Ryan's Words

diligent

showing careful and persistent effort

who vs. whom

'who' is a subject pronoun; 'whom' is an object pronoun

abundant

existing in large quantities; plentiful

jeopardize

to put something at risk of being lost or harmed

hindsight

understanding of a situation only after it has happened

novice

a person new to or inexperienced at something

concur

to agree or have the same opinion

impartial

treating all people and sides equally; fair and unbiased

they're / their / there

'They're' = they are; 'their' = possessive; 'there' = a place or introductory word.

subject-verb agreement (basic)

A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb.

its vs. it's

'Its' is possessive; 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.

fewer vs. less

'fewer' for countable nouns; 'less' for uncountable nouns

your vs. you're

'Your' is possessive; 'you're' is a contraction of 'you are'.

your vs. you're

'Your' is possessive; 'you're' is a contraction of 'you are'.

then vs. than

'Then' indicates time or sequence; 'than' is used for comparisons.

meticulous

showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise

resilient

able to recover quickly from difficulties; tough

ominous

giving the impression that something bad is going to happen

they're / their / there

'They're' = they are; 'their' = possessive; 'there' = a place or introductory word.

un-

English prefix meaning 'not' or 'opposite of' (e.g., unhappy, undo)

definitely

without doubt; clearly

separate

to set or keep apart; distinct

necessary

required to be done; essential

benevolent

well-meaning and kindly; generous

elated

extremely happy and excited

contemplate

to think about something deeply and at length

gratitude

the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation

conscience

inner sense of right and wrong

restaurant

a place where people pay to eat meals

ridiculous

deserving or inviting mockery; absurd

referred

mentioned or directed attention to

misspell

to spell a word incorrectly

calendar

a chart showing the days, weeks, and months of a year

beginning

the point in time at which something starts

receive

to be given or presented with something

environment

the surroundings or conditions in which a person or thing lives

argument

an exchange of diverging views; a reason given for or against something

sequence

Understanding the order of events in a passage

main idea - friendship

Identifying the main idea

main idea - teamwork

Identifying the main idea

lie vs. lay

'lie' means to recline (no object); 'lay' means to put down (needs an object)

to / too / two

'To' is a preposition or infinitive marker; 'too' means 'also' or 'excessively'; 'two' is the number 2.

subject-verb agreement

subjects and verbs must agree in number (singular/plural)

they're / their / there

'They're' = they are; 'their' = possessive; 'there' = a place or introductory word.

to / too / two

'To' is a preposition or infinitive marker; 'too' means 'also' or 'excessively'; 'two' is the number 2.

affect vs. effect

'affect' is usually a verb (to influence); 'effect' is usually a noun (a result)

its vs. it's

'Its' is possessive; 'it's' is a contraction of 'it is' or 'it has'.

dis-

Latin prefix meaning 'apart' or 'away from' (e.g., disagree, disconnect)

circum-

Latin prefix meaning 'around'

hit the nail on the head

to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem

break the ice

to initiate conversation in an awkward social situation

main idea

Identifying the central point of a passage

inference

Drawing a conclusion from clues in the text

opportunity

a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something

maintenance

the process of keeping something in good condition

a vs. an

Use 'a' before consonant sounds; use 'an' before vowel sounds.

double negatives

Two negatives in one clause create a grammatical error (in standard English they cancel out).

bio-

Greek prefix meaning 'life' (e.g., biology, biography)

pronoun case (basic)

Use subject pronouns (I, he, she, they) as subjects; use object pronouns (me, him, her, them) as objects.

author's purpose

Understanding why the author wrote something

pronoun case (basic)

Use subject pronouns (I, he, she, they) as subjects; use object pronouns (me, him, her, them) as objects.

apostrophes (basic possessives)

Add 's to singular nouns to show possession; add just an apostrophe to regular plurals.

feasible

possible and practical to do or achieve

candid

truthful and straightforward; frank

sentence fragments

A sentence must have a subject and a predicate and express a complete thought.

