SOME FUNDAMENTAL RULES

SOME FUNDAMENTAL RULES

Rule No.-1
The words each every, everyone, someone, somebody, everybody, anybody, nobody, anyone are always used in singular.
1. Everybody like to praise his own work. (likes)
2. Every student are to be given free medical aid this college. (is)

Rule No.-2
In the case of ‘As well as’ together with, alongwith, ‘and not’, ‘in addition to’, besides’, etc verb relate to the first subject instead of the second subject.
1. Hari along with his father are going to Ambala for purchasing some books for his studies. (is)
2. Captain alongwith his soldiers were killed in the second world war. (was)

Rule No.-3
In the case of ‘neither nor’ ‘either or’, ‘not only’, ‘but also’, etc the verb relates to the second subject i.e. the nearest word.
1. Not only he but also his brother are trying best to quality the test. (is)
2. Either her friends or she have made the loss good. (has)

Rule No.-4
Some words: unless, till, until, refuse, deny, forbid, are not followed by negative sentence.
1. He will not join the Army until he is not permitted by he parents. (Delete not)
2. Wait here till I donot come back. (Delete not)

Rule No.-5
Double future should not be used in one sentence, In case the conditional word is found in the sentence (i.e. if, as and when, in case, when, provide, until, unless, till before etc).
1. If she will go to Delhi, she will bring some gifts for you. (goes)
2. It will be better for you if you will study carefully. (Delete will)
Rule No.-6
‘Neither’ can be used without ‘nor’ but ‘Neither’ is used for two person or two things whereas ‘None’ is used for more than two persons or two things ‘Neither’ and ‘None’ are always used in singular on the basis of 3rd person, when there is no counting of persons or things, in that case, any of the two word (i.e. ‘Neither; and ‘None’) can be used eg.
1. None of the boys want to be arrested in the presence of their parents. (wants)
2. None of the assets of the company have been revalued so far. (has been)
Rule No.-7
‘Either’ is used for two persons or two things whereas ‘Any’ is used for more than two eg.
1. Here are nine balls, you can choose either. (any)
2. Have you read either of the three novels written by Mr. Subhas Phatak? (any)

Rule No.-8
Some words: insist, persist, abstain, refrain, fond, keen, succeed, prohibit & confident are used in Gerund alongwith prepositions.
1. She is confident to speak English even in the presence of her officers. (of speaking)
2. Though he was advised not to drive heavy vehicle yet he insisted to do so. (on doing)

Rule No.-9
In special cases we use ‘that’ in place of ‘who’ ‘which’ ‘where’ the words all: any, none, only, nothing, the few, the little are found in the sentence eg.
1. She spent the little money which she had in her pocket. (that)
2. In the meeting there was none who did not praise his own work that. (thant)

Rule No.-10
Use of ‘that of, those of
1. The goats of Tibet are more beautiful that that of Nepal (those of)
2. My teaching is better than Jawahar. (than that of)

Rule No.-11
The word- last, yesterday, a few days ago, are used in past indefinite tense.
1. He has sold all his goods a few days ago. (sold)
2. She has passed MA (final) in 1980. (passed)

Rule No.-12
Some words- stop, help, remember, avoid, reach, resemble, dislike, enjoy (is followed by first form of verb) are used in Gerund but are not followed by any preposition eg.
1. Many girls avoid to see the picture with their parents. (seeing)
2. He enjoys to play football in the evening daily. (playing)

Rule No.-13
Junior, senior, interior, superior, prior, prefer are followed by ‘to’ but my senior officer, my junior officer, his prior approval etc are used without ‘to’. These words are also not followed by any comparison word.
1. Character is preferable than wealth. (to)
2. He is more senior than me not only in service but also in age. (senior to)

Rule No.-14
The words-“need, dare, better, rather”-are not followed by ‘to’.
1. Nobody can dare to challenge my authority (delete to)
2. You need not to worry about your health. (delete to)

Rule No.-15
If the principle clause (sentence on the left hand) is given in the past tense, then the subordinate clause must be in the past tense.
1. The doctor asked the patient if he can walk on feet. (could)
2. He worked hard so that he may qualify the test with distinction. (might)

Rule No.-16
Use ‘that’ in place of ‘ who’ and ‘which’ after ‘superlative degree’ (means word followed by ‘est’ or ‘must’)
1. Ashoka was the greatest king who ruled over many countries. (that)
2. Rahul is one of the best player who have been awarded certificates. (that)

