Unit – 2

Elements of Written Communication

2.1.        Words and Phrases

Words

Words are the second smallest unit used during the construction of a sentence after the alphabets. They are the building blocks of any grammatical construction. Words are different combinations and sounds but unlike alphabets, each word carries meaning in itself.

Each word consists of two parts – the alphabet (A-Z) and the syllable. A syllable can be defined as a single or unbroken sound of a written or spoken word. It is a unit of uninterrupted speech which must contain a vowel sound a diphthong or a syllabic consonant. They are also known as beats of a spoken language.

Syllables often contain a vowel with a singular or multiple consonant but that does not mean that there are no syllables without vowels. Some syllables contain only consonants but they do have a verbal sound in them.

A word can be monosyllabic as well as polysyllabic. Monosyllabic meaning it will consist only one syllable for example the words dog, bat, try, shy, kill, heel etc. While polysyllabic words might contain two or more than two syllables, for example, computer (comp-u-ter), relax (re-lax), independent (in-de-pen-dent), extra (ex-tra), document (do-cu-ment).

Syllabus are not to be confused with phonemes as phonemes represent the smallest unit of sound whereas syllables represent and unbroken sound within the word. For example the word chat is made up of three phonemes /ch/ /a/ and /t/, however it contains only one syllable – chat.

There are a few basic rules to determine the number of syllables in a word, they are as follows –

1. Prefixes and suffixes must always be separated from root words.

Examples: Pre-view, End-less, Il-literate

2.      If there are two or more consonants next to each other there is always a division between the first and second consonant.

Examples: Buf-fet, Des-sert, Ob-ject.

However if the two consonants produce a single sound they are not to be divided.

Examples: th, sh, ph, ch, sc.

3.      If a consonant is surrounded on either sides buy a vowel –

1. If the volume has a long sound it has to be divided before the consonant.

Examples: Ba-by. Re-sult, Fro-zen

b.     If the Vowel has a short sound, it has to be divided after the consonant.

Examples: Mo-del, Ra-vage, Me-tal

4.      Words that end with ‘ckle’ have to be divided right before the ‘le’

Examples: Freck-le, Tick-le, Buck-le

5.      Word that end with ‘le’ without the ‘ck’ –

1. If the letter before ‘le’ is a consonant it has to be divided one letter before ‘le’.

Examples: Ap-ple, Fa-ble, Ta-ble

b.     If the letter before ‘le’ is a vowel, it should be considered as a single syllable.

Understanding the use of syllables is very essential to improve one’s skill while speaking. Syllabic structure in spoken English is quite flexible, for example a single vowel can be considered a whole syllabus like in the word Unequal (Un-e-qual).

Strong and Weak forms of Words:

Depending on the stress placed on word while a sentence is being spoken the words can be divided into two types’ strong forms and weak forms.

Grammatical words such as prepositions conjunctions auxiliary verbs and adverbs do not contain any meaning and themselves but are essential for the construction of a sentence. Sometimes while speaking very little or no stress is placed in these words and therefore their effect is weakened. The weakened form of these words is known as weak form. On the other hand some words in a sentence are pronounced with great stress to emphasize them. The emphasized form of these words is known as Strong form.

Strong form only occurs when the words are pronounced separately or they are emphasized on purpose.

Strong forms usually include content words such as nouns and independent verbs whereas weak forms usually include structure words such as verbs, adverbs and adjectives, conjunctions, prepositions, auxiliary verbs.

It is essential to learn the proper usage of strong and weak forms of words in order to hone one’s skill during speaking.

1. Amar can play the piano.

Here the word ‘can’ is unstressed and therefore is in its weak form. Whereas the words Amar, play, the and piano are strong forms.

2.     Martha is from California.

Here the words ‘is’ and ‘from’ are unstressed and are in weak forms.

Whereas the words, ‘Martha’ and ‘California’ are strong forms of the two nouns.

A lot of function words in the English language can have both strong and weak forms.

• Auxiliary verbs such as - am, are, be, been, can, could, do, does, has, had, shall, should, was, were, would,
• Prepositions - at, for, from, of, to,
• Pronouns - he, her, him, his, me, she, them, us, we, you,
• Conjunctions - for, and, but, or, than, that,
• Particles - to,
• Articles - a, the, an.

Parts of Speech

Depending upon the way they are used in a sentence, words can function in different ways when used in a sentence. All words can be classified into eight fundamental parts that are required to construct a complete sentence: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. These parts of speech determine how a word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence.

The use of the words defines their place and meaning in a sentence.

1. Noun

Nouns, also called naming words, refer to any person, place, animal, thing or idea. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. There are two types of nouns:

1. Proper noun- These nouns start with capital letters and refer to the name of a particular place or thing. Ex – Barack  Obama, Himalaya mountains.
2. Common noun- These nouns start with lower case letter and refer to the names of general places or things. Ex – man, teacher, letter

2.     Pronoun

A pronoun is a word used in place of the noun.

A pronoun which substituted in place of a specific noun is called an antecedent. Pronouns can be further defined by  their various types: personal pronouns describe specific persons or things; possessive pronouns imply ownership; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.

