Style: y Use less redundant sentence, with meaning of the sentence unaltered.

Eg: student s academic performance in school, here academic itself suggest in school. May, might should not be followed by seems as it already gives level of uncertainty. Would be should not be used to describe measurable or factual data. Although and yet indicate contrast don t use them together. To be able to do something is redundant try using, to do somthing Being is redundant most of the time Eg- Being excited with her success.. should be Excited with her success Try not to use passive voice, as they make the sentence wordy and awkward. When which or that is the object of the following verb is can be omitted. The school they go to.(The school which they go to ). When the clause gives additional and non essential info rather than identifying the noun it follows ,which should be used. The house, which stands on the hill, is up for sell. The house is up for sell. It happens to be on the hill. When the relative clause identifies the noun it follows with essential information that is used without a comma. The house that stands on the hill is up for sell. The house on the hill is up for sell. Not the house on the valley. **Which can refer to plural noun y Like is used to make comparison where as such as is used in giving examples. Less than/under and more than/over: Less than/more than is the correct expression when making comparison of number and amount. Over/Under is used to describe spatial relationship. Eg: I will host the party if the guest list is less than/more than fifty. We processed more than 1000 letters in an hour.

y y y

Subject-Verb Agreement: y Find the wordy phrases from sentence to get the actual agreement. Even after removing the wordy sentence the sense of the sentence doesn t change. Eg: The houses of the the rich men contain expensive furnitures. Here of the rich men phrase is redundant. Of is another middle man. Eg The discovery of new lands was vital for research. Eliminate the bold letters. The actions of my friends are not helpful.

y y

y y

Prepositional phrases are usually middle man: The number of acres is large. In France, people enjoy snails. The bold letter are prepositional phrases and should be ignored. Of, for, by, in with, at, to, on, from. Subordinate clauses are middle man: My cat, which has fleas, is big. The mouse that roared is gray. Bold letters are subordinate clause. Which that who when where whom. Other modifiers: The bird flying overhead is tiny. Considered a purebred, this horse runs quickly. My dog, a Labrador, is huge. Bold letters are middleman. Comma or commas, participle-ing, participle-ed. Such as a middle man. The acceleration that subatomic particles, such as electron and proton, under go And adds two singular subjects forming a compound plural subject. Eg Ram and Hari are best friends. Eg2: Maths, science and History are required to be studied. Eg: There are a young man and an older woman at the bus stop. Besides And there are other additive phrases that can be added to a subject such as along with, including, in addition to, as well as, accompanied by, together with, including, not to mention. Eg Joe, along with his friends, is going to a party. Eg 2: Maths, in addition to science and history, is a required subject. Some subjects contain disjunctive phrases such as Or,either..or, neither .. nor. In this case which form to be used?? Simple find the subject nearest to the verb and make sure it agrees with this subject. Eg: Neither Joe nor his friends are going to the beach. Eg2 : Neither his friends nor Jon is going to the beach. NOTE** In case either and neither do not contain or and nor in a sentence they are not considered to be in disjunctive phrase and they are considered singular and take singular verbs.
Neither of us like going to the party.

y y

Collective noun takes singular verb. Eg: administration, army, herd, class, faculty orchestra, team. Eg: The crowd is cheering, The army is marching. Usually Indefinite Pronouns take singular verb. Indefinite Pronoun is not specific about the thing it refers to. Eg: All pronouns that end with one, -body,-thing(Anyone, Anybody, Anything, Everyone, Everybody, Everything, Whatever, Whoever, *Either, *Neither, Someone, somebody, something, no one, nobody, nothing, each, every). However there are 5 indefinite pronoun which can either be singular or plural dependin on the context of the sentence. They are SANAM : Some, Any, None, all, Most.
Rule: With words that indicate portionssome, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples: None of the pie was eaten. None of the children were hungry.

**If each and every follows a subject it has no bearing on the verb form. Eg : Each dog has his paws. Eg2 Each dog has his day. Eg2 ** They each are great tennis players. These pronoun are precedes of (exception as per earlier rule) look into the number of subject. Eg: Some of the money was stolen. Some of the documents were stolen. y The Number of and a number of take singular, plural verb form respectively. Eg: The number of hardworking students in this class is quite large. Eg A number of students in this class are hard workers. Equal, equivalent is used for uncountable nouns. Majority, Minority, Plurality can either be singular or plural if they represent individual parts of a totality or the totality respectively. Eg: Majority of the students are hard workers. Eg2: The student majority is opposed to the death penalty. Sometimes subject of a sentence is an entire phrase or clause. These subjects are always singular and require singular verb. Eg: Having good friends is a wonderful thing. Eg2: What ever they want to do is fine with me.

