The Reduplication of Consonants

The Reduplication of Consonants

Rule I. In monosyllabic words ending in [f], [s], [l], [z] the final consonant is doubled when preceded by a vowel sound represented by a single letter

stiff	stuff	kiss	bliss	bell	fill	buzz	fuzz
cuff	pass	miss	staff	smell	ball	jazz	Boss

 

	as	has	is	us	was
Exceptions:	bus	his	nil	this	yes
	gas	if	plus	thus	quiz

Rule II. In polysyllabic words the final consonant is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel (-able, -ing, -er, -est, etc.)When a one-syllable word is 'consonant, short vowel, consonant', double the final consonant when you add a suffix if (a) the last syllable of the word is stressed, and (b) the final consonant is preceded by a short vowel represented by a single letter:

red – redder, redden, reddish

begin – beginning

thin – thinned, thinner

But: to repeat – repeated, repeating

to develop – developed, developing

Exceptions:

handicap (handicapped), kidnap (kidnapped), outfit (outfitted), worship (worshipped)

 

Rule III. The final letter “r” is doubled if it is preceded by a letter representing a stressed vowel, no matter if it is long or short (but not a diphthong):

to prefer – preferred, preferring

to occur – occurred, occurring

to stir – stirred – stirring

But: to wonder – wondered, wondering

to differ – differed, differing

to offer – offered, offering

to appear – appeared, appearing

to sneer – sneered, sneering

to interfere – interfered, interfering

Rule IV. The final letter “l’ is doubled if it is preceded by a short vowel (stressed or unstressed). It is not doubled if preceded by a long vowel or a diphthong:

to travel – travelled, travelling

to shovel – shovelled, shovelling

 

But:              [I:]      

to reveal – revealed, revealing

 [I:]

to peal – pealed, pealing

[ei]

to sail – sailed, sailing

Rule V. The final single consonant is not doubled if:

a) it is preceded by an unstressed vowel:

to open – opened, opening

to limit – limited, limiting

b) preceded by a vowel sound represented by two letters:

to look – looked, looking

to turn – turned, turning

c) the suffix begins with a consonant:

hot – hotly (but: hottest)

forget – forgetful (but: unforgettable)

formal – formally (but: formality)

 

 

Exercises

 

 

1. Insert the missing letters:

[f]	sti_	stu_	[l]	sti_	foo_	[s], [z]	congre_	wa_
	pu_	cu_		pi_	mea_		pa_	qui_
	roo_	ser_		too_	snar_		embarra_	plu_
	loa_	bee_		dea_	bu_		compa_	ye_
	thie_	cli_		spi_	sea_		thi_	ga_

2. Form the comparative and superlative degrees of the following adjectives:

big	mean	clear	meek	sweet
red	clever	broad	dim	thin
hot	weak	cool	flat	deep
green	sad	fat	slim	wet

 

3. Form the Past Indefinite and the Present participle of the following verbs. Underline double letters:

to feel	to win	to meet	to limit	to rebel
to put	to stop	to stir	to appear	to fill
to omit	to box	to equip	to add	to cool
to enter	to kidnap	to outfit	to quarrel	to exhibit

 

4. Insert the missing letters for the sounds given in brackets:

a)	ma(s)	wi(n)er	admi(t)ed	i(f)	bu(z)
	i(l)ne(s)	trave(l)er	quarre(l) some	droo(p)ed	regre(t)ful
	hoste(s)	worshi(p)er	wi(l)	contro(l)ed	re(d)en

b) 1. A(n) wi(l) mi(s) the b(u)s unle(s) she hu(r)ies. 2. They sto(p)ed cha(t)e(r)ing and go (s)i(p)ing only when darken(s) fell. 3. In a(d)ition to kni(t)ing and iro(n)ing mother had to replace some mi(s)ing bu(t)ons. 4. The a(s)i(s)tant se(t)led the ma(t)er fina(l)y. 5. The book is fu(l) of re(f)e(r)ences to places I know we(l). 6. So I told her the whole story, omi(t)ing nothing. 7. Le(t) us have a gla(s) of co(f)ee at that li(t)le co(f)ee sta(l). 8. A pa(s)ing bu(s) sto(p)ed, pi(k)ed some pa(s)engers, an went o(f).

COM POSITION EXERCISES

Read the passage

When we were sixteen my twin brother and I spent a week climbing the mountains in the Lake District. One day, just as we reached the summit of a mountain called Great Gable, early in the afternoon, it began to rain, and with the foolish optimism of youth we decided to take a short cut back to the farm-house where we were staying. It looked possible on the map, but there was no footpath. After half an hour the clouds came down and reduced visibility to about two yards. It was impossible to go on, and we sheltered as best as we could under an overhanging rock. Three hours later the clouds were as thick as ever and we were feeling cold, hungry and very miserable. Moreover, it was beginning to get dark. Fortunately we had told our landlady, Mrs Merton, where we were going, and we hoped that if we were not back by nightfall she would raise the alarm and send a search party. From time to time we shouted, but there was no answer. Then, at last, the clouds rolled away, and we saw the lights of a search party, not below us, but above us. We attracted their attention and three men came scrambling down towards us. Then we saw that we were nearly at the edge of a sheer drop, and that if we had gone on in the clouds we would certainly have been killed. We were so cold and stiff that the men had to help us back to the top and then down to the farm-house. Mrs Merton was very glad to see us, but we made her promise not to tell our parents.

