JKSSB Basic English Study Material PDF

Exceptions: Choosing A or An

There are a few exceptions to the general rule of using a before words that start with consonants and an before words that begin with vowels. The first letter of the word honor, for example, is a consonant, but it’s unpronounced. In spite of its spelling, the word honor begins with a vowel sound. Therefore, we use an. Consider the example sentence below for an illustration of this concept.

Incorrect : My mother is a honest woman.

Correct: My mother is an honest woman.

Similarly, when the first letter of a word is a vowel but is pronounced with a consonant sound, use a, as in the sample sentence below:

Incorrect: She is a United States senator.

Correct : She is a United States senator.

Article Before an Adjective

Sometimes an article modifies a noun that is also modified by an adjective. The usual word order is article + adjective + noun. If the article is indefinite, choose a or an based on the word that immediately follows it. Consider the following examples for reference:

Correct : Eliza will bring a small gift to Sophie’s party.

Correct : I heard an interesting story yesterday.

Indefinite Articles with Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are nouns that are either difficult or impossible to count. Uncountable nouns include intangible things (e.g., information, air), liquids (e.g., milk, wine), and things that are too large or numerous to count (e.g., equipment, sand, wood). Because these things can’t be counted, you should never use a or an with them—remember, the indefinite article is only for singular nouns. Uncountable nouns can be modified by words like some, however. Consider the examples below for reference:

Incorrect : Please give me a water.

Water is an uncountable noun and should not be used with the indefinite article.

Correct : Please give me some water.

However, if you describe the water in terms of countable units (like bottles), you can use the indefinite article.

Correct : Please give me a bottle of water.

Incorrect : Please give me an ice.

Correct : Please give me an ice cube.

Correct : Please give me some ice .

Note that depending on the context, some nouns can be countable or uncountable (e.g., hair, noise, time):

Correct : We need a light in this room.

Correct : We need some light in this room.

Many languages and nationalities are not preceded by an article. Consider the example below:

Incorrect : I studied the French in high school for four years.

Correct : I studied French in high school for four years.

Sports and academic subjects do not require articles. See the sentences below for reference:

Incorrect : I like to play the baseball.

Correct : I like to play baseball .

Incorrect : My sister was always good at the math .

Correct : My sister was always good at math .

Synonyms

Synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word in the same language.

• afraid – scared
• angry – mad
• child – kid
• cold – chilly
• difficult – hard
• garbage – trash
• gift – present
• happy – glad
• house – home
• large – big
• leap – jump
• loud – noisy
• pull – tug
• push – shove
• quick – fast
• rug – carpet
• sick – ill
• silent – quiet
• simple – easy
• smart – clever
• sniff – smell
• spooky – scary
• sprint – run
• stone – rock
• street – road
• talk – speak
• tiny – small
• tired – sleepy
• toss – throw
• yell – shout

Antonym

Antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another

Preposition

Preposition is a word or group of words that is used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object.

What exactly is a preposition?

A preposition is a word—and almost always a very small, very common word—that shows direction (to in “a letter to you”), location (at in “at the door”), or time (by in “by noon”), or that introduces an object (of in “a basket of apples”). Prepositions are typically followed by an object, which can be a noun (noon), a noun phrase (the door), or a pronoun (you).

What is an example of a preposition?

The most common prepositions are at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to, and with. Other common prepositions are about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, because of, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, close to, down, during, except, inside, instead of, into, like, near, off, on top of, onto, out of, outside, over, past, since, through, toward, under, until, up, upon, within, without.

Examples of preposition in a Sentence

 The preposition “on” in “The keys are on the table” shows location. The preposition “in” in “The movie starts in one hour” shows time.

Types of Prepositions

Prepositions indicate direction, time, location, and spatial relationships, as well as other abstract types of relationships.

Direction: Look to the left and you’ll see our destination.

Time: We’ve been working since this morning.

Location: We saw a movie at the theater.

Space: The dog hid under the table.

Verb

Verbs are words that show an action (sing), occurrence (develop), or state of being (exist). Almost every sentence requires a verb.

How to Recognize a Verb

As you can see from the examples above, one clue to help you recognize a verb is its location compared to the subject. Verbs almost always come after a noun or pronoun.

• Mark eats his dinner quickly.
• We went to the market.
• You write neatly in your notebook.
• They thought about all the prizes in the competition.

Some examples of Verbs:

• Run
• Dance
• Slide
• Jump
• Think
• Do
• Go
• Stand
• Smile
• Listen.
• Love
• Respect
• Tolerate
• Believe
• Maintain
• Walk
• Laugh
• Cough
• Play
• Run
• Would
• Should
• Do
• Can
• Did
• Could
• May
• 6. Determiners

Determiners are words such as the, my, this, some, twenty, each, any, which are used before nouns. Determiners include the following common types:

Articles:a, an, the

Demonstratives:this, that, these, those

Possessives:my, your, his, her, etc.

Quantifiers:(a) few, some, many, etc.

Numbers:one, two, three, etc.

More than one determiner

We can use more than one determiner in a noun phrase:

My two best friends at school were Mike and Terry.

All your books got wet when you left them in the garden – do you remember?

We don’t use two referring determiners or two quantifying determiners together:

We sold the house.

We sold our house.

Not: We sold the our house.

I have some questions.

I have many questions.

Not: I have some many questions.

However, we can use a quantifying determiner (some, many, enough, etc.) + of together with a referring determiner (the, this, my, etc):

Many of the people present were very angry.

Some of his friends are awful people.

We can also use some determiners as pronouns