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
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