CONTENTS
Publisher's Note
An Introduction
SECTION 1 : ENGLISH GRAMMAR
Grammatical Features
Chapter 1 : The Sentence and Types of Sentences
Chapter 2 : The Parts of Speech
Chapter 3 : Nouns
Chapter 4 : Pronouns
Chapter 5 : Verbs
Chapter 6 : Adjectives
Chapter 7 : Adverbs
Chapter 8 : Prepositions and Their Usage
Chapter 9 : Conjunction
Chapter 10 : Interjection
Chapter 11 : Determiners
Chapter 12 : Tenses and their Uses
Chapter 13 : Voice Change (Active and Passive Voice)
Chapter 14 : Narration (Direct and Indirect Speech)
Chapter 15 : Modals or Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Chapter 16 : The Gerund
Chapter 17 : Degrees of Comparison
Chapter 18 : Transformation of Sentences
Chapter 19 : Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions
SECTION 2 : PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation
SECTION 3 : CONVERSATION
Conversation
Chapter 1 : Buying A gift
Chapter 2 : Talk on Metro Platform
Chapter 3 : Scene at a Bus Stand
Chapter 4 : Teleshopping
Chapter 5 : A visit to Big Bazaar
Chapter 6 : Children's Birthday Party
Chapter 7 : A Dinner Party of Business Associates
Chapter 8 : A Visit to Agra
Chapter 9 : Reporting the Loss of A.T.M Card in Bank
Chapter 10 : Lodging an FIR at the Police Station
Chapter 11 : A Family at Breakfast
Chapter 12 : An Interview Scene
Chapter 13 : Introduction to a Family
Chapter 14 : A Dialogue between Father and Daughter
Chapter 15 : A Dialogue between Mother and Son
Chapter 16 : Conversation between Husband and Wife
Chapter 17 : Conversation between Husband and Wife with their Children
Chapter 18 : Asking for Bus Route at Chandni Chowk
Chapter 19 : A Hospital Scenario
Chapter 20 : In consultation with a doctor
Chapter 21 : TelePhonic talk with doctor about severe stomach pain
Chapter 22 : A Visit to friend's sick mother
Chapter 23 : Purchases from general merchant
Chapter 24 : A discussion among friends
Chapter 25 : Parents-Teacher meeting in school
Chapter 26 : Career Counselling
Chapter 27 : First day of a student in a college
Chapter 28 : Boy talking to a girl in college
Chapter 29 : A Man in a hotel
Chapter 30 : Talk with a Property dealer for buying a house
Chapter 31 : Bank Scenario for Opening an Account
Chapter 32 : Check Deposit in Bank
Chapter 33 : A Salesman Visits a Home
Chapter 34 : At an NGO [Office of Little Angels']
Chapter 35 : A telePhonic Conversation between Two Friends
Chapter 36 : Booking Tickets on Phone
Chapter 37 : Sales Executive Reporting to his Boss
Chapter 38 : TelePhonic Conversation and Leaving a Message
Chapter 39 : Complaint about Mobile Phone Bill
Chapter 40 : Calling to Enter KBC
Chapter 41 : Placing Orders on Phone
Chapter 42 : Telling the manager that you are unable to come to office
Chapter 43 : Conversation between a Couple During Courtship
Chapter 44 : College admission
Chapter 45 : Principal Interviewing Child's Parents
Chapter 46 : Interview of a Celebrity
Chapter 47 : An Interrogation in a Police Station
Chapter 48 : Father searching for a bride and talking to a relative about it
Chapter 49 : Conversation Between two Families Regarding Marriage
Chapter 50 : Conversation at the Time of Illness
Chapter 51 : Conversation between a Boy and Girl before Arranged Marriage
Chapter 52 : Sympathetic Conversation at the Time of Death of Someone
Chapter 53 : Encouraging a Friend When He has Scored Poor Marks
Chapter 54 : Asking Leave from your Boss
Chapter 55 : Son asking Permission to meet a Friend
Chapter 56 : How to File an RTI Application
Chapter 57 : Arrival of a Consignment in Bad Shape
Chapter 58 : Apologising for a Mistake to Colleagues
Chapter 59 : Complementing Someone at a Get Together
Chapter 60 : Invitation for Wedding
Chapter 61 : Discussion about Some Current Affairs
Chapter 62 : Congratulating Someone for Doing Well in the Examination
Chapter 63 : Landlord and Tenant Conversation
Chapter 64 : an Elderly person Teaching his Grandson about Life
Chapter 65 : Waiter Taking an Order at a Table in a Restaurant
Chapter 66 : A Business call, fixing a Meeting with an Official to seal a deal
Chapter 67 : A Clerk in Meeting with a Client
Chapter 68 : Boss giving Instructions to his secretary
