USE OF SILENT LETTERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Sounds interesting , silent letters in English language. Yes there are silent letters which are not pronounced when we utter or speak some words but while writing we use those letters in making words.This has created a lot of confusion among the English learners around the globe. Actually there has been a lot of changes in English language with  the passage of time and pronunciation of words is one of them. But the spelling of those words has not changed and has retained its originality.
Let us look at some of the common words where there is a use of silent letters.Some of them are as follows which may sound very interesting. For example-
1) In the case of Why and Where  we find that H is not pronounced.
2) H is not pronounced when it is the starting letter of some word, such as, Hour and Honest.
3) In case of the word Knowledge the letter K is not pronounces
4) The letter L is not pronounced in case of words like calm, half, talk, would
5) The letter D is not pronounced in case of words like Wednesday, Edge.
6) The letter B is not pronounced in case of words like comb, debt , doubt.
7) The letter U is not pronounced in words like tongue, guitar. colleague.
\8) The letter G is silent in High ,Sign, 
9) The letter P is silent in  Psychology
10) The letter S is silent in words like Island

There are many such more words and the list cannot be completed as such but a lot of careful attention and if you can keep your ears wide open when  you listen or converse with persons knowledgeable in English or hear to the native speakers speaking, sure this problem can be solved

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ENGLISH MORE ATTRACTIVE TO THE LISTENER

We can all make our English speaking more attractive to the listener. Each of us may follow a different set of rules and reach our goal. But there are some common steps which we all can follow. Try to use as much words or phrase you listen in your day to day conversation.So be a good listener first. Then the words you come across remember them  and try to add another word to the base word to make another word. For example you know the word - over and another word - take. These two words have complete different meaning. But when you combine the two words it gives us a complete different meaning. The new word is overtake. We can use this word in a sentence . Let us take an example to understand the meaning of this word.
Example- The car met with an accident when it tried to overtake the bus.

Next try to have a good stock of phrasal verbs. This will give you more option while speaking . Let us take an example to justify this stand.

 Turned down- the meaning of this phrasal verb is to reject.
So we can say-
Peter rejected my proposal or Peter turned down my proposal

Have in your knowledge a good stock of phrases and idioms which also will enrich your speaking skills.Make your conversation short and focus based . Try to be  specific and not confine yourself to grammar only because you cannot speak fluently thinking of grammar.

Have a look at some of the expression you can use while speaking
1) As you wish
2) What nonsense
3) Take it easy
4) What a shame!
5) Certainly
6) What a pleasant surprise.
7) As you like.
8) Many happy happy returns of the day.
9) You are welcome.
10) Nice to meet you

Hope these tips are effective and useful. Enjoy learning English . Meet you soon, Goodbye!

ROLE OF PARTS OF SPEECH

The other day I was giving English lessons to my students when an interesting question was asked to me by a student of class-3. The question was why the words related to Nouns , Pronoun , Verb and others are called parts of speech and what are there roles. I had to give a very simple answer to convince her of the need of these parts of speech and their role in English language.

There are so many words in English language and each has their function to perform. The words are broadly classified into eight types which are called parts of speech .There are certain words which states the names of particular thing, another set of words are called describing words, some are called doing words, there are again some which are called linking words and so on.There are certain words which falls into more than one category and they should be understood in the context of the sentence and what job it is doing in that particular sentence To make a perfect sentence each of these have to used perfectly If you have a good knowledge of all the parts of the speech , the sentence construction becomes more gorgeous.

The role of noun is to stand for a person, place,animal or thing.
The role of pronoun is to substitute for a noun
The role of a verb is to express the state of the subject or it tells us what the subject is doing
The role of the adjective is to describe the noun
The role of the adverb is to modify the verb , an adjective or another adverb.
The role of the preposition is to state the relation of the subject to other noun or pronoun in the sentence.
The role of the conjunction is to join two words or two parts of the sentence.
The role of the interjection is to state the sudden feeling of mind 

 Let us make an effort then to understand these eight parts of speech and apply them in our day to day conversation thereby making our  writing and speaking skills better

HOW TO USE CONFUSING PAIRS OF ENGLISH WORDS

The use of English words becomes a difficult proposition for many and thus makes the meaning of the sentence not appropriate.So how do you come out of the problem . The first step is identify the parts of speech it  belongs and then apply it in your writing skill as well as speaking.

There are so many  confusing pairs as such in our English Language. Some of them are listed as follows-
1) Dead-Died
2)As-Like
3)Accept- Except
4)Desert- Dessert
5)Farther- Further
6)Affect- Effect
7) Advice- Advise
8) Ensure- Insure
9) Foreword-Forward
10) Principal- Principle

The word dead can be used as an adjective as well as an adverb-
Example- There is a dead body lying in the morgue. In this sentence the word dead is used as an adjective
              You are dead right on this matter. In this sentence the word dead is used as an adverb.
Died is the past form of the verb die
Example- My uncle died two years ago

Use the word like if what you are comparing with the subject of the sentence is a noun, gerund or a pronoun
Example- He looks like his father
Use the word As if the comparison is with a verb, clause or preposition
Example- She works as a teacher

