English vocabulary exercise

Complete the following sentences using an appropriate form of the word given in the brackets.

1. You will find it ……………………. to learn Hindi before visiting India. (advantage)

2. He is an ……………….. man, unafraid of risks. (adventure)

3. ………………… winds prevented us from arriving on time. (adversity)

4. Sweet are the uses of ……………………. (adverse)

5. It is ……………….. for all children to get vaccinations. (advice)

6. The judge gave the careless driver an ………………. (admonish)

7. She is famous for her ……………….. of equal rights for women. (advocate)

8. She has an ……………………. relationship with her grandparents. (affection)

9. The two hospitals have a close ……………….. (affiliate)

10. We are expecting an …………………… answer. (affirmation)

Answers

1. You will find it advantageous to learn Hindi before visiting India.

2. He is an adventurous man, unafraid of risks.

3. Adverse winds prevented us from arriving on time.

4. Sweet are the uses of adversity.

5. It is advisable for all children to get vaccinations.

6. The judge gave the careless driver an admonition.

7. She is famous for her advocacy of equal rights for women.

8. She has an affectionate relationship with her grandparents.

9. The two hospitals have a close affiliation.

10. We are expecting an affirmative answer.

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Words confused

Affection and affectation

These words are often confused.

Affection means love, fondness, emotional attachment, tenderness or warmth.

• She feels great affection for her parents.

Affection can also mean sickness, illness or disease.

He died of a consumptive affection.

Affectation means pretence, sham or false mannerism.

• He affected a Canadian accent.

To affect is to make a pretense of.

• She is from Canada but she affects a strong British accent.

Affluent and effluent

These words are often confused.

Affluent means rich, wealthy, prosperous, well-off etc.

• She married an affluent widower.
• People living in affluent societies are not always happy.

Effluent means liquid waste discharged into a river.

• The effluent stream has polluted water in the nearby wells as well.

Exercise

Complete the following sentences using appropriate words.

1. Her finishing-school accent is just an ………………….. (affection / affectation)

2. Wealth and fame has made him so ………………. that I no longer like him. (affected / effected)

3. The two colleges have a strong …………………, sometimes sharing faculty. (affinity / affiliation)

4. There is a close ……………….. between lemons and limes. (amity / affinity)

5. In a truly ……………….. society, there is more than enough for all. (affluent / effluent)

Answers

1. Her finishing-school accent is just an affectation.

2. Wealth and fame has made him so affected that I no longer like him.

3. The two colleges have a strong affiliation, sometimes sharing faculty.

4. There is a close affinity between lemons and limes.

5. In a truly affluent society, there is more than enough for all.

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Idioms – H

A hair’s breadth

A hair’s breadth is a very small margin.

Let your hair down

To let your hair down is to behave in a very relaxed way or wildly.

Split hairs

To split hairs is to make trivial distinctions.

Not do things by halves

Do things thoroughly.

Hammer something in / into

To hammer something in is to make it sit in someone’s mind by repeating it constantly.

Hammer something out

To hammer something out is to work out the details of an agreement.

Hand in glove

In close association

Hand to mouth

When you live hand to mouth, you meet only your immediate needs and you have no money in reserve.

Hands-on

When you are hands-on you directly participate in something.

• He is a hands-on dad.

In hand

The job in hand is the job in progress.

On hand

If something is on hand, it is present and available.

Out of hand

If something goes out of hand, it becomes unavailable. To reject something out of hand is to reject it without taking time to think.

• They rejected the proposal out of hand.

Get the hang of

To get the hang of something is to learn how to do something.

Hang around

To hang around is to wait around.

Hang on

To hang on to something is to hold it tightly. Hang on can also mean ‘wait for a short time’.

Hang out

To hang out is to spend time relaxing.

Hang up

To hang up is to end a telephone conversation abruptly by cutting the connection.

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Idiomatic expressions with eye

Here is a list of idiomatic expressions formed around the word eye.

Eye someone up

To eye someone up is to look at them with romantic or love interest.

• At the party, Samuel eyed many girls up, but none showed any interest in him.

Be all eyes

When you are all eyes, you are watching something eagerly.

• When the match started, we were all eyes.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

This expression suggests that doing the same thing in return is the appropriate way to deal with a crime.

• He avenged his sister’s murder by killing the sister of her murderer. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Have an eye for

When you have an eye for something, you are able to recognize and judge something wisely.

• She has an eye for detail.

Have your eye on

When you have your eye on something you aim to acquire it.

• He has his eye on the throne.

With an eye to

Have as your objective

• They are inciting communal tension with an eye to winning minority votes.

Make eyes at

To make eyes at someone is to look at them with sexual interest.

• He made eyes at her but she ignored him.

See eye to eye

When you see eye to eye with someone you are in full agreement.

• My manager and I don’t see eye to eye.

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