LESSON 1.

SYNONYMS, ANTONYMS AND HOMONYMS

Module:
Vocabulary

Topic:
Synonyms

Time: 80 minutes

 to analyse synonyms and their use;

Aims
 to develop practical understanding of key terms

1. Lewis, M (1997). Implementing the Lexical Approach. Hove: LTP.

2. McCarthy, M. and O’Dell, F (2004). English Vocabulary in Use. Upper-
intermediate and advanced. Cambridge: CUP
Materials

Text-books. charts, laptop with speakers, handouts

Aids

Lead-in (5 min.): Teacher asks the questions:

1. What is synonym?
2. How do the words can be identical?
3. Give examples for synonyms

Activity 1. Find the dominant synonym in the following groups of synonyms and explain why
they are dominant.

1) to glitter – to glisten – to blaze – to shine – to sparkle – to flash – to gleam;

2) to glare – to gaze – to peep – to look – to stare – to glance;
3) to astound – to surprise – to amaze – to puzzle – to astonish;
4) strange – quaint – odd – queer;
5) to saunter – to stroll – to wander – to walk – to roam;
6) scent – perfume – smell – odour – aroma;
7) to brood – to reflect – to meditate – to think;
8) to fabricate – to manufacture – to produce – to create – to make;
9) furious – enraged – angry;
10) to sob – to weep – to cry.

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Activity 2. Replace the words in bold type in the sentences with a word from the box.
You may have to put some into the plural form.
alter category cease consequences estimate forecast
hasty humorous different item link trouble

1 A number of things … were left behind.

2. All military action must stop … immediately. You have been warned.
3. We can't really predict … the future.
4. Can you guess … the number of sweets in this jar? There's a prize for the nearest answer.
5. Each user has a unique … PIN number.
6. I'm sorry to bother … you. Have you got a moment?
7. just look at the results … of your thoughtless actions. Aren't you ashamed?
8. This system will join … all our branches together.
9. These drugs change … the chemical messages coming from the brain.
10. This is not a time for quick … judgments. We must think carefully.
11. We can divide the population into a number of economic groups … .
12. We're bored. Tell us an amusing … story.

Activity 3. Replace the words in bold type in the sentences with a word
accustomed enough enthusiastic genuine good-looking huge incredible
innocent pleasant odd probable reserved rude terrible unnatural

1. Francis had a rather peculiar … habit of rubbing his watch with one finger. Everyone thought he was in
a hurry to leave.
2. Miriam is a bit too shy … to be a TV presenter, don't you think?
3 Your brother is an extremely attractive … young man. Please introduce me.
4. I like authentic … folk music, not this semi-pop stuff which they do for tourists.
5. That new guy Schwarz is a bit cheeky … . I don't think we'll keep him very long.
6. Which of his four excuses for being late did you find the most unbelievable …?
7. Thank you so much for a very enjoyable … evening!
8. I was paid an enormous … amount for the job. I can't tell you how much I'm embarrassed.
9. We now have sufficient … evidence to convict you, Mr Cavicchioli.
10. You have committed the most appalling … crimes.
11. A piece of advice: when you are trying to get a deal, don't sound too keen … .
12. Leo doesn't worry us. We're used … to dealing with weird people.
13. The flavours in fast food are so often artificial … . Where do they get them from?

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14. You think Cavicchioli is not guilty …? But it's written all over his face!
15. It is quite likely … his life in jail that he will spend the rest of

Activity 4. Match the words in A with their similar meanings in B.

A В
prison frightened
burglar bump into
scared stunned
purpose completely
meet furious
angry normal
Shocked jail
Ordinary point
Delighted over the moon
Totally robber

Complete the sentences with pairs above

The first word is from A, the second word is from B.

1. "Did you _____ anyone you know in town?"

"Yes, I __________ Carlos as I was coming out of a store"
2. "Aren't you ____ with your test grade?"
"You bet. I'm ______ . It's great!"
3. "The ______ of this meeting is to brainstorm ideas."
"Sorry, but I don't see the . Why bother?"
4. "You must be ____ with Tim for crashing your car."
"I'm absolutely______ with him."
5. "I was _____ when I heard that Joe had died. Weren't you?"
"I was _______ . He was only 48."
6. "I'm ______ of dogs. I was bitten once."
"I'm not _______ of them. They're usually really friendly."

Activity 5. These words are similar but not the same. Choose the correct word.

