Find the mistakes

Each sentence given below contains one mistake. Find the mistake and correct it.

Example:

Sentence: I enjoy to sail.

Correction: I enjoy sailing.

1. I suggested her to go home.

2. We don’t allow that people smoke in the kitchen.

3. I didn’t ask that he pay for the meal.

4. I hate the thought to get old.

5. The cleaning is to finish by midday.

6. She lets her children to stay up very late.

7. We arrive to New York on Tuesday morning.

8. These sheets are to wash.

9. The doctor suggested me to take a long holiday.

10. Have you finished to mend the car?

Answers

1. I suggested that she should go home. (Suggest cannot be followed by an infinitive.)

2. We don’t allow people to smoke in the kitchen.

3. I didn’t ask him to pay for the meal.

4. I hate the thought of getting old.

5. The cleaning is to be finished by midday.

6. She lets her children stay up very late.

7. We arrive in New York on Tuesday morning.

8. These sheets are to be washed.

9. The doctor suggested taking a long holiday. OR The doctor suggested that I should take a long holiday.

10. Have you finished mending the car?

Paragraph writing tips

Paragraph writing tips

A paragraph is the smallest unit of prose composition. It may be defined as a group of sentences relating to a single topic.

Every form of prose composition (e.g. letters, essays, stories) should be divided into paragraphs. A paragraph may be long or short. There are no rules regarding the size of a paragraph.

Tips on writing paragraphs

Unity of thought:

A sentence deals with just one thought. In the same way, a paragraph should deal with only one central idea. The ideas need to be developed in a logical order. They must flow neatly between the paragraphs.

Use linking words:

Use linking words to achieve the effect of unbroken continuity. For example, the words hence, so, therefore, but, and, or and then will connect the sentences and make the paragraph a well-knit whole. Use expressions like on the other hand, on the contrary, nevertheless, but, yet and still to contrast ideas or present alternatives.

The first sentence is the key sentence in a paragraph. It should introduce the central topic. The last sentence should round off the idea expressed in the paragraph.

Variety:

Use varied sentence patterns in the sentence. There should be both long and short sentences. This rule of variety also applies to the size of the paragraphs. For example, put a short paragraph after a long one. It will afford variety and relief to the eye as well as to the mind.

Analytical Section

Directions :All analytical resoning questions are based on a passage or set of conditions. While answering a few of the questions, you would find it useful to draw a rough diagram. To answer any analytical reasoning question choose the answer you think is most appropriate among the given options.

Questions 1- 3

Three men (Tom, Peter and Jack) and three women (Eliza, Anne and Karen) are spending a few months at a hillside. They are to stay in a row of nine cottages, each one living in his or her own cottage. There are no others staying in the same row of houses.
1. Anne, Tom and Jack do not want to stay in any cottage, which is at the end of the row.
2. Eliza and Anne are unwilling to stay besides any occupied cottage..
3. Karen is next to Peter and Jack.
4. Between Anne and Jack's cottage there is just one vacant house.
5. None of the girls occupy adjacent cottages.
6. The house occupied by Tom is next to an end cottage.
1. Which of the above statements can be said to have been derived from two other statements ?
A. Statement 1
B. Statement 2
C. Statement 3
D. Statement 5
E. Statement 6

Ans : D

2. How many of them occupy cottages next to a vacant cottage ?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
E. 6

Ans : C

3. Which among these statement(s) are true ?
I. Anne is between Eliza and Jack.
II. At the most four persons can have occupied cottages on either side of them. .
III. Tom stays besides Peter.
D. I only
E. II only
F. I and III only
G. II and III only
H. I, II and III

Ans : C


Questions 4 - 7

An employee has been assigned the task of allotting offices to six of the staff members. The offices are numbered 1 - 6. The offices are arranged in a row and they are separated from each other by six foot high dividers. Hence voices, sounds and cigarette smoke flow easily from one office to another.
Miss Robert's needs to use the telephone quite often throughout the day. Mr. Mike and Mr. Brown need adjacent offices as they need to consult each other often while working. Miss. Hardy, is a senior employee and has to be allotted the office number 5, having the biggest window. .
Mr. Donald requires silence in the offices next to his. Mr. Tim, Mr. Mike and Mr. Donald are all smokers. Miss Hardy finds tobacco smoke allergic and consecutively the offices next to hers to be occupied by non-smokers.
Unless specifically stated all the employees maintain an atmosphere of silence during office hours.

4. The ideal candidate to occupy the office furthest from Mr. Brown would be
A. Miss Hardy
B. Mr. Mike
C. Mr. Tim
D. Mr. Donald
E. Mr. Robert

Ans : D

5. The three employees who are smokers should be seated in the offices.
A. 1, 2 and 4
B. 2, 3 and 6
C. 1, 2 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 3
E. 1, 2 and 6

Ans : D

6. The ideal office for Mr. Mike would be.
A. 2
B. 6
C. 1
D. 3
E. 4

Ans : D

7. In the event of what occurrence, within a period of one month since the assignment of the offices, would a request for a change in office be put forth by one or more employees ?

A. Mr. Donald quitting smoking.
B. The installation of a noisy teletype machine by Miss Hardy in her office.
C. Mr. Robert's needing silence in the office (s) next to her own. .
D. Mr. Brown suffering from laryngitis.
E. Mr. Tim taking over the duties formerly taken care of by Miss. Robert.

Ans : E

How to Use Articles (A/An/The)

What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

Indefinite Articles: a and an

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

* "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
* "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
* "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...

* a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
* an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
* a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle
* an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
* a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse
o
In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred.
A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:
Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.

Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:
An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

* a broken egg
* an unusual problem
* a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

* I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
* Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
* Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.
Count and Noncount Nouns

The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

* "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
* "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

* "I need a bottle of water."
* "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.
Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

* names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
* names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
* names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
* names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
* names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
* names of continents (Asia, Europe)
* names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

* names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
* points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
* geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
* deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

* Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
* Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
* Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science