Compare, Contrast

Compare is used to point to likenesses, similarities (used with the preposition to), and to examine two or more objects to find likenesses or differences (used with the preposition with). 

Contrast always points out differences.

• The author compared her daughter to a frisky kitten.
• The examiner compared my paper with Asha's and found no signs of copying.)
• In contrast to your presentation, mine is poor.

Also read: Compare to vs. compare with

Preposition off

Use the preposition off alone. Do not add from or of.

Correct: Sam ran off the stage.

Incorrect: Sam ran off from the stage.

Incorrect: Sam ran off of the stage.

Correct: She got off the bus at the next stop.

Incorrect: She got off from the bus at the next stop.

Conjunction

A conjunction is a linking word used to connect words or word groups.

There are two main types of conjunctions: coordinating and subordinating.

A coordinating conjunction joins two or more grammatically equal structures.

The seven coordinating conjunctions are remembered as "A.B. Fonsy" : and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

• Bad weather set in, so we left.
• The federal government could raise taxes, or it could reduce expenditures.

Subordinating Conjunctions begins an adverb clause, joining the dependent adverb clause to the rest of the sentence. Some principal subordinating conjunctions are:

After Before Since Until Although So that Though Unless Because While Unless.

• Sam won't leave unless Sarah goes with him.
• Ben offered me the money so that I could pay the bill.

Correlative Conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions are sometimes joined to form what are known as Correlative conjunctions. Some correlative conjunctions are:

both...and
so...as
either...or
whether...or
neither...nor
not only...but also

• Both Sam and Sarah are working over the problem.
• Whether I vote or not is none of your business.

Conjunctive Adverbs have an adverbial function but can be used to connect two sentences or two independent clauses.

Consequently     However     Otherwise     In addition     Still     Therefore     Nevertheless    Furthermore

• Try to speak slowly; otherwise, no one will understand you.
• Sam seems to be certain of your facts; however, I do not agree.

Preposition

A preposition is a word used to show the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to some other word in the sentence.

e.g.

• We waited for an hour.
• The movie was about an ancient kingdom.
• He came from Delhi.
• Sam found his keys underneath the stool.
• Sally went to the supermarket.

Commonly used prepositions:

about     above     across     after     against     along     alongside     amid     among     around     at     before     behind     below     beneath     beside     besides     between     beyond     but     by     concerning     despite     down    during     ere     except     excepting     for     from     in     inside     into     like     near     of       off     notwithstanding     on     onto     outside     over      per     regarding     since     through     throughout     to     till     toward     under     underneath     until    unto     up    upon     with     within     without

Adverb

An adverb is word that describes or gives more information about a verb, an adjective, another adverb,  a phrase or a sentence.

An adverb tells more about a verb, verb phrase. An adverb tells how, where, when, or how may times an action takes place.

• Adverb that tells how: She put up posters quickly.
• Adverb that tells where: She put up posters everywhere.
• Adverb that tells when: She put up posters yesterday.
• Adverb that tells how many times: She put up posters twice.

Examples:

• The man spoke softly.
• She folded the clothes neatly.
• Some birds can fly backwards.
• All the contestants stepped forward.
• Crowds cheered him wildly.

Adverbs that tell more about adjectives tell how much, how little, and to what degree.

• That is a very powerful car. (Very tells how powerful the car is.)
• The perfume is too expensive for me. (Too tells how expensive it is.)

Examples:

• Sarah was an exceptionally good singer.
• It was too good to be true.
• It was fairly bright in the room.
• The engine is rather unsafe.
• The Chinese system of writing is very complex.

Adverbs that tell more about other adverbs tell how much, how little, how often, and to what degree.

• Sam played fairly well. (Fairly tells how well.)
• He hit the ball especially hard. (Especially tells how hard.)

Examples:

• The scared child ran extremely quickly. 
• The people left very quickly.

Knowing when to use Adjectives or adverbs.

Use adjectives to tell more about nouns or pronouns.

• The proud student accepted the prize.

Use adverbs to tell more about verbs and verb phrases, adjectives and adverbs.

• The student proudly accepted the prize.

Use adjective good to tell more about a noun or a pronoun.

• I just read a good book.

Use the adverb well to tell more about a verb or a verb phrase.

• The author writes well.

Adverbs are also used to compare the actions of two or more people or things. When the actions of only two people or things are compared, use more or less before the adverb. When the actions of more than two people or things are compared, use most or least before the adverb.

• Mithu speaks more clearly than the other parrot.
• Of all those parrots, Mithu speaks most clearly.

Add -er to a few short adverbs to compare the actions of two people or things. Add - best to those same adverbs to compare the actions of two people or things. Add - best to those same adverbs to compare the actions of more than two.

