Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are an important part of learning the English language. Most phrasal verbs consist of two words (verb + adverb or verb + preposition) but a few consists of three words. They are phrases that give verbs completely different meanings.

Phrasal Verb                         Meaning                                              Example
Act  on	To take action because of something like information received.	The police were ACTING ON a tip from an informer and caught the gang red-handed.
Act out	Perform something with actions and gestures.	They ACTED OUT the story on stage.
Act up	Behave badly or strangely.	My computer’s ACTING UP; I think I might have a virus.
Add on	Include in a calculation.	You have to ADD the VAT ON to the price they give.
Add up	To make a mathematical total.	We ADDED UP the bill to check it was correct.
Agree with	Affect- usually used in the negative to show that something has had a negative effect, especially is it makes you feel bad.	I feel terrible- that food didn’t AGREE WITH my stomach.
Aim at	To target.	The magazine is AIMED AT teenagers.
Allow for	Include something in a plan or calculation.	You should ALLOW FOR delays when planning a journey.
Allow of	Make possible, permit.	The rules don’t ALLOW OF any exceptions.
Angle for	Try to get something indirectly, by hinting or suggesting.	He’s been ANGLING FOR an invitation, but I don’t want him to come.
Answer back	To reply rudely to someone in authority.	Her mother was shocked when she started ANSWERING her BACK and refusing to help.
Argue down	Beat someone in a debate, discussion or argument.	The teacher tried to ARGUE the girl DOWN, but she couldn’t.
Argue down	Persuade someone to drop the price of something they’re selling.	She ARGUED him DOWN ten percent.
Argue out	Argue about a problem to find a solution.	If we can’t ARGUE our differences OUT, we’ll have to take them to court.
Ask about	Ask how someone is doing, especially professionally and in terms of health.	He ASKED ABOUT my father.
Ask after	Enquire about someone’s health, how life is going.	Jenny rang earlier and ASKED AFTER you, so I told her you were fine.
Ask around	Ask a number of people for information of help.	I have no idea, but I’ll ASK AROUND at work and see if anyone can help.
Ask in	To invite somebody into your house.	Jon’s at the door.’ ‘ASK him IN.’
Ask out	To invite someone for a date.	He wanted to ASK her OUT but was too shy.
Ask over	Invite.	They have ASKED us OVER for drinks on Friday.
Ask round	Invite someone.	We ASKED John ROUND for diner.
Auction off	Sell something in an auction.	They AUCTIONED OFF their property as they were heavily in debt.
Back away	Retreat or go backwards.	The crowd BACKED AWAY when the man pulled a knife.
Back down	Retract  or withdraw your position or proposal in an argument.	She refused to BACK DOWN and was fired.
Back into	Enter a parking area in reverse gear.	He prefers to BACK his car INTO the garage.
Back off	Retreat.	The police told the protesters to BACK OFF.
Back out	Fail to keep an arrangement or promise.	He BACKED OUT two days before the holiday so we gave the ticket to his sister
Back out of	Fail to keep an agreement, arrangement.	She BACKED OUT OF the agreement at the last minute.
Back up	Make a copy of a computer data.	You should always BACK UP important files and documents so that you won’t lose all your work if something goes wrong with the hardware.
Bag out	Criticise.	Don’t bag out BAG OUT Australian English.
Ball up	Confuse or make things complicated.	The new project has BALLED me UP- I have no idea what to do.
Bargain down	Persuade someone to drop the price of something they’re selling.	I BARGAINED her DOWN to half what she originally wanted.
Bash about	Mistreat physically.	If you BASH your monitor ABOUT like that, it won’t last long.
Bash in	Break, damage or injure by hitting.	The burglars BASHED the door IN to enter the house.
Bash out	Write something quickly without much preparation.	I BASHED the essay OUT the night before I had to hand it in.
Be after	Try to find or get.	The police ARE AFTER him because of the theft.
Be along	Arrive.	The next bus should BE ALONG in the next quarter of an hour or so.
Be away	Be elsewhere; on holiday, etc..	She’s AWAY on business for three weeks.
Be cut out for	Be suitable, have the necessary qualities.	She’s not CUT OUT FOR this kind of work.
Be cut up	Be upset.	She was very CUT UP about coming second as she thought she deserved to win.
Be down	Be depressed.	He’s BEEN DOWN since his partner left him.
Be fed up	Be bored, upset or sick of something.	I AM FED UP of his complaints.
Be taken with	Like something.	I WAS very TAKEN WITH the performance- it was superb.
Be up	Be out of bed.	She’s not UP yet.
Bear down on	Move towards.	She spotted him on the other side of the room and BORE DOWN ON him.
Bear on	Influence, affect.	The judge’s character may well BEAR ON the final decision.
Bear out	Confirm that something is correct.	Statistics BEAR OUT the government’s positions on the issue.