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1. alone/lonely
live ________ happily
feel ________ and unhappy

2. big/great
_________ house/mistake/feet
_________ artist/Wall of China/party

3. tall / high
_________ person/building/trees
_________ mountain/wall/ceiling

4. small/little
_________ old lady/boy/finger
_________ room/glass of water/dress si»e

5. quick /fast
_________ car/train/food
_________ look/worker/thinking
Handout 1. About antonyms
A word that has the exact opposite meaning of another word is its antonym. Life is full of antonyms, from
the "stop" and "go" of a traffic signal to side-by-side restroom doors labeled "men" and "women."
Most antonyms are pretty obvious, like "good" and "bad," or "black" and "white." Some words can be
transformed into their antonyms simply by adding the prefixes "un," "in," or "non," as when "likable" is
changed into its antonym, "unlikable." The word antonym itself takes the Greek word anti, meaning
"opposite," and adds it to -onym, which comes from the Greek onoma, or "name." So antonym literally
means "opposite-name."
Antonyms are divided in to several types:
1.gradable antonyms/pairs,
2.nongradable antonyms/complementaries,
3.reversives
4.converse pairs
1. gradable antonyms/pairs -They can be used in comparative constructions like bigger than or smaller
than, etc.
2. nongradable antonyms/complementaries- The relation of oppositeness is that which holds between the
pairs as single: married, man: woman, etc.
3. reversives-It is important to avoid most antonym pairs as one word meaning the negative of
another.e.g.tie-untie.
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 4. converse pairs – Another kind of antonymy is forming converse pairs. e.g. Converseness is used to refer
to the relationship between buy and sell.

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Activity 1. Define whether these pairs are similar or opposite:

backdown - withdraw bicker - argue

baggy - ill-fitting bitter - acrid
ban - permit bleach - lighten
basic - fundamental blunt - sharp
bearded - clean-shaven bother - harass
bent - warped breathtaking - beautiful
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broad-minded - prejudiced bushy - well-kept
brutally - cruelly busy - idle
bully - terrorize buy - purchase
bury - uncover bystander - participating

Activity 2. Fill in the blanks in each sentence below with the correct pair of
antonyms. Choose from the antonym list below.
include - exclude
allow - refuse
sad - cheerful
bold - timid
straight - crooked
past - future
notice - ignore
part - whole
husband - wife
kind - cruel
safe - dangerous
strange - familiar

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1. I know I am supposed to be ________ on my birthday, but my pet hamster just died
and I was feeling so ____________
2. I tried to pretend I didn't _________ the teacher standing there, but then she said "hello"
and I couldn't _____________ her.
3. You have to be very _________ to jump out of an airplane; I think I am too _________ to ever do that
for fun.
4. My dog was not ___________with my sister's witch costume, so it was not unusual that he
barked at her _______________ new appearance.
5. In my art lesson I tried to make the road look ______ and narrow, but it came out winding and .
6. I knew the new girl in cless would ________ me from her birthday party guest list since
she wanted to _______________ only the most popular kids.
7. My dad did not __________ me to buy expensive sports equipment, so I knew he would
______________ to loan me the money when I asked.
8. If the original owner of the dog had been ________ instead of _____________
to it, the dog would not be barking and snarling at everyone who tried to pet it.
9. My teacher says we can learn from_________ history not to make the same mistakes in
the _____________ .
10. I only finished __________ of my project last night since it was too late to complete the
_______________ thing.
11. My older sister is going to be married next week and become a _____ ; while my
uncle will become a _____________ in the following month.
12. The roads were ___________ to ride on because of all the rain, so we waited another day ;
just to be _______________ .
Handout 1. About homonyms
Homonyms (also called homophones) are words that sound like one another but have different
meanings. Some homonyms are spelled the same, like bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the outer
layer of a tree trunk). Some homonyms are spelled differently, like one (the number) and won (having
been victorious).
Example:
I hope you are not lying to me. (telling a lie)
He is lying on the bed. (being in a horizontal position)
Other examples are:
back n `part of the body' - back adv `away from the front' - back v `go back';
ball n `a gathering of people for dancing' - ball n `round object used in games';

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bark n `the noise made by dog' - bark v `to utter sharp explosive cries' - bark n `the skin of a tree' - bark n
`a sailing ship';
base n `bottom' - base v `build or place upon' - base a `mean';
bay n `part of the sea or lake filling wide-mouth opening of land' - bay n `recess in a house or room' - bay
v `bark' - bay n `the European laurel'.
The important point is that homonyms are distinct words: not different meanings within one word.
Structurally homonyms can be classified into two groups like homophones and homographs.
Homophones. Homophones are words of the same sound but of different spelling and meaning:
air - hair; arms - alms; buy - by; him - hymn; knight - night; not - knot; or - oar; piece - peace; rain - reign;
scent - cent; steel - steal; storey - story; write - right and many others.
Homographs. Homographs are words different in sound and in meaning but accidentally identical in
spelling: bow [bou] - bow [bau]; lead [li:d] - lead [led]; row [rou] - row [rau]; sewer [`soue] - sewer
[sjue]; tear [tie] - tear [te]; wind [wind] - wind [waind] and many more.