Chapter 69 : Developer, Architect & Contractor at a Construction site
Chapter 70 : Wanting to pay Taxes at the Government Department
Chapter 71 : Telephonic enquiry
Chapter 72 : Giving Interview for a PSU
Chapter 73 : A Coach Talking to his Players before a Cricket Match
Chapter 74 : A Teacher Teaching in the Class
Chapter 75 : Boy Proposing to a Girl on a Date
Chapter 76 : Confession to Father in a Church
Chapter 77 : Going to the Chemist and asking for Medicines
SECTION 4 : VOCABULARY
Chapter 1 : Building a Better Vocabulary
Chapter 2 : Antonyms
Chapter 3 : Synonyms
Chapter 4 : Homophones and Homonyms
Chapter 5 : Prefix and Suffix
Chapter 6 : Idioms, Proverbs and Phrases
Chapter 7 : One-Word Substitutes
Chapter 8 : Acronyms
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ISBN 978-93-505745-1-5
DISCLAIMER
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AN INTRODUCTION
With the globalisation of knowledge and culture the need for acquiring good communicative English by one and all has assumed great significance in this twenty first century. In fact, the demand for learning effective communicative English has never been as great as it stands today. It is interesting to note that during the last two decades the use of English for communicative purposes has not been confined only to the elite group of the society. People from the middle and lower middle classes are equally keen on learning and using it effectively.
It is because they consider 'Spoken English' as a passport for a guaranteed success in life. The craze for learning Spoken English has led to the growth of various coaching institutes all over the country. Much as they may profess and advertise it is not really possible to learn any language in thirty or forty days. At the same time learning Spoken English does not mean parrot like repetition of some crammed sentences with the help of a limited vocabulary. It means acquiring a skill to generate and use functional English in ever changing life situations while speaking. For this besides acquiring the required sentence patterns and expressions in a given situation a person needs an appropriate vocabulary as well. So this is surely not possible in two or three month's time. Although one needs to understand that a person who genuinely wants to learn the language needs to spend at least two to three hours every day for at least five or six months before he or she feels confident to communicate in English. A strong desire coupled with one track working is a pre condition for the successful completion of this project on communicative English.
In India, as everywhere, English offers its own problems. It becomes a language of 'iffs and butts' where double 'f's and double't's crop up at the most unlikely of places giving emphasis where there should be subtlety. Caught between the inability to articulate in a foreign language and the rather inexplicable need to be seen using English, the Indian actually gets the shivers. Over the years with mobile phones and computers spreading all over India, the country's fascination with English ahs only intensified. It cannot be said for sure if this has resulted in English usage getting more communicative. At the moment the process is a bit haphazard and finding a method in this madness is the idea of this book.
The objective of this book is to encourage students & layman to learn English as a tool of communication and to enable them 'to know, to do, to live and to live.' It looks at language from the learner's point of view and guides them through co-operative learning methods in order to master effective communication skills.
The goal of teaching speaking skills is communicative efficiency. Learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and cultural rules that apply in each communication situation.
The book is divided into convenient units. Each chapter covers one main area of learning English with special attention given to basic skills. Carefully selected, balanced practical exercises are designed to give practice in form, meaning and use of English. The book follows modern functional approach to the study of English.
