Chapter: Unit 2: Alphabet and Numbers
đ Vocabulary
English For Today Class One
â Most Important Exam Words
alphabetlettercapitalsmallvowelconsonantlistensayreadwritetracematchcountrepeatguessonetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetenhandlegeyeheadclaptapopenwidecatbirdfishdoortrainbrownwhiteblackredtomatosongrhymegrouppictureobjectairprojectcraftfront
đ Word Formation Rules
âē Use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and for proper names; use small letters in ordinary words.
âē Add s to most nouns to make them plural: cat-cats, bird-birds, hand-hands, eye-eyes.
âē For words ending in a consonant sound, add s for simple plurals: letter-letters, number-numbers, group-groups.
âē Use the pattern one + singular noun: one cat; use two or more + plural noun: two cats.
âē The words small and capital form a useful pair: small letter and capital letter.
âē The word count can be used as a verb: Count the cats.
âē The word open can describe a body part: open eyes.
âē The first letter of a word gives its initial: tomato begins with T or t.
1. Alphabet and Letters / āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖāĻŽāĻžāĻ˛āĻž āĻ āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ° (8 words)
alphabet[/ËÃĻlfÉbet/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖāĻŽāĻžāĻ˛āĻž
Alt: āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ°āĻ¸āĻŽāĻˇā§āĻāĻŋ
Example: I know the English alphabet.
Syn: letters
đĄ Exam tip: Remember that the alphabet has 26 letters.
letter[/ËletÉr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ°
Alt: āĻāĻŋāĻ āĻŋ
Example: A is the first letter.
Syn: character
đĄ Exam tip: Letter means āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ° in alphabet exercises.
capital[/ËkÃĻpÉĒtl/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻŦā§ āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°
Alt: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻ§āĻžāĻ¨
Example: A is a capital letter.
Syn: uppercaseAnt: small
đĄ Exam tip: Capital letters are written in uppercase form.
small[/smÉËl/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ā§āĻ°
Alt: āĻā§āĻˇā§āĻĻā§āĻ°
Example: a is a small letter.
Syn: littleAnt: capital
đĄ Exam tip: Match A with a and B with b.
vowel[/ËvaĘÉl/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ° āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ°
Example: A is a vowel.
Syn: voice letterAnt: consonant
đĄ Exam tip: The five main vowels are a, e, i, o and u.
consonant[/ËkÉnsÉnÉnt/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻāĻ¨āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻŦāĻ°āĻŦāĻ°ā§āĻŖ āĻāĻžā§āĻž āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ°
Example: B is a consonant.
Syn: non-vowelAnt: vowel
đĄ Exam tip: Letters other than a, e, i, o and u are consonants.
sound[/saĘnd/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ§ā§āĻŦāĻ¨āĻŋ
Alt: āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ
Example: Listen to the sound of the letter B.
Syn: noiseAnt: silence
đĄ Exam tip: Say the sound clearly in listening and speaking tasks.
name[/neÉĒm/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž
Alt: āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻĻā§āĻā§āĻž
Example: Name the picture.
Syn: identifyAnt: hide
đĄ Exam tip: Name means āĻāĻŦāĻŋāĻ° āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻāĻŋāĻ° āĻ¨āĻžāĻŽ āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž.
2. Learning Actions / āĻļā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ (9 words)
listen[/ËlÉĒsÉn/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻž
Alt: āĻŽāĻ¨ā§āĻ¯ā§āĻ āĻĻāĻŋā§ā§ āĻļā§āĻ¨āĻž
Example: Listen and repeat.
Syn: hearAnt: ignore
đĄ Exam tip: Follow listen-and-say instructions carefully.
say[/seÉĒ/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Say the letter aloud.
Syn: speakAnt: silence
đĄ Exam tip: Use say when an instruction asks you to speak.
read[/riËd/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻž
Alt: āĻ˛āĻŋāĻāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻŦāĻŋāĻˇā§ āĻŦā§āĻāĻž
Example: Read the numbers.
Syn: studyAnt: misread
đĄ Exam tip: Read each letter and number aloud.
write[/raÉĒt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻž
Alt: āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ° āĻŦāĻž āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž āĻ˛āĻŋāĻā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻāĻžāĻļ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Write the missing letter.
Syn: recordAnt: erase
đĄ Exam tip: Check the shape of every written letter.
trace[/treÉĒs/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻāĻāĻž
Alt: āĻĻāĻžāĻ āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻž
Example: Trace the letter in the air.
