What does aerial mean?
Word: Aerial
Part of Speech: Adjective, noun
Meaning: Aerial means from the air or in the air, such as a photograph taken from a plane. As a noun, it is a metal rod or wire that picks up radio or television signals.
How do you spell aerial?
Syllables: aer - i - al
Tricky part: The word opens with ae. It sounds as if it should open with air, so many students write the sound they hear at the front and go wrong in the first two letters.
Watch out for: airial, earial
Memory tip: Think of an aeroplane. An aerial photo is taken from one, and both words take off with the same two letters.
Aerial in a sentence
Example 1: The aerial photograph showed our whole school and the river behind it.
Example 2: Papa climbed onto the roof to straighten the television aerial.
Example 3: From the aerial view on the map, the fields looked like a green and yellow quilt.
Fun Fact
One of the first aerial photographs was taken in 1858 by the French photographer Nadar, who carried his camera up in a balloon near Paris.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
aer_ _ _
a) iel
b) ail
c) eal
d) ial
Show answer
d) ial. The three letters needed here are the same ones that close trial and material.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
iarlea
a) relating to the sea and the creatures that live in it
b) relating to the moon and the way that it moves
c) relating to what is seen or done from high above the land
d) relating to farms and the growing of crops
Show answer
c) relating to what is seen or done from high above the land. Rearranged, the six letters spell aerial, which describes a view from up high.
Sound Check
In which word is 'ae' pronounced differently?
a) aeroplane
b) aerosol
c) algae
d) aerial
Show answer
c) algae. At the end of algae these letters say ee; in the other three they start with the air sound.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) satellite
b) antenna
c) aerial
d) reciever
Show answer
d) reciever. In receiver the e comes before the i, so reciever is the slip.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would give an aerial view of a town?
a) a camera on a helicopter
b) a camera in a shop window
c) a camera on a railway platform
d) a camera in a school bus
Show answer
a) a camera on a helicopter
2. On a windy day, which problem could most likely be traced to a rooftop aerial?
a) a poor television picture
b) a fan that runs too slowly
c) a fridge that keeps stopping
d) a kettle that will not boil
Show answer
a) a poor television picture