Although there are a few books available in the market on Spoken English they do not really help an individual acquire the communicative skills. They primarily deal with technical knowledge and the accompanying jargons. The section of grammar and usage I each chapter of this book provides necessary help to a learner for the understanding of certain grammatical points appearing in spoken English. Besides dealing with situations from day to day life the book also attempts to provide its users with the essentials of spoken English required to speak English with confidence.
Knowing the Two Mediums: Speech and Writing
Speech and writing are the two mediums of language. The sounds of speech and the letters of writing are in themselves meaningless, but they are combined according to the underlying system of language to convey specific meanings and perform specific functions. As mediums, speech and writing are concrete, whereas the underlying system of language is abstract.
In terms of physical features, speech consists of sounds that are perceived by the ear and is therefore ephemeral, whereas writing consists of marks on a surface that are perceived by the eye and is therefore permanent.
Though speech and writing function independently as medium of language, it is possible to transfer speech into writing and vice versa, because writing is a symbolic representation of speech.
As there are striking discrepancies between pronunciation and spelling, particularly in a language like English, it is important to study each medium independently and not transfer the features of one to another.
The characteristic features of speech and writing make them suitable for different communicative functions. As writing can be preserved for long periods of time and can also be transported across long distances, it is used more frequently than speech to convey factual information. Similarly, because speech is more suited to face-to-face communication, it is used more frequently than writing for interpersonal functions. Further, as writing is more resistant to changes with time and also more homogeneous; it is preferred in all the prestigious activities of society like administration, education, trade, law, etc.
Each of the two mediums has its advantages. Writing, as the more stable medium preserves much historical, lexical, morphological and grammatical information that is lost in speech. Also, when writing a person can read over what she has written and correct and revise if necessary which is not possible when speaking. A reader can choose what to read, whereas in speech a listener does not have this kind of choice.
peech is characterized by features like variations in pitch, stress and voice quality and is accompanied by facial expression and gestures, all of which convey meanings additional to those of the actual words used. Speech also has the advantage of immediate feedback from the listener/s, so that the speaker can make her speech both accessible and acceptable to the listeners.
Let us consider two examples, one of speech, and the other of writing that will make clear the differences between the two mediums in the way they use language. Both these examples describe a rainbow, but in different ways.
First the sample of spoken language:
You see+ well+ er+ a series of stripes+ formed like a bow+ an arch+ very very far away+ ah+ seven colours but+ I guess you hardly ever see seven it's just a + series of + colours which...
Which we find here are sequences of phrases and clauses and not complete and finished sentences. Spoken language is also characterized by repetition as in a series of stripes and series of colours, use of markers of hesitation like ah, er, etc and monitoring devices like you see.
Now, let's look at the sample of written language:
In one place it gleamed fiercely, and her heart anguished with hope, she sought the shadow of iris where the bow should be. Steadily the colour gathered mysteriously from nowhere, it took presence upon itself; there was a faint, vast rainbow. (G.Brown and G. Yule, discourse Analysis)
Here we have complete sentences that are clearly marked by capital letters and full stops. Also the structures used are quite complex.
Another important difference between speech and writing is that speech is prior to writing a medium of language. The priority of speech over writing can be explained in historical structural, functional and biological terms. Historically, writing is only a few thousand years old, whereas man has been known to speak language from much earlier ages. Also, human beings learn to speak before they learnt to read or write. Structurally, speech is more basic than writing because writing is a symbolic representation of speech. In terms of use too, speech has acquired priority over writing as it is used for a wider range of purposes than writing. With the advent of recording devices, speech has become as permanently preservable as only writing once was. Further, biologically, the left part of the brain that processes language, i.e. the left hemisphere, which is more dominant than the right one in most people, is better at processing speech sounds.
Organisation of the Book
Section one is English Grammar and this discusses the grammatical points arising out of a given model conversation. The learner is expected to go through them carefully to acquire correctness of speech, with fluency in his or her communication. As a thumb rule, it is good to remember that where there is a conflict between a grammatical rule and a usage; preference should be given to the usage. The preference for usage will help the learners use English as a living language.
