IBA – IT NTHP ORIENTATION PROGRAM

BATCH – 2021
June 2, 2021 to July 25, 2021
Course Booklet (For Students)
ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

Course Facilitators: Tazeen Erum (Group-1& 2)

Maria H. Siddiqui (Group-3 & 4)
Arfa Ezazi (Group-5 & 6)

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 Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi
IBA IT National Talent Hunt Program -Batch 2021
English Grammar and Composition
June 3, 2021 – July 25, 2021
Course Instructor:
Ms. Tazeen Erum; [email protected], Ms. Arfa Ezazi; [email protected] Ms.
Maria H. Siddiqui; [email protected]
_____________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTIVE OVERVIEW
English Language & Composition section provides students with the rhetorical foundations that
prepare them for the demands of academic writing and increase their English proficiency. The course
will focus on four skills that form important components of IBA entrance exam:

1. Reading Comprehension
2. Grammar
3. Vocabulary

This foundation-level course is designed to provide students an exposure to IBA entrance test so that
they develop appropriate skills to score better marks in the test. The goal is to foster a firm foundation
in the knowledge and use of the English language. The course provides ample opportunities for
students to improve their English language proficiency through extensive exercises in usage,
vocabulary, reading, writing and other related study-skills.

OBJECTIVES
The course aims to make students learn to invent, select, organize and express their ideas clearly,
precisely and appropriately in writing. Coursework covers a wide range of practice from reviews of
sentence structure and the development of paragraphs to writing of essays for specific goals. By the
end of the course, students are expected to have acquired the basic English language skills and
strategies in order to succeed in the test.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
The students will be helped to:

 Read with a purpose

 Use both knowledge of the world and lexical and grammatical cohesive devices to make
foregoing inferences, predict outcomes, and infer links and connections among different parts
of the text
 Build reading skills (skimming, scanning, inference) to read longer texts
 Self-monitor for comprehension and use strategies to improve comprehension
 Understand a variety of nonfiction features, such as directions, diagrams, headlines, maps,
graphs, charts, and newspaper columns
 Pick out key words, such as those identifying topics and main ideas
Course Outline of English Grammar & Composition

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  Get the main point or the most important information
 Improve their understanding of English grammar
 Apply their understanding of English grammar in context clue exercises
 Distinguish the main idea from supporting details
 Expand everyday vocabulary
 Learn and use new content vocabulary
 Understand and practice reading a dictionary
 Become familiar with rules of punctuation in English and proper syntax
METHODOLOGY

Teaching and learning strategies during the course will be a combination of direct instruction and a
problem-based approach all conducted in online zoom sessions. The instructional strategies will
include reading-based discussions, breakout room work, whole class discussion, lectures, and
problem-based exercises. The coursework includes interactive class activities and discussions, as well
as take-home writing tasks. The written tasks will be subjected to both peer and teacher evaluation to
give maximum feedback to each student.
1. Medium of Instruction
a. All sessions will be conducted online via zoom. The live sessions will be used for
lectures, class and groups discussions, problem solving and Q&A and each session will
last for 75 minutes.
2. Recording Policy
a. As per NTHP teaching policy during Covid-19, all sessions will be recorded and
uploaded on a video management system
3. Reference Books, Presentations and Support Material
a. All course presentations, recorded sessions, reference books, articles, handouts and all
other support material will be shared with you by the management
4. Engagement, Net-etiquettes and Participation Rules
a. Students must join the zoom link before the instructor and wait in the waiting room for
the session to start
b. Students must check that their microphones and cameras are functioning properly.
When prompted, a student must unmute himself/herself and turn the camera on. This
will be marked as class participation.
c. There will be multiple engagement opportunities during the course in the form of
breakout rooms, live polls and surveys and open questions. You are expected to
participate in all of these activities.
d. At all times, students must show respectful behaviour and must not use slang or violent
language on the platform

Course Outline of English Grammar & Composition

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ASSESSMENT
Each student has to appear in a number of quizzes and tests. These tests will be conducted on the
pattern of IBA’s entrance test. The pass percentage for these tests is 50% on each section.

COURSE PLAN:
Mentioned on the other page.

ACADEMIC CONDUCT:

It is the responsibility of the students to familiarize themselves with all the rules and regulations of
IBA and abide by them. Attendance will be taken as soon as the class begins and upon being late
students will be marked as absent. Students must put all the handouts given in each class in a file and
bring that file to every class. They must complete and bring all the homework for each class. It is also
expected of students not to share the course material with people other than their classmates.

REFERENCE BOOKS:

 Oxford Practice Grammar by John Eastwood

 Grammar Builder 3, 4 and 5 by Amin, Eravelly and Ibrahim
 English Words (second edition) by Francis Katamba
 The Cambridge Guide to English Usage by Pam Peters
 Write Right by Jan Venolia
 A Practical English Grammar Exercises 1 and 2 by A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet
 Meaning of the Verb
 The Good Grammar Book by Michael Swan and Catherine Walter
 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Latest Edition)
 The Bedford Handbook (eighth edition) by D. Hacker and N. Sommers

Course Outline of English Grammar & Composition

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COURSE PLAN:

Content Reference Texts for Instructors Mentors

Session 1  Introduction to Grammar
o Parts of speech 1. How English Grammar Works (Pdf)
Session 2  Introduction to Vocabulary 1 2. NTHP Course Booklet (Compiled by NTHP office)
o Context clue exercises
3. SAT & GRE Vocabulary Guide (pdf)
 Punctuation 1
Session 3 4. NTHP-Practice Test 1 (Word Doc)
 Articles 1
5. Poems for Reading Comprehension (Word Doc)
Session 4  Sentence structure and types 1
6. Reading Practice – Without questions
Working with complex sentences
 Vocabulary & Punctuation (Quiz)
Session 5  Reading Comprehension skills 1 Useful Links:
 Connectives 1
 Verb Tense 1 7. http://www.learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
Session 6  Punctuation 2 8. http://www.world-english.org/tests-16.htm
 Prepositions 1 9. http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-
 Subject Verb Agreement 1 english-12958.php
Session 7 10. http://www.englishcorner.vacau.com/vocabulary/vocabulary.html#colls
 Vocabulary 2
11. http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ii184/esl-test.php
 Verb Tense (Quiz)
12. http://www.usingenglish.com/comprehension/21.html
Session 8  1st Term Exam 13. http://www.yindii.com/ref/grammar/tense_quiz1.htm
 Sentence Structure and Types 2 14. http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs5.htm
Session 9  Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions 1 15. http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/cpe/students/tests/index.htm
 Vocabulary (Quiz) 16. http://www.examenglish.com/
 Modifiers 1 17. http://www.cambridge.org/other_files/Flash_apps/inuse/EVUAdvTest/E
Session 10  Reading Comprehension 2 VUAdvIndex.htm
 Pronouns 1 18. Learn pronunciation by logging onto www.howjsay.com
 Connectives 2 19. Understand sentence structures by logging onto
Session 11 http://www.telescopictext.com/
 Articles 2
 Prepositions 2 20. http://www.splendid-speaking.com/
Session 12 21. http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/
 Pronouns 2
22. http://www.esltower.com
Session 13  Reading Comprehension skills 3 23. http://e-repa.ru/exams/toefl/reading/drill-01/2009-ibt-01.htm
Reading Charts & Graphs
Session 14  Active and Passive Voice 1
 Articles and Subject Verb Agreement (Quiz)
Session 15  Redundancies and run on sentence 1
 Vocabulary 3
Mid Term Exam
Session 16  Critical Reading & Analysis 4
 Active and Passive Voice 2
Session 17  Feedback on the Midterm exam
Session 18  General Revision
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 BBA Test
 Revision of Preposition, Punctuation, Tenses
Session 19  Quiz

 Revision of Articles, run on sentences, Redundancies

Session 20  Quiz

 Revision:
Subject Verb Agreement, pronouns, Vocabulary
Session 21
 Quiz

 Revision of Sentence structure and types

Session 22 

Session 23  Revision of Active and Passive Voice

Final Exam
Session 24  Review
Session 25  Feedback on Final Exam

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IBA IT NTHP ORIENTATION
PROGRAM BATCH 2021 (Vocabulary)

COURSE PACK- ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

DESIGNED AND COMPILED BY: MARIA HASSAN SIDDIQUI , TAZEEN ERUM, ARFA EZAZI)

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

The 1000 Most

Common SAT
Words

A
abase (v.) to humiliate, degrade (After being overthrown and abased, the deposed
leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)

abate (v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down for a while, then abated.)
SAT Vocabulary
abdicate (v.) to give up a position, usually one of leadership (When he realized that the
revolutionaries would surely win, the king abdicated his throne.)

abduct (v.) to kidnap, take by force (The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her
happy home.)
him.)
aberration (n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won
the World Series, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and the Red Sox
have not won a World Series since.)

abet (v.) to aid, help, encourage (The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the
inside to abet

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 A

abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up kicking himself in the head
when he tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the sport.)

abide 1. (v.) to put up with (Though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided
to abide by it.) 2. (v.) to remain (Despite the beating they’ve taken from the weather
throughout the millennia, the mountains abide.)

abject (adj.) wretched, pitiful (After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and
breaking her ankle, Eloise was abject.)

abjure (v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the President abjured the evil
policies of his wicked predecessor.)

abnegation (n.) denial of comfort to oneself (The holy man slept on the floor, took only
cold showers, and generally followed other practices of abnegation.)

abort (v.) to give up on a half-finished project or effort (After they ran out of food, the
men, attempting to jump rope around the world, had to abort and go home.)

abridge 1. (v.) to cut down, shorten (The publisher thought the dictionary was too long
and abridged it.) 2. (adj.) shortened (Moby-Dick is such a long book that even the
abridged version is longer than most normal books.)

abrogate (v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the
government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

abscond (v.) to sneak away and hide (In the confusion, the super-spy absconded into the
night with the secret plans.)

absolution (n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin (Once all the facts were known, the jury
gave Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not guilty.)
SAT Vocabulary

abstain (v.) to freely choose not to commit an action (Everyone demanded that Angus
put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and abstained.)

abstruse (adj.) hard to comprehend (Everyone else in the class understood geometry
easily, but John found the subject abstruse.)

accede (v.) to agree (When the class asked the teacher whether they could play baseball
instead of learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but instead he acceded to
their request.)

accentuate (v.) to stress, highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are
happiest accentuate the positive in life.)

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 A

accessible (adj.) obtainable, reachable (After studying with SparkNotes and getting a
great score on the SAT, Marlena happily realized that her goal of getting into an
Ivy-League college was accessible.)

acclaim (n.) high praise (Greg’s excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.)

accolade (n.) high praise, special distinction (Everyone offered accolades to Sam after
he won the Noble Prize.)

accommodating (adj.) helpful, obliging, polite (Though the apartment was not big
enough for three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all friends and were
accommodating to each other.)

accord (n.) an agreement (After much negotiating, England and Iceland finally came to
a mutually beneficial accord about fishing rights off the cost of Greenland.)

accost (v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted
the man.)

accretion (n.) slow growth in size or amount (Stalactites are formed by the accretion of
minerals from the roofs of caves.)

acerbic (adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to
cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

acquiesce (v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside
and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner,
he acquiesced to her demands.)

acrimony (n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come
between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their

SAT Vocabulary
friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

acumen (n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure
out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

acute 1. (adj.) sharp, severe (Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so
acute.) 2. (adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so acute, Libby instantly
figured out how the magician pulled off his “magic.”)

adamant (adj.) impervious, immovable, unyielding (Though public pressure was

intense, the President remained adamant about his proposal.)

adept (adj.) extremely skilled (Tarzan was adept at jumping from tree to tree like a
monkey.)

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 A

adhere 1. (n.) to stick to something (We adhered the poster to the wall with tape.) 2. (n.)
to follow devoutly (He adhered to the dictates of his religion without question.)

admonish (v.) to caution, criticize, reprove (Joe’s mother admonished him not to ruin
his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)

adorn (v.) to decorate (We adorned the tree with ornaments.)

adroit (adj.) skillful, dexterous (The adroit thief could pick someone’s pocket without
attracting notice.)

adulation (n.) extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe
it deserved the adulation it received.)

adumbrate (v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach adumbrated a game plan, but
none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

adverse (adj.) antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous (Because of adverse conditions, the

hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)

advocate 1. (v.) to argue in favor of something (Arnold advocated turning left at the
stop sign, even though everyone else thought we should turn right.) 2. (n.) a person
who argues in favor of something (In addition to wanting to turn left at every stop
sign, Arnold was also a great advocate of increasing national defense spending.)

aerial (adj.) somehow related to the air (We watched as the fighter planes conducted
aerial maneuvers.)

aesthetic (adj.) artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our
interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)

affable (adj.) friendly, amiable (People like to be around George because he is so affable
SAT Vocabulary

and good-natured.)

affinity (n.)a spontaneous feeling of closeness (Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an
incredible affinity for Kramer the first time they met.)

affluent (adj.) rich, wealthy (Mrs. Grebelski was affluent, owning a huge house, three
cars, and an island near Maine.)

affront (n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an affront to his
honor.)

aggrandize (v.) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the
famous people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his personal stature.)

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 A

aggregate 1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an
aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a
mass (The dictator tried to aggregate as many people into his army as he possibly
could.)

aggrieved (adj.) distressed, wronged, injured (The foreman mercilessly overworked his
aggrieved employees.)

agile (adj.) quick, nimble (The dogs were too slow to catch the agile rabbit.)

agnostic (adj.) believing that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven
(Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is agnostic.)

agriculture (n.) farming (It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left
hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining
food, such as agriculture.)

aisle (n.) a passageway between rows of seats (Once we got inside the stadium we
walked down the aisle to our seats.)

alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother
whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with
alacrity.)

alias (n.) a false name or identity (He snuck past the guards by using an alias and fake
ID.)

allay (v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to
allay investors’ fears about an economic downturn.)

allege (v.) to assert, usually without proof (The policeman had alleged that Marshall
committed the crime, but after the investigation turned up no evidence, Marshall

SAT Vocabulary
was set free.)

alleviate (v.) to relieve, make more bearable (This drug will alleviate the symptoms of
the terrible disease, but only for a while.)

allocate (v.) to distribute, set aside (The Mayor allocated 30 percent of the funds for
improving the town’s schools.)

aloof (adj.) reserved, distant (The scientist could sometimes seem aloof, as if he didn’t
care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum
mechanics.)

altercation (n.) a dispute, fight (Jason and Lionel blamed one another for the car
accident, leading to an altercation.)

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 A

amalgamate (v.) to bring together, unite (Because of his great charisma, the presidential
candidate was able to amalgamate all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

ambiguous (adj.) uncertain, variably interpretable (Some people think Caesar married
Cleopatra for her power, others believe he was charmed by her beauty. His actual
reasons are ambiguous.)

ambivalent (adj.) having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are ambivalent
because on one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is a cruel and vicious
thief.)

ameliorate (v.) to improve (The tense situation was ameliorated when Sam proposed a
solution everyone could agree upon.)

amenable (adj.) willing, compliant (Our father was amenable when we asked him to
drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking.)

amenity (n.) an item that increases comfort (Bill Gates’s house is stocked with so many
amenities, he never has to do anything for himself.)

amiable (adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Harry got along with just about everyone.)

amicable (adj.) friendly (Claudia and Jimmy got divorced, but amicably and without
hard feelings.)

amorous (adj.) showing love, particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear
her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite amorous.)

amorphous (adj.) without definite shape or type (The effort was doomed from the start,
because the reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to pin down.)

anachronistic (adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you’re
SAT Vocabulary

writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is
anachronistic.)

analgesic (n.) something that reduces pain (Put this analgesic on the wound so that the
poor man at least feels a little better.)

analogous (adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated
genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite analogous.)

anarchist (n.) one who wants to eliminate all government (An anarchist, Carmine
wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.)

anathema (n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an
anathema to me.)

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anecdote (n.) a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about
the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

anesthesia (n.) loss of sensation (When the nerves in his spine were damaged, Mr.
Hollins suffered anesthesia in his legs.)

anguish (n.) extreme sadness, torment (Angelos suffered terrible anguish when he
learned that Buffy had died while combating a strange mystical force of evil.)

animated (adj.) lively (When he begins to talk about drama, which is his true passion, he
becomes very animated.)

annex 1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space (After defeating them in battle, the
Russians annexed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger room or space (He
likes to do his studying in a little annex attached to the main reading room in the
library.)

annul (v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects,
Congress sought to annul the law.)

anomaly (n.) something that does not fit into the normal order (“That rip in the space-
time continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly,” said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

anonymous (adj.) being unknown, unrecognized (Mary received a love poem from an
anonymous admirer.)

antagonism (n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual

antagonism, and often fought.)

antecedent (n.) something that came before (The great tradition of Western culture had
its antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece.)

SAT Vocabulary
antediluvian (adj.) ancient (The antediluvian man still believed that Eisenhower was
president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

anthology (n.) a selected collection of writings, songs, etc. (The new anthology of Bob
Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have
heard before.)

antipathy (n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a
liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

antiquated (adj.) old, out of date (That antiquated car has none of the features, like
power windows and steering, that make modern cars so great.)

antiseptic (adj.) clean, sterile (The antiseptic hospital was very bare, but its cleanliness
helped to keep patients healthy.)

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antithesis (n.) the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the
highest esteem, are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)

anxiety (n.) intense uneasiness (When he heard about the car crash, he felt anxiety
because he knew that his girlfriend had been driving on the road where the accident
occurred.)

apathetic (adj.) lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was

apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

apocryphal (adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because I am standing before you, it seems
obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were apocryphal.)

appalling (adj.) inspiring shock, horror, disgust (The judge found the murderer’s crimes
and lack of remorse appalling.)

appease (v.) to calm, satisfy (When the child cries, the mother gives him candy to
appease him.)

appraise (v.) to assess the worth or value of (A realtor will come over tonight to
appraise our house.)

apprehend 1. (v.) to seize, arrest (The criminal was apprehended at the scene.) 2. (v.) to
perceive, understand, grasp (The student has trouble apprehending concepts in
math and science.)

approbation (n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

appropriate (v.) to take, make use of (The government appropriated the farmer’s land
without justification.)

aquatic (adj.) relating to water (The marine biologist studies starfish and other aquatic
SAT Vocabulary

creatures.)

arable (adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of arable land on
which he will grow corn and sprouts.)

arbiter (n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision (The divorce court judge
will serve as the arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)

arbitrary (adj.) based on factors that appear random (The boy’s decision to choose one
college over another seems arbitrary.)

arbitration (n.) the process or act of resolving a dispute (The employee sought official
arbitration when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.)

arboreal (adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.)

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arcane (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane
Lithuanian literature.)

archaic (adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions
of Western Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

archetypal (adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some

believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature,
was the archetypal politician.)

ardor (n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their ardor with
impassioned battle cries.)

arid (adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in
arid environments.)

arrogate (v.) to take without justification (The king arrogated the right to order
executions to himself exclusively.)

artifact (n.) a remaining piece from an extinct culture or place (The scientists spent all
day searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient Mayan civilization.)

artisan (n.) a craftsman (The artisan uses wood to make walking sticks.)

ascertain (v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of research, the student ascertained that
some plants can live for weeks without water.)

ascetic (adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The

priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

ascribe (v.) to assign, credit, attribute to (Some ascribe the invention of fireworks and
dynamite to the Chinese.)

SAT Vocabulary
aspersion (n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast
aspersions on each others’ integrity.)

aspire (v.) to long for, aim toward (The young poet aspires to publish a book of verse
someday.)

assail (v.) to attack (At dawn, the war planes assailed the boats in the harbor.)

assess (v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.)

assiduous (adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the

skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

assuage (v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to assuage its fears.)

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astute (adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger’s success in politics results from his
ability to provide astute answers to reporters’ questions.)

asylum 1. (n.) a place of refuge, protection, a sanctuary (For Thoreau, the forest served
as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.) 2. (n.) an institution in which the
insane are kept (Once diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist, the man was put in an
asylum.)

atone (v.) to repent, make amends (The man atoned for forgetting his wife’s birthday
by buying her five dozen roses.)

atrophy (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will
soon atrophy and die.)

attain (v.) to achieve, arrive at (The athletes strived to attain their best times in
competition.)

attribute 1. (v.) to credit, assign (He attributes all of his success to his mother’s undying
encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the beetle’s most peculiar attributes is
its thorny protruding eyes.)

atypical (adj.) not typical, unusual (Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.)

audacious (adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan’s
audacious attempt to offer him a bribe.)

audible (adj.) able to be heard (The missing person’s shouts were unfortunately not
audible.)

augment (v.) to add to, expand (The eager student seeks to augment his knowledge of
French vocabulary by reading French literature.)
SAT Vocabulary

auspicious (adj.) favorable, indicative of good things (The tennis player considered the
sunny forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her match.)

austere (adj.) very bare, bleak (The austere furniture inside the abandoned house made
the place feel haunted.)

avarice (n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass a tremendous
personal fortune.)

avenge (v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take justice into their own hands and
strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them.)

aversion (n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he’s from Hawaii, Ben has an
aversion to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.)

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 B

B
balk (v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss balked at her request for another raise.)

ballad (n.) a love song (Greta’s boyfriend played her a ballad on the guitar during their
walk through the dark woods.)

banal (adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found
our presentation banal and unimpressive.)

bane (n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane of many students’ academic lives.)

bard (n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest bard
in the history of the English language.)

bashful (adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie’s mother told him not to be bashful when
he refused to attend the birthday party.)

battery 1.(n.) a device that supplies power (Most cars run on a combination of power
from a battery and gasoline.) 2. (n.)assault, beating (Her husband was accused of
assault and battery after he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

beguile (v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiled his partners into surrendering all of
their money to him.)

behemoth (n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is
among several behemoths that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

benevolent (adj.) marked by goodness or doing good (Police officers should be

commended for their benevolent service to the community.)

benign (adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the
medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

SAT Vocabulary
bequeath (v.) to pass on, give (Jon’s father bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.)

berate (v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to
meet their deadline.)

bereft (adj.) devoid of, without (His family was bereft of food and shelter following the
tornado.)

beseech (v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his
starving family.)

bias (n.) a tendency, inclination, prejudice (The judge’s hidden bias against smokers led
him to make an unfair decision.)

