Eng. Lang. to the Rescue!: VOCABULARY

Vocabulary is vital to communicating with others and understanding what one is reading. Vocabulary is the study of:

The meanings of words
Many words have several different meanings each, study the meanings of the words and the part of speech.

How the words are used
Study the words in context, apply what you learn by writing sentences with your words.

Root words, prefixes, suffixes
Studying these will aid in the study of vocabulary.

Analogies
This is comparing two pairs of words and choosing the pair that go together.
example:
(A) book : backpack
(B) clothing : dresser

There are many headings that fall under Vocabulary:

1. Synonyms

2. Antonyms

3. Sentence Completion

4. Spelling

5. Word Formation

WHAT IS A SYNONYM?

A synonym is a word or expression that has the same or almost the same meaning as another word or expression. In English, a language known for its enormous vocabulary, most words have synonyms. For example, the word “enormous” has many synonyms: Huge, massive, giant, immense, and the list goes on. The word “synonym” is a composite of two Greek words: The prefix “syn” means “together” and “onym” is “name.” Synonyms — together naming the same thing.
The free online activities on this website offer great synonym practice. Try Crosswords and Vocabulary Quiz—both let you choose “synonyms” as the topic of the game
Another great way to build your synonym vocabulary is through online vocabulary software.

SYNONYM GAME, ACTIVITIES AND VIDEO

Click on the link below to play games
http://www.vocabulary.co.il/synonyms/high-school/high-school-synonym-match/

Follow the instructions below to complete the activities.
Use the words below to find synonyms for the italicized words:

destroy
tired
hardworking

try
convince
allow

remember
forecast
worried

build
attack
complain

think about
help
agree

Before you attempt to install it, you should read the directions.
(1)__________________________________
I was anxious about my test results.
(2)__________________________________
It is difficult to predict the weather.
(3)__________________________________
When the students heard they would have a test, they started to grumble.
(4)__________________________________
He began to ponder the reason that he failed.
(5)__________________________________
After the earthquake, the villagers desperately needed aid.
(6)__________________________________
Don’t worry. She’ll finish the job. She is very diligent.
(7)__________________________________
I am weary. I need to rest.
(8)__________________________________
I couldn’t persuade her to stay in school.
(9)__________________________________
I can’t recall what his name is.
(10)_________________________________
The captain began the assault in the middle of the night.
(11)_________________________________
They started to construct the house yesterday.
(12)_________________________________
You think it’s too expensive? I concur. I won't buy it at that price.
(13)_________________________________
If water gets in the building, it will ruin the paintings.
(14)_________________________________
I will not permit you to marry my daughter.
(15)_________________________________

Click on the link to test your English level. Complete the task before time runs out! Good Luck! http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/levels-test-wc-start.htm

ANTONYMS

An antonym is a word that is the opposite meaning of another. It comes from the Greek words “anti” for opposite and “onym” for name. Since language is complex, people may at times, disagree on what words are truly opposite in meaning to other words.

CATEGORIES OF ANTONYMS

There are three categories of antonyms:

Graded antonyms deal with levels of the meaning of the words, like if something is not “good”, is may still not be “bad.” There is a scale involved with some words, and besides good and bad there can be average, fair, excellent, terrible, poor, or satisfactory.

Examples include:

Fat and skinny
Young and old
Happy and sad
Hard and soft
Last and first

Complementary antonyms have a relationship where there is no middle ground. There are only two possibilities, either one or the other.
Examples include:

Man and woman
Push and pull
Dead and alive
Off and on
Day and night

Relational antonyms are sometimes considered a subcategory of complementary antonyms. With these pairs, for there to be a relationship, both must exist.
Examples are:

Husband and wife
Doctor and patient
Buy and sell
Predator and prey
Above and below

ADDING A PREFIX

Sometimes, an antonym can be easily made by adding a prefix.

Examples of antonyms that were made by adding the prefix “un” are:

Likely and unlikely

Able and unable

Fortunate and unfortunate

Forgiving and unforgiving

By adding the prefix “non” you can make these pairs:

Entity and nonentity

Conformist and nonconformist

Payment and nonpayment

Combatant and noncombatant

Lastly, adding the prefix “in” can make the following pairs:

Tolerant and intolerant
Decent and indecent
Discreet and indiscreet
Excusable and inexcusable

ANTONYM GAME, ACTIVITIES AND VIDEO

Click on the link below to play games
http://www.arcademics.com/games/frog/frog.html

Directions: Choose the word or phrase that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to the word underlined in the sentence.

1. The arrogant supervisor was embarrassed when he attempted to humiliate the industrious workers.
A. partial B. belligerent C. humble D. wicked

2. I was sceptical about the team's chances of winning the tournament.
A. doubtful B. cynical C. confident D. perturbed

3. The child approached the teacher's desk with hesitant steps.
A. eager B. sluggish C. fearful D. diffident

4. The staff at the Banana Board has been working hard to revive an ailing industry.
A. sickly B. dying C. thriving D. emerging

5. After descending the mountain, the hikers showed signs of fatigue.
A. surprise B. exhaustion C. energy D. dehydration

6. The teachers were daunted by the frequent break-in, at the school and the repeated threats on their lives.
A. suspended B. appalled C. satisfied D. encouraged

