Articles - Shortcut Rules

Friends, today we shall discuss some important rules of Articles.

Rule 1 : The indefinite article 'A'  should be used before the word 'Half' when it follows a whole number.

• I stayed in Madras for one and half years. ☓
• I stayed in Madras for one and a half years. ✔

• He spent one and half a half rupee. ☓
• He spent one and a half rupees. ✔

Rule 2 : The definite article 'THE' should be used with a comparative adjective if the phrase 'of the two' is used.

• She is better of the two sisters. ☓
• She is the better of the two sisters. ✔

• This is the best of the two books. ☓
• This is the better of the two books. ✔

Rule 3 : With the names of meals such as Break fast / Lunch / Dinner / Supper, no article should be used in a general way except in particular causes.

• I have the breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ☓
• I have breakfast at 8 hrs in the morning ✔

Rule 4 : The + Positive Adjective represent the whole class, and take a plural verb.

• The rich is responsible for the lawlessness in the country.☓
• The rich are responsible for the lawlessness in the country. ✔

Say 'The poor are / The young are / The old are' etc....

Rule 5 : After Di- Transitive Verbs like Elect / Make / Appoint, articles should not be used except when they are used as Mono transitive verbs.

•  We appointed him a chairman.☓
• We appointed him chairman ✔

• We made him a leader ☓
• We made him leader. ✔

The Govt. has appointed a Committee (mono transitive)

(As a mono transitive verb)

Rule 6 : After type of / kind of / sort of / post of / title of / rank of / articles are not used.

• He is not that sort of a man. ☓
• He is not that soft of man. ✔

• He was promoted to the rank of a General manager. ☓
• He was promoted to the rank of General manager. ✔

Read more grammar shortcut rules from here

07:47 - By Unknown 0

 Adjectives - Shortcut Rules - Part 1

Friends, in our English Grammar Shortcut rules series today we shall discuss the Rules of Adjectives. Before going into details lets start with the basic definition of Adjectives followed by some examples.

Basic Definition of Adjective : Simply we can say that Adjectives are describing words. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns.

Examples :

• Sizes : big, small, large, thin, thick
• Shapes : triangular, round, square, circular
• Colors : black, blue, white, green, red
• Personality : happy, sad, angry, depressed
• Time : Yearly , monthly, annually
• Ages : new, young, old, brand-new, second-hand
• Sounds : Loud, noisy, quiet, silent
• Tastes : juicy, sweet
• Qualities : good, bad, mediocre

now lets have a look at the Rules on Adjectives :

Shortcut Rule 1 : In a comparision, the conjunction 'than' should be followed by 'any other' If a person / thing is compared with any other person / thing among some / many.

• Mumbai is greater than any city in India. ☓
• Mumbai is greater than any other city in India.  ✔

Shortcut Rule 2 : In comparisons, the monosyllable words like "hot / easy / tall / small" should not be used with more / most.

• This question is more easier than that. ✔
• This question is easier than that. ✔

• He is more taller than Kumar. ☓
• He is taller than Kumar. ✔

 Shortcut Rule 3 :

• Elder / Eldest should be used with the members of the same family.
• Older/ Oldest these comparative adjective denote the age of person / thing.

 Ex :

• He is elder to me. (He and me belong to one family).
• Ronald Reagan was the oldest person elected to the Presidency in US history (Not specifying a family)

• This is the eldest tree in the garden ☓
• This is the oldest tree in the garden. ✔

Shortcut Rule 4 : While comparing the objects, we should see that a noun is compared with another but not with some other word.

• The population of Hyderabad is greater than Nagpur ☓
• The population of Hyderabad is greater than that of Nagpur (OR) ✔
• The population of Hyderabad is greater than the population of Nagpur. ✔

• The climate of Ooty is better than Chennai. ☓
• The climate of Ooty is better than that of Chennai. ✔

Read more Shortcut Rules of Adjectives from Here >>

07:42 - By Unknown 0

 Verbs - Shortcut Rules - Part 2

<< Previous 

Shortcut Rule 11 : When the subordinate clause expresses a universal truth the past tense in the main clause may be followed by a Present Tense.

