Basic Details
Word: Called
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: The past tense of call: shouted to someone, gave a name to someone or something, or phoned someone.
Synonyms: shouted, named, phoned, summoned
How to Spell Called
Syllables: called
Tricky part: Keep both l's of call, then add -ed. It is one syllable, so students sometimes write cald.
Watch out for: cald, calld, caled
Memory tip: Find all inside called: c + all + ed.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Ma called me in from the garden when it started to rain.
Example 2: Our new puppy is called Bholu.
Example 3: I called Dadi on video to wish her a happy birthday.
Fun Fact
Call was most likely borrowed from Old Norse kalla, to cry out. The Vikings left English many everyday words, including sky, egg and window.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. called 2. converstion 3. messege 4. responce
a) an answer or reaction
b) a talk between two or more people
c) a piece of information sent to someone
d) shouted to someone, named or phoned
Show answer
d) shouted to someone, named or phoned. Called has its double l and -ed in place; conversation, message and response are the correct spellings of the others.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to called as used in the sentence:
The headmistress called the prize winners to the stage one by one.
a) dismissed
b) followed
c) thanked
d) summoned
Show answer
d) summoned. To call people to the stage is to summon them; dismissed would send them away.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form the right word:
Long ago, the village was dlecal Ramgarh after an old fort on the hill.
a) ladle
b) cellar
c) cradle
d) called
Show answer
d) called. A village is called by its name, and dlecal rearranges only to called.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
When the electricity went off in the middle of the night, my little sister got scared and cald out for Papa, who came running with a torch.
a) cald
b) electricity
c) scared
d) torch
Show answer
a) cald. Call keeps both its l's before -ed.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In 'The match was called off', called off means ____.
a) won
b) watched
c) started
d) cancelled
Show answer
d) cancelled
2. 'She called on her aunt in Pune' means she ____ her aunt.
a) named
b) visited
c) phoned
d) shouted at
Show answer
b) visited
