CSE,ECE,ME,IT- Ist Sem.

Essentials of Communication

UNIT 1

SECTION A

This section includes:

Rich Vocabulary Formation of words Prefix Suffix Synonyms Antonyms Formation of Adjectives Formation of Verbs Homonyms

Homophones Paronyms Words often confused for each other Words often confused, used in the same sentence Compound words One word substitution

RICH VOCABULARY
The most important pre-requisite for effective communication is having a rich vocabulary and a mastery over the art of making new words. However, it has to be kept in mind that words acquire their meaning from the context in which they are used. That is why, a word can be employed as a noun in one sentence and as a verb in another. For e.g. 1.Kindly cast your vote (noun) vote for a deserving candidate. verb) 2. Hard Work ensures good marks noun) Work hard to ensure good marks. Verb)

RICH VOCABULARY Contd

A word can act as a noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction or Interjection.

Formation of words
Words are formed from basic words that is the words that exist as they are. For e.g.. Man, song, belief, faith eat ,play, etc.

New words can be formed from these primary words by adding a syllable or letter either in the beginning or the end of another word. The letter added in the beginning is called Prefix and that in the end is called Suffix

SYNONYMS

A synonym is a substitute of a word, similar in meaning and sense which has to perform the same function in a sentence as the original word does. Thus a noun must have a noun synonym; an adjective must be replaced by an adjective synonym, and so on e.g. I praise her form (verb) I admire her form (verb) This is exactly what he meant (adv) This is precisely what he meant. (adv)

EXERCISE

Find out the words nearest in meaning to the words underlined. A) he has amassed a lot of wealth 1.)saved 2)heaped 3) earned 4) hoarded B) The event was really spectacular 1) visible 2) extravagant 3) impressive 4) oracular. C) The beauty of the Himalayas arrested his breath. 1) choked 2)freshened 3) Interrupted 4) held.

EXERCISE Contd..

I appreciate the alteration suggested by the engineer 1) Improvement 2) Alternation 3)change4) adulteration. Provide a synonym to the words given. Calm Caution Barbarous Auspicious

Assistance Ignore Mysterious Novice Comprehend Renounce Insolence Triumph Vocation

ANTONYM

Antonym is a word which is opposite in meaning and sense. If exact opposite is not available, we select the nearest opposite. For e.g.
Antonym
Present Passive. Death Sweet Flowing Brief Dawn. Absent Active Birth Bitter Stagnant Elaborate Dusk

Word

HOMONYMS

Homonym is a word that has both the same sound and spelling as another but is different in meaning and origin. It is the context, in which a word is used, that gives a correct meaning to the word. For.e.g. The noun bear and the verb bear are homonyms (of each other.) A homonym can be used as different parts of speech.

EXERCISE
Use the following Homonyms in different contexts so that they convey different meanings. Arm stick Still Vice Arch rush Bark boot Last bridge. Bat Base Bear Boot Case Corporal Hamper Plot Pale

HOMOPHONES

Homophone is a word that sounds like another word but is different in spelling, meaning and origin. Knew and new are homophones (of each other) Homophones are sound- alikes ,when it comes to writing, their spellings confuse us thus resulting in mistakes. for e.g. Affect, Effect Addition, Edition Adapt, Adept Birth, Berth.

Complete the following sentences using the appropriate word from those given in the brackets.

1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

He (lied ,lay ,laid) in his bed the whole night but could not sleep. In yoga, you learn to control your (breath, breathe, breadth.) I have been (waiting ,awaiting) a reply to my letter. Soon the crowd dispersed and it was all (quit, quiet, quite) again. Even before the (umpire ,empire) raised his finger, he had left the crease. He was caught by the first (slip, sleep)in both the innings.

PARONYMS

Paronyms are words derived from the same root but different in meaning. The root part of the word has resemblance of spelling and sound. E.g. .admission, Admittance Childish, Childlike Considerate, considerable.

WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED

There are some other words also which have somewhat almost similar meaning or look to be so, and thus confuse us. For e.g.

Admit; confess Begin; start Cause; reason House; Home Sensitive; Sensible People; Person Possible; Probable Answer, Reply Hear, Listen

COMPOUND WORDS

Compound words are formed by combining two or more basic words. The compound word is treated as one unit. For e.g. Class + room =classroom air +lines = airlines washer + man= Washer man camera + man= camera man.

