Prepositions of place

Prepositions are those words that are used to connect nouns, pronouns and phrases in a sentence.  They do the job of portraying the relation between the words they connect. Broadly, there are three categories in which Prepositions can be divided:

-          Prepositions of time

-          Prepositions of place

-          Prepositions of movement

In this article, we will discuss the Prepositions of place in detail. 

Prepositions of place refer to those prepositions are used to show the location of something. These include prepositions of position and direction.  Some examples of prepositions of place are:

1.       At: It is used to describe a point. For example:

-          I saw someone standing at the door.

-          My shop is located at the corner of the road.

-          He is at office.

   

2.       In: It is used to talk about enclosed spaces. For example:

-          She is in India.

-          He is in his room

-          She is working in the kitchen.

-          The book is in the bag.

-          They are in Italy.

-          I read the facts in the article.

-          The fish is swimming in the pond.

3.       On: It is used for surfaces. For example:

-          The lamp is on the table.

-          The cat is sitting on the floor.

-          Don’t write on that paper.

-          She drew a picture on her copy.

-          They are on the train.

-          I am on my way to the restaurant.

-          They saw the advertisement on a billboard.

4.       By/next to/beside: These are used to talk about things that are on the left or right of somebody or something. For example:

-          She is standing by the car.

-          The house is next to the park.

-          My office is beside the factory.

5.       Under: It refers to something that is on the ground, lower than or covered by something else. For example:

-          The cat is hiding under the table.

-          The ball is under the bed.

-          The trunk is under the caught.

6.       Below: It refers to something that is lower than something else but above ground. For example:

-          This is explained in the lines below.

-          You can find the fishes below the surface of the water.

7.       Over: It has several meanings. It can be used to refer to something that is covered by something else; it also means more than something; it can also refer to something on the other side and overcoming a difficulty or an obstacle. For example:

-          Why don’t a wear a blazer over that shirt?

-          I am over 24 years now.

-          From Finch Street, you need to walk over to the Subway.

-          They will climb over the steep mountain.

8.       Above: It refers to something that is higher than something else but not directly over it. For example:

-          We are building a highway above this road.

-          The bridge goes above the river.

9.       Across: It means getting to the other side. For example:

-          Walk across the street to reach the Subway station.

-          The college is located across the road.

10.   Towards: It refers to the movement in the direction of something. For example:

-          Walk towards the building on your right.

5 important tips to participate in Group Discussion

Group discussion has become an integral part of an interview these days. It is a platform for sharing the ideas or opinion on a particular topic and debate upon. There is a small group of candidates who participate in group discussion. They are given a topic to debate on expressing their point of view. There is a time limit after which the best candidate is selected by the judge. It is not tough to crack. Follow the tips for group discussion given below and move on.

1. Preparation: It becomes easy to prepare if you know the topic of group discussion. Find out everything about it. Read the topic thoroughly, get to know the point of view of other people on it and finally analyse and decide what you think about it. Select the words you can use to explain your point of view, look for their pronunciation and practice saying it. If possible choose someone as your mentor who can identify and correct your mistakes. In this way you can prepare well in advance before the actual session.
If the topic is not known then you can do the preparation by reading the latest issues from newspapers, internet etc. and have a thorough knowledge of the topics. It will be best if you can get any English audio lessons or English video lessons material related to the topic. The general topic is usually chosen from the current happenings so keep yourself up to date with the current events

2. Do not interrupt: Start the discussion, if possible, else try to get a chance to speak. Listen carefully to what the other candidate is saying and do not ever interrupt even if you strongly disagree. Remember it’s a discussion and not competition. In an effective discussion the participants have listen to others also other than expressing their own views.

3. Be Alert: In a group discussion alertness and presence of mind is very essential. Keep the supportive statements and facts ready while listening to other person’s though and then continue the argument. This not only shows your alertness but also the importance you give to other’s thoughts.

4. Use simple language and learn some useful phrases to participate in group discussion:
Don’t try to impress others by using high vocabulary and technical words. Use simple English language which can be easily understood by others. To make your speech effective, you can use some useful phrases like –
Giving your opinion:-Be the discussion with the phrases like “In my opinion”, If you ask me”, “As far as I am concerned” etc.

Seeking other’s opinion:- Use the phrases like “What’s your idea?”, “What do you think about it?”
On agreeing: To express agreement use the words like absolutely, exactly or the phrases like “You are absolutely right”, “That’s true”.

On Disagreeing: To express strong disagreement say “I totally disagree” else say “I have different opinion about it”. Remember to disagree with someone’s opinion, don’t attack the person.

But ensure to be polite while expressing your opinion, agreement or disagreement. In no way you should sound harsh or impolite. Do not make fun of anyone’s idea.