• He said that the sun rose in the East. ☓
• He said that the sun rises in the East. ✔

Shortcut Rule 12 : The Past Tense in the main clause may be followed by any tense after the conjunction "Than" in the subordinate clause. 

• He worked faster than we do / did. ✔

Shortcut Rule 13 : In Conditional Sentences, to express improbability in the Present, the Simple Past Tense in the if clause and the Present Conditional Tense in the main clause are used.

• If I am the Principal, I would Punish Him. ☓
• If I were the Principal, I would Punish Him. ✔

• If he is rich, he would buy a car. ☓
• If he were rich, He would buy a car. ✔

Shortcut Rule 14 : To express unfulfilled condition in the Past, we should express with "Past Perfect Tense" in the if clause and Perfect Conditional Tense in the Main Clause.

• If you worked hard, you would have passed in the examination. ☓
• If you had worked hard, you would have passed in the examination. ✔

Shortcut Rule 15 : For the interrogative sentences that begin with auxiliary verbs, "if or whether as a connective word in indirect speech.

• He said to me, "Are you going there?" ☓
• He asked me if I was going there. ✔
• He asked me that I was going there ✔

• "Are they ready or not?" she said to me. ☓
• She asked me whether they were ready. ✔
• She asked me that they were ready or not. ✔

Shortcut Rule 16 : No other conjunction should be used as a connective word, in indirect speech when the question indirect speech begins with "Why (or) How" question words.

• He asked me that who my best friend was. ☓
• He asked me who my best friend was. ✔

• He asked me that How I got time to write all posts in my Blog. ☓
• He asked me how I got time to write all posts in my Blog. ✔

Shortcut Rule 17 : No preposition is used after the verb "told" 

• He told me that he passed the examination. ☓
• He told me that he had passed the examination. ✔

Shortcut Rule 18 : The question forms  in direct speech should be changed to affirmative sentences in indirect speech.

• The receptionist asked me who do I want to meet in the office. ☓
• The receptionist asked me whom I wanted to meet in the office. ✔

Shortcut Rule 19 : The verb "Suggest" purpose in indirect speech should be followed by "that clause" with the auxiliary verb "should" 

• He suggested me to go for a walk every morning. ☓
• He suggested to me that I should go for a walk every morning. ✔

Shortcut Rule 20 : In the absence of an indirect object after "suggest" a gerund form is used.

• He suggested going for a walk every morning. ✔

Shortcut Rule 21 : The verb "Tell" should be sued with an object.

• He told that he had passed in the test. ☓
• He said that he had passed in the test (OR) ✔
• He told me that he had passed in the Test. ✔

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07:38 - By Unknown 0

 Verbs - Shortcut Rules - Part 1

In this post we shall discuss some important shortcuts Rules about Nouns which comes in handy while solving Banking and Other Competitive Exams papers. 

Shortcut Rule 1 : If the subject is of the third person, singular number (He, She, It) add 'S' or 'es / ies' to the first form of the verb to make it singular number.

• She plays the violin every day.
• He loves his parents
• The dog barks at the people.
• The bird flies in the Sky.
• He does his duty. 

Shortcut Rule 2 : The following verbs are not usually used in the continuous form. See / Smell / Feel / Hear / Notice / Recognize / See / Think / Agree / Believe / Consider / Remember / Hope / Understand / Mind / Suppose / Hate / Love / Know / Have / Want / Forgive / Keep / Prevent etc. But they may be used in continuous forms in a particular cases.

• He is having a telephone connection. ☓
• He has a telephone connection ✔

• The flower is smelling sweet ☓
• The flower smells sweet (you can say I am smelling this flower) ✔

• The manager is seeing your application (Seeing - Examining) ✔ (in particular situation)

Shortcut Rule 3 : The present perfect tense should not be used with adverbs indicating past time. Instead the simple past tense should be used.

• I have seen a film last night ☓
• I saw a film last night. ✔

• He has left for Hyderabad last week. ☓
• He left for Hyderabad last week. ✔

Shortcut Rule 4 : The present perfect tense with "For or Since" is used to express an action began at some time in the past and is still continuing upto the time of speaking or just finished.

