Tag Archives: diction/grammar/style/usage

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun continuum. This is one of those words vital to learning and understanding nuance that I am constantly amazed at how easily, and therefore how often, it is overlooked. The contextual sentences are written to yield a meaning of “a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees.”

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Here is a context clues worksheet on the verb contend. This verb is used both intransitively and transitively. For the context clues in this sentences, the two intransitive definitions, “to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties,” and “to strive in debate” are the ones students will probably most quickly infer.

It’s worth mentioning, I guess, that the transitive definitions of contend, to wit “maintain,” “assert,” “to struggle for,” “and contest” don’t go too far afield of the intransitive meanings.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.