ADVERBS DISCIPLINED

As you know adverbs or adverbials are jewels of verbs, they cannot be so unless you discipline them and put them in their proper places.  Adverbs cannot be placed haphazardly and any indiscipline placing means de-beautifying a sentence.  And I know very well that you will not like your sentences without beauty.  It is the beauty that makes or mars a sentence and shows the difference between two different writers.  The same thing can be put to a sentence in different ways by different peoples.  And the difference is nothing but discipline or cultured placing of jewels like Adverbs or Adjectives or Adverbials.  There are some sets of grammatical rules regarding the placing of adverbs, though there is room for flexibility.  But remember the flexibilities available can be used to the fullest extent once you know the rules.  So how about learning some rules?  In this regard, I would also like you to re-read one of my previous articles entitled “Orders of Adverbs”

A sentence has three distinct parts, the beginning, the middle part and the ending.   And you put the adverbs in these parts.  Let me analyze the rules. 

First	Beginning	Before the subject of a sentence
Second	Middle	After auxiliary verbs. Before the verb or when verb is two or more words, after the first word
Third	End               (After)	Verb+(Without Object) Verb+Object There is/Are+Noun

Let me illustrate the positions in some sentences.

First position:

• Once I visited Washington D.C with my girl friend. (I, subject)
• Fortunately, no one was hurt in the mishap. (No one, Subject)
• Perhaps, we are going to have clement weather. (We, Subject)

Second Position:  After auxiliary verbs.

• I am always afraid of vamps in Indian tele-serials.
• We were very delighted after reaching the spot.
• She is usually late for the rehearsal.
• The girl is beautiful. She is also cunning.  

Second Position: Before verbs.

• Misfortune never comes alone.
• The burglar cautiously opened the door.
• I cleaned the utensils and also cooked the food.
• He almost fainted when he heard a rattling sound.
• Boatmen often tell about a crying girl in the high sea.
• We quickly understood his trick and unsubscribed.

Have to, used to and ought to may be considered as part of the main verb and take adverbs like Usually, Definitely, Really, Always, Often etc. before them. 

• The workers usually had to do more than eight hours’ of duty.
• I definitely used to beat him in wrestling.  
• You really ought to express your gratitude to the group.

Position Second: Before verbs

• He didn’t even say good bye.
• I have just seen him.  He was getting down from a bus.
• You will soon repent your wrong doings.
• Students are still having online lessons from Aniya’s website. 
• He has often complained of mal treatment in school.
• Aniya has probably forgotten my mail id.
• They probably don’t remember him (Before auxiliary  Verbs and not, Negative)
• We are all going on a picnic next Sunday.

Position Three: After Verb without Object.

·        They slept soundly for three hours.

·        Wild fire spread rapidly.

·        The woman billowed at the loss of her only husband!

·        My mother is going to Puri on a pilgrimage tomorrow.

Position three: After verb with object.

·        We all know him well as a pickpocket.

·        Clean your room everyday in the morning.

·        Everyone should bear his grief composedly.

    


Position three: After introductory there.

·        There are lots of funny animals in the national zoo.

·        There was a bomb explosion in the shopping mall.

     Note:  Adverbs may be one word or more than one word (Adverbials)

Adverbials of Manner, Place and Time.

Manner (How, in what way/ by what means etc.)	Place (Where)	Time (When/How long etc.)	Manner (How, in what way/ by what means etc.)
Well	In what way?	Here	Last night
Softly		There	Yesterday morning
Politely		In the country	Next month
easily		Outside the town	At 9 o’clock
By bus	By what means?	Near the sea	On Monday
By train		At the station	In November
By post		On the dais.	For three days
By air		Outside the store	All day long
With a dagger	With what instrument?	In front of the cinema	Throughout the day
With a pen knife		In the middle of the town	Till noon

Observe the order in which these adverbs are used in sentences:

                                                         

·        She was sitting quietly (Manner)/ in her armchair (Place)/ yesterday evening (Time).  (M P T)

·        We waited the train silently /at the station /for two hours.