• For ..............................period of time (for 2 days / for 10 days / for a long time)
• Since  ..............................point of time. (Since 1996, Since morning, since yesterday, since last week)

• I know him since 1986 ☓
• I have know him since 1986 ✔

• Out teacher is sick for the last two days ☓
• Our teacher has been sick for the last two days. ✔

Shortcut Rule 5 : :The present perfect continuous Tense" is also used for actions began in the past and are still continuing.

• I am reading this novel since morning. ☓
• I have been reading this novel since morning. ✔

• They are going to English classes for the last one month. ☓
• They have been going to English classes for the last one month. ✔

Shortcut Rule 6 : When the first action led to the second action immediately The simple Past Tense + Simple Past Tense are used.

• When he opened the gate, they came in. ✔

Shortcut Rule 7 : When the first action completed before the second one started, the Past Perfect Tense for the first finished action and the Simple Past Tense for the Second are used.

• The patient had died before the doctor arrived. ✔

Shortcut Rule 8 : After negative sentences, the question tag used should be in an ordinary interrogative form.

• She didn't like that book, didn't she? ☓
• She did not like that book, did she? ✔

• They have not told him the news, Haven't they? ☓
• They have not told him the news, Have they? ✔

Shortcut Rule 9 : After Positive Statements, we use the negative interrogative.

• I am a student, Am I? ☓
• I am a student, Aren't I? ✔

• Let's play for some Time, Shall We? ✔

• He works hard, Does He? ☓

Shortcut Rule 10 : When the verb in the principal clause is in a past tense, the verbs in the subordinate clauses are normally in the Past Tense.

• He said that He will pass the examination. ☓
• He said that he would pass the examination. ✔

• They told me that they have paid the fees. ☓
• They told me that they had paid the fees. ✔

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07:36 - By Unknown 0

 Pronouns - Shortcut Rules

In this post we shall discuss some important shortcut rules about Pronouns which comes in handy while solving Banking and other Competitive exam papers.

Shortcut Rule 1 :  We should use the personal pronouns in the order of 231 for good results ( I mean, Second Person, Third Person, First Person). Have a look at the following Examples.

• I, He and You are to finish it. ☓
• You, He and I are to finish it. ✔
• The order 123 (First Person, Second Person and Third Person) is also possible when we admit guilt. 
• I, You and He have committed the Sin. ✔

Shortcut Rule 2 : A Pronoun in the nominative form should be compared with the same form of the pronoun. 

• He is better than I (am)  (Two Nominatives are compared) ✔
• I respect you more than him (Two objectives are compared) ✔

Shortcut Rule 3 : A Pronoun in the objective case is used after "Let / Between / Any Preposition"

• Let you and me play (You and me are objects) ✔
• There is no dispute between you and me. ✔

Shortcut Rule 4 : When a pronoun stands for a collective noun, it should be used in the singular form.

• The army has left its Head Quarters (As a Whole) ✔
• The committee were divided in their opinion (Separate Individuals) ✔

Shortcut Rule 5 : When two singular nouns are joined by "and", refer to to the same person, the pronoun used in their place should be singular in form.

• The Collector and Magistrate has done his best. ✔
• But the collector and the Magistrate have done their best.  ✔

Shortcut Rule 6 : A singular pronoun should be used when two singular nouns are joined by either or / neither nor

• Either Ravi or Gopal should do his duty ✔

Shortcut Rule 7 : A pronoun in the plural form should be used when two nouns of different members are joined by "or" or "nor".

• Either the Principal or his teachers have attended their duty. ✔

Shortcut Rule 8 : The distributive pronouns "Either / Neither / None / Any / No one" are used with singular verbs.

• Either / Neigher ........................Used for two Person / Things
• None / No one / Any ................ Used for more than two person / things.
• Any ............................Used for more than two persons / things.   Have a look at some examples.
• Either of the two girls is diligent. ✔
• Neither of the brothers is quarrelsome. ✔
• None of the four sisters is intelligent. ✔
• Any of the four men can do it. ✔

Shortcut Rule 9 : The Reciprocal pronouns "Each other / One another"

• Each other - For two persons
• One another - For more than two persons.
• The two sister hate each other.
• The five brother love one another.

Shortcut Rule 10 : The indefinite pronoun "One" should be used as "One's" for  its possessive case.