Bear up	Resist pressure.	How are you BEARING UP under the strain?
Bear up under	Cope with something difficult or stressful.	He’s BEARING UP UNDER the pressure.
Bear with	Be patient.	Please BEAR WITH me a moment while I finish this email.
Beat down	Strong sunshine.	The sun WAS really BEATING DOWN and we couldn’t stay outdoors.
Beat out	Narrowly win in a competition.	The marathon runner barely BEAT OUT his rival at the tape.
Beat up	Attack violently.	The mugger BEAT him UP and stole his wallet.
Belong with	Be in the correct  or appropriate location with other items.	Does this disc BELONG WITH those on the shelf?
Bend down	Lower the top half of your body.	I BENT DOWN to pick it up off the floor.
Big up	Exaggerate the importance.	He BIGS himself UP all the time.
Bitch up	Spoil or ruin something.	I BITCHED UP the interview.
Blackout	Fall unconscious.	He BLACKED OUT and collapsed on the floor.
Blast off	Leave the ground- a spaceship or rocket.	The space shuttle BLASTED OFF on schedule yesterday.
Block in	Park  a car and obstruct another car.	I couldn’t drive here this morning because someone had BLOCKED me IN.
Block off	Obstruct an exit to prevent people from leaving.	The police BLOCKED OFF the road after the murder.
Blow away	Impress greatly.	Her first novel BLEW me AWAY.
Blow  down	When the wind forces something to fall.	A tree was BLOWN DOWN in the storm.
Blow in	Arrive, sometimes suddenly or unexpectedly.	He BLEW IN from Toronto early this morning.
Blow off	Not keep an appointment.	We were going to meet last night, but she BLEW me OFF at the last minute.
Blow up	Explode.	The bomb BLEW UP without any warning.
Boil up	Feel a negative emotion strongly.	The anger BOILED UP in me when I saw what they had done.
Bone upon	Study hard for a goal or reason.	I need to BONE UP ON my French grammar for the test.
Book in	Check-in at a hotel.	WE took a taxi from the airport to the hotel and BOOKED IN.
Call up	Telephone.	I CALLED him UP as soon as I got to a phone to tell him the news.
Calm down	Stop being angry or emotionally excited.	When I lose my temper, it takes ages for me to CALM DOWN again.
Cancel out	Have an opposite effect on something that has happened, taking things back to the beginning.	The airport taxes CANCELLED OUT the savings we had made on the flight tickets.
Cap off	Finish or complete, often with some decisive action.	She CAPPED OFF the meeting with a radical proposal.
Care for	Like.	I don’t CARE FOR fizzy drinks; I prefer water.
Carried away	Get so emotional that you lose control.	The team got CARRIED AWAY when they won the championship and started shouting and throwing things around.
Carry forward	Make something progress.	They hope the new management will be able to CARRY the project FORWARD.
Carry off	Win, succeed.	She CARRIED OFF the first prize in the competition.
Carry on	Continue.	CARRY ON quietly with your work until the substitute teacher arrives.
Decide upon	Choose, select.	Jane spent a long time looking at houses before she bought one, but eventually DECIDED UPON one near her office.
Die away	Become quieter or inaudible (of a sound).	The last notes DIED AWAY and the audience burst into applause.
Die  back	When the parts of a plant above ground die, but the roots remain alive.	The plant DIES BACK in the winter.
Die down	Decrease or become quieter.	It was on the front pages of all the papers for a few days, but the interest gradually DIED DOWN.
Die for	Want something a lot.	I’m DYING FOR the weekend- this week’s been so hard.
Die-off	Become extinct.	Most of the elm trees in the UK DIED OFF when Dutch elm disease arrived.
Die out	Become extinct or disappear.	Some scientists say that the dinosaurs DIED OUT when a comet hit the earth and caused a nuclear winter.
Dig in	Start eating greedily.	We were starving so we really DUG IN when the food finally did arrive.
Dig into	Reach inside to get something.	She DUG INTO her handbag and pulled out a bunch of keys.
Fawn over	Praise someone in an excessive way to get their favour or something from them.	She FAWNED OVER the inspectors in the hope that they would give her a good grade.
Feed off	Eat a food as part of an animals diet.	The gecko FEEDS OFF mosquitoes and other insects.
Feed on	Give someone a particular food.	He FEEDS his cat ON dry food.
Feed up	Give someone a lot of food to restore their health, make them bigger, etc.	She’s been ill for a fortnight so we’re FEEDING her UP.
Feel up	Touch sexually, grope.	Someone FELT me UP in the club as I was trying to get to the bar.
Feel up to	Feel capable of doing something.	I’m so tired. I don’t think I FEEL UP TO going out tonight.
Get ahead	Progress.	Nowadays, you need IT skills if you want to GET AHEAD.
Get ahead of	Move-in front of.	I work at home in the evening to GET AHEAD OF schedule.
Get along	Leave.	It’s late; we must be GETTING ALONG.
Give up	Stop doing something that has been a habit.	I GAVE UP taking sugar in tea and coffee to lose weight.
Hit on	Have an idea.	I suddenly HIT ON the solution