·        I have to go to hospital/ next Monday.  (PT)

                                                 

The usual order is Manner Place and Time.  But there is a change in the following cases.

i)                    With verbs of Movement like come, go, arrive Place comes before Manner.

                                                                                                                             

·        The half charred bus arrived in New York(Place) safely (Time). 

·        She went home quickly.

        

ii)                   Time Adverbs can be used in Position One as well as Position three. 

·        I shall be at home on Monday.

·        On Monday I shall be at home.

Note: Early and Late though time adverbs cannot go in position one that is in the beginning of a sentence.

Tom goes to be bed late, but gets up early.

(Not late Tom goes to bed, but early he gets up.) 

When two or more Time adverbials come in Position Three, the smaller Unit usually comes before the Larger Unit. 

·        The match begins at 10 o’clock in the morning on the 27^th of June, 2008.

·        The results are to be declared at 10 o’clock on the 25^th instant. 

If you put the smaller unit at the end of the sentence, you will emphasize it or draw attention to that part.

• I’ll see you on Monday at half past twelve. 

It is after reading good books, novels, periodicals the rules are instilled into your minds and you will without your knowledge follow the rules.  Human Mind is so disciplined that it supplies the required input at the right time.  So, don’t worry that these rules are complicated.  If reading happens to be one of your hobbies, then you will notice that the rules are followed by all experience writers. 

In informal chatting not always the rules are obeyed.   The advent of the short messaging services (SMS) thanks to the cell phone revolution, a new language without any formal written rules has developed.  Of late, this language has entered into blogging, informal writing wherein you will not find any grammatical rules followed to the letters and spirits. Students happen to use a language without grammatical rules.  No doubt they ensure the required emphasis on the subject or theme and ensure that the chat goes on without any misunderstanding as well. 

Grammar is grammar without any alternative and after a while everyone loves it.  Time comes when one tends to bend towards good English.  So, use any stream of language either the SMS one or the informal student type, don’t lose your grammar sense as after the end of student or bubbly life, you will need the grammatical English in its purest form. 

Haven’t you seen or heard proof reading service? Haven’t you heard website owners submitting their writing to independent agency for correction of their texts?  I know you have.  Should you go through a website with lots of grammatical and spelling mistakes, I bet, you will not patronize such websites and develop a sense of nostalgia towards such writing, irrespective of the fact that in your school days you were using such languages.  But English is such a living and dynamic language that it is still evolving.  New words and new rules are being added on daily basis.  In fine, I must say that good English is loved by all and sundry.  Good English is nothing but simple English with less or no grammatical mistakes. 

Don’t worry if you don’t know the rules.  Don’t forget that the writers you love have mastered the rules beginning from a position similar to you or somewhat lower in position than that of yours.  First of all, don’t fear to commit mistakes.  Let mistakes be your platform for good English.  Ask your friends having authority on English grammar to rectify you and suggest you the right things.  Ask your elders to guide you in case you falter.  Refer to good grammar books to enlighten you in using various grammatical entities flawlessly.  So, start today who knows tomorrow you will be participating in the Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month contest) and win the same.  Can’t you?  I know you can.  Just develop a positive sense within you and emphasize the same to dispel any pessimism creeping into your earnest effort to realize your pet dreams. Share and Smile will be there right behind you with ready references available on mouse clicks.  I wish you mastered the grammar and cracked the NANOWRIMO!!

Let me suggest you some blogs that you may like to browse at your leisure time that I also browse regularly. No if you don’t like, no string attached as I know you are the master of your mind and know how to manage your spare time.  

http://thenenglishteacheronline.com

http://jonathancrossfield.com/blog

http://wordwebbing.com

Till the next lesson on Adverb it is bye, bye for now.  Wish you a blizzard of grammar in your backyard!!   Thank you very much for going through this article.

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ADVERBS GRADUALLY

Let’s analyze some small sentences.

1)      Tom walked to the cinema slowly.

2)      The train stopped suddenly.

3)      The movement is spreading gradually.

