Lexis

Traps in Lexis

• Copies the preposition of a similar word
  Learn fixed collocations as whole chunks: congratulate ON, accuse OF, charge WITH, comply WITH, insist ON, absent FROM.
• Picks a near neighbour of the right form
  Name the exact category the stem needs (third conditional; /əʊ/; 'call off' = cancel; clause of concession) and check each option against that name, not against how close it looks.
• Wrong preposition in a fixed expression
  Many prepositions are fixed: good AT, congratulate ON, since + point in time, for + duration. Learn them in pairs, not alone.
• Accepts an informal or local usage as standard
  WASSCE marks standard British English. When an option 'sounds normal' in speech, check it against the formal rule before choosing it.
• Chooses a look-alike or sound-alike word
  Similar spelling ≠ similar meaning (verbose ≠ verbal). Define the word in your own words first, then match.
• Mixes up synonym and antonym questions
  Circle "nearest" or "opposite" in the instruction before reading the options. Then eliminate options in the wrong direction.
• Guesses from the sentence instead of the word
  The options may all fit the sentence. Ask: which option means THE WORD? Test by replacing the word without changing the meaning.
• Reads idioms literally
  Idioms are fixed figurative expressions. If the literal meaning seems silly (a storm in a cup), it is probably figurative. Learn idioms as whole units.
• Confuses similar words (affect/effect, principal/principle)
  Affect = verb (to influence); effect = noun (result). Principal = head person/main; principle = rule/belief ("a principLE is a ruLE").
• Uses the wrong form of the verb or word
  Identify the structure the frame demands (past perfect after 'by the time … arrived'; passive 'will be + past participle'; 'refuse to + verb') and check the option fills it exactly.
• Confuses word classes
  Decide what class the gap needs (after 'the' → noun; modifying a verb → adverb) and pick the option of that class.
• Marks the same thing twice
  Mark comparison, negation and plurality once. 'Unless' already means 'if not'; '-er' already means 'more'.
• Redundant words
  Return = go/give back. Revert, reply, repeat already contain "back/again". Cut the extra word.
• Goes by a surface cue instead of the grammar
  Ask what the word is DOING in this sentence (subject? modifier? object?) and what the rule says, not what its ending or look suggests.
• Picks a meaning that fits the context but not the words
  Test the option by substitution: does it mean the same as the underlined words, not just make sense in the story?
• Picks the opposite meaning
  Paraphrase the expression in your own words first, then look for the option with the same direction of meaning.
• Misses or adds a doubled letter
  Learn the doubles in families: aCCoMModation, oCCuRRence (oCCuRRed), embaRRaSS. Spell the root, then add the ending.
• Misspells commonly confused words
  Learn the rule families: double the final consonant after a short stressed vowel (beginning, occurred); 'i before e except after c' (receive, believe) with exceptions; memorise -ance/-ence words (maintenance, existence, occurrence, accommodation).
• Spells a word as it sounds
  Link the spelling to a related word or root (mainTENance from 'tenet'-like middle e; reCEIve, deCEIve) and use the rule, not the sound.
• Mixes countable and uncountable quantifiers
  Countable (people, books): many, fewer. Uncountable (information, water): much, less. "Information" and "equipment" are always uncountable.
• Ignores register and collocation
  Learn fixed collocations: 'heavy rain', 'make a decision', 'pay attention', 'commit a crime'; choose the register (formal/informal) that fits the sentence.
• Misidentifies word class/function
  Ask what the word does in the sentence: describes a noun (adjective), modifies a verb/adjective (adverb), -ing as a noun (gerund), -ing describing (participle).
• Wrong verb form
  A sentence needs a finite verb that shows tense and agrees with the subject. "Be" and "having" alone cannot do that job here.
• Judges a sound by its spelling
  English spelling is a poor guide to sound. Say each word aloud (or think of its phonemic symbol) and compare sounds, not letters: 'blood' /ʌ/, 'food' /uː/, 'foot' /ʊ/.
• Uses the wrong type of pronoun
  Match the pronoun to its job: subject (I/who), object (me/whom), possessive (mine/whose), reflexive (myself, only when the subject is the same person).