Exercise 1. Complete these sentences (consult the text). 1. Because of the rain.... 2. The visibility was so bad.... 3. Mrs Merton knew.... 4. When the clouds disappeared.... 5. After we got back to the farmhouse....

Exercise 2. Make up sentences according to the model:

  frigh ten ed/utter/word He was so frightened that he couldn’t utter a word.

 self-confident/take/precaution; stupid/understand!sentences; shy/make! remark; excited!sleep!minute; intelligent!fail!examination.

Exercise 3. Write a story in two or three paragraphs, using the suggested words as an outline. Note that articles, pronouns, etc. are not given in the outline and must be supplied.

Poor Indian tailor made caps — wandered from village to village selling them — one afternoon fell asleep in forest — crowd of monkeys stole caps — tailor woke up — saw monkeys in trees wearing his caps — waved stick at them — monkeys waved branches — threw stones at them — monkeys threw fruits off trees — threw own cap on ground in anger — monkeys imitated him — collected caps — continued his journey.

 

The Final Letter “y”

Rule I. The final letter “y”, preceded by a consonant letter, changes into ”i” before all endings except –ing.

to dry – dries to cry – cries forty – fortieth pity – pitiful merry – merriment

 

But: carrying, crying, tidying, drying, replying

Exceptions:

1. Words ending in -“y” preceded by a consonant drop the   -“y” before suffixes beginning with -“i”: -ical, -ic, -ism, -ist, -ize to avoid a double “i”: economy – economic, economical history – historic, historical geology – geological, geologist apology – apologize 2. The final letter “y” preceded by a consonant is retained: a) in some words before the suffixes -hood, -ish, -ist, -like,  -ship, -thing: babyhood ladyship babyish copyist ladylike anything b) inpersonal names: Mary – Marys c) in compounds: countryside ladyship d) in some monosyllable words before the suffixes: -er, -est, -ly, -ness: shy – shyer, shyest, shyly, shyness sly – slyer, slyest, slyly, slyness dry – drier, driest, dryly, dryness Note: Both forms are possible in dryer – drier, flyer – flier 3. The final letter “y” following “t” changes to “e” before -ous: piteous plenteous beauteous duteous

Rule II. The final letter “y” preceded by a vowel letter is retained before all suffixes:

to play – plays, played, playing, playful

to enjoy – enjoys, enjoyed, enjoying, enjoyment

day – days

Exception:

gay – gaily, gaiety day – daily

Note that lay, mislay, pay, repay, slay are irregular verbs and their Past Indefinite and Participle II forms are spelled laid, mislaid, paid, repaid, said, slain.

 

Exercises

1. Insert the missing letters “y” or “i”:

bu_s	anno_ing	prett_est	stor_es	pla_mate
cop_es	militar_st	var_able	bu_er	betra_al
pa_s	fort_eth	enjo_able	carr_er	ma_be
pa_d	laz_est	merc_ful	essa_ist	m_self
la_s	psycholog_cal	da_ly	lovel_ness	cop_book
la_d	sh_est	dr_ly	bab_hood	ga_est
worr_ing	worr_some	necessar_ly

2. Write the third person singular of the Present Indefinite and the Past Indefinite form for the following verbs:

dry	stay	comply	fry	beautify
play	try	betray	enjoy	supply
cry	delay	destroy	repay	lay

3. Write the forms of the comparative and superlative degrees for the following adjectives:

silly	witty	dry	grey	dirty
lazy	heavy	easy	tidy	merry
shy	gay	busy	shabby	angry

4. Write the derivatives for the following words adding the suffixes:

-er	-ist	-al	-ness
buy	essay	try	shy
carry	economy	betray	coy
employ	philology	industry	ready
-ance	-ment	-ful	-ous
annoy	merry	joy	vary
apply	enjoy	duty	fury
rely	accompany	play	glory
-able	-eth	-ic, -ical	-ly
envy	fifty	irony	dry
enjoy	eighty	ideology	gay
modify	seventy	history	merry

5. Use a suitable derivative of the word given in brackets:

1. The bride’s parents did not approve of the (marry).

2. He likes to read (history) novels.

3. We’ve got a lot of electrical and other (apply) at home, but my husband buys more and more.

4. Mr. Sedley could not believe that his former friend could be so cruel, so (mercy).

5. This was in some measure due to her (shy), which had not yet left her.

6. They were alone for an hour, because Dony was taking his (day) nap.

7. He is quite a (rely) person.

8. The moment I dropped my gloves I hated myself and my (clumsy).

6. Write all forms and derivatives for the following words:

Plenty, pity, apply, deny, employ, lucky, beauty, easy, joy, marry, vary.

7. Find and correct the misspelt words:

Fried, dirtiness, paid, plaid, shiness, easily, dayly, icily, various, wrily, plenteous, furious, mysterious, passage, philologist, copyist.