ONE WORD SUBSTITUTION

Brevity is a quality in communication, which can be achieved by using a single word which shall convey the meaning conveyed by a group of words. In other words a single word can replace the whole sentence. for e.g. some important substitutes can be One who does not believe in god--- atheist

ONE WORD SUBSTITUTION Contd

Belonging to ones ancestors--- Ancestral Animals that live in water ---- aquatic The yearly return of a date--- Anniversary One who believes in keeping tradition conservative A speech made without preparation Extempore. A man who thinks highly only of himself Egoist That which cannot be heard--- Inaudible.

Syntax Sentence Structures, Verb patterns and their usage

SYNTAX
It is through meaningful sentences that we communicate. So it is important to know how a sentence is formed. A sentence is a combination of words in a certain order. Syntax tells us about that order, it is the way words and phrases are to be put together to form meaningful sentences.

SYNTAX Contd

The art and science of putting words and phrases together to form sentences can be studied by examining function of words in a sentence. various combinations are possible giving rise to a variety of structures. The Sentence: a sentence is a combination of words that makes complete sense in itself. for e.g. 1. An aero plane flies in the air. 2. children play football regularly. 3. Reena is my sister.

KINDS OF SENTENCES
There are four kinds of sentences..
1.

2.

3. 4.

Statements: statements are the sentences that state or declare something. They are also called assertive or declarative sentences. For e.g. The earth moves round the sun (affirmative) .I will not go there (Negative) Interrogative sentences: Sentences of this kind are used to make enquiries. They always end with a question mark. Where do you live? For e.g.. Can I help you?

EXCLAMATIONS:

Sentences of this kind express surprise, admiration ,pity, sorrow and other feelings in an emphatic way. These sentences always end with an Exclamatory mark. For e g What a beautiful building! How hot it is!

PART OF A SENTENCE; SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

A Mr. Gupta He The school It B is a teacher teaches in a school. has over a thousand pupils. is a leading school of the town .

Each of these has two parts. The first part (column A) is called the Subject. The second part (column-B) is called the Predicate.

The subject is the agent of action .Predicate tells what action the subject does. On an analysis of the subject (column-a), we find that it can be: _ name of person : Mr. Gupta -- a pronoun : he, it -- a noun with a possessive : his students ,the school Adjective or an article before it.

DEFINITION
Subject :The subject is a noun or a pronoun with or
without other words going with it.

Predicate :The Predicate has a verb that says what the

subject is, has, does etc.
It may also be defined as the verb and the wordsobject, compliment, adverb, adverb phrase etc- that go with it.

THE PHRASE
The sun rises in the east The birds fly in the sky There was a knock on the door. In the above sentences, the group of words in italics make sense, but not complete sense. Such a group of words that makes sense, but not complete sense is called a phrase.

THE CLAUSE
She has a chain of gold She has a chain that is made of gold. In the first sentence of gold is a phrase. In the second sentence the group of words that is made of gold has a subject (that) and a predicate (is made of gold.) It is a clause.

PARTS OF SPEECH.
In a Sentence we all know, theres a subject part and a predicate part. In each part there are a number of smaller parts .Each of these smaller parts is a word which has a certain function in the sentence, that is it does work of a certain kind. Depending on this function, a word is said to belong to a particular part of speech. English words belong to 8 parts of speech. Noun, Pronoun, adjective, Verb, adverb ,preposition, Conjunction,& Interjection.

DEFINITION
Noun: The name of a person, place or a thing. e.g. India exports tea to
foreign countries. The words in italics are nouns

Pronoun: The words which stand for nouns are called Pronouns. e.g..
He, she, they, both, him ,me.

Adjectives: The words which qualify or describe the nouns are called
adjectives. e.g. Our team played a splendid game. A big crowd watched the game.

VERBS
Verbs tell us what the subject does; what the subject is, what the subject has. Main Verbs Dogs Bark Birds fly The child broke the glass. In these sentences the verbs bark, fly and broke do not have any helping verbs before them. They are called main verbs.

AUXILIARY VERBS
Some birds can fly long distances You may play for sometime The teachers will explain it again. In these sentences the main verbs take another verb before it (Can, may ,will) These verbs are called auxiliary verbs or helping verbs. Auxiliaries give a special meaning to the main verbs that go with it. The verb together with the auxiliary is called a verb phrase.

FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS.

