Unit 2 | unit 2 vocabulary building and comprehension

Unit 2

Vocabulary Building and Comprehension

2.1 Acquaintance with Prefixes and Suffixes from Foreign Languages in English to Form Derivatives

English speakers today--or even people trying to find out English--can enjoy understanding a number of the derivatives, or parts of a word taken from other languages, like Latin and Greek. Since there are over 1,000,000 words within the English, it's impossible to memorize all of them. However, understanding some basic components of words and customary ones that are derivatives of the classical languages can assist you determine their meaning.

In some ways, a word is simply sort of a cake, made from different ingredients. You'll find out what a word means by watching its three parts. The root, or the foremost basic form of the word that also has meaning, is what makes up the bottom of the word. Frequently something is going to be attached the start of a word to feature meaning, which is named a prefix. Suffixes are almost like prefixes, but instead come at the top of the word. For instance, if you study the word ''microbiology,'' you'll see it's composed of those three parts, all of Greek origin: a prefix, ''micro-'' (meaning ''small''); a root, ''bio'' (meaning ''life''); and a suffix, ''logy'' (meaning ''study of''). Understanding these parts can assist you determine that microbiology is that the ''study of small life forms.''

Many English words and word parts are often traced back to Latin and Greek. The subsequent table lists some common Latin roots.

Latin root Basic meaning Example words:

Latin root	Basic meaning	Example words
-dict-	To say	Contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict
-duc-	To lead, bring, take	Deduce, produce, reduce
-gress-	To walk	Digress, progress, transgress
-ject-	To throw	Eject, inject, interject, project, reject, subject
-pel-	To drive	Compel, dispel, impel, repel
-pend-	To hang	Append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum
-port-	To carry	Comport, deport, export, import, report, support
-scrib-, -script-	To write	Describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe, subscription, transcribe, transcription
-tract-	To pull, drag, draw	Attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction
-vert-	To turn	Convert, divert, invert, revert

From the instance words within the above table, it's easy to ascertain how roots combine with prefixes to make new words. For instance, the basis -tract-, meaning “to pull,” can combine with variety of prefixes, including de- and re-. Detract means literally “to pull away” (de-, “away, off”) and retract means literally “to pull back” (re-, “again, back”). The subsequent table gives an inventory of Latin prefixes and their basic meanings.

Latin prefix	Basic meaning	Example words
Co-	Together	Co-author, coedit, coheir
De-	Away, off; generally, indicates reversal or removal in English	Deactivate, debone, defrost, decompress, deplane
Dis-	Not, not any	Disbelief, discomfort, discredit, disrepair, disrespect
Inter-	Between, among	International, interfaith, intertwine, intercellular, interject
Non-	Not	Nonessential, non-metallic, non-resident, nonviolence, non-skid, nonstop
Post-	After	Postdate, post-war, postnasal, postnatal
Pre-	Before	Preconceive, pre-exist, premeditate, predispose, prepossess, prepay
Re-	Again; back, backward	Rearrange, rebuild, recall, remake, rerun, rewrite
Sub-	Under	Submarine, subsoil, subway, subhuman, substandard
Trans-	Across, beyond, through	Transatlantic, transpolar

Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples/ instances of some important English suffixes that come from Latin:

Latin suffix	Basic meaning	Example words
-able, -ible	Forms adjectives and means “capable or worthy of”	Likable, flexible
-ation	Forms nouns from verbs	Creation, civilization, automation, speculation, information
-fy, -ify	Forms verbs and means “to make or cause to become”	Purify, acidify, humidify
-ment	Forms nouns from verbs	Entertainment, amazement, statement, banishment
-ty, -ity	Forms nouns from adjectives	Subtlety, certainty, cruelty, frailty, loyalty, royalty; eccentricity, electricity, peculiarity, similarity, technicality

Greek Latin Derivatives: Prefix and Suffix Starter List:

Most of these combining/ interactive forms can be used as either prefixes or suffixes. Examples are presented to illustrate current usage.

