In English, many words are made up of word stems. As we often say at DreyerCoaching, it is impossible to learn all the English words. However, it is possible to learn all the word stems, and when you know those stems and see or hear a new word, you can then have a good chance at correctly figuring out the word’s meaning. This skill can be especially helpful with reading comprehension and on difficult exams like the SAT or TOEFL.
To help you improve your vocabulary, here are three essential word stems to know. For each, there is an explanation of its meaning, some important words using that stem, and a sample sentence (or more) for each word.
BENE: It means “good” or “well.”
Benefit: (v., n.) an advantage, help, or aid; something that promotes well-being; a payout from a government or insurance policy to those in need.
- You will benefit if you review new vocabulary words daily.
- There are numerous benefits from foreign travel.
- Uncle Lloyd lost his job so he has been getting unemployment benefits until he finds a new place to work.
Benevolent: (adj.) kind, helpful, loving. (Language note: the stem “vol” means “willing,” as in “volunteer.” So, a benevolent person is kind because he or she willingly wants to be.)
- Many churches have a benevolent fund to help people who need money for food, utilities, medical bills, etc.
Beneficiary: (n.) The person who gets a payout or advantage because of their relationship to someone else. This is usually used in relation to insurance or a pension.
- When taking out a life insurance policy, most men select their wives as the primary beneficiary in case he goes first.
- When the city built the new highway, the chief beneficiaries were the nearby landowners who saw their property values go way up.
Benediction: (n.) A blessing or prayer asking God to help or protect someone, often at the end of a religious service.
- A common benediction at the end of a church service is “Go in peace.”
VOC: It means “voice” or “to call.” (Language note: it can also be spelled “vok,” as in “invoke” or “revoke.”)
Vocal: (adj., n.) Related to voice, as in singing or speaking; critical; the singing in a piece of music.
- Sydney has sung in the vocal ensemble since seventh grade.
- Our neighbor is a vocal critic of the mayor.
- For the new song, David will play the piano while April does the vocals.
Vocabulary: (n.) all the words known by a particular person, or in a particular language.
- Many English vocabulary words have roots that come from Latin or Greek.
- If you want to improve your vocabulary and reading skills, check out the many DreyerCoaching vocabulary-related blog posts.
Vocation: (n.) one’s career; a type of work that gives you meaning and pleasure. This word comes from the earlier, religious meaning that one’s work is a “calling” by God to do a particular task or job. (Language note: do not confuse this word with “vacation,” which is a temporary break or holiday away from one’s vocation!)
- At DreyerCoaching, we only hire teachers who feel like teaching is their vocation, an actual high calling in life to help others.
Avocation: (n.) work you do “on the side,” in addition to your main job; a hobby or personal interest. (Language note: the prefix “a” means “not” or “away,” as in “atypical” or “amoral.” Therefore, an “avocation” is “a calling away” from one’s vocation, so it is a side job, hobby, or personal interest.)
- Our doctor’s primary avocation is reading.
CON/COM: These stems can mean “with,” “together,” or “thoroughly/completely.” (Language note: “con” by itself means “with” in Spanish. Chili con carne is a popular dish from the Spanish-speaking world. It literally means “chili with meat.”)
Connect: (n.) to make or draw associations or connections among two or more items, ideas, people, etc.
- When we say “connect the dots,” that means well-educated people with highly-trained minds are able to make connections that may not at first be obvious. Rather than just seeing the world as lots of unrelated bits of information, they are able to see patterns and “the big picture.”
Congregation: (n.) The group of people who regularly come together for worship and prayer in a religious building. (Language note: the stem “greg” means “group,” as in “gregarious.” So, a congregation is a group that meets together.)
- After the worship service ended, many in the congregation stayed in the sanctuary to chat and have fellowship for a long time.
Combine: (v.) To put two or more items together; to join together to make a single thing or group.
- Many English words combine two or more word stems. For example, when you combine the stems “con,” “greg,” and “tion,” you get “congregation.”
So there you have it! Now that you understand the stems bene, voc, and con/com, you can benefit by improving your vocabulary! Communicate with DreyerCoaching today to connect with the team of benevolent teachers. Just hit the Contact Page. Whether you are learning English or Chinese for your vocation or avocation, you can be the beneficiary of having a native-speaker as your personal guide to excellent language skills!
Since 2010, based in the friendly USA State of Virginia, DreyerCoaching.com has been providing customized, high-quality, real-time language instruction via the internet to a global audience in their home, school, or office. Think how comfortable, confident and successful you or your child will feel, receiving personalized guidance from college-educated teachers who are native speakers and have bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees plus decades of teaching experience. Whether you are looking for help with the ABCs or the SATs, or college admissions to conversational English to business writing, we serve all ages and levels to help our students make dreams come true. Discover the Dreyer Difference. Take the first step and visit DreyerCoaching.com, send Scott an email, or schedule a free consultation to get started.
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