Sunday, April 26, 2015
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Topic of the week : Indian Farmer’s Distress
Agriculture Sector of Indian Economy is one of the most significant part of India. Agriculture is the only means of living for almost two thirds of the employed class in India. As being stated by the economic data of financial year 2013-14, agriculture has acquired 18 percent of
India's GDP. The agriculture sector of India has occupied almost 43 percent of India's geographical area. Agriculture is still the only largest contributor to India's GDP even after a decline in the same in the agriculture share of India. Agriculture also plays a significant role in the growth of socioeconomic
sector in India. Hence the distress here is of the 2/3rd of India. Apart from many, there are two main problems haunting farmer’s in India in 2015:
• Land Acquisition Bill & the ordinance
• Weather inconsistencies
Land acquisition refers to the process where a government acquires land from land owners for any purpose. Generally, the purpose is related to development projects conducted either by PSUs (Public Sector units) or the private sector.
The issues against such land acquisition:
a) No one, be it the land owners whose land was acquired (mostly farmers), nor those who may not have owned the land but whose occupations were dependent on the land acquired (mostly agricultural
laborers), were compensated monetarily or otherwise as per this Act. No attempt was made for the rehabilitation or resettlement of those who had been affected by such land acquisition either.
b) There was no requirement of any prior consent of the affected parties (those who will lose their land and/or their occupation or be affected by the pollution or environmental impacts of these infrastructure projects in future as they live nearby) for constructing any of these projects.
c) Also, land could be acquired with just a notice by the Collector within a very short time frame where people who would be affected neither had a chance necessarily to challenge the acquisition legally, nor had a chance to find some alternate occupation or arrangements for their own. The government could acquire land in a manner it thinks fit.
d) Most of the land was acquired in the name of India's development, but the local people found very little stake or benefits in the project. Not only were they not given much compensation or rehabilitated, they also did not get employment opportunities (which in many cases were promised
to them) in the name of development of the area.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
RULES OF SUB VERB AGREEMENT
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you
correct errors of subject-verb agreement.
Basic
Rule. A
singular subject (she, Bill,
car) takes a singular verb (is,
goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
Example: The list of items is/are on
the desk.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase
beginning with of. This is a key rule for
understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most,
subject-verb mistakes.
Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend
color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet
lends, not roses lend)
Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or,
either/or, or neither/nor require
a singular verb.
Examples:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
Rule 3. The verb in an or,
either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun
or pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
This
rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it
could lead to this odd sentence:
Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I
am going to the festival.
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but
awkward sentences.
Better:
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with
two or more subjects when they are connected by and.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.
But note these exceptions:
Exceptions:
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
In
those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.
Rule 5. Sometimes the subject is separated from the
verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not
part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
Rule 6. With words that indicate portions—a lot, a majority, some, all, etc.—Rule 1 given earlier is reversed,
and we are guided by the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If
it is plural, use a plural verb.
Examples:
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A lot of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
A lot of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
Rule 7. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.
NOTE:
The
word there's, a contraction of there
is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences likeThere's a lot of people here today,
because it's easier to say "there's" than "there are." Take
care never to use there's with a plural subject.
Rule 8. Use a singular verb with distances, periods
of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Examples:
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
Rule 9. Some collective nouns, such as family,
couple, staff, audience, etc., may take either a singular or a
plural verb, depending on their use in the sentence.
Examples:
The staff is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit.
The couple disagree about disciplining their child.
The couple refers to two people who are acting as individuals.
The staff is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit.
The couple disagree about disciplining their child.
The couple refers to two people who are acting as individuals.
NOTE
Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take
care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be done carelessly. The
following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:
The
staff is deciding how they want to vote.
Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staffin the same sentence.
Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staffin the same sentence.
Consistent: The staff are deciding how they want to vote.
Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The
preceding sentence would read even better as:
The
staff members are deciding how they want to vote.
Rule
10. The
word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or
are contrary to fact:
Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
Shouldn't Joe be followed by was,
not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually
here, so we say were, not was.
The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood,
which is used to express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or
factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what
we usually think of as plural verbs.
Examples:
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
In the
first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were,
which we usually think of as a plural verb, is used with the singular subject I.
Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is correct.
Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is correct.
What Are the Rules?
1. Subjects and verbs must
agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the
concept.
The dog growls when he is
angry. The dogs growl when they are angry.