Prefixes	Derived From:	Meaning	Example
a-, ab-	Latin	Off, from, down, away	Abduct, avert
a-, an-	Greek	Not, without, less	Abiotic, anaerobic
Actin-	G. Aktis	a ray, beam, spoke	Actinomycete
Ad-	Latin	To, attached to,	Adsorption
Aer-	Greek	Air	Aerobic
Amphi-	Greek	Both, about, around	Amphibian
Ana-	Latin	Away, through, again	Analysis
Andro-	Greek	Man, male	Androgens
Angio-	Greek	a vessel, closed container	Angiospermae
Anthropo-	Greek	Referring to man	Anthropology
Ant-, anti-	Greek	Against, away, opposite	Antibiosis
Ante-	Latin	Before	Anteroom
Ap-, aph-, apo-	Latin	From, off, separate	Apogee
Aqua-	Latin	Water	Aquatic
Arche-, archeo-	Greek	Ancient, primitive	Archeology
Arthri-, arthro-	G. Arthron	Joint, jointed	Arthritis
Asco-	G. Askos	Bag, sack, bladder	Ascospore
Aureo-	L. Aureus	Gold colored	Aureomycin
Auto-	G. Autos	Self	Autoimmune
Bi-	Latin	Two, twice, double	Bipolar, binocular
Bio-, bios-	Greek	Related to life	Biology, biocidal
Blasto-	G. Blastos	An embryonic layer or cell	Blastomere
Brachy-	Greek	Short	Brachycephalic
Brad-, brady-	Greek	Slow, slowness	Bradycardia
Bry-, bryo-	G. Bryon	Moss, mossy	Bryophyte
Calic-, calix-	Latin	Cuplike	Calyx
Cani-, canis-	Latin	Dog	Canine
Cardia-	G. Kardia	Heart	Cardiac
Carn-	L. Carnis	Flesh	Carnivore
Carp-	L. Carpalis	Wrist, bones	Carpel
Cata-	Greek	Decomposition, degradation	Catabolism
Cell-	L. Cella	Small room	Cellular
Cephal-	Latin	Head	Cephalic
Chloro-	G. Chloros	Green, containing chloride	Chlorophyll
Chroma-, chromo-	Greek	Colored	Chromosome
Chron-, chrono-	G. Chronos	Time	Chronometer
Circum-	Latin	Around, near, about	Circumnavigate
Coel-	G. Koilos	Hollow cavity, belly	Coelom
Col-, com-, con-	Latin	With, together	Combine, collide
Contra-	Latin	Against	Contradict
Crypto-	G. Kryptos	Hidden	Cryptogamic
Cyano-	G. Kyanos	Dark blue, blue-green	Cyanobacteria
Cyst-	G. Kystis	Bladder	Cystitis
Cyt-,cyte-,cyto-	G. Kytos	Cell, a hollow vessel	Cytology
De-	Latin	Undoing, removal of, from	Dehydration
Den-, dent-	L. Dens	Tooth	Dentition
Dendro-	Greek	Tree	Dendrochronology
Derm-, derma-	Greek	Skin, hide	Dermatitis
Deut-, deutero-	Greek	Second, secondary	Deuterium
Di-	Greek	Double, twice, two	Disaccharide
Dia-	Greek	Through, across	Diameter
Diplo-	Greek	Twofold, double	Diploid
Dis-	Latin	Apart, away	Dissolve
Dorm-	Latin	To sleep	Dormant, dormitory
Drom-, drome-	Greek	a running, racing	Dromendary
e-, ec-	Latin	Out, out of	Efferent
Eco-	G. Oikos	House, environment	Ecology
Ecto-	G. Ektos	Outside	Ectoderm
En-, endo-	G. Endon	Within, internal	Endoskeleton
Entero-	G. Enteron	Intestine	Enterocolitis
Entomo-	G. Entoma	Insect	Entomology
Eo-, eos-	Greek	The dawn	Eocene, Eohippus
Epi-	Greek	Upon, above, top	Epidermis
Erythro-	Greek	Red	Erythrocyte
Eu-	Greek	Proper, true, good	Eukaryotic
Ex-	Latin	Out, from	Excise
Exo-	Greek	Outer, external	Exoskeleton
Extra-	L. Exter	Outside of, beyond	Extracellular
Flagell-	L. Flagrum	Whip, whiplike	Flagellum
Fuc-, fuco-	G. Phyktos	Seaweed, algae, lichen	Fucoxanthin
Gamo-	G. Gamos	Sexual union	Gamogenesis
Gastero-,gastro-	G. Gaster	Stomach, belly	Gastroenteritis
Geno-	L.gene	Origin, development	Genotype
Ge-, geo-	Greek	Earth	Geology
Glu-, glyco-	Greek	Sweet, sugar	Glucose, glycogen
Gon-,goni-,gono-	Greek	Reproductive, sexual	Gonorrhea
Gymn-, gymno-	G. Gymnos	Naked, bare	Gymnosperm
Gyn-,gyne-,gyno-	Greek	Woman, female	Gynecology
Halo-	G. Hals	Salt	Halophile
Haplo-	G. Haploos	Single	Haploid
Heme-, hemo-	G. Haimo	Blood	Hematologist
Hemi-	Greek	Half	Hemisphere
Hepta-	Greek	Seven	Heptanes
Herb-	L. Herba	Pertaining to plants	Herbicide
Hetero-	Greek	Different, other, unlike	Heterozygous
Hex-, hexa-	Greek	Six	Hexagonal
Hipp-, hippo-	G. Hippos	Horse	Hippodrome
Histo-	G. Histos	Tissue	Histology
Holo-	G. Holos	Whole, entire	Holoblastic
Homeo, homo-	Greek	Same, similar, like	Homogeneous
Hyal-, hyalo-	G. Hyalos	Glassy, transparent	Hyaloids
Hydr-, hydro-	Greek	Pertaining to water	Hydrolysis
Hyper-	Greek	Above, more, over	Hyperactive
Hypo-	Greek	Below, less, under	Hypodermic
Ichthy-,ichthyo-	Greek	Referring to fish	Ichthyology
Inter-	Latin	Between	Intercellular
Intra-	Latin	Within, inside	Intracellular
Intro-	Latin	Inward, within	Introvert
Iso-	Greek	Equal, same	Isotonic
