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Saturday 27 December 2014

Top 10 attractions in Pachgani and Mahabaleshwar.

Mahabaleshwar and Pachgani are the most popular hill stations near Pune. Lot of people go on a vacation to these beautiful towns. Best time to visit these hill stations is in the months from August to February.

If you love green mountains, you must visit in the months of September and October. Rains usually stop at the end of August leaving green landscapes all around. Atmosphere is cold and pleasant.



Here is the list of top 10 places to visit when you are enjoying your holidays in Mahabaleshwar.
Tourist coming from Pune usually take a route from Wai - Pachgani - Mahabaleshwar.
As you climb up pasarni Ghat, Pachgani awaits you with its wonderful weather and breathtaking views of valleys. You can visit below spots in Pachgani.

  1. Table Land - near Pachgani
  2. Parsi Point - near Pachgani
  3. Mapro Garden between Pachgani and Mahabaleshwar

Road side vendors selling Strawberies
Strawberry Jeep at Mapro Garden

Kids having great time at Mapro Garden


Tourists buying the Mapro Products 

Many bollywood films have been shot here in pachgani like Chennai Express, Dabang, Mangal Pandey, Raja Hindustani to name few.

Its a 15 minutes journey from Pachgani to Mahabaleshwar with green forests, waterfalls and valleys along the road. You can find vendors selling fresh strawberries along the road. Amazing Venna lake welcomes you in Mahabaleshwar. You can enjoy boating in Venna lake with your friends and family. Tickets start from Rs. 200 per person during peak season. Below is the list of most popular destinations in and around Mahabaleshwar city
  1. Venna Lake
  2. Arthur Seat Point - off old mahabaleshwar road
  3. Sunset Point - 
  4. Old Mahabaleshwar - 8 KM from Mahabaleshwar
  5. Main Market 
25 km away from Mahabaleshwar is the beautiful lake and Agro tourism spot called Tapola. It is also known as Mini - Kashmir as lake is surrounded by green hills.

Top view of Chikhli village taken from the road to Tapola

Boats in the lake awaiting the rides from tourists.

Strawberry Farms near Tapola
If you love trekking and fort seeing, you can not miss PratapGad Fort located at 22 KM from Mahabaleshwar.
Amazing view of Pratpgad Fort


King Shivaji Maharaj Statue inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru way back in 1957.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Wednesday 17 December 2014

English words for fruits

No
Fruit Name
Fruit Image
1







Apple


2
Apricot


3
Avocado

4
Banana


5
Blueberry


6
Blackberry


7
Blackcurrant


8
Coconut


9
Cherry


10
Fig


11
Grapes


12
Guava


13
Lemon


14
Lime

15
Lychee

16
Mango


17
Orange

18
Papaya

19
Peach

20
Pear

21
Pineapple


22
Plum

23
Quince

24
Raspberry

25
Strawberry

26
Watermelon


27
Melon













Got my ACS skill assessment result letter today.

Today I got my skill assessment result letter from the ACS. You need to get IT skills assessed by ACS if you want to apply for Australian Skilled visa.

The occupation that I got assessed is Software Tester.

As per the ACS website, they take 12 weeks to process the assessment application. But for me they took only 2 weeks. It cost me Rs. 25k (500 AUD).

The documents that I submitted were -

  1. True copy of Birth Certificate.
  2. True copies of Degree Transcripts and certificates.
  3. Affidavits on Rs. 100 stamp paer from my managers stating my roles and resposibilities.
  4. Experience certificates from all previous companies.
  5. For current company, I did not have experience certificate. So I submitted latest salary slip as a proof of employment.
ACS sends only the soft copy of the result letter.

What the result letter contains -
  1. Your skills have been assessed to be suitable for migration under software tester.
  2. Degree has been compared with AQF bachelor degree.
  3. The list of skilled employments and durations.

If you are looking to get your skills assessed through ACS or any other assessment body in Australia and have queries related to process, you can contact me on reply2sagar@gmail. I will guide you to get your skills assessed without much worries and hassle.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Tuesday 16 December 2014

English words to describe human nature and personalities.

We bump into different kinds of people everyday. Each person is unique in terms of style of dressing sense, way of speaking, way of behaving with us.

Here you will find all English words that you can use to describe human qualities or nature. Below words can also be used to describe different personalities.

  1. Stupid       - Unintelligent, Idiot, dumb, dull, silly, witless, moronic, brainless, empty-headed.
  2. Brilliant    - Intelligent, Bright, Smart, wise, clever, quick-witted 
  3. Eccentric   - Strange, odd, weird, abnormal, queer.
  4. Ordinary   - common, normal, typical. 
  5. Arrogant   - admiring self, conceited, assuming, pompous, imperious, haughty, egotistical, insolent, supercilious, immodest
  6. Humble      - Modest, polite, bashful, diffident.
  7. Stubborn    - obstinate, inflexible, dogged, fixed, intractable, tenacious, unbending, resolute
  8. Vacillating  - flexible, yielding, irresolute, tractable, docile, 
  9. Generous     - kind, warm-hearted, good-natured.
  10. Mean          - stingy, cruel, ungenerous, parsimonious, 
  11. Angry         - short-tempered,  
  12. Strict           - 
  13. Cool            - 
  14. Funny
  15. Cunning
  16. Selfish
  17. Strict
  18. Boot licker
  19. Egoist
  20. Aggressive  -
  21. Diligent       - Industrious, tireless, untiring, indefatigable
  22. Lazy            - 
  23. Passionate   - enthusiastic
  24. Punctual      -  
  25. Unpunctual -
  26. Boring         - 
  27. Honest         - sincere 
  28. Dishonest    - corrupt, insincere, unethical
  29. Attractive
  30. Ugly


What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

English words to insult someone.