Now let me ask some questions and arrive to answers.  Let me write the above three sentences again with some added spices.  Yes, spices, you got it right.  Lol.

Question	Answers
How did Tom walk?	Slowly
How the train stopped?	Suddenly
How is the movement spreading?	Gradually

That answer we get about the movement, progress of a verb is called an ADVEBRB.   The words slowly, suddenly and gradually are talking something about the verbs walk, stop and spread.  As the function of an Adverb is to add something to the verb, it is called so.   But not that an Adverb always speaks or adds something about verbs as at times it speaks about Adjectives or Nouns, pronouns, phrase etc. 

My father was very pleased with my performance in the last examination.

How pleased:  Very pleased.  Here the adverb very speaks about the adjective pleased. 

1. It is a very good novel and has already been read by a large number of peoples.  (Very good, Adjective)
2. Even you must have read the terms and conditions. Only, you can tell us what happened.(You, Pronoun)
3. He arrived just in time and found that she was almost in tears. (In time, almost in tears, Phrase)
4. The driver was driving recklessly in a kid zone. (reckless driving, Adverbial)

4. He knew just where to look for the book.  (Just, where to look for the book, clause)
5. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about it. (Unfortunately, total sentence)

So adverb influences anything from verb to adjective to noun and pronoun, phrase or clause or a complete sentence!!  But, you should bear in mind that the primary function of an Adverb is to modify or add something to a verb.  Forget about other things (that is a matter of debate and controversy) and instill into your mind the two small words ‘Adverbs and Verbs.”  Adverbs are sometimes small, ~ly ending and sometimes a bit long, and jewels of adverbs.  When an adverb is placed in a sentence, the beauty and clarity of a sentence, increases obviously.  So what do you say?  Would you like to beautify your moments, your time?  Of course, you would like to. 

Wait for the next part for a detail description about the kinds of adverbs and the related things like degree of comparison of adverbs. 

And also look out for the December 1 Article about the deadly menace of the society, ‘the AIDS.’  Yes, you’re right I am talking about the Acquired Immuno Deficiency Virus that you heatedly call HIV^+.  Would you like to know more about the Red Ribbon Movement?  Then click 

http: / / unite.blogcatalog.com or keep a tab on this blog and others of your choice.  And read more about the loathsome stigma of the society. 

So till then, it is bye from you and all.  Have very good week ahead!!

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GOOD MORNING GALORE

Countries	Good morning
Arabic	Ahlan wasahlan
Bengali	Namoskar
Czechoslovakia	Dobre rano
Danish	God morgen
Dutch	Goedemorgen
English	Good morning
Estonia	Tere hommikust
Finnish	Hyvaa huomenta
French	Bonjour
German	Guten Morgen
Greek	Kalimera
Hungarian	Jo reggelt
Italian	Buon Giomo
Hindi	Namaste/ Namaskar
Latvian	Labrit
Lithuania	Labas Rytas
Maltese	L-Ghodwa-t-Tajba
Malayalam	Namaskaram
Mandarin	Nin hao
Polish	Dzien dobry
Portuguese	Bom dia
Punjabi	Sat sri Akal
Russia	zdravstvuyitye
Slovak	Dobre Rano
Slovene	Dobro jutro
Spanish	Buenos dias
Swedish	God Morgon
Tamil	Vanakkam
Urdu	Assalm-u-alaikum

Namaskar is used in India as a greeting when two peoples meet first time in the morning and again the same Namaskar is done while parting away.  So it is both an initial and parting greeting. So it is Namaskar again to you all friends. 