Kine-	Greek	Movement, moving	Kinetics
Leuc-, leuk-	Greek	White	Leucocyte
Lycan-	G. Lykos	Wolf	Lycanthropy
Macro-	Greek	Large, big, long	Macromolecule
Man-, manu-	Latin	Hand	Manual
Mastig-	G. Mastigos	Whip	Mastigophora
Meg-, mega-	Greek	Great, large	Megabyte
Melan-,melano-	Greek	Black, dark	Melanin
Mero-	G. Merus	Part, piece	Meroblast
Mes-, meso-	G. Mesos	Middle, in between	Mesoderm
Met-, meta-	Greek	Later, following, changed in position or form	Metamorphosis
Micro-	G. Mikros	Small	Microbiology
Milli-	Latin	a thousandth part	Millimeter
Mio-	G. Meion	Less, smaller	Miocene
Mito-	G. Mitos	Thread	Mitosis
Mon-, mono-	Greek	One, single	Monocular
Morph-	Greek	Shape, form	Morphology
Mor-, mort-	Latin	Die, death,	Mortality
Muc-, muco-	Latin	Consisting of many units	Multicellular
Mus-	Latin	Mouse, as one running	Muscle
Myco-, mykos-	Greek	Fungus, mushroom	Mycology
Myo-	G. Mys	Muscle	Myoglobin
Myxo-	Greek	Slime, mucus	Myxomycetes
Nemato-	Greek	Thread, threadlike	Nematode
Neuro-	Greek	Name	Nomenclature
Ob-	Latin	Against	Obtuse
Octa-	Greek	Eight	Octopus
Olig-, oligo-	Greek	Few, small, less	Oligarchy
Omni-	Latin	All, everywhere	Omnipotent
Oo-	Greek	Pertaining to an egg	Oocyte
Ophthalmo-	Greek	Referring to the eye	Ophthalmologist
Opisth-,opistho-	Greek	Behind, backwards, back	Opisthobranchia
Orni-, ornitho-	Greek	Bird	Ornithology
Orth-, ortho-	Greek	Straight	Orthodontist
Osteo-	Greek	Bone	Osteocyte
Oto-	Greek	Referring to the ear	Otology
Ova-,ovi-,ovul-	Latin	Egg	Ovary, oviduct
Paleo-	Greek	Old, ancient	Paleontology
Para-	Greek	Beside, near, beyond	Parasitism
Path-, patho-	Greek	Disease, suffer	Pathogenic
Ped-, pedi-	Latin	Foot	Pedicure
Penna-, pinna-	Latin	Feather, feathery	Pinnate
Pent-, penta-	Greek	Five	Pentagon
Per-	Latin	Through	Pervade, peruse
Peri-	Greek	Around, surrounding	Perimeter
Pher-	Greek	Bearing, carrying, support	Pheromone
Phil- philo-	Greek	Loving, attracted to	Philanthropy
Phob-	Greek	Fear, fearing	Phobic
Photo-	Greek	Pertaining to light	Photosynthesis
Phyco-	Greek	Seaweed, algae	Phycology
Phylo-	Greek	Tribe, race, related group	Phylogeny
Phyto-	Greek	Pertaining to plants	Phytohormone
Plasm-, plasma-	Greek	Formative substance	Plasmablasts
Plati-, platy-	Greek	Flat	Platypus
Pleio- pleo-	Greek	More, many	Pleiomorphic
Pod-,poda-,podi-	Greek	Foot	Podiatrist
Poly-	Greek	Many	Polyhedron
Post-	Latin	After	Postnatal
Pre-	Latin	Before	Prenatal
Preter-	Latin	Beyond	Preterhuman
Prim-	Latin	First	Primary
Pro-	Greek	Before, on behalf of	Proboscis
Pro-	Latin	Forward	Progressive
Proto-	Greek	First, primary	Protozoa
Pseudo-	Greek	False	Pseudopod
Psilo-	Greek	Bare, mere	Psilopsida
Pteri-, ptero-	Greek	Fern, feather	Pteridophyte
Quadr-, quadri-	Latin	Four	Quadruped
Radi-	Latin	Ray, spoke of wheel	Radial
Re-	Latin	Back, again	Repeat
Retro-	Latin	Backward	Retroactive
Rhiz-, rhizo-	Greek	Pertaining to roots	Rhizoids
Rhod-, rhodo-	Greek	a rose, red	Rhodopsin
Rota-	Latin	Wheel	Rotate
Sapr-, sapro-	Greek	Rotten, putrid, dead	Saprobe
Sarc-, sarco-	Greek	Flesh, fleshy	Sarcoma
Schiz-, schizo-	Greek	Split, splitting	Schizocoel
Se-	Latin	Apart	Secede
Semi-	Latin	Half	Semicircle
Soma-, somato-	Greek	Body	Somatic
Sperma-,spermato-	Greek	Seed	Spermatozoa
Sporo-	Greek	Spore	Sporophyte
Staphylo-	Greek	Bunch of grapes	Staphylococcus
Stoma-	Greek	Mouth	Stomata
Strepto-	Greek	Twisted, string of	Streptococcus
Sub-	Latin	Below, under, smaller	Subapical
Supra-, super-	Latin	Above, over	Supernova
Sym-, syn-	Greek	Together, with	Synthesis
Taxi-, taxo-	Greek	To make order, arrangement	Taxonomy
Tel-,tele-,telo-	Greek	Distant, end	Telophase
Terra-, terre-	Latin	Land, earth	Terrestrial
Tetra-	Greek	Four	Tetrapod
Therm-, thermo-	Greek	Heat	Thermometer
Thigmo-	Greek	Touch	Thigmotaxis
Trans-	Latin	Across, through, over	Transfer
Tri-	Latin	Three	Triangle
Tricho-	Greek	Hair	Trichocyst
Triplo-	Latin	Triple	Triploid
Troche-, trocho-	Greek	Wheel, hoop	Trochophore
Tropho-	Greek	Nourishment	Trophoblast
Ultra-	Latin	Beyond, exceedingly	Ultraconservative
Uni-	Latin	Consisting of one	Unicellular
Vice-	Latin	In place of	Vice-president
Vid-, vis-	Latin	See	Vision
Xen-, xeno-	Greek	Dry, desert	Xerophytes
Zoo-	Greek	Animal, life	Zoology
Zyg-, zygo-	Greek	To join together	Zygote

