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A dictionary is a book that gives a list of words in alphabetical order and explains their meanings in the
same language, or another. It also refers to a book that explains the words and phrases used in a particular
subject such as a science dictionary, a medical dictionary or a computer dictionary.
Followings things can be searched in a dictionary:a) spelling, variations in spellings
b) difference between British and American English
c) Different forms of the words, suffixes, prefixes, etc.
d) Pronunciation, variations in accent, stress etc. phonetic transcription
e) Grammatical categories of the words.
f) Functional labeling of the words in context.
g) Usages of the words, definitions.
h) Usages of the words, definitions.
i) Exceptional rules.
j) Phonological, morphological, syntactical, semantic, lexical and grammatical support
How to use a dictionary:
Search words as per the alphabetical order
Understand meanings in context
Derive meaning with the help of prefixes, suffixes etc.
Understand meaning with the help of antonyms, synonyms etc.
Understand the following abbreviations:
Abbreviations
Full forms
noun
Countable noun
Uncountable noun
Adv.
Adverb
Sb / sth
Somebody / something
Prep.
Preposition
AmE or AE
BrE or BE
American English
British English
Adj.
Adjective
Homophones
Homophones are the words that sound but have a different meaning and spelling. For example:
My son is a doctor.
Sea-see
Be-bee
Feat-feet
Flea-flee
Heal-hell- heel
leak- leek
meat-meet
great-grate
male-mail
pair-pear
NoWayWeighSaleSailRainReignReinPrayPreyAisleIsle-(an island)
IllSeamSeemBrewsBruiseBridalBridleDewDueDiscreetDiscreteFainFeignGuestGuessedWhetherWeatherWouldWoodStairsStaresShoreSureHairHareCaughtCourtCheckChequeFlowerFlour
BearBareHourOurWholeHoleWhichWitch-
Homonyms
Homonyms are words that sound and are spelt the same, but have different meanings.
Here are some examples:
Club (somewhere to dance)
Club-(large, heavy object that people get hit with)
Fine- (money you owe for bring things back late)
Fine-(feeling okay)
Rock-( a type of music)
Rock-(made of stone)
Bear-(animal)
Bear-( to carry)
Cricket-(game)
Cricket-(Insects)
Ball-(object)
Ball-(dance)
List of Homonyms with examples:
May- I may write another book till next July.
May- I have started writing this book from May, 2010.
Tear- Do not tear this pouch before I say.
Tear- all of sudden, he burst into tears.
Chair- Chhavi has bought a pair of chair from Delhi.
Chair- she was chairing the session yesterday.
Mine- he does not want to work in mines.
Mine- this bike is not mine.
Bat- he saw a bat flying over him.
Bat- Sachin uses a heavy bat while playing.
Lead- she wants to lead the team.
Lead- Lead is a heavy grey metal.
Can- he bought a Pepsi can.
Can- I can do it for you.
Note:
Spelling
same
different
Pronunciation
same
same
Meaning
different
different
Classification
Homonyms
Homonyms
Diminutive
A word or an ending of any word that shows that something or somebody is small, e.g., piglet (a young
pig), kitchenette (a small kitchen). A diminutive states that something is very small. It may be small in
size or years such as duck- duckling or it may be a term of endearment such as frog- froggy. So in
general, diminutives are used to express the idea of smallness, affection or contempt.
Making a diminutive:
Diminutives can be made by adding a suffix.
Book + let- booklet
Diminutives can be made by adding a prefix.
Mini + bus- minibus
Diminutives can be a different altogether.
Dog- puppy
Book
Brace
Bull
Animal...animalcule
Ankle - anklet
Arm - armlet
Art
- article
B
Ball - ballet/ballot
Banner -banneret
Bear - Cub
Bird -birdie
-booklet
-bracelet
- bullock
C.
