Grammar 4 You

A Funny Conversation

2009-08-17T00:10:00.007+05:30

Here is a funny telephonic conversation between a Telephone operator and a caller. Interestingly, this blogger has collected this from a children magazine distributed by an English daily. When he first read he could not but laugh. So, here this blogger wishes you a bout of laughing.

Caller: Can I speak to Annie Wan, please?

Operator: Yes, you can speak to me.

Caller: No, I only want to speak to Annie Wan.

Operator: Yes, I understand you want to speak to anyone.

Caller: I'm Sam Wan and I'd like to speak to Annie Wan. It's urgent.

Operator: I know you're someone and you'd like to speak t anyone! But what's this urgent matter all about?

Caller: Just tell my sister, Annie Wan, that Noe Wan met with an accident. Noe Wan got injured and Noe wan is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan is on the way to the hospital.

Operator: Look, if no one is injured and no one has been sent to the hospital, then why do you say this urgent? You may think it's funny but I certainly don't!

Caller: You're rude! Who are you?

Operator: I am Saw Ree.

Caller: You should be sorry! Now, tell me your name.

Operator: That's what i said. I'm Saw Ree.

Caller: Oh, God.

Thanks

Present Simple

2009-08-13T06:32:00.002+05:30

Sub + Verb 1 (I drive)

We use the Present simple to describe the following situations.

(A) A present Event:

• Chima passes the ball to Baichung and Baichung scores a goal. ( Sport Commentary)

• The managing director declares the meeting closed (Announcement)

• I pick a card from this deck and place that under a piece of paper. (Demonstration)

• I beg your pardon.

N.B: Here the event begins and ends at the very moment of speech.

(B) A present State:

• I am thirsty.

• Chinu’s brother is ill.

• I have no time to go through your paper.

• We live in the country side.• Do you know German?

• I don’t like curd.

(C) Present Habit:

• He works in the Wipro BPO.

• I often tour the country side.

• It rains a lot in July.

• The Paper boy comes at 7 a.m.

• She speaks French well.

• How often do you use soap?

A state is a condition that continues over a period of time. A habit is of repetition of events over a period of time.

(D) Scientific Facts (known by experiment)

• Gas goes upward.

• Water freezes at 0 degree C.

• Ice melts when heated.

(E) General Truth

• The Indian grow a lot of rice.

• The Sun rises in the east.

• The moon revolves round the earth.

• The Narmada flows into the Arabian Sea.

• Deer eats grass.

In D and E the states or phenomena covers a period of time that includes the present moment and they are also true always.

We say:

• Where do you come from? (Residential sense)

• Or where are you from? (Not where are coming from?)

• What makes you so gloomy?• What brings you here?

• He talks like a professional.

This much for today. Thanks

Present Progressive

2009-08-07T21:52:00.002+05:30

There are three kinds of tenses like Present, Past and Future. Again these tenses are divided into four sub groups like Simple, Progressive, Perfect Progressive and Perfect. Let’s discuss about a short lesson on the Progressive form of present tense. Present progressive is a popular form of tense. In this series of knowledge on tense, let me discuss about the present progressive or continuous.

Am/is/are+ verb+ing or present participle.

The form indicates that an activity is going on now or at the very moment of speaking.

What are you doing? (Right now)
I'm writing a letter.
Let's go out. It is not raining any more.
Where's Harsh?
He is in the garden watering the plants.
Don't disturb me. I am trying to hear him carefully.

A series of actions has been started and is in progress (going on and around now) although the doer may not be performing the action himself at the time of speaking.

They're building a new house near the institution.
Simple is five years old and going to school.
A.P.J is writing a new novel.

A series of actions or a temporary situation is being performed temporarily. (Something which is true at the moment of speaking, but which may be true later.) It is concerned with habitual activity but habitual activity over a limited period of time.

We are staying in a makeshift house as our new house is under construction.
I am getting up at seven every day this week.
He goes to work in train but he is now going to work by car these days.

With Always/ Forever/ Constantly etc.

This form is sometimes used with Always (More rarely with Continually, forever etc. ) to emphasize the frequency with which an action is repeated: the speaker wishes to show that, in his opinion, this action occurs more frequently than normal, and the feeling is usually one of Surprise, Irritation or Criticism.

I am always watching this happen in restaurants.
Sophie is constantly making mistakes nowadays.
The postman is always delivering my letters to my colleague.

Changing situations:

· The weather is getting colder.

· The population of India is rising very rapidly.

· Your English is deteriorating day by day, what's the problem with you.

In this series of Tense and their uses, this blogger will be writing a number of articles. Wait and watch and keep tab. For today this much only.

Thanks

A Commentary on Comment

2009-08-01T00:48:00.005+05:30

“Good post, Keep it up, Nice post, Good work,” all blogger are more or less known to such comment clichés. Blog is nothing but a personal or professional statement and a medium of interactions among like minded people. It is like an informal forum for furthering knowledge, fun or research or friendship. Every blogger maintains a comment form for easy interaction or healthy dissenting arguments. A blogger with a lot of research comes up with a post on a given theme. Straightway, the URL or link of the same post is pinged to all social medium like Facebook, Twitter, friendfeed, blogcatalog, mybloglog, stumble upon, technorati and Google reader. All come to know that so and so blog has posted a new post. Then like minded people or friends come to the blog to go through the new post.

Many kinds of readers come to the blog and those can be categorized as Unserious or Whimsical and Serious. Serious readers read the post with right earnest and after grasping the content they leave their thoughtful comments. They happen to be sincere and always follow their favorite blogs. They also bookmark the post in various sites. Some serious readers write long and relevant comments related to the post and these kinds of comments enhance the contents of the blog post. Sometimes, they also resort to Delicious spamming and leave such a comment. Some also analyze the post from a critical angle and provide extra or additional materials related to the posts are always welcome.

Comments like good post, keep it up, good work, congratulation are called Delicious Spamming as they happen to be sweet and don’t in any way enhance the interaction or irritate the blogger. These kinds of comments also can be said as neutral, doing nothing substantial other than generating a bubbly feeling in the minds of blogger. Some even try to register their comments in a hurry and end up with writing something with grammatical or spelling mistakes or leave their comments in vernacular language which is not understandable by the blogger or reader. (T9 errors is an exception) This kind of readers comes in the category of un-serious readers.

Of course, in vernacular language blogs, vernacular comments are always welcome. But in English language blog vernacular comments should not be made. There is a valid cause for this. Comment after submitting becomes the property of the blog and its readers. If one’s comments written in vernacular languages other that of English then one will be breaking the interaction and the same comment will be left out by the blogger or readers. Further one’s link will not be chased by any readers. In that case one shall be doing a disservice to one’s blog as very often these traces become a source of traffic to a blog. One should ensure that what one says is understood by all. At times vernacular language is used to leave something irritating.

Comments serve many purposes. Some of them are:

• Extempore statement or reaction.

• Signature link or comment luv links for traffic.

• A way for widening the friendship.

• Back links for Google page rank.

Comments can be both Negative as well as Positive. Positive comments are always welcome by all and sundry. But not all give equal treatment to negative comments. Positive comments to praise or cajole the blogger or to be in the good book of the blogger are nothing but a kind of spam that I referred earlier as Delicious spamming. This kind of comment is made to show that “I am also here, hey I am here, don’t forget me.” They don’t serve any purpose or in any way contribute anything to the blog post.

Negative comments or that falls on the guillotine.

• Placing nonsense links.

• Selling furniture or erotica.

• Promoting one’s blog arrogantly.

• Writing something Greek and Latin.

• User name without any name but a combination of numeric and Shift key characters. (2601\\*&^ %)

• Promising huge number of hits or money or promoting affiliate links.

• Leaving a personal or semi personal message to the blogger. (many bloggers don’t leave their mail id, or maintain a contact me/us link, causes this) If even after these alternatives available one writes personal message then the message should go to the guillotine right way.

Comment in vernacular blog is vital as they don’t enjoy search engine traffic. They always rely on organic traffic. Friends, fellow bloggers or connoisseurs known to the blogger or college friends or others visit these blogs and leave their comments. People tend to search keywords in the global site and in that case their keyword fails to come in the first or second page. If the same keyword is searched in local search engines then chances are there for their links to come up. But culture cannot be changed as global search engines have become brand name. No doubt local sites are also faring very well.