Ex - Me, she, her, mine, theirs.

3.     Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes the quality or quantity possessed by a noun. It answers the questions like which one, what kind or how many. It is a word used to modify or describe the noun or a pronoun.

Ex - Young boy, Pretty girl, Huge elephant, One thousand sea shells.

4.     Adverb

An adverb is a word that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. When, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree are the types of questions that are answered by an adverb. Adverbs often end in -ly.

Ex- Very long letter, quickly disappear out of sight.

5.     Preposition

Prepositions are words placed before a noun or a pronoun in order to modify the meaning of other words in a sentence. The prepositional phrase almost functions as an adjective or an adverb.

Ex- The boy received a number of sweets from the teacher.

6.     Verb

A verb is a word that expresses the state of being or work being done by the subject. There are main verbs and there are also helping verbs known as auxiliary verbs. Verbs can also be used to express tense.

Ex – She vanished in the darkness.

7.     Conjunction

A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases or clauses and establishes a relationship between them. And, but, or, nor, for, so, yet are some examples of conjunctions.  

8.     Interjection

An interjection is a word which is used to express emotion. They are usually followed by exclamation points.

Ex. Oh dear! Wow! Oh my God!

Phrases

Phrases are combinations of two or more words that form the component of a clause. They are meaningful grammatical constructions that expresses a concept and can be used within a sentence.

There are 5 basic types of phrases in the English language:

1. Noun Phrase:

A noun phrase is a type of phrase which consists of one noun and/or a group of words surrounding that noun. These nouns can be proper nouns, common nouns, abstract nouns etc.

Examples: There is a red box on the table.

I saw two lost puppies on the street yesterday.

He bought a new sports car on his birthday.

2.     Verb Phrase:

A verb phrase is a type of phrase which consists of a root verb and its auxiliaries. It is also known as a ‘verb group’.

Examples: They have been working since last night.

I have been waiting for the rain to stop for nearly an hour.

Jack lost the keys to his apartment when he was jogging.

3.     Adjective Phrase:

Adjective phrases are phrases constructed around a single adjective. It may be a single adjective or a group of words surrounding that adjective.

Examples: The film was very boring, wasn’t it?

I ate a very big meal for lunch.

The blue umbrella stood out in a crowd of all red umbrellas.

4.     Adverb phrase:

Adverb phrases consist of a single adverb and a group of supporting words surrounding that adverb.

Examples: They finished the task as fast as possible.

Please do it now, otherwise you’ll regret later.

He spoke very softly in front of his parents.

5.     Prepositional phrase:

A prepositional phrase is a type of phrase which consists of a preposition which is followed by its object which is usually a noun phrase.

Examples: They kept quarreling over money of all things.

The coin was stuck inside a large black futon.

You shouldn’t go swimming after having a large meal.

Word Pairs

Word pairs are phrases which, if used in proper context give a different meaning than when they are used separately. In other words, they are a coupling of words that go very well together.

Word pairs may also include collocations. Collocations are two or more words that are often used collectively. They sound natural to the native ear.

These word pairs are often non-reversible, meaning the sequence of the words in a word pair cannot be interchanged.

Below are some examples of the most commonly used word pairs in the English language:

Following examples describe how collocations are used in sentences:

1. Are you fully aware of the consequences you’re about to face?
2. He fell on the ground in excruciating pain.
3. The bomb went off when he started the car engine.
4. The prisoner was hanged for committing homicide.
5. After her eyes were filled with horror, suddenly she burst into tears.

Question Tags

Question tags are phrases which convert regular imperative or declarative sentences into questions. In other words, question tags are phrases used at the end of sentences to turn them into questions. They may be used to confirm information that has already been conveyed through a sentence or to ask follow up questions at the end of a sentence.

For example, consider a statement “Your name is Jacob.” now if the words “isn't it?” are added at the end of the statement the statement turns into a question where the Identity of Jacob is being confirmed. And therefore, the statement becomes a question, “Your name is Jacob, isn't it?” Question tags replace a period at end of a sentence with a comma and end the same sentence with a question mark.

Below are some examples question tags 

1. You crashed my car yesterday, didn't you?
2. Jake is Brave kid, isn’t he? 
3. I don't need to finish this project today, do I?

There are a few rules for determining question tags for different kinds of sentences; some of them are listed below:

1. The Sentence and the question tag must always be in the same tense.
2. If the sentence is negative the question tag must be negative and vice-versa.
3. Question tags must never contain proper noun, they should always contain the pronoun.
4. Sentences with negative meaning will have a positive question tag.
5. The question tag ‘won’t you’ is used with imperative sentences.
6. Question tags are always made in accordance with the main parts of the sentence.
7. Each, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, none are singular and hence but their question tag will take forms of plural verbs and plural nouns.

2.2.        Word Formation

English vocabulary has been enriched from time to time from other languages. New words are either borrowed or coined. Roughly 70% of the words in English are borrowed or coined. T.C. Baruah says "A word says "A word is the smallest meaningful unit of sound. ” Every language has its own distinct patterns of combining morphemes to get larger units.

