Posts Tagged ‘learning’
Read Children Classic Books here Online .
Children Books
- A Apple Pie”
Introduces the letters A to Z while following the fortunes of an apple pie. 
“Aesop’s Fables“
The fables of Æsop, based on the texts of L’Estrange and Croxall.
“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn“
This great American novel follows the adventures of a teenager and his life on the Mississippi River.
“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland“
A girl named Alice falls into a rabbit hole, where she encounters a world of strange creatures.
“Anne of Green Gables“
An orphan girl’s adventures on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
“The Baby’s Own Aesop”
Aesop’s classic fables are condensed into rhyme.
“Ballad of the Lost Hare”
Ballad of the Lost Hare tells the tale of a well-traveled hare.
“Baseball ABC”
This guide to baseball literature features an illustrated paper cover and chromolithograph illustrations.
“Complete Version of ye Three Blind Mice“
A nursery rhyme about three mice that lose their tales.
“The Children’s Object Book”
A picture book featuring everyday people, places and things.- For Reading the Books Click the Link:
- http://read.gov/books/index.html#kids
‘No Pen,No Pencil,No Thinking,No Understanding’ Teacher.
Teachers Day Card
I find there seems to me a subtle difference between Teaches you at School and the Lecturers and Professors at the College.
I retain till date awe respect and regards for mt School teachers and for College teachers it is a friendliness slightly tinged with a sort of mild respect.
If one were to go by qualifications , it should be more for the College professors, for they were MAs and Phds, while my school teachers were BAs (Bachelor of Arts) and in some case L.T.(Licentiate in Teaching, which is replaced by B.Ed. in India).
Be it as may, let me recall some of my school teachers first.
I had Mr.Srinivasa Iyengar,who use to take English and Mathematics till IV Form.(equivalent to x Standard now).
He was a BA, not even a L.T.
What ever English I can boast of is because of him(I studied in a small place,Srivilliputhur,Tamil Nadu,India).
If you do not answer a question, you are rapped in the knuckle with the duster.
If you the ‘=’ is not aligned for all the rows in Mathematics, you are again given a rap.
He used to have a table for the system of awarding marks while correcting answer papers and he will display it in the Class.
If some one were to point out that he has not been awarded marks as per the table he will award it and say ‘sorry’
Not only that.
He was a Religious Man, an Iyengar.He will come to school with the Religious Mark ‘Naamam‘
As soon as he settles in his chair, he will look at every one’s face for the Religious mark, either Vibuthi,Naamam or in the case of the Girls Kungumam and if they do not have it , he will ask them to get out and ask them to go Home and come with the mark immediately.
I recall one instance, when I was studying in the fifth Form.
I was in the Class without vibuthi.
Srinivasa Iyengar went out side the School into the road, which was visible fromour class room, dipped his third Right Finger into Bull’s droppings , came to the Class and applied it to on my forehead!
The special treatment to me was because my father was the Head Master!
The way he used to tech English Grammar and din it into our heads is some thing to be experienced.
As a matter of fact, most of my blogs on ‘English grammar’ is inspired by him and some of the definitions and explanations are his.
I aha Tamil Teacher , Muthurakku Konar, who once describing ‘Kannagi‘ of Silappathikaaram,a Tamil Classic, said’kannagi was a woman who was untouched by a Man other than her Husband,not like Cinema actresses who get touched by every one , form the make Up Man onwards”
Now to College Teachers.
I studied in Vivekananda College,Chennai.
We had one young professor Mr.Ananthan who was fresh from College and his flow of the language is seen to be believed.
Till date,I am yet to see some one who has that flow, with out redundancy!
We had Mr.Amirtham Iyer who handled ‘Drama’,consisting of Shakespeare on Tuesday after noons.
He would emphasize with the characters in’ Antony and Cleopatra.
I remember that there will be tears in his eyes when he recited the Lines, when Cleopatra was about to commit suicide, applying the Asp to her Breast…
‘Do’st thou not see my baby at my breast that sucks the nurse asleep’
We used to have ‘Mor kuzhamu’, a delicacy of the Tamilians,in th Hostel and we would normally felt sleepy.
One day most of us were feeling sleepy.
We, about eight normally occupy the last bench as it was convenient to chatter and sleep.
I developed the art of sleeping with my eyes ‘open’.
( The hall was a gallery, with rows going up)
Amirtham Iyer was teaching his Shakespeare in his own way.
One of my friends, Sivakumar, a weight lifting champion,who is 67 now, was snoring.
Amirtham Iyer noticed this and threw a chalk piece at him.
He still did not wake up.
The Teacher then started shouting at me and I woke my friend up.
Groggy, with out realizing what he was doing , he kicked our friend Sankaran, (who is a High Court Lawyer in Chennai) in the front row forcefully.