Section two is Pronunciation and the following areas of:
a. English sounds,
b. Word stress
c. Sentence stress
d. Intonation
The important aspects of pronunciation has been touched upon which should enable the learner to assimilate and comprehend the need for clear pronunciation and cogent enunciation of words for better communication.
ection three is Conversation and this presents a model conversation in a given situation. The learner is expected to read it aloud alone, or with the help of his or her friend to know how he/she sounds while communicating in English. Ideally it should be read aloud by two or more persons depending on the number of characters involved in the conversation. But when it not feasible, for any reason, an individual may read aloud the dialogues of all the characters as well. Believe me the result will be equally profitable.
ection four is Vocabulary, as we all know that learning a language is incomplete without Vocabulary which is nothing but a set of words within a language that a person is familiar with.
However, with age and good education, usually the vocabulary of a person keeps on developing and becomes more and more extensive, polished and powerful. This, in turn strengthens, one's hold over a language increasing one's writing and speaking skills in that language.
In this section, there are Antonyms, Synonyms, Homonyms, Homophones, Prefixes, Suffixes, Idioms, Proverbs, Phrases, etc., all with lots of Examples and Exercises to make you easily understand and enrich your vocabulary enhancing your command over the English language.
PUBLISOEK'S NOTE
It has been our prime motto and a constant endeavour at V&S Publishers to publish books of Value and Substance from the time of its inception. With a backlist of about 350 titles to our credit, it's a great pleasure to inform all our esteemed readers that we have come up with this altogether exclusive series of books on English language and its various usage called the EXC-EL Series - Excellence in English Language Series.
The series contains a set of books on various usage of Words and Phrases in English, the significance of Grammar, correct Pronunciation, etc., called English Grammar And Usage, English Vocabulary made Easy, Improve Your Vocabulary and Spoken English to enhance and enrich your vocabulary, increase your command over the language and make you more confident and fluent in your day to day conversations, written and verbal interactions, etc.
The present book, Spoken English broadly deals with the four basic aspects of English language - Grammar, Pronunciation, Conversation and Vocabulary. Understanding and learning each of these aspects is equally important for speaking and writing correct and good English. All these aspects have been elaborately discussed in the book with ample Examples and Exercises to help layman and the students to get a grasp of the language and master it. The fact that no second language has been used gives it a universal appeal.
While the Grammar section focuses on selective aspects which are important form Spoken English point of view and in short explains the concept, the pronunciation section is unique in its own way and without technical jargon helping readers to speak English correctly and fluently.
The section on conversation has numerous conversations from day to day life to help readers get a feel of Spoken English. All conversations are simple and to the point for ease in understanding.
An additional section on vocabulary is appended at the end which makes this book a one-stop solution for anyone and everyone who intends to learn English, especially Spoken English.
We hope the book will be beneficial to readers of all ages, particularly the student section and will serve its purpose well.
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
Grammatical Features are features that characterize specific categories or classes of grammatical units like noun, verbs, noun phrases, verb phrases etc. these classes of words and phrases also differ in terms of specific grammatical features which characterize them. Nouns and noun phrases are described in terms of features like number ( singular, girl, or plural, girls) and case ( Nominative, girl, or genitive, girl's), whereas verbs and verb phrases are described in terms of features like tense (present, go, or past, went), aspect ( perfective, has gone, or non-perfective, go). These grammatical features represent another type of grammatical choices that we make in combining words into longer units. In a clause like I have seen these new books in the library, for example, we saw that the second position that of the verb phrase have seen, can be filled by other verb phrases like saw will see, can borrow, like and have read. These examples show that there are two types of choice possible, one, the choice between verbs like see, borrow, like and read and the other, between verb phrases with the same verb see like saw and will see, which differ from have seen in tense and aspect or in modality. The first is a choice between different vocabulary items, whereas the second is a choice between different grammatical features. Thus, in any given position in a grammatical unit, two grammatical choices are made, choice of the constituent from the appropriate grammatical class and choice of appropriate grammatical feature/s characteristic of the class to which the chosen constituent belongs.
