Clipped and Blended Words: TN Board 12th English PYQs
Welcome to a fun and fast-scoring vocabulary section for your TN Board 12th English Exam! Questions on Clipped Words and Blended Words regularly appear in the 1-mark objective section. While they seem easy, examiners often provide tricky options that look similar. You must know exactly which letters are dropped and which are kept. Master our advanced vocabulary cheat sheet below, practice the top 20 Previous Year Questions (PYQs), and challenge yourself with the interactive Self-Test!
🔥 Exam Tip & The Advanced Word Formation Cheat Sheet:
- What is Clipping? It is the process of forming a new word by dropping one or more syllables from a longer word without changing its meaning.
👉 Back Clipping (End dropped): Exam(ination), Memo(randum), Gym(nasium).
👉 Front Clipping (Beginning dropped): (Tele)phone, (Aero)plane, (Ham)burger.
👉 Front & Back Clipping (Both ends dropped): (In)flu(enza), (Re)fridge(rator).- What is Blending? It is the process of forming a new word (a portmanteau) by combining parts of two different words, creating a new meaning that merges both original words.
👉 The Rule: Usually, the first part of the first word is attached to the last part of the second word.
👉 Example: Breakfast + Lunch = Brunch.- The TN Board Trap: Examiners will give you options like "Motor + Hotel = Motel" alongside "Motor + Hostel = Motel". Read the options carefully; one wrong letter ruins the mark!
Top 20 Board Exam Questions: Clipped & Blended Words
Part 1: Clipped Words (Choose the correct unclipped / clipped form)
Identify the original word or the correctly shortened form.
- Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Perambulator (March 2019)
Answer: Pram - Question: Choose the unclipped form of the word: Flu
Answer: Influenza (Front and Back Clipping) - Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Refrigerator
Answer: Fridge (Notice the added 'd' which is an exception in spelling) - Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Hamburger
Answer: Burger - Question: Choose the unclipped form of the word: Memo
Answer: Memorandum - Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Gymnasium (March 2022)
Answer: Gym - Question: Choose the unclipped form of the word: Cent
Answer: Centum - Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Demarcate
Answer: Mark - Question: Choose the clipped form of the word: Microphone
Answer: Mike (or Mic) - Question: Choose the unclipped form of the word: Chute
Answer: Parachute
Part 2: Blended Words (Choose the correct combination)
Identify the two root words that make up the blended word, or form the blended word.
- Question: Choose the right combination for the blended word: Smog (March 2020)
Answer: Smoke + Fog - Question: Choose the blended form of: Motor + Hotel
Answer: Motel - Question: Choose the right combination for the blended word: Interpol
Answer: International + Police - Question: Choose the blended form of: Information + Entertainment
Answer: Infotainment - Question: Choose the right combination for the blended word: Newscast (March 2023)
Answer: News + Broadcast - Question: Choose the blended form of: Camera + Recorder
Answer: Camcorder - Question: Choose the right combination for the blended word: Medicare
Answer: Medical + Care - Question: Choose the blended form of: Binary + Digit
Answer: Bit - Question: Choose the right combination for the blended word: Edusat
Answer: Education + Satellite - Question: Choose the blended form of: Web + Log
Answer: Blog
📝 Test Yourself: Word Formation Challenge!
Have you mastered the clipping and blending rules? Try solving these 5 tricky 12th board-level questions. Click on "Show Answer" to check your accuracy!
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Question: What is the blended form of Foreign + Exchange?
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Forex
(Rule: Takes the first syllable 'For' and the first syllable of the second word 'ex'.) -
Question: Choose the unclipped form of the word Math.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Mathematics
(Rule: This is a back-clipped word. Note: 'Maths' is British English, 'Math' is American English, but both come from Mathematics.) -
Question: What are the root words for the blended word Technowizard?
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Technology + Wizard
(Rule: 'Techno' is taken from Technology, and 'Wizard' is kept entirely.) -
Question: Choose the clipped form of the word Signature.
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Sign
(Rule: A standard back-clipping where the suffix '-ature' is dropped.) -
Question: What is the blended form of Travel + Catalogue?
👉 Click here to Show Answer
Answer: Travelogue
(Rule: Keeps the full first word 'Travel' and blends it with the ending '-logue' of catalogue.)
The ultimate trick to scoring full marks in Clipped and Blended words is to rely on your textbook's glossary list, as TN Board rarely asks out-of-syllabus words for this specific section. Memorize the exact spelling of the root words! Bookmark this page, practice thoroughly, and secure your vocabulary marks in the TN Board English Exam!