120 Grammar Lessons 41-43

 41. Conjunctions 

One conjunction is enough to join two clauses. 

English does not require a second conjunction. 

• Incorrect: Though he is old but he is healthy. 

• Correct: Though he is old he is healthy. OR He is old but he is healthy. 

• Incorrect: As he was fat so he ran slowly. 

• Correct: As he was fat he ran slowly. OR He was fat so he ran slowly. 

• Incorrect: If you work hard then you will succeed. 

• Correct: If you work hard you will succeed. 

• Incorrect: Because he is clever therefore he gets good marks.

 • Correct: Because he is clever he gets good marks. 

42. Correlatives ( A word or concept that has a mutual relationship with another word or concept.)

When the correlatives either...or, neither...nor, both...and, not only...but also are used, you must see that they are placed before words of the same part of speech. 

• Incorrect: The car either dashed against a dog or a goat. (verb-noun) 

• Correct: The car dashed against either a dog or a goat. (noun-noun) 

• Incorrect: Neither he would eat nor allow us to eat. (noun-verb) 

• Correct: He would neither eat nor allow us to eat. (verb-verb) 

• Incorrect: Neither he smokes nor drinks. (noun-verb) 

• Correct: He neither smokes nor drinks. (verb-verb) 

43. Dead and died

Dead is an adjective. 

It is used to modify a noun.

 • He is dead. (NOT He is died.) 

• A dead man (NOT A died man) Died is the past tense and the past participle of the verb die.

 • He has died. (NOT He has dead.) 

• He died last year. (NOT He dead last year.) 

44. Determiners 

Articles (a/an, the), possessives (my, your, his, her, their, our etc.) and demonstratives (this, that, these and those) are called Group A determiners.

Note that we cannot put two Group A determiners together. 

We can say my cat, the cat or that cat, but not the my cat or my that cat. In order to put together the meanings of a possessive and an article or a demonstrative, we use a structure with of. 

• He is a friend of mine. (NOT He is a my friend.) 

• These shoes of mine pinch me terribly. (NOT These my shoes pinch me terribly.) 

• Those dirty fingers of yours have stained the walls. (NOT Those your dirty fingers have ...)

120 Grammar lessons 38-40

 38. Common preposition + noun combinations 

• At the cinema; at the theatre; at the party; at university

 • By car/bike/bus/train/boat/plane/land/sea/air 

• On the radio; on TV; on the phone 

• In pen/pencil/ink • In a suit/raincoat/shirt/skirt/hat etc 

39. Comparatives and superlatives 

 The comparative (e.g. taller, sharper, stronger, heavier, shorter etc.) is used to compare one person or thing with another person or thing.

 • John is taller than Peter.

 • Alice is cleverer than Mary. The superlative (e.g. tallest, sharpest, strongest, heaviest, shortest etc.) is used to compare somebody or something with the whole group to which she/he/it belongs. 

• John is the tallest boy in the class. 

• Alice is the prettiest of the four girls. 

• He is the best player in the team. When a group has only two members, we prefer the comparative to the superlative. 

• Incorrect: Take the shortest of the two routes. 

• Correct: Take the shorter of the two routes.

 • Incorrect: She is the prettiest of the two sisters. 

• Correct: She is the prettier of the two sisters. 

40. Comparatives: a common error In comparative sentences be careful to compare the same part of two things. 

That of, these of and those of are necessary words that are often omitted.

• Incorrect: His teaching was like Jesus Christ. 

• Correct: His teaching was like that of Jesus Christ. 

• Incorrect: The size of the shoe must be the same as this shoe. 

• Correct: The size of the shoe must be the same as that of this shoe. 

• Incorrect: My books are better than my friend. 

• Correct: My books are better than those of my friend. 

120 Grammar lessons 35-36-37

 35. Cloth and clothes 

Cloth is the material used for making clothes. 

Clothes are things you wear. 

• His clothes are made of expensive cloth. 

36. Collective nouns

 Group words or collective nouns take a singular verb if you are talking of the group as a whole. 

They take a plural verb if you are talking about the individual members of the group. 

Compare: 

• The jury is in the courtroom. (Here we are talking about the whole group.) 

• The jury are still debating the case.

 (Here we are talking about the individual members of the group.)

 Note: 

Collective nouns are always singular in American English. 

37. Come and go

 Come is used for movements to the place where the speaker or hearer is. 

• Come to me. (Movement towards the speaker) 

• 'Alice, can you come here?' 'Yes, I am coming.' (NOT I am going.) 

• Can I come and sit beside you? 

(Movement towards the hearer) Go is used for movements to other places. 

• Let's go and see them. (NOT Let's come and see them.) 

