Attipate Krishnaswami Ramanujan (16 March 1929 – 13 July 1993) was an Indian poet and

scholar of Indian literature. He wrote in both English and Kannada. He was a poet, scholar,
professor, philologist, folklorist, translator, and playwright. His academic research ranged across
five languages, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit.

This poem, „Ecology‟ is taken from A. K. Ramanujan‟s third volume of poems, „Second
Sight‟, published in 1986. The speaker of the poem is loyally devoted to his mother. He is
seen very angry at the beginning of the poem. This is because his mother has a severe
attack of migraine. It is a severe headache causing a person to vomit.

We understand that the migraine is caused by the fragrance of the flower of the Red
Champak Trees. Every time when the Red Champak trees bloom, the pollen spreads in
the atmosphere. The fragrance is heavy and suffocating. Even the doors of the speaker‟s
house cannot prevent the strong smell from entering the house.

The poet says that the walls of the house are able to absorb almost everything-the
sounds, sights, the human voices, the harsh sounds produced when new shoes are
worn. But they cannot stop the pollen dust from the Champak trees.

The son does not find any other option to help his mother out. He decides to cut down
the tree to prevent his mother from getting migraine. But he is prevented from doing so
by his mother. She sees the positive side of the tree in her garden. She realises the
importance of living close to nature. She says that the tree is as old as her. The tree
had been fertilized by the droppings of a passing bird by chance. It is a considered to be
a very good omen.

Although the tree would give her a terrible migraine, it also provides many baskets of
flowers. These can be offered to her gods up to many generations.

There is irony in the poem when the mother angrily protests against the idea of cutting
down the tree even though she is suffering very badly from the migraine caused by it.
She has a kind of emotional attachment to the tree, saying that it is as old as herself.

The speaker who is a youngster values his mother more than the mother earth
represented by Champak trees. He needs a practical solution for his mother‟s problems
and does not care about anything else. But the mother knows the value of nature and
prevents the son from the terrible act. She is ready to suffer from her occasional migraine
than cutting the tree.
The title also makes us to think about our dependency on one another and theirphysical
surroundings.

*********************

Henry Hitchings is an author and a critic specializing in language and cultural history.
“What’s the Language of the Future?” is taken from the book The Language Wars: A
History of Proper English

What‟s the Language of the Future? By Henry Hitchings, outlines the history of
international language, and how English is moving into this position. In the beginning the
essay looks into the history of widespread use of English. Hitchings writes that around
the world, proficiency in English is often seen as a “symbol of modernity”. The native
language (Arabic), is “associated with home, religion, and tradition”.
Hitchings says that English has become worlds auxiliary tongue. There are more people
who use English as a second language than the native speakers. That is, English has
500 million second language speakers. He also discusses the strange methods that
people follow to speak English with ease. Koreans go to the extent of lengthening their
tongue to enable them pronounce certain sounds in English.

Looking at the history of the language, British colonization resulted in widespread use of
the language. Britain continued to colonialize the world, and bring with it settlers, English
language to different parts of the world. Technological advancements and Industrial
revolution also have contributed to the spread of the English language.

The essay then discusses the use of English around the world as a cultural aspect – in
media and entertainment.

There are challenges to the position of English as a dominant language. The main
challenge is from Spanish and Mandarin. But, most of the Spanish and Chinese
speakers are concentrated in one part of the world. English has global ambitions. It is the
lingua franca of the world. English is an essential skill to survive in the world. However
we can find that the English language is changing.

In the final line of the article, he states that the number of languages in the world is
diminishing. However the number of Englishes is increasing. This fact comes with the
globalization of language. Language is a tool, and with time, tools adapt.
Around the world, English does not stay the same. English-speaking countries such as
Canada, the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, speak different languages, with
different vocabulary, and terms for every day items. In countries in which English is not a
native language, one can only expect that English will adapt even further. Overall, the
globalization of a language, particularly English, is a positive thing. Language builds
borders between people, and having a common language means having an efficient
means of communication.
******************

