Vocabulary and Word Skills Set 3
Vocabulary and Word Skills Set 3 continues 11+ word-building skills, focusing on how one root idea can appear as several different words in different word classes, a verb, a noun, an adjective and an adverb, and on how spotting these families helps a pupil work out an unfamiliar word's meaning and its role in a sentence.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- When you meet an unfamiliar word, check whether you recognise a shorter, related word inside it, since many words form families across word classes, such as act, action, active and actively.
- Identify the word class of the unfamiliar word from its ending and its position in the sentence, since a suffix often reveals the word class: -tion or -sion usually mark a noun, -ive or -ous usually mark an adjective, -ly usually marks an adverb.
- Once you know its word class, decide what job it does in the sentence, subject, object or describing word, before trying to pin down its exact meaning.
- Link the unfamiliar word back to a familiar word in the same family, for example linking 'permission' back to the more familiar verb 'permit', to unlock its core meaning.
- Build the meaning outward from that familiar core word, adjusting for the suffix's usual effect, whether it turns a verb into a noun or an adjective into an adverb.
- Test your final meaning against the sentence to check the word class and meaning both make sense in context.
Worked example
Work out the meaning and word class of 'persuasive' in the sentence: 'Her persuasive argument convinced even the most doubtful members of the committee.'
- Look for a familiar related word inside 'persuasive': the verb 'persuade' is recognisable at its core.
- Identify the word class from the ending '-ive', which typically forms an adjective, as in active, creative or decisive.
- Confirm this from the sentence: 'persuasive argument' places the word directly before a noun, which is the position an adjective usually takes.
- Link back to the familiar verb 'persuade' (to convince someone to do or believe something) and adjust for the adjective ending: 'persuasive' should mean able to persuade, or convincing.
- Test the meaning against the sentence: a convincing argument that convinced even the most doubtful members makes complete sense.
- Final answer: 'persuasive' is an adjective meaning convincing, or able to make people believe or agree with something.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1The word 'decision' appears in 'The judge's decision surprised everyone in the courtroom.' Which familiar verb is this word built from, and what word class is 'decision'?Show answer
Answer: Built from 'decide'; 'decision' is a noun, since the suffix '-sion' turns the verb into a noun naming the result of deciding.
Q2Using the verb 'create', what word class would you expect 'creation' to be, and what would it mean?Show answer
Answer: A noun; it would mean the act or result of creating something, or something that has been made.
Q3The adjective 'active' can become an adverb by adding a suffix. What is the adverb, and what does it mean in 'She actively supported the campaign'?Show answer
Answer: Actively; it means in an active way, taking a direct and energetic part, rather than only supporting something passively.
Q4'The teacher's explanation was admirably clear.' Identify the word class of 'admirably' and the adjective it is built from.Show answer
Answer: It is an adverb, built from the adjective 'admirable' (worthy of admiration); it describes how clear the explanation was, in a way that deserved admiration.
Q5'His refusal to apologise surprised his classmates.' What verb is 'refusal' built from, and what does the whole word mean?Show answer
Answer: Built from 'refuse'; 'refusal' means the act of refusing, or a clear 'no' to something asked.
Q6Explain why recognising that 'informative' is built from 'inform' helps a reader who does not know the word 'informative'.Show answer
Answer: Because 'inform', meaning to give someone facts or knowledge, gives the reader the core meaning straight away; adding the adjective suffix '-ative' then only requires working out that it means giving information, rather than guessing the whole word from nothing.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
The sentence reads: 'The committee's decisive action ended the dispute quickly.' Identify the word class of 'decisive', explain which familiar verb it is built from, and explain what it means in this sentence. (3 marks)
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Read the sentence: 'Her explanation of the accident was both informative and reassuring.' Identify the verb each of 'informative' and 'reassuring' is built from, and explain the word class of each. (4 marks)
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'The negotiators showed considerable flexibility during the talks.' Explain what word class 'flexibility' is, which adjective it is built from, and what the word means in this sentence. (3 marks)
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Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the vocabulary and word skills set 3 worksheet pack - 13 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
This topic is chapter 23 of 11+ English Workbook 3, the whole course as one free printable PDF.
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