University Notes For English Semester 1
University Notes For English Semester 1
ENGLISH—MADE EASY
Basic English language course for the students of University level.
Author
WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN
M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education, MOS
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3. WHAT IS A NOUN?
Answer: A naming word that is basically the name of a person, place or a thing,
is termed as a Noun.
OR
Noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or
quality. For example: boy, girl, Aslam, gold, silver, sorrow, jury, army, etc.
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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5. WHAT IS A PRONOUN?
Example: I, you, we, my, your, their, his, her, this, those, several, few.
a. Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who. More often
than not (but not exclusively), they replace nouns representing people.
Example:
We have done our job.
I bought some books, but they weren't informative.
b. Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show possession, ownership or sense of
belonging. As they are used as adjectives, they are also termed as possessive
adjectives. My, your, his, her, its, our and their, are all possessive pronouns.
Have you seen his book?
Their house is quite old.
My book is highly informative.
c. Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun is the ‘Self form of a pronoun’. It ends with ‘self’ or with
‘selves’ and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence (usually
the subject of the sentence). The reflexive pronouns are
myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.
Examples:
They themselves came to the meeting.
I did the work myself.
She herself went to the hospital.
We all enjoyed ourselves at the recreational trip to Murree.
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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d. Demonstrative Pronouns
Examples:
This is my pen.
Those are your books.
e. Indefinite Pronouns:
Opposed to demonstrative pronouns, which point out specific items, indefinite
pronouns are used for non-specific or unclear things.
This is the largest group of pronouns.
All, some, any, several, anyone, nobody,each, both, few, either, none,one and n
o one are the most common.
Example:
Someone might have come.
Several students are missing
I have nothing to declare except my genius. (Oscar Wilde).
f. Interrogative Pronouns
These pronouns are used in questions.
Who, which, what, where and how are all interrogative pronouns.
Example:
Who told you not to go there?
Which student won the prize?
g. Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used to add more or additional information to a
sentence. Which, that, who (including whom and whose) and where are all
relative pronouns.
Examples:
The boy, whom you met yesterday, is my brother.
The pen, which you brought last night, is quite expensive.
The man who first saw the ball has now gone.
h. Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The
two most common reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.
Each other is used for two persons, whereas, one another for more than two.
Examples:
They hate one another.
They talk to each other like they're close friends.
Both Saleem and Akram like each other.
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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7. WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?
Example: beautiful, sweet, ugly, bright, tall, short, long, adorable, adventurous.
8. WRITE
A NOTE ON 3
DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES.
Answer: You might know that
adjectives are words that modify a
noun or a pronoun; therefore
adjectives are called modifiers in
English. Sometimes modifiers are
used to compare two or more people,
things, actions, or qualities. This is
called three degrees of adjectives.
Three Degrees of Adjectives
1. The Positive Degree
The positive degree of an adjective makes no comparison.
A tall building.
She runs fast.
This is a beautiful car.
2. The Comparative Degree
The comparative degree compares two people, things, actives or qualities.
A taller building than this one.
She runs faster than I do.
This car is more beautiful than yours.
3. The Superlative Degree
The superlative degree compares a person, thing, activity or quality with the
group.
The tallest building in the town.
She is the fastest runner among the students.
This is the most beautiful car I have ever seen.
9. WHAT IS A VERB?
Answer: The word ‘verb’ derived from the Latin word ‘verbum‘.
A verb is a doing word that shows an action, being, an event or a state. A
sentence may either have a main verb, a helping verb or both. In other words, a
verb is a word that informs about an action, an existence of something or an
occurrence. The verb is the main word in a sentence. No sentence can be
completed without a verb.
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Answer: The main verb is also called the lexical verb or the principal verb. This
term refers to the important verb in the sentence, the one that typically shows
the action or state of being of the subject. Main verbs can stand alone, or they
can be used with a helping verb, also called an auxiliary verb.
A Principal Verb is further classified into two types:
a. Transitive Verbs.
b. Intransitive Verbs.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs: A verb that has Object of its own is called
transitive verb. Transitive verbs take a direct object while intransitive verbs do
not. Transitive verbs require direct objects to receive their action. Intransitive
verbs, however, can express action without a direct object, and as a result, they
can end a sentence without the sentence sounding incomplete.
Examples:
Transitive Verbs:
I love my country Pakistan.
They attended the meeting.
Saleem fed the cat.
Akhtar loves eating apples.
We play football.
Intransitive Verbs:
The wind blew.
We played.
The keys disappeared.
The women cried bitterly.
He ran fast.
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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Answer:
Gerund – A verb in its present participle form (-ing) which acts as a noun in a
sentence. It is also called as a verbal noun.
For example – "Smoking is injurious to health."
In the example sentences above, both forms can be used, but the meanings are
not the same. "Smoking is injurious to health." means to quit the action of
smoking. "Stop to smoke." means stop an activity in progress for the purpose of
starting the action of smoking.
