OU Degree 3rd Sem English Unit 1 Vocabulary, Grammar
Synonyms
A ‘Synonym” is a word or phrase that has exactly the same, nearly same or meaning as another word or phrase in the same language. Example observe the different words and their
Meaning
- buy – purchase
- gift – present
- understand – comprehend
a. The source of English Vocabulary
- Germanic language
- Romance language
Large number of words are borrowed from Latin and French languages.
b. The history England
- French and Latin words entered the English language
- Britain colonisatin and conducted Business with other parts of the world. ‘Synonyms must be used according to the context
Example: Beautiful has ‘20’ synonyms.
Beautiful is used generally for women
Handsome for men
Good looking for both
Pretty is used less than ‘beautiful’ and pretty is used for children and young girls.
Exercise – 1.
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word.
Example: She looked pretty in the fancy dress, (pretty / delightful)
1. The china cups were brightly coloured and ………………………….. (dainty / bonny)
2. Disappointment was write large on his …………………………. force, (beautiful / handsome)
3. The design on the hand made hawls was …………………………. (exquisite / ravishing)
4. The celebrations were followed by a …………………………. fireworks display, (spectacular / delectable).
5. The sunrise at Kanyakumari is ……………………. (beguiling / gorgeous)
6. The peacock is a very showy bird with ……………………. phimage. (resplendent / comely
7. Each feather of the peacock is tipped with an ……………………. eyespot. (iridescent / alluring)
8. The handmade chocolates were ………………………….. (delectable / dazzling)
9. The village by the sea offers ………………………….. shops and restaurants. (Alluring / admirable)
10. Benares presents ………………………….. a maze of narrow streets, (statuesque / picturesques)
Answers :
1. dainty
2. handsome
3. exquisite
4. spectacular
5. gorgeous
6. comely
7. iridescent
8. delectable
9. alluring
10. picturesque
Exercise – II.
From the words given in the box, choose the most appropriate ‘Synonyms’ for the words in italics
| Vacant | weak | awful | historic | complete |
| polite | baffling | secure | loyal | annoyed |
1. The dog is a faithfull animal ………………..
2. The man was old and looked frail ………………..
3. Being courteous costs you nothing…………………
4. The huge mansion looked empty…………………
5. The police ensured that the street was safe…………………
6. He was bothered by loud music…………………
7. The Jugglers tricks were confusing…………………
8. The city was hit by a terrible storm………………..
9. A huge crowd had gathered on momentous occasion…………………
10. This is not an exhaustive list of synonyms…………………
Answers :
1. loyal
2. weak
3. polite
4. vacant
5. secure
6. annoyed
7. baffling
8. awful
9. historic
10. complete
Exercise – III.
In each of the following sentences, identify two words that have a similar meaning.
Example: The unhappy ending of the story made us all sad
1. If I do my normal work, I will get my regular salary.
2. You throw the ball to the dog and it will toss it back to you.
3. You will find your way if you stay on the right path.
4. The stuntman leaped into the air and jumped over the fire.
5. If you listen carefully, you can hear the bird’s song.
6. The gloomy day was marked by dark clouds.
7. His hourly wages are much higher than my monthly salary.
8. The car’s engine was noisy and the hom was loud:
9. The gang of robbers disappeared into the crowd.
10. Titad cautiously when you walk in the garden.
Answers:
1. Normal — regular
2. throw — toss
3. way — path
4. leaped — jumped
5. listen — hear
6. gloomy — dark
7. wages — salary
8. noisy — loud
9. gang — crowd
10. Tread — Walk
Antonyms
‘Antoným’ is a word or phrase that has the opposite meaning to another word or phrase in the same language.
Poor — rich
Swift – Slow
Exercise – 1.
