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Connotation: Positive, Negative and Neutral Words — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the 6th Grade vocabulary worksheet.

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Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheet6th Grade · English · Vocabulary

Connotation: Positive, Negative and Neutral Words — Answers

Part A: What is connotation?

1.Two words can have a similar meaning but give different feelings.

Answer: True

Slim and skinny both mean thin, but slim sounds more positive.

2.The connotation of a word is the feeling or idea it suggests.

Answer: True

The dictionary meaning is the denotation; the feeling is the connotation.

3.A neutral word suggests a strong feeling.

Answer: False

A neutral word suggests no strong feeling either way.

4.Writers choose words with particular connotations to influence readers.

Answer: True

Advertisements use positive words; villains are described with negative ones.

Part B: Positive, negative or neutral?

Circle the connotation of the word in bold.

5.Ava is very determined to finish the race.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: positive

Determined suggests strength and effort.

6.Ava is very stubborn and will not listen to anyone.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: negative

Stubborn suggests refusing to change, in a bad way.

7.The new student seemed confident.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: positive

Confident suggests believing in yourself.

8.The new student seemed arrogant.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: negative

Arrogant suggests thinking you are better than others.

9.Leo is thrifty and saves most of his money.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: positive

Thrifty suggests being sensible with money.

10.Leo is stingy and never shares anything.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: negative

Stingy suggests being mean with money.

11.A crowd gathered outside the hall.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: neutral

Crowd simply means a lot of people.

12.A mob gathered outside the hall.
  1. Apositive
  2. Bnegative
  3. Cneutral

Answer: negative

Mob suggests an unruly or dangerous crowd.

Part C: Sort the group

Each group has words with similar meanings. Write which word is positive, which is neutral and which is negative.

13.slim, thin, skinny

Answer: positive: slim; neutral: thin; negative: skinny

14.young, youthful, childish

Answer: positive: youthful; neutral: young; negative: childish

15.smell, scent, stench

Answer: positive: scent; neutral: smell; negative: stench

16.home, house, shack

Answer: positive: home; neutral: house; negative: shack

Part D: Choose for effect

Choose the word that best suits the purpose of each piece of writing.

17.An advertisement: Visit our (answer space) market, full of fresh food and friendly sellers.
  1. Abustling
  2. Bcrowded
  3. Cnoisy

Answer: bustling

Bustling sounds lively and positive, which suits an advertisement.

18.A villain description: The pirate gave a (answer space) smile.
  1. Asly
  2. Bwarm
  3. Cfriendly

Answer: sly

Sly suggests the pirate is sneaky and cannot be trusted.

19.A travel brochure: Relax in our (answer space) cabin by the lake.
  1. Asnug
  2. Bcramped
  3. Ctiny

Answer: snug

Snug makes a small space sound comfortable.

20.A complaint: The food was (answer space) and the room was dirty.
  1. Adelicious
  2. Bgreasy
  3. Ctasty

Answer: greasy

A complaint uses negative words; greasy makes the food sound unpleasant.

Part E: Your turn

21.Your turn: describe the same small cafe twice. First make it sound inviting using positive words. Then make it sound unpleasant using negative words. Underline the words you chose for their connotation.

Model answer: Positive: The warm little cafe buzzed with cheerful chatter, and the scent of fresh bread drifted from the kitchen. Negative: The cramped little cafe was full of noisy chatter, and the stench of stale bread hung in the air.

Success criteria:

  • Two descriptions of the same place
  • First description uses positive connotations
  • Second description uses negative connotations
  • Chosen words underlined
  • Complete, well-punctuated sentences
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