• I want to go and live in the hills. (NOT I want to come and live in the hills.) 

120 Grammar lessons 32-34

 32. But 

• Incorrect: He is the fastest runner and he came last. 

• Correct: He is the fastest runner but he came last. 

 But is the conjunction to use when the second main clause gives unexpected or contradictory information. 

33. Change of tense 

The first verb in a sentence establishes the tense of any verb that comes later. 

If you begin writing in the past, don’t change to the present. 

Similarly, if you begin writing in the present, don’t change to the past.

 • Incorrect: In the story, the king loses his kingdom, but he regained everything in the end. 

• Correct: In the story, the king loses his kingdom, but he regains everything in the end. 

• Incorrect: The team won yesterday, but goes and loses this afternoon. 

• Correct: The team won yesterday, but went and lost this afternoon. 

34. Close and shut 

There is little difference of meaning between close and shut.

• Shut/close your eyes.

 • Can you close/shut the door?

 • They close/shut the shops at 8 o'clock. 

Cases where close is preferred We close (and not shut) roads, letters, bank accounts, meetings etc.

 • You should close your existing account before opening a new account. (NOT You should shut your existing account …

120 Grammar lessons 29-31

 29. Big, large and great 

We use big and large with concrete nouns - the names of objects which we can see or touch. 

In an informal style, big is more common than large. 

• He has got big / large feet. 

• They have a large / big house in the city. 

We use great with abstract nouns - the names of things which we cannot see or touch.

 • I think it was a great mistake.

 • I have great respect for him.

 In an informal style big is also used with countable abstract nouns. 

Large is not used with abstract nouns. 

• I think it was a big mistake. (BUT NOT I think it was a large mistake.) 

None of these three words are used with uncountable nouns.

 • I have got a lot of luggage. (NOT I have got big/large/great luggage.)

30. Born and borne 

The passive form of the verb born (be + born) is used to talk about coming into the world at birth. 

• He was born to poor parents. 

• I was born on a Friday. 

• She was born in Italy. 

Borne is the past participle form of the verb bear. 

It is sometimes used to mean 'give birth to' or 'carry'.

 • She has borne eight children. (= She has given birth to eight children.) 

31. Bring and take 

• Incorrect: I don't know what to bring when I leave for the conference.

• Correct: I don't know what to take when I leave for the conference.

 • Incorrect: I shall bring my wife with me when I go.

 • Correct: I shall take my wife with me when I go.

 • Incorrect: Take that book to me at my desk. 

• Correct: Bring that book to me at my desk. 

Use bring when something is being moved towards the speaker.

 • Bring me that book. 

Use take when something is being moved away from the area of the speaker. 

• Take that file with you. (Here the file is being moved away from the area of the speaker.)

120 Grammar lessons

 

23. Begin and start 

There is little or no difference between begin and start. 

Begin is more common in a formal style.

 • He started / began working when he was 19.

 • We will begin / start the next lesson tomorrow. 

• It is time to begin / start work. 

We start (but not begin) a journey or a machine. 

• We started in the morning and reached before sunset. (NOT We began in the morning...) 

• How do you start a washing machine? (NOT How do you begin a washing machine?) 

• At last the train started. (NOT At last the train began.)

 24. Beside and besides 

Beside is a preposition. It means 'by' or 'next to'. 

• The mother sat beside her children. 

• Who is that fat lady sitting beside Peter? 

Besides is similar to as well as. It is used to add new information to what is already known. 

• Besides the violin, he can play the guitar and the piano. 

• Who was at the party besides Jane and Peter? 

25. Besides, except and apart from 

These expressions often cause confusion. 

Besides usually adds whereas except subtracts. 

Compare: • Besides mathematics, we have to learn physics and chemistry. (We learn three subjects.)

 • He can play all musical instruments except the flute. (He can’t play the flute.) 

• Apart from mathematics, we have to learn physics and chemistry. (= Besides mathematics, we have to ...) 

• He can play all musical instruments apart from the violin. (= He can play all musical instruments except the violin.

120 grammar lessons

 26. Between and among 

We use between with two or more clearly separate people or things. 

We use among when the reference is to a group, a crowd, or a mass of people or things which we do not see separately. 

• She sat between Alice and Mary. (Two clearly separate people) 

• She sat among her students. 

• There is a tourist home between the woods, the river and the hills. (Three clearly separate things) 

• The tourist home is hidden among the trees. 

We use between, not among, after difference. 

• What is the main difference between a square and a rectangle? 

27. Between and during 

• Incorrect: England grew prosperous between Queen Victoria's reign. 

• Correct: England grew prosperous during Queen Victoria's reign.

 • Incorrect: The First World War was fought during 1914 - 18. 