From the words given in the box, choose the appropriate ‘Antonym’ for the words In italics
| Praised | Welcomed | Explicit | early | secure |
| biased | wonderful | notorious | rough | handy |
1. The fabric was very smooth
2. The desert was awful
3. Monsoon arrived late this year
4. The umpire’s decision was fair
5. His inaction shows his tacit support
6. When the government changed, his position became precarious
7. The teacher berated the students for their performance
8. The map is very inconvenient
9. Big Cities are becoming famous for their pollution
10. The leader expelled the new entrants
Answers :
1. rough
2. wonderful
3. early
4. biased
5. explicit
6. secure
7. praised
8. handy
9. notorious
10. welcomed
Exercise – II.
Select the most appropriate antonyms for the words in italics.
| Stale | diligent | triumphs | oblivion | retreats |
| vain | abolished | conceal | synthetic | exotic |
1. While more schools should be established, child labour should be __________
2. When the army advances, the enemy __________
3. Only fools are __________ wise people remain modest.
4. Natural dyesare eco-friendly; __________ones are harmful.
5. Sometimes, the lazy ones prosper and the _________ ones suffer.
6. The survival rate of indigenous plants is better than that of_________ ones.
7. Many former heroes now live in __________ for public memory is short.
8. Statistics are often used not to reveal but to the __________ truth.
9. Although marketed as fresh, the vegetables were pretty__________
10. Neither defeats nor __________ should affect us.
Answers :
1. abolished
2. retreats
3. vain
4. synthetic
5. diligent
6. exotic
7. oblivion
8. conceal
9. stale
10. triumphs
Grammar : Prepositions
Preposition show a relationship between other words in a two sentences.
The relationship may be between a noun/pronoun and a verb or two nouns or two pronouns.
Types of Prepositions
There are some prepositions that are common in every type of preposition as they function in a versatile way. Those types of prepositions are given below in the table:
- Prepositions of time — after, around, at, before, between, during, from, on, until, at, in, from, since, for, during, within
- Prepositions of place — above, across, against, along, among, around, at, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, in, inside, into, near, off, on, opposite, out, over, past, through, to, toward, under, underneath
- Prepositions of direction/movement: — at, for, on, to, in, into, onto, between
- Prepositions of manner; by, on, in, like, with
- Other types of prepositions: by, with, of, for, by, like, as
Rules of Prepositions
Rule 1 : A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. Verbs placed immediately after preposition must be in gerund form. Examples:
- He prevented me from drinking hot water.
- He insists on trying once again.
Rule 2 : When ‘object’ of the preposition is an Interrogative Pronoun What, Who, Whom, Which, Where etc., the preposition usually takes end or front position. Examples:
- May I know who were you talking to?
- What are you thinking of?
It used to be thought as ungrammatical, to end a sentence with a preposition, but it is now well accepted.
Rule 3 : When ‘object’ of the preposition is a relative Pronoun ‘that’, the preposition takes end position. Examples:
- Here is the magazine that you asked for.
- This is the dish that she is fond of.
Rule 4 : When the ‘object’ of the preposition is infinitive (to + verb), preposition is placed after infinitive. Examples:
- This is a good hotel to stay at.
- I need a pencil to write with.
Rule 5: In some sentences, preposition is attached with the verb. Examples:
- I hate being laughed at.
- This I insist on.
Rule 6: In interrogative sentences preposition comes in the beginning. Examples:
- By which train did you come?
- For whom was instructions given?
Verbs + Prepositions
1. Agree is a verb
to is a preposition
Agree to – Agree to some plan
Agree to some proposal
We agree to it.
2. Agree with — someone
I agree with him.
Appeal to (a person, higher court)
Regarding the case, I appeal to highcourt.
Appeal for — I appeal for top management
Appeal against — a decision
We appeal against the manager of the company
Apologies to (someone)
¡ apologise my brother when committed a mistake
Apolotise for (something — bad behaviour etc)
I apologise the hotel authorities for my friends behaviour,
Bring to (light — to make something known)
I bring to the notice of the principal about the incident in the college.
Being down (Prices)
The new government is focussing on bring down the prices
Brihng out (facts, abook)
I try to bring out at the meetirg.
Complain of (Something — pain etc.)