Jamaica Kincaid‟s short story “Girl,” originally published in a 1978 issue of The New
Yorker, appears in her collection At the Bottom of the River. Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" is a
dramatic monologue in which a mother gives advice to her daughter, the "girl." The story
consists of a series of instructions meant to help the girl become a respectable woman,
including both practical and social advice. The mother repeatedly tells the girl, "This is
how…" while explaining how woman should behave, following the societal norms.
The story explores the gender roles and expectations imposed upon young girls who are
emerging into womanhood.
It is a harsh one-sided conversation between the narrator and her mother, with the
mother doing all the talking. The story gives a rich description of what her mother
expects from her in all aspects of her life, from chores, to how she plays, to what she
sings in church. From each line, we see the viewpoint of how her mother sees the world,
what is proper in her eyes and her expectations for her daughter. The dominant mother
is a part of the patriarchal familial set up.
Many of the mother‟s directions include practical advice that will aid the girl in keeping a
house of her own one day. She tells the girl to place freshly washed white clothing on a
stone heap on Mondays and to save the color clothes to wash on Tuesdays. The
mother also tells the daughter how to properly soak salt fish, cook pumpkin fritters, iron
her father‟s clothes, grow okra and dasheen, and sweep the house and yard.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that many of the mother‟s directions are
intended to prevent the girl from turning into the “slut” that her mother obviously believes
the girl wants to be. She tells her not to sing the popular Antiguan folk songs while in
Sunday school, never to speak to the wharf-rat boys, and not to eat fruit on the street, as
it will cause flies to follow her.
Such advice is spread with guidance about practical matters such as cleaning and
cooking. She also tells the girl to avoid walking bareheaded in the sun. However, the
mother‟s main aim is to keep the daughter from becoming or being perceived as a “slut.”
The mother‟s commentary begins to introduce more serious issues such as etiquette and
respectability. Telling her to always walk like a lady and to be the “perfect” woman to fit
into the community in which they live. The mother also provides social advice, telling the
girl how to smile at anyone she does not like, as well as at those she sincerely likes.
The delivery of the mother‟s instruction suggests the ways in which adults model actions
and behaviors for their girl children. Seemingly, the daughter is learning as she watches.
Meanwhile, the speaker‟s negative tone implies she has little hope that her daughter will
progress into a decent state of adulthood. In any case, the mother has the final word. At
the end, when the daughter asks what she should do if the baker will not allow her to test
the freshness of the bread by squeezing it, the mother wonders whether the girl will
become the “kind of woman the baker won‟t let near the bread.”
The speaker passes on to her daughter the list of womanly duties developed by the
patriarchal society over generations.
*******************

Gender equality is your issue too

The speaker of the “HeForShe Speech” is British actress Emma Watson. She became a
renowned actress thanks to the Harry Potter film series. Born in 1990, Watson was 24
years old when she delivered the speech and had been appointed a UN Women
Goodwill Ambassador. A goodwill ambassador is someone who advocates for a certain
cause. Even before she became a UN Ambassador, Watson was known as a strong
activist for women‟s rights and a declared feminist:

Emma Watson begins her “HeForShe Speech”, by announcing the launch of the
HeForShe campaign and asking the audience‟s help to end gender inequality. The
HeForShe campaign is a new initiative at the UN which seeks to get men and boys
involved in promoting gender equality. Watson has noticed that the term feminism has
come to be seen as synonymous with man-hating. She reminds people that feminism is,
in fact, about both sexes having equal rights.

She recalls how she began questioning gender roles when she was called bossy at the
age of eight. She believes that people see feminism as an uncomfortable word and
feminists as aggressive women. She argues that feminism is about equal pay. It is also
about women having freedom and being actively involved in socio-political issues, as
well as receiving equal respect.
The speaker also touches upon issues like feminism, traditional gender roles, and
women‟s rights. Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment of men and women
because of their gender.
Gender inequality is a result of differences in socially constructed gender roles. Gender
roles are unconsciously assigned to both genders by the patriarchal society. And majority
of the people blindly follow without questioning the system. That is how women and men
are expected to behave in the society.

She questions the gender stereotypes present in the society. Men are assumed to
behave in a certain way (aggressive and bold) and women in a certain way (submissive
and polite) It is important for us to break the stereotypes to make the world a better place
to live.
She asks men to get involved in the movement. She considers women rights as Human
rights. It is the responsibility of the society to ensure equal rights for all gender. The main
purpose of the text is to inform and further on persuade the reader.
The message of the text is that gender equality is a problem that we all need to stand up
and fight against. Besides using this speech as a launch for the campaign, the speech
also intents to address this message to the audience. Her primary audience is the
participants at the UN meeting and her secondary audience is the rest of the world.
The words spoken by Emma Watson has universal appeal as gender inequality is a
reality all over the world .As the aim of the speech is to sensitise people, it is important
for the society to follow the ideas given by Emma Watson and make the world a better
place.
 GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

🞭 Am/Is/Are /was/were Questions

1. Am I audible?

2. Is teaching a noble profession?

3. Are you a teacher?

4. Was she studying then?

5. Were you present in the meeting?

🞭 Do/Does/Did Questions

1. Do you play cricket?

2. Does she walk for 3kms daily?

3. Do you know the MLA?

4. Does she go to her College regularly?
🞭 Has/Have/Had Questions

Yes/No Questions with Has, have and Had

1. yes, I have solved the problem

Q. Have you solved the problem?

2. No, He has not come with us.\

Q. Has he come with us?

3. Yes, they had locked the gate.

Q. Had they locked the gate?

🞭 Can/Could/May/Might/Will/Would Questions etcYes/No

Questions with Can, May, Will etc
1. yes, you may ask any question now.
Q. May I ask a question?