Answer: An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs. Most often, adverbs modify verbs. When adverbs modify verbs, they
describe the verb; much like an adjective modifies or describes a noun.
Answer:
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner express how something happens. In most cases for adverbs
of manner, we can take an adjective and simply add -ly to form an adverb. For
example, if you take the sentence – “The cat is quick (adjective).”
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Place describe “where” an action takes place. In addition, we
usually find adverbs of place after the main verb.
For example, “indoors”, “next week” and “still” all describe where something
happens. Again, we often find these adverbs of place after a verb in a sentence.
Adverbs of Time:
As with all adverbs, they tell us more about the verb. For adverbs of time, they
tell us when the verb happened or will happen. For example, “afterwards”,
“every day” and “recently’ are adverbs of time and describe “when”.
On the other hand, adverbs of time can describe the duration of an event
occurs. Also, it can show when an action is complete.
Type of Prepositions
Prepositions of Time
Basic examples of time prepositions include: at, on, in, before and after. They
are used to help indicate when something happened, happens or will happen. It
can get a little confusing though, as many different prepositions can be used.
Prepositions of time examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.
For example:
Aslam was born on January 4th, 2009.
He was born in 2004.
He came at exactly 2 am.
I was born after the Great War ended.
Prepositions of Place
To confuse matters a bit, the most common prepositions to indicate time – on,
at, in – are also the most common prepositions to indicate position. However,
the rules are a little clearer as place prepositions are a more rigid concept than
time prepositions. Prepositions of place examples in the following sentences
are in bold and underlined for easy identification.
Prepositions of Agent
These indicate someone or something that does an action on the subject of the
sentence. The action is always a passive verb. The Prepositions of Agent are:
by
with
Examples:
He was hit by a ball.
This book is written by Shahid.
The jug is filled with water.
Answer: Clause
A clause is a group of words consisting of a subject (often just a single noun)
and a predicate (sometimes just a single verb).Clauses are of two types i.e.
Dependent and Independent clauses. All independent clauses are complete
sentences in English
Example:
The boy ran through the courtyard.
Subject: The boy
Predicate: ran through the courtyard
An independent clause is a group of words that can stand on its own as a
sentence: it has a subject, a verb, and is a complete thought.
Examples:
He ran. (Notice that while this sentence only contains two words, it
is still a complete sentence because it contains a one word subject
and a one word predicate that is also a complete thought.)
He ran fast.
I was late to work.
The paper does not specify which type of format it must be in.
The instructor spent the class period reviewing the difference
between independent and dependent clauses.
A dependent clause is a group of words that also contains a subject and
a verb, but it is not a complete thought. Because it is not a complete
thought, a dependent clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence; it is
dependent on being attached to an independent clause to form a
sentence.
Examples:
Because I woke up late this morning… (what happened?)
When we arrived in class… (what occurred?)
If my neighbour does not pay his rent on time… (what will
happen?)
Dependent clauses can often be identified by words called dependent
markers, which are usually subordinating conjunctions. If a clause
begins with one of these words, it is dependent and needs to be attached
to an independent clause. (Common dependent markers: after, as,
although, because, before, even though, if, once, rather than, since, that,
though, unless, until, when, whenever, whereas, while, among others.)
Subordinating Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction is used to link a subordinate clause (also known as
a dependent clause) to the main clause (also known as an independent clause).
In each example below, the main clause is in bold, and the subordinating
conjunction is shaded.
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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That's an old car. (In this case, the word after the article is old, which starts
with a vowel sound. Consequently, we must use an.)
Remember that you're listening here. This isn't about the letter c or d being a
consonant or the letter o being a vowel; it's about the sound they make (i.e.,
vowel sound or consonant sound). Here's another example that might help you
understand:
I need to work for an hour before we go to dinner.
You might think that because the indefinite article comes before a consonant,
our English editing experts should be using a, but think for a moment about the
sound that the word hour makes. It's actually pronounced like the possessive
pronoun our, which starts with the o vowel sound. Therefore, because we're
starting with a vowel sound (regardless of whether the first letter is actually a
consonant), we must use an. The same is true for the opposite (i.e., a vowel
that makes a consonant sound):
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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A union
The word may start with a u, but think for a minute about the sound that the
word makes: you-nion. We know that y is a consonant, so consequently we
must use a. Here are a few more tricky ones to keep your eye on:
A university (again, the you sound made by a vowel)
An x-ray (a consonant making the ex sound, which, you'll notice, starts with
the e vowel sound)
A European (again we see the y sound coming from a vowel)
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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Example: Duck
A small wild or domesticated swimming bird.(Denotative meaning)
A score of nothing by a batsman. (Connotative meaning in cricket)
Symbol of innocence in society. (Connotative meaning of duck)
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Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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the listener or reader paint a vivid picture. Again, if we take the words at their
literal meaning they will sound absurd.