Syn: copyAnt: erase
đĄ Exam tip: Trace means āĻĻāĻžāĻ āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻ¸āĻ°āĻŖ āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻ˛ā§āĻāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻāĻāĻāĻž.
match[/mÃĻtĘ/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻŽā§āĻ˛āĻžāĻ¨ā§
Alt: āĻ¸āĻ āĻŋāĻ āĻā§ā§āĻž āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Match the small and capital letters.
Syn: pairAnt: separate
đĄ Exam tip: Match uppercase letters with their lowercase partners.
count[/kaĘnt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ¨āĻž
Alt: āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻŖā§ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Count the cats.
Syn: calculateAnt: miscount
đĄ Exam tip: Count objects one by one from left to right.
repeat[/rÉĒËpiËt/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻ¨āĻ°āĻžāĻŦā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻŦāĻžāĻ° āĻŦāĻ˛āĻž
Example: Repeat the word after the teacher.
Syn: reciteAnt: stop
đĄ Exam tip: Repeat helps improve pronunciation.
guess[/ÉĄes/]verbmedium
Meaning: āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Alt: āĻ¨āĻŋāĻļā§āĻāĻŋāĻ¤ āĻ¨āĻž āĻšā§ā§ āĻāĻ¤ā§āĻ¤āĻ° āĻĻā§āĻā§āĻž
Example: Guess the hidden letter.
Syn: supposeAnt: know
đĄ Exam tip: In the touch-and-feel game, guess the letter.
3. Numbers 1â10 / ā§§âā§§ā§Ļ āĻ¸āĻāĻā§āĻ¯āĻž (10 words)
one[/wĘn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻ
Alt: ā§§
Example: I have one hand.
Syn: singleAnt: many
đĄ Exam tip: One is written as 1.
two[/tuË/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĻā§āĻ
Alt: ā§¨
Example: I have two eyes.
Syn: coupleAnt: one
đĄ Exam tip: Two is written as 2.
three[/θriË/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¤āĻŋāĻ¨
Alt: ā§Š
Example: There are three cats.
Syn: trioAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Three is written as 3.
four[/fÉËr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻžāĻ°
Alt: ā§Ē
Example: I see four birds.
Syn: quartetAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Four is written as 4.
five[/faÉĒv/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻžāĻāĻ
Alt: ā§Ģ
Example: One hand has five fingers.
Syn: quintetAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Five is written as 5.
six[/sÉĒks/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻā§
Alt: ā§Ŧ
Example: Six comes after five.
Syn: half-dozenAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Six is written as 6.
seven[/ËsevÉn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¸āĻžāĻ¤
Alt: ā§
Example: Seven comes before eight.
Syn: septetAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Seven is written as 7.
eight[/eÉĒt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻ
Alt: ā§Ž
Example: I can count to eight.
Syn: octetAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Eight is written as 8.
nine[/naÉĒn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¨ā§
Alt: ā§¯
Example: Nine comes before ten.
Syn: nonetAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Nine is written as 9.
ten[/ten/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĻāĻļ
Alt: ā§§ā§Ļ
Example: There are ten fingers.
Syn: decadeAnt: none
đĄ Exam tip: Ten is written as 10.
4. Body Parts and Actions / āĻļāĻ°ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻ
āĻā§āĻ āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ (8 words)
hand[/hÃĻnd/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻšāĻžāĻ¤
Alt: āĻāĻŦāĻāĻŋ āĻĨā§āĻā§ āĻāĻā§āĻ˛ āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻ¨ā§āĻ¤ āĻ
āĻā§āĻ
Example: I have two little hands.
Syn: palm
đĄ Exam tip: Remember the phrase two little hands.
leg[/leÉĄ/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻž
Alt: āĻšāĻžāĻāĻāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻĻāĻžāĻā§āĻžāĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻ
āĻā§āĻ
Example: My legs can tap.
Syn: limb
đĄ Exam tip: Leg is the singular form; legs is plural.
eye[/aÉĒ/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ
Alt: āĻĻā§āĻāĻžāĻ° āĻ
āĻā§āĻ
Example: I have two eyes.
Syn: organ of sight
đĄ Exam tip: Use eyes when there are two.
head[/hed/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŽāĻžāĻĨāĻž
Alt: āĻļāĻ°ā§āĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻāĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻ° āĻ
āĻāĻļ
Example: Move your head side to side.
Syn: skull
đĄ Exam tip: Head is singular; heads is plural.
clap[/klÃĻp/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻ¤āĻžāĻ˛āĻŋ āĻĻā§āĻā§āĻž
Alt: āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ āĻĻāĻŋā§ā§ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Clap your hands.
