| Noun | Verb | Adjective | Adverb |
|---|
| creation | create | creative | creatively |
| decision | decide | decisive | decisively |
| beauty | beautify | beautiful | beautifully |
| difference | differ | different | differently |
| strength | strengthen | strong | strongly |
🔗 4. Collocations: Words That Go Together
Collocations are words that naturally appear together. Using correct collocations makes you sound fluent.
✅ make a decision (not *do a decision)
✅ heavy rain (not *strong rain)
✅ fast food (not *quick food)
✅ do business (not *make business)
✅ catch a cold (not *get a cold — though 'get' is also used)
🌱 5. Root Words: Latin and Greek
Many English words come from Latin and Greek roots. Learn these and you can understand thousands of words.
bio (life) → biology, biography, biodegradable
graph (write) → autograph, biography, graphic
dict (say/speak) → dictionary, predict, dictate
port (carry) → transport, import, portable
spect (look) → inspect, spectator, respect
tele (far) → telephone, television, telescope
🎭 6. Denotation vs Connotation
Denotation = literal dictionary meaning.
Connotation = emotional or cultural association (positive, negative, or neutral).
"home" → denotation: a place where someone lives. Connotation: warmth, safety, family.
"inexpensive" vs "cheap" → both mean low price, but 'cheap' often implies poor quality (negative connotation).
"slender" vs "skinny" → slender (positive), skinny (negative or neutral).
🧠 7. Strategies for Learning Vocabulary
- Read actively: underline unknown words, try to guess meaning from context, then check dictionary.
- Use word maps: write the word, definition, example sentence, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture.
- Learn word families (noun/verb/adjective/adverb).
- Use spaced repetition apps like Anki.
- Read a variety of texts: news, articles, fiction, academic papers.
📖 8. Practice Passages
Passage 1 (B1): "The arduous hike up the mountain took us six hours. It was the most difficult climb we had ever done."
Question: What does "arduous" mean? → difficult (context clue: "most difficult climb")
Passage 2 (B2): "The company's lucrative contract brought in millions of dollars, which helped them expand internationally."
Question: What does "lucrative" mean? → profitable / money-making
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.
What is the difference between denotation and connotation?
▼
Denotation is the literal, dictionary meaning of a word (e.g., 'home' = a place where someone lives). Connotation is the emotional or cultural association (e.g., 'home' feels warm, safe, comfortable).
Q2.
How can I guess unknown words while reading?
▼
Look at the surrounding words for definition clues (e.g., 'means'), synonyms, antonyms, examples, or the general tone. Don't stop reading — try to infer meaning first, then check a dictionary later.
Q3.
Why are word families important?
▼
Learning one root word can give you 4+ new words (e.g., create, creation, creative, creatively). This multiplies your vocabulary quickly and helps you understand word relationships.
📊 Total word count: ~3500 words | Last updated: August 2026
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