TIME MANAGEMENT

11/19/2009

Subjunctive form is used only with certain specific words. Need to remember. These words always need to have subjunctive form:

Demand

Request

Dictate

Insist

Mandate

Propose

Recommend

Stipulate

Suggest

Subjunctive Word From Above + That + Subject +  Subjunctive Verb.

Subjunctive form of Be is Be. Is, Am, Are are not used for subjunctive verbs

Verbs that require "to verb" i.e. that need to use to but sound like subjuctive are:

Advice,

Allow,

Forbid,

Persuade,

Want

Either subjuctive or to verb is for the following words

Ask,

Beg,

Desire,

Intent,

Order,

Prefer,

Require,

Urge

If .. Then

10/1/2009

Everyone is singular

Limiting Modifiers should be used immediately before what they modify:
Just
Only
Hardly
Almost

Be suspicious of answers that have Being or Thing

Usage of All:
ALL should not be followed by Of unless there is a Pronoun ex: I hate all of you !

1) Present Tense Rules:

2) Past Tense Rules:

3) Present Perfect Rules:

Hopefully is almost always wrong. I hope so is what you intend then dont use hopefully.

During, For, Since

During the last two hours, I felt sleepy

I slept for two hours

Since the past two hours, I have been sleeping

Prepositions

- With, for, by, at, in, of , to , about

(use whom with prepositions instead of who, i.e by whom, at whom, in whom etc)

- Prepositions always take objective case

i.e By me, between you and me etc

Preposition is a word that occurs before a noun/pronoun. The very word, "Preposition" is self explanatory, which means,pre - before and position - placed, kept etc. Hence, the word that follows a preposition should be a noun or a pronoun.
Some examples are as under:
The book is on the table (on- preposition; table-noun)
He is standing beneath the tree (beneath-preposition; tree-noun)
The object of a preposition is a word or phrase that the preposition refers to. 
For example, in the sentence: 
Mary hid under the table. 
"under" is a preposition, and "the table" is its object. 

The object of a preposition usually comes straight after the preposition, but it may come before it. Compare these two sentences: 
In whose name shall I book the table? 
Whose name shall I book the table in? 
In both sentences, the preposition is "in" and its object is "whose name".

After prepositions use objective case, use gerunds, use nouns + gerunds

Use Gerunds after preposition

I am looking forward to meeting you

After Need, Require, Want use Gerund

Require editing, need painting, want eating

Preposition + Noun + Participle  Use Gerund

With Childcare facilities included/including

Never use And + Relative pronoun (which, who, that)

This is the dog, and which I know is barking (wrong)

This is the dog, which I know is barking (correct)

Only exception to above rule is when there is a parallel relative in the preceding sentence. This is the dog which is black and which is hungry.

Rather than == Instead of

Both are equal except that rather than is used to match nouns/verbs its more flexible but instead of begins with a prepositional phrase.

Summons vs Summon

I shall get a summons from him (singular summons since its used  a noun)

I shall summon him (verb)

Two prepositional phrases cannot govern a single objective unless there is a immediate connection between them

He was refused to and forcibly ejected from the school - Wrong since there is no relation between refused to and forcibly ejected from

He was refused to school and forcibly ejected from it - Correct

IDIOMS:

1. The more ..... the greater.....

1. At the urging of somebody

1. Where can be used in the sense of whereas, as can while. However, if you have to choose between while and whereas, you should go with whereas (or where in this case) if while can be ambiguous in the sentence, since it can mean whereas or at the same time that.

