Adjectives
An adjective is a word used to describe people, things, events etc. It denotes a temporary or permanent quality associated with a noun. Examples are: honest, beautiful, old, small, big, happy etc. A typical...
Category: Grammar
Active Verbs
An active verb form is one like reads, wrote, broke, is writing or will write. The subject of an active verb is usually the person or thing that does the action, or is responsible...
Abstract Noun
An abstract noun denotes something which is not physical and cannot be touched, such as pleasure, happiness, beauty, kindness, honesty, anger and idea. Sometimes the term is extended to include nouns denoting events and...
Difference between however and but
Students often confuse the words however and but. The main difference is that but is a conjunction whereas however is a transitional adverb. That means we use but to connect two clauses. She was...
Correct Use Of Simple Past And Present Perfect
I have a question regarding the correct use of the present perfect and the simple past tense. Which of the following two sentences is correct? I have gone to Mumbai last week. I went to...
Common Expressions With Prepositions
It is not easy to figure out which preposition to use after a particular noun, verb or adjective. Accuse somebody of something She accused me of reading her letters. Afraid of I am afraid...
Few And Several | Differences
The words few and several are determiners. They both refer to a small quantity or number. There is a difference. Few is pessimistic. It is used to stress the smallness of the quantity or...
A Half, Half A And Half An
All of these expressions are completely acceptable. Could I have half a pound of butter? / Could I have a half pound of butter? I waited for half an hour. The dog eats a...
What Does A Relative Pronoun Do In A Sentence?
Subordinate clauses often begin with relative pronouns. Within a subordinate clause the relative pronoun may serve as the subject or object of the verb, or the object of the preposition. Study the following examples...
Correct Use of If
If is a conjunction. We use it to express a condition. If you arrive early, we can go to the movies. If she is late, we will go without her. If I win this...