ENGLISH GRAMMAR

 

IDIOMS

Idiom	Meaning	Simple Example
Call it a day	Stop working on something	We are tired; let's call it a day.
In the nick of time	Just at the last moment	The ambulance arrived in the nick of time.
Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two goals with one action	I killed two birds with one stone by walking to work.
At the eleventh hour	At the latest possible moment	He changed his travel plans at the eleventh hour.
Time flies	Time passes very quickly	Time flies when you are having fun.
Against the clock	Rushed to finish before a deadline	We worked against the clock to finish the project.

 

Break the bank	Cost too much money	Buying a new car will break the bank.
Bring home the bacon	Earn money to support a family	Both parents work hard to bring home the bacon.
A penny for your thoughts	Ask someone what they are thinking	You look sad; a penny for your thoughts?
Foot the bill	Pay for something	My company will foot the bill for the dinner.
Born with a silver spoon	Born into a wealthy family	He never worried about money because he was born with a silver spoon.
From rags to riches	Going from poor to very rich	The businessman went from rags to riches.

 

Get the ball rolling	Start an activity or project	Let's get the ball rolling on this budget.
Back to the drawing board	Start over because a plan failed	Our design failed, so it is back to the drawing board.
By the book	Follow rules exactly	The strict police officer did everything by the book.
Go back to square one	Return to the very beginning	The software crashed, so we are back to square one.
No-brainer	A very easy decision	Choosing the higher salary was a no-brainer.
Think outside the box	Think in a creative way	We need to think outside the box to solve this.
Ball is in your court	It is your turn to make a move	I sent the offer; the ball is in your court.
Play devil's advocate	Argue the opposite side for debate	I agree with you, but let me play devil's advocate.

 

Over the moon	Extremely happy	She was over the moon about her new job.
Down in the dumps	Unhappy or depressed	He has been down in the dumps since losing the match.
Green with envy	Very jealous	She was green with envy over my new shoes.
Drive someone up the wall	Annoy someone very much	That loud drilling noise is driving me up the wall.
Make your blood boil	Cause you to become very angry	Seeing people litter makes my blood boil.
Face the music	Accept negative consequences	You broke the window; now go face the music.

 

Bury the hatchet	Make peace and end a fight	The rivals decided to bury the hatchet.
Speak of the devil	The person you are talking about appears	Speak of the devil! Here comes Mark now.
Give someone the cold shoulder	Ignore someone on purpose	Sally gave me the cold shoulder at school today.
Through thick and thin	Through good times and bad times	Good friends support each other through thick and thin.
Tie the knot	To get married	The couple decided to tie the knot in June.
Birds of a feather	People with similar interests	They love chess; they are birds of a feather.

 

Barking up the wrong tree	Looking for solutions in the wrong place	If you expect me to pay, you are barking up the wrong tree.
Blessing in disguise	Something bad that leads to a good result	Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.
Cry wolf	Raise a false alarm	If you cry wolf often, nobody will believe you.
Add insult to injury	Make a bad situation worse	It rained, and to add insult to injury, my car broke down.
Take it with a grain of salt	Do not completely believe a story	He exaggerates, so take his stories with a grain of salt.
Walking on eggshells	Being very careful not to offend anyone	Everyone is walking on eggshells around the angry boss.
Bite off more than you can chew	Take on a task that is too big	Working two jobs is biting off more than you can chew.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket	Do not risk everything on one plan	Invest in different stocks; don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Burn bridges	Destroy relationships so you cannot return	Don't insult your boss; never burn bridges.

 

Better late than never	Doing something late is better than not doing it	He graduated at age forty, but better late than never.
The best of both worlds	Enjoying the advantages of two different situations	Working from home gives me the best of both worlds.
Every cloud has a silver lining	There is something good in every bad situation	I lost my phone, but every cloud has a silver lining—I bought a better one.
Actions speak louder than words	What you do matters more than what you say	Don't just promise to help; actions speak louder than words.
When pigs fly	Something that will never happen	He will clean his room when pigs fly.
Curiosity killed the cat	Being too curious can get you into trouble	Don't open that box; curiosity killed the cat.
Don't judge a book by its cover	Do not judge something by its appearance	The restaurant looks old, but don't judge a book by its cover.
Ignorance is bliss	You are happier when you do not know the facts	I don't want to know the calorie count; ignorance is bliss.
Keep your chin up	Stay positive in a tough situation	Keep your chin up; things will get better soon.