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bilk (v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had bilked several clients
out of thousands of dollars.)

blandish (v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel’s assistant tried to blandish her into
accepting the deal.)

blemish (n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the
many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)

blight 1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight destroyed the harvest and bankrupted
many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a blight
upon this entire operation.)

boisterous (adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving
several boisterous speeches on television.)

bombastic (adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer’s bombastic performance

disgusted the crowd.)

boon (n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses
located near the beach.)

bourgeois (n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for
their bourgeois approach to life.)

brazen (adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist’s brazen attempt
to plagiarize Hemingway’s story.)

brusque (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain’s brusque manner offended the
passengers.)

buffet 1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to
SAT Vocabulary

capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting
around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

burnish (v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before
setting the table.)

buttress 1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2.
(n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

C
cacophony (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school
orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.)

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cadence (n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to
emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)

cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.)

calamity (n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco
was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

calibrate (v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic calibrated the car’s transmission to
make the motor run most efficiently.)

callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the
jury.)

calumny (n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s reputation by spreading lies (The local
official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election.)

camaraderie (n.) brotherhood, jovial unity (Camaraderie among employees usually

leads to success in business.)

candor (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech
because he is usually rather evasive.)

canny (adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through
much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)

canvas 1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas
rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We canvassed the
neighborhood looking for clues.)

capacious (adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new capacious office
space.)

SAT Vocabulary
capitulate (v.) to surrender (The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly
battle.)

capricious (adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl’s capricious tendencies made it
difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

captivate (v.) to get the attention of, hold (The fireworks captivated the young boy, who
had never seen such things before.)

carouse (v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all night after getting married.)

carp (v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping
voice for decades.)

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catalog 1. (v.) to list, enter into a list (The judge cataloged the victim’s injuries before
calculating how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or collection (We
received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items.)

catalyze (v.) to charge, inspire (The president’s speech catalyzed the nation and
resuscitated the economy.)

caucus (n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The
ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would
request.)

caustic (adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an
hour during the debate.)

cavort (v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio,
while the children cavorted around the pool.)

censure 1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore
of her critical mother’s censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The principal censured
the head of the English Department for forcing students to learn esoteric
vocabulary.)

cerebral (adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too cerebral—
they don’t engage my emotions at all.)

chaos (n.) absolute disorder (Mr. Thornton’s sudden departure for the lavatory
plunged his classroom into chaos.)

chastise (v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking
Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)

cherish (v.) to feel or show affection toward something (She continued to cherish her
SAT Vocabulary

red plaid trousers, even though they had gone out of style and no longer fit her.)

chide (v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy
appearance.)

choreography (n.) the arrangement of dances (The plot of the musical was banal, but the
choreography was stunning.)

chronicle 1. (n.) a written history (The library featured the newly updated chronicle of
World War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert’s diary chronicled the day-to-day
growth of his obsession with Cynthia.)

chronological (adj.) arranged in order of time (Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots
of his former girlfriends in chronological order, and then set fire to them.)

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circuitous (adj.) roundabout (The bus’s circuitous route took us through numerous
outlying suburbs.)

circumlocution (n.) indirect and wordy language (The professor’s habit of speaking in
circumlocutions made it difficult to follow his lectures.)

circumscribed (adj.) marked off, bounded (The children were permitted to play tag
only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn.)

circumspect (adj.) cautious (Though I promised Rachel’s father I would bring her home
promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a
time.)

circumvent (v.) to get around (The school’s dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans
was circumvented by the determined students, who were careful to cover up with
long coats when administrators were nearby.)

clairvoyant (adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda’s uncanny
ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant.)

clamor 1. (n.) loud noise (Each morning the birds outside my window make such a
clamor that they wake me up.) 2. (v.)to loudly insist (Neville’s fans clamored for
him to appear on stage, but he had passed out on the floor of his dressing room.)

clandestine (adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym,
Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison.)

cleave 1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader, the
entire political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly
(After resolving their marital problems, Junior and Rosa cleaved to one another all
the more tightly.)

SAT Vocabulary
clemency (n.) mercy (After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria
for clemency.)

clergy (n.) members of Christian holy orders (Though the villagers viewed the church
rectory as quaint and charming, the clergy who lived there regarded it as a mildewy
and dusty place that aggravated their allergies.)

cloying (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud
found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying.)

coagulate (v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick
skin.)

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coalesce (v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon’s ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced
into a surprisingly handsome outfit.)

cobbler (n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes (I had my neighborhood cobbler
replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.)

coerce (v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that
Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into
signing it.)

cogent (adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene’s arguments in favor of abstinence were so

cogent that I could not resist them.)

cognizant (adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he
was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment.)

coherent (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (Renee could not figure out what
Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)

collateral 1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me
poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.) security for a debt
(Jacob left his watch as collateral for the $500 loan.)

colloquial (adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam’s essay on sexual

response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial
expressions.)

collusion (n.) secret agreement, conspiracy (The three law students worked in collusion
to steal the final exam.)

colossus (n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured
a colossus standing astride its harbor.)
SAT Vocabulary

combustion (n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected combustion of the
prosecution’s evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez.)

commendation (n.) a notice of approval or recognition (Jared received a commendation

from Linda, his supervisor, for his stellar performance.)

commensurate (adj.) corresponding in size or amount (Ahab selected a very long roll
and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous
appetite.)

commodious (adj.) roomy (Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat
of the taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite commodious.)

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compelling (adj.) forceful, demanding attention (Eliot’s speech was so compelling that
Lenore accepted his proposal on the spot.)

compensate (v.) to make an appropriate payment for something (Reginald bought

Sharona a new dress to compensate her for the one he’d spilled his ice cream on.)

complacency (n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Colin tried to shock his friends out
of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to
them.)

complement (v.) to complete, make perfect (Ann’s scarf complements her blouse
beautifully, making her seem fully dressed even though she isn’t wearing a coat.)

compliant (adj.) ready to adapt oneself to another’s wishes (Sue had very
strong opinions about what to do on a first date, and Ted was
absolutely compliant.)

complicit (adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful act (By keeping her daughter’s affair
a secret, Maddie became complicit in it.)

compliment (n.) an expression of esteem or approval (I blushed crimson when Emma

gave me a compliment on my new haircut.)

compound 1. (v.) to combine parts (The difficulty of finding a fire escape amid the smoke
was compounded with the dangers posed by the panicking crowds.) 2. (n.) a
combination of different parts (My attraction to Donna was a compound of
curiosity about the unknown, physical desire, and intellectual admiration.) 3. (n.) a
walled area containing a group of buildings (When the fighting started, Joseph
rushed into the family compound because it was safe and well defended.)

comprehensive (adj.) including everything (She sent me a comprehensive list of the

SAT Vocabulary
ingredients needed to cook rabbit soufflé.)

compress (v.) to apply pressure, squeeze together (Lynn compressed her lips into a
frown.)

compunction (n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt compunction for the shabby
way he’d treated her.)

concede (v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about
Diana made sense.)

conciliatory (adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took Amanda’s invitation to dinner as a very

conciliatory gesture.)

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concise (adj.) brief and direct in expression (Gordon did not like to waste time, and his
instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise.)

concoct (v.) to fabricate, make up (She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her
absence.)

concomitant (adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work

carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.)

concord (n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a
disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect concord.)

condolence (n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow (Brian lamely offered his

condolences on the loss of his sister’s roommate’s cat.)

condone (v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook (He refused to condone his brother’s
crime.)

conduit (n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes (The water flowed
through the conduit into the container.)

confection (n.) a sweet, fancy food (We went to the mall food court and purchased a
delicious confection.)

confidant (n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, she became my
chief confidant.)

conflagration (n.) great fire (The conflagration consumed the entire building.)

confluence (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the
perfect night.)

conformist (n.) one who behaves the same as others (Julian was such a conformist that
SAT Vocabulary

he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit.)

confound (v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing

him by covering his tracks.)

congeal (v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had congealed into a thick paste.)

congenial (adj.) pleasantly agreeable (His congenial manner made him popular
wherever he went.)

congregation (n.) a gathering of people, especially for religious services (The priest told
the congregation that he would be retiring.)

congruity (n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect
congruity of opinion.)

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connive (v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my vacation plans.)

consecrate (v.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin consecrated his spare
bedroom as a shrine to Christina.)

consensus (n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury was able to reach a consensus only
after days of deliberation.)

consign (v.) to give something over to another’s care (Unwillingly, he consigned his
mother to a nursing home.)

consolation (n.) an act of comforting (Darren found Alexandra’s presence to be a

consolation for his suffering.)

consonant (adj.) in harmony (The singers’ consonant voices were beautiful.)

constituent (n.) an essential part (The most important constituent of her perfume is
something called ambergris.)

constrain (v.)to forcibly restrict (His belief in nonviolence constrained him from taking
revenge on his attackers.)

construe (v.) to interpret (He construed her throwing his clothes out the window as a
signal that she wanted him to leave.)

consummate (v.) to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual

intercourse (Erica and Donald consummated their agreement in the executive
boardroom.)

consumption (n.) the act of consuming (Consumption of intoxicating beverages is not

permitted on these premises.)

contemporaneous (adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not

SAT Vocabulary
feature the themes of Romanticism, Jane Austen’s work was contemporaneous with
that of Wordsworth and Byron.)

contentious (adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George’s contentious

personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

contravene (v.) to contradict, oppose, violate (Edwidge contravened his landlady’s rule
against overnight guests.)

contrite (adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake’s contrite behavior made it

impossible to stay angry at him.)

contusion (n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on his face suggested he’d been in a fight.)

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conundrum (n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting Jane’s behavior was a constant

conundrum.)

convene (v.) to call together (Jason convened his entire extended family for a
discussion.)

convention 1. (n.) an assembly of people (The hotel was full because of the cattle-
ranchers’ convention.) 2. (n.) a rule, custom (The cattle-ranchers have a convention
that you take off your boots before entering their houses.)

convivial (adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment (The restaurant’s

convivial atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

convoluted (adj.) intricate, complicated (Grace’s story was so convoluted that I couldn’t
follow it.)

copious (adj.) profuse, abundant (Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the
cafeteria.)

cordial (adj.) warm, affectionate (His cordial greeting melted my anger at once.)

coronation (n.) the act of crowning (The new king’s coronation occurred the day after
his father’s death.)

corpulence (adj.)extreme fatness (Henry’s corpulence did not make him any less
attractive to his charming, svelte wife.)

corroborate (v.) to support with evidence (Luke’s seemingly outrageous claim was
corroborated by witnesses.)

corrosive (adj.) having the tendency to erode or eat away (The effect of the chemical
was highly corrosive.)
SAT Vocabulary

cosmopolitan (adj.) sophisticated, worldly (Lloyd’s education and upbringing were

cosmopolitan, so he felt right at home among the powerful and learned.)

counteract (v.) to neutralize, make ineffective (The antidote counteracted the effect of
the poison.)

coup 1. (n.) a brilliant, unexpected act (Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he
got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.) 2. (n.) the overthrow of
a government and assumption of authority (In their coup attempt, the army officers
stormed the Parliament and took all the legislators hostage.)

covet (v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses’s house, wife, and car.)

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covert (adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a covert campaign against his enemies,
while outwardly appearing to remain friendly.)

credulity (n.) readiness to believe (His credulity made him an easy target for con men.)

crescendo (n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass
instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel.)

criteria (n.) standards by which something is judged (Among Mrs. Fields’s criteria for
good cookies are that they be moist and chewy.)

culmination (n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of
the couple’s argument was the decision to divorce.)

culpable (adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable of the crime, and was sentenced to
perform community service for 75 years.)

cultivate (v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the library, she cultivated her interest in
spy novels.)

cumulative (adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent
in the sun was a deep tan.)

cunning (adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to
surprise the enemy.)

cupidity (n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold
mine despite the obvious dangers.)

cursory (adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a
cursory glance at the agenda.)

curt (adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize

SAT Vocabulary
that she was upset at me.)

curtail (v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending.)

D
daunting (adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose courage (He kept delaying the
daunting act of asking for a promotion.)

dearth (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic
books at the library.)

debacle (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show
turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

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debase (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave
himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

debauch (v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine
and cheese debauched the traveler.)

debunk (v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the
world’s greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

decorous (adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous
behavior toward his host.)

decry (v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging
customers late fees.)

deface (v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance (The brothers used eggs and
shaving cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.)

defamatory (adj.) harmful toward another’s reputation (The defamatory gossip

spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor’s new movie.)

defer (v.) to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane,
the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano.)

deferential (adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (His deferential attitude
toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

defile (v.) to make unclean, impure (She defiled the calm of the religious building by
playing her banjo.)

deft (adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a
deft bread maker.)
SAT Vocabulary

defunct (adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse
into a community center.)

delegate (v.) to hand over responsibility for something (The dean delegated the task of
finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

deleterious (adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a

marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

deliberate (adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite
upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)

delineate (v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for
canceling the project’s funding.)

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demagogue (n.) a leader who appeals to a people’s prejudices (The demagogue

strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

demarcation (n.) the marking of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have

different demarcations of good and evil.)

demean (v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her
secretary by making him order her lunch.)

demure (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing
and going crazy, she remained demure.)

denigrate (v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its
advertisements would no longer denigrate the company’s competitors.)

denounce (v.) to criticize publicly (The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy
politician.)

deplore (v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable
working conditions in the factory.)

depravity (n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre’s depravity made the children afraid to
enter the forest.)

deprecate (v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his

contribution to the local charity.)

derelict (adj.) abandoned, run-down (Even though it was dangerous, the children
enjoyed going to the deserted lot and playing in the derelict house.)

deride (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies derided the foreign student’s
accent.)

SAT Vocabulary
derivative (adj.) taken directly from a source, unoriginal (She was bored by his music
because she felt that it was derivative and that she had heard it before.)

desecrate (v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the
construction of a golf course would desecrate the preserved wilderness.)

desiccated (adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like
old paper.)

desolate (adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a
contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city.)

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despondent (adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless (Having failed the first
math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and failed that
one too.)

despot (n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death
sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

destitute (adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The hurricane destroyed many homes
and left many families destitute.)

deter (v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob’s description of scary snakes couldn’t
deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

devious (adj.) not straightforward, deceitful (Not wanting to be punished, the devious
girl blamed the broken vase on the cat.)

dialect (n.) a variation of a language (In the country’s remote, mountainous regions, the
inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country’s other inhabitants had difficulty
understanding.)

diaphanous (adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous
curtains, brightening the room.)

didactic 1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up a didactic document showing new
employees how to handle the company’s customers.) 2. (adj.) overly moralistic (His
didactic style of teaching made it seem like he wanted to persuade his students not to
understand history fully, but to understand it from only one point of view.)

diffident (adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating dinner with the adults, the diffident
youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

diffuse 1. (v.) to scatter, thin out, break up (He diffused the tension in the room by
SAT Vocabulary

making in a joke.) 2. (adj.) not concentrated, scattered, disorganized (In her

writings, she tried unsuccessfully to make others understand her diffuse thoughts.)

dilatory (adj.) tending to delay, causing delay (The general’s dilatory strategy enabled
the enemy to regroup.)

diligent (adj.) showing care in doing one’s work (The diligent researcher made sure to
check her measurements multiple times.)

diminutive (adj.) small or miniature (The bullies, tall and strong, picked on the
diminutive child.)

dirge (n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a dirge as the
casket was carried to the cemetery.)

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disaffected (adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby’s poor

behavior, the parents sent their disaffected son to a military academy to be
disciplined.)

disavow (v.) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize
her, she disavowed any involvement in the company’s hiring scandal.)

discern (v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his emotions, she discerned from his body
language that he was angry.)

disclose (v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO disclosed to the press that the company
would have to fire several employees.)

discomfit (v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children’s sudden
misery discomfited the teacher.)

discordant (adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls’ sobs were a discordant
sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)

discrepancy (n.) difference, failure of things to correspond (He was troubled by the
discrepancy between what he remembered paying for the appliance and what his
receipt showed he paid for it.)

discretion (n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not
wanting her patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used discretion in deciding how
much to tell the patient about his condition.)

discursive (adj.) rambling, lacking order (The professor’s discursive lectures seemed to
be about every subject except the one initially described.)

disdain 1. (v.) to scorn, hold in low esteem (Insecure about their jobs, the older
employees disdained the recently hired ones, who were young and capable.) 2. (n.)

SAT Vocabulary
scorn, low esteem (After learning of his immoral actions, Justine held Lawrence in
disdain.)

disgruntled (adj.) upset, not content (The child believed that his parents had unjustly
grounded him, and remained disgruntled for a week.)

disheartened (adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after
losing in the finals of the tournament.)

disparage (v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The saleswoman disparaged the competitor’s
products to persuade her customers to buy what she was selling.)

disparate (adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having

widely varying interests, the students had disparate responses toward the novel.)

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dispatch (v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The carpenter dispatched his assistant to
fetch wood.)

dispel (v.) to drive away, scatter (She entered the office as usual on Monday, dispelling
the rumor that she had been fired.)

disperse (v.) to scatter, cause to scatter (When the rain began to pour, the crowd at the
baseball game quickly dispersed.)

disrepute (n.) a state of being held in low regard (The officer fell into disrepute after it
was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers.)

dissemble (v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she
dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father’s stamp collection.)

disseminate (v.) to spread widely (The politician disseminated his ideas across the town
before the election.)

dissent 1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth
grade, but the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing
(Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty, the last juror voiced his dissent with
the rest of the jury.)

dissipate 1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and
dissipated the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a series of bad
investments.)

dissonance (n.) lack of harmony or consistency (Though the president of the company
often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, her decision to increase
her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking dissonance
between her alleged beliefs and her actions.)
SAT Vocabulary

dissuade (v.) to persuade someone not to do something (Worried that he would catch a
cold, she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter nights.)

distend (v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to distend.)

dither (v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about
which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

divine (adj.) godly, exceedingly wonderful (Terribly fond of desserts, she found the rich
chocolate cake to be divine.)

divisive (adj.) causing dissent, discord (Her divisive tactics turned her two friends
against each other.)

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divulge (v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press, the government finally
divulged the previously unknown information.)

docile (adj.) easily taught or trained (She successfully taught the docile puppy several
tricks.)

dogmatic (adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain about unproved principles (His
dogmatic claim that men were better than women at fixing appliances angered
everyone.)

dormant (adj.) sleeping, temporarily inactive (Though she pretended everything was
fine, her anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and exploded in screams of
rage after everyone had left.)

dour (adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their dour neighbor because the old man
would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud.)

dubious (adj.) doubtful, of uncertain quality (Suspicious that he was only trying to get a
raise, she found his praise dubious.)

duplicity (n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity involved convincing his employees to let
him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money
he saved and run the company into the ground.)

duress (n.) hardship, threat (It was only under intense duress that he, who was
normally against killing, fired his gun.)

dynamic (adj.) actively changing (The parents found it hard to keep up with the
dynamic music scene with which their children had become very familiar.)

SAT Vocabulary
ebullient (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became ebullient upon receiving an
acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

eclectic (adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an eclectic
crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

ecstatic (adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy (The couple was ecstatic when they
learned that they had won the lottery.)

edict (n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an edict requiring all of his subjects to bow
down before him.)

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efface (v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for
leaving him that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her
and gave away all her belongings.)

effervescent (adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so effervescent that she makes everyone
smile.)

efficacious (adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was
efficacious, but I’m still sniffling.)

effrontery (n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring,
my mother scolded me for my effrontery.)

effulgent (adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was effulgent.)

egregious (adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria
was punished for his egregious behavior.)

elaborate (adj.) complex, detailed, intricate (Dan always beats me at chess because he
develops such an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his next move.)

elated (adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the
writer was elated.)

elegy (n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a
moving elegy describing her love for her husband.)

elicit (v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit
was, I elicited no response from the stone-faced policeman.)

eloquent (adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The priest gave such an eloquent sermon
that most churchgoers were crying.)
SAT Vocabulary

elucidate (v.) to clarify, explain (I didn’t understand why my friend was so angry with
me, so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)

elude (v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to elude the
police.)

emaciated (adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and
chocolate but still looks emaciated.)

embellish 1. (v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom embellished the living room by adding
lace curtains.) 2. (v.)to add details to, enhance (When Harry told me that he had
“done stuff” on his vacation, I asked him to embellish upon his account.)

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embezzle (v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for
embezzling $10,000 of the company’s funds.)

emend (v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will
emend what I have written.)

eminent 1. (adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an eminent

scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj.)
conspicuous (There is an eminent stain on that shirt.)

emollient (adj.) soothing (This emollient cream makes my skin very smooth.)

emote (v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to emote, or else the
audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

empathy (n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such
empathy for my sister when she’s in pain that I cry too.)

empirical 1. (adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered empirical

data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.)
2. (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate
getting wet is an empirical statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.)

emulate (v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I emulate everything she
does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.)

enamor (v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by “of” or
“with” (I grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

encore (n.) the audience’s demand for a repeat performance; also the artist’s
performance in response to that demand (At the end of the concert, all the fans
yelled, “Encore! Encore!” but the band did not come out to play again.)

SAT Vocabulary
encumber (v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was encumbered by
her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

enervate (v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I
will have to take a nap after I finish.)

enfranchise (v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised

women.)

engender (v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of
U.S. athletes engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

enigmatic (adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is
so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

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enmity (n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each
other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

ennui (n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui that I don’t look forward to anything,
not even my birthday party.)

entail (v.) to include as a necessary step (Building a new fence entails tearing down the
old one.)

enthrall (v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and
finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)

ephemeral (adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she’d love me forever, but her
“forever” was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)

epistolary (adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,”
because my aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship that we write each
other every day.)

epitome (n.) a perfect example, embodiment (My mother, the epitome of good taste,
always dresses more elegantly than I do.)

equanimity (n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed
great equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office
well.)

equivocal (adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so equivocal

that I didn’t know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

erudite (adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated
some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)
SAT Vocabulary

eschew (v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all
green food.)

esoteric (adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students
cannot understand the physicist’s esoteric theories.)

espouse (v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I espouse animal
rights.)

ethereal (adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and
lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

etymology (n.) the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of
etymology, I know that the word “quixotic” derives from Don Quixote and the
word “gaudy” refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

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euphoric (adj.) elated, uplifted (I was euphoric when I found out that my sister had
given birth to twins.)

evanescent (adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent
because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly
office.)

evince (v.) to show, reveal (Christopher’s hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how
nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

exacerbate (v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last
night exacerbated my fears of the dark.)

exalt (v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we exalt the most.)

exasperate (v.) to irritate, irk (George’s endless complaints exasperated his roomate.)

excavate (v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh’s treasures were
excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

exculpate (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind
the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.)

excursion (n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed
about pandas and monkeys.)

execrable (adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me

sick.)

exhort (v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his colleagues to join him in protesting
against the university’s hiring policies.)

exigent (adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he

SAT Vocabulary
will lose his sight.)

exonerate (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief’s confession
exonerated the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

exorbitant (adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise made me blush and squirm in my
seat.)

expedient (adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one’s self-interest (In his bid for
reelection, the governor made an expedient move by tabling all controversial
legislation.)

expiate (v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to
charity.)