We often come across some stupid people at office, at hospitals, at hotels, at stores or any public places. Sometimes we can not just bear with their behaviour.

We usually lose our temper when we need to interact with such idiots. To make them realise about how stupid they are, we can humiliate them in public.

Below is the list of sentences that you can use to teach a lesson to brainless people. Please use these sentences with caution as they may hurt the emotions of people leading to more severe altercations and bitter relationship. Be ready for the furious reactions in case you use below sentences.

  1. You are not a kid. Behave properly.
  2. Do not talk non sense, you idiot.
  3. Are you empty-headed?
  4. Are you moron?
  5. Do not cross your limits.
  6. Mind your language.
  7. Behave yourself. This is not your home.
  8. Do not you feel ashamed of what you did?
  9. Are you foolish?
  10. Are you senseless?
  11. I have not seen such a brainless person in my life ever.
  12. Did you keep your brain at your home?
  13. Are you dull?
  14. Do not make me scold you.
  15. Stay away from me.
  16. Do not cross my path.
  17. Do not anger me.
  18. Are you witless?
  19. I am not a school going child. Speak with dignity and respect.
  20. Think twice before you say anything.
  21. Do not annoy me. You will have to pay heavy price for it.
  22. Do not make me angry.
  23. You do not know how to behave in modest and humble manner?
  24. I do not want to see your face. Just disappear.
This is how you can insult any irritating person. If you have any sentence that could be the part of the above list, Please write that in comment.  


What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Monday 15 December 2014

English Words to express bad feelings and unpleasant state of mind

You can use below words to express unpleasant state of mind.

  1. Anger   - When you are not happy with something, you may get angry.
  2. Angst     -
  3. Anguish -
  4. Annoyance - When something irritates you, you may get annoyed.
  5. Anxiety  -
  6. Apathy   - You have no sympathy for someone who is in pain.
  7. Arousal
  8. Awe 
  9. Boredom     - You get bored when you do feel like doing nothing.
  10. Contempt    
  11. Depression   - You may feel depressed if you are going through very difficult situation.
  12. Despair
  13. Disappointment  - You get disappointed when you fail to accomplish something
  14. Disgust                
  15. Distrust               
  16. Dread 
  17. Embarrassment   - You feel embarrassed when you are in awkward situation.  
  18. Envy
  19. Euphoria
  20. Fear                    - You may fear of something when you think you may get attacked or injured
  21. Frustration          - You get frustrated when your job does not finish after several attempts.
  22. Grief                   - You are in grief when some one close to you gets injured or dies.
  23. Guilt                   -  You feel guilty when you are ashamed about something that you have done.
  24. Hatred                - You hate someone or something if you do not like it.
  25. Horror                - 
  26. Hostility
  27. Hurt                    - You may feel hurt if someone insults you.
  28. Hysteria
  29. Indifference
  30. Jealousy
  31. Loathing
  32. Loneliness
  33. Lust                     - You are lustful if you have intense desire to do sex.
  34. Outrage
  35. Panic                   - You may get panicked, if anything bad happens suddenly and unexpectedly.
  36. Rage            
  37. Sadness               - 
  38. Shame
  39. Shock                 - You may get shocked after hearing about death of someone.
  40. Sorrow
  41. Suffering
  42. Terror
  43. Worry                - You may feel worried about the results if you think you did not perform well 

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

English words to describe pleasant state of mind (Expressing good emotions)

In this article, I will list down the words that you can use to express good feelings about something or someone.
  1. Affection
  2. Confidence     
  3. Contentment  - You feel contented if you are happy with what you did.
  4. Courage         - You are courageous if you are ready to face any challenging task. 
  5. Curiosity        - You are curious if you are always eager to know the roots of subject.
  6. Desire
  7. Ecstasy           - 
  8. Excitement 
  9. Gratitude        
  10. Humble, Modest - You feel humble when some one gives you compliment.
  11. Generous             - You are generous if you always help someone in need.
  12. Happiness            - You feel happy when something happens that you desired.
  13. Hope
  14. Interest 
  15. Joy                       - You may feel joyful if you do something that delights you.
  16. Passion                
  17. Pleasure        
  18. Pride                    - You feel proud about yourself after accomplishment and admiration.
  19. Love                    - You love someone/thing if it makes you happy. 
  20. Pity   
  21. Regret
  22. Relief                  - You feel relieved when you get out of period of tension and stress. 
  23. Remorse
  24. Satisfaction        - 
  25. Self-confidence
  26. Shyness              - You are shy if you talk or mix with people very rarely.
  27. Surprise              - You get surprised when good news breaks out suddenly and unexpectedly.
  28. Trust          
  29. Wonder              - You feel wonderful when you are experiencing something you dreamt of.
  30. Zeal 
  31. Zest  

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Top 50 Idioms in English

Idioms are special sentences or clauses that have contextual meaning. Literally the sentence may not have any meaning.