1. The number of male students is as many as that of female -- is incorrect since "the number" cannot be "many" i.e. as many as is wrong with number. A number cannot be equivalent to another number it can be equal       

1. Words original (and its derivations) and first usually require past tense.

1. In a sentence when it refers to people use WHO instead of THAT, for places use WHERE and for time use WHEN

1. Credited with: Carthargians are still commonly credited with having salted Roman fields during the waRs.  Wrong: Credited as, credited for

1. Distinguish between x and y  = for two different things

   Distinguish x from y = for two very similar things

1. Discriminate between x and y - for very similar things

1. Subjunctive: Procedure requires that be + verb in subjunctive form.

1. Regardless : Correct. Irregardless : Not standard so incorrect

1. Regarded as: Brady is regarded as one of the greatest 19th century photographers.  Do not use Infinitive or Being with Regarded. Wrong: Regarded to  or Regarded as being

1. Regard, Regards: Business English is deadly enough without scrambling it. “As regards your downsizing plan . . .” is acceptable, if stiff. “In regard to” “and   “with regard to” are also correct. But “in regards to” is nonstandard. You can also convey the same idea with “in respect to” or “with respect to.”

1. In regards to/ with regard to:  Business English is deadly enough without scrambling it. “As regards your downsizing plan . . .” is acceptable, if stiff. “In regard to . . .” is also correct. But don’t confuse the two by writing “In regards to.”

1. Consider: Destruction of rain forests is considered a major threat to environment. Wrong: Considered as, Considered to be. If the Object complement is far away from object, use *consider to be*

1. Prefer A to B: I prefer Korean food to Japanese. Wrong: Prefer A over B.

1. Exchange A for B: He hopes to exchange money for mind. Wrong: Exchange with.

1. Refuse A for B: People can refuse social security payments in favor of [for] private sources of income. Wrong: Refuse in favor of

1. Afflicted with: Rommy is afflicted with common cold. Wrong: Afflicted from.

1. Each other/One another: When two sides are involved then use each other or other, as in “refusal of each side to acknowledge the other as legitimate party is the core of the problem”. 

                                          Use one another when more than two things involved.

1. Warned of: Patients should be warned of the potential risk of medicine. Wrong: Warned about.       

1. Believe X to be Y: After seeing the flying saucer, I believe UFOs to be a real phenomenon. Wrong: believe X as Y.

1. Care about: Do not care about problems.

1. Contrast A with B: Is used when the comparison is more specific and implies differences.

1. Compare A to B: Compare To is used for things that are likened.

1. Decide to + verb:  We decided to continue. 

   Decide on + noun: We decided on the new format.

1. Different from: New paper format is different from old one. Different Than is not wrong but needs elaborate construction of the sentence

He is different man than he was in 1985.

He is a different man from the man he used to be in 1985

1. Differ From (meaning different from) is correct. Differ With (meaning disagree with) is correct. Differ Than is wrong.

1. Aim to + verb: Rules that aim to identify causes. 

   Aimed at + noun: I am aiming at my target.    

1. Debate over:  A debate over adequacy of current law. Wrong: Debate About

    Debating is correct dont need debating over

    Worried about                                      

1. Convince X to do something and Convince X that something is true: Both of these are correct idioms. Tecumseh struggled to convince his fellow Shawnees, as well as the other Indian tribes, that they should unite against the white settlers rather than continue their separate wars.  Tecumseh struggled to convince his fellow Shawnees, as well as the other Indian tribes, to unite against the white settlers.

1. Aid in: I asked for god’s aid in doing things correctly. Aid to is correct when you talk for financial help as in Aid to a. Wrong: aid to do things correctly.

1. Just as: Just as polio vaccine is given to every person to protect the few who might actually contract polio, mass dietary change is needed to protect the significant number who are susceptible to the life-threatening effects of press eating habits.

1. Just as…so

1. Way to provide=Correct Way for Providing=Wrong

1. Between A and B VS Between: When we’re talking about a one-to-one relationship between two groups, “between” is correct. Now imagine we still have those relationships, but multiplied. For example, diplomatic relations between countries OR Friendships between people. Notice how the meaning would change for these:

* Friendships among people…  Sounds like it could be a three-way friendship.

* Friendships between people…

* Relations between countries…          

* Relations among countries… Three-way (or more) again.

1. Evidence of/evidence to: You can provide evidence to a court, even enough evidence to convict someone; but the standard expression “is evidence of’requires “of” rather than “to” in sentences like this: “Driving through the front entrance of the Burger King is evidence of Todd’sinexperience in driving.” If you could substitute “evidences” or “evidenced” in your sentence, you need “of.”

