ACRONYMS
An acronym
(pronounced AK-ruh-nihm, from Greek acro- in the sense of extreme
or tip and onyma or name) is an abbreviation of several
words in such a way that the abbreviation itself forms a pronounceable word.
The word may already exist or it can be a new word. Webster's cites snafu and radar, two terms of World War Two
vintage, as examples of acronyms that were created.
According to the
strictest definition of an acronym, only abbreviations that are pronounced as
words qualify. So by these standards, for example, COBOL is an acronym because it's
pronounced as a word but WHO (World Health Organization) is not an acronym
because the letters in the abbreviation are pronounced individually. However,
opinions differ on what constitutes an acronym: Merriam-Webster, for example,
says that an acronym is just "a word formed from the initial letters of a
multi-word name."
. Acronyms are sometimes pronounced as
sequences of letters and sometimes as a word, e.g.
1. OPEC-Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
2. ABC-
American Broadcasting Company
3. WHO-
World Health Organisation
4. MBA-
Master of Business Administration
5. EEG-Electroencephalogram
6. UNESCO-United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
7. UNICEF-United
Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
8. NATO -
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
COMPOUNDS
Compounding puts together two
free forms to give rise to a new word. The importance of compounding stems from
the fact that there are probably no languages without compounding. Compounds
are particularly interesting linguistic constructions for a number of reasons. There are three forms of compound
words: The closed
form, in which the words are melded together, such as firefly, secondhand,
softball, childlike, crosstown, redhead, keyboard, makeup, notebook;
The hyphenated form, such as daughter-in-law, master-at-arms,
over-the-counter, six-pack, six-year-old, mass-produced;
and the
open form, such as post office, real estate, middle class, full moon, half
sister, attorney general.
Question
Tag
Ø A
question tag is a short question placed at the end of a statement, usually in informal English.
Ø A
Question tag is used to get a statement confirmed.
How
to form Question Tags?
(1)
He has
written it, hasn’t he?
↓
Rules:
Ø Here
the question tag consists of only two words: hasn’t he? It has the same subject
as the statement(he).We can use a pronoun of the same person as the subject.
Ø If
the main sentence has an auxiliary verb, the auxiliary verb is repeated in the
question tag.
Ø If
the main sentence does not have any auxiliary verb, we use do/does/did in the question tag:
·
Selene sang well, didn’t she?
↓
( no auxiliary verb in
the main sentence)
Ø Here
the tense of the tag remains the same.
Ø If
the statement is positive, the question tag will be negative. If the statement is
negative, the question tag will be positive:
·
We are ready, aren’t we?
↓ ↓
(Positive
statement) (neg.ques.tag)
·
You haven’t worked hard, have you?
↓ ↓
(neg . statement) (Positive.ques.tag)
In negative question
tags, we usually use short forms of the negative:
·
haven’t
·
aren’t
·
didn’t
·
doesn’t
·
can’t
·
won’t
·
isn’t
Here are some examples
1.Madhu lies, doesn’t he
2. He used to have a tea in the morning,
didn’t he?
3. You will hire me your car, won’t you?
4.Manu is very cunning, isn’t he
How
to Form Question Tags-2
·
I
am
The question tag for
I am is aren’t I?
I’m short tempered, aren’t I?
·
Imperatives
After
positive commands, will you? and won’t you? can both be used:
(1)Please take it, won’t
you?
(2)Get me the jar kept
under my table, will you?
After
negative commands, we use will you?
(1)Don’t speak
lies, will you?
·
Let
us
After Let us we use
shall we?:
(1)Let us go out for a
walk, shall we?
(2)Let us stay here
till he comes, shall we?
Points to ponder…….
Positive
Statement
|
Negative question tag
|
Negative
Statement
|
Positive
question tag
|
No
change in tense
|
.......................
|
Auxiliary
in a statement
No
auxiliary
|
Auxiliary
repeated in the tag
Do/does/did in the tag
|
I
am
|
The tag is: aren’t I?
|
Positive
commands
|
The
tag is: will you/won’t you
|
Negative
commands
|
The
tag is: will you
|
Let us
|
The tag is: shall we
|
