Refer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxTUC5I22LU( Evolution of communication)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDkxsNmKDGk animation communication

Subject –Verb Agreement:

RULE 1: When two subjects are joined by ‘and’, the verb is plural.

For example: My friend and his mother are in town.

RULE 2: When two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ refer to the same person or thing, the verb is
singular. 
For example: The captain and coach of the team has been sacked.

In case these were two different individuals, two articles need to be used: The captain and the
coach of the team have been sacked.            

RULE 3: Indefinite pronouns (everyone, each one, someone, somebody, no one, nobody, anyone,
anybody etc.) are always singular. 

For example:  Everyone is selfish.

We do not use 'are' in this sentence. 

This rule does not apply to: few, many, several, both, all, some.

RULE 4: When the percentage or a part of something is mentioned with plural meaning the
plural verb is used.

For example: 40 of every 100 children are malnourished.

RULE 5: When the subjects joined by ‘either or’ or ‘neither nor’ are of different persons, the verb
will agree in person and number with the noun nearest to it.

For example: Neither you nor your dogs know how to behave.

Either of the books is fine for MAT preparation.

Always remember that, when either and neither are used as pronouns, they are treated as

singular and always take the singular verb. 
RULE 6: If connectives/appositives like along with, together with, as well as, accompanied by
etc. are used to combine two subjects, the verb agrees with the subject mentioned first.

For example: Mr. Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother, was banished to the
forest.

RULE 7: A number of/ the number or

‘A number of (some countable noun)’ is always plural. ‘The number of (some countable noun)’
is always singular.

For example: A number of students are going on the trip.

RULE 8: The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.

For example: Five gallons of oil was required to get the engine running.

RULE 9: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with a countable noun, the
verb is plural.

For example: Some men are needed for the battle.

RULE 10: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with an uncountable noun,
the verb is singular.

For example: Some milk is spoilt.

Subject-Verb agreement is essential to make sure that a sentence is grammatically correct.

Thus, the above ten basic rules can help you to master subject-verb agreement.

Rules for the use of Articles in English Language.

The following eight rules regarding the use of the articles in English will help you make fewer
mistakes when you speak English.

It is very important to be able to use the articles properly, both when writing and speaking.

     1. With the names of countries and continents

In these instances we do not use the articles at all, BUT if the country is made up of different
parts or if the name is taken from common nouns, for example USA, UK, UAE, then we use the
article the and say the USA, the UK, the UAE, the Czech Republic, The Netherlands.

It is the same when speaking of continents and islands. It is not used at all with the continents.
We usually do not use an article when speaking about islands, but if the name is made up of
different parts, then use the definite article.

For example, Africa, Europe, Bermuda, Tasmania, BUT the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas

●         She lived in America.

●         They live in England.
●         My friend is from the Czech Republic.

∙     I will go to the Galapagos Islands next year.

     2. With the words breakfast, lunch, dinner

When it comes to eating in general, the article is not used. But if you are speaking about a
particular breakfast, lunch or dinner, use the.

For example:

●         I don’t eat breakfast.

●         We didn’t like the dinner.

     3. With the names of jobs and professions

In these instances, use the indefinite article a/an.

For example:

●         I want to be a politician.

●         My younger brother wants to be a vet.

     4. With compass directions

Compass directions are written with capital letters when they designate definite regions (the
North, the South, the East, the West), but not when they indicate direction or general location.

If the compass direction follows a preposition or if it designates a definite region, use the
definite article the. If it follows a verb, no article is used.

For example:

●         They went east.

●         Look to the north and you will see the lake.
●         The North is cooler than the South.

     5. With names of oceans, seas, rivers, and canals

Remember that the definite article is always used with these bodies of water.

For example, the Amazon, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal.

●         I would like to swim in the Red Sea, and you?

●         The Amazon is the longest river in the world.

https://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/auxiliary.htm ( refer for Modal Auxiliaries)

Uses of Shall and Will and Should
 In England, shall is used to express the simple future for first person Iand we, as in "Shall
we meet by the river?" Will would be used in the simple future for all other persons.
Using will in the first person would express determination on the part of the speaker, as in "We
will finish this project by tonight, by golly!" Using shall in second and third persons would
indicate some kind of promise about the subject, as in "This shall be revealed to you in good
time." This usage is certainly acceptable in the U.S., although shallis used far less frequently.
The distinction between the two is often obscured by the contraction 'll, which is the same for
both verbs.

In the United States, we seldom use shall for anything other than polite questions
(suggesting an element of permission) in the first-person:

● "Shall we go now?"
● "Shall I call a doctor for you?"

(In the second sentence, many writers would use should instead, although should is somewhat
more tentative than shall.) In the U.S., to express the future tense, the verb will is used in all
other cases.

Shall is often used in formal situations (legal or legalistic documents, minutes to meetings, etc.)
to express obligation, even with third-person and second-person constructions:

● The board of directors shall be responsible for payment to stockholders.

● The college president shall report financial shortfalls to the executive director each
semester."