Hold off	Stop someone from attacking or beating you.	Chelsea couldn’t HOLD their opponents OFF and lost the game.
Hold on	Wait.	Could you HOLD ON for a minute; she’ll be free in a moment.
Hook up	Meet someone.	We HOOKED UP at the conference.
Hunt out	Search until you find something.	It took me ages to HUNT OUT the photos.
Jack up	Increase sharply.	They have JACKED UP the price of oil this month.
Jam on	Apply or operate something forcefully.	Jack JAMMED ON the brakes when the rabbit ran in front of his car.
Jaw away	Talk just for the point of talking rather than having anything to say.	That shows that your interest is not in helping the student, but in JAWING AWAY.
Jazz up	Make something more interesting or attractive.	The show was getting stale so they JAZZED it UP with some new scenes.
Keep around	Keep something near you.	I KEEP a dictionary AROUND when I’m doing my homework.
Keep at	Continue with something difficult.	She found the course hard but she KEPT AT it and completed it successfully.
Keep away	Don’t allow someone near something.	Medicines should always be KEPT AWAY from children.
Keep back	Maintain a safe distance.	The police told the crowd to KEEP BACK from the fire.
Key to	Plan things to fit or suit people or situations.	Promotions are KEYED TO people’s abilities.
Key up	Make someone excited or nervous.	The noise got us KEYED UP.
Kick about	Discuss.	We KICKED the idea ABOUT at the meeting.
Kick in	When a drug starts to take effect.	Her hay fever didn’t feel half as bad once the antihistamines had KICKED IN.
Kick out	Expel.	The family KICKED the au pair OUT when they found out that she was planning to move to work for another household.
Knock off	Finish work for the day.	We KNOCKED OFF early on Friday to avoid the rush hour queues.
Lash down	Secure something with ropes or cords.	We LASHED the tarpaulin DOWN to stop the wind blowing it away.
Lash into	Criticise someone strongly.	He LASHED INTO them for messing thins up.
Lash out	Suddenly become violent.	He LASHED OUT and broke the man’s nose.
Lay on	Organise, supply.	They LAID ON a buffet lunch at the conference.
Lay out	Spend money.	They LAID OUT thousands of pounds on their wedding reception.
Let in	Allow someone to enter.	The door staff didn’t LET him IN the nightclub because he was wearing jeans.
Let off	Not punish.	The judge LET him OFF with a fine rather than a prison sentence since it was his first offence.
Line up	Arrange events for someone.	We have LINED UP a lot of meetings for them.
Link up	Connect, join.	The train LINKS UP the cities.
Live by	Follow a belief system to guide your behaviour.	He tries hard to LIVE BY the Bible.
Live down	Stop being embarrassed about something.	If I fail the test and everyone else passes, I’ll never be able to LIVE it DOWN.
Live with	Accept something unpleasant.	It’s hard to LIVE WITH the pain of a serious illness.
Log in	Enter a restricted area on a computer system.	I had forgotten my password and couldn’t LOG IN.
Log into	Enter a restricted area of a computer system.	I LOGGED INTO the staff intranet to check my email.
Log off	Exit a computer system.	When she’d finished working on the spreadsheet, she LOGGED OFF and left the office.
Log on	Enter a computer system.	He entered his password for the college intranet and LOGGED ON.
Log out	Exit a computer system.	Danny closed the programs and LOGGED OUT when it was time to go home.
Look up	Consult a reference work (dictionary, phonebook, etc.) for a specific piece of information.	I didn’t know the correct spelling so I had to LOOK it UP in the dictionary.
Magic away	Make something disappear quickly.	He MAGICKED the bill AWAY and paid for us all before I could get my wallet out.
Make after	Chase.	The police MADE AFTER the stolen car.
Make away with	Steal.	The thieves MADE AWAY WITH the painting.
Make it	Arrive or get a result.	I thought you weren’t coming, so I was really pleased you MADE IT.
Make it up to	Try to compensate for doing something wrong.	He tried to MAKE IT UP TO her, but she wouldn’t speak to him.
Make of	Understand or have an opinion.	What do you MAKE OF your new boss?
Make off	Leave somewhere in a hurry.	They MADE OFF when they heard the police siren.
Mash up	Mix sources of audio, video or other computer sources.	She MASHED UP the songs into a single track.
Melt down	Heat something solid, especially metal, until it becomes liquid.	They MELTED the gold statue DOWN and turned it into gold bars.
Mess about	Not be serious, not use something properly.	The children were MESSING ABOUT with the TV remote control and broke it.
Mix up	Confuse.	I always MIX those two sisters UP because they look so like each other.
Move into	Start living in a place.	They MOVED INTO the house as soon as it was ready.
Move up	Move to make space.	Could you MOVE UP and let me sit down?
Nail down	Succeed in getting, achieve.	They are having trouble NAILING DOWN the contract.
Name after	Give someone a name to remember another person.	I was NAMED AFTER my uncle who died in the war.