The student is reading The student was reading She loves reading She loved reading They want to sing They sang In the above sentences, the verb is modified by

FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS Contd

the number, person and the tense of the sentence. Such verbs are called finite verbs. When a verb is not modified by the number, the person and the tense in the sentence, it is called a non-finite verb. E.g. He wants to buy a new car Buying a new car needs money He is looking for a second hand car He found the car glass broken.

FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS Contd

The verbs in the above four sentences are nonfinites. They have none of the tenses, have no number and take no modals. To buy is called an infinitive (to+ verb) Buying is called a gerund (verb+ing) Looking for is present participle (verb+ing) Broken is past participle.

FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBS Contd

Non-finite Verbs are of three Kinds: Infinitive Gerund Participle-Present participle Past participle.

THE INFINITIVE
They want to go Birds love to sing The constable refused to listen To respect our parents is our duty. In the above sentences to +verb form is called the infinitive. Definition: An infinitive is a verb preceded by to

PRESENT PARTICIPLE
The present Participle a) The flying bird looks beautiful b) Everyone worships the rising sun c) The crying child gets milk. The words flying, crying and rising perform the function of an adjective as well as verb these words may be called verbal adjectives or participles.

THE PAST PARTICIPLE

His spoken English is better than his written English Driven by hunger, he stole the bread The words in italics are verbs in the past participle form. They usually end in ed , -d, -en, -n. Besides these two participles, we also have a perfect participle that represents an action completed in the past. e.g. Having done my work, I went out to play. having rested we continued our journey.

GERUND

The Gerund and the present Participle have the same form i.e. verb +ing The Gerund is a non-finite verb having the force of a Noun and Verb

FUNCTIONS OF A GERUND
a)

b)

The Gerund may work as the subject of a verb Swimming is a good exercise Smoking is injurious to health The Gerund can be the object of a verb. He likes reading novels I hate waiting at bus stops.

FUNCTIONS OF A GERUND Contd

c) The Gerund can be the object of the preposition before it. He inaugurated the building by cutting the ribbon. I thought of resigning my job d) The Gerund can be a subject compliment Seeing is believing What he detests most is drinking.

ADVERB
Definition: An adverb is a word that modifies the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb e.g. 1) Rita speaks loudly 2) Rita has a very sweet voice 3) Rita speaks quite clearly. In 1) loudly modifies the verb speak In 2) very modifies the adjective sweet In 3) quite modifies the adverb clearly.

KINDS OF ADVERBS
Adverbs of time Ad. Of frequency Ad. Of Place Ad. Of Manner Ad. Of Degree Ads. Of Affirmation & Negation Ad. Of reason.

PREPOSITION
Definition: A preposition is a word which is placed before a noun or a pronoun. It shows us in what relation the noun stands with regards to something else in the sentence. e.g. We waited at the bus stop The beggars sat along the road He sat down beside his sister.

EXAMPLES OF CERTAIN PREPOSITIONS

At, In By With Between Among Beside Besides Since From For

CONJUNCTIONS
Definition: A conjunction is a word used to join words and sentence Kinds of Conjunctions: 1) Coordinating conjunctions 2) Subordinating Conjunctions

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
E.g. The function was attended by both boys and girls The girls came in black and white tops. Everybody walked smartly and elegantly. In the first sentence the conjunction and joins two nouns- boys and girls.

In the second sentence it joins two adjectives- black and white

In the third sentence it joins two adverbs-smartly and elegantly.

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
They help in connecting the subordinate clause to the main clause. Some subordinating conjunctions are: Although Than However While Until/till Whether Because Lest Since as if After As soon As As before

SIMPLE SENTENCES
Rita bought an expensive dress Rita was a student of Miranda house She wants to become an engineer Each of these sentences has a subject and one verb in the predicate part of the sentence. Such sentences are called simple sentences

THE MAIN PARTS OF A SIMPLE SENTENCE

1)

2)

3)

The subject-it may be a noun, a noun phrase or a pronoun. The verb-it is a finite verb (F. verbs change with the number and person of the subject.) An object if the verb is transitive e.g. He bought a pen.

VERB PATTERNS
Simple sentences fall into a number of patterns. knowledge of patterns is therefore, essential for structuring a sentence properly. Some key patterns are as follows: Pattern 1 This is the simplest of verb patterns. The subject is followed by an intransitive verb (which expresses complete sense without the help of any other word.) The structure would be Subject+Verb.

VERB PATTERNS (CONT.)