Cabin cabinet
Car- chariot
Cask - casket
Cat - kitten
Cigar- cigarette
City - citadel
Cock cockerel
Corn - kernel
Cow - calf
Crown coronet
Cut - cutlet
Latchlatchet
Leafleaflet
Locklocket
D
Dame - damsel
Dear - darling
Dog - puppy/pup
Double - doublet
Drop
- droplet
Duck -duckling
E
Eagle
-eaglet
Eye
-eyelet
F
M
Maid - Maiden
Manmanikin
Mode Model
Mole - Molecule
Mouth muzzle
N
Nave- Navel
Nest nestling
Nose- nozzle
Novel- novelette
Flowerfloweret
Fowl - chicken
Fourth -farthing
Frog - tadpole
G
O
Owl-owlet
Globeglobule
P
Pack-packet
Part particle/paddock
Pig- pigling
Pile-pillow
Pill-pilule
Goosegosling
Graingranule
H
Hare - leveret
Hen - chicken
Hillhillock
Hire- hireling
Horse- colt/foal
R
Ring -ringlet
River -rivulet
Rock rocket
Rose- rosette
I
Iceicicle
S
Sack -satchel
Sap - sapling
Scythe -sickle
Seed -seed let
Shade -shadow
Sheep -lamb
Sign
-signet
Spark - sparkle, spark let
Isleislet
L
Lamblambkin
Lancelancet
Lasslassie
Spherespherule
Streamstreamlet
Suck- suckling
Verseverset
Verseversicle
Verseverselet
T
Table-tablet
thumb-thimble
Tiger-cub
Top-tip
Towerturret
W
Waggon- waggonette
Wave- wavelet
Weak- wavelet
Wolf- cub
Y
Year- yearling
Young-youngling
Sentence Structure
.
Phrase
A phrase is a group of words that lacks a subject, a complete verb, or both.
Examples:
In the dark
Finding the answer
Clause
A clause is a group of related words with both a subject and a predicate (verb).
Independent Clause
An independent clause (also called a main clause) is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and
does not start with a subordinating conjunction.
Example: I ate raspberries.
Dependent Clause
A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and
starts with a subordinating conjunction. A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Example: After I ate raspberries
Types of Sentences
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence consists of one independent clause.
Example: I ate raspberries.
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses separated by a comma and a
coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon.
Example: I ate raspberries, and I developed a rash.
Example: I ate raspberries; I developed a rash.
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence consists of at least one dependent clause and one independent clause.
Example: Because I ate raspberries, I developed a rash.
Compound-complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent
clauses.
Example: Although I am allergic to raspberries, I ate them, so I developed a rash.
Verb (Tran.)
bought
play
listens to
wrote
repaired
Object
a headphone.
cricket.
gazals.
a book.
a bicycle.
Other verbs: seem, look, feel, appear, grow, smell, taste, and turn
4. SVA (Subject + Verb + Adverb)
Subject--Verb ("to be")--Adverb or Prepositional Phrase)
My parents are here.
He is outside.
The groceries are in the kitchen.
Yours brother were there.
5. SVOO (Subject + Verb + Indirect Verb + Direct Verb)
She wrote his mother a letter.
Dr. Rathi teaches the students Business Management.
The shopper gave the clerk ten dollars.
Pearl sent Hari a book.
My father bought me a pen.
My grandma told us a story.
Q. How to define direct and indirect object?
If you get answer of question word what that is direct object and if you get answer of who or
whom then that is indirect object. For instance,
He paid me money.
(What-money that is direct object and who- or whom- me that is indirect object)
6. SVOC
(Subject + Transitive Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement)
He called the teacher a genius.
We thought him foolish.
The class elected Jerry president.
Studying keeps him busy.
The lawyer considered the defendant innocent.
I consider it unwise.
The child made her mother happy.
Parts of Speech
There are eight different kinds of words in English. They are called Parts of Speech.
