Basic English- Questions & Answers

1) What is the difference between beside and besides?

“Beside” means “Next to” (Adjacent to). Example: There is a temple beside my house. This means there is a temple next to my home.

“Besides” means “apart from”, “in addition to”. Example: I have a car besides my two wheeler. This means I Have a car apart from my two wheeler.

2) What is the difference between stationery and stationary

Stationery denotes items such as pen, pencil. One can easily memorize this as pen and pencil contain letter “e”, whereas stationary means a thing that is not moving (Not dynamic). Indian population had never been stationary. It keeps on increasing over decades.

3) Pick the right sentence

a) One of my friend is working in Bank
b) One of my friends is working in Bank

The right pick is b) Explanation: Friend or a friend means only one friend. But we wish to express I have many friends. One among them is working in bank. So my friends are plural. Thus right sentence is “One of my friends is working in Bank”

4) When to use “can” and “could”?
In present tense, even though “can” and “could” can be used one for other “Could” is used to express politeness. We can ask a friend “can you give me your pen?” When we request the same to an elder “could you give me your pen?” would be more appropriate.

5) When to use “saying” and “telling”?
“Saying” is used in direct speech where as “telling” to be used in indirect speech or to refer a third person who is not present in the scenario.
Example: a) I am saying the truth
b) I think that Raja is telling is truth