Category: Grammar

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More Punctuation # Grammar For IELTS

THE SEMICOLON
Semicolon represents a pause of greater importance as compared to comma.

  1. Used to separate the clauses of compound statements when they contain comma.
    For example-: he was intelligent, strong; and we all loved him.
  2. Used to separate a loosely connected clauses.
    For example-: Today we love what tomorrow we hate; today we seek what tomorrow we shun; today we desire what tomorrow we fear.
COLON
Colon marks a more complete pause when compared to semi colon. It is used after dash sometimes.

  1. Colon is used to introduce quotation.
    For example-: she says:-“ reading is a good habit”.
  2. Colon is used after enumerations, examples, etc;
    For example-: the principal parts of verb are : the present tense, the past tense and the past participle.
  3. Colon is also used within sentences which are closely connected but are independent.
    For example-: study to acquire a habit of thinking: no study is more important.
QUESTION MARK
Question mark is used after a direct question,
For example-: Where have you been?
EXCLAMATION MARK
Exclamation mark is used after interjection or phrases or sentences showing sudden emotions.
For example-: what a terrible day this is!
INVERTED COMMAS
Inverted commas are used to enclose the exact words of a person.
For example-: Rama said,” You must work hard.”
DASH
  1. Dash is used to indicate an abrupt stop or change of thought.
    For example-: I wish we were together- but why lament the past?
  2. Dash is also used to resume a scattered subject.
    For example-: teachers, friends and enemies- all present here.
THE HYPHEN
Hyphen is a shorter line than dash and is used to connect parts of compound words.
For example-: man-of-war, jack-of-all-trades
PARENTHESES
Parentheses is used to put a particular phrase that may not grammatically fit in the sentence but is added because it adds more information.
For example-: She got the admissions( it was all she wished) in Harvard business school.
APOSTROPHE
  1. It is used to show the omission of letters,
    For example-: don’t  do not
  2. It is used to form the plurals of letters and figures.
    For example-: they make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s.

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Punctuation # Grammar For IELTS

Punctuation often neglected are the most important part of writing task in IELTS. It is very important that you have the punctuation marked correctly.
Punctuation means to use the points and stops in writing correctly. The principal stops are-:

  1. Full stop (.)
  2. Comma (,)
  3. Semicolon (;)
  4. Colon (:)
  5. Question mark (?)
  6. Exclamation mark (!)

There are some other marks as well, that are commonly used.

  1. Dash (-)
  2. Parentheses ()
  3. Inverted commas or quotation marks (‘ ’)
FULL STOP
Full stop represent the longest pause.

  1. It marks the end of an imperative or declarative sentence.
    For example-: Bombay is a big city.
  2. It is used after abbreviations and initials.
    For example-: M.A , Mr. A.S. Rathore
    However, in modern English, they are often omitted.
COMMA
Comma represents the shortest pause. It is used in various cases.

  1. It is used to separate a series of words of the same construction.
    For example-: It was long, exciting and lovely day.
    I bought a pen, paper, pencil and sharpener from him.
    NOTE-: comma is not used before the word and.
  2. It is used to separate words connected by and.
    For instance-: pen and paper, high and low, rich and poor, are all in your mind.
  3. Comma is not used after a nominative absolute.
    For example-: This done, she came back to house.
    The weather being favorable, Alexander sailed further.
  4. Comma is used to mark off a noun or phrase in apposition ( the use of noun phrase immediately after another noun phrase that refers to the same person or thing).
    For example-: Mahatma Gandhi, the father of nation, died soon after independence.
    Milton, the great English poet, was blind.
  5. Comma is also used to mark off words used in addressing people. For example-:
    How are you, Anmol?
    Come in the room, Paris.
  6. Comma is used to separate an adverbial clause from its parent clause.
    For example-: when she was the president, she made sure that everything in office is in order.
    Although this comma is omitted if the principal clause comes first.
    For example-: she made sure that everything is in order when she was the president.
  7. They are often used to mark off the direct quotation from the rest of the sentence.
    For example-: “I want the work done”, said the teacher.
  8. Comma is used to avoid repetition of words.
    For example-: Anmol is a kumaoni; Arthur, a Christian.
  9. Comma is used to separate short coordinate clauses of a compound sentence.
    For example-: I came, I saw, I conquered.

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Interrogative Sentence

Interrogative sentences are the ones which ask a question. These are sentences that often are used while making conversation. Although it seems that they merely ask a question, an interrogative sentence is of four types-:

YES/NO INTERROGATIVES
These are the questions that can be answered with either a yes or a no.
For example-:
Have you done your homework?
Are you ready?
ALTERNATIVE INTERROGATIVES
These are the questions that provide you with two alternative answers.
For example-:
Should I call you or email you?
Do you want tea or coffee?
WH- INTERROGATIVES
These are the questions that begin with a “wh” word. Answers to these questions cannot be given with a yes or a no. Neither can you give an alternative answer. The answer may be either a simple sentence or a complex explanation.
For Example-:
Where do you live?
What are your hobbies?
TAG QUESTIONS
Tag questions are the ones that change a declarative sentence to an interrogative. They are called tag sentences because they are tagged at the end. For Example-:
You like basketball, don’t you?
You are coming to the party, aren’t you?
    1. Often it so happens that a question mark is put at the end of declarative sentence. This actually makes the sentence an interrogative sentence. For example-:
      India won the world cup?
      It’s raining?
      In such cases the last word of the sentence is said with a rising intonation.
    2. Often finding the subject of interrogative sentences is quite difficult. The best way to do it is write the answer of the question and you will find out its subject?
      For example-:
      Where is he going?
      He is going to the market.
      The answer talks about him (he) and hence he is the subject.

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Subordinating Conjunctions # Grammar For IELTS

Subordinating conjunctions are of the following type-:

TIME
These are conjunctions which are used when you want to join two sentences to emphasize on time. Examples are -: before, till, since, while, after…
Two months have passed since she left the college.
I usually return home after 10 pm.
EXTENT OR MANNER
These conjunctions are used when the emphasis is on the way of doing things. Examples are-: according, as.
The players are chosen according to a certain criteria.
You will reap as you sow .
CONCESSION OR CONTRAST
These conjunctions are used two join two statements which contrast (oppose) each other. Example-: although, though, however.
The story is good however the writer is not able to portray it well.
He is an honest person although very poor.
He is very happy though he is poor.
COMPARISON
The conjunction is used when you are required to compare two sentences. Examples are-: as, as much as, than.
She is more intelligent than him.
I love it as much as you do.
RESULT OR CONSEQUENCES
The conjunction is used to explain the consequence of the other sentence.
She cried so much that she fell ill.

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS-: Conjunctions that are used in pairs are called correlative conjunctions.

EITHER… OR
He is either manipulative or extremely dumb.
Either her sister is murderer or her brother.
NEITHER .. NOR
It is neither correct nor neat.
You are neither intelligent nor smart.
THOUGH .. YET
Though I gave her all the equipments yet she failed to do it correctly.
Though she loved her yet never showed it.
BOTH …. AND
She is both a writer and a businesswomen.
She is both beautiful and intelligent.
NO SOONER……. THAN
No sooner did the bell ring the children left the class.
SUCH… AS
There is no such place as you tell.
SUCH… THAT
Such was his admiration for her that he left everything for her.
AS…. AS
It is as bright as the sun.
AS… SO
As the parents are so is the child.
SCARCELY… WHEN
She had scarcely recovered from the disease that she met with accident.

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