y y

Verb Tense Mood and Voice y 3 moods are tested in Gmat inductive(these verbs deal with real events) and subjunctive(There verbs deals with events that are not necessarily true),Imperative(Expresses commands). Always prefer active over passive. Infinitive(to +verb): Split infinitive is almost always incorrect. Eg: I told him to quickly run. Correct: I told him to run quickly. Try to use simple tense instead of progressive unless it changes the meaning. For multiple actions in a sentence, use same tense form for all unless they occur at different time. Eg: She walks to the school in the morning and runs home in the evening. 2) She will walk to the school in the morning and run home in the evening. 3) She walked to the school in the morning and ran home in the evening. In case of multiple action both involving past tense use simple past for recent one and past perfect for the older action. Eg Some teacher thought that Jimmy had cheated on the exam 2)The movie had ended, but we remained in our seats.

y y y y

y y y y y y

y y y

Present Perfect: Action started in the past and continues till present time. Eg they have been in town for several days. 2) We have owned this house since early 19th century. The verb to Have: Eg: He has had many affairs. 2)His wife divorced him because he had had an affair. If Then: Eg If you study hard, (then) you will pass.(then is optional). 2) You will pass if you study hard. In if then sentence both if and then should have same tense format if (present) then(present) etc If then sentence If doesn t take could, would etc. If if doesn t portray the condition in a sentence rather portrays whether use whether instead of If. Eg: I don t know if I can go there. Correct: I don t know whether I can go there. Most of the English sentences are indicative based on truths, facts and realities rarely it uses subjunctive Eg: If shows condition contrary to reality. Hopes, proposals, desires, requests formed with the word that. Eg if I were rich, I would donate money to poor. If he were tall, he would be able to play basket ball. Never use was with subjunctive. Uncertainty: Hopes, desire, proposal, request: Eg It is urgent that she sign the slip. 2)I respectfully ask that he be allowed to continue. 3)My advice is that she simply love her for who she is. Eg:She recommended that John should take the ferry. She recommended that john to take a ferry. She recommended that john had taken a ferry. She recommended that john takes a ferry. (all are wrong ) Correct: She recommended that john take a ferry. It uses that + infinitive form of verb without to . Clauses beginning with if, as if, as though, though show untrue condition. -ing can be tricky. They can play 4 roles in Grammar. Verb: I am eating a hot dog? What am I doing? Noun: Eating hot dog is fun. What is fun? Adjective: The guy eating hot dog is my friend. Which guy is my friend? Adverb: I sat at my desk eating a hot dog. How did I sit?

Gerund and Infinitive: y y Gerund is verb in ing form it can be the subject of a sentence and act as a noun. Such as Taking it was the fun part. Never use mixture of two sentence as it will break the parallelism Eg Talking him was one thing and kissing him was another.

y
y

Never use a phrase between to and verb. I asked him to quickly clean the table. Right: I asked him to clean the table quickly. What's the difference between a Gerund and a Participle?
A Gerund is a verb form used as a noun whilst a Participle is a verb form used as an adjective.

y
y y

Gerund
: a verbal noun in Latin that expresses generalized or uncompleted action : any of several linguistic forms analogous to the Latin gerund in languages other than Latin; especially : the English verbal noun in -ing that has the function of a substantive and at the same time shows the verbal features of tense, voice, and capacity to take adverbial qualifiers and to govern objects

: A Gerund is a verb and noun combined. eg: "I think of retiring soon from business." Retiring is a verb, being part of the verb retire. It is also a noun, because it is object to the preposition 'of.

y
y

Participle
: a word having the characteristics of both verb and adjective; especially : an English verbal form that has the function of an adjective and at the same time shows such verbal features as tense and voice and capacity to take an object

y y

: A Participle is a verb and adjective combined. eg: "A retired officer lives next door." or "She was killed by a falling tile." Retired is a verb, being part of the verb to retire. It is also an adjective, because it qualifies the noun 'officer'. Falling is a verb, since it is part of the verb to fall, but it is also an adjective in that it qualifies the noun 'tile'. Hence a participle may be called a verbal adjective.

y y
y

Difference between past participle and past tense:

past participle ends in -ed or -en and it has two functions: 1) adjective EX: This car is heated. (Verb: "is"; Adjective "heated") EX: We had a heated argument. (Adjective "heated") As an adjective, the past participle occurs after the verb BE (is, am, was, were, been) or it modifies a noun. 2) part of a verb EX: The stove has heated the room. (Verb: "has"; Part of a verb: "heated") As a part of a verb, the past participle occurs with the verb HAVE (have, has, had). Past tense refers to a verb. (Please note that, past participles are not verbs.) EX: The stove heated the room. In the example above, the word 'heated' doesn't do the following things: It doesn't occur with BE (is, am, was, were, been) It doesn't occur with HAVE (have, has, have) It doesn't modify a noun (argument) "heated" functions all by itself. It's a verb, and the -ed ending tells us it's a past tense verb. :D

"The stove has heated the room" means that, thanks to the stove, the room is now warm. The present perfect usually refers to the result of a past action. "The stove heated the room" doesn't mean the room is still warm. I might say, for example: "The stove heated the room, but then some idiot opened the window and the room is cold again."

