Saturday, January 22, 2011

Common Mistakes in English Usage

Common Mistakes in English Usage

Common Mistakes in English Usage

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 12:10 AM PST

Whether you like it or not, any management entrance examination like CAT, XAT, SNAP, etc. will judge you by your quality of using right word in right context. The first thing you should do is to avoid the most common spelling mistakes. Below you'll find 10 such mistakes to get you started.

10 common spelling mistakes

1. accept / except

INCORRECT: Please except this gift.
CORRECT: Please accept this gift.

Except, as a verb, means to exclude or leave out. As a preposition it means "with the exception of." Accept means "to receive willingly." For example: We visited every landmark except the Eiffel Tower. The school is accepting only those students who have had their shots; all others are excepted.

2. advice / advise

INCORRECT: He refused to take my advise.
CORRECT: He refused to take my advice.

Advise is a verb. The s has the sound of "z." Advice is a noun. The c has the sound of "s."

3. all right / alright

INCORRECT: He's alright after his fall.
CORRECT: He's all right after his fall.

Although arguments are advanced for the acceptance of the spelling, alright is still widely regarded as nonstandard. Careful writers avoid it.

4. effect / affect

INCORRECT: His death really effected me.
CORRECT: His death really affected me.

The most common use of effect is as a noun meaning "something produced by a cause." The most common use of affect is as a transitive verb meaning "to act upon." For example: The disease had a lasting effect on the child. The family's lack of money affected his plans.

5. every day / everyday

INCORRECT: Dan walks the dog everyday at six p.m.
CORRECT: Dan walks the dog every day at six p.m.

Everyday is an adjective that means "daily." Every day is a phrase that combines the adjective every with the noun day. For example: Walking the dog is an everyday occurrence. I practice the flute every day.

6. its / it's

INCORRECT: Put the saw back in it's place.
CORRECT: Put the saw back in its place.

It's is a contraction that represents two words: it is. Its is a one-word third-person singular possessive adjective, like his. For example: The man lost his hat. The dog wagged its tail.

7. passed / past

INCORRECT: The car past the train.
CORRECT: The car passed the train.

Past is used as an adverb of place, or as a preposition. Passed is the past tense of the verb to pass. For example: The past few days have been hectic. The deadline has passed. He passed her the biscuits. The boys ran past the gate. As we stood in the doorway, the cat ran past.

8. quiet / quite

INCORRECT: We spent a quite evening reading.
CORRECT: We spent a quiet evening reading.

Quiet is an adjective meaning "marked by little or no activity." Quite is an adverb meaning "to a considerable extent." For example: The children are quite amiable today. Quiet can also be used as a noun. For example: We enjoyed the quiet by the lake. (The suffix "ness" should never be added to the abstract nouns quiet and calm.)

9. then / than

INCORRECT: I have more eggs then you.
CORRECT: I have more eggs than you.

Then is an adverb that indicates time. It can go anywhere in a sentence. For example: The man paused by the door and then entered. Then the noise started. As conjunction or preposition, than will always be followed by a noun or a pronoun. For example: I like Melville better than Hawthorne.

10. who's / whose

INCORRECT: I don't know who's dog you're talking about.
CORRECT: I don't know whose dog you're talking about.

Who's is the contracted form of "who is." Whose is the possessive adjective form of who. For example: Who's your daddy? Whose car are we going in?

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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

3 Men and 5 Hats – Brainteaser

3 Men and 5 Hats – Brainteaser

3 Men and 5 Hats – Brainteaser

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 04:20 PM PST

Interesting Brainteaser

3 innocent prisoners were sitting in a jail. One day, the cruel jailer takes them out and places them in a line on three chairs, in such a way that man C can see both man A and man B, man B can see only man A, and man A can see none of the other men.

The jailer shows them 5 hats, 2 of which are black and 3 of which are white. After this, he blindfolds the men, places one hat on each of their heads, and removes the blindfolds again. The jailer tells his three prisoners that if one of them is able to determine the color of his hat within one minute, all of them are released. Otherwise, they will all be executed. None of the prisoners can see his own hat, and all are intelligent. After 59 seconds, man A shouts out the (correct) color of his hat!

What is the color of man A's hat, and how does he know?

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Data Sufficiency Sample Questions

Data Sufficiency Sample Questions

Data Sufficiency Sample Questions

Posted: 19 Jan 2011 03:30 AM PST

Direction for next 5 Data Sufficiency Sample Questions: Each Data Sufficiency Sample Questions n is followed by some data.

