Complete coverage map
All 100 original topic numbers are included. Related topics are intentionally grouped together.
| Original topics | Consolidated chapter |
|---|---|
| 1, 8, 13, 20, 22, 23, 35, 36, 42, 43, 50, 51, 58, 59, 67, 68, 72, 77, 78, 86, 95, 96 | Vocabulary, Meaning and Word Strength |
| 10, 16, 29, 40, 44, 52, 61, 62, 75, 82, 98 | Homophones and Commonly Confused Words |
| 11, 46, 55, 63, 70, 83, 99 | Multiple Meanings: Homographs and Flexible Words |
| 5, 12, 14, 19, 21, 27, 34, 38, 47, 54, 65, 73, 76, 88 | Spelling Patterns and Difficult Words |
| 15, 28, 31, 41, 48, 69, 74, 79, 84 | Prefixes, Suffixes, Plurals and Word Building |
| 80, 87 | Grammar and Comparison |
| 9, 18, 24, 33, 39, 49, 56, 64, 71, 85, 90, 94 | Idioms and Figurative Language |
| 2, 3, 6, 25, 26, 32, 37, 66 | People, Animals, Plants and Living Things |
| 17, 57, 60, 89, 91, 93 | Classification: Instruments, Sport, Colour and Everyday Knowledge |
| 4, 30, 45, 53, 92, 97 | Places, Geography and Culture |
| 7, 81 | Measurement, Space and Scientific Order |
| 100 | Sound Words and Final Language Tools |
1. Vocabulary, Meaning and Word Strength
Build precise vocabulary by learning words as connected families, not isolated lists.
Size, speed, age and strength
| Scale | Weakest or smallest | Middle | Strongest or largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | infinitesimal, microscopic, minuscule, minute, miniature, tiny, little, small | average, medium, moderate, intermediate | large, huge, enormous, gigantic, gargantuan, colossal, mammoth, massive, monstrous, humongous |
| Speed | crawl, dawdling, plodding, sluggish, sedate, leisurely | steady, prompt | swift, rapid, speedy, hastily, hurriedly, frantically |
| Age | old, aged, previous, past | current, contemporary | new, fresh, recent, modern |
Strong and weak synonyms
Annoyed → angry → furious. Cool → cold → freezing. Good → great → excellent. Content → happy → ecstatic. Sad → melancholy → depressed. Peckish → hungry → ravenous. Moist → soggy → saturated.
Useful synonym families
begin: start, commence
clever: intelligent
small part: fraction
laugh softly: giggle, chuckle
copy: mimic
stubborn: obstinate
thrifty: frugal
brief: concise
calm: pacify
persuade: coax
block: impede, hinder
approve: endorse
agree: consent, concur
fall: tumble
soil: dirt
ruin: spoil
offender: culprit
continue: proceed
flexible: supple
eager: keen, avid
safe: secure
retreat: withdraw
obvious: conspicuous
weak: feeble
Antonym method
First look for a direct opposite. Then test it in a sentence. Common pairs include humble/arrogant, cautious/reckless, alert/lethargic, robust/fragile, real/feigned, neat/dishevelled, reveal/conceal, praise/jeer, simple/complicated, abundant/scarce, hostile/friendly, competent/inept, advance/recede, urban/rural, vivid/vague, loyal/treacherous, graceful/awkward and lenient/strict.
Friend and foe words
Friend: friend, companion, ally, supporter, comrade, associate, mate. Foe: foe, enemy, opponent, rival, adversary, competitor, combatant.
2. Homophones and Commonly Confused Words
Choose words by meaning and grammar, not only by sound.
Core sets
| Words | How to decide | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to / too / two | two = 2; too = also or excessively; to = direction or before a verb | Two children were too tired to walk. |
| there / their / they're | there = place; their = belonging to them; they're = they are | They're putting their bags over there. |
| its / it's | its = belonging to it; it's = it is or it has | It's time for the snake to shed its skin. |
| whose / who's | whose = belonging to whom; who's = who is or who has | Who's holding the book? Whose book is it? |
| we're / were / where / wear / ware | we are / past of are / place / clothing or erosion / goods | We're asking where the clothes were made and whether they wear well. |
Meaning pairs to master
3. Multiple Meanings: Homographs and Flexible Words
The same spelling can carry different meanings. Context selects the correct one.
