Lesson 1: Vocabulary of Everyday Life

🟦 Introduction

Every day, you use words to greet, describe, explain, and ask questions. The words you choose matter — especially when you want to be clear and understood. This lesson focuses on everyday vocabulary: the kind used at home, in school, or when chatting with friends. These words often appear in WASSCE English Paper 1 and are key to your communication skills.

You’ll learn how to:

• Recognize common everyday words

• Understand their meanings in different situations

• Avoid confusing similar words

• Expand your vocabulary through real-life context

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What is Everyday Vocabulary?

This refers to common words used in daily life, like:

• bucket, breakfast, schoolbag, excuse, copy, wait, wash They appear in conversations, instructions, and stories.

2. Understanding Context

Words take meaning from the context they’re in.

Example:

• The boy sat on the bank to rest. (river bank)

• She deposited money in the bank. (financial institution)

3. Word Groups and Themes

Vocabulary is often linked by themes like:

• Home: chair, cupboard, sweep, mat

• School: chalkboard, assembly, recess, uniform

• Shopping: price, change, receipt, bargain

Knowing the theme helps predict meaning.

4. Word Relationships

• Synonyms: same/similar meaning (e.g. happy – joyful)

• Antonyms: opposite meaning (e.g. early – late)

• Homonyms: same sound/spelling, different meaning (e.g. bat, fair)

5. Common Mistakes

• Lend vs. borrow: I borrowed a pen from her. (not “I lended”)

• Cook an exam ❌ instead of cheat in an exam ✔

🟨 Practice Exercises

✏️ Exercise 1: Vocabulary in Context

Choose the most appropriate word or phrase to fill the blank.

1. The baby started to ______ loudly because he was hungry.
   A. laugh
   B. whisper
   C. cry
   D. smile

2. Kwame is always early. He never comes to school ______.
   A. slow
   B. behind
   C. late
   D. absent

3. My father asked me to go to the ______ and buy some rice.
   A. hospital
   B. market
   C. classroom
   D. church

4. Please use a ______ to clean the floor.
   A. bowl
   B. mop
   C. cloth
   D. pencil

✏️ Exercise 2: Word Themes

Write the theme (home, school, health, or transport) for each group of words.

5. broom, mat, cupboard, bucket → ______

6. classroom, chalkboard, register, uniform → ______

7. fever, nurse, injection, clinic → ______

8. driver, fare, bus stop, traffic → ______

✏️ Exercise 3: Word Relationships

Choose the correct synonym, antonym, or identify the type.

9. Clean is the opposite of ______.

10. Kind means the same as ______.

11. Bark (dog) and bark (tree) are ______.
    A. synonyms
    B. antonyms
    C. homonyms
    D. proverbs

✅ Answers and Explanations

Exercise 1: Vocabulary in Context

1. C. cry – “cry” fits a hungry baby.

2. C. late – the opposite of “early”.

3. B. market – the place to buy food items.

4. B. mop – used to clean floors.

Exercise 2: Word Themes
5. Home
6. School
7. Health
8. Transport

Exercise 3: Word Relationships
9. Dirty – the opposite of “clean”.
10. Nice / Generous – similar to “kind”.
11. C. homonyms – same spelling, different meaning.

🔁 Recap

You now understand:

• How vocabulary is used in real-life situations

• How context helps determine meaning

• How to recognize word relationships

🪞Reflection Prompt

List 5 words you use every day and write a short sentence with each. Which situations do they appear in? Try using one in a new context.