Punctuation: y Eg: they didn t go, because they were lazy. Here it specifies they didn t go as they were lazy. But consider this, They didn t go because they were lazy. It tells they did go but not they were lazy but for some other reason. They didn t go because they were lazy, they went because they were tired. Period is used to end the sentence but commas are used to show pauses, phrases, appositive sentences. Colon is used to show list of items, lead from one idea to its consequences or logical continuation. It follows a complete independent clause. Eg: There was no truth in the accusation : they rejected it utterly. Semicolon is used to link parallel sentences. Eg: There was no truth in the accusation ; it was totally false. Hyphen is used to remove ambiguity. Fifty-odd people. Approximately 50 people. Ficty odd people 50 strange people.

y y

y y y

Prounoun: y y y y y y y y Types of pronoun: Personal Pronoun: I/we/he/she/it/they/you Possessive Pronoun: My/mine/his/her/its/hers/their/theirs/our/ours Reflexive pronoun: Myself/himself/ourself/him/herself/themselves Demonstrative: That, those, these, this. Receiprocal: Each other, one another. Interrogative: who, why, when, what, where Relative: who, what, that, which etc. Indefinite: any, all

y y

Be careful of objects that contain proper noun + pronoun Eg: The puppy looked across the table at Sarah and me. In case of doubt remove the proper noun, you can get the correct sense. Pronoun of reference: see the pronoun refers to the correct noun. Eg eva and jasmine jog regularly so that she could stay in shape. Here she is ambigious. Man, in all his glory, use singular when there is generalization. Sometimes the pronoun may not have a true antecedent, but it is implied. Implication is not enough, there must a stated antecedent for each pronoun. Eg: Friendship is something John truly values so he dislikes it when they talk about him behind his back. Here there is no use of word friends which they refer to. Pronoun Agreement: If a pronoun has an antecedent and the pronoun agrees to it with number(singular/plural) then it is right. Eg: Police work is very important as they enfore Wrong as police work is singular so change they to it. Pronoun Case: Subject Pronoun- I,we,you,he,she,it,they,who. Object pronounme,us,you,him,her,it,them,whom. Object Pronoun. Eg: Janice and me attended the picnic. Wrong me should be replaced with I as it is subject pronoun. Eg2: The picnic was attended by Janice and I. Wrong I should be replaced with me as it is object pronoun. Eg3: Who are you going to marry? Wrong: You is subject and who is object so who should be replaced by whom. I kicked the girl who tried to still my coat. I kicked the girl. She tried to still my coat. I smiled at the girl whom I kicked. I smiled at the girl. I kicked her. Possessive Pronoun: Eg: Joe s room is so messy that his mother calls him a pig. Wrong: Joe s is a possessive noun so his is possessive pronoun but the subject and object pronoun may not refer back to the possessive noun. So the object pronoun him does not refer back to the possessive noun Joe s. so you Joe instead of him. Correct: Joe s room is so messy that his mother calls Joe a pig. Possessive pronouns doesn t have apostrophe. Exception one : Eg: One can do only one s best. ** one s can only be used if subject is one . Don t use his when one is present in subject Its is possessive and It s is It is. Deadly 4: It, its, they, their. Be careful while using these words make sure it agrees with the number of antecedent. Their is possessive pronoun of plural form they, so their can only refer to plural subject. Eg: Everyone here will need their own pencil. Their will be replaced by his.

Adjectives: y It can also form a predicate. Eg: Chocolate is yummy. Only true adjectives can be used in such a way .else you can use one at the end. Eg: The cookies were Christmas ones unlike The cookies were Christmas, Correct: there are Christmas cookies.