Literary sites don’t fare well as they cannot be content writing and focus on a particular keyword. Further keyword density cannot be increased for obvious reason of tampering with the essence of a short story of poem.

‘You comment, I follow’ ‘Leave a comment on the Above Blog’ These kinds of pressure tactics are but sham as comments are but spontaneous reaction of a reader or person in reaction to a stimulant that is a blog post. The spontaneity is the essential factor. Comments are not made doing research on Wikipedia or other such sites like blog posts. Obviously, they happen to a sudden reaction to an action if spoken in Archimedes way. Comment cannot be driven or flogged or pushed by a master or ordinance and streamlined or bought or traded. If such things are done then certainly the veracity of such comments are questioned.

Comments go a long way in encouraging a bloggers and it should be the culmination of reading. Reading without comments shows that either the readers didn’t like the post or they lack time like millions of readers. An age has come now as people complain to themselves, “Oh I lack time.” But they lack time is not the truth as they happen to surf the net for more than four or five or even 10 hours. People go to Facebook and do some farces. They go to Orkut, myspace, hi5 or other such sites and participate in threads like ‘One letter changing game.’ They twit a lot about their hobbies or daily chores. They also play games in the internet. But sadly they also complain about the lack of time. Placing nonsense links on others blog posts selling some erotica or furniture or calicos as if this is also a game or good time pass.

Commenting is a healthy culture which should be encouraged and aroused in the minds of the readers. Blogs heavily rely on comments. But blog posts should be that appealing, qualitative and thought provoking. There would be no comments on Pay per post or eulogy of a nonsense affiliate link. Do write something valuable posts for the community and engage some like minded people or fellow blogger for a fruitful blogging environment.

Comment but don’t cajole or coat your comment with sugar. Be polite in dissenting. One must leaves his foot prints on the sand of a post that appeals one. In writing a post or article a lot of time is devoted towards searching relevant materials and weaving them into a single thread. A blog owner should reciprocate the commentator personally and should provide the subscription link to the comment so that personal or subsequent views are mailed to all commentators. This enhances the chain and interaction. This also ensures the return of the commentators that is good for the health of the blog and an encouragement for the blog owner for blogging consistently. Now it is up to you to consider in which category you fall.

Ask some questions to your self.

• Do you want people to comment on your blog post?

• Do you comment regularly?

• If not then how you cherish comments.

• If yes then good and feel elated.

• If want comments on your posts.

• Comments consistently.

• Write good original contents.

• Visits others blog regularly.

Don’t comment to attract comment but comment on the merit of the content. Don’t cajole any blogger. Read when you have got spare time so that you can grasp the matter and there will be a spontaneous and sagacious response or reaction in your mind. So, do comment and get comment. Good luck and good bye.

Tsunami

2009-07-08T08:25:00.003+05:30

From where you came, God knows,
For what descended, no one knows.
Before six twenty, unknown to us,

Image by Robert of Fairfax via Flickr

Aftermath, though not seen in presence.
Heard the ghastly consequences,
Indescribable, still dared to jot down.

In a flash, came you like lightening,
With your chance escorts the quake king,
With uncle and sol’s combination.
Cross embraced hut and mansion.
Engulfed all merciless like a demon,
Count goes on with every second,
God knows the ghastly end.

Dare I ask you, oh, all devouring demons?
From when, you became a man-eater?
From when, you became a widow-maker?
From when, you became a maker of orphan?
No dog barking, neither cattle roaming,
Heaps of corpses stinking,
Vultures and dogs reveling,
No quarrel, no snatching.
Stinking smoke filling the environ
From the mass cremation around.

Image by ~Ans~ via Flickr

No one to solace and sooth
No one knows who is consigned to wood.
Only wailing million, no one to solace
Oh! Almighty, is it your protection?

Lord, how about bringing another Tsunami?
With solace and shelter for all
To all dejected face, soothing smile
Light to everyone’s dark path
How about dropping another bomb,
To block Tsunami’s anger,
Greeting Tsunami’s peace-loving brothers?

Some Common Homophones

2009-06-28T00:08:00.001+05:30

Mark the following words they are spelled differently and have got different pronunciations or same pronunciation (lie, Lie) but have different meanings. They seem to be same but in reality we use them in different contexts with different meanings. I have tried to talk about some common Homographs. In our daily writings and speaking we always come across many of them. So here I go.

· Accept, Except, Excerpt:

His proposal was accepted by all members present and voting. (Agreed)

Every one except those absent players was conferred an award for his effort to win the T20 world cup. (Barring, leaving)

This article is based on excerpts from the original War and peace. (Selected chapters or quotes)

· Accede, Exceed:

The minister readily acceded to the demand of the people. (Agree)

The budget of our institution exceeds Rs. 100000.

· Access, Excess:

He has got a free access to the manager. (Approach)

It was the excess of the police department that Amnesty international raised its voice against. (Something more than permitted)

· Adopt, Adapt, Adept:

Please don’t adopt this plan as this involves a heavy expenditure.

They adopted a boy as they were issueless.

The touring Australian Cricket team failed to adapt to the condition of India and failed miserably in their matches.

Ricky Ponting is adept in handling pressure situation and he gets success for his deft handling.

· Advance, Advances:

They applied for flood advance as their locality had a flood last month. (Monetary grant)

The Pakistan Army made good advances into Indian Territory but finally the attack was repulsed successful by Indian army. (Progress)

· Advice (N), Advise(V):

Condoleza Rice advised the Administration regarding the Israel crisis and her advices were discussed by other members of the state department.

· Adverse, Averse:

Those who tackle adverse situations deftly, get success. (Unfavorable)

How can one prosper or get success when one is averse to hard work. (Oppose)

· Affect, Effect:

The affected people got an ex gratia payment from the government.

They made good progresses to this effect. This law came into effect from the next month.

· All together, Altogether:

By working all together (In company, in unison) they were able to achieve the target.

I think this theory regarding the murder is altogether (entirely, completely) fabricated.

· Allusion, Illusion:

In its report the commission has made an allusion to the highhandedness of a minister. (Reference)

He lives in an illusory situation as all her thoughts are but illusions and not based on facts but fictions. (False beliefs)

· Already, All Ready:

The letter was already delivered to the party. (By this time)

They are all ready for the expedition. (Entirely)

· Alter, Altar:

They always alter (make changes) their plans.

He was taken to an altar by the tribal people. (A raised platform for worship)

· Alternatively, Alternately:

Rahul and Sachin played good looking shots alternately. (By turns)

You have got choices to proceed to New Delhi, you may travel by air or alternatively by train.

· Ancient, Old:

He is a student of ancient history. (Of yore, of times long past)

He is an old employee of the department. (Senior)

· Ascent, Assent:

The ascent to the apex of the mountain is difficult. (The act of going up or climbing up)

The minister gave assent to the proposal and very soon it will come up in the parliament as a bill.

· Beside, Besides:

The North Block is beside the South block. (Next to, to the side)

Besides giving me financial help, he also helped me in other ways. (In addition to, barring)

· Childish, Childlike:

These arguments were childish. (Silly, stupid)

His childlike behavior made other his followers. (Like a child)

· Calendar, Calendar:

Their calendar has gone out of order and he has given his clothes to the laundry man. (Pressing machine, Cloth Iron)

The republic day in India is a calendar fixed occasion that falls on the January, 26. (Almanac)

· Compliment, Complement:

Soon after his return he straight away rushed to his manager to compliment him for his success. (Greeting, Regards)

This is a complement to the previous article published in the blog. (That complete or enhances)

· Continual, Continuous:

Somnath Chatterjee was continually interrupted in his working by the member of opposition in the last Lok Sabha (parliament.)

He has been doing the work continuously for the last 10 years without any promotion.

· Council, Counsel, Consul:

Hectic preparation was made in the party advisory council before finalizing the names of the candidates.

The members counseled the party high command according to their experience.

