Slide 1 - Fiji National University - PowerPoint - PowerPoint

							Lecture on Vocabulary and Language
                        Development
           Ref: Pinner, pp 359 - 400
   Useful because:
   Gives meaning, spelling, root, different uses,
    parts of speech.
   Headwords in alphabetical order.
   Guide words at the top of the page.
   Words used in context – try to guess the
    meanings of difficult words from the
    context.
   Some words have more than one meaning.
   If you have to explain the meaning of a
    word, check that you give the meaning
    which fits the situation.
   When you have to explain a word in a
    passage, always consider the exact meaning
    it has in the sentence.
    Antonyms – words with opposite meanings
     eg. legal, illegal
    Synonyms – words which are similar or the
     same in meaning eg. Illegal, unlawful
    Homonyms – which have the same spelling
     but different meanings eg.
1.   Where are the rest of the students?
2.   You should have a rest. You look tired.
    Homophones – words which have the same
     sound, but different spelling and meaning
    Eg.
1.   Please wait for me.

2.   What‟s your weight now?
   Some pairs of words pose difficulties in
   understanding and usage, eg.
   Affect/effect
   Stationary/stationery
   Compliment/complement
   Lay/lie
   Eligible/illegible
   House/flat
   These are common verbs followed by a
    preposition eg.
   Make up
   Pull down
   Pull out
   Pullthrough
   Put out
   Put off
   Put down
   Some prefixes have a negative meaning.
   They can be used to form the opposite of a
    word.
   Knowing prefixes and their meanings can
    help you to work out the meanings of words .
   Some important prefixes are:
   binoculars, semicircle, triangular, vice-
    chairman, television, automatic, pan-Pacific,
    submarine, benefactor, extraordinary,
    quadrangle, postpone
   An idiom is a group of words whose meaning
    is different from the literal meaning of its
    individual words.
   For eg. “Let the cat out of the bag” is an idiom
    which means to tell a secret by mistake.
   Cliché – a phrase which has become overused
    and is no longer interesting eg. “Customer –
    focused.”
   Acronym – eg. TILE: Tune In Listen Enquire;
    UNICEF, UNESCO, UNIFEM, ECREA
   Language Development:

1. Sentence Structure
2. The Phrase
3. Clauses
4. Types of Sentences


   Readings.
   Pinner, D, 1998, Communication Skills,
    Addison Wesley Longman New Zealand
    Limited, pp. 373-380.
     A sentence is a conceptual unit which
     usually contains one main idea. This idea
     is placed in the main clause of the
     sentence.
Subject                               Verb

Mere                                  is eating

He                                    will pass.

The boat                              capsized.

It                                    rained.

Joni, Miri and Salote                 have retired.
   Group of words which does the work of a
    single word.
   Does not make sense on its own.
   It may contain a verb but not a finite verb.
   Does not constitute a sentence.
   Group of words that contain a finite verb.
   Two types:
   1. Dependent – aka the subordinate clause;
       - Cannot exist on its own.
       - Must be attached to the main/independent clause to make
         sense.
   2. Independent – the main clause.
      Can exist on its own.
      Contain a finite verb.
      Contains the main idea.
   Simple sentence – expresses a single main
    idea
    ◦ Has one independent clause.


    Compound sentence – contains two main clauses.

    Complex sentence – contains a dependent and
     independent clause.
   In some languages, linking words are used in
    pairs.
   In English (except for either…or and
    neither…nor), we normally sue one
    conjunction to join two statements.
   Correct usage includes the following:
   After – After I had finished my work, I wrote
    to my friend.
   Although – Although it was raining, the
    meeting was not cancelled.
   Thus
   Therefore
   Because
   Since
   When
   On the other hand
   In spite of, despite
   However
   Moreover
   For example
   Placed before a noun or pronoun to form a
    phrase which indicates the relationship
    between nouns and nouns or nouns and
    pronouns.
   For eg: The book is on the table. It is on the
    table.
   Some common prepositions:
   About, above across, after against, along,
    amid, among, around, behind, below,
    beneath, beside, down, during, from, in, of,
    off, on, over, thought, till, with up, upon.
   Means making sure that verbs in sentences
    are in the same person and number as their
    subjects.
   Also, use the correct tense.
   Pronouns which replace nouns agree in
    person and number with the nouns.
   Number means whether the subject is
    singular or plural.
   Person is the category into which we put the
    person who is speaking or being spoken to or
    about.
   The first person is the one speaking, eg. I
   The second person is the being spoken to,
    eg. You
   The third person is the one who is being
    spoken about, eg. He, She, It, They
   Examples
   1. I am going to the meeting.(first person
    singular)
   2. You are all going to the training
    course.(second person plural)
 3. She has never been a very good referee.
  (third person singular)
 The following sentence is in agreement:
 The manager/ is walking/ into the office.
      subject       verb
The subject is in the third person and singular.
Therefore the verb must take a form which
  agrees with it.
   All verbs can indicate the past, present and
    future.
   Eg. The secretary was late. (past)
        The secretary is late.(present)
        The secretary will be late.(future)
   Auxiliary verbs: helping verbs
   Eg is, was, has, have , had
   Punctuation is used to make writing easier to
    understand. Some common ones are:
   Full stop (.)– used to end a sentence.
   Question mark (?) – used at the end of a
    question.
   Capital letters – used for the first word of a
    sentence, proper nouns, names of
    organizations, months, days, titles in
    people‟s names, titles of books, salutation of
    a letter.
   Commas (,) – used to separate items in a list,
    dependent clause from the independent,
    around words that qualify or add emphasis,
    after an introductory phrase.
   Apostrophes („) – indicate abbreviations eg
    isn‟t , to show possession, eg, Mary‟s book.
   Semicolon (;) – used instead of a conjunction
    to separate main clauses that have different
    subjects, eg, The book is out of print; it may
    be a while before we get it.