Should is usually replaced, nowadays, by would. It is still used, however, to mean "ought to" as
in

● You really shouldn't do that.

● If you think that was amazing, you should have seen it last night.

In British English and very formal American English, one is apt to hear or read should with the
first-person pronouns in expressions of liking such as "I should prefer iced tea" and in tentative
expressions of opinion such as

● I should imagine they'll vote Conservative.

● I should have thought so.

(The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
England. 1996. Used with the permission of Oxford University Press. Examples our own.)

Uses of Can and Could
The modal auxiliary can is used

● to express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing how to
do something):
He can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well.
● to expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to do
something):
Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal
than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of can in this context.)
● to express theoretical possibility:
American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a profit in
it.

The modal auxiliary could is used

● to express an ability in the past:

I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.
● to express past or future permission:
Could I bury my cat in your back yard?
● to express present possibility:
We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.
● to express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances:
If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

In expressing ability, can and could frequently also imply willingness: Can you help me with my

homework?

Uses of May and Might

Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in the
context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense of may. Might is considerably
more tentative than may.

● May I leave class early?

● If I will have finished all my work and I'm really quiet, might I leave early?

In the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable present and future

forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:

● She might be my advisor next semester.

● She may be my advisor next semester.
● She might have advised me not to take biology.
 Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might, that a
hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let's say there's been a helicopter
crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all the facts are gathered, a newscaster could
say that the pilot "mayhave been injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the
newscaster can now say that the pilot "might have been injured" because it is a hypothetical
situation that has not occurred. Another example: a body had been identified after much work
by a detective. It was reported that "without this painstaking work, the body may have
remained unidentified." Since the body was, in fact, identified, might is clearly called for.

In certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are differences.

Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently used for will.

Will can be used to express willingness:

● I'll wash the dishes if you dry.

● We're going to the movies. Will you join us?

It can also express intention (especially in the first person):

● I'll do my exercises later on.

and prediction:

● specific: The meeting will be over soon.

● timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo.
● habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.

Would can also be used to express willingness:

● Would you please take off your hat?

It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word "would"):

● Now you've ruined everything. You would act that way.

and characteristic activity:

● customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford.

● typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every time.

In a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:

● My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.

Finally, would can express a sense of probability:

● I hear a whistle. That would be the five o'clock train.

Uses of Used to

The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that took
place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer customarily takes
place:

● We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.

The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending quite
naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long trips." But it ought not to
disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the auxiliary is combined
with another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by the new auxiliary and the "-ed"
ending is dropped. This will often happen in the interrogative:

● Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast?

● It didn't use to be that way.

Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or familiar
with something:

● The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now.
● I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.

Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or
academic text.
Pronoun Agreement in Number
Compound subjects joined by ‘and’ take the plural pronoun
a) Rita and Tina completed their assignment.
The following sentences have a compound subject joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’, where
one noun is singular and the other is plural.
a) Neither the boss nor the team members finished their
b) Neither the team members nor the boss finished his
The pronoun agrees with the antecedent nearer to it.
 
The following sentences are often confused:
1) If a guest (singular) wants to use the gymnasium, they (plural) have to pay
for it. (Incorrect)
Here, the pronoun does not agree with its antecedent in number. So, the
sentence is incorrect. The right way would be:
If a guest (singular) wants to use the gymnasium, he or she (singular) has to
pay for it. (correct)
You can also use the plural form:
If the guests (plural) want to use the gymnasium, they (plural) have to pay for
it. (correct)

Take another example:

If anybody (singular) wishes to give any suggestion, they (plural) can do so
now. (incorrect)
As ‘anybody’ is singular, the pronoun used has to be singular:
If anybody (singular) wishes to give any suggestion, he or she (singular) can
do so now. (correct)
We can also change the sentence by making the antecedent plural:
If people (plural) wish to give any suggestion, they (plural) can do so now.
(correct)
 
Singular indefinite pronouns – either, neither, somebody, someone, anybody,
anyone, no one, nobody, nothing, everyone, everybody, everything take
singular pronouns.
a) Neither of the girls finished her
b) Each of the boys tried to solve the puzzle to the best of his
c) You have to ensure that everything is in its place before you leave.
 
Plural indefinite pronouns – ‘many’, ‘several, ‘few’, ‘both’ take plural pronoun.
a) Both got a promotion for their good work.
b) Few of them had decided to book their tickets online.
 
For ‘every’, we use a singular pronoun:
a) Every project has its share of responsibilities.
b) Every piece of furniture needs to be put in its
 
There’s a common misconception that ‘everyone’ is plural and the following
incorrect usage seems to be very common.
Everyone (singular) should complete their (plural) work before leaving.
(incorrect)
However, ‘everyone’ is a singular indefinite pronoun. So, keeping in mind the
‘number agreement’, the correct usage would be:
Everyone (singular) should complete his or her (singular) work before leaving.
(correct)
 
Note the use of the pronoun ‘some’ in different ways:
Some (singular) of the flour spilled out of its (singular) pack.
Here flour is uncountable, so we use a singular pronoun.
Some (plural) of the apples fell out of their (plural) bag.
As apples are countable, we use a plural pronoun.
 