2. Don’t get confused by
the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.
The dog, who is chewing on my
jeans, is usually very good.
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.
4. When sentences start
with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb, so
care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
There is a problem with the
balance sheet. Here are the papers you requested.
5. Subjects don't always
come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject
before deciding on the proper verb form to use.
Does Lefty usually eat grass?
Where are the pieces of this puzzle.
6. If two subjects are
joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form.
The cow and the pig are jumping over
the moon.
7. The verb is singular
if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person
or thing.
Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
8. If one of the
words each, every, or no comes before the subject, the verb is
singular.
No smoking or drinking is allowed.
Every man and woman is required to check in.
9. If the subjects are
both singular and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,
either/or, and not only/but also the verb is singular.
Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.
10. The only time when
the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or singular
verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all,
etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of
the preposition determines the form of the verb.
All of the chicken is gone. All
of the chickens are gone.
11. The singular verb
form is usually used for units of measurement or time.
Four quarts of oil was required
to get the car running.
12. If the subjects are
both plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,
either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural.
Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.
13. If one subject is
singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or,
nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the
verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.
Either the bears or the lion
has escaped from the zoo. Neither the lion nor
the bears have escaped from the zoo.
14. Indefinite pronouns
typically take singular verbs. *
Everybody wants to be loved.
15. * Except for
the pronouns (few,
many, several, both, all, some) that always take the plural form.
Few were left alive after the flood.
16. If two infinitives
are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb.
To walk and to chew gum require great skill.
17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence,
they take the singular verb form of the verb; but, when they are linked
by and, they take the plural form.
Standing in the water was a bad idea. Swimming in
the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.
18. Collective nouns
like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.
The herd is stampeding.
19. Titles of books,
movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.
The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
20. Final Rule –
Remember, only the subject affects the verb!
|
Rules
to Remember! |
|
1
|
Some nouns can be both singular and plural
depending on the intended meaning. Thus, as the writer/speaker, you must
think about what you want to say and what you mean. For example, the word
Chinese can be both singular and plural. Take a look:
Chinese has about 30,000 characters. (Here, Chinese means the language, which is singular.) The Chinese have to learn at least 5,000 characters in order to read a newspaper. (Here, Chinese means Chinese people, which is plural.) |
|
2
|
Some grammar rules require a certain verb
regardless of number. For example, we normally say,"I was in Malaysia last summer." This is a true and real statement.
However, if it were not true or a hypothetical statement, you would be required to use were instead of was. If I were in Malaysia last summer, I would have visited you. In actuality, the speaker was NOT in Malaysia; he was just giving a hypothetical situation and presenting what he would have done if he had been in Malaysia. |
|
Non-count
nouns require a singular verb. Milk is important for healthy bones. Milk is a non-count noun (you can't count it). Therefore the verb is is singular. However, if there is a container, and the container is plural, the verb must be plural. The two bottles of milk are in the refrigerator. In the above sentence, the subject is bottles. Bottles, which is a container, is plural. Therefore, the verb are is plural. |
|
|
4
|
The verb in an adjective clause must agree
with the subject it is referring to.
The actors who are from China are attending the awards ceremony
tonight.The adjective clause is who are from China; the subject is actors. The word are must agree with actors. For more information about adjective clauses, click here see our lesson on this subject. |
Monday, April 20, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
SBI PO Notification 2015
has been just released and there are some changes in the current year’s SBI PO
paper pattern with the introduction of Preliminary Phase consisting of 100 questions
and 1 hour duration. We are here to guide you regarding the minor
modifications that SBI has adopted this year. Go through the article and write
to us in case of further clarification:
Total Vacancies
SC: 308
ST: 339
OBC: 541
GEN: 812
Total: 2000
Vacancies for PWD
candidates:
OH: 38
VH: 24
Total: 62
Vacancies reserved for
OBC category are available to OBC Candidates belonging to ‘Non- creamy layer’.
‘Creamy layer’ OBC candidates should indicate their category as ‘General’.
Vacancies for OH & VH
category candidates are reserved horizontally. Vacancies including reserved
vacancies are provisional and may vary according to the requirements of Bank.