The Mute Final “e”

Exercises

1. Write the “ing-form” of the following verbs:

leave	face	tiptoe	give	place	see
use	save	wake	shake	promise	agree
lie	raise	unite	clothe	come	strike
ride	rise	take	bite	have	place
canoe	tie	make	love	prepare	die

2. Write the initial form of the following words and give all the necessary explanations:

Abridging, amusement, arrival, bluish, changeable, continuous, creation, died, duly, dyeing, dying, freest, icy, nervous, tied, tiptoed, truly, wholly, valuable.

3. Write the derivatives for the following words adding the suffixes:

-able	-ous	-ful	-er
change	fame	hope	trade
notice	nerve	hate	dance
advise	courage	use	strike
trace	continue	taste	love
agree	fury	peace	skate
move	glory	care	believe
value	envy	grace	lecture
-ment	-ly	-less	-ance
announce	true	hope	guide
acquire	whole	use	grieve
improve	idle	care	ignore
excite	rare	noise	endure
commence	private	tire	resemble
agree	live	age	continue
achieve	large	sense

4. Write all forms and derivatives for the following words:

active	care	courage	close	hope	move	strange
agree	change	create	die	lie	notice	value

5. Insert the letter “e”where necessary:

a gentl_ breez_

a hop_less cas_

a grac_ful danc_er

a continu_ous drizzl_

a compl_t – ignor_ance

an entir_ly wrong argu_ment

the scen_ of a fam_ous battle

ly_ing without mov_ment

a tru_ly grat_ful and respons_iv_ audienc_

6. Add the suffixes given in brackets to the underlined words:

1. I may as well mention here that she made an advantage (-ous) match with a wealthy, worn-out man of fashion. 2. It wasn’t from that dinner he remembered her, it was from notice (-ing) her in the street. 3. Glanc (-ing) at his companion, he wondered if she remembered it. 4. He knows the boy is very courage (-ous) but he is also young. 5. But most people are afraid of face (-ing) this part of their nature. 6. The mechanic who is extremely knowledge (-able) about any kind of machinery, knew exactly how to get the gate open. 7. One day he was called to the manager’s room, due (-ly) reprimanded. 8. She learned many different steps, and even learned the art of tiptoe (-ing).

7. Find and correct the misspelt words:

Lying, eyeing, judgeing, agred, useful, duly, wholely, argument, changing, careful.

8. Write in English the following words:

Ценный, надежный, предпочтительный, восхитительный, изменчивый, заметный, несогласный, управляемый.

COMPOSITION EXERCISE.

 Complete the following passage. Keep to the first person and the past tense.

 I was walking along a country lane when a car passed me, travelling very fast, skidded at the next comer and overturned....

 

Affixation

(Prefixation and Suffixation)

I. Prefixation

A prefix is a word-building morpheme preceding the stem. It modifies the lexical meaning of the stem:

polite – im polite  fill - re fill

Some prefixes may form a different part of speech from the original word. When added to a verb-stem, they change an intransitive verb into a transitive verb:

wit, n. - out wit, v.;       little, adj. - be little, v.

Thus, a prefix always has lexical and sometimes grammati­cal meaning.

Negative prefixes

The group of negative prefixes is numerous. They give the derived word negative, reverse or opposite meaning.

Un-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or consonant.  For the biggest part of adjectives		· unable — неспособный, · unaware — неосведомленный, · uncertain — неуверенный, · unclear — неясный, · unfriendly — недружелюбный, · unhelpful — бесполезный, · uninformed -неосведомленный, · unknown — неизвестный, · unpleasant — неприятный, · unpredictable – непредсказуемый
In-		a negative prefix can begin with a vowel mainly a/ac (except i or u) or a consonant.		· Inaccessible — недостижимый, · Inaccurate — неточный, · Inadequate — неадекватный, · Incapable — неспособный, · Incomplete — незавершенный, · Incredible – невероятный.   Исключения: indefinite, inevitable, infinite, inflexible, informal, insecure, insignificant, invalid, invariable, invisible, involuntary.
Il-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter l.		· Illegal — нелегальный, · Illegible – нечеткий, неразборчивый, · Illiterate — неграмотный, · Illogical – нелогичный Исключение: disloyal
Ir-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter r.		· Irrational — нерациональный, · Irregular — неправильный, · Irrelevant — неуместный, · Irreparable — неисправимый, · Irresistible — неотразимый, · Irresponsible — безответственный, · Irreversible – необратимый.
Im-		a negative prefix always begin with the letter m or p		· Immature — незрелый, · Impatient — неспокойный, · Imperfect — неидеальный, · Impossible — невозможный, · Imprecise – неточный.
Dis-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant Necessary to learn by heart		· Disagreeable – неприятный, · Dishonorable – позорный, · Dishonest — бесчестный, · Disloyal – нелояльный; · Distasteful – противный, · distrustful — недоверчивый.
Non-		a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant. Necessary to learn by heart		· Nonexistent — несуществующий, · Nonmetallic – неметаллический, · Nonpartisan — беспартийный, · Nonresident – не проживающий здесь.
Un-	Rarely used with verbs, giving meaning delete		· Unscheduled – удалить из расписания · Unfriend – удалить из друзей
De-	a negative prefix with reverse meaning		· Deactivate — деактивировать, · Decode — декодировать, · Decommission — списывать, · Decompose — разбирать, · Deconstruct –разбирать, · Decontaminate — дезинфицировать, · Decrease — уменьшать, · Deform — деформировать, · Derail – сходить с рельсов.
Dis-	a negative prefix may begin with a vowel or a consonant		· Disagree – не соглашаться, · Disfigure – обезображивать, · Disinfect – дезинфицировать, · Disinherit – лишать наследства, · Disintegrate – дезинтегрировать, · displease - не нравиться, · distrust – не доверять.
Mis-	Meaning wrong		· Misdiagnose — поставить неверный диагноз, · Misinform — неправильно информировать, · Misinterpret — неверно истолковывать, · Mislead — вводить в заблуждение, · Misplace — поставить не на то место, · Misspell — делать орфографические ошибки, · Mistake – ошибаться, · Misunderstand — неправильно понять.

