MANY and MANY A

Many a time, many a man etc. means many times, many men etc. When we use these expressions we intend to explain a situation where the subject is plural. But structurally ‘many’ follows a plural verb whereas ‘many a’ follows a singular verb though both mean more than one. EXAMPLES: Many men have come here with the same request. OR Many a man has come here with the same request. (here also it means more than one man) We have been there many times. (OR…

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Heart-felt vs. Hearty

Heart-felt = (of a feeling or its expression) deeply and strongly felt; sincere. Please accept my heartfelt apologies/thanks. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the fishermen who volunteered in the rescue operation. Louis expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. Hearty = cheerful, spirited, enthusiastic etc( often loudly expressed) Louis extended a hearty welcome to the guests. A hearty laugh/handshake. Hearty congratulations. (2)  (of food) wholesome and substantial. We ate a hearty breakfast before we set off.

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ -part 3 (possession based)

This part deals with the past wishful thinking of someone about how good/happy it would have been to possess /have something in the past though actually they didn’t possess it. EXAMPLES. He wished he had had a pet dog when he was a boy..(i.e He wished so but he didn’t have it) She wished she had had a post graduation in Science.(i.e she wished so but didn’t have..) She wished she had had long hair. The Head Mistress wished the school had had a beautiful…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ – part 3(state based)

This part deals with a past non-existent state which one viewed with a sense of loss. Or in other words it refers to an unsuccessful state in the past which one thought of wishfully. EXAMPLES. I wished I had been healthy like you. ( i.e I wished to be healthy like you but I was not…) I wished I had been a film star like Mammootty.(I wished  but unfortunately I was not a star like Mammootty) She wished she had been as beautiful as Iswarya…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ – part 3( action based)

The following items deal with the past thinking of someone relating to a past action /situation that went unrealised or not attained.  He imagined a non-fact to be an actual fact.  He thought how good it would have been if something realised or happened favourably.  Part -3 is more or less the same as part 2 except that it relates to a past situation not realised , but reported in the past itself.  Here the reporting verb should be in the past.( i.e  ‘ I…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ part 2 (possession based)

This part deals with the present wishful thinking of someone about how good/happy it would have been to have/possess something in the past though actually they didn’t possess it. Or in other words it refers the present wishful thinking of someone about an unsuccessful desire to have or possess something in the past. She wishes she had had a post graduation in Science. (but she didn’t have a PG) She wishes she had had long beautiful hair. (but unfortunately she didn’t have it) The Headmistress…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ – part 2( state based)

This part deals a past non-existent state which one remembers with a sense of loss. Or in other words, it refers to the present thinking of someone about an unsuccessful state in the past. Structure : Use past perfect of “were/was”  (i.e had been) . EXAMPLES. I wish I had been healthy like you. (i.e I was not healthy like you) I wish I had not been a heart patient.(  but unfortunately I was a heart patient) She wishes she had been as beautiful as…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ – part 2( action based)

This part deals  with the present thinking of someone about a past situation.  Here one imagines wishfully of a past situation which didn’t take place as he thinks now. We use the past perfect tense after ‘Wish’ to imagine a non-fact to be an actual fact in the past.  We express our regret that something was not as we liked it to be. It can be viewed in three perspectives, viz (a) action based (b) state based (c) possession based. structure : Past Perfect Tense…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ -part 1( possession-based)

This part deals with the wishful thinking of someone about how good/happy it would be to have/possess something in the present though actually they don’t possess it. She wishes she had a post-graduation in Science.(but she has no PG in Science) He wishes he had a CRETA car.( i.e actually he doesn’t possess a CRETA car) She wishes she had long beautiful hair.(  NOT she has long…) The Head Mistress wishes the school had a beautiful garden.(NOT school has…) John wishes he had a motorbike.(NOT…

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Idiomatic expression of ‘Wish’ part 1(state based)

This part deals with the present thinking of someone about a non-existent state which someone wishes for. EXAMPLES. I wish I was/were healthy like you. (i.e I’m not healthy like you) I wish I weren’t a heart patient. ( but unfortunately I am a heart patient) She wishes she was/were as beautiful as Iswarya Ray.( but she isn’t) He wishes he was/were as strong as Mohammed Ali. I wish it was/were possible. It’s very crowded here.  I wish there weren’t so many people.(but there are…

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