• Mithu can fly higher than that other parrot.
• Of all the parrots, Mithu can fly the highest.

The forms of the adverb well are well, better and best.

Use better to compare the actions of two people or things.

Use best to compare the actions of more than two things.

• My dog behaved better than your pet cat.
• Of all the pets in the show, my dog behaved best.

Use worse to compare actions of two people or things.

Use worst to compare the actions of more than two people or things

• Your cat behaved worse than my dog.
• Of all the pets in the show, your cat behaved worst.

Verb

A verb expresses an action or what is or seems to be. Every sentence must have a verb. 

• The lion roared loudly
• Seema is a wonderful cook.
• Sam read two books last week.
• Shania exercises every day.
• Those apples look delicious.

A verb sometimes expresses an action that cannot be seen or heard.

e.g.

• Susan guessed the answer.
• Eric often dreams of traveling.
• I miss my sister.
• Everyone on the team wished for a home run.
• Mr. Waltz thought about the problem.

An action verb expresses a physical or mental action.

e.g.

• My dad never judges other people.
• We swim in the lake each summer.
• The committee considered the plan with care.
• These birds fly south in the winter.
• The weather bureau predicts rain for tomorrow.

A linking verb expresses what is or what seems to be. It links the subject of the sentence with a word that describes it. 

Be is the most common linking verb. Forms of be are am, is, are, was, and we're.

Other common linking verbs: act, appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste.

e.g.

• Sadat is our friend. (Our friend describes the subject, Sadat)
• Ram always looks happy. (Happy describes how Ram looks.)
• Sarah is a fine actress.
• The cauliflower tastes yummy.
• Linda appears sad.

Adjectives

When we talk about people, places or things, sometimes we want to describe their quality, size, shape or color. The words we use to describe objects or people or places are called Adjectives.

Adjectives are also called describing words. because they tell us something more about a naming word. It describes the color, size, shape, feeling, quantity, age taste etc.

e.g.

• Sania is very fat.
• There were seven players in his team.
• She wore a red dress.
• The orange is round.
• I am ten years old.
• The giraffe has a long neck.
• It was a bright morning.
• It is a windy day.
• It was a cold and dark night.
• Tigers prey on smaller animals.

Note: Adjectives only modify nouns, pronouns,  noun phrases or noun clauses.

Articles

The words a, an and the are called articles.

Articles are of two types:

1. Definite article: The
2. Indefinite article: A, An

Indefinite article a and an tell us about any person or thing.

Definite article the tells us about a particular person or thing.

e.g.

• A copy (any copy)
• Please bring a pen. (any pen)
• The house that we stay in is beautiful. (A particular house)
• The cupboard is next to the door. (A particular cupboard)

As we all know there are 26 letters in all. Out of these a, e, i, o, u are vowels and the rest are called consonants.

A is used before the words that start with a consonant sound.
e.g.

• A girl
• A chair
• A peacock
• A box
• A violin

An is used before words that start with vowels a, e, i, o, u.
e.g.

• An apple
• An umbrella
• An orange
• An elephant
• An insect

We also use an before words that begin that begin with a consonant but have a vowel sound.

e.g.

• An honest man
• An hour

We also use a before words that begin with a vowel but have a consonant sound.

e.g.

• a one-horned deer
• a university 
• a unit

Indefinite articles are used before things that are only one and not more than one. A and An can never be used before things that cannot be counted.

e.g. 

• A boy, A girl, A man, A school, An item - correct
• An umbrellas, A boys, An items, A sugar, A water, A sand - incorrect

Note: Things that cannot be counted do not have an article before them. But if we add some word like a cup of milk. A has been used as a cup is a countable thing.

Definite article the is used before a particular person or thing. The is also used before the names of rivers, seas, oceans, mountains, holy books, newspapers.

e.g. 

• The Taj Mahal
• The Sun
• The Himalayas

Note: No article is used before a proper noun. Bangalore is a beautiful city.

PRONOUNS

Pronouns are words that are used in place of naming words or nouns.We cannot keep repeating the name in a sentence. It does not sound good. To make the sentence sound better, we use pronouns.

e.g. 

King Ashoka was great king. King Ashoka loved to travel. King Ashoka was kind hearted.

King Ashoka was great king. He loved to travel. He was kind hearted.

The second sentence is better. The first sentence tells us that we are talking about King Ashoka, so we may use the pronoun he in the place of the name King Ashoka.

e.g.

• Sita is a girl. She is a singer.
• Ram is a good boy. He works hard.

