A QUIZ On English Language, to REFLECT ON and to Register

1. What is the percentage of English speakers in the world?: 70%, 50%, 30%, 17%?

2. How can we frame a question to get the answer, “Dr. Singh is the 10th PM of India?”

3. How would you greet one on 01/01/09 at 01:00 hrs? Goodmorning, Goodnight.

4. What are the six applications of ‘Would’?

5. Write the meanings: Peoples. Priceless. Etymology. Disinterested. Flammable. Inflammable.Philately. Lexicographer. Leaving for good. Let’s go Dutch. Coining a word. Reverent. Ganguly is going to call it a day. Mother Teressa has joined the great majority. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

6. Correct only the wrongly spelt: Privilege, Vacum, Foolscap, Grammer, Fasade, Ninth Clothe, Felled, followed, Ordnance, Que, Fulfil, Accomodation, Exept, Greatful,Thesorus.

7. What are the expansions of these?: Won’t. I’d. It’s. Ain’t.

8. What are the three tense forms of these? (Tricky): Lie. Fell. Flow. Wound. Borne. Slain. Lost. Dead. Loose. Beautiful.

9. Write the antonyms: Feminist. Addressee. Cosmos. Oriental. Sober. Uncle

10. What are the differences between these?: Die & Dead, Born & Borne, Artist & Artiste, Learnt & Learned, Advice & Advise, Disinterested & uninterested, Rational & Rationale, Human & Humane, Moral & Morale, Council & Counsel, Childlike & Childish, Adopt, Adapt & Adept.

11. Which is the oldest? Malayalam or Modern English.

12. How many zeros are there in a Billion? 9 or 12 zeroes

13. How would you pronounce these words? (Please refer “Received Pronunciation” by Daniel Jones): Knowledge. Suite. Extempore. Hyundai. Chassis. Quay. Cognac. Sewing Machine. Oven. Tomato. Potato. Photography. Sale and fete Bowl. Façade. Question. Visa. Elite.Contesting a contest. Militia. Debris. Taboo. Schedule. Quiz. Pizza.Fjord.Loose Schizophrenia. Lose.Grand Prix. Mont Blanc.CBZ. Z TV. Flower vase. Debut. Bourgeois. Martyr. Rendezvous. Volkswagen. Chevrolet, Sundry. Debris. Rapport. Yacht. Coup. Banquet. Duet. Entrepreneur. Précis. Preface

14. What are the feminine genders?: Elephant, Goat, Fiancé, Bachelor, Doctor, Manager

15. Write the plural form (Tricky): Equipment, Aircraft, Staff, People, Riches, Fish, Medium, Criterion.

16. Write the American equivalent?: City centre, Tube, Zero, Cheque, First floor.

17. Is there any grammatical rule attached to these?: Indian Express. Philippines. Punjab. Gulf. Netherlands, poor and needy, Himalayas.

18. From which words are the following derived?: I am. Woman. Island. Goodbye. None.Catamaran. God. Car. Bridegroom. Nylon. News, wife.

19. Expand the abbreviations: LLB. MBBS. RSVP. MD. UFO. RADAR.

20. What is the uniqueness of this? Pack My Box with Five Dozen Liquor Jugs

1. 17%. (Many of us read English. But do we speak?)

2. Where does Dr. Singh stand, in the numerical order, as the PM of India? (OR) What is the ordinal status of Dr. Singh among the Prime Ministers of India. (OR) Which is Dr. Singh’s ordinal position among the PMs of India?

3. Happy New Year (!!!) (Let us be a bit creative and adaptable)

4. I would like to inform you. (Phrase); If I were a bird, I would fly. (Conditional); I wish I were a bird. (Hypothetical); He told me that he would come. (Indirect Speech); Veerappan would drink everyday. (used to); Would you please do me a favour? (Politeness); I would rather correct myself. (Preference).

5. Peoples – Nations (people of different nations or cultures); Priceless – Invaluable; Etymology – the study of origin of words. Disinterested – Selfless service; Flammable = Inflammable – both have the same meaning. Philately – Stamp collection; Lexicographer – compiler of dictionary; Leaving for good - leaving forever; Let’s go Dutch – Paying one’s own bill (after sharing something with somebody); Coining a word – Making a new word; Reverent – Respected (A respectable person); Ganguly is going to call it a day – to end a period of activity. Mother Teressa joined the great majority – Mother Teressa passed away. Let’s keep our fingers crossed – Let’s hope for the best.