A form to which a rule of word-formation applied is called a base. Once a base has undergone a rule of word-formation the derived word itself may become the base for another, deviation and by re-application. It is possible to derive words of considerable morphological and semantic complexity. There are three major processes by which the base is modified. They are:

1. Affixation
2. Conversion
3. Compounding

There are some other minor devices also called reduplication, clipping blending and acronym.

1. AFFIXATION:
   Change is the forte of any living language. Affixes are those used to form new words. These affixes are added either before or after the base form. It is of two types. Prefixation and suffixation.

      Prefixes:
The fixes that are added before the base form are called prefixes.Aprefix is a syllable or syllables placed at the beginning of a word toqualify its meaning and form a new word. It has its origin from Greek, Latin and Native English.

The prefixes are classified as follows:

• Negative Prefixes
• Reservative Prefixes
• Pejorative Prefixes
• Prefixes of Degree or size
• Prefixes of Attitude
• Locative Prefixes
• Prefixes of time and order
• Number Prefixes
• Other prefixes
• Conversion prefixes.
• Negative Prefixes:
  a) The negative prefix'- 'in' is used-with words of Latin origin –‘Un’ is found in English Unfortunate, injustice.

b) The exact opposite meaning is brought by the prefix – dislike, disloyal.

c) Latin and French non-meaning not is used Non-violence, non-committal.

d) A-means lacking, a moral, asymmetry.

• Reverstive Prefixes:
  a) Un - means to 'reverse action.Added to verbs (Reverse of Action) untie, unseat, unload.

b) de - means to reverse action added to abstract noun defrost, deforestation.

c) dis - to deprive of' is added to verbs, participles and nouns.Disconnect,discoloured, discontent.

• Pejorative Prefixes:
  Depreciatory means diminish in value.

a) mis– wrongly
misinform, misconduct, misleading

b) mal - means 'badly
mal treat, mal function, mal formed, malodorous

c) Pseudo means false
Pseudopodia, pseudo-intellectual

• Prefixes of Degree or size:
  a) Arch - highest, chief
  Archbishop

b) Super - means above, more than, better
superman, super market, supernatural

c) Out - means to do something, faster, longer
Out run, out live

d) Sur - means over and above
surtax

e) Sub - means lower than, less than
sub human, sub standard, subordinate

f) Over -too much
over real, over dressed, over confident

g) under - means too little
undertook

h) Ultra - means extremely
ultraviolet, ultra modern

i) Mini - means small or little
miniskirt

• Prefixes of Attitude:
  a) co - with or joint
  co-operative, co pilot

b) Counter - means in opposition to
countuant, counter-revolution

c) Anti means against
Antisocial, anticlockwise, antimissile.

d) Pro- means of the side of
Pro-communist

• Locative Prefixes:
  Super –Over - super structure

Sub -means beneath - subway subconscious

Inter means between - international interaction

Trans - means across - transplant, translation

• Prefixes of time and order :
  Fore  - -means before - fore tell

Post - means after - post-war Ex-means former

Pre  - means before - pre-war, pre planned

Ex – means former - ex-minister

Re - means again - rebuild, resettlement, rewrite

• Number Prefixes :
  Uni, mono means one - unilateral, monotheism

Bi, di means two - bi lingual, dipole

Tri means three - tripartite

Poly, multi means many - multi racial, poly syllabic

• Other Prefixes:
  Semi means half - Semi circle

Vice means deputy - Vice president

Auto means self - Auto biography

Neo means new - neo-gothic

Pan means world wide - Pan-American

Proto means first - prototype.

• Conversion Prefixes:
  Be, en and a

Be spectated (Participle adjective)

Bewitch (transitive verb)

Enslave (verb) afloat (adjective)

      Suffixes:
The affixes that are added after the base-form are called suffixes. A suffix is a syllable or syllables placed at the end of a word which qualify its meaning and form a new word. Derivational suffixes are used to derive new words from the base form. Inflectional suffixes merely modify a word as in the book - books etc.

a) Occupational suffixes:
Ster - person engaged in - gangster

EER - an occupation - engineer

ER - in habitat - Londoner.