Adverb:
The adverb cannot come between the main verb and the direct object. In a transitive sentence, you can put an adverb: i. between the auxillary and main verbs. ii. after the direct object. iii before the main verb if no auxillary. 1. He has not yet reached his goal. Yes (between auxillary and main verb) 2. He has not reached yet his goal. No (between main verb and direct object) 2b He has not reached his goal yet. Yes. (after the direct object) ("Yet" is not a typical adverb though as far as position goes). 3. He caught brilliantly the ball in the outfield. No (between main verb and direct object) 4. He brilliantly caught the ball in the outfield. Yes. 4b. He caught the ball brilliantly in the outfield. Yes. (after the direct object) Best, IMO. 5. She politely said no. Best 6. She said politely no. No 7. She said no politely. OK. You can put the adverb straight after the verb in a intransitive sentence. 8. He quickly died after being shot. Yes 9. He died quickly after being shot. Yes

1) He speaks English well. (only ? well can never precede a verb? ) This one always goes after the verb. 2) a) He only speaks English. b) He speaks English only. (is there a difference in meaning?) Both are used and mean the same thing. 3) a) The price of computers has gone down significantly. b) The price of computers has significantly gone down. Both are used and mean the same thing. 4) a) Slowly she drew the curtains. (possible ?) b) She slowly drew the curtains. c) She drew the curtains slowly. A good example of how an adverb can often be used in several different places in a sentence. (All three sentences mean the same thing, but it is possible that there are slight differences in meaning depending on context.) 5) a) This example perfectly illustrates the problem. b) This example illustrates the problem perfectly.

6) a) One day, I want to join the police. b) I want to join the police one day. (no comma before one day?) 7) a) Do you still work here? b) Do you work here still? (incorrect ? / informal ?) Both are good. 8) I havent done the washing up yet. (why cant we use yet elsewhere? Is there a rule?) You could also say: I haven't yet done the washing. You can put "yet" before or after the verb phrase but not in the middle. 9) a) If the weather is good, we will leave tomorrow at noon. b) If the weather is good, we will leave at noon tomorrow.
y y y I shouted loudly. I really liked her. I think clearly.(my thinking is clear). I clearly think. It is clear what I think. When emphasis is needed place adverb at the beginning . Eg: Never I have seen such an ugly kid.

Adverb vs Adjective: y y y I heard an odd, chilling sound. I heard an oddly chilling sound. The boy appeared quick. The boy appeared quickly.
Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Sometimes in SC we must choose which to use according to the meaning. [*]supposed Mediterranean predecessors. This sentence means that we are not sure whether these things are actually predecessors. [*]supposedly Mediterranean predecessors. This sentence means that we are not sure whether these things are actually Mediterranean.

Modifiers: y y It describes someone or something in a sentence. Modifiers are set off from rest of the sentence by using commas. Eg: Tired out of playing football, Ram decided to take a nap. Here it is a open modifier as it is present in the opening of the sentence and it is separated by comma. Adjectives and adverbs: Adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. Adverb on the other hand modifies a verb, adjective, preposition, phrase another adverb. Eg : The smart man

y y

acts quickly. Smart modifies man, quickly modifies act. Eg2: My friend Katy is a real interesting person. Here real(adjective) should be replaced by really(adverb) as it modifies an adjective interesting. Good vs well: Good(adjective) describes a noun. Well(adjective,adverb) to describe health or competent respectively. Eg Amy is a good person. Amy is well. Amy writes well. I am doing good (wrong). I feel good about my work, but I Feel well. Modifying Phrase: After finding it find the noun that is modified. If you don t get it, it s a dangling modifier. Eg: Using the latest technology, the error was identified quickly. Here the noun is probably a technician, but it never comes into picture, so modify the sentence appropriately. Using the latest technology, the engineer identified the error quickly. Sometimes the noun will be there in the sentence, but it will be not directly next to the modifying phrase, this is a misplaced modifier. Eg: Upon leaving the register, the cashier handed the customer a receipt. Here it seems the modifier acts on the cashier rather it should work on the customer. Upon leaving the register, the customer was handed the recieft by the cachier. The modifying phrase should not be separated from the noun it modifies. Eg: Lata is happy, like all her friends to be on vacation. Here like all her friends modifies lata. Lata, like all her friends, is happy to be on a vacation. Or Like all her friends, Lata is happy . Modifying phrases are often introduced buy relative pronoun: which, where, that, who whose whom. Eg: We drove test the car having engine problem. We drove test the car that had engine problem. The Lions, never liking to loose, practice everyday. The Lions, who never like to loose, practice everyday. Who: introduces phrases that modifies person or group of persons. Which:things. That: both people or things. Use that to introduce a modifier that is used to narrow the identity of modified noun and the modifier can t be logically removed .Use which to introduce middle man by set off by comma, these modifier are un essential. Eg: the team that wins the game will Rhode island, which is a small place, is a very interesting place to visit. Ambigious sentence. Cars come in many colours, which are very cool. Fails to define car or color. Be careful of possessive pronoun in modifier they may introduce dangling modifier. Eg: Unskilled in complex math, Bill s score was poor. Here unskilled in complex math should refer to Bill not his score. Adverbial Modifiers: The modifier and the modified noun should always touch. However when the word being modified is not a noun, the modifying phrase is called as adverbial phrase and doesn t need to touch the word being modified.