• One should love one's country. ✔

Shortcut Rule 11 : The verbs such as "Hurt / Cheat / Prostrate / Introduce / Present / Absent / Satisfy / Prepare / Enjoy / Avail of" are followed by either "an" object or "a" reflexive pronoun. (Myself / Ourselves / Yourself / Yourselves) (Himself / Herself / Itself / Themselves)

• I introduced her to the Principal (Her.........object) ✔
• I introduced myself to the Principal (Myself.........Reflexive pronoun) ✔
• He enjoyed the party (Party............Object) ✔
• He enjoyed himself at the Party (Himself.................Reflexive Pronoun) ✔

Shortcut Rule 12 : The use of Relative Pronouns :

• Who................. for Persons
• This is the boy who is diligent.
• Which .................for Things.
• The book which is in the shelf is mine.
• That ................. is used both for persons and things.
• One boy who stole my purse was a student ✔
• The boy that stole my purse was a student. ✔

• As a relative pronoun "That" is used with superlative Adjective / Only / Any / Nothing / Some / All / None"
• All that glitters is not gold
• This is the best thing that I can do.

Shortcut Rule 13 : The word "Who" as a relative pronoun is used in the nominative case, takes a verb.

• The Principal who came here was Raju's Brother.

• The word "Whom"as a relative pronoun is used in the objective case (takes no verb)
• The doctor whom I met yesterday was Krishna's Father

Shortcut Rule 14 : Agreement of the verb with its antecedent in number and person

• I who is your brother must trust you ☓
• I who am your brother must trust you. ✔

• You who is my friend ☓
• You who are my friend ✔

Shortcut Rule 15 : If a pronoun is to be placed after "to be", the pronoun in the subjective case is used.

• It is Him ☓
• It is He ✔

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07:33 - By Unknown 0

 Nouns - Shortcut Rules

In this post, we shall discuss some important Shortcut Rules about Nouns which comes in handy for your upcoming competitive exams.

Shortcut Rule 1 : The following words are uncountable and are normally used in the singular form only. The indefinite article "A or An" Should not be used with them. They have no plural forms. 'A/An' not used before them.

Ex : Luggage / Baggage / Breakage / Advice / Furniture / Information / Scenery / Poetry / Work / Soap / Food / Bread / Fish / Paper / Machinery etc.

• The Sceneries of Kashmir is very beautiful. ☓
• The Scenery of Kashmir is very beautiful.  ✔

• I know that he has many informations. ☓
• I know that he has much information / a lot of information.  ✔

• They gave me a good advice. ☓
• The gave me a piece of good advice. ✔

• I want a Soap/Bread. ☓
• I want a piece of Soap/Bread. ✔

Shortcut Rule 2 : The words such as "News / Maths / Ethics / Politics / Phonetics / Economics / Statistics / Measles / Mumps / Rickets / Billiards / Innings" look like plural nouns but give singular meaning. So, they take singular form of verbs. 

• Mathematics is a difficult subject.  ✔
• But say "His Mathematics are very weak".  ✔
• Rule : When Preceded by a possessive adjective, the noun takes a plural verb

• Billiards are an interesting game.  ☓
• Billiards is an interesting game. ✔

• The news are not reliable. ☓
• The news is not reliable.  ✔

Shortcut Rule 3 : Some Nouns have the same form whether singular or plural.

Ex : Sheep / Deer / Service / Series / Series / Species /Fish / Apparatus

• He saw two sheeps in the zoo. ☓
• He saw two sheep in the zoo  ✔

• A series of lectures are to be delivered tomorrow. ☓
• A series of lectures is to be delivered tomorrow.  ✔

Shortcut Rule 4 : The following nouns are always used in the plural form only

Cattle / People / Police / Electorate / Poultry / Trousers / Scissors / Spectacles / Binoculars / Crackers / Swine / Gentry / Clergy. All these are used with plural form of verbs.

• The police is coming towards us now. ☓
• The police are coming towards us now.  ✔

• The scissor is very sharp. ☓
• The scissors are very sharp.  ✔

Shortcut Rule 5 : Add 'S' to the main word in compound noun to make it plural.

