What does federal mean?
Word: Federal
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Federal means describing a system in which power is shared between a central government and the governments of the states or regions.
How do you spell federal?
Syllables: fed - er - al
Tricky part: The ending is al, but pupils who hear only a weak vowel there write federel or federle.
Watch out for: federel, federall
Memory tip: A federal system brings all the states together: think of all and end the word with al.
Federal in a sentence
Example 1: Canada has a federal government in Ottawa and a separate government in each province.
Example 2: Our civics chapter explains why a big country like Australia needs a federal system.
Example 3: The federal capital of Australia is Canberra, not Sydney.
Fun Fact
Australia's Constitution joined six separate colonies into one federation in 1901.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
f_d_ral
a) e, i
b) a, e
c) i, e
d) e, e
Show answer
d) e, e. Both gaps take e: one after the f and one to make the er in the middle.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
fedderal
a) l
b) f
c) r
d) d
Show answer
d) d. One d is enough, just as in the word fed.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) federal
b) electorial
c) parliment
d) democrasy
Show answer
a) federal. Parliament has an a before ment, democracy ends in cy, and electoral has no i before al.
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
federal____
a) isum
b) ysm
c) ism
d) izm
Show answer
c) ism. Words naming a system of ideas often end in ism, as in patriotism.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In India's federal system, which of these is looked after mainly by the state governments?
a) agriculture
b) foreign affairs
c) currency
d) railways
Show answer
a) agriculture
2. The USA, Australia and India all have a federal system. What do they have in common?
a) the same number of people
b) states with their own governments
c) the same national language
d) the same national flag
Show answer
b) states with their own governments
