.
Put the VERBS in brackets in their FUTURE PERFECT form:
1. By next September, he (pass) his examination.
2. He (finish) his work before next Friday.
3. The meeting (finish) by the time we reached there.
4. By Monday, he (buy) a new house.
5. He (take) his examination by next June.
6. By next week, he (stay) here three months.
7. The movie show (start) before we reached there.
8. If we did not rach there in time, they (eat and drink) every thing.
9. I (finish) this work before your return here next week.
EXERCISE 12
The Unreal Past Tense:
The Unreal Past: it is a Tense in which you express an unreal or imaginary WISH. If the wish in is
the present, use Past Tense for the remaining part of the sentence (I wish I were a millionaire). If the
WISH is in the past, use Past Perfect for the remaining part of the sentence (How often he wished
that he had been to Switzerland).
Supply correct Tense of the VERBS in brackets:
1. I whish I (know) his name.
2. It is high time you (get) the dinner ready.
3. Don’t you wish you (come) earlier.
4. He speaks as if he (know) English perfectly.
5. If only he (not eat) so much food last night.
6. It is high time you (have) a hair-cut.
7. I feel as if my head (be) on fire.
EXERCISE 12A
Past Perfect
Example: I would have slept more if I had known that we were not late.
Supply correct Tense:
1. I (go) out for a walk if I (know) that it would not rain.
2. If he had gone to the airport, he (find) his luggage.
3. She slipped but the bus stopped, otherwise she (kill).
4. He (like) us if we were good to him.
5. The smuggler (fire) at you if I had not shot him down.
TENSE FROM EXAMINATION PAPERS
Supply Correct Tense of the VERBS in Brackets:
1. I do not like (go) to the movies.
2. I (not read) a new book for the last six months.
3. I (take) another biscuit when you (not look).
4. He (finish) his examination by next month.
5. It (rain) in autumn; it also (rain) now.
6. The boy (stop) the play when the rain (start).
7. He (say) that he (cannot) attend his classes yesterday.
8. She (recite) a beautiful poem.
9. The rat (kilt) by the eat.
10. When he grows a beard, even his friends (not recognize) him.
11. At she (not understand) what he said she (ask) him to repeat it.
12. You (see) my book? I (lose) it.
13. I never (see) snow.
14. I told him I (be) late because I (be) busy.
15. I am sorry for keeping you waiting. I (feed) the hens.
16. I (finish) the book before my next birthday.
17. He (sit) in a safe when I saw him.
18. I (shop) all day and now I am exhausted.
19. My cook (leave) me two days ago.
20. When he (write) an important letter the telephone (ring).
21. We asked him what countries he (visit).
22. He just (go) out when I called at his house.
23. I never (forget) what you have told me.
24. I (know) him for a long time.
25. The children (finish) their home work when I came home.
26. Pakistan never (yield) to any power.
27. I will tell you a secret as soon as my husband (go) out.
28. Sit down, and when you (rest) I’ll show you the garden.
29. He died after he (be) ill for a long time.
30. If the dog had not woken us, we (never hear) the burglar.
31. If it (rain), you’ll get wet.
32. I took another biscuit when you (not look).
33. We (go) to the theatre last night.
34. He (not speak) to me for nearly three weeks.
35. When the teacher (come) in, the boys (play).
36. When the aero plan landed, the pilot found that one of the wings (be damage) by a shall.
37. We (not play) tennis together since last May.
38. He asked us why we (come) so early?
39. The dog (bits) you if it had not been tied up.
40. They (go) home after they (finish) their work.
41. I (go) if I had known.
42. I (study) English for six years now.
43. I (be) sorry that I had hurt him.
44. I hope it (stop) raining by five o’clock.
45. I (know) him for a very long time.
MORE TENSES FROM EXAMINATION PAPERS:
Q. Put the VERBS in brackets into their correct form:
1. He (go) to the movies when I (meet) him.
2. He (not speak) to me for over three weeks.
3. She cut her finger while she (cut) an apple.
4. He (eat) his dinner when I (go) to meet him.
5. When it (rain), he always (carry) an umbrella.
6. She (walk) to the station when it (begin) to rain.
7. When the ship (sink), he (jump) overboard.
8. You (see) my book? I (lose) it.
9. He (write) a letter now.
10. They already (repair) their old house.
11. This girl never (see) an aero plan.
12. You (read) that book?
13. No, I just (begin) it.
14. You just (marry)? When the ceremony (take) place?
15. I (go) to the museum tomorrow. You ever (be) there?
16. He (not come) until you are ready.
17. I don’t think she (write) before she arrives.
18. Don’t get off the bus till it (stop).
19. By next June, he (pass) his examination.
20. I (read) this book since 5 a.m.
21. The match (start) before we reach the stadium.
22. He thanked me for what I (do).
23. He went after I (ask) him not to go.
24. I never (forget) what you just (tell) me.
25. I never (see) snow.
26. She just (come) and (see) you in a minute.
27. If I come, I (see) you.
28. He said he wished he (never see) me.
29. If it (rain), you will get wet.
30. I wish I (know) his name.
31. Yesterday I (buy) a new watch as my old one (steal).
32. He (go) to France many years ago. Since then he (not speak) French, and (forget) all he
(learn) there.
33. You (remember) my name or you already (forget)?
34. I hope you (not forget) all this by tomorrow.
35. When we arrived, the dinner already (begin).
36. I (study) English for six years now.
37. I (know) him for a long time.
38. What you (do) just now while I (write) a letter?
39. I (go) if I had known.
40. She had to ask the boys (stop) (play).
41. After you (go), I went to sleep.
42. Before we (go) very far we found that we (lose) our way.
43. We asked him what countries he (visit).
44. If dinner is not ready, I (go) without it.
45. The dog (bite) you I had not tied it up.
46. I took another biscuit when you (not look).
47. He said he wished he (never see) me.
48. I hope it (not rain) when the bride (leave) her house.
49. I (go) If I had known.
50. I enjoy (rest) in the afternoon after (do) my work.
Page: 68
Chapter 9
REPORTED SPEECH
Indirect Speech is also called Reported Speech. If a man makes a statement, there are two
ways of reporting it, the Direct and the Indirect. If a man said, “I am going to see the new Ravi
Bridge,” then in the Indirect or Reported Speech the same sentence will be said as: He said that he
was going to see the new Ravi Bridge.
When the Direct Speech is changed into the Indirect, the following rules about the sequence
of tenses must be observed:
1. If the verb in the principal clause is in the Past, the verb is the subordinate clause must
also be in the Past.
2. If the verb in the principal clause is in the Present Tense or in the Future or in Present
Perfect, then in the subordinate clause any tense may be used.
3. If the verb in the subordinate clause expresses a universal fact or something habitual,
then this verb may be used in the Present.
4. When the main verb is in the Past Tense, then the verb in the Indirect Speech changes as
follow:
(a) Simple Present Tense changes to Simple Past Tense, as:
He said, “I am a brave man.”
He said that he was a brave man.
(b) Present Continuous changes to Past Continuous:
He said, “They are fighting in field.”
He said that they were fighting in the field.
(c ) Simple Past Tense changes to Past Perfect Tense:
She said, “Anwar got the pen.”
She said that Anwar had got the pen.
(c) Present Perfect Tense changes to Past Perfect Tense:
They said, “He has taken his meal.”
They said that he had taken his meals.
(d) Past Continuous Tense changes to Past Perfect Continuous:
He said, “The were fighting in the field.”
He said that they had been fighting in the field.
(e) Future Tense changes to conditional:
She said, “I shall meet Perveen.”
She said that she would meet Perveen.
When changing the Direct Speech into the indirect, certain words change into different ones.
Note the following:
Am
change to
Was
May
changes to
might
Do
“
“
did
Must
“
“
must
Shall
“
“
Should Now
“
“
then
Will
“
“
Would Here
“
“
there
Has
“
“
had
This
“
“
that
Have
“
“
had
These
“
“
those
Can
“
“
could
today
“
“
that day
Are
“
“
were
tomorrow “
“
the next day
Yesterday “
“
the previous day
If a man is reporting his own words, then Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives do not change, for
example:
Direct:
I said, “I like my friend.”
Indirect:
I said that I liked my friend.
Questions:
When a direct question is changed into Indirect Speech, certain changes take place. Note that
in Indirect questions, the question mark is always left out. Tenses, Pronouns and Possessive
Adjectives also change, for example:
He said, “Where did he live?”
He asked where he lived.
Also note that the reporting verb “said” in a direct question is also changed to some verb of
enquiry, such as: asked, inquired, and wondered. Sometime the word “if” or “whether” is placed
after the main verb, such as:
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
He said, “Is this room vacant?”
He asked if that room was vacant.
He said, “Were you right yesterday?”
He asked whether he was right yesterday.
Page 70
COMMANDS AND REQUESTS:
In commands and requests the following changes are necessary:
(1) The Introductory Verb is changed to a verb of command, as:
He said, “Go away!”
He ordered him to go away.
(2) The Introductory Verb of the indirect command is followed immediately by the person
commanded, as:
He said, “Akber, get out of here!”
He commanded Akbar to get out of there.
(3) The word “that” is not needed to begin the Indirect Speech,, as:
He said to saeed, “Excuse me, Please.”
He requested saeed to excuse him.
EXAMPLES:
1. Changes in Pronoun:
The pronouns and possessive adjectives of the first and the second persons are changed to the third
person.
DIRECT
INDIRECT
I, am my,
name
He (she)
his (her)
Him (her)
hers,
We, us
our, ours
They, them
their, their
You
your, yours They, them
their, theirs
Direct:
He said, “I shall keep my word.”
Indirect:
He said that he would keep his word.
Direct:
He said, “This pen is mine.”
Indirect:
He said that pen was his.
Direct:
He said to him, “You should obey your elder.”
Indirect:
He said to him that he should obey his elders.
Direct:
He said to me, “You should obey your elders.”
Indirect:
He said to me that I should obey my elders.
Direct:
He said to you, “You should obey your elders.”
Indirect:
He said to you that you should obey your elders.
2. Questions:
The rules stated in the foregoing pages not only relate to statements but also to direct questions.
There are, however, a few more points to be noted to such interrogative sentences:
(a) The verb of the reporting speech is changed to asked or enquired, or some such suitable
word.
(b) In case of questions beginning with an auxiliary verb, if or whether is used as a connective
word.
(c) The interrogative construction is replaced by a statement without the conjunction that.
Direct:
Indirect:
He said to me, “What is your aim in life?”
He asked me what my aim in life was.
He said to me, “Why do you waste your time in idle gossip?”
He asked me why I wasted my time in idle gossip.
He said to me, “Are you prepared to sacrifice you life for a noble cause?”
He asked me if I was prepared to sacrifice my life for a noble cause.
He said to Ahmed, “Will you teach me how to swim?”
He asked Ahmed whether he would teach him how to swim.
He said to me, “Can you speak French?”
He asked me if I could speak French.
He shouted angrily at him, “Do you suppose you know better than your father?”
Shouting angrily, he asked him if he know letter than his father.
He said, “How will you get there at this late hour of night?”
He asked him how he would get there at that late hour of night.
When the reported speech consists of a number of sentences comprising statements
and questions. The introducing verb will very accordingly: for example:
Direct:
He said to me, “I have lost my pen. Will you lend me yours for a few minutes?”
Indirect: He told me that he had lost his pen, and asked me if I would lend him mine for a few
minutes.
3. Commands and Requests.
The following changes occur when changing direct commands and requests into indirect
statements:
(a) The reporting verb is changed to verbs like ordered, commanded, told, requested,
begged, entreated, etc .In accordance with the sense of the sentence.
(b) A Direct Object standing for the person ordered or requested is introduced.
(c) The imperative form of the verb is generally changed to the infinitive form.
Direct:
He said to them, Vacate this room at once.”
Indirect: He ordered them to vacate that room at once.
Direct:
The commander said to the soldiers to “Fire!”
Indirect: The Commander ordered the soldiers to fire.
Direct:
They said to me, “Please give us something to eat.”
Indirect: The begged (requested, entreated) me to give them some thing to eat.
Direct:
Amjad said to us, “Let us arrange for a picnic.”
Indirect: Amjad proposed that we should arranged (we arrange) for a picnic.
Direct:
He said to his teacher, “Please explain this idea again.”
Indirect: He requested his teacher to explain that idea again.
Direct:
He said to his father, “Please let me join the P.A.F.”
Indirect: He entreated his father to let him join the P.A.F.
4. Exclamations and Wishes:
The introducing verb here is replaced by some suitable word denoting exclamation at wish.
Direct:
He said, “Farewell, friends!”
Indirect: He bade his friends farewell.
Direct:
they said, “Alas! We are undone.”
Indirect: The exclaimed with sorrow that they were undone.
Direct:
He said, “Shabaash! You played well.”
Indirect: He applauded them saying that they had played well.
Direct:
The old man said to me, “May God bless you with a son.”
Indirect: The old man prayed that God might bless me with a son.
Direct:
He said, “I wish that I were a loyal friend.”
Indirect: He wished that he were a loyal friend.
Direct:
The Captain shouted, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
Note:
Indirect:
Direct:
Indirect:
The Captain shouted (exclaimed) with joy that they had won the match.
He said to me, “Good morning!”
He bade me good morning.
DIRECT SPEECH:
Mr. Bashir:
Good morning! When are you going to get up?
Mr. Shaukat:
I have overslept. What is the time?
Mr. B:
It is nearly 9 o’clock. I want to go to Anarkali to buy some clothes.
Mr. S:
I shall be ready in ten minutes. Have you had your breakfast?
Mr. B:
No, I am waiting for you.
Mr. S:
I am ready now. We can have our breakfast. I am both hungry and thirsty.
INDIRECT SPEECH:
Mr. Bashir wished Mr. Shaukat good morning and asked him when he was going to get up. Mr. S,
replied that he had overslept and asked Mr. B. what the time was. The latter replied that it was
nearly 9 o’clock and he added that he wanted to go to Anarkali to buy some clothes. Mr. S. Said that
he would be ready in ten minutes, and asked Mr. B. if he had his breakfast Mr. B. replied that he
hadn’t but that he was waiting for Mr. S. Then Mr. S. said that he was ready and added that they
could have their breakfast. He said that he was both hungry and thirsty.
EXERCISES
Put the following into Indirect Speech:
1. He said, “Where are you going?”
2. He said to me, “You explain what your friend means.”
3. He said to the boy, “Go to bed and don’t get up till you are called.”
4. He said to me, “Don’t spend all your money on food and clothes; save some for the rainy
day.”
5. I said to the driver, “Drive as fast as you can; I do not want to be late.”
6. The Police said to him, “Do as you are told; otherwise you will get into trouble.”
7. He said, “Be a good girl and sit quietly and Auntie will give you a sweet.”
8. He said to Amjad, “Take a shower before breakfast if you want to keep fit.”
9. He said to me, “Who will come to the pictures with me?”
10. He said to me, “Where had you put my pencil?”
11. He said to Jameel, “When will you begin your holidays?”
12. I said to him, “Why do you sing so loudly?”
13. She said to the servant, “Have my shoes been cleaned?”
14. He said to me, “I often sleep in the afternoon?”
15. I said to him, “Do you know what is siesta?”
16. He said to Amjad, “I am learning English. It is not at all difficult if one works hard.”
17. He said to me, “Shall I hurry on and get the tickets?”
18. He said to Kareem, “If someone calls on me when I am not in the house, tell him to meet me
in my office.”
19. He said to his servant, “What is the time? Am I getting late?”
20. He said to me, “Hello! Where are you going?”
21. He said to Jameel, “This is the postman. I hope he has a letter for me.”
22. He said, “For goodness sake, stop that awful noise.”
23. He said to me, “What a lovely garden you have!”
24. She said to Joan, “Good Heavens! Look at the time! I have forgotten all about my cake! I
hope it is not burnt to a cinder.”
25. He said to me, “Have you got any shampoo? I must wash my hair.”
26. He said to Amjad, “I have just bought these shoes. Do you think they are smart.?”
27. He said to Kareem, “I am glad I have found you out, you dirty little thief!”
28. He said to me, “Please excuse me. I am too tired to go out.”
29. He said to her, “I am going to the library. Shall I change your book for you?”
30. He said to me, “I have always thought your brother was married. I must have confused him
with someone else. But you must introduce me to him one day.”
31. He said, “Listen! Can you hear someone coming?”
32. He said to him, “I am sure we are lost. Go and ask that policeman the way.”
33. She said to her, “Do you want to talk to Nasreen? I am afraid she is not at home. She has
gone to the Tullintion Market to buy a few cakes.”
34. He said to me, What a forgetful man I am! I have again forgotten to post your letter.”
35. He said to Amjad, “Will you remember taking your medicine before dinner?”
36. He said to Jameel, “The lawn-mower is broken again. Go and borrow Mr. Mahmood’s.”
37. I said to Mukhtar, “Please lend me some money.”
38. The author said, “I was brought up among Dissenters who think that there own ideas are
always right.”
39. He made a long speech and said, “You may be right but I think otherwise. All men are not
good, even the majority of men are not good. And what is civilization? It is only skin-deep.
Scratch a man and you will discover the beast under his skin.”
40. Mr Bashir: Good morning! When are you going to get up?
Mr. Zia: I have overslept. What is the time?
Mr. B. It is nearly 9 o’clock. I want to go to Anarkali to buy some clothes.
Mr. Z: I shall be ready in ten minutes. Have you had your breakfast?
Mr. B: No. I am waiting for you.
Mr. Z: I am ready now. We can have our breakfast. I am both hungry and thirsty.
41. Mr. Jaffrey said, “The sun always rises from the East.”
42. The teacher said, “Virtue is its own reward.”
43. The scientist said to the students, “Can you imagine the limitless void that surrounds the
planets and the stars?”
44. “Gone are the good old days’ when man loved man.” Said a scholar, “now money is more
important than man.”
45. He said to me, “Why do you laugh at those who cannot pay you back in the same coins.”
Page: 77
Chapter 10
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are usually placed in front of the words they control. They indicate relationship
between words or phrases. The most common relations are those of time, space (position, direction,
etc) and mental or emotional attitudes. But prepositions can also come after the words they govern,
especially in questions:
Example:
What shall I eat my bread with?
This is the man I was talking about.
A Preposition is a word that shows “in what relation a noun, or a noun equivalent (which is the
object of the preposition), stands to some other words”. The following example will explain this
definition:
Amjad placed his glass on the table.
If we omit on (the preposition), then the sentence will become meaningless. Therefore, a preposition
must be used here, otherwise the relation between the glass and the table will not be known.
A word may be used as a preposition or as an adverb. To find out if a word is a preposition or not,
all that is necessary is to see if that word has an object, for example:
(a) Ajmal went there first and I went after.
(b) Ajmal is a good speaker in our college but only after Anwar.
In the first sentence after is an adverb, for it modifies “went”. In the second sentence after is a
preposition with Anwar as its object.
Note the following sentence in which after is a conjunction joining two sentences:
“Ajmal left” and Anwar had made a speech”.
“Ajmal left after Anwar had made a speech”.
So a preposition always has an object. Often the object is a noun but sometime the object of a
preposition is a pronoun:
I shall give my book to him.
And sometimes the object of the preposition is part of a verb:
Ajmal saved his money by working hard.
Prepositions can have other kind of objects, but the following three are the ones we meet most often:
Noun, Pronouns, part of a verb ending in “ing”.
The number of prepositions in English is very large, and it is difficult to explain all of them here, but
the use of the following prepositions may be noted as they are commonly used in everyday English:
1. Come:
Come about (happen): How did this accident come about.
Come across (meet with): I came across him in the street.
Come by (obtain): How did she come by such good furniture.
Come down (downfall): What a come-down it is for me to have to live in such a place.
Come of (result): This is what comes of lying; you get punished.
Come off (fulfilled): His efforts to meet the duke did not come off. The handle came off (was
detached) when he opened door.
Come to (revive): She fainted due to heat but came to again our required standard.
2. Get:
Get away (escape): The prisoner got away.
Get away (be off)! Can’t you see I am busy.
Get off: Get off the bus (dismount) at the next stop. The accused got off (was let off) with a
reprimand.
Get on (to mount): Get on the bus at this stop.
Get on with (live sociably): I get on well with him.
Get through (pass): I am sure he will get through him examination.
Get up (rise from bed): When do you usually get up?
3. Go:
Go about (try to do): How shall I go about baying a house?
Go back on (fail to keep): He never goes back on his promise.
Go down (sink): The liner went down in a few minutes.
Go down well: His speech went down well with the audience.
Go into (investigate): The police is going into this case.
Go off: A time-bomb went off in the English Parliament last month. The meeting went off very
well.
Go on: he went on talking for many hours.
Go round (suffice for all) There is not enough food in the house to go round.
4. Hold
Hold on (wait): Hold on! I shall not be long.
Hold out (resist): He held out for an hour before he was killed.
Hold up (obstruct) The processions held up traffic for hours.(terrorist): two dacoits held up the
cashier and made him open the safe.
There are many other uses of hold which ought to be mentioned here:
1 The meeting was held in the garden (took place).
2 The speaker held that we were too materialistic nowadays (thought, believed), and he
declared that his remarks held good for the people of other countries also (were true)
3 Although we disagreed with the speaker he held his ground (maintained his opinion or
argument).
4 I do not think that his arguments held water (were sound) but I shall always hold him in
respect (have respect for him), because he behaved so well.
5. Lay
Lay down (sacrifice): He laid down his life for his friend.
Laid up: He has been laid up due to illness for a long time.
6. Look:
Look after (take care of): We must look after our parents hen they are old.
Look down (regard as inferior): They look down on me because I am poor.
Look for (search for): I am looking for my purse.
Look forward to (anticipate with pleasure): We are looking forward to seeing you again.
Look into (to investigate): See, go into.
Look like (resemble): This ring looks like the one I lost.
Look out (be on the watch): I advise you to look out for trouble.
Look up (find by turning over pages): Look up the address in the telephone directory.
7. Make:
Make for (go towards): After crossing the road, he made for his hostel.
Make of (understand about): She is a strange person. I never know what to make of her.
Make off (go away quickly): The cat made off as soon as the dog appeared.
Make off with (steal): The thieves made off with jewelery and clothes.
Make out: They made out a list of their complaints. (wrote) Can you make out what he wants?
(understand)
8. Put:
Put down (suppress by force): The revolt was put down quickly.
Put in (enter harbor): Many ships put in today at Karachi port.
Put off (postpone): Don’t put off your work till tomorrow.
Put on (assume): When I asked him where he was, he put on an innocent expression.
Put out (extinguish): May I put out the light?
Put through (secure telephonic conversation): Please put me through to the Supervisor.
Put up with (tolerate): I cannot put up with such insolence.
9. Run:
Run across (meet by chance): I ran across an old friend last week.
Run after (pursue): He spends all his time in running after big men.
Run down: The clock has run down (stopped) you look very run down (enfeebled through
overwork).
Run out of (finish one’s stock): We have run out of sugar.
