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Become Proficient in Speaking and Writing GOOD ENGLISH

The book offers practical advice for writing proper and attractive prose.

It will help improve one\\\\\\\'s communication ability and skill.

The topics cover Common Errors, Confusing set of Figures of Speech, Foreign Words and Phrases and various aspects of Grammar and Syntax.

The entries have adequate and appropriate examples.

The topics are arranged alphabetically for easy reference.

Eight Appendices are added to enrich the Vocabulary.

This work is a contribution to various aspects of writing correct and good English, focusing on the requirements of the Indian writers. It is not a text that deals with theoretical aspects of writing but offers practical advice in an alphabetical format for writing proper and attractive prose to improve one\\\\\\\'s communication skills. Topics cover commonly made mistakes and confusing set of words, proper and effective use of figures of speech, various aspects of grammar and syntax, even foreign language words commonly used in English, besides many other aspects of attractive writing. Examples have been given everywhere to illustrate the entries. It also gives an insight into aspects of the language that would help in writing good prose. Eight appendices are included to enrich the vocabulary and knowledge of the reader.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author, Archana Mathur, is a widely-read scholar, with over a decade and a half of teaching experience. For the last ten years she has been teaching at Delhi Public School, Lucknow branch. Earlier, she also worked as a research assistant at the Indian Institute of Management and at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, both at Lucknow.

AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

E

Each; every. Each means ‘being one of two or more individuals or things’. Every has the meaning of ‘entire body of people or things’. Both the words are sometimes interchangeable.
Each and every one of us is responsible to the society.
Each one of us is to plant a sapling in her garden.
Every one is expected to plant a sapling in one’s garden
Each player was given a chance to bat.
Every player was given a chance to bat.

Each other; one another. The two expressions are to be applied in different situations but are very often used indiscriminately. To avoid confusion, it must be remembered that each other applies to ‘two persons or things’, but one another to three or more.
They hit each other indicates that only ‘two persons’ were involved, but they hit one another clearly shows that three or more persons were involved.

Eastward; eastwards; easterly; eastern. The writer gets perplexed by the correct use of the first two words. Eastward is adjective and adverb both, meaning ‘in an easterly direction’ and eastwards is adverb only meaning ‘towards the east’. Since the sense is the same, either can be used. Easterly has the meaning of ‘in an eastward position or direction’ or ‘coming from the east’ particularly with reference to wind. Eastern means ‘coming from the east’, referring specially to the regions to the east of Europe.
The eastward-facing windows get the first morning sun.
If you look eastwards you can see the ruins in the distance.
The easterly winds sweep into Alwar a lot of sand from the Thar Desert.
Among the Eastern nations China is now the most developed.

Either. The word (i) means ‘one or the other’, or (ii) is used for emphasis.
You can take either road to reach the town.
How can I employ her? She is not educated or smart either

Either / neither; any. Either/ neither should only be used with reference to two things, but if there are more than two any is the appropriate word.
Either Ramesh or Umesh can go and fetch the car.
Neither Ramesh nor Umesh know driving.
Any person, who has a licence, could take the car to the station.

Either/ or; neither/ nor. Either acts as a function word before two or more coordinate words, phrase or classes joined by or to indicate that what follows immediately
is the first of the two or more alternatives. The first in each pair follows the
second in sentences involving unavoidable choice between two or more alternatives.
The way he is behaving it looks he is either drunk or mad.
Either you can join the army, or you can continue with college.
The nurses in this hospital are neither competent nor caring.
She is always asking for some thing; it is either a new sari, or a new ring, or a new pair of chappals.

Elder, elderly, and older in respect to human relationship have different connotations. Elder is a person of greater age than one. Elderly is rather an old or aging person, past middle age. Older is a comparative of ‘old’.
He is my elder brother.
He is an elderly person.
This sister is older to me by three year

Elision is suppression of vowel or syllable in pronouncing. See Contractions of verb phrases. Some other examples are given here:
goin’ = going
there’s = there is

Ellipses are three dots indicating omission of words in a quoted passage or a pause in writing; at the end of a sentence it indicates trailing off in an intriguing or fascinating manner something unsaid.
The output of the printed word in the English language . . . is simply phenomenal.
The fight got out of hand; he threatened: “If you don’t go away at once I am going to . . .”

Emigrate; immigrate. The meaning of emigrate is ‘to go to live permanently in another country.’ It is just the opposite of immigrate which means ‘come to settle permanently in another country’.
He plans to emigrate to Australia soon.
Karl immigrated to India from Germany.

