Session 1

Big and small, traditional and modern, wide and narrow... learning words with opposite meanings can help you build vocabulary. Practise antonyms with us!

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Activity 1

6 Minute Vocabulary

Antonyms

Are your clothes a bit old-fashioned or are they really trendy? Are you a decisive or indecisive person?

One good way of building vocabulary in English is to learn words with opposite meanings. We call a pair of words with opposite meanings antonyms.

Finn and Catherine talk you through this subject in 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Listen to the audio and complete the activity

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Finn   
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary. I’m Finn…

Catherine
And I’m Catherine.

Finn
In today’s programme, we’re talking about antonyms.

Catherine
Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.

Finn
Like big and small…

Catherine
Fat and thin… We’re going to give you lots of examples of antonyms today. And we’ll give you a top tip for improving your vocabulary.

Finn   
So let’s start by listening to someone called Ruth. She's shopping and trying on shoes.

Catherine
While you listen, think about this question: what colour are the two pairs of shoes with heels?

INSERT
Assistant
Here’s a selection.

Ruth
I’ll try these on first… Hmm – they’re a bit uncomfortable – too tight.

Assistant
OK. Try these. They’re the next size up.

Ruth
Hmm… they’re a little more comfortable, but they’re too wide at the back and they feel a bit loose! I’ve got very narrow feet.

Assistant
What about the flat ones?

Ruth
They look a bit old-fashioned.

Assistant
These dark blue ones with the heels are really popular at the moment.

Ruth
Yes, they’re quite trendy, but I think I prefer the light blue ones… Actually, the dark blue ones are quite nice… Oh, I’m so indecisive!

Finn
So that was Ruth shopping there. And we asked you: what colours were the two pairs of shoes with heels?

Catherine
And the answer is: one pair was dark blue and one pair was light blue.

Finn
Dark and light are antonyms. Here they’re describing two different shades of blue.

Catherine
Now we often find antonyms when we are comparing things. So listen to this clip for some more opposites.

INSERT CLIP 1
Ruth
Hmm – they’re a bit uncomfortable – too tight.

Assistant
OK. Try these – they’re the next size up.

Ruth
They’re a little more comfortable, but they’re too wide at the back and feel a bit loose! I’ve got very narrow feet.

Catherine
So we had tight, spelt t-i-g-h-t, meaning fitting too closely.

Finn
And we had the opposite loose, spelt l-o-o-s-e, meaning not fitting closely.

Catherine
Ruth also said that one pair of shoes were too wide because she’s got narrow feet. So wide, spelt w-i-d-e, means the space from one side to the other is bigger than usual or bigger than comfortable. Narrow, spelt n-a-r-r-o-w, means the opposite – the space from one side to the other is smaller than usual or smaller than comfortable.

Finn
There were two other words that are opposites – comfortable and uncomfortable. The difference between these two words is just two letters u and n, which form the prefix un.

Catherine
And in English we often use the prefixes un, in (spelt i-n) and dis (spelt d-i-s) to make antonyms. If we put one of these prefixes at the start of the word, it can change the meaning of the word to its opposite.

Finn
So Ruth said that she was indecisive. By adding the prefix in (i-n) to the word decisive, which means being able to make decisions easily, we make indecisive, which has the opposite meaning – not being able to make decisions easily.

Catherine
What are you Finn?

Finn
I’m a little indecisive, I must say.

Catherine
Are you sure about that? Not really?

Finn
Very good.

Catherine
Let’s have another short clip with two more antonyms. Can you spot them?

INSERT CLIP 2
Assistant
What about the flat ones?

Ruth
They look a bit old-fashioned.

Assistant
These dark blue ones with the heels are really popular at the moment.

Ruth
Yes, they’re quite trendy.

Catherine
So we had old-fashioned and trendy.

Finn
You describe something as old-fashioned when it looks like it’s from a time in the past.

Catherine
Whereas something that is trendy is modern, up-to-date or cool.

IDENT          
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.

Catherine
And we’re talking about antonyms, which are words with opposite meanings.

