Download AHSGE Test Vocabulary

AHSGE Test
Vocabulary
Dr. Patrick Cain
SEHS Assistant Principal
Elmore County Schools
Language
Mrs. Julie Turner
School Improvement Specialist
Dothan City Schools
Vivid Details
Details that appeal to the
senses and help the reader
see, feel, smell, taste, and
hear the subject being
written about.
Vivid Verbs

Whenever possible, use a verb that is
strong enough to stand alone
without the help of an adverb.

Avoid overusing the “be” verbs.

Use active rather than passive verbs.

Use verbs that show rather than tell.
Clarity
Writing in a manner
in which the reader
understands the
basic meaning.
Verbal
A verbal is a form of a verb
that works in a sentence as
a noun, an adjective, or an
adverb.
Indefinite Pronoun
An indefinite pronoun refers
to persons, places or things
in a more general way.
Indefinite pronouns do not
have clear antecedents.
Reflexive Pronoun
A reflexive pronoun refers to a
noun or another pronoun and
indicates that the same person
or thing is involved.
Example:
I almost exhausted myself working
for her in the campaign.
Antecedent
The word or group of words
that a pronoun replaces is
called its antecedent.
Active Voice
An action verb is in the
active voice when the
subject of the sentence
performs the action.
Passive Voice
An action verb is in the
passive voice when its
action is performed on the
subject.
Regular Verbs
Most verbs are regular verbs.
If the past tense and past
participle of a verb both end
in –ed it is called a regular
verb.
Irregular Verbs
An irregular verb is a verb
that does not form its past
and past participle by
adding –ed to the basic
verb.
Collective Noun
A collective noun
names a
group of people or
things.
Examples:
Appositive
An appositive is a noun or
pronoun (sometimes with
modifiers) that is placed next
to another noun or pronoun to
identify it or to give additional
information about it.
Misplaced Participle
A misplaced participle
modifies the wrong noun or
pronoun in a sentence.
Clichés
A cliché is an overused word or
phrase that springs quickly to
mind but just as quickly bores the
user and audience.
Examples:
as cold as ice
a fish out of water
Correlative
Conjunctions
Correlative Conjunctions compare
or
contrast two ideas in a sentence.
Correlative conjunctions are used in
pairs (either, or; neither, nor; not
only, but also; both, and; whether,
or;
as, so).
Jargon
Jargon is language used in
a certain profession or by a
particular group of people.
It is usually very technical
and not natural at all.
Redundancy
Redundancy occurs when
words (or synonyms for
words) are repeated
unnecessarily to add
emphasis or to fill up space.
Formal Language
Most academic writing should
meet the standards of formal
language. This level of language
is characterized by a serious tone,
a careful attention to word choice,
longer sentences, a strict adherence
to traditional conventions and so on.
Informal Language
Informal English is characterized
by a personal tone, the
occasional use of popular
expressions, shorter sentences,
the use of contractions and
personal references.
Comma Splice
A comma splice is a mistake
made when two
independent clauses are
connected (spliced) with
only a comma.
Parallelism
This means that similar ideas are
expressed in similar form, which
makes it easier for the reader to
recognize the similar ideas you
are trying to express.
Transitional Words
Transitional words are often
used to introduce related
topics.
Examples:
First, second, third,
to illustrate, for instance, also,
in addition
Sentence Structure
Sentences are classified by
structure in one of four
ways: simple, compound,
complex, and compoundcomplex sentences.
Dangling Modifier
A dangling modifier is a
phrase or clause that comes
at the beginning of a
sentence but does not
modify (describe) the subject
in the sentence.
Modifiers
Modifiers are
adjectives.
Intervening Phrase
A phrase that
interrupts a
sentence.
Irrelevant Sentences
A sentence that does
not
belong in a paragraph.
Verb Shifts
Shifts in verb tense
within a
passage.
Verbiage
Wordiness
Precise
Definite; exact