Vocabulary
Key Concepts: Each word is followed by the dictionary pronunciation format as we II as a sentence to better understand the word. Study each word and try to understand their meaning.
1. aplomb: (e’plom') noun. Self-confident assurance; poise. He required little or no supervision and executed every assignment with aplomb and expediency.
2. ascertain: (as'er-tãn') verb. To learn with certainty or assurance, to make clear. You might have to read the book a few times before you ascertain the author's message.
3. belligerent: (be-lij'er-ent) adjective. Waging war, engaged in warfare. There is a fear of aggressive countries because they might become belligerent.
4. constellation: (kon'ste-la'shen) noun. Any of various groups of stars that have been named; any brilliant, outstanding group or assemblage. Albert Einstein is among a great constellation of mathematical professors.
5. conflagration: (kon'fle-grã’shen) noun. A large, destructive fire. When you burn a bridge in business, it's usually a conflagration and usually for keeps.
6. disdain: (dis-dãn) verb, To look upon or teat with contempt; to consider beneath oneself. Arrogant employers treat their workers with disdain and pay them minimum wages.
7. denouement: (dâ'nóó-ma’) noun. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result. The denouement of the movie was very dramatic and unexpected.
8. dissemble: (di-sem'bal) verb. To give a false or misleading appearance. To disguise or conceal one's real nature, motives, or feelings behind a false appearance. He studied Richard's face for a long time but saw no signs of dissembling, in the shattered expression.
9. fraternize: (frat'er-niz’) verb. To associate in a friendly way. The co-workers were able
to fraternize after work and during the weekend.
10. flout: (flout) verb. To show contempt for; scorn. To treat with disdain. How can they flout the regulations?
11. frugal: (fróó’'gel) adjective. Economical in use or expenditure, saving or sparing, not wasteful. A fruga[ supervisor is one who recycles rubber bands.
12. gaudy: (gó'dé) adjective. Showy in a tasteless or vulgar way. Its shiny, gaudy 1950 motif was achieved with gleaming chrome and turquoise vinyl.
14. innate: (in’ãt) adjective. Existing in one from birth; inborn. Inherent in the character of something. She possessed an innate lie detector that was more accurate than available to law enforcement agencies.
15. invigorate: (in-vig'e-rát) verb. To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to, animate, n spite of his long day, the trip seemed to invigorate him.
16. jurisdiction: (jóór'is.dik'shen) noun. The right, power or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies. The Army has military jurisdiction over the occupied territories of the planet Urba.
17. kudos: (kóó'dós) noun. Honor, glory, and acclaim; compliments. The famous movies stars received tons of kudos during the Oscars program.
18. miniscule: (min'e.skyóól) adjective. Very small, tiny. He used special eyeglasses to examine the miniscule cells in the skin tissue.
19. modicum: (mod'l kem) noun. A small, moderate, or token amount. The drug is so dangerous that it could kill a person with just a modicum.
20. noisome: (noi'sem) adjective. Offensive or disgusting; harmful or injurious to health, There was a noisome odor coming from the basement of the laboratory.
21. obese: (ó-bés') adjective. Very fat or overweight, corpulent. He had to drive a very large automobile because he was obese.
Spelling
36. An important part of writing well is correct spelling. Use the following rules in the next several examples to help improve spelling accuracy.
Use i before e, except after c, or when sounded as a, as in neighbor or weigh Examples: believe, receipt, sleigh
Some exceptions to the rule include: either, neither, foreign, forfeit, height, leisure, - seize, weird, conscience, science.
37. If a word ends in e, drop the e before adding a suffix (added to the end of a word) that begins with a vowel, but keep the e when adding a suffix that begins with a consonant.
Examples: (1) hope + ed = hoped (2) glide + ing = gliding (3) hope + ful = hopeful (4) replace ment = replacement
• If a word ends in ce or ge keep the final e when adding a suffix that begins with a or
Examples: (1) notice + able = noticeable (2) poison + ous – poisonous (3) outrage + ous - outrageous
38. The spelling of a word does not change when a prefix is added to it.
Examples: (1) re + unite - reunite (2) mis + lead = mislead
39. If a word ends in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i before adding the suffix. Examples: (1) scary + est - scariest (2) hungry + er – hungrier
40. A contraction combines two words, using an apostrophe to take the place of the missing letter or letters. Most contractions combine a personal pronoun and verb
Examples: (1) I'm = I am (2) you're = you are (3) I've = I have
(4) you've = you have (5) I'd = I had or I would (6) you'll = you will
Other contractions combine a verb and the word not,
Examples: (1) isn't = is not (2) don't = do not (3) won't = will not (4) wasn't = was not (5) couldn't = could not (6) aren't = are not (7) didn't = did not (8) hasn't = has not (9) weren't = were not
Noun and Pronoun
1. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or idea.