Rule No.-17
The words ‘that’ is not used with the word-how, who, whether, what, where, when, whom, whose, which, why, etc, for eg.
1. She could not explain that why she did not take interest in the studies. (delete)
2. He does not know that how to speak hindi with his friends. (delete)

Rule No.-18
The word one of is followed by the plural word but is used in singular.
1. One of the proposal made by the student is still to be viewed. (proposals)
2. One of the schemes made by the bank are to be launched shortly. (is)

Rule No.-19
The word-scenery, machinery, work, business, poor, rich, furniture, news, luggage, bread, hair, poetry, issue, fruit & fleet- are used in singular only.
1. The owner of the shop is going to sell all his furnitues. (furniture)
2. Many manufacture use imported machineries just increase the quality of their product. (machinery)

Rule No.-20
The word- advice, mischief, abuse, alphabet etc are used in singular only.
1. The teacher gave us many advices (wrong)
a) The teacher gave us advice OR piece of advice (right)
2. My younger brother did many mischiefs. (wrong)
b) My younger brother did many acts of mischief.(right)

Rule No.-21
The word- rupee, dozen, mile, year, foot- are used in singular when used after numerical and followed by their noun.
1. I have a five rupees note. (rupee)
2. We bought two dozens pencils. (dozen)

Rule No.-22
The word-vegetables, spectacles, trousers, Himalayas, orders, repairs, scissors (noun)- are always used in plural.
1. I had gone to buy vegetable. (vegetables)
2. The road is closed for repair. (repairs)

Rule No.-23
The words- fish, deer, sheep, cattle- are used always in singular for singular and plural purposes.
1. The fisherman catches many fishes in the pond. (fish)
2. I saw many sheeps & deers in the forest. (sheep & deer)

Rule No.-24
When two persons or two things are compared use comparative degree.
1. She is braver than her sister. (no error)
2. He is taller than by 3 inches. (more)

Rule No.-25
When two qualities of the same person are compared (instead of comparison of two person or two things), use the word ‘more’ in place of comparative word.
1. She is wiser than honest (more wise)
2. He who is an officer of the Railways is honest than wise. (more honest)

Rule No.-26
Generally the relative word ‘who’ & ‘whom’ are placed after the word for which these are used.
1. The woman/died for cholera/who lived in this cottage. (1+3+2)
2. None of the student/could qualify the test/who was intelligent. (1+3+2)

Rule No.-27
The word ‘call at’ is use for place whereas ‘call upon’ or ‘call on’ is used for persons.
1. All of us called upon her office. (called at)
2. They called at us yesterday to discuss the cash credit account. (called upon)

Rule No.-28
‘Each other’ is used for two person & things whereas one another is used for more than two.
1. All the five brother were quarrelling with each other over their fathers property. (one another)
2. They were discussing the point with each other. (no error)

Rule No.-29
The word ‘who’ is used for subject whereas ‘whom’ is used for object.
1. Whom do you think, will be out teacher. (who)
2. Please provide us efficient worker who you think honest. (whom)

Rule No.-30
‘Both’ and ‘As well as’ cannot be used together in a sentences. If ‘both’ is to be used verb will be used in plural. If ‘As well as’ is to be used verb will be according to the 1st subject ‘Both’ is followed by ‘And’.
1. Both Sanjay as well as his friends is proposing to launch a new scheme for his country. (delete both)
2. Both Ravi or Shankar are going to see off their uncle. (and)

Rule No.-31
One of the two words in my opinion and ‘I think’ is used
1. (in my opinion) (I think) he might have qualified the test. ( use anyone)

Rule No.-32
‘different’ & ‘separation’ are followed by ‘from’ instead of other words.
1. Under these circumstances, I cannot bear my sister separation. (separation from my sister)
2. It is quite different to this. (from)

Rule No.-33
The word ‘worth’ & ‘for’ cannot be used together.
1. He has sold his scooter for worth seven thousand rupees.( for OR worth)

Rule No.-34
The words ‘exceed’ and ‘be more than’ are not used together one of the two is used.
1. In the examination your essay should not exceed more than fifteen lines. (exceed OR more than)

Rule No.-35
‘it’ is used for lifeless things and ‘he’ is used for living things.
1. Being a blind, I told him the way of his house. (he, being)
2. Being a cloudy day, we did not go out for a walk. (it, being)

Rule No.-36
‘let’ and ‘between’ are followed by objective clause.
1. Do not disclose the secret as this is between you & I. (me)
2. Let she study for the test which is to be held shortly. (her)

