Vocabulary Building

Everyonefrom beginning learners in English to veterans in journalismknows the frustration of not having the
right word immediately. Sometimes it's a matter of not being able to recall the right word or we never knew it at all.
It is also frustrating to read a newspaper or homework assignment and run across words unfamiliar words. Here are
some tips to help you get the meaning of unfamiliar words.
1.

2.
3.

Context clues - Words or phrases to help in understanding a new word. They are built into the sentences
around the difficult word. If you become more aware of the words around the difficult words you encounter
in your reading, you will save yourself many trips to the dictionary. You will be able to make logical
guesses about the meanings of many words.
Root words Root word helps us to grasp the meaning of a word in a vocabulary exams. It is the basic
linguistic unit of a word also known as the stem of the word.
Affixes Prefixes and suffixes can also help determine the meaning of a word.

antidedisforein-, imin-, im-, il-, ir-*

intermidmisnonoverprere-*
semisubsupertransun-*
under-

Most Common Prefixes

against
opposite
not, opposite of
before
in
not injustice,
between
middle
wrongly
not
over
before
again
half
under
above
across
not
under

antifreeze
defrost
disagree
forecast
inside
impossible
interact
midyear
misunderstood
nonsense
overcome
prenatal
return
semicircle
submarine
superstar
transgender
unfriendly
underestimate

Most Common Suffixes

-able, -ible
can be done
believable
-al, -ial
having characteristic of
referral
-ed*
past-tense verbs
hopped
-en
made of
wooden
-er
comparative
higher
-er, or
one who
worker, actor
-est
comparative
biggest
-ful
full of
careful
-ic
having characteristics of
linguistic
-ing
verb form/ present participle
running
-ion, -tion, -ation, ition act process
occasion, attraction
-ive, -ative, -itive
adjective form of a noun
attractive
-ity, -ty
state of
abnormality
-less
without
fearless
-ly
characteristic of
quickly
-ment
action or process
enjoyment
-ness
state of, condition of
kindness
-ous, -eous, -ious
possessing the qualities of
joyous
-s, -es
more than one
books, boxes
-y
characterized by
beautifully

Using Articles
An article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns. English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used
to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the
definite article and a/an the indefinite article.
the = definite article
a/an = indefinite article
For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book
rather than a specific book.
Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I
just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most
popular. Therefore, we use the.
"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see
a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies,
and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.
Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.
Indefinite Articles: a and an
"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

"My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because
we haven't found the dog yet.

"Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need
any policeman who is available.

"When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this
case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about
here.

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...

a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog

an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan

a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a
consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle

an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour

a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse

In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more
commonly used and preferred.
A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:
Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo
generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors.
Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:
An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst.
If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective
that immediately follows the article:

a broken egg

an unusual problem

a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)

Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)

Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that
the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:
"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.
"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we
don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.
"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the
zoo.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
The can be used with uncountable nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

"I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).

"He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or
"He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

"I need a bottle of water."

"I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.
Geographical use of the
There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.
Do not use the before:

names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican
Republic, the Philippines, the United States

names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami

names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.

names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes

names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the
Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn

names of continents (Asia, Europe)

names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides,
or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific

points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole

geographical areas: the Middle East, the West

deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Omission of Articles
Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the
population of the nation: "The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")

Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball

Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

1. Airline seat sales rarely _______________ with peak travel times.

2. Heavy rainfall in mountainous areas can _______________ large zones in a short time.
3. The children _______________ with their mother in Japanese, and with their father in French.
4. The Internet has become an _______________ part of many companies' advertising campaigns nowadays.
5. China was _______________ under the Qing dynasty in 221 B.C.
6. I'm sorry I'm late with my homework. I _______________ you, it won't happen again.
7. Feminism seeks to change the traditionally _______________ position of women.
8. I put a _______________ of my salary into a savings account each month to use for our summer vacation.
9. In some countries, young men have to do 1 or 2 years _______________ service beginning around the age of 18.
10. Grace grabbed her friend by the arm to _______________ him after someone tried to start a fight with him in the
bar.
11. Some analysts suggest that __________ in the labour and goods markets are to blame for Europe's poor
economic performance.
12. Cooking and freezing do not _______________ the spicy heat of a hot pepper.
13. The murderer is serving two _______________ life-sentences.
14. The water _______________ the size of the fish, so they looked enormous.
15. Sales tax in this province will be increased _______________ next month.
16. By lying to me about this, you have totally _______________ all the trust we had built up.
17. The Russian president flew to Washington this morning to _______________ with the American president on the
crisis developing in the Middle East.
18.
Subtitle 4
http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/

1. coincide
2. erode
3. converse
4. integral
5. unfied
6. assure
7. subordinate
8. portion
9. military
10. restrain
11. rigidities
12. diminish
13. concurrent
14. distorted
15. commencing
16. negated
17. confer
18.