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parishioner:
(plural: ‘parishioners‘)
all the parishioners of a parish
a member of a parish,
(a ‘parish’ = a local church community)
some parishioners of a parish
e.g.
All the parishioners are asked to contribute not only their money but also their time in rebuilding the church.
The padre listens to the confessions of the parishioners of his parish and advise them what they should do and what they should not do.
a parish clerk, Val Walsom, West Bergholt Parish
{Note: ‘Parish clerk’ is a church official in a parish is a clergy man who performs various duties in/for the church.}
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old maid:
(plural: ‘old maids‘)
an old maid (a spinster)
an elderly unmarried woman (a woman who has not married beyond the conventional age for marrying); a spinster;
any person (man or woman) who is very careful about everything and is very difficult to please or satisfy;
a player in a card game who is a loser,
an old maid (a very careful man/a loser in a kind of card game, also called ‘old maid’)
e.g.
They engaged an old maid to look after their teenage daughters.
My wife’s uncle is such an old maid that we find it difficult to make him happy.
(a deck of old maid cards)
{Note: ‘Old maid’ is also used to refer to a kind of card game and a kind of flowering plant, also called ‘old maid flower’, found in America.}
one of the several kinds of old maid (old maid flower)
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nibs:
(plural in form but singular in usage; often used with “his/her“)
a nibs showing his authority to his charge
a person in charge of something or someone or a person who has a little authority, usually not very important but feels himself/herself very important;
said mockingly as a title used of someone in charge of someone or something,
his nibs trying to impose some conditions on the group he is in charge of
e.g.
His nibs says we must get up at 5 in the morning.
Ask her nibs what we should with the unopened boxes.
{Note: “Nibs” with singular ‘nib’ is more commonly used to refer to the writing pointed part of an ink pen/fountain pen.}
a nib of a fountain pen (singular ‘nib’ & plural ‘nibs’)
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mammy:
(plural: ‘mammies‘)
(in Ireland and America) an affectionate word for ‘mother’ mostly used by children;
a mammy with a white child
(an informal word, so not to be used in formal situations) an Afro-American (Black) woman whose job is to care for the white (Caucasian) children in the southern USA,
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incumbent:
(the letter ‘i’ rhymes with the letter ‘i’ in “ink”, the ‘c’ with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”, and the letter ‘u’ rhymes with the letter ‘u’ in “but”)
(in British English) a priest in the Church of England;
- Nambaryn Enkhboyar, incumbent president of Mongolia (as of 01-02-2010)
(in general) any person who holds a position or office, especially an important political office, such as a mayor, a party president, etc. ;
- Edmund Ho Hau Wah, incumbent Chief Executive of China’s Macao Special Administrative Region
a keeper of some important thing; custodian
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disparate – desperate:
[different pronunciation: the letters 'di' in 'disparate' rhyme with the letters 'di' in "dig", and the letters 'de' in 'desperate' rhyme with the letters 'de' in "depth"]
“Disparate” means ‘entirely differently; no comparison can be made between two or more things or activities because of the striking difference’,
e.g.
‘Sky-diving’ and ‘skin diving’ are two disparate sport skills. [because ‘sky-diving’ is jumping from an aircraft and ‘skin diving’ is swimming under water]
__________
“Desperate” means ‘ready to do any wild or senseless or risky act, regardless of possible danger, due to loss of hope or as a last attempt’,
e.g.
The football player was so desperate to make a goal that he played a foul shot and was sent out of field with a red card.
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caddie/caddy:
(plural: ‘caddies‘/’caddies‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘c’ is said with a ‘k’ sound as in “king”)
Tiger Woods (R) & his caddie (L)
a young man or boy (these days also a young woman) whose job is to carry golf clubs for a golf player who is playing;
(in Scottish) a young boy who does simple odd jobs,
It is interesting to know that most of the present ace golf players were once caddies, carrying golf clubs for the ace players of that time.
Most of the professional caddies are those golf fans who like to be on the golf courses with the golf heroes and learn the art of golf at the same time.
caddie/ trolley
1.
fish (noun) = a person, especially a person lacking in (not having enough) something, such as emotions, intelligence; or a person who is easily attracted to something (bait), usually something dangerous or harmful
2.
to fish (verb) = to try to get something indirectly and/or by some cunning way
3.
a wet fish = a feeble, worn-out person
4.
a cold fish = a person who deals with others in an impersonal (uninterested) way, without any feelings
5.
a queer fish = a person who is very difficult to deal with; an eccentric person
6.
(a) big fish
(b) a big fish in a little pond [said of an important and influential person in a small group, organisation, community, etc.]
7.
fish face [an expression used as an abuse or insult, or sometimes used in a friendly way]
8.
fishy [said of something that causes the feelings of doubt or suspicion]
9.
fish-eyed [said of someone cold (= serious and thoughtful, not showing any friendliness) and calculating]
10.
(a) a fish out of water
(b) (feel) like a fish out of water [said of a person who feels uncomfortable or at a loss in new or strange places, situations or people]
11.
to drink like a fish = to drink alcoholic drinks too much or in large quantities
12.
to swim like a fish = to swim very well
13.
