F is for Fall Fair

The Ferris wheel is always the central attraction at the fall fair.

Consonant — consonant combinations

fb         puffball                                     bf         dumbfounded

fc         off-centre [off-center, US]        cf

fd         half-done                                  df         goldfish

ff          iffy                                            ff          riff-raff

fg         Afghan                                     gf         jugful

fh         selfhood                                   hf         truthful

fj          fjord (or fiord)                          jf

fk         offkey                                       kf         blackfly

fl          flow                                          lf          elf

fm        self-made                                 mf        roomful

fn         deafness                                   nf         unfit

fp         hoofprint                                   pf         campfire

fr         frown                                       rf         perfume

fs         offshoot                                    sf         misfit

ft          gift                                            tf          artful

fw        halfway                                   wf        sawfish

fx         FX                                           xf         exfoliate

fy         verify                                        yf         mayfly

Consonant — vowel combinations

fa         fall                                            af         after

fe         feel                                           ef         effect

fi          find                                           if          if

fo         fob                                           of         often

fu         full                                            uf         ruffle

fy         puffy                                         yf         mayfly

Exercises

1. Add some more words to the “Consonant — Consonant Combinations” word list and the “Consonant — Vowel Combinations” word list.
2. Identify suffixes, prefixes, and compound words.
3. Make sure that you know the meaning of each word. Use it in a sentence.

Special reading assignment

1. Fogerty and his friend Petroff found fuzzy frozen figs from Finland in the freezer.

F is for Fish

These hungry carp were spotted near a bridge over a little river at the Toronto Zoo.

Prefixes

fibro— meaning fibres.

fibroid, fibrous

for— meaning away, apart, prohibited, or neglected.

forget, forbid, forgo, forlorn 

fore— in front of, beforehand, in advance, anticipatory.

forearm, forecast, foreclose, foregone, foreground

Suffixes

—ful has various meanings and functions:

As a suffix to change a noun to an adjective, means “full of” or “having qualities”:

beauty, beautiful

master, masterful

As a suffix on an adjective to make another adjective, retains the sense of the original:

skilled, skillful

tasty, tasteful

As a suffix to change a verb to an adjective, means “able to”, “apt to”, or “accustomed to”:

forget, forgetful

mourn, mournful

use, useful

As a suffix on a noun to indicate an amount:

handful (plural, handsful or handfuls)

spoonful (plural, spoonsful or spoonfuls)

Exercises

1.      Define the words in the Prefixes section.

2.      Think of some more words using —ful as a suffix. How does the suffix change the meaning of the word?

Special reading assignment

1.  Four foreigners followed five forks from Finland.

2. Puffer fish for Friday.

 

F is for Fern

This fern is growing in a swampy location in Ontario, Canada. Can you identify it for me?

Significance and abbreviations

F is the sixth letter of the alphabet and is spelled ef or eff.

F is for Fahrenheit, or a failing grade at school.

32 degrees Fahrenheit is the same as 0 degrees Celsius.

 f or F is for “female”.

Check the box:             [] F      [] M

FAQ stands for “frequently asked questions”.

Fax stands for “facsimile transmission”.

Send your letter by fax.

Fig. is short for figure.

Fig. 1. A graphic illustration of the text.

FX is usually short for special effects.

Shed FX is a company that sells sheds.

F is for fuddle duddle

Surprisingly, the F-word is now in the dictionary. It is most often used for its shock value.

Fuck is identified as coarse slang or a curse in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

Notice that this word rhymes with luck. Most luck in life depends upon self-discipline; in this case, if you can discipline yourself to never use the F-word, you will have lots of good luck in your life.

Fuddle-duddle is a euphemism used in Parliament by the Canadian Prime Minister, the late Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Exercises

1. Think of some more creative euphemisms for the F-word.
2. Can you find some additional abbreviations using the letter F?
3. When you go for a walk, look around for ferns. You may be surprised where they grow. 

Special reading assignments

1. Figs fall into the genus Ficus. Look for Ficus trees growing in hotel lobbies.
2. The Free French fought fiercely.