y y y y y y

y y y

Eg the running back ran towards the end zone, faster and harder than he had ever before. The bold letter modifies the verb ran. Ask question How? If you get the answer then it is a adverbial phrase I ate some peas only yesterday.(I don t wana have it today) I only ate some peas yesterday.(I didn t do anything) I ate only some peas yesterday.(I ate nothing else) Only I ate some peas yesterday.(nobody else) Likely is adjective not adverb. The Republic is likely to fall(correct). The Republic will likely fall(wrong). Seem like , look like: He seemed like a nice guy. It looks like a nice cake. It seemed as if he liked me. It seemed like he liked me(w) Here comparison is with clause not with noun. Participle at the start of the sentence must modify the subject, else it is a dangling participle. Eg: having read the book, there is not question Correct: having read the book, I have no doubt . Misplaced modifying clause. Whether baked or mashed, Tom loves potatoes. Correct: Tom loves potatoes, whether baked or mashed. Ambiguous modifying clause: People who jog frequently develop knee problem. Correct: People develop knee problem if they jog frequently. Limiting modifiers(just, only, hardly, almost) must be used immediately before what they modify.

Parallelism: y y y y y y y y y Parallel Structures Noun: Trever collects stamps, coins and cards. Adjective: The soldier was fast, powerful and agile. Modified Nouns: Positive attitude can lead to both practical success and spiritual fulfillment. Verbs: We worked all day, ate all evening, slept all night. Verb infinitive: I decided to swim across the river rather than (to) sail around the world Adverbs: I notice he howls angrily after he cowers fearfully Adverbial phrases: I notice you howl in anger you cower in fear. Parallelism with pronoun: which, that, those, who etc signal parallel structure Eg: I prefer to hire employees who are work hard to those that don t. Correct: I prefer to hire employees who are work hard to those who don t.

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Make sure both sides of the sentence are logically and structurally parallel. Parallel markers: x and y, x, y, and z, both x and y, either x or y, not x but Y, x rather than y, from x to y. Idiom with built in parallel structure:: I prefer eating ice cream in summer to coffee. Correct I prefer eating ice cream to drinking coffee in summer. Eg: More X than Y. The more X the greater Y. No less was X than was Y. As X to Y. Not only X but also Y. X instead of Y. The same to X as to Y. Range from X to Y. Both X and Y. Either X or Y. Neither X nor Y. Mistake X for Y. Prefer X to Y. X regarded as Y. To think of X as Y. Think X as Y With a aim of verb+ing Aim at somthing Believe X to be Y. To Estimate X to be Dated at No less remarkable than X is considered y. Credit X with: You credit him with accomplishment Credit for: You give Joe credit for his article Not just because of x but because of y Whether X, don t use whether or not Not x, but rather y. Except in. Claims that + subordinate clause. Claims to verb(infinitive) Persuade x to do y.

y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Not by X but by Y As an adolecent In danger of something.

to issue x with y with the hope of y Except for Noun. Although accounting for Owed restitution to x for y Conceive of X as Y

So Adjective as to Verb. so gradual as to be indistinguishable

Aid in X Except in X So X that Y; so secretly installed that even

Rivalry between x and y. Y will happens unless y happens// with future there should be a present tense.
So X [adjective] as to verb. So gradual as to be indistinguishable. For example: The soil erosion was so gradual as to be destructive for the nearby forest land.

y y y

y y

Whereas clause, clause both clause should begin with same style parallelism. Do it: is wrong as it refers to a thing not action so instead use, do so Superficial vs Actual Parallelsism:Pay attention to grammatical structures- verb, noun, preposition, adverbial phrases etc. Eg : Ken travelled around the world, visiting new places, eating native foods and learning about new cultures. Its not incorrect as Travelled is the main verb and rest give additional info which are parallel. Careful with verbs of being: Usually we think of verbs are action done by subjects but sometimes they also represent the state or condition of the subject called as being verb eg : to be- is, am, are, were, been, being. Other form of being or condition- appear seem become smell feel sound grow stay look taste remain turn. Eg: The flower bouquet was the husband s giving of love to his wife. Correct: The flower bouquet was the husband s loving gift to his wife. Both sides of was are not parallel Up to vs as big as vs to be. : As big as don t use for length, it can grow as big as 30 mt long. Be careful to small words also, they can change the meaning too. Eg. The extra expenses were eliminated and reduced. and should be replaced with or as any one of them is possible(eliminate or reduce). Eg: this shampoo is useful for dry and damaged hair. Here it makes sense.