Rule No.-37
It two nouns denote the same meaning both the nouns are treated as singular.
1. The manager and clerk of this office are on leave today. (is)
2. The manager & secretary of the firm have got the books of account audited. (has)

Rule No.-38
‘A majority of the student’s’ is treated as one group.
‘The majority of the students’ is treated as plural more than one group.
1. The majority of the students agrees with the teacher on this point. (agree)
2. A large number of students had got through the written test. (have)

Rule No.-39
When one noun denote to a person and other denotes to an animal we use ‘that’ in place of ‘who’ or which’.
1. He and his sheep which fell into the well, were injured. (that)
2. She and her dog which I saw on the road, meet with an accident. (that)

Rule No.-40
We do not use double comparative degree in a sentence.
1. In hockey he is more better than I. (delete)
2. She is more cleverer than her brother. (delete)

Rule No.-41
‘Between’ is followed by ‘and’ whereas ‘from’ is followed by ‘to’ eg.
1. The common will be granted cash credit limit between Rs. 3 lacs to Rs. 5 lacs. (and)
2. We are proposing to hold a meeting today from 4.20 pm 6.30 pm. (to)

Rule No.-42
In one sentence double negative should not be used.
1. He has not done nothing wrong in this case. (anything)
2. Ramesh did not like to help nobody. (anybody)

Rule No.-43
The following conjunctions are used in pairs though-yet, scarcely before OR when, such as neither-nor, either-or, not only-but also, one-one’s, whether-or, no sooner-than, lest-should.
1. Though Ram played well still he lost the match. (yet)
2. Hardly had he gone out than it started raining. (when)

Rule No.-44
Verbs like enjoy, avail, pride, resign, apply, acquit, assert, absent are followed by reflexive pronoun.
1. We enjoyed ours at the party. (ourselves)
2. He absented him from the class. (himself)
3. She resigned her to fate. (herself)

Rule No.-45
‘Which’ conveys additional information and ‘that’ explains a certain thing.
1. I will tell you the first thing that I remember. (which)
2. I am talking about traffic management which forms a part of his duties. (that)

Rule No.-46
Some adjectives like unique, ideal, perfect, extreme, complete, universal, infinite, perpetual, chief, entire, round, impossible are not compared.
1. It is the most unique book. (delete the most)

Rule No.-47
‘Older’ refers to persons or things ‘Elders’ refers to person only e.g.
1. This tree is elder than that. (older)
2. He is my older brother. (elder)

Rule No.-48
Farther means ‘more distant’
Further means ‘additional’
1. Bomaby is further than Delhi. (farther)
2. I shall get farther information. (further)

Rule No.-49
Latter means to second of two things later refers to ‘time’.
1. She came to school latter than I. (later)
2. Keats and Byron are romantic poets, but I prefer the latter. (latter)

Rule No.-50
‘May’ expresses permission, possibility and request.
‘Might’ expresses permission, Possibility and order.
1. May I open the window? (Request)
2. You might make less noise. (Command)

Rule No.-51
‘Ought’ is always followed by ‘to’. It is used to denote moral duty ‘probability something desirable ought to can be replaced by ‘should’.
1. You ought to respect your elders.
2. You worked hard, you ought to get good marks.
3. There ought to be some buses now.

Rule No.-52
‘Used to’ shows some constant or frequent practice in the past (used to v1=v2)
1. He used to come to my house every evening.

Rule No.-53
Indefinite pronouns which indicate more than one (several, few, both, many) always take plural verbs eg.
1. Both of books requires careful reading.
2. Several women regularly run to stay fit.

Rule No.-54
Collective noun (Fleet, army, crowd, committee) is treated as singular when the group works together as a unit and take singular verb.
1. The jury has reached its verdict.
2. The team runs in a smooth way.

Rule No.-55
Collective noun are plural when the members of the group are acting individually and hence take plural verb.
1. The jury argued for five hours.
2. The team runs in a smooth way.

Rule No.-56
Avoid the use of ‘had’ with ‘ought’.
1. You had not ought not to do it. (delete had)

Rule No.-57
‘Hardly’ refers to ‘degree’ while ‘scarcely’ refers to ‘quantity’.
1. I hardly see how I can finish this work.
2. I have scarcely enough money for my own deeds.

Rule No.-58
‘Between’ is used for two persons or things but ‘among’ is used with more than two persons or things.
1. Divide the sweets between three boys. (among)

Rule No.-59
‘At’ refers to exact point ‘In’ refers to larger areas, above is used for ‘higher than’ ‘under’ is used for vertically below, below is used for lower than, over for vertically above.