Run over (pass over: The truck ran over a dog. The dog was run over by a truck.
10. Set:
Set about (begin): Can you tell me how to set about finding a good doctor?
Set in (become prevalent): The winter season has set in.
Set off: We hope to set off tomorrow (start on a journey).
Set up (star a business): He has set up an office in the town. (start ona business): His father has
set him up as a tobacconist.
11. Stand:
Stand by (ready): The fire brigade was told to stand by.
Stand for (signify): The B.B.C. stands for British Broadcasting corporation. (candidate for): He
is standing for the National Assembly at the next Election.
12. Take:
Take after (resemble): He takes after his father.
Take down (write down dictation): Take it down, please.
Take for (think to be): What do you take me for?
Take off (leave the ground): The aero plane will take off at 7 p.m.
Take over (succeed to): Who will take over the business when he retires?
Take to (adopt the habit of): He took to smoking when he was quite young.
Take up (enter upon): He took to acting because it was so profitable. (occupy time): She said
that cooking took up too much time.
13. Turn:
Turn against: I cannot understand why he has turned against me.
Turn away: He applied for the job but was turned away.
Turn down (reject0: He turned down out offer of help. (reduce flame): She turned down the lamp
before going to bed.
Turn in (got to bed): I think it is time to turn in.
Turn on: means let water on get flow; Its opposite is turn off which means stop the flow of
water, gs, etc.
Turn out: He was turned out of the meeting. The company turns out 3,000 cars a week. The story
turned out to be true.
Turn up (arrive): So you have turned up at last!
PREPOSTIONS USED IDIOMATICALLY
The following is a selection of common idiomatic phrases made with at, by, in, off, on, to, and up.
The idioms are italicized and their meaning have been given where necessary.
Idioms with at:
At war: England was at war with Germany from 1939 to 1945.
At will: (when one pleases): children play in the garden at will.
At a loss (puzzled): I am at a loss to understand why you broke your promise.
At sight (as soon as we saw): We liked each other at sight.
At a stand still (unable to go on) Our business these days is at a stand still.
At short notice: He left at short notice.
At home: He is quite at home in English.
Idioms with by:
By one self (alone): He was all by himself.
Close by (near)) He was standing close by me.
By heart: I know this poem by heart.
Know by name: I know him by name but not by sight.
By day: cats sleep by day but wake up at night.
By chance: I met him quite by chance.
By the way: By the way, are you very busy this evening?
By for: He is by far the best tailor in the town.
By degrees (gradually): By degrees he learnt how to speak English.
Idioms with for:
For the sake of (because of): He married her for the sake of her money.
For one’s sake: Would you do it for my sake?
For God’s sake: for God’s sake he quite.
For fear of (fearing): He ran away for fear of the consequences.
For all I know (care): For all I know, he may be dead.
For the present (for the time being): That’s all for the time being.
For good (for ever): He is gone from here for good.
For sale: This house is not for sale.
I for one (I at least): I for one doubt your statement.
Idioms with in:
In trouble: You will get into trouble if you don’t behave.
In tears: The little girl was in tears.
In front of (before): He was sitting in front of the fire.
In a hurry: Are you in a hurry or can you wait?
In large or small or block letters: Write your name in block letters.
In public: He insulted him in public.
In secret: Te meeting was held in secret.
In need of : let me know if you are in need of anything.
In good order: The tenant left my house in good order.
In good (low, high): spirits, You are in very low spirits today.
In bad temper: Why are you in such a bad temper today?
In addition to: He is a lazy man in addition to being stupid.
In comparison with: He is a devil in comparison with his brother.
In short (briefly): In short, he called me a liar.
In case of: In case of fire, press this button.
In honor of: This function was held in honor of the prince.
In view of (because of): In view of your good record, he may pardon you.
In order to (for the purpose of): the boy went to school not for study but in order to please his
father.
In spite of: We went there in spite of the rains.
Ins and outs (details of): His speech was quite off the point.
Idioms with off:
To be off (depart): Good by, I must be off now.
Be well off (be rich): His parents are not well off but they sent him to a school.
Off the point (irrelevant): His speech was quit off the point.
Idioms with on:
Later on (later): Later on they came to a big river.
On business (duty): Are you here on business or for pleasure?
On holiday: The builders are on holiday this week.
On fire: Help! The building is on fire.
On foot: Did you come here on foot?
On second thoughts: On second thoughts, I decided not to accept the job.
On the contrary: He did not accept my invitation, on the contrary he immediately left the place.
On the whole: on the whole he seems to like his work.
On strike: The electricians are on strike for more pay.
Idioms with to:
To and fro (backward and forward): The young people were walking to and fro on the mail.
To let: There is a house to let in our street.
To the last (till death): He was faithful to the last.
To one’s liking: This is not to my liking, give me another shirt.
To one’s surprise: to my surprise, the train was very late.
Idioms with up:
Be up (out of bed): I was up early this morning.
Time is up (time is finished): stop now, the time is up.
Ups and downs: his life had more ups and downs than yours.
Up to (attempting mischief): What are the children up to?
Up to date: The equipment of the army quite is up to date.
Up to the mark: Your work was not up to the mark today.
EXERCISE NO 1.
1. Wait – me – the bus stop.
2. We arrived-Lahore exactly- 6 o’clock.
3. Come-10-Friday morning.
4. I bought this shirt-thirty rupees.
5. Our cat was bitten-a do.
6. My home is – Lahore but I was born – Murree.
7. You may write- pencil.
8. There is no bus, we will have to go – foot.
9. We went – Karachi – car.
10. Get – the bus now but get – at the sixth bus stop.
11. You should call – me later – a more convenient time.
12. Hold this stamp = your thumb and first finger.
13. I don’t know what you are talking.
14. Amjad was sanding – the two cars.
15. He went – the hill – a little house – the top.
16. Will you open your book and read – line 3 – line 21- page 6?
17. Amjad was speaking – me – his hands – his pockets.
18. A brick fell – the wall and knocked the bucket – the rope.
19. The first satellite went – the world many times – a week.
20. He wanted to speak – me – something.
21. Amjad went out – the rain – an umbrella.
22. He must work hard – English because he is not very good – it.
23. He was wondering if he would get – his examination.
24. Please cut this citrus fruit – two – this knife.
25. When you come back – your walk, sit – this fire – your book – an hour.
EXERCISE NO 2.
1. Put your coat – and take this dog out – a walk.
2. He always gets – at 6 o’clock – the morning.
3. I am fed = this subject.
4. You can choose = these two books.
5. No aero plane takes – midnight.
6. That country is not – war – us now.
7. When you grow – you will be allowed – go out alone – night.
8. Wild animals sleep – day and wake – night.
9. Do not hide this letter – the pages – your book.
10. My friend, Hameed, has just rung me – to ask me to go – the movies – him tonight.
11. Switch – the light: I do not want to sit – the dark.
12. The whole army took – positions on the borders.
13. The light has gone – my wife has gone – and I must sit here now all -myself – anyone to talk
– the dark.
14. What is wrong- you watch? Has it run – because you forgot to wind it – going – bed last
night.
15. I get – very well – him.
EXERCISE NO 3.
1. There is enough food in the house to go0.
2. He has saved – to much money that he will be well – for the rest – his life.
3. I cannot even dream – being so rude to you at to answer you -.
4. We do not like people who show – especially – public.
5. I want to buy a piece of Tetron measuring six feel – five.
6. Amjad was – a loss to know what you meant – your remark.
7. Do not leave your things here all – the place. If you do shall punish you – your untidiness.
8. I know him – sight but not to speak - .
9. I shook him – the band and helped him – his coat.
10. They were afraid to go out – dark. They came – only when the rebellion had died - .
11. He is always – some mischief.
12. I told him to give – smoking.
13. The rooms were locked – as all the family was – home.
14. I think you should get rid – your dog.
15. Did you read the notice? It says, “Keep – the grass.”
16. – all his faults, he is easy to get - ; he is always – a good temper.
17. The movie show went – well.
18. Amjad passed his examination satisfactorily – spite – many difficulties.
19. Why are you – such a hurry. Go slow: I cannot keep – you.
20. You can always reply – me to stand – you if you are – trouble.
21. Do you have a telephone at home. I shall get – touch – you.
22. These hills have been worn – by rain and wind.
23. Last year, an epidemic of influenza broke – in Lahore; it did not die – many months.
24. I never paint my pictures – bright colors.
25. When are you setting – your journey?
26. He has nothing – common – me; so we have put an and – our friendship.
27. Be at home and help yourself – anything.
28. The ship was soon – sight.
29. I could do – a hot cap of coffee but you seem to have run – sugar.
30. He is a hardened criminal, and the police have accused him – murder.
31. We are accustomed – the hot weather.
32. You must set – my instructions – future.
33. His wife never agrees – him – anything.
34. I do not approve – your talking – that man.
35. Does this book belong – you – any chance.
36. What will become – this poor boy?
37. I shall call – you tonight after dinner.
38. How much did you pay – putting – this shed?
39. He stood – the court charged – theft.
40. Books can be classified – many categories.
41. Oxygen combines – hydrogen to make water.
42. Compare this list – that and tell me what is wrong –them.
43. Love has been compared – a flower by many poems.
44. He is ill and confined – bed.
45. This hostel consists –only twenty rooms.
46. The success – a businessman depends – his skill – a venture.
47. His cold developed – pneumonia.
48. You must work all the time, otherwise you will be dismissed – your job – idleness.
49. He is not interested – this book – all.
50. He says that it is rude – point – people in this way.
51. He said that he would protect you – harm.
52. A fire broke – in the cinema hall.
53. You must act according – my instructions – future.
54. Small children should never be separated – their parent.
55. The director of the company enlarged – the difficulties – the venture.
56. I cannot even dream – disobeying you.
57. Mrs this medicines – salt, dissolve it – water; then drink – one draught.
58. – sight, - mind.
59. The doctor cured him – dysentery.
60. Now he complains – pain in his thigh.
EXERCISE 4
1. The cashier of this bank absconded – a bag of money.
2. You should never absent yourself – the class.
3. He was charged – arson but now he has been absolved – all blame.
4. When I called – him, he was absorbed – study.
5. Are you acquainted – this man?
6. Please acquaint this man – the facts – this case.
7. I assure you – my cooperation – this work.
8. Many young men in U.S.A are addicted – marijuana.
9. Did you tell them – the change – your address?
10. He is quite indifferent – me; he does not even speak – me.
11. This institution aims – producing really capable graduates.
12. Funds have been allocated – the purchase of books.
13. A small amount of Rs. 5000.00 has been allotted – us for he purchase of bookshelves.
14. The accused appealed – the judge – mercy.
15. Did you apprise him – this good news- his promotion?
16. The assembly could not arrive – any decision – the matter.
17. My thanks are due – you – your cooperation.
18. This book is – loan – me – the public Library.
19. You must assist me – doing this work.
20. I assure you – my help – this work.
21. How can you blame your brother – the mistakes – others – this matter?
22. The police band was horribly – tune.
23. Some people boast even – their weaknesses – character.
24. The passenger was brooding – the loss – his suit case.
25. Don’t burden others – your worries.
26. He bumped – someone last night – the dar.
27. The pick pocket mixed – the crowd – coming – the station.
EXERCISE 5
1. The cashier of the bank has absconded – a million rupees.
2. A student must not absent himself – the class – any circumstances.
3. The cashier was absolved – all blames.
4. You should abstain – smoking cigarettes.
5. I assured him – my full help – his new venture.
6. Do you adhere – your word?
7. This dog seems to be afflicted – a strange disease.
8. Was he alluding – your habit of spitting everywhere.
9. He is ready to bargain – me – the price – this necklace.
10. What do you attribute his faults- ?
11. That man bequeathed his property – his son.
12. The police prevented the robber – committing robbery.
13. I do not blame you – the mistakes – others.
14. The officer shouted – the casher – letting – office.
15. Don’t bother me – your questions.
16. Don’t brag – your superiority – the art of photography.
17. He was called – the judge – the contempt – the court.
18. He compared me – a man – the street.
19. The baby was clinging – her mother’s apron.
20. He is tired –going – his office – bus.
21. This year Id coincided – my birthday.
22. Yesterday a taxi collided – a bus – The Mall.
23. This singer’s beautiful voice compensates – his ugly face.
24. He does not understand difficult questions – lack of intelligence.
25. We should not accept a compromise – our enemy – any terms.
26. The clerk wanted to conceal this fact – his officer.
27. I complimented him – his good taste – literature.
28. My friends always comply – my requests.
29. My friend has been looking forward – hearing – me – letter.
30. My friends look me – dinner and looked – me well.
31. Your story conflicts – the story of the first witness.
32. A sportsman should always conform –the rules – the game – all circumstances.
33. Sometimes the police connives – the criminals.
34. All of us should contribute – the welfare of our society.
35. He is quite blind – the fauls – his son.
36. Amjad isnot slow – his work, he is also very quick – figures.
37. This ship is bound – Jeddah.
38. I am quite content – what I have, I do not strive – more.
39. Jameel fell – love – a girl who is devoid – intelligence and deficient – common sense.
40. He tried to hinder me – my efforts going abroad but could not prevent me – doing so.
41. He is apt – be impatient – people who are slow – understanding.
42. No one can feet happy if he lives – his means; one must live –one’s means.
43. He seemed to be quite averse – the proposal I made.
44. I shall stick –my word even if I run – debt.
45. His remarks were – no way a reflection – my character.
46. His wife is quite indifferent – her husband’s regard – her feelings.
47. There is no need –you to be uncivil – me just because you have developed a dislike – me.
48. I am ashamed –your misconduct.
49. We like listening – the radio, but are we always impressed – the quality – the programs?
50. Pease out this apple – four pieces.
Page 92
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal Verbs are Verbs followed by PREPOSITIONS. They are very useful PREPOSITIONAL
IDIOMS. They offer endless meanings. The color the language and make it look simple and
modern. English writers have sorted out twelve verbs which are used most often in these idioms.
Those TWELVE VERBS are these:
GO COME RUN FALL TURN STAND GET TAKE LOOK PUT SET LAY
Now read the following sentences in which these PREPOSITION AL IDIOMS have been used:
word
meaning
sentence
GO
Go about
Gomna pirna
Why do you go about the roads aimlessly?
Go away
Chalaiy jana
Don’t go away! I will be free in a minute.
Go away with
Sath jana/ lay jana
Jameel went away with my watch by mistake.
Go back on
Wada torna
I never go back on my words.
Go by
Chaltaiy howay
He stood there and watched the traffic go by.
Go down
Dobna/ girna/
After the accident, both the ships went down.
maghloob hona
It will be a long time before the prices go
down.
Go for
Hasil karnay ki
Jameel went for the carpenter on his motor
koshish karma
cycle. First, decide what you want in life, then
go for it. They are going for a walk.
Go into
Study karma/ ghor
Could you please go into this case again.
karma.
Go off
Chalaiy jana/ path
Jameel went off in a hurry. If this bomb goes
jana.
off, it will damage this building.
Go over
Study/ mulahiza
If you have time, please go over this book
karma
again.
Go out
Buj jana
The lights often go out in the WAPDA House.
Go to
Utana/ bardasht
Karim had to go to a lot of trouble to seek
karma
admission to this college.
Go under
Na kamiyab hona
In business if you work very hard, you will
never go under, you will succeed.
Go up
Ziyada hona
Prices are again going up now.
Go without
Baghair guzara
I often go without cigarettes.
karma
COME
Come along
Aana
Come along! We are waiting for you I hope
you will come along after lunch.
Come about
Waqowa pazir hona How did it come about that you forgot my
name?
Come across
Milna
Have you ever come across a fool like him?
Come by
Hasil hona
How did you come by this costly watch?
Come down
Girna/ chalaiy jana When she put the plates back, the whole shelf
come down. This habit has come down tome
from my father.
Come down on
Baras parna
My father come down heavily on me for
going to the races.
Come in
Aana/ dastiyab
Come in, please. Much money came in this
hona
week.
Come off
Alag hona
When I lifted the cup, its handle come off in
my hand.
Come out
Namodar hona
The children were all waiting for their mother
to come out.
Come to
Banna / hona
How much does the monthly budget come to?
Come up to
Tang ana/ meuar
par hona
Come upon
Achanak milna /
dstiyab hona
RUN
Run away
Farar hona
Run about
Idhar udhar baghna
Run after
Run through
Peechaiy baghna
Jald mowaina
karma/ sarayat
karma
FALL
Fall down
Fall in
Fall off
Gir parna
He does not come up even to my shoulder.
The clothes we buy now don’t come up to last
year’s standards.
I come upon this cheque in my old files.
It is easy to run away from a problem rather
than to face it.
When we study for long hours in winter, we
run about to gat warm after wards.
Some people run after big men.
Please run through this essay as soon as you
can? Good ideas run through the whole.
Rabie and small children are always falling
down.
The factory was burnt and the roof fell in.
When she was cycling round the corner, she
slipped and fell off.
They fell out over the division of the property.
Jameel fell out with his brother and took a
separate house to live.
The firm’s plans fell through because of the
continuous rainy weather.
Fall out
Andar ki taraf ana
Kahien say gir
parna
Jagara karma
Fall through
Nakamiyab hona
TURN
Turn away
Mayous hona
Turn back
Wapis murna
Turn down
Mustarad karma
Turn down
Turn off
Kam kar daina/ ulta
karma/ rad karma
Band kar daina
Turn on
Turn out
Khol daina
Bahir nikalna
Turn over
Ultana
Turn round
Turn up
STAND
Stand by
Stand for
Morna
Aana
Ajmal never turns away anyone who comes to
his house for food. Karim turned away
without speaking to me. Jameel never turns
away from the course which he once sets for
himself.
She turned back when she saw the flood
waters coming towards her.
Jameel’s application for the licence of a gun a
given was turned down.
Please turn the gas down very low Turn the
glasses down. His request was turned down.
The tap needs repairs. So turn the water off.
Please turn off the radio and the television.
Urn on the T.V.
Turn out your pockets and you will find the
keys. Jameel is always turned out smartly.
Turn over the pages of this book and read the
chapter on Tenses.
Be careful when you turn round that corner.
He turned up late at the dinner party.
Sath daina
Murad hona
He stood by me in my bad days.
What do the letters U N O stand for?
Stand to
Stand up to
We stand to gain much profit in this business.
He stood up to him well.
Stand up for
Mutawaqa hona
Dalairi say
muqabila karma
Himayat karma
TAKE.
Take away
Take along
Take after
Take back
Lay jana
Sath lay jana
Similar
Alfaz wapis laina
She took her brother away in a taxi.
I took my friends along to the movies.
This baby takes after his father.
Amjad took back what he had said because he
realized he was wrong.
Every father takes it upon himself educate his
children as he likes.
He took off his hat when the plane took off.
Take upon
himself
Take off
Take to
Take up
LOOK
Look away
Look after
Look about
Apnay par zima
dari laina
Utarna / jahaz ka
urna
Ikhtiyar karma
Laina
Look forward to
Nazrien phair laina
Khair geeri karma
Ikhtiyar karna/
talash main jana
Talash karna/
towaqa rakna
Ihtiyat karna
Towaqa rakna
Bara sumjna/
qeemat barana
Umeed rakna
Look round
Sarsari nazar dalna
PUT
Put aside
Put before
Put by
Put down
Alaihda rak daina
Paish karna
Bacha rakna
Maghloob karna
Put in
Put on
Put off
Put out
Put to
Daina/ bhaijna
Pehanna
Multavi karna
Bojana
Dalna
Put out
Chatri kolna/ fight
karna
Bear/ bardasht
karna
Look for
Look out
Look to
Look up to
Put up with
Jameel stood up for karim when everybody
else had turned against him.
After leaving his job, he has now taken to
singing.
You always take up too much of my time.
When Jameel looked at her, she looked away.
We must look after our children well.
Look about yourself when you walk in the
dark. Is Amjad looking about for a job?
Are you looking for a job? That foolish man
is looking for trouble.
Look out! There is a snake in the grass.
They all look to you for help.
The all look up to him as their leader. The
business is looking up.
We are looking forward to meeting you next
week.
We only looked round the book stall but did
not buy anything.
Put your book aside and let us go out to pay.
Why don’t you put the facts before me.
She has put some money by for a rainy.
The rebellion was put down. Put down his
address in my diary.
Put in an advertisement in all news papers.
Put on your new coat.
His marriage has been put off.
Put out the light when you go to bed.
We are sorry for putting you to so much
trouble.
It is raining, put your umbrella up. Our team
put up a good fight.
I cannot put up with noisy people.
SET
Set aside
Alaihda rakna/
chorna/ mansookh
karna
Begin
Attack/ masar hona
Set in
Set on, upon
Set off
Set to
Rawana hona
Kisi kaampar pal
parna
We must set aside enough money for the
rainy day. The judge set aside the previous
order
The winter season has now set in.
She was set on by a dog. He is set on joining
the medical profession.
He set off ona long journey.
The engineers set to and repaired the bridge.
They were all hungry and set on (legan
eating).
NOTE:
Page 98 up to 107 is in INPAGE file name FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH
PREPOSITIONS FROM EXAMINATION PAPERS
Page 107 - 108
For Examination Papers
EXERCISE
Q. 1. Fill in the blank with appropriate prepositions:
1. They arrived – Karachi exactly – 6 p.m. (at, at)
2. You must act – my instructions – future. (on, in)
3. His wife never agrees – him – anything. (with, on)
4. I told him to give – smoking. (up)
5. I get -- very wait – him (on, with)
6. I do not approve—your friendship – that man. (of, with)
7. Do you have a telephone at home? I shall get – touch –you tomorrow afternoon. (in, with)
8. The aero plane takes – at night. (off)
9. I do not like to show – especially – public. (off, in)
10. My thanks are due – you – your help. (to, for)
Q. 2. Fill in the blanks with suitable Prepositions.
1. Come to see me – 10 – Friday morning. (at, on)
2. Get – the bus now but get – at the next stop. (on, off)
3. Hold this pen – your thumb and first finger (between)
4. Work hard – English. You are not very good – it. (in, at)
5. You must abstain – smoking cigarettes. (from)
6. I assure you – my full help. (of)
7. I don’t blame you – the mistakes – others. (for, of)
8. Can you cut this apple – four pieces. (into)
9. Yesterday a taxi struck – a bus – the Mall. (against, on)
10. I am tired – going – my office – bus. (of, to, by)
Q. 3. Fill in the blanks with suitable Prepositions:
1. Will you contribute – this fund? (to)
2. Are you satisfied – your work? (with)
3. A fire broke – in the cinema hall. (our)
4. He is not interested – his books – all. (in, at)
5. Does this book belong – you? (to)
6. He was cured – his headache. (of)
7. I get – very well – him. (on, with0
8. Why are you – such a hurry? (in)
9. I do not know what you are talking --? (about)
10. I never go – in the rain – an umbrella. (out, without)
Page: 109
Chapter 11
PUNCTUATION
The Full stop: The Full Stop is a major stop. It always ends a sentence. It is, therefore, used at the
end of a complete sentence.