• Proper noun names a particular person, place, thing or idea.
• Common nouns names any person, place, thing or idea and it is a general word that begins with a lowercase letter.
• There are concrete and abstract nouns as well as plural nouns.
2. A Pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns. .Example: Karen crossed the finish line first. She won the race.
• A subject pronoun is a pronoun that acts as the subject of the sentence. Example: I, you, he, she, we, it, and they.
• There are eight other types of pronouns: (1) antecedent, (2) object, (3) possessive, (4) reflexive, (5) demonstrative, (6) indefinite, (7) interrogative, and (8) relative pronouns.
Subject - Verb Agreement
3. Subject - Verb Agreement means that both the subject and the verb match or agree.
• If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular (Example: The girl is very shy.)
• If the subject is plural then the verb must also be plural (Example: The girls are very shy.)
4. If a sentence starts with here or there, the subject usually comes after the verb, but the subject and verb must still agree. Example: (1) Where are the girls playing after school? (plural) (2) There is a girl in my class with red hair, (singular)
5. Compound subjects can cause confusion in determining subject-verb agreement. Most compound subjects are joined by the word and. The verb will be a plural verb. Example: John and Mary are happy to be invited to the party.
6. When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by the words, or, either or, neither-nor, not only - but also; the verb should agree with the nearest subject. It's a plural verb (are) because it involves both John and his friends not going to the party.
Example: Neither John nor his friends are going to the party.
7. A word that refers to a group of people is usually considered singular. Example: The
school board is going to vote for school uniforms.
Verbs
8. A regular verb is a word that expresses an action. An irregular verb usually changes its spelling to make the past and past participle forms. The past participle form of a verb always uses a helping verb. Such as has, have, had, is, are, was, or were. The helping verb is the verb that helps the main verb makes its statement.
• Example: In the past year, President Clinton's approval rating has grown. Example of irregular verbs are: swum, drank, caught, and drove.
9. There are six verb tenses: (1) present, (2) past, (3) future, (4) present perfect, (5) past
perfect and (6) future perfect
• There are two forms of present tenses:
ü One that expresses something that is commonly done or generally true. Examples: Mary walks 30 minutes every morning.
ü The other expresses an action that is happening now, Example: Mary is walking
to the grocery store.
10. The past tense expresses an action that was started and completed in the past, or a condition that was true in the past.
• The past tense is formed by adding ed or d to the present form of the verb,
Example: Mary walked two miles yesterday.
11. The future tense of a verb expresses an action or condition that will take place or be true in the future, it is usually expressed by using shall or will with the verb's present form. Example: Mary will walk 30 minutes tomorrow.
12. An action completed at some indefinite time in the past is expressed through a present perfect tense form of a verb.
• It can also express an action that began in the past and continues in the present.
• The present perfect form of a verb is created by using has or have with the verb's past participle. Example: Mary has walked every day for the last month.
Adjectives and Adverbs
13. An adjective is used to describe a noun or pronoun. An adjective tells what kind, which one, how many, or how much. An adjective can come before the noun or after a form of the verb be.
Example: The new student is smart and pretty.
14. An adverb is used to describe an action verb, It is also used to describe an adjective or another adverb. Adverbs tell when, how, or to what extent. Many adverbs end in ly, but some common ones such as very do not. Example: The new student is very smart and extremely pretty.
15. linking verbs, such as the words, feel, touch, smell, and taste are often modified by an adjective. Example: The smell of the bread baking in the oven is delicious.
Writing Skills
Key Concepts: This section is intended to measure your ability to use clear and effective English. It is a test of English, as it should be written, not as it might be spoken.
A sentence is a group of words, which expresses a complete thought. A sentence will always begin with a capital letter.
The multiple-choice section consists of a paragraph with numbered sentences. Some of the sentences contain errors in sentence structure, usage, or mechanics (spelling, punctuation and capitalization).
Example: We were all honored to meet Governor Philips.
a. insert a comma after honored
b. change the spelling of honored to honored
c. Capitalize the word governor to Governor
d. Replace were with was
e. No corrections are necessary
The answer to this example is the letter c; it should read as follows:
We were all honored to meet Governor Philips.
