John's Online English Notes

  On Saying Please -           A. G. Gardiner Summary:   The essay ‘On Saying Please’ was written by A.G. Gardiner. He was a famous English essayist of the Twentieth Century. He wrote essays on a Pen Name ‘Alpha of the plough’. He drew the ideas for the essays from the real time life situations. His essays were delightful, humorous, and thought provoking. His essays appeared in volumes such as Prophets & pillars of society, etc. with funny sketches of famous personages. The Present essay ‘On saying please’ was one among his best works. According to the essay, a lift man threw a man out of the lift. The Lift man did not like the high handed behavior of the man. He asked the man to speak with him properly, but the man did not and so the lift man became angry on him and threw him out of the lift. The man felt humiliated with the behavior of the lift man and complained the officials of the building to take action on the l...

  I – Semester, English   On his having arrived at the age of 23   -         John Milton Summary :   The Poem “on his having arrived at the age of 23” was written by John Milton. He was a famous poet of his time. He wrote many poems. Out of them, the present Poem was considered as a personal meditative sonnet. It was written in 1632, soon after the completion of his graduation at Cambridge University.   According to the Poem, The poet considered time as a subtle thief which stole his young days away from him. He compared with that of a bird and mentioned that it had taken away his 23 years of age without any perfect mental maturity. He stated that his youth was like a spring season which had no bud or blossom to show. The poet unhappily stated at the end of the octave that his Physical appearance did not match with his mental maturity levels properly and so he complained unhappily that God had blessed some peo...

  I – Semester, English   Grammar – Unit 3   Homonyms, Homographs, homophones   I.Fill in the blanks in each of sentences with a single Homoym   A Snake Bit him. Add a Bit of salt.   1.she wrote a new play . The children went to play in the park.   2. I was asked to pen a few lines of verse. The sheep are not in their Pen. She uses a brush pe n for Calligraphy   3.The lime tree is found in temperate regions. Let’s lime up the house before the guests arrive.   4.We didn’t realise the scal e of the pandemic. The symphony is in the scale of C minor. You need to scale the fish before cooking it.   5. Watch out for fraudulent calls and e-mails. She got me an expensive watch for my birthday. II.Fill in the blanks with the correct homophones from the options given in the box below.   1.I am bored of board games. 2.She rode her bike down the road 3.Our Principal is a ...

  I Semester – English   Unit – 3   Ulysses -         Alfred Tennyson Summary:   The Poem ‘Ulysses’ was written by Alfred Tennyson. He was a famous Victorian Poet. The Present Poem was written in 1833 and published in 1842 in the second volume of poetry. It is a popular example of dramatic Monologue. According to the poem, Ulysses, a great warrior declared that he could nod not stay in his kingdom in a relaxed manner, He proudly mentioned that his name became the synonym of adventure; He craved to move even in the old age by giving his kingdom to his beloved son, Telemachus. Ulysses stated that he had travelled to various regions and due to that reason he understood various people, their mannerism, their culture, their kingdoms, their governments, etc. He boasted that he had come across enemies sometimes and so he fought with them in order to achieve his goal. Ulysses felt proud to state that he had fought with equ...

  English Semester – II   Poem – unit – I   Felling of the Bunyan Tree -          Dilip Chitre   Q) What is the attitude of the speaker towards the cutting down of the Bunyan tree? What lines and words in the poem reveal this?   A) The Poem “the felling of a Bunyan Tree” was written by Dilip Chitre. He was a famous Marathi Writer, Teacher, painter, and Magazine Columnist. He translated Marathi poems into English. He wrote a book in English titled “Travelling in a cage”. The present Poem was published in his English Book.   According to the Poem, The Poet’s father asked the tenants to vacate their rooms to demolish the old houses one after the other in their locality. The people who were appointed to demolish the houses came to the poet’s place after the demolition of the neighbouring houses. They found huge trees in the Poet’s house. They realised that the trees are to be felled first to erase the old h...

  II Semester – English Syllabus   Unit – I Poem: The Felling of a Bunyan Tree – Dilip Chitre Prose: The Bet – Anton Chekhov Vocabulary: Oxymoron and Hyperbole Grammar: Main Verb and Tenses Paragraph Writing Essentials Decision Making   Unit – II Poem: a walk by Moonlight – Henry Derozio Prose: How the Carona Vurus sparked a wave of innovation in India – Sreevas Sahasranamam Vocabulary: Loan Words Grammar: Auxiliary Verbs Sequencing Holistic Health   Unit – III Poem: A different History Prose: Nobel Lecture, 7 December 1993(extract) – Toni Morrison Vocabulary: portmanteau words Grammar: Non Finite Words Descriptive Words Conflict Resolution   Unit – IV  P oem: Lady Macbeth speech from Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5 – William Shakespeare Prose: How I became a Public Speaker (Abridge) – George Bernard Shaw Vocabulary: Simile and Metaphor Grammar: Adverbs Argumentative Writing Ethical Behaviour   ...

