Business letters should be brief and to the point. As we all know, business people are always busy. They will not have enough time to read long, winding letters. Unlike personal letters, business letters are written in a more formal style. Certain polite expressions such as those given below are commonly used in business letters:

Fill in the blanks with suitable phrasal verbs or idioms.

1.    He —————— my plan.

a)    Backed out
b)    Backed up
c)    Backed off
d)    Backed off

2.    We have —————- somebody to do the job.

a)    Disposed of
b)    Fixed upon
c)    Hit upon
d)    Bear out

Fill in the blanks with who or whom

To make meaningful sentences words need to be arranged in a particular order. The following is the usual order of words in an English sentence:

The subject usually comes before the verb.

The dog bit the man. (Subject – dog, verb – bit, object – man)
He wrote a letter. (Subject – he, verb – wrote, object – letter)

Double comparatives and double superlatives

Double comparatives and double superlatives were once common in English, but now they are not used.

It was the most unkindest cut of all. (Shakespeare – Note the use of the double superlative)

The above sentence is incorrect in modern English.

Adjectives with verbs

An adjective can be used with a verb when some quality of the subject, rather than the action of the verb is to be expressed.
Read the sentences given below:

Pronouns used as complements of to be

Grammarians formerly recommended that a pronoun used as the complement of the verb to be should be in the nominative case. Today the use of the nominative case in such cases is considered extremely formal and over-correct. Instead, we use the objective case.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Words like flower, book, tree, chair and pen are countable nouns because they refer to objects that can be counted. Countable nouns can have plural forms. They can also be used with numbers and the articles a/an.

There is a book on the table.
There are two books on the table.

What part of speech is the word or phrase given in bold letters?

1. He fasted for a week.

a) Adjective
b) Verb
c) Adverb
d) Preposition

2. Muslims observe fast in the month of Ramzan.

a) Noun
b) Verb
c) Adjective
d) Adverb

Fill in the blanks with suitable verb forms.

1.    It is years since we —————-

a)    Talk
b)    Talked
c)    Would talk
d)    Had talked

2.    He has —————- his best days.

a)    See
b)    Seen
c)    Saw
d)    Sees

3.    The lot —————— upon him.