Capitalization and Punctuation
If a section of text has an opening dash, parentheses, or comma at the beginning of a phrase, then you can be sure there should be a matching closing dash, parentheses, or comma at the end of the phrase. If items in a series all have commas between them, then any additional items in that series will also gain commas. Do not alternate punctuation. If a dash is at the beginning of a statement, then do not put a parenthesis at the ending of the statement.
Always capitalize the names of people, places, and organizations. Capitalize the names of days, months and holidays.
Example: The teacher's name is Mrs. Sally Johnson. She lives in Dallas, Texas. She is a member of the Texas Education Association.
Example: This year Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 24.
The first word of a sentence should be capitalized whether it is in quotation marks or not. The word "I" when referring to one self should always be capitalized.
The first, last, and other important words in the titles of books, stories and movies
should be capitalized. Articles (a, the), conjunctions (and, or, but), and prepositions (on, in, to) are not considered important words.
Example: "Gone With the Wind" is a very popular movie.
Titles that are part of a person's name are capitalized when they refer to a specific person. Titles, such as mother and father, are capitalized when they address the person directly.
• Example: My neighbor is Dr. Smith.
• Example: When are you coming home, Mother?
Brand names are always capitalized because they are specific names. Direction words, such as North and South, sometimes refer to a specific place and are capitalized only when they refer to that specific area of the world, country, region or city.
Example: She drinks Folgers coffee and uses Wow Laundry Detergent.
Two adjectives that describe the same noun are separated by a comma only if the word and could be used between them without changing the meaning. A comma is also used to separate a descriptive word or group of words (an appositive) from the noun being described. A comma is used before and after the appositive.
Example: The white kitten had the softest, smoothest fur of all the litter.
Example: Mrs. Jones, my English teacher, is going on a trip to Paris.
An introductory element is a word or group of words located at the beginning of a sentence that is not part of the main idea of the sentence. A comma is used after an introductory element.
Example: Because she skips breakfast, Sally is very hungry at lunchtime.
A compound sentence is a sentence that expresses two or more complete ideas that are related. Each complete thought is an independent clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Each independent clause has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. These two independent clauses can be
written as two separate sentences but can also be joined to make a compound sentence.
Example: As two sentences - Sarah tries to save some money. She has not been successful.
As one sentence
Semicolons are used in compound sentences to separate independent clauses. An independent clause can stand alone as a separate sentence. Example: Newborn babies are helpless; they need very special care.
A semicolon is also used when two independent clauses are joined by the word however.
Example: People want to avoid the high cost of car insurance; however, they do not always know how to get the best deal.
Semicolons are also used to connect two independent clauses joined with a conjunction or when there are commas used in the independent clauses that may cause the reader confusion.
Example: It is the hope, dream, and wish of every parent, of course, to have a healthy baby; and, it is the goat of every parent to provide the best possible life f or the child.
The apostrophe (') appears as part of a word to indicate possession; however, it is easily misused with words that end in s. The apostrophe is also used in contractions, when connecting two words together. There are many rules for the apostrophe ('), but we will concentrate only on these two for now. The possessive case shows ownership
or possession of one person or thing by another.
Example: Jones or in the case of plural words, like girls.
Example: It is a shame, could be contracted as, it's a shame.
Example: The dog's hair; which means the hair of the dog.
Example: We are going to dance. We're going to dance.
Always use a question mark after a direct question. Never combine a question mark with additional question marks, exclamation points, periods or commas
Example: What did you do?
Use an exclamation point after an emphatic statement, but use it sparingly, because over using, it will lose its power to impress the reader. Rely on sentence structure and word choice to express these attitudes.
A quotation mark will always come in pairs. Use a quotation mark at the beginning of a quotation and one at the end, just like bookends. Use them when reporting what someone said or writing in the exact words of the original statement.
a. Commas and periods go inside the quotation marks.
b. Semicolons and colons go outside the quotation marks.
c. Question mark, exclamation point, dashes - will vary.
d. Inside when part of the original statement or quote.
e. Outside when part of your own sentence.
Word Confusion
“Which” should be used to refer to things only. John's dog, which was called Max, is large and fierce.
“That” may be used to refer to either persons or things. Is this the only book that Louis L'Amour wrote?
Is Louis L'Amour the author that [or who] wrote Western novels?
“Who” should be used to refer to persons only.