2. Yes, he can speak French

Q. Can he speak French?

3. Yes, I would play for an hour

Q. Would you play for an hour?
 Exercise-1
1. Yes, I am late.
Q. Am I late?

2. Yes, His father is a police

Q. Is his father a police?

3. Yes, They are waiting for us.

Q. Are they waiting for us?

4. Yes, They like Gardening

Q. Do they like gardening?

5. She talks very fast

Q. Does she talk very fast?

6. yes, they completed the work

Q.
7. Yes, they have played cricket since my childhoodQ.
8. Yes, She has prepared her lunch
Q.
9. Yes, They had worked for 8 hoursQ
 10 Yes, She will pass in the exam
Q.
11. Yes, They should call the policeQ.
🞭 Wh-Questions

Questions beginning with all Wh words and also How

1. Wh-word + auxiliary + subject + main verb …?

Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs (not main verbs).

Common auxiliary verbs include be, do, have. Others are will, shall, would,can,
could, must, should, may, might, etc.
Why should we read books?

When will she come?

2. without any auxiliary

Wh-word + main verb …?
What happened to Raju?
Who won the game?
 FRAME Wh- QUESTIONS
1. He is my friend.
Who is he?
2. It is an audio book.
What is it?
3. It is a Thursday.
What day is today?
4. English is my favourite language
Which is your favourite lang?
5. I would like to become an Engineer
What would you like to become?
6. I study in GDC, Chevella
 Where do you study?
7. It is near Charminar
where is it?
8. I joined last year
When did you join?
9. I go by bus
How do you go?
10. I am 18 years old
How old are you?
11. My college is about 10 kms from home
How far is your college from home?
12. I spend nearly Rs.30 everyday on transport
How much do you spend everyday on transport?
13. I go to the playground once a week How
often do you go to playground
14. I play football
What do you play?
15. I play quite well
How do you play?
16. I have been playing for the last three years.
How long have you been playing?
17. The one with No 10 is my jersey
which is your jersey?
18. I like Ronaldo the most
Whom do you like the most?
19. Yes.I would like to meet him
would you like to meet him?
20. No, I do not watch cricket
Do you watch cricket?
21. Yes, I used to play cricket when I was in school Did
you play cricket when you were in school?
22.I prefer to play foot ball
Which sport do you prefer to play?

🞭 Question Tags
Positive Question Tags

1uestion tags are used when asking for agreement or confirmation.

a negative statement + a posit ive guest io n ta g
Negative Statement Positive Tag
You aren't] a t eacher, are you?
He i sn't crazy, 1s he?
He wasn't relaxed, was he?
They weren't late, were they?
You do n't speak French, do you? I PRESENT I
You didn 't study for the test, didl you?I PAST I
You haven 't been here all week, have you?
You hadn 't do ne it beforethen, had you?
You won't fail the exam, will you? You
can't drive a car, can you? You
couldn 't do It for me, could you?
We mustn't say anything, must we?
You shouldn't be so busy, should you?
You wouldn 't stop me, would you?
 QUESTION TAGS
1. Seema sings well, doesn‟t she?
2. He did not go to College, did he?
3. She is suffering from fever,
4. He doesn‟t read well, does he?
5. They are celebrating their victory,
6. Raju should buy this book, shouldn‟t he?
7. He can walk fast, can‟t he?
8. She should like this gift,
9. They had their lunch, hadn‟t they?
10.She will listen to you, wont she?
 11.They do not go to the market often,
12.You paint well, don‟t you?
13.Let‟s play cricket, shall we?
14.Open the door, will you?
15.Don‟t talk, will you?

