Some
Quick Tips For Corrections
· Little, A little. The
Little
1. Little is negative in sense and means
‘hardly any’ ‘or not much’: as
There is little water in the jug.
meaning There is
no water in the jug.
2. A little is affirmative in sense and
means some quantity though not much; as
I gave him a little money.
meaning I gave him some money.
3.The little is both in affirmative as well as negative in sense. It means not much but all of that much.
I drank the little water that was in the jug.Meaning I drank that
little water that was in the jug.
· Few, A few, the few.
1. Few is negative in sense and means ‘not
many’He has few books. Meaning no books.
2. A few is affirmative in sense and means
some or in small number.
He purchased a few more books. Meaning some more
books.
3. The few is both affirmative and negative
and means not many but that small number.
He took away the few books that I had.
Meaning that number
books was small and he took away that small number of books.
· Farther & Further
Farther is
comparative degree of ‘Far’. It implies
distance.
There is a temple at
the farther end of this street.
His house is farther from school than mine.
Further means additional, in addition to
The child could not
walk further.
· Later, Latest;
Latter, Last
Later and latest are
comparative and superlative degrees of late. These two relate to time.
I shall reach there later on.What is the latest news of the day?
Latter and Last
are also comparative and superlative degrees but relate to order.
John and Smith are
fast friends. The former is more intelligent than the latter.He was the last to come but the first to go.
· Some, Any
Some is used in affirmative and shows quantity.
Any also shows quantity but is used in negative and
interrogative.
I gave him some money.Did you give him any money ?Has he any money on his person? (any means
some)He did the work
without any difficulty. (means no)He did not like any of these dresses.He did not give him any money.
In exception cases some is used in interrogative sentences
also.
Will you lend me some money?Have you some money in your purse?
· Much, Many, Many a, a
great many, No, None
Much implies quantity, and Many refers to number :
I have much work to do.
Many boys are at work.
Many
a is followed by singular verb.Many
a boy is at work.
·
‘A
great many’ implies a large number, it is followed by plural noun and plural
verb.
A great many members were present
in the meeting.
No is used when the noun it qualifies is expressed, but
None is used when the noun it qualifies is understood.
No man was present in the hall.
None attended the meeting.
· Each Other, One
another
Each other refers to two
while one another to more than two.
John and Smith are
quarrelling with each other.John, Smith and Peter
are talking with one another.
· The number of & A number of
If the number of is
used as subject, verb is singular &If a number is used
as subject, the verb is plural.
The number of
participants was very small.
A number of persons
was ready to accompany us.
· Less &
Fewer
Less is used in case of quantity and Fewer in case of number.
No fewer than a dozen persons were present in the meeting.
He paid me less money.
· Words showing time
like Morning evening etc.
Words like morning, evening, afternoon have
preposition of ‘in’ before them.
He went to Delhi in the morning and shall return in the evening. I shall go to see him in the afternoon.
But words like Noon,
Midday, Midnight and daybreak have
preposition of ‘at’ before them.
· Use of word ‘Only’
The word ‘only’ should be preceded immediately prior to the word it relates to.
He only makes a noise in the class……incorrect.Here only qualifies ‘makes a noise’ which is
not correct.Only he makes a noise in the class…….correct.
Here it implies that
it is he only who makes a noise in the class.
Your views /suggestions about subject/subject matter are splicited Do post/e-mail.
