Innovative Ideas for Teaching English

V. Words and Expressions Commonly Misused (Many of the words and expressions here listed are not so much bad English as bad style, the commonplaces of careless writing. As illustrated under Feature , the proper correction is likely to be not the replacement of one word or set of words by another, but the replacement of vague generality by definite statement.) All right. Idiomatic in familiar speech as a detached phrase in the sense, "Agreed," or "Go ahead." In other uses better avoided. Always written as two words. As good or better than. Expressions of this type should be corrected by rearranging the sentence. My opinion is as good or better than his. My opinion is as good as his, or better (if not better). As to whether. Whether is sufficient; see under Rule 13 . Bid. Takes the infinitive without to. The past tense is bade. Case. The Concise Oxford Dictionary begins its definition of this word: "instance of a thing's occurring; usual...

NEW DELHI: Outside, the eager crowd reminds you of a cricket stadium before an ODI game. Big securitymen form an uncompromising barricade with a thick rope. Finally, they see reason and relent. Once inside, the conduct of the guards is easier to understand. There are already enough people inside to make a politician happy, if he was delivering an election speech. Standing out in the crowd is a bored leggy blonde in a shimmering silver dress leaning by a bright red car. At the moment, few, if any, are looking at her. For what everybody has gathered to see at Hall No 11 in Pragati Maidan is not just another small car. They come to see hope emerge on wheels. For this 'lakhtakia' car, as street people have already named it, has enabled millions to dream of a life beyond the motorbike. And, to the discerning observer, has the potential of changing the demography of car ownership in India. As Ratan Tata himself said later in the day, it was the image of a lower middle-class man on a ...

Samir K Barua India has surprised not just the world but also itself with GDP growth of over 7.5% per year over the last several years. The achievement is remarkable in the backdrop of often incoherent and inconsistent policies that are a part and parcel of a vibrant democracy that faces pulls and pressures from different quarters. In the limited and insufficient space allotted to me I propose to float a few straws in the wind to explain this improbable phenomenon and look ahead at what is in store for us as a nation and what we need do to ensure that we build on a great platform that has been set up for us. The biggest strength of the Indian economy has been the immense diversity of its manufacturing and service sectors. Think of any business and we as a nation are in it. This ensures that the impact of even calamitous developments such as a significant rise in the price of crude or unexpectedly quick appreciation of the rupee on the economy as a whole is moderated . At the macro lev...

Sunil Mittal After four years of high GDP growth, even a diehard optimist would be sceptical as to whether the economy would will be able to turn in similar numbers again next year. Given the fact that the present buoyancy is based on reasonably sound economic fundamentals, I have reasons to believe that the momentum is here to stay. My optimism is, of course, based as much on the fundamentals of the economy as my inherent faith in the growth appetite of India Inc. As per the Mid-Year Review tabled in the Parliament in December, the economy has grown by 9.1% in the first half of 2007-08. But more than the robust growth figures, what actually strengthens my faith in the economy’s ability to sustain growth is the fact that inflation has eased below 4% after more than a year. This surely augurs well for the economy in the coming days. I believe, like last year, industry and services will continue to be the primary drivers of growth. In telecom, we are quite bullish about another robust ye...