b) Diminutive or Feminine:
Let means small - booklet, piglet

ETTE means small - Kitchenette

Compact - Statuette

Imitation- Flannelette

Female - Usherette

Ess means female - Waitress, hostess, etc

y, - iemeans daddy, auntie

c) Status, Domain:
HOOD means status - boyhood, childhood

SHIP means status- friendship

DOM means domain - kingdom, stardom

OCR means system of Government - democracy

EYR means behaviour Abode – slavery,

Abode - nunnery

Collectivity - machinery

d) Other suffixes:
i) Noun/Adjective:
ITE means faction - Israelite, socialite

(i) AN means pertaining to-Indonesian, republican

ESE means nationality - Chinese

IST means occupation-Violinist, Organist

ISM means attitude - idealism Political movement-communism

D) Noun Suffixes:
ER, OR means instrumental -  driver, actor

ANT means agentive- inhabitant

EE means passive - employee

ATION means institution - organization

MENT means action - amazement

AL means action – refusal

ING means activity– driving

AGE means result of activity - drainage

NESS means quality - happiness

ITY means quality – sanity

Iii) Verb Suffixes:
IFY means causative - simplify

IZE means causative- popularize

EN means become X - deaten

Iv) Adjective suffixes:
FUL - ful means having - useful

LESS - means without - childless

LY means quality- cowardly

LIKE means quality – childlike

Y means covered with- hairy

ISH means belonging to - Turkish

IAN means in tradition - Darwinian

ABLE means 'worthy to - readable

Ed means having - balconied

V) Adverb suffixes:
LY means in a…….. Manner, aimlessly, lovingly

CE once, twice, thrice - ST amidst, amongst.

LONG - headlong, sidelong

THER -hither, thither, whither

WARDS- backward, upward, (means direction)

WISE - in the manner of,lengthwise, weathersie

      CONVERSION:
Conversion is the derivational process whereby an item changes its word class without the addition of either a prefix or suffix. In this process the same word is made to serve different grammatical functions. According to zandvoort, many English words belong to more than one part of speech Ex: hope, love, work may be nouns as well as verbs. In addition to this,there is a deliberate transfer of a word from one part of speech to another. He calls it a conversion.

i) Verb - Noun conversion:
a) State - State of mind/sensation/doubt, love etc.

Ii) Adjective - Noun conversion:
He seemed average (adjective)

The average was eighty (noun)

Iii) Noun - Verb conversion:

a)     To put in/on noun bottle (to put into a bottle) corner, floor.

b)    To give or to provide with somethingcoat - to give a coat of paint- mask.

Iv) Adjective Verb conversion:
They were very humble (adjective)

They humbled him (Verb)

v) Adjective - Adverb Conversion:
The poem reads well (adjective)

He reads the poem well (adverb)

Vi) Stress shift:
con ‘duct (n) – ‘conduct (n)

Pro’duce (v) – ‘produce (n)

      COMPOUNDS:
English has a genius pattern for the formation of very expressing compound words. A compound word is a unit that consists of two or more words. There are no formal criteria that can be used for a general definition of compounds.

Orthographically they are written as one word (bedroom) sometimes u are hyphenated (tax-free) and sometimes as two words without a hyphen (reading room) compounds may be classified on the basis of their syntax.

A. Noun compounds:
i)Subject and verb compounds:
The sun rises: Sunrise
The day breaks Day break
The girl dances: Dancing girl.

Ii) Verb and object compounds:
x calls the girl : call girl
x chews gum : chewing gum
x pays taxes: Tax payer
xsee sights: sight seeing

Iii) Verb and Adverbial compounds:
x swims in the pool : swimming pool
x sits with the baby;  baby sitter
xwork at home : Home work

Iv) Noun + Noun (Verb compound)
Wind mill, Toy factory, Blood stain, Oak tree, girl-friend, motor cycle,Ashtray

v) Other noun & noun
It names an entire thing by specifying some features.
Paper back - the book has a paper back
- blockhead - pot-belly, blue bell, bird brain, high brow, loudmouth
- pale face, fat head, etc.

B. Adjective compounds:
a) Verb+Object compounds
Man - Eating - x eats man
- heart breaking
- self defeating
- breath taking

b) Verb+Adverb compounds:
x  goes across oceans : Ocean going
x feel it in the heart :Heart felt
x  works hard : Hard working

      Reduplicative :
Reduplicatives are compounds which have two or more elements either identical or only slightly different.
eg: goody-goody (affectedly good)

The difference between the two elements may be in the initial consonants as in walkie-talkie or in the medial vowels egcriss-cross Most of the reduplicatives are highly informal or familiar.

a)to imitate sounds :
tick-tack, bow-vow, ding-dong, ping-pong, flip-flap

b) to suggest alternative movements
see -saw

c) to identify
tip-top

d) to disparage by suggesting instability, nonsense, insincerity, vacillation,etc.
e.g:

• Humpty – dumpty
• Hurry – burry
• Hanky-panky                                                        
• Higgledy–piggledy
• Pell–mell
• Wishy - washy
• Zig – zag

      CLIPPING:
It is formed by the people who are fond of brevity The term clipping enotes the subtraction of one or more syllable from a word. This is used in informed style.

The shortening may occur at

a)   The beginning of the word:
Telephone – phone
Omnibus - bus
aeroplane– plane

b)  The end of the word :
Mike – Microphone
exam - examination
Movies - Moving pictures
add – advertisement
Photo – Photograph

c)   At both ends of the word:
flu –influenza

      BLENDS:
In a blend atleast one of the elements is fragmentary; words are coined by combining parts of words. Many blends have only a short life and are very informal.

e.g.
Motel from Motor + Hotel

Smog from smoke + Fog

Transistor from Transfer + Registor

Brunch from breakfast + lunch

Electrocute from Electro + Execute

Telecast from Television + Broadcast

      ACRONYMS:
Acronyms are words formed from the initial letters of words. They are abbreviations of words. They are pronounced as a succession of Letters (alphabetisms) as in BBC, TV etc or as words in NATO, SEATO,etc.

a)Alphabetisms:
C.O.D - Cash on delivery
U.N - United Nations
G.H.Q - General head quarters

b) Words:
UNESCO - United Nations educational scientific and cultural organization
RADAR - Radio Detection and Ranging.

