1.2 Vocabulary Building
Expand vocabulary through context.
40 min
12 oppgaver
VocabularyContext cluesWord formation
Din fremgang i kapitlet
0 / 12 oppgaver
Building Your Vocabulary
The more words you know, the better you can understand and communicate in English. But you don't need to memorize the dictionary! There are smart strategies for learning new words.
Did you know? Native English speakers know about 20,000-35,000 words. You can keep adding to your vocabulary throughout your life!
Using Context Clues
Context clues are hints in the surrounding text that help you understand unknown words.
Types of context clues:
1. Definition clue - The word is directly defined
- "A thesaurus, a book of synonyms, is very useful for writers."
2. Synonym clue - A similar word is nearby
- "The movie was tedious and boring."
3. Antonym clue - An opposite word is nearby
- "Unlike his gregarious brother, Tom was shy and quiet."
4. Example clue - Examples help explain the word
- "The store sold various tools such as hammers, screwdrivers, and wrenches."
5. Logic clue - The meaning makes sense from the situation
- "After not eating all day, she was famished and ate three helpings of dinner."
✏️Example: Finding Context Clues
Figure out the meaning of the underlined word using context clues:
"The CACOPHONY of sounds in the busy city - car horns, construction, and people shouting - gave her a headache."
Clues in the text:
- "car horns, construction, and people shouting" - these are loud, unpleasant noises
- "gave her a headache" - the sound was unpleasant
- "car horns, construction, and people shouting" - these are loud, unpleasant noises
- "gave her a headache" - the sound was unpleasant
Conclusion: CACOPHONY means a loud, unpleasant mixture of sounds (bråk/mislyd)
Type of clue: Example clue (the examples show what kind of sounds)
Word Parts: Prefixes
Prefixes are added to the BEGINNING of words to change their meaning.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| un- | not | unhappy, unfair |
| re- | again | rewrite, redo |
| pre- | before | preview, prepay |
| dis- | not/opposite | disagree, disappear |
| mis- | wrongly | misunderstand, misspell |
| over- | too much | overeat, overwork |
| under- | too little | underpay, underestimate |
| inter- | between | international, internet |
| anti- | against | antibiotic, antisocial |
| multi- | many | multicultural, multimedia |
Word Parts: Suffixes
Suffixes are added to the END of words and often change the word type.
Makes an adjective:
Makes an adverb:
Makes a noun:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -tion/-sion | action/state | education, decision |
| -ment | action/state | enjoyment, excitement |
| -ness | state of being | happiness, kindness |
| -er/-or | person who | teacher, actor |
Makes an adjective:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ful | full of | beautiful, careful |
| -less | without | careless, homeless |
| -able/-ible | can be | readable, visible |
| -ous | having quality | dangerous, famous |
Makes an adverb:
| Suffix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ly | in what manner | quickly, happily |
Effective ways to learn new words:
1. Keep a vocabulary notebook - Write new words with definitions and example sentences
2. Use the word - Try to use new words in your own sentences
3. Make connections - Connect new words to words you already know
4. Create word families - Learn related words together (happy, happiness, happily, unhappy)
5. Review regularly - Look at your vocabulary notebook often
6. Read a lot! - The more you read, the more words you'll encounter
Word Families
Words often come in "families" - groups of related words from the same root.
Example: "create"
- create (verb) - to make something new
- creation (noun) - something that was created
- creative (adjective) - able to create new things
- creativity (noun) - the ability to create
- creatively (adverb) - in a creative way
- recreate (verb) - to create again
Learning word families helps you learn many words at once!
📝Oppgave 1
What does the prefix "un-" mean?
📝Oppgave 2
Use context clues to figure out what "exhausted" means:
"After running the marathon, she was completely exhausted and fell asleep immediately."
📝Oppgave 3
Add the correct prefix to make the opposite:
a) __happy
b) _agree
c) _understood
d) __possible
a
___happy
b
___agree
c
___understood
d
___possible
📝Oppgave 4
Create word families. Add suffixes to make new words:
a) care → care__ (adjective meaning "full of care")
b) care → care_ (adjective meaning "without care")
c) enjoy → enjoy_ (noun)
d) quick → quick__ (adverb)
a
care → careful
b
care → careless
c
enjoy → enjoyment
d
quick → quickly
📝Oppgave 5
Use context clues to explain what the underlined words mean:
a) "The DILAPIDATED old building had broken windows, a collapsing roof, and walls covered in graffiti."
b) "She was APPREHENSIVE about the test, nervously biting her nails and checking her notes repeatedly."
a
DILAPIDATED
b
APPREHENSIVE