Comparision: y Comparision signals: like unlike, likening, more than, greater than, less than, shorter than, different from** as (adj) as : as many as, as short as . ** Different that is not comparison be careful. Like should be used to compare to things people(nouns). As is used as comparison involving phrases.

y y

Eg: Bella and rose, as their bro, are extremely small. Correct: Bella and rose, like their bro, are extremely small. Nouns are compared. Just like swimming is a good exercise, skiing is a great way to burn calories. Correct: Just as swimming is a good exercise, skiing is a great way to burn calories. Comparing the clauses. y Don t use like when you want to give example, instead use such as. I enjoy sports like baseball and cricket. W. I enjoy sports such as baseball and cricket. R I enjoy such sports as baseball and cricket. R Keep comparison parallel, and they should be logically parallel. Frank s build like his brother, is broad and muscular. Correct. Frank, like his brother has a broad and muscular build. Like vs As: Like is used to compare nouns, As is used to compare clause, A clause must contain a verb in a tense. Eg: Joe, like Mary, lives in a small house. (Both live in small house) R Joe lives in a small house, like Mary. (Both live in small house) w Joe lives in a small house like Mary. (Mary is a small house) W Joe lives in a small house, like Mary s. (the houses are similar) R Joe lives in a small house, as Mary does. (Both live in small house) R Skiing is a great way to burn calories, like swimming is. W Skiing is a great way to burn calories, as swimming is. R Just as swimming is a great exercise, swimming is a great way to burn calories. R Like swimming, skiing is a great way to burn calories. R

y y y

Odds and Ends:

y y y

Quantity: Many for countable things and much for uncountable. Eg: Many hats, As many hat as, few hats, number of hats, As many hats as shirts, much talent, amount of talent , little talent, As much talent as intelligence, little/ less talent. Words used B to relate 2 things vs words used to relate 3 or more things: Relating 2 things: between X and Y. X is better than Y. X has more than Y. X has less than Y. Relating 3 or more things: among X, Y, Z. X has the most, X is the best, X has the least(among x, y and z). The number or number of vs a number or numbers of: The number is singular, A number is plural, Eg: The number of dogs is greater than the number of cats. A number of dogs are chasing away the cats. Numbers of is incorrect. Increase and decrease vs Greater and less: Increase and decrease show a change of one thing over time where as greater and less than compare between 2 things. Eg: Price of silver has increased by 10 rupees. Price of gold is greater than price of silver. Decrease and increase show down and up respectively show don t use fell, rise, grow with these word as they will be redundant. Conjunction Punctuation: ; , : semicolon is used to join 2 independent sentence together such as Andy and Lisa are inseparable; they do everything together. //doing everything together: wrong. Colon is used to show a list of things. I love listening to : classical, rock jazz // wrong as 1st sentence is hanging, so 1st sentence should be complete. Eg: I love listening to all kinds of music: classical, jazz and rap.

Preposition: y y They occur before the thing they refer to. Beside vs besides: He sits beside me.(by the side). Besides his sbi account he has many others in austria (in addition to).

Useful topics y y y Kind of , sort of should be avoided. Eg: I was sort of hurt by that. I thought I saw you with some kind of food. The expression those(these) kind of things is wrong as kind and sort are singular and should be preceded by this or that. -s ending should not be used in compounds of where : somewhere. s ending should be used in compound of ways : sideways,

y y y y y y

Any should not be used adverbally. Eg: I don t think I hurt him any. Wrong. Use at all in place of any Non standard expression : cant seem to for seem unable to. Go to meaning intend. Adjectives should not be used as adverbs. Eg: We agreed on the specifics some(use somewhat). I thought my plan would sure succeed(surely). Without for unless: I wont come along without you apologize.(unless) On account for because: I liked him on account he made me toys and things.(because). All should not be followed by of unless a pronoun follows. I hate all those people. I hate all of you.

The Main Clause

Recognize a main clause when you see one. A main clausesometimes called an independent clausemust contain a subject and a verb as well as express a complete thought. Look at the examples below: Diane kicked the soda machine. Diane = the subject; kicked = the verb. A giant spider has made its home behind the shampoo bottle in Neil's bathroom. Spider = the subject; has made = the verb. Sima and Michele are skipping their chemistry class to sit by the lake and watch the sun sparkle on the water. Sima, Michele = the subjects; are skipping = the verb. Remember this important point: You must have at least one main clause in every sentence. A main clause is the essential component. Without a main clause, a group of words is a fragment, a major error in writing. A sentence can contain any number of other grammatical units, such as participle phrases, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, appositives, etc. It must, however, contain at least one main clause. Take a look at the example below:

While dissecting a cow heart in her anatomy and physiology class, Shenicka realized that a cheeseburger, her favorite lunch, was no longer appetizing. While dissecting a cow heart = participle phrase. In her anatomy and physiology class = prepositional phrase. Shenicka realized = the essential main clause. That a cheeseburger was no longer appetizing = subordinate clause. Her favorite lunch = appositive. Do not confuse a main clause with a subordinate clause. When you place a subordinate conjunction in front of a subject and verb, you will no longer have a complete thought. The group of words becomes a subordinate clause, like these examples: When Diane kicked the soda machine ... When Diane kicked it, what happened? Did the soda machine cough up her drink? Did the soda machine fall on top of poor Diane, crushing her underneath? Did quarters start shooting out of the coin return slot? Because you no longer have a complete thought, you no longer have a main clause. Because a giant spider has made its home behind the shampoo bottle in Neil's bathroom ... Because the giant spider lives there now, what has happened? Did Neil buy a can of insecticide? Does Neil now refuse to bathe? Is the spider starving because there are not enough insects for her to eat? The word because, a subordinate conjunction, leaves the idea unfinished, so you no longer have a main clause. Even though Sima and Michele are skipping their chemistry class to sit by the lake and watch the sun sparkle on the water ... Even though Sima and Michele are skipping their chemistry class, what else are they doing? Are they also studying their notes? Are they contemplating how the water in the lake is composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms? Are they gossiping about their teacher? The addition of even though makes a subordinate clause

The Subordinate Clause

Recognize a subordinate clause when you see one.

A subordinate clausealso called a dependent clausewill begin with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun and will contain both a subject and a verb. This combination of words will not form a complete sentence. It will instead make a reader want additional information to finish the thought. Here is a list of subordinate conjunctions:

after although as because before even if even though if in order that

once provided that rather than since so that than that though unless

until when whenever where whereas wherever whether while why

Here are your relative pronouns:

that which whichever

who whoever whom

whose whosever whomever

Now take a look at these examples: After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad After = subordinate conjunction; Amy = subject; sneezed = verb. Once Adam smashed the spider Once = subordinate conjunction; Adam = subject; smashed = verb. Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee Until = subordinate conjunction; Mr. Sanchez = subject; has = verb. Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands

Who = relative pronoun; Who = subject; ate = verb. Remember this important point: A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence because it does not provide a complete thought. The reader is left wondering, "So what happened?" A word group that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period must contain at least one main clause. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major error. After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad. So what happened? Did Amy throw it down the garbage disposal or serve it on toast to her friends? No complete thought = fragment. Once Adam smashed the spider. So what happened? Did Belinda cheer him for his bravery or lecture him on animal rights? No complete thought = fragment. Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee. So what happens? Is he too sleepy to work, or does he have a grumpy disposition? No complete thought = fragment. Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands. So what happened? Were the roommates shocked, or did they ask him to pass the box so that they could do the same? No complete thought = fragment.

Correctly attach a subordinate clause to a main clause. When you attach a subordinate clause in front of a main clause, use a comma, like this:
SUBORDINAT

subordinate clause + , + main clauseM A I N

CLAUSE.

Even though the broccoli was covered in cheddar cheese, Emily refused to eat it. Unless Christine finishes her calculus homework, she will have to suffer Mr. Nguyen's wrath in class tomorrow. While Bailey slept on the sofa in front of the television, Samson, the family dog, gnawed on the leg of the coffee table. When you attach a subordinate clause at the end of a main clause, you will generally use no punctuation, like this:

MAIN CLM AINM A

main + + suboU B O R D I N A T E

CLAUSE.

Tanya did poorly on her history exam because her best friend Giselle insisted on gossiping during their study session the night before. Jonathon spent his class time reading comic books since his average was a 45 one week before final exams. Diane decided to plant tomatoes in the back of the yard where the sun blazed the longest during the day.

Punctuate carefully when the subordinate clause begins with a relative pronoun. Subordinate clauses can begin with relative pronouns [and thus are called relative clauses, a type of subordinate clause]. When a subordinate clause starts with who, whose, or which, for example, punctuation gets a little bit trickier. Sometimes you will need a comma, and sometimes you won't, depending on whether the clause is essential or nonessential. When the information in the relative clause clarifies an otherwise general noun, the clause is essential and will follow the same pattern that you saw above:
MAIN CLM AINM A

main + + suboU B O R D I N A T E

ESSENTIAL RELAT IVE CLAUSE.