Commonly used pronouns:

Personal Pronouns takes the place of a noun, a group of nouns, or a group of words that includes a noun.

• Ram hit the ball. He hit it
• Sarah and Sam watched the show. They watched the show.
• Where is the red round bowl? Where is it?

Antecedent: The word or group of words that a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent.

• Sarah is fond of puzzles. She bought a new puzzle today. antecedent: Sarah;  pronoun: she
• Cindy the cat likes people to pet her. antecedent: Cindy;  pronoun: her

Reflexive pronoun refers back to a noun or a pronoun already named. It adds new information and gives extra importance to the word it refers to. 

Some reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

• Sam washed the dishes himself.
• Sam himself washed the dishes.
• Sarah knitted the sweater herself.

Possessive pronoun shows ownership or relationship. Possessiveness: Her, His, My are the words that tell us to whom does a particular thing belong to. Some possessive pronouns: my, your, his her, its, our, your, their.

e.g. The Smith's dog is very playful.  Their dog is very playful.

• Sarah plays with her toys.
• Arun has packed his bag.
• I have done my homework.

TYPES OF NOUNS: Concrete and Abstract Nouns

 Concrete Noun: names something you can see, hear, touch, smell, or taste.

e.g. 

• The students enjoyed visiting the animal farm last Monday.
• My skin is very dry.
• The car that was involved in the crash has been towed away.
• I cannot find my mobile.
• This ring is precious.

Abstract Noun: names an idea or a quality.

e.g.

• Honesty is the best policy.
• What you do in anger, you'll often regret.
• Your idea was better than mine.
• Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
• I love my family.

TYPES OF NOUNS: Common and Proper Nouns

Common Noun: A word used to name any person, place or thing.

e.g.

• A boy is playing.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• You cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
• We play in the park.
• The red umbrella is nice.

Proper Noun: A word the we use to name common nouns.

e.g.

• I live in Bangalore.
• Sunday is the last day of the week.
• Rohan has a laptop.
• My sister's name is Pooja.
• Kaveri flows through Tamil Nadu.

Remember: A Proper noun starts with a capital letter. MINTS will help you remember.
M - Months, Day, Holidays
I - The name you call yourself
N - Name of people, places, rivers, mountains, buildings etc
T - Titles of books, movies etc.
S - Start of a sentence.

familiar to, familiar with

Familiar to means known to. If someone or something is familiar to you, you recognize it well.

• His work is familiar to me.
• Her face is familiar to the crowd.
• This tune is familiar to most of the singers.
• The appearance of the Polar bear is familiar to all.
• The name of the school was not familiar to me.

Familiar with means having a fairly good knowledge of. If you are familiar with something, you know or understand it well.

• He is familiar with the countryside.
• Sam was familiar with those streets.
• Eva is quite familiar with Central Television; she worked there for 5 years.
• I'm familiar with various teaching software packages.
• I’m not familiar with the latest research in this field.

below, under

Below and under can both mean lower than and most of the times either can be used.

In general, under indicates contact. Prefer under when something is covered or hidden by what is over it, and when things are touching.

• Sarah put the letter under her pillow.
• The toy car crackled under his feet.
• What color shirt are you wearing under your sweater?
• The whole village is under water.

With below there is usually a space between the two surfaces. Prefer below when one thing is not directly under another.

• They live below us. (we live on third floor and they live on the second.)
• The mirror was placed below the window.
• The path runs below a long brick wall.
• The sun had already sunk below the horizon.

Below and under can mean junior in rank. 

He is under me implies that I am his immediate superior. Below may or may not imply the same meaning. 

Use below in measurements of temperature and height, and in cases where one thinks of a vertical scale.

• The temperature is 2 degrees below zero.
• Fully natural places below sea level require a dry climate.
• The plane flew below the clouds.
• Tom's strength is below average for a child his size.

Use under to mean less than or younger than.

• There were under fifty people at the conference.
• You cannot watch this film if you are under 18.

Beneath can sometimes be used instead of under, but prefer using it for abstract meanings.

• Captain would think it beneath him to tell a lie. (unworthy of him)
• She married beneath her. (into a lower social class)
• Her behavior is beneath contempt. (really disgraceful)

arrive in, arrive at

We arrive in a city or a country, at or in a village, at any other destination.

