Verbal Notes - Nithya
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Choosing last sentences
General trick is to find the best option by method of elimination. Tips are
1. We cannot add any new information to the given para
2. We cannot assume things
3. Avoid extreme cases
4. Avoid Repetition
5. Should maintain continuity with first / last sentence and should be in touch with rest of para
6. Should focus on correct chain of thought
7. Usually last sentences will be
a. inferred from given text
b. about given text
c. facts generally known
Note: If two sentences seem logically sound, choose the one that is worded in a better way
eg: Babita is a 5 year old girl. She is the only child of her parents. They live in Mysore. Her father is a banker.
Choose the last sentence
a. Her mother is a doctor
b. Babita is a spoiled brat
c. She will turn 6 next year
d. They are a happy family
e. The school is in Bangalore
‘a’ is New Information
‘b’ is Extreme Case
‘c’ is Repetition
‘e’ has no continuity
Best option‘d’
Sentence Arrangement
1. First job is to find the ‘intro’ sentence
2. The following sentences should maintain continuity with the intro sentence
3. Continuity in thought and words should be there
4. Incase intro cannot be determined, group sentences on basis of ‘most likely to come together.’
5. If B explains A order will be AB/BA
6. If two sentences are in contrast, they will most likely be together
eg: Arrange the following sentences
a. “Hello Smith”, shouted Tanusha
b. Ram ran away from the place
c. “Oh! I don’t want to see him.” said Ram
d. They noticed a guy waving at them.
e. Ram and Tanusha went to the exhibition
Here ‘e’ introduces Ram and Tanusha. So it is the intro sentence.
In ‘b’, we know that Ram ran away. Why he ran away is explained in c. He cannot run away and then say something. He has to speak and then run. Hence order is ‘cb.’
In ‘c’, a ‘him’ is mentioned. In ‘d’ , a ‘guy’ waving is noticed. So order is dc.
Now we have ‘edcb’. Question is where to put ‘a’. ‘a’ is definitely after ‘d’.
So we have edacb/edcab/edcba.
Tanusha wishing the person immediately after Ram says he doesn’t want to meet him is highly unlikely. edcab is ruled out.
While edcba is not wrong, edacb is a better option.
Reasons
1. ‘Smith’ is introduced in ‘a’. If ‘c’ came first, Ram would’ve mentioned his name.
2. Tanusha eagerly calls out to Smith. In contrast Ram is disappointed to see him him. ‘Oh’ in ‘c’.
Our answer is edacb
FIJ
F- solid information - figures, numbers, statistics, already done things, proven things. If it cannot be proved, it is not a fact.
I- derived information from fact
J- what we feel about the statement
opinions, emotions, suggestions -J
Summarizing Paragraph
Don’t add info
Don’t leave in-complete
Don’t put in info different from para
Capture the essence correctly
Note: If two sentences seem logically sound, choose the one that is worded in a better way
eg: Cho is an engineer from China. He is currently located in Switzerland. The company he works for is, however, American. Globalization has brought the world closer together.
[ Example sake, the para is a very short one J]
Summarise
Globalization means developing a product in different nations.
Chinese uses the products manufactured in Switzerland.
Globalization has caused talents from different nations to work on the same product.
America does not have engineers
Obviously, a,b,d are wrong. Answer ‘c’
Sentence Correction/ Identifying Correct Sentences
1. Identify the idea conveyed by the passage
2. There will be two or more words that are focuses/stressed. Identify those.
3. Check for spellings
eg:
a. Angela is a star athlete.
b. However she lost in the 500m race held yesterday.
c. “My leg is feeling bad”, she said after the race.
Identify the correct sentence
‘b’ is wrong – ‘comma’ after ‘however’
‘c’ is wrong- ‘feel badly’
Only ‘a’ is correct
Grammar
Comma
1. If A,B,C then B can be removed from sentence without affecting meaning of sentence and without any change to A & C.
eg: Sandy’s boyfriend, who was a pilot, is dead.
A , B , C
Even if we remove ‘B’, idea of sentence remains same.
2. If A,B then B will form the main sentence and A will an be an explanatory word for B or an explanatory sentence.
eg1: In addition, we know that India is a fast growing economy.
Here, A can be removed without changing meaning of B.
eg2: I went to the class, but nobody was there.
Here again, A & B can be separated.
Semicolon
Same as commas, but no conjunctions will be used
eg: I went to the class; nobody was there.
Instead of commas when commas are already used
eg: Peter, Ann , and Liz went to the class; but nobody was there.
I & Me and We & Us
‘I’ / ‘We’ is used for subject & ‘Me’ / ‘Us’ for object
eg1: I am going to the doctor. We are going to the doctor.
eg2: The doctor told me. The doctor told us.
"you and I" and "you and me"
Whenever you have a doubt between "you and I" and "you and me", just try to replace it with "we" or "us". If "we" works, then it's "you and I", if "us" works then it's "you and me".
Anything else is grammatically incorrect.
Eg: "I hope we can keep this between us", so "I hope we can keep this between you and me"That or Which
In A,B, C – ‘which’ will be used in B. If it’s a single sentence then use ‘that’
eg: The dress, which I bought last month, is blue in colour.
The dress that she bought is blue in colour.
‘A’ and ‘The’
‘a’ /’an’ is used when we are talking about a common entity for the first time. ‘The’ is used when we are referring to a particular thing. So the ‘thing’ has to be mentioned before in the para or should be very popular (one and only).
eg1: The Himalayas are very beautiful.
There exists only one ‘Himalayas’ in the world.
eg2: A river ends in the sea. We are generalizing here. If it were ‘The river ends in the sea’ a question would come- ‘which river ends?’ Since there are many rivers and not just one, we can use ‘a’.
eg3: I own a car. The car is an Alto.
‘a’ car – there are many cars; I can own any one. ‘The car’ – the car which I own is ‘an Alto’ –There are many Alto’s’
Subject –Verb agreement
singular- singular and plural-plural
eg1: Ethan is tall. & Ethan and Hugh are tall.
eg2: The crowd is turning noisy.
Tense
The tense of entire para should be the same. eg: He is working on the project that was given tomorrow. –wrong. ‘Tomorrow’ is future. Hence ‘project that has to be given’ or ‘was given yesterday’
Avoid Redundancy
Avoid using words with same meaning together
eg: I got it as a free gift. – Gifts are always free!
So it should be either ‘I got it free’ or ‘I got it as a gift’
Correct Attachment
eg: The strong man lifted the car with one hand. Here the sentence means that the car has one hand. Correct form will be – The strong man, with one hand, lifted the car.
Comparison
Comparison should be between similar quantities
eg1: The height of Priya is more than Neha – wrong. The height of Priya is more than that of Neha –correct.
eg2: Priya is taller than Neha- correct.
Note:Study as many words, idioms, word contexts as much as possible