Subject Dogs The sun The moon The stars Verb bark rises shines twinkle

PATTERN 2
Subject+ Verb (be) +Compliment (noun)

E.g.. This is a pen. They are Cricketers He is an engineer These are mangoes.

PATTERN 3
Subject+ Verb (be) +Complement (adj.)

e.g. He is smart The food is delicious My father was strict The lady was gorgeous

PATTERN 4
Subject+ verb+ Compliment (adverb.)

E.g. Air is everywhere My son is here Your bag is there Players are out

PATTERN 5
Subject + verb (Intransitive) +Compliment (noun) E.g. He became the Managing director he looks a cheat Man Mohan Singh proved a capable administrator.

PATTERN 6
Subject +verb (Transitive)+ object e.g. I can speak French Franklin discovered electricity. My mother bought a computer. My father donated Kidney.

PATTERN 6
Sub. +verb (transitive) +Particle +object.

e.g. The soldiers carried out the orders. The umpire called off the game The student got back his mobile My mother called in the mechanic.

PATTERN 7
Sub + verb+ object + Particle.

The maid switched the light on. The umpire called the match off. He got this mobile back. Mother called the mechanic in.

PATTERN 8
Subject+ verb+ indirect object+ Direct Object e.g. I lent her my car The man told us the truth The teacher gave him a reward My mother promised me a new dress.

PATTERN 9
Sub+ Verb+ Direct object+ To+ Indirect Object e.g. He gave the pen to me The man told the truth to us I lent my car to her.

PATTERN 10
Sub.+ verb +Gerund (Verb +ing)

He likes swimming He relishes betting Simran enjoys playing badminton.

PATTERN 11
Subject+ verb+ Infinitive

The child wanted to sleep She is learning to drive He forgot to post the letter I am trying to help her.

PATTERN 12
Sub+ verb+ Object+ Infinitive

The team expected him to win He wanted me to speak His boss allowed him to take leave

COMPOUND SENTENCE
We bought the tickets and went in. Walk fast or you will miss the train Each of these sentences has two different clauses. Each sentence is a combination of two independent clauses joined by a conjunction. Each clause in the sentence above has one finite verb

COMPOUND SENTENCES (CONT.)

We bought the tickets. We went in. Walk fast. You will miss the train A sentence that has more than one independent clause joined together by a conjunction is called a compound sentence. The principal clauses are joined together with the help of coordinating Conjunctions.

COMPOUND SENTENCES (CONT.)

Here is a list of coordinating Conjunctions:

But Yet Still For So

Not onlyBut also Nevertheless Eitheror Neithernor

COMPLEX SENTENCES
This is a place where he was born The man whom you helped is my neighbour The thief ran away when he saw us. This is the book that I wanted to read. Each of the above sentences has two clauses. The clause that is not italicized can stand by itself as a complete sentence. It is called the principal or the main clause. The clause that is italicized is the subordinate or the dependent clause.

COMPLEX SENTENCES (CONT.)

Definition : A sentence ,which has a principal clause and at least one subordinate clause, is called a complex sentence. It will have more than one Finite verb. It can be seen from the above e.g. that both subordinating conjunctions (though, yet, lest, nevertheless) and relative pronouns

SYNTHESIS
Two or more sentences can be combined to make a new sentence. This is called synthesis. Sentences may be combined to form A simple sentence A compound sentence A complex sentence.

SECTION B

PHONETICS

INTRODUCTION
Linguistics is a systematic study of language. Phonetics is a branch of linguistics and deals with the medium of speech. It deals with the production, transmission and reception of the sounds of human speech.

The Classification and description of speech sounds

Speech sounds are broadly classified into two categories: Vowels and Consonants.

Vowels: They are the sounds during the production of which the air comes out freely through the mouth. Consonants: are sounds during the production of which there is a closure or narrowing of air passage which causes audible friction.

THE SYLLABLE

While analyzing speech, we see that there are individual speech sounds. The unit that is next in hierarchy to the speech sound is the syllable. If the syllable has more than one speech sound, one of them will be a vowel and the rest consonants.

DIPHTHONGS

There are eight vowel glides or diphthongs in R.P. In the articulation of diphthongs- the tongue starts in the position required for the articulation of one vowel and moves in the direction of the position required for the articulation of a different vowel. These Diphthongs are usually long vowels.