• The crew arrived in Spain. (Spain: country)
• The crew arrived in Madrid. (Madrid: city)
• I arrived at the hotel. 
• I arrived at the airport.
• The car arrived at the bridge. 
• I arrived at the crossroads.
• Sam arrived at the station just in time.
• When did you first arrive in Bangalore? (Bangalore: city)
• Her parents arrived in America in 1926. (America: country)
• Once you arrive in India, you will definitely have to see the Taj Mahal. (India: country)
• A delegation of senior French ministers will arrive in New Delhi today. (New Delhi: city)
• A young student newly arrived in England from New Zealand. (England: country)
• Migrating birds arrive at a village in Sivaganga District. 
• Chinese players arrive at Olympic Village in South Korea.
• Personally, I like to arrive at a theatre, at least 30 minutes before curtain time.

compare, contrast

Compare is used to point out likenesses, similarities and to examine two or more objects to find likenesses or differences.

Usage Note

Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances between unlike things.

He compared her to a summer day.

It takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences.

The police compared the forged signature with the original.

When compare is used to mean "to liken (one) with another," with is traditionally held to be the correct preposition. That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel. But to is frequently used in this context and is not incorrect.

Read more about compared to vs. compared with here.

Contrast always points out differences.

Usage Note 

The noun contrast may be followed by between, with, or to.

There is a sharp contrast between his earlier and later works.

In contrast with (or less frequently, to) his early works, the latter plays are dark and forbidding.

When contrast is used as a transitive verb, both with and to may follow, though with is more common.

Most scholars contrast the light comedies of his early career with (or to) the dark comedies that were written late in his life.

ability to, capable of

The word able suggests the skill or physical ability of an animate being. Ability means the power to do something, mental or physical (ability to run an asylum). Actual skill, either mental or physical; native or acquired.

Using the word able with an inanimate subject sounds strange. Try to use can instead.

Capability comes from capable + ability.
Capability to do a task is the potential to do it. Whether you are able to do the task at the moment or not, is different, but you have the capability or the potential to do it sometime.

Able is followed by an infinitive; capable is followed by of and the gerund.

• Sam had the ability to explain things clearly and concisely.
• Man's ability to talk makes him unlike any other animal.
• Your ability to heal makes you what we'd call a Natural, a human with extraordinary capabilities.
• The novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has an ability to cut through the heart muscle in a way that is seen in no other disease.
• A force ten wind is capable of blowing the roofs off houses.
• These new bullets are capable of inflicting massive injuries.
• Sarah wouldn't hurt anyone - she's simply not capable of it.
• We are all fully capable of managing that responsibility
• Currently, I will be able to take up only two classes, though I think I am capable of taking up upto 5 classes per day.

beside, besides

Use beside when you mean at the side of.

Come and sit beside me.

Use besides when you mean in addition to.

Besides doing the cooking I mowed the lawn.

very, too, and enough

Very intensifies the meaning of an adjective.

1. The exam was very difficult. (The exam was difficult, but you could pass it.)

2. The tea is very hot. (The tea is hot, but you can still drink it.)

Too signals a negative result.

1. The exam was too difficult. (no one could pass it.)

2. The tea is too hot to drink. (you can't drink it.)

Enough means sufficient/ sufficiently.

1. There wasn't enough time to finish the exam.

2. The tea is finally cool enough to drink.

Usage Note: disadvantage

disadvantaged
adjective

• (of people) not having the benefits, such as enough money and a healthy social situation, that others have, and therefore having less opportunity to be successful.
• lacking money or opportunities

1. Head Start is an educational program for disadvantaged preschool children.
2. The scheme received backing from millionaire philanthropist Peter Lampi, who has also been prominent in the bid to recruit disadvantaged children to university.
3. This non profit organization provides hair prosthesis to disadvantaged children age 18 and younger.
4. This distribution charity gives disadvantaged families donated vehicles.
5. Some of the local programs offer disadvantaged women funding options.

at a disadvantage
phrase

• in a situation in which you are less likely to succeed than others
• in an unfavorable position

1. The strength of the company puts competitors at a great disadvantage.
2. The team was at a disadvantage because their captain had been sent off.
3. She felt that being so young put her at a disadvantage for the executive position.
4. The new rules may put European farmers at a disadvantage .
5. His inability to speak English puts him at a disadvantage when he attends international conferences.

Agree with vs. Agree to

Agree with: To agree with a suggestion or a course of action is to regard it with approval. Also, facts may agree with (correspond to) each other.

• I completely agree with your recent editorial.
• I don't agree with what they're doing.
• His second statement agrees with the facts.
• I agreed with the approach Sarah adopted.
• Your data do not agree with our results.

Agree to: To agree to a suggestion or a course of action is to give consent.

• She had agreed to go and see a movie with him
• Club members have provisionally agreed to the changes.
• The company agreed to the settlement to avoid the expense of a lengthy legal case.
• He agreed to pay me for the drawings.
• All senators agree to a postponement.

Also visit: Agree to/ Agree with/ Agree on