Nick gave a handful of potato chips to the dog who was sniffing around the picnic tables. Dog is a general noun. Which one are we talking about? The relative clause who was sniffing around the picnic tables clarifies the animal that we mean. The clause is thus essential and requires no punctuation. When a relative clause follows a specific noun, punctuation changes. The information in the relative clause is no longer as important, and the clause becomes nonessential. Nonessential clauses require you to use commas to connect them.
MAIN CLM AINM A

main + + non essential relative clauseU B O R D I N A T E

NONESSENT IAL

RELAT IVE CLAUSE.

Nick gave a handful of potato chips to Button , who was sniffing around the picnic tables. Button, the name of a unique dog, lets us know which animal we mean. The information in the relative clause is no longer important and needs to be separated from the main clause with a comma.

Relative clauses can also interrupt a main clause. When this happens, use no punctuation for an essential clause. If the clause is nonessential, separate it with a comma in front and a comma behind. Take a look at these examples: After dripping mustard all over his chest, the man who was wearing a red shirt wished that he had instead chosen ketchup for his hotdog. After dripping mustard all over his chest, Charles, who was wearing a red shirt, wished that he had instead chosen ketchup for his hotdog.

Use subordination to combine ideas effectively. Writers use subordination to combine two ideas in a single sentence. Read these two simple sentences: Rhonda gasped. A six-foot snake slithered across the sidewalk. Since the two simple sentences are related, you can combine them to express the action more effectively: Rhonda gasped when a six-foot snake slithered across the sidewalk. If the two ideas have unequal importance, save the most important one for the end of the sentence so that your reader remembers it best. If we rewrite the example above so that the two ideas are flipped, the wrong point gets emphasized: When a six-foot snake slithered across the side walk, Rhonda gasped. A reader is less concerned with Rhonda's reaction than the presence of a giant snake on the sidewalk!

The Appositive

Recognize an appositive when you see one. An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it. The appositive can be a short or long combination of words. Look at these examples: The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table. The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.

The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling across the kitchen table. The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied my bowl of oatmeal, is crawling across the kitchen table. Here are more examples: During the dinner conversation, Clifford, the messiest eater at the table, spewed mashed potatoes like an erupting volcano. My 286 computer, a modern-day dinosaur, chews floppy disks as noisily as my brother does peanut brittle. Genette's bedroom desk, the biggest disaster area in the house, is a collection of overdue library books, dirty plates, computer components, old mail, cat hair, and empty potato chip bags. Reliable, Diane's eleven-year-old beagle, chews holes in the living room carpeting as if he were still a puppy.

Punctuate the appositive correctly. The important point to remember is that a nonessential appositive is always separated from the rest of the sentence with comma(s). When the appositive begins the sentence, it looks like this: A hot-tempered tennis player, Robbie charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket. When the appositive interrupts the sentence, it looks like this: Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player, charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket. And when the appositive ends the sentence, it looks like this:

Upset by the bad call, the crowd cheered Robbie, a hot-tempered tennis player who charged the umpire and tried to crack the poor man's skull with a racket.

Adj+Adj+noun format and Adv+Adj+noun with examples Wrong:James Joyce is Max's SUPPOSEDLY Irish ancestor. Right:James Joyce is Max's SUPPOSED Irish ancestor. and Wrong:Max's grandmother is his SUPPOSED Irish ancestor. Right:Max's grandmother is his SUPPOSEDLY Irish ancestor. Can some one explain clearly when 2 use the adverb and when to use the adjective? it's a meaning issue -- "supposed(ly)" has to modify whatever is actually in doubt.

in the first group of sentences, the issue is whether james joyce is actually max's ancestor at all. (james joyce was definitely irish; that's not an issue.) therefore, you want "supposed ... ancestor".

in the second group of sentences, the issue is whether max's grandmother is irish. (she is his grandmother, so she is clearly his ancestor.) therefore, you want "supposedly irish".

The difference as I see between "until" and "as long as" can be put in the two examples John sleeps as long as it is dark. Think - For the whole duration when it is dark, John sleeps. ( No change/stopping of action ) John sleeps until sunrise. Think - The moment sunrise occurs, John stops sleeping. ( Change/stopping of action ) Explaining the examples that you shared. The sale will continue until 9 pm. Think - Moment 9 P.M. and the sale stops. The sale will continue as long as the supply lasts Think - For the whole duration supply lasts, sale continues. The sale will continue until customers stop coming in. Think - Moment Customers stop coming in, sale stops.

A definition that I just made up - What follows "until" is the cause that changes the inertia of

the action being performed before until.

each style of cooking (singular) is a product of... blah blah blah. this construction equates the two, so it makes sense.

here are two other examples (both correct): the gallery featured only four paintings, all art-deco pieces on canvas. the gallery featured only four paintings, each a definitive masterwork of its creator.

One of the differences is that "as a result of" is preceded by phrase/clause and "resulting from" is preceded by noun or noun phrase.