A full stop in also used at the end of an abbreviation: for example. Mr., Dr., Capt., Ltd.,
B.com. Etc. However, according to an old rule, a full stop may not be used at the end of certain
kinds of abbreviations. The rule is that if the first and last letters of the abbreviations are the same as
the first and last letters of the complete word. A full stop may not be used; for example: Dr for
Doctor, Mr for Mister, Ltd for limited. However, this rule is not commonly followed nowadays.
A full stop is not used if the abbreviation is itself a pronounceable word; for example: WAPDA,
UNESCO, NESPAK, BECO, etc.
Comma: A comma denotes the shortest pause, and is used at many different places. Principally a
comma is used:
1. To separate clauses in a long compound-sentence; for example:
The chairs will be sent tomorrow, and the tables will be delivered the next week.
2. To separate words, phrases, or clauses in a series:
The ties, shirts, socks, and collars were sent to you by parcel post yesterday.
3. To separate an expression which is written for explanation only:
You last letter, although mailed on the 21st, did not reach on till the 30th.
4. To separate from the rest of the sentence any connection words which break the continuity of
thought, especially the words: however, nevertheless, perhaps, too, moreover, therefore,
indeed, etc.
The judge decided, however, that the man should be pardoned.
5. To separate a participle clause from the rest of the sentence:
He took a pencil and, pressing it on the paper, wrote his name with difficulty.
OR
Pressing his pencil on the paper, he wrote his name with difficulty.
6. To separate the members of a series which are not connected by conjunctions:
We need a careful, intelligent, dutiful clerk.
7. To separate a dependent clause from its principal clause:
Although there were 3,000 calendars in the lot, we distributed them all yesterday.
8. To separate any two elements of a sentence which might confuse the meaning if read
together:
Wrong: Ever since we have refused to handle their insurance.
Right: Ever since, we have refused to handle their insurance.
9. To separate:
a) The name of town or city from the province or country,
b) To separate the year from the day in dates,
c) And to separate the day of the week from the month;
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
September 21, 1975
Wednesday, September 21, 1975
10. To separate a quotation:
He said, “I am going to play ping pong now.”
11. To separate nouns in a series:
12. To mark off different parts of an address:
He lives at 392, Main Chowk, Bull Road, Lahore.
Page 111
Semi-Colon: It is a strong punctuation mark and is used within a sentence. It marks the end of one
thought which is somewhat related to the thought in the second part of the same sentence. It is used:
1. To separate two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction:
a) We shall send your consignment on December 21: this should arrive in time for your
winter sale.
b) In public life he was strong willed: in private life he was very considerate, amiable
and kind.
2. To separate two independent clauses joined by these conjunctions: however, therefore, thus,
moreover, otherwise, hence, consequently:
a) We know that you will like the new typewriter; however, you may return it within thirty
days.
b) We believe that this should not happen in future: therefore, we recommend that a
complete study be made of this case.
Colon: A colon connects the two parts of a sentence closely. It tells the sender that an explanation or
a list will follow. It is, therefore, used:
1. To explain:
a) We have it available in three colors: grey, white, and heavy blue.
b) We should like to make a suggestion to help you: send the damaged goods to our
nearest dealer, notify us and we will send a trained expert to repair the damage.
2. To introduce a list:
a) To the examination room you will need these things pen, papers, ink foot rule, and pins.
b) We bought the following articles today:
Necktics
9
Shirts
7
Tie Pins
3
Socks
3 pairs
Handkerchiefs
9
3. To introduce a quotation:
a) He said “Let me have a large cup of ice cream.”
Inverted Commas: There are two kinds of such commas: double and single. Double inverted
commas are used to enclose direct quotations:
b) He said, “Send us the goods by express train.”
c) Yesterday you had wired us, “We shall send you payments by September 21.”
Double inverted commas are also used to mark the special use of a word or words:
a) He was very proud of her letter but the supervisor called his attention to “Respectively
yours.”
b) This year did he, “really learn, “anything?
Single inverted commas are used to particularize some word.
He said, “It is a good story but its ‘Plot’ is a little jerky.”
A quotation is sometime divided into two parts in one sentence. In such cases inverted commas
should be used carefully:
a) “I hope you agree now” he said, ‘that very little has so far been done in this matter,”
b) “If you have tears” Mark Antony said, “prepare to shed them now.”
Exclamation Mark: A mark of exclamation is used after sentence or words of emotions or strong
feelings. That is:
1. For interjections and similar phrases:
Oh!
My God!
Heavens!
2. Sentences containing exclamatory what or how:
What horrible weather!
How lovely you look today!
3. After wishes:
Long live my country!
God forbid!
4. Inversions or incomplete sentences of this kind:
If only I’d known!
A find friend you have been!
Much you care for me!
Hyphen: Principally a hyphen is used:
1. To join words which form a compound adjective before a noun:
A 21-inch screen
Up-to-date merchandise
Better-than-average performance
House-to-house survey
Well-planned campaign
A middle-of-the-road policy
2. To indicate the division of syllables in a word at the end of a line of typed or printed matter.
Here, the dictionary should be the guide but remembers words of one syllable cannot be
divided.
To separate words or syllables in certain routine situations given below:
a) With prefixes es and self: ex-president, ex-officer; self-determining, self-conscious, etc.
b) When the words would look awkward if joined together without a hyphen: for example:
re-elect, re-educate, pre-engineering, co-worker, anti-inflation, semi-independence.
c) With compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety one; for example: forty-seven men;
twenty-seven dollars and seventy-two cents.
Interrogation Mark: The question mark is used at the and on a sentence which is a direct question.
Note that a question can consist of a single word also.
Examples:
a) When is that report du? Tomorrow?
b) Why does he write his letters tactlessly?
A question mark should not be used after an indirect statement!
Wrong:
He asked if I should go?
Right:
He asked if I should go.
In polite questions, there is a tendency to omit the question mark:
a) Will you please send the goods tomorrow.
b) May I request you to notify us of your change of address.
Desh: the dash marks abrupt shift in thought: it tells the reader. This is an afterthought, or this
requires special emphasis,” the later being the most useful function in business writing. The
chief users of the dash are:
1. To emphasize an idea: for instance:
a) The new machine developed by us is designed well, constructed sturdily-and priced for
too low.
b) He said that smoking was an expensive, useless habit-to which he was completely
addicted.
c) Report-writers who report to readers with the same education background are fortunate
because their readers-and notice this phrase-speak the same language.
To indicate an afterthought or an interruption:
a) We are writing the customer-and we should have said this in our previous letter – that the
guarantee cannot be interpreted that way.
b) The difficulty-as I think I reported to you-lies in the shortage of manpower.
c) That man-you must remember him-would make an excellent office supervisor for our
company’s branch office.
Page 115
Parentheses: These are used to enclose explanatory material or comments which may be helpful but
not essential to the reader’s understanding. Examples:
a) The discussion of accounting (see Book 2) was most helpful.
b) If you have these articles in stock (they must be available now). Please send hem
immediately.
Capital letters: The following rules indicate the conventional uses of capitalization which every
writer should follow:
a) The first letter of the first word of a sentence is always capital.
b) Capitalize the first word of the salutation and of the complimentary close in a business letter:
Gentlemen,
Sincerely Yours,
Dear sir,
Yours very truly,
Dear Mr. Brown,
Cordially Yours,
c) Capitalize the first word and all other important words in the titles (headings) of essay,
articles, books, reports, or any business documents. The term important words generally
means all words except articles (a, an, the) prepositions, and conjunctions.
Example:
A Report on the System of Examinations
How to Make a Cup of Tea
The Principles of Accounting
The Man who Came to Dinner
d) Capitalize the first word of a quotation, but only if the quotation is a complete sentence.
Examples:
i. Your letter said, “Send the replacement by air.”
ii. Your letter said, “Good wishes for success” and gracious way.
e) The names of subjects when they are not used in the sense of specific courses may not be
capitalized, as: accounting, statistics, agriculture, nursing. But remember languages and
nationality require capitals. Hence, the following sentence is correctly capitalized. He
studied Accounting, Economics, Statistics, English, Urdu, and French.
f) Capitalize proper nouns, including the names of days in months, such as: Lahore, Friday,
Iran, December, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan Motors Corporation,
Would War II, the North Pole, the Ministry of Defence, etc.
Page 116
EXERCISES
Punctuate the following passages:
1. What a lazy boy you are said the father to his son saleem you never pay attention to your
studies why non’s you work hard I am too weak to pull on with the class replied saleem
2. I am ill said peter to his wife i am very ill yesterday I had a headache today I have fever
please call in the doctor soon arrived he felt peter’s pulse then taking a plece of note-paper
he wrote a prescription this he handed to peter’s wife that night peter chewed and swallowed
the paper when got up next morning he said to his wife now I feel quite well again.
3. We bought a new house a few days ago some people said it was a haunted house the lady
from whom we bought this house did not tell us anything but often heard strange sounds
coming from somewhere inside the house one night when my husband was away I went to
bed at about ten I was awakened by the sound of footsteps in the dining room they were so
clear that I was frightened I got up put on my dressing gown and telephoned a friend I asked
her if I could come and stay with her.
I locked myself upon the upstairs bed room and telephoned for a taxi after a short
time a taxi arrived and stopped by the front door I kept waiting for the taxi driver to ring my
door bell but he did not do so, I shouted to him from my bed room window he said I saw a
man standing by the door I thought he was the passenger but he vanished when I called out.
4. Stephen leacock was famous for his humorous stories he was the head of the department of
political science at mcgill university montreal Canada he was the author of many novels and
books of poetry all of which are written in a very comic style this essay is taken from a
collection of humorous essays called further foolishness.
5 One evening as the sun was setting a wolf watched his own shadow growing longer and
longer what a good animal I am said the wolf to himself how foolish I am to be afraid of the
lion whom they call the king of the beasts (P.U. 1974)
6 Man is superior to animals because he does not live by bread alone he has a spiritual nature
he would willingly accept death with honor rather than accept a life without honor it is for
this that we respect a man not for his long life but for his honor.
7 A man suddenly met a robber on a country road the robber pointed a pistol and cried out
your money or I’ll shoot the man remained cool and replied I cannot give my money to you
for it will amount to help you in your evil deed but I will exchange my purse with your pistol
the robber agreed on receiving the pistol the man at once pointed it at the robber and said my
friend return my purse or I’ll shoot you cannot shoot said the robber there are no bullets in it.
8 There was once a poor man who could no longer keep his only son the son said dear father I
am a burden to you I wish to seek some way of earning my bread his father replied what a
terrible thing it is to part with you go my son work hard be honest and God will help you.
9 Come I cried impatiently we shall be late well what does that matter he answered with a
laugh we have been late many times before do you think once more will make much
difference his unconcern made me more angry than eve and I made no reply but went ahead
hoping he would follow.
10
117 part road gulberg
Lahore
December 21 1968
The chairman
Pidc
Lahore
Sir
In reply to your advertisement in the Pakistan times of October 21 inviting applications for
the posts of accountants I offer my services for one of these posts my qualifications are as under.
I passed my b.com examination this year with a high second division winning distinction in
the subject of accounting
I am 23 years of age and bear good moral character I have been a sportsman and have been
taking special interest in athletics and cricket
I am submitting three copies of my testimonials along with an attested copy of my degree
Thanking you
Yours obediently
a.k. shameem
11. I lecture to a class whose members have to write an essay once a fortnight it is a very difficult
task to force them to write these essays every kind of excuse is made to escape them brown says
he does not know how to express them robinson says he was busy at home george says he has
forgotten how to spell brooks says he cannot spare time to write.
12. while frederik the great was on a journey his coachman by mischance upset the carriage the king
was not hurt but he was so angry with the fellow that he rushed at him with his cane raised
intending to give him a thrashing the coachman however kept cool sir he said to the king you are
the greatest general in the world but at the same time you have lost many battles it is true that I
am to blame for this accident but it is the only accident I have caused during the twenty years
have served your majesty (P.U. 1965)
13. jack easily bioke through a hedge into an apple orchard climbed a tree and began to eat the fruit
he was discovered by the farmer jack refused to come down when asked to do so the farmer left
his bull dog on guard at the foot of the tree promising to return when the day’s work was done.
(P.U. 1966)
14. a father had two sons asif and sohail he was a good father he loved both his sons equally but the
sons did not like each other asif the elder was wise and clever sohail the younger was lazy and
careless one day asif was annoyed with sohail and scolded him for it sohail felt it very much and
the same evening when he came home he said to his father dear father please give me my share
as I can no longer live under this roof the father was a very good father he gave him his share
and sohail said goodbye to his home. (P.U. 1968)
15. I am very happy to learn about your great interest in studies but your studies should not take all
your time haven’t you heard the saying all work and so play makes jack a dull boy pale
complexion lusterless eyes weak body and an indifferent health result from neglect of exercise
you must I think take part in games and sports regularly. (P.U. 1972)
Page: 120
Chapter 12
HOW TO BUILD A LARGE VOCABULARY
A person’s vocabulary can be termed “satisfactory” if he can easily understand whatever he
reads or whatever is said to him. If he cannot do so, he is certain to make serious mistakes. A typist
was once told to type a certain letter in triplicate, but he did not know what “triplicate” meant. So he
typed only two copies of the letter. When he was told that triplicate did not mean duplicate, he had
to type another copy of that letter. Such confusion will always be the result if your vocabulary
happens to be weak.
THREE STEPS TO A GREATER VOCABULARY
How can you begin to acquire a good vocabulary? Examine these steps:
1. Books newspapers, and magazines are a real storehouse of living vocabulary. They can be
very helpful fund of words, The important thing is to develop a regular habit of reading
books, newspapers and magazines. English teachers have noted that there is an intimate
relation between students’ reading habits and their writing ability. Those who read widely,
always write better then those who do not care to read books, magazines or newspapers.
2. Often in reading or writing, you will find a new word that catches your attention and appeals
to you. Write it down with meanings in capital letters in a special notebook reserved for
vocabulary only. Then start using this word several times in the next few days. Suppose, for
example, you have noted the word “CARP”, (to make unnecessary complaints about small
matters). You can say to your friends: “Why are you carping about your homework.” OR
“Jameel, you have a carping tongue!” OR “She is always carping at her husband.”
3. When you listen to English news on the radio and T.V., be on the alert. Watch for words and
phrases which are new to you. These broadcasts and telecasts are very carefully prepared and
the words used are usually most appropriate.
WHY THE DICTIONARY IS A “MUST”?
A standard dictionary is the most acceptable ‘authority’ for all. Between the covers of a dictionary,
we find information that helps us in almost all vocabulary problems. Indeed, a dictionary is one of
the most important books ever written on language. You must therefore learn how to use a
dictionary.
Use your dictionary to find out all you can about words. You will be amply rewarded, because a
large vocabulary is a priceless possession both in business and social life. A good vocabulary is
acquired from different sources: Reading books and a Dictionary are the two most important ones.
You must therefore practice reading books as regularly as you can. A Greek philosopher once said
“What we have to learn, we learn by doing. “If a word is not clear, don’t try to guess its meaning but
write it down immediately and look it up in your dictionary. Use your dictionary freely. Note down
the troublesome word with its meaning and pronunciation.
Only in these ways will new words become a part of your vocabulary. Reading and looking up
words in the dictionary will not only improve your vocabulary, they will also widen your knowledge
of other things and thus provide you with greater ability to express your ideas.
HOW THIS CHAPTER CAN BUILD UP YOUR VOCABULARY
This chapter includes the following topics:
1. Words Often Confused or Pairs of Words.
2. One-Word Substitutions or One Words for Many.
3. Synonyms, that is, Words with Same Meanings.
4. Idiomatic Expressions.
5. Well-known Proverbs.
A look at these topics will show that they are all concerned with words. They explain the use of
certain words or word-formations. A careful study of all these topics (and what’s contained therein)
will almost certainly improve and enlarge your vocabulary. You must, therefore, work on this
chapter continually to that you become quite conversant with it. If you do so, you will notice a
welcome change in your fund of words because your vocabulary will have been reached to such an
extent that you will notice the difference yourself whenever you sit down to write English. You will
notice this difference even if you write only a new sentences. Your speech will also be improved,
and this improvement will be noted by all who happen to hear you speak in English.
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED
Note words are in Inpage with its Urdu meaning: from page 122 to 134
Page 135
WORDS AND THEIR SYNONYMS
Synonyms are words having the same meanings as another word. For examples, the words
HANDSOME has these synonyms: beautiful, comely, good-looking, pretty, and graceful, A careful
study of these words are their synonyms will make considerable addition to your vocabulary.
1. Abide
remain, linger, stay, tarry.
2. Able
competent, capable, efficient.
3. Abolish
abrogate, annul, cancel, nullify, repeal.
4.
Abominable rescind, revoke, repulsive, abhorrent, disgusting,
loathsome, revolting, repugnant.
5. Abrupt
brusque, bluff, blunt, curt, gruff, short, surly.
6. Abscond
escape, flee, fly, retreat, runaway.
7. Absence
lack, dearth, shortage.
8. Absentminded
oblivious, abstracted, inattentive.
9.
Aboardfarcical, foolish, irrational, ludicrous, preposterous, ridiculous,
senseless, silly, unreasonable.
10. Accelerate
quicken, expedite, hasten, hurry, rush, speed.
11. Accidental
chance, adventitious, coati gent.
12. Accommodate
adapt, adjust.
13. Accountable
responsible, answerable, liable.
14. Accuse
arraign, charge, impeach, incriminate, indict.
15. Acquire
get, gain, obtain, procure.
16. Act
action, deed, feat, performance.
17. Adhere
stick, cling, and cohere.
18. Admonish
rebuke, censure, reprincipal, reproach, reprove.
19. Adroitness
skill, artistry, deftness, finesse, flair, mastery.
20. Advertise
announce, broadcast, proclaim, and publish.
21. Affinity
attraction, sympathy.
22. Affisent
wealthy, opulent, prosperous, rich, well off, well to do.
23. Aggressive
hold, far ward, pushing.
24. Agitate
upset, demoralize, disturb.
25. Agoestic
septic, atheist, doubter, unbeliever.
26. Alarm
fear, fright, horror, panic, terror.
27. Ambiguous
doubtful, dubious, equivocal, questionable, uncertain.
28. Amplify
enlarge, augment, expand, increase, magnify.
29. Arrest
capture, apprehend, bag, catch, nab, plush, trap.
30. Artiess
naïve, guileless, ingenuous, rude, unsophisticated.
31. Attractive
pleasing, agreeable, engaging, nice, pleasant.
32. Authentic
genuine, actual, real, true.
33. Bad
mischievous, disagreeable, objectionable.
34. Befall
happen, occur, take place.
35. Alarm
fear, fright, horror, panic, terror.
36. Ambiguous
doubtful, dubious, equivocal, questionable, uncertain.
37. Amplify
enlarge, augment, expand, increase, magnify.
38. Arrest
capture, apprehend, bag, catch, nab, pinch, trap.
39. Artless
naïve, guileless, ingenuous, rude, unsophisticated.
40. Attractive
pleasing, agreeable, engaging, nice, pleasant.
41. Authentic
genuine, actual, real, true.
42. Bad
mischievous, disagreeable, objectionable.
43. Befall
happen, occur, take place.
44. Bold
aggressive, forward, pushing.
45. Break
burst, crack, crush, fracture, shatter, smash.
46. Bampy
rough, corrugated, crooked, jagged, rugged, uneven.
47. Burning
48. Calm
49. Careful
50. Celebrated
51. Childlike
52. Clean
53. Clear
54. Close
55. Clumsy
56. Cold
57. Collect
58. Comely
59. Complete(n)
60. Complete (v)
61. Connect
62. Consent
63. Covert
64. Credible
65. Crook
66. Daredevil
67.
68. Debris
69.
70. Demand
71.
72. Depart
73. Deplorable
74. Deplore
75. Derision
76. Desire
77. Desirous
78. Determine
79. Devour
80. Diminish
81. Discolor
82. Discourage
83. Discover
84. Disturb
85. Disturbance
86. Divert
87. Divide
88. Docile
89. Doubt
90. Dream
91. Dumb
92. Dumb
hot, feverish, scorching, searing.
tranquil, placid, quiet.
conscientious, meticulous, punitions, scrupulous.
famous, noted, notorious, renowned.
childish, immature, infantile, juvenile, puerile.
scrub, sweep, tidy, wipe.
definite, distinct, unmistakable.
finish, complete, conclude, end, finalize, terminate.
awkward, bungling, gawky, inept, lumbering, ungainly.
chilled, chilly, cool, frosty, icy, frigid.
accumulate, amass, gather, hoard.
beautiful, cute, good-looking.
entire, full, intact, total, whole.
finish, conclude, end, finalize, terminate, close.
attach, join, link, unite.
acquiesce, agree, assent, concur, subscribe.
implicit, latent, potential, tacit, unspoken.
believable, convincing, plausible.
criminal, gangster, hoodlum, outlaw, racketeer, thug.
reckless.
Dauntless
brave, bold, courageous, fearless, gallant, heroic,
intrepid, plucky, undaunted, valiant, valorous.
Waste, garbage, junk, refuse, rubbish.
Definition
explanation, annotation, commentary, description,
exposition, interpretation.
ask, claim, request, require.
Demolish
destroy, annihilate, eradicate, exterminate, extinguish,
extirpate, raze, ruin, uproot, wreak.
leave, go retire, withdraw.
replace, supersede, supplant.
bemoan, bewail, lament, mourn.
ridicule, irony, mockery, sarcasm, retire.
want, covet, crave, wish, long for.
eager, avid, earthusiastic, intent, keen.
decide, resolve, settle.
eat, consume, dine, gobble, gorge.
reduce, abate, curtail, lower.
stain, tarnish.
deter, dissuade, divert.
find, ascertain, detect, determine, learn, locate, unearth.
upset, agitate, demoralize, disconcert, exacerbate.
lawlessness, anarchy, disorder, riot.
entertain, amuse, interest.
apportion, assign, distribute, dole out, ration.
amenable, submissive, tame, tractable.
scepticism, suspicion, uncertainty.
hope, anticipate, await, expect, foresce, with.
apeechless, inartionlate, inacherent, mute, tongue-tied.
stupid, backward, dense, dull.
93. Edge
brim, brink, margin, rim verge.
94. Eager
avid, deairous, enthusiastic, intent, keen.
95. Enversdrop
overhear, monitor, snoop, tap, wiretap.
96. Efficient
competent, able, capable, fit, good, qualified.
97. Effort
exertion, pains, struggle, truouble.
98. Enchanting
charming, bewitching, captivating, fascinating, winning.
99. Encourage
cheer, exihilarate, gladden, warm.
100. Enjoyable
pleasing, agreeable, attractive, engaging, gratifying, nice.
Eumity
animosity, antagonism, hatred, hostility, rancour.
Eurage
anger, incense, infuriate.
