s or z?

Does one say s or z?

The following words are pronounced with an S sound and not a Z sound.

listen
absolutely
exciting
price
recently
race

It is not

lizen
abzolutely
eggziting
prize
rezently
raze
Content as a noun has the accent placed on the first syllable.

Have you checked the `contents page?
I don’t think much of the `content. It will have to be re-written.

Content as a verb or adjective has the accent placed on the second syllable.

I am con`tent with life.
Are you con`tent with your raise?

Soft Skills tips:

1. When you are listening on the phone, make sure that you are making your speaker understand that you are listening. You can do this by saying, “Yes, that’s right”; “Ok”; “Interesting”; “Yes, I follow you”, etc. etc. Otherwise the speaker has to ask, “Are you there?”

2. When you pick up the phone and someone asks, “May I speak to Mohan, please?” don’t reply with a “Yes.” The Yes can mean, “Yes, you can speak to Mohan,” or it could also meaning, “Yes, this is Mohan.” So instead say, “This is Mohan speaking.”

3. If the call is not for you and is for your colleague who is not present, ask the following: “May I know who is speaking? Could I have your telephone number please? May I take a message?” Do not put down the receiver with a mere, “He is not there!”

One of my best friends.....

How often have you heard or used the following sentences?

One of my best friends are coming over for dinner tonight.

Or

One of my best friend is coming over for dinner tonight.

Which one of them is right? Actually, both of them are wrong! The sentences make sense, but they are grammatically wrong.

When you use the expression one of my…., you are talking about a singular subject, in other words only one subject. Therefore, the verb used is also singular.
Do not get mislead by the plural form of friend (friends) because what you are actually talking about is one of the many friends you have.

You are also talking about one of many friends and therefore, the noun is in the plural.

So remember:

The noun is in the plural form (friends)
The verb is in the singular form since you are talking about only one of the same kind. (is)

Look at other such sentences:

1. One of my books is missing.
2. One of these days, I will really get that car I have been talking about.
3. One of my mother’s best friends is taking us out for dinner tonight!
4. Isn’t this one of the stamps that you got me from the US?
5. One of the doctors has gone on leave.

has done/had done?

Is there a difference between the two?

Has been is called the present perfect; had been is called the past perfect.

Read the following conversations.

A: I want to go out and play.

B: Have you done your homework?

A: Of course I have done my homework. I completed it an hour ago.


Sara: Did you cook dinner before the guests arrived?

Mark: I had done the cooking before they arrived.

When you are describing two actions that happened in the past, the action that happened first is normally talked about in the past perfect tense and the second action is talked about in the simple past.

A: May I talk to Reena, please?
B: Sorry, Reena has gone out. May I know who is speaking?

We use the present perfect (has gone out) when we mean that the person went out and is still out there.
Reena went out (simple past) means that she went out sometime ago; she could have returned. That piece of information is not very clear.


Fill in the blanks with has or have.

1. A: How long ________you lived here?
B: Since I was nine years old.

2. A: By the time we reached the station, the train ___________left.
B: What did you do then? Take a bus?

3. A: If you _______not told me about the meeting, I wouldn’t have known.
B: I am really sorry that the boss forgot to inform you.

4. A: Is your father in?
B: He went out a little while ago. Let me check if he __________come back.

5. A: Did you clean up the mess before mother arrived?
B: I ________planned to. But mother arrived before I _________even started!

Has been or Was?

Is there a difference between has been and was?

Has been is called the present perfect tense.
Was is called the past tense.

Look at these sentences.

1. He was busy till late in the night. (He is no longer busy)
2. She was tired after the exercise. (She is no longer tired now)

Both these sentences talk about the state of a person in the past.

Read these sentences.

1. He has been busy this entire week.
2. She has been tired lately.

In both these sentences, what you want to say is that the person has been busy or tired over a period of time.

We cannot write:

He has been busy last week.
She has been tired after the exercise.

You cannot introduce the element of past time with the present perfect.

Try this quiz.

1. It ___________time to leave.

was has been

2. She ____________happy when I last saw her.

has been was

3 Peter __________ in Delhi for the past one month. He returns only next week.

was has been

4 My teacher _____________present at the meeting yesterday.

has been was

5 The dog ____________with us since our neighbour left.

was has been

Word Order

I want to know why are you late.

Heard that sentence before and wondered why it doesn’t sound quite right?

Why are you late?

is a grammatically correct sentence.

The question word why is followed by the verb (are) and then the subject (you). The sentence ends with a question mark because it is a question.

However, when a question word comes in the middle of a sentence, the word order changes. This makes it an embedded question so the word order changes.

I want to know why you are late.

The question word why is followed by the subject and then the verb (like in any other statement).

She wants to know where you have kept the iron.

Mary doesn’t know when the meeting is.