The Indian consul in Australia was called by the Australian Prime minister to post him regarding the ongoing attack on Indian students.

· Credible, Creditable, Credulous:

No one was swayed by his rhetoric as he was not a credible man. (Believable)

It was certainly a creditable achievement of the group to scale the peak.

Crafty people always take advantage of credulous people. (Who believe anything on face value)

· Discovery, Invention:

Vasco de Gama discovered sea route to India from Europe. (to search something that existed before)

Radio was the greatest invention of Marconi that is still evolving and helping people communicating faster. (To make something new)

· Deny, Refuse:

The arraigned person just denied the charges leveled against him. (Say that something is not true)

Narendra Modi was refused permission to enter into the US soil. (To disallow)

· Device (N), Devise (V):

The thief used a beautiful device to deceive the police. (Plan, scheme, trick)

It is essential to devise an effective scheme to save money as the effect of the depression is seen every where. (Think out, plan)

· Eligible, Illegible:

In India people who attain 18 years are eligible to vote. (Fit, Suitable)

His handwriting is so illegible. (That which cannot be read)

· Eminent, Imminent:

Karenne is an eminent blogger on the theme of ELT.

If things go on in this way in Afghanistan and Pakistan then we must say there is an imminent danger of a war. (Impending, Likely)

· Excite, Incite:

Everybody was excited by the news of India’s victory against Australia. (Stir up)

The trade union leaders incited the workers and the result was the closure of the factory. (Arouse, inflame)

· Famous, Notorious:

Michael Johnson was famous for his singing. (Widely known for something good)

All the notorious gangsters and bootleggers are the source of funding and law seems to be blind to them. (Famous in a bad sense)

· Formally, Formerly:

The bill has not yet been formally discussed in the cabinet. (As a rule)

Dr. Abdul Kalam was a scientist before becoming the president of India. (Previously)

· Honorary, Honorable:

He is an honorary secretary of the Indian Chambers of Commerce. (Working or holding office without any remuneration)

He retired from his job rendering honourbale (worthy of respect) service to the nation for 20 years.

· Human, Humane:

To err is human and to forgive is divine. (Pertaining to human being)

His humane nature is the cause of his eminence. (Kind, benevolent)

· Imply, Infer:

Silent sometimes implies consent. (Suggest, hint)

He has rightly inferred the secret message written in the letter. (Conclude, deduce)

· Industrial, Industrious:

Jharsuguda in Orissa is fast coming up as an industrial town. (Related to industry)

It is the industrious nature of the students that determines the success percentage finally. (Laborious)

· Later, Latter, letter:

I am very busy at present and will call you later. (After some time)

Both Annie and Karenne are my online friends, the former is a Montessori teacher and the latter is an English teacher. (The second of two)

With the growth of Cell phone and E-mailing letter writing is fast dying out as a medium of communication.

· Lie, lay, lain:

You are exhausted, lie down for sometime. (Recline)

He lay on the beach enjoying the serene atmosphere. (Past tense of lie)

He has lain in bed all over the night reading a novel. (Past participle of lie, now rarely used)

· Lie, Lied:

He has lied the official as he has got a habit to speak lie. (Do not speak the truth)

· Loose, Lose:

Don’t let loose your hairs as it retards growth of hairs. (Leave free or untied)

Be alert not to lose the opportunity that knocks your door from time to time. (Fail to seize)

· Prosecute, persecute:

After is father’s demise he could not prosecute his study. (Continue)

He was prosecuted for his involvement in a rape case. (Tried in a legal court)

In a truly democratic country, minority communities are given enough protection from persecution. (Cruel treatment, punishment)

· Principle, Principal:

A man of principles is always respected by all. (Good conduct)

The principal food of northern India is wheat. (Main, chief)

He was made the principal of the college for his good track record in teaching.

The principal goes on increasing as time goes by if you put a certain sum in a saving bank account.

· Proceed, Precede:

You must proceed with your work for success. (Go on)

The preceding paragraphs have got enough references to the topic. (That has gone by just now, previous)

· Spacious, Specious:

This room is spacious enough to accommodate the large number of guests. (Having ample space)

The arguments of the pleaders were specious and hence they failed to convince the jury. (Seeming right, but not really so)

· Verbal, Verbose:

He sent me a verbal message about his coming. (Spoken)

A verbose style leads to misunderstanding in communication. (Using too much words)

· Stationery, Stationary:

The Office clerks failed to take note of the lack of stationery items. (Articles used in connection with writing)

The sun is a stationary body though it seems movable. (Fixed)

· Zealous, Jealous:

For rural development we need a group of zealous workers who can deliver results. (With full of enthusiasm)

He is jealous of his colleagues marching in the ladder of success. (Full of envy)

Links for more Resources: http://esl.about.com/od/engilshvocabulary/a/hom_a_e.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homonym

You can also refer to a dictionary for clear pronunciation and meaning along with the uses of the following words.

Angel Angle Dairy Diary Guard Guide Trail, Trial Breaks Brakes

Minuet, Minute Desert, Dessert Lead, Led Sight, Site Current, Currant

Weather Whether Rest, Wrest Course, coarse Dual, Duel Right, Write, Rite Ring Wring Artist Artiste Artisan Ensure Insure Assure.

Thank you all.

Wicked Wind

2009-06-19T10:14:00.007+05:30

“Annu… wake up…wake up. It is 6 o’clock, dear.” My eyes saw the day-light following mother’s wake up call. It was chilling outside and to think of leaving bed was the most unfortunate task for me. For any delay in leaving bed I would fail my bus as I would be taking time to prepare myself. When the thought of bus struck my mind, I could not but threw the rug and straight away began preparing myself. In chilling winter the most unfortunate and hated task happens to be leaving the soft and hot embrace of rug and bed. My brother and my sister Ginni were sleeping as I was burning in sheer jealousy. My brother was a sleepoholic and if he had not to attend office at 10 am, he would sleep past noon!

When I was yet to get any employment, I would think, what a memorable day it would be to get a job! But when I got one, I got a chance to know all those parallel problems running along with a job. Initially, I would go to the college with uncontrolled enthusiasm. But now thinking on the job, I would feel thorns pinching my body.

Anyhow, I finished my breakfast and sped to the bus stop. The bus was yet to arrive. There was a big tamarind tree beside the bus stop under which all bus-users and service men performing duty from home would wait for the bus. But I would feel somewhat awkward standing there. My time would go in seeing my watch or changing my bag from right to left hand and reverse.

Hardly did two minutes passed in the meanwhile after my arrival at the bus stop, when a boy riding a bicycle came rushing towards me. He negotiated close to me and forced me to flinch back a step or two. Had I not stepped back I thought he would have banged onto me. Seeing me stepping back some three or four boys standing at a little distance were jeering and laughing. In anger and helplessness, I could not but kept mum digesting the shamefulness.

Today, boys have become so immodest and wicked that words fail me to say something about them. Certainly, I think the wind has become wicked and whomever it touches, it seems a pair of wings comes up to his back.

Bus came in the meanwhile. A swarm of bus-users was seen rushing towards the bus. Somehow I became a part of the rushing crowd. I boarded the bus anyhow. Obviously, there were no rooms left as I was boarding midway. I had to stand on the isle. An aged gentleman was standing in front of me. And I thought it suitable to adjust myself there only. With a sudden jerk the bus started. The timing of the bus was so suitably arranged that a majority of boys and girls studying in the Science College would catch that bus. When the driver would apply break to the bus everyone would feel imbalanced. Boys standing behind would seize the opportunity to balance the unbalancing girls by extending their hands. And those standing in front would feel fortunate to get the same opportunity as a dole.

The driver it seemed was bribed to apply such sudden breaks in regular intervals. I felt a touch of a hand on my hand griping the railing and I saw it was of that aged gentleman standing behind. He was conversing with another one of his elk standing behind. I thought his hand movement was spontaneous and involuntary and I adjusted away from his griping hand. After two minutes, I found my hand feeling similar griping. Cocking back I found him as usual busy in conversation. I tried to snatch my hand but now the grip was somewhat tighter. This time, I was shown a pair of fearful and bulgy eyes. I snatched my hand despite knowing the fact that I would feel imbalanced doing so. I didn’t want to be the cynosure of the people on board by starting a brawl with the so called (Un) gentleman. It is but a tragedy of girls that the male people would tease them and if any girl would protest, she would face such unbearable consequences.