6. Privilege (no mistake); vacuum; foolscap (no mistake); grammar; facade; Ninth (correct) clothe (correct) ; felled (correct - Veerappan felled all the trees); ordnance (correct e.g. Ordnance Factory); queue; fulfil (correct); accommodation; except; grateful; Thesaurus. (The correct ones are given as it is)

7. Won’t – Will not; I’d – I would or I had; It’s – It is or it has or it was; Ain’t – am not or are not

8. Lie, lay, lain / Lay, laid, laid / Lie, lied, lied Fell, felled, felled / fall, fell, fallen Flow, flowed, flowed fly, flew, flown Wind, Wound, wound wound, wounded, wounded Bear, bore, borne bear, bore, born (passive voice) Slay, slew, slain Lose, lost, lost Dead is an adjective. As such there are no tense forms. Loose and Beautiful are adjectives. Therefore, they too have no tense forms.

9. Feminist (No antonym is known, for men do not struggle with women for their rights. Misogynist means one who hates women) Addressee x Sender; Cosmos x Chaos; Oriental x Occidental; Sober x Drunk; Uncle (There is no antonym for uncle. Aunt is the feminine gender of uncle) [Only verbs and adjectives have antonyms. Nouns have gender.]

10. Die - verb / dead - adjective. -- [Die - Died (Past Tense) - Died (Past Participle)] Born - (verb) natural birth / borne (bear-bore-born/borne)- carry. Both are P.Ps. of bear. Artist is one who creates a work of art and artiste is a performing artist. Learnt - Past tense of learn (I learnt driving.) / Learned is an adjective. (Sreenarayana Guru was a learned man) Advice - noun / advise - verb Disinterested - selfless service / uninterested - not interested ( having no interest) Rational - based on reason / Rationale - underlying principle Human - relating to mankind / Humane - showing kindness Moral - concerned with right and wrong / Morale - confidence Council - assembly / Counsel - advice. Childlike - simplicity / Childish - immature; foolish Adopt - to take somebody / Adapt - make suitable for an environment /Adept - proficient

11. Malayalam

12. 1000,000,000,000 (12 zeros for the British Billion. But only nine zeros for the US Billion 1,000,000,000). Nine zeros are now generally accepted everywhere, because Americanism is encompassing us.

13. Please refer to a good dictionary or refer to “Received Pronunciation of Daniel Jones’’

14. Elephant –cow-elephant; Goat – she-goat; Fiancé – Fiancée; Bachelor – Spinster; Doctor, Manager-manageress.

15. Equipment, Aircraft, Staff, Riches (All these can be used as plural in the same form) Peoples denotes nations or races; in Modern English, both fish and fishes are plural. Medium (s) - Media (pl.), Criterion (s) - Criteria (pl.)

16. City centre – Down town; Tube – subway; Zero – O (the letter “O”); Cheque – check; First floor - Ground Floor.

17. The Indian Express, the Philippines; the Punjab; the Gulf; the Netherlands; the poor and the needy; the Himalayas. (For all these, definite article, ‘’The”, is required).

18. I am – Aham; Woman – wife of man; Island – Isolated land; Goodbye – May God be with you; None – no one; Catamaran – Katamaram (Tamil); God - Good; Car – carriage; Bridegroom - One who grooms one’s bride; Nylon – (This was coined by a court from “New York” and “London” to grant patent for a product which was invented simultaneously by New York and London). News – something new (North, East, West & South is not correct). Wife - Wisdom (or worry) invited for ever.

19. LLB – Legum Baccalaures(Bachelor of Laws); MBBS -Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery; RSVP – respondez s’il vous plait (please reply); UFO: Unidentified Flying Object. GMAT: Graduate Management Aptitude Test. MD – Doctor of Medicine / Managing Director; RADAR – radio detection and ranging

20. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. : This sentence contains all the letters of the English alphabet.

