6. Some nouns have one meaning in the singular and another in the plural: Advice = counsel advices = information Air = atmosphere airs = proud Authority = command, authorities = persons in power Good = wise goods = property Iron = metal irons = fetters, chains Force = strength forces = army Content = satisfaction, contents = things contained Physic = medicine physics = physical sciences, Respect = regards respects = compliments Work = job works = compositions, factories,. Earning = income earnings = sowings Quarter = one – fourth quarters = houses Examples (A) Air is necessary for human life. (B) It is bad to put on airs. (A) I have eaten one quarter of the cake. (B) I live in the government quarters. 7. People are often confused or they commit mistake in the use of certain nouns. (A) Lecturership is wrong: lectureship is correct. (a) There are twenty candidates for lecturership. Incorrect (b) There are twenty candidates for lectureship. Correct (B) Freeship is wrong; free – studentship is correct. (a) Ramesh has applied for freeship. Incorrect (b) Ramesh has applied for free – studentship. Correct (C) Boarding is wrong; boarding house is correct. (a) Mohan lives in a boarding. Incorrect (b) Mohan lives in a boarding house. Correct (D) Family members is wrong; members of the family is correct. (a) Vivek and Ramesh are my family members. Incorrect (b) Vivek and Ramesh are the members of my family. Correct (E) English teacher is wrong; the teacher of English is correct. (a) Dr. Raina is our English teacher. Incorrect (b) Dr. Raina is our teacher of English. Correct (F) Cousin – brother or sister is wrong; only cousin is correct. (a) Geeta is my cousin sister. Incorrect (b) Geeta is my cousin. Correct (G) Room in a compartment or a bench means unoccupied set. (a) There is no room on this bench. Correct (H) Our, yours, hers, theirs are correct. (a) This house is our’s. Incorrect (b) This house is ours. Correct Note: The same principle applies to ‘yours ‘, ‘hers’ and ‘theirs’. (I) Wages means punishments when used in singular. (a) The wages of sin is death. (J) It also means charges for the labour when used in plural sense. (b) The wages of daily workers have been raised. 8. Also remember the subtle difference in the usage of these pairs of nouns (A) The noun ‘habit’ applies only to an individual whereas ‘custom’ applies to a society or country. (a) Poor children often become a victim of bad habits. (b) Tribal in India have many interesting customs. (B) ‘Cause’ product a result, while ‘reason’ explains or justifies a cause. (a) Scientists try to find out the cause of a phenomenon. (b) You have a good reason to be pleased with your students. (C) ‘Man’ is used in ordinary sense while ‘gentleman’ is a man of character. (a) Man is mortal. (b) He is a gentleman at large. (D) ‘Men’ - plural of man: ‘people’ is used for persons. (a) There are five men in the room. (b) The people of Bihar are simple. (E) ‘Shade’ – a place sheltered from the sun; ‘shadow’ – the shade of a distinct form or object. (a) The villagers sat under the shade of trees. (b) He is even afraid of his own shadow. (F) ‘Cost’ – amount paid by the shopkeeper; ‘price’ – amount paid by the customer. (a) The cost of production of automobile items has gone up. (b) Sometimes the buyers have to pay higher price for necessary items. (G) ‘House’ – a building to live in: ‘Home’ – one’s native place. (a) Quarters area houses allotted to us for a definite period. (b) My home town is Muzaffapur. (H) ‘House’ – a building to live in; ‘Home’ - one’s native place. (a) The shopkeepers welcome customer with smiles. (b) The lawyer discusses the cases of his clients. 9. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, number and gender. For example: Every man must bring his luggage. All students must do their home work. Each of the girls must carry her own bag. Each students must bring their books. Each student must bring his books. 10. White using ‘everybody’ ‘everyone’, ‘anybody’, and ‘e
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 05:48:48 +0000
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