The prefix “in-“ (its variants -il, -im, ir) is usually added to adjectives (in accordance with the rules of assimila­tion) giving negative or opposite meaning. (The Russian prefix - “He-“).

convenience – in convenience

logical – ill ogical

moral – im moral

rational – ir rational

The prefix “de-“ gives the affixed word the following me­anings: deprive of, rid of, rid of the character of; reverse, undo (what is denoted by the verb):

code – de code   fame – de fame

throne – de throne form – de form

The prefix “ dis-“ gives the affixed word the opposite or negative meaning, the meaning of “the reverse of”:

advantage – dis advantage	arm – dis arm
content – dis content	agree – dis agree

 

Exercises

II. Suffixation

 

A suffix is a a) word-building or b) word-forming morpheme following the stem.

a) to form (v) – formation (n), forma list (n),

forma lism (n), form er (n),

form al (adj.), forma tive (adj.),

formless (adj.), formal ly (adj.)

b) formers, n.pl.

forms, v.3-rd person sing.

forms, n. pl.

 

The Suffix -tion, -sion

 

The suffix -tion (-sion) is a suffix which is used to derive nouns from verb stems. The process of derivation is accompainied by an interchange of consonant [t], [s] – [S]; [d] – [Z]:

to educate – educa tion	to intrude – intru sion
to express – expres sion	to explode – explo sion

Sometimes vowel changes take place alongside letter dropping in the process of suffixation:

-sion (often corresponds to the Russian -сия)

ses sion – сес сия

mis sion – мис сия

To scan – scansion

To expand – expansion

to commit – commission (+consonant change)

Exercises

1. Underline the consonant and vowel changes in the derived nouns:

-sion

express – expression	divide – division
impress – impression	provide – provision
confess – confession	admit – admission
discuss – discussion	permit – permission
convert – conversion	persuade – persuasion
conclude – conclusion	televise – television
invade – invasion	repel – repulsion
commit – commission	expand – expansion

 

-tion

complete – completion	combine – combination
invent – invention	limit – limitation
attract – attraction	consider – consideration
except – exception	imagine – imagination
intend – intention	continue – continuation
describe – description	prepare – preparation
oblige – obligation	vary – variation
satisfy – satisfaction	realize – realization
perfect – perfection	present – presentation
select – selection	publish – publication
construct – construction	explain – explanation
separate – separation	prescribe – prescription
produce – production	reduce – reduction

 

2. Write corresponding nouns from the following verbs by adding the suffixes -tion, -sion:

-tion

describe, construct, educate, imagine, prescribe, select, satisfy, exhibit, continue, complete, expect, add, except, attract, translate, separate, intend, generate, consider, prepare

-sion

decide, discuss, divide, conclude, express, confess, impress, commit, comprehend, admit, persuade, televise, possess, profess, provide.

3. Write the verbs from which the following nouns are derived:

confession	commission	exhibition	intention	prescription
decision	production	repetition	obligation	persuasion
imagination	admission	imitation	invasion	provision

 

The Suffixes -ance/-ancy, -ence/-ency

The suffixes -ance/ancy or their variant forms -ence/ency are added either to verb or adjective stems:

to appear – appear ance	vacant – vac ancy
to depend – depend ence	excellent – excell ency

There is no uniform guiding principle to the use of -ancy, -ency but there are several generalizations which help distinguish between these suffixes in spelling.

ence		ance
verb ends in “r” preceded by a vowel letter and is accented on the last syllable	conference,occurrence,preference,transference, reference	verb ends in “r” preceded by a vowel letter and the accent is on the first syllable	severance, utterance, sufferance
verb ends in«-ere»	Adhere-adherence cohere-coherence interfere-interference revere-reverence	verb ends in «-y», «-ure», «-ear»	Apply-appliance comply-compliance vary-variance assure-assurance endure-endurance insure-insurance appear-appearance clear-clearance forbear-forbearance
cid», «fid», «sid», «vid»	Сonfid ence Evid ence Incid ence Resid ence	verb ends in«–ate»	Deviate-deviance dominate-dominance hesitate-hesitance tolerate-tolerance
Abs ence Afflu ence Audi ence Benevol ence Compet ence Consci ence Consequ ence Conveni ence Depend ence Differ ence Eloqu ence Excell ence Experi ence Influ ence Obedi ence Pati ence Preced ence Sequ ence Sil ence Viol ence		Abund ance Accept ance Acquaint ance Assist ance Circumst ance Disturb ance Fragr ance Guid ance Ignor ance Inherit ance Mainten ance Perform ance Resembl ance Resist ance Utter ance