By the process of word formation, the original roots have acquired a variety of meaning.

2.3        Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms:

Synonyms are words that carry a similar or same meaning to another word. Sometimes even though the synonym of a word has an identical meaning the word and the synonym may not be interchangeable. For example, "blow up" and "explode" have the same meaning, but "blow up" is informal (used more in speech) and "explode" is more formal (used more in writing and careful speech). Synonyms also provide variety to speech and writing.

Many words in the English language contain more than one synonym. Some examples of Synonyms:

Shallow - superficial

Stop – cease

Spontaneous - capricious

Gloomy – sad - unhappy

House - home - abode

Evil - bad - wicked

Garbage - trash - junk - waste 

Present – gift – reward – award

Sniff – smell – inhale

Little – small – tiny

Under – below – beneath

• Belly / stomach
• Children / kids
• Disaster / catastrophe
• Earth / soil
• Father / dad
• Happiness / joy
• Instinct / intuition/ understanding
• Mother / mom
• Present / gift
• Sunrise / dawn

• Answer / reply
• Beat / defeat
• Behave / act
• Begin / start
• Close / shut/ turn on/turn off
• Leave / exit
• Provide / supply/ distribution
• Select / choose
• Shout / yell
• Speak / talk

• Big / large
• Complete / total/number
• Correct / right
• Crazy / mad
• Foolish / silly /fool/ stupid
• Happy / glad
• Hard / difficult
• Ill / sick
• Last / final
• Near / close
• Sad / unhappy
• Stable / steady/ strong

• Abroad / overseas
• Almost / nearly/ about / approx
• Bad / poorly
• Fast / quickly
• Intentionally /  purposefully
• Out / outside
• Rarely / seldom/ not common
• Sometimes / occasionally/ periodically
• Surely / for sure/ definetly
• Very / highly / extremely/too much

• Above / over/ more
• About / regarding / concerning
• Against / versus
• Below / beneath / under
• By / via
• Despite / in spite of
• In / into/ to
• Off / away
• Until / till
• With / including

• And / plus
• Because / since
• But / yet/for now
• If / provided
• Once / as soon as possible/ and

• Hello / hi
• Gee / gosh
• Goodness / goodness me / my goodness
• No / nope
• Oh Lord / oh good Lord
• Thanks / thank you
• Whoopee / yahoo / hooray
• Yes / yeah

• Here is a common example:
  the following words are single-word words. Their standard definition is "fun to watch."
  There are significant nuances.
  Look at the pictures, read the definitions and see for yourself.

• Here is another example to illustrate this point:
  "To ask" means to say or write what you wish to happen.
  "Asking" means saying or writing what you wish to do, but it is legally used.
  In other words, he uses "inquiry" and "request" in various contexts and contexts.
  So it is not enough to just read the meanings of words and punctuation. You should also know the subtle differences, nuances, and issues of using each word.

• Additional example:
  One of the definitions of the word "hurt" is "to be hurt."
  For example, "My back hurt like hell."
  The only word for "injury" is "brightness."

"Bright" means "sad, in a sad way." Acute pain means that it is not severe, but it is persistent.
For example, "For a long time I stood with my feet in pain."
So you see, "injury" and "ache" are synonyms. Their meanings are quite similar, but not the same.

Antonyms:

Antonyms are words that carry the opposite meaning to another word. They can be used to show contrast between two things or emphasize a point. Antonyms can be totally different words from their counterparts or can also be formed by adding prefixes to some words.

Below are some examples of antonyms that are commonly used in the English language:

Antonyms formed by changing entire words

Love – hate

Beginning – ending

Ugly – beautiful

Wild – tame

Extrovert – introvert

Antonyms formed by adding prefix –un

Acceptable - unacceptable

Able - unable

Do - undo

Certain – uncertain

Seen – Unseen

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –in

Decent – indecent

Tolerant – intolerant

Human – inhuman

Curable – incurable

Expressible – inexpressible

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –non

Sense – nonsense

Essential – nonessential

Flammable – non-flammable

Renewable – non-renewable

Entity – nonentity

Other prefixes used to form antonyms of words are –anti (Thesis - Antithesis), -ill (Literate – Illiterate), -mis (Informed – Misinformed), -dis (Assemble – Disassemble) etc.