Finn
The prefixes un, in and dis are often used to make antonyms, for example: decisive and indecisive. Now all the words we’ve seen earlier are adjectives, but other parts of speech can be antonyms.

Catherine
So you can have verbs, like ask and answer

Finn
Which is what we’re going to do now because it’s time for a quiz. So, what is the opposite of the word tight: is it a) loose or b) narrow?

Catherine    
The answer is a) loose.

Finn   
Well done if you got that right. Number two: trendy. Is the opposite a) modern or b) old-fashioned?

Catherine    
It’s b) old-fashioned.

Finn
That’s correct! And number three: comfortable. Is the opposite a) discomfortable or b) uncomfortable?

Catherine
And the answer is b) uncomfortable.

Finn
And that’s the end of the quiz – so well done if you got them all right.

Catherine
And now here’s today’s top tip for learning vocabulary: when you learn a new word, have a look in the dictionary to see if there is a prefix that will help you make the opposite word.

Finn
Yes, and that way you can get two words for the price of one!

Catherine
Bargain!

Finn
Absolutely. There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.

Both              
Bye!

Download

You can download 6 Minute Vocabulary from our Unit 17 downloads page. Remember to subscribe to our podcast version!

Vocabulary points to take away

comfortable
feeling pleasant to wear
This sofa is so soft and comfortable, I could sleep on it!

uncomfortable
feeling unpleasant or slightly painful to wear
Seats in planes are so uncomfortable – there’s never enough room for your legs.

decisive
good at making decisions quickly and easily
You have to be decisive if you work as a doctor in the emergency department. You often have to act quickly – hesitating over how to treat can be a matter of life and death.

indecisive
not good at making decisions easily
She always had to arrange the holiday. He was so indecisive, they would never have got round to booking anything if she’d left it to him to organise.

dark
almost black in colour
Look at those dark clouds! It’s going to rain in a minute!

light
pale in colour
The cream colour is too light against the white. We need a darker colour like blue or red.

narrow
small in size from side to side
The space between the cars is too narrow– you won’t be able to get your bike through.

wide
large in size from side to side
"Do you think the mirror will fit in on the wall?"
"Oh yes, the space between the two walls is very wide."

tight
fitting too closely, so feeling uncomfortable
I think I need to lose weight – my trousers have got too tight.

loose
not fitting closely
When it’s really hot, it’s good to wear tops that are loose as they keep you cool.

old-fashioned
belonging to a past age; not modern
Jack was quite old-fashioned. He still used a radio and didn’t have a mobile.

trendy/modern/up-to-date/cool
very fashionable
She looked like a model in her trendy leather jacket and stripy leggings.

Next

Got that? Good. Now try the practice activities on the next couple of pages.

Session Vocabulary

  • comfortable: feeling pleasant to wear
    This sofa is so soft and comfortable, I could sleep on it!

    uncomfortable: feeling unpleasant or slightly painful to wear
    Seats in planes are so uncomfortable – there’s never enough room for your legs.

    decisive: good at making decisions quickly and easily
    You have to be decisive if you work as a doctor in the emergency department. You often have to act quickly – hesitating over how to treat can be a matter of life and death.

    indecisive: not good at making decisions easily
    She always had to arrange the holiday. He was so indecisive, they would never have got round to booking anything if she’d left it to him to organise.

    dark: almost black in colour
    "Look at those dark clouds! It’s going to rain in a minute!"

    light: pale in colour
    The cream colour is too light against the white. We need a darker colour like blue or red.

    narrow: small in size from side to side
    The space between the cars is too narrow– you won’t be able to get your bike through.

    wide: large in size from side to side
    "Do you think the mirror will fit in on the wall?"

    "Oh yes, the space between the two walls is very wide."

    tight: fitting too closely, so feeling uncomfortable
    I think I need to lose weight – my trousers have got too tight.

    loose: not fitting closely
    When it’s really hot, it’s good to wear tops that are loose as they keep you cool.

    old-fashioned: belonging to a past age; not modern
    He was quite old-fashioned. He still used a radio and didn’t have a mobile.

    trendy/modern/up-to-date/cool: very fashionable
    She looked like a model in her trendy leather jacket and stripy leggings.