ICAS English flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Simile
- A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using the words 'like' or 'as', such as 'as brave as a lion'.
- Metaphor
- A direct comparison that states one thing is another without using 'like' or 'as', for example 'the classroom was a zoo'.
- Prefix 'anti-'
- A prefix meaning 'against' or 'opposite', as in 'antibiotic' (against bacteria) or 'anticlockwise' (opposite to clockwise).
- Homophone
- A word that sounds the same as another but has a different meaning and spelling, such as 'their', 'there' and 'they're'.
- Connotation
- The emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its literal meaning; 'childlike' is positive while 'childish' is negative.
- Root 'tele-'
- A Greek root meaning 'far' or 'distant', seen in words like 'telephone', 'television' and 'telescope'.
- Cloze test
- A reading task in which one or more words are removed from a passage and the reader must choose the word that best completes the meaning and grammar.
- Main idea
- The central point of a passage, telling what the text is mostly about; it is often stated in the first or last sentence.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text plus the reader's prior knowledge; it is not stated directly but must be supported by clues.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a writer creates a text: to inform, persuade, entertain or instruct; the purpose shapes the content and tone.
- Tone
- The writer's attitude toward the subject or audience, revealed through word choice and details, such as humorous, critical or sympathetic.
- Fact vs opinion
- A fact can be proven or verified; an opinion expresses a judgment, belief or feeling and often includes words like 'best' or 'should'.
- Cause and effect
- A relationship in which one event makes another happen; signal words include 'because', 'therefore', 'so' and 'as a result'.
- Compare and contrast
- Examining how things are alike (compare) and different (contrast); signal words include 'both', 'similarly', 'however' and 'unlike'.
- Simple sentence
- A sentence with one independent clause containing a subject and a verb and expressing a complete thought, such as 'Birds sing'.
- Compound sentence
- A sentence made of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) or a semicolon.
- Complex sentence
- A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, such as 'When it rained, we stayed inside'.
- Comma splice
- An error in which two independent clauses are joined only by a comma; it can be fixed with a period, semicolon or conjunction.
- Sentence fragment
- A group of words that is punctuated as a sentence but lacks a subject, a verb or a complete thought, such as 'Running down the street'.
- FANBOYS
- A memory aid for the seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so; they join words or clauses of equal rank.
- Parallel structure
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a list or comparison, such as 'reading, writing and speaking' rather than mixing forms.
- Active voice
- A sentence construction in which the subject performs the action, as in 'The dog chased the ball'; it is usually clearer and more direct.
- Passive voice
- A construction in which the subject receives the action, formed with 'be' plus a past participle, as in 'The ball was chased by the dog'.
- Dangling modifier
- A descriptive phrase that does not clearly attach to the noun it is meant to describe, often creating confusion or unintended humor.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, ignoring phrases between them.
- Pronoun case
- The form a pronoun takes according to its job: subject pronouns (I, he, they) for subjects and object pronouns (me, him, them) for objects.
- Direct speech
- The exact words a speaker says, enclosed in quotation marks, such as She said, 'I am tired.'
- Formal voice
- A style that avoids contractions, slang and first-person pronouns, using precise vocabulary and complete sentences, typical of academic and official writing.
- Informal voice
- A relaxed style that uses contractions, colloquial expressions, short sentences and direct address, common in conversation and personal writing.
- Diction
- A writer's choice of words; it shapes voice and tone, so 'kids' sounds casual while 'children' sounds neutral or formal.
- Tone word
- An adjective that describes a writer's attitude, such as sarcastic, nostalgic, objective or indignant; it is inferred from word choice and details.
- Sentence variety
- Mixing sentence lengths and structures to create rhythm, emphasis and a natural voice, avoiding a monotonous series of similar sentences.