The entire benches started collapsing and 4 to five rows landed near the teacher’s feet.
Angry, Amirtham Iyer left the Class midway in a huff stating ‘ I will not take classes for you’
We were thrilled!
Next Tuesday we were in the room expecting Amirtham Iyer not to turn up.
Amirtham Iyer came to the Class looking crestfallen and said
‘I am sorry I behaved the way I did and left the Class.
I am a Teacher and my job is to teach.
And who are you after all/ You are my children,i should have corrected you and continued my class’ and started teaching.
At the end of the hour all of us prostrated before him and there were more tears in his eyes.
Another instance involving him…
While he was teaching, we chattering as usual.( I had the habit of chatting with my mouth partially covered )
He noticed we were chattering and instead of me called my friend Kamalakaran(He is a Chartered Accountant in Bangalore)
He asked him ‘tell me what I said now”
He kept quiet.
He went to the other four.
Same response.
He came to me.
As I had followed him partially and read in advance the portion he would teach,I managed.
He now asked all the others.
‘Do you have the Book?’
-No
‘Note Book’?
Blank stares.
“pen.pencil?
Blank.
He said
‘No Book,No Note book ,No thinking and No Understanding’
Let me conclude an instance involving Mr.Ananthan.
We used to have English II for an hour followed by an hour of English Composition.
Normally the Composition alone will be handled in this class.
As these classes were on Fridays we use to finish the Essays by 230 and rush to Midlands/Odeon theatre,Chennai to see English Movies.
I used to write fast and normally was reasonably good.
Six of us were in a row,as usual in the last bench.
As I write(I sit in the middle), the others would copy).
Sivakumar, who is a Businessman now, wrote in such a way to match my speed to the extent of scoring out what I had scored out)
When the note books were returned to us the next Day, my friends’ notebook carried this…
‘I asked for one Essay, not 1+5?
When shall I see such teachers?
( I shall narrate some more instances as I recollect them)
CORRECT USAGE OF ADJECTIVES, Know Your Grammar.
Suppose we want to use an adjective relating to quantity e.g. some, any.
Some is used in affirmative sentences; Any in negative and interrogative sentences.
I can use some sugar. (Affirmative).
Do you have any sugar? (Interrogative).
Is any one there? (Though Interrogative, we expect a negative reply i.e. nobody is there).
I do not have anything left to eat. (Negative).
In the sentence, I can use some sugar, we normally assume the reply to be ‘yes’. So, we can use some in cases when we need to make requests or when we want to offer.
‘ANY’ can be used in the affirmative sentence also if it follows ‘ if ’, If you need any cash, I shall provide you.
EACH, EVERY
‘Each’ is used when we speak of two or more things.
‘Every’ is used only when we speak of more than two things.
‘Each’ places emphasis on the individual.
‘Every’ emphasis to total group.
‘Each’ is used when the number in the group is limited or definite.
‘Every’ is used when the number is indefinite.
India expects every citizen to do his / her duty.
Each row in the Auditorium has twenty-five seats.
Everyone should play his part in Twenty 20 tournament to ensure to win.
LITTLE, A LITTLE, THE LITTLE
Little – more or less nothing.
Little – There is little hope of his getting through the final examination (He has no chance).
(Normally few, a few, the few are used along with countable Nouns).
A Little – There is a little hope of his getting through the final examination. (He has some chance).
The Little – Whatever is available (it is not much).
The little information on the type of explosives used, has been very vital in nabbing the culprit.
(The information on the explosive was not much, but, it was very important in catching the culprit).
FEW, A FEW, THE FEW
Few – more or less nothing, insignificant. Few honest persons become politicians.
A Few – some
May I request the Chief General to say a few words?
The Few – Whatever available, though not much.
The few friends I have would give their life for me, if need be.
We must ensure that we use the correct adjective at the correct position. Otherwise, the meaning will become different.
e.g.: give me some rice – The emphasis here is on ‘me’. Give some rice to me – Emphasis ‘rice’.
Many of us make mistakes in this respect and often we convey a wrong meaning.
Fill in with few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little.
1. I have time.
2. drops do not make an ocean.
3. I havefriends.
4. rupees he had saved, when he was affluent, had stood him instead.
5. Havemore.
6. fact would have prevented misunderstanding.
7. Aurangzeb showed mercy on his enemies.
8. knowledge of dehydration thereby saved his life.
Related:
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- KINDS OF ADJECTIVES. English Grammar. (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
Some Examples On Degrees of Comparison and Tips,English Grammar.
Some examples of Positive, Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Comparison.