Photo credit:

www.hindujagruti.org

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PREPOSITION AND PRESENT PARTICIPLE

A verb following a preposition (At, In, About, with, without) takes the –Ing form:

At:	He is good at mending fences.
	She is good at solving sums.
In	You are right in informing the authority.
	They are interested only in raking dollars.
About	Students were excited about receiving the prizes.
	What is wrong about your marrying beneath you?
For	I am sorry for not being able to keep my words.
	A screw driver is used for screwing screws.
Against:	The restaurant has a rule against smoking.
	He is against making the amendments
Of	They were tired of telling the shopper.
	I am tired of mentioning this in my writing
Before	Wash your hands before eating.
	Check your spelling before posting.
After	What are you going to pursue after Graduation?
	Cultivators sow after ploughing.
By	He earns his living by blogging.                         .
	He has ruined his sight by reading letters of small fonts
Without	You cannot earn money without posting regularly in your blog.
	The looters escaped without being caught
In stead of: (In place of)	Instead of going to school he played with his friends.
	He attended the marriage ceremony in stead of attending seminar
To	I prefer chatting to mailing. I object to being treated like a newbie. (Not to be treated) Do you object to working on holidays? (Not to work) Bill looks forward to hearing from Bush.  (Not to hear) I am looking forward to seeing you in the New Year

Note that ‘To’ is a part of the Infinitive as in I want to go.  It is a preposition as in ‘Do you object to working?’  You can decide whit it is by trying to put it after ‘to.’  If still makes sense, then ‘to’ is a preposition.

Be/Get used to: 

Like Object To and Look forward to, Be used to and Get used to can be followed by a Noun or an –Ing form. 

                       

Ing:    They objected to staying in that lodge.

          George looks forward to seeing you soon.

           Sumi is not used to traveling by bus.  (Not To travel)

           

Noun:  Bill object to his manners.         

            I look forward to your visit.

            She is not used to this food.

If you say that somebody is used to something or is used to doing something, you mean that it is no longer strange or unusual to him because he has done it very often. 

             

Mrs Obama went to England with her friend.  There she found the dresses quite opposite to her dress behavior and fashion.  She only found dresses that she was not used to wearing. Gradually, she got used to the dresses of England and became a brand ambassador of the fashion of England. 

Note:  This lesson is adapted from my high school grammar book. 

Thank you.  

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TENSE MUSING

When two actions happen at about the same time in the past, then you can join the two sentences by using the Past Simple Tense (Vii) in each part of the new sentences.

Bill boasted.  Chelsea grew angry.

Chelsea grew angry when Bill boasted.

Her getting angry depended on his boasting hence generally, the second or consequent action is placed in the beginning. 

Thank You friends 

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ONLY

He is only leaving for a short time.

Auxiliary verb+ only (Adverb)

There are only blue ones.

Be+Adverb

I only wanted to tell that.

Adverb+other verb

Only often goes with Nouns. Note the difference:

Only human beings think. (No other creature can think.)
Human beings can only think. (That is all human beings can do)

In writing, you can try your best to put ONLY juxtaposed to the item emphasized. This is done to make the emphasis as clear as possible so as to avoid being misunderstood.

Only Bill saw the anaconda. (No one but Bill saw)
Bill only saw the anaconda. (He only saw and leave it sleeping)
Bill only saw the anaconda. (Bill only saw the anaconda and left the zoo)

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IT IS TIME

It is time to remind ourselves of our dependence on one of the most obvious commodities we get from forest. 

It is time to realize that the care of our forests is the immediate concern of every citizen.

Children, it is time for you to stop playing.

The boy is 7 years old.  Why didn’t you send him to school?  It is time for him to go to school.

Notice that in this pattern we can use an Infinitive after 'it’s time.'

It is time + Subject + Past Verb.

10 o’clock, it is (high) time you left the club.

Note there is no difference in meaning between.

It is time for us to leave.

It is time we left.

The past tense here does not have a past meaning. The past tense here is used to talk about something in Present. 

English is certainly a funny language and not all grammatical rules can be explained like the above.   One can argue about the use of Past tense but conventionally you have been using the construction in this way.  Note, here in expression it is time… the past tense is used and not in all constructions this kind of deviation is possible.