Envious
greedy, acquisitive, covetous, miserly, stingy
Erodition
learning, know-how, knowledge, scholarship.
Escalate
increase, intensify, step, up.
Escape
abscond, flee, fly, retreat, runaway.
Escape
avoid, elude, eachew, cvade, shun.
Exonerate
abslve, acquit, vindicate.
Expensive
costly, dear, high-priced, overpriced.
Explore
hunt, comb, ransack, search, seek, sleuth, track.
Facts
news, datea, information, intelligence.
False
artificial, imitation, syntetic.
Falsehood
lie, fib, rationalization, untruth.
Famous
celabrated, noted, notorious, renowned.
Fatigeed
tired, exhausted, fatigned, weary, worn out.
Fear ful
afraid, aghast, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, fearful, frightened,
seared, terror-stricken.
Flashing
sparkling, flickering, glimmering, glittering, scintillating.
Flashy
gandy, garish, meretricious, tawdry.
Flaw
blemish, defect, failing, fault, imperfection, shortcoming.
Flawless
perfect, eonsummate, ideal.
Forget
neglect, omit, overlook.
Forgive
pardon, condone, excuse, overlook, remit.
Forgo
giveup, sacrifice, waive.
Forlorn
lonely, lonesome, solitary.
Forsake
leave, abandon, desert.
Frail
weak, debilitated, decreptit, feeble, infirm.
Frank
candid, bluff, ingenuous.
Friend
acquaintance, companion, comrade.
Go
leave, depart, retire, withdraw.
Give
accord, award, confer, grant.
Great
eminent, illustrious, noteworthy, pre-eminent, reputable.
Greedy
acquisitive, avaricious, covetous, gluttonous.
Greet
accost, address, bail, salute, welcome.
Gregarious
affable, amiable, cordial, friendly, sociable.
Grip
grasp, clasp, clutch, grip, seize, snatch.
Habitation
home. Abode, domicile, household, hove, residence.
Handsome
beautiful. Comely, good-looking, pretty.
Happenbefall, occur, take=place, transpire.
Hasly
cursory, careless, scant, superficial.
Healthful
beneficial, advantageous, good, healthy, profitable, salubrious,
salutary, wholesome.
Heavy
burdensome, crushing, onerous, oppressive.
Help
aid, assistance, relief, service, succour, support.
High
elevated, lofty, tall, towering.
Hire
call up, conscript, draft, employ, engage, enlist, recruit.
Hoax
trick, deceive, delude, dupe, hoodwink, mislead.
Hold
possers, have, keep, own.
Honest
truthful, good, reputable.
Honour
award, bounty, premium, prize.
Honour
respect, consideration, deference, esteem, regard, reverence,
veneration.
Hostile
bellicose, belligerent, unfriendly.
Humlliatedisgrace, abase, debase, degrade, demean, downgrade, humble.
Hurry
quicken, accelerate, expedite, hasten, rush, speed.
Ignite
kndle, fire, inflame, light.
Imitate
ape, copy, impersonate, minic.
Immature
childish, childlike, infantile, juvenile, puerile.
Immoral
unethical, unmoral, unprincipled, unacrupulous.
Imperious
overbearing, arrogant, haughty, domineering.
Impress
influence, affect, sway.
Improper
indecent, immodest, indecorous, indelicates, unseemly.
Incite
arouse, exhort, foment, instigate, provoke, rouse, stripup.
Ineriminate
accuse, arraign, charge, impeach, indict.
Inspire
encourage, back up, embolden, hearten, promote, support.
Intend
aim, contemplate, mean, plan, propose.
Intrigue
conspiracy, machination, plot, scheme.
Invent
devise, conceive, contrive, formulate.
Invite
request, apply, ask, seek, solicit.
Legitimate
lawful, constitutional, legal, licit.
Lenient
indulgent, iax, merciful, permissives, tolerant.
Living
alive, amimate, live.
Lure
tempt, allure, attract, beguile, entice, seduce.
Mammoth
large, big, giant, gigantic, kingsize, outsize.
Mannerly
polite, civil, courteous, well-behaved, well-mannered.
Master
boss, chief, commander, head, leader, maestro.
Mature
adult, experienced, full-grown, grown-up, of age.
Mediocre
common place, fair, ordinary, passable, second rate, so=so, tolerable.
Merciful
lenient, indulgent, lax, parmissive, tolerant.
Merciless
inexorable, pitiless, relentless, remorseless, ruthless, unrelenting.
Move
shift, transfer.
Noxy
meddiesome, interfering, obtrusive, officious, prying, snoopy.
Obscure
vague, dim, hazy, indefinite, indistinet.
Old
aged, elderly, patriarchal, senile, super annuated.
Ooze
drip, lak, trickle.
Organize
arrange, classify, order, sort.
Outrageous
atrocious, monstrous, soandalous, shocking, unspeakable.
Pause
break, interiude, interval, lull, recess, respite, spell.
Pen
write, inscribe, jot, scribble.
Persuade
induce, cajole, coax, urge, wheedle.
Place
sit, location, point, scone, setting, spot.
Plot
intrigue, conspiracy, scheme.
Polished
exquisite, fine, graceful, refined.
Positive
sure, certain, definite, doubltless.
Powrless
helpless, impotent, paralysed.
Precis
summary, abridgement, abstract, digest, out line, synopsis.
Produce
make, assemble, manufacture.
Profane
worldly, earthly, mundane.
Prohibit
ban, debar, forbid, interdict
Psendanym
alias, nom de plum, pen-name.
Puny
trivial, measly, paltry, petty, trifling.
Pupil
student, disciple, learner, protage, scholar.
Puzzle
baffle, mystify, perplex.
Puzzle
conundrum, mystery, problem, riddle.
Rare
unusual, exceptional, off-beat, unique.
Rascal
scoundrel, knave, rogue, scamp, villain.
Recollect
remember, memorize, recall, remind, reminisce, retain, review.
Repair
correct, do up, fix, mend, rectify, remedy, renovate.
Sample
case, example, illustration, instance, specimen.
Sanction
approval, approbation, commendation.
Score
despise, abhore, disdain, loathe.
Scize
grasp, clasp, clutch, grab, grip, snatch.
Sentiment
emotion, affect, desire, feeling, passion.
Sham
bogus, fake, mock, phony.
Shame
abash, embarrass, mortify, rattle,
Short
small, diminutive, little, petit, squar, tiny.
Similar
alike, comparable, parallel.
Skerch
drawing, cartoon, diagram, illustration.
Sneaklurk, creep, proved, slink, steal.
Solitary
lonely, forlorn, lonesome.
Standard
criterion, gauge, measures, test, touch stone yardstick.
Still
tranquil, calm, placid, quiet, serene, undistorbed, unruffied.
Stimulate
enliven, excite, titillare, when.
Store
conserve, hoard, maintain, preserve, save.
Stress
pressure, strain, tension.
Stumble
stutter, ham, stammer.
Suggest
recommend, advise, advocate, connsel, prescribe.
Summon
beckon, call, conjure, invoke, send for, subpoena.
Suppose
assume, conjecture, guess, imagine, postulate, surmise.
Suppress
quell, calm, placate, subdue, tranquilize.
Suppreme
bighest, topmost, uppermost.
Survive
persist, continue, endure, last, weather.
Timorous
timid, bashful, coy, diffident, faint-hearted, shy, submissive.
Torture
misery, agony, anguish, discomfort, distress, torment.
Tough
strong, hardy, muscular, powerful, stalwart, sturdy.
Tradition
convention, custom, folk, love, manners, practice.
Tummy
stomach, abdomen, belly, guts.
Turn
bend, bow, lean, stoop, twist.
Turncoat
traitor, apostate, deserter, scab.
Tutor
Unreasonable
senseless, silly.
Unstable
Vagary
Vaine
Vaunt
Verbose
Vigorous
Vivid
Volgar
Wet
Whopping
Wish
Working
Yearn
Yokel
Zenith
teach, coach, educate, indoctrinate, instruct, school, train.
absurd, faroical, foolish, irrational, luderious, preposterous, ridiculous,
precarious, insecure, unsteady.
whim, caprice, whimsy.
merit, excellence, virtue, worth.
boast, brag, crow, gloat, pride.
diffuse, long-winded, prolix, redundant, repetitious, wordy.
healthy, fit, hale, bearty, robust, sound, strong, well.
Graphic, pictorial, picturesque.
coarse, crude, gross, abscene.
dampen, drench, moisten, soak, steep.
tremendous, colosanl, Herculean, prodigious, stupendous, thumping.
want, cover, desire, crave.
labourer, job, holder, wage, earner, working, workman.
hanker, long, moon, pine.
country bumpkin, rustic.
summit, apes, climax, peak, pinnacle.
Page 144
Chapter 12
ONE WORD SUBSTITUIONS OR ONE WORD FOR MANY
The words given on the left are called One-Word Substitutions because each of these words can be
used for many words. Note, for example, the difference between these two sentences:
1. Jameel has a camera and takes photographs with it because he likes photography;
he, however, does not sell his photographs.
2. Jameel is an amateur photographer.
Each of these sentences conveys the same meaning as the other but the first sentence is too long
because it is spread over EIGHTEEN words wile the second sentence has only SIX words, that is, it
is only one third of the first sentence. The reason is that the one word amateur has made the second
sentence compact in form and exact in meaning. You can also express your meaning in short but
compact and exact sentences if you learn to use the following one words.
NOTE:- The words meaning and sentences are in Inpage from page 144 to 148.
Page 149
IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
The following Idiomatic Expressions have been specially selected from examination papers. But
they are important not only because you will often find them in your examination papers but also
because they will help you in writing good idiomatic English. Learn them by hears if you wish to
write good, modern, and effective English.
NOTE:- words meaning and sentences are in Inpage from page 149 to 160.
NOTE:- PROVERBS and its meaning are in Inpage from page 161 to 163
(END OF THE CHAPTER 12).
Page: 164
Chapter 13
SPELLING
Students with bad spelling are always at a disadvantage. They may be intelligent and educated but
their mistakes in spelling will cause other people to consider them backward. Until such students
boldly face the reality of the problem and make efforts to correct their spelling, they will always
continue remaining at a disadvantage and may often find themselves in embarrassing situations.
THE CAUSES OF BAD SPELLING
English words are not always spoken on rules based on scientific lines. Same words which have the
same spelling are spoken differently, other which have different spellings are spoken exactly alike ;
for example; “I heard the sound of strong wind when I began to wind my watch,” or “that house
there is their property”. Then there are many other words which ought to sound similar but they do
not; for example; enough, through, bough, cough. George Bernard Shaw’s joke about English
spelling is well known. He coined a new word ‘GHOTI” and said that it should be pronounced
“fish”. He offered that this explanation:
Gh to GHOTI should be spoken as gh in cough
=
F
O in GHOTI should be spoken as a in woman
=
I
It in GHOTI should be spoken as it in initial
=
SH
GHOTI
FISH
BUT the real cause of poor spelling is LAZINESS. The cause lies with the INDIVIDUAL. He has
not learned in read carefully. He has not learned to listen carefully. He has not learned to Memorize.
WHAT TO DO?
The first thing therefore to realize is that spelling is most important to your writing success in
college, business, or future career. The older people have learnt their spellings with great effort; you
will have to make similar efforts to learn your spellings. Moreover, if your spellings are poor, other
people will find it out. They may not know much about what is good writing but they will at once
spot your poor spelling and they will point it out to you. As a result you might feel embarrassed or
even insulted, but this is a penalty you are always liable to pay for bad spelling. The only way out
for you, therefore, is to set your mind to the fact that learning correct spelling is a very important
matter for you.
FIVE STEPS TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR SPELLING
THE FIRST STEP: towards good spelling is to keep a notebook in which you write down the words
you misspell. At first you may not know all the words you misspell but write down those you
happen to know. See if there is any pattern in them. For example you may be having the i-before-e
trouble, that is, you perhaps do not know whether to put i-before-e or e-before-I in words like
deceive or achieve. If so, learn lines like this:
The foreign financier neither seized the ancient sovereign nor made him forfeit the
counterfeit money leisurely hidden in the heights.
This line does not have some words like species or seismograph but you can memorize most of this
kind of words that have been troubling you.
THE SECOND STEP: In similar ways you can master other problems, like the final e before
suffixes (suffixes are letters added at the end of a word to make another word, for example: go,
going, form, formative, fool, and foolish) as “notice”, “noticeable”; use, usage, or when to double
the letter before a suffix as: occur occurrence”, The rule of pronunciation are difficult, and
confusing because the exceptions are many. Memorizing will enable you to spell correctly the words
that trouble you.
THE THIRD STEP: Same students misspell words through defective pronunciation. Check your
troublesome words in the dictionary to find if you are pronouncing them correctly. First of all note
that most words are divided into syllables which play an important part in pronunciation. For
example PANORAMA is divided as pan-o-ra-ma and it must be pronounced as such and never as
panor-ma.
How a word is to be spoken is given in a dictionary immediately after the word. A “key” to
pronunciation is also given in every dictionary in the beginning of the book. Also, every word in the
dictionary is accented. Learn how to accent words. The accent mark is given at the end of the
syllable which is to be stressed. These accent marks should be learnt with care; for, without them
you may not be able to speak words correctly.
THE 4TH STEP: Make a list of your difficult words, and find opportunities to use them. Mark
Twain, the famous American writer, once said “Use a new word correctly three times, and it will be
yours.” So use a word that gives you trouble three times correctly and you will have no difficulty
about it later. But you must use it correctly. If you misspell a word a number of times, the wrong
spelling will be fixed in your mind and it will be difficult for you to get rid of them. So remember to
use a word correctly the first time.
THE 5TH STEP: Learn to spell difficult words. Follow the following steps to learn the words which
give you trouble. Don’t take short cuts. Follow these instructions to the letter:
(a) Look at your word. Be sure to pronounce each syllable carefully: pan-o-ra-ma.
(b) Close your eyes and form a picture of the word in your mind. If the letters of the
word are not clearly before you. Look at it once again.
(c) Pronounce the word and write it at the same time. Be sure that you write it correctly
the first time.
(d) Now use this word in a sentence and write the sentence at least three times. Go on
pronouncing the word as you write the sentence three times.
RULES FOR CORRECT SPELLING
The following rules, if understood and memorized, will help you in writing correct spelling.
Read the first five rules carefully. They are not as difficult as they seem on first reading. Read them
more than once and you will find the going easy. But before you read the rules, you should
understand the two words which are used in these rules: a prefix is a word or syllable added to the
beginning of a word, and a suffix is a word or a syllable added to the end of a word.
RULE 1: If you have a one syllable word which has a single vowel and ends in a single consonant
(other than w, x, or y) double this consonant when you want to add a suffix to this word, for
example:
Shop, shopping; glad, gladden.
RULE 2: If a word has more than one syllable and ends in a consonant after a single vowel with the
accent on the last syllable, double the last consonant, for example:
Excel, excellent, prefer, preferring.
RULE 3: Do not double the last consonant if it is preceded by two vowels, for example:
Defeat, defeated, exceed, exceeding.
RULE 4: Do not double the last consonant if the accent is not on the last syllable, for example:
Offer, offering; limit, limiting.
RULE 5: Double the final L when adding a suffix:
Travel, traveling; wonderful, wonderfully.
RULE 6: If the prefix un is added to a word which already begins with an n, double the n, for
example:
Necessary, unnecessary; number, unnumbered.
RULE 7: If the prefix dis is added to a word which begins with an s, double the s, for example:
Similar, dissimilar; solve, dissolve.
RULE 8: If the prefix il, im, or ir are to be added to a word which begins with the same consonant as
in the prefix retain both consonants, for example;
Legible, illegible; moral, immoral; responsible, irresponsible.
RULE 9: If a suffix, beginning with a consonant, is added toa word ending with a silent e, the e is
retained, for example:
Care, careless; bore, boredom.
Exceptions: argue, due, true.
RULE 10: If a suffix, beginning with a vowel, is added to a word ending in a consonant followed by
e, the e is usually dropped:
Prove, proving; grope, groping.
RULE 11: If a plural has to be made of a word ending in a consonant followed by y, the y should be
changed to ie:
Lady, ladies; story, stories.
But NOTE that if the y is preceded by another vowel, it is not changed to ie:
Chimney, chimneys; storey, storeys.
RULE 12: Put I before e, except after c:
Exceptions: eight, believe, ceiling, either, counterfeit, neighbor, neither, reign, seize, neigh.
A SPECIAL LIST OF DIFFICULT WORDS
The following lists have been specially prepared for you. They contain words most commonly
misspell. Begin with list 1 which contains words of daily use:
1.
Be sure of these words:
Accommodate
disappear
Beginning
benefit
Committee
comparative
Convenient
correspondent
Disappear
embarrass
February
feminine
Fulfill
government
Guard
guarantee
Humor
humorous
Impracticable
influential
Injurious
insensible
Intestine
necessary
Occur ret
occurrence
Procedure
quarter
addressee
benefited
competition
definite
exceedingly
floor
grateful
harass
illiterate
informative
install
necessity
omit
receipt
argument
business
competitive
develop
feather
flour
grief
heir
impartial
initial
interpret
occur
omitted
rebel
Reasonable
Separate
Unconscious
2.
recommend
success
upstairs
refer
suicide
vitamin
referred
troublesome
welcome.
Word often confused.
Accept, except
advice, advise
Alter, alternative
canvas, canvass
Continuous, continual council, counsel
Device, advise
draft, draught
affect, affect
check claque
decease, disease
dying, dyeing
3.
Other words commonly used and often misspell.
In order to make it easy for you to learn and memorize, these words have been arranged in groups.
Abbreviate
Accede
Accelerate
Accompany
Accomplish
Accountant
Accumulate
Achieve
Achievement
Acknowledge
Acquaint
Across
Adjacent
Adjourn
Admissible
Advantageous
Advisable
Adviser
Advisory
calendar
campaign
cancellation
canvass
Aerial
Affidavit
conscientious
consensus
convenience
receipt
recipe
courtesy
creditor
criticism
curriculum
customary
deceit
ambitious
deferted
deficit
descendent
Allege
Allocate
Allotment
Allotted
Amateur
Ambassador
Analysis
Anniversary
Annul
casualty
catalogue
ceiling
century
cheque
circuit
collateral
colleague
color
commission
competent
concede
confident
conscious
exception
excessive
excite
exercise
exhibit
expedite
expenditure
expense
financial
foreign
parallel
parliament
pavilion
perceive
permission
persuade
persuasion
plausible
possession
precede
governor
grammar
grievous
guarantee
guest
guilty
honorary
honorably
Illegal
illegible
immediately
imminent
agreeable
preference
prejudice
procedure
procession
programs
proprietor
psychology
pursue
queue
questionnaire
quorum
aggrieved
incentive
inconvenience
incredible
independence
indispensable
installment
defer
irregular
irrelevant
jeweler
reciprocate
recurrence
referring
refrigerator
regrettable
remit
interrupt
rendevous
repudiate
rescind
convenience
impromptu
remittance
Anonymous
Anticipate
Anxious
Resources
Appetite
Appreciate
Article
Artificial
Ascertain
Association
Assurance
Attitude
Audible
Audience
Auditor
Attorney
Bankruptcy
Believe
Beneficial
Biased
Bicycle
Borrow
Boycott
Budget
Bulletin
Bureau
Supervision
different
disappoint
disapprove
journal
leisure
liquidator
residential
resist
discipline
dissent
doubtful
dubious
duplicator
efficiency
eighteenth
eligible
eliminate
emergency
encourage
encyclopedia
endeavor
endorsement
enormous
eradicate
error
erroneous
etiquette
evidence
exaggerate
excellent
license
maintenance
maneuver
manufacturer
marriage
marvelous
mathematics
memorandum
meter
miniature
misappropriate
miscellaneous
necessitate
necessity
negotiate
neighbor
neutral
nuisance
numerous
occasion
occurrence
occurring
retaliate
retrieve
revenue
review
salary
schedule
secondary
segregate
seize
series
signature
signatory
sincere
skilful
spontaneous
storage
subtle
suburb
successful
summary
superintendent
supersede
A SPECIAL LIST OF WORDS COMONLY MISSPELT
The following list of words has been specially prepared for you by two persons: one from a
government office and the other from a business company. These words are so commonly misspell
that you should be very careful when writing them:
Absence
Accept
Accidentally
Accommodation
Acquaintance
Across
Aggravate
All right
Amateur
Appearance
Argument
Athletic
Auxiliary
Beggar
Beginning
disappointed
dividend
doesn’t
don’t
doubtful
eighth
embarrassed
environment
equipped
equipment
exaggerate
excellent
excite
exciting
exercise
literature
lonely
loose
lose
losing
luster
maintenance
marriage
meant
mischievous
monetary
municipal
murderous
necessary
necessity
received
recommend
referred
regrettable
relieved
responsibilities
restaurant
rhythm
riddle
schedule
seize
sense
separate
similar
simplified
Believed
Beneficial
Benefited
Buoyant
Business
Butcher
Catalogue
Cemetery
Character
Choose
Chosen
Committed
Committee
Competition
Complete
Comptroller
Convenience
Conscientious
Conscious
Council
Counsel
Criticize
Criticism
Crumble
Deceive
Decision
Definite
Descendent
Description
Desert
Dessert
Develop
Difference
Disappear
existence
expedient
experience
explanation
familiar
fascinate
February
finally
foreigner
fourth
friend
frighten
government
grammar
grievance
groan
hadn’t
height
heroes
heroine
humorous
humor
hundred
imagination
imagine
immediately
indispensable
interested
inveigle
inventory
knowledge
laborious
laboratory
latter
noticeably
notorious
occasionally
occur
occurred
occurrence
o’clock
omitted
opinion
opportunity
opulence
parallel
parliament
performance
personnel
pleasant
possess
precede
prejudice
president
principal
principle
privilege
probably
proceed
professor
promissory
pronunciation
prophesy
prophecy
purchasable
pygmy
quiet
quite
society
stationery
stop
stopping
strength
studies
studying
succeed
successful
superintendent
supersede
surprise
suspicion
tendency
thousand
together
too
tragedy
transferred
transit
tries
truly
typical
villain
virtue
Wednesday
weird
where
whether
woman
write
yawn
yearn
yield
EXERCISE
1
Some (not all) of the following words are spelt incorrectly. Correct the incorrect words, then
look up the corrected words your dictionary to check them:
(a) encouragement (b) useable (c) valueable (d) stricke (e) stricked (f) stroked (g) beginning (h)
neighbourer (i) valueless (j) likeable (k) perhaps (l) separate (m) desireous (n) grieveous (o)
independent (p) serviceable.
2
Write the opposite of the following words by adding a prefix to each. (A prefix is a word or a
syllable added before a word to change its meaning; for example, in illegal it is a prefix added to
legal):
(a) logical (b) legible (c) legal (d) colour (e) human (f) mortal (g) necessary (h) similar (i) limited (j)
messurable (k) relevant (l) rational (m) service (n) noticed.
3.