Collective noun acts as one entity and hence takes a singular pronoun.
The department announced its decision to scale-up.

However, the usage differs in the sentence below:

The members of the department announced their decision to scale-up.
Here though a collective noun is used, we are referring to the members of the
department which is a plural form and hence the pronoun used will also be
plural.
 

Pronoun Agreement in Person

1) If a person (third person) wants a high score in the GMAT, you (second
person) have work hard. (Incorrect)
In the above sentence, the pronoun and its antecedent do not agree ‘in
person’.
So the correct usage would be:
If a person (third person) wants a high score in the GMAT, he or she (third
person) has to work hard. (correct)
OR
If you (second person) want a high score in the GMAT, you (second person)
have to work hard. (correct)
 
2) One (third person) should take a decision about your (second person)
career choice very carefully. (incorrect)
One (third person) should take a decision about his or her (third person)
career choice very carefully. (correct)
OR
You (second person) should take a decision about your (second person) career
choice very carefully.
 

Pronoun Agreement in Gender

The pronoun has to agree with its antecedent in gender. There are cases where
the gender can be masculine or feminine. Instead of using any one gender
which would create a gender bias, the best way would be to mention ‘his or
her’.
For example:
a) Every student is expected to put in his best. (incorrect)
b) Every student is expected to put in his or her best. (correct)
 
Take test:

http://studyskills.curtin.edu.au/wp-content/themes/curtin-site-wip/exercises/
AgreementbetweenNounandPronoun/i16-noun-pronoun01.htm

Redundancies
In English usage, redundancy is usually defined as the use of two or more words that say
the same thing, but we also use the term to refer to any expression in which a modifier’s
meaning is contained in the word it modifies (e.g., early beginnings, merge together—many
more are listed below). Think of redundancies as word overflows.

 
This list is far from complete, and we’re developing it organically (i.e., adding redundancies
as they come up in our work) rather than compiling the list by stealing from other online
sources, which would be too easy. If you feel strongly that any redundancy should be added
here, please comment.

A
Actual fact
Added bonus: A bonus is by definition something added.
Adequate enough: One or the other will work.
After having
Arm’s reach: reach or arm’s length.

B
Blatantly obvious: Things that are blatant are obvious.
Blend together
[Adjective]-born: e.g., Brazilian-born, Texan-born. Make it Brazil-born or Texas-born (or
Brazilian or Texan).
Browse through: To browse is to look through something, so through is already
contained in its meaning.
But yet: As conjunctions (but not as adverbs), but and yet are synonyms.

C
Central protagonist
Chase after
Close proximity: To be in proximity to something is to be close to it. Try close to or in
proximity to instead.
Collaborate together
Comingle, co-mingle: The verb mingle means to mix or bring together in combination. 
Combine together: To combine is to bring multiple things together.
Continue on: If you two words, try go on.
Critical juncture: A juncture is a moment made critical by a concurrence of
circumstances.
Critically important
Current status quo: The status quo is the current state of affairs.

D
E
Each and every: Each and every are synonyms.
Early beginnings
End result
Enter into: Try go into, or just enter.
Equally as: Try one or the other.
Excess(ive) verbiage: Verbiage is an excess of words.

F
False pretense and false pretenses: Pretenses are by definition false.
Far distance: Exception: when contrasting a far distance with a near distance.
Favorably disposed: To be disposed is to have a favorable inclination to something.
Fellow classmates: Try fellow students.
Few in number: Few always pertains to number.
Final destination: Exception: in reference to journeys, especially airline flights, that have
multiple destinations.
Final outcome
Final result
First and foremost
First dibs: When you have dibs on something, you have the primary claim to it.
First discovered: Generally, something can only be discovered once, but there are
exceptions—for example, “I first discovered bananas in 1979, then forget about them, and
then discovered them again in 2009.” Alternatives: First saw, first encountered, first
observed.
Follow after
Forewarn
Free gift: If it’s not free, it’s not a gift.
Future plans: All plans pertain to the future.

G
General consensus (of opinion): A consensus is an opinion generally held by a group.
General vicinity
Generally always

H
Historic milestone: A milestone is by definition historic.

I
In the negative: no.
In the process of: The meaning of this phrase is usually conveyed by the surrounding
verbs. For example, we are in the process of moving could be just we are moving.
Innocent civilians
Interact with each other
Intermarry, intermarriage
Intermingle

J
Join together: Things that join can only do so together.
Joint cooperation: If it’s not done jointly, it’s not cooperation.
Just exactly: Exactly means precisely or in all respects, and one definition
of just is precisely. 

take test for redundancy:

https://www.learngrammar.net/practice/42/redundancy-worksheet-with-explanation

Test for misplaced modifier:

https://www.learngrammar.net/practice/31/exercises-on-modifiers-with-explanation