What does serial mean?
Word: Serial
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Serial means a story on television, radio or in a magazine that comes out in instalments, one after another. As an adjective it describes things in a series, as in a serial number.
How do you spell serial?
Syllables: se - ri - al
Tricky part: Serial has a twin that sounds exactly the same but is spelt differently from the first letter onwards, so check which one a sentence needs.
Watch out for: serail, sirial
Memory tip: The last two vowels come in the order i, a, just as in dial and trial.
Serial in a sentence
Example 1: Grandma never misses the radio serial about a family of bakers.
Example 2: The magazine printed the adventure story as a serial, one chapter each week.
Example 3: Check the serial number on the back of the laptop before you register it.
Fun Fact
Some famous novels first came out as serials. Charles Dickens published many of his stories in monthly parts, and readers waited eagerly for each new one.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the correct option to fill the blanks:
1. My cousins and I watch the new ___ on TV; a fresh part comes out every Friday. 2. Dad poured some ___ into a bowl and added cold milk.
a) cereal/serial
b) serial/cereal
c) 'serial' in both
d) 'cereal' in both
Show answer
b) serial/cereal. A story told in parts is a serial, while the breakfast food made from grain is cereal.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) material
b) serrial
c) trivial
d) aerial
Show answer
b) serrial. Serial has a single r, just like the word series.
Word Tally
How many words are misspelt in the given sentence?
My aunt and uncle watch a cooking serial every Sunday evening, and they try one new recipe from it each week.
a) 1
b) 0
c) 3
d) 2
Show answer
b) 0. Every word in this sentence is spelt correctly, so the count is zero.
Sound Check
In which word is 'er' pronounced differently?
a) hero
b) merit
c) serial
d) period
Show answer
b) merit. In merit, er sounds like the start of merry; in the other three it sounds like 'ear'.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why do many people tune in to a serial week after week?
a) They want to find out what happens next.
b) Each part tells a completely new story.
c) They need it to check the time.
d) It is only shown once a year.
Show answer
a) They want to find out what happens next.
2. Why does a bicycle shop write down the serial number of each bike it sells?
a) to record the colour of the frame
b) to show how fast the bike can go
c) to tell one bike apart from others of the same kind
d) to show how many gears the bike has
Show answer
c) to tell one bike apart from others of the same kind
