Vocabulary Fundamentals

Vocabulary

Word Formation

• Prefixes: add meaning to the beginning of a word (e.g., un-, re-, de-)
• Suffixes: add meaning to the end of a word (e.g., -able, -ment, -ly)
• Root words: core words that can be modified with prefixes and suffixes (e.g., run, view, act)
• Compounding: combining two or more words to create a new word (e.g., blackboard, toothbrush)

Word Types

• Nouns: people, places, things, and ideas (e.g., dog, city, happiness)
• Verbs: actions or states of being (e.g., run, eat, be)
• Adjectives: describe nouns or pronouns (e.g., happy, big, blue)
• Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., quickly, very, well)
• Pronouns: replace nouns in a sentence (e.g., he, she, it, they)
• Prepositions: show relationships between words (e.g., in, on, at, with)
• Conjunctions: connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, so)
• Interjections: express emotion or feeling (e.g., oh, wow, ouch)

Vocabulary Acquisition

• Reading: learn new words through context and repetition
• Mnemonics: use associations, acronyms, or rhymes to remember words
• Flashcards: create cards with words on one side and definitions on the other
• Practice: use new words in sentences or conversations to reinforce learning

Word Choice

• Connotation: emotional associations of words (e.g., happy vs. joyful)
• Denotation: literal meaning of words (e.g., dog vs. canine)
• Synonyms: words with similar meanings (e.g., big, large, huge)
• Antonyms: words with opposite meanings (e.g., hot vs. cold)