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Homonyms 2 (Stein)

Lesson

Activity 3

This lesson continues our look at homonyms. 

Take for example the word fast

How many different meanings and word classes can you think of?

Look at these two sentences: 

  1. Katie works very fast
  2. Katie is a fast worker.

They have very similar meanings, but in one sentence fast is an adverb and in the other an adjective.

Which sentence uses fast as an adjective and which as an adverb? And, how can you tell?  

One way to tell the difference is to substitute fast for another word.

Try putting these four sentences into the correct category. Then look back at the two sentences from before and see if they follow the same pattern. 

ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
Katie works very slowly.
Katie works very carefully
Katie is a slow worker
Katie is a careful worker

  1. Katie works very fast. (Adverb)
  2. Katie is a fast worker. (Adjective)

How can you tell if a word is being uses as an adjective or adverb?

  • Adjectives form part of an expanded noun phrase and modify the noun. They come after any determiner and before a noun
  • Remember: adjectives can also come after verbs like 'be', 'seem' or 'appear' e.g. Katie is fast.
  • Adverbs can appear at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence and modify the verb or an adjective.  
  • Adverbs commonly have an -ly ending. However, some adverbs like 'fast' do not. 

Activity 4

Using the rules we discussed, decide whether each of the eight sentences is using the homonym as an adjective or adverb. 

Answers

Look back at the homonyms from today's lesson. Choose one of these challenges to complete: 

  • Write two new sentences for each pair of homonyms, using different word classes each time. 
  • Write a short story or poem, using pairs of homonyms to humorous effect!  

This lesson is adapted (with permission) from Words and Meanings: A Systematic Guide for the Teaching of English Vocabulary, by Gabriele Stein.

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