Suffixes	Derived From:	Meaning	Example
-biosis	Greek	Mode of living, way of life	Symbiosis
-blast	Greek	Formative, embryonic	Mesoblast
-chaeta-, -chete	Greek	a bristle	Polychaeta
-chrome	Greek	Color	Mercurochrome
-cidal, -cide	Latin	Killer, a killing	Insecticide
-cocci, -coccus	Greek	Round, seed, kernel	Streptococcus
-cyst	Greek	Pouch, sac	Trichocyst
-dactyl	Greek	Finger	Pentadactyl
-derm, -dermis	Greek	Skin, layer	Epidermis
-elle, -ule, -la, -le, -let, -ole	Latin	Small, diminutive endings	Globule, piglet
-emia	Greek	Blood disease	Anemia
-fer	Latin	Bearer, producer, carry	Conifer, transfer
-gamous, -gamy	Greek	Marriage, sexual fusion	Polygamy
-gen, -geny	Greek	Origin, production	Progeny, hydrogen
-genesis	Latin	Origin, development of	Embryogenesis
-gony	Latin	Something produced	Cosmogony
-graph	Greek	Drawing, writing	Chromatograph
-hedral, -hedron	Greek	Side	Polyhedral
-hydrate	Greek	Compound formed by union of water with other substance	Carbohydrate
-ism	Greek	Act, practice or result of	Terrorism
-ite	Latin	a division or part	Somite
-itis	Greek	Inflammation or infection	Appendicitis
-jugal, -jugate	Latin	To yoke, join together	Conjugate
-logy	G. Logos	Science or study of	Biology
-lysis, -lytic	Greek	Loosening, separation, splitting into smaller units	Photolysis
-mer, -merous	G. Meros	a part, piece	Polymer
-meter	G. Metron	a measurement	Diameter
-morph	Greek	Form	Endomorph
-mycin	Greek	Derived from a fungus	Aureomycin
-nomy	Greek	Systematized knowledge of	Astronomy
-oma	Greek	Timorous	Carcinoma
-osis, -otic	Greek	Abnormal condition, disease	Neurosis
-phage	Greek	Eater	Bacteriophage
-phase	Greek	a stage or condition	Metaphase
-phil, -phile	Greek	Fear, fearing	Hydrophobia
-phor, -phore	Greek	Bearing, carrying, supporting	Sporangiophore
-phyll	Greek	Leaf	Chlorophyll
-phyta, -phyte	Greek	Plant	Epiphyte
-plasm	Greek	Formative substance	Cytoplasm
-plast	Greek	Organized particle, granule	Chloroplast
-pod, -poda	Greek	Foot	Arthropod
-some	Greek	Body	Chromosome
-stasis	Greek	a stationary position	Homeostasis
-stat, -static	Greek	Stationary, still	Hemostat
-stomy	Greek	Opening into	Colostomy
-therm	Greek	Heat	Homeotherm
-thes, -thesis	Greek	Arrangement, in order	Hypothesis
-tom, -tomy	Greek	Dividing, surgery	Lobotomy
-trope, -tropic	Greek	Turning	Phototropic
-vor, -vore	L. Vorare	Feeding	Carnivore