 

 

Exercises

 

1. Insert the missing letters “a” or “e”:

a) an impud_nt rascal

turbul_nt passions

compet_nt knowledge

some new inhabit_nts

a convales_nt hospital

an appli_nce for opening tins

a dilig_nt student

an effici_nt secretary

a confid_nt smile

a clear utter_nce

 

b) 1. There is a dist_nt reseml_nce between the cousins. 2. There is a want of confid_nce in their government. 3. No admit_nce except on business. 4. At the confer_nce I met some old acquaint_nces of mine. 5. I was ignor_nt of one import_nt circumst_nce. 6. The perform_nce will begin at eight and the audi_nce will retire at ten. 7. The lady was dressed with eleg_nce and her appea_nce was all that could be desired. 8. I keep my refer_nce books near my desk for conveni_nce.

 

2. Find words related to the verbs given below and use them in sentences of your own:

resist, enter, reassure, annoy, signify, inherit, repent, abound, tolerate, forbear.

 

The Suffixes -able, -ible

 

The suffixes -able/-ible are Latin in origin. They came through French and are active in Modern English. They are added mainly to verbs to from adjectives, and sometimes to nouns or even phrases. Among them there are many adjectives borrowed from Latin or French:

audible,       edible

 

Guiding Principles

I. Use -able if:

1) the stem is a full word:

break/able

notice/able

fashion/able

pass/able

2) the stem is a full word lacking the mute “e”:

ador/able – adore	lik/able – like
advis/able - advise	endur/able - endure

3) the stem ends in “i” (the initial form usually has “y” at the end):

envi/able – envy	piti/able – pity
reli/able - rely	classify/able - classify

4) the stem ends in [k] -c or [g] -g

practic/able

amic/able

applic/able

navig/able

If the stem ends in [s] -c or [ ʤ ] -g, the final mute letter “e” is retained before -able:

notice/able – notice	service/able – service
peace/able – peace	change/able – change

5) there is a corresponding noun in -ation:

separ/able – separation	imagin/able – imagination
admir/able – admiration	irrit/able – irritation

II. Use -ible if:

1) the stem is not a full word:

aud/ible	vis/ible	horr/ible
Exceptions:	connect/ible	irresist/ible	perfect/ible	express/ible
	flex/ible	impress/ible	access/ible	resist/ible

2) the stem ends in -ns [ns] or -miss [mIs]:

sens/ible	admiss/ible	comprehens/ible
respons/ible	dismiss/ible	transmiss/ible

3) the stem ends in -c [s] or -g [ ʤ ]:

forc/ible	produc/ible	illeg/ible
convinc/ible	reduc/ible	intang/ible

Note: If the root word ends in “e”, as in “force”, the “e” is dropped before -ible.

4) the word has the corresponding form in -ion:

permiss/ible – permission	collect/ible – collection
access/ible – accession	perfect/ible – perfection

 

Exercises

1. Copy the following words under two headings: -able, -ible. See which generalizations can be applied to them:

terrible, responsible, reliable, defensible, lovable, durable, eatable, describable, excusable, demonstrable, pitiable, incorrigible, approachable, honourable, profitable, illegible, disagreeable, permissible.

2. Derive adjectives by adding suffixes:

-able		-ible
notice	prefer		convince	sense
value	notice		respond	terror
desire	change		express	vision
remove	agree		exhaust	resist
utter	like		divide	digest

3. Complete the following words using -able or -ible:

access-	express-	connect-	tax-
pass-	flex-	resist-	perfect-
impress-	comfort-	detest-	detect-

4. Fill in the blanks with -able or -ible:

1. She always found his smile irresist__. 2. The heat was quite unbear__. It would quite imposs__ to sleep with such a noise. 4. He laughed his most horr__ laugh. 5. His stories were remark__. It was the most sens__ remark that she had ever made. 7. The little girl looked very miser__. 8. His behaviour was hardly bear__.

5. Write down the following sentences and translate them into Russian:

A. 1. He felt that there was something incurable in the world’s suffering. 2 I didn’t forget that sense of anxiety and tension which had upset me during the night, but it became reasonable. 3. Augustus, my disreputable brother, is completely infatuated with her. 4. This separation was a great grief to me and I blamed myself for being incapable of that moral courage necessary to acknowledge the evil nature of man. 5. He would eat fresh fish for breakfast if available. 6. From the start, Palmer took it that something catastrophic and irrevocable had occurred.

