ABC order 143
ABC order means alphabetizing or sorting words in a list by letters of the alphabet.
– Apple– Boat– Cart
Acronym 144
An acronym is usually formed with the capital initial letters from all or some words in the name.
Examples:
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
UFO: Unidentified Flying Object
EMT: Emergency Medical Technician
SUV: Sport Utility Vehicle
Adjacent vowels 145
Adjacent vowels are vowels that are right next to one another in a given word.
Examples:
need, meat, brain, house
Adjective 146
Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives are usually placed just before the words they modify. An adjective is a part of speech.
Examples:
big apple, funny joke, warm water, red wagon, right angle, and old shoe
Adverb 147
Adverbs are words that describe verbs. They may also describe adjectives or other adverbs. Adverbs usually answer such questions as “How?”, “Where?”, “When?” or “To what degree?”. Adverbs are often formed by adding the suffix –ly to an adjective, as in deeply, or happily. An adverb is a part of speech.
Examples:She ran very well.The mayor is highly capable.
Antonyms 148
Antonyms are two words with opposite meanings.
Examples:
Cold and hot are antonyms
Small and large are antonyms.
Stop and go are antonyms.
Rise and fall are antonyms.
Base word 149
A base word is a word to which prefixes and suffixes may be added to create new and related words.
Example:
Base word = learn
Related words = learning, relearn, learned
Closed syllables 150
A word with a closed syllable has a short vowel which is “closed in” by a consonant.
Examples:
cap, sit, men, was, pencil (two closed syllables)
Compound word 151
A compound word is made by joining two or more words. Sometimes they are hyphenated.
Examples:
merry-go-round, backyard, sandbox and mailbox
Consonant 152
Consonants are the letters of the alphabet that are not vowels.
B C D F G H J K L M N P Q R S T V W X Y Z
Context clues 153
Context clues help the reader to figure out what a word means by looking at the words nearby. These clues can be found before, within, or after the sentence with the unfamiliar word.
Contraction 154
A shortened form of a word or group of words, with the missing letters marked by an apostrophe.
Examples:
I’m = I am
They’re = They are
We’re = We are
Shouldn’t = Should not
Digraph 155
A digraph is a pair of letters that make a single speech sound.
Examples:
gh – ghost, th-three, ph-pheasant, oo-foot
Double consonant 156
Double consonants are two consonants right next to each other in a word.
Examples:
fall, tripped
gh sound 157
There are three (3) gh sounds:
Sounds like f: rough, tough
Sounds like the hard g: ghost
Sound is silenced: through, height
Greek/Latin Roots 158
A Greek or Latin word root is a part of a word. It contains the core meaning of the word. Knowing the “building blocks” of the English language – prefixes, suffixes and root words – helps you to understand a word’s meaning. Often you can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word if you are familiar with the Greek or Latin root meaning.
lun- Latin root meaning moon. English words: lunar, lunatic
hard g sound 159
The hard g sounds like the g in these words:
Examples:
go, goat, tag, big, guest, grab
Homophone 160
same-sound, different spelling, different meaning
Homophones are words that SOUND alike, but have different meanings and spellings.
Examples:
to, two and too
their, they’re and there
week and weak
hear and here
son and sun
Homograph 161
same writing, different meanings
Homographs are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings. They may also sound different.
These homographs look alike, but do not sound alike.– Have you read the book? I like to read mysteries.– I wound the clock. I have a large wound on my arm.– Our seats were very close to the stage, Close the window, please!
This homograph looks the same and sounds the same but has different meanings.
– Do you feel well? We are digging a new well for the town.
Homonyms 162
same writing, same sound, different meaning
Homonyms are words that have both the same sound and spelling, but have different meanings.
Examples:
The weather was fair. The rules seem fair.
Please lie down and rest. Do not lie to your friend.
Infer (verb); Inference (noun) 163
Infer: to make a conclusion based on facts.
