1. Vocabulary  Debacle (noun)  DEFINITION:  violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat  After the debacle of his first novel, he had trouble getting a publisher for his next book  SYN: catastrophe  ANT: success

2.  Exacerbate (verb)  DEFINITION:  to make worse  The proposed factory shutdown would only exacerbate our unemployment problems.  SYN: aggrevate  ANT: help, alleviate

3.  Auspicious (adjective)  DEFINITION:  favorable; fortunate  His acclaimed first novel was an auspicious debut.  SYN: hopeful  ANT: discouraging

4.  Futile (adjective)  DEFINITION:  useless; hopeless  All our efforts proved futile.  SYN: empty, ineffective  ANT: efficient

5.  Impeccable (adjective)  DEFINITION:  perfect, no flaws  She has impeccable taste in music.  SYN: flawless, ideal  ANT: imperfect; faulty

6.  Myriad (adjective)  DEFINITION:  consisting of a very great number  There are a myriad of possibilities.  SYN: abundance  ANT: handful, little

7. PREFIXES  AB, ABS-----AWAY, FROM  EX: absent  AMBI, AMPHI-----AROUND, BOTH  EX: ambidextrous  ANTE-----BEFORE  EX: antecedent  ANTI-----AGAINST  EX: antiwar

8. PRONOUNS

9. What is a Pronoun?  A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.  First Person Pronouns (the person speaking) Singular: I, me, my, mine Plural: we, us, our, ours  Second Person Pronouns (the person spoken to) You, your, yours – both singular & plural  Third Person Pronouns (person, place or thing being spoken about) Singular: he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its (NO apostrophe!) Plural: they, them, their, theirs

10. Pronouns and their Antecedents  A pronoun is a word used to take the place of a noun. The noun (and sometimes even another pronoun) that the pronoun replaces is called an antecedent.  Examples: The players brought their lunches to the game. What is the pronoun? What is the antecedent? The lion snarled, opened its mouth, and roared. What is the pronoun? What is the antecedent?

11. Types of Pronouns  A demonstrative pronoun points out or identifies a noun antecedent: Singular- this, that This is a good example of an A+ essay. May I use that for my project? Plural- these, those Have you seen any of these in the stores? Those need to be taken to the cleaners today.

12. Types of Pronouns  A relative pronoun begins a subordinate clause (contains subject and verb- can’t stand alone) and connects it to another idea in the same sentence.  that, who, whose, which, whom  whoever, whatever, whichever  Examples: The man who spoke to my teacher is my uncle. I don’t know which would be the better choice. Whatever you decide will be all right with us.

13. Types of Pronouns  An interrogative pronoun asks a question. Who, whose, whom, which, and what  Examples: Who is at the door? Whom did you see when you were at the mall? Which would you prefer? What was that noise?

14. Types of Pronouns  An indefinite pronoun does not specifically name its antecedent. all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything each, each one, either, everybody, everyone, everything both, few, many, most, much, neither, nobody none, no one, nothing, one, other, others several, some, somebody, someone, something, such  Examples: Anybody can attend this meeting. Since I could not make up my mind, I chose both for my team. None of the tickets remained after the first hour of sales. Somebody left this book behind.

15. Subject Pronouns  A subject pronoun is the subject or part of the subject of a sentence.  I, you, he, she, it, we, and they  Example: It has beautiful wings.  With other pronouns or nouns, the pronoun I comes last. Marie and I caught a butterfly

16. Object Pronouns  An object pronoun comes after an action verb or after a preposition.  The object pronouns:  Me, you, him, her, it, us, and them  Examples:  The mailman gave me the letters.  I gave them to my boss.  The package was for her.  The object pronoun me comes last with other nouns or pronouns.  The magazines were for Kay and me.

17. Types of Pronouns  A reflexive pronoun “throws” or “reflects” the action back upon the speaker (antecedent).  Examples:  Kay bought herself a new iPod Touch. What is the reflexive pronoun? What is the antecedent?  The child hurt himself when he fell off the porch. What is the reflexive pronoun? What is the antecedent?  I took a long look at myself in the mirror. What is the reflexive pronoun? What is the antecedent?

18. Types of Pronouns  An intensive pronoun “intensifies” or “emphasizes.”  Examples:  The students completed the work themselves without any help. What is the intensive pronoun? What is the antecedent?  The actor himself accepted the award at the ceremony. What is the intensive pronoun? What is the antecedent?  I will finish this project myself rather than let it be incomplete. What is the intensive pronoun? What is the antecedent?