You may have great ideas and may have collected fine phrases to express them in, but if you fail to avoid grammatical errors, you put off your readers. You really can’t expect all your readers to be grammar duds, can you?
Check if you’re using the words correctly. Check the sentences for slip-ups in grammar – the commonest error being the non-agreement of the verb and the subject. I was rather surprised to find this sentence in an article written by a well-known columnist.
“Today’s younger generation of women seem to associate the garment with an earlier era…”
See the trap here? You write “women” and automatically use the plural verb “seem” (singular would be “seems”) . This sentence is about the younger “generation”, which is singular. “women” is the object of the preposition “of”. Pitfall, right?
[1] So check your verbs, check the subjects whose actions they talk about. Take care to see you have used “few”, “a few” and “the few” correctly. You have used “fewer” and “less” in the right places. I find fewer books of fiction in this library, but there is less noise. Get it?
[2] Read them a few times to see your words say what you want them to say. A TV anchor on a popular English TV channel kept shrieking “Fresh reports of clashes between the police and the agitators!” for three consecutive days. How could there be “fresh” reports? The reports were the same. No one was writing them differently every time they took place. What she wanted to say was, “Reports of fresh clashes“.
Do you see the huge difference in meaning here? Word order or the placing of adjectives and adverbs in the sentence is important. Now, take the quiz and correct these sentences.
[1] Central Station is one of those rare films that leaves you feeling both happy and sad at the same time. (Read previous grammar posts if you need help.)
[2] Dora’s one of those bitter, mean-spirited, cynical women who rarely mails any of these letters that people pay her to write.
[3] But his road shows, where he mingled with the public freely disregarding the security, has created concerns for the Center.
[4] Articles like this really shows what is happening in the city.
[5]The woman down the street is one of those wonderful people who is always planning something fun.
Go on, write the answers in the “comments” box!
1] Central Station is one of those rare films that leave you feeling both happy and sad at the same time. (Read previous grammar posts if you need help.)
[2] Dora is one of those bitter, mean-spirited, cynical women who rarely mail any of these letters that people pay her to write.
[3] But his road shows, where he mingled with the public freely disregarding the security, have created concerns for the Center.
[4] Articles like this really show what is happening in the city.
[5]The woman down the street is one of those wonderful people who are always planning something fun.
Bingo, Shloka! All correct!
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
[1] Central Station is one of those rare films that leave you feeling both happy and sad at the same time.
[2] Dora’s one of those bitter, mean-spirited, cynical women who rarely mail any of these letters that people pay her to write.
[3] But his road shows, where he mingled with the public freely, disregarding the security, have created concerns for the Center.
[4] Articles like this really show what is happening in the city.
[5]The woman down the street is one of those wonderful people who are always planning something fun.
1. Central Station is one of those rare films that leave you feeling both happy and sad at the same time.
2. Dora’s one of those bitter, mean-spirited, cynical women who rarely mail any of these letters that people pay her to write.
3. But his road shows, where he mingled with the public freely, disregarding the security, have created concerns for the Center.
4. Articles like this really show what is happening in the city.
5.The woman down the street is one of those wonderful people who are always planning something fun.
Lakshna, why have you answered the quiz twice? I’ve taken the first for consideration and the answers are all correct.
mam when should i use few and wen should i use fewer
Hi Pranav, thanks for posting your question here. The difference between “less” and “fewer” takes a bit of explanation. Also, a lot of you might be harboring this doubt. So watch out for my next post! It comes with a quiz!