HETERONYM: TEAR
“During the sad movie, a single tear rolled down my cheek, and I quickly wiped it away. My friend noticed but stayed quiet. Later that afternoon, my little brother tried to open a package too quickly and made a long tear down the side of the paper. At school the next day, our teacher asked us to be careful not to tear the pages of our books while turning them. On the playground, a boy’s shirt caught on the fence and ripped in a sudden tear.”
How many meanings did you find?
List of the different ways that this word can be used.
What are your thoughts:
Why do you think the narrator’s friend stayed quiet after seeing the tear?
What does the story show about how easily things can tear?
How do the different moments involving tear/tair create different emotions?
SPEAK with P • I • E
P — Pronunciation
TEAR — teer (like ear) → a drop from the eye
TEAR — tair (like care) → a rip or hole
TEAR — tair (like care) → to pull or rip something
I — Intonation
A single TEAR (teer) rolled down my cheek.
There was a long TEAR (tair) in the paper.
Be careful not to TEAR (tair) the pages of your book.
E — Expression
TEAR (teer → crying) → emotional, soft, delicate
TEAR (tair → rip) → sudden, sharp, accidental
TEAR (tair → action) → quick, forceful, careless or urgent