• Sister-in-Law, the plural form is Sisters-in-Law, not Sister-in-Laws
• Brother-in- Law, the plural form is Brothers-in-law, not Brothers-in- Laws

Shortcut Rule 6 : The possessive case of a compound noun is formed by adding 'S' to the last word.

• Father-in-Law, Father-in-Law's property.
• Sister-in-Law, Sister-in-Law's property.

Shortcut Rule 7 : After the phrases One of / Some of/ Each of / Either of /Neither of / Any of / None of, a plural form of a noun is used.

• One of my best friends (not One of my best friend)  
• One of the biggest cities (not One of the biggest city)  

• Each of the boys is (not Each of the boys are)  
• Either of the teachers is (not Either of the teachers are)  

Shortcut Rule 8 : Nouns indicating numerals should be used in singular form "A Dozen eggs / Two Dozen Oranges". But say Hundreds of eggs / Houses / A hundred rupees / Two hundred rupees.

Shortcut Rule 9 : After collective nouns either a singular or plural form of verb is used.

• The team is strong (here, we are treating the TEAM as an UNIT)  ✔
• The team are fighting among themselves (Here, we are saying about the players of the team)  ✔

Shortcut Rule 10 : An "Apostrophe" and 'S' should be used with living beings only to show possesion.

• The table's legs were broken. ☓ 
•  (This is wrong, because the table is a non living thing)
• We can say "The legs of the table were broken"  ✔

Shortcut Rule 11 : Say, "A five rupee note", " A two mile walk"

Shortcut Rule 12 : Don't say "family members / cousin brother or cousin sister" but say "The members of the family / he or she is my cousin".

Shortcut Rule 13 : When two nouns are connected by "and", and are closely related, add an apostrophe and S to the last noun.

• Kareena's and Saif's house ☓  (if you think they are wife and husband then this sentence is wrong)
• Kareena and Saif's house (as they live in a SINGLE house)  ✔

• But you can say "India's and Pakistan's population"  ✔

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07:30 - By Unknown 0

 Some Common Errors in English

All of us know English. We can chat with our friends in English, read English books and ofcourse watch English movies and understands them. But we cant get more marks in English paper of bank exams. Some times we feel disappointed by seeing our English marks lesser than our expectations. Whats the problem ? Well the problem is "we Neglect some basic things!!! we know everything, but we don't mind forgetting them. Lets have a look at some common errors in English. Just read these point twice or thrice so that you can get 5 marks at least for sure :)

Wrong	Correct
The Titanic drowned in the sea	The Titanic sank in the sea
Higher we go, cooler we feel	The higher we go, the cooler we feel
She quickly did the job.	She did the job quickly.
He is my older Brother	He is my elder Brother
Most unique opportunity	Unique opportunity
It is much hot today	It is very hot today
Rich should be kind to poor	The rich should be kind to the poor
S/He is my Cousin brother/sister	S/He is my Cousin
She quickly did the job	She did the job quickly.
One must do his duty	One must do one’s duty
Do you know to Dance?	Do you know how to Dance?
Have you bought some apples?	Have you bought any apples?
No less than 50 persons Killed	No fewer than 50 persons Killed
The climate of Goa is better than Nagpur	The climate of Goa is better than that of Nagpur
Many a man were here	Many a man was here
My state of health	The state of my health
I don’t know the English alphabets	I don’t know the English alphabet
May I take your leave	May I take leave of you
Excuse me being late	Excuse my being late
He rarely goes out, doesn’t he?	He rarely goes out, does he?
He admitted that he was in wrong	He admitted that he was in the wrong
The number of people are small	The number of people is small
My little sister goes to the school by bus	My little sister goes to school by bus
The series of lectures were boring	The series of lectures was boring
English teacher	Teacher of English
He lives in a boarding	He lives in a boarding house
You are wiser than old	You are more wise than old
A good play of football	A good game of football
He behaves as if he was a king	He behaves as if he were a king
Chennai is further than Delhi	Chennai is farther than Delhi
They were counting on me helping them	They were counting on my helping them
This drawing is more perfect than the other one	This drawing is perfect than the other one
Word by word translation is not necessary	Word for word translation is not necessary
Two third of the book	Two thirds of the book
No space in this compartment	No room in this compartment

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Thats all for now Friends........ Happy Reading  :) 

07:27 - By Unknown 0