Essential Vocabulary, Grammar & Writing Rules
the loyalty that citizens owe to their country (or subjects to their sovereign); the act of binding yourself to a course of action
"He pledged allegiance to the flag."
to make something such as a pain or problem less severe
"The medicine was given to alleviate her suffering."
not having a clear meaning
"His ambiguous answer left us all confused."
a substance that induces insensitivity to pain
"The dentist administered an anaesthetic before extracting the tooth."
great dismay or horrify
"We were appalled by the terrible conditions in the factory."
pacify or placate someone
"He bought her flowers to appease her anger."
lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless; lacking enough water or rainfall
"Few plants can survive in the arid desert."
marked by practical hard-headed intelligence
"The astute businessman quickly identified the flaw in the contract."
a fast, violent attack on a town, city, etc., usually with bombs dropped from aircraft
"The city was heavily damaged during the blitz."
noisy, energetic and rough
"The children played boisterously in the park."
a continuous rattling sound as of hard objects falling or striking each other.
"She dropped the metal tray with a loud clatter."
to formally praise someone for something
"The firefighter was commended for his bravery."
force or oblige someone to do something
"The evidence was strong enough to compel him to confess."
something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other
"The fine wine was a perfect complement to the delicious meal."
expressing much in few words
"Please keep your summary concise and to the point."
to agree or have the same opinion
"The board concurred with the manager's proposal."
have discussions; exchange opinions
"I need to confer with my lawyer before signing the document."
put off (an action or event) to a later time; postpone
"We will defer the decision until the next meeting."
the rising of a body of water and its overflowing onto normally dry land; a heavy rain; an overwhelming number or amount
"The company received a deluge of complaints after the new policy."
the way a person behaves toward other people
"Her calm demeanour helped reassure the frightened passengers."
use up the supply or resources of.
"If we continue at this rate, we will deplete our savings in a month."
lose in value; lower the value of something; belittle
"New cars depreciate rapidly as soon as they are driven off the lot."
to go or to come down
"The plane descended rapidly as it approached the runway."
become smaller or lose substance
"His hopes began to dwindle as the days passed without news."
in a detailed and carefully arranged manner
"The hall was elaborately decorated for the grand ball."
the condition of being honoured (esteemed or respected or well regarded); an attitude of admiration or esteem
"She is held in high esteem by all her colleagues."
bring or recall (a feeling, memory, or image) to the conscious mind
"The old song evoked memories of my childhood."
expressing approval
"The weather conditions are favourable for sailing today."
disgusting, dirt
"The stray dog was covered in filth and mud."
lack of good sense; foolishness
"It would be folly to ignore their warnings."
a feeling that something bad will happen; fearful apprehension
"She had a sense of foreboding before the stormy journey began."
in a forlorn manner
"The lost puppy whimpered forlornly in the alley."
in a silly way that does not take something seriously
"He spent his allowance frivolously on useless gadgets."
producing no result or effect; unproductive of success
"All attempts to convince him to change his mind were futile."
a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment
"A minor computer glitch caused the delay in processing the orders."
a person or thing regarded as perfect
"The sunny weather made it an ideal day for a picnic."
call upon in supplication; entreat
"I implore you to reconsider your decision."
unable to be reached
"The mountain village is inaccessible during the heavy winter snows."
of a person or their behaviour not able to be changed or reformed
"He is an incorrigible liar who never tells the truth."
not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
"She gave an incredulous gasp when she heard the shocking news."
to experience something, usually something unpleasant, as a result of actions you have taken
"The company incurred huge losses due to the failed investment."
cannot be removed, washed away or erased
"The experience left an indelible impression on her mind."
being favourably inclined; characterized by or given to yielding to the wishes of someone; tolerant or lenient
"His indulgent grandparents bought him whatever he wanted."
guess or conclude (something) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements.
"From his tone, I could infer that he was very angry."
make furious
"His constant interruptions infuriate the teacher."
introduce or insert (oneself) in a subtle manner; give to understand
"Are you trying to insinuate that I took the money?"
fill or cover completely, usually with water; fill quickly beyond capacity; as with a liquid
"The office was inundated with calls after the advertisement."
too powerful to be defeated or overcome
"The champion boxer seemed invincible in the ring."
feeling or showing extreme anger
"An irate customer demanded a full refund."
in a laborious manner
"The old man walked laboriously up the steep hill."
a low continuous background noise; a low continuous background noise.