1. Expresses that/ says that: “In her letter Jane expresses that she is getting irritated with me for not writing” should be corrected to “In her letter Jane says that. . . “ You can express an idea or a thought, but you can’t ever express that. In technical terms, “express” is a transitive verb and requires an object.

1. For One/For One Thing: People often say “for one” when they mean “for one thing”; “I really want to go to the movie. For one thing, Kevin Spacey is my favorite actor.” (For One is wrong). The only time you should use “for one” by itself to give an example of something is when you have earlier mentioned a class to which the example belongs: “There are a lot of reasons I don’t want your old car.  For one, there are squirrels living in the upholstery.” (One reason.)

1. Ideally if there is ambiguity in which noun one refers to then its better to make it explicit as in. A natural response of communities devastated by earthquake or flood is to rebuild on the same site, overlooking that the forces that cause the disaster could cause another one. (This is wrong) ; Correct one is: communities devastated by earthquake or flood is to rebuild on the same site, without considering that the forces that caused the disaster could also cause another such disaster.

1. Hardly ever/ hardly never: The expression is “hardly ever.”

1. Most always / almost always:  “Most always” is a casual, slangy way of saying “almost always.” The latter expression is better in writing.

1. No sooner than/ No Sooner when:  The phrase, “No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat when it began  to yowl” should be instead, “No sooner had Paula stopped petting the cat than it began to yowl.”

1. Once in a while/ Once and a while: ONCE AND A WHILE/ONCE IN A WHILE The expression is “once in a while.”

1. Only:  Writers often inadvertently create confusion by placing “only” incorrectly in a sentence. It should go immediately before the word or phrase it modifies. “I lost my only shirt” means that I had but one to begin with. “I lost only my shirt” means I didn’t lose anything else. “Only I lost my shirt” means that I was the only person in my group to lose a shirt. Strictly speaking, “I only lost my shirt” should mean I didn’t destroy it or have it stolen–I just lost it; but in common speech this is usually understood as being identical with “I lost only my shirt.” Scrutinize your uses of “only” to make sure you are not creating unwanted ambiguities.

1. Ignorant of: He is ignorant of the fact. Not ignorant to. Ignorant of is correct.

1. Happen by accident:  Things donot happen on accident, they happen by accident.

1. Think on/ Think about: An archaic form that persists in some dialects is seen in statements   like “I’ll think on it” when most people would say “I’ll think about it.”

1. Less on A than on B: The selection of paintings was based less on A than on B.

1. Costed more than it originally seemed they would Researchers are studing plastics that dissolve at different rates, and they are finding that the so-called “quick disintegration” plastics are talking more time to deteriorate than they originally seemed.

B. They seemed originally

C. It seemed that they would originally

D. It originally seemed

E. It originally seemed they would

E is best.

1. Acclaimed as: An artistic presence of the first order, one frequently ranked with Picasso, Stravinsky, and James Joyce, Martha Graham was acclaimed as a great dancer long before her innovative masterworks made her the most honored of American choreographers.

1. Barely …When

1. Scarcely …When

1. Hardly …Before

1. No sooner …Than(when)

1. In addition to being A, B is also C: In addition to being one of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and American tastes, Chez Panisse in Berkeley is also one of the Bay Area’s most established restaurants.

1. Although: A negative aspect, positive reality. Even though: extreme form of although.

1. Despite: A positive aspect, negative reality. Inspite of : similar to despite.

1. So …as to be: Wrong Such … as to be

1. Several years ago the diet industry introduced a variety of appetite suppressants, but some of these drugs caused stomach disorders severe enough to have them banned by the Food and Drug Administration.

(A) stomach disorders severe enough to have them

(B) stomach disorders that were severe enough so they were

(C) stomach disorders of such severity so as to be

(D) such severe stomach disorders that they were

(E) such severe stomach disorders as to be

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................D

1. Combine A with B

51. The exhibition of art from Nubians, the site of a Black civilization that goes back to the fourth millennium B.C., makes clear the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that of sub-Saharan Africa.

