Vocabulary, idiom and word formation
Vocabulary, idiom and word formation
This domain tests your ability to build and choose words accurately: prefixes, suffixes, roots, word families, collocations, idioms, and phrasal verbs. The exam rewards precision in context, not a long list of memorised synonyms.
Core rules
- Identify the root and its meaning; then check how the prefix changes it: 'un-', 'dis-', 'mis-', 'over-', 'under-', 'pre-'.
- Choose the suffix by part of speech: '-ness', '-ity', '-tion' for nouns; '-ive', '-ous', '-able' for adjectives; '-ise/-ize' for verbs.
- Learn collocations as chunks: 'make a decision', 'take responsibility', 'pay attention'.
- Treat idioms as single units: 'to bite the bullet' means to endure something unpleasant, not to eat metal.
- Use synonym choice by connotation: 'thin' is neutral, 'gaunt' suggests illness or hunger.
- For phrasal verbs, learn whether they are separable and whether they are formal or informal.
Worked example
'The scientist's ___ (persist) finally paid off.' Reasoning: The blank needs a noun because 'the scientist's' is possessive and 'paid off' is the verb. 'Persist' is a verb; the noun is 'persistence'. The suffix '-ence' changes the verb into an abstract noun. 'Persistency' exists but is far less usual in this context. Choose the form that fits both grammar and collocation.
Traps
- Adding a suffix that creates a real word with the wrong meaning: 'economic' vs 'economical'.
- Translating an idiom word for word from another language.
- Using a synonym with the wrong register in a formal letter.
- Misspelling suffixes: 'occurrence', 'maintenance', 'argument'.
- Assuming every prefix means 'not': 'inflammable' means easily set on fire, not fireproof.