Tamil Nadu HSE First Year Communicative English flashcards

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

Skimming

A fast reading method that moves the eyes quickly over a whole passage to capture its general idea or gist, ignoring minor details and unfamiliar words.

Scanning

A reading method used to locate one specific piece of information, such as a date, name, or number, without reading the surrounding text in full.

Inference

A conclusion drawn from evidence in the passage rather than stated directly; the answer must be supported by the text, not by personal opinion.

Not Given

A true-or-false category used when the passage neither confirms nor contradicts a statement; silence in the text, not falsity, is the test.

Tone

The writer's attitude towards the subject, revealed through word choice, and described with adjectives such as critical, humorous, ironic, neutral, or sympathetic.

Subject–verb agreement

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person; intervening phrases are ignored, as in 'The list of items is long'.

Present perfect tense

A tense formed with has or have plus the past participle; it connects a past action to the present and is not used with finished time markers like yesterday.

Reported speech

Indirect quotation in which tense shifts one step back and pronouns and time words change, so 'I will come tomorrow' becomes 'he would come the next day'.

Third conditional

A sentence pattern using if plus past perfect in the condition and would have plus past participle in the result, expressing an unreal past situation.

Passive voice

A construction in which the object becomes the subject and the verb becomes be plus past participle; the doer is added with 'by' only when useful.

Relative pronouns

Words introducing adjective clauses: who for people, which for things, whose for possession, and where for place; defining clauses take no commas.

Context clue

Information inside a sentence, such as a definition, example, contrast, or cause-effect signal, that helps a reader work out an unfamiliar word's meaning.

Collocation

A habitual word partnership that native users expect, such as 'make a decision', 'take an exam', or 'heavy rain'; substituting a synonym breaks naturalness.

Prefix

A meaningful unit attached before a root word to change its meaning, as un- in unhappy or re- in rewrite; it usually does not change the word class.

Phrasal verb

A verb combined with a particle that produces a new meaning, such as give up meaning quit or give in meaning surrender.

Homophone

One of two or more words pronounced alike but spelt differently and having different meanings, such as principal and principle or stationary and stationery.

Idiom

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, for example 'once in a blue moon' meaning very rarely.

Yours faithfully

The formal subscription used in a letter that begins with Dear Sir or Dear Madam, when the recipient's name is not known.

Notice format

A short public announcement containing the institution's name, the heading NOTICE, the date, a brief factual body, and the issuer's name and designation; it has no salutation.

Application letter

A formal letter applying for a post that names the advertisement, states relevant qualifications, offers documents, and closes politely with availability for interview.

Report writing

A factual account written in the third person and past tense, with a title, the reporter's name and date, an ordered account of events, and a conclusion or recommendation.

Topic sentence

The sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that states the single controlling idea which all remaining sentences support or illustrate.

Cohesive devices

Linking words and reference words such as pronouns, synonyms, and connectors like however and therefore that tie sentences and paragraphs together.

Essay structure

The three-part plan of introduction with a thesis, body paragraphs each developing one point, and a conclusion that restates the position without new evidence.

Formal register

A style avoiding contractions, slang, and emotional first-person remarks, using complete sentences and impersonal phrasing suited to official writing.

Descriptive writing

Writing that appeals to the five senses with specific nouns and precise adjectives, creating a clear picture rather than vague praise such as 'very nice'.

Listening for gist

The first stage of listening, in which the learner grasps the speaker's overall purpose and structure before attending to specific facts and figures.

Minimal pair

Two words differing in only one sound, such as ship and sheep or bit and beat, used to test and practise accurate sound discrimination.

Word stress

The relative emphasis given to one syllable of a word; in English, two-syllable nouns often stress the first syllable and verbs the second.

Turn-taking

The interactive convention of letting one speaker finish and signalling before speaking, using phrases such as 'May I add something?' or 'Could you repeat that?'.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', as in 'her voice was like a bell'.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, marked with letters so that abab shows alternate rhyme and aabb shows rhyming couplets.