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expunge (v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to

expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

expurgate (v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history
editors expurgated from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about
the Republican Party.)

extant (adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother’s extant love letters to my
father are in the attic trunk.)

extol (v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-
loving brother.)

extraneous (adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should
always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

extricate (v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to mediate between my brother and

sister, I extricated myself from the family tension entirely and left the house for the
day.)

exult (v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary exulted by
dancing and singing through the school’s halls.)

F
fabricate (v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some
excuse about my car breaking down on the way to school.)

façade 1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum’s main façade.) 2.
(n.) a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling façade, I am feeling
melancholy.)
SAT Vocabulary

facile 1. (adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This game is so facile that even a four-year-
old can master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care,
insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed facile at best;
nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)

fallacious (adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious

assumption that I smoked.)

fastidious (adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards
(Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems
imperfect to him.)

fathom (v.) to understand, comprehend (I cannot fathom why you like that crabby and
mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)

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fatuous (adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only
writes fatuous limericks.)

fecund (adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the
entire season.)

felicitous 1. (adj.) well suited, apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine
were felicitous and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing (I spent a felicitous
afternoon visiting old friends.)

feral (adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)

fervent (adj.) ardent, passionate (The fervent protestors chained themselves to the
building and shouted all night long.)

fetid (adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that
your milk has spoiled.)

fetter (v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fettered to the parking meter.)

fickle (adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In Greek dramas, the fickle gods help
Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)

fidelity (n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great fidelity they show
toward their masters.)

figurative (adj.) symbolic (Using figurative language, Jane likened the storm to an
angry bull.)

flabbergasted (adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I

am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)

flaccid (adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves

SAT Vocabulary
become droopy and flaccid.)

flagrant (adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge’s decision to set the man free simply
because that man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of power.)

florid (adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer’s florid prose belongs on a sentimental
Hallmark card.)

flout (v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted the school’s dress code by wearing a
tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

foil (v.) to thwart, frustrate, defeat (Inspector Wilkens foiled the thieves by locking them
in the bank along with their stolen money.)

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forage (v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged
for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

forbearance (n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great forbearance in
calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

forestall (v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking
plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

forlorn (adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family
decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and
forlorn.)

forsake (v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year’s resolution is to forsake smoking and
drinking.)

fortitude (n.) strength, guts (Achilles’ fortitude in battle is legendary.)

fortuitous (adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for
Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him
at the post office.)

forum (n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good
forum for political debate.)

foster (v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To foster good health in the city, the mayor
started a “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)

fractious (adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his
fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over
the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)
SAT Vocabulary

fraught (adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his
direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained
unclear.)

frenetic (adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the
frenetic pace of city life slows to a lull.)

frivolous (adj.) of little importance, trifling (Someday, all that anxiety about whether
your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

frugal (adj.) thrifty, economical (Richard is so frugal that his diet consists almost
exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the
store.)

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furtive (adj.) secretive, sly (Jane’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as
furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

G
garish (adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in
her house with a garish gold lamé.)

garrulous (adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their
guests can’t get a word in edgewise.)

genial (adj.) friendly, affable (Although he’s been known to behave like a real jerk, I
would say that my brother is an overall genial guy.)

gluttony (n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Ada’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I
don’t know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

goad (v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may think he’s not going to fight Billy, but
Billy will goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)

gourmand (n.) someone fond of eating and drinking (My parents, who used to eat little
more than crackers and salad, have become real gourmands in their old age.)

grandiloquence (n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her grandiloquence
would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)

grandiose (adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated scale (Margaret planned a grandiose

party, replete with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.)

gratuitous (adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every morning the guy at the donut shop
gives me a gratuitous helping of ketchup packets.)

SAT Vocabulary
gregarious (adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you’re not
gregarious, I don’t know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

grievous (adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate
without being sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous mistake.)

guile (n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because of his great guile, the politician was
able to survive scandal after scandal.)

H
hackneyed (adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear “I love you” so many times
before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.)

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 H

hallowed (adj.) revered, consecrated (In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the
disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

hapless (adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go
on vacation.)

harangue 1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher’s harangue about
gum chewing in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher
harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing
gum.)

hardy (adj.) robust, capable of surviving through adverse conditions (I too would have
expected the plants to be dead by mid-November, but apparently they’re very
hardy.)

harrowing (adj.) greatly distressing, vexing (The car crash was a harrowing experience,
but I have a feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums will be even more
upsetting.)

haughty (adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of her costars will
backfire on her someday.)

hedonist (n.) one who believes pleasure should be the primary pursuit of humans
(Because he’s such a hedonist, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11 cases of wine
I bought him for his birthday.)

hegemony (n.) domination over others (Britain’s hegemony over its colonies was
threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)

heinous (adj.) shockingly wicked, repugnant (The killings were made all the more
heinous by the fact that the murderer first tortured his victims for three days.)
SAT Vocabulary

heterogeneous (adj.) varied, diverse in character (I hate having only one flavor so I
always buy the swirled, or should I say heterogeneous, type of ice cream.)

hiatus (n.) a break or gap in duration or continuity (The hiatus in service should last
two or three months—until the cable lines are repaired .)

hierarchy (n.) a system with ranked groups, usually according to social, economic, or
professional class (Women found it very difficult to break into the upper ranks of the
department’s hierarchy.)

hypocrisy (n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician began
passing legislation that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became
apparent.)

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 I

hypothetical (adj.) supposed or assumed true, but unproven (Even though it has been
celebrated by seven major newspapers, that the drug will be a success when tested in
humans is still hypothetical.)

I
iconoclast (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest
after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a
progressive agenda.)

idiosyncratic (adj.) peculiar to one person; highly individualized (I know you had
trouble with the last test, but because your mistakes were highly idiosyncratic, I’m
going to deny your request that the class be given a new test.)

idolatrous (adj.) excessively worshipping one object or person (Xena’s idolatrous

fawning over the band—following them on tour, starting their fan club, filming
their documentary—is really beginning to get on my nerves.)

ignominious (adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was really ignominious to be kicked out of
the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.)

illicit (adj.) forbidden, not permitted (The fourth-grader learned many illicit words
from a pamphlet that was being passed around school.)

immerse (v.) to absorb, deeply involve, engross (After breaking up with her boyfriend,
Nancy decided to immerse herself in her work in order to avoid crying.)

immutable (adj.) not changeable (The laws of physics are immutable and constant.)

impassive (adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being so impassive; it’s healthy
to cry every now and then.)

SAT Vocabulary
impeccable (adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your sister’s,
then you too would receive a car for a graduation present.)

impecunious (adj.) poor (“I fear he’s too impecunious to take me out tonight,” the
bratty girl whined.)

imperative 1. (adj.) necessary, pressing (It is imperative that you have these folders
organized by midday.) 2. (n.) a rule, command, or order (Her imperative to have
the folders organized by midday was perceived as ridiculous by the others.)

imperious (adj.) commanding, domineering (The imperious nature of your manner led
me to dislike you at once.)

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impertinent (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t
wish to dignify them with an answer.)

impervious (adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected (Because of their thick layer
of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.)

impetuous (adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda’s hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous,
thoughtless action.)

impinge 1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression (The hail impinged the roof,
leaving large dents.) 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I apologize for impinging upon
you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)

implacable (adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun
Grandma’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)

implement 1. (n.) an instrument, utensil, tool (Do you have a knife or some other sort of
implement that I could use to pry the lid off of this jar?) 2. (v.) to put into effect, to
institute (After the first town curfew failed to stop the graffiti problem, the mayor
implemented a new policy to use security cameras to catch perpetrators in the act.)

implicate (v.) to involve in an incriminating way, incriminate (Even though Tom wasn’t
present at the time of the shooting, he was implicated by the evidence suggesting that
he had supplied the shooters with guns.)

implicit (adj.) understood but not outwardly obvious, implied (I know Professor Smith
didn’t actually say not to write from personal experience, but I think such a message
was implicit in her instruction to use scholarly sources.)

impregnable (adj.) resistant to capture or penetration (Though the invaders used

battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved impregnable and
SAT Vocabulary

resisted all attacks.)

impudent (adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young man looked
the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn’t asked
him.)

impute (v.) to ascribe, blame (The CEO imputed the many typos in the letter to his lazy
secretary.)

inane (adj.) silly and meaningless (Some films are so inane that the psychology of the
characters makes absolutely no sense.)

inarticulate (adj.) incapable of expressing oneself clearly through speech (Though he

spoke for over an hour, the lecturer was completely inarticulate and the students had
no idea what he was talking about.)

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incarnate 1. (adj.) existing in the flesh, embodied (In the church pageant, I play the role
of greed incarnate.) 2. (v.) to give human form to (The alien evaded detection by
incarnating himself in a human form.)

incendiary 1. (n.) a person who agitates (If we catch the incendiary who screamed
“bomb” in the middle of the soccer match, we’re going to put him in jail.) 2. (adj.)
inflammatory, causing combustion (Gas and lighter fluid are incendiary materials
that should be kept out of hot storage areas.)

incessant (adj.) unending (We wanted to go outside and play, but the incessant rain kept
us indoors for two days.)

inchoate (adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage (The country’s government

is still inchoate and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable.)

incisive (adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasn’t going anywhere until her
incisive comment allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)

inclination (n.) a tendency, propensity (Sarah has an inclination to see every foreign film
she hears about, even when she’s sure that she won’t like it.)

incontrovertible (adj.) indisputable (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the
incontrovertible laws of physics.)

incorrigible (adj.) incapable of correction, delinquent (You can buy Grandma nicotine
gum all you want, but I think that after sixty-five years of smoking she’s
incorrigible.)

increment (n.) an enlargement; the process of increasing(The workmen made the wall
longer, increment by increment.)

incumbent 1. (n.) one who holds an office (The incumbent senator is already serving his

SAT Vocabulary
fifth term.) 2. (adj.) obligatory (It is incumbent upon this organization to offer aid to
all who seek it.)

indefatigable (adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the
indefatigable runner kept on moving.)

indigenous (adj.) originating in a region (Some fear that these plants, which are not
indigenous to the region, may choke out the vegetation that is native to the area.)

indigent (adj.) very poor, impoverished (I would rather donate money to help the
indigent population than to the park sculpture fund.)

indignation (n.) anger sparked by something unjust or unfair (I resigned from the
sorority because of my indignation at its hazing of new members.)

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indolent (adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who can’t even pick themselves
up off the couch to pour their own juice, be rewarded with a trip to the mall?)

indomitable (adj.) not capable of being conquered (To be honest, Jim, my indomitable
nature means I could never take orders from anyone, and especially not from a jerk
like you.)

induce (v.) to bring about, stimulate (Who knew that our decision to boycott school
lunch would induce a huge riot?)

ineffable (adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words (It is said
that the experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable and can only be understood
through direct encounter.)

inept (adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified (She proved how inept she was when
she forgot three orders and spilled a beer in a customer’s lap.)

inexorable (adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated (Although I begged for

hours, Mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.)

inextricable (adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled (Unless I look at the solution

manual, I have no way of solving this inextricable problem.)

infamy (n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute (The infamy of his crime will not lessen as the
decades pass.)

infusion (n.) an injection of one substance into another; the permeation of one
substance by another (The infusion of Eastern religion into Western philosophy
created interesting new schools of thought.)

ingenious (adj.) clever, resourceful (Her ingenious use of walnuts instead of the peanuts
called for by the recipe was lauded by the other garden club members who found her
SAT Vocabulary

cake delicious.)

ingenuous (adj.) not devious; innocent and candid (He must have writers, but his
speeches seem so ingenuous it’s hard to believe he’s not speaking from his own heart.)

inhibit (v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car last night, I
certainly never meant to inhibit you from going out.)

inimical (adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don’t see how I could ever work for a company that
was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.)

iniquity (n.) wickedness or sin (“Your iniquity,” said the priest to the practical jokester,
“will be forgiven.”)

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injunction (n.) an order of official warning (After his house was toilet-papered for the
fifth time, the mayor issued an injunction against anyone younger than 21 buying
toilet paper.)

innate (adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His incredible athletic talent is innate, he never
trains, lifts weights, or practices.)

innocuous (adj.) harmless, inoffensive (In spite of their innocuous appearance, these
mushrooms are actually quite poisonous.)

innovate (v.) to do something in an unprecedented way (Because of the stiff

competition, the company knew it needed to pour a lot of energy into innovating
new and better products.)

innuendo (n.) an insinuation (During the debate, the politician made several innuendos
about the sexual activities of his opponent.)

inoculate (v.) to introduce a microorganism, serum, or vaccine into an organism in

order to increase immunity to illness; to vaccinate (I’ve feared needles ever since I
was inoculated against 37 diseases at age one; but I have also never been sick.)

inquisitor (n.) one who inquires, especially in a hostile manner (The inquisitor was
instructed to knock on every door in town in order to find the fugitive.)

insatiable (adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My insatiable appetite for melons can be a
real problem in the winter.)

insidious (adj.) appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive (Lisa’s insidious

chocolate cake tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!)

insinuate (v.) to suggest indirectly or subtly (I wish Luke and Spencer would stop
insinuating that my perfect report card is the result of anything other than my

SAT Vocabulary
superior intelligence and good work habits.)

insipid (adj.) dull, boring (The play was so insipid, I fell asleep halfway through.)

insolent (adj.) rude, arrogant, overbearing (That celebrity is so insolent, making fun of
his fans right to their faces.)

instigate (v.) to urge, goad (The demagogue instigated the crowd into a fury by telling
them that they had been cheated by the federal government.)

insular (adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the
sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work for the CIA must remain insular and
generally only spend time with each other.)

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insurgent (n.) one who rebels (The insurgent snuck into and defaced a different
classroom each night until the administration agreed to meet his demands.)

integral (adj.) necessary for completeness (Without the integral ingredient of flour, you
wouldn’t be able to make bread.)

interject (v.) to insert between other things (During our conversation, the cab driver
occasionally interjected his opinion.)

interlocutor (n.) someone who participates in a dialogue or conversation (When the

officials could not come to an agreement over the correct cover of the flags, the prime
minister acted as an interlocutor.)

interminable (adj.) without possibility of end (The fact that biology lectures came just
before lunch made them seem interminable.)

intimation (n.) an indirect suggestion (Mr. Brinford’s intimation that he would soon pass
away occurred when he began to discuss how to distribute his belongings among his
children.)

intractable (adj.) difficult to manipulate, unmanageable (There was no end in sight to

the intractable conflict between the warring countries.)

intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion (The

intransigent child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would bang his
head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.)

intrepid (adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its
eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)

inundate (v.) to flood with abundance (Because I am the star of a new sitcom, my fans
are sure to inundate me with fan mail and praise.)
SAT Vocabulary

inure (v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation (Twenty

years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.)

invective (n.) an angry verbal attack (My mother’s irrational invective against the way I
dress only made me decide to dye my hair green.)

inveterate (adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I’m the first to admit that I’m an
inveterate coffee drinker—I drink four cups a day.)

inviolable (adj.) secure from assault (Nobody was ever able to break into Batman’s
inviolable Batcave.)

irascible (adj.) easily angered (At the smallest provocation, my irascible cat will begin
scratching and clawing.)

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iridescent (adj.) showing rainbow colors (The bride’s large diamond ring was
iridescent in the afternoon sun.)

irreverence (n.) disrespect (The irreverence displayed by the band that marched
through the chapel disturbed many churchgoers.)

irrevocable (adj.) incapable of being taken back (The Bill of Rights is an irrevocable
part of American law.)

J
jubilant (adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter
carried the woman from the flaming building.)

judicious (adj.) having or exercising sound judgment (When the judicious king decided
to compromise rather than send his army to its certain death, he was applauded.)

juxtaposition (n.) the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit
comparison (The interior designer admired my juxtaposition of the yellow couch
and green table.)

K
knell (n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing throughout our
village, the funeral knell made the stormy day even more grim.)

kudos (n.) praise for an achievement (After the performance, the reviewers gave the
opera singer kudos for a job well done.)

SAT Vocabulary
laceration (n.) a cut, tear (Because he fell off his bike into a rosebush, the paperboy’s skin
was covered with lacerations.)

laconic (adj.) terse in speech or writing (The author’s laconic style has won him many
followers who dislike wordiness.)

languid (adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness (In the summer months, the great heat
makes people languid and lazy.)

larceny (n.) obtaining another’s property by theft or trickery (When my car was not
where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.)

largess (n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts (My boss demonstrated great largess by
giving me a new car.)

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 L

latent (adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed (Sigmund’s dream represented his
latent paranoid obsession with other people’s shoes.)

laudatory (adj.) expressing admiration or praise (Such laudatory comments are unusual
from someone who is usually so reserved in his opinions.)

lavish 1. (adj.) given without limits (Because they had worked very hard, the
performers appreciated the critic’s lavish praise.) 2. (v.) to give without limits
(Because the performers had worked hard, they deserved the praise that the critic
lavished on them.)

legerdemain (n.) deception, slight-of-hand (Smuggling the French plants through

customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of legerdemain.)

lenient (adj.) demonstrating tolerance or gentleness (Because Professor Oglethorpe

allowed his students to choose their final grades, the other teachers believed that he
was excessively lenient.)

lethargic (adj.) in a state of sluggishness or apathy (When Jean Claude explained to his
boss that he was lethargic and didn’t feel like working that day, the boss fired him.)

liability 1. (n.) something for which one is legally responsible, usually involving a
disadvantage or risk (The bungee-jumping tower was a great liability for the
owners of the carnival.) 2. (n.) a handicap, burden (Because she often lost her
concentration and didn’t play defense, Marcy was a liability to the team.)

libertarian (adj.) advocating principles of liberty and free will (The dissatisfied subjects
overthrew the monarch and replaced him with a libertarian ruler who respected
their democratic principles.)

licentious (adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints (Marilee has always been
SAT Vocabulary

fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians.)

limpid (adj.) clear, transparent (Mr. Johnson’s limpid writing style greatly pleased
readers who disliked complicated novels.)

linchpin (n.) something that holds separate parts together (The linchpin in the
prosecution’s case was the hair from the defendant’s head, which was found at the
scene of the crime.)

lithe (adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Jae
Sun’s control of her lithe body was particularly impressive.)

litigant (n.) someone engaged in a lawsuit (When the litigants began screaming at each
other, Judge Koch ordered them to be silent.)

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lucid (adj.) clear, easily understandable (Because Guenevere’s essay was so lucid, I only
had to read it once to understand her reasoning.)

luminous (adj.) brightly shining (The light of the luminous moon graced the shoulders
of the beautiful maiden.)

lurid (adj.) ghastly, sensational (Gideon’s story, in which he described a character

torturing his sister’s dolls, was judged too lurid to be printed in the school’s literary
magazine.)

M
maelstrom (n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the
explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious
maelstrom would catch their boat.)

magnanimous (adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her
dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.)

malediction (n.) a curse (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed maledictions
against the policeman and the entire police department.)

malevolent (adj.) wanting harm to befall others (The malevolent old man sat in the park
all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.)

malleable (adj.) capable of being shaped or transformed (Maximillian’s political

opinions were so malleable that anyone he talked to was able to change his mind
instantly.)

mandate (n.) an authoritative command (In the Old Testament, God mandates that no
one should steal.)

SAT Vocabulary
manifest 1. (adj.) easily understandable, obvious (When I wrote the wrong sum on the
chalkboard, my mistake was so manifest that the entire class burst into laughter.) 2.
(v.) to show plainly (His illness first manifested itself with particularly violent
hiccups.)

manifold (adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of Dante’s Inferno is partly due to the
fact that the work allows for manifold interpretations.)

maudlin (adj.) weakly sentimental (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I
usually find them maudlin and shallow.)

maverick (n.) an independent, nonconformist person (Andreas is a real maverick and

always does things his own way.)

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mawkish (adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality (Although some nineteenth-

century critics viewed Dickens’s writing as mawkish, contemporary readers have
found great emotional depth in his works.)

maxim (n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Miss Manners’s

etiquette maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)

meager (adj.) deficient in size or quality (My meager portion of food did nothing to
satisfy my appetite.)

medley (n.) a mixture of differing things (Susannah’s wardrobe contained an

astonishing medley of colors, from olive green to fluorescent pink.)

mendacious (adj.) having a lying, false character (The mendacious content of the tabloid
magazines is at least entertaining.)

mercurial (adj.) characterized by rapid change or temperamentality (Though he was

widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the mercurial genius was impossible to
live with.)

meritorious (adj.) worthy of esteem or reward (Manfred was given the congressional
medal of honor for his meritorious actions.)

metamorphosis (n.) the change of form, shape, substance (Winnifred went to the gym
every day for a year and underwent a metamorphosis from a waiflike girl to an
athletic woman.)

meticulous (adj.) extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in the bride’s
gown was a product of meticulous handiwork.)

mitigate (v.) to make less violent, alleviate (When I had an awful sore throat, only
warm tea would mitigate the pain.)
SAT Vocabulary

moderate 1. (adj.) not extreme (Luckily, the restaurant we chose had moderate prices;
none of us have any money.) 2. (n.) one who expresses moderate opinions (Because
he found both the liberal and conservative proposals too excessive, Mr. Park sided
with the moderates.)

modicum (n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a modicum of

sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss’s affair in front of the entire office.)

modulate (v.) to pass from one state to another, especially in music (The composer
wrote a piece that modulated between minor and major keys.)

mollify (v.) to soften in temper (The police officer mollified the angry woman by giving
her a warning instead of a ticket.)