For Example -
To poke nose into - Meaning to interfere in someone's task without any necessity.

Mother-in-law usually tries to poke her nose into daughter-in-law's matters.

Below is the list of commonly used Idiom.
  1. to be on cloud nine - to be very happy.
  2. a piece of cake - easy task
  3. to pull someone's leg - to joke
  4. Dark horse - Ordinary person who becomes famous.
  5. to feel like fish out of water - to be in tough situation.
  6. to be in dock - to find in difficult situation
  7. to face the music - to get a scolding or rebuke for illegal acts.
  8. On pins and needles - feeling nervous
  9. to be on the same page - to agree on some point
  10. raining cats and dogs - to rain very heavily
  11. to tie the knot - to marry
  12. ball is in their court - decision is pending with them
  13. to steal someone's thunder - to steal the credit of someone. 
  14. to poke one's nose into - to interfere in some one's matter without solicitation
  15. through thick and thin - in good and bad time
  16. to spill the beans - to let the cat out of bag - to reveal the secret
  17. to put the cat among the pigeons  - to create a trouble
  18. piece of cake - very easy task
  19. have a blast - to have a good time
  20. cold shoulders - to treat with contempt
  21. bite off more than one can chew - to take lot of duties that can not be managed
  22. add insult to injury - to make the bad situation more worse. 
  23. bitter pill to swallow - accept bad situation or news reluctantly.
  24. cost arm and leg - very expensive thing
  25. white elephant - expensive thing but useless or unable to maintain
  26. to cry over split milk - to regret something that has already happened or has been done. 
  27. to put all eggs in one basket - to invest in one thing which could be very risky. 
  28. to kill 2 birds in one stone - to achieve 2 things simultaneously
  29. To miss the boat - to miss the opportunity
  30. feast for the eyes - pleasant view.
  31. to sit on the fence - Can not take decision on either side
  32. to add fuel to the fire - to make a bad situation even worse
  33. all that glitters is not gold - don't judge anything by looks.
  34. to be born with silver spoon in one's mouth - to be born in very rich family.
  35. arm and leg - lot of money. 
  36. to see things through rose coloured spectacles - to be optimistic
  37. to be in deep waters - to be in hot water - to be in difficult situation.
  38. to put someone behind the bars - to put some one in police custody.
  39. to bite the dust - to die
  40. Blood is thicker than water - family relations are stronger than any other relations.
  41. to walk the talk - to follow the words or to keep the promise.
  42. to blow one's own trumpet - to praise self or admire self.
  43. When it rains, it pours - When bad time starts, you face many perils or dangers
  44. to be in someone's shoes - to imagine to be in the place of someone else.
  45. to keep one's fingers crossed - to hope for luck or good outcome/ result
  46. under one's nose - Something bad happening in the presence of someone.
  47. to throw in the towel - to accept the beating or defeat
  48. to wash one's hands of - to stay away from the responsibility.
  49. take it or leave it - After giving advice to someone, it is his/her choice whether to accept it or not.
  50. to count the chicken before eggs are hatched - to plan many things too early
more idioms below along with their use in the sentences.

  1. to fall prey - to become a victim
  2. to rack one's brain - to think on difficult problem for a solution
  3. to make a pig of oneself - to eat greedily too much and very quickly
  4. red letter day  - important day
  5. to keep one's eye open - to be alert
  6. to pass the buck - to blame someone else for your mistake
  7. to make a mountain out of molehill - overstress, overstate, exaggerate
  8. of age - to grow adult
  9. to hit the roof - to get very angry and scream and shout
  10. reinvent the wheel - waste time finding the solution to the problem which is already solved.
  11. to raise eyebrow - to disapprove
  12. jack of all trades but master of none - trivial knowledge of many things but no expertise in any
  13. mouth watering - desire, willingness to eat food after seeing it
  14. stitch in time saves nine - right action in time can reduce more risks or issues in future.
  15. to mint money - to earn lot of money in short time.
  16. to curl the lip - to give the expression to show disapproval.
  17. to learn by heart - to memorize 
  18. to jump the light - to dishonour the red traffic signal.
  19. in the same boat - to be in similar situation or problem.
  20. to have one's plate full - to have lot of tasks to do
  21. to fall on deaf ears - to complain repeatedly to someone who does not take any action.
  22. to save the face - to do something to protect status or reputation
  23. to fight like cat and dog - to quarrel, scream and shout at each other loudly.
  24. every dog has his day - everyone has good and bad time.
  25. to build castle in the air - to imagine or plan something that can not  be done realistically.
  26. to come clean - to tell the truth
If you know any other Idiom, please write that in comment.

What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Phrasal Verbs in English Grammar

Phrases are the group of  verbs and prepositions that change the meaning of the combined group of words.