But I was surprised with the behavior of that so called gentleman. He must have been around fifty years. Then I thought I was incorrect initially to pass a judgment on the grown up boys. Adolescent is such an age that makes one somewhat wicked as new and new age related wings come up. But I had nothing to tell on this aged fellow who was behaving like an adolescent. Can they send their growing girls like me alone with this trait of behavior in them? Can they repose faith on person of his age about the safety of their daughters? It is but an irony that there is no dearth of such (un)gentlemen who always strangulate the courage of the girls.

I was a disciplined lecturer of my college but inside the bus I was like a docile and innocent girl. This double personality in me would surprise me coming out of the bus. Perhaps after age I would emancipate myself from this double personality after some more years or experience.

There was no let up in the wickedness of that old man. He was continuously rubbing shoulder with that of mine. On the other hand, my hand was also itching to slap him hard. The bus was so over-crowded that I was not able to move an inch inside. To my happiness a lady passenger called me towards her as room was available there. Thank God, the old man was spared as I was about to imprint my palm on one of his cheeks.

My stoppage approached near. When the bus stopped, holding my bag I came near the gate. There was clear imprint of my face in the faces of the boys sitting in front. Stopped to the isle I alighted from the bus. I was feeling relaxed and relieved alighting from the bus. Just strolling two steps I heard someone singing, “Age seventeen, tresses long and umpteen,” Then it struck my mind that for fear of delay I had left my braid unbridled. My hand mechanically thought to bridle my braid but then I became a bit rebellious. Why not, I thought and left it as usual against the wicket wind and declared a war against the wicket wind.

This is a translated short story originally written in Hindi by one of my online friends Vandana Awasthi Dubey who has got multiple blogs with following Titles:

Kissa Kahani

Apni Baat

The original story written and posted in her blog can be found following the link below. http://wwwvandanaadubey.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post.html

She is a prolific word artist who weaves beautiful and meaningful wreaths for her admirers to read and enrich.

One Word Substitution

2009-05-30T22:16:00.000+05:30

One word substitution is very important to write precisely and speak in a single word. Generally, we speak or write in a garrulous way. But, it is seen that precise words are always understood easily by all. At times we become verbose but sometimes the verbosity is not required and we are required to talk or speak precisely. In English language there are a lot of single words for a group of words. So, speak precisely and avoid the fear of being misunderstood. Let me quote some one words for a group of words.

· Systematic study of election trends: Psephology.

· Assembly or parliament in which no party has got clear majority: Hung.

· Do away with wholly: Abolish.

· A shortened form of a word or phrase: Abbreviation.

· To increase the speed; to hasten the progress of: Accelerate.

· One who calculates premium: Actuary.

· To increase the gravity of an offence or the intensity of a disease: Aggravate.

· To turn friends in enemies: Alienate.

· One who does something not professionally but for pleasure: Amateur.

· A diplomatic minister of the higher order sent by a country to another: Ambassador. Diplomat, Envoy.

· A statement open to more than interpretation: Ambiguous.

· Having opposing feelings: Ambivalent.

· A letter, poem etc. whose author is unknown: Anonymous.

· Absence of government: Anarchy.

· A person liable to be called to account for his action: Answerable.

· To rise in value: Appreciate.

· To go down in value: Depreciate.

· One who does not believe in the existence of God: Atheist.

· One who believe in God: Theist.

· One who makes an official examination of accounts: Auditor.

· The life story of a man written by himself: Autobiography.

· Life story of a man written by other: Biography.

· Government by the officials: Bureaucracy.

· Government by the people: Democracy.

· To take away some one’s right t vote: Disenfranchisement.

· The science which treats with life: Biology.

· One who has narrow and prejudiced religious views: Bigot.

· A member of the middle class: Bourgeois.

· General pardon: Amnesty.

· One who damages public property: Vandal.

· One who does not care for art, literature etc.: Philistine.

· People working together in the same office or department: Colleagues.

· Belonging or pertaining to an individual from birth: Congenital.

· Men living in the same age: Contemporary.

· One who can make himself at home in all countries: Cosmopolitan.

· A person who believes easily whatever he is told: Credulous.

· To give one’s authority to another: Delegate.

· A game or batter in which neither party wins: Drawn.

· A thing that is fit to be eaten: Edible.

· Water fit for drinking: Potable.

· Study of environment: Ecology.

· One who thinks only for oneself: Egoist.

· One who is qualifies for election: Eligible.

· To explain something mysterious or difficult: Elucidate.

· To lay special stress on: Emphasize.

· A state of perfect balance: Equilibrium.

· To root out an evil, disease: Eradicate.

· A speech delivered without any previous preparation: Extempore or Impromptu.

· A man who has too much enthusiasm for his own religion: Fanatic.

· An exact copy: Facsimile.

· One who is not easily pleased: Fastidious.

· A medicine that kills germs: Germicide.

· Work for which no salary is paid: Honorary.

· One who feels sympathetic towards human beings: Humanitarian.

· An office with high salary but no work: Sinecure.

· That which cannot be read: Illegible.

· A trade that is prohibited by law: Illicit.

· One who cannot read or write: Illiterate.

· Science of coins or medals: Numismatics.

· Misappropriation of money: Embezzlement.

· A sound that cannot be heard: Inaudible.

· A statement which cannot be understood: Incomprehensible.

· One who cannot be corrected: Incorrigible.

· That which cannot be explained: Inexplicable.

· A remedy which never fails: Infallible.

· A method that cannot be imitated: Inimitable.

· That which cannot be satisfied: Insatiable.

· One who is unable to pay his debts: Insolvent.

· That which cannot be hurt: Invulnerable.

· The action of looking back on past time: Introspection.

· A thing that cannot be seen with human eyes: Invisible.

· Looking into one’s own thoughts: Introspection.

· Remarks which do not ally apply to the subject under discussion: Irrelevant.

· A loss of damage that cannot be compensated: Irreparable.

· That cannot be altered or withdrawn: Irrevocable.

· The area over which an official has control: Jurisdiction.

· The first speech made by a person: Maiden.

· Hater of mankind: Misanthropist.

· Lover of mankind: Philanthropist.

This is only a small list as there are so many words that can be practiced by the help of a dictionary or internet. So master those words as much as you can to make your writing or speaking precise and comprehensible to all.

Thank you.

Single L or Double L

2009-05-29T21:05:00.002+05:30

· Dropping the second L in a prefix:

If a prefix ends with adouble L is added to another word to form a compound word, the double L becomesa single L. For Example:

All+most= almost, All+ready=Already,All+right=Already

All+though=Although,All+ways=Always, Full+Fill=Fulfil

Full+some=Fulsome,Skill+full=Skilful, Well+come=Welcome.

· Full or Ful:

The only word endingfull that takes a double L is ‘full itself.’ Otherwise, there is always a single L—or –ful when it is the lastsyllable of a word of two or more syllables. For example, there are the following adjectives:

Bashful fitful mournful successful

Beautiful frightful painful tearful

Careful fruitful peaceful thoughtful

Colourful grateful pitiful useful

Similarly, ‘till’ withthe prefix becomes ‘until’

· Keeping both is when adding –ly towords ending in L.

There are always two Ls if the suffix –ly is added toa word ending in L. If an –ly is addedto any of these adjectives ending in –ful in order to form adverbs, they take –fullyending, as follows:

Accident+ly: Accidentally,Actual+ly: Actually,

Cool+ly: Coolly, Cruel+ly: cruelly, Cynical+ly:cynically,

Final+ly: finally, Total+ly: totally, usual+ly:usually.

When a worddoes not end in L then generally we follow the straight forward rule of adding –lywhen converting an adjective to an adverb.

Complete+ly: completely, Definite+ly: definitely,Extreme+ly: extremely, Friend+ly: friendly, Interest+ly: interestingly.

Let’s discuss some exceptions to the generalstraight forward rule of adding –ly.