Narrow down	Remove less important options to make it easier to choose.	I am not sure which university to apply to, but I have NARROWED my list DOWN to three.
Nerd out	Play safe and avoid taking a risk.	I’m going to NERD OUT and not go on the river trip.
Opt for	Choose.	I OPTED FOR an endowment mortgage and lost a lot of money.
Opt-in	Choose to be part or a member of something.	If you want them to notify you of updates, you have to OPT-IN.
Opt into	Choose to be a member or part of something.	I OPTED INTO the scheme.
Opt-out	Choose not to be part of something.	The UK OPTED OUT of a lot of EU legislation on working hours and conditions.
Pack in	Stop doing something.	I’m trying to PACK IN smoking.
Pack off	Send someone away.	His boss PACKED him OFF to a regional office.
Pack out	Fill a venue.	The stadium was PACKED OUT.
Pack up	Stop doing something.	You should PACK UP smoking.
Pad down	Sleep somewhere for the night.	I’m too tired to come home; can I PAD DOWN here tonight?
Pad out	Make a text longer by including extra content, often content that isn’t particularly relevant.	I couldn’t think of much to write, so I PADDED the essay OUT with a few lengthy quotes.
Pal around	Be friendly and spend time with someone.	We PALLED AROUND at university.
Pal up	Become friends.	We PALLED UP when I started working with her.
Pass away	Die.	Sadly, Georgia’s uncle PASSED AWAY yesterday after a short illness.
Pass back	Return.	I felt awful when the teacher started to PASS BACK the exam papers.
Pass by	Go past without stopping.	I was just PASSING BY when I saw the accident.
Patch up	Fix or make things better.	I tried to PATCH things UP after the argument, but they wouldn’t speak to me.
Pay back	Repay money borrowed.	I PAID BACK the twenty pounds I’d borrowed.
Pay off	Produce a profitable or successful result.	Their patience PAID OFF when he finally showed up and signed the contract.
Peel away	Leave a group by moving in a different direction.	Some of the crowd PEELED AWAY to get out of the crush.
Peg out	Put washing outside to dry.	I PEGGED the washing OUT after it stopped raining.
Phase-in	Introduce gradually.	They are PHASING IN the reforms over the next two years.
Phase-out	Remove gradually.	They have introduced a compact edition of the newspaper and are PHASING OUT the broadsheet edition over the next few months.
Pick at	Eat unwillingly.	I wasn’t very hungry so I just PICKED AT my food.
Pick up	Collect.	While you’re in town, can you PICK UP my trousers from the Dry Cleaner?
Pig out	Eat a lot.	The food was great, so I really PIGGED OUT.
Pile up	Accumulate.	Work just keeps on PILING UP and I really can’t manage to get it all done.
Pin down	Discover exact details about something.	The government can’t PIN DOWN where the leak came from.
Pin on	Attach the blame to someone.	The police tried to PIN the crime ON him.
Pin up	Fix something to a wall, or other vertical surface, with a pin.	I PINNED the notice UP on the board
Pine away	Suffer physically because of grief, stress, worry, etc.	He’s been PINING AWAY since his wife died and is a shadow of his former self.
Pipe down	Be quiet (often as an imperative).	The lecturer asked the students to PIPE DOWN and pay attention.
Pipe up	To speak, raise your voice.	At first, no one answered, then finally someone PIPED UP.
Play along	Pretend to agree or accept something in order to keep someone happy or to get more information.	I disagreed with the idea but I had to PLAY ALONG because everyone else liked it.
Play around	Be silly.	The children were PLAYING AROUND and being annoying.
Play up	Behave badly.	The children PLAYED UP all evening and drove the babysitter mad.
Plug in	Connect machines to the electricity supply.	He PLUGGED the TV IN and turned it on full blast.
Plump down	Put something in a place without taking care.	He PLUMPED his bag DOWN and kicked his shoes off.
Plump for	Choose.	I PLUMPED FOR the steak frites.
Point out	Make someone aware of something.	He POINTED OUT that I only had two weeks to get the whole thing finished.
Poke about	Move things around or search in a casual way to try to find something.	I POKED ABOUT on my CD collection to see if I could find it.
Poke around	Move things around or search in a casual way to try to find something.	I POKED AROUND in my desk to see if the letter was there.
Polish off	Finish, consume.	She POLISHES OFF half a bottle of gin every night.
Polish up	Improve something quickly.	I need to POLISH UP my French before I go to Paris.
Pop in	Visit for a short time.	He POPPED IN for a coffee on his way home.
Pop off	Talk loudly, complain.	He’s always POPPING OFF when things don’t suit him.
Power up	Turn a computer or the electronic device on so that it is ready to use.	I POWERED UP my laptop and started work.
Price up	Charge more for something.	In rural areas where they have a monopoly, some garages PRICE UP fuel because there’s nowhere else to buy it.
Pull ahead	Overtake, move in front.	The lorry was going slowly but we managed to PULL AHEAD.
Pull out	Move into traffic.	The traffic was so bad that it took me ages to PULL OUT.

