PUNCT (POINT) PUNCTUATE, PUNCTUAL, PUNCTILIOUS

PUNCT means point.

To punctuate is to insert periods, exclamation points, and other symbols into writing; punctual means at the appointed time; and punctilious means observing points of correct behavior!

Spanish…puntilloso

trib (pay) tribute, retribution, diatribe

TRIB means pay.

A tribute is the paying of honor; retribution is revengeful payback; and a diatribe is a speech of abusive criticism!

Spanish…diatriba

CAP (take) capture, captivate, captious

CAP means take.

To capture someone is to take him prisoner; to captivate someone is to take control of her fascination; and to be captious is to be fault-finding, to say and do things designed to catch someone!

Spanish…capcioso

pond (weight) ponder, preponderance, ponderous

POND means weight.

To ponder is to reflect on weighty matters; the preponderance of the evidence is the bulk of it; and a ponderous load is a heavy one!

Spanish…ponderoso

RECT (right) correct, rectify, rectitude

RECT means right.

To correct is to change from wrong to right; to rectify something is to make it right; and rectitude is moral uprightness!

Spanish…recitud

Advanced Word: DiatribeThe English noun diatribe, from

the Latin diatriba, which came to Rome from the Greek diatribe, means a bitter speech of abusive criticism. A diatribe tends to be prolonged, and ironical, and can even be written, though we think of diatribes primarily as spoken. In Dava Sobel’s book Longitude, about a man’s struggle to invent a reliable marine chronometer, a diatribe is “written in clear, plain English.”

Caesar’s English II Lesson XIX

Stemmeaning Examples

PUNCT POINT punctuate, punctual

TRIB PAY tribute, tributary

CAP take capture, captivate

POND WEIGHT ponder, preponderance

RECTRIGHT correct, rectangle

BALLOON: PONDEROUS ::

a. rectify : correct

b. delay : punctual

c. speak : diatribe

d. burden : heavy

BALLOON: PONDEROUS ::

a. rectify : correct

b. delay : punctual

c. speak : diatribe

d. burden : heavy

PONDER : IDEA ::

a. tribute : pay

b. retribution : vengeance

c. rectify : mistake

d. punctilious : conduct

PONDER : IDEA ::

a. tribute : pay

b. retribution : vengeance

c. rectify : mistake

d. punctilious : conduct

Find the best opposite.

CAPTIVATE

a. bore

b. rectify

c. tedium

d. punctuate

Find the best opposite.

CAPTIVATE

a. bore

b. rectify

c. tedium

d. punctuate

DIATRIBE

a. preponderance

b. euphemism

c. tribute

d. speech

DIATRIBE

a. preponderance

b. euphemism

c. tribute

d. speech

The Roman legions were _____________ by the countryside of Gaul .

a. captivated

b. pondered

c. rectified

d. punctuated

The Roman legions were _____________ by the countryside of Gaul .

a. captivated

b. pondered

c. rectified

d. punctuated

The legions transported their ___________ equipment up the mountainside.

a. captious

b. punctual

c. punctilious

d. ponderous

The legions transported their ___________ equipment up the mountainside.

a. captious

b. punctual

c. punctilious

d. ponderous

The barbarian leader delivered a violent _____________ against the Romans.

a. preponderance

b. rectitude

c. diatribe

d. capture

The barbarian leader delivered a violent _____________ against the Romans.

a. preponderance

b. rectitude

c. diatribe

d. capture

The Grammar of Vocabulary: captious, an adjective.

The captious remark showed his suspicious attitude.

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge

From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22

He brooded in _______________ speculation over the cryptic message.

a. punctual

b. ponderous

c. captious

d. punctilious

Caesar’s Classic Words Challenge

From Joseph Heller’s Catch-22

He brooded in _______________ speculation over the cryptic message.

a. punctual

b. ponderous

c. captious

d. punctilious

From Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native

It was an error which could never be ____________.

a. captivated

b. rectified

c. pondered

d. punctuated

From Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native

It was an error which could never be ____________.

a. captivated

b. rectified

c. pondered

d. punctuated

From Jane Austen’s Emma

I…was too cheerful in my views to be _____________ .

a. ponderous

b. punctual

c. punctilious

d. captious

From Jane Austen’s Emma

I…was too cheerful in my views to be _____________ .

a. ponderous

b. punctual

c. punctilious

d. captious