They complain of the suffering
Complain to (Someone)
I complain to Bank authorities about the money transaction
Complain against (Someone or something)
The team complain against the convenor
Personal pronous
I — we — you — he — she — it — They
Correponding forms used after prepositions
Me, us, you, him, her, it them
Pronouns after prepositions
He gave a book to me (Me — First-person Singular)
He likes all of us (Us — First person Plural)
I gave a book to you (You — Second person Singular or plural)
I gave a git to him (Him — Third person Singular Masculine)
He took the book from her (Her — third person Singular, Faminine)
I went to the library with them (Them — Third person Plural)
Some Commonly confused pairs of prepositions
- The pen is in the box (‘in’ indicates a state of rest)
- He came into the room (‘into’ indiëates movement)
- He sat on the wall (on refers to things of rest)
- The tiger jumped upon the deer (upon refers to things in motion)
- He lives in Hyderabad (‘in’ is used with the names of countries and states etc)
- He lives at Madhapur in hyderabad (‘at’ is used with the names of locations)
- My house is by the market (by — near)
- My house is beside the market (beside – by the side of)
- Near my house, there is a theatre, besides a market (Besides — In addition to)
- The match is between india and Pakistan (Between is used to refer two people)
- The world up will be played among 16 teams (Among is used to refer to more than two people, two groups or two things)
Exercise — I
Fill In the blanks with the appropriate word.
1. The principal presided the meeting
2. The report dealt _______ the academic activities of the college.
3. The principal thanked the students _______ their cooperation
4. The chief guest congratulated the student _______ their performance.
5. He said that the secret _______ success lies in hardwork
6. He advised the staff not to quarrel themselves.
7. It would be wrong he said to complain each other
8. He pointed out that students depend them.
9. He warned that he would not put up any indiscipline.
10. _______ a brief speech, the chief guest gave away the prizes.
Answers:
1. over
2. with
3. for
4. on
5. of
6. among
7. about
8. upon
9. with
10. After
Exercise — II
Correct the common errors In the use of prepositions in the following sentences
1. He picked up a fight with me.
2. I ordered for a coffee
3. He replied me in the negative
4. He is unable to move from bed
5. They were talking something
6. This paper is inferior than that
7. Everyone should pray god
8. He will be cured from his fever
9. Write the answers with ink
10. This is a comfortable house to live
11. This building is built by bricks
12. I shall inform them this
Answers:
1. He picked a fight with me
2. I ordered a coffee
3. He replied to me in the negative
4. He is unable to move out of bed
5. They were talking about / of something
6. This paper is inferior to that
7. Every one should pray to god
8. He will be cured of his fever
9. Write the answers In ink
10. This is a comfortable house to live in
11. This building is built with bricks
12. I shall inform them about this.
Prepostional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is the preposition, the object of the preposition and all the
modifiers between the two Examples:
There are fruits in (Preposition) the basket (Object)
in – preposition
basket – object
They left just before us (modifier before the preposition) Phrase can function as either adjective phrases or adverb phrases to modify other words In a sentence.
Prepositional phrases functioning as Adverb Phrases
Example : It irritates me when people talk during a performance (during — Preposition,during a performance — The prepostitional phrase that functions as an adverb modifying the very talk)
Exercise III.
Fill in the planks with the appropriate prepositional phrases given in the box:
| Incase of | instead of | in addition to | on behalf of | in anyway |
| out of | inspite of | according to | in favour of | on the whole |
1. I gave a presentation all my classmates.
2. it was a pretty good film.
3. He withdraw his application his rival
4. _______ the heat, we all worked during summer
5. _______ of a fire, exit from the near window
6. Can I help you?
7. I would rather have water _______ a soft drink
8. We all have to work – government rules
9. He opened the attachment curiosity
10. _______ to the crew, there ware 60 passengers on the flight
Answers :
1. on behalf of
2. On the whole
3. in favour of
4. Inspite of
5. In case of
6. in anyway
7. instead of
8. according to
9. out of
10. In addition to