Important Dates:
Commencement of online
registration of application: 13th April 2015
Last date of applying
online: 2nd May 2015
Last date for printing
your application: 17th May 2015
Online Fee Payment: 13th
April to 2nd May 2015
Exam Date: Tentatively in
June 2015
Selection Process:
The student have to go
through a Preliminary Phase which would be Phase I, the students who would be
qualifying for the same would be eligible for the further rounds.
The sections included in
the Phase I (Preliminary Phase) are as follows:
English Language: 30 questions:
30 marks
Quantitative Aptitude: 35
questions: 35 marks
Reasoning Ability: 35
questions: 35 marks
Total time of the test
will be 60 mins.
Candidates have to
qualify in each of the three tests by securing passing marks to be decided by
the Bank. Adequate number of candidates in each category as decided by the Bank
(approximately 20 times the numbers of vacancies subject to availability) will
be short listed for the Main Examination.
Candidates who have
successfully completed the Phase I would be going ahead with Phase II, the
following are the details for the same.
Phase – II:
Main Examination will
consist of Objective Tests for 200 marks and Descriptive Test for 50 marks.
Both the Objective and Descriptive Tests will be online. Candidates will have
to answer Descriptive test by typing on the computer. Immediately after
completion of Objective Test, Descriptive Test will be administered.
(i) Objective
Test: The Objective Test of 2 hour duration consists of 4 Sections
with 50 marks each (Total 200 marks) as follows:
- a) Test of English
Language (Grammar, Vocabulary, Comprehension etc.)
- b) Test of
General Awareness, Marketing & Computers
- c) Test of Data
Analysis & Interpretation
- d) Test of
Reasoning (High Level)
The candidates are
required to qualify in each of the Tests by securing passing marks, to be
decided by the Bank.
(ii) Descriptive
Test: The Descriptive Test of 1 hour duration with 50 marks will be a
Test of English Language (Letter Writing & Essay).
The candidates are
required to qualify in the Descriptive Test by securing passing marks, to be
decided by the Bank.
Phase – III: It
will consist of Group Discussion (20 marks) & Interview (30 marks)
The aggregate marks of
both Objective Test and Descriptive Test will be taken, and arranged in the
descending order in each category. Adequate number of candidates in each
category, as decided by the Bank will be called for Group Discussion and
Interview. The qualifying marks in Group Discussion & Interview will be as
decided by the Bank.
Final Selection
The marks obtained in the
Preliminary Examination (Phase-I) will not be added for the selection and only
the marks obtained in Main Examination (Phase-II) will be added to the marks
obtained in GD & Interview (Phase-III) for preparation of the final merit
list.
The candidates will have
to qualify both in Phase-II and Phase-III separately. Marks secured by the
candidates in the Written Test (out of 250 marks) are converted to out of 75
and marks secured in Group Discussion & Interview (out of 50 marks) are
converted to out of 25. The final merit list is arrived at after aggregating
converted marks of Written Test and Group Discussion & Interview out of 100
for each category. The selection will be made from the top merit ranked
candidates in each category.
Results of the candidates
who have qualified for GD & Interview and the list of candidates finally
selected will be made available on the Bank’s website. Final select list will
be published in Employment News/ Rozgar Samachar.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Saturday, April 04, 2015
How to prepare English for SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam
English plays a major role in
clearing all competitive exams. Any candidate whose English is strong has an
edge over the others.
In the Tier 2 exam the
English Language paper is a separate paper comprising of 200 questions. A good
score in this paper is crucial for the candidate to clear the exam and also to
get the department of his choice.
Scoring in the English
paper?
Scoring in the English paper is
easier as compared to the maths paper as it is less time consuming. But to
develop a good grasp over English one needs time and patience. At least a six
month period is needed.
Many candidates feel that a good
vocabulary is needed to clear the exam and cram a lot of words which they see
in newspapers. They do not learn the right usage of the word.
This is not the right approach.
SSC does not ask for very high
flowing words but you must be sure of the usage of the word and how it is used
in sentences.
For example the word ”
tantrum”.Students just cram the meaning of the word which is a display of
bad temper.But they also need to know two more things firstly it is generally
used with reference to ‘children’ and secondly the verb that
is used with it is ‘throw’.
How to prepare English for SSC
CGL Tier 2
ExamSSC questions are like :
Q) He was the only child of his
parents and _________ tantrums whenever they did not fulfill his demands.
A) made
B) had made
C) threw
D) displayed
What to do to develop vocabulary?
