Tag: form

Metaphor

Metaphor is a figure of speech where there is an implied comparison betwen two objects, persons or situations. Metaphor does not state, like a simile, that one thing is or acts like another thing. Metaphor states that the two things are one and in a manner identical. Metaphor  is a figure of of identification, e.g. Her eyes are like pearls. (The comparison is implied. Eyes are identified with pearls. Unlike a simile there is no use of ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Metaphor is usually expressed in the following forms:

1. Explicit identification:

  • The camel is the ship of the desert.
  • Procrastination is the thief of time.
  • Old age is the sunset of life.
  • Idleness is the nursery of sinful thoughts.

2. By the use of ‘of’:

  • He was faced by a sea of troubles.
  • Let us fight with the weapon of truth.
  • Hold fast to the anchor of faith, hope and charity. (Anchor in the form of faith etc. ‘Anchor’ is identified with “faith’ etc.)
  • The tree of liberty only grows when watered by the blood of tyrants. (‘Tree’ in the form of ‘liberty’; ‘water’ in the form of  ‘blood’.) 

3. Expressed through a verb:

  • The ship ploughs the sea.
  • Remorse gnawed at his heart.
  • Do not ape the manners of the rich.
  • Our country is being drained of its resources.

4.A whole sentence: Sometimes a whole sentence is metaphricallyy used to fit in a particular situation. If a man, for example , goes on changing his jobs, we merely tell him, “Well, sir, A rolling stone gathers no moss“.

Similarly:

  • He is sowing wild oats.
  • The cat was out of the bag.
  • He hit the nail on the head.
  •  Make hay while the sun shines.

These are all examples of Metaphor.

5.Expressed in a phrase ( where the objects of identity are not clearly expressed):

Through nouns:

  • At last there is a ray of hope.
  • He laid down the reigns of his office.
  • They spread the light of knowledge.
  • There is not a shade of doubt in it.

Through adjectives:

  • He had a fiery temper.
  • There was a stormy discussion in the meeting.
  • She has a rosy complexion.
  • He has a stony heart.

 

Articles

Articles: Indefinite and Definite: a, an, the

A, an (before vowels), and the, are the commonest words in the English language and are a form of adjectives.

 A /an is a weak form of one and is used before a singular countable noun which is not proper, nor definite. Its function is not to define but to generalize. Example: a book, an orange etc.

 The is a weak form of that and is used before singular and plural, countable and uncountable nouns, provided they are identified or definite. It is generally not used before proper nouns.

a/an is indefinite, any, one of many, not one particular thing.

the points out a particular thing.

The choice between a and an is decided by the sound of the word which is used after them. When it is a vowel sound, an is used and if it is a consonant sound, a is used, e.g. an hour, an umbrella, an apple, an elephant, a table, a horse, a door, a goat. Remember it is the sound of the initial letter that matters and not the spelling. Thus a is used before vowels beginning with a u when they are pronounced with a y /j/ sound  as though it were a consonant, as a unit, a unicorn, a university, a useful animal. Similarly, an is used , for example before words beginning with the letter h where this is not pronounced, as in an hour, an heir, an honest officer, an honourable man.

The is spoken as /thi: /, when it is followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound and as /the /, when it is followed by a word beginning with a consonant sound.

The is used to refer back to a person that has already been mentioned, as in –

  • I met a young man in the college yesterday. The man was very smart and efficient.
  • We’ve bought a new car. The car is very luxurious.

The can be used to make a general statement about all things of a particular type, as in –

  • The industries are responsible for environmental pollution.
  • The television and the computer have reduced our physical activity.

The can be used to refer to a whole class or group, as in ‘the Indians’, ‘the French’, ‘the Smiths’, ‘the dog’, ‘the rich’, ‘the poor’ etc.

The indicates a person or thing to be the only one, as in the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth, the Bible, the Gita, the Prime Minister, the President, the Speaker etc.

The can also be used to refer to services or systems, as in –

  • The Browns are not on the phone.
  •  I prefer to travel by the train.

The is used in front of superlative adjectives, as in ‘the tallest boy’, ‘the longest river’, ‘the most beautiful woman’ etc.

The can be used instead of a possessive determiner to refer to parts of the body, as in –

  • He caught her by the hair.
  • The dog bit him on the leg.

Tense

Tense

Verbs are the most important words in a sentence. They express actions.  The time of an action changes and the verb also changes.

Tense in a verb shows:

(a)    The time of an action

(b)   Whether it is complete or still going on.