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 N

morass (n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses (When
Theresa lost her job, she could not get out of her financial morass.)

mores (n.) the moral attitudes and fixed customs of a group of people. (Mores change
over time; many things that were tolerated in 1975 are no longer seen as being
socially acceptable.)

morose (adj.) gloomy or sullen (Jason’s morose nature made him very unpleasant to
talk to.)

multifarious (adj.) having great diversity or variety (This Swiss Army knife has
multifarious functions and capabilities. Among other things, it can act as a knife, a
saw, a toothpick, and a slingshot.)

mundane (adj.) concerned with the world rather than with heaven, commonplace (He
is more concerned with the mundane issues of day-to-day life than with spiritual
topics.)

munificence (n.) generosity in giving (The royal family’s munificence made everyone
else in their country rich.)

mutable (adj.) able to change (Because fashion is so mutable, what is trendy today will
look outdated in five years.)

myriad (adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do
Friday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.)

N
nadir (n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the nadir came when
I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)

SAT Vocabulary
nascent (adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence (Unfortunately,
my brilliant paper was only in its nascent form on the morning that it was due.)

nebulous (adj.) vaguely defined, cloudy (The transition between governments meant
that who was actually in charge was a nebulous matter.)

nefarious (adj.) heinously villainous (Although Dr. Meanman’s nefarious plot to melt
the polar icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that nobody really worried
about it.)

negligent (adj.) habitually careless, neglectful (Jessie’s grandfather called me a

negligent fool after I left the door to his apartment unlocked even though there had
been a recent string of robberies.)

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neophyte (n.) someone who is young or inexperienced (As a neophyte in the literary
world, Malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first novel.)

nocturnal (adj.) relating to or occurring during the night (Jackie was a nocturnal
person; she would study until dawn and sleep until the evening.)

noisome (adj.) unpleasant, offensive, especially to the sense of smell (Nobody would
enter the stalls until the horse’s noisome leavings were
taken away.)

nomadic (adj.) wandering from place to place (In the first six months after college, Jose
led a nomadic life, living in New York, California, and Idaho.)

nominal (adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following week and
needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed money, Jordan sold
everything for a nominal fee.)

nonchalant (adj.) having a lack of concern, indifference (Although deep down she was
very angry, Marsha acted in a nonchalant manner when she found out that her best
friend had used her clothing without asking.)

nondescript (adj.) lacking a distinctive character (I was surprised when I saw the movie
star in person because she looked nondescript.)

notorious (adj.) widely and unfavorably known (Jacob was notorious for always
arriving late at parties.)

novice (n.) a beginner, someone without training or experience (Because we were all
novices at yoga, our instructor decided to begin with the basics.)

noxious (adj.) harmful, unwholesome (Environmentalists showed that the noxious

weeds were destroying the insects’ natural habitats.)
SAT Vocabulary

nuance (n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances of the poem
were not obvious to the casual reader, but the professor was able to point them out.)

nurture (v.) to assist the development of (Although Serena had never watered the plant,
which was about to die, Javier was able to nurture it back to life.)

O
obdurate (adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral influences (The obdurate old man
refused to take pity on the kittens.)

obfuscate (v.) to render incomprehensible (The detective did want to answer the
newspaperman’s questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)

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oblique (adj.) diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward (Martin’s
oblique language confused those who listened to him.)

oblivious (adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the

burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in
the oven were burned until much too late.)

obscure (adj.) unclear, partially hidden (Because he was standing in the shadows, his
features were obscure.)

obsequious (adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Mark acted like Janet’s servant,
obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.)

obsolete (adj.) no longer used, out of date (With the inventions of tape decks and CDs,
which both have better sound and are easier to use, eight-track players are now
entirely obsolete.)

obstinate (adj.) not yielding easily, stubborn (The obstinate child refused to leave the
store until his mother bought him a candy bar.)

obstreperous (adj.) noisy, unruly (Billy’s obstreperous behavior prompted the librarian
to ask him to leave the reading room.)

obtuse (adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political opponents warned

that the prime minister’s obtuse approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation
in mindless war.)

odious (adj.) instilling hatred or intense displeasure (Mark was assigned the odious task
of cleaning the cat’s litter box.)

officious (adj.) offering one’s services when they are neither wanted nor needed
(Brenda resented Allan’s officious behavior when he selected colors that might best

SAT Vocabulary
improve her artwork.)

ominous (adj.) foreboding or foreshadowing evil (The fortuneteller’s ominous words

flashed through my mind as the hooded figure approached me in the alley.)

onerous (adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented that the pleasures of living in a
beautiful country estate no longer outweighed the onerous mortgage payments.)

opulent (adj.) characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation (The opulent

furnishings of the dictator’s private compound contrasted harshly with the meager
accommodations of her subjects.)

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 P

oration (n.) a speech delivered in a formal or ceremonious manner (The prime minister
was visibly shaken when the unruly parliament interrupted his oration about failed
domestic policies.)

ornate (adj.) highly elaborate, excessively decorated (The ornate styling of the new
model of luxury car could not compensate for the poor quality of its motor.)

orthodox (adj.) conventional, conforming to established protocol (The company’s

profits dwindled because the management pursued orthodox business policies that
were incompatible with new industrial trends.)

oscillate (v.) to sway from one side to the other (My uncle oscillated between buying a
station wagon to transport his family and buying a sports car to satisfy his boyhood
fantasies.)

ostensible (adj.) appearing as such, seemingly (Jack’s ostensible reason for driving was
that airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was afraid of flying.)

ostentatious (adj.) excessively showy, glitzy (On the palace tour, the guide focused on
the ostentatious decorations and spoke little of the royal family’s history.)

ostracism (n.) exclusion from a group (Beth risked ostracism if her roommates
discovered her flatulence.)

P
pacific (adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor’s pacific demeanor helped the class
remain calm after the experiment exploded.)

palatable (adj.) agreeable to the taste or sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the
exotic cheese was quite palatable.)
SAT Vocabulary

palette (adj.) a range of colors or qualities (The palette of colors utilized in the painting
was equaled only by the range of intense emotions the piece evoked.)

palliate (v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor trusted that the new medication
would palliate her patient’s discomfort.)

pallid (adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy’s pallid complexion was
due to an unexplained loss of blood.)

panacea (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea
for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

paradigm (n.) an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was
so popular, it became the paradigm upon which all others were modeled.)

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paradox (n.) an apparently contradictory statement that is perhaps true (The diplomat
refused to acknowledge the paradox that negotiating a peace treaty would demand
more resources than waging war.)

paragon (n.) a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was
considered a paragon of female beauty.)

paramount (adj.) greatest in importance, rank, character (It was paramount that the
bomb squad disconnect the blue wire before removing the fuse.)

pariah (n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was
made a pariah in all academic circles.)

parody (n.) a satirical imitation (A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher
returned to find Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.)

parsimony (n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt’s wealth
resulted from her parsimony.)

partisan (n.) a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up
enough partisans to overthrow the monarchy.)

patent (adj.) readily seen or understood, clear (The reason for Jim’s abdominal pain
was made patent after the doctor performed a sonogram.)

pathology (n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the
precise nature of Brian’s pathology.)

pathos (n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the
scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

paucity (adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth century

SAT Vocabulary
literature courses available at the college.)

pejorative (adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening’s headline news covered

an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had
made in reference to a foreign leader.)

pellucid (adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common
man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The
Stranger.)

penchant (n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Jill’s dinner parties quickly became
monotonous on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)

penitent (adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury’s verdict may have been more lenient if
the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)

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penultimate (adj.) next to last (Having smoked the penultimate cigarette remaining in
the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

penurious (adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband’s penurious ways
made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

perfidious (adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government
secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.)

perfunctory (adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster

announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

permeate (v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet
dog’s odor had permeated the furniture’s upholstery.)

pernicious (adj.) extremely destructive or harmful (The new government feared that
the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation’s
stability.)

perplex (v.) to confuse (Brad was perplexed by his girlfriend’s suddenly distant
manner.)

perspicacity (adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to

acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.)

pert (adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave Sandra’s pert humor at the dinner table
because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

pertinacious (adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry’s parents were frustrated with his
pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet
door and were eaten.)
SAT Vocabulary

perusal (n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a
two-month perusal of the movie script.)

pervasive (adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout (Stepping off the plane in
Havana, I recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

petulance (n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer
tolerate the child’s petulance.)

philanthropic (adj.) charitable, giving (Many people felt that the billionaire’s decision to
donate her fortune to house the homeless was the ultimate philanthropic act.)

phlegmatic (adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the
animal’s phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.)

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pillage (v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the
homes scattered along the country’s border.)

pinnacle (n.) the highest point (Book reviewers declared that the author’s
new novel was extraordinary and probably the pinnacle of
Western literature.)

pithy (adj.) concisely meaningful (My father’s long-winded explanation was a stark
contrast to his usually pithy statements.)

pittance (n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that
he was paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

placate (v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man purchased a lollipop to placate his
irritable son.)

placid (adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

platitude (n.) an uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her paper, Helene
concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually
just platitudes.)

plaudits (n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The controversial new film received
plaudits from even the harshest critics.)

plausible (adj.) believable, reasonable (He studied all the data and then came up with a
plausible theory that took all factors into account.)

plenitude (n.) an abundance (My grandmother was overwhelmed by the plenitude of

tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

plethora (n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters

SAT Vocabulary
piled almost three feet high.)

pliable (adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat pliable so they do not
break in heavy turbulence.)

poignant (adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us
the poignant final chapter of the novel.)

polemic (n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother

launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust
economic system.)

portent (n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister’s path while she was walking to
school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

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potable (adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a
supply of potable water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

potentate (n.) one who has great power, a ruler (All the villagers stood along the town’s
main road to observe as the potentate’s procession headed towards
the capital.)

pragmatic (adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures
might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a pragmatic necessity to
ensure everyone’s safety.)

precipice (n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place (The mountain climber
hung from a precipice before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

preclude (v.) to prevent (My grandfather’s large and vicious guard dog precluded
anyone from entering the yard.)

precocious (adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time (Derek was so academically

precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

predilection (n.) a preference or inclination for something (Francois has a predilection

for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any
condiments.)

preponderance (adj.) superiority in importance or quantity (Britain’s preponderance of

naval might secured the nation’s role as a military power.)

prepossessing (adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings
(His prepossessing appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)

presage (n.) an omen (When my uncle’s old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a
presage of bad weather approaching.)
SAT Vocabulary

prescient (adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune

cookie’s prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be
prescient.)

prescribe (v.) to lay down a rule (The duke prescribed that from this point further all of
the peasants living on his lands would have to pay higher taxes.)

presumptuous (adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the
presumptuous noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social
status.)

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pretense (n.)an appearance or action intended to deceive (Though he actually wanted

to use his parents’ car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his parents’ car under the
pretense of attending a group study session.)

primeval (adj.) original, ancient (The first primates to walk on two legs, called
Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.)

privation (n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive

government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent
drought only increased the people’s privation.)

probity (n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no
one was surprised by Mr. Samson’s immoral behavior.)

proclivity (n.) a strong inclination toward something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold’s
childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a
surgeon.)

procure (v.) to obtain, acquire (The FBI was unable to procure sufficient evidence to
charge the gangster with racketeering.)

profane (adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob’s profane act of dumping frogs in the holy water in
the chapel at his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.)

profligate (adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The profligate gambler loved to drink, spend
money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

profuse (adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were profuse in their cheers for the star
basketball player.)

promulgate (v.) to proclaim, make known (The film professor promulgated that both in
terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery’s James Bond was superior

SAT Vocabulary
to Roger Moore’s.)

propagate (v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney’s demise propagated
like wildfire throughout the world.)

propensity (n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous

activities such as bungee jumping.)

propitious (adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that
the weather would not be propitious for sailing.)

propriety (n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent (Erma’s old-fashioned parents
believed that her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a “nice” girl.)

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prosaic (adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather’s prosaic recital of the poem bored the
audience.)

proscribe (v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of
alcohol on weekends.)

protean (adj.)able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel’s protean
talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

prowess (n.) extraordinary ability (The musician had never taken a guitar lesson in his
life, making his prowess with the instrument even more incredible.)

prudence (n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my
father vowed to practice greater prudence in future investments.)

prurient (adj.) eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex (David’s mother

was shocked by the discovery of prurient reading material hidden beneath her son’s
mattress.)

puerile (adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge demanded order after the lawyer’s puerile
attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

pugnacious (adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron’s pugnacious nature led him to start
several barroom brawls each month.)

pulchritude (n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare’s sonnets explore the

pulchritude of a lovely young man.)

punctilious (adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor
extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

pungent (adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—often used to describe smells

SAT Vocabulary

(The pungent odor in the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration during the
test.)

punitive (adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys’ room, the punitive
result is immediate expulsion from school.)

putrid (adj.) rotten, foul (Those rotten eggs smell putrid.)

Q
quagmire (n.) a difficult situation (We’d all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire
characterized by the Vietnam War.)

quaint (adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Hilda was delighted by the quaint bonnets she
saw in Amish country.)

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quandary (n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state (Carlos found himself in a quandary:

should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

quell (v.) to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation (The skilled leader
deftly quelled the rebellion.)

querulous (adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan
becomes querulous.)

quixotic (adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward entertained a quixotic desire to fall in

love at first sight in a laundromat.)

quotidian (adj.) daily (Ambika’s quotidian routines include drinking two cups of coffee
in the morning.)

R
rail (v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed against the injustice of the college’s tenure
policy.)

rancid (adj.) having a terrible taste or smell (Rob was double-dog-dared to eat the
rancid egg salad sandwich.)

rancor (n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see
the rancor in her eyes.)

rapport (n.) mutual understanding and harmony (When Margaret met her paramour,
they felt an instant rapport.)

rash (adj.) hasty, incautious (It’s best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather
than make rash decisions.)

SAT Vocabulary
raucous (adj.) loud, boisterous (Sarah’s neighbors called the cops when her house party
got too raucous.)

raze (v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was razed to make room for the
large chain store.)

rebuke (v.) to scold, criticize (When the cops showed up at Sarah’s party, they rebuked
her for disturbing the peace.)

recalcitrant (adj.) defiant, unapologetic (Even when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl
simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.)

recapitulate (v.) to sum up, repeat (Before the final exam, the teacher recapitulated the
semester’s material.)

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reciprocate (v.) to give in return (When Steve gave Samantha a sweater for Christmas,
she reciprocated by giving him a kiss.)

reclusive (adj.) solitary, shunning society (Reclusive authors such as J.D. Salinger do
not relish media attention and sometimes even enjoy holing up in remote cabins in
the woods.)

reconcile 1. (v.) to return to harmony (The feuding neighbors finally reconciled when
one brought the other a delicious tuna noodle casserole.) 2. (v.) to make consistent
with existing ideas (Alou had to reconcile his skepticism about the existence of aliens
with the fact that he was looking at a flying saucer.)

rectitude (n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The priest’s rectitude gave him the moral
authority to counsel his parishioners.)

redoubtable 1. (adj.) formidable (The fortress looked redoubtable set against a stormy
sky.) 2. (adj.) commanding respect (The audience greeted the redoubtable speaker
with a standing ovation.)

refract (v.) to distort, change (The light was refracted as it passed through the prism.)

refurbish (v.) to restore, clean up (The dingy old chair, after being refurbished,
commanded the handsome price of $200.)

refute (v.) to prove wrong (Maria refuted the president’s argument as she yelled and
gesticulated at the TV.)

regurgitate 1. (v.) to vomit (Feeling sick, Chuck regurgitated his dinner.) 2. (v.) to
throw back exactly (Margaret rushed through the test, regurgitating all of the facts
she’d memorized an hour earlier.)

relegate 1. (v.) to assign to the proper place (At the astrology conference, Simon was
SAT Vocabulary

relegated to the Scorpio room.) 2. (v.) to assign to an inferior place (After spilling a
drink on a customer’s shirt, the waiter found himself relegated to the least lucrative
shift.)

relish (v.) to enjoy (Pete always relished his bedtime snack.)

remedial (adj.) intended to repair gaps in students’ basic knowledge (After his teacher
discovered he couldn’t read, Alex was forced to enroll in remedial English.)

remiss (adj.) negligent, failing to take care (The burglar gained entrance because the
security guard, remiss in his duties, forgot to lock the door.)

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renovate 1. (v.) restore, return to original state (The renovated antique candelabra
looked as good as new.) 2. (v.) to enlarge and make prettier, especially a house (After
getting renovated, the house was twice as big and much more attractive.)

renown (n.) honor, acclaim (The young writer earned international renown by winning
the Pulitzer Prize.)

renunciation (n.) to reject (Fiona’s renunciation of red meat resulted in weight loss, but
confused those people who thought she’d been a vegetarian for years.)

repentant (adj.) penitent, sorry (The repentant Dennis apologized profusely for
breaking his mother’s vase.)

replete (adj.) full, abundant (The unedited version was replete with naughty words.)

repose (v.) to rest, lie down (The cat, after eating an entire can of tuna fish, reposed in
the sun and took a long nap.)

reprehensible (adj.) deserving rebuke (Jean’s cruel and reprehensible attempt to dump
her boyfriend on his birthday led to tears and recriminations.)

reprieve (n.) a temporary delay of punishment (Because the governor woke up in a

particularly good mood, he granted hundreds of reprieves to prisoners.)

reproach (v.) to scold, disapprove (Brian reproached the customer for failing to rewind
the video he had rented.)

reprobate (adj.) evil, unprincipled (The reprobate criminal sat sneering in the cell.)

reprove (v.) to scold, rebuke (Lara reproved her son for sticking each and every one of
his fingers into the strawberry pie.)

repudiate (v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Kwame made a strong case for an extension of

SAT Vocabulary
his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few biting words.)

repulse 1. (v.) to disgust (Antisocial Annie tried to repulse people by neglecting to brush
her teeth.) 2. (v.) to push back (With a deft movement of her wrist and a punch to
the stomach, Lacy repulsed Jack’s attempt to kiss her.)

reputable (adj.) of good reputation (After the most reputable critic in the industry gave
the novel a glowing review, sales took off.)

requisition (n.) a demand for goods, usually made by an authority (During the war, the
government made a requisition of supplies.)

rescind (v.) to take back, repeal (The company rescinded its offer of employment after
discovering that Jane’s resume was full of lies.)

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reservoir 1. (n.) reserves, large supply (Igor the Indomitable had quite a reservoir of
strengh and could lift ten tons, even after running 700 miles, jumping over three
mountains, and swimming across an ocean.) 2. (n.) a body of water used for storing
water (After graduation, the more rebellious members of the senior class jumped
into the town reservoir used for drinking water.)

resilient (adj.) able to recover from misfortune; able to withstand adversity (The
resilient ballplayer quickly recovered from his wrist injury.)

resolute (adj.) firm, determined (With a resolute glint in her eye, Catherine announced
that she was set on going to college in New York City even though she was a little
frightened of tall buildings.)

resolve 1. (v.) to find a solution (Sarah and Emma resolved their differences and shook
hands.) 2. (v.) to firmly decide (Lady Macbeth resolved to whip her husband into
shape.)

respite (n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain a brief respite from the smoke and
noise.)

resplendent (adj.) shiny, glowing (The partygoers were resplendent in diamonds and
fancy dress.)

restitution (n.) restoration to the rightful owner (Many people feel that descendants of
slaves should receive restitution for the sufferings of their ancestors.)

restive (adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient (The restive audience pelted the band with
mud and yelled nasty comments.)

retract (v.) withdraw (As the media worked itself into a frenzy, the publicist hurriedly
retracted his client’s sexist statement.)
SAT Vocabulary

revel (v.) to enjoy intensely (Theodore reveled in his new status as Big Man
on Campus.)

revere (v.) to esteem, show deference, venerate (The doctor saved countless lives with
his combination of expertise and kindness and became universally revered.)

revoke (v.) to take back (After missing the curfew set by the court for eight nights in a
row, Marcel’s freedom of movement was revoked.)

rhapsodize (v.) to engage in excessive enthusiasm (The critic rhapsodized about the
movie, calling it an instant classic.)

ribald (adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous (While some giggled at the ribald joke
involving a parson’s daughter, most sighed and rolled their eyes.)

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 S

rife (adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the famous novelist’s writing was rife with
spelling errors.)

ruminate (v.) to contemplate, reflect (Terry liked to ruminate while sitting on the banks
of the river, staring pensively into the water.)

ruse (n.) a trick (Oliver concocted an elaborate ruse for sneaking out of the house to
meet his girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother the impression that he
was asleep in bed.)

S
saccharine (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom’s saccharine manner, although intended to
make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

sacrosanct (adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized (In the United States,
the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

sagacity (n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective (With remarkable sagacity, the wise
old man predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship him off to a nursing
home.)

salient (adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences between Alison
and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

salutation (n.) a greeting (Andrew regularly began letters with the bizarre salutation
“Ahoy ahoy.”)

salve (n.) a soothing balm (After Tony applied a salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he
soon felt a little better.)

sanctimonious (adj.) giving a hypocritical appearance of piety (The sanctimonious

SAT Vocabulary
Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would
listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)

sanguine (adj.) optimistic, cheery (Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile
and the chirpy cry, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”)

satiate (v.) to satisfy excessively (Satiated after eating far too much turkey and stuffing,
Liza lay on the couch watching football and suffering from
stomach pains.)

scathing (adj.) sharp, critical, hurtful (Two hours after breaking up with Russell,
Suzanne thought of the perfect scathing retort to his accusations.)

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 S

scintillating (adj.) sparkling (The ice skater’s scintillating rhinestone costume nearly
blinded the judges.)

scrupulous (adj.) painstaking, careful (With scrupulous care, Sam cut a snowflake out of
white paper.)

scurrilous (adj.) vulgar, coarse (When Bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being
made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to
everyone.)

sedentary (adj.) sitting, settled (The sedentary cat did little but loll in the sun.)

semaphore (n.) a visual signal (Anne and Diana communicated with a semaphore
involving candles and window shades.)

seminal (adj.) original, important, creating a field (Stephen Greenblatt’s essays on

Shakespeare proved to be seminal, because they initiated the critical school of New
Historicism.)

sensual (adj.) involving sensory gratification, usually related to sex (With a coy smile,
the guest on the blind-date show announced that he considered himself a very
sensual person.)

sensuous (adj.) involving sensory gratification (Paul found drinking Coke, with all the
little bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very sensuous experience.)

serendipity (n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an amazing bit
of serendipity, penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway station.)

serene (adj.) calm, untroubled (Louise stood in front of the Mona Lisa, puzzling over
the famous woman’s serene smile.)
SAT Vocabulary

servile (adj.) subservient (The servile porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and
quaking before the guests.)

sinuous (adj.) lithe, serpentine (With the sinuous movements of her arms, the dancer
mimicked the motion of a snake.)

sobriety (n.) sedate, calm (Jason believed that maintaining his sobriety in times of crisis
was the key to success in life.)

solicitous (adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus,
enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra
blankets.)

solipsistic (adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists (Colette’s solipsistic attitude
completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.)