1. Noun 2. Pronoun 3.Verb 4.Adverb 5.Adjective
6. Preposition 7.Conjunction 8.Interjection
Noun
The words that denote the name of a person, animal, place or thing are called Nouns.
e.g., Person- man, woman, teacher, john
Place- home, office, town. Countryside
Animal-dog, cat, horse, buffalo
Thing- book, pen, room, tree
Kinds of Nouns
Nouns can be divided into five kinds:
1. Proper Noun
2. Common Noun
3. Collective Noun
4. Material Noun
5. Abstract Noun
Proper Noun: A proper noun is the name of a particular person, animal, place or thing.
e.g. Albert Hall, Red Fort, Samsung, Amity University, Mr. Sharma, Jaipur
Common Noun: A common noun is the name given in common to every person or thing of the same class
or kind.
Abstract Noun: An abstract noun is name of quality, state or concept or something that has no concrete
shape or evidence. It is something that we can not touch or see.
e.g. honesty, laughter, discipline, love, sorrow, theft, sickness etc.
Identify the underlined nouns in the following sentences:
1. Shyam works as a tailor at ASFT.
2. I took lunch at Mugliai restaurant.
3. His father is a postman.
4. This chair is made of iron.
5. Laugher is contagious.
Pronoun
A pronoun is used instead of a noun. This helps to avoid the repetition of nouns.
e.g., My best friend is Mayank Gupta and Mayank works as an assistant director at Bombay.
My best friend is Mayank Gupta and he works as an assistant director at Bombay.
Shilja is absent because she is ill.
I go to temple every Sunday along with my friends at 7.00 PM and we come back at 8.20 PM.
Kinds of Pronoun
1. Personal pronoun
2. Reflexive pronoun
3. Emphatic pronoun
4. Demonstrative pronoun
5. Indefinite pronoun
6.
7.
8.
9.
Distributive pronoun.
Reciprocal Pronoun
Interrogative pronoun
Relative Pronoun
PERSONAL pronoun: it can be divided in three parts such as (a) first person (I, We), (b) second person
(you) and (c) third person (he, she, they, and it)
Reflexive Pronoun: this pronoun is combined with self or selves to emphasize the subject of the verb.
e.g., myself, ourselves, himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Emphatic pronoun: it emphasizes the noun or pronoun they follow or this pronoun is used for emphasis.
E.g. bour class teacher himself wrote a letter to me. (subject emhasized)
I made a call to Mr. Rajnikant himself.
Demonstrative Pronoun: it is used to point to people or thing they stand for:
e.g., that is my friends house.
This is my book.
Indefinite Pronoun: it refers to one or more unspecified beings, objects, or places.
e.g. all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many,
nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone.
Distributive Pronoun: A distributive pronoun considers members of a group separately, rather than
collectively.
They include each, any, either, neither and others.
Reciprocal Pronoun: they are used to express mutual/ reciprocal relationship.
Dont blame each other/ one other.
Interrogative Pronoun: it is used to ask questions. For example, what do you want? Where do you stay?
e.g. who, whom, which, what
Relative Pronoun: A relative pronoun links two clauses into a single complex clause. It is similar in
function to a subordinating conjunction. Unlike a conjunction, however, a relative pronoun stands in place
of a noun. Compare:
This is a house. Jack built this house.
This is the house that Jack built.
I do not know who is standing at the door.
Verb
A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a
sentence, such as hear, become.
He studies at AUH.
Action
State
Event
Kinds of Verbs
There are two types of verbs: Auxiliary Verbs or Helping Verbs and Main Verbs.
Main Verbs
Go, come, sit, stand up etc.
He goes to college daily. (Main Verb)
She laughed a lot yesterday.
(A Main verb does not the help of any other verb.)
Auxiliary Verbs
It helps the main verb to form its tense and voice.
e.g. a. Primary auxiliary
be: is, am, are, was, were
have: has, have, had
do: do, does, did
Modal auxiliary
Can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, ought.
