John’s English Blog

Many English words which end in -ct have a Latin origin. They will be familiar if you speak a Latin language. Beware of false friends!

For example the English word effect.
The butterfly effect means that it’s hard to predict the weather.

• Spanish - efecto
  
• Italian - effetto
  
• French - effet
  
• Valencian - efecte
  

Many words follow this pattern:

Act
The George Cross is awarded to British civilians for acts of great bravery.

Compact
The estate agent described the flat as compact.

Conflict
Conflict between employees in the workplace is inevitable.

Complete these sentences!

1. Sainsbury’s supermarket sells edible insects.
2. The meteor impact left a large crater.
3. I’d love to hear from you again. Do keep in contact.
4. I want to return my hoover. It has a defect.
5. The object of the classes is to improve your English.
6. A Papal Bull is an edict issued by the Pope.
7. Well done. That’s the correct answer.
8. The derelict building was formerly a warehouse.
9. It costs about £5. I don’t the exact price.
10. We will select the most qualified candidate.
11. The parties negotiated a pact to form a government.
12. You got all the questions right. That’s just perfect.
13. The Glasgow dialect is quite distinctive.
14. It’s more important to be polite than to be direct.
15. Please sign the contract here and here.
16. There’s no conspiracy. It’s just a product of your imagination.
17. Maths was my favourite subject.

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