Introduction

| GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!he word “General”, and it’s various transformations, all fall into at-least one of the different categories of TOEFL Vocabulary that you should know or learn before taking The TOEFL iBT Exam:

Notice!  —  The above terms are my own — created as a part of The TOEFL Excellence Training System — and are not related to anything that you will find in any text-books or “official” information about The TOEFL Exam…  (which is another example of why I created The TOEFL Excellence Training System!  Someone’s got to give you the information that you actually need to succeed, right?)  😎

“General”

“General” – (dʒEHN-rəl / ˈdʒɛn.ɹl) | [adjective]…

Generic - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

Well That’s Pretty Clear  😀

| GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!his word has more than one usage.  The most common usage will almost certainly be used in the instructions and question-stems in The TOEFL Exam — and ABSOLUTELY will be used in any text-book or training program for The TOEFL iBT Exam.

1:  “Of Only The Most Basic Aspects Of Something;  Ignoring Specific Details.”

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“In The Reading Section of The TOEFL Exam — it is a good idea to, first, skim The Reading Passage for the General idea.  Then answer each question individually.”
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In The Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing Sections of The TOEFL Exam, you will be required to identify the general idea of what is written or spoken-about;  the overall general idea of the Reading Passage or Lecture.

There is another definition which is similar to this first one — but it is NOT related to the “Overall” idea.  Instead — it is used to refer to something very vague, but somehow related;  usually due to being part of a much larger classification.

2:  “Including Or Involving Every Aspect, Part, Or Member Of A Given Or Implied Entity, Subject, Or ‘Thing’;  Not Specific.”

It may be that — in The Listening or Speaking Sections of The TOEFL Exam — you will read about and/or listen-to people speaking about the ‘general vicinity’ or the ‘general area’ of some place on campus.

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“The student resource center is in the general vicinity of the library.
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It is also highly-likely that this word will be used in The Listening Section — in a question for-which you will have to identify the “general attitude” or “general opinion” of someone speaking about some topic.

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“What was the general attitude of the professor, towards the writings of Oscar Wilde?
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“What was the student’s general opinion about the change in the class schedule?

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And…

“General” – (dʒEHN-rəl / ˈdʒɛn.ɹl) | [concrete noun]…

General (Robert E. Lee) - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

This Famous General‘s Name Is Robert E. Lee

The other main usage of this word (though not as common) is as the military term “General”.  This usage MAY very-well be on the exam in a Reading Passage or Lecture about a historical person that happens to have been a “General”.

3:  “(applied to a person) To Indicate Supreme Rank, In Civil Or Military Titles.”

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“It may be possible that, in The TOEFL Exam, you will read or listen to a lecture about a famous general of some country’s military.
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Beyond the various meanings & usages of the word “General” — which are all pronounced the same — this word can also be considered “Level-Checking Vocabulary” because it is expected that you will absolutely know this word by the time you take The TOEFL Exam.

The Transformations Of The Word “General”…

“Generalization”

Generalization - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

“Generalization” – (dʒehn-rəl-ai-ZAY-shihn / dʒɛn.ɹl.aiː.ˈzeiː.ʃə(ɪ)n) | [abstract noun]…

The Abstract Noun “Generalization” may or may-not be on the exam, but it is definitely good to know as it refers to the action (“-ation”) of the second definition of the word “General”, listed above.

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(a) Generalization = The result of the action of describing or categorizing something “In A General Way”.
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W e usually use the word “Generalization” to refer to some piece of information that HAS BEEN classified in a general way.  For example — if a person says that “Eating Vegetables Is Healthy” — that statement is a “Generalization”.  It is a very broad statement of “General” truth — but it does not include any specific detailed information which may contradict the actual statement.

If we want to refer to the act of MAKING a Generalization — then, of course, we would logically need to use a Verb.  And the Verb form of the word General is:  (to) Generalize.

“Generalize”

| GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

“Generalize” – (dʒEHN-rəl-aiz / ˈdʒɛn.ɹəl.aiːz) | [verb]…

As with the word “Generalization” above — the word “Generalize” may or may-not be on the exam, but it is also good to know because you will be expected to know these words by the time you take The TOEFL Exam.  There-fore. they both fit into the classification of Level-Checking Vocabulary.

Also — it is very likely that a Reading Passage, or a Speaker in an Audio File may actually make a “Generalization” or “Generalize” about some topic.  So to understand this will make it easier to comprehend the information.

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(to) Generalize = To put different things (which are similar or related in some way) into a much larger category of classification, based on their similarity or relation.
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“Generally”

Generally - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

“Generally” – (dʒEHN-rə-lee / ˈdʒɛn.ɹə.liː) | [adverb]…

The adverb “Generally” has two common meanings and usages in the English language — and they are both quite different from each other.

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1.  Synonym of:  “Widely”“Broadly”“Commonly”

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2.  “To Do Something ‘In A General Way’;  For Something To Be Done ‘In A General Way’.”

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3.  To modify a stative verb — thus having an adjectival quality — (even though in traditional grammar it would still be classified as an adverb.)
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1.  “It is generally considered to be a wise plan of action to PROPERLY Prepare For The TOEFL Exam before taking it.”

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2a.  “We generally do not give our services away without some sort of compensation.”

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2b.  “I generally get between 3500 to 10,000 visitors to all of the GiveMeSomeEnglish!!! sites, every day.”

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3.  “He is generally a very nice guy, but he quickly looses his patients with idiots & assholes.”
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Summary…

So — as you can see — even though the words:  “General”, “Generalization”, “Generalize”, and “Generally” may not be IN The TOEFL Exam — they will be good to know before you attempt to take The TOEFL Exam.

This is because all of them fit into at least two (or more) of the different categories of TOEFL VocabularyFunctional VocabularyLevel-Checking VocabularyWord-Transformation Vocabulary — and Useful Adjectives & Adverbs.

And That’s That!

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Notice!  —  If you need to Prepare For The TOEFL Exam, and improve your “Ability” to achieve the score that you need on the exam — then TOEFL Excellence is Absolutely THE BEST TOEFL Training System on The Planet (and probably in the known Universe & beyond) — specifically designed to help you “Achieve Excellence On The TOEFL iBT Exam”.  (I Know This…  Because I Created It)  😎

General C. James Cote - GiveMeSomeEnglish!!!

General C. James [c]Loud-SpeakerCote’

a.k.a. “The Teacher”

 

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TOEFL Master General for The TOEFL Excellence Training Corps
4th Division — 20th Regiment — Battalion Q — Troop 17

“Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

Remember!  —  If there are any words or phrases in these posts that you do not know – then look them up!  Although you do not need to waste time memorizing long lists of Vocabulary before taking The TOEFL Exam — it is always a good idea to look-up words that you do not know.  Even if you think you know them — you may be surprised!

So…  If you see a word that you think that you “know”, but can’t actually define or explain…  Then Look It Up!  I suggest Wikitionary.comAnd If You Have Any Questions — Feel Free To Ask!

Have An Excellent Day!

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