Positive Comparative Superlative
Good Better Best
Hot Hotter Hottest
Sharp Sharper Sharpest
Tall Taller Tallest
Short Shorter Shortest
Large Larger Largest
Small Smaller Smallest
Dry More dry (drier) Most dry (driest)
Cold More cold (colder) Most cold (coldest)
Proud More proud (prouder) Most proud (proudest)
High Higher Highest
Legible More legible Most legible
Great Greater Greatest
Cut Cut Cut
Put Put Put
Useful More useful Most useful
Ferocious More ferocious Most ferocious
Nutritive More nutritive Most nutritive
Pretty More pretty (prettier) Most pretty (Prettiest)
We should remember that we have two things to compare in Comparative degrees. We can say one is better than the other.
In cases, when we have to make comparison between more than two Persons / Objects, we have to say one or one group is better or worse than the other.
Ex: A, B, C and D are compared.
A is taller than B
B is taller than C
D is of the same height of C
B is taller than C and D, but, shorter than A.
Changing the Degrees of Comparison
- POSITIVE Degree occurs when we make a statement or a matter of fact without comparison.
- COMPARITIVE Degree occurs when we compare two things / place / persons.
- SUPERLATIVE Degree occurs when more than two things / place / persons are involved. Remember, beyond Superlative there is nothing more to be compared. If only two persons / places need to be compared, then one can use the Superlative.
- When forming comparative degree, normally add
a) ‘er’ to positive
Ex: tall – taller sharp – sharper
old – older short – shorter
young – younger long – longer
large – larger high – higher
b) for superlative, add ‘est’ to positive.
tall – taller – tallest sharp – sharper – sharpest
old – older – oldest short – shorter – shortest
young – younger – youngest long – longer – longest
large – larger – largest high – higher – highest
c) for word ending with ‘ y ’ remove ‘ y ‘ from positive and add ‘ier’ for comparative and ‘iest’ for superlative.
heavy – heavier – heaviest lucky – luckier – luckiest
pretty – prettier – prettiest dirty – dirtier – dirtiest
merry – merrier – merriest dirty – more dirty – most dirty
The Adjectives which have two syllables, will have ‘more’ for comparative and ‘most’ for superlative.
Ex: beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
honest – more honest – most honest
popular – more popular – most popular
reliable – more reliable – most reliable
pretty – more pretty (prettier) – most pretty
(prettiest)
Some form themselves into comparative and superlative in an irregular pattern.
Positive Comparative Superlative
good / well better best
bad / ill worse worst
high higher highest
little less least
much / many more most
far farther farthest
fore former foremost / first
You will become familiar with more words to use in Degrees of comparison by reading.
For changing from one degree to another.
From Positive to Comparative.
a) Find out the comparative form of positive and place it in the place of positive adjective and follow it with ‘than’ or ‘to’ and follow it with the object.
Rama is elder (comparative) to Lakshmanan
To change into superlative, you should make sure or ensure that all the persons / places / things compared are taken into account. In superlative, you should leave nothing out of comparison.
In the above example, in comparative, we have taken only two persons ; Rama and Lakshmanan
If we are certain that we have to make a statement involving Rama and Lakshmanan to indicate who is elder of the two, comparative degree will do. But, if we have more than two people, if we say, ‘Rama is elder to Lakshmanan’, when two others namely, Bharata and Shatrugana are involved, if we say Rama is elder to Lakshmana, we will not know if Bharata or Shatrugana is elder to Rama. So, if we say, Rama is the eldest of four brothers, we have taken into account Bharata and Shatrugana. We get the clear picture that Rama is the eldest of the four.
Let us see another example for changing from one degree to another.
Madurai is the oldest town in Tamil Nadu (Superlative).
The meaning is that there is no other city in Tamil Nadu which is older than Madurai. So, to convert the above into superlative and convey the same meaning, we should say ‘Madurai is older than any other city in Tamil nadu’. We can also express the same in another way.
No other city in Tamil Nadu is older than Madurai.
However, the emphasis we want to give on Madurai is slightly different or varied. This, we shall discuss later.
Shakespeare is greater than any other English poet. (Comparative)
Shakespeare is the greatest of English Poets (superlative).
As a rule, make sure the meaning in various degrees remain the same, instead of blindly following hints. In fact, while dealing with grammar, we should pay more attention to the meaning conveyed, whatever be the circumstances.
Change the degree of comparison without changing the meaning.
1) The pen is mightier than the sword.
2) Cow is more useful than any other animal.
3) Mount Everest is the highest peak in the World.
4) Mariana Trench is the deepest point in the ocean
5) It is better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all.
6) Mango is sweeter than Lime.
7) Very few Nations are as materialistic as the USA.
8) Samudra Gupta was greater than any other King in India.
9) No other orator was more powerful as Demosthenes.
10) I have more books than you.