1 Time has changed. (2) 2 Earlier the best.(2) 3 Rajiv gandhi shot dead.(2) 4 CM gone to Delhi.(2) 5 Bald are smartest. (2) 6 Now I read Hindu. (2) 7 Train also left.(2) 8 Oh, what a pity? (2) 9 Sun set in east. (4) 10 He is in abroad.(1) 11 My uncle is a S.I. (1) 12 I wish I was rich. (1) 13 We came by foot. (1) 14 He is too beautiful. (2) 15 Who know truth. (3) 16 Better not to get marry. 17 Apperance is deceptive 18 I born in Mavelikara. (2) 19 I wish you are not born.(1) 20 Everybody know English.(1) 21 Who do not know English.(2) 22 Have you gone to Gulf? (2) 23 I have gone to UK. (2) 24 Do Mammotty smoke (2) 25 I will meet you today night.(1) 26 Just now he gone out. (1) 27 He has gone yesterday. (1) 28 Lal do not know singing. (2) 29 He doesn’t dine outside.(1) 30 I wish I can help you.(1) 31 I am listening music. (1) 32 It is a worth seeing movie. 33 Nobody should not talk.(1) 34 Let you and I keep mum. (1) 35 He did as he is told. (1) 36 Don’t loose my umbrella. (1) 37 He is leaving to Utopia. (1) 38 Ten years are a long time. (1) 39 Its quality is well-known. (1) 40 I heard it in the radio. (1) 41 Both does not drinks. (2) 42 Let dead bury dead people.(3) 43 I work here since 6 years. (2) 44 Rich should help poor (2) 45 I am recognizing you now. (1) 46 He had passed M.A on 1990.(2) 47. Last but not the least. (1) 48. That is what she want. (1)49.Henpecked husbands are bold to yawn. 50.Women talks less when sleeping. 51.Command on English is great thing. (2) 52.When Nehru was living, he would argue with Gandhiji. 53.He has no time to read novels and no desire neither. 54.UK as well as USA have decided to fight with Iraq. 55.You had better go to New York. 56.He said tomorrow will be a holiday. 57.I am teaching English since 1980. 58.He is leaving US to UK for good. 59.She is very clever to taken in by anyone. 60.All the equipments are for sale. 61.Never criticize Gandhiji; he is died. 62.Now I am realising that India is booming. 63.Woman are blessed with hairs and men with brain. 64. None of them know english.65. They live in the lady’s hostel. (1) 66. If I am you, I should help her. (2) 67. It is time we respect our old people. (1) 68. There is no space for arguement. (2) 69. One of my friend dead yesterday. (2) 70. I look forward to hear from you. (1) 71. Little money I have was stolen. (2) 72. He said that he saw me before. (1) 73. It is time we leave the office. (1) 74. I am good in English, amn’t I? (2) 75. She gave a watch as momento. (2) 76. We did not see you since four years. (2) 77. I like to dance, read and swimming. (1) 78. I am standing on my own foot. (1) 79. I came on feet. (1) 80. Dr. Ram is practicing since 8 years. (3) 81. We are confident to win the game. (2) 82. Ill informed are ruling well informed. (2) 83. Everybody, even MPs, have to come. (1) 84. You resemble to your mother. (1) 85. Thief escaped when police arrived. (3) 86. Who do not know all these. (2) 87. He told me that he will not listen me. (2) 88. What great thing he done? (3)89. He is suffering from diabetes since 2 years. 90. Our leaders are misusing our hardly won liberty.(1) 91. Sumi is suffering with fever since Sunday last.(3) 92.Let husbands takes decisions with the permission of his wife.(3) 93.She can’t help to visit her sister every alternative days. (3) 94.The more you read, the more wiser he become. (2) 95.Every man and women were present in the festival. (2) 96. Are women emotional and men rationale. (2) 97.I was working in gulf since twenty years.(3) 98.This is best song I have ever listened.(2) 99.He congratulated me for my success. (1) 100.He is not lonely, for he has few friends. (2) 101.She said that she will teach me lesson. (2) 102.Everybody even PM are answarable. (4) 103.He said that he will come the next month. (2) 104.Both Indrans as well as Innocent does not smoke.(2) 105.The house with it’s furniture are for sail.(4) 106.He is so busy to cope up with qantum of works-(4). 107.She called at me last night but I was not at Kochi. (2) 108.Gandhiji born in 02 Oct, s1869 in Porbandar at Gujarat. (3) 109.God help such men who help themselves. (2) 110.There are lot of job oppurtunities in abroad. (3) 111. Therefor brain-drain will do only good in long run.(4) (112) Here end this exercise .