What does currant mean?
Word: Currant
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Currant means a small, dark, dried grape used in cakes and buns.
Sounds like: current (a different word said exactly the same way; let the sentence decide)
How do you spell currant?
Syllables: cur - rant
Tricky part: There is a double r, which is easy to miss because you hear only one. The word also has an exact sound-alike that is spelt differently, so let the sentence tell you which one to write.
Watch out for: curant, currand
Memory tip: Growl the middle: cuRRant. A good growl needs more than one r.
Currant in a sentence
Example 1: Grandma pressed a currant into the top of every biscuit.
Example 2: There were so many currants in the cake that each slice looked spotted.
Example 3: Elena picked the currants out of her bun and ate them first.
Fun Fact
The name comes from Corinth in Greece. In old French these fruits were called raisins of Corinth, and over time the name of the city wore down to the word we use today.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the option that fills both blanks correctly:
1. Each spoonful of Grandma's bread pudding had at least one ___ in it. 2. The swimmers felt the strong ___ tugging at their legs.
a) currant/current
b) 'current' in both
c) 'currant' in both
d) current/currant
Show answer
a) currant/current. Sentence 1 needs something to eat and sentence 2 the moving water.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
c_rrant
a) a
b) o
c) u
d) e
Show answer
c) u. The short vowel is the one in cup and sun.
Sound Check
In which word is 'c' pronounced differently?
a) cousin
b) cabbage
c) cereal
d) currant
Show answer
c) cereal. Cereal begins with a soft s sound; the rest begin with a hard k.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
tracnur
a) a green leaf often used in fresh chutney
b) a long yellow fruit with a thick skin
c) a round nut with a very hard brown shell
d) a tiny dark fruit, dried and added to baking
Show answer
d) a tiny dark fruit, dried and added to baking. Unscramble the seven letters and you have the page word, a fruit found in cakes.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which supermarket shelf would you check for currants?
a) dried fruit and nuts
b) rice and flour
c) milk and butter
d) soap and shampoo
Show answer
a) dried fruit and nuts
2. How does a currant usually compare with an ordinary raisin?
a) It is much paler.
b) It is much softer.
c) It is much smaller.
d) It is much bigger.
Show answer
c) It is much smaller.