      Short list of antonyms in English, listed by the part of speech:

Nouns

• Day / night
• East / west
• The enemy / friend
• Failure / success  
• Guest / host
• Health / disease
• Question / answer
• Speaker / listener
• Summer / winter
• Top / bottom/ up / down

Verbs

• Agree / disagree/accept
• Arrive / leave/ come / go
• Begin / end/ start
• Fall asleep / wakefulness/sleep
• Find / lose/ gain
• Lend / borrowing
• Love / hate
• Open / close/turn on /turn off
• Remember / forget
• Start / stop

Adjectives

• Is asleep / awake
• Beautiful / ugly /good/ bad
• Big / small
• Black / white
• Cheap / expensive
• Dead / alive
• It is dry / wet
• Easy / difficult
• Full / empty
• Good / bad
• Hot / cold
• Intelligent / stupid/you are smart
• Sad / happy/ exciting
• Sick / living healthy
• Thin / fat

Adverbs

• Always / never
• With anger / happily/ excitement
• Fast / slowly
• Here / there
• Inside / outside/ indoors/ outdoors
• Likely / unlikely/possible/ impossible
• Near / far
• Partly / fully
• Seemingly / actually/ visually
• Yesterday / tomorrow

Prepositions

• Above / below
• Against / for / because
• Before / after
• In / out/ indoors/ outdoors
• Like / unlike/ love / contrast
• On / off
• Plus / minus
• To / from
• Towards / away/remote
• With / without

Conjunctions

• And / or
• Therefore / nevertheless /or so

Interjections

• Bravo / boo

• Hello / goodbye
• Holy cow / duh
• Phew / oops
• Thanks / no thanks
• Yes / no
• Yippee / oh my/ oh

2.4        Homophones

Homophones can be defined as pairs of words which sound alike but have different meanings and different spellings. Homophones can be frequently found in the English language and although they might sound similar but their meanings can be completely different or even opposite.

Below are some examples of homophones:

Sell/cell: The former means to deliver something for money while the latter means a small compartment.

Hear/here: The former means to listen to something or someone will the latter describes a place.

Cent/Scent: The former is a unit of currency while the latter is smell.

Hour/our: The former is a unit of time while the latter is a possessive adverb.

See/Sea: The former means to watch while the latter implies a large water body

Below are some commonly used homophones in the English language:

Air    /      heir

Aisle    /       isle

Ante-    /       anti-

Eye    /       I

Bare    /       bear

Be    /       bee

Brake    /       break

Buy    /       by

Cereal    /       serial

Coarse   / course

Dam    /        damn

Dear     /        deer

Die  /         dye

Fair  /        fare

Fir /       fur

Flour /    flower

For /     four

Hair /      hare

Heal /     heel

Hear /     here

Him /    hymn

Hole /    whole

Hour /    our

Idle /    idol

In /    inn

Knight    /   night

Knot /     not

Know /     no

Made /    maid

Mail /    male

Meat /    meet

Morning   /   mourning

None     /  nun

Oar /    or

One /    won

Pair /   pear

Peace    /   piece

Plain /   plane

Poor /   pour

Pray /    prey

Principal    /     principle

Profit /    prophet

Real /     reel

Right /    write

Root /    route

Sail /    sale

Sea /     see

Seam /    seem

Sight /    site

Sew /     so

Shore /   sure

Sole /    soul

Some /   sum

Son /   sun

Stair /    stare

Stationary    /    stationery

Steal /    steel

Suite /    sweet

Tail    /    tale

Their /    there

To    /   too

Toe    /    tow

Waist    /    waste

Wait    /    weight

Way    /    weigh

Weak    /    week

Wear     /    where

2.5        One Word Substitution

Substitutions are useful to simplify sentences.  Some phrases can easily be replaced by a single word containing the same meaning, thereby reducing the size of the structure of the sentence and simplifying it. They form an essential part of the vocabulary.

Some examples of one word substitutes are listed below:

1. To fall apart over time - Disintegrate

2.     A copy of something that is identical - Facsimile

3.     A smart and educated individual - Intellectual

4.     Someone who is driven by passion to do crazy things - Zealot

5.     Things to be done throughout the day - Schedule

6.     To leave somewhere that is treacherous - Escape

7.     A person who pushes an idea or belief system they do not believe – Hypocrite

8.     Someone who sees everything negatively – Cynic

9.     Something that is not understandable – Incomprehensible

10.  A movie or play held during the daytime – Matinee

11.   Time-frame between kids hitting puberty and being an adult –       Adolescence

12.   A person that is unknown – Anonymous

13.   Someone that you work with – Colleague

List of One Word Substitutions – 1

Words for various fields of study:

Mapping of earth and its formation - Geography

Art related to ornate, good handwriting - Calligraphy

Scientific study of bodily diseases - Pathology

Study of birds - Ornithology

Study of celestial bodies - Astronomy

Study of collection of coins, tokens, paper money etc. - Numismatics

Study of earth and rocks - Geology

Study of election trends - Psephology

Study of flying aero planes - Aviation

Study of handwriting - Graphology

Study of hereditary, genes and variation in living organisms - Genetics

Study of human development - Anthropology

Study of languages     - Philology

Study of living things - Biology

Study of religion - Theology

Study of science of insects - Entomology

Study of sound and sound waves         - Acoustics

Study of the law of the flow of water and other liquids - Hydraulics

Study of the relation between the organism and their environment - Ecology

Study of various aspects of aging - Gerontology

The science of time order         - Chronology

Study of religion - Theology

The science of human development - Anthropology

List of One Word Substitutions – 2

Words used for professional individuals and words used for habits:

One with unlimited power    - Autocrat

One who walks on ropes - Funambulist

An expert in writing by hand - Chirographer

The doctor who attends to child delivery - Obstetrician

The doctor who attends to corns in the feet and hands - Chiropodist

The doctor who deals with the female reproductive system       - Gynaecologist

The doctor who specializes in root canal and nerve treatment - Endodontist

The doctor who straightens teeth - Orthodontist

The doctor who treats bone problems      - Orthopedician

The doctor who treats eye diseases - Ophthalmologist

The doctor who treats gums - Peridontist

The doctor who treats heart problems    - Cardiologist

The doctor who treats skin diseases - Dermatologist

One who is all powerful - Omnipotent

One who is all knowing - Omniscient

One who is present all over - Omnipresent

One who can throw his voice - Ventriloquist

One who talks while sleeping - Somniloquist

One who walks in sleep - Somnambulist

One who walks at night - Noctambulist

One who turns his thoughts inwards - Introvert

One who turns his thoughts outwards - Extrovert

One who is both inwards and outwards at times - Ambivert

One who demands strict conformity to rules - Martinet

One who believes in ruthless self-aggrandizement - Egoist

One who doesn't consume alcohol - Teetotaler

One who exhibits courage or fearlessness - Intrepid

One who easily believes others - Credulous

One who knows a lot about good food and wine - Connoisseur

One who is beyond reform - Incorrigible

Well known for bad qualities - Notorious

A shrewish loud-mouthed female - Virago

One who is extravagantly romantic, chivalrous and impractical - Quixotic

List of One Word Substitutions – 3

Words related to certain actions, time and direction:

A backward look or a view into the past - Retrospect

Examine one's motives or look inwards      - Introspect

To examine carefully - Inspect

Careful, cautious watch on surroundings - Circumspect

To walk aimlessly - Amble

When two things befall together    - Coincident

A thing occurring again and again for a long time - Chronic

Someone or something out of time - Anachronism

To send out of one's native country - Expatriate

A highly accurate timepiece - Chronometer

Make to happen at the same time - Synchronize

Capable of moving in all directions - Omnidirectional

2.6        Sentence Construction

Any sentence in the English language comprises of three main elements viz. The subject, the verb and the object.

Subject:

A person, animal, place, thing, or idea that does an action. Decide the subject in a sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”

• He ran fast.
• I was late to work.
• The paper does not identify which type of format it must be in. 

Verb:

Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or idea does. Decide the verb in a sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”

• I have sufficient money to buy a cake.
• My favourite flavour is chocolate.

The movie is good. (Be verb is also sometimes mentioned to as a copula or a linking verb. It connects the subject, in this case the movie, to the complement or the predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)

Object:

A person, animal, place, thing, or idea that receives the action. Decide the object in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom? /For whom?”

• Jacob stood on his tiptoes.
• The car turned the corner.

All sentences in the English language are constructed through different combinations of quality and complexity of the subject, verb and the object.

Combining these three elements, we can break down a sentence into two parts known as clauses and another part known as prepositional phrase:

Independent clause:

An independent clause can stand alone and give complete meaning. It has a subject and a verb.

I like ice cream

He reads many stories.

Dependent clause:

A dependent clause cannot stand alone and give complete meaning. It must be attached to an independent clause to give complete meaning. This is also called as subordinate clause.

Because I woke up late this morning… (What happened?)

When they came to meet me… (What occurred?)

If my friend does not pay his fees on time… (What will happen?)

Prepositional Phrase:

A phrase that start with a preposition (i.e., at, for, in, behind, during, until, after, of,) and modifies a word in the sentence. The prepositional phrases answer for many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When?  In what way?”

• His is only one voice among many, but it will be heard.
• The other books are in the box beneath the bed.

English Sentence Structure:

The following statements are true about sentences in English:

• A new sentence starts with a capital letter.

My father bought a car.

• A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point)

What a beautiful rose it is!

• A sentence has a subject that is only given once.

Smith joined in a college.

• A sentence has a verb or a verb phrase.

He got his degree.

• A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.

He (subject) got (verb) his degree (object).

• A sentence must give complete meaning that stands alone. This is also called an independent clause.

Teaching is an honest profession.

There are mainly four types of sentence structures in English language –

1. Simple Sentence:

A simple sentence consists of only a subject and a verb. It may also contain an object but it will always have only one independent clause.

Examples: They Studied.

I used the shaver.

He will not fight.

An independent Clause is a group of words containing a noun and a verb which expresses a complete thought.

2.      Compound Sentence:

Compound sentences are sentences which comprise two or more independent clauses these clauses are often combine using a semi-colon or an appropriate conjunction.

Examples: I took my umbrella to work today but it did not rain.

He organized his files by tags; then, he updated his reference list.