Mark [a], if I alone is sufficient to answer the question.
Mark [b], if II alone is sufficient to answer the question.
Mark [c], if both I and II needed to answer the question.
Mark [d], if neither I nor II is sufficient to answer the question.
Mark [e], if either I or II is sufficient to answer the question but not both.

1. Will the new mayor prove more useful than the last one?
I. The new mayor has preformed a number of urgently required tasks for the benefit of the city.
II. The new mayor is disciplined and is achievement-oriented.

2. Are colleges today understaffed?
I. The paucity of teachers is reflected in the unmanageably high number of students per teacher.
II. Many posts in colleges lie vacant as there is a dearth of qualified personnel.

3. How has the trading business fared in the last two months?
I. Due to rising demands from other countries in the last couple of months the actual market size increased for traders.
II. Thanks to increased capacities, traders were able to meet the rise in demand.

4. Is the study of Philosophy necessary for children today?
I. Philosophy acquaints one with the purpose of life.
II. Children need to understand the implications of their environment, which they can get only from philosophy.

5. Are writers of pulp fiction intelligent people?
I. Pulp fiction relies on an astute understanding of human nature and sharp perspective on the current environment.
II. Pulp fiction is widely read by some of the most intelligent people in the world.

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Monday, January 17, 2011

You have 12 coins, one of which is fake.

You have 12 coins, one of which is fake.

You have 12 coins, one of which is fake.

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:56 AM PST

Hey friends, try and solve this intricate puzzle. You can use your skills to explain this puzzle using a flow chart. If you make one send it to me on my email address, I will include it in the body of this post itself.

12 coins 3 weighings

You have 12 coins, one of which is fake. The fake coin is indistinguishable from the rest except that it is either heavier or lighter, but you don't know which. Can you determine which is the fake coin and whether it is lighter or heavier using a balance scale and only 3 weighing?

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Verbal Sample Questions

Verbal Sample Questions

Verbal Sample Questions

Posted: 16 Jan 2011 09:47 AM PST

Verbal Sample Questions: Directions for next 3 Verbal Sample Questions: Read the passage given below and answer the verbal sample questions accordingly.

In a certain society, there are two marriage groups, Red and Brown. No marriage is permitted within a group. On marriage, males become part of their wife's group: women remain in their own group. Children belong to the same group as their parents. Widowers and divorced males revert to the group of their birth. Marriage to more than one person at the same time and marriage to a direct descendant are forbidden.

1. A Brown female could have had
I. a grandfather born Red
II. a grandmother born Red
III. two grandfathers born Brown.
a. I only
b. II only
c. I and II only
d. I, II and III

2. A male born into the Brown group may have
a. an uncle in either group
b. a Brown daughter
c. a son-in-law born into the Red group
d. a daughter-in-law in the Red group.

3. Which of the following is not permitted under the rules started?
a. A Brown male Marrying his father's sister
b. A Red female marrying her mother's brother
c. A man born Red, who is now a widower, marrying his brother's widow
d. A widow marrying her divorced daughter's ex-husband

To buy Complete Verbal Ability Preparation Module @ Just for Rs.  490 – Click Here

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Saturday, January 15, 2011

Interesting Picture Puzzle

Interesting Picture Puzzle

Interesting Picture Puzzle

Posted: 14 Jan 2011 12:48 PM PST

If you like picture puzzles, this is post is for you.  What do you see?  The first picture below has faces hidden - but

Where are they?

How many are there?

How Many Faces Can You Find In This Picture? Post your observations in form of comments below-

Click on the image to enlarge


Click here to know the answer

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Quantitative Questions

Quantitative Questions

Quantitative Questions

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 12:59 AM PST

Sample Quantitative Questions: Direction for next 2 Quantitative questions: Answer the following quantitative questions on the basis of data given below. x , y , z are positive integers such that x + y + z = 100,

1. Find the probability that x > 20, y > 10 , z > 20 .
a) 23/99
b) 1/7
c) 7/33
d) 1/8
e) 8/33

2. Find the number of possible solutions for the equation in the previous question, If 25 < x < 51, y > 10 and z > 15.
a) 900
b) 1176
c) 4075
d) 236
e) None of these

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Monday, January 10, 2011

Vedic Division by Nine

Vedic Division by Nine

Vedic Division by Nine

Posted: 10 Jan 2011 08:55 AM PST

Friends, this time it has been a long time I have written a post. I badly wanted to write one but because of very busy schedule I couldn't.