"There was a murmur of agreement from the audience."
the process of flowing out; the unwanted discharge of a fluid from some container; a natural flow of ground water
"The government tried to stop the outflow of capital from the country."
the offence of wilfully telling an untruth or making a misrepresentation under oath.
"He was found guilty of perjury for lying in court."
throw into great confusion or disorder; disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed
"The strange noise in the middle of the night perturbed her."
tightly woven fabric with raised cords; a sudden outburst of anger; verb cause to feel resentment or indignation
"Her refusal to help him naturally piqued his pride."
marked by balance or equilibrium and readiness for action; in full control of your faculties
"The gymnast was poised on the balance beam."
exerting influence by reason of high status or prestige; having an illustrious reputation; respected
"She was awarded a scholarship to a prestigious university."
deliberately make (someone) annoyed or angry.
"The referee's unfair decision provoked the crowd to boo."
the act of removing an official by petition; the process of remembering (especially the process of recovering information by mental effort)
"I cannot recall his name at this moment."
to become well again after an illness
"He needs a few weeks to recuperate from his surgery."
recall the past
"The old friends gathered to reminisce about their school days."
remote or secluded; being the only one; single and isolated from others; characterized by or preferring solitude
"He led a solitary life in the woods."
wriggle or twist the body from side to side, especially as a result of nervousness or discomfort.
"The guilty boy squirmed uncomfortably in his seat."
held in check with difficulty
"She stifled a yawn during the boring lecture."
a condition that becomes less strong or extreme
"We waited for the storm to subside before going out."
being or affecting or concerned with a surface; not deep or penetrating emotionally or intellectually; of little substance or significance
"He only had a superficial understanding of the complex topic."
a medicinal drug taken to reduce tension or anxiety.
"The vet gave the anxious dog tranquilisers before the flight."
having your attention fixated as though by a spell
"The audience was transfixed by the magician's incredible trick."
with the agreement of all involved
"The board members voted unanimously to approve the budget."
of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning
"She only gave a vague description of the suspect."
in a zealous manner
"The guard zealously protected the entrance to the building."
A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Be careful with complex sentences, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns like 'everyone' or 'nobody' (always singular), and compound subjects.
The box of chocolates is on the table. (Not 'are', because 'box' is the singular subject).
Use tenses accurately and avoid tense inconsistency. Simple present is for habits/facts. Simple past is for completed actions. Present perfect is for past actions with present relevance.
She has lived in Singapore for ten years. (Present perfect - action began in the past and is still relevant).
Have a firm grasp of the full stop, comma, question mark, exclamation mark, apostrophe, and speech marks. Possessive pronouns like 'its', 'yours', and 'theirs' never take an apostrophe.
The teacher's pen (possessive) vs. can't (contraction of cannot).
Pronouns must match their noun in number and gender (pronoun-antecedent agreement). Do not confuse subject pronouns (I, he, she, they) with object pronouns (me, him, her, them).
My friend and I went to the park. (Not 'Me and my friend went to the park').
'A' and 'an' are used for non-specific items or referring to something for the first time. 'The' is used when both speaker and listener know exactly what is being referred to. Use 'an' before words that begin with a vowel sound.
an hour (silent 'h') vs. a university ('yoo' sound).
Prepositions show relationships of time, place, and direction. For time: 'at' for specific times, 'on' for days/dates, 'in' for longer periods. For place: 'at' for specific points, 'in' for enclosed spaces, 'on' for surfaces.
at 3 o'clock, on Monday, in the morning, at the bus stop, in the room, on the table.
Avoid sentence fragments (incomplete sentences missing a subject or verb) and run-on sentences. Vary sentence structures by using simple, compound, and complex sentences to make writing engaging.
A grammatically correct sentence must contain a subject and a predicate, and it must express a complete thought.
When two subjects are joined by 'neither...nor' or 'either...or', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Neither the teacher nor the students are ready. Neither the students nor the teacher is ready.
'Who' is used as a subject, while 'whom' is used as an object.
The boy who won the race is my friend. The man whom I saw yesterday is my uncle.