English Learning

DUST OF SNOW The way a crow  Shook down on me The dust of snow  From a hemlock tree Has given my heart  A change of mood And saved some part  Of a day I had rued.                                         ROBERT FROST Thinking about the poem 1. What is a "dust of snow"? What does the poet  say has changed his mood? How has the poet's mood changed?  Answer : A 'dust of snow is very fine particles of snow. The 'dust of snow' changed the poet's mood. The poet was feeling remorseful but the little dust of snow changed his mood and saved his day. 2. How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you to think of an answer.   (i) What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?  Answer : Generally,...

THE TENSE  What is Tense?  Tense is that form of a verb that shows not only the time of action but also the state of it.  Read the following sentences :  1. Harry goes to school daily.  2.Harry passed the examination.  3.Harry will appear in the entrance text next week.  In sentence 1, the action 'goes' shows the Present time of its happening.  In sentence 2, the action 'passed' shows the Past time of its happening.  In sentence 3, the action 'will appear' shows the Future time of its happening.  Thus we came to know that there are three tenses  in English.  1. The Present Tense (Harry goes to school.)  2. The Past Tense (Harry passed the examination.)  3. The Future Tense ( Harry will appear in the entrance text next  week.)  Read the following sentences carefully : Simple Present Tense   I am a doctor. He is a doctor. You are a doctor.  Michael is my brother. Boys are in the ground.  He has ...

THE PARTICIPLE Read the given sentences: 1. We have two broken windows.  2. I saw a kid having a mobile - set.  3. Having  finished her assignment, Reema went to her home.  4. Seeing  the policeman, the thief ran away.  In the above sentences, the words 'broken', 'having', and 'seeing' are doing the half function of a verb and half of an adjective and are made of verbs so those are called participles.  KINDS OF PARTICIPLE There are three kinds of Participle. They are as follows :  1. Present Participle 2. Past Participle 3. Perfect Participle Now let us understand each kinds of participle in detail. 1. What is Present Participle?  Read the given sentences :  (i) Seeing the tiger the deer ran away.  (ii) I jumped from a moving  train .  (iii) He saw a child crying.  In the above sentences, the action is in complete or unfinished or going on so Participle is used. Such a participle is called the Present Participle. Verb...

THE GERUND Read the given sentences: 1. Walking in the morning is good for health.  2. I like reading  novels.  3. He began playing.  In the above sentences , the words walking, reading and playing are made of joining 'ing' to walk, read and play verbs. Thus,  Gerund = 1st form verb + ing.    What is Gerund?  Gerund is a form of verb that have 'ing' at its end.  It is used as a subject / an object of a verb. It is also known by the name of Verbal Noun as it has the force of a noun and a verb.  USE OF GERUND : 1. As a subject: Examples-  (a) Walking  is good for health.  (b) Seeing  is believing.  In these sentences walking and seeing are gerund and are used as subjects of the sentences.  2. As an object of a verb: Examples-  (a) I love knitting.  (b) Stop laughing.  In these sentences knitting and laughing are object gerunds.  3. As a complement of verb :  Examples-  (a) His wea...

   THE INFINITIVE  Read the following given sentences: 1. He wants to go market now.  2. She has a frock to wear.  3. The train is about to reach.  In the above sentences all the italicized  words have 'to' before verbs. These work like verb, noun, adjective and adverb. Hence the verb having 'to' before it is called an Infinitive .  Infinitive = to + verb  Note* Generally modals (Ideal verbs) are used without infinitive 'to'.  Examples: 1. She should do it.  2. He made me go there.  3. I saw him go there.  Exception : Modal 'ought' is used with to often.  Examples:  1. We ought to respect the elders .  2. We ought to fulfill our responsibilities.  3. You ought to listen carefully.  DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF INFINITIVE 'TO' 1. The girl refused to tell the truth.  2. He does not know how to drive .  3. She had nothing  to do.  4. I asked him to help me.  5. We have a shop to let...