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soluble (adj.) able to dissolve (The plot of the spy film revolved around an untraceable
and water-soluble poison.)

solvent 1. (n.) a substance that can dissolve other substances (Water is sometimes called
the universal solvent because almost all other substances can dissolve into it.) 2.
(adj.) able to pay debts (Upon receiving an unexpected check from her aunt,
Annabelle found herself suddenly solvent.)

somnolent (adj.) sleepy, drowsy (The somnolent student kept falling asleep and waking
up with a jerk.)

sophomoric (adj.) immature, uninformed (The mature senior rolled her eyes at the
sophomoric gross-out humor of the underclassman.)

sovereign (adj.) having absolute authority in a certain realm (The sovereign queen,
with steely resolve, ordered that the traitorous nobleman be killed.)

speculative (adj.) not based in fact (Sadly, Tessa was convicted on merely speculative
evidence.)

spurious (adj.) false but designed to seem plausible (Using a spurious argument, John
convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.)

stagnate (v.) to become or remain inactive, not develop, not flow (With no room for
advancement, the waiter’s career stagnated.)

staid (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never changed his
expression no matter what happened.)

stingy (adj.) not generous, not inclined to spend or give (Scrooge’s stingy habits did not
fit with the generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)

SAT Vocabulary
stoic (adj.) unaffected by passion or feeling (Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus
required that she be stoic and put off her many suitors.)

stolid (adj.) expressing little sensibility, unemotional (Charles’s stolid reaction to his
wife’s funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.)

strenuous (adj.) requiring tremendous energy or stamina (Running a marathon is quite

a strenuous task. So is watching an entire Star Trek marathon.)

strident (adj.) harsh, loud (A strident man, Captain Von Trapp yelled at his daughter
and made her cry.)

stupefy (v.) to astonish, make insensible (Veronica’s audacity and ungratefulness

stupefied her best friend, Heather.)

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subjugate (v.) to bring under control, subdue (The invading force captured and
subjugated the natives of that place.)

sublime (adj.) lofty, grand, exalted (The homeless man sadly pondered his former
wealth and once sublime existence.)

submissive (adj.) easily yielding to authority (In some cultures, wives are supposed to
be submissive and support their husbands in all matters.)

succinct (adj.) marked by compact precision (The governor’s succinct speech energized
the crowd while the mayor’s rambled on and on.)

superfluous (adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Tracy had already won the campaign so
her constant flattery of others was superfluous.)

surfeit (n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence (After partaking of the surfeit of

tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt
rather sick.)

surmise (v.) to infer with little evidence (After speaking to only one of the students, the
teacher was able to surmise what had caused the fight.)

surreptitious (adj.) stealthy (The surreptitious CIA agents were able to get in and out of
the house without anyone noticing.)

surrogate (n.) one acting in place of another (The surrogate carried the child to term for
its biological parents.)

swarthy (adj.) of dark color or complexion (When he got drunk, Robinson’s white skin
became rather swarthy.)

sycophant (n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the
SAT Vocabulary

president’s closest advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)

T
tacit (adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents’ refusal to talk as a tacit
acceptance of my request.)

taciturn (adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Jane never seems to stop talking, her brother
is quite taciturn.)

tangential (adj.) incidental, peripheral, divergent (I tried to discuss my salary, but the
boss kept veering off into tangential topics.)

tantamount (adj.) equivalent in value or significance (When it comes to sports, fearing

your opponent is tantamount to losing.)

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tedious (adj.) dull, boring (As time passed and the history professor continued to drone
on and on, the lecture became increasingly tedious.)

temerity (n.) audacity, recklessness (Tom and Huck entered the scary cave armed with
nothing but their own temerity.)

temperance (n.) moderation in action or thought (Maintaining temperance will ensure

that you are able to think rationally and objectively.)

tenable (adj.) able to be defended or maintained (The department heads tore

down the arguments in other people’s theses, but Johari’s work proved to be quite
tenable.)

tenuous (adj.) having little substance or strength (Your argument is very tenuous, since
it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.)

terrestrial (adj.) relating to the land (Elephants are terrestrial animals.)

timorous (adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with the unknown, timorous Tallulah
almost always broke into tears.)

tirade (n.) a long speech marked by harsh or biting language (Every time Jessica was
late, her boyfriend went into a long tirade about punctuality.)

toady (n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors (The other kids referred to the
teacher’s pet as the Tenth Grade Toady.)

tome (n.) a large book (In college, I used to carry around an anatomy book that was the
heaviest tome in my bag.)

torpid (adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion (The torpid whale floated, wallowing
in the water for hours.)

SAT Vocabulary
torrid (adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate (I didn’t want to witness the neighbor’s
torrid affair through the window.)

tortuous (adj.) winding (The scary thing about driving in mountains are the narrow,
tortuous roads.)

tractable (adj.) easily controlled (The horse was so tractable, Myra didn’t even need a
bridle.)

tranquil (adj.) calm (There is a time of night when nothing moves and everything
is tranquil.)

transgress (v.) to violate, go over a limit (The criminal’s actions transgressed morality
and human decency.)

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 U

transient (adj.) passing through briefly; passing into and out of existence (Because
virtually everyone in Palm Beach is a tourist, the population of the town is quite
transient.)

transmute (v.) to change or alter in form (Ancient alchemists believed that it was
possible to transmute lead into gold.)

travesty (n.) a grossly inferior imitation (According to the school newspaper’s merciless
theater critic, Pacific Coast High’s rendition of the musical Oklahoma was a
travesty of the original.)

tremulous (adj.) fearful (I always feel a trifle tremulous when walking through
a graveyard.)

trenchant (adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut (The directions that accompanied my new
cell phone were trenchant and easy to follow.)

trepidation (n.) fear, apprehension (Feeling great trepidation, Anya refused to jump into
the pool because she thought she saw a shark in it.)

trite (adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of himself as being very learned, but
everyone else thought he was trite because his observations about the world were
always the same as David Letterman’s.)

truculent (adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn’t really attract the dangerous
types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

truncate (v.) to shorten by cutting off (After winning the derby, the jockey truncated
the long speech he had planned and thanked only his mom and his horse.)

turgid (adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in style or language (The haughty writer
did not realize how we all really felt about his turgid prose.)
SAT Vocabulary

turpitude (n.) depravity, moral corruption (Sir Marcus’s chivalry often contrasted with
the turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.)

U
ubiquitous (adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United
States has a television. The technology is ubiquitous here.)

umbrage (n.) resentment, offense (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took
umbrage at the insult.)

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 V

uncanny (adj.) of supernatural character or origin (Luka had an uncanny ability to

know exactly what other people were thinking. She also had an uncanny ability to
shoot fireballs from her hands.)

unctuous (adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner (The unctuous

receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she
thought we might give her a big tip.)

undulate (v.) to move in waves (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to
undulate to an increasing degree.)

upbraid (v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to
upbraid her again about missing the rent payment.)

usurp (v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right (The rogue army general
tried to usurp control of the government, but he failed because most of the army
backed the legally elected president.)

utilitarian (adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn’t
hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)

utopia (n.) an imaginary and remote place of perfection (Everyone in the world wants
to live in a utopia, but no one can agree how to go about building one.)

V
vacillate (v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept
vacillating between the distinct options available to us.)

vacuous (adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had
just penned were completely vacuous and tried to add more substance.)

SAT Vocabulary
validate (v.) to confirm, support, corroborate (Yoko’s chemistry lab partner was asleep
during the experiment and could not validate the accuracy of her methods.)

vapid (adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The professor’s comments about the poem were
surprisingly vapid and dull.)

variegated (adj.) diversified, distinctly marked (Each wire in the engineering exam was
variegated by color so that the students could figure out which one was which.)

vehemently (adv.) marked by intense force or emotion (The candidate vehemently

opposed cutting back on Social Security funding.)

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 V

veneer (n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, façade (Thanks to her

Chanel makeup, Shannen was able to maintain a veneer of perfection that hid the
flaws underneath.)

venerable (adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The venerable

Supreme Court justice had made several key rulings in landmark cases throughout
the years.)

venerate (v.) to regard with respect or to honor (The tribute to John Lennon sought to
venerate his music, his words, and his legend.)

veracity (n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was
difficult for Latifah to argue against its veracity.)

verbose (adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It took the verbose teacher two hours to
explain the topic, while it should have taken only fifteen minutes.)

verdant (adj.) green in tint or color (The verdant leaves on the trees made the world
look emerald.)

vestige (n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican
tortilla is a vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

vex (v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for
hours on end.)

vicarious (adj.) experiencing through another (All of my lame friends learned to be

social through vicarious involvement in my amazing experiences.)

vicissitude (n.) event that occurs by chance (The vicissitudes of daily life prevent me
from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.)
SAT Vocabulary

vigilant (adj.) watchful, alert (The guards remained vigilant throughout the night, but
the enemy never launched the expected attack.)

vilify (v.) to lower in importance, defame (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story
written about President Nixon sought to vilify him and criticize his behavior.)

vindicate (v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to set free (The attorney had no chance
of vindicating the defendant with all of the strong evidence presented by the state.)

vindictive (adj.) vengeful (The vindictive madman seeks to exact vengeance for any
insult that he perceives is directed at him, no matter how small.)

virtuoso (n.) one who excels in an art; a highly skilled musical performer (Even though
Lydia has studied piano for many years, she’s only average at it. She’s no virtuoso,
that’s for sure.)

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 W

viscous (adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour
out of the bottle.)

vitriolic (adj.) having a caustic quality (When angry, the woman would spew vitriolic
insults.)

vituperate (v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he
would be vituperated for his unseemly behavior.)

vivacious (adj.) lively, sprightly (The vivacious clown makes all of the children laugh
and giggle with his friendly antics.)

vocation (n.) the work in which someone is employed, profession (After growing tired
of the superficial world of high-fashion, Edwina decided to devote herself to a new
vocation: social work.)

vociferous (adj.) loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his vociferous whining so I’m breaking
up with him.)

W
wallow (v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or remain helpless (My roommate
can’t get over her breakup with her boyfriend and now just wallows in self-pity.)

wane (v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don’t be so afraid of his wrath because his
influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

wanton (adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky’s wanton demeanor often made the
frat guys next door very excited.)

whimsical (adj.) fanciful, full of whims (The whimsical little girl liked to pretend that
she was an elvin princess.)

SAT Vocabulary
wily (adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the strongest of the Thundercats, wily Kit
and Kat were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)

winsome (adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for
Chris’s winsome attitude and childish naivete.)

wistful (adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it
terribly and sat around wistful all day long.)

wizened (adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha’s grandmother, Stephanie, had the
most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

wrath (n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you really want to incur her wrath when
she is known for inflicting the worst punishments legally possible?)

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 Y

Y
yoke (v.) to join, link (We yoked together the logs by tying a string around them.)

Z
zealous (adj.) fervent, filled with eagerness in pursuit of something (If he were any
more zealous about getting his promotion, he’d practically live at the office.)

zenith (n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had
reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of hers.)

zephyr (n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the zephyrs that were blowing and cooling us, our
room would’ve been unbearably hot.)
SAT Vocabulary

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

IBA IT NTHP ORIENTATION

PROGRAM BATCH 2021 (Exercises)
COURSE PACK‐ ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION
DESIGNED AND COMPILED BY: MARIA HASSAN SIDDIQUI , TAZEEN ERUM, ARFA EZAZI

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

EXERCISES

1. The underlined words in each of the given sentences represent any one of the three word class
categories, i.e., nouns, verbs and adjectives. Identify the correct word for each category and note
them down in the appropriate blanks. Some underlined words do not fall under any of the stated
categories. For these sentences, put a cross mark [❌] next to the category.

a. The man spoke with an American accent.

Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
b. I am collecting money for the blind.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
c. Calmness is a quality that helps you deal with difficult situations.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
d. It takes a lot to succeed and get ahead in life.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
e. The black cat ran across the crooked fence.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
f. She ran quickly to the kiosk to get a new picture taken.

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________

g. Natalia’s childish attitude was very off-putting.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
h. In my opinion, lending your ball point pen to someone is the same as losing it.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
i. What a beautiful day!
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________
j. Both of them are strict teachers.
Noun: _______________ Verb: _______________ Adjective: _______________

2. All –ly word are not created equal! Some people see an –ly word and think that it’s an adverb since
many adverbs end in –ly. But –ly endings can also be found on some adjectives. Read each sentence.
Circle the –ly word. Decide whether it is an adverb or an adjective. Write the appropriate term on the
line following the sentence.

Example: No one wanted to live by the smelly landfill. adjective

a. They ran quickly to their seats. _________________

b. The people in their small town were friendly. _________________
c. The boat sailed peacefully down the river. _________________
d. The elderly man could not walk very far. _________________
e. I like curly hair better than straight hair. _________________
f. The soldiers fought bravely against the enemy. _________________
g. That sun was shining brightly in the deep blue sky. _________________
h. The children enjoyed singing the silly songs. _________________
i. They visited their grandparents frequently in the summer. _________________
j. The winter weather was chilly. _________________
(From https://www.k12reader.com/worksheet/adjective-or-adverb/view/)

3. Fill in the blank spaces in the following with the appropriate answer.

The giraffe is the _________________ (adjective) animal in the world. Like other
_________________ (nouns), it has only seven bones in its neck; its height _________________
(verb) accounted for by the extraordinary length of the bones. Because of its long neck,

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

_________________ (article) giraffe looks very clumsy when it spreads out its four legs and bends
down to drink. It never enters deep forests where it can _________________ (adverb) be caught, or
even be strangled by tree branches. It keeps only _________________ (preposition) grassland and
open country and plains. _________________ (pronoun) feeds on leaves and not grass, picking them
with its tongue.
The soft dark eyes of the giraffe gives a giraffe its _________________ (adjective) look.
Indeed, _________________ (article) giraffe in the wild poses no harm to other animals. Instead, it
is hunted by the lion for food and by man for its _________________ (noun) which makes good
leather. The giraffe can run at more than forty-five kilometers per hour, even _________________
(adverb) than a horse.
The giraffe occasionally fights. It does so by swinging its head and horns into its opponent’s
neck. When two giraffes disagree _________________ (preposition) each other,
_________________ (pronoun) will sometimes _________________ (verb) until one of their necks
is broken or dislocated.
(Adapted from Cloze Practice by Jeanette Tan)

4. Some words can represent a variety of word class categories and have different meanings for the
same word. Study each of the word pairs given below, along with their definitions. Use the words in
a sentence of your own.

a. If part means “an amount or section which, when combined with others, makes up the whole of
something”,
Then use part as a noun
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

b. If part means “(of two things) move away from each other.”,
Then use part as a verb
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

c. If empty means “containing nothing; not filled or occupied.”,

Then use empty as an adjective

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

d. If empty means “remove all the contents of (a container).”,

Then use empty as a verb
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

e. If cross means “a mark, object, or figure formed by two short intersecting lines or pieces (+ or
×)”,
Then use cross as a noun
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

f. If cross means “to be annoyed or upset”,

Then use cross as an adjective
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

g. If clear means “easy to perceive, understand, or interpret”,

Then use clear as an adjective
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

h. If clear means “so as to be out of the way of or away from”,

Then use clear as an adverb
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

VOCABULARY
1. One way to infer the meaning of unknown words is to look for other words near it that are similar to,
or describe, the unknown word. Study the passages given below and choose the correct answer from
the multiple choice options. Look for clues in the passage to help you.

 In prolonged space flight, besides the obvious hazards of meteors, rocky debris, and radiation,
astronauts will have to deal with muscle atrophy brought on by weightlessness; therefore, when
they return to Earth, they face a protracted period of weight training to rebuild their strength.
a. What is the most likely meaning of the underlined word debris as it is used in this passage?
i. fragments
ii. decay
iii. bacteria
iv. alien life

b. The underlined word atrophy, as used in the paragraph, most nearly means
i. pain
ii. wasting
iii. weakening
iv. cramping
 Donna’s memo caused much contention around the office last week. She may have meant well,
but her usually caustic tone offended almost everybody. She has become a consistent nuisance at
work, and probably should be fired.

a. Based on the tone of the passage, which of the following words best describes the author’s
attitude toward Donna?
i. Exasperated
ii. Admiring
iii. Patronizing
iv. Isolated

b. The underlined word caustic, as used in this passage, most nearly means
i. Cause and effect
ii. Reoccurring
iii. Biting
iv. Unclear

c. What is the meaning of the underlined word contention as it is used in this passage?
i. Theorizing
ii. Discord
iii. Gossip
iv. calm

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

 You may presume that opting for the “super size” at a fast-food restaurant is a good value.
That may only be true if you narrow the definition of value to mean more for less money.
Consider an alternate view. For a little extra money, you are getting (and consuming) a
huge number of extra fat and calories. You may be able to afford the extra money, but can
you afford the fat?
a. What word means to make a judgment without really thinking about it? ________________
b. Does the word view mean a scene or an opinion? ________________________
c. What word could replace consuming? _____________________________________
d. What word means bear the cost or consequences? ____________________________
e. What consequences might the writer of this passage be warning you of?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________
(Adapted from Reading Comprehension Skills & Strategies‐Level 7
and 501 Reading Comprehension Questions)

2. Study each pair of words given on the right hand side. Then write the words that correctly complete
each sentence in the blanks.

a. While eating, a lion will often _______________ to lick paws: animal feet
its ______________________. pause: brief stop

b. The family lived in a royal ______________ on a large manner: style

______________________. manor: estate

c. Our team is ahead because we ____________ more one: number 1

game than the next team. won: past of win

d. My puppy _____________ shoes, but he always seems choose: pick

to ______________ mine. chews: bites

e. Her ____________ carried her to the finish of the feat: accomplishment

marathon—quite a _____________! feet: plural of foot

f. He had to _________ someone to replace him because hire: employ

he took a ______________ position. higher: above

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

g. I will ____________ the amount of homework if you lesson: instruction

give full attention to the ________________. lessen: make less

h. The _________________, where Congress meets, is capital: a city

located in the nation’s _________________. capitol: a building

i. The ______________ aren’t done yet because I forgot to close: shut

_____________ the door of the dryer. clothes: clothing

(From Reading Comprehension Skills & Strategies‐Level 7 by Saddleback Educational Publishing)

3. Words with multiple meanings can trip you up. Try your hand with the ones below. Read the various
meanings for each word. Write the number of the correct meaning in the blanks.

a. Where does the team stand in the playoffs? #___

stand 1. to place in a b. She couldn’t stand the screeching noise. #___
vertical position 2. to stay in a c. Please stand for the flag salute. #___
specific position or condition;
d. Dad said his decision will stand. #___
rank 3. An opinion 4. to stay
e. What is your stand on the issue? #___
in effect 5. to endure 6. to
undertake or perform duty f. He will stand guard at the outpost. #___

g. The ladder would hold up to 200 pounds. #___

h. Will the weather hold for the weekend? #___
i. The city will hold a meeting about traffic. #___
hold 1. to have or keep in
j. Will you hold this for me for a minute? #___
one’s possession 2. to restrain or
k. The speaker had a hold on the audience. #___ limit 3. to support 4. to contain 5.
l. Does this jar hold 16 ounces? #___ to have in mind, as in an idea 6. to
m. The baggage was placed in the hold. #___ carry on a group action as in a
n. The wall did not hold back the water. #___ meeting 7. to last or remain 8. to
influence 9. part of a ship for
o. The soldiers were able to hold the fort. #___
storing cargo 10. to temporarily
p. We put a hold on our mail during vacation. #___
stop
q. I believe that recycling is important. #___
r. Will the old roof hold in a windstorm? #___
(From Reading Comprehension Skills & Strategies‐Level 7 by Saddleback Educational Publishing)

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

4. One of the most common ways of inferring meaning of unknown words is to look for words in
the passage that provide explanation for the unknown words. Study the sentences given below
very carefully and fill in the blanks with words that you think are the most appropriate.

a. Cal raised it over his head, then slammed it hard against the nail. Cal was using a
________________________________.
b. Cal looked at the menu. “What is available for vegetarians?” he asked the waiter. “I don’t eat
_______________________________.”
c. Cal took his wife and two children to the park for a baseball game. Cal is
________________________________.
d. Cal and his son watched as the player shot the puck into the net. They were watching
_________________________________.
e. Cal drives an 18-wheel big rig up and down the interstate, delivering fresh fruits and
vegetables. Cal is a _________________________________.
f. Mrs. Rowe had three children—Cal, Jess, and Rose. Mrs. Rowe is John’s mother and Rose is
Cal’s _________________________________.
(From Reading Comprehension Skills & Strategies‐Level 7 by Saddleback Educational Publishing)

5. The following passage contains words that that frequently confused with other similar words
and are often used incorrectly. Edit the passage to correct eighteen errors in word use.

(1) More and more women are purchasing handguns, against the advise of law
enforcement officers. (2) Few of these women are criminals or plan to commit crimes. (3)
They no the risks of guns, and they except those risks. (4) They buy weapons primarily
because their tired of feeling like victims. (5) They do not want to contribute too the
violence in are society, but they also realize that women are the victims of violent attacks
far to often. (6) Many women loose they’re lives because they cannot fight off there
attackers. (7) Some women have made a conscience decision to arm themselves for
protection.
(8) But does buying a gun make things worse rather then better? (9) Having a gun in
you’re house makes it three times more likely that someone will be killed there — and that
someone is just as likely to be you or one of your children as a criminal. (10) Most young

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

children cannot tell the difference between a real gun and a toy gun when they fine one.
(11) Every year, their are tragic examples of children who accidentally shoot and even kill
other youngsters while they are playing with guns. (12) A mother who’s children are
injured while playing with her gun will never again think that a gun provides piece of mind.
(13) Reducing the violence in are society may be a better solution.
(From Real Writing with Readings by Susan Anker)

6. When encountering new words, a good strategy is to use what you already know. Is this word
similar to one you are already familiar with? Try this strategy below. Follow the example to see
how.
The prisoner was led out in manacles.
A word like manacles that I already know is manual, which means by hand.
So, manacles probably means eyeglasses handcuffs/chains tentacles/arms

a. She was one of the world’s best known contemporary writers.

A word like contemporary that I already know is temporary,
which means ____________________________________________________________.
So, contemporary probably means disliked famous of modern times

b. The old mariner spoke wisely about the dangers we faced.

