Basic Details
Word: English
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The language first spoken in England and now used all over the world; as an adjective, belonging to England or its people.
How to Spell English
Syllables: Eng - lish
Tricky part: We say 'ing' at the start, but it is spelt eng, from England. The ending is ish, as in Spanish and Polish.
Watch out for: Inglish, Englesh, Englich, Engilsh
Memory tip: Take Engl from England and add ish. The spelling starts E-n-g-l, exactly like the country.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our English teacher reads us a poem every Friday.
Example 2: Many Indian families speak two or three languages, and English is often one of them.
Example 3: The library has a new shelf of English novels for teenagers.
Fun Fact
English is named after the Angles, a Germanic people who settled in Britain from the fifth century onwards.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. Hindi 2. Inglish 3. Bengali 4. Tamil
a) a language written in Devanagari and spoken widely in north India
b) the main language of Tamil Nadu
c) the main language of West Bengal and Bangladesh
d) a language first spoken in England and now used worldwide
Show answer
d) a language first spoken in England and now used worldwide. Inglish is the misspelt one; the name begins with E, from England.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Although she grew up speaking Marathi at home, my aunt now teaches Englesh literature at a college in Pune and writes short stories for a children's magazine.
a) magazine
b) literature
c) Englesh
d) college
Show answer
c) Englesh. The language name ends in ish, as do Spanish and Polish.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The new student from Japan is learning hsgilne so that she can make friends faster.
a) Spanish
b) England
c) Polish
d) English
Show answer
d) English. The letters e, n, g, l, i, s and h make English; England needs an a and a d.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which sentence is English used as an adjective?
a) She bought an English dictionary.
b) We have English after lunch.
c) My cousin is learning English now.
d) English is taught in every school.
Show answer
a) She bought an English dictionary.
2. Which of these English words was borrowed from Hindi?
a) shampoo
b) table
c) chair
d) window
Show answer
a) shampoo