Endemic; epidemic; pandemic. These three similar words cause some confusion when describing the prevalence of diseases. Endemic means that the disease is restricted to a particular region or people. Epidemic occurs when an infectious disease is suddenly affecting a large population or area. Pandemic indicates that the disease is affecting a wide geographic area like a whole country or a large part of the world and population.
Malaria is endemic to the terai region of Uttar Pradesh.
The plague epidemic in Surat devastated the whole town.
There is a danger that the foot-and-mouth disease if not controlled immediately may become a pandemic.

Endemic is also used in the sense of prevalence or characteristic of a restricted area or occurrence other than a disease.
This variety of mango is endemic to Malihabad near Lucknow.
The problem of giving sustainable wages to the weavers of Varanasi is endemic.

Enquiry and inquiry are both nouns that mean the same, but there is a fine shade in the meaning of the two. Enquiry connotes ‘a request for information (used often in the plural), while inquiry has now come to indicate ‘a regular investigation into a matter of public interest’.
He made enquiries about the day train to Delhi.
The inquiry commission was given another extension of six months.

Epanalepsis is a figure of speech in which there is repetition of a word or a phrase in a text or speech as a rhetorical device. The following quotation from the war-time speech of Winston Churchill is the finest example of epanalepsis ever.
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fieldsand in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender.

Epigram is a short and pointed, terse or witty saying or expression, often paradoxical, effective by its wit and ingenuity. It requires considerable flair to write epigrammatic language. The following couplet by poet Samuel Coleridge’ definition of this form is in itself an epigram:
What is an epigram? A dwarfish whole:
Its body brevity, and wit its soul.
Another well-known example of epigram comes from Alexander Pope:
A man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.

Epigraph is a short quotation or saying at the beginning of an article, chapter or book intended to suggest its topic or theme. This device could be used by a writer to introduce a reader to the topic or to lay emphasis on what he intends to say. (It is also an ancient engraved inscription by a ruler or other authority.)

Epitaph is an inscription on a tomb in memory of the person buried there, as also words written in memory of a deceased person.

Epithet is an adjective expressing quality or attribute of a person or thing or it may be offensive or abusive word or phrase. [not to be confused with epitaph.]
Jholawala is an epithet that is applied to an Indian pseudo-intellectual who moves around with a cloth shoulder-bag containing a few Marxist books and sprouting platitudes.
He calls himself a painter but his work is no better than a child’s doodle.
He thinks he is clever but I think he is only a fool and bird-brained.
When he tried to teach me morality, I got annoyed and told him to go to hell.

Esquire (abbreviation Esq.). It is elegant to use the title Esq. after the name of a gentleman. A comma is used after the name and before Esq. If this title is used, Mr. is omitted, that is, both Mr. and Esq. cannot be used at the same time.
H. M. Malhotra, Esq.
Mr. H. M. Malhotra
[Not: Mr. H. M. Malhotra, Esq.]

Etc. is the abbreviation of Latin et cetera meaning ‘and the rest’. It is generally written after an incomplete list of two or more things or persons to indicate that there are additional unspecified items in the list. Therefore, to write ‘and’ before the last item in the list is meaningless because it indicates finality to the list. Another abbreviation of this phrase is &c. but it is avoided in a sentence. A comma is used before etc., and sometimes also after it in American usage.
You must bring pen, pencil, scale, etc., for the examination.

Euphuism is a figure of speech where an offensive, harsh or distressing expression is substituted by one which is gentler though may be less accurate. This original definition has been extended to include all words and expressions without any such connotation. Such forms are popularly used in everyday writing or speech because they are often mild, decent and polite expressions.
better-half = wife
collateral damage = unintended killing of civilians in war
domestic help = servant
flesh trade = prostitution
mentally deranged = mad
passed away = died
shrink = psychiatrist
sanitary convenience = lavatory
senior citizen = old man

Another type of euphuism can be considered a sobriquet:
The Bard for ‘Shakespeare’
The Mahatma for ‘Mahatma Gandhi’.
The Raj for the British sovereignty in India

Some words or phrases could be considered euphuism:
fancy wheels [fancy cars]
the stork came calling [a child was born]
open the bubbly [celebrate by opening Champaign]

Even date, of. Of the same genre as instant, ultimo, etc., this expression is very confusing in letters and memos. It means ‘today’, and is a good example of muddled writing, for one has to look up the date without which it makes no sense. (God save you if you happen to read the memo on a later date.)
With reference to your memo of even date I confirm the venue of the meeting.