VERBS

There are Regular and Irregular Verbs in English. Regular verbs take the suffix “- ed”
when expressing a past event.
Exercises from the Text
Write the past forms of the regular verbs:
1. talk-talked
2. stop-stopped
3. marry-married
4. rate-rated
5. try-tried
6. worry-worried
7. knot-knotted
8. call-called
9. arrive-arrived
10. finish-finished
In Irregular verbs, there is no rule, and each verb is different in past and past participle
forms. There are simple rules for regular verbs, but there are no rules for irregular verbs.
Examples;
Regular Verbs; work –> worked, like –> liked, listen –> listened and etc…
Irregular Verbs; become –> became, find –> found, hold –> held and etc… Follow
the Detailed Irregular Verb List and Past Simple and Past ParticipleForms
Write the past and past participle forms of the irregular verbs given below:
1. Drink, Drank, Drunk
2. Begin- Began, Begun
3. Swim- Swam, Swum
4. fly-flew, flown
5. fall-fell, fallen
6. sleep-slept, slept
7. teach-taught, taught
8. keep-kept, kept
9. do-did, done
10. be- was/were, been
A transitive verb is a verb that requires an object to receive the action. To get the direct
object you need to ask the question what? If you get answer, the verb is transitive.
Some other examples of transitive verbs are "address," "borrow," "bring,""discuss,"
"raise," "offer," "pay," "write," "promise," and "have."
The instructor addressed the student’s question.
Miriam borrowed the methodology book from her classmate because she forgother
copy.
Can you bring your copy of the textbook to our study group meeting?
Donovan gave the gift to his sister.
The committee members will raise money for the new project.
An intransitive verb does not take an object. Using an object immediately after an intransitive verb will create an incorrect sentence. However, there
may be other information after the verb, such as one or more prepositional phrases or an adverb.
The patient‟s health deteriorated quickly.Ahmad voted in the local election.
May I sit here?
Attendance increased at the weekly study sessions as finals drew near.Susan laughed.
INDIANISMS

Make the following sentences more acceptable

1.I ordered for a coffee.
2. Let us discuss about common errors in English
3. The meeting is preponed
4. I was out of station last week.
5. I am sending you an application. Please do the needful.
6. He bought this car a few years back.
7. He had studied law. He passed out last year.
8. Kindly revert back at the earliest.
9. My computer is not working. “Ok. Do one thing”
10. I am having a headache.
11. On Sundays I am sitting at home only.
12. I can be able to do it.
13. Take the umbrella; rain is coming.
14. I forgot to give key to the watch.
15. He failed to get a job and so he is keeping quiet.
16. What is your good name, please?
17. I‟ll go and come.
18. No parking before the gate.
19. Parking at the backside.
20. Have you taken your meals?
21. She is my cousin sister, but he is my real brother.
22. Kindly attend the meeting without fail.
23. He told he going to America
24. I will explain you
25. Let me suggest you something
26. Why not you try this idea?
27. Please correct if I am incorrect
28. You are calling regarding?
29. Can you repeat it again?
30. Sorry for the delay in replying to your letter.

TECHNICAL VOCABULARY
1. A boisterous comedy with absurd situations and pranks-Slapstick
2. A recurring piece of music that represents a character , theme or action-Leitmotif
3. Someone the central character trusts and confides in-confidant
4. A film set in the pastin which the actors are dressed like people from the past-Costume drama
5. A dramatized film based film based on real events-docudrama
6A list of people involved in the making of the film-credits
7. A combination of drama and music-melodrama
8.Music that goes with the film-sound track
9.A film about cowboys in Western North America-Western
10. The story of the lives and actions of a family-Family saga
11.Someone whose character contrasts to that of the protagonist-foil
12. A character who represents a type-stereotype
13. The first showing of a film-Premiere
14. Unusual sounds or image created artificially using new technology-special effects
15. The script of a film, including acting instructions and scene directions-screen play

Exercise-II
1. A biography that treats its subject with undue reverence-hagiography
2. A mode of writing that uses vigorous and combative language to defend or oppose someone or something-polemical
3. Writing based on or verifiable by observation and experience-empirical
4. An idea or theory that is not proven but that leads to further study or discussion-hypothesis
5. A work that imitates, makes fun of or comments on an original work-parody
6. A narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story-omniscient
7. A writing style that attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular opinion-persuasive
8. An article in a newspaper or magazine that mainly reflects the author‟s opinion about a particular issue-opinion piece
9. The quality of appearing to be true or real-verisimilitude
10. A piece of writing which contains a mixture of different styles-pastiche
11.The time and place of the action-setting
12. The use of wordsto convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning-irony
13. Types of figurative language in which a non human subject is given human characteristics- personification
14. A book that is long and contains a lot of action, usually dealing with a historical subject-epic
15. The perspective from which a story is told –point of view

There is a commendably short book of only 142 pages but it is a fascinating work which addresses three questions: What makes a global language? Why
is English the leading candidate? Will it continue to hold the position?The author is a former professor of linguistics at the University of Reading . He tells us
that there are today around 6000 living languages, but some estimates suggest that perhaps 80% will die out in the next century. In terms of mother tongue
use, Spanish is spoken in more countries and is growing in use more rapidly than any other language.
Zero Condition

IF + Present Simple, .... Present Simple.

