Check Your English_ Part 4 Explanation

1.   'one of something' is always followed by a plural noun.

Eg: One of the bags is empty 

2&3.    Difference between IT'S and ITS


IT'S means either IT IS or IT HAS, whereas, ITS is for possession. 

4.   "In case" and "in the case"  

Read the sentences:  

a. In case of emergency , do not use the lift

b. In the case of India, it is a developing country


In case  of something = if something happens

In the case of something = According to something


5. There is and there has been

There is is used to show or demonstrate something, normally a thing/object  but an accident is not like a 'bag' or 'vehicle'.  The verb be has been used here in its third form been with the meaning 'occurred'.

6. When a word is formed with single meaning but from two different words, they have to be connected with a '-' while writing. 

So it's environment-friendly not environment friendly

7& 8.   The word 'near' does not accept 'to' proposition. But the word 'close' accepts 

9. The word interested is always followed by the proposition in NOT to   

10.  Little is used with uncountable nouns and knowledge is uncountable and less is a comparative word used while comparing something. Here, we're not comparing anything. The speaker only wants to say he has a very 'limited' knowledge about the matter.  

Other examples are:   I have little information about it  ( Meaning I have no information about it) 
                                   Here information is uncountable.

The idiom 'from hand to mouth' means :

a. Live without saving money
b. Face the problem
c. Donate one's assets
d. none of these

Answer : a

The feminine gender of 'Bachelor'

a. Widower
b. Widow
c. Spinstor
d. Nun

(Ans: spinstor )

The collective noun of 'Cattle'

a. bunch
b. bevy
c. hive
d. herd

(Answer: herd ) 

I can't help you ........... you tell me the truth

a. Unless
b. if
c. but
d. as if

(answer a: Unless )

The synonym of 'Audacious'

a . Useless
b. Foolish
c. Bold
d. Crazy

( Answer : c; Bold)

He is senior ........ me

answer : to 

Choose the misspelt word

a. Analize
b. Argument
c. Assistant
d. Comparative
( Answer : a , correct spelling analyse)

Where and Where NOT to use article 'the'

We use 'the' when there is only one of something:

Have you ever crossed the equator? ( there is only one equator )

What's the longest river in Europe?

Our apartment is on the tenth floor

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.

I'm going away at the end of this month

1. When we're talking about things or people in general, we do not use 'the':

I'm afraid of dogs. ( not the dogs)

Doctors are usually paid more than teachers

Do you know anybody who collects stamps?

Crime is a problem in most big cities ( not 'the crime')

Life has change a lot in the last thirty years  ( not 'the life' )

Do you like classical music/Chinese food/fast cars?

My favourite sport is football/skiing/athletics.

My favourite subject at school was history/ physics/ English

2. We say 'most people' / most books/ most cars, etc. ( not the most....)

Most shops accept credit cards ( not 'the most shops)

In general (without ‘the’)	Specific people or things ( with ‘the’)
I like working with people I like working with people who say what they think. ( not all people, but ‘people who say why they think’ is still a general idea Do you like coffee?            ( coffee in general ) Do you like strong black coffee?            ( not all coffee, but ‘strong black coffee’ is still a general idea )	I like the people I work with (= a specific group of people ) I didn’t like the coffee we had after dinner. (= specific coffee)

 3. We do not use 'the' with names of people ( 'Helen', 'Helen Taylor' etc.) In the same way; we do not use 'the' with most names of places. For example :

Continents Countries, states etc. Islands Cities, towns,etc. Mountains

Africa ( not ‘the Africa) , Europe, South America France ( not ‘the France’) Japan, Brazil, Texas Sicily, Bermuda, Tasmania Cairo, New York, Bangkok Everest, Etna , Kilimanjaro

But we use ‘the’ in names with Republic , Kingdom, States etc.

The Czech Republic                             The United Kingdom( the UK)

The Dominican Republic                       The United States of America (the USA )

• Have you been to Canada or the United States?

IELTS SPEAKING STRATEGIES; FLUENCY AND COHERENCE

Many students assume that if they speak English well, it would simply give them a good band in the speaking exam of IELTS. This is not completely true because there are specific descriptions that an IELTS examiner is looking for and if a candidate does not respond to the questions in a more systematic way, they may lose marks. Here are the band descriptors for speaking. All the descriptors are considered for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the speaking test. We will discuss how to deal with part 1, part 2 and part3 in detail later. Take a look at the descriptors.

Sample 1

1. Fluency and coherence
2.  Grammatical accuracy and range
3.  Lexical resource
4. Pronunciation

1. Fluency and coherence

Fluency

Fluency DOES NOT mean you speak fast. It simply means the quality of being able to speak easily in a skillful way.

Some candidates speak English fast in the exam because:

• a.       They also speak their first language fast
• b.      They think speaking fast will impress the examiner to get marks
• c.       They think if they speak fast, the examiner will not notice the errors
• d.      They think that speed is fluency and they want to show they are fluent

All these concepts are wrong. The examiner WILL NOT request you to slow down and if they miss what you’re saying, you will lose marks. Notice that the examiner is not a computer to be able to listen to all your words without losing any. Make it easy for them to analyze your language and give you marks.

Sample 2

Students normally lose marks in fluency because of too many ‘Pauses’. Interestingly, candidates are allowed to make short pauses for the following reasons

• a.       The candidate is self-correcting
• b.      The candidate is searching for a correct tense or noun use

However, if the pause is because of the lack of ideas, the candidate loses marks.

Cohesion

Answer these questions,

• Are you speaking in a way where you follow the order of questions?
• Do you responds to all the prompts in speaking part 2 and not miss any?
• Do you use the verb from each prompt to respond?
• Do you make sure that examiner does not think you have missed a prompt?!
• Do you use connectives such as Firstly, secondly, then, after that, although, but, in those days, nowadays, at the moment etc.?

  

  Sample 3

If your answers are ‘YES’ you will definitely score high in fluency and cohesion.