Little Things Mean a Lot

 A few days back I visited my friend’s home. I saw his ten-year-old niece was eating something from a saucer in the next room. She was relishing that so much I could not resist myself to go to her. I saw she was eating savoury and for a gentle tease, I asked her to give some of that food to me. I was surprised when she literally snubbed me for my asking. At that moment my friend came there and asked that little girl why she had refused to share her food with the uncle and that was a bad manner. At this, the girl replied that the Crorepati Uncle also did not give namkeen to anybody. I could not understand that but my friend made me clear that she was talking about an advertisement of a namkeen in which Mr Amitabh Bachhan (whom she addressed Crorepati Uncle) acted and he refused to share Bhujia with anyone. It was really shocking to me to know that a piece of advertisement had an effect on the psychology of children. Media is serving so many things to us daily and these are definitely shaping the thought process of our young ones. I was just remembering the advertisements telecasted in past years and one particular came into my mind was the advertisement of Pan Parag, in which the model was shown happy to share the product with everyone. The creative artists and the actors of Bhujia advertisement or Pan Parag advertisement might have not thought about this aspect of their creativity that sharing and caring habits could also be inculcated among the young ones. But these little things mean a lot and have a huge significance in our lives. Small acts of goodwill and kindness bring peace, joy and comfort to human beings. The most meaningful kindness is often reflected in the simplest things of everyday life. No one becomes an evil and self-righteous man overnight. Rather, it is the accumulation of little acts of wrong here and there. Similarly, no one becomes a saint overnight. It is also the accumulation of small good acts that eventually pave the way for the flourishing of all goodness in man. Media planners, creative artists and others who are at responsible positions are to take care of those little positive things which help to perfect a good life, and good life encourages the realisation of these little things everywhere and every day. This is a virtuous circle.   

Phrase

A phrase is one or more words that form a meaningful grammatical unit within a clause. There are five main types of phrase in English, as below.

Noun Phrase

A noun phrase (NP) can be a single noun or a group of words built around a single noun, for example:

• Animals need water.
• Who ate the last sandwich?
• All passengers with tickets can board now.

Verb Phrase

A verb phrase (VP, also called a "verb group") consists of a main verb and its auxiliary verbs (including modals), for example:

• We have been working since 9am.
• I will be going to France next week.
• It may have been being repaired.

Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase can be a single adjective or a group of words built around a single adjective, for example:

• He has clever ideas.
• It was a very big meal.
• The students were really bored with the film.

Adverb Phrase

An adverb phrase can be a single adverb or a group of words built around a single adverb, for example:

• Please do it now.
• He spoke very softly.
• They did it as fast as possible.

Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition followed by its object (usually a noun phrase), for example:

• They were arguing about money.
• The window was behind a large brown sofa.
• They resumed after an unusually large meal.