Homograph reference bank
| Word | Meaning 1 | Meaning 2 |
|---|---|---|
| wind | moving air | turn or twist |
| well | water shaft | in good health |
| invalid | not legally acceptable | a sick or disabled person |
| fan | supporter | cooling device |
| minute | 60 seconds | extremely small |
| date | day in a month | fruit |
| foot | body part | unit of length |
| band | musicians | flat strip |
| bow | weapon | bend in respect |
| duck | bird | lower the body |
| refuse | rubbish | decline |
| pupil | student | part of the eye |
| bat | mammal | sports equipment |
| down | lower position | soft feathers |
| rock | stone | move to and fro |
| clear | transparent | remove obstacles |
| evening | later part of day | making smooth or level |
| fine | excellent | financial penalty |
| bass | low pitch | fish |
| colon | large intestine | punctuation mark |
| novel | new or unusual | fiction book |
| scale | series of musical notes | climb |
| sentence | group of words | punishment |
| bore | make a hole | dull person or thing |
| sole | bottom of a foot | flatfish |
| organ | body part | musical instrument |
| match | contest or pairing | stick used to light a fire |
| mole | animal | skin mark |
| bank | financial institution | side of a river |
| prune | dried plum | trim a plant |
| squash | sport or drink | crush |
| soil | earth | make dirty |
4. Spelling Patterns and Difficult Words
Use reliable spelling patterns, then learn the genuine exceptions separately.
Noun and verb endings
In British English, practice and advice are nouns; practise and advise are verbs. A device is a thing; to devise is to invent or plan.
“i before e”
The rhyme is a useful clue only when the sound is “ee”: brief, field, receive, ceiling. Learn exceptions directly: protein, weird, seize, weigh, weight, heir and either.
-ance and -ence
Verb ending in -y, -ure or -ear often forms -ance: comply/compliance, appear/appearance. Verb ending in -ere often forms -ence: adhere/adherence. Soft c or g often points to -ence: innocence. Learn perseverance and vengeance as exceptions.
The “shun” endings
- -tion: education, action, connection, direction, distribution, promotion, reduction.
- -sion: collision, confusion, persuasion, provision, extension, explosion.
- -ssion: discussion, emission, permission, possession.
- -cian: musician, electrician, optician.
Word-ending clues
-le commonly ends nouns or verbs: table, handle. -el/-il often appears in nouns: funnel, pencil. -al often forms nouns or adjectives: principle, rural, tidal. Remember: principle is a rule; principal means main or the person in charge.
Difficult-word master list
5. Prefixes, Suffixes, Plurals and Word Building
Understand how word parts change meaning and grammatical function.
Number prefixes
mono-/uni- = one; bi-/di- = two; tri- = three. Examples: unicycle, monochrome, bilingual, dialogue, triangle.
Meaning prefixes
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ad-/af- | to or towards | adhere, affix |
| ante-/pre- | before | antechamber, premature |
| anti- | against | antifreeze |
| inter- | between | international |
| extra- | beyond or outside | extracurricular |
| over- | too much | overcast |
| post- | after | postpone |
| semi- | half or partly | semiconscious |
| under- | below | underarm |
Negative prefixes
unhappy, untidy, disobedient, impolite, illogical, nonsense, inflexible, illegal, inappropriate, impure, unavailable, incomplete, disagree. The spelling of the prefix often changes to sit comfortably before the root.
Adding -ed and -ing
- Drop silent e: bake → baked/baking.
- Keep e in -ee, -ye and -oe: free → freed/freeing; dye → dyed/dyeing.
- Double a final consonant after one stressed vowel: stop → stopped/stopping; admit → admitted/admitting.
- Words ending in -ie change ie to y before -ing: die → dying, but died.
- Consonant + y changes y to i before -ed: carry → carried, but carrying.
- Words ending in c add k: mimic → mimicked/mimicking.
Plurals
Usually add -s. Consonant + y becomes -ies: library/libraries. Many words ending in o use -es: tomatoes, heroes, potatoes, echoes, mosquitoes, mangoes, although solos, pianos, logos and tacos take -s. Many f/fe words change to -ves: loaf/loaves, leaf/leaves, calf/calves, knife/knives, thief/thieves, half/halves, wolf/wolves, self/selves. Exceptions include cliffs, beliefs, roofs, chiefs, scarves and dwarfs.
Irregular plurals
children, people, men, women, teeth, feet, mice, geese, sheep, fish; antennae, fungi, crises, bacteria, dice, media, hooves.
Making verbs
Suffixes -ate, -en, -ify, -ise can turn nouns or adjectives into verbs: active/activate, apology/apologise, beauty/beautify, class/classify, deep/deepen, elastic/elasticise, identity/identify, length/lengthen, memory/memorise, person/personify, pollen/pollinate, simple/simplify and standard/standardise.
6. Grammar and Comparison
Use verb forms and comparisons accurately.