B. 1. He was aware of an immense load of responsibility; it was indistinguishable from love. 2. Sometimes the pulsing of the drums was all but audible, at others they seemed to be beating only just round the comer. 3. But the minute hand of the electric clock above his bed jumped forward with an almost imperceptible click. 4. This was quite possibly true, but not, in the present circumstances, admissible. 5. She stood so, quiet and still, for a few moments; perhaps she was vaguely aware that the attitude was beautiful for her, and irresistibly appealing to George. 6. Dr M. West, a member of this distinguished group of workers on vocabulary selection, is responsible for the compilation of a work which will prove invaluable to all teachers of the English language

6.Fill in the blanks with the words given below:

adorable, imaginable, indispensable, disagreeable, reliable, suitable, valuable, unmistakable,

1. In my opinion she was the most … of all ladies. 2. They have warned the doctor, guarded their tongues, done everything … to prevent her from learning the truth. 3. He though of the … distance a man travels. 4. I hardly think that Mrs. Anderson is a very … person. 5. This dictionary has achieved international recognition as an … practical reference book to English as a foreign language. 6. The look she gave him was charged with an … terror. 7. He was looked upon by his superiors as a … officer. 8. His wrist-watch was a … thing made by a famous clock-maker.

7. Write in English. Mind the suffixes -able, -ible and the negative prefix in- (im-, il- accordingly):

Безответственный, невыносимый, непостижимый, невыразимый, незаметный, неизлечимый, неизмеримый, неразрешимый, неописуемый, невероятный, неспособный.

 

General Review

 

1. Complete the words listed below:

[f]		[k]		[G]		[C]
tou_	or_an	pin_	jer_	ju_	_ug	mar_	a_ieve
sheri_	_rase	anti_	sto_ing	_elly	marria_e	an_or	scor_
lau_	dea_	_orus	_ettle	sta_	mar_in	_est	_air
gol_	roo_	ki_	_aracter	_ipsy	_et	spee_	ba_elor
tra_ic	all_abet	s_eme	si_	sol_ier	hin_	pa_	i_

2. Give the four forms of the verb:

to lie	to agree	to lay	to die	to offer
to confer	to dry	to interfere	to catch	to peal
to marvel	to enjoy	to pay	to matter	to stay
to canoe	to limit	to dig	to fit	to argue

3. Add prefixes to make the words opposite in meaning:

legal	movable	fortune	natural	respect
material	furious	manageable	excused	kind
necessary	advisable	appropriate	avoidable	possible
satisfied	just	elegant	different	reasonable

4. Add suitable suffixes, write the new words:

expand	response	trace	appear	manage
admit	pardon	marvel	sleepy	agree
vary	occupy	judge	mercy	enjoy
repeat	correspond	pay	voice	fame

5. Find and correct the misspelt words:

arguement	admitting	listenning	seing	assured
happiness	begar	specialy	suggar	porrige
believe	relyable	painful	altogether	strangly
noticable	rarely	shyness	angryly	payed

 

 

 Homophones.

Homophones are words which are pronounced in the same way, but spelled in a different way.

 Copy the following homophones and look up their meaning in the dictionary:

   allowed — aloud; air — heir, be — bee; bare — bear, beat — beet; beach — beech; birth — berth; berry — bury; boar — bore; bean — been; bread— bred; brake — break; blue — blew; bow — bough; by — bye — buy; cell — sell; cent— sent— scent; course — coarse; currant— current; dear — deer; die — dye; dew — due; flower — flour; fare — fair; father — farther; feat — feet; forth — fourth; fo r — four — fore; fir — fur; gait — gate; grown — groan; great — grate.

Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word from each group:

a ir — heir: 1. He got up with an... of relief and yet reluctance. 2. The classroom should be...ed during the break. 3. John was the only... to his uncle’s estate.

allow ed — aloud: 1. She read the passage... so that her sister should understand what she meant. 2. Next day Jimmy was n o t... to leave the house again.

b are — b ear: 1. The garden looked... and deserted. 2. 1 can’t... the way you treat that man. 3. The... has a massive body, coarse heavy fur and relatively short limbs.

beach — beech: 1. All the family sat round the table under a huge... which grew near the house. 2. The day was stormy and there were very few people on the....

bean — been: 1. Don’t try to fool him with that suggestion. He knows how many...s make five. 2. I’ve always... treated as a gentleman.

 b eat — beet: 1. While we were cutting up potatoes, carrots and... root for the soup I looked up and suddenly burst out laughing. 2. For a moment I could not feel my heart. It had stopped...ing.

b e rry — bury: 1. Are you going to... yourself in your work? 2. There are a lot of different... and mushrooms in this forest.

b irth — b erth: 1. The upper... was occupied by a young man who never took part in our conversation. 2. The news that Mrs Davis had given... to a daughter seemed to make no impression on her relatives.

 blue — blew: 1. A heavy storm... up towards evening. 2.... is my favourite colour.

 bow — bough: 1. He was not a young man any longer; age had...ed his head. 2. He climbed onto the huge... of a pine. 3. He greeted him with a low....

brak e — b reak: 1. Jerry was the first to... the silence. 2. The driver put on the... and the car stopped. 3. Wait a bit. We’ll discuss it in the

b read — bred: 1. He remained serene in a houseful of ill-... people. 2. Her hands trembled while she was eating her... and butter.

cell — sell: 1. The... is a structural unit of plant and animal life. 2. Don’t... this book, you may need it in future.

 cent — sent — scent: 1. He could... trouble the moment he stopped onto the porch. 2. The doctor was... for immediately. 3. A... is a hundredth part of the U. S. dollar.