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NEW HOPES: THIS MORN AND THIS MORN

Regrettably, I was out of my home and my computer, when I saw the “Bloggers Unite” thread.  I thought I should at least write something for the refugees to spread awareness about their wretched plights, their problems and solutions.  But I was running short of time as I was getting late to return home (as I was 500 hundred kilometers away.)  But after my return I thought and thought and it was high time for me to web some words for the refugees around the world languishing in refugee camps without any essential services like education, food, shelter.  But I thought it was too short a time for me to web a prose.  Still, I opened my word processor and try to scribble something for their cause.  And by and by, I came out with this shoddily webbed verse.  I am satisfied that I have written a piece though not so brilliant but I am certain it has an open message.  Let the refugees return and let all wars civil and international end forthwith and let peace reign supreme everywhere for the benefit of mankind and posterity.  Let there be no devastation in the name of hollow subjugation.  Amen. 

No home, no religions,

Neither any mosque,

Church or temple,

No school,

No hospital,

Only the vast expanse of

Hollow sky, nothing beyond,

Nothing back.

What Saddam did?

We had nothing to do.

What sin my fetus had done?

She was born in a refugee camp.

Without any doctors, no nurse,

No medicines either,

Only despair and tears.

Two high flying ambitious leaders,

Clashes ideologically,

And lo the next day shelling,

And bombing,

Displacing peoples leaving all that were theirs,

UNHCR comes to the aid and assistance,

Red Cross flings into action.

But still the question,

What was the necessity of war?

The Gulf War, Vietnam War,

West and East Pakistan war

Chechnya, Sri Lanka and Angola,

All memories of infutility.

Analyzed in details,

Nothing comes out as out come.

The hollow firmament without the moon and sky,

And of course the twinkling stars. 

Only exodus of peoples, death, horror,

Blood shed, and reverberations of wailing,

Fathers, mothers, brothers.

‘What sin have I done?’ asks a school going child.

‘Oh, I lost my books my chums, the bloody marauders.’

The bloody merciless blood merchants,

Corpse and corpses, vultures don’t fly.

Nor any birds, nor any animals ply.

Only hollow ideologies and their clashes.

Nonsense leaders and bloody murderers.

With lashes of thunderous roaring of

Missiles and shells hurling. 

No war, no refugees,

That’s quite simple

As numbers of nurseries.

But Obama do you hear?

Or will you attack Iraq, Cuba,

Vietnam and Haiti with renewed vigor?


 

Oh, Statue of Liberty, go into doldrums

See half of the refugees gone,

Half of the problems solved.

And no recessions, due to devastations,

Will you go into doldrums or

Put a temporary or permanent moratorium?

Hope so, Obama is good, oozing with youthfulness

And knowledge, of course the required freshness.

All have education, health, in the homeland,

Fetuses come out without any hassles.

A new shinning sun, soothing moon,

Pacific sea and sweat breeze.

A dawn of warless era,

Without any nuclear weapons,

Missiles or mortars or shells or guns.

Will you work towards these goals?

I hope so, and wish all the refugees return,

This morn, this morn, with a new sun,

Showing a new path, new zeal and new horizon.

New hopes, new smiles, old neighbors,

With school going daughters and sons.

Amen.

Though this blog is dedicated to English grammar, still for a common cause this blogger has posted this post only to help generate awareness on the issues and problems of the Refugees languishing in innumerable refugee camps around the world.  Followers please bear with this.  And don’t forget to feed back me.  Till then good bye. Fellow bloggers who have not yet joined the movement and want to join, you can do so by following this link.  http://unite.blogcatalog.com/

Ciao.  

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OBAMANIA: YOUTHFULNESS WINS

Yes, I also could not resist the temptation, instead came outside to have a bath in the deluge of exuberance of youthfulness and change.  The waves and ripples out there in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea are also sweeping the Indian Ocean.  In fact it can be said that the wave has swept all over the world and every one seem to be beaten by the height of the waves and penetrability of the blizzard.  The win of Barrack Obama as the 44^th President of the United States signs a beginning of a new era.  The Bush administration has lost its credibility in and around the world solely for its highhandedness and messing everything with everything.  The current recession in the US economy and the ripples around the world suggest mismanagement somewhere over there in the White House.  And it was this factor of billowing discontentment that Barrack capitalized and wins the election defeating the Republican nominee John McCain.