A word like mariner that I already know is marine,
which means ____________________________________________________________.
So, mariner probably means sailor miner watchman

c. The electricity was being generated by hydraulic energy.

A word like hydraulic that I already know is hydrant, as in fire hydrant,
which means ____________________________________________________________.
So, hydraulic probably means raised water-powered hydrogen-powered

d. The fire chief said the evidence was definitive.

A word like definitive that I already know is finite,
which means ____________________________________________________________.
So, definitive probably means clearly stated conclusive questionable

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

(From Reading Comprehension Skills & Strategies‐Level 7 by Saddleback Educational Publishing)

ARTICLES
Exercise 1
Choose the correct article: a, an, the or x (no article)

1. Are you coming to _______ party next Saturday?

2. I bought _______ new TV set yesterday.
3. I think _______ man over there is very ill. He can't stand on his feet.
4. I watched _______ video you had sent me.
5. She was wearing _______ ugly dress when she met him.
6. I am crazy about reading _______ history books.
7. She is _______ nice girl.
8. Do you want to go to _______ restaurant where we first met?
9. He is _______ engineer.
10. He thinks that _______ love is what will save us all.

Exercise 2

1. I bought _______ pair of shoes.

2. I saw _______ movie last night.
3. They are staying at _______ hotel.
4. Look at _______ woman over there! She is a famous actress.
5. I do not like _______ basketball.
6. That is _______ girl I told you about.
7. _______ night is quiet. Let's take a walk!
8. _______ price of gas keeps rising.
9. John traveled to _______ Mexico.
10. Juan is _______ Spanish.
11. I read _______ amazing story yesterday.
12. My brother doesn't eat _______ chicken.
13. _______ love is such _______ beautiful thing.
14. I live in _______ apartment. _______ apartment is new.
15. I would like _______ piece of cake.
16. I was in _______ Japanese restaurant. _______ restaurant served good food.

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

17. Sara can play _______ guitar.

Exercise 3

1. There is _______ green English book on the desk.

2. She's reading _______ old comic.
3. They've got _______ idea.
4. He is drinking _______ cup of coffee.
5. The girl is _______ pilot.
6. Leipzig has _______ airport.
7. This is _______ expensive bike.
8. Look! There's _______ bird flying.
9. My father is _______ honest person.
10. My friend likes to be _______ astronaut.

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Exercise 4

1. There was also _______ article about pollution in _______ newspaper.

2. _______ ozone layer will continue to disappear if we don't find way to stop it.
3. _______ world's weather is changing. Pollution is having _______ effect on our climate.
4. Last week _______ oil tanker spilled oil into _______ sea, damaging wildlife.
5. Some professors have signed _______ letter of protest and have sent it to _______
government.
6. If _______ earth was _______ human being, it would be in hospital.

Exercise 5
Complete this true story. Put in a/an or the.
(►A man decided to rob (1)................... bank in the town where he lived. He walked into (2)
bank and handed (3).................. note to one of (4)................... cashiers. (5)…………….. cashier
read (6)…………… .. note, which told her to give (7)...………….. man some money. Afraid that
he might have (8)…………… .. gun, she did as she was told. (9).................. man then walked out
of (10)…………….. building, leaving (11)..................note behind. However, he had no time to
spend (12)……………….money because he was arrested (13)................. same day. He had made
(14)................. mistake. He had written (15)................... note on (16)................... back of
(17)………………. envelope. And on (18) .................. other side of (19)............. envelope was
his name and address. This clue was quite enough for (20).................. detectives on the case.

Exercise 6
Put in the words and use a/an or the if you need to.
The meals we had weren't very good. We had (1)........................................... (breakfast) in the
hotel, and that wasn't too bad. We usually went out for (2)..............................................(lunch)
because (3)............................................(lunch) they served in the hotel was always the same. And
(4)............................................(dinner) we had at the hotel on our first evening was pretty awful,
so we tried a few restaurants. On our last evening we had
(5).............................................(marvellous meal) in a Chinese restaurant. I wish we'd discovered
the place a bit sooner.

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Exercise 7
Complete the conversations. Put in the nouns and decide if you need ‘the’.
Example:
Tom: Did you see the football (football) on television last night?
Melanie: No, I hate football (football). I was watching the news (news) on the other channel.

1. Rachel: Did your family have a dog when you were younger?
Vicky: No, thank goodness. I'm afraid
of…………………………………… (dogs). I didn't like
…………………………(dogs) that were running around in the
park yesterday. I was afraid they were going to attack me.

2. Melanie: You shouldn't drive so much, Mark. You know

that…………………………………… (cars) cause
…………………………(pollution), don't you?
Mark: Yes, but ............………………............ (cars) these days are
cleaner than they used to be. Isn't
it.......................................................(aeroplanes) that are mainly
responsible for..................................................
(pollution) of the atmosphere?
3. Melanie: I've put some bread out in the garden for
…………………………………… (birds).
Tom: You like......................................................(birds), don't you?
Melanie: Yes, I do. I love …………………………………… (wildlife), in
fact. I'd much rather live in the country if I could.
4. Laura: You're always reading books about
………………………………….. (history), aren't you?
Harriet: It was always my favourite subject. Do you know anything about
..............................................(history) of this area?
Laura: No, but if you like looking round .........................................
(museums) and …………………………..(old buildings),
we could find out about it together.

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 PUNCTUATION
Exercise – Test Where You Stand
Correct any errors in punctuation, capitalization, or writing numbers.

1. Go West three blocks and turn right.

2. Yes; sir, I will do it immediately.
3. ‘‘How,’’ I asked ‘‘Can you always be so forgetful’’?
4. The woman, who is standing there, is his ex-wife.
5. Although we have a competent staff; bottlenecks do occur.
6. I did not receive the order; therefore, I will not pay my bill.
7. We offer a variety of drinks, for instance, beer.
8. Is that book your’s?
9. We have much to do, for example, the carpets need vacuuming.
10. Estimates for the work have been forwarded, and a breakdown of costs has been included.
11. Because of his embezzling the company went bankrupt.
12. A proposal that makes harassment of whales illegal has just passed.
13. You may; of course, call us anytime you wish.
14. Paolo hurried to the depot to meet his aunt, and two cousins.
15. Finish your job, it is imperative that you do.
16. Sofia and Aidan’s house was recently painted.
17. ‘‘Stop it!’’ I said, ‘‘Don’t ever do that again.’’
18. I would; therefore like to have an explanation for the missing cash.
19. ‘‘Would you like to accompany me’’? he asked?
20. I have always had a mental block against Math.
21. He is a strong healthy man.
22. To apply for this job you must have previous experience. 23.

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Marge, the woman with blonde hair will be our speaker this evening.
24. He thought quickly, and then answered the question in complete detail.
25. He asked if he could be excused?
26. It is hailing; not raining.
27. We will grant you immunity, if you decide to cooperate with us.
28. You signed the contract, consequently you must provide us with the raw materials.
29. I would like; however, to read the fine print first.
30. You are required to bring the following: Sleeping bag, food, and a sewing kit.
31. The three companie’s computers were stolen.
32. The womens’ department is upstairs and to your left.
33. It hurt it’s paw.
34. One of the lawyer’s left her briefcase.
35. ‘‘What does it take to become a licensed architect,’’ she asked?
36. I can’t remember if her birthday falls on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday next year.
37. I need to locate four states on the map; Arkansas, Ohio, Illinois, and Utah.
38. The email read, ‘‘Hi Camille. I haven’t heard from you in two weeks.’’
39. The veterinarian said, ‘‘Unless its bleeding and doesn’t stop, don’t worry about it.’’
40. In letting go of needing to discuss this with her mother anymore, Wendy declared, ‘‘This is her karma
not mine.’’
41. You must study hard, to get good grades at a major university.
42. 1/4 of the police force voted for a pay raise.
43. Whether Bella has five students or fifteen students, she will give the test.
44. I owe you $15.00, not $16.

Exercise – Commas
Correct the comma errors.

1. I took Angie the one with the freckles to the movie last night.
2. Jeremy, and I, have had our share of arguments.
3. You are I am sure, telling the truth.

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4. She left Albany, New York on January 18 of that year.
5. I need sugar, butter, and eggs, from the grocery store.
6. Please Sasha, come home as soon as you can.
7. Although you may be right I cannot take your word for it.
8. We will grant you immunity if you decide to cooperate with us.
9. I am typing a letter and she is talking on the phone.
10. She finished her work, and then took a long lunch.
11. Mae said ‘‘Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?’’
12. You said that I could go, didn’t you?
13. To apply for this job you must have a Social Security card.
14. He seems to be such a lonely, quiet man doesn’t he?
15. She wore a brightly colored dress.
16. She has a good healthy attitude about her work.

Exercise 2 – Commas
Correct the commas.

1. Girls, who have red hair, are very lucky.

2. He asked where his hat was.
3. They are, one might say, true believers.
4. Cheryl arrived in Denver Colorado, hoping to find a good job.
5. On July 20, 1969 astronauts landed on the moon for the first time.
6. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are three guarantees granted to us by our forefathers.
7. I told you Jesse, never to ask me that question again.
8. I may as well not speak if you refuse to even listen.
9. I am already finished cooking but he has not taken his shower yet.
10. I walked all the way to the bus stop and waited for a bus for over an hour.
11. It is drizzling not pouring.
12. What a delicious, appetizing meal!
13. Dario drove to the airport to meet his wife and children.

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14. Yes I can be ready in five minutes.
15. I will not stop you, if you want to leave.
16. Rosie Hernandez Ph.D. will be our guest speaker.

Exercise – Quotation Marks

Add quotation marks and other punctuation to make sense of the following passage.

Exercise – Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Brackets

Make corrections.
1. He wanted to know when you will be here?
2. ‘‘Well, she said, ‘‘you certainly didn’t waste any time.’’
3. ‘‘Is it almost over?’’ he asked?
4. ‘‘I’ve had it up to here!’’, she screamed.
5. The song asks, ‘‘Would you like to swing on a star’’?
6. Carmen said, ‘‘She said, ‘‘I’ll never leave you.’’
7. She requested (actually she pleaded, that her name be withheld.
8. This contract guarantees that we will 1 deliver the merchandise, 2 pay for all damaged goods, and 3
make you the exclusive carrier of our products.
9. ‘‘May I have a rain check on that lunch’’? I asked.
10. Do you believe the saying, ‘‘It is better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what
you don’t want and get it?’’
11. Bernard said, Waldo asked, ‘‘Who took my pencil sharpener?’’
12. ‘‘May I see your I.D. card,’’ the clerk asked?

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Exercise 2 – Question Marks, Quotation Marks, and Brackets

1. ‘‘Correct me if I am wrong.’’ She said.

2. ‘‘Correct me if I am wrong’’ she said, ‘‘but don’t you usually drive a truck?’’
3. Sandi asked, ‘‘Did Jeri say, ‘I am pregnant?’’’
4. I can have lunch with you tomorrow (Friday.)
5. I hope you are feeling better (I am sick today.)
6. Did he ask? ‘‘Where are my keys’’?
7. Harry needs to know if he can count on you?
8. I smiled (actually I laughed) when I saw the expression on his face.
9. Nicole said with shock in her voice! ‘‘I can’t believe what I just saw.’’
10. It wouldn’t surprise me if he quit his job?
11. I can’t think of what to say?
12. Tessa thinks he said that ‘‘he would go to the movie with her.’’

Exercise – Apostrophes
Add apostrophes where appropriate and remove where incorrect.

1. Her husbands wallet was full of curious, little items.

2. I went to my mother-in-law house for dinner last night.
3. You may not enter Mr. Harris office without his permission.
4. The girls vitality and humor were infectious. [one girl]
5. The womens dresses are on the second floor.
6. Its a shame that had to happen.
7. Its hard to believe that winter is almost here.
8. Her mother and father business went bankrupt.
9. It is his’ word against mine.
10. The actresses costumes looked beautiful on them.
11. Sharon arriving was unexpected.
12. The movie had it’s desired effect.

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Exercise 2 – Apostrophe

1. His 6’s and 8’s looked alike.

2. Where would I find the mens room?
3. Both secretary vacations caused a delay in output.
4. New clients accounts showed an 11 percent increase in sales. (clients is plural)
5. Most children imaginations run wild when told that story.
6. Both son-in-law opinions were considered.
7. Several M.D. agreed that one bacterial strain caused many of the symptoms.
8. These M.D. credentials are excellent.
9. Both brother-in-law jobs required physical labor.

10. Do you mind me looking at the earrings in this jewelry case? 11. You’re right to privacy will not be
abused.
12. It’s beauty is unsurpassed.
Punctuation Exercise
Correct any errors in punctuation, capitalization, or writing numbers.

1. I am asking if you would like to rollerblade together tomorrow?

2. Yes Jean, you were right about that answer.
3. I read in a book, ‘‘If all else fails, succeed; if all else succeeds . . .’’
4. Wherever we go people recognize us.
5. Whenever Cheryl is in town she visits her sister.
6. Isabel enjoys the museum although she cannot afford the entrance fee.
7. It may not be the correct part but I bet that it works.
8. You are my friend, however, I cannot afford to lend you any more money.
9. Paul Simon sang, ‘‘I am a rock, I am an island.’’
10. I asked Ella, ‘‘Did he ask for his ring back’’?

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11. John F. Kennedy, Jr. became a magazine publisher and a pilot before his tragic death.
12. Please contact me if you have any questions.
13. The elections will be held on the first Tuesday of November 2008.
14. The elections, will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, and the polls will be kept open until 8:00
p.m.
15. Carl worried about the hurricane but tried to stay calm and help his family.
16. I favor green and yellow and purple is her first choice.
17. I need to locate four states on the map: namely, Minnesota, Michigan, California, and Nevada.
18. This is the point that Einstein made; You cannot fix a problem with the problem.
19. Our philosophy teacher thinks that Einstein meant that we cannot stop war by waging war.
20. A well made argument was presented for negotiating a peaceful resolution.
21. The argument for negotiating a peaceful resolution was well made.
22. A liberally sprinkled dose of humor was very much appreciated.
23. Our liberal minded clergyman managed to unite the entire congregation.
24. Our clergyman, who united the entire congregation, was liberalminded.
25. Jan asked, ‘‘What did Joe mean when he said, ‘I will see you later?’’’
26. When I noticed that our dog cut it’s paw, I called the veterinarian right away.
27. Just to be sure, I called three more D.V.M.’s offices.
28. ‘‘Your right to be concerned,’’ said one veterinarian. ‘‘I would like to take a look at your dog.’’
29. Even though its 30 miles to the town where that D.V.M.’s office is, I wanted to take the drive.
30. The friendly looking vet examined our dog’s paw and suggested that we have it bandaged.
31. We had pet insurance but still owed $40 in copayment fees.
32. Our dog was a semi-invalid for a couple of days until she chewed off the bandage.
33. I guess she did what any self respecting dog would do by grooming herself.
34. The dog has fully re-covered although I will never be the same.
35. I have learned that it’s better to be pro-active than to have regrets.
36. Wendy thought she knew everything about her mother but found out two years ago that her mother
had been married before.
37. When Wendy asked her mother about this marriage, Ilse (her mother) was hesitant to discuss any
details.
38. She will go to her grave with some secrets said Wendy.

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39. ‘‘Do you understand her need for privacy,’’ Wendy asked her husband?
40. The wealthy became wealthier during the 1990s.
41. The alarm clock went off at 4:00 o’clock.
42. Many people dread the 15 of April.
43. The check was written for $13348.15.
44. The check was written for thirteen thousand three hundred forty eight dollars and fifteen cents.

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PREPOSITIONS

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Exercise 1
Complete the following sentences using appropriate prepositions.

1. Is your brother …………………. home?

a) in
b) at
c) on
2. There is no unity ………………… the leaders.
a) among
b) between
c) within
3. He is a man ………………….. humble origin.
a) of
b) with
c) from
4. The village is 5 miles ………………… the highway.
a) off
b) across
c) of
5. He is …………………. to Mumbai.
a) off
b) out
c) over
6. The boy was beaten ………………… a stick.
a) by
b) with
c) Either could be used here
7. He discussed the problem …………………. his parents.
a) with
b) to
c) for
8. John was punished ……………….. his father.

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a) with
b) for
c) by
9. Can you finish the work ………………….. tomorrow?
a) by
b) in
c) within
10. He has been absent ………………….. last week.
a) since
b) for

Exercise 2
Read each sentence below. Tick the piece of the sentence which contains the preposition.
1. Her best friend lives across the street.
 the street
 friend lives
 Her best friend
 across the street
2. It was a long walk, so he began moving slowly towards the town.
 towards the town
 began moving slowly
 It was a long walk
 so he began
3. The smallest cheerleader stood very high on Sam's shoulders to cheer.
 The smallest cheerleader
 very high
 on Sam's shoulders
 to cheer
4. He cleaned his room by stuffing everything underneath his bed.
 underneath his bed
 his room
 He cleaned
 stuffing everything
5. The sweaty workman leaned his ladder against the house.

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  The sweaty workman
 leaned his ladder
 the house
 against the house
6. We often go fishing along the river bank.
 river bank
 along the river bank
 go fishing
 often
7. Jessica sat and watched the sun rise over the distant hills.
 the sun rise
 sat and watched
 Jessica sat
 over the distant hills

Exercise 3
Choose from the following prepositions at, between, below, by, in, on and complete the
sentences and questions.

1. My mum studied _________ a university.

2. There is a spider _________ the corner of my room.
3. Death Valley is 56 metres _________ sea level.
4. The train to London stopped _________ the station.
5. Emily sits _________ Susan and Greg.
6. There was an accident _________ the crossroads.
7. Congratulations _________ your new job!
8. Would you buy a coffee _________ credit card?
9. What is behind the rise _________ Wall Street?
10. This flight goes to Washington DC _________ Charlotte.

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Exercise 4
Write the correct prepositions into the gaps.

1. She was born _______ 2004.

2. They are waiting _______ the bus.
3. Don't forget to bring some flowers _______ you.
4. I haven't smoked _______ ages.
5. You can look up the word _______ a dictionary.
6. She is allergic _______ insect stings.
7. I'm looking _______ my keys. Have you found them?
8. The song was written _______ Madonna.
9. He likes to travel _______ Spain in summer.
10. The police car chased the robbers _______ the streets.

Exercise 5
Insert the correct prepositions of place, direction and time.
I'm Peter and I live _______ Germany. _______ summer I like to travel _______ Italy,
because _______ the weather and the people there. Last summer I took a plane _______
Munich to Rome. _______ the airport we went to our hotel _______ bus. We stopped -
_______ a small restaurant for a quick meal. The driver parked the bus _______ the
restaurant. Nobody could find the bus and the driver, so we waited _______ the restaurant
_______ one hour. The driver was walking _______ the small park _______ the restaurant
which we did not know. So we were very angry _______ him. But my holidays were great.
We sat _______ campfires and went dancing _______ the early mornings.

Exercise 6
Insert the correct prepositions of time.

1. What happened _______ the morning _______ 18th April _______ 1906? (San
Francisco earthquake)

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2. What happened _______ 20th July _______ 1969 _______ about 3 am? (Landing on the
Moon – Apollo 11)
3. What happened _______ 1957 _______ 4th October _______ about 7:30 pm? (The Soviet
Union successfully launched Sputnik I.)
4. What happened _______ the evening _______ 9th November _______ 1989? (The fall of
the Berlin Wall began.)
5. What happened _______ 2002 _______ 1st January? (The Euro became the official
currency of 12 European countries.)
6. What happened _______ the morning _______ 18th August _______ 1969? (The
Woodstock Festival ended.)
7. What happened _______ November 22 _______ about 12:30 pm _______
1963? (Assassination of John F. Kennedy)
8. What happened _______ 1953 _______ 29th May _______ about 11:30 am? (Edmund
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount
Everest.)
9. What happened _______ the morning _______ 2nd September _______ 1666? (The
Great Fire of London)
10. What happened _______ 15th August _______ 1914? (The Panama Canal was opened to
traffic.)

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 PRONOUNS
Exercise 1
Choose the best relative pronoun to complete each sentence. If there is none required, put
"X".
1. It was Wilson __________ gave me the old map and he had found it in a old junk shop.
2. My uncle apologised for his insult, __________ we accepted gracefully.
3. Hank put the keys down on the table __________ was in the kitchen.
4. Much __________ your father left in his will is going to your mother.
5. Unfortunately, the car hit the dog __________ I love so much and it was killed.
6. That car, __________ owner was arrested by the police, has been parked there ever since.
7. There are several reasons for the closure of the school, most of __________ have already
been explained fully.
8. This was the room __________ we first met and spoke. Do you remember?

Exercise 2
Put in the personal pronoun in brackets in its subject or object form.

1. __________ lives in Liverpool. (he)

2. I met __________ in the office. (he)
3. They sing with __________ in the choir. (I)
4. Lisa likes __________. (it)
5. Excuse __________, is this the way to the station? (I)
6. __________ worked in the garden. (we)
7. Where are the cupcakes? Did you eat __________? (they)
8. Is __________ your sister? (she)
9. Where are __________ from? (you)
10. __________ saw Jack in the office. (we)

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Exercise 3
Use the personal pronoun in brackets in its subject or object form or as a possessive
determiner or a possessive pronoun.

1. We can phone my grandma and ask __________. (she)

2. Are __________ your friends? (they)
3. __________ is working on __________ presentation. (she)
4. Excuse __________, can __________ ask a question? (I)
5. __________ can ride __________ skateboards. (they)
6. __________ is __________ friend. (he)
7. This is not __________ jacket, __________ was blue. (I)
8. __________ bought it for __________. (she)
9. These two cats are __________. (we)
10. __________ don't eat potatoes because __________ don't like __________. (they)

Exercise 4
Choose the correct pronouns to complete the sentences.

1. The old woman lived alone, with ---- to look after ----.

A) someone / her
B) anyone / herself
C) everyone / she
D) no one / her
E) anyone / she's

2. ---- two rings here on my little finger belonged to ---- grandmother.

A) These / my
B) That / mine
C) Those / me

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 D) The / myself
E) This / my
3. When the little boy grabbed the lizard, ---- tail broke off in ---- hand.