Semi- model auxiliaries
Dare, need, dare (to)
Adverb
An adverb is a word that tells more about a verb. It qualifies or modifies not only a verb but can modify a
pronoun, preposition, adjectives and adverb also.
E.g. Speak loudly
Too slowly
Just in time
He runs fast.
Kinds of Adverbs
1. Adverbs of Time
It denotes the time of an action.
e.g., Since, lately, recently, now, by now, right away, now-a-days ago, back, before, tomorrow, yet, still,
today, already, soon, recently, once, one of these days, some day
2. Adverb of Place/ Position
It indicates the place of any action.
Out, here, there, in, everywhere, somewhere, up, down, nowhere
3. Adverbs of Manner
It indicates the manner of any action.
Almost, too, fully, very, quite, well, fast, slowly, easily, hard
4. Adverbs of degree
They indicate degree or intensity.
Too, quite, fully, very, almost, totally, a lot, a great deal, much, so much, very much, a bit
e.g., he is too weak to stand up.
5. Relative Adverb
They relate to antecedents and also join clauses.
When, where, who, whenever, wherever
e.g., this was the reason why he got angry.
6. Adverbs of negation
No, not, never
He will never do it again.
7. Interrogative adverbs
They are used to ask questions.
When, how, how long, how far, how much, where, why, what time, how often
8. Adverbs of affirmation
Surely, yes, indeed, certainly
Degrees of Comparison
Adverbs have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Fast
faster
fastest
Slow
slower
slowest
soon
sooner
soonest
Slowly
more slowly
Most slowly
Much
more
most
Adjective
An adjective is a word that tells more about a noun, pronoun or another adjective. An adjective qualifies
or modifies a noun. Adjectives can be used before a noun or after certain verbs. Two or more adjectives
can be used together.
E.g. A big cat
A beautiful lady
I like Chinese food.
a good girl
Position of Adjectives
Adjectives can come before noun: a new car
Adjectives can come after verbs: such as be, become, seem, look etc.
e.g., that car looks fast.
Kinds of Adjectives
Adjective
examples
Adjective of
Quality
Demonstrativ
e
Quantitative
adjective
Distributive
adjective
Interrogative
Adjective
Emphasizing
Adjectives
Very. own
Characteristi
cs
They
describe the
shape, size
or color etc.
of a person
or thing
They point
out the noun
They show
quantity ex.
Much fat
Refer to each
one of
number
Whose car is
this?
they
emphasize
the statement
Preposition
A preposition is a word usually placed before a noun or pronoun to show place, time, cause, purpose, or
means. It indicates various relationships between words or phrases, the most common are those of time,
space position and emotional attitudes.
E.g. I stay at home.
He has been here for long.
She comes along with her friend.
Preposition of Time
The prepositions which indicate time areAt, in, on, which, before, after, from, to, for, since, till, until, by and between.
1) at four o clock, at noon, at sun-set. At dusk etc.
2) on Sunday, on 20 th May, on the holidays etc.
3) within some days
4) I will do it before Monday.
5) I reached at my home after five months.
6)
Prepositional Phrases
As to, as for, as regards, by means of, because of, on account of, on behalf of, in case of, in front of , in
lieu of, in search of l in spite of, in order to, in the guise of, in accordance with, on behalf of, due to, in
course of, with reference to, with regard to, etc,
In and At:
In is used for large places; at for small places.
e.g., I stay at Vaisali Nagar.
She stays in Jaipur.
Beside/ besides
Beside means by the side of; besides means in addition to.
Mess is located beside laundry.
He plays badminton besides hockey.
Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases or clauses.
Amit and Sumit have taken food, but no one knows about Smita.
Kind of Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
These conjunctions are used to join grammatical units of the same class or rank.
e.g., and, but, or, nor, for, yet, etc.
