by R. S. Karunaratne

Know your adverbial clauses

We use an adverbial clause beginning with ‘because’ to give the reason for what is happening or what is stated in the main clause.
Alwis is poor now because he lost his job recently.
Amal is very happy today because he has passed the examination.
We liked the film because it was true to life.

Lal worked long hours in office because he wanted to earn extra money.
You should learn fashion designing because you have an eye for beauty.

An adverbial clause must have a subject and a finite verb.
These gems are valuable because they are very rare.
Now we can’t keep this tiger cub because it has grown too big.
The student was not allowed into the school because he was not wearing his uniform.
We must abandon the ship promptly because it is sinking.
Festivals are necessary because they break the monotony of life.

Note: an adverbial clause beginning with ‘because’ answers the question ‘Why?’
Teacher: Why didn’t you attend school yesterday?
Student; Because I was ill.

Instead of ‘because’ we can use ‘as’ and ‘since’ to begin an adverbial clause.
I’ll change my hairstyle as my mother doesn’t like it.
I liked the novel as it was true to life.
He worked on holidays as he wanted to earn more money.
I respect him since he is sincere.
They were looking for a big tree as they wanted to build a boat.

We use an adverbial clause beginning with ‘although’ to show that what is happening in the main clause cannot be changed.
The author won the award although his novel was unreadable.

The candidate won the election although he was not very popular in the electorate.
Sam loves to watch cricket matches although he was never a member of the cricket team.
Sena is unhappy although he has been promoted as a manager.
John met with an accident although he was very careful in driving.

Note: ‘Even though’ and ‘though’ serve the same function.
I must leave now even though it is raining.
I have never spoken to him even though he is my neighbour.
The death toll was high even though the rescuers did their best to save the drowning men.
The university students blocked the highway even though the police waned them not to do so.

Hema is doing a job even though she comes from a wealthy family.

To be continued

Quiz on synonyms

A synonym is a word or phrase which has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase.

In the following quiz match the words in Column A with their synonyms in Column B. Check your answers with the key.

Column A Column B

1. Abandon A. annul
2. Abattoir B. appalling
3. Abbreviate C. capacity
4. Abduct D. detest
5. Abhor E. condense
6. Ability F. futile
7. Abnegate G. acquit
8. Abode H. home
9. Abolish I. imbibe
10. Abominable J. complex
11. Abortive K. kidnap
12. Abridge L. leave
13. Abrupt M. crazy
14. Absolve N. insult
15. Absorb O. hasten
16. Abstain P. believe
17. Abstruse Q. refrain
18. Absurd R. renounce
19. Abundant S.laughter-house
20. Abuse T. sudden
21. Accelerate U. mishap
22. Accept V. applaud
23. Accident W. escort
24. Acclaim X. shorten
25. Accompany Y. bountiful

Key:

1. L
2. S
3. X
4. K
5. D
6. C
7. R
8. H
9. A
10. B
11. F
12. E
13. T
14. G
15. I
16. Q
17. J
18. M
19. Y
20. N
21. O
22. P
23. U
24. V
25. W

Starters:

How to use prepositions

[Part 19]

There are over 100 prepositions in English. This is a very small number compared with the large number of nouns, verbs and adjectives used in English. However, most beginners find it difficult to use prepositions correctly. Here’s a guide.

On top of:

If something is situated on top of something else, it is situated on its highest point.

They are putting up a huge Buddha statue on top of the rock.
The customer placed the bundles of currency notes on top of the bank’s counter.
A red cross can be seen on top of the building.

Opposite:

If something is opposite another, it is on the other side of it.
There is a guardroom opposite the bungalow.
We didn’t want to live in a house opposite a slaughterhouse.
An actor can play opposite an actress.
Malini Fonseka played opposite Gamini Fonseka in several Sinhala films.

Other than:

’Other than’ is usually used after a negative.
I don’t have any vehicles other than a bicycle.
When I was in Malaysia I could think of nothing other than my family.
We do not use anything other than milk to make yoghurt.

Out of:

When we go out of a place, we leave it.
We followed the teacher out of the classroom.
You can take something out of a container.
The businessman took a bundle of Rs. 1000 notes out of the safe.
You can look out of a window.
They looked out of the window and saw a robber running away with his loot.
You can get out of a situation.
We are trying to get out of this trouble.
You can get pleasure or profit out of doing something.
I couldn’t make a profit out of the deal.
We can say or do certain things out of politeness.
I agreed to go with him to the station out of politeness.
We are living in this shanty out of poverty.
We can make something out of something else.
Can you make shoes out of leather?

Outside:

If you are outside a building, you are not in it.
Crowds waited outside the Town Hall shouting slogans against the Mayor.
I bought a magazine at a news-stand outside the railway station.
Will you please stay outside the building until I come back?

[Activity]

Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions and check your answers with the key.

1. The lawyer refused .......... divulge how much he earned.
2. Why don’t we have lunch together .......... Sunday?
3. Accidents are .......... the increase.
4. He has a Doctorate ....... Divinity.
5. We had a perfectly divine time ........... Switzerland.
6. How .......... earth did this happen?
7. What earthly reason can she have .......... being so horrible to you?
8. I didn’t realise he was .......... earnest.
9. Coffee exports earn Brazil many millions .......... pounds a year.
10. He was wearing an earring ............ his left ear.

Key:

to 2. on 3. on 4. in 5. in 6. on 7. for 8. in 9. of 10. in

Form adjectives from nouns

Words often come in families. You can expand your vocabulary by becoming familiar with these word families. In the following quiz give the adjectives for each noun in column ‘A.’ Write your answers in column ‘B’ and check them with the key. The first one has been done for you.

Column A Column B

1. Magic magical
2. Man .............
3. Management .............
4. Mark .............
5. Market .............
6. Marriage .............
7. Match .............
8. Material .............
9. Meaning .............
10. Measure .............
11. Medication .............
12. Memory .............
13. Mentality .............
14. Method .............
15. Militancy .............
16. Mind .............
17. Minimum .............
18. Miss .............
19. Mistake ............
20. Mix .............
21. Modernity .............
22. Moment .............
23. Mood .............
24. Morality .............
25. Mother .............

Key:

2. manly
3. manageable
4. marked
5. marketable
6. married
7. matching
8. material
9. meaningful
10. measurable
11. medical
12. memorable
13. mental
14. methodical
15. militant
16. mindless
17. minimal
18. missing
19. mistaken
20. mixed
21. modern
22. momentary
23. moody
24. moral
25. motherly