Mozart was the composer who [or that] wrote those operas.
Capitalization & Punctuation- Sample questions
1. Always capitalize the names of people, places, and organizations. Capitalize the names of days, months and holidays.
Example: The teacher's name is Mrs. Sally Johnson. She lives in Dallas, Texas. She is a member of the Texas Education Association.
Example: This year Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 24.
2. The first word of a sentence should be capitalized whether it is in quotation marks or not. The word "I" when referring to one self should always be capitalized.
3. The first, last, and other important words in the titles of books, stories and movies
should be capitalized. Articles (a, the), conjunctions (and, or, but), and prepositions (on, in, to) are not considered important words.
Example: "Gone With the Wind" is a very popular movie.
4. Titles that are part of a person's name are capitalized when they refer to a specific person. Titles, such as mother and father, are capitalized when they address the person directly.
Example: My neighbor is Dr. Smith.
Example: When are you coming home, Mother?
5. Brand names are always capitalized because they are specific names. Direction words, such as North and South, sometimes refer to a specific place and are capitalized only when they refer to that specific area of the world, country, region or city.
Example: She drinks Folgers coffee and uses Wow Laundry Detergent.
6. Two adjectives that describe the same noun are separated by a comma only if the
word and could be used between them without changing the meaning. A comma is also used to separate a descriptive word or group of words (an appositive) from the noun being described. A comma is used before and after the appositive.
Example: The white kitten had the softest, smoothest fur of all the litter.
Example: Mrs. Jones, my English teacher, is going on a trip to Paris.
7. An introductory element is a word or group of words located at the beginning of a
sentence that is not part of the main idea of the sentence. A comma is used after an introductory element.
Example: Because she skips breakfast, Sally is very hungry at lunchtime.
8. A compound sentence is a sentence that expresses two or more complete ideas that are related. Each complete thought is an independent clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence. Each independent clause has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. These two independent clauses can be written as two separate sentences but can also be joined to make a compound sentence.
Example: As two sentences - Sarah tries to save some money. She has not been successful. As one sentence - Sarah tries to save some money, but she has not
been successful.
9. Semicolons are used in compound sentences to separate independent clauses. An
independent clause can stand alone as a separate sentence.
.
Example: Newborn babies are helpless; they need very special care.
10. A semicolon is also used when two independent clauses are joined by the word however.
Example: People want to avoid the high cost of car insurance; however, they do not always know how to get the best deal.
11. Semicolons are also used to connect two independent clauses joined with a
conjunction or when there are commas used in the independent clauses that may
cause the reader confusion.
Example: It is the hope dream, and wish of every parent, of course, to have a
healthy baby; and, it is the goat of every parent to provide the best possible life for the child.
12. The apostrophe (') appears as part of a word to indicate possession; however, it is
easily misused with words that end in s. The apostrophe is also used in contractions,
when connecting two words together. There are many rules for the apostrophe ('), but
we will concentrate only on these two for now. The possessive case shows ownership
or possession of one person or thing by another.
Example: Jones or in the case of plural words, like girls.
Example: It is a shame, could be contracted as, it's a shame.
Example: The dog's hair; which means the hair of the dog.
Example: We are going to dance. We're going to dance.
13. Always use a question mark after a direct question. Never combine a question mark with additional question marks, exclamation points, periods or commas
Example: What did you do?
14. Use an exclamation point after an emphatic statement, but use it sparingly, because over using, it will lose its power to impress the reader. Rely on sentence structure and word choice to express these attitudes.
15. A quotation mark will always come in pairs. Use a quotation mark at the beginning of a quotation and one at the end, just like bookends. Use them when reporting what someone said or writing in the exact words of the original statement.
a. Commas and periods go inside the quotation marks.
b. Semicolons and colons go outside the quotation marks.
c. Question mark, exclamation point, dashes - will vary. Inside when part of the original statement or quote. Outside when part of your own sentence.
Pronoun usage
To determine the correct pronoun form in a compound subject, try each subject separately with the verb, adapting the form as necessary. Your ear will tell you which form is correct.
Example: Bob and (I, me) will be going.
Restate the sentence twice, using each subject individually. Bob will be going. I will be going. "Me will be going" does not make sense.
When a pronoun is used with a noun immediately following (as in “we boys”), say the sentence without the added noun. Your ear will tell you the correct pronoun form.
Example: (We/Us) boys played football last year.
Restate the sentence twice, without the noun. We played football last year. Us played football last year. Clearly "We played football last year" makes more sense.
