English for Communication (BT-103) - Unit 2 Short Notes

How unit 2 is examined

This unit is word-form and word-meaning practice plus reading skills: prefix/suffix fill-ups, synonym and antonym lists (each asked in a 7-mark question), and reading comprehension (the highest weight, asked as theory or as a passage).

Acquaintance with prefixes and suffixes from foreign languages in English to form derivatives

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Definition. A prefix is a letter group added before a root word and a suffix is one added after it; both form a derivative, a new word with a changed meaning or word class. <mark>A prefix changes the meaning of the word (happy, unhappy), while a suffix usually changes its part of speech (child, childish).</mark>

Key points.

1. Many affixes are borrowed from Latin and Greek (re-, pre-, sub-, anti-, -ion, -ment, -ic), so knowing them lets a student guess unseen words.
2. Prefixes such as un-, in-, im-, dis-, mis- give the opposite or a wrong sense (unhappy, misbehave), and re- means "again" (reconsider, rewrite).
3. Noun suffixes are -ness, -ment, -ship, -ian, -dom, -ity and -ful (as in handful): fitness, unemployment, championship, mathematician, boredom.
4. Adjective suffixes are -ful, -ish, -ic, -al, -ous: successful, childish, historic, economic.
5. Verb suffixes are -en, -ify, -ize: broaden, clarify.
6. Choose the affix from the blank: a noun slot needs a noun suffix, an adjective slot an adjective suffix, and a negative sense needs a negative prefix.
7. The root may change its spelling when an affix is added (succeed to successful, legitimate to legitimacy, economy to economic).

Example (answers to the paper sets).

Answer frame. Open with the definition of prefix and suffix; give one line on Latin/Greek origin; then write each sentence again with the completed word, underlining the added affix; close with one line saying prefixes alter meaning and suffixes alter word class.

Pitfall: Writing only the affix in a blank that asks for the full word, or forgetting the negative prefix (unhappy, misbehave).

Asked: [7 marks] (Jun 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025) Put the bracketed words in the right form using prefixes or suffixes (child, happy, mathematics, champion, hand, succeed, consider); add the correct prefix or suffix (behave, companion, bore, grace, write, legitimate, do); fill in the blanks with the right prefix/suffix (success, fit, unemploy, clear, history, broad, economy).

Synonyms

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Definition. Synonyms are different words with the same or nearly the same meaning, such as begin and start. <mark>A synonym must match both the meaning and the part of speech of the given word, and it is only near-equal, since no two words fit every context.</mark>

Key points.

1. A synonym belongs to the same word class as the given word, so a noun gets a noun and an adjective an adjective.
2. Synonyms differ in strength or formality: commence is formal while start is plain, and horror is stronger than fear.
3. Give one or two synonyms per word; a single correct one earns the mark.
4. Reading and vocabulary practice grow the stock, and a thesaurus helps in revision.
5. Choose the synonym by context when a word has several senses (gross means disgusting, or total).

Example.

Answer frame. Open with the definition of synonym; write the words as a two-column table, giving the answer with its word class where clear; add one line that synonyms are near, not exact, equals; close with the antonym part (see below) if the question pairs them.

Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2023, Jun 2023) Write the antonyms of knowledge, better, regular, defensive, mortal, casual, include; write the synonyms of amazing, begin, clam (calm), delicious, gross, mischievous, scared. Give the synonyms of endure, horror, contribute, notable, necessary, vanish, consolation.

Antonyms

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Definition. Antonyms are words with opposite meanings, such as poor and rich. <mark>An antonym is formed either by a different word (before, after) or by adding a negative prefix (regular, irregular).</mark>

Key points.

1. Antonyms are of three kinds: gradable (hot, cold), complementary (dead, alive) and relational (buy, sell).
2. Many antonyms are made with prefixes un-, in-, ir-, im-, dis-, non-: tidy, untidy; regular, irregular; mortal, immortal.
3. The antonym must have the same word class as the given word (feasibility as a noun gives impracticality as a noun).
4. Learn pairs, since a prefix is not always right (enormous is tiny, not unenormous).
5. Where a word has several senses, choose the one that fits the context.

Example.

