2019-11-19 TOEFL: word roots, writing feedback

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
---
Word Roots (list 3) - Try to think of one or two words to explain the meaning of each root.
ego (egocentric, egotistical, egomania) = self
endo (endotherm, endocrine) = in/inside/into
epi (epiphyte, epidermis, epidemic) = on
equi (equidistant, equation) = same (quantity)
erg (ergonomic, energy) = work
esth/aesth (anesthetic, kinesthesia) = feeling/perception (Many words that begin with this root are related to perceptions of beauty.)
eu (eulogy, euphemism, euphoria) = good (the opposite of “dys”)
ex/ect (ex-husband, exit, excavate, ectotherm) = out
extra (extraordinary, extrovert, extraterrestrial) = outward/beyond (This is the same “tra” ending that we also see in “contra”, “intro”, and “retro”.)
fac/fact (artifact, factory) = make
fer (transfer, ferry) = carry
flect/flex (deflect, reflection, flexible) = bend
fore (foreground, forecast) = before/in front (fore, front, first, former, pre-, proto-, prim-: all of these come from the same root)
fract/frag (fracture, fragment, refraction) = break
fug (refugee, fugitive) = flee/escape
funct (function, defunct) = work/perform
gen (generation, generate, genealogy) = make/create (Some words with this root, such as “genre” have a meaning like “kind” or “type”, others are specifically related to genetics.)
geo (geography, geology, geocentric) = Earth (“geometry” comes originally from measuring land, but now that that’s more abstract, “geodesy” is about measuring the shape of Earth)
graph (autograph, graphite, seismograph) = draw/write/communicate
grat (gratify, gratuity, grateful) = please
helio (heliocentric, heliograph) = Sun
hemo (hemophilia, hemorrhage, hemoglobin) = blood
hetero (heterogeneous, heteronym) = different
homo (homogeneous, homonym, homophone) = same (not quantity)
hydro (hydrate, hydraulic, hydrophobia, hydrogen) = water/fluid
hyper (hyperextend, hyperactive, hypertension) = over
hypo (hypodermic, hypothermia, hypotension) = under
---
Grimm’s Law describes a series of sound changes that happened in Germanic languages (including English), but didn’t happen in Greek or Latin:
pyro -> fire
pod -> foot
pater -> father
quod -> what
Voiced stops lose voicing:
    b -> p
    d -> t
    g -> k
Stops become fricatives:
    p -> f (This is the most common or noticeable example, especially at beginnings of words.)
    t -> th
    k -> /x/ or h
---
Another sound change that we often see is h -> s in Greek vs. Latin roots.
hyper -> super
helio -> solar
hemi -> semi
---
Other things to remember with word roots:
1 Sometimes many words with a root have a more specific meaning:
	“photojournalist” and “photogenic” have to do with taking pictures, not (directly) with light
2 Sometimes the history of the word comes from that root, but the modern meaning is unrelated
	“protocol” was originally the word for the first page or cover page of a book or document
3 Sometimes words with synonymous roots have different meanings or connotations
	supersonic = faster than sound
	ultrasonic = higher frequency than sound that we can hear
	predict = the normal (non-magical) deductions we naturally make all the time
	foretell = make magical predictions, such as what a fortune teller might make
	prophesy = make “divine” predictions (with information that comes from a god); prophecy (noun)
---
connotation = the mood or “feeling” that a word has (especially if it’s positive, negative, or neutral)
denotation = the direct literal meaning of a word (What thing in the world does the word point to?)
euphemism = a word with a more positive / less negative connotation, usually for something most people don’t want to talk about directly (e.g. “restroom”)
---
Nouns and Verbs
- sometimes the spelling and pronunciation are the same
	phone (the object and the act of calling someone)
- sometimes the syllable stress changes
	record/record (1st syllable stress for the noun, 2nd syllable for the verb)
	advocate/advocate (3rd syllable sounds like “it” for the noun, and like “ate” for the verb)
   (spelling might also change)
	envelope/envelop (1st syllable stress for noun, 2nd for verb, last syllable is stronger for the noun)
	unit/unite
 - sometimes the pronunciation changes between voiced and voiceless
	use/use (‘s’ is voiceless /s/ for the noun and voiced /z/ for the verb)
   (spelling might also change)
	teeth/teethe
	belief/believe
   (and the vowel might become long if it wasn’t before)
	bath/bathe
	breath/breathe
	cloth/clothe
   (or the vowel changes the other direction)
	life/live (long ‘i’ sound in “life”, short ‘i’ sound in “live”)
   (or the vowel changes in some other way)
	choice/choose
	loss/lose
---
The more common way to change the part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverbs) is with suffixes.
https://pastebin.com/BG45AD8c - Old TOEFL lesson with examples
---
A common problem in writing is when students use the wrong form of a word, and it makes sentences ungrammatical and harder to understand. For writing, the main thing is to recognize which part of speech each ending corresponds to.
---
BREAK
---
Writing corrections and feedback.
---
For integrated writing, you can start your body paragraphs with the points from the lecture and then explain how those points oppose the points from the text, with specific details from the text at the end of the paragraph.

	First, the speaker argues that the houses couldn’t have been residential. This is because a residential building would have needed a fireplace for each family, but the great houses only had around 10 fireplaces in a building big enough for hundreds of people. This contradicts the first theory proposed by the text, which is that the great houses were residential based on resemblance to residential buildings in Taos, New Mexico.
---
Apostrophes for possessives

the article’s examples = several examples from one article
the articles’ examples = several examples from multiple articles
	(Rule: if the noun has a plural -s ending, you only need to add an apostrophe, not another ‘s’.)
the child’s toys = the toys of one child
the chilren’s toys = the toys of multiple children
	(Rule: if the noun is an irregular plural, you add apostrophe and ‘s’ to it for the possessive.)
Charles’s toys = the toys of one child named Charles
	(Rule: if a singular noun ends with ‘s’, you add apostrophe and ‘s’ for the possessive)
	(Exception: classical (Greek or Latin) names ending in ‘s’, such as Achilles or Jesus, act like plurals)
---
Quantifier nouns like “amount”, “number”, and “lot” follow the normal noun rules, regardless of the noun they’re quantifying.

We don’t say “a maize” because “maize” is uncountable.
We do say “a lot of maize” or “a large amount of maize”, because “lot” and “amount” are countable.

We don’t say “a supplies” becuase “supplies” is plural.
We do say “a lot of supplies” or “a number of supplies”, because “lot” and “number” are countable.

We can also say “lots” and “amounts” and “numbers”
- “lots” means exactly the same as “a lot”
- “amounts” and “numbers” sound like you’re talking about different amounts in different “piles”, or different numbers on different days, for example
---
Some misspellings are “luckier” than others.
- If you spell “niece” like “neice”, I won’t be confused because there’s only one word that can mean.
- If you spell “niece” like “nice”, I could be confused because “nice” is a real word and doesn’t make sense in this sentence. (If you spell “grain maze” like “green maze”, I imagine a hedge maze, not corn.)
---
Prometric - a company with test centers for many different computer-based tests, including TOEFL
---
Tomorrow: reading practice