Chapter: Are you Listening?
đ Vocabulary
ENGLISH FOR TODAY Class Six
â Most Important Exam Words
listen â āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻžsound â āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻŋ āĻŦāĻž āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻvowel â āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖpronunciation â āĻāĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖstress â āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§ āĻā§āĻ°intonation â āĻāĻŖā§āĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻŽāĻžaloud â āĻāĻā§āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§repeat â āĻĒā§āĻ¨āĻ°āĻžāĻŦā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻžrecognize â āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°āĻždifference â āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĨāĻā§āĻ¯underlined â āĻ¨āĻŋāĻā§ āĻĻāĻžāĻ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžsyllable â āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻžāĻāĻļshed â āĻā§āĻ āĻāĻ°shade â āĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžtest â āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻžtaste â āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻžāĻĻwet â āĻā§āĻāĻžwait â āĻ
āĻĒā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻžman â āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§āĻˇ āĻŦāĻž āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇmane â āĻā§āĻļāĻ°west â āĻĒāĻļā§āĻāĻŋāĻŽwaste â āĻ
āĻĒāĻāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ°āĻžlet â āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻŽāĻ¤āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžlate â āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžget â āĻĒāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻžgate â āĻĢāĻāĻtell â āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžtail â āĻ˛ā§āĻdebt â āĻāĻŖdate â āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻŋāĻ
đ Word Formation Rules
âē Adding silent e can change a short vowel sound into a long vowel sound: man â mane, tap â tape, hat â hate.
âē Words ending in silent e often have a long vowel sound: shed â shade, let â late, hop â hope.
âē Compound nouns are formed by joining two words: room + mate â room-mate, book + store â bookstore.
âē Add -ly to many adjectives to form adverbs: careful â carefully, proper â properly.
âē Add -ed to a verb to form a past participle or adjective: underline â underlined, mark â marked.
âē Add -er to some verbs to form a person noun: teach â teacher, write â writer.
âē Use the plural suffix -s with most countable nouns: friend â friends, pen â pens.
âē Some words have silent letters: listen has a silent t, debt has a silent b.
1. Short and Long Vowel Pairs (8 words)
shed[/Ęed/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ āĻāĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻā§āĻĻāĻžāĻŽ
Alt: āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻā§ āĻāĻ°āĻžāĻ¨ā§
Example: The tools are kept in the shed.
Syn: hutAnt: palace
đĄ Exam tip: shed has the short e sound; compare it with shade.
shade[/ĘeÉĒd/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Alt: āĻ°āĻā§āĻ° āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĨāĻā§āĻ¯
Example: We sat under the shade of a tree.
Syn: shadowAnt: sunlight
đĄ Exam tip: The final silent e changes the short vowel in shed to the long a sound.
pepper[/ËpepÉr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŽāĻ°āĻŋāĻ
Alt: āĻā§āĻ˛āĻŽāĻ°āĻŋāĻ
Example: Mother added some pepper to the soup.
Syn: spiceAnt: sweetness
đĄ Exam tip: pepper contains the short e sound in the first syllable.
paper[/ËpeÉĒpÉr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻžāĻāĻ
Alt: āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ° āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻ¸āĻāĻŦāĻžāĻĻāĻĒāĻ¤ā§āĻ°
Example: Please write your answer on the paper.
Syn: sheetAnt: hardboard
đĄ Exam tip: paper begins with the long a sound.
test[/test/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻž
Alt: āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻŖ
Example: We have an English test today.
Syn: examAnt: answer
đĄ Exam tip: test has a short e sound.
taste[/teÉĒst/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻžāĻĻ
Alt: āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻžāĻĻāĻ¨ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: The soup has a delicious taste.
Syn: flavourAnt: tastelessness
đĄ Exam tip: The silent e in taste produces the long a sound.
wet[/wet/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻāĻž
Alt: āĻŦā§āĻˇā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¸ā§āĻ¨āĻžāĻ¤
Example: My clothes are wet after the rain.
Syn: dampAnt: dry
đĄ Exam tip: wet has a short e sound.
wait[/weÉĒt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ
āĻĒā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Please wait for me at the station.
Syn: remainAnt: leave
đĄ Exam tip: wait contains the long a sound formed by ai.