A) it's / his
B) it / him
C) its / his
D) it / one's
E) its / he's

4. A baby learns the meaning of words as ---- are spoken by others and later uses ---- in
sentences.

A) their / they
B) they / them
C) they / themselves
D) it / them
E) they / it

5. Some of these clothes are ----, and the rest of ---- belong to Zack.

A) yours / it
B) my / them
C) hers / their
D) me / they
E) mine / them

6. As for ----, I prefer to let people make up ---- minds.

A) myself / each other's

B) I / his own
C) mine / one another's

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 D) me / their own
E) my / theirs

7. The solicitor wrote a letter to Ann and ---- in which he asked us if we could settle the matter
between ----.

A) I / us
B) me / us
C) myself / ours
D) mine / our
E) me / we

8. As ---- cuts it as well as he does, I always have my hair cut at Johnson's.

A) anyone
B) someone else's
C) no one else
D) everyone
E) nobody's

9. They decided to buy the house because ---- location would allow ---- to get to work very
easily.

A) theirs / them
B) it / themselves
C) its / them
D) they / us
E) its / their

10. Our dog is of a very good breed as ---- is the offspring of two very champion dogs and
inherited ---- features.

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 A) this / its
B) he / them
C) she / theirs
D) that / his
E) it / their
Exercise 5
Choose the appropriate options to complete the sentences.

1. We all told the boss that we wanted to have ---- salaries paid in advance but he just ignored ---
-.

A) ours / it
B) his / we
C) their / our
D) we / his
E) our / us

2. When the man asked me how I had got ---- address, I told him that I was given it by a relative
of ----.

A) my / me
B) his / his
C) mine / his
D) his / him
E) him / him

3. Although ---- in the room seemed to follow ---- said by the speaker, he never intended to
simplify his language.

A) no one / anything

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 B) anybody / anything
C) nobody / nothing
D) anyone / nothing
E) someone / something

4. I hope you will enjoy ---- at the re-union party this weekend because I won't be able to be
there ----.

A) you / myself
B) yourself / mine
C) yours / oneself
D) yourself / myself
E) you / me

5. We decided to do all the cooking ---- instead of hiring a catering company for the party.

A) of our own
B) oneself
C) by ourselves
D) ours
E) each other

6. Thousands of children nowadays prefer doing ---- homework with a background of pop-music
to doing ---- in a quiet room.

A) theirs / them
B) his / its
C) them / it's
D) they / them
E) their / it

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7. You and ---- brother need to take time to prepare ---- for the long journey which will start next
month.

A) his / yourself
B) yours / ourselves
C) their / you
D) your / yourselves
E) her / by themselves

8. The kids watched each gesture of ---- as if their mother were a stranger.

A) them
B) hers
C) him
D) her
E) himself

9. Trademarks enable a company to distinguish ---- products from ---- of another company.

A) their / it
B) it / that
C) our / this
D) its / those
E) my / these

10. ---- cannot see through translucent materials, but light can pass through ----.

A) We / it
B) Anything / their
C) One / them

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 D) No one / its
E) Everyone / their

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

1. In each of the following sentences, first underline the subject, and then circle the correct verb
form.

EXAMPLE: I ( worry / worries) about keeping to my budget during Eid season.

a. My classes _________________ (requires / require) much of my time these days.

b. If you _________________ (asks / ask) me, there is nothing to worry about.
c. Sarah _________________ (watch / watches) her favorite TV series every Monday.
d. I _________________ (try / tries) to wake up early in the morning, but I am such a night-
owl.
e. The job _________________ (pays / pay) a fairly low wage, however.
f. The mothers _________________ (kiss / kisses) their children when they drop them off
at school.
g. The earthworm _________________ (push / pushes) little piles of dirt out of its tunnels.
h. If a suspect _________________ (resist / resists), the police officer may use force.
i. I _________________ (give / gives) as much to charity as I can afford.
j. I know that I will not be in school forever, so for now, life on a budget
_________________ (satisfies / satisfy) me.

2. In each of the following sentences, fill in the correct past-tense forms of the verbs in
parentheses.

Last winter, I _________________ (display) the clear signs of a cold. I

_________________ (sneeze) often, and I _________________ (develop) a sore throat.

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 The congestion in my nose and throat _________________ (annoy) me, and it
_________________ (seem) that blowing my nose was useless. However, I
_________________ (visit) with my friends and _________________ (attend) classes at
college. I _________________ (assume) that I could not give anyone else my cold once I
showed the symptoms. Unfortunately, many people _________________ (join) me in my
misery because of my ignorance. Later, I _________________ (learn) that I
_________________ (remain) contagious for several days after I first showed symptoms.
My doctor _________________ (explain) to me that I _________________ (start)
spreading my cold about one day after I became infected with it. However, after my
symptoms _________________ (disappear), I _________________ (pass) on my cold to
others for up to three days more. I _________________ (want) to apologize to everyone I
had infected, but I also _________________ (realize) that others had given me their colds
as well.
(From Real Writing with Readings by Susan Anker)

3. The following paragraph is written in the past tense. Rewrite the paragraph in the space
below changing it to present tense.

Last year, my job caused me lots of headaches. I drove forty-five minutes to get there,
and then spent twenty minutes looking for a parking space. My desk sat right next to the
coffee machine, so people always stopped to talk to me while they took their coffee
break. This wasted my time and kept me from getting my work done. In addition, my
boss gave me more work than anyone could do in forty hours a week. I suggested
frequently that we hire another person, but he always resisted my suggestion. When I
asked for a raise, he insisted that I already made more than anyone else. My job made my
life miserable.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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 ________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
(From Connections by Peter D. Adams)

4. On a spare sheet of paper, write a short letter to the KMC complaining about the poor
condition of the roads in front of your house. Once you have written your letter, exchange it
with another student to get it checked for any subject-verb agreement errors.

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1. Jawad and Ali have just finished with a meeting and want to have lunch. Complete the
conversation by choosing the correct form of the verb.

Jawad: I _________________ (am / is / are) very hungry after that long meeting. Let’s
lunch!
Ali: It will have to be a quick lunch sine we _________________ (am / is / are) short
on time.
Jawad: Oh! There _________________ (am / is / are) enough time. Where should we go?
I _________________ (am / is / are) in the mood for steak.
Ali: You _________________ (am / is / are) always in the mood for steak. You
should eat more vegetables.
Jawad: Vegetables _________________ (am / is / are) boring. Steak
_________________ (am / is / are) much better.
Ali: Well if you really want to go, Kababjees _________________ (am / is / are) the
best place for a steak lunch.

2. Vicky has been to a very grand party. She is telling her parents about it. Put in was or were in
the blanks.

I really enjoyed the party. It _________________ (was / were) wonderful. Each guest
_________________ (was / were) welcomed by the hostess in person. All the rooms
_________________ (was / were) crowded with people. Everyone _________________
(was / were) enjoying themselves. A lot of people _________________ (was / were)
dancing, and a number of people _________________ (was / were) gathered at the
gazebo in the garden. All the people there _________________ (was / were) very smart.
One of the guests _________________ (was / were) a TV personality---a chat show host.
I didn’t know many of the guests. None of the friends _________________ (was / were)
there.
(From Oxford Practice Grammar by John Eastwood)

3. Identify if the following sentences should use have or has to complete the sentence.
a. Whenever they go to the movies, they _________________ (have / has) a lot of fun.
b. We _________________ (have / has) baked a cake for your birthday.
c. I should go now, since I _________________ (have / has) a curfew.

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 d. Asif _________________ (have / has) extra classes till 5 pm.
e. My sister _________________ (have / has) some time to herself today.
f. The time _________________ (have / has) come for you to step up!

4. The following paragraph is written in the past tense. Rewrite it in the present tense, making
sure that all your verbs agree with their subjects.

My high school friends had their eccentricities. For example, my best friend, Yasmine,
had a problem with her hair, so she always had a hat over her hair. Donald had a pet
monkey, and we always had a laugh watching it caper around. The Culligan sisters had a
habit of constantly whispering between themselves and ignoring people around them.
You had to speak really loudly next to them to get them to pay attention to you. Since I
had severe acne, I had to hide my face under a face mask. All in all, me and my friends
had a pretty weird reputation at school.
(Adapted from Connections by Peter D. Adams)

5. The following paragraph is written in the past tense. Rewrite it in the present tense, being
careful that your verbs agree with their subjects.

Last year, my computer did many valuable services for me. It did my tax return almost by
itself. All I did was feed in a few figures. My brother also did all his school papers on the
computer. My parents did not feel comfortable using it because it is too unfamiliar to
them. They did their taxes manually. I did use it to play games occasionally. Through
such automation, we did our work fairly quickly.
(Adapted from Connections by Peter D. Adams)

6. In the following paragraph, replace any incorrect present-tense verbs with the correct past
tense of the verb.

In 1900, my great-grandfather grows wheat and raised a few cattle on his farm in
Wyoming. When my grandmother and her brothers are young, they go to the fields every
day to help their father. The family does not have much money, and they hoped for good
weather every year. Droughts and damaging storms often cost them a lot. One year, high
winds blow down the barn, and hailstones break their windows. Another year, very little
rain falls, and they almost lose the farm. Somehow, they keep going in spite of their

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difficulties. Their life was hard, but the whole family understands that the rewards of
owning their own land were worthwhile.
(Adapted from Real Writing with Readings by Susan Anker)

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 VERB TENSE
Review for Verb Tenses
1 ‐ George hurt his head while he ________________.
a) Ice skates
b) Was ice skating
c) Ice skated
d) Had ice skated

2 ‐ Ismail ____________ for the government since 1992

a) Is working
b) Has been working
c) Will be working
d) Works

3 ‐ The last time I ____________ to Korea, I spent three weeks on Cheju Island.
a) Was in
b) Had been travelling
c) Went
d) Was gone

4 ‐ Marium __________ to China ten times.

a) Goes
b) Has been
c) Went

5 ‐ Before Jack arrived, Jill ______________ up the hill.

a) Has already gone
b) Is going
c) Had went
d) Had already gone

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6 ‐ It ____________ every day since I arrived here.
a) Rains
b) Has rained
c) Will rain
d) Rained
e) Had rained

7 ‐ The fans _____________ when the game finally started

a) Have cheered
b) Had cheered
c) Cheered
d) Will cheer
8 ‐ By the time she pays off her loan, she _______________ eighty years old.
a) Will be
b) Will have been
c) Is
d) Has been
e) Was

9 ‐ By the time Tariq comes back from sea, his daughter _______________from school.
a) Will graduate
b) Graduated
c) Will have been graduated
d) Has already graduated
e) Will have graduated

10 ‐ Every time we _____ to that restaurant, my stomach gets upset.

a) Have gone
b) Go
c) Went
d) Had gone
e) Went

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 Review Exercises for Active and Passive Voice

Sentences are given either in the active or the passive voice; change them from one to the other.

1. He teaches English./ English _________ by him.

a) Is taught
b) Taught
c) Was taught
d) Had been taught

2. The child is eating bananas./ Bananas _____________ by the child

a) Have been eaten

b) Are being eaten
c) Are eaten
d) Were being eaten

3. A letter is being written by her. / She _________ a letter

a) Has written
b) Is being writing
c) Had written
d) Is writing

4. The master rewarded the student. / The student ___________ by the master.

a) Was rewarded
b) Has been rewarded
c) Was being rewarded

5. A book was being written by him. / He ____________ a book

a) Is writing
b) Has been writing
c) Was writing

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6. Who wrote this letter? / By whom ________________?

a) Had this letter been written

b) Was this letter written
c) Has been writing this letter

7. Somebody cooks my meal every day. / My meal _________ by someone every day.

a) Is cooking
b) Has been cooked
c) Had been cooked
d) Is cooked

8. A blue and white shirt was worn by him. / He __________ a blue and white shirt.

a) Wore
b) Is wearing
c) Is being wearing
d) Wears

9. They are building a house. / A house __________ by them.

a) Is built
b) Was built
c) Is being built
d) Had been built

10. The report was sent yesterday. / I _______________ yesterday

a) Sent the report

b) Have sent the report
c) Had been sending the report
d) Was sending

]https://www.englishgrammar.org/active‐passive‐voice‐exercise‐8/]

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Exercises on Modifiers

1. Which of the following sentences is correct?

a) Hearing the good news, I was happy.
b) Hearing the good news, happiness was mine.
c) Hearing the good news, happy I was
d) Hearing the good news, happiness was his.

2. Choose the correct sentence:

a) Entering the room, the light was off.

b) Entering the room, I found the light off.
c) Entering the room, the light was found off by me.
d) Entering the room, the room was found dark.

3. The sentence is incomplete; choose which option best completes it.

“Having been served lunch, ______________.”

a) The problem was discussed by the members of the committee.

b) It was discussed by the members of the committee the problem.
c) The members of the committee discussed the problem.
d) A discussion of the problem was made by the members of the committee.

4. “Worn out by a long walk, she fainted.”

Here, “worn out” is a/an __________

a) Present participle
b) Dangling participle
c) Adjective complement
d) Adverb’

5. Which sentence is free of any grammatical confusion?

a) Young and inexperienced, the task seemed easy to me.

b) Young and inexperienced, it seemed to be an easy task for me.
c) Young and inexperienced, the task would be easy for me.
d) Young and inexperienced, I thought the task easy.

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6. Choose the correct sentence

a) While running in the park, his hand was dislocated

b) While running in the park, it was his hand that dislocated.
c) While running in the park, he dislocated his hand.
d) While running in this park, his hand got dislocated.

7. After jumping off the boat, _________________.

a) A snake bit the man

b) The man was bitten by a snake
c) The man biting the snake.
d) The snake was biting the man.

8. Which of the following sentences is correct?

a) The man who short who stole my purse.

b) The which my purse got stolen by was short.
c) The man who stole my purse was short.
d) The man my purse stole was short.

9. Unlike most birds ________________________.

a) There is a lack of feathers on vultures’ heads and necks.

b) Feathers are not found on the heads and necks of vultures.
c) There are no feathers on vultures’ heads and necks.
d) Vultures do not have feathers on their heads and necks.

10. While going to the office, _________________.

a) A fox chased me.

b) The fox decided to chase me.
c) The fox was chased by me.
d) I was chased by a fox.

11. Find the correct sentence.

a) I earned nearly five hundred rupees today.

b) I nearly earned five hundred rupees today.
c) I earned five hundred rupees today nearly.
d) Nearly I earned five hundred rupees today.

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12. Choose the sentence with misplaced modifier/s.

a) The salesperson sold the shirt with the blue and white print to the man.
b) John had a cup of cold coffee for breakfast.
c) On his way to school, Abraham found a woman’s yellow bag.
d) On his way to school, Abraham found a yellow woman’s bag.

13. ______________________, the traveller took a nap.

a) Tired and exhausted

b) After having tired and exhausted
c) Having tired and exhausted
d) Being exhausting and tiring

14. Which sentence is correct?

a) Not looking where he was going; he got hit by a bike.

b) Not looking where he was going, he was hit by a bike
c) Not looking where he was going, a bike hit him.
d) Not looking where he was going, he was being hit by a bike.

Exercises available at: https://www.learngrammar.net/practice/31/exercises‐on‐modifiers‐with‐

explanation

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Review exercises for sentence structures:

Instructions
The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from poems in two books by Shel
Silverstein: "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "Falling Up." Identify each of the
following sentences as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. When
you're done, compare your responses to the correct answers listed below. The name
of the poem from which the example is taken is listed in parentheses after each
sentence.

1- I made an airplane out of stone. ("Stone Airplane")

2 - I put a piece of cantaloupe underneath the microscope. ("Nope")
3 - Oaties stay oaty, and Wheat Chex stay floaty, and nothing can take the
puff out of Puffed Rice. ("Cereal")

4 - While fishing in the blue lagoon, I caught a lovely silverfish. ("The Silver
Fish")

5 - They say if you step on a crack, you will break your mother's back.
("Sidewalking")

6 - They just had a contest for scariest mask, and I was the wild and daring
one who won the contest for scariest mask—and (sob) I'm not even wearing
one. ("Best Mask?")

7 - My voice was raspy, rough, and cracked. ("Little Hoarse")

8 - I opened my eyes and looked up at the rain, and it dripped in my head

and flowed into my brain. ("Rain")

9 - They say that once in Zanzibar a boy stuck out his tongue so far that it
reached the heavens and touched a star, which burned him rather badly.
("The Tongue Sticker-Outer")

10 - I'm going to Camp Wonderful beside Lake Paradise across from Blissful
Mountain in the Valley of the Nice. ("Camp Wonderful")

11 - I joke with the bats and have intimate chats with the cooties who crawl
through my hair ("The Dirtiest Man in the World")

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12 - The animals snarled and screeched and growled and whinnied and
whimpered and hooted and howled and gobbled up the whole ice cream
stand. ("Ice Cream Stop")

13 - The antlers of a standing moose, as everybody knows, are just the

perfect place to hang your wet and drippy clothes. ("A Use for a Moose")

14 - We'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, and we'll go where the
chalk-white arrows go. ("Where the Sidewalk Ends")
15 - If I had a brontosaurus, I would name him Horace or Morris. ("If I Had
a Brontosaurus")

16 - I am writing these poems from inside a lion, and it's rather dark in here.
("It's Dark in Here")

17 - A piece of sky broke off and fell through the crack in the ceiling right
into my soup. ("Sky Seasoning")

18 - The grungy, grumpy, grouchy Giant grew tired of his frowny pout and
hired me and Lee to lift the corners of his crumblin' mouth. ("The Smile
Makers")
19 - If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school. ("One Inch
Tall")
20 - The traffic light simply would not turn green, so the people stopped to
wait as the traffic rolled and the wind blew cold, and the hour grew dark and
late. ("Traffic Light")

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 READING
COMPREHENSION
TEXT 1
A Bird Came Down.

A Bird, came down the Walk -

He did not know I saw
He bit an Angle Worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw,

And then, he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass -
And then hopped sidewise to the Wall
To let a Beetle pass -

He glanced with rapid eyes,

That hurried all abroad -
They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,
He stirred his Velvet Head. -

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers,
And rowed him softer Home -

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam,
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,
Leap, plashless as they swim.

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1. What is the poem about?
A. A normal occurrence in nature of a bird searching for its food and its interaction with a
human.
B. A fight between a bird and a poet.
C. A bird eating a beetle.
D. A bird teaching others how to eat a worm.

2. Find antonyms for 'careless', 'cooked', 'courageous' and 'slow' from the poem?
A. convenient, raw, frightened, rapid
B. cautious, hurried, frightened, rapid
C. cautious, raw, hopped, rapid
D. cautious, raw, frightened and rapid

3. What did the bird do with its feathers?

A. The bird cleaned its feathers.
B. The bird spread out its feathers and flew.
C. The bird used the feathers to protect itself.
D. The bird used the feathers to push the beetle.

4. Why has the poet called the grass 'convenient'?

A. Because the bird could see the beetle in the grass.
B. Because grass is greener on the other side.
C. Because it was easy for the bird to have dew from it.
D. Because the bird could see the worm in the grass.

5. How do you explain the 'plashless' in the last line?

A. The poet tells us that the bird cannot swim.
B. Since the bird does not have oars it could not splash in the water.
C. Since dew was on the grass the bird did not make a splash.
D. The poet compares the flight of the bird as though it was a 'swim' in the air without the
accompanying splashes on water.

6. The bird did not do which of the following?

A. Cook the worm and eat it.
B. Let the beetle pass.
C. Unroll his feathers.
D. Glance with rapid eyes.

7. How does the poet describe the eyes of the bird?

A. Watery like dew.
B. Like grass.
C. Like frightened beads.
D. Like butterflies.

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 8. Which of the following is a metaphor?
A. A bird came down the walk.
B. He stirred his Velvet Head.
C. He bit an angle-worm in halves.
D. And then hopped sideways to the wall.
9. "They looked like frightened Beads" - What figure of speech is found here?
A. Metaphor
B. Hyperbole
C. Proverb
D. Simile

10. The word 'cautious' is used in reference to which character in the poem?
A. The poet.
B. The bird.
C. The beetle.
D. The worm.

TEXT 2
Sketch By Carl Sandburg
The shadows of the ships
Rock on the crest In the low blue lustre
Of the tardy and the soft inrolling tide.

A long brown bar at the dip of the sky

Puts an arm of sand in the span of salt.

The lucid and endless wrinkles

Draw in, lapse and withdraw.
Wavelets crumble and white spent bubbles
Wash on the floor of the beach.

Rocking on the crest

In the low blue lustre
Are the shadows of the ships.

1. Identify an example of personification: explain what is being personified how.

2. Identify an example of hyperbole: explain how it is exaggerated.
3. Identify an example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.
4. Find two separate examples of alliteration. List the alliterative words.
5. Where is repetition used in this poem? Why do you think that it is used this way?
6. What action is described in the third stanza of the poem?

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 7. How is imagery used in this poem? What is described?
8. What is the mood of this poem? How does it make you feel?

TEXT 3
Read the passages (a-e) below and state whether each is an example of an argument, a
summary, an explanation or a description. Give a 10-15 words rationale in each case.
a) It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn’t pointed it out, Harry wouldn’t have
noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn’t glance at it. Their eyes slid from the
big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn’t see the
Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and
Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. For a
famous place, it was dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner,
drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a
top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless
walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, by J. K. Rowling (Scholastic, 1999

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

b) How many times have you heard the phrase “I am feeling depressed today”? People tend
to misuse the term depression to refer to the normal ups and downs of daily life. In
reality, depression is a serious illness that can be caused by many factors. Perhaps the
most common cause of depression is genetics. People who are born with low levels of
serotonin and dopamine cannot experience pleasure in the same way that balanced people
can. People with low levels of these substances do not experience happiness from
typically happy events. Another cause of depression is substance abuse. When drugs
enter the bloodstream, they alter the brain’s normal chemical balance. Consequently,
people who use chemical substances may experience short-term or long-term depression.
Finally, environmental factors can cause clinical depression. Failed relationships,
traumatic events, or an excessively unhappy childhood can trigger depression. Regardless
of its cause, depression is an illness that needs to be taken seriously.
Folse, Keith S., Elena Vestri Solomon, and David Clabeaux. New York: Heinle, 2010.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

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 c) "Each of Jamaica's four great gardens, although established along similar principles, has
acquired its own distinctive aura. Hope Gardens, in the heart of Kingston, evokes
postcard pictures from the 1950s of public parks, gracious and vaguely suburban and
filled with familiar favorites--lantana and marigolds--as well as exotics. Bath has retained
its Old World character; it is the easiest to conjure as it must have looked in Bligh's time.
Castleton, the garden established to replace Bath, fleetingly evokes that golden age of
Jamaican tourism, when visitors arrived in their own yachts--the era of Ian Fleming and
Noel Coward, before commercial air travel unloaded mortals all over the island."
Caroline Alexander, "Captain Bligh's Cursed Breadfruit." The Smithsonian, Sep. 2009

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

d) The use of wedding rings has evolved as the latest of all the bridal traditions. From the
earliest times, kings used initial rings to sign documents because they were unable to
write. Since the initial, or signet, ring had the potency of the king’s signature, anyone
possessing a facsimile was put to death immediately. Later, during Greek times, when
Alexander the Great died, his vast kingdom was, according to his instructions, divided
among his generals. They used these themselves and even allowed trusted advisors to
use them when they served as the generals’ proxies. Eventually, rulers even allowed their
courtiers to wear copies of their royal signets. Finally, the custom spread among masses ,
and those who couldn’t write signed official documents this way. Rings thus became a
sign of contractual agreement, which meaning was eventually applied to wedding rings.

