Vocabulary and Word Usage
What the domain tests
Vocabulary and Word Usage tests precision, not just recognition: synonyms and antonyms, homophones, one-word substitutes, idioms, phrasal verbs, prefixes and suffixes, collocations and commonly confused words. The exam often places the word in a sentence so that context decides the answer.
Core rules
- Learn words in families: noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms.
- Distinguish homophones by function: 'affect' is usually a verb, 'effect' usually a noun; 'principal' means main or head, 'principle' means rule.
- Treat idioms as fixed units; their meaning is not the sum of the words.
- Check collocation: we say 'make a decision', not 'do a decision'.
- Use prefixes and suffixes to infer meaning, but confirm the resulting word exists.
Worked example
Sentence: 'The manager's decision was ___; everyone accepted it without question.' Options: ambiguous, unanimous, anonymous, autonomous. Reasoning: 'everyone accepted it' signals total agreement. 'Unanimous' means all agreeing. 'Ambiguous' means unclear, which contradicts acceptance; 'anonymous' means unnamed; 'autonomous' means self-governing. Answer: unanimous.
Traps that cost marks
Choosing a synonym that fits meaning but not grammar; interpreting an idiom literally; confusing 'economic' with 'economical'; adding a prefix that creates a non-word; ignoring the part of speech required by the blank.