Examples of Personification
“Time ran away from him”.
“Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (Daffodils)
“The boat danced in the puddle”,
“The car died in the middle of the road” etc.
Examples:
They aren’t not coming.(Correct according to Descriptivists)
They aren’t coming (Correct according to Prescriptivists)
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Answer: Developing your communication skills can help all aspects of your life,
from your professional life to social gatherings and everything in between.
The ability to communicate information accurately, clearly and as intended, is a
vital life skill and something that should not be overlooked. It’s never too late
to work on your communication skills and by doing so, you may well find that
you improve your quality of life.
Communication skills are needed in almost all aspects of life:
Professionally, if you are applying for jobs or looking for a promotion with your
current employer, you will almost certainly need to demonstrate good
communication skills.
Communication skills are needed to speak appropriately with a wide variety of
people whilst maintaining good eye contact, demonstrate a varied vocabulary
and tailor your language to your audience, listen effectively, present your ideas
appropriately, write clearly and concisely, and work well in a group. Many of
these are essential skills that most employers seek.
You share quality time, chit-chatting with your family before you leave for
work;
you use an app to call a cab as your car is in the garage;
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I will drain
Long draughts of quiet
As a purgation;
Remember
Twice daily
Who I am;
OR
This is a brief and interesting poem by Elizabeth Sewel. She tells us about her
resolutions on the start of a new year. Instead of celebrating and rejoicing, she
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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is planning to be more serious and philosophical on New year's day. She tells
us that she would make some resolution on the new year. She told us about her
promises for the future year.
Her first resolution is to purify her soul. She will remain quiet and serious in the
coming year. Silence and quietness will purify her soul and will wash away her
sins. She uses a simile that she will drink long droughts of quietness. In this
way, she gives us an impression that she will not indulge in worldly affairs and
will satisfy herself with what nature gives to her. This is really an innovative
and untraditional resolution.
Her 2nd resolution is to remove her all shortcomings and bad things. She says
that she will carefully examine her own soul. She will identify and remove her
drawbacks and evil things to purify her soul.
The poetess makes another resolution that she will face reality. She will be
more realistic and accepting. She will lead a simple and humble life. She will
not feel proud of his beauty and riches.
Reality is bitter. But the poetess makes a resolution to accept it as it is. She
says that she will lie on the bony arms of the reality. This is a good simile the
poetess has used in the poem. She is trying to convey us an inspiring message
that we should face the reality with all its bitterness and try to seek comfort in
it.
The tone of the poetess suggests that she is willing to fulfill her new year's
resolutions at any cost. Her resolutions seem to be unrealistic and inapplicable
but she seems to be determined. The poem looks like imagery far away from
reality. In real life, we are still not willing to make such
extraordinary resolutions.
spirit will be free from all types of evils. “Long draughts of Quiet” also suggests
that she will keep quiet most of time. This will be the best means for the
purification of her soul and it will help her in leading beneficial and
successful life. She says; she will talk less and hear more and mould her life into
betterment.
Lines 4 – 6
In the given lines Elizabeth says, she will remember herself twice daily, in the
evening and in the morning. She will take into consideration what her aim of
creation is. She will try to understand the purpose of life in general.
Perhaps she means that she should recognize herself, which will help her in
recognizing God and leading life for benefit of others.
Lines 7 – 9
These are concluding lines of the poem. Here, the poetess says she will accept
reality. While, sleeping at night, she will consider the bitter reality of life.
During the New Year she will make some promises and pledges. She will sleep
on thin, less-fleshy arms of reality. Accepting reality and facts is always a
difficult thing, but she will accept it bravely. She will feel relieved and satisfied,
when she comes to know that she has spent her life for the benefit of others.
The image of bony arms is a hard reality. Even then she will get delight and
feel comforted when she has fulfilled her promises and resolutions, she has
made on the start of the New Year.
Subject: Application for Job under advertisement no. SY23778N, dated 9th
May,2019
Respected Sir,
I am writing this letter with reference to your advertisement no.
SY23778N, published in Daily Dawn on 9th May, 2019 for the post of Hardware
Technician. I fulfil the eligibility criteria mentioned in the advertisement.
Additionally, I have worked for 3 years in the relevant field at LG Electronics,
Islamabad division. My areas of interest include mobile maintenance, chipset,
transistors, etc.
All my testimonials including my CV are hereby attached with this
application. I do hope that I’ll be considered for the said post on priority basis.
Thanking you in anticipation,
Truly,
Hamid Khan,
Contact no, ____________
Dated: ______________
Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)
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Phonetics They are the speech sounds They are the speech sounds
made with the mouth open made by either totally
and tongue in the middle, stopping the flow of air
while ensuring that it doesn’t exhaled out from the mouth,
touch the teeth, lips, etc. or by partially stopping it.
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Handouts by WAQAR MAHMOOD KHAN (M.Phil. Linguistics, B.S Hons. English, M.A Education)