2. Words with Silent e (8 words)
pen[/pen/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻ˛āĻŽ
Alt: āĻāĻžāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻā§āĻ°āĻž āĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻžāĻ¨
Example: I write with a blue pen.
Syn: ballpointAnt: pencil
đĄ Exam tip: pen has a short e sound; adding e does not always create a word used in this lesson.
pain[/peÉĒn/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻĨāĻž
Alt: āĻāĻˇā§āĻ
Example: He felt pain in his leg.
Syn: acheAnt: comfort
đĄ Exam tip: pain has the long a sound spelled with ai.
man[/mÃĻn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻ°ā§āĻˇ āĻŦāĻž āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻˇ
Alt: āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨āĻŦāĻāĻžāĻ¤āĻŋ
Example: The man is waiting at the gate.
Syn: personAnt: woman
đĄ Exam tip: man has the short a sound.
mane[/meÉĒn/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻā§āĻļāĻ°
Alt: āĻāĻžāĻĄāĻŧā§āĻ° āĻ˛āĻŽā§āĻŦāĻž āĻā§āĻ˛
Example: The lion has a thick mane.
Syn: hairAnt: baldness
đĄ Exam tip: The silent e changes man to mane and gives a long a sound.
west[/west/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻļā§āĻāĻŋāĻŽ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ
Alt: āĻĒāĻļā§āĻāĻŋāĻŽāĻžāĻā§āĻāĻ˛
Example: The sun sets in the west.
Syn: western directionAnt: east
đĄ Exam tip: west has a short e sound.
waste[/weÉĒst/]verbmedium
Meaning: āĻ
āĻĒāĻāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻā§āĻ¯
Example: Do not waste water.
Syn: squanderAnt: save
đĄ Exam tip: waste has the long a sound because of the silent e.
let[/let/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻŽāĻ¤āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Alt: āĻā§āĻĄāĻŧā§ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Example: Please let me use your pen.
Syn: allowAnt: forbid
đĄ Exam tip: let has a short e sound.
late[/leÉĒt/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻĻā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Alt: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧāĻžāĻ¤
Example: Rina was late for school.
Syn: delayedAnt: early
đĄ Exam tip: late has the long a sound caused by final silent e.
3. More Minimal Pairs (8 words)
get[/ÉĄet/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Alt: āĻšāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻ¯āĻžāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Example: Please get a book from the shelf.
Syn: obtainAnt: lose
đĄ Exam tip: get has a short e sound.
gate[/ÉĄeÉĒt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĢāĻāĻ
Alt: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻŦā§āĻļāĻĒāĻĨ
Example: The bus stopped near the gate.
Syn: entranceAnt: exit
đĄ Exam tip: gate has the long a sound and a silent final e.
tell[/tel/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻ¨ā§
Example: Tell me your name, please.
Syn: informAnt: conceal
đĄ Exam tip: tell has a short e sound.
tail[/teÉĒl/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ˛ā§āĻ
Alt: āĻļā§āĻˇāĻžāĻāĻļ
Example: The dog wagged its tail.
Syn: rearAnt: head
đĄ Exam tip: tail has the long a sound spelled with ai.
debt[/det/]nounhard
Meaning: āĻāĻŖ
Alt: āĻ§āĻžāĻ°
Example: He repaid his debt.
Syn: loanAnt: credit
đĄ Exam tip: The b in debt is silent; the word has a short e sound.
date[/deÉĒt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¤āĻžāĻ°āĻŋāĻ
Alt: āĻā§āĻā§āĻ°
Example: What is the date today?
Syn: dayAnt: indefinite time
đĄ Exam tip: date has the long a sound because of silent e.
hat[/hÃĻt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻĒāĻŋ
Alt: āĻŽāĻžāĻĨāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻŦāĻ°āĻŖ
Example: He wore a hat in the sun.
Syn: capAnt: bare head
đĄ Exam tip: hat has a short a sound.
cane[/keÉĒn/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻāĻĄāĻŧāĻŋ
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻžāĻ
Example: The old man walks with a cane.
Syn: walking stickAnt: āšā¸Ąāšā¸Ąā¸ĩ
đĄ Exam tip: cane is formed by adding silent e to can and has the long a sound.
