What does preservative mean?
Word: Preservative
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Preservative means a substance added to food, wood or other things to stop them going bad or decaying.
How do you spell preservative?
Syllables: pre - serv - a - tive
Tricky part: The ending is -ative, not -itive: preservitive is the most common mistake.
Watch out for: preservitive, preservetive
Memory tip: Preservative ends the way conservative and talkative end: -ative.
Preservative in a sentence
Example 1: Grandma says the hot sun and plenty of salt are the only preservatives her mango pickle needs.
Example 2: The carpenter brushed a preservative on the wooden gate before the monsoon.
Example 3: Some cough syrups contain a preservative so that they last for months.
Fun Fact
Salt and sugar are two of the oldest preservatives: people have used them for thousands of years to keep fish, meat and fruit from rotting.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word:
The label on the jar of lime pickle said that no artificial presevative had been added.
a) a piece of paper on an object that gives information about it
b) fruit or vegetables kept in oil, vinegar or salt
c) made by people, not found in nature
d) something put into a product to keep it from spoiling
Show answer
d) something put into a product to keep it from spoiling. Presevative has lost its r; the word is preservative.
Word Champ
Which of these statements are true?
1. Preservatives are often listed among the ingredients on a food label. 2. A conservatery is a room with glass walls and a glass roof. 3. A reservoir is a large lake used to store water for a town or city.
a) only 1 and 3 are true
b) only 1 is true
c) only 2 and 3 are true
d) all three are true
Show answer
a) only 1 and 3 are true. The room is a conservatory; conservatery is misspelt, so statement 2 is not true as written.
Word Tally
Each correctly spelt word gets 3 marks. How many marks does this list score?
preservative, vinager, mustard, jaggery, turmerik
a) 9
b) 6
c) 3
d) 12
Show answer
a) 9. Vinager and turmerik are wrong (vinegar, turmeric), so three correct words score 3 marks each.
Sound Check
In which word is 's' pronounced differently?
a) deserve
b) reserve
c) conservative
d) preservative
Show answer
c) conservative. In conservative the s is a plain s sound; in preservative, reserve and deserve it buzzes like a z.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A jar of jam says 'No preservatives. Keep in the fridge after opening.' Why?
a) it will taste sweeter when cold
b) the glass might crack in the sun
c) it will spoil sooner without them
d) the label might fade in the light
Show answer
c) it will spoil sooner without them
2. Which of these is least likely to need an added preservative?
a) a jar of jam kept for months
b) a bottle of tomato ketchup
c) a packet of biscuits on a shop shelf
d) an apple eaten the day it is picked
Show answer
d) an apple eaten the day it is picked
