What does asthma mean?
Word: Asthma
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Asthma means a long-lasting illness in which the air passages in the lungs become narrow and swollen, making it hard to breathe. People with asthma may cough and wheeze.
How do you spell asthma?
Syllables: asth - ma
Tricky part: The th is silent, so the word sounds like 'az-muh'. Many students also add an extra a and write asthama.
Watch out for: asthama, asma, azma
Memory tip: Asthma keeps a quiet th that you never hear: whisper the th to yourself as you write it, even though the word is said az-muh.
Asthma in a sentence
Example 1: Dev's asthma has improved since his family moved away from the busy main road.
Example 2: Dust and smoke from traffic can make asthma worse for many children.
Example 3: The athlete did not let asthma stop him from running the marathon.
Fun Fact
World Asthma Day is held on the first Tuesday of May every year.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Tally
You get 2 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks will you get?
asthma, alergy, bronchitis, pneumonia, tonsils
a) 10
b) 6
c) 4
d) 8
Show answer
d) 8. Only allergy is wrong, missing one l, so four correct words give eight marks.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
mshata 123456
a) 425316
b) 613524
c) 452316
d) 425613
Show answer
a) 425316. Picking letters 4, 2, 5, 3, 1 and 6 in that order gives asthma.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) tonsilitis : throat
b) fever : thermometer
c) asthma : inhaler
d) cough : syrup
Show answer
a) tonsilitis : throat. Tonsillitis keeps the double l of tonsil.
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
Dust from the building work made Mina's asthma worse, so her mother shut the windows and switched on the air purifyer.
a) an illness that makes breathing hard
b) a machine that cleans the air
c) openings in a wall that let in light and air
d) fine powder of dirt
Show answer
b) a machine that cleans the air. Purifier ends in -ier: the y of purify changes to i.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. For many people with asthma, an attack can be set off by ___.
a) a glass of warm milk
b) pollen in the spring air
c) a quiet afternoon nap
d) a cotton handkerchief
Show answer
b) pollen in the spring air
2. An inhaler helps a person with asthma by ___.
a) healing cuts
b) widening the airways
c) cleaning the teeth
d) cooling the skin
Show answer
b) widening the airways