4. School and Communication Vocabulary (8 words)
listen[/ËlÉĒsÉn/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋāĻ¯āĻŧā§ āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻĨāĻž āĻŽā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻ˛āĻž
Example: Listen carefully to the teacher.
Syn: hear attentivelyAnt: ignore
đĄ Exam tip: The t in listen is silent.
recognize[/ËrekÉÉĄnaÉĒz/]verbmedium
Meaning: āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻ¤ā§ āĻĒāĻžāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦā§āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Example: Can you recognize this sound?
Syn: identifyAnt: misidentify
đĄ Exam tip: Use recognize when you identify a familiar person, word, or sound.
sound[/saĘnd/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻŦāĻž āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻŋ
Alt: āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: This word begins with a different sound.
Syn: noiseAnt: silence
đĄ Exam tip: Do not confuse sound as a noun with sound as an adjective meaning healthy.
vowel[/ËvaĘÉl/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻŋ
Example: A, e, i, o, and u are vowels.
Syn: vowel soundAnt: consonant
đĄ Exam tip: The five main English vowel letters are a, e, i, o, and u.
sentence[/ËsentÉns/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯
Alt: āĻāĻĻāĻžāĻ˛āĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻ°āĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ
Example: Read the sentence aloud.
Syn: statementAnt: word
đĄ Exam tip: A sentence normally begins with a capital letter and ends with punctuation.
proper[/ËprÉpÉr/]adjmedium
Meaning: āĻ¯āĻĨāĻžāĻ¯āĻĨ
Alt: āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻ āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻĒāĻ¯ā§āĻā§āĻ¤
Example: Use proper pronunciation in reading.
Syn: correctAnt: improper
đĄ Exam tip: proper pronunciation means correct pronunciation.
pronunciation[/prÉËnĘnsiËeÉĒĘÉn/]nounhard
Meaning: āĻāĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖ
Alt: āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻžāĻ° āĻ§āĻ°āĻ¨
Example: Her pronunciation is clear.
Syn: articulationAnt: mispronunciation
đĄ Exam tip: The noun is pronunciation, not pronounciation.
repeat[/rÉĒËpiËt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻ¨āĻ°āĻžāĻŦā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻŦāĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž
Example: Repeat the words after the teacher.
Syn: restateAnt: omit
đĄ Exam tip: repeat often appears in listening and speaking instructions.
5. Pronunciation and Speech Terms (8 words)
stress[/stres/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻžāĻĒ
Alt: āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨āĻ¸āĻŋāĻ āĻāĻžāĻĒ
Example: Put stress on the first syllable.
Syn: emphasisAnt: weakness
đĄ Exam tip: Word stress means giving extra force to one syllable.
intonation[/ËÉĒntÉËneÉĒĘÉn/]nounhard
Meaning: āĻāĻŖā§āĻ āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ āĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻŽāĻž
Alt: āĻŦāĻžāĻā§āĻ¯ā§āĻ° āĻ¸ā§āĻ°
Example: Questions often have a special intonation.
Syn: voice modulationAnt: monotone
đĄ Exam tip: Intonation is different from pronunciation; it concerns the rise and fall of the voice.
aloud[/ÉËlaĘd/]adveasy
Meaning: āĻāĻā§āĻāĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°ā§
Alt: āĻļā§āĻ°ā§āĻ¤āĻŋāĻā§āĻ°āĻžāĻšā§āĻ¯āĻāĻžāĻŦā§
Example: Read the passage aloud.
Syn: audiblyAnt: silently
đĄ Exam tip: aloud means spoken so that people can hear it.
practice[/ËprÃĻktÉĒs/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻļā§āĻ˛āĻ¨
Alt: āĻāĻ°ā§āĻāĻž
Example: Regular practice improves pronunciation.
Syn: trainingAnt: neglect
đĄ Exam tip: In British English, practice is usually the noun and practise is the verb.
underlined[/ËĘndÉrËlaÉĒnd/]adjmedium
Meaning: āĻ¨āĻŋāĻā§ āĻĻāĻžāĻ āĻĻā§āĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Alt: āĻŦāĻŋāĻļā§āĻˇāĻāĻžāĻŦā§ āĻāĻŋāĻšā§āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¤
Example: Read the underlined words carefully.