7. She seems to be sensitive to the feeling of others.
A. unaffected by B. interested in C. unaware of D. unsure about.

8. The old lady's memory of the accident was hazy.
A. disparaging B. disturbing C. dim D. clear

9. The thief, a first offender, was absolved from his crime against the state.
A. blamed B. pardoned C. judged D. penalized

10. The hungry man ate sparingly during his lunch break but quite lavishly at dinner time.
A. skimpily B. abundantly C. necessarily D. festively

SENTENCE COMPLETION

Sentence completion is mostly used to test your knowledge of grammar among other things. This includes subject-verb agreement. The questions test your ability to relate one part of a sentence to another. A sentence is given with a word or phrase missing and a list of words or phrases is given at the end. The student taking the test must decide which of these best completes the sentence.
In doing this type of question you need to:
1. Identify correct and incorrect grammatical usage
2. Know the meanings of the words and their correct use in particular contexts
3. Follow the logic of the sentence

Example: When David _________ the giant, he saved his ___________ from a terrible fate.

a) slay...... country and his religion
b) fought...... self and his family
c) feared...... property and his crops
d) incapacitated....... family and his friends

Option (a) is incorrect because "slay" is the incorrect form of the verb. The correct word would be "slew" which is the past tense form of the verb. Option (b) is incorrect grammatically. Option (c) does not make sense. Option (d) makes complete sense; "incapacitated" means "put out of action."

SENTENCE COMPLETION ACTIVITIES AND VIDEO

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words.

1. Today Wegener's theory is ____ ; however, he died an outsider treated with ____ by the scientific establishment.
A. unsupported - approval
B. dismissed - contempt
C. accepted - approbation
D. unchallenged - disdain
E. unrivalled - reverence

2. The revolution in art has not lost its steam; it ____ on as fiercely as ever.
A. trudges
B. meanders
C. edges
D. ambles
E. rages

3. Each occupation has its own ____ ; bankers, lawyers and computer professionals, for example, all use among themselves language which outsiders have difficulty following.
A. merits
B. disadvantages
C. rewards
D. jargon
E. problems

4. ____ by nature, Jones spoke very little even to his own family members.
A. garrulous
B. equivocal
C. taciturn
D. arrogant
E. gregarious

5. Biological clocks are of such ____ adaptive value to living organisms, that we would expect most organisms to ____ them.
A. clear - avoid
B. meager - evolve
C. significant - eschew
D. obvious - possess
E. ambivalent - develop

6. The peasants were the least ____ of all people, bound by tradition and ____ by superstitions.
A. free - fettered
B. enfranchised - rejected
C. enthralled - tied
D. pinioned - limited
E. conventional - encumbered

7. Many people at that time believed that spices help preserve food; however, Hall found that many marketed spices were ____ bacteria, moulds and yeasts.
A. devoid of
B. teeming with
C. improved by
D. destroyed by
E. active against

8. If there is nothing to absorb the energy of sound waves, they travel on ____ , but their intensity ____ as they travel further from their source.
A. erratically - mitigates
B. eternally - alleviates
C. forever - increases
D. steadily - stabilizes
E. indefinitely - diminishes

9. The two artists differed markedly in their temperaments; Palmer was reserved and courteous, Frazer ____ and boastful.
A. phlegmatic
B. choleric
C. constrained
D. tractable
E. stoic

10. The intellectual flexibility inherent in a multicultural nation has been ____ in classrooms where emphasis on British-American literature has not reflected the cultural ____ of our country.
A. eradicated - unanimity
B. encouraged - aspirations
C. stifled - diversity
D. thwarted - uniformity
E. inculcated - divide

SPELLING

Spelling is the process or activity of writing or naming the letters of a word; the way a word is spelled; a person's ability to spell words.
Spelling matters. If you want to create a good impression in your writing and make sure you get your meaning across clearly, it’s important to get your spelling right.

In the examination you are given a number of sentences, some of which contain words that are incorrectly spelt. In each sentence, a number of words are underlined, but only one is correct. None of the sentences contain more than one spelling error. Many of us complain about the complexity of the spelling of English words, as there seems to be no general set of rules that make spelling easy once we know them.

SPELLING ACTIVITIES AND VIDEO

Choose the word that best suits the meaning below each pair of words.

(a) amature (b) amateur
A person who engages in a pursuit as a pastime rather than as a profession.

(a) apparant (b) apparent
Clear, actual, or visible.

(a) atheist (b) athiest
One who denies the existence of a deity.

(a) bouyant (b) buoyant
Capable of floating.

(a) cemetery (b) cematary
Graveyard.

(a) concensus (b) consensus
General agreement.

(a) dialate (b) dilate
To enlarge or expand.

(a) fiery (b) firey
Burning, glowing, volatile.

(a) foresee (b) forsee
To know beforehand.

(a) guarentee (b) guarantee
An assurance for the fulfillment of a condition.

Click on the link below to complete the activity.

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/languages/spelling.htm

WORD FORMATION

The basic part of any word is the root; to it, you can add a prefix at the beginning and/or a suffix at the end to change the meaning. For example, in the word "unflattering," the root is simply "flatter," while the prefix "un-" makes the word negative, and the suffix "-ing" changes it from a verb into an adjective (specifically, a participle).

English itself does not use prefixes as heavily as it once did, but many English words come from Latin, which uses prefixes and suffixes (you can use the word affix to refer either to a prefix or a suffix) quite extensively. For example, the words "prefix," "suffix," and "affix" themselves are all formed from "fix" by the use of prefixes: