Grade 11 and 12 English Syllabus Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering advanced English grammar, literary terms, rhetorical figures, etymology, and idiomatic expressions from the Grade 11 and 12 English syllabus.

Retained Object

An object that continues to function as an object in the predicate of a passive voice sentence when an active sentence with two objects is transformed into the passive voice (e.g., 'The victorious athlete was awarded a gold medal by the federation').

Objective Complement

A noun, adjective, or phrase that follows the direct object and completes its meaning by renaming or describing it (e.g., 'null and void' in 'He considers the legal contract null and void').

Cognate Accusative

A direct object whose etymological root or semantic meaning is identical or closely related to the governing verb (e.g., 'lived a pure life').

Nominative Absolute Construction

An independent participial construction consisting of a noun or pronoun accompanied by a participle, grammatically detached from the main predicate of the sentence (e.g., 'The storm having abated, the naval fleet weighed anchor and set sail').

Periodic Sentence

A sentence structured so that the main independent clause is delayed until the very end, following introductory phrases or subordinate clauses (e.g., 'Despite the intense artillery barrage and the treacherous snow, the regiment advanced').

Recondite

Abstruse; dealing with obscure, profound, or difficult subject matter that is beyond ordinary knowledge.

Ephemeral

Lasting for a very brief time; transitory or evanescent (exact antonym: perennial).

Ineffable

Indescribable; incapable of being expressed or described in words.

Trenchant

Incisive, keen, and vigorous in expression or style (antonym: vague).

Perspicacious

Astute; having keen mental discernment and understanding.

Mendacious

Untruthful or fraudulent (exact antonym: veracious).

Fastidious

Punctilious; excessively particular, demanding, and attentive to accuracy and details.

Alacrity

Brisk and cheerful readiness or promptitude (exact antonym: lethargy).

Equanimity

Composure; mental calmness and evenness of temper, especially under stress.

Supercilious

Arrogant, haughty, and disdainful (exact antonym: modest).

Paronyms

Pairs of words that are derived from the same root or have similar forms but possess different meanings (e.g., resource / recourse).

Root "retro-"

A Latin prefix meaning backward.

Root "polem"

A Greek root relating to war or hostility.

Root "loqu / locut"

A Latin root meaning to speak (found in words like 'circumlocution' and 'colloquial').

Root "ont"

A Greek root pertaining to being or existence (found in 'ontology').

Root "tacit"

A root denoting silent (found in 'taciturn' and 'tacit').

Suffix "-esque"

A suffix denoting 'in the style or manner of' (found in 'picturesque' and 'Romanesque').

Root "vor"

A Latin root signifying to swallow or eat (found in 'omnivorous' and 'carnivore').

Root "cogn / gno"

A root signifying knowing (found in 'cognitive' and 'prognosis').

Prefix "omni-"

A prefix signifying all or universally (found in 'omnipotent' and 'omniscient').

Root "phil"

A Greek root denoting love or affinity (found in 'philanthropy' and 'philosophy').

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which the name of one object or concept is replaced with the name of another closely related to it (e.g., 'The pen is mightier than the sword').

Apostrophe (Literary Device)

A rhetorical device in which a speaker directly addresses an absent person, an abstract concept, or a personified natural element (e.g., 'O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn\'s being!').

Chiasmus

A rhetorical device that inverts word order or grammatical structure in successive clauses (e.g., 'Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country').

Pathetic Fallacy

A literary device that attributes human emotions, consciousness, or feelings to inanimate natural elements (e.g., 'The cruel, crawling foam swept the traveler away').

Asyndeton

The deliberate omission of coordinating conjunctions between related clauses or coordinate words (e.g., 'I came, I saw, I conquered').

To gird up one's loins

An idiom meaning to prepare oneself resolutely for an arduous endeavor.

A sword of Damocles

An expression denoting an imminent, perpetual threat hanging over someone.

Sine qua non

A Latin maxim signifying an indispensable, essential condition.

To cleanse the Augean stables

An idiomatic phrase meaning to eradicate deeply entrenched corruption or squalor.

To beat swords into ploughshares

An idiom meaning to transition from wartime mobilization to peaceful agrarian reconstruction.

To cross the Rubicon

An idiom meaning to take an irrevocable step committing oneself to a definitive course of action.

Pyrrhic Victory

A victory won at ruinously high cost to the victor.

Soliloquy

An extended speech in drama delivered by a solitary character on stage that reveals their inner thoughts.

Aside

A brief dramatic remark addressed directly to the audience that other onstage characters ostensibly cannot hear.

Hubris

A tragic hero's excessive pride or overweening arrogance that provokes their downfall.

Anagnorisis

The critical moment of recognition or discovery experienced by the tragic protagonist.

Peripeteia

The sudden, drastic reversal of fortune from prosperity to catastrophe in drama.

Nemesis

The inescapable agent of retribution or cosmic vengeance in dramatic literature.

Iamb

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter verse.

Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet

A poem consisting of an octave rhyming ABBAABBA followed by a sestet rhyming CDECDE.

Volta

The thematic turn or shift in rhetorical argument within a classical sonnet.

Logos

A mode of formal rhetoric relying on logical reasoning and empirical evidence.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal based on the moral integrity, credibility, and authority of the speaker.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal designed to evoke emotional responses, pity, or indignation in the audience.

Kairos

A rhetorical concept that refers to seizing the opportune, propitious moment to speak.

Bathos

The sudden, unintentional descent from the sublime to the ridiculous or mundane.

Argumentum ad Hominem

A rhetorical fallacy of attacking an opponent's character or personal traits rather than engaging with their argument.

Petitio Principii

A logical fallacy that assumes as proven the very conclusion that is contested; also known as begging the question.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

A logical fallacy that assumes that because event B followed event A, event A must have caused event B.

Root "fid"

A Latin root denoting faith or trust (as in 'fidelity' and 'perfidious').

Root "plac"

A Latin root meaning to please or soothe (as in 'placate' and 'implacable').

Obsequious

Servile; obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

Penury

Destitution; a state of extreme poverty.

Chimerical

Fanciful or illusory; wildly unrealistic.

Inchoate

Rudimentary, formless, or nascent; not fully developed (exact antonym: fully developed).

Enthymeme

An argumentative syllogism in which one of the major or minor premises is left unstated (e.g., 'Socrates is mortal because he is human').

Slanting

A technique in critical discourse analysis of deliberately selecting details and loaded vocabulary to bias the reader toward one interpretation.

Zeugma

A rhetorical device where a single word governs two other words in grammatically different senses (e.g., 'He took his hat and his leave').

Allegory

A narrative in which characters, events, and settings represent deeper moral, religious, or political abstractions.

Pusillanimous

Cowardly, timid, or craven; lacking courage (exact antonym: courageous).

Redolent

Aromatic or reminiscent of something.

Salubrious

Healthy or wholesome (exact antonym: deleterious).

Epistrophe

A rhetorical device characterized by repeating the same word or words at the end of successive clauses (e.g., 'Government of the people, by the people, for the people').

Litotes

A figure of speech featuring intentional understatement expressed through the negation of the contrary (e.g., 'He was not unfamiliar with classical Greek philosophy').

Structural Irony

A sustained ironic perspective created when an author introduces an intentional gap between what a naive narrator perceives and what the reader understands.

Fable

A didactic narrative utilizing animals with anthropomorphic attributes to convey a moral lesson.

Ode

A formal poem of elevated tone celebrating a specific subject, person, or abstraction.

Ballad

A narrative poem of folk origin characterized by short stanzas adapted for singing or recitation.