Examples -

Look after - Meaning take care.
In above phrase, we have used 2 words look and after. The meaning of each word is different but if we combine these 2 words, the meaning changes drastically. That's called as a phrase.

Put someone down - Meaning insult someone
In above phrase, we have used 2 words Put and down. The meaning of each word is different but if we combine these 2 words, the meaning changes drastically. That's called as a phrase.
  1. get to - to reach a place
  2. get up - to wake up and rise
  3. to put up with - bear/tolerate
  4. get on - to board the bus/train/plane
  5. get off - to alight from the bus/train/plane
  6. to pass away - die
  7. get in - to board the car
  8. get out - to alight from the car
  9. get along - to enjoy the companionship of someone.
  10. give up - abandon
  11. give in - surrender
  12. turn down - refuse, to decrease the volume
  13. work out - exercise
  14. take off - remove something.
  15. put on - wear something
  16. sort out - solve the problem
  17. run out - left with a few quantity of something
  18. to run over - meet with auto accident
  19. to look up to someone - to revere someone
Let us now see some of the sentences using above phrasal verbs.
I got up early in the morning. My wife poured the coffee in the cup. The cup ran over when I alerted her to stop pouring.  I got on the bus bound to Station and got off near post office and got to Gym for the work out. After  reaching gym I took off my clothes and put on outfit suitable for gym. Then I got a call from my relative saying that common friend has passed away. I called up my wife requesting her to come and pick me up. Wife drove to the Gym to take me home. I got into the car and headed home. I got out of the car and rushed to attend the funeral function.
The friend who expired was a very close friend of mine and we used to get along very well. He was very hard working and never gave up his efforts to excel in his work. He never gave in to the challenges he faced during his struggle. He attended many interviews but was turned down by each company. He was married and had a tiff with his wife. He was unable to put up with her misbehavior. But he had sorted out all the differences in recent times. He was facing financial crisis as well and ran out of money in last month. He looked up to his mother to draw an inspiration to do well in life. Unfortunately, he was ran over by a truck during morning walk.

More Phrasal verbs are given below ordered alphabetically.

1.To back away or back out or back off – to move back or retreat
2.To back up – support someone
3.To bail out – to save person or organisation from financial crisis
4.To bear with – to endure with someone
5.To beef up – to enhance  or heighten something
6.To blow up – Burst out, explode
7.To bring up –raising someone
8.To bring up – to point out -  to raise the point to drag the attention
9.To burn out – to get fed up with heavy work.
10.To brush up on – to revise something.
11.To break down – malfunction, glitch
12.To break into – to get into by force.
13.To break up – to end the relations between lovers
14.To break out – to happen unexpectedly and surprisingly.
15.To call off – Cancel or annul or stop
16.To call upon – to invite or request
17.To calm down – to cool down 
18.To come up with – to introduce an idea
19.To chip in – to help someone to finish the work
20.To carry on – to go on – to continue

He carried on his studies despite the disturbance from loud sound of TV coming from adjacent room. His sister chipped in to help him with some complex mathematical problems. He was very irritated with the neighbor. His sister calmed him down and she came up with an idea to shift to different room to avoid loud noise. She also called upon neighbor to turn down the volume.
He was very tense due to exam pressure. He was not confident enough to appear for the exam. Fortunately surprising news broke out stating exam was called off due to paper leaks.