The return of Democrat after a gap of eight years after Bill Clinton will mark a sea change in the program and policies of the administration from early next year when on January 20 the president elect Mr. Obama takes oath and grips the baton. 

Obama signs change and youthfulness as his win was for the support of college students.  They saw a leader in the form of Obama and instead of choosing an old and seasoned politician, they choose a Black American.  It should be noted here that Obama is the first Black President in the 234 years history of America.  The flawless campaign, electronic fund raising and fund management were impressive and Obama congratulated the people of America who doled such huge sum.  He also congratulated his team of campaign managers and well wishers who egged him and supported him during the grueling and strenuous campaign trail through out the year. 

Let’s cross the fingers and wait and watch the president takes his charge.  The good news is that this time Democrats have majority support in both the houses of Us Parliament: The Senate and the House of Representatives.  The margin of win 349 way ahead of 270 required out of 538 members shows his popularity and charisma in the country. 

Let’s us wish this new President a successful stint in the White House.  Amen.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/USA/Obama_wins_on_message_of_change/articleshow/msid-3676111,curpg-2.cms

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HERE COMES THE INVERSION

Little had I any knowledge that this would go this way.

Hardly had I finished my tea when the door bell rang.
Under no circumstance should the cell phone be left charging in a train.

Mark the above sentences.  In the above sentences there is inversion of the usual order of subject and verb.  (Had+ I, verb+ subject).  In questions generally, you do this inversion but solely for putting emphasis on the statement, the inversion is done and while speaking the inverted part is emphasized with loudness or extra stress.

There are some expressions and adverbs in which generally this technique of inversion is resorted to.  Remember, in the above sentences the adverbs ‘Little’, ‘Hardly’ and the expression ‘Under no circumstances’ are used in the beginning of a sentence.  The above sentences can also be written without any inversion in this way.

I had little knowledge that this would go this way. 

I had hardly finished when the door bell rang.

Cell phones should not be left charging in a train under any circumstances.

Generally negative sentences are inverted for emphasis. 

Not a word did the prime minister say about the plight of the marooned peoples.

When expressions like Neither, Not only, Hardly, Scarcely, Rarely, Never, No where, Not a word, Not until, Seldom, No sooner, At no time, Only Yesterday comes in the beginning of a sentence the inversion is resorted to.  When there happen to be no Auxiliary verb or operator the operator DO is used and formed the inversion, and generally the operator in present tense is not used and remains in the background.  But when a sentence is written in past tense the operator comes to the fore in the form of past tense. 

Generally, when a sentence begins with an expression of place, often inversion is done.

Before them lay miles and miles of forest and mountain.

When Here and There are used in the beginning of a sentence the inversion is resorted to.

Here comes  Barack Obama, president elect of the United States.

There goes the cavalcade of the Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh of India. 

Under a tree was sitting the smallest man I have ever seen.

On the bed lay an old lady.

Remember, this inversion is done only for emphasis.  Many writers deliberately resort to this technique solely to drive a particular point to the minds of their readers. 

Enjoy this short lessons and rest assured I will be back with more such lessons.  Till next time it is bye, bye.  Keep a good health, enjoy your spare time.  Please don’t subscribe or bookmark any post or this blog no matter how strong is the urge to click the mouse of your computer.  Ha ha.  Take care friends.  

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THE WITH REFERENCE TO BODY PARTS

He struck him on the forehead with his cudgel. (Not on his forehead)

With reference to parts of the body and following a preposition (On, By, In etc) “The” is used instead of a possessive word (My, His, Her, Your, Their.)

They pulled her by the hair.

I shook him by the hand.

She looked me in the eye.

He hit her on the head.

When the reference is a general one and no specific person is indicated the article “The” is used.

Drugs can dull the brain and affect the heart. 

The use of “The” is preferred when the reference is to unpleasant conditions of the body (Aches, Pains, Wounds)

I have a cold in the head.

She’d a pain in the shoulder.

Smoking causes cancer on the lung.

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