What does literature mean?
Word: Literature
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Literature means stories, poems and plays, especially those valued for their fine use of language. It can also mean printed leaflets about a subject.
How do you spell literature?
Syllables: lit - er - a - ture
Tricky part: Said quickly, it sounds like litra-chur, so the e after lit and the a before the ending are easy to lose.
Watch out for: litterature, literchure, litreture
Memory tip: Start with lit, as in a lit lamp, and give it just one t. Picture someone reading great literature by lamplight.
Literature in a sentence
Example 1: Our library has a whole shelf of children's literature.
Example 2: My big sister wants to study English literature in college.
Example 3: The tourist office handed us some literature about the fort.
Fun Fact
Literature comes from the Latin word littera, which means a letter of the alphabet.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) grammar
b) literature
c) dictionery
d) vocabulary
Show answer
c) dictionery. Dictionary ends in ary; literature, vocabulary and grammar are all spelt correctly.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
literat_r_
a) e, e
b) u, e
c) u, a
d) o, e
Show answer
b) u, e. The last part is spelt ture, as in picture and nature.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
rutlereiat
a) temperature
b) literature
c) miniature
d) literary
Show answer
b) literature. Temperature and miniature need letters the jumble lacks, and literary ends in y.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
literature
a) writings
b) paintings
c) photographs
d) sculptures
Show answer
a) writings. Paintings, sculptures and photographs are art you look at; literature is made of writings.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a work of literature?
a) a train timetable
b) a book of poems
c) a road map
d) a price list
Show answer
b) a book of poems
2. Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. What was his main work?
a) writing poems and stories
b) playing cricket
c) building bridges
d) studying the stars
Show answer
a) writing poems and stories