A young man saw his primary school teacher on a wedding.
He went to greet him with all the respect and admiration.
He said to him:
"Do you remember me, Teacher?"
The teacher said: "No, please introduce yourself."
The student said: "I was your student in the 3rd Grade, I am the one who stole the watch of a child in the classroom. I will remind you but I am sure you remember the story."

One of the boys in my class had a beautiful watch, so I decided to steal it.             
He came to you crying that someone had stolen his watch.
You asked us to stand so as to search our pockets.     
I realized that my action would be exposed in front of the Students and Teachers.
I will be called a thief, a liar and my character will be shattered forever.

You asked us to stand and face the wall and close our eyes completely.
You went searching from pocket to pocket, and when you reached my pocket you pulled the watch out of my pocket, and you continued until you searched the last student.

After you finished you asked us to open our eyes and to sit on our chairs.   
I was afraid you will expose me in front of the students.

You showed the watch to the class, and gave it back to the boy, and you never mentioned the name of the one who stole the watch.
You never said a word to me, and you never mentioned the story to anyone.

Throughout my school life, none of the teachers nor the students talked about me stealing the watch.     
I thought to myself you saved my dignity that day.

The teacher said: "I can't remember who stole the watch that day, because I searched the pockets of all of you while my eyes were also closed."

Education needs wisdom. As Teachers, Parents, Leaders, we should be able to understand the consequences of our actions. Protecting and reforming is tougher than exposing and expelling.

Phonics Instruction

Phonics instruction also teaches spelling patterns and spelling rules. It teaches about parts of words called syllables. Learning common syllable patterns can help people become better readers and spellers.

To thrive in spelling, here are 15 important rules to know.

1. Vowels in syllables

Every syllable of every word must have at least one vowel sound. A vowel can stand alone in a syllable, as in u●nit and an●i●mal. It can also be surrounded by consonants, as in jet, nap●kin, and fan●tas●tic.

2. Short and long vowels

Vowels can make different sounds. The sounds they make depend on where they are in a word. For example, is the vowel followed by a consonant? This helps determine if the vowel makes its short or long sound: go vs. got, she vs. shed, hi vs. him.

When there’s only one vowel in a syllable and it is followed by at least one consonant, the vowel usually makes its short sound. Examples include on, itch, mas●cot, and Wis●con●sin. This pattern is called a “closed syllable” because the consonant “closes in” the short vowel sound.

When there is only one vowel and it is at the end of a syllable, the vowel makes its long sound, as in he and ban●jo. This pattern is called an “open syllable.”

3. Silent e

When e is the last letter in a word, and there’s only one other vowel in that syllable, the first vowel in that syllable is usually long and the e is silent, as in sale and in●side. This syllable pattern is called “vowel-consonant-e.”

Some teachers call this the “silent e” rule. Some call it the “magic e” rule. The e gives all its power to the other vowel and makes that vowel use its long sound (“say its name”).

4. Consonant blends and digraphs

A digraph is a fancy word for two letters that represent one sound. In a digraph made of consonants, the two consonants work together to form a new sound. Examples include chap, ship, thin, whiz, and photo. Consonant blends are different. These groups of two or more consonants work together. But unlike digraphs, their individual sounds can still be heard as they’re blended together. Examples include clam, grasp, and scrub.

5. Vowel digraphs

In a vowel digraph, two vowels are side by side. The first vowel is long and says its name. The second vowel is silent, as in boat, paint, and beach.

Sometimes, two vowels work together to form a new sound. This is called a diphthong. Examples include cloud and boil.

6. R-controlled vowels

When a syllable has a vowel that is followed by r, the vowel is “controlled” by the r and makes a new sound. Examples include car, bird, germ, form, and hurt. This rule is sometimes called “bossy r” because the r “bosses” the vowel to make a new sound.

7. The “schwa” sound

Any vowel can make the schwa sound; it sounds like a weak uh or ih. Words like from and final have the schwa sound. Some words have more than one schwa sound, like apartment and banana. It’s the most common sound in the English language.

8. Soft c and hard c, and soft g and hard g

When the letter c is followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of that are cent, circus, and cyclone. With other vowels, the letter c makes a hard sound, as in cat and cot.

Likewise, when the letter g is followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of that are gel, giant, and gym. With other vowels, the letter g makes a hard sound, as in gas, gorilla, and yoghurt.

9. The “fszl” (fizzle) rule

The letters f, s, z, and l are usually doubled at the end of a one-syllable word immediately following a short vowel. Examples include stuff, grass, fuzz, and shell. Exceptions include quiz and bus.