21.To count on – to Bank on - to hinge on – to rest on - to depend – to rely on
22.To deal with – to tackle the situation
23.To dress up – to put on clothes
24.To drag on – to prolong something say meeting or seminar or movie
25.To drop in – stopover 
26.To drop out – to cut short studies 
27.To end up – to get somewhere at the end.
28.To fall apart – to break into pieces– break up
29.To fall through – fail, miscarry
30.To figure out – to try to comprehend
31.To fix up – repair
32.To fizzle out – to wane – to end slowly
33.To freak out – to be in horror
34.To frown on – dislike or detest or hate or disapprove
35.To fuss over – to give more consideration or attention needlessly.
36.To dig into – to get to the root of the problem
37.To make out – understand, comprehend
38.To get along with someone – to have a friendly relations with someone 
39.To get away – to run away
40.To get in – To enter something, Board something, 
41.To get on – To get in to something, 
42.To get off  - Alight from something
43.To get after  someone– to get the work done by putting pressure on someone
44.To get back to something or someone – to return to something or someone
45.To get up – to wake up in the morning
46.To get over – to recover from
47.To get to – to reach somewhere
48.To get rid of – to free from something
49.To give in – To surrender
50.To give up – to abandon
51.To go on – Continue – to keep up – to keep on
52.To go under – suffer a loss
53.To go through – to experience
54.To hang on – to ask someone to wait
55.To hand in – to Hand over – to submit
56.To hang out – to stroll or roam with friends
57.To hang up – to end the conversation on phone
58.To hit back – to retaliate or to react
59.To hit upon – to strike an idea
60.To hold on – to wait
61.To hold on - to clamp something 
62.To indulge in something – to involve oneself in some activity
63.To jot down – to take down important points
64.To kick off – to start or begin something
65.To knock down – to hit someone down
66.To knock out – to get a defeat in the tournament
67.To laugh off – not to take the matter seriously
68.To lay off – giving employees pink slips, to cut the jobs
69.To leak out – to become known to public 
70.To let down - disappoint
71.To look after – To take care of something
72.To look ahead – to ponder about upcoming plan
73.To look up to – to hold someone with respect.
74.To look for – to search something
75.To look out – watch out – be careful
76.To lose out – to suffer from a loss
77.To make up – to excuse by pretending something
78.To make up with – to break the ice – to end the fight and come together 
79.To make up for – to pay off - reimburse 
80.To miss out – lose the chance
81.To move in – to shift to new place
82.To move out – to leave existing place
83.To narrow down – to come closer to the goal by removing unnecessary things
84.To note down – to take down
85.To opt out – not to participate
86.To pass away – to die
87.To pass on - transfer
88.To pick on – to tease
89.To pick up – lift something or someone
90.To pick up – to grasp or learn
91.To pick out – to select or choose something
92.To play down – to make something look minor or insignificant
93.To Put on – Wear something
94.To pop in – to visit for a short time
95.To pop up – arise
96.To pull through – to overcome difficult situation
97.To point out – to drag the attention to the issue
98.To Put out – to extinguish
99.To put someone down – To insult someone
100.To put down – write down
101.To put forward – to propose plan
102.To put off – to put over -  postpone
103.To put up with – to suffer without complaining
104.To rule out - eradicate
105.To see off – to take leave of 
106.To see about – to take care of
107.To see out – to escort someone
108.To set off – start a journey
109.To set up – to start a business
110.To show off – to boast of something 
111.To show up – to turn up -  attend
112.To shut up – to be silent
113.To single out – to pick up specific things or people
114.To sort out – resolve the problem
115.To stick to – to continue to follow same opinion or plan
116.To stand up – to rise
117.To sit down – to sit on something
118.To take off X to touch the ground
119.To take out – To remove something
120.To take on someone – to confront someone
121.To take back – to retract
122.Take over – to take the responsibility of someone
123.Take up – Raise
124.Take down – to write down something
125.To turn down – to decrease the volume of something
126.To turn down – to reject someone something  say job, not to offer
127.To turn on – To switch off 
128.To turn off – to switch off 
129.To run into someone – to bump into - to come across - to meet unexpectedly
130.To wash up – to clean the utensils
131.To watch out – be cautious
132.To work out  - to do exercise
133.To work out – sort out
134.To wrap up – to wind up – to end some task


What do you think on this topic? Please express your opinion or ask any question through comment below. You can write to me at reply2sagar@gmail.com

Synonyms and Antonyms in English

First let us understand the meaning of Synonym and Antonym.

Synonyms
Synonyms are the words having the same meaning.

For Example -
Happiness - delight - pleasure
Sadness - Sorrow - grief

Antonyms
Antonyms are the words having opposite meaning.

For Example -
Happiness  X Sadness

I will add synonyms and antonyms for commonly used words in below table soon.
  1. brave  X  coward
  2. silly  X  clever
  3. happy, cheerful,joyful  X  sad, sorrowful, grieving
  4. careful X careless
  5. worried, anxious X Unconcerned, carefree 
  6. calm  X  stormy
  7. soft  X  rough
  8. angry  X  peaceful
  9. come  X  go
  10. open  X close
  11. take  X  give
  12. praise, admire  X  criticise, scold
  13. hold  X  release
  14. front  X  behind
  15. straight  X  zigzag
  16. tasty  X  tasteless
  17. evil, immoral, wicked  X  good, virtuous, pleasant
  18. devil, demon  X  angel, god
  19. dirty  X  clean
  20. fair  X  unfair
  21. honest  X  dishonest
  22. tiny, small  X  huge, large
  23. significant  X  insignificant, trivial
  24. important, essential  X  unimportant, inessential
  25. kind, warm-hearted  X  cruel, stone-hearted
  26. fast, quick  X  slow
  27. busy  X  free, idle
  28. firm, resolute  X  irresolute, wavering
  29. difference, dissimilarity  X  resemblance, similarity
  30. lose  X  find
  31. available  X  unavailable
  32. concentration  X  distraction
  33. display  X  hide
  34. wake up  X  sleep
  35. stand up  X  sit down
  36. right  X  wrong
  37. success  X  failure
  38. acquit  X  convict
  39. agreement  X  disagreement
  40. annoy, irritate  X  please, gratify
  41. peril, danger X  safety, security
  42. start, begin  X  finish, end
  43. ignore, disregard  X  pay attention, pay heed, acknowledge
  44. refuse, reject, deny  X  accept, approve, permit
  45. build  X  destroy
  46. dry  X  wet
  47. problem, issue  X  solution
  48. nearby, close  X  far, distant
  49. save  X  waste
  50. light  X  heavy
  51. light  X  darkness
  52. move  X  stagnate
  53. more  X  less
  54. much  X  little
  55. many  X  few
  56. fertile  X  infertile, barren
  57. silent  X  noisy
  58. private  X  public
  59. ready  X  unprepared
  60. arrest  X  release
  61. turn on, switch on  X  turn off, switch off
  62. put on  X  take off
  63. online  X  offline
  64. new  X  old
  65. melodious  X  discordant
  66. pleasant  X  unpleasant
  67. Everyone  X  none
  68. trust  X  distrust, mistrust
  69. special  X  ordinary
  70. encourage  X  discourage
  71. hell  X  heaven
  72. early X  late
  73. son  X  daughter
  74. boy  X  girl
  75. man  X  woman
  76. lady  X  gentleman
  77. masculine  X  feminine
  78. black  X  white
  79. forget  X  remember
  80. clear  X  vague, unclear  
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Top 10 Figures of Speech in English Grammar

In this article, we will have a look at most popular figures of speech in English Grammar.