COMPREHENSION

GUIDELINES
The following guidelines will help in comprehending the subject;

GENERAL
1. Read the passage to form an overall view. 2. Concentrate upon the Qs. & read the passage again to spot out the answers. 3. Key Words in a Question can lead you to locate the answer. 4. In answering vocabulary based questions the meaning of the word has to be understood in the context of the passage.

SPECIAL
1.

It is not necessary to find the answer of a question at one place nor is it necessary that the answer of the first question is in the first few lines & that of the last in the last lines of the passage. The answers lifted from the passage do not fetch high marks. Answers in students own language score very high marks.

2.

3.

PRECIS WRITING

Definition: prcis writing is conveying the core idea

briefly, in simple words, in a direct manner & in a short time.

It is intended to enable a person to grasp the main points and intent of the matter. The prcis should be stylistically free of confusion or ambiguity.

IDEAL PRCIS

Approximately it is one third of the original passage. It has to be a third person narration. It should be complete in itself, incorporating all the main ideas of the passage It should be written in ones own language.

GUIDELINES TO WRITE A PRCIS

Read the passage carefully to form a general idea of the contents. Read again to underline the main points and key expression. See that all examples, illustrations and figurative comparisons are left out. Copy out the underlined points in the same order. Join them in a narrative. It makes the first draft of the prcis. Polish up the first draft in a coherent narrative in your own words.

GUIDELINES TO WRITE A PRCIS Contd

Nothing is to be added from outside the passage and no comment is to be offered. An ideal Prcis is always in your own words. At least the key words and expressions must not be lifted. Good knowledge of synonyms, a good vocabulary and the ability to use one word in place of many helps in prcis writing. If more than one idea is stressed in a prcis it is advisable to divide prcis into paragraphs. A suitable title must be given.

UNIT-5
COMPOSITION. (Paragraph Writing& Descriptive Writing)

PARAGRAPH WRITING

A persons command over language is judged from the way he/she expresses him/herself, orally and in writing. The essentials of a good descriptive writing are clarity of thought, precision of expression and logical coherence.

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Here the emphasis is upon describing in words what a person, a place or an object is like. Put across your thoughts in a sequence. Technical knowledge is not required, for e.g.. In describing a mobile phone no need to furnish details about the chip. A figurative use of language is not desirable. Only one paragraph is to be written. Therefore, there is scope to describe only one aspect/ quality/ or feature. A paragraph is not a mini essay.

SECTION D
ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS OF SCIENCE (A. Roy and P.L. SHARMA)

Chapter 1- The year 2050-Reflections of a futurist by Theodore J. Gordon

Summary The writer thinks that 50% of the babies born in 1960 will be alive in 2050,because of the advanced research in biomedical area. On the other hand increased longevity & improved health care are likely to give rise to several problems such as:

SUMMARY CONTD

World population in 2050 at present rate will be about10,000millions;with increased longevity it is likely to be about 12000-13000 millions. Low birth rate and increased longevity will increase the average age from 30 in1980 to 40 in 2050. There is likely to be a period of difficult social adjustment. Ninety year old people living together with 20 year old people will face problems of generation gap On the other hand pension funds will have to pay pension for a longer time.

SUMMARY CONTD

Exploration of space; launching towns in orbit; manipulating weather& issuing warnings to coastal towns from these space stations will be the area of activity where the nations of the world will be in competition with each other for achieving supremacy. This will be a healthy rivalry not a warlike situation. In our journey to 2050 there will be challenges to meet and opportunities to exploit.

CHAPTER 2- THE MUSHROOM OF DEATH BY AMALENDU BANDHOPADHYAY

SUMMARY

Luckily we have not had a nuclear war so far but the possibility of it taking place cannot be ruled out. A nuclear war, whenever it happens, will cause devastation on a very large scale. In this essay, the writer tries to examine the amount of damage a nuclear war may cause. The author deduces his inferences from the destruction caused by the dropping of atom bomb on Hiroshima on 7th Aug. 1945 and Nagasaki on 9th Aug. 1945.The purpose of this write-up is to restrain world nuclear powers from using nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

HUMAN ENVIRONMENT (INDIRA GANDHI)

SUMMARY The chapter highlights the importance of conservation of Environment. A man of good heart and conscious of his social responsibility can easily understand that for ecological balance nature in all its aspects has to be preserved and use of technology regulated.

Experiment and Experience (W.R Niblett) SUMMARY

Knowledge gained through experiment and analysis- the approach in science should not be regarded as the only true knowledge. Our own experiences, both of life and literature provide us a kind of knowledge which is equally valid.