And is used to join or add words together in the sentence
before
if
since
than
unless
until
when
while
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together. The most common correlative
conjunctions are:
both . . .and
either . . . or
neither . . . nor
not only . . . but also
Some examples:
I want to eat both chapattis and pizzas.( Bothand is restricted to two only)
I like neither eggs nor meat.
I will visit either Shimla or Nanital.
Anna Hazzare is not only a writer but also a good leader.
No sooner had the police reached than the burglars fled.
He asked me if / whether I saw a movie.
He is lame but active.
Though he is rich yet he is a miser.
Take umbrella along with you in case you need it.
He behaves different as if he is stranger.
Interjection
Interjection is a group of word that shows sudden feeling. An interjection often appears at the beginning
of a sentence. It is usually followed by an exclamation point or a comma
Wow! That is a giant pumpkin!
Ouch, you stepped on my toe!
Yippee! We won!
Whoa! Hold your horses!
Bravo, you did a great job!
.
Articles
Articles are determiners. Articles are used with nouns but not all nouns are used with articles.
Kinds of Articles:
The article a is used with singular common nouns beginning with consonants.
E.g. , it is a pen.
It is a place to take food.
She is a player.
Article a is not used before adjectives but if there is a singular noun after adjectives then it is
used.
e.g., a couple of, a dozen, a score, a hundred, a thousand, a million, a lot of, a great many of.
A couple of students started agitation.
He gave me a thousand rupee.
Some phrases/ expressions also take a article
To make a noise
To have a cold
such a thing
To be in a hurry
Article An
In abbreviations, if consonants begin with a vowel sound, they take an article before them.
e.g.,
an M.L.A.
an M.P.
an S.I.
an S.H.O.
an MBA an FIR
It not necessary that all abbreviations will take an article. Only those words which first syllable has vowel
sound, an article is used otherwise not.
e.g., MLAs first letter is m which sounds em which is vowel sound.
F(ef)
h(eich)
r(aar)
Article the
e.g., I saw a movie last night. The movie was about a soldier and a beautiful girl. The soldier was
in love with the girl but the girl was in love with a doctor. So the soldier shot the doctor and married
the girl.
The book you gave me is fantastic.
With superlatives
Before ordinals
I love books.
Before proper noun
Mohan is sleeping.
Danny fights a lot.
1. If article the is used before that proper adjective then it makes the feel of nation or
people?
e.g., The English are very hard working.
The French are very fashionable.
Englishlanguage but the English means people of England.
2. Article the is not used when we are thinking of the idea of these places and what
they are used for. For instance, school, college, church, court, hospital, market, bed,
prison
e.g., 1. Sandeep always goes to the college. But, Mr. sukhwal went to the college to
meet his sons mentor. (he didnt go there as a student)
2. Akshay met with an accident so he had to go the hospital. But, Vinod sir went
to the hospital to meet Akshay.
PUNCTATIONS MARKS
The main purpose of PUNCTUATION is to make the meaning of the, written word clear to the reader.
The rules of PUNCTUATION are governed by common sense, so it is easy to master them if you keep the
main object of PUNCTUATION in mind---CLARITY.
Period
Use a period to end a complete sentence. A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and
predicate. In British English a period is called a 'full stop'.
Examples:
He
went
They are going to visit.
to
Detroit
last
week.
There are a number of different uses for commas in English. Commas are used to:
Separate a list of items. This is one of the most common uses of a comma. Notice that a comma is
included before the conjunction 'and' which comes before the final element of a list.
Examples:
I like reading, listening to music, taking long walks, and visiting with my friends.
They would like books, magazines, DVDs, video cassettes, and other learning materials for their
library.
Separate phrases (clauses). This is especially true after a beginning dependent clause or a long
prepositional phrase.
Examples:
In order to qualify for your certificate, you will need to take the TOEFL exam.
Although he wanted to come, he wasn't able to attend the course.
Separate two independent clauses that are connected by a conjunction such as 'but'.