Syn: markedAnt: unmarked
đĄ Exam tip: underlined comes from underline plus the suffix -ed.
carefully[/ËkeÉrfÉli/]adveasy
Meaning: āĻ¸āĻžāĻŦāĻ§āĻžāĻ¨ā§
Alt: āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ā§āĻāĻ¸āĻšāĻāĻžāĻ°ā§
Example: Listen carefully to each word.
Syn: attentivelyAnt: carelessly
đĄ Exam tip: carefully is the adverb form of careful.
syllable[/ËsÉĒlÉbÉl/]nounhard
Meaning: āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻžāĻāĻļ
Alt: āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖā§āĻ° āĻāĻāĻ
Example: The word paper has two syllables.
Syn: word partAnt: whole word
đĄ Exam tip: Count syllables by counting vowel sounds, not always vowel letters.
difference[/ËdÉĒfÉrÉns/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻĒāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻĨāĻā§āĻ¯
Alt: āĻāĻŋāĻ¨ā§āĻ¨āĻ¤āĻž
Example: Can you hear the difference between the two sounds?
Syn: distinctionAnt: similarity
đĄ Exam tip: The phrase difference between is common in examination questions.
6. Actions and Context Words (8 words)
meet[/miËt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻĻā§āĻāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻ¸āĻžāĻā§āĻˇāĻžā§ āĻšāĻāĻ¯āĻŧāĻž
Example: I met my friend at the book store.
Syn: encounterAnt: avoid
đĄ Exam tip: The past form of meet is met.
remember[/rÉĒËmembÉr/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻŽāĻ¨ā§ āĻ°āĻžāĻāĻž
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻŽāĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: I remember her friend's face.
Syn: recallAnt: forget
đĄ Exam tip: Remember is followed by a noun or an -ing form in many common sentences.
buy[/baÉĒ/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž
Alt: āĻā§āĻ°āĻ¯āĻŧ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: They went to buy some paper.
Syn: purchaseAnt: sell
đĄ Exam tip: The past form of buy is bought.
friend[/frend/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ā§
Alt: āĻ¸āĻšāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧāĻ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ
Example: Sam is my best friend.
Syn: companionAnt: enemy
đĄ Exam tip: The plural of friend is friends; the possessive form is friend's.
room-mate[/ËruËm meÉĒt/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻāĻāĻ āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž āĻ¸āĻā§āĻā§
Alt: āĻ¸āĻšāĻŦāĻžāĻ¸ā§
Example: Benu and her room-mate went shopping.
Syn: flatmateAnt: stranger
đĄ Exam tip: room-mate is a compound noun made from room and mate.
store[/stÉËr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ¨
Alt: āĻ¸āĻāĻ°āĻā§āĻˇāĻŖ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: I bought a notebook from the book store.
Syn: shopAnt: home
đĄ Exam tip: store and shop can both mean a place where goods are sold.
station[/ËsteÉĒĘÉn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¸ā§āĻā§āĻļāĻ¨
Alt: āĻāĻ°ā§āĻŽāĻ¸ā§āĻĨāĻ˛ āĻŦāĻž āĻā§āĻ¨ā§āĻĻā§āĻ°
Example: We waited at the bus station.
Syn: terminalAnt: route
đĄ Exam tip: station is commonly used with bus, railway, or police.
wait[/weÉĒt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ
āĻĒā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻž āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻ
āĻĒā§āĻā§āĻˇāĻžāĻ¯āĻŧ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž
Example: They were waiting for their friends.
Syn: awaitAnt: hurry
đĄ Exam tip: Use wait for before a person or thing: wait for me.
đĄ Exam Tips
âĸ Learn each minimal pair together and practise saying both words aloud.
âĸ Remember that a final silent e can change both pronunciation and meaning.
âĸ Do not confuse spelling with pronunciation; the same letter may represent different sounds.
âĸ In a listening question, focus on the vowel sound as well as the spelling.
âĸ Use wait for, listen to, and remember a name as common word combinations.
âĸ Use the adjective carefully and the adverb carefully when describing an action.
âĸ Identify the part of speech before selecting a synonym or antonym.
âĸ For pronunciation questions, check silent letters, vowel sounds, word stress, and intonation.
âĸ Read example sentences aloud to improve pronunciation and fluency.
âĸ In fill-in-the-blank questions, use the meaning of the complete sentence to select the correct word.