Activity 1 . State what parts of speech the following homonyms belong to.
For example: for (prep.) – four (numeral)
back – back, sea – see, tear – tear, bear – bare, stare – stair, read – red, ceiling – sealing, court – caught,
fair – fare, bank – bank, slap – slap, knows – nose, wind – wind, steal – steel
Activity 2. Fill in the spaces with appropriate homonyms pairs:
rose, yard(s), sink, found, mean, sack, still, mine(s), rest, fast,

1. The … was too heavy to lift. They are going to …. hundreds of workers at the factory.
1. His heart thudded so …. He who feasts till he is sick, must … till he is well.
2. You are to walk about fifty …. to get there. They were all playing in the back …. .
3. Do you … have Julie's phone number? The water appeared … from a distance.
4. He went over again to the … . He saw the sun … beyond the horizon.
5. Here they … tea laid out for them. He had always had a strong desire to … a home.
6. Mabel began to find out what a mean person he was. What I … is quite clear.
7. 'Is that your car?' 'No, … is parked over the road.' This is one of the largest coal … in the
country.
8. Does anyone want the … of this pizza? … your head on my shoulder.
9. I love your ... velvet curtains. Sales … by 20% over the Christmas period.
Activity 3. Fill in the spaces with appropriate homophones pairs.
counsel – council; coarse – course;
cheque – check; through – threw;
Isles – aisle; great – grate;
flower – flour ; pane – pain;
feat – feet; pigeons – Pidgin;
so – sow. damn – dam;
knights – nights; jam – jam ;
dear – deer; hair – hare;
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 1. They dream of a great castle called Camelot and a round table that could seat 150 … . It was on the
evening news a couple of … ago.
2. Old Nick had his way in due He gave one of his laughs.
3. To their … joy they found a good fire in the … .
4. … the kitchen window, I saw the mailman walking up to the house. I ... open the front door and looked
into the street.
5. The couch is covered in cat … . Wild …, unfortunately, is quite difficult to find.
6. I watched the rain as it pounded against the window … . The … is getting worse.
7. She bent down and picked a … . Mix the … and sugar.
8. In London you can see huge flocks of … . … has been a controversial issue in Hawaiian education for
50 years.
9. Scandinavian warriors raided the coast of the British … in the 8th to 10th centuries. Susan visualized
her wedding day and saw herself walking down the … on her father's arm.
10. She kept pots of raspberry and blackcurrant … . I was stuck in а traffic … .
11. … it! A … had saved the lake and its fish.
12. …, let’s buy a new lamp. I heard wild turkeys gobbling and saw white-tailed … .
13. Can I pay by…? He made a final … of the doors to be sure they were locked.
14. The judge asked … for the defence to explain. Their planning application was rejected by the … .
15. The circus acrobats performed an amazing … on the trapeze. He wiped his … on the mat.
16. Where did you learn to sew … well? As you … you shall mow.

Activity 4. Exercise 6. Write homophones for the following words.

sale, by, sea, hear, scent, hole, air, site, court, hour, reign, hair, but, suite, bear, where, bred,
weight, bee, seam, whole, pane, stake, whit, whet, flour, fore, fowl, weak, plumb, pail, gait,
plain, waste.
Activity 5. Exercise 8. Write the third homophone for the given ones, transcribe them and
then translate all the words.
1st homophone 2nd homophone 3rd homophone Transcription
Heir voris ere ..gacha, oldin
buy sotib olmoq bye hozircha hayr!
fore oldigni four to’rt
ore ruda oar eshkak
pare tozalamoq pear nok
pallet so’ri palette palitra

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 (bo’yoq taxtasi)
pours jala paws panja
peek nazar solish pique achinish
reign boshqarish rein tizgin, jilov
rite marosim write yozmoq
rowed eshkak eshmoq rode bormoq
seas dengiz seize qurshab olmoq
sent jo’natmoq cent sent (pul)
site makon, manzil cite iqtibos keltirmoq
so shunday sew tikmoq
to …ga too ham
where qayerda wear kiymoq
Activity 6. Translate the following sentences.
1. Have a cigarette – no, no, have one of mine, you must try them. Alec has a match.
2. …she drew the other girl to the glass. “You see? A perfect match.”
3. There, without bothering to light the lamp which stood ready with its box of matches, I tried
one key after another in the door until I had found the right one.
4. He was as strong as an ox, and if it had ever come to a fight, he’d have been a match for half a
dozen of them together.
5. You’d have thought it was going to be one long tennis match.
6. I know I’m showing off when I say this, but in me he’d met his match.
7. Than the headache will be buying clothes to match.
8. Then he asked if I would find the time to see any of the university matches: he speculated
about the merits of the team.

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