Sometimes we feel it necessary to convey some urgent message to our friends and relatives, near and dear living in the distant places. In that case we send telegram. A telegram can reach anywhere and everywhere within 24 hours. Therefore, it is treated as an urgent postal message. As telegram is very expensive, it should be brief and concise. It must contain only the words which are absolutely essential. So when we draft a telegram, we must leave out(omit).
1. Determiners :– Article + Quantifiers ® A, An, The, much, many …….
2. Auxiliary verbs :– Is, am, are, can, will, would …………
3. Pronouns :– I, we, you, he, they, my, her, this, those ………………
4. Prepositions :– On, in, at, by, since, till, through, with ………………..
Rules to Follow
1. A telegram must be brief and clear.
2. A telegram must be written in capital letters.
3. There should be no use of punctuation mark.
4. There should be no use of number or digit, write everything in words clearly and distinctly.
Example – Grandmother is serious. Her operation is an 10th August. You must come soon.
Telegram – Grandmother serious operation tenth august come soon
Question for practice
1. Your brother has booked tickets by the Howrah Mail and will arrive from Madras on Saturday morning. On Thursday, there is an announcement on the TV that railway transport may be disrupted in the next 48 hours due to floods. Draft a telegram to your brother asking him to cancel the journey.
2. Draft a telegram to your friend expressing your inability to attend his sister’s marriage because of your grandfather’s illness.
3. You are successful in an interview held at Delhi for the job of an accountant. Draft a telegram to your father who lives in your village informing him of your success.
4. Convert the following message into the form of a telegram : The interview scheduled to be held on 5th August will now be held on 19th August.
5. On your way back home from an excursion you are stranded en route on account of severe floods. Draft a telegram to convey this message to your parents.