· When the –ly suffix is added to aword or stem ending Y, this latter Y changes to I. Thus…

Busy+ly:Busily, Crazy+ly: Crazily, Fancy+ly: Fancily, Hungry+ly: hungrily, Ready+ly:Readily, Steady+ly: Steadily.

· Adding Ly after IC:

A word ending in –Ic adds –ally, instead of plain –ly,to become –ically.

Analytic+ally: Analytically, Atheletic+ally: Athletically.Automatic becomes automatically, fantastically, scientifically, basically, frantically,comically, historically, statistically.

Public becomes publicly not publically as this is anexception.

· -ble becomes –bly, and –ple becomes–ply.

Adjectives ending in-ble changes the –e to –y toachieve an –ly adverbial ending. Thisalso rule also applies in case of –ple ending.

Ample- Amply, Capable-capably, durable- durably,favourable- favourably, Humble becomes humbly.

Exceptions: Truly, Duly, Wholly, Dully, Fully,

Thanks

Mr. Prime Minister, Good Wishes for the Second Innings

2009-05-23T10:01:00.001+05:30

On Friday the 22^ndMay 2009, again Man Mohan Singh (MMS) was sworn in as Prime Minister of Indiaby the president (No, presidentress is that a term) Mrs. Pratibha Patil. People wanted continuity of policies andprograms and voted the ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) to power. To theirhappiness this time with more power in the form of more vote percentage andmore seats as the alliance has got a thumping majority. This is a clear sign that there was no antiincumbency wave. The voting also showsthat people want stability, stability of administrative machinery and stabilityof program and policies. Stability wasthe sole factor that was eluding India for quite sometime and in recent times Indianinc. has seen many hated jockeying and hectic hobnobbing or compromising thefate of the nation. Anyway, this timeMan Mohan has got clear mandate and is free to initiate more doses ofdevelopment and reform be it in social, economic or political sector.

People want obviousinfrastructural developments like port, banks, educational sector, healthsector, railway and surface communication and power. It is the responsibility of the government tobestow the benefit of reforms to the common men. This government has got manymore challenges to face like taking the development to the mass or grass rootlevel. Of late, due to liberalization andeconomic reform India is inching forward to a Capitalist system ofgovernment. As a result of thisdevelopment a schism has become obvious as the Indian society is being dividedin the lines of Haves and Haves nots. This is not development in clear term. Government has got a responsibility to help treacle down the benefits ofa Capitalist system to the masses.

Price rise is also afactor that concerns the common men and has been a major factor for worry. Any round of price rise only happen to beworry of the common men or people living Below Poverty level (BPL). Industrialists, businessmen, retailers andothers only pass any price rise to the customers and in the end they stand togain at the cost of the end customers. This tendency of Indian economic system should be checked and adequatechecks and balances should be thought and implemented. Remember, Mr. Prime Minister it is these poorpeople who have braved the heat wave of April and May and pressed the buttonsof the EVMs (Electronic Voting Machine) as people in the urban area who areactive in service and business sector seldom stand in the queue of voters tovote. In fact, they have become apathetic to voting as they better know thedrama and nonsense stage performances of nonsense politicians.

Mr. Prime Minister youhave the responsibility to ensure equitable development and availability of thefruits of developments to all and sundry. Be broad and never buckle to the pressure of your short sighted allies(TMC, DMK, NC) as they are there to ensure the development of their respectiveconstituencies and not for national development. They are there to ensure their re-electionand start nurturing their constituencies and constituent, right from the beginning. So, always check the divisive and narrowpolitics of this brand of politicians who do not see beyond their constituencies. But you have proved your mettle time andagain right from the beginning and people have voted you, yes you topower. They don’t know who are the Tom,Dick and Harry who represent them in their constituency. They know you very well as your face is omnipotentin their thoughts. So it is your responsibility to ensure smiles in their faces,would you?

Mr. Prime Minister thecost of higher education has become so high that it has become a den of onlyrich. Mr. Prime minister, subsidize thesame so that people in the lower rung can take the benefit of highereducation. Otherwise, I would like to aska question, “What is the use of such unaffordable educational institutionswhich is funded by the peoples’ money and run for a chosen few?” Don’t thinkthat SC and ST or OBCs are outrightly poor even after successive rounds ofaffirmative actions right from the independence. Otherwise, open the seats of higher educationand service sectors to the meritorious, would you? I don’t think you can as they (Sc, ST, OBC) areyour vote bank. Could you please, initiate reforms to end the vote bankpolitics that has ruined India? Oh, that’sa tall order and how can you axe your own feet. Lol.

Anyway, we have got somany aspirations and hopes on you and bank on you that you can do the miracle,provided you want to. Now, it is up toyou to show your mettle again. Indians,wait for another round of India shinning as the Villain of Indian Politics, theLeft Parties are out from the Government and the Alliances and have alsoreceived severe drubbing in the election. So, Prime Minister, good wishes to and blessing to you for developmentof all and sundry.

Thanks

Mother: Two Sonnets For her

2009-05-11T00:56:00.001+05:30

My lovable mother 1

Cried I for the first, got she inexpressible bliss.

My filths became for her, aromatic sandal,

Rheum ran from my nostrils, she happily cleansed,

Massaged and prayed the deity for my brawn.

Babbled she with me, taught to talk and totter.

Beat I her, kissed and hugged me in love,

Felt I ill, became she unnecessarily anxious.

For my coming around, prayed she to the Mother.

Bathed and combed she, added collerium to my eyes.

Gave me food and sent me to school with satchel.

Returned I, shirt in hand, quenched she my thirst.

After sleep, would cover me in her fathomless skirt.

Complained some about me, beat she black and white,

My lovely mother is she; shall I forget till I’velife?

My Lovable mother-2

Sleep I not and cry, sings she lullaby showing myuncle.

My mischief increases, shows she something to fear,

Feel I hungry and cry, feeds she on her lap,

Let I not cook her, gives she me a doll as pet.

In the scorching sun, force keeps she me inside,

Insist I cocking head, the child thief comes to mysight.

Play I in mud and dance in cloud’s tear,

Beats she in love, to save me getting fever.

Cry I for money to eat ice candy,

Ditheringly pays she, dance I in gaiety.

Always she awakes me in the morn, from lovely sleep,

Forces me to brush, les teeth smell filth.

Desist she from playing in dust,

My lovely mother she is, my godly mother.

N:B: These two sonnets were written way back in 1997 when I was still anunemployed person living with my mother. Good wishes to all mothers of the world who helps a child learneverything and see the world in his or her eyes. Her role in nation building is undeniable andall nations should pay floral tribute to the mothers. And also do such necessary things so as toall allow them nurture the future of the nation both inside her embryo and onher lap. Salute to the mothers.

Thank you.

Anna Jarvis: The Woman behind the Mother's Day

2009-05-11T00:10:00.000+05:30

While awarding a boy, someone said, “Please don’t forget the hen who laid the golden egg.”

Anna Jervis the name enhances curiosity of all. This gritty woman campaigned relentlessly for the modern day mother’s day. Interestingly, she was not a mother in her life time. She would perceive the distress and worry of mothers though she was not a mother. Her mother inspired her to campaign for a day specially dedicated to the mothers to highlight their plight and significant role in family in particular and the society in general. Anna was born on the 1^st may 1864 in Webster, West Virginia. She was the ninth child of her mother Ann Merry and father Granvillo Jervis.

In 1905, her mother died and from then onward she started her efforts to materialize the dream of her mother for a special day to reminisce and reward mothers of all over the world. She had seen the bad and cruel treatment of children with their mothers. In 1907 she threw herself in the benign effort to persuade people to observe national mother’s day. Her fan and followers helped her in her campaign earnestly. They would write hundreds of letters to the administrative officers to persuade the administration to observe such a day nationwide. But all felt to deaf ears. But good efforts never go fruitless. And the relentless campaign bore fruit as many states and adjacent countries like Mexico started to celebrate such a holy day. It was in 1914 the then president Woodrow Wilson sanctioned such a day to be observed on the Second Sunday of May. And from then onward this day is being celebrated nationwide. Thanks to the penetration of internet the concept has entered to other countries of the world. And of late the day has acquired an international status.

