VOCABULARY

High School Vocabulary



Easy-to-learn presentation on Who and Whom.  Enjoy!
 

Drive Safe or Drive Safely?

Tools for English Learners
Using English
English Proverbs
GRAMMAR RESOURCES
Where to start?
GrammarGirl is a pretty reliable site for all things grammar. 
Grammarly.com/handbook has good resources.
UsingEnglish.com has some terrific lists of . . . .
EnglishGrammarSecrets.com also has a good list of exercises.  
For a good list of grammar activities, see
EnglishTeacherMelanie.com.
EnglishGrammar101.com will take you from simple verb identification to discerning differences in the meanings of words.  
About.com has a good list of grammar terms.  And a list of rhetorical terms.  


AJECTIVES are words that describe nouns.

Adjective Exercise #1
From Ralph Raico's "The Road to World War II," locate and double underline all of the adjectives in the article.  Obviously, you don't have to underline all the adjectives in one sitting; you may split this article  up into three separate sessions.


For Writers: here is a list of adjectives to use in your writing.



ADVERBS are words that color how a verb acts; similar to the way that adjectives alter the meaning of nouns.



CONJUNCTIONS are words that join and coordinate two independent clauses or phrases.



INTERJECTIONS are short words thrown in to add excitement and feelings to a comment or dialogue.  Here, here, and here are nice lists of interjections.  This list offers their meanings.  Enjoy!



Tom yelled, "Wow!  I can't believe that we won the championship!"



Trudy: Come in! 

John: Hi, Trudy!  How are you! 
Trudy: Ugh!  John, I've had a terrible day.   
John: Why?  What happened?  
Trudy:  My boss wants me to submit a 25-page report by this Friday, and I am already swamped by all of my other assignments.   
John: Hey!  That's not so bad!  It means that your boss really likes your work and relies on you!  By summer's end, you should be in a good position to ask for a decent raise. 
Trudy: Yeah. Wow! I never thought of it that way.  I may be able to ask for a 25% increase, eh? 
John: Oh! I think that he likes your work.  You've already had praises from so many people, Trudy.   
Trudy: Almost makes me want to dance and sing!  Almost.  Whew!  I'd better get cracking on that report.
John: Don't be surprised if he recommends you for that position as the new Human Resource Manager.


Interjections are used in spontaneous, friendly speech where you want to add excitement to the retelling of an event.  A list of interjections in the dialogue above are:

Ugh!  (an interjection that expresses dread.)
Wow!  (an interjection that expresses excitement, surprise, or joy.)
eh? (an interjection that invites or asks the other person to agree with you.)
Oh!  (an interjection that expresses emphasis, agreement, and recognition.)
Whew!  (an interjection that expresses relief or amazement.)

NOUNS are words that name persons, places, things, and abstract concepts, like "peace," "love," and "freedom."
Noun Exercise #1
From Ralph Raico's "Hiroshima and Nagasaki," locate and double underline all of the proper and all of the common nouns in the article.   PREPOSITIONS are words that indicate where the action of a verb takes place.


PRONOUNS are words used in place of a person's specific and  proper name.



VERBS are words that express action and being.



From Four American Naval Heroes, locate and underline all nouns, both proper and common nouns.



From Text #2, Five Little Peppers Midway, locate and underline all adjectives.


Thursday, September 6, 2012

Mispronunciations That Are Fine

Saturday, July 28, 2012
Etymology is a useful and interesting way to learn a new language, like Spanish.  Follow this:
        
1.  Cabeza is the Spanish word for head.  Cabbage and cabeza are both connected with Latin word caput, which means "head." 
2.  Cuello is the Spanish word for neck.  It is related to the English word collar; both words come from the Latin word collum, meaning "neck." 
3.  Pecho is the Spanish word for chest or bosom.  Pectoral is the English word that refers to the chest muscles.  Both words "pecho" and "pectoral" come from the Latin word pectus.
4.  Ojo is the Spanish word for eye.  The English word ocular refers to the properties of the eye.  Both words come from the Latin word oculus.
              
Some connections with English aren't so obvious. For example, the Spanish word cadera, meaning "hip," comes from the Greek word kathedra, which referred to a chair or bench. The Greek word obviously is the source of "cathedral"/catedral — a place to sit, while in Spanish it also morphed into the word used to refer to the part of the skeleton used for sitting.  And the Spanish word for hair, pelo, is related to the English word pile that describes a type of carpet.

Friday, July 27, 2012.
The Latin root of the English word "Communication" is munus.  Read further to learn what it means.

Communication is a word with a rich history. From the Latin communicare, meaning to impart, share, or make common, it entered the English language in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The key root is mun- (not uni-), related to such words as munificent and community. The Latin munus has to do with gifts or duties offered publicly--including gladitorial shows, tributes, and rites to honor the dead. In Latin, communicatio did not signify the general arts of human connection via symbols, nor did it suggest the hope for some kind of mutual recognition. Its sense was not in the least mentalistic: communicatio generally involved tangibles."
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Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Positive Law is man-made law.
Natural Law  
Natural & Unnatural Law Governments.

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