The verb “to be”
| Person | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | was |
| you | are | were |
| he/she/it | is | was |
| we/they | are | were |
Comparatives and superlatives
A comparative compares two: taller, happier, better. A superlative identifies the highest or lowest in a group: tallest, happiest, best.
| Base | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| short | shorter | shortest |
| happy | happier | happiest |
| tidy | tidier | tidiest |
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| little | less | least |
| much | more | most |
7. Idioms and Figurative Language
Learn idioms as whole phrases and translate each into plain English.
A stitch in time saves nine: fix a small problem before it grows. Too many cooks spoil the broth: too many people can damage a task. Toe the line: follow the rules. In hot water: in trouble. Tongue in cheek: joking. Bite your tongue: stop yourself speaking.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush: a certain gain is better than a risky possibility. You can't have your cake and eat it: you cannot enjoy two incompatible choices. Kill two birds with one stone: achieve two aims with one action. Sit on the fence: avoid choosing. Add insult to injury: make a bad situation worse. A piece of cake: very easy.
A chip on your shoulder: resentment about the past. Break a leg: good luck. Can't cut the mustard: not good enough. Drive me up the wall: annoy me greatly. Bend over backwards: make an exceptional effort. Keep your chin up: remain positive.
Find your feet: become confident. Cry wolf: raise a false alarm. Once in a blue moon: very rarely. A drop in the ocean: a tiny part of something vast. A dime a dozen: very common. Butterflies in the stomach: nervous anticipation.
Put all your eggs in one basket: risk everything on one option. Count your chickens before they hatch: assume success too early. Cross that bridge when you come to it: deal with a problem when it arises. Burn the midnight oil: work late. On the ball: alert and knowledgeable. A slap on the wrist: mild punishment.
Add fuel to the fire: worsen conflict. All Greek to me: impossible to understand. All bark and no bite: threatening words without action. At the drop of a hat: immediately. Back to the drawing board: start again. Beat around the bush: avoid the main point.
Put a sock in it: be quiet. Scapegoat: person unfairly blamed. Water under the bridge: past and no longer important. Every cloud has a silver lining: something positive can exist in difficulty. Jump on the bandwagon: join a popular trend. See eye to eye: agree.
Like a chicken with its head cut off: rush around chaotically. Get off on the wrong foot: begin badly. Over my dead body: absolutely refuse. Over the top: excessive. Kick the bucket: die. On the same page: share an understanding.
The bee's knees: excellent. Costs an arm and a leg: very expensive. A hot potato: controversial issue. The icing on the cake: an extra benefit. Hear it on the grapevine: hear a rumour. Blood is thicker than water: family bonds are strong.
Hit the nail on the head: be exactly right. Hit the books: study. Lend me your ears: listen. Rule of thumb: practical approximate rule. Until the cows come home: for a very long time. Penny for your thoughts: what are you thinking?
Rome wasn't built in a day: important work takes time. When pigs fly: never. Run out of steam: lose energy. Sick as a dog: very ill. Let the cat out of the bag: reveal a secret. Under the weather: unwell.
The straw that breaks the camel's back: final small burden that makes a situation unbearable. Know the ropes: understand how something works. Don't judge a book by its cover: appearance does not reveal worth. Take it with a pinch of salt: do not believe it completely. Nest egg: savings for the future. No room to swing a cat: a very small space.
8. People, Animals, Plants and Living Things
Learn related biological and social vocabulary in organised families.
Male and female pairs
brother/sister, nephew/niece, father/mother, uncle/aunt, husband/wife, grandfather/grandmother, son/daughter; king/queen, prince/princess, duke/duchess, count/countess, host/hostess, steward/stewardess, heir/heiress, hero/heroine, actor/actress.
Animal babies
cat/kitten, cow/calf, deer/fawn, dog/puppy, dolphin/calf, elephant/calf, giraffe/calf, goat/kid, horse/foal, lion/cub, pig/piglet, rabbit/kitten, sheep/lamb, zebra/foal.
Birds and fish
Birds: heron, kiwi, grebe, teal, grouse, quail, petrel, cormorant, bittern, ibis, spoonbill, kite, tit, buzzard, coot, tern. Fish: sole, cod, trout, herring, salmon, bass, carp, whiting, flounder, perch, hake, plaice, bream, eel, mackerel, guppy.
Meat names
young cow/veal, older cow/beef, deer/venison, pig/pork, preserved pig/bacon or ham, young sheep/lamb, older sheep/mutton.
Body systems
Internal organs: lung, liver, brain, stomach, intestine, heart, kidney, pancreas. Heart pumps blood; kidneys filter blood; lungs exchange oxygen; intestines absorb food; the brain contains nerve cells.
Trees and flowers
Learn by category and visual features. Trees include oak, ash, beech, birch, cedar, elm, fir, maple, pine, sycamore and willow. Flowers include daisy, rose, tulip, lily, violet, orchid and chrysanthemum.