  1. Metaphor 
  2. Simile
  3. Hyperbole
  4. Cacophony
  5. Climax
  6. Ambiguity
  7. Apostrophe
  8. Humour
  9. Irony
  10. Superlative
Examples of Simile-
  1. He is as busy as honey bee.
  2. She is as cunning as Fox.
Examples of Hyperbole-
  1. She repeated the same point thousand times.


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Gerunds and Infinitives in English Grammar

Let us understand the difference between Gerund and Infinitives.

  1. Infinitive is basic form of verb. For example - to swim, to shop
  2. Gerund is the noun form of Verb. For example - swimming, shopping

We use gerunds in below scenarios.

  1. As a Subject  - Swimming is good.
  2. After prepositions - before, after, while
  3. After certain verbs like enjoy, love, suggest, avoid, like etc


Examples -

  1. I like swimming.
  2. I went shopping.
  3. She likes listening to the music.
  4. Playing helps you maintain the body.
  5. Writing is my hobby.
  6. I enjoy running.

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Questions in English Grammar

Questions are used to get the information that you do not know.

There are 2 types of questions at the broad level.
  1. "Wh" type questions
  2. Yes/No questions
"Wh" type questions
"Wh" questions usually start with "Wh".
  1. what 
  2. when
  3. where
  4. How
  5. why
For example - 
  1. What is your name?
  2. What do you do?
  3. How did you study?
  4. How long does it take 
  5. How long have you been working?
  6. When is he coming?
  7. Where was hotel located?
  8. Why did not he invite sachin for wedding.
Answers to such questions are not known to us and we can not predict the answers as well.

"Yes/No" type questions
These type of questions are used when we expect the answer in Yes or No.
For example - 
  1. Do you like watching movies?
  2. Do you eat sea food?
  3. Do you go to school?
  4. did you pass in an exam?
  5. Have you finished the task?
  6. Are you going to study abroad?
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Active and Passive Voice in English Grammar

Usually we write the sentence in the below format (Active Voice).
Active Voice = Subject + Verb + Object

But sometimes, object is more important. So we use below format (Passive Voice)
Passive Voice = Object + to be/to have + Past Participle + By + Subject

Examples -
Active Voice - Someone broke open the door.
Passive Voice - The door was broken open by someone.

Active Voice - Someone released the film.
Passive Voice - The film was released by someone.

Active Voice - They were building the bridge.
Passive Voice - The bridge was being built by them.


Sometime, Passive Voice suits the sentence aptly.
For Example -
He was killed in an accident.

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Clauses in English Grammar

Clauses are parts in a sentence that give extra information about the subject or noun.

There are mainly 2 types of clauses at broad level.

  1. Main (Independent)
  2. Subordinate(Dependent)

Examples -
I know why he went abroad.
In above sentence "I know" is the main clause while "why he went abroad" is a subordinate clause.

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Reporting Speech in English Grammar

Many times, we need to discuss some points with someone about third person. For example - Ramesh and Amit are 2 friends. They spoke with each other entire day. When Ramesh went home, he wants to inform his father what Amit told to him. This is when reporting speech concept comes into picture.

There are 2 types of reporting speech.

  1. Direct Speech 
  2. Indirect Speech
Example of direct speech.
She said "I will go to hospital"

Now let us see the indirect speech of above sentence.
She said she would go to hospital.

Now let us see how to convert the sentence from direct speech into indirect speech.
  1. I said "I study everyday"                  -> I said I studied everyday.
  2. He said "I play cricket"                    -> He said He played cricket.
  3. She said "I am playing a cricket"     -> She said she was playing a cricket.
  4. They said "We played foot ball"      -> They said they had played foot ball.
  5. He said "I was playing tennis"         -> He said he had been playing tennis.
  6. He ordered "Run fast"                      -> He ordered them to run fast
  7. He said to me "Are you working ?" -> He said to me if I was working.
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Determiners in English Grammar

Determines are the words that usually precede nouns.
  1. Demonstrative Determiners - this, that
  2. Possessive Determiners - my, your, his, her, its, our, their
1.Demonstrative Determiners

For example -
Give me that book.
Do you remember that movie?
Hold this stick.

2.Possessive Determiners

For example -
Where is my bike?
I placed a call on her mobile.
This is our house.


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Conditional statements in English Grammar

Conditional Statements usually start with "if".

There are 4 types of conditional statements in English.
  1. Simple Present + Simple Present 
  2. Simple Present + Simple Future
  3. Simple Past  + would
  4. Past Perfect + would have/had + Past Participle.
Below examples will clarify more about these statements.