5. Stick to your point of view: Do not change your opinion frequently. Think carefully before answering and have clear thoughts. Choose your answer, think about the supportive statements and facts and then present your views. Don’t worry if the others disagree with you. Put forward your opinion confidently and without any hesitation.

These are few important tips for group discussion. However a regular practice is required to lead. But remember that group discussion isn’t a battle field where you have to try every trick to win rather it is a platform to share your views, listen to others in a healthy and positive environment.

Learn English to Tamil

Tamil is an Indian language. It is a Dravidian language spoken mostly by the people of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India.  It is also spoken in North-east Sri Lanka and is a national language of Sri Lanka. It is an official language of Singapore. It also acts a medium of education in Malaysia. It is so popular that it is the first Indian language to be declared a classical language by the Government of India in the year 2004. Tamil is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world. It has been described as "the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past.

Tamil is undoubtedly an extremely popular language which is spoken in India as well as outside India, still it cannot overpower the need of learning and understanding basic English. English is absolutely essential to join any good company today as almost every company wants their employees to have a working knowledge of basic English. Apart from this, knowing English has also become a social obligation now as society tends to look down upon someone who does not have a good knowledge of the language.

If you are a Tamilian or a Tamil speaker and want to improve your English, then the best way for you is to learn English through tamil which is your mother tongue. There are many sites available on the internet which offers the feature to learn English through telegu or your mother tongue. This is a wonderful way to learn the foreign language as it makes the process of learning easy and understandable.

A few things that you can do to improve your English are:

1.    Play word games: You can play word games to build your stock of words that will help you in enriching your vocabulary. Reading dictionary can also help you in this. Having a good stock of words will help you in expressing your thoughts in a better manner.

2.    Speaking is also very important: Speaking English is the only exercise that can help get rid of the nervousness of speaking English in public. Practice speaking English by talking in English with everyone you know – your friends, family and acquaintances. Play speaking games by selecting a topic in which you want to speak. Prepare some quick notes and start speaking. You can also ask someone to listen to you and to correct you where you go wrong. You can also record your own voice and hear it later to check your mistakes, accent and tonal styles. All these exercises will help you to gain confidence and fluency in English Conversation.

3.    Listening can be helpful too: You can make it a habit to watch English movies and shows on TV. You can also listen to English news and songs. These will help you understanding different accent and will also expose you to an enriching vocabulary.

4.    Write and learn quickly: Make it a habit to write every day. You do not need to write long essays, but short notes. You can start writing a personal diary and write in your daily activities in it every day. If you prefer to write online, then you can start a blog and make a blog post every day. You can write about anything under the sun starting from your daily routine, your experiences and sometimes a topic of your choice.

English Video Lessons

Online learning English provides us with lot of benefits. Among these is learning through videos. Learning through videos is gaining popularity among learners of English language. We are not restricted to text based learning only which was the case when book was the only medium of gaining education. But in the age of internet and multimedia, there exists audio video based education which makes learning all the more exciting and engaging.

You might ask the benefits of English video lessons. How is it that the video lessons will prove to be more helpful in improving our language learning skill than the conventional method of learning through written texts? Many international websites are teaching online through English video lessons for a long time now. But it is new concept among Indian language learning websites. There is only handful of Indian websites which provide you the option of learning through video lessons.

Each video clip does not last for more than three minutes while completing the lesson might take fifteen to twenty minutes. Hence, each lesson along with the video clip will require commitment of half an hour from the learner’s side. The video lesson has components of listening comprehension, grammar and writing. Some websites might provide the component of speaking as well. Through the videos we learn certain vocabulary, improve one of the grammar concepts and also practice writing skills. 

Unlike text lessons, where only reading material is provided there is greater degree of engagement and a lot more learning is happening. Video lessons certainly make learning less monotonous. 

Learning English through video lessons has its own benefits. What make the video lessons exciting and engaging are the video clips. These video clips are usually taken from short documentaries, films or English news. On websites, the learner would find a variety of categories to choose from. The categories can be like, science and technology, travel, history, politics, education, society, news, entertainment etc. You can choose the video according to your own choice and take up the lesson. With each video lesson you will learn new vocabulary, improve your grammar concept and writing skill. Listening skill is honed with every lesson. You will find it easier to make sense of the Learn English video whenever you come across any on television or YouTube. You will also make sense of a certain vocabulary that is used in news channels, certain kind of documentaries and short films. 

The video lesson certainly hones your listening as well as understanding skills. The learners are more aware about the spoken words and try to make sense of the video clip as a whole. As the learners takes up the lessons over time, s/he would improve their language skills to a great extent. English videos are some things that we always come across. Videos are a great source of information for us that is engaging and exciting.