Inference: a conclusion based on facts
Example:
Since our cat was wet and covered with leaves, we inferred that she had gotten outside somehow.
Long vowel sounds 164
Long vowels make the sound of the vowel name.
Long a – bakeLong e – economyLong i – rideLong o – noteLong u – flute
Lowercase letters 165
Lowercase letters are not capitalized.
a b c d e f g h I j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Multisyllabic 166
A word with more than one syllable is multisyllabic.
Examples:
Big-ger, tend-er-ly, mar-ried
Noun 167
A noun is a person, place, thing or idea. A noun is a part of speech.
Examples:
Kevin, baker, library, intelligence, flower and kindness
oi sound 168
The oi sound is heard in words like these:
oil, boil, soil, poison and toy.
Prefix 169
A prefix is a letter combination placed at the beginning of a root word. Adding a prefix does not change the spelling of the root word, but the prefix and the root word together make a new word with a new meaning.
prefix + word = new worddis + able = disablere + view = review
Preposition 30
A preposition is one of many words that show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word. A preposition is a part of speech.
Example:
The squirrel is on the box.
The preposition on shows the physical relationship between the squirrel and the box.
r- controlled 31
When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound called the r- controlled sound.
/ar/ sound as in car, guitar and Arthur
/âr/ sound as in care, bear, mare, scare, and aquarium
/îr/ sound as in pier
/ir/ sound as in turnip, spider, certificate and beaver
/or/ sound as in manor, observatory author, brought and orchard
/er/ sound as in butter, cutter and mother
Rhyming words 32
Rhyming words have the same end sounds.
Examples:
while and style
shoe and glue
nose and grows
pants and France
Root word 173
The root (base) word is the main part of a word that contains its basic meaning. Suffixes and prefixes are sometimes added to the root to change its meaning. Knowing what a root means helps to determine the meaning of a word.
Root word Meaning Words
min small minority, minute
scop see, examine telescope
ject throw inject, reject
Short vowels 34
Short vowels are letters which make distinct sounds like those heard in these words.
/ă/ ant
/ĕ/ eggs
/ĭ/ invisible
/ŏ/ octopus
/ŭ/ under
Suffix 175
A suffix is a group of letters with a special meaning added to the end of a root or base word to change its meaning.
Examples:
baker, boredom, bravely, capable, friendliest and resident
Superlative 176
Superlatives are used to compare nouns. (example: old, older and oldest)
1. Adjectives of one syllable, such as low, big, small, etc., end with –est: the lowest, the biggest, the smallest and so on.
2. Adjectives which have three or more syllables, such as intelligent, beautiful, difficult, do not take –est. You must use “most”; the most intelligent, the most beautiful, the most difficult.
3. Adjectives with two syllables? If the word ends in ‘y’ such as happy, dirty, etc., then the adjective takes the –est form. “I am the happiest man in the world!” If the adjective with two syllables does not end in ‘y’, the superlative takes the “most” form. For example, boring, then we say: “That is the most boring book I have ever read!”
Syllable 37
A syllable is a single, uninterrupted sound found in a word.
Synonyms 178
Words meaning the same or nearly the same thing.
Examples:
delight and joy
brief and short
mild and gentle
Syntax 39
Syntax is the way words are put together in a sentence to make meaning.
