# Connotation and denotation

> Grade 7: literal meaning (denotation), feelings a word carries (connotation), positive or negative words (slim vs skinny), word choice and effect.

Source: https://olyclass.com/library/language-g7-connotation-en/

- Subject: Reading & writing
- Level: Grade 7
- Practice: 16
- Play it free on one screen (projector, TV or whiteboard): https://olyclass.com/library?play=language-g7-connotation-en
- Copy and edit it: https://olyclass.com/library?copy=language-g7-connotation-en
- Games it plays well in: [Ring the Bell](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/ring-the-bell/), [High Water](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/high-water/), [Tug of War](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/tug-of-war/), [Lucky Wheel](https://olyclass.com/classroom-games/lucky-wheel/)

## Questions

1. What do we call the literal, dictionary meaning of a word? (Connotation / Denotation / Implication / Suggestion)
   Answer: Denotation
2. What is the denotation of the word 'home'? (A place to buy food / A place where someone lives / A very large building / A warm and loving feeling)
   Answer: A place where someone lives
3. The denotation of a word is its dictionary meaning.
   Answer: True
4. Which word has the same basic meaning as 'house' but a cosier feeling? (Building / Home / Property / Structure)
   Answer: Home
5. What do we call the feelings or ideas a word suggests beyond its literal meaning? (Connotation / Definition / Denotation / Synonym)
   Answer: Connotation
6. Which word has a negative connotation? (Confident / Determined / Loyal / Stubborn)
   Answer: Stubborn
7. The word 'cheap' always has the same feeling as 'inexpensive'.
   Answer: False
8. Which word is the most positive way to describe a person who spends little money? (Miserly / Stingy / Thrifty / Tight-fisted)
   Answer: Thrifty
9. Both words mean thin. Which one sounds more negative? (Both are very positive / Neither, they feel identical / Skinny / Slim)
   Answer: Skinny
10. Give a more positive word than 'nosy' for someone who wants to know things.
   Answer: Curious (or inquisitive)
11. A writer calls a dog 'scruffy' instead of 'shaggy'. What effect does this have? (It has no effect on the reader / It makes the dog seem elegant / It makes the dog seem untidy / It tells us the dog's age)
   Answer: It makes the dog seem untidy
12. Which sentence gives the most negative impression of a crowd? (The crowd walked through the gate. / The group strolled through the gate. / The mob pushed through the gate. / The visitors came through the gate.)
   Answer: The mob pushed through the gate.
13. Choosing 'stroll' instead of 'stomp' changes the mood of a sentence.
   Answer: True
14. Name a pleasant word for a smell, the opposite in feeling to 'stink'.
   Answer: Aroma, scent or fragrance
15. Why might an advertiser call a small flat 'cosy' rather than 'cramped'? (To give its exact size / To make it sound appealing / To make it sound unpleasant / To show it is very new)
   Answer: To make it sound appealing
16. Give a more positive word than 'bossy' for someone who leads a group well.
   Answer: Assertive, decisive or a natural leader