Have / Get something done  :  When we use  ‘ Have something done ‘  we mean that we arrange for somebody else to do something for us.(1)

• Prof.George can repair his car.(repair himself)
• (OR) He can have the car repaired.(i.e he can arrange for somebody to repair)
• Prof.George repaired his car.( i.e he repaired himself – past)
• Prof.George had his car repaired.(i.e he arranged for somebody to repair it – past)
• A:  Are you going to clean the room or will you have it cleaned?
• B:  No, I am so tired.  I will have it cleaned by the servant.
• The newly-weds are having their photographs taken.(i.e The photographer is taking the photos)
• Did she make her churidar or did she have it stitched outside?
• She had her churidar stitched at City Tailors.
• Where did you have your hair cut?
• I had my hair cut at Royal Saloon.

(2)  We can say  ‘Get something done ‘ instead of ‘ Have something done ‘( mainly in informal spoken English)

• She got her churidar stitched .(i.e she had her churidar stitched)
• He got his hair cut.
• She got her dresses washed.
• He got his car repaired.

(3)  Sometimes  ‘ Have something done ‘  has a different meaning.  It refers to something happening to somebody or their belongings.  Usually what happens is not pleasant.

• He had his two sons wounded in the Iran- Iraq war.
• He had his left hand broken in the accident.
• When they got home after the film they found that they had all their money stolen.
• You look very perplexed, what happened to you?  Have you had your purse stolen?

My own…/ Your own etc : We can use  ‘Own ‘ as a pronoun after a possessive determiner ( example. my, her, our etc).  You cannot say ‘ an own house, an own car etc ‘

• My own flat, your own car, her own room etc.
• This is my brother’s laptop .  My own is being repaired.
• I didn’t have a flat of my own when I was a student.
• He has his own car.
• He doesn’t like to share his study room with his brother.  He wants his own room.
• Our bank has a parking place of its own.
• They live in their own house.
• How can you blame me?  Its your own flat.

Being + Adjective ( here ‘Being ‘ has the meaning of  ‘As, Because, So etc).  We can combine two sentences using this structure.  This usage explains why we/ he etc did something.  When the subjects of the two sentences are the same,  ‘Being ‘ comes at the beginning of the sentence when combined and when they are different, the subject of the first sentence comes at the beginning immediately followed by ‘ Being ‘.

Examples – when the subjects of the two sentences are the same.

• He was very rich.  So he bought an expensive car.
• Being very rich, he bought an expensive car.(combined)
• She is very intelligent.  She can solve any problems easily.
• Being very intelligent, she can solve any problems easily.(combined)
• He was drunk.  He could not recognise me.
• Being drunk, he could not recognise me.(combined)

Examples – when the subjects of the two sentences are different.

• He was very poor.  So we allowed him free accommodation.
• He being very poor, we allowed him free accommodation.(combined)
• The road was under repair.  So we had to take diversion.
• The road being under repair, we had to take diversion.(combined)
• The weather was good.  So we went out for a film.
• The weather being good, we went out for a film.(combined)
• The child was sick.  So her mother did not go to the office.
• The child being sick, her mother did not go to the office.(combined)

Definite Article  ‘The’  :  A short description of Definite Article is given below.

(1)  used to refer person(s)/ thing(s)/ event(s) etc Already Referred or when the situation is sufficient to make clear who or what is referred to:

• I had a beautiful pen and a small purse.  I got the pen as a gift from my uncle and I got the purse from my aunt.
• He is the girl who showed me the way.
• This is the book I was searching.
• Please accompany these girls to the convent.( here the convent is already referred/ mentioned)

(2) used when it stands for something Unique.

• the sun,  the moon,  the universe,  the earth,  the sky,  the ocean,  the sea etc. ( Note that  ‘The’ is omitted before the names of materials as:  Gold is a precious metal,  Rubber grows in Kerala.)

(3) used before the Superlatives.

• He is the tallest of all the men.
• She is the richest lady in our locality.
• This is the most difficult question I have ever answered.
• Bus is the cheapest means of transportation in our state.

Note :  when  ‘most’  means  ‘very’  the definite is  not used.

• The story was most exciting.
• This is a most useful book.
• Most people like this restaurant.
• Most farmers use chemical fertilizers.

(4) used before names of Seas/ Rivers / Canals etc

• the Red sea,  the Indian ocean,  the Mediterranean,  the Nile,  the river Thames, the Suez canal.

(5) used with adjectives and participles to denote all members of a class.

• the rich,  the poor,  the young,  the old,  the dead,  the dying and the wounded.

(6) used before the names of musical instruments.

• the piano,  the violin,  the guitar etc (  But, with the names of games it is omitted)
• to play tennis/ football/ cards/ chess etc)

(7) used when a singular noun is meant to represent a whole class.

• The horse is a strong animal.
• The dog is a faithful animal. (But,  Dogs are faithful animals)

Note:  the two nouns ‘man’ and  ‘woman’  used in the general sense to denote the whole class never have either article.

• Man is a social animal.
• Woman is more peace-loving than man.