10. Ending in k or ck

When a one-syllable word ends with the /k/ sound immediately following a short vowel, it’s usually spelt with ck, as in duck and trick. When the /k/ sound follows a consonant, long vowel sound, or diphthong, it’s usually spelt with k, as in task, cake, soak, and hawk.

11. The /j/ sound and the /ch/ sound

In a one-syllable word, when a /j/ sound immediately follows a short vowel, it’s spelt dge as in badge, hedge, bridge, dodge, and smudge. (The d “protects” the vowel from the “magic e” rule.)

In a one-syllable word, when a /ch/ sound immediately follows a short vowel, it’s usually spelt tch as in catch, fetch, stitch, blotch, and clutch. The exceptions to this rule are such, much, rich, and which.

12. Drop the e with -ing

When words end with a silent e, drop the e before adding -ing. Examples: bike/biking, give/giving, and dodge/dodging. This rule also applies to other suffixes that start with vowels, like -ed, -er, -able, and -ous. Examples: grieve/grievous, excite/excitable, and hope/hoped.

13. Doubling

In a one-syllable word like win where one short vowel is followed by one consonant, double the consonant before adding a suffix that starts with a vowel. Examples: winner, winning, winnable.

14. Plurals

For most words, add s to make them plural, as in cat/cats. But when a singular word ends with s, sh, ch, x, or z, add es to make it plural, as in classes, brushes, and foxes.

15. Y rules

To make plural a word that ends in a vowel immediately followed by y, just add s, as in toy/toys. When y immediately follows a consonant, change the y to i and add es. Examples: family/families, pony/ponies, and treaty/treaties.

Suffixes follow a similar set of y rules. When there’s a vowel right before y, keep the y and simply add the suffix. Examples include play/playing and annoy/annoying.

When a word ends with a consonant followed immediately by y, change the y to i before adding suffixes like -ed and -est. Examples include carry/carried and happy/happiest.

But when the suffix begins with i, keep the y and simply add the suffix, as in fly/flying and baby/babyish.

Exceptions to the Rules

Most words in the English language follow phonics rules. But any exceptions to these rules need to be taught and memorized for reading and spelling. 

Life

Michael Jackson wanted to live for 150 years.

He appointed 12 doctors at home who would daily examine him from hair to toe-nails. His food was always tested in the laboratory before serving. Another 15 people were appointed to look after his daily exercise and workout. His bed had the technology to regulate the oxygen level. Organ donors were kept ready so that whenever need they could immediately donate their organ. The maintenance of these donors was taken care of by him. He was proceeding with a dream of living for 150 years.

Alas! He failed.

On 25th June 2009, at the age of 50, his heart stopped functioning. The constant effort of those 12 doctors didn't work. Even, the combined efforts of doctors from Los Angeles and California too couldn't save him. The person, who would never put a step forward without the doctors’ suggestion for his last 25 years, couldn't fulfil his dream of living 150 years. Jackson's final journey was watched live by 2.5 million people which is the longest live telecast till date.

On the day he died, i.e. 25th June '09 at 3.15 pm, Wikipedia, Twitter, AOL's instant messenger stopped working.

Millions of people together searched Michael Jackson on Google. Jackson tried to challenge death but death challenged him back. The materialistic life in this materialistic world embraces materialistic death instead of a normal one. This is the rule of life.

Now let's think.

Are we earning for the builders, engineers, designers or decorators?

Whom do we want to impress by showing expensive house, car and extravagant wedding?

Do you remember the food items at the wedding reception which you had attended a couple of days ago? Why are we working like an animal in life?

For the comfort of how many generations do we want to save?

Most of us have one or two children. Have you ever thought about how much do we need and how much do we want? Do we consider that our children won't be able to earn much and so it's necessary to save some extra for them?

Do you spend some time with yourself, family or friends in the week?

Do you spend 5% of your earning on yourself?

Why don't we find happiness in life along with what we earn?

If you think deeply, your heart might fail to work. You will suffer from slip disc, high cholesterol, insomnia etc. etc.

Conclusion: Spend some time for yourself. We don't own any property, it's only in some documents that our name is written temporarily.

When we say “this is my property”, God passes a smile.

Don't create an impression on a person seeing his car or dress. Our great mathematicians and scientists used bicycle or scooter for commuting.

It’s not a sin to be rich, but to be rich only with money is a sin.

Control life or else life will control you.

The things which really matter at the end of life are contentment, satisfaction and peace.

