Crying

Let's look at some words that describe crying.

The "water" that comes out of your eyes when you cry is called tears and we use this word to form many idioms:

If you are in tears, it means you are crying.

To shed tears is to cry.

If we think someone is faking when they cry, we call it crocodile tears.

To cry silently is to weep. The past tense is wept.

To cry loudly is to wail or sob.

Reckless

Sometimes, words can seem confusing. Take the word reckless, for example. It means roughly the same thing as careless. However, when we look at careless, it seems obvious that it is a combination of the word care and the suffix -less. There is also the word careful. 

Why then, is there no such word as reck, or reckful?

In fact, there is such a word as reck. Here is the Google definition:

reck

/rɛk/

verb

ARCHAIC

verb: reck; 3rd person present: recks; past tense: recked; past participle: recked; gerund or present participle: recking

1. pay heed to something.

   "ye reck not of lands or goods"

   • it is of importance.

     "what recks it?"

Notice the word archaic in the definition. This means that the word is no longer used. If it is no longer used, why is it in the dictionary? So that people reading old books or manuscripts can look it up.


There is also a word reckful. Although it does not appear as a Google definition, you can find it in some dictionaries. Again, it is marked as archaic or uncommon.

reckful

adjective

(comparative more reckful, superlative most reckful)

1. Full of careful heed or attention; careful; cautious.

Portmanteau

A portmanteau is a blend of two words that become one word.

The most famous portmanteau at the moment is Brexit - Britain + Exit. Brexit is not really an official word and is not found in many dictionaries.

Other examples of a portmanteau are:

brunch (breakfast + lunch)
skort (a kind of mix of a skirt and shorts)
infotainment (information + entertainment)
bromance (bro + romance)

Useful Words and Phrases

I have been building up the RoadtoGrammar Pinterest page, which you can check out here:

https://www.pinterest.com/do0089/

It now features ESL discussion questions, a selection of around 100 useful words and phrases, some Rebus Puzzles and even some quizzes.

In connection with the Pinterest page, I have set up a flashcard/mcq activity featuring the same selection of new words and phrases here:

http://roadtogrammar.com/usefulwords/

I hope you guys can check it out and I hope you find it a valuable way to learn some great new vocab. Teachers, please think about featuring a new vocab card every day. It will work well on a smartboard.

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