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Vocabulary: Class 10 English
Building advanced vocabulary: word roots from Latin and Greek, formal and informal words, one-word substitutes, idioms and proverbs, collocations, confusing word pairs, figurative language and choosing words for tone.
Key points
At Class 10 level, vocabulary means more than knowing meanings. You must choose the right word for the situation, use it in the right form and combine it with the right partners. Examination questions test synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitutes, idioms, confused words and the use of words in sentences.
Word roots help you open many words at once. Some useful ones:
- bene (good): benefit, benevolent, benefactor.
- mal (bad): malice, malfunction, malnutrition.
- dict (say): dictate, predict, contradict.
- scrib or script (write): describe, manuscript, prescription.
- spect (look): inspect, spectator, perspective.
- port (carry): transport, import, portable.
- graph (write or draw): autograph, photograph, geography.
- chron (time): chronic, chronology, synchronise.
- anthrop (human): anthropology, philanthropy.
One-word substitutes replace a long phrase with a single exact word. A person who does not believe in God is an atheist. One who can speak two languages is bilingual. A person who eats no meat is a vegetarian. A government by the people is a democracy. One who travels on foot is a pedestrian. A place where books are kept is a library, and a place where the sick are cared for is a hospital. One who writes the story of another person's life is a biographer. A speech made without preparation is extempore. One who is present everywhere is omnipresent.
Formal and informal words suit different settings. Formal: purchase, assist, inquire, commence, residence, request. Informal: buy, help, ask, start, home, ask for. Use formal words in applications, essays and official letters, and informal words in notes to friends. Avoid slang and short forms such as gonna and wanna in all written answers.
Collocations are words that naturally go together. Learn the pairs, because a wrong partner sounds odd even when the meaning is clear:
- make a decision, make progress, make an effort, make a mistake.
- take a decision (also correct), take a risk, take part, take care.
- do homework, do business, do a favour, do harm.
- heavy rain, strong tea, bitter truth, deep sleep, fast food.
- pay attention, pay a visit, give advice, draw a conclusion.
Idioms to learn: at the eleventh hour (at the last moment), to burn the midnight oil (to study or work late), to beat about the bush (to avoid the point), to hit the nail on the head (to be exactly right), a blessing in disguise (a good thing that seemed bad), to cry over spilt milk (to regret what cannot be changed), to bite off more than one can chew (to take on too much), in hot water (in trouble). When you explain an idiom, give its meaning and a sentence of your own.
Proverbs are short sayings that give advice. 'A stitch in time saves nine' tells us to deal with a small problem early. 'Honesty is the best policy' tells us that truthfulness brings the best results. 'Slow and steady wins the race' praises patience. 'Where there is a will, there is a way' says determination finds a path. 'Many hands make light work' says that shared effort makes a job easier.
Figurative language uses words beyond their plain meaning. A simile compares with like or as: 'as brave as a lion'. A metaphor says one thing is another: 'Time is a thief.' Personification gives human qualities to non-human things: 'The wind whispered.' Hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration: 'I have told you a thousand times.' Knowing these helps with both vocabulary and comprehension.
Words with similar spellings often confuse students: adapt (change to suit) and adopt (take up); conscious (aware) and conscience (inner sense of right and wrong); emigrate (leave a country) and immigrate (enter a country); eminent (famous) and imminent (about to happen); canvas (cloth) and canvass (ask for votes); complement (complete) and compliment (praise); council (a group) and counsel (advice).
Tone is the attitude a word carries. Slim is positive, but skinny is negative. Slender and lean are in between. Frugal praises careful spending while stingy criticises it. Determined is admiring, while stubborn is critical. When you write, choose the word whose tone fits your purpose.
Study tip: Learn about ten words a day with their root, meaning and your own example. Keep separate lists for idioms, proverbs, one-word substitutes and confused pairs, and revise them in short sessions. In the paper, always write a full sentence when you are asked to use a word, so the meaning is clearly shown.
Definitions and flashcards
Say the meaning first, then open the card to check.
Root
The core part of a word that carries its basic meaning.
One-word substitute
A single word used in place of a longer phrase.
Collocation
Words that are regularly used together.
Idiom
A fixed expression with a meaning that differs from its literal sense.
Proverb
A short traditional saying that gives advice or a truth.
Simile
A comparison using like or as.
Metaphor
A comparison that says one thing is another.
Tone
The attitude or feeling that a word or passage expresses.
Short questions with model answers
These are the kind of questions asked for 2, 3 and 5 marks. Try each one before opening the answer.
Give one-word substitutes for: (a) a person who writes poems (b) a government by the people. (2 marks)
(a) A poet. (b) Democracy. A one-word substitute replaces a whole phrase with a single exact word.
Explain the meaning of the idiom 'to burn the midnight oil' and use it in a sentence. (2 marks)
It means to work or study late into the night. Sentence: Before the board examination, Hina burnt the midnight oil to finish her revision.
Distinguish between 'adapt' and 'adopt', and between 'emigrate' and 'immigrate', with sentences. (3 marks)
Adapt means to change to suit new conditions: Plants adapt to the desert. Adopt means to take up or accept: The school adopted a new timetable. Emigrate means to leave one's own country: Many families emigrate for work. Immigrate means to enter another country to live: They immigrated to Canada.
What is a collocation? Give three examples with make and do. (3 marks)
A collocation is a pair or group of words that are naturally used together. With make we say make a decision, make progress and make a mistake. With do we say do homework, do a favour and do business. Using make where do is expected, as in 'make homework', sounds wrong.
Name and explain three figures of speech with an example of each. (3 marks)
A simile compares two different things using like or as, for example 'as cold as ice'. A metaphor states that one thing is another, for example 'The classroom was a beehive'. Personification treats a non-human thing as a person, for example 'The sun smiled on the village'. Hyperbole, which is exaggeration, is another figure, such as 'I am dying of hunger'.
Explain the proverb 'A stitch in time saves nine' and write a short paragraph of four lines showing its truth. (5 marks)
The proverb means that a small repair made at the right time prevents a much bigger one later. Paragraph: Waqar noticed a small leak in the roof but did not fix it. After the monsoon began, the leak became a large hole and the ceiling was damaged. The repair then cost far more than a quick patch would have done. This shows that prompt action saves time and money.
Common mistakes
- Using a word from a list without knowing its tone, so that a positive word is used where a negative one is meant.
- Mixing look-alike words such as complement and compliment, or eminent and imminent.
- Learning idioms as single meanings without a sentence, and then misusing them.
- Writing a long phrase when the question asks for a one-word substitute.
- Using informal or slang words in formal writing such as letters and essays.