(a) as dumb as a fish
(b) as mute as a fish
14.
(A) a pretty/fine/different kettle of fish [said of a situation that is difficult or awkward, or different from what is expected; a great mix-up]
(B) a different kettle of fish [said of a totally different person or thing, particularly from the one mentioned earlier]
15.
to have bigger/other fish to fry [said of when a person has more important or interesting work than the usual one to do]
16.
to fish (for something) = to try to obtain or get something, (phrasal verb) such as information, favour, etc. by indirect methods
17.
to fish in troubled waters [said of when someone tries to gain some benefit, or profit out of other people’s troubles or from a disturbed situation, such as selling things on black market during wartime, demanding money to help the flood victims]
18.
all fish are not caught with flies [said to mean that different people need different methods or incentives to do something]
19.
in a fish bowl [said of a situation where a person has no privacy, some time or place where he/she can do something personal without others looking on or interfering with]
20.
(a) there are plenty of other fish in the sea
(b) there are plenty of more good fish in the sea [said to mean that there are many other people or things that are as good as the one that someone has failed to get or own]
SENTENCE
in grammar
Introduction
The word ‘sentence’, in general sense, has these dictionary meanings: ‘the punishment given to a person by a court of law’, ‘to say officially in a court of law that a person is to get a particular punishment’, but in English grammar:
“A sentence is a group of words which has a subject (one or more) and a predicate (one or more), and gives complete sense.”
When we write a sentence, we must begin it with a Capital Letter and end it with either a full stop [.] or a question mark [?] or an exclamation mark [!]
depending on the context.
For example,
Stop. [= You stop.]
He is a boy.
She goes to school and (she) studies very hard.
I returned home early because I was tired.
Do you like this book?
What a beautiful garden it is!
The six groups of words given above are six complete sentences.
A sentence must have a Subject part and a Predicate part: a subject part must have a noun or pronoun; a predicate part must have a main verb.
e.g. Our children are playing in the park.
subject part predicate part
children – noun are playing – main verb
Kinds of Sentences
according to construction according to expression
1. Simple Sentence 1. Statement or Declarative
2. Compound Sentence 2. Interrogative or question
3. Complex Sentence 3. Imperative
4. Compound-complex sentence 4. Exclamatory
‘according to construction’ = depending on the number of subject parts and predicate parts used in the sentence
‘according to expression’ = depending on whether some information given; a question asked; an order given, or a surprise , wonderment or fright expressed in the sentence
Any given sentence must belong to any one of the kinds according to the construction, and any one of the kinds according to the expression.
e.g.
Are all the boys singing and (are) all the girls dancing?
This sentence is:
a Compound Sentence according to construction
an Interrogative Sentence according to expression.
____
__________________________
Before going any further into the KINDS OF SENTENCES in detail, it is essential for us to know about ‘phrases’ and ‘clauses’ which play an important role in sentence building.
A Phrase is a group of words which has no subject and no predicate of its own but gives some meaning on its own and forms a part of a large group of words which is either a clause or a sentence.
e.g. Jane is standing at the table near the window.
‘at the table’ = a phrase ‘near the window’ = a phrase
In this sentence ‘at the table’ is a phrase: it gives us some idea where Jane is standing, but on its own it cannot give us complete sense, in other words, without the other group of words “Jane is standing…”, we cannot understand what this group of words stands for.
There are several different kinds of PHARSES – categorical and functional.
We, at this basic level, limit ourselves to some of the most important ones that help us in understanding the Sentence building.
The common kinds of Phrases are (categorical):
noun phrase
prepositional phrase
appositive phrase
absolute phrase
infinite phrase
gerundial phrase
participle phrase
Different grammarians use different names for the same kind or the function of a group of words; therefore, we are advised not be confused over the names given to it, but to pay attention to the actual function and the purpose it serves.
We will understand those differences better when we have learnt the following simple rules and important points.
The common kinds we discuss now are (functional):
Noun phrase
Adjective phrase
adverb phrase
The Noun Phrase: does the work of a noun…
e.g. We never expected defeat.
noun
We never expected to lose the match.
noun phrase – with ‘to-infinitive’
The Adjective Phrase: does the work of an adjective…
e.g. She is a famous woman.
adjective
She is a woman of great fame.
adjective phrase – prepositional phrase
The Participle phrase: does the work of a participle…
[go-went-gone-going = ‘gone’ is the Past Participle form and ‘going’ is the Present Participle form of the verb word “go”]
e.g.
The thief jumped over the wall. He ran away.
main verb – simple past tense
Jumping over the wall, the thief ran away.
present participle phrase
The noise frightened the baby. It started to cry.
main verb – simple past tense (frighten – frightened – frightened)
Frightened by the noise, the baby started to cry.
(frighten – frightened – frightened)
past participle phrase
For more on position of ‘Participle Phrases’, refer to SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT.
Adverb phrase: does the work of an adverb…
e.g.
He drove away quickly.
adverb
He drove away with great speed.
adverb phrase – prepositional phrase
