What does occasional mean?
Word: Occasional
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Occasional means happening or done from time to time, but not often or regularly.
How do you spell occasional?
Syllables: oc - ca - sion - al
Tricky part: The opening needs a double c, which pupils often write as a single c (ocasional).
Watch out for: ocasional, occasionel
Memory tip: After the opening o, think of two Cats Coming in together: c and c, side by side.
Occasional in a sentence
Example 1: Apart from the occasional bus, the hill road was quiet.
Example 2: Nani allows herself an occasional piece of jalebi after lunch.
Example 3: My cousin is an occasional visitor, coming down from Pune only for the summer holidays.
Fun Fact
In furniture shops, an occasional table is a small table, often kept beside a sofa, that holds a lamp, a book or a cup of tea when needed.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
occassional
a) a
b) s
c) c
d) l
Show answer
b) s. One s is enough to make the zh sound in the middle, as in vision.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word occasional as used in the sentence:
We get only occasional showers in Chennai during March.
a) frequent
b) sporadic
c) rare
d) irregular
Show answer
a) frequent. Frequent showers would come again and again, the reverse of now and then; rare, sporadic and irregular are close in meaning to occasional.
Spell-o-Spell
One of these words is spelt right. Pick the meaning of that word.
1. independant 2. embarassing 3. occasional 4. noticable
a) making you feel awkward in front of others
b) taking place every so often, at no fixed times
c) able to manage without help from others
d) easy to see or spot
Show answer
b) taking place every so often, at no fixed times. Occasional is the correctly spelt word here, and something occasional happens every so often.
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the suffix ly to make a real adverb. Choose it.
ly
a) kindness
b) occasional
c) furniture
d) childhood
Show answer
b) occasional. Occasional + ly gives occasionally; furniture, childhood and kindness are nouns that take no ly.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the event that is best described as occasional.
a) the school bell at the end of each period
b) a power cut once or twice a year
c) the sunrise every morning
d) the ticking of a clock
Show answer
b) a power cut once or twice a year
2. Which sentence uses occasional correctly?
a) Dad enjoys an occasional game of carrom after dinner.
b) The occasional sun rises every single morning.
c) We have occasional maths lessons every day of the week.
d) She is an occasional pupil who never misses a class.
Show answer
a) Dad enjoys an occasional game of carrom after dinner.