(8) used before the names of Holy books.

• the Bible,  the Quran,  the Ramayana, the Vedas etc.

Indefinite Articles  – A  and  An.  A small description of Indefinite articles is given below:

(1)  ‘ A ‘ is used before a word beginning with a consonant –  a bag,  a house,  a girl  etc.

(2)  ‘ A ‘ is used before a word that begins with a vowel but pronounced that of ‘ Yu ‘ and  ‘ W ‘.

• a university , a union , a European,  a useful article
• a one rupee note,  a one-eyed dog etc

(3)  ‘ An ‘  is used before a word beginning with a vowel.

• an enemy,  an orange,  an apple etc

(4) ‘ An ‘ is used before consonants which are pronounced with vowel sounds.

• an hour,  an honest man,  an heir etc

On my own/ On your own etc means  ‘ Alone ‘

• On my own     = by myself
• On your own   = by yourself ( singular)
• On your own   = by yourselves (plural)
• On our own     = by ourselves
• On their own   = by themselves
• On her own     = by herself
• On his own     = by himself
• On its own      = by itself
• Learner drivers are not allowed to drive on their own.(or by themselves)
• The box was too heavy for him to lift by himself.(or to lift on his own)
• A:  Was there anybody with him when you met him yesterday?
• B: No, he was by himself.
• Those small children should not be allowed to go swimming by themselves.
• We didn’t get workers to decorate the reception hall.  So we did all the decorations on our own. ( or by ourselves)
• I always take my family with me when I go on holiday.  I don’t like to go on holiday on my own.

Now that :  We use ‘ Now that ‘ to give an explanation for a new situation/development. It shows what has given rise to a new situation or it shows the result of an action or development. To explain further,  ” Now that ” describes a situation that is true and allows for the possibility of something else to happen.  It’s often used to describe a cause and effect relationship. Usually, ‘Now that’  comes at the beginning of the sentence.

• Now that the Mayor has arrived, we can begin the programme.
• Now that he is in standard X, he must spend more time on his studies.
• Now that he lives only one and a half kilometres from the office, he walks to work and enjoys it.
• Now that the workers have come, you can start the work.
• Now that you have got the salary, you can think of going for a trip.
• Now that the construction of the building is over, you can let it out for business.

As well as :  In the case of ‘ As well as’  we notice a basic structural difference from that of ‘Not only ….but also ‘.  Here the less prominent aspect is mentioned first and the more prominent aspect is placed after ‘As well as ‘.  Both the structures can be used for mentioning two equally prominent aspects also.

• He is a good painter.  He is a singer too.
• He is a singer as well as a good painter.(combined)
• Raju helped me out in my extremities.  He gave me his advice too.
• Raju gave me his advice as well as helped me out in my extremities.(combined)
• This medicine is good.  It is cheap too.
• This medicine is cheap as well as good.(combined)
• War causes loss of precious human lives.  It causes miseries to numerous people too.
• War causes miseries to numerous people as well as loss of precious human lives.(combined)

Not only………..but also.

The above structure can be explained well through an example as follows:

• Tom is a good painter.  He is a singer too.
• Tom is not only a good painter but also a singer.(combined)
• Not only is Tom a good painter but also a singer.( emphasis added)

( From these two sentences we can understand that the speaker has given prominence to the fact that he is a good painter.  And he adds that he is a singer too.  Here what is more prominent is placed immediately after ‘ Not only ‘ and the less prominent (or sometimes equally prominent) succeeds ‘But also’.  To add emphasis, we can use ‘Not only’ at the beginning of a clause.  In such a situation, as the sentence starts with a negative word, an inversion of the subject and the auxiliary(verb) is a must.

• This medicine is good.  It is cheap also.
• This medicine is not only good but also cheap.(combined)
• Not only is this medicine good but also cheat.(emphasis added)
• He is very strong. He is wise too.
• He is not only very strong but also wise.(combined)
• Not only is he very strong but also wise.(emphasis added)
• You should go there.  Also, you should meet the manager.
• You should not only go there but also meet the manager.(combined)
• Not only should you go there but also meet the manager.(emphasis added)
• She sings well.  She draws beautiful pictures also.
• She not only sings well but also draws beautiful pictures.(combined)
• Not only does she sing well but also draws beautiful pictures.(emphasis added)

Unless = if not, except when.   ‘ Unless ‘ is not used in imaginary/unreal or hypothetical situations. ‘ Unless ‘ negates a sentence  and therefore no further negation is required by adding No/None/Not etc as in the case of ‘ If’.

• Unless you work hard, you will not pass the exam.
• I will not go to the party unless I am invited.
• If he weren’t so stupid , he would understand it. ( here we don’t use ‘ Unless’ as it is an imaginary or hypothetical situation)
• Unless it rains, he goes for a walk everyday.
• I will lend you my camera unless my brother wants it for his use.
• If she hadn’t misbehaved, I would have helped her. ( you cannot use ‘Unless’ here)
• Students are not allowed to conduct the risky experiment themselves unless they are under the supervision of a teacher.