Commas
Flow
Commas break the flow of text. To test whether they are necessary, while reading the text to yourself, pause for a moment at each comma. If the pauses seem natural, then the commas are correct. If they are not, then the commas are not correct.
Nonessential clauses and phrases
A comma should be used to set off nonessential clauses and nonessential participial phrases from the rest of the sentence. To determine if a clause is essential, remove it from the sentence. If the removal of the clause would alter the meaning of the sentence, then it is essential. Otherwise, it is nonessential.
Example: John Smith, who was a disciple of Andrew Collins, was a noted archeologist.
In the example above, the sentence describes John Smith's fame in archeology. The fact that he was a disciple of Andrew Collins is not necessary to that meaning. Therefore, separating it from the rest of the sentence with commas is correct.
Do not use a comma if the clause or phrase is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Example: Anyone who appreciates obscure French poetry will enjoy reading the book.
If the phrase "who appreciates obscure French poetry" is removed, the sentence would indicate that anyone would enjoy reading the book, not just those with an appreciation for obscure French poetry. However, the sentence implies that the book's enjoyment may not be for everyone, so the phrase is essential.
Another perhaps easier way to determine if the clause is essential is to see if it has a comma at its beginning or end. Consistent, parallel punctuation must be used, and so if you can determine a comma exists at one side of the clause, then you can be certain that a comma should exist on the opposite side.
Independent clauses
Use a comma before the words and, but, or, nor, for, yet when they join independent clauses. To determine if two clauses are independent, remove the word that joins them. If the two clauses are capable of being their own sentence by themselves, then they are independent and need a comma between them.
Example: He ran down the street, and then he ran over the bridge.
He ran down the street. Then he ran over the bridge. These are both clauses capable of being their own sentence. Therefore a comma must be used along with the word “and” to join the two clauses together.
If one or more of the clauses would be a fragment if left alone, then it must be joined to another clause and does not need a comma between them.
Example: He ran down the street and over the bridge.
He ran down the street. Over the bridge. “Over the bridge” is a sentence fragment and is not capable of existing on its own. No comma is necessary to join it with “He ran down the street”. Note that this does not cover the use of "and" when separating items in a series, such as "red, white, and blue". In these cases a comma is not always necessary between the last two items in the series, but in general it is best to use one.
Parenthetical expressions
Commas should separate parenthetical expressions such as the following: after all, by the way, for example, in fact, on the other hand.
Example: By the way, she is in my biology class.
If the parenthetical expression is in the middle of the sentence, a comma would be both before and after it.
Example: She is, after all, in my biology class.
However, these expressions are not always used parenthetically. In these cases, commas are not used. To determine if an expression is parenthetical, see if it would need a pause if you were reading the text. If it does, then it is parenthetical and needs commas.
Example: You can tell by the way she plays the violin that she enjoys its music.
No pause is necessary in reading that example sentence. Therefore the phrase “by the way” does not need commas around it.
Hyphens
Hyphenate a compound adjective that is directly before the noun it describes.
Example 1: He was the best-known kid in the school.
Example 2: The shot came from that grass-covered hill.
Example 3: The well-drained fields were dry soon after the rain.
Semicolons
Period replacement
A semicolon is often described as either a weak period or strong comma. Semicolons should separate independent clauses that could stand alone as separate sentences. To test where a semicolon should go, replace it with a period in your mind. If the two independent clauses would seem normal with the period, then the semicolon is in the right place.
Example: The rain had finally stopped; a few rays of sunshine were pushing their way through the clouds.
The rain had finally stopped. A few rays of sunshine were pushing their way through the clouds. These two sentences can exist independently with a period between them.
Because they are also closely related in thought, a semicolon is a good choice to combine them.
Transitions
When a semicolon is next to a transition word, such as “however”, it comes before the word.
Example: The man in the red shirt stood next to her; however, he did not know her name.
If these two clauses were separated with a period, the period would go before the word “however” creating the following two sentences: The man in the red shirt stood next to her. However, he did not know her name. The semicolon can function as a weak period and join the two clauses by replacing the period.
Sentence Correction
Each question includes a sentence with part or all of it underlined. Your five answer choices will offer different ways to reword or rephrase the underlined portion of the sentence.
These questions will test your ability of correct and effective expression. Choose your answer carefully, utilizing the standards of written English, including grammar rules, the proper choice of words and of sentence construction. The correct answer will flow smoothly and be both clear and concise.
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