Key Takeaways

There are over 1,000,000 words within the English language that have been derived from other languages such as Greek and Latin.
A word is made up of three main parts – the root, the prefix and the suffix.
The prefix makes up the first few letters of the word that carries a meaning in itself.
The suffix makes up the last few letters of the word that carry a certain meaning.
The root is the central word around which prefix and suffix are adjoined.

2.2 Synonyms

Synonyms are words that carry a similar or same meaning to another word. Sometimes even though the synonym of a word has an identical meaning the word and the synonym may not be interchangeable. For example, "blow up" and "explode" have the same meaning, but "blow up" is informal (used more in speech) and "explode" is more formal (used more in writing and careful speech). Synonyms also provide variety to speech and writing.

Many words in the English language contain more than one synonym. Some examples of Synonyms:

Shallow - superficial

Stop – cease

Spontaneous - capricious

Gloomy – sad - unhappy

House - home - abode

Evil - bad - wicked

Garbage - trash - junk - waste

Present – gift – reward – award

Sniff – smell – inhale

Little – small – tiny

Under – below – beneath

Short list of synonyms in English, listed by the part of speech:

Nouns:

Belly / stomach
Children / kids
Disaster / catastrophe
Earth / soil
Father / dad
Happiness / joy
Instinct / intuition/ understanding
Mother / mom
Present / gift
Sunrise / dawn

Verbs:

Answer / reply
Beat / defeat
Behave / act
Begin / start
Close / shut/ turn on/turn off
Leave / exit
Provide / supply/ distribution
Select / choose
Shout / yell
Speak / talk

Adjectives:

Big / large
Complete / total/number
Correct / right
Crazy / mad
Foolish / silly /fool/ stupid
Happy / glad
Hard / difficult
Ill / sick
Last / final
Near / close
Sad / unhappy
Stable / steady/ strong

Adverbs:

Abroad / overseas
Almost / nearly/ about / approx.
Bad / poorly
Fast / quickly
Intentionally / purposefully
Out / outside
Rarely / seldom/ not common
Sometimes / occasionally/ periodically
Surely / for sure/ definitely
Very / highly / extremely/too much

Prepositions:

Above / over/ more
About / regarding / concerning
Against / versus
Below / beneath / under
By / via
Despite / in spite of
In / into/ to
Off / away
Until / till
With / including

Conjunctions:

And / plus
Because / since
But / yet/for now
If / provided
Once / as soon as possible/ and

Interjections:

Hello / hi
Gee / gosh
Goodness / goodness me / my goodness
No / nope
Oh Lord / oh good Lord
Thanks / thank you
Whoopee / yahoo / hooray
Yes / yeah

Key Takeaways

Synonyms are words that carry a similar or same meaning to another word.
It is often seen that even if the synonym of a word has an identical meaning the word and the synonym may not be interchangeable.
Many words in the English language contain more than one synonym.

2.3 Antonyms

Antonyms are words that carry the opposite meaning to another word. They can be used to show contrast between two things or emphasize a point. Antonyms can be totally different words from their counterparts or can also be formed by adding prefixes to some words.

Below are some examples of antonyms that are commonly used in the English language:

Antonyms formed by changing entire words

Love – hate

Beginning – ending

Ugly – beautiful

Wild – tame

Extrovert – introvert

Antonyms formed by adding prefix –un

Acceptable - unacceptable

Able - unable

Do - undo

Certain – uncertain

Seen – Unseen

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –in

Decent – indecent

Tolerant – intolerant

Human – inhuman

Curable – incurable

Expressible – inexpressible

Antonyms formed by adding the prefix –non

Sense – nonsense

Essential – nonessential

Flammable – non-flammable

Renewable – non-renewable

Entity – nonentity

Other prefixes used to form antonyms of words are –anti (Thesis - Antithesis), -ill (Literate – Illiterate), -mis (Informed – Misinformed), -dis (Assemble – Disassemble) etc.

Short list of antonyms in English, listed by the part of speech:

Nouns

Day / night
East / west
The enemy / friend
Failure / success
Guest / host
Health / disease
Question / answer
Speaker / listener
Summer / winter
Top / bottom/ up / down

Verbs

Agree / disagree/accept
Arrive / leave/ come / go
Begin / end/ start
Fall asleep / wakefulness/sleep
Find / lose/ gain
Lend / borrowing
Love / hate
Open / close/turn on /turn off
Remember / forget
Start / stop

Adjectives

Is asleep / awake
Beautiful / ugly /good/ bad
Big / small
Black / white
Cheap / expensive
Dead / alive
It is dry / wet
Easy / difficult
Full / empty
Good / bad
Hot / cold
Intelligent / stupid/you are smart
Sad / happy/ exciting
Sick / living healthy
Thin / fat

Adverbs

Always / never
With anger / happily/ excitement
Fast / slowly
Here / there
Inside / outside/ indoors/ outdoors
Likely / unlikely/possible/ impossible
Near / far
Partly / fully
Seemingly / actually/ visually
Yesterday / tomorrow

Prepositions

Above / below
Against / for / because
Before / after
In / out/ indoors/ outdoors
Like / unlike/ love / contrast
On / off
Plus / minus
To / from
Towards / away/remote
With / without

Conjunctions

And / or
Therefore / nevertheless /or so

Interjections

Bravo / boo

Hello / goodbye
Holy cow / duh
Phew / oops
Thanks / no thanks
Yes / no
Yippee / oh my/ oh

Key Takeaways

Antonyms are words that carry the opposite meaning to another word.
Antonyms are useful showing contrast between two things or emphasizing a point.
Antonyms can be totally different words from their counterparts or can also be formed by adding prefixes to some words.

2.4 Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension

Reading is the cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning from them. It is the ability to understand text, decode its meaning and compare with what the reader already knows.

Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary are very essential to be a good reader. Attention span, the ability to understand the meaning of a word from context, the ability to co-relate thoughts and ideas, the ability to follow the flow of words, and the ability to identify various literary devices are the fundamental skills required for efficient reading.