To talk about things that are always true,like a scientific fact

• If you freeze water, it turns into ice.

• And, if you heat water at 100 degrees, it boils.

• If students miss an exam, the professor fails them.

• If my wife has a cold, I usually catch it.

• I get tired if I work too much.

• If I'm late for dinne,r start eating without me.

1. ( p e o p l e /e a t /t o o many sw eet slthey/become fat)
If people eat too many sweets they become fat
2. (youfsmoke/you/get cancer)
If you smoke you get cancer
3. (children/pl ay ou tdoorsft hey/have healthy bodies)
If children play outdoors they hi(ve healthy bodies
4. (Water/freezelit/(be)very cold)
If it is ver,; cold water freezes
5. (everyone/feeI/happy/the weather/(be)good)
If the weather is good, eve..-yone feels appy
 IF + Simple Present , Simple Future
(S + will / won't + V(bareform))

To talk about possibiliti es in the presentor in the future

• If it rains, I will stay at home.

• If I wake up late,I will miss the bus.

• And, if it's sunny,we'll go to the park.

• If Juan leaves, Paula will be sad.

• If I find your email, I will send you the picture.

• If you study hard, you will pass your exams.

FIRST CONDITIONALS ,..

6. I w.:. . : i. =l;. l: _.c. : . . o. : . . m;:. .:. .:. e. :c -- ( c o m e ) early if you :....::..a...::.n: . ;. .t; ;,..
w (want)

7. If they are (be)invit ed, they will attend (attend) the meeting

8. She willstay (st ay) in the city if shefinds -(find)ajob

9. If he passes (pass) this exam, he willget(get) a promotion

10. I will buy(buy) a new dress if I have (have) extra money

 IF+ Past Simple, .• .•
(To be: use WERE) (would/wouldn' + Verb (bare form)).

Imaginary situations in the present orfuture

• If I won a million dollars, I would buy a new car.

• If I were you, I would quit smoking.

• If I were the president, I would lower taxes.

• They would stay longer if they had more time.

• If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

• If I had more free time, I could travel around the world.

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 C\.,Ul'11U vUl'11UI I IUl'II-\L

SECOND CONDITIONAL (If simple past, would +V1)

1. If it_ won (win) an international award, the book would

sell (sell) in thousands (second conditional)

2. I would ban -(ban) the sch I bag if -I - -------w.;. . ; . e.; ;. .r ; .;.e;;;.- {be) the
education minister(second+conditional)

3. If his wishes were (be) horses, beggars would (will) ride

(second cond)
 b

THIRD CONDITIONAL

IF + Past Perfect,Perfect Conditional

( Would / wouldn't + have+ Past Partlciple)

Imaginary situations in the past

• If I had got a gold meda,l I would have been happy.

• If I had met Susan last week,I would have givenher the book.
• If the weatherhad been good, we would have gonewater-skiing.
• If you had got (gott en-US)up earlier, you wouldhave caught the earlier train.

. 7 ESL .COM
 I nlt(U \.,Ul UI I IUl J-\L;J

THIRD CONDITIONAL
4. If she had prepared (prepare well. She would have
answered (answer) all the questions.(thirdconditional)

5. We would have arrived (arrive) on time if you had giventhe

right decisions (third+condi nal)

6. You would have found (find) the book if you had

looked (look)carefully(third)

7. If he had driven (driven) so rashly, the accident would have

happened (happen (third cond)
 ii> IF + Past Perf ect, Present Conditional
uld/wouldn°1+ V rb (b r form)).
CID
Present result of a past condition
• If I had listened to your advice, I wouldn"t be in the mess.
• If he had checked the map, he wouldn"t be l o s t .
• If I had gone to university, I would be a doctor now.

IF+ PastS i m p le, Perfect Conditional

I ., .,. ·' " n ' l ha e + Pasl Pa,.. C I

Past result of a present or continuing condition

◄ ii
• If I were a good cook, I would have invited them to dinner.
• If you weren' t such a poor dancer, you would have got a job in
the chorus line in that musical.
IVII.Xl:.U CONDITIONALS

1.. If he in v e s t e d (i n v e s t ) wisely, he wouldhave lived

(live)happily. (Mixed conditional)

2. If he had to go_(t:Q go) to college tomorrow,

he would be so sad (sosad) today (mixed
conditional)

3. I would be happy (happy) to help you

if I had not been {not) in the
middle of another meeting /(mixed cond)