Let us look at the chief tenses and their names:

  Present Past Future
Simple I work/He plays I worked/He played I shall work/He will play
ContinuousOrProgressive I am working/He is playing I was working/He was playing I shall be working/He will be playing
Perfect (i.e. complete) I have worked/He has played I had worked/He had played I shall have worked/He will have played

 

To form these tenses, we must know these four parts of the verb:

(a)    The Present Tense form (which is the same as the infinitive or root form)

(b)   The Present Participle ( which you can always make by adding –ing to the root form)

(c)    The Past Tense and the Past Participles of irregular or strong verbs (like write, see, drink, break).

(d)   Regular or weak verbs (like work, walk, learn) add ed or t to make the past tense or past participle. (Note that they are weak, because they need the help of ed, d, t: the strong verbs are strong because they do not need any such help).

The Simple Tenses

The Simple Present Tense expresses the following:

  1.      It expresses general truths, things that are always true, e.g.

The earth moves round the sun.

Two and two make four.

Fish live in water

We make butter and cheese from milk.

 2.      It expresses habitual actions, e.g.

I wake up at six o’clock everyday.

We go to school by bus.

I drink a glass of milk everyday.

Cows eat grass.

In this usage , we often use adverbials of frequency like often,  sometimes, never, rarely, always, frequently, etc. e.g.

Do you go to the park often?

Yes, I go regularly.

No, I go very rarely.

I go there sometimes.

I never go to the park.

3.     We use the simple present tense to describe a process or a recipe,  giving directions step by step e.g.

Take a cup of milk in a pan. Put it on fire. Add a spoon of sugar and let it boil. etc.

The Simple Past Tense

1.       The simple past tense is used to describe what happened in the past, often with a definite adverbial of time like yesterday, last week/month/year/evening, an hour ago, long ago, then, etc. answering the question When did…………. e.g.

               He went to Bombay yesterday.

               My grandmother wrote me a lovely letter.

               I did my graduation in 1995.

2.       In indirect speech it replaces the simple present in direct speech, e.g.

               He said that he woke up at 6 a.m. everyday, had breakfast at 8 a.m. and went to work at 9 a.m. etc.

The Simple Future Tense

The simple future tense expresses future time and is often accompanied by an adverbial of future time, like tomorrow, next year, in a month’s time, etc. e.g.

I shall see you tomorrow.

Father will be home soon.

We will go for a picnic on Sunday.

Comparisons

  • Study the following sentences:
  1. John is a tall boy.
  2. John is taller than Jack.
  3. John is the tallest boy in the class.

 

  • The first sentence is a statement. We are not comparing John with any other boy. We simply say that John is a tall boy.
  • In the second sentence, we use the word taller. It shows comparison between two boys John and Jack. We show that one is taller than the other.
  • In the third sentence, we use the words the tallest. It shows that no one in the class is as tall as John. He is the tallest boy in the class.

 

  • Let us look at some more examples:
  1. Grandfather is older than grandfather.
  2. Fanny is prettier than Lizzy.
  3. The poor are happier than the rich.
  4. Tina’s dress is more beautiful than Kuku’s dress.
  5. An elephant is bigger than a lion.

These sentences show comparisons between two things. We use the -er form of the word or we use more. We also use the word than.

 

  • Now look at these sentences:
  1. The whale is the largest animal.
  2. This is the finest silk.
  3. Sam is the fastest child I have ever seen.
  4. The giraffe has the tallest neck.
  5. He is the most intelligent boy in the class.

 

We show comparison among more than two objects by using the –est form of an adjective – smallest, shortest, bravest. Sometimes, we use most with the adjective – most beautiful, most interesting. We also use the with the –est form.

Use of is, am are, was, were

Look at the following sentences:

  1. I am a girl.
  2. He is a lazy boy.
  3. She is a teacher.
  4. It is a ball.
  5. This is her purse.
  6. That is his bat.
  7. Molly is in the kitchen
  8. We are sisters.
  9. You are late.
  10. These boys are hungry.
  11. Those girls are tall.
  12. There are many birds on the tree.
  13. There were ten students in the class.
  14. They are very rich.
  15. Mary and Anne are friends.

 

The words is, am, are, was, were, help us to say something about the noun or pronoun. These words are also called Verbs. They say or tell what a person, animal or thing is. Was/were show past activity i.e. what happened in the past. We use was as the past form of am and is. We use were as the past form of are.

 

Study this:

I am  

ten years old.
We

You

They

The girls

The boys

  

are
She

He

Mary

Jack

  

is

 

  • We use is with he, she, it, this, that and singular nouns like Mary, Jack, boy, girl, etc. We write is for one.
  • Am is always used with I.
  • We use are with we, you, they, these, those and plural nouns like boys, students, children, animals etc. We write are for many.
  • Are/were is also used with you when it is singular. Example:

Teacher: Mary, you are a good girl.

Teacher: Mary, why were you absent yesterday?