Different Types of Contextual Clues Contextual clues have four types, namely: Linked synonyms involve using words

s that are almost the same in meaning. Examples:

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I like to review my notes in a placid, serene, calm, or peaceful place. The woman was assigned to categorize, classify, file, or group the documents about the case.

Antonyms Using antonyms as contextual clues requires the use of connectives denoting contrast, like but, however, while, before a word that is opposite in meaning to the unfamiliar term. Examples:

Lina seems peevish in front of the man, while Fe looks so relaxed. The first bottle has a lot of the mixture, while the second one has just an iota of it.

Mood and Tone The sentence cultivates a mood that will give the students some ideas related to the unfamiliar terms. Examples:

The cantankerous woman angrily shouted, stared, pointed at the man and hurled bad words at him. Its a humdrum lecture that bores us to death.

Repetition of the idea in more familiar words The meaning of the target word is stated again in simpler terms. Examples:

The cow stepped on the sapling or young tree. Let him stay in a solarium or a room exposed to the sun.

Derivation or Structural Analysis also Helps a Reader Uncover the Meaning of a Difficult Word Aside from contextual clues, there is also the vocabulary-building strategy called derivation or structural analysis that requires you to study the structure or components of the word, such as the root word, suffixes, affixes, and inflectional endings. The meaning of the word is derived from the meanings of all these components that make up the word. The root word is the simplest word structure and contains no suffix or inflectional ending. An affix is a letter, sound, or a syllable added to either the initial or last part of the root word to form another word. An affix is called a prefix if it is placed at the beginning of the root word, or a suffix if it is at the end of the word. An inflectional ending (-s, -es, -ing) is also a letter or a sound attached to the word but it is placed ONLY at the end of the word. Examples:

Prefix untidy, misplace, misbehave, preschool, postgraduate, delineate Suffix gorgeous, beauteous, sobriety, debatable, voiceless, argumentative, forceful, precedent

Words can also be formed by combining two words to form a compound word. Examples include boyfriend, schoolhouse, postmaster, and more. Here are the different combination that students can make out of word components:

Root by itself : place, god, think Root word + inflectional ending : places, gods, thinks

Root word + prefix: replace, demigod, outthink Root word + suffix: placements, godly, thinking Root word + prefix +suffix: replacement, ungodly, unthinkably Root word + root word: placeholder, God-fearing, think-tank