The word accept is a verb
Example- I accept your proposal
The word except can be used as a preposition as well as a conjunction
Example-The little child was naked except for his hat on the head
Example-I didn't tell my father anything except that I had a small quarrel with my friend

The word desert can be used as noun, verb and adjective also

Example- Camel is an animal which adjust to desert conditions very well.
Example- Don't desert me when I am in danger
Example- We find camel in the desert

The word  dessert is a noun
Example- Fruits served after dinner is known as dessert

Farther is the comparative form of the adverb form far
Further can be used as an adverb, adjective and verb
Remember farther is used with the meaning distance and further is used with the meaning additional mainly
He went farther away from us
I won't tolerate further mistakes

The word affect is a verb and the word effect is used as a noun
The loneliness began to affect my health
The harmful effects of modern day medicine is too much

Advice is used as a noun and Advise is used as a verb
My father gave me an advice(Noun)
I advise you not to smoke(verb)

Ensure is a verb- The accountant must ensure accuracy
Insure is a verb also-You should insure your car

Foreword- used as a noun- Read the foreword of the book
Forward can be used as an adverb, adjective, noun and verb
The procession moved forward (adverb)
He is a forward looking person (adjective)
He plays as a forward in the team (noun)
Forward this mail to me ( verb)

Principal can be used as an noun and adjective- He is the principal of our school (noun)
The principal amount must be returned withing three months (adjective)
Principle-used as a noun- He is a man of principle/He has violated the basic principles of life

WHY & HOW OF LEARNING ENGLISH

I agree with many that learning English is not the easiest of the thing . It is not our native language. There are many who are of the opinion that the subject English is not so important.On this point I disagree. It has now become an international language and people around the world are trying to learn it in the best and easiest way they can.
In many countries though the official language is not English, the official work is done in English. Though I am not one of those native English speakers I always felt that one can better express their feelings in a soft and romantic manner in English. If any one of decide one day to go abroad and study in the United States or Great Britain, Australia or  NewZealnd, you have to have a good idea of this language
The best way I think is to go through the various listening exercises and try to understand how the native speakers speak and understand them. The more you listen the more you will be able to have a grip over the subject. I would also like to add one vital point is that read as long as you enjoy. Remember you have to feel it. There are different reasons for learning-
1) For pleasure
2) For knowledge
3) For necessity

The best outcome would be if you read for pleasure, then you get the knowledge also.Read English not only for passing an exam but for something more. Read every day , then speak or write what you have read.Speaking is the most difficult, because you can't do it alone ,Search for friends or try to build up a community through some social networking sites . Try to go through the sample IELTS &TOEFL test papers and also the videos on you tube . Success is sure but just give the time to have it. Until next time good bye and have a good time learning English

Wh-QUESTIONS IN SPOKEN ENGLISH

In our daily conversation we use a lot of Wh- Questions . These questions are such that we cannot answer them in yes or no. In fact we have to give a little description to these type of questions to satisfy the persons asking them.. First let us know what are Wh- words that are used to make these type of questions. The following are the Wh-words-
1) what 
2) when 
3) where
4) whose
5) whom
6) which
7) How
8) why

What is used in a sentence to ask information of someone or something
When is used in a sentence to ask about time
Where is used in a sentence to know about a place
whose is used in a sentence to know about possession 
Whom is used in a sentence to ask about what or which person 
which is used in a sentence to ask about the choice of the speaker
How is used in a sentence to know about the manner a certain thing can be done and also about a person condition or quality
Why is used to know about the reason of doing something
Example-
1) what are you doing?
2) When are you returning?
3) Where are you now?
4) Whose book is this?
5) whom do you want to meet?
6) Which color do you like?
7) How did you come here?
8) Why did you come so late?

Try to use-
1) What for to know why a person has done something
2)Why don't to make a suggestion to someone
3)How long to know the extent of time needed to do a certain assignment
4)How far to know about the distance of certain place from the place you are
5)How many to be used with countable nouns
6) How much with uncountable nouns

Example-
1) What for you have done such an act?
2) Why don't you come to my place tonight?
3) How long did you take to complete the work?
4) How far is the city mall from here?
5) How many students are there in the class?
6) How much money do you want?

IMPORTANCE OF COLLOCATIONS IN CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH

Two or more words which is used together while speaking with others is known as collocation. There is no definite rule but the speakers tend to use them because it sounds good and the conversation becomes lively and attractive. It is also very difficult to remember single word and use it in our daily conversation but on the other hand if we can use block of words or chunks in English language it can be easily remembered. Moreover it gives a choice to the speaker to express in a much better way. If you think of a certain word try also to use other words which go in combination with that particular word.  For example if you are thinking of the word ,”over” try also other words which can be used with that word like think, do , take . So if we use these two words together the new word formed – overtake, overdo, takeover. Again we can try to use make or do. Take the case of the word make. We can say or use – make a difference, make progress. There can be different combinations of words. It may be an Adverb in combination with an Adjective, Noun in combination with another Noun, Verb with Noun and Verb with another Adverb

Try to read as much as possible to remember the chunks which are used in our English language. After you learn a certain groups of collocation, try to revise it as much as possible. You can various sites related to English language and learn more about it. You can also visit my website to know more about collocations
http://skillenglish.com/