In later times, when the day was heavily commercialized, again Anna Jervis fought to free the day from the clutch of the commercial interests and people patronizing commercialization of the day. And for this fight she was thrown to jail. Irony indeed!!

She died in November, 24 1984 at 84 years of age. So on this auspicious day this blogger wishes all the mothers of world a Very Elated and Memorable Mother’s Day.

For more information you can browse this link.

Thank you.

What is That

2009-05-06T08:18:00.005+05:30

What’s that,

That unites me,

With ye and ye with me?

Without any media,

Without any cause.

What’s that,

That shows me your mien.

And

Perhaps, you too perceive me,

As if I was sitting in your front.

What’s that,

That causes mother’s realization,

About the hunger of her child,

That fills her breasts with nectar

And rears up Einstein and Budhha?

What’s that,

That gives me happiness in your presence,

Despite severed ties and interests, eons ago?

What’s that,

Distance losses relevance,

And time dissolves?

Has anyone perceived Time

Sitting by beloved?

Is that a perception?

Should I call that Love?

Name it, in whatever way you can,

As it makes no difference.

Contrary, it is not subject to naming,

Above all names.

That makes you common not specific.

That makes you simple not special.

That makes you younger, not old.

That liberates you from

The onus of Understanding.

And permits you to loss, without the

Thought of getting back.

That enhances the weight of martyr

In front of death and

Fill his heart with bliss and joy.

Because it’s not important,

What’s that.

Rather its presence is important.

Because that is that,

That makes us Human beings.

Its absence is absence of Humanity

And absence of Life.

Because it enlivens.

I don’t want to know what’s that.

Earlier, I’d that inquisition but

Now I don’t want to know that.

But it is but final or fact.

It saves man from being a machine

And saves from being a monster.

Thank you.

This is a translated poem from original Hindi. The poem was originally written by one of my online friends named Arkjesh who blogs Anaupacharik in Hindi. The original Hindi poem can be found here.

Adding Suffix after Last consonant

2009-04-27T23:28:00.001+05:30

Suffix is such an ending that gives a differentmeaning to the root words to which one add suffixes. It is added or affixed to the end of aword. Suffixes are used to make a Noun,Adjective and Adverb. Different rulesare applied while adding a suffix to a word.

Beforea Suffix beginning with a Vowel (Single syllable root words):

Double the consonant at the end of a single syllableword when the last Consonant is preceded by a Vowel. E.g: BaT: Batted, Batter, Batting

Other such words: Bed, Beg, Clap, Clip, Drop, Fat,Fit, Glad, Hit, Hop, Quit, Rub, Run, Sad, Ship, Sip, Sit, Skip, Slap, Slip,Squat, Stop, Tap, Ton, Trap, Trek, Sip.

Exceptions: (Where consonant remains single)

Effects of vowel preceding consonant

Whether the consonant at the end of a root stayssingle or double often depends on whether a vowel is preceding is pronouncedlong or short.

Whetherthe Consonant is W, X or Y.

If the last consonant happens to W, X or Y and it ispreceded by a Vowel, the last consonant remains single despite the rule.

Some such words: Saw, Stew, Tow, Tax, Vex, Stay,Toy, Try.

Wherethe Consonant is preceded by Two Vowels:

Here also the consonant remains single though thelast consonant is preceded by Vowel. E.g.: Beat, beater, beating.

Other such words: Boat, Creep, Droop, Group, Haul,Heap, Heat, Hoot, Leap, Loop. Sail, Seal, Sleep, Soap, Soar, Treat, Trail.

If a vowel happens to be U with Q beginning thesingle Vowel rules applies and the last consonant is doubled. The U after Q is not counted as a vowel (Apart of a Digraph) as it only adds to the Q sound. E.g. Quit: Quitting. Quiz: Quizzed, Quizzing.

Wherethere two Consonant at the end of a Root word:

The last consonant does not double. For example: Fast, Halt, Turn.

This is about Mono syllable words. The next post will on Multi-syllablewords. Till the next post, smile andwait. Lol. Follow my blog in Google Friend Connect sothat you will remain posted about any updates. Thanks

Some Essential Spelling Rules

2009-04-20T23:30:00.001+05:30

Diphthong: Where twoadjacent vowels are pronounced together in a single sound. For example EA in ‘peach’ or EI in ‘receipt’EE in ‘seek’ or IE in ‘Field’ or OO in ‘Cook’

Digraph: Two adjacentvowels making a single sound as you know is a Diphthong as stated above butDigraph has a wider meaning. Any twoletter be it two consonant or one consonant and a vowel pronounced unitedly toproduce a single sound is known as Digraph. So all Diphthongs are Digraphs but not vice versa.

Let’s know about somewell known Diphthong and Digraph.

IE or EI: There areseven different sounds or this combination.

· The (ee) sound as in Greek.

· (Ay) sound as in Bay.

· (Eye) sound as in Ice.

· ( I ) As in Fit.

· (Eh) sound as in Best.

· (Uh) sound in Hunt.

· (Oo) sound in Shoe.

(I) EEsound:

The famous “I” before “E”except after “C” rule applies particularly to this “EE” sound as in Creek orBeak.

Achieve, Diesel, Hygiene,Reprieve, Chief, Belief, Field, Niece, Shriek

The C rule.

Ceiling, Conceive,Deceive, Receive, Conceit, Deceit, Perceive, Receipt.

Mark here it is not “IE”rather “Ei” as There is the letter C before the sound.

Exception despite theabsence of C.

Either, Protein, Sheik,Weird, Neither, Seize, Sheila, Plebeian, Seizure, Weir,

(II) AYsound:

For this sound, thesame as the (ay) in Hay or Way, the spelling invariably Ei, not Ie.

Beige, Feint, Neighbor(Us), Veil, Deign, Freight, Heir, Rain, Weigh, Feign, Inveigh, Weight

(III) Isound:

For this short I soundas in hit, fit or bit, the spelling is usually Ei rather than IE.

Counterfeit, Forfeit,Sovereign, Surfeit, Foreign, Forfeiture.

Exception: Handkerchief,Series, Sieve, Mischief

(IV) EYEsound:

This is nothing butLong I sound as in Nice, Vice or Kite. The more common spelling is Ei.

Eiderdown, Either,Height, Sleight, Fahrenheit, Neither,

Exception: Died,Hierarchy, Lied, Tied.

(V) EHsound:

For this sound as inRest or Best or Left the usual rule is Ie. But Ei is also possible as inLeisure,

(VI) UHsound:

For this sound as inHunt or Shunt the spelling rule is IE.

Ancient, Conscience,Patience, Patient, Proficient.

(VII) OO or YEW sound:

For this sound Ie ruleis followed.

Lieu, Lieutenant,Review, View, Skew.

Friends and followersthis much for today. Next time I will be discussing more such rules about spelling. Wait for the next lesson. Till then bye.

Thanks

Evolving English language

2009-04-17T23:54:00.001+05:30

‘If winter comes can summer be far behind’ goes the saying. Today every branch has its own terms developed over the ages. People using Blackberry devices would talk on Blackberry terms and similarly people in railway would like to talk in his own terms. This jargon language of each and every field of life has of late entered the English dictionary. Email has its own language, so has the Chatting over the internet. All such languages, either blend terms or portmanteaus are examples of compact beauty. By and by internet is making inroad into houses. Slowly but steadily Internet is fast becoming one of the favorite destination of researchers, students for purpose of knowledge, fun, friendship, chatting, emailing, file sharing, photo uploading and many other things. Social Networks have attracted a majority of internet users and providing such interesting services like Forum or Discussion Board for sharing views and uniting all like minded people in a single community. It has become so successful that today it is very easy to find glitterati or film stars or politicians in such social networking sites. Did you know that the American President Barrack Obama is an internet user and he can be found in network like Twitter. In fact, he had used the power of the internet to raise huge sum of money to fund his electoral campaign. In India film stars like Amir Khan Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachhan are notable internet users.

