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Tasks: Improve Your Vocabulary: Verbs

Find a stronger synonym

  1. Replace the original verb with a stronger verb from the list.

  2. After you are done, compare the sentence pairs. How does the new verb change the connotation of the sentence? Does it add more detail to the sentence?


Act it out:

Divide the class into groups of 5-6 students. For this activity, you need a bit of space, so make sure you have enough room to move about.

The words in the box describe a movement forward and can be used as synonyms for the verbs 'walk' and 'run'.

  1. Familiarise yourself with the meaning of the verbs. What exactly do they describe?

  2. After you have found the exact meaning, take turns miming the movements the verbs described. Who is able to guess the correct verb?

saunter, march, charge, dash, stride, hike, trudge, tramp, scuttle, sprint, flee, wander, ramble, scurry, pace, race, plod

Avoid the use of weak adverbs:

can be very useful because they modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and whole sentences. However, instead of an adverb, it can often be better to find a more precise verb that describes the action in a more detailed way.

Find the most precise verb for the following sentences.

Find strong synonyms:

In the article, we gave you this list of verbs that provides you with alternatives for five of our most common verbs: 'walk', 'eat', 'see', 'run', and 'say'.

Weak verbsStrong verbs
walkstroll, trudge, amble, saunter, march, stride, troop, wander, hike, prowl, plod, ramble
eatconsume, devour, ingest, chew, munch, gobble, swallow, chomp, feast, dine
seeglance, admire, glimpse, spy, examine, peek, spot, sight, view, observe, notice, identify
runsprint, race, dart, rush, dash, hasten, scurry, scamper, bolt, charge, jog, hare, gallop
sayspeak, utter, voice, pronounce, mumble, scream, whisper, shout, plead, remark

Now it's your turn:

Step 1 (group work):

Work together with a partner and find at least five synonyms for the following verbs. Make sure you understand the exact meaning of the verbs that you choose.

think, ask, look, get, give, take, laugh, use, know, hurry

Discuss:

  1. Do any of the words that you have found have a positive or negative connotation?

  2. Are they formal, informal, or neutral?

  3. Are any of them stronger and more descriptive than others?


Step 2 (class activity):

Use the verbs that you have found in step 1.

Start by writing one of the common verbs on the blackboard, for example 'think'. The first group writes a synonym to this verb on the blackboard. Include the Norwegian translation. The second group takes over and writes another synonym (with translation), etc. The activity continues until the class runs out of synonyms. For how long can you go on?

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