Language Training

Handout_Module 1

Comma:

• Use a comma before the conjunction (and or or) joining the last two items in a
sentence containing a series of three or more items.

• Use a comma after an introductory or concluding phrase/clause.

• Use a comma before each coordinating conjunction that joins two or more simple
sentences.

• Use a comma before a list of two items when it is preceded by a complete sentence.

• Use commas to separate additional information or minor interruptions in a sentence.

Example: My boss, an otherwise bright man, is a bore.
Watch out: the master director, Akira Kurosawa, passed away last night.

• Do not use a comma before the conjunction if the common implied subject is ‘You’.
Example: Type the password and log on to the network.

• Do not use a comma when two clauses in a compound sentence have a common
condition or a common introductory phrase.
Example: This is because you did not save your work and the system crashed.

Colon

• Use it only after a complete sentence and to introduce a list of three or more items.

Semicolon

• Use it when a conjunctive adverb (“however”, “therefore”, “also’, “hence”, etc.) is

used between two independent clauses.
Example: I am going home; moreover, I intend to stay there.

• Use it to join two or more closely related independent clauses not joined by
coordinating conjunctions.
Example: I am going home; I intend to stay there.

• Use it to separate items in a list when the items have internal commas in them.
Example: Suncom Corporation has subsidiaries in four cities: New York, New York;
Wilmington, Ohio; Houston, Texas; and San Francisco, California.

• When part of the compound sentence already has commas, use a semicolon to separate
one clause from the other.
Example: The budget, the method name, and parameters are specified; and the
project is saved as Test.dll.
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Hyphen

• Hyphenate when a noun phrase is used to qualify another noun.

Example: stainless-steel plate, city-state

• Hyphenate when a proper noun follows a prefix.

Example: non-Philips, pre-Microsoft

• Hyphenate to avoid ambiguity.

Example: re-press or repress; re-cover or recover; hot water bottle and hot-water
bottle; deicer or de-icer

• Some terms will be hyphenated, come what may.

Example: -based, -defined, -related, -oriented, -sensitive

• Do not hyphenate words that end with -ly.

• Use a suspensive (carrying-over) hyphen when the first, second, or more parts of a
compound word are separated from the word(s) to which they are joined in meaning.
Example: cell- and field-tested theory, six- and seven-year olds, six- and eight-legged
insects, and so on.

Articles

Types of nouns
• Common noun
Example: Dog, cat, tree, man, house, etc.
• Proper noun
Example: Charlie, Asia, Delhi, Oracle, Microsoft, etc.
• Abstract noun
Example: data, architecture, experience, knowledge, etc.
• Countable noun
Example: chair, Web site, document, book, etc.
• Non-count/mass noun
Example: liquids, gases, furniture, equipment, money, research, information, etc.
• Collective noun
Example: group, army, staff, faculty, team, government, etc.

• A and An are known as indefinite articles while the is known as the definite article.

• A countable singular noun must have an article (a/an or the) or some other determiner
(this, her, every) in front of it.
Example: a book; the book; this/that book; my/his/her/their/your book; every/each
book.

• Never use a/an with non-countable nouns or countable plural nouns.

Non-example: a furniture; an advice; a cars; an equipment
Example: A lot of furniture; two pieces of furniture; a little advice; many cars; some
items of information; a piece of equipment NEVER equipments
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• Plural, abstract, and collective nouns do not take an article.

• Plural, abstract, and collective nouns take an article only if they:

• Are unique or specific (the theory of relativity, the 1999 federal budget, the
earth)
• Are further qualified
• Have been referred to recently
• Are referred to in relation to a location

• Use count nouns, to denote a specific number or quantity of non-count nouns.

Example: Five pieces of equipment, five research papers, etc.

• To denote general quantities, use general quantity words.

Example: We need to do more research, a lot of valuable information, etc.

• When you specify a non-count noun by attaching a defining phrase to it, use the.
Example: “Information is a valuable commodity.” & “The information that you gave
me was valuable.”

• Certain non-count nouns, especially foods and liquids, may be used with a plural “s”
when they refer to many different varieties.
Example: many poisonous gases, various cheeses, etc.
He drank too much wine & The wines of France are famous.

• Some nouns can be determined as countable or uncountable only in the context of the
sentence.
Example: Life can be hard when you are old; My sister lived a happy life.

• Use an article before a proper noun only when the proper noun is followed by a
common noun.

• Do not repeat the when it prefixes a list of elements followed by a common linking
phrase.

Prepositions

• Use on to show static placement of an object on another object or surface.

• Use in to mean inclusive, included, or enclosed within the limits of.

• Use into to show movement from outside the boundary to inside.

• Use over to mean beyond, especially when talking about using something as a medium.
• Use across to mean on the other side of something or involving all entities.

• Terminal prepositions are acceptable.

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Pronoun

• Ensure that the intent is clear; avoid confusion.

• Ensure that the pronoun agrees in gender and in number with the noun it is referring
to.
Non-example: A person must protect their rights.
Example: People must protect their rights.

Subject-verb Agreement

• In a typical subject-verb disagreement, a singular subject is matched with a plural

verb, or vice versa.

• Try to spot the subject accurately. The mismatch eludes you when:

• Several words come between the subject and verb.

• There are two or more subjects joined by and or or.
• The subject is a word like each, every, none, either, neither, no one, and nobody.
Example: Each of the girls sings well.
Example: Neither of them sings well.

• Note that nonessential clauses or ‘parenthetical statements’ will not determine if the
verb will be singular or plural.
Example: Her birthday celebration, together with the upcoming holiday, makes for a
busy calendar.

Tense Consistency

• Use the present and future tense as much as you can.

• Do not change from one tense to another in the same sentence.

• Choose the correct tense to convey the intended meaning. Stick to active voice,
present tense when providing direction.

• Exercise caution while referring to something in the past or writing a summary. These
are the only places you can use the past tense.

Active voice

• It is preferable to stick to active voice and present tense as far as possible.

• Passive voice is sometimes needed to achieve clarity of thought and flow of language.
Non-example: You can automatically open the explorer window.
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Example: The explorer window opens automatically.

Parallelism

• It refers to the use of the same style of wording in a series of items; it makes it easier
on the reader.

• It is achieved in language, style, and length of the sentences.

• It occurs in sentences as well as headings and subheadings.

• It enhances comprehension, retention, and learning.