Question 3 Skills: Synonyms (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Language): Revision Note

Paper 1: Reading is the compulsory exam for the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English qualification, and examiners recommend that you complete the questions in the order they are set.

For exams from 2027, Question 3 is split into two main tasks:

• Question 3 (a-c) — short answer questions

• Question 3(d) — language task

The short-answer questions will test you on your ability to understanding the explicit and implied meanings of words and phrases in context. This means you need to have an understanding of synonyms.

What are synonyms?

Synonyms are words or phrases that mean exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase.

• “tiny” is a synonym of “small”

• “excellent” is a synonym of “fantastic”

Developing your knowledge of synonyms can help you expand your vocabulary and your use of more sophisticated words and phrases. This can be a useful life skill, as instead of applying for a “job”, you can be applying for a “position”, or instead of saying “sorry” you could be offering an “apology”.

How to use synonyms in context

A thesaurus is a tool which can help you find synonyms for particular words, and there may be lots to choose from. However, it is important that any synonym you choose means the same in context as the original word or phrase. 

For example, if we take the word “dying”. The literal meaning of this word is something that is reaching the end of its life. But in the exam, you might be asked to explain what the writer means by the word “dying” in a sentence such as:

On the other side, there was a streetlamp with a dying bulb.

Here, the examiner would be looking for an explanation of the word “dying” appropriate to the context in which it has been used.

So, in this case, the bulb is becoming fainter and dimmer, so the appropriate synonyms would be “fading” or “dimming”.

This is why it is always important to consider the context in which a word or phrase has been used in order to explain it.