Syn: applaudAnt: stay still
đĄ Exam tip: Clap, clap, clap is repeated in the rhyme.
tap[/tÃĻp/]verbeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻāĻž āĻĻā§āĻā§āĻž
Alt: āĻšāĻžāĻ˛āĻāĻž āĻāĻāĻžāĻ¤ āĻāĻ°āĻž
Example: Tap your legs.
Syn: knockAnt: stop
đĄ Exam tip: Tap is used with legs in the rhyme.
open[/ËoĘpÉn/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻ˛āĻž
Alt: āĻŦāĻ¨ā§āĻ§ āĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻŽāĻ¨
Example: Keep your eyes open wide.
Syn: unclosedAnt: closed
đĄ Exam tip: Open is the opposite of closed.
wide[/waÉĒd/]advmedium
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻļāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻāĻžāĻŦā§
Alt: āĻ
āĻ¨ā§āĻāĻāĻž āĻā§āĻŋā§ā§
Example: Open your eyes wide.
Syn: broadlyAnt: narrowly
đĄ Exam tip: Wide describes how the eyes are opened.
5. Animals, Objects and Colours / āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻŖā§, āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§ āĻ āĻ°āĻ (10 words)
cat[/kÃĻt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻŋā§āĻžāĻ˛
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻā§āĻšāĻĒāĻžāĻ˛āĻŋāĻ¤ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻŖā§
Example: The cat is white.
Syn: kitten
đĄ Exam tip: The plural of cat is cats.
bird[/bÉËrd/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĒāĻžāĻāĻŋ
Alt: āĻĄāĻžāĻ¨āĻžāĻ¯ā§āĻā§āĻ¤ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻŖā§
Example: The bird can fly.
Syn: fowl
đĄ Exam tip: Use birds for more than one bird.
fish[/fÉĒĘ/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŽāĻžāĻ
Alt: āĻāĻ˛ā§ āĻŦāĻ¸āĻŦāĻžāĻ¸āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§ āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻžāĻŖā§
Example: I caught a fish.
Syn: aquatic animal
đĄ Exam tip: Fish can be singular or plural.
door[/dÉËr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĻāĻ°āĻāĻž
Alt: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻŦā§āĻļāĻĒāĻĨā§āĻ° āĻāĻ˛āĻŽāĻžāĻ¨ āĻĒāĻžāĻ
Example: The cats are in front of the door.
Syn: entrance
đĄ Exam tip: Learn the phrase in front of the door.
train[/treÉĒn/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ°ā§āĻ˛āĻāĻžā§āĻŋ
Alt: āĻ°ā§āĻ˛āĻĒāĻĨā§ āĻāĻ˛āĻž āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¨
Example: I can see a train.
Syn: railway train
đĄ Exam tip: Train is a common picture-word in counting tasks.
brown[/braĘn/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻžāĻĻāĻžāĻŽāĻŋ
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻ°āĻ
Example: The cat is brown.
Syn: chestnut
đĄ Exam tip: Brown cat appears in the Counting Cats rhyme.
white[/waÉĒt/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻ¸āĻžāĻĻāĻž
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻšāĻžāĻ˛āĻāĻž āĻ°āĻ
Example: The cat is white.
Syn: paleAnt: black
đĄ Exam tip: White is the opposite of black.
black[/blÃĻk/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻāĻžāĻ˛ā§
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻžā§ āĻ°āĻ
Example: The cat is black.
Syn: darkAnt: white
đĄ Exam tip: Black cat appears in the Counting Cats rhyme.
red[/red/]adjeasy
Meaning: āĻ˛āĻžāĻ˛
Alt: āĻāĻāĻāĻŋ āĻāĻā§āĻā§āĻŦāĻ˛ āĻ°āĻ
Example: The cat is red.
Syn: crimson
đĄ Exam tip: Red is a colour word.
tomato[/tÉËmÉËtoĘ/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻŽā§āĻā§
Alt: āĻāĻ āĻ§āĻ°āĻ¨ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŦāĻāĻŋ āĻŦāĻž āĻĢāĻ˛
Example: The tomato begins with T.
Syn: tomato fruit
đĄ Exam tip: The first letter of tomato is T or t.
6. Rhyme and Classroom Words / āĻā§āĻž āĻ āĻļā§āĻ°ā§āĻŖāĻŋāĻāĻā§āĻˇā§āĻ° āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻ (9 words)
song[/sÉËÅ/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻžāĻ¨
Alt: āĻ¸ā§āĻ° āĻāĻ°ā§ āĻāĻžāĻā§āĻž āĻāĻĨāĻž
Example: We sing the alphabet song.