course — coarse: 1. The main... was steak with vegetables. 2. His hands were... and roughened by years of hard work. 3. Christine did an intensive Russian... before she came to Russia.

c u rre n t — c u rra n t: 1. We had reached the bridge over the river and stood there, gazing down at its strong.... 2.1 opened the gate and saw some... bushes and a line of white flowers fringing the path.

d ear — deer: 1. Two dollars! That was too... for such a trifle. 2. What a... little kitten! 3. An adult male... is called a stag.

dew — due: 1. The grass and leaves of the trees were covered with.... 2. The meeting is... to begin at 4 o’clock.

die — dye: 1. A man can... but once. 2. He is a liar of the blackest....

 fare — fair: 1. What is the... from here to Moscow? 2. He was met by a...-skinned young girl with a beautiful crown of black hair.

fa rth e r — fath er: 1. Her... lived not far from her, but they seldom saw each other. 2. Mr Jones’ house is just a few steps....

fir — fu r: 1. We were decorating the...-tree when our guests came. 2. She had a very beautiful...-coat on.

flower — flour: 1. She liked violets more than any other...s. 2.... is the finely ground meal of grain.

 for — four — fore: 1. The part of the arm between the elbow and the wrist is called the... arm. 2. These are good pills... a cough, but you must not take more than... pills at a time.

 gate — gait: 1. At the... I met a strangely familiar man dressed in black. 2. He walked with an awkward, stooping... which was due to nervousness.

 great — grate: 1. Her singing...so n my ear. 2.1 have a... desire to spend a fortnight in the country.

grown — groan: 1. He is...-up and must be responsible for his actions. 2. The wounded man...ed when they tried to lift him

 

Copy the following homophones and look up the meaning of the words which are new to you in the dictionary:

 hair — hare; heal — heel; hear — here; hoarse — horse; hole — whole; hour — our; knead — need; key — quay; lain — lane; lead — led; meat — meet; maid — made; mail — male; main — mane; minor — miner; night — knight; pain —pane; prey — pray; pear — p a ir— pare; pail — pale; piece — peace; plane — plain; read— reed; rain — reign — rein; root— route; ring— wring; road — rode — rowed.

 

Exercise 1. Insert in the blank spaces the appropriate word from each group:

h a ir — h are: 1. First catch your..., then cook it. 2. What he saw there made his... stand on end. 3. She took out all the pins and let her... fall down her back.

heal — heel: 1. Don’t worry! It’s just a scratch; it’ll soon.... 2. The dog followed the hunter at his...s.

 hoarse — horse: 1. Don’t look a g ift... in the mouth. 2. They talked themselves..., but never came to an agreement.

 hole — whole: 1. He ate three... oranges. 2. The... in the ground was covered with some fir branches.

 key — quay: 1.1 often met this man wandering along the... late in the evening, looking at the boats. 2. The landlady showed him upstairs and gave him a... to his room. 3. The symphony is in a major....

 lain — lane: 1.1 could see them now, walking up the..., him and his girl. 2. He had... motionless on the ground for an hour or so before he heard steps.

lead — led: 1. It could not be Tina! You must have been... astray by her strong resemblance to Sophie! 2. The... pencil does not, and never did, contain any....

 m ade — maid: 1. She... up her mind not to interfere. 2. The door was opened by the..., who told me that the master was out.

 m ail — male: 1.... animals are often larger than the females. 2. If you want the letter to get there quickly, send it by air....

m ain — mane: 1. The... library contains books of general interest. 2. The horse’s... was decorated with paper flowers and ribbons for the occasion.

m eat — m eet: 1. Though he worked hard, he had difficulty in making both ends....2. One man’s... is another man’s poison.

 m iner — m inor: 1. I’d always thought of him as a rather minor artist till then. 2. His father worked as a... in Donetsk. 3. A minor key is one of the two types of key in which music is written. n ig h t— knight: 1. T hat... I never thought of sleeping. 2. In the Middle Ages a mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior was called a....

pail — pale: 1. He turned... when I told him we had found the gun near the house. 2. Take some water from the... and wash your face.

 pain — pane: 1. The rain was beating at the window....2. He never took...s to get a proper education.

 p e a r — p a ir — p are: 1. They left the house in...s. 2. Very soon he was forced to... down his expenses. 3. The woman carried a basket full of huge golden...s.

piece — peace: 1. He tore the letter into...s and burned them in the fireplace. 2. May he rest in..., poor soul! 3. This play is all of a... with his previous works. 4. A... pipe is a pipe smoked by the North American Indians as a token o f....

plain — plane: 1. There are... brown curtains at the window of my bedroom. 2.... geometry deals with figures whose parts all lie in one....

 prey — pray: 1. These worries...ed upon his mind. 2. She knelt down and began to....

 ra in — reign — rein: 1. She kept a tig h t... on her husband. 2. He used to come to our place every Sunday,... or shine. 3. That building was designed during the... of Queen Victoria.

road — rode — row ed: 1. He jumped on his horse and... away. 2. She turned on to a narrow country... and went on faster. 3. We crossed the river in a boat. Jim..., and I steered with a short scull.

 root — route: 1. She was red as a beet-.... 2. Which... did he take? 