Rewrite the following passage, correcting all spelling mistakes:
If you are working in a business company, you must see that you render your accounts correctly. A
small mistake can lead to considerable loss for the company’s employes. All ways cheque and
recheque every colum before making the final entery in your account book. Correct enteries will
always be helpful to you. Don’t allow one line of enteries to be confued with the next line; see that
each line is written separately.
4
Some of the following words are spelt correctly. Correct only those which have been spelt
incorrectly:
Develop omission carrage bycycly surprised recommend villige garanti defini compleat sincerely
truly professor beginning welcome axident suksessful
5.
Correct all spelling mistakes in this passage.
When an exident took palce between a bus and a motor cicyle the bus came to an immidist halt but
then the driver restarted the engine and sped away. I net up to the motor cicyle driver and lifted him.
He was hirt but not siriousely. His moter cycyle was compleately damaged.
6
Rewrite the following words inserting ei or ie correctly in each of the following words:
n-ce y-ld ach-ve n-ther bel-f peo-ve sh-ld s-ze dec-t th-r spec- pero-ve forf-t
7.
Write the past tense of these words:
Refer cancel permit occur specify offer allot apply delay appeal annul confer equip journey prohibit
mar imply teach
Refer, Cancel, Permit, Occur, Specify, Offer, Allot, Apply, Delay, Appeal, Annul, Confer, Equip,
Journey, Prohibit, Mar, Imply, Teach.
Page: 1
Chapter 1
GENERAL MISTAKES
The following is a list of some common mistakes. It includes many kinds of errors. It is needless to
stress that the more carefully these sentences are studied the easier it would be to avoid such
mistakes:
Incorrect
None of these books are good.
Neither Iqbal nor Ghalib were novelists.
His pen as well as his watch were stolen.
Those two man never trusted one another.
The property was divided between 3 bro.
The king and minister had come there.
He plays football better than me.
Correct
Name of these books is good
Neither Iqbal nor Ghalib was a novelist.
His pen as well as his watch was stolen.
Those two men never trusted each other.
The property was divided among 3 bro.
The king and the minister had come there.
He plays football better than I.
If I was you, I would work hard.
One should always respect his elders.
Is this handwriting your’s.
He was boasting about his ear.
He is very careful about his health.
People complain about heat.
He died from malaria.
My pen is different than your.
Are you good in English?
She was married with a rich man.
I prefer History over Geography.
He asked me where I am going.
He said that he will come on Friday.
I shall see you when I shall finish my work.
He talks as if he knows this.
Ajmal gave his examination today.
Always give attention to your teachers.
He rode his bicycle and went away.
She came down from her cycle.
He made a lecture.
He saw a dream.
My watch is five minutes behind.
How are you going on with your work?
Listen him. Listen the radio.
This dress is different than that.
You understand what I say?
I know to play ping-pong.
I enjoyed during my summer vacation.
Better do your work and enjoy.
We entered into the office.
He returned back at midnight.
Our test will begin from Friday.
He asked me what games did I play?
A boy has a donkey who is in our class.
I and Ajmal won the match.
He was standing besides me.
I study Urdu beside English.
Divide this cake among the two friends.
The murderer was hung.
This bread is made of flour.
This chair is made from wood.
Do you put your money in the bank?
I hurt a finger of my right foot.
There is no place for you in the bus.
I have many works to do.
It is very hot to play hockey.
He is elder than me.
Page: 177
If I were you, I would work hard.
One should always respect one’s elders.
Is this handwriting yours?
He was boasting of his ear.
He is very careful of his health.
People complain of heat.
He died of malaria.
My pen is different from yours.
Are you good at English?
She was married to a rich man.
I prefer History to Geography.
He asked me where I was going.
He said that he would come on Friday.
I shall see you when I finish my work.
He talks as if he know this.
Ajmal took his examination today.
Always pay attention to your teachers.
He got on his bicycle and rode away.
She got off her cycle.
He gave a lecture. He made a speech.
He had a dream. He dreamt a dream.
My watch is five minutes slow.
How are you getting on with your work?
Listen to him. Listen to the radio.
This dress is different from that.
Do you understand what I say?
I know how to play ping-pong.
I enjoyed myself during my summer vacation.
You had better do your work and enjoy yourself.
We entered the office.
He returned at midnight.
Our test will begin on Friday.
He asked me what games I played.
A boy who is in our class has donkey.
Ajmal and I won the match.
He was standing beside (by the side of) me.
I study Urdu besides (in addition to) English.
Divide this cake between the two friends.
The murderer was hanged.
This bread is made from flour.
This chair is made of wood.
Do you keep your money in the bank?
I hurt a toe of my right foot.
There is no room for you in the bus.
I have much work to do.
It is too hot to play hockey.
He is elder to me. He is elder than me.
Chapter 15
COMPRESHENSION AND INTERPRETATION
What is comprehension?
Comprehension and Interpretation of a given passage mean understanding that passage and
then explaining and answering the questions given at the end of the passage. The answers most be
written, as far as possible, in your own words.
The most important point about comprehension is that the passage should be read carefully
and at least twice or thrice. In the first reading, the theme, that is, the main thought of the passage
should be noted and written down carefully. In the second and third readings, the chief ideas, and
the meaning of difficult words should be clearly understood. A dictionary may be consulted
whenever there is doubt about the meaning of a word.
What is interpretation?
After comprehending (understanding) the passage, the questions should be answered and
explained in your own words, You may easily discover the answers in the passage but you must not
copy them down word by word. You must change them and rewrite them in your own words.
The advantages of comprehension exercise:
Comprehension exercise are very, very useful for students, especially for those who have not
formed a regular habit of reading English books, If you make a habit of doing comprehension
exercises, you will improve your undertaking of English and enlarge your vocabulary. You will also
sharpen your faculty of reasoning and thinking.
SOLVED EXAMPLES
The following are some solved comprehension examples. Note that the answers to the
questions are in our own words and not copied down from the passage.
SOLVED EXAMPLE NO 1
It is impossible for a well-educated, intellectual, or brave man to make money the chief object of his
thoughts, just as it is impossible for him to make his dinner the chief object of his life. All healthy
people like their dinners. So all healthy-minded people like making money, but the main object of
their life is not money; it is something better than money. Good soldier, for instance, mainly wishes
to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay, very properly so, but his main notion of life is to win
battles, not to be paid for winning them. So of the doctors. They like fees no doubt, yet if they are
brave and well-educated, the entire object of their lives is not fees. They on the whole, desire to cure
the sick: and, if they are good doctors and if a choice was fairly put to them, they would rather care
their patient and lose the fee than kill him and get it. And so with all other brave and rightly trained
men: their work is first, their fee second-very important but still second. But in every nation there
are vast numbers of people who are ill-educated, cowardly and more or less stupid. And with these
people the fee is first and work second rust as with brave people the work is first and fee second.
Question:1.
There are two types of people described in this passage. Why is it impossible
for the first type of people to make money the chief object of their thoughts?
2.
Can you explain the two types of people described by the author in this
passage?
3.
What is the main object of a soldier’s life?
4.
Describe the characteristics of a brave and well-educated doctor?
5.
What is the theme of this passage?
Answers:1. It is impossible for a person of the first type to make money the chief object of his thoughts
2.
3.
4.
5.
because he is well-educated, brave and honest. He always likes to do his duty first; money is
also important to him but he gives it the second place.
There are two types of people described in this passage. The first are those who are welleducated, intellectual and brave. For them their work always comes first and money second.
The second kind of people is those who are neither well-educated nor brave. They believe
that money is everything, so for them money comes first and their work second.
The main object of a soldier’s life is to fight well in the defence of his motherland, and not to
be paid for his battles.
If a doctor is brave and well-educated, he would like to cure his patients. He would never
give the first place to money. He would even prefer to cure the sick without taking any fees
if he was asked to do so.
The theme of this passage is “Money and Work”, The author has impressed on the readers
that money is an important thing in the life of every man but work is more important. The
object of a good man’s life should be his work and duty.
SOLVED EXAMPLE NO 2
The year 712 A.D. is a great land mark in the history of Islam. About eight years had passed since
the prophet’s death and the boundaries of the Islamic World had spread over three continents. In this
year, three young Generals had won great fame for themselves and everlasting glory for Islam.
Mohammad Bin Qasim had conquered the north-west of the Indo-Pak Sub-continent. Qutayba ruled
over the Central Asian plains, and Tariq Bin Ziad had annexed Spain. These were the farthest
boundaries of the State that the Muslims had founded so far. It was not mere conquest of one people
by another; It was the inter-mingling of races, of cultures, of the human mind, and out of it was born
a civilization which kept the world enlightened for nine hundred years. It was from these Muslims
that Europe learned new techniques, new sciences and civilized ways. The Arts of Islam have left a
mark not an rocks and stones but on the mind and imaginations of human race.
Questions:1. Why the year 712 A.D. is important in Muslim history?
2. Did the world derive benefits for the Muslim civilization?
3. Was the success of Muslim Generals only military conquest of other countries?
Answers:1. The year 712 A.D. is important because three Muslim Generals had won great victories this
year. They had spread the boundaries of the Muslim state far and wide in the world. They
had reached Spain, Central Asian Plains, and the Indo-Pak Sub-continent spreading the
message of Islam and winning great fame for themselves.
2. The world obviously derived benefits from the Muslim civilization. Te Muslims spread not
only their message but also their superior arts, sciences and progressive civilization.
3. The success of the Muslim Generals was not a mere military conquest but much more than
this. The States conquered by the Muslims were backward and uncivilized. When they
mingled with Muslims, they came into contact with a new and progressive civilization from
which they learnt new sciences, arts and civilized manners.
SOLVED EXAMPLE NO 3
It was Kamal Ata Turk who changed the course of history for the Turks and Turkey. His
masterly was against the Greeks which defeated them completely at Samarna, alone would have
won him undaying fame but his statesmanship which united the Turks and produced the modern
Turkey from the ashes of the old Usmania Empire, was as remarkable as his military genius. Kamal
Ataturk formed in October 1938 a Five-Year plan of economic development for Turkey. Under his
inspiration the Turks had already carried out a Five-Year plan for reconstruction of their country.
General Ismat Inonu, who closely worked with Kamal Ataturk for reconstructing a Modern Turkey
for twelve years, was elected head of the state after his death but there was no other Kamal Ataturk
to be found in Turkey. The passing of kamal Ataturk not only plunged Turkey into mourning but
also the world of Islam in which he symbolized for spirit of modernity and progress.
Questions:1. What were some of Kamal Ataturk’s achievements?
2. What steps did he take for developing his country?
3. What is the central theme of this passage?
Answers:1. Kamal Ataturk was a successful army general as well as a statesman. In his many battles
against Greeks he finally defeated them at sumarna. And Turkey was thus freed of Greeks
for ever. After the war he successfully reconstructed the country’s aconomy.
2. Kamal Ataturk launched Five-Year plans to develop his country economically. This was the
first time that such plans were formed.
The central theme of this passage is that Kamal Ataturk freed his country of the Greeks presence by
defeating them at samarna and secondly, reconstructed the modern Turkey by developing it
economically through 5Answers:3. Kamal Ataturk was a successful army general as well as a statesman. In his many battles
against Greeks he finally defeated them at sumarna. And Turkey was thus freed of Greeks
for ever. After the war he successfully reconstructed the country’s economy.
4. Kamal Ataturk launched Five-Year plans to develop his country economically. This was the
first time that such plans were formed.
5. The central theme of this passage is that Kamal Ataturk freed his country of the Greeks
presence by defeating them at samarna and secondly, reconstructed the modern Turkey by
developing it economically through 5-Year plans.
EXERCISE 4
A paragraph is the name given to a number of sentences which form together a separate section of
an essay. Just as a sentence is the expression of a complete thought, the paragraph is the expression
of a group of thoughts. As the length of sentences may be varied, so may the length of paragraphs. A
weighty and difficult topic can be expressed through long paragraphs but a light and ordinary topic
can be easily explained through short paragraphs. The length of a paragraph will therefore depend
on the subject which is being treated. But a paragraph should not be formed and ended artificially
the ending should mean that the information under discussion has been completed.
Questions:1. What is a paragraph?
2. Compare a paragraph with a sentence?
3. Why is it that all paragraphs are not of the same length?
EXERCISE 5
An application for a vacant post is a letter, a very important letter. It is also a sales letter. The writer
of an application sells his knowledge, services, skill, experience and training. It is obvious that it
should be written very carefully, as a sales letter is written. The writer should try to arouse the
“attention” and “interest” of the man whom the application is addressed. He should state his merits
clearly and fully. In other words, he should display his “goods” effectively so that the employer will
have a clear idea of the quality of the man he would be employing. But the writer of on application
should not boast of his qualifications and experience. This will not help him in any way; on the
contrary, it may arouse opposition to him.
Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why an application is called a sales letter?
What is a sales letter?
Why should an application be written very carefully?
Why should the writer of an application not boast of his qualifications and experience?
EXERCISE 6
Medicines, called pesticides, are extensively used in Pakistan for the conrol of mosquitoes, flies and
other insects which bring disease to man. It has been estimated that one billion pounds of DDT have
already been used and dumped in the world. But DDT is only one kind of pesticide; there are others
also. Like Eldrin and Dieldrin, which are freely used in the world including Pakistan? The total
world production of these pesticides is estimated at over 1300 million pounds annually. Many of
these compounds have deleterious (harmful) effect on human health. Animals, fish, live-stock and
wild-life, etc. These pesticides are sprayed on agricultural areas. It has been estimated that 50 per
cent of all pesticides which are sprayed on agricultural areas never reach the plants and the crops.
The are carried away by the winds into our atmosphere from where they come down into our canals,
rivers, lakes and ultimately into the sea. These compounds are not easily destroyed, they are very
stable and they can last for as long as fifty years. Their cumulative effect can be very dangerous to
life. Already there are reports that fishes have disappeared from many rivers and lakes. In Pakistan
all fish have been finished from the river Kabul below the DDT factory at Nowshera.
1. What is a pesticide and what is it used for?
2. Why 50 per cent of the pesticides which are sprayed on the agricultural areas do not reach
the plants?
3. What danger do they pose to life?
4. What is the central theme of this passage?
EXERCISE 7
Mr. Saleem Arbash, Chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Libya, said in Lahore on Friday,
August 25, 1975, that great scope existed between Libya and Pakistan for an active co-operation in
various fields of economic development, and Libya could greatly benefit from the experience of
Pakistan which had made great progress in the industrial sector.
The Libyan Electricity chief said that Libya required in the coming three years the services of
engineers and technicians for its irrigation, power and other industrial projects some of which were
gigantic in nature. But there was a great dearth of technocrats in Libya at present, and it was with
this view in mind that various teams of Libyan officials had been touring various countries in order
to find proper men to handle the development schemes.
Mr. Arbash said that Libya would definitely prefer acquiring services of experts from brother
countries, particularly Pakistan with whom her relations have been extremely friendly. He pointed
out that what he learnt from his current tour, he could safely conclude that Pakistan had a very large
number of experts in engineering and technology. He was very much impressed with the acumen
and ability of Pakistan engineers and technicians and was of the view that Libya should employ
Pakistanis. So far there were very few Pakistanis with the Libyan Government, but it certainly
wished to have more and more in future as the tempo of development increased.
Questions:1. Why does Libya want Pakistan’s co-operation?
2. What particular kind of professionally-trained men are urgently needed by Libya?
3. What is Libyan Electricity chief’s opinion of Pakistani technocrats?
EXERCISE 8
A business letter should be written carefully. In no circumstances should it be discourteous. If the
recipient of a letter is angry at some delay in the delivery of goods, or at some wrong complaint
which a customer has made, or at something else, there may be a temptation to write an angry reply.
But this should never be done; for, if such a letter is sent to a customer, the businessman will lose
his customer as well as his goodwill. But courtesy is more than this. To answer letters punctually is
the first requirement of courteous behavior. A customer is always pleased if his letter is immediately
replied to. Moreover, the “Pending” file of the correspondence branch will be considerably reduced
if all letters are replied as soon as possible.
If someone has done us a favor, we should make it a point of mentioning it in our letter and of
expression our gratitude. We should remember that we must be very polite when we are asking for
favors from someone. It is wrong to doubt a statement made by someone. Of course, we can always
disagree with one another, but differences should be resolved with politeness and courteous
behavior. If we try to state our facts clearly and courteously, all differences, doubts, and
misunderstandings will be removed.
Questions:1. What is the theme of this passage?
2. How should we resolve our differences?
3. Briefly describe all the steps recommended in this passage if we wish to write courteous
business letters.
EXERCISE 9
Uncovered manholes in the roads of Lahore are most dangerous. The cause injury to the life and
limb of the citizens. Many serious accidents have taken place on account of them; some unfortunate
people have even lost their lives. But last Thursday an open manhole on Waris Roads saved the life
of a motor cycle rider.
The motor cycle rider was driving on the Queen’s Road. He turned into Waris Road but suddenly
found a mini-bus speeding towards him. In order to avoid a head-on collision with the mini-bus he
took a sharp turn into a street on the left side but found a car traveling at a great speed towards him.
In front of him there was a manhole. He lost control of his machine and fell into the manhole. If this
pit had been covered, the motor cycle rider would almost certainly have been crushed to death by
the speeding car. His motor cycle, however, was badly damaged.
Question:1. What is a manhole?
2. Why uncovered manholes are a danger to the lives of the citizens?
3. How did the motor cycle rider find himself in trouble on the Waris Road?
4. How was his life saved?
EXERCISE 10
Industry is the life-blood of a country. An industrially well developed country is always rich and
prosperous. The U.S.A., Japan the U.S.S.R. the U.K. and other leading nations of the world are rich
and prosperous because they are highly developed industrially. Hence, in order to be a home of
plenty and prosperity, Pakistan must be industrially developed.
Industrialization is essential for several reasons. First, if Pakistan remains industrially backward, she
will have to depend on the foreign countries for the supply of many of her requirements. Such
dependence on foreign countries is dangerous and risky. If the foreign supply of our requirements
stops in a time of emergency like war or famine, our whole economy will suffer. Secondly, our
valuable foreign exchange is wasted on importing our requirements from abroad. Thirdly, industrial
development will quickly solve the problem of unemployment by creating new job opportunities.
Fourthly, industrial development helps the country’s agriculture by raising its output. Fifthly,
industrialization raises the per capita income of the people, helps them to consume more goods, and
thus raises their standard of living. In addition to all these, we should remember that the industrially
backward countries cannot defend even their sovereignty against aggression.
Questions:1. Why industry is called the life-blood of a country?
2. Why industrially backward countries cannot defend even the sovereignty of their own
country?
3. Give three good reasons to prove that industrialization is most important for the development
of a country.
4. How can industrialization raise the living standard of a people?
EXERCISE 11
People say that money and physical strength are instruments of power. In olden times, a man with
the strongest body was considered to be the natural leader of his tribe. Even today, in private
quarrels and disputes, the stronger man has his way. Similarly, a man of wealth and money
commands considerable influence in his society. If he cannot et what he wants, he can buy it with
his money. But we must admit that Knowledge is a far greater power than money or physical
strength. An elephant is a very powerful animal but it is helpless before Man. In war, a country with
superior knowledge and skill of fighting stands a far greater chance of winning than his rival. With
the power of knowledge, man controls the occans, travels across space, and can blast a mountan to
lay a railway line.
But knowledge does not give us brute force alone. It is a power in the moral and intellectual spheres
also. It enables a man to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. It helps him to meet dangers
and difficulties with courage and confidence. The greatest quality of knowledge is that once gained,
it can never be destroyed. While empires rise and fall, knowledge “grows from more to more” But
we have to admit that there are some limitations to knowledge in the first place, more knowledge is
not power. Knowledge properly applied to the problems of life is power. Secondly, knowledge is
power both for good as well as for evil. In war, a country may destroy another country in the
twinkling of an eye with the help of atom bombs and nuclear weapons. In peace, scientists can
improve the job of mankind of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Thus knowledge must be applied to a
moral order and to goodness and truth. Then a will prove a blessing for men.
Questions:1. Compare knowledge with money and physical strength?
2. Prove that knowledge is great power?
3. Is knowledge a power for our good only?
4. What is the greatest quality of knowledge?
EXERCISE 12
The Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) symbolizes Pakistan’s entry in the field of nuclear
power. The plant is now in its final stage of commissioning, and has already achieved 90 per cent of
its rated output. During June, the KANUPP fed the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation with an
uninterrupted supply of power for 22days, thus demonstrating that Pakistan engineers and scientists
could operate a sophisticated nuclear station with confidence.
KANUPP’s operation gives Pakistan the distinction of being the first Muslim country to take to
nuclear power, and the second among the developing states in the technologically backward. “Third
World” to have anatomic Power Station.
But the introduction of nuclear power has not been promoted by considerations of prestige. Rather,
the development and use of nuclear energy is a pressing necessity for Pakistan. With a population of
more than sixty million, a growing industrial sector and an expanding agricultural economy,
Pakistan needs cheap and abundant power to accelerate its economic growth.
Questions:1. How was it demonstrate that Pakistanis could operate nuclear stations with confidence?
2. What distinction does the KANUPP give to Pakistan?
3. Has Pakistan introduced nuclear power in the country for considerations of prestige?
Page 188
EXERCISE 13
A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss. This is a proverb. A stone which keeps on rolling will have no
chance for moss to grow on it. It is only when it lies undisturbed for some time in a particular place
that it gets coated with moss. Similarly, if a man keeps on changing his job, or his aim, he will never
achieve anything substantial in life. He will not prosper, or grow rich in life. In order to succeed in
life it is necessary that a man should cling to his job, or aim. If, for instance lawyer goes on shifting
from places where he has built up some practice, or changes his profession, he will have to begin
with a handicap. By the frequency of change, a man will lose concentration of mind, and his
previous experience of a job will be of no use to him. Thus, he will not have many chances of
success failure and frustration will be his ultimate reward.
A person who often moves around without following one job or aim is called a rolling stone.
Mathew Arnold, a well-known English poet, used to mourn this tendency among the young men of
his time. Our young men, too, suffer from the same malady. Most of them have no clear idea of their
ability and aptitude, and do not know what exactly they ought to do with their life. They move about
here and there in search of an occupation but achieve nothing.
Questions:1. Explain the proverb “A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss”.
2. What is the malady our young men are suffering from?
3. What should we do if we wish to succeed in life?
EXERCISE 14
Economic Freedom means that the individual is free to do as he likes with his own property and
with his own time and energy. But we can see that in a civilized community there must be some
limit to the exercise of this freedom. Although the individual is economically free, he must conform
to the laws and regulations made by Society for the general good, otherwise we would have many
abuses and great social difficulty. An owner of land, if entirely free to do as he liked, might build a
slaughter-house near. The Mall, or a tannery apposite the Assembly Building. A manufacturer, if
uncontrolled by law, might make his employees work eighteen hours a day in unhealthy atmosphere,
or a grocer might sell unwholesome or even poisonous food.
