Common Subjects:Communication Skills

Common Subject: Communication Skills
FROM ALL THE ENGINEERING COURSES
Lecture No 04
Topic:Modifier

Modifier

Adverbs and adjectives (and phrases or clauses acting as adverbs and adjectives, e.g. prepositional phrases) are modifiers. They limit, describe, or identify the words they modify. Thus they are used to make ideas more exact and clear.

1. He threw a stone.

2. The naughty boy threw a sharp stone. (Adjectives modify nouns.)

3. My brother repaired the radio.

4. My brother carefully repaired the radio. (An adverb modifies a verb.)

5. Eight a.m. is a busy time.

6. Eight a.m. is an unusually busy time. (An adverb modifies an adjective.)

7. The girl plays the guitar.

8. The girl in the red dress plays the guitar. (A prepositional phrase modifies a noun.)

 Problems Related to Modifier

A careless use of modifiers results in vagueness, ambiguity and confusion which reduce the readability and effectiveness of writing. The problematic modifiers can be divided into three classes: the misplaced, the two-way and the dangling modifiers.

Misplaced Modifier: As a matter of general principle a modifier should be placed close to what it modifies. Otherwise it is likely to be mistaken to modify some other element in the sentence leading thus to confusion and reduced readability. Modifiers which can be misinterpreted because of their inappropriate placement in a sentence are termed as misplaced modifiers.

• We listened breathlessly to the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves munching our peanuts and crackers.
• They were delighted to see a field of daffodils climbing up the hill.
• You can order a dress that will be delivered to you by telephone.

Common Subject:: Communicatioon Skills

Common Subject: Communication Skills
FROM ALL THE ENGINEERING COURSES
Lecture No 03
Topic: Fused or Run-on Sentences


Fused or Run-On Sentences

When two sentences run together without any separating punctuation or without an intervening connective, they are said to be fused.

 

1.       This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly it should be thrown with great force.

2.       I knocked on the door when the man came I gave him my most ingratiating smile.

3.       Why do you ask what concern is it of yours?

4.       In a situation such as this one there is no way of reaching a compromise unless both sides are willing to make concessions the dispute will become a stalemate.

5.       I will not object on the other hand don't expect me to lend you any support on this issue

 Ways To Eliminate Errors

The meeting seemed to last for hours; nothing was accomplished.

The meeting seemed to last for hours; and nothing was accomplished.

The meeting seemed to last for hours because nothing was accomplished.

The meeting seemed to last for hours; furthermore, nothing was accomplished.

Exception

When two main clauses are short and closely related, they may be separated by a comma only.

Laws grind the poor, the rich rule the laws.

 Exercise

 

The following sentences contain one or more errors: Write correct versions.

My mother stood by helplessly. While the plumber peered into the pipes black mouth and explained the problem in words that only plumbers understand.

Proper names sometimes become common nouns that are used to name one of a class of things, an example of this kind of language evolution is the word maverick.

Non-fiction is the presentation of factual material, fiction is storytelling.

The brakes of an automobile generate heat. Far more heat than most of us realize, for example, bringing a car to a full stop from 70 miles an hour generates enough heat to melt a pound of iron.

There was no sound but the faint hiss and crunch of the packed snow. Shifting under our feet as we walked. It was a hushed, empty world through which we moved.

The art of putting things off sometimes takes strange forms, it seems to thrive on the feeling that things will turn out all right, somehow. Even when putting them off is the very thing that will keep them from turning out all right.

There is a great amount of detrimental reading material on the magazine shelves, most of this cannot be defended, even by the most liberal-minded person.

It will cost a great deal of money, there is no guarantee that the plan will succeed.

Driven by the brisk March wind, green and white waves raced across the surface of the river, we caught glimpses of them through the train window.

There are two wires sticking out from two small holes in the centre of the board, they have to be crossed to turn on ignition.

Thanks to radar, ships and aeroplanes can "see" in fog as clearly as in broad daylight. But this does not mean that men have solved the problem of fog, fog-bound ships fall behind their schedules, airports close down during a fog.

I believe that the expression of a newspaper's opinions should be confined to its editorial page. Where the reader can judge the opinions for themselves. Slanted news is sometimes worse than no news at all.

In every community, even the crew of a pirate ship, there are acts that are enjoined and acts that are forbidden. Acts that are applauded and acts that are reprobated. A pirate must show courage in attack and justice in the distribution of spoils, if he fails in these respects, he is not a "good" pirate.

Many companies are looking for experts in pollution control, this is a rapidly expanding field.

 Same Subject Lecture Continued...........

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