I don’t know what you mean by that.

The visitor wants to know how the system functions.

Can you be Able to Help Me?

I can able to come to the meeting tomorrow?
I could able to complete the job in time!

Have you heard this often enough and wondered, groaned or even asked yourself why it sounds so strange?
It sounds strange because it is just not right!
Can is a modal ( a grammatical terminology) and like all modals changes the mood of the verb. Can by itself means to be able/ability to as in:

I can speak good English.
I can drive a car.
I could speak fluent Japanese by the time I was ten years old!

So, why add be able to in addition to can?
So, our corrected sentences are:

I can come to the meeting tomorrow.
If you want to use the word able, then say
I will be able to come to the meeting tomorrow.
I could complete my job in time!

So, the next time you are tempted to use can and be able together, just put on the brakes!

How do you like Delhi?

You think you are carrying on a perfectly friendly conversation. You have said all the right things to this person you’ve just met. And then….you bite your tongue after seeing the expression on her face. Read on!

You: Hi, my name is Shankar.

Heena: Hi, I’m Heena. Nice to meet you, Shankar.

You: Nice to meet you too, Heena.

Heena: I’ve never seen you here before. Have you joined the company recently?

You: Yes, just last week.

Heena: Hope you like the work.

You: Oh yes, very much!

Heena: Where are you from?

You: From Chennai.

Heena: Is this your first visit to Delhi?

You: Yes, it is.

Heena: How do you find the place? I belong to Delhi.

You: Well, I think the capital of our country could be cleaner. I miss the rasam and sambar of Chennai… I don’t understand Hindi and people here don’t want to speak English…

Heena: Ok, Shankar. I better get going….Bye.

Even before you say bye, Heena has vanished into thin air. Remember, this is a friendly conversation. You don’t know the person well enough to give your frank opinion about anything, especially when it happens to be the place she belongs to!

A better response would have been:
It’s great to be in the capital of the country. I do miss my hometown, but I am sure I will get used to the place.

He is my Cousin

You’re in the mall, shopping with your cousin and then you meet your best friend, Arun. Of course you would like to introduce your cousin to Arun…

You: Hi, Arun! Great to see you!

Arun: Hi, Mohan. What a surprise seeing you here.

You: Yes, good to see you. Arun. He is cousin, Sreekanth.

Arun: Nice to meet you, Sreekanth.

Sreekanth: Nice to meet you too, Arun. Have heard a lot about you…

Introduction seems very friendly and casual. But is there something uncomfortable about the sentence, He is my cousin…?
Using the pronoun He or She when introducing someone is considered rude and impolite. Instead say

This is my cousin, Sreekanth.

Or

Meet my cousin, Sreekanth.

Body Language: Remember that when you are indicating someone, do so with an open palm. Do not use your finger to indicate someone. A pointing finger looks accusing. So when you are referring to your cousin and you say, “This is Sreekanth,” your palm is open and turned in your cousin’s direction.

More on Conversations

How do you do?

The response to, “How are you?” is “Fine thank you. And how about you?”

But what is the response to, “How do you do?”

Is it: “Fine thanks. And you?”

How do you do is a little more formal than how are you. Normally, in formal contexts, when two people introduce themselves to each other, or are introduced to one another, they also shake hands and then as they shake hands, one says, “How do you do?” and the other responds with, “How do you do?”

Sounds funny? What do you say when someone greets you with a Hi or Hello! Don’t you say the same in return? Let’s say that How do you do is a more formal way of greeting the person.

As you say How do you do, hold out your hand confidently and give the other person a firm, quick handshake. Look the person in the eye and smile. This shows that you are a confident, trustworthy person; a person one can have business dealings with.

Read this conversation about Maink coming into Peter’s office. This is the first time they are meeting.

Maink: Mr. Walters, Maink Khanna.
Peter: Peter Walters. How do you do? (offering hand)
Maink: How do you do? (accepting handshake)

Conversation Skills

What do you say when someone says, “How are you?”
Is it all right to say, “Fine”?
Aren’t we missing out on something?

• the person asking you how you are doing because she wants to know about the state of our health?
• the person asking you because it is a social convention?
• the person asking you because it is a way of opening up conversation?

It’s a combination of all three, isn’t it? So, by answering with a mere, “Fine,” you have ended what could have got into a conversation. So instead say,

• “Fine, thank you. How about you?”
• “Fine, thanks. And you?”

The word thanks/ thank you is very important. You are thanking the person for asking and you reciprocate by asking the other person also. Remember, the focus of the conversation has to be both of you and not just you!
And what about the response from the other person?

• “I’m doing fine.”
• “Great!”

Unless you know the person exceedingly well, keep your response to this question POSITIVE! Don’t talk about the headaches or attacks of insomnia you have had! People will flee!