To avoid the possibility of such abuses. The society imposes certain restrictions. Generally the
individual is free to earn his living as he likes, to use his factory and machines to produce as he
likes, as complete with his fellows. But in all such activities his freedom is subject to restriction
imposed by the state for general good. If a man whishes to build a house or a shop he must submit
his plans to the local authority. If he wishes to sell milk or meat, he must conform to certain state
regulations. If he wishes to be a doctor or a lawyer, be must submit to certain training and comply
with the rules that govern those professions.
Questions:1. What is the meaning of Economic Freedom?
2. What can happen if there is unlimited freedom?
3. What is the theme of this passage?
EXERCISE 15
New Mexico in U.S.A. is a booming modern city with a population of 250,000. In its south, twelve
miles away, there is a desert. In this desert, the U.S. scientist have built experimental stations where
they are testing a new kind of weapon, a most secret weapon, which has been hailed by the U.S.
military chiefs as the most significant addition to their arsenal since the nuclear bomb.
If you wish to visit this desert, you will not be allowed to. The Air Force sentries will stop you a
mile from the site. In the desert there are some parched hills. Across the hills there are some
buildings, a line of fuel tankers and some dummy aircraft. The wings of the aircrafts are used as
sitting targets for the new weapon which is called high-energy laser.
The U.S. scientists are trying to invent a laser weapon so powerful that it can vaporize a E20 million
bomber: or, as an officer said, they went a weapon so finely focused that it could heat a pot of coffee
1,000 miles away. Here, and in other research centers in the country, the Americans are struggling to
gain a world lead in this kind of warfare. This is called “electro-optical” warfare.
The word “Laser” has been derived from Light-Amplification by Stimulated Emmission of
Radistion. Actually, a laser is a ray of light. This ray is made of very minute particles called
photons. Photons are little bundles of light energy. When they are pressed into a thin needle-like
beam, they are so powerful that they can pierce through anything. The beam can develop a beat
intensity 10,000 time greater than that from the face of the sun. This beam strikes its target with the
speed of light and with devastating accuracy.
The laser technology is only 15 years old. It is already being used in hundreds of technical and
industrial application. Lasers are being used in the garment trade to cut mass-produced clothes, and
by doctors in delicate eye-surgery. The Russians have developed a beam that can carry thousands of
telephone conversations or television channels.
Questions;1. What is a Laser?
2. What peaceful purposes has it been put to?
3. Why is it considered to be the most significant weapon since the nuclear bomb?
4. Briefly describe the theme of this passage.
Page 190
EXERCISE 16
The Indians have strong naval base some 210 miles from Karachi. This is called Dwarka. It is a
strong fortress housing important military installations. Large ammunition stocks and a powerful
radar station.
It occupied a strategic position from where India could launch devastating air raids and naval attacks
on Pakistan. It was a great threat to our safety in the event of war. So when the war came after a
treacherous attack by India on Lahore on September 6, 1965, Pakistan’s first concera was to attack
and raise Dwarka to the ground. The naval officer chosen for this heroic assault on Dawarka was
Commodore S.M. Anwar. With his characteristic zeal, the Commodore was ready for the historic
operation immediately after the orders. Commanding six Destroyers from his flagship “Babar”, he
was on the high seas on way to Dwarka before the end of the first day of the war.
The hazards were great. India had a mighty naval force, five times the size of Pakistan Navy.
Jamnagar, close to Dwarka, was a strong air force base, from where the enemy aircraft could take
off in a matter of minutes to pour bombs. But the officer and men on our warships were grimly
determined to accomplish the task entrusted to them. Their spirits were high and they were all keen
to play their part in this operation.
An overcast sky fortunately made visual detection of our ships difficult for the enemy. At about 8:30
p.m. An Indian plane started circling over the flotilla. But it went back. Perhaps, it did not spot the
oncoming warships of Pakistan. At midnight, Dwarks appeared on the radar of the ships. It was
eight miles away, clothed in the darkness of the blackout. The ships of Pakistan Navy prepared to
line up for action. At 12:15 the Commodore gave the command: “All guns fire!” and a hundred guns
went into action. The Indian shore batteries also came to life, but were silenced by our relentless
bombardment. The pounding continued for almost an hour. The radar station was knocked out, and
the military and naval installation were reduced to ashes and rubble. Dwarka was no more a menace.
Later reports confirmed that the military installations in Dwarka were in ruins as a result of this
attack. Within minutes of the bombardment, the ammunition dump at the fort of Dwarka exploded,
thus adding to the disaster. The Pakistan attack came as a complete surprise to the Indian authorities,
and when the rest of world learned of the event it was spell-bound by the heroic exploit. No wonder,
the Chief of Indian Naval Staff were immediately forced to retire.
Questions:1. Why was it necessary for Pakistan Navy to attack and destroy military installations of
Dwarka?
2. Was it an easy task?
3. Rewrite the whole story in about ten lines.
EXERCISE 17
A prominent American surgeon, who has written a book called UNNECESSARY SURGERY, has
estimated that approximately one-fifth of the surgery performed in America each year is unneeded.
The surgeon wrote this book under the pseudonym of “Dr. Williams” because he was afraid that the
California Medical Association might try to make some kind of “surgery” on him after the
publication of the book.
Doctors unite and close their ranks when they have to face the challenge of this kind. Some time ago
Richard Blum. A psychologist of Stanford University made a deep study of eight California
hospitals. He produced a report which was highly critical of the ethical standards of doctors. The
California Medical Association suppressed this report completely. All copies of the report vanished,
and psychologist Blum found that even his printers and publishers were not prepared to print any
copies of his book.
Some 15 million operations are performed every year in the United States. According to Dr.
William’s estimate, about 3 million people annually suffer pointless and very expensive surgery. But
the American College of Surgeons denies it. These are “Newspaper exaggerations”, said one leading
doctor. When he was asked why a million malpractice suits were brought against the members of his
profession, he replied that the lawyers were trying to make a buck.
Yet when the American College of Surgeons took a pool among its members, 11 per cent believed
that needless surgery was quite common. Eleven percent means 1700 surgeons who thought that
operations of “questionable value” once a week or more frequently were common in the hospitals
where they worked. What doctors cannot deny is the fact that there is a large number of surgeons at
work in the United States. These surgeons are twice as numerous as they are in Britain, and they
perform twice as many operations. The American Medical Association freely admits that thee is
now a surfeit of surgeons in the U.S., and year by year it grows harder to find patients.
Critics of the medical profession point out that operation in the United States carry a considerable
risk of disability, even of death. Some 10,000 people die each year under anesthesia, Blood trans
fusion kills at least 3500. Some experts claim that 25,000 patients die every year during needles
operations.
1. Briefly write the theme of this passage.
2. What is a pseudonym? Why did Dr. Williams write his book under a pseudonym?
3. What happens when doctors face a challenge from outside? Refer to Richard Blum’s report
in your answer.
4. Write a few lines on the state of needless operations in the U.S.
5. What do the critics of the medical profession point out?
EXERCISE 18
The Governments of North and South Yemen have agreed to stop the border fighting. This time the
cease-fire followed a direct telephone call from the Prime Minister of South Yemen to his
counterpart in Sana’a. We hope this channel of communication will remain open in the days to come
and the two-sister republics will agree to stop confrontation and conflict so that the process of
reconciliation initiated by the Arab League can be carried forward. Neither side can afford a war
which would destroy them. All the present parties in the Arab Peninsula must eventually learn to
live with one another regardless of their different paths. This will require a gentleman’s agreement
between the two Yemeni Republics, underwritten by the neighboring States, so as to ensure respect
for one another’s sovereignty and for the principle of non-interference in each other’s internal
affairs. Both the Yemenis face grave problems of reconstruction. The North Yemen has suffered
from a long and costly civil war, while the South Yemen had once a thriving population but has
become impoverished now. So both the sides need peace and tranquility on their common border not
only to solve their internal problems but also to attain the goal of unification which all Yemenis so
ardently desire.
Questions:1. Why the Governments of North and South Yemen have agreed to a cease-fire?
2. How can the present parties learn to live in peace with one another?
3. How both the sides have suffered from a long war and how can they remove the damaging
effect of this war?
4. Write a very brief summary of this passage?
Page 194
MORE PASSAGE FROM EXAM PAPERS
EXERCISE 19
There are many causes of unemployment. One is the disorganization of industry on account of many
factors. This is a serious problem admitting of no easy solution at the best of times. Again, unemployment is caused by a marked decrease in the quantity of raw martial, such as cotton, etc, fewer
laborers and workers are needed in mills and factories. The third cause is the invention of machinery
which does more work than men and therefore requires fewer workers for employment. The last
cause-a serious one is a strike. This is very much to be regretted because the factories have to be
closed down. The cause of strike is sometime a very small matter like the fact that he workers had to
work half and hour longer than the rules said. The cause of the strike might be small; the loss is
always great to the factory and the nation. (Lahore 1974)
Questions:1. What is unemployment?
2. Describe the main causes of unemployment?
3. Why the strikes cause great loss to the nation?
EXERCISE 20
Arab tribes live in the desert all the year round; they live in tents that can be put up and taken down
very easily and quickly, so that they can move from one place to another, seeking grass and water
for their sheep, goats, camels and horses. The desert Arabs eat sweet, ripe figs and also the dates that
grow on the desert trees. They dry them, too, and use as food all the year round. They have the finest
horses in the world. An Arab is proud of the riding horse, and loves him almost as much as he loves
his wife and children. He never puts heavy loads on his horse and often lets him stay in the tent with
the family. But the camel is much more useful than his beautiful horse, for he is much stronger and
taller. The Arab loads his camel with goods, and rides him too, for miles and miles across the desert
as if it were really the “Ship of the Desert”, which it is often called? (Lahore 1975)
1. Which animal is liked more by the Arabs: a horse or a camel?
2. Why a camel is called the “Ship of the Desert”?
3. What are the Arab tribes generally eat?
4. Compare and contrast an Arab horse with a camel.
EXERCISE 21
Provided we choose the right kind of books, reading gives the highest kind of pleasure. Some books
are simply read for pleasure and amusement; for example: - good novels and stories. Novels and
books of imagination must have their place in everybody’s reading. When we are tired or we are
weary with the day’s serious work. It is a healthy recreation to lose ourselves in a some absorbing
story written by a great author.
However, to read nothing but books of fiction only is like eating nothing but sweets and cakes. Just
as wee need plain and wholesome food for our bodies, so we must have serious reading for our
minds. In the field of books, there is great variety and we can choose according to our choice and
needs. There are innumerable books on history, biography, travels, religion philosophy, science,
astronomy, which we ought to read, and which will give us not only pleasure but also education.
And we can develop a taste for serious reading, so that in the end it will give us more solid pleasure
than any novels and stories of fiction. (Peshawar 1975)
1. Why must we not always read books of fiction only?
2. Why novels and stories have also a place in our readings?
3. How can you develop a taste for serious reading?
4. Differentiate between the books for pleasure and books for serious reading.
EXERCISE 22
Apart from the political programmed, the urgent need for us is to take steps and put into effect the
economic, social and educational programmer which was laid down by the resolution of the All
India Muslim League at Luck now. It is the economic and social uplift and the education of the
people that constitutes the true foundation of a nation. I would, therefore, urge most forcefully upon
the leaders of various provinces and the district leagues that they should immediately take up
various matters which will go to make a solid contribution towards the economic and social uplift of
our people. My appeal to the once again is; “Don’t depend upon anybody. You must depend upon
your inherent strength……. “We have to go through a great deal of spade work and sufferings. Our
opponents will use all possible means of suppression. They may practice tyranny and may persecute
us. But I am confident that we should emerge out of the ordeal purer, better and stronger than ever
have been.” (Quaid-i-Azam’s Speech. 1942)
Questions:1. What is the true foundation of a nation?
What was the urgent need of the Muslims?
What was the Quaid’s advice?
What means of suppression the enemies were likely to use?
Page 196
EXERCISE 23
The great advantage of early rising is the good start it gives us in our day’s work. The early riser has
done a good amount of hard work before others are out of their beds. In the early morning, the mind
is fresh and free of worries, and there are few sounds and destructions so that work at that quiet time
is better done than in day. The early riser also finds time to take exercise in the morning air, and this
exercise supplies him with a fund of energy that will last him all day. By beginning so early, he
knows that he has plenty of time to do all the work he is expected to do. He gets his sleep several
hours before midnight, at the time when sleep is most refreshing. (P.U. 1975)
Questions:1. Describe the advantages of early rising.
2. How does early rising affect your work?
3. Can you mention some advantages of late rising?
EXERCISE 24
It is very easy to acquire bad habits. The more we do a thing, the more we like doing it and if we do
not continue doing it, we feel unhappy. This is called the force of habit, and the force of bad habit
should be fought against. One of the most widely spread bad habits is the use of tobacco, Tobacco is
now smoked or chewed by man, also by women, and even by children, all the world over. It was
brought into Europe from America by Sir Walter Raleigh four centuries ago and has since then
spread everywhere. The latest researches now tell us that there is absolutely no good in this habit
even when tobacco is not used to excess; and unfortunately it is extremely difficult to get rid of this
despicable habit when it is once formed. (1976)
Questions:1. What is the “force of habit”?
2. How tobacco was introduced in Europe and other places?
3. Is smoking a bad habit? Explain why?
4. Why is it difficult to get rid of the habit of smoking?
EXERCISE 25
Some people believe that making a speech is easy work and that it requires no specific art. When we
watch people swimming in a pool, we think that there is nothing very difficult about it; but we
realize the seriousness of the situation only when we jump in a pool realize the seriousness of the
situation only when we jump in a pool and try to swim. In the same manner when we hear a speaker
addressing an audience, we do not appreciate his hardship. We get to know the difficulty only when
we take the floor in a public debate and face the audience. Many prominent people faced failures
when they came to the rostrum for the first time. The first and foremost task of the speaker is to get
over the stage fright. Unless he succeeds in this, he can never make an effective speech. The floor
appears to be slipping off his feet and the whole material so carefully prepared becomes confused
and muddled. (Multan,1978)
1. Why is making is a speech so difficult?
2. What is the first task of a speaker?
3. What are the main ideas of this passage?
EXERCISE 26
To be a good teacher, you need some of the gifts of a good actor. You must be able to hold the
attention and interest of your audience; you must be a clear speaker with a good, pleasing voice; and
you must be able to act what you are teaching in order to make its meaning clear. Whatch a good
teacher, and you will see that he does not sit motionless before his class; he stands the whole time he
is teaching: he walks about using his arms, hands and fingers to help him in his explanation and his
face to express his feelings. Listen to him, and you will hear the loudness, the quality, and the
musical note of his voice always changing according to what he is teaching.
But the fact that a good teacher has some of the gifts of a good actor does not mean that he will
indeed be able to act on the stage; or there are very important difference between the teacher’s work
and the actor’s. The actor has to speak words which he has learnt by heart; he has to repeat certain
dialogues which he learnt earlier. Even his movements and the ways in which he uses his voice are
usually fixed before. The good teacher works in a different way because his audience takes an active
part in this play. They ask questions, and if they don’t understand something, they will say so. So,
the teacher has to suit his act to the need of his audience, that is, his class. I know many teachers
who were fine actors in the class but were unable to take part in a stage play because their brains
would not keep strictly to what another had written. (P.U. 1977)
Questions:-
1. What is the difference between a good teacher and a good actor?
2. How can a good teacher be compared to a good actor?
3. How does a good teacher act?
EXERCISE 27
Pesticides are medicines which are extensively used to kill insects which bring diseases to crops and
men. It has been estimated that one billion pounds of DDT have already been used and dumped in
the world. But DDT is one kind of pesticide; there are others like Eldrine, Dieldrine, etc, which are
freely used in most countries of the world, including Pakistan. The total world production of these
pesticides is estimated at over 1500 million pounds annually. Many of these compounds have
harmful effect on human health, animals, fish, and wild life. These pesticides are sprayed on
agricultural areas.
It has been estimated that 50 percent of all pesticides sprayed never reach the plants and the crops.
They are carried away by the winds into our atmosphere, from where they come down into our
canal, rivers, lakes, and ultimately into the sea. These compounds are not easily destroyed they are
very stable and they can last for as long as fifty years. Their cumulative effect can be very dangerous
to life. Already there are reports that fish have disappeared from many rivers and lakes. In Pakistan,
all fish have been finished from the river Kabul below the DDT factory at Nowshera.
Questions:1. Why half of sprayed pesticides do not reach the crops?
2. What happens to the pesticides when they are blows by the winds?
3. Can the pesticides be easily destroyed?
4. Explain the meaning of the following words; pesticides, extensively, stable, lost, cumulative.
EXERCISE 28
It was many days before the extent of the damage to Hiroshima was known. Immediately after the
bomb had exploded on that fateful morning of 6th August, 1945, it was clear that the destruction in
the city was beyond all living experience. A single Atomic Bomb had an effect similar to the
simultaneous explosion of 20,000 tons of high explosive (gun powder, or TNT). It was estimated
that about 100,000 people were immediately killed by the explosion. Another 40,000 were injured.
More than two-thirds of the buildings in Hiroshima were destroyed and thousands other were
damaged beyond repair. It was found that telegraph poles two and a half mile from the centre of the
explosion were charred and blackened by the intense heat.
Statesman and ordinary men and women all over the world were shocked and frightened by the
news of the terrible devastation caused by a single atomic explosion. Since then, the people of the
world have lived in the fear that one day the final catastrophe would happen. As a newspaper
reporter put it, “The atomic bomb means the end of the human race”.
If men can agree to settle their dispute by peaceful means, than the atomic power which can kill and
mutilate people in war can be used to treat diseases. It can also be used to make life more prosperous
than it has ever been.
1. How can the atomic power be used for peaceful purposes?
2. Why were people frightened after the first atomic explosion?
3. How much damage was done by the first atomic explosion?
4. Explain the meaning of these words: simultaneous, TNT, charred, intense, devastation,
catastrophe, mutilate.
Page 200
EXERCISE 29
Strikes are a strange feature of our modern industrial life. When industries are run by a few
entrepneurs and a very large number of workers, we find problems and tension rising, and “strike” is
just one of these problems. There are many other problems but “strikes” is just of one these. Just or
unjust, strikes have unfortunately become the order of the day. Often the workers go on strike on
flimsy grounds. But the strikes are also a symptom of some deep rooted malady in the system of
running our industries. After the Industrial Revolution, the workers were required to work hard to
earn good profit for their firms. Gradually, however, they were convinced that their own interests
were sometime neglected by the company; then they learnt to use strikes as a weapon for self
defence only. Now, however, the workers seem to have become very conscious of their own
strength, so the strikes sometime take a wrong course. A strike, however, is a deadly weapon and so
the workers must use it with great care.
As already stated, the workers are now realizing that a strike is a very powerful weapon and must
therefore be used carefully, The modern industry is so complex that a strike in one industry means
dislocation of business as a whole. The nation is affected badly. The public services are disorganized
which brings discomfort and misery to people at large. Sometime the strikers do not remain peace.
They become violent and the result is bloodshed, injuries and even death.
Questions:1. What is the bad effect of strikes on modern national life?
2. Why the strikes are made?
3. Why the strikes are a strange feature of modern industrial life?
4. Explain the meaning of the following words: entrepreneur, tension, the order of the day,
flimsy, symptom, malady, conscious, complex, violent.
EXERCISE 30
Some people say that wealth is evil and that it is bad to have it. Yet, the one thing people want most
is this very Wealth. It means that wealth is not an evil thing in itself. Its goodness or badness
depends upon the use we make of it. Wealth, when misused, can be a source of injustice and
exploitation; but if rightly used, it becomes a blessing for man. This is clear from the meaning of the
word itself. This word is derived from “weal” which means happiness, well-being or good fortune.
So wealth is that thing which gives happiness and prosperity to men.
Wealth should be spent, first, on oneself and one’s kith and kin. If it is properly used on genuine
needs, it will be no doubt well-spent. Life is a long struggle and in this struggle one’s body and mind
must be kept healthy. Good food, a good house, and clean clothes are a necessity and the care of our
health is our duty. So there is nothing wrong in spending money on maintaining our health. But we
must see that the expenditure is genuine and not extravagant.
After our own self and our kith and kin, come our neighborhood, village, town, city and country. A
wealthy man must try to remove the sufferings and misery of his fellow men. Money spent on
hospitals, schools, and on feeding the hungry is money well-spent. So also whatever is spent on
removing ignorance, and on scientific and medical research is rightly spent. So also money spent on
honest trade, business and commerce is money rightly spent. Such people who spend their wealth
honestly are public benefactors.
Questions:1. What does the word “wealth” mean?
2. What is the right way of spending money?
3. What is the wrong way of spending your wealth?
4. What do these words mean; weal, kith and kin, extravagant, misery, benefactor.
EXERCISE 31
A surprisingly large number of people think that they must use a special kind of language when
writing business letters. This special form of language is called commercial English or business
jargon or commercialese. Whatever its name, it is a kind of English which must be avoided in
business letters as well as in other forms of writing. Business letters must be written in ordinary
language. By “ordinary language” we do not mean the elementary form of language which is
perhaps used by the school boys and which is the least sophisticated. This will not be enough to
express the subtleties of business communication because words at school level are limited in the
range of their meanings and there is a lack of polish which is needed in business letters.
What is needed is to strike a balance between the two styles. The writing which is most suitable for
business communication must be simple in its choice of words and construction of sentences, yet it
must be polished and sophisticated. This kind of writing shows that the words are chosen carefully
and the sentences are constructed even more carefully, and no words are used merely for decoration.
Questions:1. What is business jargon and why some people use it?
2. Why the language used by school boys is unsuitable for business letters?
3. What kind of language is suitable for business communication?
4. What do these words mean: business jargon subtleties, sophisticated?
EXERCISE 32
You must be very courteous to every visitor who comes to your company. If a visitor is angry, do
not let his angry voice influence your courieous tone and words. On the contrary, treat him with
understanding and sympathy because you represent your company not yourself. You may tell him
pleasantly, “I am very sorry you were put to so much inconvenience.” Sentences like this always
calm an angry man.
Be careful. Protect your company and its secrets. You must be discreet. For example, if your boss is
late in arriving at his office, don’t say “Mr. Aleem has not turned up yet.” The taetful answer is “Mr.
Aleem is out of the office just now, he is expected in a few moments.” The point is that your
remarks should reflect favorably on your employer.
Thirdly, do not misuse your authority. You must know the limits of your authority and remain
within them. For example, if a customer clams replacement of a defective article, do not
immediately say; “yes, of course, we shall give you another one. Just go to the claims department.”
You will find yourself in trouble if the claims department refuses to replace the article. The right
thing to say to the customer is; “Why don’t you talk with Mr. Naeem in the claims department.” It is
essential for you to know the names of all people in your company who make important decision
and issue orders. It will then be easy for you to refer visitors to them, and this will also help you
remain within your authority.
Questions:1. How can you misuse your authority?