An efficient reader is like a bus driver who knows when to go slow, when to accelerate speed, how to negotiate hair-pin bends on ghat roads etc. An efficient reader knows there are different levels of comprehension too as these are different reading materials. To become an efficient reader, one should be able to employ different study techniques. Reading is an act of communication between writer and reader. It is an act in which the reader grasps the information the writer passes on to him.

Comprehension is the correct association of meanings with word symbols. It is the selection of the correct meaning suggested by the text It is a thinking process. It is thinking through reading. Students should lead and get complete meaning. There are two situations that arise while reading a passage. The pupils may find a reading comprehension passage difficult for them. The teacher should know about the difficulties beforehand and prevent their occurrence.

Some common difficulties are:

Students are not able to concentrate on what they read.
They are not able to recognize words. Noisy surroundings, inadequate lighting and uncomfortable seating arrangements.
Unfamiliarity of the subject matter (eg) a child from a city may not understand a passage on farming and a village child about road signal systems.
In effective questioning and answering techniques.
Lack of appropriate guidance by the teacher Steps for the comprehension skills. These are various steps followed for the construction of comprehension.

Features of Reading Comprehension

Reading for the main idea:

One should develop skills to identify the main idea or the central idea in what they read. This skill is necessary to get the main idea, identify the theme and get the implied meanings of the paragraph.

Activities to identify the main idea:

Underlining key words.
Selecting the topic sentence.
Writing the title.
Turning the sub heads or subtitles into a question (The answer to the question may give the main idea of the paragraph)
Locating the function words that tie the sentence together. e.g then, therefore, but, etc.

Reading for details:

Along with reading for and stating the main idea the one must learn to read for details.

Below are some activities which facilitate reading for details:

Look at a picture and then describe what they see at the picture.
Note the details in a paragraph after stating the main idea.
Identify irrelevant sentences.
Analyse the paragraph to make a formal outline.
Carryout simple directions on how to do something.
Respond to directions.
Elicit answers concerning the details, develop chart, diagram or map of the sequence of events.

Reading for organization:

Good readers will understand the organisation of what is being read. They arrange the ideas in logical order. The key helps to recall the information is organization. Reading the content areas depends upon proficiency in organisation skills. A Good reader knows how paragraphs are organized.

Activities that help one learn in a logical order what they are reading:

Organizing information about a given subject (eg) characteristics of animals)
Grouping a series of details about a main idea.
Developing an outline for a story with heading and subheadings.
Arranging records, directions or ideas in sequential orders.
Arranging various bits of information about a selected topic and grouping them into an information story.

Reading for summarising and outline:

Summaries help to pressure the essential facts and ideas in capsule form. They retain important information. So one should develop summarizing skill. Outlining is another way of organisation. It is closely related to summarising activities to develop summarizing skills. Summarise a message to be sent as a telegram. Selecting the main idea from the choices you give them. Do exercise for writing an outline. Read a small poem and select the best summary from the choices you give them.

Barriers to Reading

Some of the barriers to effective reading are as follows-

Lack of grammatical and linguistic competence: Many people cannot read effectively because they fail to decrypt grammatical and lexical units of language in the text. They lack the ability to differentiate and recognize the words, sentences, expressions, used in the text. It hampers the process of reading. The reader may stop reading further if he fails to understand the text grammatically.

2. Lack of motivation: Reading for information and knowledge requires motivation and discipline. Many people think reading as boring and time-consuming task. Lack of proper motivation and goal may create barrier to reading.

3. Lack of concentration: Many a times a reader finds himself reading a passage or a page and later realizing that he had not understood the meaning of it at all. This happens due to a lack of concentration while reading. One of the main reasons for this is that the reader might be lost in his thoughts while he is reading. Reading is psycho-linguistic process and therefore requires careful attention of the reader.

4. Proper light and ventilation: A reader has to struggle a lot to read in dim light or dark rooms. If proper ventilation is not there in the reading room, reader may feel suffocated or tired.

5. Subject of interest: People often prefer reading texts that they are interested in. If one is reading a topic which is not according to his preferences, he may find himself losing interest gradually.

6. Articulating the words and sentences loudly: Many readers have habit to articulate loudly or murmur the words in the text. They buzz each word which creates a barrier to speed reading. Putting finger, pen or any object on the words and sentences while reading: Many people put their finger or pen on the text while reading. They move the finger or object from word to word which lowers down the process of reading.

7. Narrow eye span: Readers often read the text one word at a time with independent eye shift between each and every word. They have narrow eye span. It not only decreases the speed of reading but also affects the comprehension. Shorter the eye span, slower the speed and comprehension. Readers require proper training and techniques to expand their eye span.

Strategies for Reading

Below are some fundamental reading strategies:

Previewing: Previewing refers to take a quick glance at a text before actually reading it. It enables readers to understand the organizational structure of a text. Previewing includes the process of skimming through the text and looking at the headings, table of contents (if any) and typographical cues to get the general idea of what the text is about.

2. Contextualizing: Contextualizing refers to the process of placing the text in its appropriate historical, biographical and cultural background. When one reads a text, they often tend to look at it through the lenses of one's won background, leading to a misjudged or biased reading of the text. Contextualizing helps one eradicate this problem by understanding the scenario and purpose for which the text was written.