ADJECTIVES USED AS NOUNS
‘The rich do not know the condition of the poor’
The adjectives are ‘rich’ and ‘poor’.
What do we mean by these adjectives?
Rich – people who are rich or rich people.
Poor – people who are poor or poor people.
The nouns ‘People’ are not stated openly. They are implied or hidden behind the adjectives. So, when we say rich or poor in the above sentences, we mean rich (adjective) people (noun – collective noun), do not to know the sufferings of the poor (adjective) people (noun – collective noun). In practice, we use rich and poor. Hence, adjective is used as Plural Nouns.
The future is happy. Here, future means futurity. It is an Abstract Noun. In such cases, the adjective (future) becomes Noun. It is in Singular.
Some other adjectives derived from Proper Nouns become adjectives. They may relate to proper ethnicity – Indians, Americans, Tamilians.
Some adjectives indicating persons also become Nouns. They may belong to particular profession or an activity that is common to all of them – juniors, seniors, Criminals.
Yet some other adjectives denoting quantity / things in general become Nouns. It can be both in Singular and Plural.
- Secrets, total, solids, liquids, gases, valuables.
Some adjectives like sweet are used as Nouns in Plural and not in Singular. We can say sweets, it, that is, in a many eatables that are sweet.
Some phrases also become Nouns whenever this make appear into the sentence below the proceeding one. In short, Before long, Ere long, At Best, At the very least, in black and white.
In general, to identify an adjective functioning as a Noun, look for Plural Nouns, Singular Nouns of quality, derivatives of Nouns (means Adjectives formed of Noun). Or some phrases that indicate Nouns implicitly.
Also, ‘the’ appears before Adjective functioning as Noun (in general).
Remember the above guidelines are only indicative. Best way is to look for the meaning. i.e. what we speak about Persons / Places / Things and what we add to give more meaning to the forms and decide if the Noun is implied.
Sometimes we use Noun as adjectives as well.
I am a city boy.
He always plays computer games.
Adjective is normally placed before the Noun.
He is a great man.
In poetry, the adjective may appear after the Noun – ‘Men’, of great valour never die more than once’.
We place adjectives after Noun in Prose also, when we have more than one adjective to emphasis.
Lord Krishna was a great King, Philosopher and Leader.
He was a kind man, patient, forbearing and of compassion.
We also place adjectives after a Noun when we join some words or phrases to adjectives. This is to place emphasis.
MS Dhoni is fertile in imaginative tactics..
In some cases, in some phrases, Adjectives come after the Noun.
God Almighty, time immemorial.
In some instances, the adjectives are more of explanatory in nature or indicate a specific quality which we want to emphasis.
Related:
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- Kinds Of Nouns, Know Your English (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
KINDS OF ADJECTIVES. English Grammar.
ADJECTIVE adds meaning to Noun. There are various kinds of Adjectives. They are:
1. Adjective of Quality: Kind or quality of a person or thing
Bangalore is a cosmopolitan city.
Mahatma Gandhi was an honest man.
If you ask the question, ‘of what kind’?, you get Adjective of quality.
2. Adjective of Quantity: shows how much of a thing or quantity.
We have enough food
There has been insufficient rain this season.
3. Numeral Adjective or Adjective of Numbers: Indicates the number of things indicated.
The hand has five fingers. Some numeral adjectives: few, many, all, most, several.
To find ‘Adjective of quantity ask ‘How much or how many?
Adjectives of Number are further classified into:
a) Definite Numeral Adjectives: denotes exact numbers as one, two, three etc. (These are called Cardinals).
First, Second, third etc., (these are called Ordinals).
b) Indefinite Numeral Adjectives do not indicate exact number as few, man, several, all.
c) Distributive Numeral Adjectives refer to each one of a number as
India expects every one to do his / her duty.
Some Adjectives may be grouped as Adjective of identity or Numeral Adjective according to its use.
E.g.; Adjective of Quantity – Number
He has lost all his money. All men must die.
4. Demonstrative adjective – point out / emphasis which person / thing is meant.
This boy is my son
That house is mine.
If you ask ‘which’?, you shall get Demonstrative adjective.
NOTE: What / which / where: When you use these words with Nouns to ask question, you shall get Interrogative Adjectives.
5. ‘OWN’ and ‘VERY’ are used for emphasis.
These are called Emphasis Adjective.
I saw it with my own eyes.
6. Exclamatory Adjectives use ‘What!’, ‘What an Idea !’.
Adjectives are formed from Nouns / Verbs / Adjectives
From Nouns: Boy – Boyish, Storm – Stormy
From Verbs: Talk – Talkative, Move – Moveable
From Adjectives: Two – Two-fold, Sick – Sickly
http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/declension-of-nouns-know-your-english-grammar/
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- Kinds Of Nouns, Know Your English (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
