NVO Grade 7 Foreign Language flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Listening for gist

Listening to identify the speaker's main idea or overall purpose rather than specific facts. A gist answer summarizes the whole recording, not one detail.

Listening for detail

Listening to capture specific facts such as names, numbers, dates, prices, and places. Answers come from exact words in the recording, not from general impressions.

Distractor in listening

An answer choice that repeats words heard in the recording but attaches them to the wrong person, time, or place. It sounds correct but contradicts the actual meaning.

Rising intonation

A pitch pattern that rises at the end of an utterance. It commonly marks yes/no questions or uncertainty, while falling intonation marks completed statements.

Note-taking shorthand

A system of symbols and abbreviations used while listening, such as arrows for change, plus and minus for agreement, and initials for repeated names. It saves time and keeps attention on meaning.

Main idea

The central point a paragraph or passage communicates about its topic. It is often stated in a topic sentence near the beginning or end of the paragraph.

Skimming and scanning

Skimming is fast reading for general meaning; scanning is searching for a specific item such as a date or name. Each serves a different reading purpose.

Context clue

Information in surrounding words or sentences that reveals an unknown word's meaning. Common types are definition, example, contrast, and cause-effect clues.

Inference

A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text but not stated directly. A valid inference must be supported by details the author actually provides.

Pronoun reference

The relationship between a pronoun and the noun it replaces. Readers identify the referent by checking meaning, number, and gender with nearby nouns.

Fact versus opinion

A fact can be verified by evidence; an opinion expresses judgment or feeling. Words such as best, should, beautiful, and seems usually signal opinion.

Text structure

The organizational pattern of a passage, such as cause-effect, compare-contrast, sequence, problem-solution, or description. Recognizing it helps readers predict where key information appears.

Simple past tense

A verb form describing an action completed at a definite past time, often with markers like yesterday, last week, or in 2019. Regular verbs add -ed.

Present perfect tense

Have or has plus a past participle, linking a past action to the present. It rejects definite past time markers such as yesterday or last year.

Subject-verb agreement

The rule that a verb matches its subject in number. Phrases between them do not change the verb, so "the box of pencils is" stays singular.

Comparative and superlative

Comparatives compare two items using -er or more; superlatives compare three or more using -est or most. Example: taller than versus the tallest of all.

Countable versus uncountable

Countable nouns can be counted and take many or few; uncountable nouns cannot and take much or little. Examples: many bottles, much water.

Run-on sentence

Two independent clauses joined with no punctuation or with only a comma. It is repaired with a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction.

Modal verbs

Helping verbs such as can, may, must, and should that express ability, permission, obligation, or advice. The main verb after a modal stays in base form.

Prepositions of time

In is used for months, years, and seasons; on for days and dates; at for clock times. Example: at 7 p.m. on Monday in May.

Prefix

A letter group added to the start of a word to change its meaning, such as un- meaning not, re- meaning again, or pre- meaning before.

Suffix

A letter group added to the end of a word that often changes its part of speech. Examples: -tion forms nouns, -ful forms adjectives, -ly forms adverbs.

Connotation versus denotation

Denotation is a word's dictionary meaning; connotation is its positive, negative, or neutral feeling. Thrifty and stingy denote alike but feel different.

Homophone

One of two or more words that sound alike but differ in spelling and meaning, such as their, there, and they're, or to, too, and two.

Synonym intensity

Synonyms share core meaning but differ in strength, as warm, hot, and scorching do. Choosing well requires matching the word's strength to the context.

Idiom

An expression whose meaning cannot be understood from its individual words, such as break the ice meaning to start a conversation. Idioms are learned as whole units.

Topic sentence

The sentence stating a paragraph's main point, usually placed first or last. The remaining sentences supply supporting details, evidence, or examples.

Thesis statement

A single sentence presenting an essay's central claim. It usually appears at the end of the introduction and controls the content of every body paragraph.

Writing process stages

Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Revising improves ideas and organization; editing corrects grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Transition words

Words showing relationships between ideas: however signals contrast, therefore signals cause-effect, and for instance signals an example. They guide readers through an argument.

Complex sentence

A sentence containing one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, such as "When the bell rang, we left." It adds sentence variety to writing.

Adjacency pair

Two linked turns in conversation, such as question-answer, greeting-greeting, or invitation-acceptance. The first turn creates an expected response from the listener.

Clarification strategy

A spoken repair move such as asking for repetition, requesting slower speech, or paraphrasing to check understanding. It keeps communication going when meaning is unclear.