Figures of Speech

‘Those are the shirts which I intended to buy’! Have you ever considered the significance of the word ‘those’ in such sentences? It is known as demonstrative adjective and is common not only in English, but also in Spanish and French. We know that adjectives are those ‘parts of speech’ …

You might be familiar with the subject-verb rules that are used while framing sentences. To have a much clearer picture of what they are, you will find them presented with examples in this article. The entire trick lies in recognizing the singular and plural subjects and the forms of verb …

You might have been instructed by your English teacher not to write in passive voice. Most of you know that passive voice in sentences is something which you should avoid. However, very few actually define it or recognize it. Verbs are said to be either active or passive. In active …

The English language can be tricky and nowhere is this confusion as manifest as it is in the nitty-gritty of understanding words such as ‘affect and ‘effect’. Though there are innumerable mix-ups in English language which confuse the readers, not many have quite achieved the kind of confusion that comes …

English language can be quite complex and punctuation is a powerful aspect of the language. It strings the words in the correct manner, giving them the right meaning. Good writing in English makes use of punctuation in the proper places. So, knowing where and how exactly to use these punctuation …

When it comes to the English language, it is considerably difficult for a person to be correct all of the time. The language by itself is a tricky mess but, if mastered, can prove to be a walk in the park or a piece of cake even. For example, the …

‘If you stand at the stair and stare at the picture.’ The words ‘stair’ and ‘stare’ in this sentence, belong to the most common, but confusing category in English language. They are homophones – words which have the same pronunciation, but differ in spellings and meanings, as in the case …

Interchanging compliment and complement is a common mistake in the English language. The two words are homonyms, i.e. they are similar in spelling and pronunciation but have entirely different meanings and hence, the need to use them appropriately. It’s surprising to see how many people get these words wrong. And …

“One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas”. Isn’t it weird to read that an elephant wore pajamas? Though this statement puts a smile on your face, it reminds us about the important of proper usage of modifiers in a sentence. Improper usage or misplaced modifiers can make your …

Comparing two things is the most common way of taking decisions. Grocery shopping involves comparing similar products of different brands or even different packaging of the same products; this phenomenon is even extended to humans when we compare height, weight, nature, looks or other general aspects of one person with …