Animal collective nouns
army of ants, caravan of camels, colony of bats, dray of squirrels, flock of birds or sheep, herd of cattle or elephants, murder of crows, pack of dogs or wolves, parliament of owls, pod of dolphins, pride of lions.
9. Classification: Instruments, Sport, Colour and Everyday Knowledge
Use category features to organise broad knowledge efficiently.
Musical instrument families
Strings: violin, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, sitar, banjo, harp, lute. Woodwind: piccolo, flute, bassoon, clarinet, recorder, saxophone. Brass: trumpet, cornet, French horn, tuba, bugle.
Colour families
Red: cerise, burgundy, rouge, crimson, scarlet, maroon. Purple: violet, mauve, purple, indigo. Yellow/orange: lemon, peach, apricot, gold, amber, cream. Blue/green: aqua, cyan, azure, turquoise.
Sport and games
Team sports: volleyball, softball, lacrosse, football, netball, rounders, basketball, hockey. Indoor board or table games: Scrabble, bridge, chess, backgammon. Shuttlecock = badminton; horse riding = dressage; diagonal bishop = chess; swimming + cycling + running = triathlon.
Non-animal collective nouns
choir of angels, quiver of arrows, peal of bells, fleet of cars, bouquet of flowers, bank of monitors, range of mountains, band of musicians, ream of paper, crowd of people, anthology of poems, collection of stamps, constellation of stars, class of students, hug of teddy bears, battery of tests.
Shopping vocabulary
bakery/bread, butcher/meat, newsagent/newspaper or magazine, pharmacy/medicine, greengrocer/fruit and vegetables, delicatessen/cheese and prepared foods, bookshop/books, jeweller/necklace, barber/men's haircut, florist/flowers, laundrette/clothes washing, charity shop/second-hand clothing.
Garden vocabulary
spade digs soil; rake has teeth; hoe has a sharp blade; secateurs prune; trug carries produce; trowel is a small hand tool; seed grows into a plant; fertiliser feeds plants; compost is decayed organic matter.
10. Places, Geography and Culture
Organise places by scale, continent, country and capital.
Settlement scale
hamlet → village → town → city → county → country → continent. A hamlet is a very small settlement, normally smaller than a village.
Religions, people and places of worship
| Religion | Person | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity | Christian | church |
| Hinduism | Hindu | temple |
| Islam | Muslim | mosque |
| Judaism | Jew | synagogue |
| Sikhism | Sikh | gurdwara |
Countries by continent
Asia: Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Mongolia, Brunei, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey and Israel. South America: Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. Europe: England, France, Belgium, Spain, Hungary, Greece, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Liechtenstein, Ukraine, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands and Czech Republic. Africa: Tanzania, Botswana, Tunisia, Ghana, Chad, Kenya, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea, DR Congo, Madagascar, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Capital cities
England/London
Scotland/Edinburgh
Ireland/Dublin
Northern Ireland/Belfast
France/Paris
Germany/Berlin
Spain/Madrid
Italy/Rome
Poland/Warsaw
Sweden/Stockholm
Denmark/Copenhagen
Netherlands/Amsterdam
Greece/Athens
Hungary/Budapest
Finland/Helsinki
Austria/Vienna
Czech Republic/Prague
Ukraine/Kyiv
Japan/Tokyo
China/Beijing
Australia/Canberra
New Zealand/Wellington
India/New Delhi
Pakistan/Islamabad
Indonesia/Jakarta
Canada/Ottawa
USA/Washington, D.C.
Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur
Brazil/Brasília
Egypt/Cairo
Kenya/Nairobi
Tanzania/Dodoma
Ethiopia/Addis Ababa
Turkey/Ankara
Israel/Jerusalem
South Korea/Seoul
11. Measurement, Space and Scientific Order
Match quantities to units and understand nested structures in space.
Measurement
| Quantity | Meaning | Units |
|---|---|---|
| mass | how heavy | gram, kilogram |
| length | how long | metre, kilometre |
| volume/capacity | space or liquid held | litre, cubic metre |
| speed | distance per time | miles per hour, kilometres per hour |
| time | duration | second, minute |
| temperature | how hot or cold | degree Celsius |
Outer space
Smallest to largest: planet → solar system → galaxy → universe. Earth rotates on its axis once every day and orbits the Sun once every year. The Moon orbits Earth. The Sun is a star, a huge ball of hot gas.
12. Sound Words and Final Language Tools
Onomatopoeia uses words whose sounds suggest their meanings.
Onomatopoeia
These words imitate or evoke real sounds. The Green Book examples include mumble, hissing, chirps, rumble and splatter.
More useful examples: buzz, clang, crash, drip, fizz, hiss, pop, rustle, sizzle, splash, thud, tick-tock and whoosh.