Enemies, People -Yevgeny Yevtushenko In ’41, Mama took me back to Moscow. There I saw our enemies for the first time. If my memory is right, nearly twenty thousand German war prisoners were to be marched in a single column through the streets of Moscow. The pavements swarmed with onlookers, cordoned off by soldiers and police. The crowd were mostly women Russian women with hands roughened by hard work, lips untouched by lipstick and thin, hunched shoulders which had borne half the burden of the war. Every one of them must have had a father or a husband, a brother or a son killed by the Germans. They gazed with hatred in the direction from which the column was to appear. At last we saw it. The generals marched at the head, massive chins stuck out, lips folded disdainfully, their whole demeanour meant to show superiority over their plebeian victors. The women were cleanching their fists. It was all the soldiers and policemen could do to hold them back. They saw German sol...

Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead Home they brought her warrior dead: She nor swooned nor uttered cry: All her maidens, watching said, She must weep or she will die.' Then they praised him, soft and low,  Call'd him worthy to be loved, Truest friend and noblest foe; Yet she neither spoke nor moved. Stole a maiden rom her place, Lightly to the warrior stept, Took the face-cloth from the face; Yet she neither moved nor wept. Rose a nurse of ninety years, Set his child upon her knee; Like summer tempests came her tears- 'Sweet my child! I live for thee.' -Lord Tennyson For Solved Exercises of this poem,click on the link below: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTgYmbQGweWg7n1IMh3PCA/join

 THE CONJUNCTION AND ITS KINDS  Read the following sentences : 1. Harry and Michael were in the park.  2. I called her but she did not listen.  3. He was insulted still he comes here daily.  4. Work hard or you will not get success.  In the above sentences, the words 'and', 'but', 'still', 'or' join two words or two sentences so these are called Conjunctions.  What is a Conjunction?  A conjunction is a word that joins two words, clauses or sentences.  KINDS OF CONJUNCTION : There are three kinds of Conjunctions: 1. Co - ordinating Conjunctions  2. Subordinating Conjunctions  3. Correlative Conjunctions Now let us read each kinds of Conjunctions in detail.  1. What are Co-ordinating Conjunctions?  Those Conjunctions which joins together clauses of equal ranks are called Co-ordinating Conjunctions.  Use of Co-ordinating Conjunctions : (1) 'And', 'Not only', 'but also' are used to join two statements.  Examples : ...

ARTICLES (A, AN, THE)  Read the given sentences : 1. A    small boy is in the field.  2. An   old man is sitting in the park.  3. The   grass in the field is green.  In sentence 1, 'A' is used to describe the number of the boy.  In sentence 2, 'An' is also used to describe the number of the man.  We all know that 'A' and 'An' both means 'one' and are used as determiners. These are also called the Demonstrative Adjective.  In sentence 3, 'The' is also used as determiner and its function is like of Demonstrative Adjective.  Therefore we can say that  'A', 'An' and 'The' articles are Demonstrative Adjectives.  Note * Articles demonstrate towards a particular person or thing.  KINDS OF ARTICLES :    There are two kinds of articles: 1. Indefinite Articles - 'A', 'An'  2. Definite Articles - 'The'   'A' and 'An' determine any particular person or thing while 'The'  is the d...

 BEST HOME DECOR ITEMS  1.Global Grabbers Polyresin Sitting Buddha Idol Statue Showpiece for Home Decor Diwali Decoration and Gifting, Orange and Black, 24CM, 1Piece Click on the buy button below.    2.Two Moustaches Brass Village Bullock Cart Decor Showpiece   Click on the buy button below. 3.Xtore® Modern Classy Lucky Owl Resin Art Figure Showpiece (Black, Large), 1 Piece   Click on the buy button below. 4.Hopdezyo Italian Gift Lamp with Home Decor Jute Drum Shade, Bulb, Wiring, E27 Holder Included, Pack of 1 Click on the buy button below. 5.Decazone Macrame Wall Hanging Shelf Wood Floating Boho Shelves with Wooden Dowel Modern Chic Hand Woven Art Decor for Apartment Dorm Bedroom Living Room Nursery Beige 55 x 43 cm Click on the buy button below. 6.Furnish Craft Beautiful Leaf Round Mirror for Wall (24 inch / 61 cm , Gold) Click on the buy button below. ...