Example on Simple Present + Simple Present
If you work abroad, you earn lot of money.

Example on Simple Present + Simple Future
If she accepts my proposal, I will marry her.
If you study hard, you will get a good score.

Example on Simple Past + Would
If He answered the call, I would advise him.
If I were you, I would study in UK.

Example on Past Perfect + Would have/had + Past Participle
If I had travelled by train, I would have died in an accident.
If I had a lot of money, I would travel abroad every month.

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Sunday 14 December 2014

Interjections (Exclamations) in English Grammar

Interjections (Exclamations) are the words in English Sentences that are used to express the feelings like happiness, excitement, sadness, disgust, dullness etc.

Examples -

  1. Wow! You got a job offer worth $2 million.
  2. Bye. See you again.
  3. Ugh. I did not expect this from you.
  4. yeah! that's like a good boy.
  5. Oops! I am Sorry for the mistake.
  6. Alas! We lost the match.
  7. Oh my god! He almost hit that.

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Conjunctions in English Grammar

Conjunctions are the words that are used to connect 2 or more sentences, clause or words.

Examples -

He went home and watched a movie.
In above sentence, we have used "and" to connect 2 sentences as mentioned below.

He went home.
He watched a movie.

Types of Conjunctions in English Grammar.
There are below types of conjunctions.
  1. Coordinating conjunctions
  2. Correlative Conjunctions
  3. Subordinating Conjunctions
1.Coordinating conjunctions
  1. and
  2. for
  3. but
  4. yet
  5. so
  6. no
  7. nor
Examples on Coordinating conjunctions.
  1. I went to office and worked on the software project.
  2. He went to college but did not attend the class.
  3. I opened the door and went inside.
  4. I tried to rescue the man trapped under car but failed to save him.
  5. I will develop the software in Java or .Net Language.
2.Correlative conjunctions
  1. either...or
  2. neither...nor
  3. whether...or
  4. not only...but also
  5. just as ...so
  6. both...and
Examples on Correlative conjunctions.
  1. You can offer me either tea or coffee.
  2. You can offer me neither chicken nor fish.
  3. Whether you go to office or stay here, I do not care.
  4. I not only worked but travelled also.
  5. Both I and my brother are good orators.
3.Subordinating conjunctions
  1. after
  2. although
  3. as
  4. as far as
  5. as if
  6. as long as
  7. as soon as
  8. because
  9. before
  10. even if
  11. even though
  12. every time
  13. if
  14. in order that
  15. since
  16. so
  17. so that
  18. than
  19. though
  20. unless
  21. until
  22. when
  23. whenever
  24. where
  25. whereas
  26. wherever
  27. while
  28. since
  29. now that
  30. as
  31. in order that
  32. so
  33. whether
  34. how
  35. only if
  36. whether or not
  37. in case
Examples on Subordinating conjunctions.
  1. After I completed my education, I got hired by a software company.
  2. Although I speak in English, my native language is Hindi.
  3. I stayed at home as I was not feeling well.
  4. As far as I know, he will be back on Monday.
  5. He ran towards him as if he wanted to hit him.
  6. As long as I am there, you do not need to worry.
  7. As soon as I reached home, it started raining.
  8. I chose computer engineering branch because I wanted to become a software engineer.
  9. Before you go out, close the windows.
  10. Even if I am not expert at computers, I can guide you little bit.
  11. I registered for the IELTS exam because IELTS exam is a prerequisite to become eligible for the Visa to Foreign countries.

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Prepositions in English Grammar

Prepositions are words in English that appear in front of the Nouns. Prepositions make the sentence more meaningful.

Examples -

I put the book on the table.
In above sentence, if we omit the preposition "on", sentence becomes incorrect or meaningless.

Commonly used prepositions

There are many preposition in English. We will see how to use each of them.

1.Time Related Prepositions.
  1. at - used to tell accurate time
  2. in - used to tell a specific month or year
  3. on - used to tell a specific day
  4. un till /till - used to tell a point in time
  5. before - used to tell event sequence
  6. after - used to tell event sequence
  7. past - used to tell time
  8. ago - used to specify duration in the past
  9. for - used to specify the duration
  10. since - used to specify the duration when we know exact time
  11. upon - just like after
  12. as soon as - used to tell that specific event happened immedietly after another
  13. amid - in the middle of
  14. to - used to tell time as well as travelling to certain destination
  15. prior to - used to specify the sequence of events
  16. afore - just like before
Examples - 
  1. Let's meet at night.
  2. I will reach there in the evening.
  3. I will go home on Monday.
  4. I will work till after noon.
  5. He will finish his work before Saturday.
  6. I will have a dinner after 9 PM.
  7. It is quarter past 11.
  8. He worked there 3 years ago.
  9. Virat is a part of Indian Cricket Team since 2011.
  10. Sachin served the Nation for 25 years.
  11. I worked there for  4 years.
  12. I have been working year since June 2013
  13. 3 years ago, I worked there.
  14. I will come home in the evening.
  15. I will be applying for German Visa in May.
  16. He cam to office at 11 AM due to traffic standstill on his route.
  17. I will call you at night to discuss about the trip to London.
  18. She will come back on Monday from her official trip.
  19. What do you usually do on weekends?
  20. I travelled from home to school by Bus. But I came back by train.
  21. It was raining until I reached home.
  22. I will be on vacation till Monday.
  23. We switched off TV before going out to watch a cricket match.
  24. We ate snacks during the match.
  25. We left the stadium after India lost the match.
  26. We enjoyed a music while travelling.
  27. It is too cold to walk out
during and while are used to indicate the action in progress. Difference between them is that during is followed by noun and while is followed by verb or other sentence.