  I - Semester, English Unit II   If Rudyard Kipling   Summary:   The poem ‘If’ was written by Rudyard Kipling. He was a famous English poet and Novelist. He became a notable person by writing ‘Jungle Book’. The present poem “If” was written in 1895 and published in ‘The rewards and fairies’ in 1910. He mentioned in one of his autobiographies that he was influenced by a Scottish Politician named Leander Starr Jameson for taking part in a raid (unsuccessful raid) against the Transvaal Republic. The unsuccessful raid of Leander Starr Jameson inspired the poet to write the poem ’If’.   According to the poem, the Poet stated that a person can become successful in the society by maintaining calmness in the mind. He instructed people to believe in their own talent to become confident and introspect themselves in order to improve their talents. He had also mentioned that the people should not say lies; they should not hate others and never try to comm...

  V-Semester Unit – I English Grammar   Framing Questions   Exercise I :   Answers:   Frame questions to elicit the following answers.   1. He is my friend. (who is he?)   2. It’s an audio book. (What is it?)   3. It’s a Thursday. (Is it a Thursday?)   4. English is my favourite book. (Which is your favourite book?)   5. I would like to become an Astronaut. (What would you like to become?)   6. I study in New Ideas College. (Where do you study?)   7. It is near Charminar. (Where is it?)   8. I joined last year. (When did you join?)   9. I go by bus. (How do you go?)   10. I am 18 years old. (How old are you?)   Exercise II   Frame questions to elicit the following Answers.   Answers:   1. My college is about 10 kilometres from Home. (How far is your college from home?)   2. I spend nearly Rs ...

  II Year, III Semester English   Unit - I   Mallika Srinivasan.   Summary:   Mallika Srinivasan is an Indian Industrialist. Who is currently working as the CEO of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE). She received awards like the first business women of the year award by the Economic Times, Entrepreneur of the year in the field of manufacturing from Ernst and Young. She was given the title “Tractor Queen” by the media. The Media also ranked her as the powerful business women.   She was born in 1959 in Chennai. She performed well in school and showed keen interest in Economic Principles and Business. She pursued M.A in Econometrics from Madras University. She gor married to Venu Srinivassan, Chairman of the TVS Motor Cycle Company. Mallika decided to pursue M.B.A at the Wharton School at Pennsylvania. Her Mother supported Mallika a lot. Mallika was able to complete her masters in Business Administration because her Mother looked after her ...

  II Year, III Semester English Unit - I   O Captain! My Captain!   Walt Whitman   Summary:   O Captain! My Captain! Was written by Walt Whitman. He was a famous American Poet. The Present Poem was written in 1865 and was included in the Poetry Collection “sequel to Drum – traps”. It was considered as a well known poem of Walt Whitman. Within the poem, the Poet mourns the death of Abraham Lincoln; the Sixteenth President of the United States, who was assassinated in April 1865, just days after the end of the American Civil War, The Poem has three Stanzas. The Poet compared Abraham Lincoln with a Captain and the ship with the USA.   According to the Poem, the Poet addressed the captain of the ship that their fearful trip came to an end. The people of their region won the war. The Poet also stated that the port was nearer and the people also could hear the sound of the bells and the enthusiasm of them was increasing beyond their limits as ...

  II Year, III Semester English   Punctuation(Unit - I) Exercise A:   Punctuate the following sentences correctly. Capitalise words where required.   Answers:   1. I Speak Telugu, English and Hindi. 2. You can go to a movie, play or exhibition. 3. Rabindranath Tagore was a great Indian Poet. 4. Alas! His father has died! 5. She is doing better now, Isn’t she? 6. May I come in Sir? 7. The Speaker asked the Students who is your favourite politician. 8. How extraordinary! 9. She asked me what time it was. 10. Are you coming today?   Exercise B:   Check whether the following sentences have been correctly punctuated. Correct those sentences that have been punctuated incorrectly.   Answers:   1. I said to my father, “Please give me five hundred rupees for my exam fee” 2. She was born on a Friday in April. 3. Wow! What a beautiful Idea! 4. May I know who are you talking to? 5.’Help!’ She cr...

  II Year, III Semester English Unit - I, Monophthongs Answers : B i t, s i t (sh i p, r i ch)   S ee , b ea t (sh ee p, N ee d)   F u ll, p u ll (g oo d, w ool )   F ool , r u le (Sh oo t, b oo t)   B u t, C u t ( u p, f u n )   F a ther, c a rd (far, car)   P o t, c o t ( o n, r o b)   P o rt,  caught (t a lk, l a w) A bout, sing e r (teach e r, a live)   B ir d, g ir l (th ir d, w or k)   T e n, b e d (g e t, s e t)   B a t, m a t (c a t, r a t)   Exercise A Match the Monophthongs given in column A   with the related words in Column B   Answers: 1. Foot 2. Curd 3. Apple 4. Eager 5. Drama 6. Fog 7. Account 8. Tube 9. But 10. Cord   Exercise B:   Identify the Monophthongs represented by the highlighted letter(s), and write down their phonemic symbol.   1.S i t     ...