She tried to write a good review and she succeeded in her efforts.

3.      Complex Sentence:

A complex sentence is a type of structure that consists of at least one independent clause and one dependent clause/subordinate clause. Dependent clause is a group of words that contain a subject and a verb but they do not express a complete thought.

In a compound sentence, a dependent clause will usually refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since, while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.

Examples:  Because he did his work so diligently, he was praised by                    everyone in the room.

Jake cried because he couldn’t hit the ball.

He studied for hours and hours with no interest in the subject whatsoever.

4.      Complex-Compound Sentence:

The complex-compound sentence is the combination of complex and compound sentence structures. A complex compound sentence will contain at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

Examples:  She did not mean to hurt him, but he wouldn’t listen to reason, so she had no choice.

Bill tried to apologize to the manager but she ignored him, so he quit the job.

I’m not wrong for thinking this way because I have been hurt in the past as I was a naïve young boy.

2.8        Paragraph Construction

A paragraph is a group of related sentences that support one central idea. Generally, the paragraphs have three parts: the topic sentence, the body sentences, and the conclusion or sentence of the bridge to the next paragraph or paragraph. Paragraphs indicate where the division of a research book begins and ends, and, thus, helps the reader to see the order of the text and to understand its main points.

      Paragraph content:

Each section has to deal with one main idea. Introduce the main idea to a common statement in the first paragraph of a paragraph. Follow this topic sentence with a few sentences that support the main idea. This may contain informative information or debate to defend your view. Wrap up the paragraph with a summary sentence. If the class is running too long, you risk losing the student's attention. Instead, arrange the long section into two or more sections.

      Paragraph Order:

A business document, such as a report or letter, begins with a paragraph that informs the title of the book. This is followed by one or more sections that develop the lesson. The concluding paragraph summarizes the information you provided or asked the student to take some action. For example, a letter outlining the reasons for an ad campaign may begin with an introductory paragraph introducing the campaign, followed by three sections each explaining the unique purpose of the campaign and a concluding paragraph asking the reader to approve the campaign. If the document is long, use headers to separate large sections.

      Paragraph Style:

The style of writing a paragraph can be formal or informal depending upon the context in which the paragraph is to be written. For example, while writing a fictional paragraph, an informal style would suffice. Here the tone may be friendly, the text may be personal or impersonal. While writing paragraphs for articles, the reader may be directly addressed. Business texts are written in formal style. Your writing may be read by third parties and kept by the company for many years, so avoid personal comments. Keep your writing up to date using gender-neutral language, as well as grammar and spelling. Keep your sentences short and to the point. Avoid clichés, contraction and slang.

Construction of a Paragraph:

Each section of the paragraph plays an important role in conveying the meaning you desire to the reader. Any paragraph can be divided into three sections:

Introduction: The first phase must include the topic sentence and other sentences at the beginning of the paragraph giving background information or providing flexibility.

The body: follows the introduction; discusses regulatory logic, uses facts, arguments, analyzes, examples, and other information.

Conclusion: final stage; it summarizes the connection between the information discussed in the body of the paragraph and the governing concept of the paragraph. For longer paragraphs, you may want to include a bridge sentence introducing the next section or section of the paper. In some cases, the sentence of the bridge may be written in the form of a question. However, use this smart device a bit, otherwise, completing most sections with a question to lead to the next level sounds a bit daunting.
 

      Importance of constructing good paragraphs:

Paragraphs are the building blocks of papers.

Without well-written paragraphs that flow logically from one idea to the next and worthwhile and help support a somewhat problematic inter-search engine, your paper will not be viewed as reliable and, well, you will find the poor distance.

Here are some ideas for solving common problems associated with classification:

1. The paragraph has no controlling idea
Think of each paragraph as having three common layers of text. Virtual content is in the middle. It includes all the evidence you need to make a point. However, this evidence needs to be presented by the subject line in some way or your readers do not know what to do with all the evidence you have provided. Thus, the beginning of a passage defines a controlling view of a category. The last part of the section tells the reader how the section relates to the broader debate and often provides a change in the following concept. Once you understand the use of topic sentences, you can decide that a topic sentence for a particular paragraph should actually not be the first paragraph sentence. This is correct — the topic sentence can go at the beginning, middle, or end of a paragraph; what is important is that it is there to inform readers what is the main idea of ​​the section and how it links back to the broader thesis of your paper.

2. The paragraph has more than one controlling idea
This is the most common reason why a class is too long. If a paragraph is longer than a page, it may contain more than one view. In this case, consider eliminating sentences that fit the second concept, in the sense that they probably do not really inform and help support the central research problem, or split the paragraph into two or more categories, each with one governing idea.
 

3.Transitions are needed within the paragraph
You are probably familiar with the idea that conversions may be required between paragraphs or sections on paper. Sometimes they are useful within the body of one category. Within a clause, modifications are usually single words or short phrases that help to establish the relationship between ideas and build logical development of those ideas in the paragraph. This is especially true within paragraphs that discuss many examples or discuss complex ideas, issues or concepts.