Social networks like Facebook, Myspace, Orkut, Twitter, Hi5, Ibibo, Friendster are highly preferable sites of young people. And a notable feature of all these sites is that they have contributed a lot to the development of the English language in blending innumerable terms. As many people are using such networks it is but obvious the vocabulary terms have entered into day to day writing and speaking. In this way gradually such vocabulary terms have made inroad into the mainstream language. English is assimilative and it adapts and adopts faster as compared to other languages. Further, the development is also confined to the English language as English has been the preferable language of the internet users. The development in other languages of the world may be said negligible.

Let’s analyze some new vocabulary terms being used by users of Twitter users.

The language that has evolved over the time is nothing but the use of prefix Twit… to an existing word and blending that for better pronunciation. And the plethora of vocabularies that has evolved can be compiled a twittonary. Yea, you are right that is nothing but a twitter specific dictionary. So here I am with a list of terms used by twitter users.

Auto-nudge: This is a setting that sends automatic nudges as per schedule set.

Dweet: Tweets sent in inebriated condition.

Mistweet: A tweet one later repents.

Nudge: a friendly note sent to a dormant user to be active or update.

Sweeple: Sweet twitters people.

Twitterspeak: The language of the twitter users.

Tweeter/Twitterer: The twitter user.

Tweets: Short messages. (140 characters maximum)

Tweeting: Posting the short messages.

Twadd: To add a tweeter user.

Twaffic: Twitter traffic.

Tweetheart: That flutters the heart of a user.

Tweepish: Feeling sheepish or rueful about a tweet.

Twexting: Who likes to send only text messaging.

Twebay: To sell something on twitter as in E-bay.

Twitterati: that is glitterati of twitter. To whom everyone follows.

Twitterlooing: Twittering from bathroom.

@username: ((@sudam08 my user name) By this way a direct message is posted to a user.

In Orkut a message is known as Scrap. Now scrap is not that one usually knows as garbage. It is a short message. It is used both as Noun and Verb.

In Facebook similarly it is known as wall. It is also used as Noun and Verb. Like, he walled me written something on the wall a virtual first page of a profile.

Poke: That is called Nudge in twitter. Ah, there is a Super-Poke also that is nothing but the next level of poking if someone relentlessly ignores Pokes.

The list is endless and the research is on by network users. Next time I will bring another collection of vocabularies from those sites. Till then it is bye for now. Thank you.

Google Webmaster: Guide for Bloggers

2009-04-09T00:32:00.002+05:30

Google is no doubt the choiceable search engine of the internet surfers. In the last eleven months or so of blogging this blogger has found this fact while tracking visitors to his blog. He has found that a majority of his visitors come from the Google search engine. And all others search engines just come way behind. This is for this reason all bloggers submit their blogs to Google first and then submit to other search engines. Googlebot no doubt searches and indexes everything under the sun but submitting is the preferable mode of first seeing one’s blog in the search engine. http://google.com/addurl

But here this blogger would like to discuss about the Webmaster of service of Google. Interestingly, many newbie bloggers do not know about the Webmaster service. Remember apart from Google Adword all other services like Adsense, Analytics, Blogger, Feedburner, Knol, Friendsconnect, iGoggle, Youtube etc. are free to use.

Many also think that when they have submitted their blogs to the Google search engine proper then there is no use of submitting blogs to the Webmaster. But a professional internet services provider like Google has not gone mad to provide two similar services. What do you think? In reality both are different things. Remember to submit one’s blog to Google Webmaster and to the search engine are two different things. Apart from submitting your blogs to Google, those should also be submitted to the Google Webmaster as both are different services. Let me confine to Webmaster.

You have a Google account like others, okay? Then sign in to your account and click Google webmaster. You will be taken to webmaster Dashboard.

Look in the dashboard there is a Text box with a Button written Add Site. Enter your blog’s URL and hit the Tab. It will take you to a page and ask you to verify your site. Now be there. There are two methods to verify your sites: one is uploading an HTML file and the other is pasting a Verification Code to your template. Now Copy the code provided, done? Now, paste the same code snippet just below the beginning head of the template. Now see the verify button. You have pasted the code, okay? Then hit the verify button. If you have pasted the code in right way and at the right location, straight way you will be given the confirmation message that your site is verified. If you get similar message then you have done the first step. If you choose to by pass this or want to do that at your leisure then don’t worry. You can go through the verification process once again. Or you can later come to the Tools tab and get the code once again to paste inside your template. My advice for you is that you should copy this code and save in a .txt file named GWM verification code. This will save you from unnecessary hassles when you choose to change your template at some point of time.

Webmaster provides different services like:

· Diagnostics

· settings

· Statistics

· Links

· Sitemaps

· Tools

In diagnostics, one gets a clear cut diagnosis of one’s blog’s contents. Duplicate contents are singled out for the blogger’s perusal and action. Contents with unfriendly urls or having rich Medias are also figured out for rectification.

In Settings Tab you can choose the geographically targeted country to help the site to index information about your blog accordingly. Remember as far as keywords are concerned in one country if your keyword happens to at No 10 in other country the same can be at No 1. Hence, it is for you to choose information from which country you want to be shown in your page. You can also specify if http://yoursite or www.yoursite can be your preferred domain as results of both addresses happen to be different. You can also change the crawl rate here but please refer to my caution stated in paragraph below. You can also specify if blogs can be indexed for image search as bloggers always happen to insert images to enhance their posts readability and addition of value or beautifying them with relevant images.

In statistics one gets the Crawl rate, page ranks, keywords analysis, Missing Urls, Keywords not indexed in search engines. In the beginning the crawl rate happens to be flexible and the rate can be changed by bloggers or site owners. But when a blog or site is matured, the crawl rate is fixed by Google and the googlebot crawls the site or blog on its own as per the fixed crawling rate. Remember in the beginning don’t try to tamper with the default crawling rate as that may cause crash or blackout of datas.

An important aspect of Keywords analysis is that which Keyword comes in which page and what number in Google searches. Further, what percentages of the searched Keywords happen to be in an individual post is shown in a tabulate form. This is very important for content writing and rectifying individual posts. By correction one can change the percentage of a keyword to receive search engine hits and compete against other similar urls.

In links one can check the Candidate Link, External and Internal link.

site:thatlovedflower.blogspot.com

link:thatlovedflower.blogspot.com

cache:thatlovedflower.blogspot.com

info:thatlovedflower.blogspot.com

related:thatlovedflower.blogspot.com

The Site operator will show how many of urls are indexed in the search engine. Very often it happens that duplicate urls are shown by Google. To know exactly how many urls are indexed sitemap summary is the best way. But in site link one will get the urls with their headings. In other words, one will get the links to one’s posts directly.

In the Link operator one will get the back links that means how many links are linked to the home page of a blog or site. This always happens to be less than the external links as external links shows the links to individual posts and the homepage.

The Cache link shows the stored snapshot of one’s blog or site. The Info operator shows a short Bio that one chooses to share with others in Google account. Related operator will show links similar to one’s blog. This is automatically generated by the search engine.

Sitemap shows how many of urls are indexed in the search engine. As far as Sitemap is concerned many newbie bloggers find themselves in a conundrum regarding the process of uploading the sitemap. This is too easy as nothing is required to be uploaded as only a feed address happens to be necessary. For example my sitemap url is http://thatlovedflower.blogspot.com/atom.xml Sitemap helps the search engine in indexing urls of a particular blog and if the googlebot fails to index any urls, the sitemap helps in indexing all available urls for search engine.

Under the head Tool one can find the following links, Analyze robot text, Generate robottext, Enhance 404 page, Manage Site Verification, Remove Indexed Url, Useful Google Gadgets, The first two about robottext are advanced type and don’t try to do it unless you know more about them. Many don’t maintain the 404 page and whenever a link is not found due to deletion the same default ‘Not Found’ text greets. If you don’t happen to verify your site then the code can be found in the Manage Site Verification link. In the Gadget section one can find a lot of useful Google friendly gadgets developed by third parties or Google engineers. Third party gadgets are ensured Google friendliness and guidelines. Hence they can be used freely by a site owner or blog owner.