2. How can you avoid it?
3. Why should you be tactful?
4. How should you treat a visitor?
Page: 204
Chapter 16
PRECIS WRITING
What is a Precis?
Precis, a French word, means a summary, an abstract. It means a prose passage or composition from
which all unnecessary or unrelated ideas and words have been removed in order to turn it into an
abridged statement. The word PRECISE means definite, exact, just, of the right amount, not loose or
vague.
Thus a précis is a precise statement of an original composition which was rather inexact. It is a
concise and definite statement of given passage, or passages, whose essential points have been
linked together accurately in a cohesive and well-connected form. To make a précis, therefore,
means to extract the main points of a given composition and to express them as concisely and
clearly as possible.
THE OBJECT OF PRECIS-WRITING
The object of making a précis of a long passage is that a busy officer who has no time to read the
original be given all important ideas in the form of a summary. Thus when making a summary, the
writer must keep in mind the reader whose only chance of reading and understanding the salient
points of the passage will be through précis.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD PRECIS
A good précis must give all the salient points of the original passage so that the reader would lose
almost nothing by reading the précis only. The sentences of the précis must be knit closely, clearly
and concisely. Vague expressions or jumbled phrases have to be avoided. A good précis must have
at least the following qualities.
1. Conciseness: It is this quality which gives the précis its name. Men who are very busy cannot
find time to read long letters and reports, and digest their contents. Conciseness is, therefore, a very
desirable quality. But it is very difficult to say how long a précis should be. A man once asked
Araham Lincoin, “How long a man’s legs should be?”. He replied. “just long enough to reach the
ground”. A good précis should be just long enough to serve its purpose.
2. Clearness: The writer of a précis must make sure to write what he means – and write it absolutely
clearly. In conversation if a point is not clear, it is easy to explain it to the other person. In a précis,
this facility is not available. However, it is not difficult to draft a clear, lucid summary if the writer
first thinks hard about the subject-matter of the original passage, then writes down the main points
and finally makes a rough draft of the précis so that it could be revised and improved later. Of
course, the writer will have to spend some time on it but it will also save much time and the
annoyance of the officer who is going to read the précis.
3. Coherence: A précis must be coherent. It should hold together. It means that each part must be
related to the other parts of the précis. Each sentence should flow into the next, and each paragraph
should be connected to the other. A rambling summary, like a rambling conversation, is neither
exact nor precise. An unbroken thread of ideas must run through the summary joining the sentences
and the paragraphs. There are certain words and phrases also which help join different parts
together. Some of those words and word groups are these:
Consequently
First of all
Moreover
Equally important
However
On the contrary
Finally
In this way
Naturally
For instance
Next
Of course
Thus
on the other hand
Nevertheless
Therefore
Coherence also includes sequence. The précis must adhere, as a rule, to the sequence of ideas as
expressed in the original passage. If this sequence or order is lost, the précis may look like a jumbled
and disjointed statement, and may even be unintelligible to the reader.
HOW TO MAKE A PRECIS
To make a good précis, it is absolutely necessary to understand the original passage thoroughly.
Without this comprehension, you can never turn a long passage into a precise statement.
The first step. Therefore, towards making a précis is to read the original passage very carefully. Of
course, reading the passage once is not enough, and second reading will give the reader a clear idea
of what is required to be summarized. The reader should then underline all important ideas or key
sentences in the passage and omit all the rest. Remember, only important ideas are to be underlined,
all details examples, explanations, and data are to be left out.
TITLE OR HEADING
It is best to write the title of a précis after the final draft is ready because by that time the précis
maker will have thoroughly grasped the central idea of the original passage. The heading of the
précis must express in a few words the theme of the passage. It should be like the headlines in a
newspaper which tell the reader in a glace what the news is.
The choice of a correct heading is a sure sign of the précis maker having understood the passage
thoroughly; for it is difficult to choose the right topic without comprehending the original passage.
There can be more than one title which can rightly head a précis. If it is so, the most suitable one
should be selected by the writer may be remembered, however, that only that heading can be called
suitable which gives the central theme of the whole passage in just a few words. Long titles are to be
avoided. In case of a correspondence, or long letters, it is not a difficult problem to suggest a
heading because it is always given there in the beginning of the letter. It has only to be taken out
from there.
RULES OF MAKING A PRECIS
The following rules are to be followed when making a précis:
1. All first person pronouns must be turned into third person pronouns and direct speech must
be turned into indirect narration.
2. Present tense changes to past tense unless it happens to express a universal or natural truth.
Such words as: now, here, yesterday, today, tomorrow, would be changed to: then, there, the
day before, that day, the next day.
3. The length of a précis is usually one-third of its original, thought it is not a hard rule. In case
of correspondence, a précis can be reduced to one fifth or one-sixth of the original letter or
report.
PRECIS OF CORRESPONDENCE
The method of making a précis of a long letter, report or a series of letters does not differ basically
from the general method of making a précis. The same rules are therefore applicable, to both types
of précis.
The first thing to find out is the exact material required to be summarized. The précis writer, then,
need not develop his précis by taking point after point from different letters but should bring out
only relevant points from the arguments or explanations given by afficers in their letters. To say
merely that such and such officer does or does not agree is not sufficient. The reasons for holding a
certain opinion should also be briefly stated so that the reader could make his own assessment.
The précis of correspondence is usually very short because many details can be easily omitted.
Sometimes a whole letter may be left out if in the sequence of important points it seems irrelevant or
superfluous, but one should not go too for in making his summary brief otherwise it might be
reduced to a mere sketch of the original correspondence.
The question of allotting more space to a particular point than to others requires special attention of
the précis writer. He must keep an eye on the relative importance of different points, and give as
much space to each point as it needs because of its importance.
The summary of an ordinary passage is generally one third of its length but summaries of
correspondence are always very brief but of course, no hard and fast limits can be prescribed as to
the length of such a summary. The précis writer should keep it as brief as possible if it mentions all
relevant points. Conciseness at any rate is a matter of practice. The précis writer will know after
some attempts how long his summary should be.
IMPORTANT STEPS IN MAKING A RECIS
1. Read the Passage Carefully. Read it again and again until you are quite sure that you
understand completely what the author is saying. Search for the main ideas. Read all
sentences again and look for the topic sentence and analyze it.
2. As you read lake brief notes on points that seem important when you have finished reading,
read your notes. If some of your notes now seem unimportant cut them down.
3. Now write main ideas in your own words. Do not include your own opinions.
4. Check and revise. See that the sequence of facts or thoughts is the same as in the original.
5. Now reread your précis with a view to cutting down its length, if necessary.
HOW TO CUT DOWN EXTRA WORDS
It is possible to write a one line précis of a long passage though in that case you will not be doing
justice to the original material. You can, however, cut extra words from your passage in a way that
your précis will be of the right length Examine these examples:
Long Sentences
1. When at last he reached his hotel, he
found that his brother had already arrived
there.
2. Since he could not meet her at the
station, he sent his brother to replace him.
3. After he had taken his B.A. degree, he
tried his best to go into the army.
4. My friend, despite the fact that he can
neither read nor write, can speak and
converse very impressively.
5. My friend who is a native of Iran is
going back to his country tomorrow night
at 7 p.m.
Short Sentences
1. At the hotel, he found his brother
waiting
2. Unable to meet her at the station, he sent
his brother instead.
3. After his graduation, he tried to go into
the army.
4. My friend, though illiterate, is an
effective speaker.
5. My Iranian friend is leaving for Iran
tomorrow at 7 p.m.
EXAMPLES
Here is it passage, followed by FOUR précis; three of them are unsatisfactory, incorrect and faulty.
One of them is satisfactory. Read the original passage first, then read each of the four précis and
decide for yourself which précis are faulty and why; and which one is the satisfactory précis. Now
read the original passage given below:
Our forefathers had great difficulty in getting books our difficulty is what to select. There are book
and books, and there are books which are not books at all. Others are more than useless. Few people
realize how much the happiness of life, and the formation of character depend on a wise selection of
books. There are innumerable books but people do not exercise any care in the selection of books.
They will take any book they happen to find in a room at a friend’s house. They will buy a novel at a
railway stall if it has an interactive title. In some cases, even the binding of book will affect their
choice. (114 words)
IST PRECIS OF THE EXAMPLE
Though there are a vast number of books now available, we do not take enough care to select them
well. (20 Words)
2ND PRECIS OF THE SAME EXAMPLE
All kinds of books are now available in large numbers but we should avoid reading bad books and
select only the best ones.
3RD PRECIS OF THE SAME EXAMPLE
There was a time when there were so few books available in the market that it was difficult to buy
any. Now so many books are available that we can neither buy nor read all of them. This is why we
should exercise care in their selection. (47 Words)
4TH PRECIS OF THE SAME EXAMPLE
Although books are now available in very large numbers, many of them are not even worth the
name. Books can have strong influence on the character of their readers, yet people do not exercise
care when they go to buy them. (41 Words)
Read the four solved examples given, above and you will easily discover why the first three of them
are defective. Now read the following comments:
1. Precis No. 1 is too short and misses the main points.
2. Precis No. 2 also misses the main points.
3. Precis No. 3 is not too short but it emphasizes unimportant points and does not stress the
main thought.
4. Precis No. 4 is of the right length, mention the main points effectively, and summarizes the
author’s important ideas. It is a satisfactory précis.
EXAMPLE NO 2:
THE PASSAGE: It was many days after the damage to Hiroshima were known. Immediately after
the bomb had exploded on 6th August, 1945, it was clear that the destruction in the city was great. A
single Atom Bomb was equal to 20,000 tons of gun powder. It was estimated that about 100,000
people were killed by one bomb. Another 40,000 people were injured. More than two-thirds of the
buildings in Hiroshima were destroyed and thousands were damaged beyond repair. It found was
that telegraph poles three miles from the centre of the explosion were burnt and blackened by
intense heat.
Statesmen and ordinary men and women all over the world were frightened by the news of the
terrible destruction caused by a single bomb. Since that day, people have now lived in fear that final
destruction of the world would happen soon enough. As one newspaper put it: “The Atom Bomb
means the end of the world.”
If men can agree to settle their disputes by peaceful means, then the atomic power, which can kill
men in war, can be used to treat diseases and to produce enough power to make life more
comfortable than it has ever been.
HINT
Always read the passage carefully in order in find out the main ideas.
PRECIS OF THE ABOVE EXAMPLE No:2
On August 6, 1945, a single Atom Bomb dropped over Hiroshima killed 100,000 People and injured
another 40,000. The city itself was destroyed almost completely. Since that day, the mankind has
lived in fear of an atomic war. If people could make peace among themselves, the atomic energy
could be used for the benefit of mankind.
TITLE: MAN AND ATOM
EXAMPLE NO: 3
THE PASSAGE: It is impossible for a well educated and brave man to make money to aim of his
life, just as it is impossible for him to make his dinner the chief aim of his life. All healthy people
like their dinners but their dinner is not the main object of their lives. So all healthy minded people
like making money. They should like it and enjoy the sensation of earning it. But the main object of
their life is not money; it is something better than money. A good soldier for example: Mainly likes
to do his fighting well. He is glad of his pay, and very rightly so, and be will grumble and complain
if you keep him without pay for sometime. Still his main idea of life is to win battles and fight for
his country, not to be paid for them. So of the doctors. They like fees, no doubt, they should like it;
yet if they are brave and well-educated, the entire object of their life is not fees. They, on the whole,
like to cure the sick. So is the case with all other brave and rightly trained men: their work is first
and their fee second. But in every nation there are great numbers of ill-educated, cowardly and
stupid people. And with these people the fee is first, and work second just as with the brave people
the work is first and the fee second.
PRECIS OF THE ABOVE EXAMPLE NO: 3
Money is never the aim of a well-educated and brave man. A good doctor, for example, likes his
fees but the chief object of his life is to cure the sick people. A good soldier also likes to do his duty
first. This is the case with all people who are brave and rightly trained. They like to be paid well for
their work but receiving payment for their services is not the first aim of their life. They would
rather lose their fees than fail in their duties. This is why they always give secondary place to
money.
TITLE: WORK FIRST, FEE SECOND
EXAMPLE NO: 4
THE PPASSAGE: If an ancient man could spend a day or two in the world of today, he would
wonder at all the inventions which have been added to the delivery of letters. There are fast trains,
jet planes and ocean ships which take our letters across mountains, oceans and deserts to their
destination. Their delivery is now only a matter of days compared to the months of olden times. Our
postal service has increased to a surprisingly great extent and the cost of sending letters is within the
means of everyone. A postcard written to a distant place in Pakistan costs only ten paisa. Quick
postal service has brought about a revolution in our lives. We feel as if the earth had shrunk in size.
We are now quite near to our friends and relatives who live in other parts of the worlds. We can
exchange our greetings in a surprisingly short time. It would not be wrong to say that the postal
service is one of the wonders of the world.
PRECIS OF THE OBOVE EXAMPLE No:4
The delivery of our letter has become very fast. In olden times it used to take months, now it takes
only a few days for the letters to reach their destination. Aero planes, ships, and fast trains carry out
letters across the world at a surprisingly low cost. Indeed, the time taken for the delivery of letters is
so short that the world seems to have become smaller.
TITLE: THE QUICK DELIVERY OF LETTERS
EXERCISE
Q: Reduce the following passages to about one third of their lengths and give them suitable titles.
1. Then the train come and everyone made for it. When it stopped, the passengers inside the
train wanted to come out, and there outside wanted to get in. They pushed and jostled one
another. The passengers loudly called for the coolies, and the vendors called the passenger to
buy their things. The whole place was to noisy that it looked like a regular bedlam. But it did
not last long; for soon the whistle blew and the guard waved his green flag. The train started
moving out of the platform, and within minutes is disappeared in continues its journey
onward. The passengers left the platform, the coolies retired to their huts, the officials
returned to their offices, the vendors went back to their shops and again their was hardly any
one to be seen on the large, sprawling platform.
Q: Prepare the précis of the following passages and suggest suitable titles:
2. If you do not use your arms and legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using
them, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this and nobody would think of
questioning this fact. Yet there are many who do not seem to know that the memory works in
the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory he really means that he keeps
it in practice by exercising it regularly. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he
really means that he does not give it enough opportunity to become strong. The position is
exactly the same as that of two people, one of whom exercises his legs and arms by playing a
game, while the other sits in a chair or a motor car all day.
3. Having failed to prevent the establishment of Pakistan, disappointed by their failure, the
enemies of Pakistan have now turned their attention to disrupt the state by creating a split
amongst the Muslims of Pakistan. These attempts have taken the shape mainly of
encouraging provincialism. As long as you do not get rid of this position from amongst you,
you will never be able to weld yourself, mould yourself, galvanize yourself into a true
nation. What we want is not talk about Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baloochi and so on. They
are, of course, unites, But I ask you, have you forgotten the lesson that was taught to us
thirteen hundred years ago. Islam has taught us this, and I think you will agree with me that
whatever else you may be and whatever you are, you are Muslims. You belong to a nation
now. You have carved out a territory, vast territory. It is all yours. It does not belong to a
Punjabi or a Sindhi or a Pathan or a Bengali; it is yours.
4. People say that money and physical strength are instruments of power. In olden times, a man
with the strongest body was considered to be the natural leader of his tribe. Today a man of
wealth and money commands considerable influence in society. If he cannot get what he
wants he will but it with his money. But we must admit that knowledge is a far greater power
than money or physical strength. It is with this power that man controls the oceans, travels
across space, and can blast a mountain to lay a railway line.
But knowledge does not give us brute force stone. It is a power in the moral and intellectual
sphere also. It enables man to distinguish between right and wrong and good and evil. It
helps him to meet dangers and difficulties with courage and confidence. But we must admit
that knowledge can be a power for evil also. In war, one country may destroy another
country with the help of nuclear weapons. Thus knowledge must be used for the good of
humanity alone; then it will prove to be a blessing for mankind.
5. Among the manifold misfortunes that may befall a human being, the loss of health is the
severest.. All the joys that life can give cannot outweigh the sufferings of the sick. Give the
sick man everything; lands, riches and worldly comforts, but leave his sickness uncured and
he will feel that half the world is lost to him. Lay him on a soft silken couch, he will
nevertheless groan sleepless under the pressure of his sufferines, while the homeless bigger,
blessed with health, sleeps peacefully on the hard ground. Spread his table with dainty dishes
and choice drinks, he will thrust back the hand that proffers them. |The poor man who enjoys
his dry bread is in a happier state than the rich invalid. Let the sick man be a king. Let him st
on a throne with a crown on his head. He will still look on marble, on gold, on purple dress
with contempt, but deem himself happy, could be enjoy, even were it in a mud house, the
health of the poorest of common people.
6. Another marvelous but sinister invention of science is the lie-detector. It does not literally
detect lies: it detects emotional changes, such as a catch in the breath, and changes in the
blood pressure and heart beat when making the little effort required it sustain a falsehood. It
is not easy to fool the machine but neither is it entirely foolproof. In any case, the results
have to be interpreted by a specialist, and a specialist is very uncomfortable to have against
you in a law court because you cannot meet him on his own ground. Lie detectors have been
admitted in court many times, when both parties agreed to their use. If either party objects,
the evidence obtained from them would probably be ruled inadmissible, but the legal status
is not entirely cleared up.
7. Speech is a great blessing, but it can also be a great curse; fore while it helps us to make our
intentions and desires known to our fellows, it can also, if we use it carelessly, make our
attitude completely misunderstood. A slip of the tongue, the use of an unusual word, or of an
ambiguous word and so on, may create an enemy where we had hoped to win a friend. Again
different classes of people use different vocabularies and the ordinary speech of an educated
man may strike an uneducated listener as showing pride: unwittingly we may use a word
which bears a different meaning to our listener from what it does to men of our own class.
Thus speech is not a gift to used lightly without thought but one which demands careful
handling; only a fool will express himself alike to all kinds and conditions of men.
8. The multi-national companies based in advanced countries and operating throughout the
world are creating problems even for their home countries and the latter and taking special
measures for the regulation and control of their activities. It is necessary that in considering
such measures, the view point of developing countries should also receive due consideration.
These multi-national companies operate in the developing countries, in the distribution,
marketing and selling of their finished products as well as purchasing of their requirements
of raw materials and as such their activities and policies have a profound effect on the
economics of the developing countries. In many cases the multi-national companies enjoy
monopolistic powers which are very often employed to their own benefit and to the
determent of the developing countries. Recently, there were reports in the press about the
activities of some multi-national enterprises which had a reaching social consequences in
other countries. The need for some form of international control over their activities is,
therefore apparent.
9. Pasteur discovered germs, and Lister killed them. These two scientists together
revolutionized the theory and practice of medicine. Louis Pasteur a French chemist,
discovered that disease was caused by living organisms so small that they could not be seen
with the naked eyes; micro-organisms, microbes, bacteria, or germs, these words mean the
same thing. Joseph Letter, and English surgeon, applies Pasture’s discovery to surgery.
Since germs are alive, germs can be killed. They can be destroyed by heat or poisoned by
certain chemicals called antiseptics; carbolic acid is one, and that was the germs-killer Lister
used. Previous surgeons had, without knowing it infected their patients on the operating table
with germs, chiefly by their surgical instrument. Lister sterilized his instruments with
carbolic acid, and used carbolic acid to kill the germs, on his hands, on the patients skin, and
even in the air in the operating theatre. Then he could cut his patient open without fear of
infecting him..
Listers sim was the prevention of disease. The object of his antiseptic method, as it was
called, was to stop germs from getting into the body. The cure of disease was a more difficult
problem, for here the germs were already inside the body. Certainly they could be killed by
the same antiseptic method, but it was soon found that a chemical that destroyed also
destroyed the cells of the body. Injecting carbolic acid into the blood was tried, and quickly
abandoned for it did more harm than good. To kill all the germs the does would have to be
strong enough to kill the patient, too.
10. Each of us is here for a brief stay; for what purpose be knows not, though sometime he
thinks he feels it. But from the point of view of daily life, we exist for our fellow men-in the
first place for those on whose similar and welfare all our happiness depends, and next for all
those unknown to us personally with whose destinies we are bound up by the tie of
sympathy. A hundred time everyday I remind myself that may inner and outer life depend on
the labors of other men, living and dead and that I must exert myself in order to give in the
same measure as I have received and am still receiving.
11. Provided we choose the right kind of books, reading gives the highest kind of pleasure. Some
books are simply read for pleasure and amusement: for example: good novels and stories.
Novels and books of imagination must have their place in everybody’s reading. When we are
tired or we are weary with the day’s serious work, it is a healthy recreation to lose ourselves
to some absorbing book written by a great author.
However, to read nothing but books of fiction only is like eating nothing but sweets and
cakes. Just as we need plain and wholesome food for our bodies, we must have serious
reading for our minds, too.
In the field of books, there is a great variety and we can choose according to our choice and
needs. There are innumerable books on history, biography, travels, religion, science,
astronomy, which we ought to read, and which will give us not only pleasure but also
education. And we can develop a taste for serious reading, so that in the end it will give us
more solid pleasure than any novels and stories of fiction.
Page: 220
Chapter 17
ESSAYS ON COMMERCIAL TOPICS
The world essay is derived from the French word essais which means attempts. In practice, an essay
is a literary composition on any subject or topic. This composition is not haphazardly written; it
comprises of paragraphs which are logically arranged and connected with one another. Each
paragraph discusses a particular point relating to the topic, and also leads to the succeeding
paragraphs.
HOW TO WRITE
Short essays and articles are easier to write than the longer ones though the technique of writing is
the same. When writing an essay in an examination, the student should make a careful note of the
following parts:
(1) A careful choice off the right topic is of much importance. It will give the student
ease, satisfaction, and pleasure in writing. It is likely that the average student may
select the very first title, thinking that he could write pages on it but when he starts
writing, he may be confused by the ambiguity of the content, and may find the going
difficult. So he must choose his topic with great care, and then concentrate on it.
(2) Then comes the second stage. The students should divide the essay into points or
outlines. But, first of all comes the all important question; How to begin? Now, every
essay must have an introduction to begin with. How long an introduction should be?
Well, a short essay may have only a five line or even smaller introduction while a
long one many have a full page. Once, the student has overcome the difficulty of
introducing his essay, he will find his going easy. He knows, for example, that cotton
is the silver fibre of Pakistan it earns a large part of our foreign exchange the position
of our industry in 1947 was not so good but the textile mills were established finished
good for home as well as for export were produced thus saving and earning foreign
currency and providing employment to thousands etc, etc. Thus the student
successfully goes on and on writing the main body of his essay. But, then, comes
again the troublesome question: How to conclude the essay? The conclusion, how
ever, is easier than the introduction. The conclusion can be in one, two, three, or
more sentences. But, however short, the conclusion must not be abrupt, and it must
form an essential part of the essay. Just as an essay cannot be started abruptly, it
cannot be stopped abruptly. The good essay comes to a gradual conclusion.