This post is one of the many areas where Vedic Mathematics really surpasses traditional methods as you shall soon see. This post is about dividing any number by 9.

We will start by taking an example

Divide 200103002 by 9

We can initiate solving this problem by writing it as below -

9) 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 | 2

The symbol in front of the final 2 is not the number "1", but a vertical bar "|". This last position will hold the remainder, if any.

There are only two steps in this procedure.

Step 1:  Bring down the 2. It will look like this:

9) 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 | 2

2

Step 2:   Add the answer so far, the "2", to the number on the upper right. For this example, we would add the "2" from the answer to "0", the number on the above right. So we have:

9) 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 | 2


2 2

Now just repeat this process. Add the 2 to the 0, add the 2 to the 1, etc. We will end up with:

9) 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 | 2

2 2 2 3 3 6 6 6 | 8

Try a little advanced problem

9) 3 2 3 6 0 5 2 | 2

Step 1: Bring down the first number in the divisor.

9) 3 2 3 6 0 5 2 | 2

3

Step 2: Add the number on the above right and repeat. If we get carrys, put them in and don't worry about them for now. So we will have:

9) 3   2   3   6   0   5   2 |   2

3   5   8 14 14 19  21 | 23

So, what do we do with all this stuff? Any number that has a carry, needs to be added to the left. Let's do this starting with the "21" just after the bar.

9) 3   2   3   6   0   5   2 |   2

3   5   9   5   6   1    1 | 23

Now, notice that the remainder of 23 needs to be reduced until it is below a 9. There are two multiples of 9 in 23 with 5 left over. Therefore, we carry over 2 to the other side of the bar and add it to the 1. We will then have the answer:

9) 3   2   3   6   0   5   2 |   2

3   5   9   5   6   1    3 |   5

There is a little more work involved, but, still a lot less than the conventional way.

Hope to hear some feedback from you in comments or facebook

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Reasoning Ability Questions

Reasoning Ability Questions

Reasoning Ability Questions

Posted: 05 Jan 2011 04:27 AM PST

Reasoning Ability Questions- Directions for next 4 Reasoning Ability Questions: Answer the reasoning ability questions on the basis of the information given below.

Farooq, Vivek, Rakesh and Dipti were playing a computer game. The object was to shoot down planes and birds with a missile. Shooting down a plane fetched 50 points and shooting down a bird fetched 10 points. Each one shot at least 4 planes. Farooq, Vivek, Rakesh and Dipti won 700, 600, 550 and 450 points, respectively at the end of their games.

1. If all the four players shot the same number of birds, by how much did the total number of planes shot by Farooq and Vivek exceed those shot by Rakesh and Dipti?
a. 8
b. 6
c. 4
d. Data Insufficient

2. What is the total number of ways in which the four players could have scored their respectively scores?
a. 4752
b. 7920
c. 34
d. 38

3. Dipti shot the maximum number of planes and all of them shot different number of planes. If two of them together shot the same number of planes as the other two together, what could be the largest number of planes sort by the person who shot the minimum number of planes among the four?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. Data insufficient

4. Each one shot at least one bird and the maximum number of planes that they could. What was the total number of planes that were shot?
a. 42
b. 46
c. 38
d. Data insufficient

To buy Complete Logical, Critical & Analytical Reasoning Preparation Module @ Just for Rs.  490 – Click Here

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Interesting Riddles

Interesting Riddles

Interesting Riddles

Posted: 29 Dec 2010 08:40 PM PST

Funny Interesting Riddles for you : In this post we have tried to give you few witty, funny but interesting riddles. Try to use your brain but friends don't take them to seriously.

Interesting Riddles

  1. How many times can you subtract 5 from 25?
  2. What two things can never be eaten for breakfast?
  3. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain on Earth?
  4. The person who makes it doesn't want it. The person who buys it doesn't use it. The person who uses it doesn't see it. What is it?
  5. While some months have just 30 days, others have 31 days. How many months have 28 days?
  6. On my way to St. Ives I saw a man with 7 wives. Each wife had 7 sacks. Each sack had 7 cats. Each cat had 7 kittens. Kitten, cats, sacks, wives. How many were going to St. Ives?
  7. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
  8. There is a house with all 4 sides facing south. If a bear walks past the house, what color would it be?

If you liked the above interesting riddles, please let us know by posting a comment below.

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