Ishikawa Entrance English flashcards

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

Main idea

The central claim a whole passage supports, broader than any single supporting detail yet narrower than the general topic. Correct answers to main-idea questions cover every paragraph without adding outside information.

Inference question

A question asking for a conclusion not stated directly but necessarily following from two or more stated facts. The answer must be provable from the text, not merely plausible in real life.

Pronoun reference

The noun phrase a pronoun replaces. To resolve it, check number and gender agreement and confirm the substitution makes logical sense in the surrounding sentence.

EXCEPT question

A negatively worded item where three options are supported by the passage and one is not. Verify and eliminate the three supported options; the leftover is the answer.

Author's purpose

The reason a text was written, usually classified as to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. Purpose is inferred from structure, word choice, and whether the text argues or merely reports.

Subject-verb agreement rule

The verb matches the head noun of the subject, not the nearest noun. Interrupting phrases such as 'of items' or 'along with the manager' do not change the verb's number.

Present perfect tense

Have or has plus a past participle, linking a past action to present relevance. It cannot combine with a finished past time marker such as yesterday, last week, or in 1999.

Third conditional

Had plus past participle in the if-clause, with would have plus past participle in the result: 'If she had studied, she would have passed.' It describes an unreal past situation.

Subjunctive after wish

After wish or if only, use were for all persons to describe an unreal present: 'I wish I were taller.' After demand, insist, or suggest that, use the base verb.

Restrictive relative clause

A clause identifying which person or thing is meant; it takes no commas and may use that. A non-restrictive clause adds extra information, is set off by commas, and never uses that.

Definite versus indefinite article

Use a or an for a singular countable noun new to the reader; use the for something already mentioned, unique, or specified. General plural and uncountable nouns take no article.

Negating prefixes

Un-, dis-, non-, mis-, and in- reverse or negate meaning. The prefix in- assimilates to im- before p, b, or m, to il- before l, and to ir- before r.

Root spect

A Latin root meaning look or see, appearing in inspect, spectator, prospect, and retrospect. Recognizing it lets you infer unfamiliar words built from the same base.

Affect versus effect

Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence; effect is usually a noun meaning result. Effect as a verb means to bring about, as in 'effect change'.

Context clue types

Signals inside a sentence that reveal an unknown word's meaning: definition (dashes, appositives), contrast (but, unlike), cause-effect (therefore), and example (such as, including).

Collocation

The conventional partnership between words, such as 'make a decision', 'do homework', or 'heavy rain'. Collocation decides correctness where grammatical rules and literal meaning do not.

Connotation

The emotional shading a word carries beyond its literal meaning. Notorious is negative, renowned positive, and famous neutral, so near-synonyms are not interchangeable in formal writing.

Suffix and part of speech

Endings that fix a word's grammatical class: -tion, -ment, -ness form nouns; -ive, -ous, -able form adjectives; -ize, -ify form verbs; -ly usually forms adverbs.

Signpost words in listening

Discourse markers that reveal structure: however and actually signal reversal, therefore and as a result signal consequence, for example signals an illustration that rarely carries the answer.

Corrected number pattern

In conversations, a figure is often stated and then revised. The second figure is normally final, so record both and apply the correction rather than answering with the first.

Hedged disagreement

Indirect phrasing that signals polite doubt, such as 'I'm not sure I'd say that' or 'That's one way to look at it'. It functions as disagreement, not agreement, in dialogue tasks.

Paraphrase distractor rule

The correct listening option usually restates the audio with synonyms, while an option repeating the audio word for word is often a trap testing surface matching rather than comprehension.

Digression marker

Phrases such as by the way or incidentally that announce a departure from the main line of a lecture. Digressions are rarely tested; main points follow first, next, and finally.

Thesis statement

A single sentence naming the topic and the writer's arguable stance. It must be specific and debatable, avoiding vague evaluators like interesting, important, or very good.

Paragraph unity

The property of a paragraph in which every sentence supports the topic sentence. A sentence introducing an unrelated idea should be cut or moved into a new paragraph.

Evidence plus explanation

A writing pattern in which a quotation, fact, or example is followed by one or two sentences stating what it demonstrates. Evidence alone does not construct an argument.

Counterargument and rebuttal

Stating the opposing view fairly and then answering it with evidence. Including it strengthens persuasive writing by showing the writer has considered alternatives rather than ignored them.

Comma splice

Two independent clauses joined by only a comma. Repair it with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction such as but or so.

Sentence fragment

A group of words punctuated as a sentence but lacking a subject, a finite verb, or completeness. Subordinate clauses beginning with because, although, or which are common fragments.

Dangling modifier

An introductory modifier whose implied subject does not match the main clause subject. 'Walking home, the rain began' is wrong because rain was not walking.

Parallel structure

Matching grammatical form across listed items and after correlative pairs such as either...or and not only...but also. 'Hiking, swimming, and to fish' violates it.

Compound-complex sentence

A sentence containing at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. It combines coordination and subordination to show both equal and unequal relationships.