The webmaster is very useful and free Google service that not only guides but also shows way to bloggers to steer their blogs in right direction. So, what do you think? Submit your blog to Google webmaster and enjoy targeted and guided blogging. Remember all available data can be exported to your desktop in forms of .xls file for your later perusal and next course of action or for your future reference.

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/

It is very difficult to find blogging help for newbie bloggers and this blogger has only tried to present his available knowledge on Google Webmaster. This blogger has also done a guest posting on Visitors Tracking for the help of newbie blogger. Here is the link if you want to read that article or save the same for future use. http://bloggingwithsuccess.net/keeping-track-blog-visitors

Thank you.

Portmanteau or Blending in English language

2009-04-08T00:05:00.000+05:30

Portmanteau is a blend of two words that makes a new word combining elements of both words. In the internet, media and literary creations like Novels this has become a trend and many such words have gained wide expectance solely for their easy usability. Now twitter is one of the highly used website and as twitter message happens to be as small as 140 characters, blending or shortening has become the norms. As all the messages are available in the public time line those blended words by and by have become accepted terms. Twiout, twiton, twitsend, have entered into the vocabularies of twitter users (twitterians.) Blending not only beautifies but also takes less space in other words takes less of characters and speaks the things effectively. Portmanteau word was first used by Lewis Caroll in ‘Alice through the looking Glass’ in 1872.

By and by those words have made inroad into popular dictionaries and have blended in such a way that some go pass as original words. Let’s look some of those terms.

Advertainment: Advertisement and Entertainment.

Aerocade: Aero plane and motorcade.

Ampicillin: Amino and Penicillin.

Bash: Bang and smash.

Because: by and cause.

Bit: binary and digit.

Bleep: blackout and beep.

Blotch: blot, botch.

Blurt: blow, spurt

Breathalyzer: breath plus analyzer.

Brunch: breakfast and lunch.

Bumble: bungle and stumble.

Camcorder: camera and recorder.

Chortle: chuckle, snort.

Chump: chunk+ lump.

Cineplex: cinema, complex.

Clash: clap+ crash.

Ditsy: dizzy and dotty.

Docusoap: documentary and soap opera.

Doddle: dodder and toddle.

Drice: dry and ice.

Dumbfound: dumb and confound.

Email: electronic mail.

Emoticon: emotion and icon.

Faction: fact and fiction.

Fantabulous: fantastic and fabulous.

Flare: flame and glare.

Flop: flap and drop.

Flurry: flutter and hurry.

Fortnight: fourteen + nights.

Freeware: free and software.

Genome: gene and chromosome.

Ginormous: Gigantic and enormous.

Glaze: glare and gaze.

Glimmer: gleam and shimmer.

Glitz: glamour+ ritz.

Goodbye: God be with ye.

Goon: gorilla and baboon.

Guesstimate: guess and estimate.

Hi-tech: high technology.

Humongous: huge and monstrous.

Infomercial: information and commercial.

Insinuendo: insinuation and innuendo.

Intercom: internal and communication.

Jamboree: jam+ soiree.

Malware: malicious +software.

Medicare: medical plus care.

Modem: modulator and demodulator.

Moped: motor and pedal.

Motel: motor and hotel.

Motorcade: motor and cavalcade.

Multiplex: multiple and complex.

O’clock: of the clock.

Oxbridge: Oxford and Cambridge.

Pang: Pain and sting.

Pixel: picture and element.

Podcast: Ipod casting.

Pulsar: pulsating and star.

Sitcom: situational comedy.

Slang: slovenly language.

Smash: smack and mash.

Smog: smoke and fog.

Stagflation: stagnation and inflation.

Swipe: wipe and sweep.

Transistor: transfer and resistor.

Travelogue: travel and monologue.

Tween: teen between.

Twiddle: twist fiddle.

Waddle: wade and toddle.

Wi-Fi: wireless and fidelity.

Workaholic: work plus alcoholic.

Electoronic is a word that has led to many terms beginning with E like E-paper, E-tender, E-government, E-transfer and many others.

Similarly, we have got words like chatothon or anything ending with thon. (thon taken from marathon) That is long, huge can be described as that thing with -thon suffix. Holic is also such a suffix taken from Alcoholic. Too much obsessed are usually described by the –holic suffix, like workaholic, chocoholic etc.

Interestingly, many of the above given words are not being underlined by Microsoft Word that show their acceptance. Words like smog, because, goodbye, o’clock has got such wide acceptance that we cannot know about their blending. This is the living nature of English language.

Next time we will analyze the shortening or abbreviating trend of English language users. Remember, the shortening has also contributed to the English vocabulary. In blending it take two words but shortening takes single word to cause a new term.

Thank you.

Words that go in pairs

2009-04-07T00:13:00.001+05:30

In English languages there are a lot of words which go in pair. In most cases both syllables rhyme with each other. In fact these kinds of pair words are present in every language. In Hindi, Oriya that I know there are a lot of similar vocabulary terms. They not only express a correct meaning beautifully but deliciously too. Let’s examine some pairs though in this blog post it is not possible to give a long list of similar words.

· Airy-fairy: foolishly idealistic and vague.

· Dilly-dally: Dawdle or vacillate.

· Fuddy-duddy: A person who is very old-fashioned and pompous.

· Harum-scarum: reckless, impetuous.

· Helter-skelter: in disorderly haste or confusion.

· Hocus-pocus: meaningless talk used to deceive.

· Hodge-podge, hotchpotch: a confused mixture.

· Hoity-toity: haughty.

· Hunky-dory: excellent.

· Hurly-burly: boisterous activity.

· Itsy-bitsy, itty-bitty: very small.

· Jiggery-pokery: deceitful or dishonest behavior.

· Knick-knack: a small object in an ornament with little value.

· Mish-mash: A confused mixture.

· Namby-pamby: lacking courage or vigor.

· Pell-mell: in a confused, rushed or disorderly way.

· Pitter-patter: a sound as of quick light steps.

· Riff-raff: disrespectful or undesirable people.

· Roly-poly: round and plump.

· Silly-bily: a silly person.

· Teeny-weeny, teensy-weensy: very small.

· Tell-tale: revealing or betraying something.

· Tip-top: of very best, excellent.

· Willy-nilly: whether one likes it or not, haphazardly.

· Wishy-washy: (of drink and soup) weak or thin, feeble or insipid.

· Chit-Chat: Small talks or some informal discussion, gossip.

Thank you for going through this post.

Siamese Twins in English Language

2009-04-03T23:44:00.003+05:30

Siam was the ancient name of the country that we now know as Thailand. You might have heard about two children joined together from birth. They are called Siamese Twins.

In the context of the English language, this word was first used and popularized by H. W. Fowler, a renowned lexicographer. English language is replete with pair words that we know as Siamese Twins. They are also known as Irreversible Binomials, Binomial Pairs and Freezes. These pairs forge a bonding or partnership that we use as an idiomatic expression. You might be using one in your day to day speaking or writing. Expressions like Hard and Fast or Live and let live are examples of Siamese Twins.

The ordering of Siamese Twins is important. Should you change the order then you will be spoiling the meaning and essence of the expression.

Live and let live: Live and let live should be the motto or our lives.

Sick and tired: Aniya never feels sick and tired of her multi-tasking activities.

Back and forth: Annie watched the waiter going back and forth and doing nothing.

To and Fro: The to and fro traffic of Indian Railways is impressive.

Be all and end all: My service is the be all and end all of my live.

Black and white: It is written black and white in the wall.

Black and blue: He was beaten black and blue by some goons.

By and large: By and large we enjoyed our trip to Las Vegas.

Cat and mouse: She was embarrassed by her boss for his cat and mouse game.

Cats and dogs: It rained cats and dogs and outside movement was restricted.

Greek and Latin: The Spanish language is Greek and Latin to me.

There are so many examples of Siamese Twins and with consistent reading and scouring through the pages of Dictionaries and internet you can collect a lot. But remember don’t try to reverse the order of the two entities or words as in that case the essence and meaning of the said expression will be lost and you will be misunderstood.

For more detailed knowledge and findings you can browse the following link.

http://www.answers.com/topic/siamese-twin

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090328/saturday/roots.htm

Thank you for going through this post.