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Types of Gender

Gender	Definition	Examples
Masculine Gender	Nouns that refer to male persons or male animals.	Man, Boy, Father, Brother, Son, Uncle, King, Prince, Emperor, Husband, Bridegroom, Monk, Wizard, Hero, Actor, Waiter, Lion, Tiger, Bull, Stallion, Rooster, Peacock, Gander, Ram, Drake
Feminine Gender	Nouns that refer to female persons or female animals.	Woman, Girl, Mother, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, Queen, Princess, Empress, Wife, Bride, Nun, Witch, Heroine, Actress, Waitress, Lioness, Tigress, Cow, Mare, Hen, Peahen, Goose, Ewe, Duck
Common Gender	Nouns that can refer to either a male or a female.	Teacher, Student, Doctor, Nurse, Engineer, Lawyer, Judge, Artist, Singer, Dancer, Friend, Child, Parent, Baby, Cousin, Neighbour, Person, Customer, Player, Leader, Principal, Manager, Police Officer, Pilot
Neuter Gender	Nouns that refer to non-living things, objects, places, ideas, or qualities.	Book, Pen, Table, Chair, Computer, Laptop, Mobile Phone, Car, Bus, Train, Bicycle, School, College, House, Building, Tree, River, Mountain, Sun, Moon, Water, Air, Love, Honesty, Freedom

 

Masculine and Feminine

Sl.	Masculine	Feminine
1	Man	Woman
2	Boy	Girl
3	Father	Mother
4	Brother	Sister
5	Son	Daughter
6	Husband	Wife
7	King	Queen
8	Prince	Princess
9	Emperor	Empress
10	Uncle	Aunt
11	Nephew	Niece
12	Hero	Heroine
13	Actor	Actress
14	Waiter	Waitress
15	Host	Hostess
16	Bridegroom	Bride
17	Monk	Nun
18	Wizard	Witch
19	Lion	Lioness
20	Tiger	Tigress
21	Bull	Cow
22	Horse (Stallion)	Mare
23	Rooster (Cock)	Hen
24	Peacock	Peahen
25	Gander	Goose
26	Ram	Ewe
27	Drake	Duck
28	Fox	Vixen
29	Buck	Doe
30	Sir	Madam
31	Gentleman	Lady
32	Bachelor	Spinster
33	Landlord	Landlady
34	Landowner	Landlady
35	Master	Mistress
36	Heir	Heiress
37	Patron	Patroness
38	Steward	Stewardess
39	Duke	Duchess
40	Earl	Countess
41	Count	Countess
42	Baron	Baroness
43	Sultan	Sultana
44	God	Goddess
45	Male	Female
46	Boar	Sow
47	Dog	Bitch
48	Tomcat	Queen (Cat)
49	Cock Sparrow	Hen Sparrow
50	Billy Goat	Nanny Goat

Parts of Speech

Part of Speech	Definition	Function	Common Questions Answered	Examples	Example in a Sentence
Noun	A word that names a person, place, thing, animal, or idea.	Acts as the subject, object, or complement of a sentence.	Who? What?	boy, teacher, India, dog, book, honesty	The boy is playing.
Pronoun	A word used instead of a noun to avoid repetition.	Replaces nouns in a sentence.	Who? Which one?	he, she, it, they, we, you, this, those	She is my sister.
Verb	A word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being.	Shows what the subject does or is.	What is happening? What is the action?	run, write, eat, think, is, am, are, become	They play football every evening.
Adjective	A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.	Gives more information about nouns or pronouns.	What kind? Which one? How many?	beautiful, tall, red, five, honest	She has a beautiful dress.
Adverb	A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.	Tells how, when, where, how often, or to what extent.	How? When? Where? Why? How much?	quickly, slowly, yesterday, here, very, always	He ran quickly.
Preposition	A word that shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word.	Indicates time, place, direction, cause, or manner.	Where? When? In what relation?	in, on, under, beside, between, during	The cat is under the table.
Conjunction	A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses.	Connects similar or different sentence elements.	Which words or ideas are connected?	and, but, or, because, although, since	I wanted to go, but it was raining.
Interjection	A word or phrase that expresses sudden emotion or feeling.	Shows surprise, joy, pain, anger, etc.	What emotion is expressed?	Wow!, Oh!, Alas!, Hurrah!, Ouch!	Hurrah! We won the match.