Vocabulary and spelling

Vocabulary and spelling round out Verbal Ability. Vocabulary items ask for synonyms, antonyms, or the right word for a blank; spelling items ask you to pick the correctly spelled word. Both reward steady, everyday exposure.

Synonyms, antonyms, and the right word

• A synonym is closest in meaning; an antonym is the opposite.
• For sentence completion, let the sentence's clue pick the word: "She gave a thorough report, leaving out no detail":"leaving out no detail" points to complete, so thorough.
• Watch for contrast words (but, however, although): they signal the blank is the opposite of the earlier idea.

Decode unfamiliar words with roots

Learning a few word parts unlocks many words:

• bene- = good (benefit), mal- = bad (malfunction)
• -cred- = believe (credible), vis-/vid- = see (supervise, evident)
• re- = again (resubmit), pre- = before (prepare), trans- = across (transfer)
• -able/-ible = capable of (readable, flexible)

Spelling: the rules that catch most errors

• "i before e, except after c": believe, receive (with known exceptions like weird, foreign).
• Silent e drops before a vowel suffix: hope → hoping, use → usable.
• Double the final consonant on a short-vowel word before a vowel suffix: stop → stopping, refer → referred.
• -y → -ies for plurals after a consonant: company → companies.

Commonly misspelled words (memorize these)

• accommodate (two c's, two m's)
• separate (there's "a rat" in sep-a-ra-te)
• definitely (no "a": de-fin-ite-ly)
• necessary (one c, two s's)
• occurred / occurrence (two c's, two r's)
• received (i before e, after c is the exception → "cei")
• privilege, maintenance, committee, embarrass, calendar, recommend

A note on Filipino items

The Sub-Professional exam includes some Filipino vocabulary and usage. Read Filipino material regularly and review kasingkahulugan (synonyms) and kasalungat (antonyms). The same approach applies: use the sentence's meaning to choose the right word.

Building both skills before the exam

1. Learn 15-20 words a day with synonym, antonym, and correct spelling.
2. Keep a running list of words you misspell, and drill them until automatic.
3. Read English and Filipino news daily: you absorb spelling and meaning together, far better than from bare lists.

Exam-day habit

For spelling, look at each option carefully, letter by letter: misspellings are designed to look almost right. For vocabulary, eliminate the clearly wrong choices first; you can often reach the answer without knowing the word perfectly.