(A) the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that

(B) that the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt to that

(C) the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt with that

(D) that the Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt with those

(E) that Nubians combined artistic elements from Egypt and those

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................D

2. The Forbidden City in Beijing, from which the emperors ruled by heavenly mandate, was a site which a commoner or foreigner could not enter without any permission, on pain of death.

(A) which a commoner or foreigner could not enter without any permission,

(B) which a commoner or foreigner could enter without any permission only

(C) which no commoner or foreigner could enter without permission,

(D) which, without permission, neither commoner or foreigner could only enter

 (E) which, to enter without permission, neither commoner or foreigner could do,

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................C

1. Grounds for: American conservatives have no valid ideological grounds for sympathising with the Pretoria regime

1. Help to: Help in ing form is wrong.

1. Concur in a decision:  Concur with is wrong

1. Directive and order do not take that to connect the next clause. As in directive prohibiting is correct but directive that prohibited is wrong. Order to do is correct but ordet that is wrong.

1. Situation in which is better than Situation where

1. So adjective as to: Such adjective as to is wrong.

1. Responsible for: Responsible to is wrong.

Sartre believed each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over another one, that it is the choice that gives value to the act, and that nothing that is not acted upon has value.

(A) each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over another one

(B) that each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over another

(C) that each individual is responsible, choosing one course of action over another

(D) that each individual is responsible to choose one course of action over the other

(E) each individual is responsible for choosing one course of action over other ones

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................B

1. One over the other vs One over the another

Other is used when it is specific to two i.e one over the other where as another is used for non specific case. i.e. if there are only two chocolates, i like this one over the other. 

1. Worried about: Worried over is wrong

Administration worried over the impact of new policy on the workforce set up a committee to look the matter in details.

  Debate over

1. Crucial in: The debate over bilingual education centers on the issue of whether the United States should foster the idea of single common language, an idea, some believe, that has in the past been crucial in binding diverse constituencies together.

(A) been crucial in binding diverse constituencies together

(B) been crucial as a binding together of diverse constituencies

(C) been crucial to bind together constituencies that are diverse

(D) become crucial in binding together diverse constituencies

(E) become crucial to bind together constituencies that are diverse

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................A

1. Contributed to + noun: School integration plans that involve busing between suburban and central-city areas have contributed, according to a recent study, to significant increases in housing integration, which, in turn, reduces any future need for busing.

(A) significant increases in housing integration, which, in turn, reduces

(B) significant integration increases in housing, which, in turn, reduces

(C) increase housing integration significantly, which, in turn, reduces

(D) increase housing integration significantly, in turn reducing

(E) significantly increase housing integration, which, in turn, reduce

correct answer is .............................................................................................................................................................A

1. Consequence of

A common disability in test pilots is hearing impairment, a consequence of sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time.

(A) a consequence of sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time

(B) a consequence from sitting for long periods of time too near to large jet engines

(C) a consequence which resulted from sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time

(D) damaged from sitting too near to large jet engines for long periods of time

(E) damaged because they sat too close to large jet engines for long periods of time

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................A

1. Depict something as something

1. Expected to

The Commerce Department announced that the economy grew during the second quarter at a 7.5 percent annual rate, while inflation eased when it might have been expected for it to rise.

(A) it might have been expected for it to rise

(B) it might have been expected to rise

(C) it might have been expected that it should rise

(D) its rise might have been expected

(E) there might have been an expectation it would rise

Correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................B

1. Prohibiting A from doing B

Wisconsin, Illinois, Florida, and Minnesota have begun to enforce statewide bans prohibiting landfills to accept leaves, brush, and grass clippings.

(A) prohibiting landfills to accept leaves, brush, and grass clippings

(B) prohibiting that landfills accept leaves, brush, and grass clippings

(C) prohibiting landfills from accepting leaves, brush, and grass clippings

(D) that leaves, brush, and grass clippings cannot be accepted in landfills

(E) that landfills cannot accept leaves, brush, and grass clippings

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................C

1. Sales of

At the annual stockholders meeting, investors heard a presentation on the numerous challenges facing the company, including among them the threat from a rival’s multibillion-dollar patent-infringement suit and the declining sales for the company’s powerful microprocessor chip.

