Latin and French phrases used in English
Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Owning a drone is not illegal per se; flying one over a crowded stadium is. Bo reads a ruling. In this sentence, what does per se add?
- Owning a drone is not illegal in any place or case.
- Owning a drone is not illegal for each person who owns one.
- Owning a drone, taken by itself, is not the offense.
- Owning a drone is not illegal unless a crowd is present.
Read this first
Audit report
The auditor compared the three branches and found one modus operandi: each skipped the monthly count and relied on the manager's memory.
Esme reads an audit report. In this sentence, what does modus operandi mean?
- A modest budget for running the branch.
- A failure to count stock at month's end.
- The branch's reason for existing.
- A habitual way of doing a job.
Profile
The senator returned to her alma mater to give the commencement speech, then toured the library where she had once worked.
Jun reads a profile. In this sentence, what does alma mater mean?
- The school or college a person graduated from.
- The library where the senator once worked.
- A degree awarded with the highest honors.
- The senator's mother, who taught at the college.
Entry (our words)
Bona fide [Latin bona, "good"; fide, "faith"] adjective. Genuine; done in good faith. Example: The museum would not buy the painting until a bona fide expert had confirmed it.
Luz reads a dictionary entry. Which note uses the entry correctly?
- French; bona means good and fide means faith; today the phrase means genuine.
- Latin; bona means large and fide means faith; today the phrase means genuine.
- Latin; bona means good and fide means faith; today the phrase means genuine.
- Latin; bona means good and fide means faith; today the phrase means a sincere religious belief.
Entry (our words)
Ad lib [Latin ad libitum, "at one's pleasure"] verb. To speak or play without a script or plan. Example: When the microphone failed, the host had to ad lib for ten minutes.
Milo reads a dictionary entry. Which note uses the entry correctly?
- Latin; the full phrase means at one's pleasure; today it means to improvise without a script.
- Latin; the full phrase means at one's pleasure; today it means to do whatever pleases oneself.
- French; the full phrase means at one's pleasure; today it means to improvise without a script.
- Latin; the full phrase means at a library; today it means to improvise without a script.
Entry (our words)
Terra firma [Latin terra, "land"; firma, "firm"] noun. Solid ground, as opposed to water or air. Example: After three days at sea, the crew stepped onto terra firma again.
Noah reads a dictionary entry. Which note uses the entry correctly?
- Latin; terra means fear and firma means firm; today the phrase means solid ground.
- French; terra means land and firma means firm; today the phrase means solid ground.
- Latin; terra means land and firma means firm; today the phrase means solid ground.
- Latin; terra means land and firma means firm; today the phrase means a firm land purchase.
Annual report
The firm's partners spent two hundred unpaid hours defending tenants who could not afford a lawyer, work the report lists as ___ service.
Pia finishes a report sentence. Which phrase fits the blank?
- ex officio
- bona fide
- pro bono
- per se
Profile
The new ambassador's ___ was clear at the reception: she knew whom to seat together, when to change the subject and how to thank a host without fuss.
Ren finishes a profile sentence. Which phrase fits the blank?
- noblesse oblige
- savoir-faire
- joie de vivre
- terra firma
News
The new owners promised to keep the ___ at the bakery: the same recipes, the same hours and the same staff.
Tala finishes a news sentence. Which phrase fits the blank?
- quid pro quo
- de facto
- status quo
- terra firma
The reporter's notes were copied ___ from the recording, with each pause and false start left in. Zee finishes a newsroom sentence. Which phrase fits the blank?
- ad hoc
- sic
- verbatim
- in toto