• Correct: The First World War was fought between 1914 - 18. Two events must be mentioned if you want to use between. 

28. Between and from 

A common mistake that is often noticed these days is the use of to after between. 

• Incorrect: The interview will be held between 2 to 4pm. 

• Correct: The interview will be held between 2 and 4 pm. 

• Incorrect: The conference will take place between the 12th to the 18th of this month. 

• Correct: The conference will take place between the 12th and the 18th of this month. Or else you can say: 

• The interview will be held from 2 to 4 pm. 

• The conference will take place from the 12th to the 18th of this month.

120 grammar lessons 19-22

  19. Beat and win 

Beat is usually followed by an object which refers to the person you are playing or fighting against.

 • She always beats me at poker. 

Win can also be followed by an object, but it usually refers to things like money or prize. You can also win in a game, a race, a battle or an argument. 

• She won the first prize in the quiz competition. 

• She always wins when we play poker. 

20. Because 

• Incorrect: He did not come to school. Because he was ill. 

• Correct: He did not come to school because he was ill.

 This is a very common punctuation mistake. Because is a subordinating conjunction. It must not be separated from its main clause by a full stop. 

21. Because and because of 

Because is a conjunction. 

It is used to join two clauses and is followed by a subject and verb. 

• We couldn’t go out because it rained. 

• I did it because he told me to do it. Note that the ‘because clause’ can come before or after the main clause. 

• Because it was so hot, we went home. 

• We went home because it was so hot. 

Because of is a two-word preposition. 

It is used before a noun or a pronoun. 

• We couldn’t go out because of the rain. 

• I did it because of him.

 22. Because and for 

• Incorrect: I am glad for tomorrow is a holiday. 

• Correct: I am glad because tomorrow is a holiday. For is hardly wrong, but it is better to use because to introduce a casual clause. 

English Model Verb Table

 

English Modal Verbs Table

Modal verb	Usage	Example
can	ability	I can do several things at the same time.
	when something is possible	Miracles can happen.
	permission	You can go now.
	informal requests	Can you come here for a minute?
could	past form of "can"	She said she could pay for us as well.
	polite requests	Could you move your bag, please?
	possibility	It could be that he missed the train.
may	possibility	It may rain tomorrow.
	ask for or give permission (formal)	May I speak?
might	past form of "may"	He said he might change his mind.
	possibility	This might fail.
must	you have to do it	You must obey the law.
	it's very logical or very likely to happen	They left so early, they must be home by now.
must not/ mustn't	you are not allowed to do it	You mustn't smoke in here.
shall	future for "I" and "we"	I shall see him tomorrow.
	questions and suggestions for "I" and "we"	Let's continue, shall we?
should	the right thing to do	She should call the police.
	advice	- What should I do? - You should stop thinking about it.
	what is likely or expected to happen	We should be back by midnight.
will	future action or states (not plans)	Prices will go up next summer.
	promises and intentions	It's alright, I'll pick it up.
would	past form of "will"	He told me he would come.
	imagined situations	What would you do if you were him?
	for polite requests, offers and invitations	- Would you please sit down? - Would you like some tea? - We are meeting with Sarah next Saturday, would you like to come along?
	to say what you want to do or have	I would like a piece of cake.
ought to	the right thing to do	You ought to apologize.

Avenge; and revenge; Back and again: Bath and Bathe

  16. Avenge and revenge 

• Incorrect: I must revenge my father. 

• Correct: I must avenge my father.

• Incorrect: I must revenge my enemy. 

• Correct: I must take revenge on my enemy. These two words are often confused. To 'avenge my father' means to ‘punish someone who has hurt my father’.

 17. Back and again 

When used with a verb, back suggests a return to an earlier situation or a movement in the opposite direction. 

• Give me my watch back. (NOT Give me my watch again.)

 • Take your money back. 

• Put the book back on the shelf when you have finished with it.

 • These mangoes aren't good. I am taking them back to the shop. When used with a verb, again suggests repetition. 

• I did not hear what you said. 

Please say it again. 

• That was a lovely song. Can you play it again? 

18. Bath and bathe 

In British English, the verb bath is used to mean 'wash oneself in a bath tub'.

 • Children should bath regularly. 

The verb bath is not used in American English. Instead, the expressions 'have a bath' or 'take a bath' are used. 

• As I was feeling hot, I took a bath. In British English, bathe means 'swim for pleasure'. It is very formal. 

In an informal style, we use the expressions 'have a swim' or 'go for a swim'.

 • He said he had a good bathe. 

In American English, bathe is used to mean 'take a bath'. 

• I always bathe before I go to bed. (= I always take a bath before I go to bed.) 

Note that to lie in the sun is to sunbathe.