(3) There are many reasons why so many students find it difficult to epress their ideas
with ease and satisfaction. But there is one reason which is common to almost all
students. This is the lack of ideas and material. What should I write? Is the first
question faced by the students. The answer, however, is not far to seek. No one is
born at accomplished essayist, one has to work for it and read books to find ideas and
material. This is the only way of preparing to write well. If a student desires to write
good essays, he must cultivate a regular habit of reading books is edition to his text
books. He would do well to spend part of his spare time on reading newspapers,
magazines, journals, weeklies, and good books of the day. These are a kind of a store
house of knowledge, and they will add greatly to the reader’s vocabulary and his fund
of knowledge. They will enlarge his intellectual horizon, and polish his speech.
“Reading” said Francis Bacon, “maketh a full man”. It will perhaps be difficult at
first for some student to form a regular habit of reading but gradually it will bear fruit
and become a pleasant pastime.
To repeat, note the following points:
(i)
Always begin an essay with a short but relevant introduction.
(ii)
Divide the essay in paragraphs. Make outlines before doing so.
(iii)
There must be a chain relationship between all important ideas of an essay.
(iv)
The conclusion of an essay should not be abrupt; it must be logical.
(v)
Revise the essay carefully after it has been completed.
THE POPULATION PROBLEM
Over population is considered to be one of the most complex problems faced by the world
today because the world population is increasing at a very fast rate. Some idea of this high rate may
be formed by the facts that up to 1830 the total world population was only one billion; in 1930 it
increased to two billions, in 1950, it was three billions; in 1975, it went up to about 4 billions; by the
end of this century, it will almost certainly shoot up to 8 billions if it continues increasing at this
rate!
But, what is over population? If a country is thickly populated but it is so well developed
economically that its resources are fully utilized to satisfy the basic wants of its people, it cannot be
termed over populated. If, however, the population of a country is far in excess to its available
economic resources, it will be inevitably termed as over populated. Most countries of the world,
especially the developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, are over populated. This has
made the problem very serious; so serious, indeed, that the economists often refer to it as the
population bomb or the population explosion.
The one most important reason of over population is, of course, the fact that human beings
have been multiplying themselves so fast that the economic growth of countries has lagged for
behind. But there is another reason also. This is the falling death rate without corresponding decline
in the birth rate. The governments have undertaken a number of measures to prevent epidemics, use
of life saving drugs, extensive medical facilities, etc. The result is that the growing population
virtually eats up whatever economic progress the countries make. If the present high rate of birth
continues, the population may increase and multiply at even a faster rate in future.
The problem of arresting the population growth has received serious attention of
governments. The idea of planned parenthood is being advanced as a kind of a panacea for checking
the birth rate. This, of course, is going to prove a very effective step and has, therefore, become a
part of governmental policies. It means an ideal size of a family in proportion to its resources. But
along with planned parenthood, fast economic growth, that is, faster than the birth rate, must also be
planned well.
All the mineral, power, agricultural, and industrial resources should also be tapped. When all
these resources are exploited, and wealth is equitably distributed, the population bomb will be
defocused. It has been rightly said that the population problem is not one of mere size of a family,
but also of efficient production and equitable distribution.
INFLATION
Inflation has been gradually building up for the last many years. It is not restricted to a few
countries: it is a world wide phenomenon. Its reasons and causes are so numerous that it is scarcely
possible to write all of them down here in a short essay. At must, only a sketchy account of inflation
can be given and that too in relation to Pakistan alone.
In addition to general reasons applicable to all other countries of the world, there are certain
particular reasons also which added to the inflationary trend in Pakistan. The 1971 War, which
paralyzed the economy of Pakistan and brought misery to hundreds of thousands of people, is one of
the major reasons. After this War, Pakistan currency was devalued sharply. The 1973 floods in the
Punjab and Sind destroyed crops and property worth crores of rupees and took uncountable human
lives. But this was not all. The sharp rise in oil prices proved to he as disastrous for our economy as
the 1971 War. The result was that the prices of goods rose to a new height, while the balance of
payment reserves dwindled to their lowest level.
What is the remedy? Is it possible to arrest this run away inflation? Well, different
economists offer different remedies: few have proved fruitful. The most common remedy suggested
is that the production of goods must be stepped up an that they could be exported to earn the much
needed foreign exchange. But with the goods being sent abroad, how to check the prices at home?
Others suggest that the government shou8ld decrease its investment on public works programmes.
During the period of inflation the government should raise the rates of both direct and indirect taxes
so that the individual consumer may have less money to spend. Still others recommend that the
wages should not be allowed to increase as this will insentify the effects of inflation. The
government may adopt the policy of allowing the individuals to have a share of the essential articles
at the relatively low price if the prices of esssential commodities are fixed and their distribution is
also arranged at those fixed prices.
THE PROBLEM OF FOOD SHORTAGE
Food is thr primary problem of men and all other living beings. Without food, life would not sustain
itself, so men must secure their food first. But, alas! the whole world is suffering from a shortage of
this primary need of man.
The reasons of food shortage are numerous. The most important one is the serribly fast rase of
increase in the poulation of the world. The poor, developing countries are generally the most thickly
populated and their population keeps on growing steadily. The result is that the growing population
virtually eats up whatever aconomic progress these countries make.
Other equally important seasons of food shortage are the use of old and primitive methods of
cultivation, insufficient use of fertilizers, and the lack of irrigation facilities. The result is a very low
yiald of crops per acre.However, the picture is not at bleak as it seems, with determined effort and
efficient planning over a number of years, it can be brightened and improved greatly. It is true that
nearly the whole world is suffering from a scarcity of foodgrains; and every year the news media tell
us about serious draught in a number of Asian and African countries and about deaths caused by
hunger and starvation. But, with short and long range planning, determination and preserverance,
every country can achieve self sufficiency in at least some foodgrains which grow their doe to the
suitibility of its elimate.
Certain steps which these countries must take in their short or long range planning are these; modern
techniques should be used to boost the agricultural produce. Implements like tractors and harvestors
must replace the time and labour consuming old plough. To raise the agricultural yield per acre, it is
absolutaly necessery to use chemical fertilisers in as large quantities as would suit the land. To meet
the yearly threat of drought, the government should instal tubewells, dig canals and build dams.
THE EVILS OF SMUGGLING
Illegal movement of goods across the geographical borders of a country it called smuggling. It is a
very old practice but has tremendously increased in volume after the second world War.
Smuggling is obviously a very undesirable kind of trade. The people are templed by very high
profiles which offer a great attraction so the criminal minded dare divils. They smuggle goods in the
darkness of nights as well as in broad daylight. These mugglers are very cunning people. They hide
goods in their vehicles in such a way that the custom officials find it very difficult to locate them.
Sometimes, the smugglers are caught and pusished severely; yet the illegal trade goes on. The
reason is that money has such great charm for some people that they don't mind being caught and
punished or even shot and killed.
The smugglers deal in only those goods which can bring them high profits. Gold has always topped
the list. Costly cloth, machines, air conditioners, refrigerators, drugs, etc, have always been on high
demand.
Smuggling brings great loss to a country's gennine trade. So, every country has framed servere anti
smuggling laws. But now severer laws should be made and enforced. The smugglers should be gives
examplary punishments. Check posts on the borders should be strengthened and fortified. The
custom officers may also be empowered to about down smugglers whenever found indulging in this
beinous crime.
THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR
There is nothing disreputable about doing one's work with one's own hands. It is a necessity and a
very useful habit. But it is amusing to see that in our country the manual labour is discredited and
disliked. A well to do person and his wife always wish to have at least one servant in their home.
The man would like his servant to do his share of work. and the wife would like the servant to do
her cooking. The English people were the one cause of it. When they ruled this sub continent, they
employed the local people as cooks, bearers, valets, etc. The Pakistanis and the Indians also began
copying them blindly. They, too, began employing local men to do their manual work for them.
They forgot that in their own country, the English men and women do all their houses chores
themselves. Cooking meats, washing meals, washing dishes, sweeping the floors and the rest is done
by these very English men who called themselve "Bara Sahib" here. In all advanced countries the
well to do people do not emply personal servants; they do their house chores themselves. The habit
of employing servants is discouraged.
In our country, the idea that a man who works in the office does better work than the one who toils
in the fields or the factories in now being realised as wrong. The sooner we get over this, the better.
We must give the manual worker a place of dignity in our society. A Rickshawwala earns much
more than a clerk, yet the wrong notion of the superiority of the desk work is dying hard. In no
country the dignity of labour is recognised better than in the U.S.A. Henry Ford once said that it was
his ambition that every worker in his factories should attend his work in his own car. A manual
worker thus, should be given the same place of dignity which is today monopolised by the white
collar worker.
THE RIGHT USE OF WEALTH
In almost every age and every country, wealth has been condemned as an Evil. Yet, the one thing
which people want most is this very wealth. It means that wealth is not an evil by itself. Its goodness
or badness depends upon the use we make of it. Wealth, when misused, can be a source of injustice
and exploitation; but if rightly used, it becomes a blessing for man. This is clear from the word
"wealth" itself. This word is derived from "weal" which means happiness, well being, or good
fortune: so wealth is that thing which gives prosperity and happiness to man. Since, in our material
world , riches are considered to be more capable of bringing happiness and satisfaction to man than
other things, so riches have come to mean wealth.
Wealth should be spend first on oneself and one's kith and kin, that is the near and dearness If it is
properly used, it is no doubt well spent. Life is a long struggle, and in this struggle one's body and
mind must be kept healthy. Good food, sanitary houses, and clean clothes are a necessity. Care of
our health is our duty: so there is nothing wrong in spending money on the preservation and
maintenance of our health. But we must see that the expenditure is legitimate and not extravagent.
After our own home and our kith and kin, are our neighbours, our village, town, city, and country. A
wealthy man must try to remove the sufferings and wants of his fallow men. Whatever is spent on
building hospitals, schools, gardens, and on supplying food to the hungry, is spent well. So also
whatever is spent on removing ignorance, superstition, on extending the fronters of human
knowlege, and on scientific and medical reasearch is wealth spent very rightly. The establishment of
schools, colleges, and libraries for spreading knowledge are step towards the right direction.
So also wealth spent on enriching a nation by honest trade and commerce is money rightly spent.
Such men who spend their wealth honestly, are public benefactors.
Lastly, whatever is spent on making the wars impossible, and on promoting peace and goodwill
between the people of the world, is spent rightly. War is the greatest evil countries indulge in and so
price is too great which is paid to stop it. Alfred Nobel could not have used his wealth better than the
way he did. He lives in the hearts of posterity, not for his invention of dynamite but for his prizes,
and expecially for his Nobel Prize for the promotion of goodwill and peace in the world.
KNOWLEGE IS POWER
Money and physical strength are often regarded as instruments of power. In oldenn days, a man with
a pwerful body was considered to be the natural leader of his tribe. Even today, a man with a strong
body commands the respect of his fellow beings.Similarly, a man of wealth commands great
influience in community. If he cannot get what he want, he can buy it. Moreover, in our inflationary
age, wealth has come to occupy a place which it had never attained before. A wealthy person is
therefore looked upon with awe just because he is wealthy.
We have to admit, however, that a knowledgeable person can charter his own course in life, and
attain heights which are denied to lesser persons. It is with the pwer of his knowledge that man
today criss crosses the oceans, travels through space, and can blast a high mountain to lay a railway
line.
Knowledge is a power in moral and intellectual spheres also. It enables us to distinguish right from
wrong, good from evil. It heopls a man meet dangers and difficult situations with courage and
confidence. It is on account of this power of knowledge that through history men have happily laid
down their lives for ideals sacred to them.
In the material world, knowledge has worked miracles; distances have been shortened. epidemies
have been controlled, and man's life has been made comforable and secure. The invention of nuclear
weapons. pardoxically, has lessened the danger of a major war between super powers.
The great quality of knowledge is that once gained it cannot be destroyed. While empires rise and
fall, knowledge "grows from more to more". But we have to admit that there are some limitstions to
knowledge. In the first place mere knowledge is not power, knowledge applied to the problems of
life is power. Secondly, knowledge is power for good as well as evil. It may prove more destructive
than constructive. In war, a country may destroy another in the twinkling of an eye with the help of
its megoton nuclear bombs. In peace, the scientists with the help of their knowledge can improve the
lot of the whole race of human beings with the help of the same nuclear enery which proves so
destructive in war. Thus, knowledge must be linked to a moral order, to goodness and to truth if it is
to prove a blessing for mankind.
COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING
In olden times the goods were advertised by beating a drum in villages andtowns. The population in
those days was small and the size and area of the towns was also much smaller than it is today.
Moreover, the factories in those days were few in numbers and the goods were therefore not
produced in abandance.
Now, the conditions have changed completely. The population of villages, towns, and cities has
increased to record levels and the size of towns and cities has also increased maniflod. Big firms and
business companies, which manufacture and sell anything that can be consumed by men, have come
into being. The goods are now produced in such aboudance and in such huge quantities that the
manufacturing companies compete with one another in a cut throat competition.
Under such conditions, it is absolutely necessary to advertise goods so that people, that is, the
consumers, should be told about them. Different kinds of media are now available for publicising
commercial goods. Newspapers, Radio, T.V, band bills, sales letters, circulars, etc, are some of these
media. Business men use all them. They are all so effective that it is difficult to say which one is the
must useful.
Newspapers and the radio seem to be very much in damand by the advertisers. The newspaper
reading public has increased greatly and the voice of the radio can be heard even in the must far off
villages. The Cinema and the T.V. are also not behind in advertising goods. Cinema slides are seen
by hundereds of thousands of peoples. The T.V. commercial telecasts are also viewd daily by
thousands of people in cities, towns, and villages.
The commercial advertisements play a powerful role in publicising the goods manufactured in the
country. It is good for the consumers because they are easily made aware of the goods of different
kinds available in the market. But there is a danger also; for , goods dangerous to human braith
should not be allowed to be advetised. In U.S.A. and some European countries such goods
(cigarattes, for example) are not allowed to be commercially advertised. If they are allowed the
people are also told that such goods pose a definite danger to their health.
ACCOUNTANCY AS A CAREER
Accountacy is a very important subject in modern times. Its importance is increasing with the
growth of our large scale business. In the past a record of day to day income and expenditure was
more than sufficient. The preparation of cash balance was simple affair. But today business has
become a complicated affair. It involves paper transactions in which millions of rupees or dollar or
sterling are involved. A business organisation has to maintain a clear accout of the amounts that
others owe to it, and the amount that it owes to others, the profit or loss it has made, and the capital
it is using paper adjustment of these is a guarantee and guide to the businessman. Large sums of
money may be outstanding or may not be immediately adjustable and without a scientific system of
accounting no businessman can be fully aware of his real financial position.
The subject of accountancy requires a comprehensive training on the part of the students. It
necessities both theoretical and practical knowledge. For the proper understanding of the subject, the
knowledge of economics, and commercial laws is also essential. So a good accountant must have a
sound educational background. It is not necessary to have knowledge of mathematics in all its
aspects. But proficiency in arithmetic is essential. A general accountant must be trained in book
keeping and must know how to maintain the ledger as well as other books like the day book, the
cash book, the journal, etc, Here theoretical training has to be strengthened by practical training and
experience. This is why a course of apprenticeship in some firm is always desirable.
As accountancy is a complex subject, it has several specialised branches. Among the more important
onews are Auditing and Cost Accountancy. The auditor must fcheck up different account and see
that entires and adjustments have been correctly made, for only then will the financial picture be
clear and convincing.
Cost accountancy is related chiefly to manufacture and production. It helps to find out the correct
ratio between investment, production and profit, and suggests to what extent production has to be
stepped up or not in order to ensure maximum profits.
It can be concluded from the above discuss on that accountancy offers a good carrer to our students
in modern business organisation. Accountancy is essential in all departments of life. Every business
firm, every government department needs of business. The accountant is not a clerk working hard
over his account books but a trained expert, enjoying prestige and power to whom even the
departmental managers look for advaice, For, he is the backbone in all well managed business
organisations.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BANKING
Banks are essential for the econmic progress of a country. They are the backbone of a country's
trade and business. This is why banks have been established in every part of the world.
The most important and the foremost work of a bank is to collect money because it is money in
which a bank always deals. Without money, a bank can neither exist not function.
The banks play a very important part is a country's economy because they provide funds on loan to
individuals and business firms. They also provide money to government departments for their
develpment projects. Such projects are often directly concerned with the country's econmic progress.
The banks collect money from the individuals, business companies and many other sources. Thus
they mobilise a country's saving and offer it back to business people and others when they need it.
Banks also indirectly help the individual persons of a country by helping them in foming regular
habits of saving money. This helps the banks also because, when the saving habits are formed by the
people, the banks receive more and more of money in the form of deposits. Thus, if the banks were
not there, the savings of the masser would either have been wasted or remained idle at some place.
The bankcs also offer "lockers" for the safe deposit of the peoples ornaments, bonds, cash, important
documents, and other similar things. The bank charge a little money for this service.
In addition to these services, banks also help a country's import and export trade. The letter of credit
is always opened at a bank. The payments for imports are also made through banks in a country's
internal trade also, the payments are very often paid through local banks.
The banks also specialise in offering certain kinds of expert advice to buisness firms and
individuals. The banks collect information from the markets and the stock exchanges and offer if in
the form of specialised advice and guidance to buisinessmen.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMERCIAL EDUCATION
Commerce and industry are the most popular professions in every country. More people are
employed in commerce and industry than in any other profession in the world. The advances in
technology have brought about a revolution in commerce and, as a result, it is now expanding very
fast. In Pakistan also, the time has come for a speedy progress. The importance of commercial
education, therefore, becomes obvious.
The aim of commercial education is to teach our young men the basic as well advanced theories and
practices of commerce. The subjects of commerce and business have now become advanced and
complex because the commerce itself has been progressing and advancing at a fast speed. If
Pakistan is to progress well economically, it is absolutely necessary that our young men be given
training in business administration courses. These courses require a good knowledge of economics
and commerce.
In Pakistan, the importance of commercial education was not fully realized at first. But later on
commerce classes were started in some colleges. This step was, however not enough to meet the
rising demands of our industry for trained men. After sometime, therefore, independent commercial
institutes and colleges were established, and commercial subjects were introduced in schools in the
ninth and tenth classes. In the commercial intitutes and colleges a large number of subjects are now
taught so that the students could prepare themselves for the furture requirements of their profession.
We now all realize that commercial education for our young men is as necessary as technical or
science education. The reason, as already stated, is that the commerce and trade are progressing very
fast everywhere in the world. It is, therefore, clear that the study of courses in commerce and some
practical training in them is the need of the day. It will erable our students to understand the
complex nature of today's commerce, trade, and business.
\THE HOUSING PROBLEM IN BIG CITIES
Housing problem means the problem of providing housing facilities to people in cities. This problem
itself is not new as it was always difficult to build a house. Now, however, this problem has become
rich more serious than it used to be.
There are many reasons of this problem's taking a serious turn now. Some of the reasons are these:
The population of our country has increased at such a fast rate that the houses could not be build up
at that rate. Actually, it was almost impossible to build houses for all because the rate of increase in
our population has been very, very high. But this is not all. The continued arrival and shifting of
people from our villages to big cities and towns for seeking better employment opportunities has
added greatly to the seriousness of this problem. The government servants, and business personal
who are sent to big cities on transfer make this problem of scarcity of houses even more serious by
renting houses for themselves. The rise in the prises of building material has added to the hardship
of this problem. The wages of masons and labourers have risen so high that it seems beyond the
capacity of the low income group people to get their services for the construction of their houses.
The government is doing its best to find a way out of this difficult problem. The "Development
Authorites" and "Imrovement Trusts" have been established in cities and towns. In order to acquire
land for building new colonies and satelite towns. They offer plots of land to people at
comparatively cheep rates. The "House Building Finance Corporation" advances loans to people for
building their houses. Some constructions companies, especially in Karachi and Lahore, are also
helping people in this regard. All these efforts ae good and they help the people in solving their
housing difficulties. But these efforts are not enough because the problem is so vast that it needs
billions of rupees as initial capital investment and great efforts to solve it.
THE COPS OF PAKISTAN
Wheat is the main food crop of Pakistan. Our country has been making efforts to become self
sufficient in this crop but our population has increased at such a fast rate that the production of
wheat has not kept pace with it. The result is a deficite in wheat because it is the staple food of a vast
majority of Pakistanis. This deficit is largely due to the old methods of cultivation, though natural
calamities like floods and draughts also take a heavy toll sometime.
Rice, after cotton, is the most important, foreign exchange earner of Pakistan. It is grown on a large
scale in Sind and Punjab. Fine qualities of rice, like Basmali, are exported to many Asian and
European countries where it always seems to be in great demand. Thus rice is one of the major crops
which help Pakistan in strengthening its foreign exchange reserves.
Cotton, of course, is the crop which earns the highest a mount of foreign exchange for Pakistan. It is
grown in Sindh, Punjab and NWFP. Fine qualities of cotton are exported abroad.
Sugar cane, though not a foreign exchange earner, is a major crop grown in the country. It is a great
source of feeding our sugar mills and, therefore, indirectly helps the country in saving its foreign
exchange by not importing sugar from abroad. It is grown in N.W.F.P., Punjab, and Sind. Tobacco
is also one of the crops grown on a large scale in Punjab, Sind, and N.W.F.P. A number of fine
qualities of Tobacco are now produced here, which help feed our Tobacco and Cigarette factories.
THE IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULURE FOR PAKISTAN
Pakistan is mainly an agricultural country. Its 75 per cent population directly or indirectly depends
on agriculrue. In some indutrially advanced countries the importance of agricuture has declined, has
in Pakistance it is on the increase. It is still the principal occupation of our people.
A large percentage of our gross national income is derived from agriculture Pakistan's 80 per cent
population live to villages. 75 per cent of the total population of Pakistan derive their livelihood
from agriculture. Agriculturee. therefore, is the greatest source for the people's employment. The
prosperity of Pakistan depends on agriculture.
Agriculture is also the greatest source of Pakistan's foreign exchange earnings. A major portion of
our total foreign exchanges is earned by exporting agricultural products such as cotton, rice, etc.
Attempts are now being made to develop our industricial sector with the help of the foreign
exchange earned by exporting agricultural produce. Moreover, the country's industry alrady depends
on our agriculture because it supplies raw material to the industry's mills and factories.
It may be rightly concluded that the economic development of our country depends to a great extent
on our agriculture. If agriculture is fully developed, it will be comparatively easier to expand our
industry, business, and trade. If it is not given good attention and it remains under developed a time
may come when it will be difficult for us to produce enough food even for our own people.
THE MECHANISATION OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture occupies a very important place in the economy of our country. Its importance lies in the
fact that it earns a major portion of the country's foreign exchange and provides employment to a
large sector of the population. Improvement of agriculture, therefore, is very necessary to meet our
food requirements and to supply raw materials to our industries. For this we should use modern
techniques and methods of agriculture. Mechanisation of agriculter will also be greatly helpful this
respect. By mechanisation of agriculture we mean the use of modern machinery tractors, harvestors,
buildosers, etc,