 

Copy the following homophones and look up the meaning of the words which are new to you in the dictionary:

sale — sail; sea — see; seen — scene; sew — sow; sheer — shear; sight — site; sole — soul; some — sum; son — sun; sort — sought; stare — stair; steak — stake; steel — steal; tale — tail; through — threw; vein — vain — vane; waist — waste; wait — weight; week — weak; weigh — way; where — wear — ware; whether — weather; witch — which; write — wright — right — rite

 

sail — sale: 1. It is time to s e t.... 2. Be sure to buy this book: it is on... now. 3. She...ed into the room and stopped to be admired.

 seen — scene: 1. We can’t agree on this point, but please don’t make a.... 2. He had never been... since that day.

sew — sow: 1.1 know that I can... and hem much better than my Aunty Em. 2.... the wind and reap the whirlwind. 3. It was too early to... yet. 4. To... one’s wild oats means to live immorally, usually when young.

s h e e r— shear: 1. To... means to remove wool from sheep with large scissors, or shears. 2. This work is a... waste of time.

sight — site: 1. My grandmother doesn’t read much now. Her... is failing. 2. Soames found a beautiful... for his new house.

 sole — soul: 1. You must have shoes with thicker...s. These won’t stand up to a long walk. 2. He is the... of humour. 3. Would you like... for your lunch? — Oh, I don’t like fish. Can I have some meat, please?

 so rt — sought: 1. They... shelter from the rain in a... of shed. 2.1 could not understand why he... my advice again; he had never followed it before.

 stare — stair: 1. Don’t... at the poor girl. She is embarrassed as it is. 2. A long flight of...s led down to the sea.

 steak — stake: 1. I’d like a nice... for my dinner. 2. A... is a thick sharpened stick used to support a tent, young trees or plants.

 steel — steal: 1. She managed to... a glance at the man. 2. He seemed to have nerves o f....

tale — tail: 1. Children like fairy-...s, but when they grow older, they prefer...s of adventure. 2. I could not make head or... of what he had told me.

th ro u g h — th rew: Jane... the apple away because it was rotten right....

vein — vain — vane: 1. She was so thin that...s stood out against her pale skin. 2. The weather... on top of the town hall pointed east. 3. She was nothing but a silly... girl. 4. She was not really bad, just... and thoughtless.

 w aist — w aste: 1. Joseph Sedley was as vain as a girl. He had dozens o f... coats, a special one for every occasion. 2. Don’t... your time reading this book.

 w ait — w eight: 1. In England apples are sold by... and oranges at so much a piece. 2.... a minute. Will you stand on the scales, please. I must put down your....

weigh — way: How often do you... yourself? — Twice a week. But it does not seem to help. I’m not getting any thinner. — That is not the... to lose weight. You should diet.

w here — w ear — w are: 1. After you pass the... house, turn to the right. 2.... can I find shoes for everyday...? 3. He used to keep a hard... shop. 4. There are all kinds of silver... for sale here.

 w h eth er — w eather: 1.... we go or... we stay, the result is the same. 2. He promised to come, though the... was awful.

which — witch: 1. A... is a person who professes or is supposed to practise magic, especially black magic. 2.1 don’t know... way we must take.

w rite — w rig h t— rig h t— rite: 1. He is a well-known play....2. You are old enough to know the difference between... and wrong. 3. He behaved in a strange way, as if performing some peculiar....4.... to me as often as you can, please

 

The Reduplication of Consonants

Rule I. In monosyllabic words ending in [f], [s], [l], [z] the final consonant is doubled when preceded by a vowel sound represented by a single letter

stiff	stuff	kiss	bliss	bell	fill	buzz	fuzz
cuff	pass	miss	staff	smell	ball	jazz	Boss

 

	as	has	is	us	was
Exceptions:	bus	his	nil	this	yes
	gas	if	plus	thus	quiz

Rule II. In polysyllabic words the final consonant is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel (-able, -ing, -er, -est, etc.)When a one-syllable word is 'consonant, short vowel, consonant', double the final consonant when you add a suffix if (a) the last syllable of the word is stressed, and (b) the final consonant is preceded by a short vowel represented by a single letter:

red – redder, redden, reddish

begin – beginning

thin – thinned, thinner

But: to repeat – repeated, repeating

to develop – developed, developing

Exceptions:

handicap (handicapped), kidnap (kidnapped), outfit (outfitted), worship (worshipped)

 

Rule III. The final letter “r” is doubled if it is preceded by a letter representing a stressed vowel, no matter if it is long or short (but not a diphthong):

to prefer – preferred, preferring

to occur – occurred, occurring

to stir – stirred – stirring

But: to wonder – wondered, wondering

to differ – differed, differing

to offer – offered, offering

to appear – appeared, appearing

to sneer – sneered, sneering

to interfere – interfered, interfering

Rule IV. The final letter “l’ is doubled if it is preceded by a short vowel (stressed or unstressed). It is not doubled if preceded by a long vowel or a diphthong:

to travel – travelled, travelling

to shovel – shovelled, shovelling

 

But:              [I:]      

to reveal – revealed, revealing

 [I:]

to peal – pealed, pealing

[ei]

to sail – sailed, sailing

Rule V. The final single consonant is not doubled if:

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