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30 cardsIndependent School Entrance (ISEB Pre-Test and 11+ CEM style)

Independent School Entrance: English and Vocabulary Toolkit

30 flashcards on grammar terms, punctuation rules, figurative language and challenging vocabulary for selective independent-school entrance practice. Study material written for practice.

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Subordinate clause
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Terms in this deck (30)

Independent School Entrance (ISEB Pre-Test and 11+ CEM style) mock tests →
1
Subordinate clause
A clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence because it depends on a main clause. Although it was late, we kept walking.
2
Main clause
A clause that makes complete sense on its own and has a subject and a verb. We kept walking.
3
Relative clause
A clause that adds detail about a noun and starts with who, which, that, whose or where. The boy who won the prize smiled.
4
Fronted adverbial
A word or phrase at the start of a sentence that says when, where or how, usually followed by a comma. Without a sound, she opened the door.
5
Active and passive voice
In the active voice the doer comes first: The dog chased the cat. In the passive the receiver comes first: The cat was chased by the dog.
6
Past perfect tense
'Had' plus the past participle. It shows an action finished before another past action. The match had started when we arrived.
7
Semi-colon
Joins two closely linked main clauses, or separates items in a complex list. It was late; the shops had closed.
8
Colon
Follows a complete clause to introduce a list, an explanation or a quotation. You need three things: a pen, a ruler and a rubber.
9
Apostrophe for possession
Singular owner: add 's (the girl's bag). Plural ending in s: add ' (the girls' bags). Irregular plural: add 's (the children's toys).
10
Hyphen in compound adjectives
Joins words that work together before a noun. a well-known author, a ten-year-old boy.
11
Dangling modifier
An opening phrase that does not match the subject that follows. Walking home, the rain started wrongly suggests the rain was walking.
12
Homophones to watch
their / there / they're; to / too / two; your / you're; whose / who's; its / it's.
13
Fewer or less?
Fewer is used with things you can count (fewer apples). Less is used with amounts that you cannot count (less juice).
14
Simile
Compares two things using 'like' or 'as'. as brave as a lion.
15
Metaphor
Says one thing is another to create a picture. The classroom was a zoo.
16
Personification
Gives human actions or feelings to something that is not human. The wind whispered through the trees.
17
Alliteration
Repeated sounds at the start of nearby words. Sally sells sea shells.
18
Onomatopoeia
A word that copies the sound it describes. crash, buzz, sizzle.
19
Inference
Working out something that the writer has not said directly, using clues in the text. Always point to the words that support your answer.
20
Prefix 'bene-'
Means good or well. benefit, benefactor, benevolent.
21
Prefix 'mal-'
Means bad or badly. malfunction, malnutrition, malicious.
22
Root 'port'
Means to carry. transport, export, portable.
23
Root 'scrib / script'
Means to write. describe, manuscript, inscription.
24
Ambiguous
Open to more than one meaning. The instructions were ambiguous.
25
Painstaking
Done with great care and effort. a painstaking search for clues.
26
Benevolent
Kindly and eager to do good for others. a benevolent donor.
27
Capricious
Likely to change mood or behaviour suddenly and without warning. capricious weather.
28
Laconic
Using very few words. a laconic reply.
29
Resilient
Able to recover quickly after difficulty. a resilient team.
30
Impartial
Treating all sides equally, without favouring anyone. an impartial judge.

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