3. Questioning: Asking questions while reading a text helps one remember and understand what they have read up to that moment. Questions should be asked after the end of each paragraph and they should deal with the general gist of that paragraph and not with little details contained inside it.

4. Reflecting: While reading, one's personal beliefs or opinions may be challenged by the text. Here it is important to reflect on one's unconscionably held beliefs and values and how the text affects them. As one is reading the text for the first time, an X should be marked in the margin at each point where they feel a personal challenge to their attitudes, beliefs, or status. A brief note should be made in the margin about what one feels or about what in the text created the challenge. After marking, the text should be read again to find out any patterns one has regarding personal beliefs.

5. Outlining and summarizing: Summarizing a text is a great way to ascertain if one has grasped the intended meaning of the text. While outlining deals with the general overview of the text, summarizing is the process of writing down what one has understood about the central idea of the text in their own words thereby forming a new text in itself. Although summarizing begins with outlining, it always ends with creating its own independent text. Outlining focuses on a close analysis of each paragraph, however, summarizing requires creative synthesis. Outlining and summarizing shows how reading critically can lead to deeper understanding of any text.

6. Evaluating an argument: Evaluating involves the process of testing the logic of a text, its credibility and emotional impact. Writers make assumptions which they want the readers to accept as true, although a critical reader must always evaluate and question what he reads.

One should not accept the details within a text as they are presented before him, he should always be prepared to question and assess the text at every step. This will help the reader to grasp any hidden meanings within the text.

7. Comparing and contrasting related readings: Comparing the text one reads with other texts helps the reader to get a better understanding of the text. Sometimes authors refer to similar incidents but with different perspectives. Comparing various texts helps the reader shine new light on a particular subject letting him explore it more deeply. This might also lead to a change in the readers opinions regarding the topic.

Improving Reading Comprehension Skills

Reading comprehension is a skill, and like other skills it can be improved over time. With reading comprehension, practice is the mantra, the more you read the better you'll be at understanding a text. Below are the seven main strategies which will help you hone your comprehension skills:

Improve your vocabulary
Come up with questions about the text you are reading
Use context clues
Look for the main idea
Write a summary of what you read
Break up the reading into smaller sections
Pace yourself

1. Improve your vocabulary

The basic unit of a sentence is a word. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand the meaning of words in order to understand the meaning of sentences and ultimately the subtle meanings within the text. To improve your vocabulary, you can:

Take an online vocabulary quiz to assess your current level of vocabulary understanding
Use flashcards to quiz yourself on words you don’t know once or twice a week
Make a point to use newly learned words in verbal and written communication
Read as much as possible to improve your ability to guess what a word means in a certain context
Make a list of unfamiliar words as you read and look them up in the dictionary

2. Come up with questions about the text you are reading

If you ask yourself questions while reading a text, it will help you get more invested and allow you to get a deeper understanding of the text. It will also allow you to explore themes, motifs and other components of text that you otherwise wouldn’t inquire about. The following are examples of questions you could pose as you read:

Why was that location chosen to start the book by the author?
What kind of relationships do characters share with each other?
What do we know about the main character up to this point in the book?
What are the themes consistently recurring throughout the book? What do they mean?

The more specific your questions, the more likely you will gain further insight into the text and its meaning.

3. Use context clues

Using context clues is a great way to understand what you are reading even if you don’t know all the vocabulary being used. Context clues can be found in the words and sentences surrounding the word that you aren’t familiar with. To use context clues, you can focus on the key phrases or ideas in a sentence and deduce the main idea of a sentence or paragraph based on this information. You can also look for nearby words that are synonyms or antonyms of the word you don’t know.

4. Look for the main idea

Identifying the main idea of a paragraph or article can help you determine the importance of the article. Understanding why the author has written what he has written will help you develop a deeper understanding of the text. While reading, pause after every paragraph and try to decipher the central idea behind the paragraph. Then, try to use your own words and describe the paragraph for further understanding.

5. Write a summary of what you read

Summarisation is a great way to increase your knowledge of what you have read. Summarizing requires you to decide what is important in the text and then put it in your own words. Summarizing allows you to determine if you truly understand what you have read and better remember what you have read in the long term

6. Break up the reading into smaller sections

Breaking up a text into small sections is a great way of understanding the text more easily if the text is complicated. For example, you could read two paragraphs at a time and then pause to quickly summarize what you just read in your mind. Breaking up what you are reading can help you feel less overwhelmed and give you a better chance of truly comprehending the information in the text.

7. Pace yourself

Set realistic goals for yourself while reading by pacing yourself and allowing yourself some room to breathe. Literary texts require a deep understanding of the subject matter and pacing will be especially helpful for understanding literary texts. Set a goal for yourself that you know you can meet each day. For example, instead of trying to read a full hefty book in two days, try reading 4 chapters in one day. This allows you to reach your goals and also provides adequate time for you to process what you are reading between each session.

Tips to make the most of your reading comprehension practice

Reading is a fundamental part everyday life. These tips can help you make the most of your time when practicing your reading skills.

