Words To Know

Question 1

Abbreviation

Answer 1

a shortened version of a word (e.g., prof (professor); doc (doctor))

Question 2

acronym

Answer 2

a word made up from the first letters of the name of something (e.g., SARS (South African Revenue Service))

Question 3

active voice

Answer 3

the subject of the sentence does the action (e.g., Sipho threw the ball)

Question 4

adjective

Answer 4

the part of speech used to describe a person, place or thing (e.g., The old, gray cat slept in a warm basket.)

Question 5

adverb

Answer 5

the part of speech which describes a verb (e.g., The old man walked slowly.)

Question 6

alliteration

Answer 6

the use of several words that begin with the same sound or letter in succession (e.g., silvery snakes slide swiftly)

Question 7

allusion

Answer 7

writing or speaking that mentions a subject, person, etc. indirectly (e.g., Some members of the class seem to think rules don’t apply to them.)

Question 8

Ambiguity

Answer 8

a possible double meaning which may make a message unclear when used by mistake (e.g., The lady hit the man with the umbrella.)

Question 9

analyse

Answer 9

to look closely at a text so that you notice everything about the way in which it has been written

Question 10

anecdote

Answer 10

a short story based on personal experience

Question 11

antonym

Answer 11

a word that is opposite in meaning to another word in the same language (e.g., tall is an antonym of short)

Question 12

appreciation

Answer 12

an understanding of the importance or meaning of something, such as a piece of writing

Question 13

appropriate

Answer 13

correct or suitable for a particular time, situation, or purpose

Question 14

assonance

Answer 14

repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words to create effect (e.g., slow boats float on the ocean)

Question 15

assumptions

Answer 15

something that you think is true although you have no definite proof

Question 16

bias

Answer 16

an opinion about whether something is good or bad which influences how you feel towards it

Question 17

caricature

Answer 17

a cartoon type drawing of a well-known person which exaggerates their most obvious features (e.g., Barack Obama with big ears)

Question 18

cartoon

Answer 18

a drawing, which may include words, which is meant to be amusing

Question 19

clause

Answer 19

a group of words which contains a finite verb. A sentence is made up of one or more clauses.

Question 20

coherent

Answer 20

something which makes logical sense (e.g., a coherent paragraph has a clear development of ideas)

Question 21

cohesive

Answer 21

a cohesive answer or text is one which flows and where all ideas hold together

Question 22

colloquial

Answer 22

language or words
that are used mainly in informal conversations rather than in writing or formal speech (e.g., How’re you doing? rather than the formal, How are you?)

Question 23

comic strip

Answer 23

a series of pictures or drawings which tell a funny or interesting story

Question 24

concord

Answer 24

the agreement of subject and verb. If a subject is singular, the verb must be singular (e.g., The team has new members). If a subject is plural, the verb must be plural (e.g., The teams have new members).

Question 25

conjunction

Answer 25

the part of speech which is used to join ideas (e.g., and, but, or)

Question 26

connotation

Answer 26

the feelings attached to the meaning of words (e.g., holiday has positive feelings attached to it; murder has feelings of fear and negativity)

Question 27

context

Answer 27

the part of a text which surrounds a word and gives it meaning (e.g., The judge had a grave look on his face as he sentenced the prisoner. The context of “grave” tells the reader which meaning “grave” has in this sentence.)

Question 28

denotation

Answer 28

the literal meaning of a word; the definition given by a dictionary

Question 29

direct speech

Answer 29

the exact words someone says. These should be written in inverted commas (e.g., “I am ready to write my exams,” Thabo said.)

Question 30

edit

Answer 30

to read over carefully what has been written, to improve the style and correct errors

Question 31

emotive

Answer 31

emotive language is language which arouses strong feelings

Question 32

euphemism

Answer 32

a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone (e.g. Pass away is a euphemism for die)

Question 33

evaluate

Answer 33

to judge the value or worth of something, taking into account the information and experience which you have

Question 34

exaggerate

Answer 34

to describe something as greater or larger than it really is (e.g., His shoes must have cost millions.)

Question 35

explicit

Answer 35

clearly or directly stated (the opposite of implicit)

Question 36

figurative

Answer 36

language which describes things by using figures of speech (e.g., similes, metaphors, alliteration. Figurative expressions are descriptive and not literal.)

Question 37

conjugation

Answer 37

Conjugation is the change that takes place in a verb to express tense, mood, person and so on. In English, verbs change as they are used, most notably with different people (you, I, we) and different time (now, later, before). Conjugating verbs essentially means altering them into different forms to provide context.