Answer frame. Open with the definition of antonym; write the given words in the left column and the antonyms in the right; underline prefix-made pairs; close with a line that antonyms must match the word class.

Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2024, Jun 2025) Write the antonyms of enormous, exodus, mortal, ignorant, occupied, abounds, feasibility; write the antonyms of before, poor, short, tight, noisy, tidy, dead.

Reading comprehension

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Definition. Reading comprehension is the ability to read a text, understand its meaning and answer questions on it. <mark>Reading comprehension means reading a passage, grasping its main idea and details, and drawing inferences from it.</mark>

Sub-skills of reading.

Key points (techniques to improve).

1. Skim first to get the gist and the structure of the passage, then scan for specific facts.
2. Use the SQ3R method: Survey the text, Question it, Read, Recite in your own words, Review.
3. Build vocabulary and guess unknown words from context instead of stopping at each one.
4. Predict the content from the title and headings, then check the guess while reading.
5. Read actively: highlight main ideas, take notes and summarise each paragraph in a line.
6. Read intensively for study texts and extensively every day to raise speed and range.
7. Importance: comprehension improves retention, critical thinking and success in exams and at work.

Solving a passage. Read once for the gist, read the questions, then read again to find each answer; answer in full sentences using the passage's words; for "words which mean" questions, pick the phrase from the passage itself.

Example (Robert Bruce passage).

1. He was dejected because his many efforts to free Scotland had failed, and he thought of giving up.
2. He noticed a spider trying to reach the ceiling, failing several times but not losing heart.
3. He was surprised and glad when the spider succeeded at last.
4. He was inspired by the spider's patience: if a spider could succeed after many failures, so could he.
5. He decided to make one more attempt, with courage.
6. He succeeded in freeing his country.
7. Useless: in vain; give up courage: lose heart; liberate: free.

Answer frame. Techniques question: open with the definition; list skimming, scanning, intensive and extensive reading, then SQ3R, vocabulary and note-making; close with "regular practice raises comprehension". Importance question: give the value points first, then the techniques. Passage question: number the answers 1 to 7 and answer each in a full sentence.

Asked: [7 marks] (Jun 2022, Nov 2022) What are the techniques for improving reading comprehension? Give important points to improve reading comprehension skills.

Asked: [7 marks] (Jun 2022) What are the sub-skills of reading? Illustrate with examples.

Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2023) Read the Robert Bruce passage and answer: why he was dejected; what he noticed about the spider; why he was surprised; how he felt inspired; what he decided; the result; words meaning useless, give up courage, liberate.

Asked: [7 marks] (Dec 2024) Why is reading comprehension important? How can comprehension be improved?

Last-minute revision

• A prefix comes before a root and changes its meaning; a suffix comes after it and changes its word class.
• Negative prefixes: un-, in-, ir-, im-, dis-, mis-; re- means again.
• Paper answers: childish, unhappy, mathematician, championship, handful, successful, reconsider.
• Second set: misbehave, companionship, boredom, graceful, rewrite, legitimacy, undo.
• Synonyms are words of near-equal meaning and the same word class.
• Antonyms: knowledge/ignorance, better/worse, regular/irregular, defensive/offensive, mortal/immortal, casual/formal, include/exclude.
• Antonyms: enormous/tiny, exodus/influx, ignorant/knowledgeable, occupied/vacant, abounds/lacks.
• Skimming is for the gist, scanning for a fact, intensive for detail, extensive for pleasure.
• SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.
• Robert Bruce: in vain means useless, lose heart means give up courage, liberate means free.

Memory hooks

• Prefix = Pre-fix, put before; suffix = at the finish.
• SQ3R: "Sam Questions, Reads, Recites, Reviews".
• Skim = surface, scan = search, intensive = inside, extensive = enjoy.
• Prefix changes meaning, suffix changes class.

Coverage checklist

• Acquaintance with prefixes and suffixes from foreign languages in English to form derivatives: Jun 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 fill-ups covered.
• synonyms: Dec 2023, Jun 2023 covered.
• antonyms: Dec 2024, Jun 2025 covered.
• Reading comprehension: techniques (Jun 2022, Nov 2022), sub-skills (Jun 2022), Robert Bruce passage (Dec 2023), importance (Dec 2024) covered.