Eliminate distractions: When you are distracted, your ability to comprehend what you are reading is negatively impacted. When reading—even if it’s a simple email—the focus should be solely on the text as concentration is an essential element of the cognitive process. This will help you learn to hold your attention on what you read and enable you to know whether you understand what you are reading.

b. Read a book below your reading level: Starting with books below your reading level will allow you to develop a baseline of your reading comprehension and build on that. Instead of starting with books that contain complicated subjects, read something that interests you, is comfortable and that you can easily comprehend. You can take online quizzes to determine your current reading level.

c. Re-read text to ensure understanding: If you finish a sentence or paragraph and realize that you don’t understand what it was trying to convey, take the time to re-read it until you do. Try to read more slowly the second time around and look up definitions for any words you don’t know the meaning of.

d. Read aloud: Reading aloud comprises of both visual and audio cognitive processes which helps you with your reading comprehension practice. It also forces you to slow down and gives you more time to process what you are reading.

Example for Reading comprehension:

Read the following comprehensions and answer the questions:

In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial searching, Ferdinand Magellan led the first journey to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he worked for the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire of political conspiracy at court and lost the king’s good deed. After he was removed from service by the king of Portugal, he started to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain.

A papal decree of 1493 had allocated all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan afforded to provide evidence that the East Indies fell under Spanish power. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was searching the landscape of South America looking for a water route across the continent. This ship sank, but the outstanding four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South America. Lastly they found the passage they wanted near 50 degrees S latitude. Magellan called this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is recognized as the Strait of Magellan.

One ship abandoned while in this passage and came back to Spain, so fewer sailors were advantaged to look at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who stayed back crossed the meridian now identified as the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan’s men died of hunger and disease.

Later, Magellan became worried in an insular disagreement in the Philippines and was murdered in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17 sailors under the authority of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to finish the westward voyage to Spain and thus show once and for all that the world is round, with no cliff at the border.

1. The 16th century was an age of large ______ exploration.

Cosmic
Land
Mental
Common man
None of the above

2. Magellan lost the favour of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political ________.

Entanglement
Discussion
Negotiation
Problem
None of the above

3. The Pope separated New World lands between Spain and Portugal along with their location on one side or the other of an made-up physical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _________ direction.

North and south
Crosswise
Easterly
South east
North and west

4. One of Magellan’s ships searched the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.

Coastline
Mountain range
Physical features
Islands
None of the above

5. Four of the ships sought after a passageway along a southern ______.

Coast
Inland
Body of land with water on three sides
Border
Answer not available

6. The passage was found near 50 degrees of ________.

Greenwich
The equator
Spain
Portugal
Madrid

7. In the spring of 1521, the ships crossed the _______ now called the International Date Line.

Imaginary circle passing through the poles
Imaginary line parallel to the equator
Area
Land mass
Answer not available

Key Takeaways

Reading is the cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning from them as well as the ability to understand text, decode its meaning and compare with what the reader already knows.

2. Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary are very essential to be a good reader.

3. Reading is an act of communication between writer and reader. It is an act in which the reader grasps the information the writer passes on to him.

4. One should develop skills to identify the main idea or the central idea in what they read. This skill is necessary to get the main idea, identify the theme and get the implied meanings of the paragraph.

5. Good readers will understand the organisation of what is being read. They arrange the ideas in logical order. The key helps to recall the information is organization.

6. Many people cannot read effectively because they fail to decrypt grammatical and lexical units of language in the text.

7. Many a times a reader finds himself reading a passage or a page and later realizing that he had not understood the meaning of it at all. This happens due to a lack of concentration while reading.

8. People often prefer reading texts that they are interested in. If one is reading a topic which is not according to his preferences, he may find himself losing interest gradually.

9. Previewing refers to take a quick glance at a text before actually reading it. It enables readers to understand the organizational structure of a text.

10. Contextualizing refers to the process of placing the text in its appropriate historical, biographical and cultural background.

11. Asking questions while reading a text helps one remember and understand what they have read up to that moment.

12. Summarizing a text is a great way to ascertain if one has grasped the intended meaning of the text. While outlining deals with the general overview of the text, summarizing is the process of writing down what one has understood about the central idea of the text in their own words thereby forming a new text in itself.

13. Evaluating involves the process of testing the logic of a text, its credibility and emotional impact.

14. The basic unit of a sentence is a word. Therefore, it is necessary to first understand the meaning of words in order to understand the meaning of sentences and ultimately the subtle meanings within the text.

15. Using context clues is a great way to understand what you are reading even if you don’t know all the vocabulary being used. Context clues can be found in the words and sentences surrounding the word that you aren’t familiar with.

References

1. ‘Technical Communication: Principles and practice’, Meenakshi Raman and Sangeeta Sharma (Oxford)

2. ‘Effective Business Communication’, Krizan and merrier (Cengage learning)

3. ‘Communication Skill, Sanjay Kumar and pushlata, OUP2011

4. “Practical English Usage Michael Swan OUP, 1995.

5. “Exercises in spoken English Parts I-III CIEFL, Hyderabad, Oxford University Press

6. On writing well, William Zinsser, Harper Resource Book 2001.

7. Remedial English Grammar, F.T. Wood, Macmillan2007.

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