What does national mean?
Word: National
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: National means belonging to or shared by a whole country and its people.
Antonyms: international
How do you spell national?
Syllables: na - tion - al
Tricky part: Nation has a long a, but in national the first a is short, as in cat, so students write nashonal. The spelling of nation does not change.
Watch out for: nashonal, natinal
Memory tip: Your voice shortens the a, but your pen keeps nation exactly as it is.
National in a sentence
Example 1: Young hockey players dream of making the national team.
Example 2: The national flag was raised at school on Sports Day.
Example 3: Our choir sang at a national music competition in London.
Fun Fact
Scotland's national animal is the unicorn, a creature found only in old stories.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
nation___
a) le
b) el
c) al
d) ol
Show answer
c) al. Add -al to the noun, just as music becomes musical.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
lnaoitna
a) notional
b) nominal
c) national
d) rational
Show answer
c) national. Rational needs an r, nominal an m, and notional has two o's but only one a.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) emblem
b) parliment
c) heritage
d) national
Show answer
b) parliment. Parliament has an a after the li, though you hardly hear it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
national
a) nationwide
b) domestic
c) local
d) countrywide
Show answer
c) local. Countrywide and nationwide mean the same as the word, domestic means within one country, and local covers only a small area.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would be called a national event?
a) a quiz in one classroom
b) a cricket match in our lane
c) a public holiday across the country
d) a birthday party at home
Show answer
c) a public holiday across the country
2. A national newspaper is one that ____.
a) comes out just once a year
b) is read all over the country
c) is printed for one city only
d) is written for a single school
Show answer
b) is read all over the country
