How to Be a Good Sportsman

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PEN0015
English 1

Foundation Level

ONLINE NOTES

Chapter 1

Reading and Vocabulary

READING

1. Affixes

Affixes refer to word parts that are attached at the beginning (prefix) or at the end (suffix) of a word. They change the meanings of the words they are attached to.

Examples:

unavailability un - (prefix) + available (root word) + - ity (suffix)

interdependence inter- (prefix) + dependant (root word) + - ence (suffix)

More examples:
|PREFIX |SUFFIX |
|anti- |re- |-less |-ment |
|non- |ir- |-ness |-ance |
|pre- |im- |-ion |-able |

Please peruse Unit 1 of the textbook for further reference and exercises.

2. Contextual Clues

A contextual clue helps a reader guess meanings of particular words or phrases which may otherwise impair his / her understanding of important information. Applying contextual clues when reading is an important skill. The following are types of contextual clues:

• Definitions: the meanings of words are given in the sentences themselves

• Synonyms and Antonyms: words with the similar and opposite meanings respectively, are used in the same sentence / paragraph - these are compared

• Comparisons and Contrasts: comparisons show similarities, whereas contrasts show differences - the meanings of words are deduced through analyzing these

• Descriptions: the meanings of words are described in the sentence / paragraph

• Homographs: words that have the same spelling but differ in meanings or pronunciation are used in the reading text - these are compared

• Word