Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: Fall Words

Word: Fall through (phrasal verb)

Pronunciation: /fɑː.l θruː/

Meaning: to fail to happen

Examples:

• We found a buyer for our house, but then the sale fell through.
• The plan to go on a picnic fell through because of the rain.

Theme: Fall Words

Word: Fall prey to (idiom)

Pronunciation: /fɑː.l preɪ t̬ə/

Meaning: to be harmed or affected in a bad way by (someone or something)

Examples:

• After the accident, she fell prey to all kinds of anxieties.
• Some of his friends fell prey to drugs.

Theme: Fall Words

Word: A Falling Out (noun)

Pronunciation: /fɑː.lɪŋˈaʊt/

Meaning: a disagreement or argument that hurts a relationship between people

Examples:

• Rachel and Fi had a falling out and now they’re not speaking to each other.
• They’d had a falling out a few hundred years before and hadn’t spoken since.

Theme: Fall Words

Word: Fall For (phrasal verb)

Pronunciation: /fɑːl fɔːr/

Meaning: to be tricked into believing something that is not true

Examples:

• He told me that he owned a mansion in Spain and I fell for it.
• If I fall for a scam, it better be a very good scam.

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – S

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: sufficient (adj)

Pronunciation: /səfɪʃənt/

Meaning: enough

Examples:

• For a court to convict someone of a crime, there must be sufficient evidence that they are guilty.
• They have big dreams for renovating their house, but they don’t have sufficient funds.

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – S

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: specify (v)

Pronunciation: /spɛsəfai/

Meaning: to say exactly which one, to give information clearly

Examples:

• When you order clothes online, you need to specify what size you want.
• The contract specifies that the payment must be made by 5:00pm on the last Friday of the month.

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – S

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: shift (v)

Pronunciation: /ʃɪft/

Meaning: Move or change slightly

Examples:

• Stores shifted their focus to online sales and curb-side pick-up because of the pandemic.
• There was a big shift between political parties from the 2011 to 2015 federal elections.
  • 2011 – Conservatives (166 seats), NDP (103 seats), Liberals (34 seats)
  • 2015 – Liberals (184 seats), Conservatives (99 seats), NDP (44 seats)
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_federal_general_elections

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – S

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: site (n)

Pronunciation: /sait/

Meaning: The place where something is located or happens

Examples:

• The Forks is located in downtown Winnipeg. It is a national historic site. https://www.theforks.com/about/history/bibliography/187/The-Forks-National-Historic-Site-Historic-Themes
• The Plains of Abraham in Eastern Canada were the site of the Battle of Quebec in 1759. Learn about this battle and the Seven Years War to know more about Canadian history. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Quebec-North-America-1759

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – S

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: select (v)

Pronunciation: /səlɛkt/

Meaning: Choose, pick

Examples:

• On September 20th, Canadians will select a Member of Parliament (MP) for their area. The political party that wins the most areas will form the new government. The leader of that party will become the Prime Minister.
• Manitoba has a vaccine lottery. People who get the vaccine can win money. The next winners will be selected soon. https://protectmb.ca/lottery/

Theme: Elections

Word: majority/minority (noun)

Majority meaning: more than half

Minority meaning: less than half

Example: If one political party wins a majority of the seats in Parliament, they can pass laws without the approval of other parties.

Example: A minority government has to work with other political parties to pass laws.