_____________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

e) Music critics do not consider John Williams a classical composer and claim that film
scores do not qualify as “real” classical music as it lacks depth. They seem to assume
that the film composer is writing music to a picture of scene, hence the music is bound,
and it is not “real art.” Journalist Dermot Clinch explains this attitude: “Unlike operas or
symphonies, in films, music is always a secondary means of expression. A film score and
a sonata can be good in their different ways ”. This viewpoint of a divide will not permit
critics to view the music or the composer as a serious entity. Williams is respected in
the classical community. He frequently collaborates with famous classical artists.
Perlman, who performed with him the haunting violin solos in Schindler’s List, has said
that whenever Williams calls him with an idea, he puts his trust in him and is never
disappointed with the results . Writing film scores does not stifle Williams’ creativity;
rather, it is an example of his ability to create the perfect music to fit a mood or a scene.
Williams’ scores have gone from the movie screen to sold-out concert halls, and so it
seems that it is the public, not the critics, that decide what is quality classical music.

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 TEXT 4
Today’s shopping mall has as its antecedents historical marketplaces, such as Greek agoras,
European piazzas, and Asian bazaars. The purpose of these sites, as with the shopping mall, is
both economic and social. People go not only to buy and sell wares, but also to be seen, catch up
on news, and be part of the human drama. Both the marketplace and its descendant the mall might
also contain restaurants, banks, theaters, and professional offices. The mall is also the product of
the creation of suburbs. Although villages outside of cities have existed since antiquity, it was the
technological and transportation advances of the 19th century that gave rise to a conscious exodus
of the population away from crowded, industrialized cities toward quieter, more rural towns. Since
the suburbs typically have no centralized marketplace, shopping centers or malls were designed to
fill the needs of the changing community, providing retail stores and services to an increasing
suburban population. [1]
The shopping mall differs from its ancient counterparts in a number of important ways. While
piazzas and bazaars were open-air venues, the modern mall is usually enclosed. Since the suburbs
are spread out geographically, shoppers drive to the mall, which means that parking areas must be
an integral part of a mall’s design. Ancient marketplaces were often set up in public spaces, but
shopping malls are designed, built, and maintained by a separate management firm as a unit. The
first shopping mall was built by J. C. Nichols in 1922 near Kansas City, Missouri. [2]
The Country Club Plaza was designed to be an automobile-centered plaza, as its patrons drove
their own cars to it, rather than take mass transportation as was often the case for city shoppers. It
was constructed according to a unified plan, rather than as a random group of stores. Nichols’
company owned and operated the mall, leasing space to a variety of tenants. The first enclosed
mall was the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele in Milan, Italy in 1865–77. Inspired by its design, Victor
Gruen took the shopping and dining experience of the Galleria to a new level when he created the
Southdale Center Mall in 1956. Located in a suburb of Minneapolis, it was intended to be a
substitute for the traditional city center. The 95- acre, two-level structure had a constant climate-
controlled temperature of 72 degrees, and included shops, restaurants, a school, a post office, and
a skating rink. Works of art, decorative lighting, fountains, tropical plants, and flowers were placed
throughout the mall. Southdale afforded people the opportunity to experience the pleasures of
urban life while protected from the harsh Minnesota weather. In the 1980s, giant megamalls were
developed. While Canada has had the distinction of being home to the largest of the megamalls
for over twenty years, that honor will soon go to Dubai, where the Mall of Arabia is being
completed at a cost of over five billion U.S. dollars. [3]
The 5.3 million square foot West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, opened in 1981, with over
800 stores, 110 eating establishments, a hotel, an amusement park, a miniature-golf course, a
church, a zoo, and a 438-foot-long lake. Often referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world,” the
West Edmonton Mall is the number-one tourist attraction in the area, and will soon be expanded
to include more retail space, including a facility for sports, trade shows, and conventions. The
largest enclosed megamall in the United States is Bloomington, Minneapolis’s Mall of America,
which employs over 12,000 people. It has over five hundred retail stores, an amusement park which
includes an indoor roller coaster, a walk-through aquarium, a college, and a wedding chapel. The
mall contributes over one billion dollars each year to the economy of the state of Minnesota. Its
owners have proposed numerous expansion projects, but have been hampered by safety concerns
due to the mall’s proximity to an airport. [4]

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1. The statement that people went to marketplaces to be part of the human drama (Paragraph 1)
suggests that people
a. prefer to shop anonymously.
b. like to act on stage rather than shop.
c. seem to be more emotional in groups.
d. like to be in community, interacting with one another.
e. prefer to be entertained rather than shop for necessities.
2. Antecedents (Paragraph 1) most nearly means
a. designers.
b. planners.
c. predecessors.
d. role models.
e. teachers.

3. All of the following questions can be explicitly answered on the basis of the passage
EXCEPT
a. Who designed the Southdale Center Mall in Minnesota?
b. Why was the Country Club Plaza automobile-centered?
c. What are three examples of historical marketplaces?
d. Where is the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele?
e. What is the Edmonton Mall often referred to as?

4. How was the Country Club Plaza different from an urban shopping district?
a. It consisted of many more stores.
b. It was built by one company that leased space and oversaw operations.
c. It was enclosed.
d. It had both retail stores and restaurants, and offered areas for community programs.
e. It was based on an Italian design.

5. According to the passage, how did Southdale expand the notion of the shopping mall?
a. It added an amusement park.
b. It was unheated.
c. It was the first to rise above two stories.
d. It was designed with more parking spaces than any previous
shopping mall.
e. It was intended to be a substitute for the traditional city center.

6. According to paragraph 4, which is the only activity visitors to the

West Edmonton Mall cannot enjoy?
a. staying in a hotel
b. gambling in a casino
c. visiting animals in a zoo
d. playing miniature golf
e. riding an amusement park ride

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7. When the author states in paragraph 3 lines that ‘Southdale afforded
people the opportunity to experience the pleasures of urban life’ she means that
a. they could perform necessary and leisurely activities in one location.
b. they could have a greater variety of retailers to choose from.
c. they could see more artwork and botanicals than they would in a city.
d. they could be entertained as they would be in a city.
e. they could have taller buildings in their landscape.

8. What is NOT a probable reason for the proposed expansion of the Mall of America?
a. so it can contribute more to the economy of its state
b. to keep it closer in size to the other megamalls
c. so it can employ more people
d. to attract more tourists
e. to compete for visitors with the Mall of Arabia

=====================

TEXT 5
I have said that all branches of knowledge are connected together, because the subject-matter of
knowledge is intimately united in itself [ . . . ]. Hence it is that the Sciences, into which our
knowledge may be said to be cast, have multiple bearings on one another, and an internal
sympathy, and admit, or rather demand, comparison and adjustment.
They complete, correct, and balance each other. This consideration, if well-founded, must be taken
into account, not only as regards the attainment of truth, which is their common end, but as regards
the influence which they excise upon those whose education consists in the study of them. I have
already said, that to give undue prominence to one is to be unjust to another; to neglect or supersede
these is to divert those from their proper object. It is to unsettle the boundary lines between science
and science, to disturb their action, to destroy the harmony which binds them together. Such a
proceeding will have a corresponding effect when introduced into a place of education.
There is no science but tells a different tale, when viewed as a portion of a whole, from what it is
likely to suggest when taken by itself, without the safeguard, as I may call it, of others. Let me
make use of an illustration. In the combination of colors, very different effects are produced by a
difference in their selection and juxtaposition; red, green, and white, change their shades,
according to the contrast to which they are submitted. And, in like manner, the drift and meaning
of a branch of knowledge varies with the company in which it is introduced to the student. If his
reading is confined simply to one subject, however such division of labor may favor the
advancement of a particular pursuit, a point into which I do not here enter, certainly it has a
tendency to contract his mind. If it is incorporated with others, it depends on those others as to the
kind of influence that it exerts upon him. Thus the Classics, which in England are the means of
refining the taste, have in France subserved the spread of revolutionary and deistical doctrines. [ .

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. . .] In a like manner, I suppose, Arcesilas would not have handled logic as Aristotle, nor Aristotle
have criticized poets as Plato; yet reasoning and poetry are subject to scientific rules.
It is a great point then to enlarge the range of studies which a University professes, even for the
sake of the students; and, though they cannot pursue every subject which is open to them, they will
be the gainers by living among those and under those who represent the whole circle. This I
conceive to be the advantage of a seat of universal learning, considered as a place of education.
An assemblage of learned men, zealous for their own sciences, and rivals of each other, are
brought, by familiar intercourse and for the sake of intellectual peace, to adjust together the claims
and relations of their respective subjects of investigation. They learn to respect, to consult, to aid
each other. Thus is created a pure and clear atmosphere of thought, which the student also breathes,
though in his own case he only pursues a few sciences out of the multitude. He profits by an
intellectual tradition, which is independent of particular teachers, which guides him in his choice
of subjects, and duly interprets for him those which he chooses.
He apprehends the great outlines of knowledge, the principles on which it rests, the scale of its
parts, its lights and its shades, its great points and its little, as he otherwise cannot apprehend them.
Hence it is that his education is called “Liberal.” A habit of mind is formed which lasts through
life, of which the attributes are, freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation, and wisdom; or
what in a former discourse I have ventured to call a philosophical habit. This then I would assign
as the special fruit of the education furnished at a University, as contrasted with other places of
teaching or modes of teaching. This is the main purpose of a university in its treatment of its
students.

1. The main idea of the first paragraph is that

a. each science should be studied independently.
b. the sciences are interrelated.
c. the boundary lines between each of the sciences should be clearer.
d. some sciences are unduly given more emphasis than others at the university level.
e. it is difficult to attain a proper balance among the sciences.

2. By the Sciences (line 3), the author means

a. the physical sciences only.
b. the social sciences only.
c. the physical and social sciences.
d. all branches of knowledge, including the physical and social sciences and the humanities.
e. educational methodologies.

3. The word excise in line 9 most nearly means

a. remove.
b. cut.
c. impose.
d. arrange.
e. compete.

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4. By using the word safeguard in line 18, the author suggests that
a. it is dangerous to limit one’s education to one field or area of specialization.
b. it is not safe to study the sciences.
c. the more one knows, the safer one will feel.
d. one should choose a second area of specialization as a backup in case the first does not work
out.
e. each science has its own specific safety guidelines.

5. The purpose of the second paragraph (lines 19–34) is to

a. introduce a new idea.
b. develop the idea presented in the previous paragraph.
c. state the main idea of the passage.
d. present an alternative point of view.
e. compare and contrast different branches of knowledge.

6. The word apprehends as used in lines 50 and 52 means

a. understands.
b. captures.
c. fears.
d. believes.
e. contains.

7. Which of the following best describes the author’s idea of a liberal education?
a. in-depth specialization in one area.
b. free education for all.
c. a broad scope of knowledge in several disciplines.
d. training for a scientific career.
e. an emphasis on the arts rather than the sciences.

8. The author believes that a university should

I. have faculty representing a wide range of subjects andphilosophies
II. teach students how to see the relationships among ideas
III. teach students to understand and respect other points of view
IV. teach students liberal rather than conservative ideals
a. I and II only
b. I, II, and III
c. I and IV
d. IV only
e. all of the above

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 TEXT 6
When one thinks of student-led rebellions and the changes they can create, one typically thinks
of the struggles of the twentieth century, such as the civil rights movement or anti-war protests of
the sixties. But there have been less dramatic, though no less passionate, rebellions led by young
activists in previous centuries—rebellions that had lasting impact on the world around us. One
such example is the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In the mid-1800s, the art world in England was
rattled by the initials PRB. The PRB (or Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood) was founded by William
Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. These three burgeoning artists
(the oldest of whom was 21) and their disdain for the artistic conventions of the time would have
a dramatic influence on the art world for generations to come. [1]
The PRB was formed in response to the brotherhood’s belief that the current popular art being
produced in England was lacking in meaning and aesthetic honesty. During the era leading up to
the PRB, the Royal Academy dominated British art. The Royal Academy advocated a style that
was typically staid and relied heavily upon the use of dark amber and brown tones to depict
overly idealized landscapes, carefully arranged family portraits and still lifes, and overly
dramatic nature scenes such as a boat caught in stormy seas. By contrast, the PRB believed that
art should present subjects that, by their very nature, had greater meaning and more accurately
depicted reality. The PRB was committed to bringing greater integrity to art and even went
so far as to publish The Germ, a journal that extolled the virtues of the PRB’s aesthetic
principles. To develop subjects with greater meaning, the PRB initially turned to ancient myths
and stories from the Bible. Many of the PRB’s biblically themed paintings portrayed the
religious figures as regular people. [2]
This departure from the convention of the time is notable in John Everett Millais’ Christ in the
Home of his Parents. In this painting, Jesus is portrayed as a young boy in his father’s carpentry
shop. Everyone in the painting, including Christ himself, looks like a common person of that
time period, complete with dirty feet and hands. This realism—especially as it related to the
Biblical figures—was not well received by many in the art world at the time. Later works done
by fellow PRB members, and those inspired by them, utilized themes from poetry, literature,
and medieval tales, often with the aim of highlighting the societal and moral challenges of the
time. [3]
With the goal of bringing greater honesty to their work, the PRB ignored the convention of painting
an imagined or remembered landscape or background. Instead, PRB members would hunt
(sometimes for weeks) for locations to incorporate into their paintings and then paint them in
exacting detail. One of the most distinctive aspects of PRB works—both in contrast to the works
produced during the early nineteenth century and with the art of today—is their dramatic use of
color. By committing them selves to the accurate depiction of nature, the PRB brought a freshness
and drama to its work through the copious use of color. Further enhancing their work was a
technique they used which involved applying the colored paint on top of wet white paint previously
applied to their canvasses. The effect was to make the colors even brighter and more dramatic.
Even today, more than 150 years later, PRB paintings have a luminescence beyond those of other
works from the same time period. It is believed that their paintings have this quality today because
the white layer underneath the colored paint continues to add brightness and life to the painting.

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Originally founded by three upstart young men, the PRB had a tremendous influence on an entire
generation of artists. William Morris, Ford Maddox Brown, and Edward Burne-Jones are just a
few of the significant artists of the time whose work was dramatically influenced by the PRB. [4]

1. The word upstart in paragraph 4 means

a. well-regarded.
b. conceited.
c. beginning from an advanced position.
d. suddenly raised to a high position.
e. receiving numerous honors.

2. In the opening paragraph, the author characterizes the PRB as all of the following EXCEPT
a. young.
b. revolutionary.
c. rebellious.
d. anti-war.
e. passionate.

3. The word burgeoning in paragraph means

a. bursting.
b. developing.
c. flourishing.
d. expanding.
e. prospering.

4. The PRB believed artists should do all of the following EXCEPT

a. paint meaningful subjects.
b. paint existing rather than imagined landscapes.
c. use vibrant colors.
d. choose subjects that address social issues.
e. portray people and nature in an idealized manner.

5. According to the passage, the art world

a. disliked the PRB’s emphasis on realism.
b. disdained the PRB’s choice of subject matter.
c. appreciated the PRB’s attention to detail.
d. embraced the PRB’s style, especially their use of color.
e. was offended by the PRB’s attempts to change the Royal Academy’s style.

6. The PRB’s rebellion was rooted in

a. a fascination with religious and mythological subjects.
b. similar artistic rebellions in Europe.
c. a belief that their peers’ work lacked integrity.
d. a distrust of realistic landscapes and poetic themes.
e. a conflict over the use of color in painting.

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7. According to the author, the most distinguishing feature of PRB works is their
a. surrealism.
b. contrast to Royal Academy art.
c. everyday subject matter.
d. stoicism.
e. vibrant colors.

8. The author’s main purpose in this passage is to

a. describe the lives of the founders of the PRB.
b. describe the artistic principles of the PRB.
c. compare and contrast revolutions in art.
d. describe the controversy created by the PRB.
e. describe how the PRB influenced future artists.

9. It can be inferred that members of the PRB

a. were more socially conscious than members of the Royal Academy.
b. were more educated than the members of the Royal Academy.
c. were more popular than members of the Royal Academy.
d. were bitter about being excluded from the Royal Academy.
e. had a great deal of influence within the Royal Academy.

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

IBA IT NTHP ORIENTATION

PROGRAM –BATCH 2021 (Writing)
COURSEPACK: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION
COMPILED BY: MARIA HASSAN SIDDIQUI, TAZEEN ERUM, ARFA EZAZI

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

Source Academic Writing a Source Book for International Students – Stephen Beiley 2006

1. Ancient Egypt collapsed in about 2180 BC. Studies conducted of the mud from the River
Nile showed that at this time the mountainous regions which feed the Nile suffered from
a prolonged drought. This would have had a devastating effect on the ability of Egyptian
society to feed itself.

A. The sudden ending of Egyptian civilisation over 4,000 years ago was probably caused by
changes in the weather in the region to the south. Without the regular river flooding there
would not have been enough food.
B. Research into deposits of the Egyptian Nile indicate that a long dry period in the
mountains at the river’s source may have led to a lack of water for irrigation around 2180
BC, which
C. h was when the collapse of Egyptian society began.

2. FOUR WHEELS GOOD

The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. It began
in France and Germany, but took off in the United States. There Henry Ford adapted the
moving production line from the Chicago meat industry to motor manufacturing, thus
inventing mass production. In the 1920s Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped
General Motors to become the world’s dominant car company. After the Second World
War the industry developed ‘planned obsolescence’, whereby frequent model changes
encouraged customers to buy new cars more often than they needed to. Later, from the
1970s, environmentalists began to criticise the industry for producing inefficient models
which used too much fuel, contributing to global warming. At this time, trades unions
became increasingly militant in defence of their members’ jobs. Today the industry owns
some of the strongest brands in the world. However, many major car companies struggle
with stagnant markets and falling profits.

3. Before the last century no humans had visited Antarctica, and even today the vast
continent has a winter population of fewer than 200 people. However, a recent report
from a New Zealand government agency outlines the scale of the pollution problem in the
ice and snow. Although untouched compared with other regions in the world, the bitter
cold of Antarctica means that the normal process of decay is prevented. As a result some
research stations are surrounded by the rubbish of nearly 60 years’ operations. Despite
popular belief, the polar continent is really a desert, with less precipitation than the
Sahara. In the past, snowfall slowly covered the waste left behind, like beer cans or dead
ponies, but now, possibly due to global warming, the ice is thinning and these are being
exposed. Over 10 years ago the countries using Antarctica agreed a treaty on waste
disposal, under which everything is to be taken home, and this is slowly improving the
situation. However, the scientists do not want everything removed. The remains of very
early expeditions at the beginning of the twentieth century have acquired historical value
and will be preserved.

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

4. Researchers in France and the United States have recently reported that baboons are able
to think abstractly. It has been known for some time that chimpanzees are capable of
abstract thought, but baboons are a more distant relation to mankind. In the experiment,
scientists trained two baboons to use a personal computer and a joystick. The animals had
to match computer designs which were basically the same, but had superficial
differences. In the experiment the baboons performed better than would be expected by
chance. The researchers describe their study in an article in the Journal of Experimental
Psychology.

5. Indian researchers are trying to find out if there is any truth in old sayings which claim to
predict the weather. In Gujarat farmers have the choice of planting either peanuts, which
are more profitable in wet years, or castor, which does better in drier conditions. The
difference depends on the timing of the monsoon rains, which can arrive at any time
between the beginning and the middle of June. Farmers, however, have to decide what
seeds to sow in April or May. There is a local saying, at least a thousand years old, which
claims that the monsoon starts 45 days after the flowering of a common tree, Cassia
fistula. Dr Kanani, an agronomist from Gujarat Agricultural University, has been
studying the relationship since 1996, and has found that the tree does successfully predict
the approximate date of the monsoon’s arrival.

6. South Korea is planning to move its capital from Seoul to a new site in the middle of the
country. Although Seoul has been the capital since the fourteenth century, the city of over
20 million is now very crowded, and also close to the hostile armies of North Korea. The
new capital is planned to cost $45 billion, with construction finishing by 2012. There is,
however, strong opposition to the project, since similar schemes in other countries have
taken far longer and cost much more than originally planned. Australia, for example, took
over 70 years to finish building Canberra, while Nigeria has never completed its planned
new capital, Abuja. Both Brazil and Malaysia have found that the building of new
capitals (Brasilia and Putrajaya) can sharply increase the national burden of debt. Even if
the government does eventually move to the new capital, it is unlikely that South
Korea’s main businesses will follow it, so Seoul will probably continue to be the
country’s principal city.

7. Genetic modification (GM) is the most recent application of biotechnology to food,

which can also be called genetic engineering or genetic manipulation. The phrase
‘genetically modified organisms’ or GMOs is used frequently in the scientific literature to
describe plants and animals which have had DNA introduced into them by means other
than the ‘natural’ process of an egg and a sperm. New species have always evolved
through natural selection by means of random genetic variation. Early farmers used this
natural variation to selectively breed wild animals, plants and even micro-organisms such
as yogurt cultures and yeasts. They produced domesticated variants better suited to the
needs of humans, long before the scientific basis for the process was understood. Despite
this long history of careful improvement, such procedures are now labelled ‘interfering
with nature’.

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 NTHP COURSE BOOKLET: ENGLISH GRAMMAR & COMPOSITION

8. Genetic modification (GM) is in fact far more than a mere development of selective
breeding techniques. Combining genetic material from species that cannot breed naturally
is an interference in areas which may be highly dangerous. The consequences of this kind
of manipulation cannot be foreseen. It seems undeniable that these processes may lead to
major benefits in food production and the environment. Furthermore, there is no doubt
that some medical advances may have saved millions of lives. However, this level of
technology can contain a strong element of risk. Our ignorance of the long-term effects of
releasing GM plants or even animals into the environment means that this step should
only be taken after very careful consideration.
9. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our
heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the
camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water
from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our
atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human
activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.
10. "The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad
joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the
years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do
anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land,
and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of
the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short
skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with
the past." From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.
11. "Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head
injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a
bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike
helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head." From "Bike Helmets: Unused
Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.
12. "Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic
of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and
the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known
gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace.
With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray
outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle
presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the
gate." From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.
13. "While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering
so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's
tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer
William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as
the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could
produce a 500-story building." From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May
1990): 15.
14.

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