A. including among them the threat from a rival’s multibillion-dollar patentinfringement suit and the declining sales for

B. which includes the threat of a rival’s multibillion-dollar patent-infringement suit and declining sales of

C. included among these the threat from a rival’s multibillion-dollar patentinfringement suit as well as a decline in sales for

D. among them the threat of a rival’s multibillion-dollar patent-infringement suit and the decline in sales of

E. among these the threat from a rival’s multibillion-dollar patent-infringement suit as well as the decline in sales for

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................D

1. Even though is better than even if but even if is not wrong

Distinguished architecture requires the expenditure of large sums of money, even if it is by no means certain that the expenditure of large sums of money produce distinguished architecture.

(A) even if it is by no means certain that the expenditure of large sums of money produce

(B) even if it is by no means certain that the expenditure of large sums of money will produce

(C) even though there is no certainty that the expenditure of money in large sums produces

(D) even though it is by no means certain that the expenditure of large sums of money produces

(E) though there is no certainty as to the expenditure of money in large sums producing

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................D

1. Phenomenon..in which

Idioglossia is a phenomenon, incompletely understood at best, where two persons develop a unique and private language with highly original vocabulary and syntax.

(A) where two persons develop a unique and private language with

(B) when two persons develop a unique and private language having

(C) in which two persons have unique and private language development with

(D) having two persons who develop a unique and private language that has

(E) in which two persons develop a unique and private language with

correct answer is ..............................................................................................................................................................E

1. To keep it from: Means to avoid something being done on it.

1. Nor: Neither (A or B), nor C !!! also, not (A or B), nor C is fine too.

1. Concerned for/Concerned with: Concerned for = worried or anxious. Concerned with = related to. so the correct one should be “He is concerned for investor relations “ This is concerned with investor relations is probably the right usage.

1. Crisis is singular whereas crises is plural

1. x forbids y to do z

1. Not x but rather y

1. Blame A on B: Analysts blamed May’s sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the weather

1. As likely as

1. During particular time period

1. Noun + was + adjective

1. As such

1. X has half the chance that Y has

1. Afraid of is correct and afraid by is wrong.

1. Met with

1. Integrate A into B

When we reduce a verb to its -ing or -ed form, we must look at one and only one thing: whether the noun that it will modify is the subject or object of that verb.

The -ing form is used for DOING the action, which means SUBJECT, which means ACTIVE voice.

The -ed form is used for RECEIVING the action, which means OBJECT, which means PASSIVE voice.

Before I go further, let me offer two examples that will make things clearer as we go along: speaking person (the -ing form) spoken words (the -ed form) In this type of question, we always have two elements: a participle, which is either in the -ing or -ed form,  a noun that is modified by this participle So, using the previous examples, speaking modifies person and spoken modifies words.

The next step is to realize that these participles all come from verbs--speaking and spoken both come from the verb speak. Now, using these examples, and applying them to the rules I mentioned at the beginning, we will notice that if we made a sentence, person would be the subject of the verb speak and words would be the object of the verb speak.

Using this procedure, we can figure out whether should use the -ing or -ed form of a participle that modifies a noun. And that's it!!

Of course, this is easy when the vocab is easy, and we often get confused when we are using difficult vocab because we sometimes don't know whether something is the subject or the object of the verb, but this procedure that I have explained is the only sure way to get the right answer.

In our sentence here, which replaces times, and times is the object of determined, but it is the subject of differed. In other words, we have something like this: ...somebody determined times...but times differed... I know some of you have learned that we should only use the -ing form only for actions that are ongoing/in progress in the present, but that's simply not true.

We do occasionally use them correctly for past actions that were ongoing/in progress. Finally, everybody gets confused simply because the -ed form appears in the second one, making people think the -ed form should appear again when it's reduced. We need to realize that there is truly no connection between the two; it's pure coincidence that each has the -ed form in it!!! If you stick to the rules that I just wrote, you'll be okay.

http://www.urch.com/forums/1715-post4.html

VERBAL