TIME EXPRESSIONS 2

AMAZING VOCABULARY
TIME EXPRESSIONS
Let us learn the following time expressions in this post.
1. Constantly 2. Continuously 3. Forthcoming 4. Prospective 5.long-term 6. Former 7. Preliminary 8. Simultaneous 9.ultimately 10. Rapidly
1. Constant
" CONSTANT " means something which does not change over time and remains in the same state. This term has a precise meaning in mathematics. Constant is both an adjective and a noun.
His love to her is constant . ( Adjective )
The velocity of light is a constant according to the theory of relativity. ( noun )
We come across Planck's constant in Quantum Physics.
We stay near a railway line. We are constantly bombarded by the noise of the running trains.
" Constantly " is an adverb.
That man is a constant nuisance . He calls me up at odd hours.
2. Continuously
When a process goes on without any interruption , it is continuous. In other words, there is no stop.
The professor is talking continuously for one hour.
It is raining continuously for the last two hours.
3. Forthcoming
If an event is to take place within a reasonably short period , we call that event " a forthcoming event ".
The leaders of several countries are heading to New Delhi for the forthcoming
SAARC summit.
4. Prospective
" Prospect of something " is the possibility of that thing happening . " Prospect" is a noun.
The monsoon rains are delayed . The chief economist stated that the prospect of a year of drought can not be ruled out.
With such excellent players in our cricket team, there is every prospect of India winning the World Cup .
She says , " I shudder at the prospect of marrying an arrogant man like Suresh."
" prospective " is an adjective . It means one expects what is described as " prospective ".
Bureaucratic delays will drive away prospective investors from our country.
Hillary Clinton is the prospective president of USA , according to several opinion polls.
5. Long-term
The above adjective is used to mean something which is expected to come about , not immediately , but after a long time.
We talk of short-term goals and long-term goals.
As long-term objective is something to be achieved in the long run and not immediately.
The long-term goal of the government of India is eradication of poverty.
6. Former
" Former" is an adjective . It means something which existed earlier and does not exist now.
Manmohan Singh is the former prime minister of India.
Pondicherry was a former French territory.
Formerly is the adverb . It means in earlier times.
Srilanka was formerly known as Ceylon .
7. Preliminary
What is done at the beginning is " preliminary ". It is an adjective .
My preliminary estimate of the cost of this project is one billion dollars.
The foreign ministers' conference will be preceded by preliminary discussions between the respective foreign secretaries of the respective countries.
8. Simultaneous
When two events take place at the sometime , they are simultaneous.
In international conferences , there is a provision of simultaneous translation in several languages.
I can not attend to his lecture and take notes simultaneously .
9. Ultimately
" ultimate " means something which takes place last or at the end. " Ultimate " is adjective .
" ultimately " is an adverb. " final".
Is there an ultimate solution to global warming ?
Ultimately , he yielded to temptation .
10. Rapidly
" Rapid " is fast . It is an adjective.
Rapid Action Force is very useful when riots break out in an area.
The fire spread rapidly before the fire service personnel arrived on the scene.
T. K. Jayaraman
25/05/2015
Bangalore .
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VOCABULARY RELATING TO TIME

AMAZING VOCABULARY
TERMS RELATING TO TIME
I was preoccupied with the Basic French Course which I organized in the Indian Institute of World Culture , Bangalore . Therefore , I could not post any note in this blog . Now I pick up the threads. In this post, let us understand certain words/phrases associated with TIME.
I will take up the following words .
1. Often 2. Frequently 3. Seldom 4. Rarely 5. Once in a blue moon 6. Hardly 7. Initially 8. Subsequently 9. Sequentially 10. Successively
OFTEN
This is a very simple word. When you do a particular thing again and again , you do it OFTEN.
When an event occurs many times during some interval, we say that it occurs OFTEN.
OFTEN , they cut the electricity supply in this town. Since " OFTEN " qualifies a verb, in grammar it is an ADVERB.
How OFTEN do you visit your native place ?
I go there only once in a year.
" MORE OFTEN THAN NOT " is an expression. It means usually, typical of something
South Indians eat rice preparations , MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.
" OFTENTIMES " means often. But it is an old usage. But in North America, still the usage is prevalent.
FREQUENTLY
This word has the same meaning as " often " . Frequency means a number of times an action is performed during a given interval of time. It is often used in physical / biological sciences and also technology . We talk of frequency of electromagnetic radiation . Frequency of sound waves etc.
FREQUENTLY is the adverb .
We visit our grandfather very frequently .
The countries in Middle East go to war with each other very frequently.
FREQUENT is the adjective form.
There is frequent breakdown of electricity in this city.
FREQUENT is also used as a verb. It means , " to visit a place often ".
During my student days, I used to frequent theaters .
SELDOM
This word means rarely .
I SELDOM watch HIndi movies. It means , " I watch Hindi movies only occasionally .
RARELY
RARELY means occasionally . It is synonymous with " seldom ".
The former prime minister rarely gives public statements on important issues.
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
The above expression is an IDIOM. When something happens very rarely, we use the above expression.
John , my close friend during school days, telephones me once in a blue moon.
However , this phrase has become a cliché . That means a worn- out expression. I do not find it in the Oxford Dictionary.
HARDLY
This also means " rarely ". Please do not confuse this with the word " hard".
When a person works hardly , it means , he very rarely works.
But if he works hard, it means he puts in a lot of efforts.
Hardly has other meanings. It can be used in the following senses.
Almost no
Almost none
Almost not
Almost never
There is hardly any salt in the container.
It means that there is no salt in the container.
There is hardly any student in the class.
It means almost everyone had left.
" Hardly " has a negative connotation.
I can hardly believe that John failed in the examination.
INITIALLY
INITIALLY means " at the beginning ".
Initially , he was enthusiastic about the medical course. But later he lost his interest.
" INITIAL" is the adjective.
What was his initial reaction on hearing the news of his defeat in the election ?
SUBSEQUENTLY
Suppose you refer to some event . When another event happens after the first referred event, we use the word " SUBSEQUENTLY "
The Presidential Aircraft landed at 9 am. The President accepted a reception given to him at the airport . Subsequently , he visited Rajghat , Mahatma Gandhi's Samadhi to lay a wreath.
SEQUENTIALLY
When an event or process is divided into smaller events / processes which take place in a particular order, we talk of sequence.
Certain manufacturing processes are carried out sequentially .
SUCCESSIVELY
Successively means one after another . One event succeeds another . It is synonymous with
" sequentially ".
The processes of heating , evaporation and condensation are carried out successively in any distillation.
" Succeed " is the verb. SUCCESSION is the noun.
We will discuss more words in the next post.
Sayee Jayaraman
24/05/2015
Bangalore