§ If a student is a bit more aware about the usage of the word in
sentences along with its meaning it is helpful.
§ For beginners one must try to learn a few new words
everyday along with their usage.
§ Read a few sentences from the dictionary or online to understand
the usage of the word.The more variety you read the better it is.
§ One must begin with at least 15 new words per day in the
beginning which can be gradually increased depending onavailability of
time and grasping power.
§ Overall 3000 new words should be learnt at least.
§ Many good books are available in the market to develop
vocabulary.
Full Artilce on the topic
vocabualry will follow soon.
Approaching the paper section wise
Overall its easier to prepare for
the Tier 2 english paper as the pattern of the paper is fairly
predictable.
Narration and Voice are two very important topics and both can be prepared
very well.Even a student who feels his english is weak can score well in this
section.Thorough knowledge of tenses is needed to master this section. I will
soon write a detail article on how to prepare for Narration
and Voice.This is a very scoring section and 100% accuracy can
be achieved.
Next most important section is comprehension
passagesand there are 30 to 40 questions from
comprehension passages.This section is simple and direct questions are
asked from the passages. Sometimes it becomes time consuming when the sentences
in the passage are too long or one sentence has too much information stuffed
into it.
Develop the habit of reading and
try to read whatever you can lay your hands on (magazines, newspapers, articles
etc.)
Sentence rearrangement
Approximately 20 questions are
asked from sentence rearrangement.This is also a scoring section and with a
little use of tricks and technique it can be
attempted.Click on the link for the tricks.
Importance of Grammar
Detecting the error in the sentences (20 questions), fill in the blanks(3 to 5 questions) and sentence improvement (15 questions) are asked from the grammar based section .
Detecting the error in the sentences (20 questions), fill in the blanks(3 to 5 questions) and sentence improvement (15 questions) are asked from the grammar based section .
This section requires a very good
grasp over grammar.
Just superficial knowledge of
grammar is not enough. In depth knowledge is required. Cramming the rules is
not enough .
A lot of practise is needed.
Special focus should be made on Prepositions. There is no short cuts.
The key is to read the rules again and again and practice as much as you can.
Check your answers and read
the explanatory notes if your answers are incorrect. Only practising without
evaluation and rectification is not the right approach.
E.g. Q) He absented from
the meeting.
A) was absent
B) Absented himself
C) Took absence
D) No improvement
Answer: The correct answer is B. The word absented has been used as a
verb in the sentence and whenever absent is used as a verb the sentence will
also have a reflexive pronoun. So himself is the reflexive pronoun here. In
option C we have used took with absence. This is incorrect. Took is used with
leave. e.g. He took four days leave from office.
Vocabulary based Questions
About thirty eight to thirty nine
questions are vocab based. The break up is given below.
Synonyms 5 questions
Antonyms 5 questions
Idioms and phrases(10 questions)
This section is getting trickier
as the level of the exam is getting tougher. Even rarely used idioms and
phrases are asked these days. Idioms and phrases are the easiest to learn in
the vocabulary section and the student must try to learn as many as possible. Sometimes
even the sentence could give a clue as to what is the meaning of the idiom from
the four available options.
One word substitution (10 questions) This is a tough part to learn up but repeated revisions will help you to retain what you have learnt. Generally these are big and new words for the students so focus should not be on quantity but on retention.
One word substitution (10 questions) This is a tough part to learn up but repeated revisions will help you to retain what you have learnt. Generally these are big and new words for the students so focus should not be on quantity but on retention.
Fill in the blanks (Vocab based 2 questions)
Eg Q) Johan argued, “If you know
about a crime but don’t report it, you are ______ in that crime because you
allowed it to happen.”
a. acquitted
b. accomplish
c. accomply
d. accomplice
Correct answer is d. An
accomplice is a person who helps in doing something wrong.
Sentence improvement (Vocab
based 5 questions)
Close Test
It is also an integral part of
the question paper and twenty five questions are
from cloze test.
This section does not require any
separate preparation but its preparation is done when one prepares for the grammatical
and vocabulary section. Cloze test is time consuming and often options
given are too close.
It is recommended that
the student must first read the whole passage to get an idea about what it is
about and then attempt the questions.
This section needs a lot of
practice.
Overall, what is the
conclusion?
Overall a better preparation strategy
will help to score high. Target 180+ in English (keep CGL 2013 cut off in mind).
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