259

(LET US
PUNCTUATION
HAVEACLARITY THE
MATTERS
ON
TO SCORE MORE IN MINUTE ASPECTS OF
HYPHENS?
LISTENING & WRITING)PUNCTUATION
We use hyphens for one-thought adjectives.
Donot use ahyphen in acompound using a
Examples: abetter builtthouse, a more likelycomparative or superlative adjective.
Donot use ahyphen in chemical terms. outcome, the best laid plans.
If prefixed by ex-, self, or al, hyphenateExample: calcium carbidesolution
those words
Examples:: ex-wife, self-evident;
When we refer to a
all-inclusive, cross-reference.
seven-year-old grl, we need a hyphen, as it isa one-thought
bunhens are used when it is written
differently. "The girl is twelve years old." But,adjectives.
No
typical twelve-year-old." "She is a

CAPITAL LETTERS?
1. The first word of every
sentence. e.g. Times have changed.
2. Proper nouns: the White
House, General Motors Corporation,Chennai,
the Himalayas, New York
3. Names of celestial bodies: the
Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn, the Milky Way.
4. Historical events: World War I, the
Renaissance, the Crusades.
5.the British, French, God, Christ, Allah,
Gandhi, Buddha, Hinduism, Brand names:
(Ford, Toyota,Nokia), Professor Mathew, Mayor Peter, the
6.Words related to the Intermet: the
Chief Secretary.
Internet, Web and associated words such as World Wide Web,
Web page, Web site etc.

COMMAS AND SEMI-COLONS?

If there is a short pause, you probably need acomma. If it's alonger pause, but
not quite a
full stop. you probably need asemi-colon. Note that whatever follows asemi-colon must be
able to stand on its own, as a full clause.
e.g.Semicolon: 1. Mr.Sachin plays chess; he is the local chess champion. 2. Mr
Swaminathan Pillai is good at English; he has written many books as well.
Comma: He could visit the UAE, the UK and the USA. After certain words, you
must have acomma. e.g. moreover, therefore, as such, to my mind, however, anyhow,
nywhere, toconclude, on the other hand, nevertheless, besides, ironically, paradoxically
 SHORT SENTENCES TO DESCRIBE
TEST
PAST EVENTS IN THE SPEAKING
(An easy way to enhance your fluency. These sentences are not linked to one another,
The more you read these sentences, the less mistakes you make in tense sequence.)

my childhood
day for me.. I did nursing because it was
Itto was a sunny day. It was a great
become a nurse. It's been long since I met him. We had a great time. The ambience at the ambition
restaurant was great. Then I was a kid. It was only a matter of time. I did my schooling in a

English Medium
five years.
School. Idid my college studies in Kottayam He had been working in the Gulfs
Those days are gone. I did not get agood score last time. I wish I could meet him again.
The more we worked, the more we eare3
He was not that educated. I got maried only recently.

was gorgeous. He ue.

She was not that rich. All of a sudden the policemen came in. Her dress
well-dressed. We allgot shocked. Ididn't feel well. But I didn't say anything at all. It was sucha
mess. My home is rather a small one. The first day at my school was great. Nobody knew each
other. We all stared at one another. We all got introduced one another. We were excited to see our teacher
When she came in, we all stood up. She made us laugh. I have never seen such a teacher in my life He
knewhow to take an audience in his hands. Then women were looked down upon. We couldnot
convince them. I rang up my uncle. He is a gem of a person. We had a great laugh. But nobody has
turned up. Somehow we could solve that problem. A number of people gathered there.

Everything went wellin the end.It was hard to believe. I had to tolerate my friend for quite some
time. Icould not afford a car at that time. Ihave seen it myself. He did it himself. Ihad to do it
myself. Then the train came to a halt. Then Iheard that he died ten years later. Itold him that I
would meet him later. Iwatched my children play. We could not see anybody in the dark.The
ambience of the hotel was great. Theyserved us food with a smile. We discussed the matter in
detail. It was a great concern for us. Since then, we have never met each other. By the grace of
God, they could solve that problem. Somehow the plan worked well. I was seeing him for the first
time. Then the resultcame out. It was a great joy for us. We allwere delighted. He called me in.

lcouldnot believe myself. Alday long Iwas thinking about it. It was agreat experience. Now and
then I used to go there. He is such a motivator that I could set a goal in my life. And nowI could
achieve it. Each of us had to pay for it. It was a good idea.The following day we approached
principal. It was she who helped me. My feet got hurt. We stood there doing nothing. Only alitle
food was left for us. I knew why. We could not do that. Three years ago there was nothlng
showed us around. We formed aqueue. The air was warm. We needed more information. Ipointe
in
it out to her. It turned lout well. Right now Iam unemployed. I have never seen such anincident
lines.
mylife. Everybody turned a deaf yearto me.Istayed a while there. Icould read between the
It was a long way. It seemed alright to me. We had a thought of going I missed him a lot.