2.Place and Position Related Prepositions.
  1. under/underneath/beneath - 3d context and something is covered
  2. below - specify the position of objects
  3. down - look down, down the line, go down stairs
  4. over - specify the movement e.g. fly over, climb over, lean over
  5. above - specify the position of objects
  6. on - position of static objects
  7. atop / on the top of  - We climbed atop the mountain
  8. up - look up, go up stairs
  9. around - walk around the city, park
  10. through - I went through the crowd
  11. across - The office is located across the road
  12. in/into/ inside - He went inside the house.  I poured tea into the cup
  13. out/outside - He came out of the house
  14. towards - Go towards north
  15. at - specify the location. We will meet at temple.
  16. in - I will meet you in the city
  17. from and to - I am going from Brisbane to India
  18. among - I spotted him among the crowd
  19. between - involving 2 parties. Canberra is situated between Sydney and Melbourne
  20. opposite - Facing towards each other
  21. next to - beside, adjacent, alongside - He was sitting next to me
  22. aside - He pushed me aside
  23. behind/ abaft  - at the back - There is park behind our house
  24. ahead - forward, towards the front, frontwards
  25. near - There is park near my house
  26. beyond - to indicate limit. You can not go beyond this line.
  27. within - You have to stay within your limits.
Examples - 
  1. I kept the book on the table.
  2. Toy was under the table.
  3. The plane flew over the mountains.
  4. I ran over the bridge.
  5. He swam across the river.
  6. My home is near a railway station.
  7. He got up and switched on the TV.
  8. She travelled from Mumbai to London.
  9. We went outside and saw nothing.
  10. The ball went up high in the sky.
  11. I was sitting between Ramesh and Suresh.
  12. Ramesh was sitting next to me.
  13. in - Tony lives in Sydney
  14. at - Lot of dignitaries were present at the felicitation ceremony.
  15. on - He sat on a chair and looked down.
  16. on - Obama went on a vacation to Hawaii Island.
  17. Modi was reading a magazine when Sharif walked past him to address the summit.
  18. There were hawkers selling tomatoes along the road.
  19. See the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
  20. How many men are visible in above image?
  21. We went through the village and reached highway.
  22. I fell in love with Munich due to its pleasant climate and clean surroundings.
  23. CM convened a meeting to discuss about the upcoming international airport project in Sydney.
  24. My wife is afraid of lizards.
  25. Sachin is good at batting.
  26. I listen to the CNN new channel everyday to keep abreast with latest information across world.
  27. The boy fell off the bicycle and started crying.
  28. Thieves snatched the golden chain of old lady and ran away.
  29. I put on the shoes to check if it fits my feet size.
  30. I kept the book under table
  31. Bus that was coming from behind hit our cab suddenly.
  32. The bank was located opposite railway station.
  33. The hotel was situated next to our shop.
  34. Vendor was selling vegetables in front of our shop.
  35. Prices of tomato went up very high in October due to poor rain leading to less cultivation of the crop.
  36. The plane flew over the Java sea for about 1 hour and then went missing.
3.Miscellaneous Prepositions
  1. of - Where is the key of my car
  2. off - Take a day off
  3. by - done by, what do you mean by, by bus, by mistake, by chance, by monday, by minute
  4. about - about city, boy, any topic
  5. against - against wall, against crime, against his wish
  6. along  - along the road, along with me
  7. despite - in spite of
  8. without
  9. according to
  10. due to
  11. as well as
  12. for the sake of
  13. in order to
  14. on behalf of
  15. with respect to
  16. at the behest of - on someone's command
  17. on account of - because of
  18. in lieu of - as a proxy or replacement
  19. in addition to
  20. as long as 
  21. as far as
  22. as per - as per the definition
Examples - 
  1. Baby tore few pages of the book.
  2. He apologized on behalf of his wife.
  3. Despite knowing the risks, he took that decision.
  4. He remained in bed all day due to sickness.
  5. She told him that she could not live without him.
  6. According to the article in the newspaper, India will become the No.1 economy in the world.
  7. He stayed back at home for the sake of her.
  8. Teacher told the story about Hitler.
  9. I put on new shirt that was bought by wife for me,
  10. She took off the shoes and washed the feet.
  11. I turned on TV and watched a movie.
  12. Before going out, we turned off all lights in the house.
  13. The glass fell down so I picked it up and put it down on the table.
  14. You can take my bike but bring it back in the same condition.
  15. He got in the car and got out in few seconds.
  16. I got on the bus at the railway station and got off near school.
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