a vs. an

Use 'a' before consonant sounds; use 'an' before vowel sounds.

empathy

the ability to understand and share the feelings of another

trivial

of little value or importance; insignificant

accommodate

to provide lodging or room for; to adjust to

under-

English prefix meaning 'below' or 'not enough' (e.g., underground, underpaid)

skeptical

not easily convinced; having doubts

prevalent

widespread in a particular area or at a particular time

versatile

able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities

advocate

a person who publicly supports or recommends a cause

semi-

Latin prefix meaning 'half' or 'partly' (e.g., semicircle, semifinal)

trans-

Latin prefix meaning 'across' or 'beyond' (e.g., transport, transform)

let the cat out of the bag

to accidentally reveal a secret

inter-

Latin prefix meaning 'between' or 'among' (e.g., interact, international)

existence

the fact or state of living or being

subject-verb agreement (basic)

A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb.

grammar

the set of rules that govern the structure of a language

mal-

Latin prefix meaning 'bad' or 'evil'

anti-

Greek prefix meaning 'against' or 'opposite'

poly-

Greek prefix meaning 'many' (e.g., polygon, polyglot)

bi-

Latin prefix meaning 'two' (e.g., bicycle, bilingual)

bite the bullet

to endure a painful or difficult situation bravely

costs an arm and a leg

something that is very expensive

piece of cake

something that is very easy to do

raining cats and dogs

raining very heavily

super-

Latin prefix meaning 'above' or 'beyond' (e.g., superhero, supernatural)

auto-

Greek prefix meaning 'self' (e.g., autobiography, automobile)

post-

Latin prefix meaning 'after' (e.g., postwar, postpone)

sub-

Latin prefix meaning 'under' or 'below' (e.g., submarine, subway)

spill the beans

to reveal secret information

under the weather

feeling ill or sick

detail recall - penguins

Recalling specific details from a passage

main idea - recycling

Identifying the main idea

tone

Recognizing the author's attitude toward the subject

detail recall - solar system

Recalling specific details from a passage

sequence - baking bread

Understanding sequence of events

main idea - library

Identifying the main idea

detail recall - honeybees

Recalling specific details from a passage

main idea - helmet safety

Identifying the main idea

detail recall - water cycle

Recalling specific details from a passage

over-

English prefix meaning 'too much' or 'above' (e.g., overwork, overcome)

give someone the cold shoulder

to deliberately ignore or be unfriendly to someone

elephant in the room

an obvious problem or issue that people are avoiding discussing

bene-

Latin prefix meaning 'good' or 'well'

tri-

Latin/Greek prefix meaning 'three' (e.g., triangle, tricycle)

the last straw

the final small thing that causes someone to lose patience completely

sequence - butterfly

Understanding sequence of events

when pigs fly

something that will never happen

on thin ice

in a risky or dangerous situation, close to getting in trouble

re-

Latin prefix meaning 'again' or 'back' (e.g., return, rebuild)

micro-

Greek prefix meaning 'small' (e.g., microscope, microphone)

miss the boat

to miss an opportunity by being too slow to act

go bananas

to become very excited, silly, or crazy

occurrence

an event or incident

embarrass

to cause someone to feel awkward or ashamed

disappoint

to fail to meet the expectations of someone

privilege

a special right or advantage available only to a particular person or group

pseudo-

Greek prefix meaning 'false' or 'fake'

judgment

the ability to make considered decisions; a formal decision

immediately

without any delay; at once

perseverance

persistence in doing something despite difficulty

pre-

Latin prefix meaning 'before' (e.g., preview, predict)

lucid

expressed clearly; easy to understand

run-on sentences

Two independent clauses cannot be joined without proper punctuation or a conjunction.

wary

feeling or showing caution about possible dangers

diminish

to make or become less; to reduce

mis-

English prefix meaning 'wrongly' or 'badly' (e.g., mistake, misunderstand)