Syn: chantAnt: silence
đĄ Exam tip: The Alphabet Song helps learners remember A to Z.
rhyme[/raÉĒm/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻā§āĻž
Alt: āĻāĻ¨ā§āĻĻāĻŽā§ āĻāĻŦāĻŋāĻ¤āĻž
Example: Two Little Hands is a rhyme.
Syn: poemAnt: prose
đĄ Exam tip: Learn the title and main actions of each rhyme.
group[/ÉĄruËp/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻĻāĻ˛
Alt: āĻāĻāĻ¸āĻā§āĻā§ āĻĨāĻžāĻāĻž āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽāĻˇā§āĻāĻŋ
Example: Sing in groups.
Syn: teamAnt: individual
đĄ Exam tip: Group means āĻĻāĻ˛; groups means āĻāĻāĻžāĻ§āĻŋāĻ āĻĻāĻ˛.
picture[/ËpÉĒktĘÉr/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻāĻŦāĻŋ
Alt: āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻŦā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ¤āĻŋ āĻŦāĻž āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§āĻ° āĻāĻŋāĻ¤ā§āĻ°
Example: Look at the picture.
Syn: image
đĄ Exam tip: Look at the picture before naming the object.
object[/ËÉbdĘekt/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻŦāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤ā§
Alt: āĻĻā§āĻāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻ¸ā§āĻĒāĻ°ā§āĻļ āĻāĻ°āĻž āĻ¯āĻžā§ āĻāĻŽāĻ¨ āĻāĻŋāĻ¨āĻŋāĻ¸
Example: Name each object.
Syn: thing
đĄ Exam tip: Object and thing are often used in picture questions.
air[/er/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻŦāĻžāĻ¤āĻžāĻ¸
Alt: āĻāĻŽāĻžāĻĻā§āĻ° āĻāĻžāĻ°āĻĒāĻžāĻļā§āĻ° āĻā§āĻ¯āĻžāĻ¸
Example: Trace the letter in the air.
Syn: atmosphere
đĄ Exam tip: The phrase in the air is important in tracing activities.
project[/ËprÉdĘekt/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻĒā§āĻ°āĻāĻ˛ā§āĻĒ
Alt: āĻ¨āĻŋāĻ°ā§āĻĻāĻŋāĻˇā§āĻ āĻāĻžāĻ āĻŦāĻž āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻ¨āĻļā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻžāĻ°ā§āĻ¯āĻā§āĻ°āĻŽ
Example: Make a letter craft project.
Syn: assignment
đĄ Exam tip: Project activities may require making fun letters.
craft[/krÃĻft/]nounmedium
Meaning: āĻšāĻ¸ā§āĻ¤āĻļāĻŋāĻ˛ā§āĻĒ
Alt: āĻšāĻžāĻ¤ā§ āĻ¤ā§āĻ°āĻŋ āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻ¨āĻļā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻžāĻ
Example: We make a letter craft.
Syn: handicraft
đĄ Exam tip: Letter craft means āĻ
āĻā§āĻˇāĻ° āĻĻāĻŋā§ā§ āĻ¸ā§āĻāĻ¨āĻļā§āĻ˛ āĻāĻžāĻ.
front[/frĘnt/]nouneasy
Meaning: āĻ¸āĻžāĻŽāĻ¨ā§
Alt: āĻā§āĻ¨ā§ āĻāĻŋāĻā§āĻ° āĻ¸āĻŽā§āĻŽā§āĻāĻāĻžāĻ
Example: The cats are in front of the door.
Syn: forward partAnt: back
đĄ Exam tip: Remember the phrase in front of.
đĄ Exam Tips
âĸ Practise writing capital and small letters together, such as A-a, B-b and C-c.
âĸ Memorise the correct order of the alphabet from A to Z.
âĸ Practise reading and writing the numbers 1 to 10 in both numeral and word forms.
âĸ In picture questions, identify the object first and then write its first letter.
âĸ Remember singular and plural forms: one cat but two cats.
âĸ Read the instructions carefully: listen, say, read, trace, write, match and count require different actions.
âĸ Learn the main vocabulary from the rhymes Two Little Hands, Counting Cats and One, Two, Three, Four, Five.
âĸ Check spelling carefully, especially three, five, eight and nine.
âĸ Use colour words to describe objects: brown cat, white cat, black cat and red cat.
âĸ For matching tasks, pair each capital letter with the correct small letter.