WORD AND GROUPS

WORDS

We always talk and write in words. Sometimes a single word makes an idea clear. If I say to you “listen” – you can understand what I mean.

Similarly the word – “Come”. Or “Sit”. Or “Stand” makes the speaker’s meaning clear. 

WORD – GROUPS

We cannot go very far with such single words. Mostly we use several words together, i.e., word – groups. We say –

1. Listen to what I say.
2. Come back in no time.
3. Sit down here.
4. Stand up in the sun.

Each of these words – groups makes a meaning of the speaker clear. The hearer or the reader can follow them easily. 

ORDER OF WORDS

Observe these words – groups:

1. a Mary has lamb little
2. two are we brothers
3. a very sum easy is this
4. chased the cat rat the

None of these words – groups has any meaning. Why is it so? Because their words are not in proper order. They stand jumbled. Let us put them in their proper order:

1. Mary has a little lamb.
2. We are two brothers.
3. This is a very easy sum.
4. The cat chased the rat.

Now each word – group makes sense and gives complete meaning. So, we must arrange the words in a certain order to express clear meaning. 

THE PHRASE

Observe the following word – groups:

1. In the corner
2. at dead of night
3. in a hurry

Does each word – group make sense? Yes, it does make sense but not complete sense. The words are in correct order, but they give incomplete sense. We have to know something more in each case to get complete meaning. For example-

1. What is – in the corner?
2. What happened – at dead of night?
3. Who is – in a hurry?

Word – groups that make some sense only are called phrases.

A phrase is a word – group that makes some sense but not complete sense. 

THE SENTENCE

Let us add the required words to each of the above phrases:

1. The chair is in the corner.
2. It began to rain at dead of night.
3. The teacher was in a hurry.

Now each word – group gives clear and complete meaning. Such word – groups are called sentences.

A sentence is a word – group that makes complete sense.

VOWELS AND CONSONANTS

VOWELS

The 26 letters of the English alphabet fall into three classes when considered in regard to the sounds they stand for. Some of them have open sounds. While speaking them, our breath comes out of the mouth without being completely stopped anywhere. These letters are voiced letters and so they are called vowels.

Vowels are only five in number. They are a, e, i, o, and u.

These vowels are the very soul of English language. They help other letters of the alphabet to sound properly. Without them they cannot be spoken, in fact. Take two letters p and t. when written as pt, they cannot make any word. But if a vowel is combined with them, they can be spoken as different words:

Pat, pet, pit, pot, put, apt, opt etc.

A vowel is a letter standing for an open sound that can be spoken independently.

SEMI VOWELS

Two letters of the English alphabet have a peculiar quality. They are w and y. they stand in between the vowels and non – vowels. Observe the following examples:

w, y as non – vowels w, y as vowels

(a) was cow

wait dew

walk few

(b) yes my

years cry

yellow fly

It is clear from the above examples that y as a vowel sounds as long w and w as a vowel sounds as long u.

CONSONANTS

Take away the five vowels and two semi–vowels from the English alphabet. The remaining 19 letters do not have open sounds. They require the help of the vowels or semi – vowels to be spoken. They are called consonants or non – vowels.

A consonant is a letter that can sound with the help of some vowel or semi – vowel only.

Thus the 26 letters of the English alphabet can be put into three classes as under:

SYLLABLES

Observe the following:

a, go, pay, mute, try, use are some words. Most of them have only one vowel. Some have two vowels also. But each of them has only one vowel – sound. The second vowel e in the words ‘mute’ and ‘use’ gives no sound. So, each of these words has one syllable only.

A single vowel or a group of letters with one vowel – sound is called a syllable.

A word may have one, two, three, four or five syllables even. Observe the following examples:

1. I, a, may, talk (one syllable)

2. sai–lor, sis-ter, poin-ter, hap-py (two syllables)

3. to-mor-row, in-do-lent, un-der-stand (three syllables)

4. re-com-mending (four syllables)

5. re-com-mend-a-tory (five syllables)