Examples:
They wanted to purchase a new car, but their financial situation would not allow it.
I'd really enjoy seeing a film this evening, and I'd like to go out for a drink.
Introduce a direct quote (as opposed to indirect speech i.e. He said he wanted to come ...).
Examples:
The boy said, "My father is often away during the week on business trips."
His doctor replied, "If you don't stop smoking, you run the risk of a heart attack."
Question Mark
The question mark is used at the end of a question.
Examples:
Where do you live?
How long have they been studying?
Exclamation Point
The exclamation mark is used after an interjection or after a phrase or sentence expressing some strong
emotions.
Examples:
Alas! I have failed!
I can't believe he is going to marry her!
Semicolon
A semicolon has one degree more stopping power than a comma. It is a useful sign, but not used as often
as it should be.
While comma separates individual items a semicolon separates groups of items.
E.g.:-In the childrens room were toys, story books, and posters; in the kitchen were pots, pans, vegetables
and fruits; and the library had books, charts, and maps..
To separate two independent clauses. One or both of the clauses are short and the ideas expressed
are usually very similar.
Examples:
He loves studying; He can't get enough of school.
What an incredible situation; it must make you nervous.
Colon
The colon is one of the least used marks of punctuation it shows a pause more complete than a semicolon,
though not as complete as a full stop it is often used with a dash after it (:-).
He had many reasons for joining the club: to get in shape, to make new friends, to lose some
weight, and to get out of the house.
She gave notice for the following reasons: bad pay, horrible hours, poor relations with
colleagues, and her boss.
8. A collective noun takes a singular verb when the group is thought of a as a single unit.
a. The committee was appointed yesterday.
b. The mob has dispersed.
c. The majority does not like it.
But when individual members of the group are thought of the plural verb is used.
a. The military were called.
b. The committee were divided.
c. The crew were taken prisoners.
d. The mob have started throwing stones.
Main collective nouns: government, parliament, council, committee, army, crew, staff,
jury, fleet, crowd, majority and mob.
9. Some nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning, they take singular verb.
a. The news is true.
b. The wages of sin is death.
c. Politics is a dirty game.
d. Their first innings was disappointing.
More examples: news, mathematics, economics, innings, gallows
10. Some nouns are singular in form, but plural in meaning, they take plural verbs.
a. Twelve dozen cost one hundred rupees.
b. The cattle are grazing.
11. Words joined to a singular subject by with, together with, as well as, in addition to etc. take
a singular verb.
a. The teacher, along with the students was absent.
b. Justice, as well as mercy allows it.
c. The, mother, with her three daughters, was going.
d. He, as well as his friends, has failed.
12. The verb must agree in number and person with its real subject and not with any other
noun that immediately precede it.
a. One of my friends has gone.
b. Each of the boys was given a book.
c. Every one of the students has applied for scholarship.
In each of the following sentences supply a verb in agreement with its Subject :1. Two and two --------------- four.
2. There -------------- many objections to such a plan.
3. Death or disgrace ------------- before him.
4. Neither his father nor his mother ---------------- alive.
5. Iron as well as gold ------------------ found in India.
6. Bread and butter ----------------- wholesome food.
7. The public ------------------- requested not to walk on the grass.
8. The great poet and novelist ---------------dead.
9. Not one of you --------------- done his work properly.
10. Each of the boys ------------------ rewarded.
11. The accountant and cashier ---------------- absconded.
12. Extravagance and parsimony --------------------- to be avoided.
13. Mans misery and happiness ------------ in a great measure in his own hands.
14. Kindness as well as Justice---------------------- to be our guide.
15. The formation of paragraphs -------------------- very important.
16. The jury ------------- divided in their opinions.
17. The horse and the trap-------------------been waiting a long time.
18. Every leaf and every flower---------------stripped off the tree.
19. To take pay and then not to do work--------------------dishonest.
20. Two thirds of the city -------------------in ruins.