Uppercase 40
CAPITAL letters of the alphabet are called uppercase.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
VCCV RULE 41
Vowel, Consonant, Consonant, Vowel
Examples:
blanket and pretzel
Vowel 42
Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu (and sometimes y)
Word family 43
Word families are “related” when they share a common phonic sound or element. Sometimes they are called “chunks”. Examples:
sink, brink, link, stink, rink, mink, wink and pink
Other word families are “related” in meaning but are different parts of speech.Examples:
horror (noun), horrible (adjective), horrified (verb), and horribly (adverb)
anti- (prefix) 44
anti- against, opposite or opposed to
Example:
antisocial – acting against the norms of society
bi- (prefix) 45
bi- two, twice
Examples:
bicycle, bilingual, bicentennial
bicolor – having two colors
cent- (prefix) 46
cent- hundred, hundredth
Examples:
centimeter and centipede
centennial- the 100th anniversary
de- (prefix) 47
de- reduce or reverse
Examples:
decompose and debrief
dis- (prefix) 48
dis- not; do the opposite of
Examples:disallow, disagree, discover, disappear
en- (prefix) 49
en- bring or put into or on
Examples:
engage, envelope, encourage, enable, endanger, enhance, endure, enjoin, enlist, encumber
ex- (prefix) 50
ex- from, out of, away
Examples:
exhale and exchange
il-, im-, in-, ir- (prefix) 51
not, without
Examples:
illegal, impossible, inappropriate, irrational
in- (prefix) 52
not, on/in
Examples:
Not: invisible, insane, infinite
On/in: indoors, inject, inhale
inter- (prefix) 53
inter: between, among
Examples:
I took a walk during the intermission of the concert.
The Olympics is an international event.
intra- (prefix) 54
within; inside
Examples:
Our school has many intramural sporting activities.
My dog needed intravenous medicine.
mis- (prefix) 55
mis: badly or wrongly
Examples:
misplace, mistake, misunderstand
non- (prefix) 56
non-: not
Examples:
nonfiction, nonsense, non-fat
out- (prefix) 57
out-: more, to a greater degree
Examples:
to outrun, to outlive, to outfox, to outdo
pre- (prefix) 58
pre-: before
Examples:
pre-existing, preview, precaution, prehistoric, preschool, predict
re- (prefix) 59
re-: again, back
Examples:
I must review the photos and send my favorites to Granny.
Please rewind the movie so I can see it again.
tri- (prefix) 60
tri-: three
Examples:
triangle, tricycle
un- (prefix) 61
un-: not, opposite or to reverse
Examples:
unbeaten, unfriendly, unlock, undo
-able and –ible (suffix) 62
-able and –ible: capable of; fit for
– Acceptable– Curable– Presentable– Flexible– Horrible– Invisible
-er and –or (suffix) 63
1. –er and –or added to a verb: becomes the person who is performing the action.
teacher, player, boxer, actor, director, mayor
2. -er added to an adjective shows comparison
bigger, smarter, funnier, softer, kinder
-ful (suffix) 64
-ful: full of
Examples:
thankful, useful, careful, respectful
-iest, -est (suffix) 65
These are suffixes added to show a superlative comparison, implying that something is the best or worst, or greatest or least.
Example:My dog was voted the ugliest!The slowest car cam in last.My funniest friend went on vacation.The star in the East is the brightest.
-less (suffix) 66
-less: without
Examples:
The little boy had a toothless grin.
Because of the storm, we had a sleepless night.
-phobia (suffix) 67
-phobia: intense fear of a certain thing
Examples:
claustrophobia: fear of confined spaces
ombrophobia: fear of rain
-y (suffix) 68
-y: consisting of, characterized by or having the quality of
Examples:
brainy, chilly, jumpy and shiny
Pathetic Fallacy
Pathetic fallacy is when nature mirrors a character’s mood, emotions, feelings or thoughts.
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It is a wide subject within the general study of language. An understanding of semantics is essential to the study of language acquisition.
Diphthong
A diphthong refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring with in the same syllable.
Paradox
A paradox is a statement or proposition that seems to contradict itself, but is often true.
Example: “I always lie,” is a paradox because if it is true, it must be false.
Connotation
Connotation is the idea and feeling associated with a word as opposed to its literal dictionary definition.
Denotation
Denotation is the exact dictionary meaning for a word.
Action verb 3
An action verb is a “doing” verb.
Examples:
walking, sing, threw, builds, mashing, sleep, love, rested, contain, drive, collecting, aiming, look, devote and brought
Opposite 28
Opposite means the reverse of something.
Examples:
wet and dry
go and stop
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