We know the choice of appropriate constituents, determines whether the combination of words is grammatical or not and also the meaning it conveys. The second type of choice, the choice of the appropriate grammatical feature/s with the constituents, is also equally important in deciding the grammatically and the meaning of the combination of words. For example, in the noun phrase these new books, it is not only necessary to choose a noun in the position filled by books. It is equally important that we choose the plural form of the noun. Thus, if we choose other nouns like pen, journal, toy, car, etc, for this position, we have to choose the plural forms of these nouns pens, journals, toys, cars etc. The choice of the singular form will result in an ungrammatical combination as in
These new pen
These new journal
These new toy
These new car
We see that this is because the determiner in position 1, these, is plural and the number of the noun chosen in position 3 must agree with the number of the determiner in position 1. If we make a different choice in position 1 and have the in place of these, it is possible to have either the singular or the plural form of the noun in position 3, because the can be used either with singular or plural nouns. In this case, the choice between the singular or plural noun will result in difference of meaning as in The new book the new books
The new pen the new pens
The new journal the new journals
The new toy the new toys
The new car the new cars
There are different means by which choices of grammatical features are indicated. In order to mark the plural form of nouns we add a suffix-s or -es (pronounced /s/, /z/ or /Iz) in most cases. In case of verbs we add the suffix-ed (pronounced /t/, /d/ or /Id/) to mark the past tense in most cases, as in
They type letters.
They typed letters.
But in order to indicate the perfective aspect, we make two changes, use the auxiliary verb have and also add the suffix-ex. Thus in They play tennis
If we have to change the aspect of the verb play from non-perfective to perfective, play becomes have played and we will have They have played tennis.
imilarly, if we wish to change the modality of the verb, we add a modal auxiliary before the verb as in They may go home.
They can go home.
They must go home.
They will go home.
Auxiliary verbs like have and modal auxiliaries like may, can, will and must are used on ly to perform these important grammatical functions of marking the perfective aspect and the modality of verbs and always occur with full verbs like type, play etc. they do not have independent meanings and cannot be used by themselves. They are, therefore called grammatical words in contrast to full verbs like type and play which have independent meanings and which are called lexical words.
Thus, we have mainly two devices, the addition of a suffix and the use of a grammatical word like an auxiliary verb, by which we mark grammatical features like number and case with nouns, and tense, aspect and modality and verbs.
Grammar and Meaning
Grammar helps us to combine words in different ways to communicate different meanings. When we consider the relationship between grammar and meaning, we notice the grammar is used to convey different types of meaning.
CHAPTER 1
The Sentence and Types of Sentences
When we speak or write we use words. We generally use these words in groups, as:
Little jack Horner sat in a corner.
Hence, A group of words like this, which make a complete sense, is called a Sentence.
Kinds of Sentences
Sentences are of four kinds:
Those which make statements or assertions: as,
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall.
Those which ask questions: as
Where do you live?
Those which express commands, requests, or entreaties; as,
Be quiet. Have mercy upon us.
Those which express strong feelings; as,
How very cold the night is! What a shame!
A sentence that makes a statement or assertion is called a Declarative or Assertive Sentence. Example: Sentence No-(1)
A sentence that asks a question is called an Interrogative Sentence. Example: Sentence No-(2)
A sentence that expresses a command or an entreaty is called an Imperative Sentence.Example- Sentence No-(3)
A sentence that expresses strong feeling is called an Exclamatory Sentence. Example- Sentence No-(4)
Subject and Predicate
When we make a sentence:
We name some person or thing; and
Say something about that person or thing.
In other words, we must have a subject to speak and we must say or predicate something about the subject.
Hence, every sentence has two parts:
The part which names the person or thing we are speaking about. This is called the subject of the sentence.
The part which tells something about the subject. This is called the predicate of the sentence.
The subject of a sentence usually comes first, but occasionally is put after the predicate; as
Down went the royal George.
Sweet are the uses of adversity.
In imperative sentences the subject is left out; as,
Sit down. (Here the subject you is understood).
Thank him. (Here too the subject you is understood).
Examine the group of words 'in a corner '. It makes sense, but not complete sense. Such group of words, which makes sense, but not completes sense, is called a phrase.
In the following sentences, the groups of words in italics are phrases:
The sun rises in the east.
Humpty dumpty sat on a wall.
There came a giant to my door.
It was a sunset of great beauty.
Examine the groups of words in italics in the following sentences:
He has a chain of gold.
He has a chain which is made of gold.
We recognise the first group of words as a phrase.
The second group of words, unlike the phrase of gold, contains a subject (which) and a predicate (is made of gold).
Such a group of words which forms a part of a sentence, and contains a subject and a predicate is called a clause.
In the following sentences, the groups of words in italics are clauses:
People who pay their debts are trusted.
We cannot start while it is raining.
I think that you have made a mistake.
EXERCÍSE
In the following sentences, separate the subject and the predicate. One has been done for you.
The crackling of geese saved Rome.
The crackling of geese-Subject /Saved Rome-Predicate.
The boy stood on the burning deck.
Tubal Cain was a man of might.
Stone walls do not a prison make.
The singing of the birds delights us.
Miss kitty was rude at the table one day.
He has a good memory.
Bad habits grow unconsciously.
The earth revolves round the sun.
Nature is the best physician.
Edison invented the phonograph.
The sea hath many thousand sands.
We cannot pump the ocean dry.
Borrowed garments never fit well.
The early bird catches the worm.
All matter is indestructible.
Ascham taught Latin to Queen Elizabeth. S
We should profit by experience.
All roads lead to Rome.
A guilty conscience needs no excuse.
CHAPTER 2
The Parts of Speech
Words are divided into different kinds or classes, called the parts of speech, according to their use; that is, according to the work they do in a sentence. The parts of speech are eight in number. They are as follows:
1. Noun 2. Adjective 3. Pronoun 4. Verb
5. Adverb 6. Preposition 7. Conjunction 8. Interjection
A noun is a word used as a name of a person, place or thing; as,
1. Akbar was a great king.
2. Kolkata is on the Hooghly.
3. The rose smells sweet.
4. The sun shines bright.
5. His courage won him honour.
Note The words in italics are Nouns.
An adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun; as,
He is a brave boy.
There are twenty boys in this class.
The words in italics are Adjectives.
A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as,
John is absent, because he is ill.
The books are where you left them.
Note The words in italics are Pronouns.
A verb is a word used to say something about some person, place or thing; as,
The girl wrote a letter to her cousin.
Mumbai is a busy city.
Iron and copper are useful metals.
Note The words in italics are Verbs.
An adverb is a word used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb; as,
He worked the sum quickly.
This flower is very beautiful.
She pronounced the word quite correctly.
NoteThe words in italics are Adverbs.
A preposition is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else’ as,
There is a cow in the garden.
The girl is fond of music.
A fair little girl sat under a tree.
Note All the words in italics are Prepositions.
A conjunction is a word used to join words or sentences together; as,
Rama and Hari are cousins.
Two and two make four.
I ran fast, but missed the train.
NoteAll the words in italics are Conjunctions.
An interjection is a word which expresses some sudden feeling; as,
Hurrah! We have won the game.
Alas! She is dead.
All the words in italics are Conjunctions.
As words are divided into different classes according to the work they do in sentences, it is clear that we cannot say to which part of speech a word belongs unless we see it used in a sentence.
They arrived soon after. Soon after-(Adverb)
They arrived after us. After-(Preposition)
They arrived after we had left. After-(Conjunction)
EXERCÍSE
Name the parts of speech of each italicised word in the following sentences, giving in each case your reason for the classification:
Still waters run deep.
He still lives in that house.
After the storm comes the calm.
The aftereffects of the drug are bad.
The up train is late.
It weighs about a pound.
He told us all about the battle.
He was only a yard off me.
Suddenly one of the wheels came off,
Mohammendans fast in the month of Ramzan.
He kept the fast for a week.
He is on the committee.
Let us move on.
Sit down and rest a while.
CHAPTER 3
NOUNS