Develop your Personality

There are immense possibilities within you to develop your personality. You must recognize and understand them. The key to success is hidden within you. The wealth you have earned is not important but what is important is the means you have adopted for acquiring that wealth. Your personality, your capabilities, your thoughts and your ideas are all very important in determining your character. We will discuss some essential components of Personality Development in this article.

Be polite and speak softly:

Sweetly spoken words have their own advantage and it is a major component in developing our personality. Society gives respect to a person who has control over his speech and everybody wants to conserve with a person who speaks softly. That is why we should always try and inculcate sweet and soft-spoken words in our speech.

All actions are controlled by tongue or speech. They originate from speech. So it is essential that speech is controlled by the mind. A person who is not honest by speech is considered dishonest in all respects. The man who has no control over his speech cannot be sure if he can exercise any control over his self while working. If a wrong thing is said in good style it also becomes effective. Then if you say a good thing in good way it has no comparison.

Keep away from lies, fraud and deception:

G.D. Broadman, a great western thinker said – sow a work and get a habit, sow a habit and get a character, sow a character and get a fortune. It is evident that the fate of a person is formed by the work he dies, the branch of a tree bends in the direction it is diverted. If a person once entangles him in lies and cunningness, then in spite of making countless efforts he can never get out of it and day by day he will keep moving toward downfall. We never improve our personality keeping these elements within us or a part of our habits.

Once a man resorts to lies for self gains and self-protection then he gradually becomes an expert in telling lies. Lies, treachery, manipulation and fraud are such aspects of our personality which will lead to our failure, insult and defamation at every step of life. It is necessary that we get rid of these negative shortcomings with firm determination to get success in life. It is an admitted fact that bad ideas develop more rapidly as compared to good ideas. Therefore, we must try and keep ourselves away from all kinds of bad ideas and their impact. 

Believe in healthy competition:

The path of all success is filled with thorns. There is no hindrance in the path of downfall, but no sooner we lift the first step towards progress we start facing difficulties. Only those people who have immense courage and enthusiasm can advance on this path. Those who have moved forward have become immortal. Those who cross all the barriers, all the pains, sufferings and sorrows are also able to taste the sweet fruits of success.

To achieve success it is necessary that all the energies of body, mind and wealth are utilized in one direction only. When a nab m avoiding all temptations in life works towards one definite foal, he is bound to get the total victory. When all energies of mind and soul are concentrated for a particular work then all sources become available for completion of that particular work. 

The importance of a positive attitude:

A positive attitude is of great importance to our personality. Many people, in spite of having sufficient talent and qualification, do not progress and succeeds in life because of their narrow outlook. Nobody likes people who have narrow outlook. In life only that person is considered will behave who have positive and health bend of mind.

The real beauty of a man lies not in his physical appearance but in his work and good qualities. The ability and achievements of a person are judged by his mentality. That is why it is important that we improve our mental outlook. By adopting a positive outlook we can get rid of mental dissatisfaction. This change will help you to contribute a lot in making your relations better and sweet with people as well as your personality will bright all over as the stars in the sky.

Anger and irritation are your enemies:

To be angry is part of human nature. Probably there is no man in this world who has never been angry for some or the other reason. But some people are such who become temperamentally angry. People who get angry and irritated habitually do not realize that this habit of theirs will be a hindrance in the path of their personality development and they will become their own enemies.
Anger results in foolishness and insanity. There is a saying that hot temper is the main obstacle in completion of delicate genes of the body. Sometimes delicate tissues and veins even get burnt, outwardly we do not come to know that damage has been caused but we destroy many hidden treasures in our body in the fire of anger.

Spare time for social service:

If we want to be recognized in society and want to reach the pinnacle of success, we should not keep out self aloof from society. Our deep feelings and responsibility towards society make us good and responsible citizen of the society we live in. The more we work for society and the more we remain connected with it, the more famous we will become the fame will enhance our personality and enthusiasm. Always remember that society is ours. We need it. Live not only for yourself but for society.

Develop your creative power:

Our creative streak and positive propensity can pay us dividends. One who is engaged in the constructive activity of one or the other kind is always happy. All men should channelize their energies in creative work. Be it agriculture, physical labour, daily wager, craftsmanship, office work, domestic chores or social work. Breach in creativity is a breach of peace and happiness.

Know the value of time:

Every moment of our life is a golden moment. The door of progress and development remain open for the person who knows to utilize and make the best use of these moments. He not only pushes away all the failures and gets victory over all setbacks and obstacle but also becomes very popular in society due to his punctual behaviour. On the other hand, worthless pursuits or pass these moments carelessly, face depression and disappointment on all sphere victims of a vicious circle of failures.