C2 Vocabulary for Advanced Learners - Master 5 Words!

Let's work together to master  five words at the C2 level.  

You need to know these words in order  to speak and write advanced English.

Hi. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer.  Even if your level is a bit lower than C2,  

you can still study the meanings and uses  of these words. Vocabulary skills have  

to be built. I'll help you take the  steps towards mastery. Let's start.

I'm going to show you a sentence. You need  to identify the meaning of the key word.

One. Once the students had all  assembled in the auditorium,  

the principal introduced the guest speaker.

The answer is B. "Assemble" can mean "to  gather," as in everyone comes together  

in one place. Students can assemble in an  auditorium for a ceremony. Residents can  

assemble in a town square, either in show  of support or in protest. In this sense,  

"assemble" doesn't take an object.  Look at another use of this verb.

Two. The instructions to assemble  furniture can be quite complicated.

Here the answer is C. "Assemble" can also  mean "to put parts together." In this sense,  

it's transitive. It takes  an object. Assemble what?

If you find a nice bookcase online,  you may see one of two descriptions:  

ready to assemble or assembly  required. What form is "assembly"?

It's a noun. Let's go back to the  example of students assembling in  

an auditorium. What's that event called?

A school assembly.

Three. The child's tower of blocks  grew too tall and collapsed.

The answer is A. You likely know this meaning of  "collapse." People and things can collapse. It's  

falling suddenly and completely due to illness  or weakness of some kind. Notice this verb is  

intransitive. It doesn't take an object.  Do you know the noun? It's the same word:  

collapse. What's the adjective? What kind  of handles do many suitcases have today?  

Collapsible -- with a touch of a button you can  make it suddenly go down. By the way, they're also  

called telescopic handles because you can extend  them or pull them out like you would a telescope.

Let's consider a second meaning of "collapse."  Number four. Financial crises create hardships;  

no country wants their economy to collapse.

The answer is C. When something collapses, it no  longer functions. What else can collapse? Talks,  

negotiations, governments, a health care system.

Five. Is it difficult to conceive how  people might live without any use of money?

The answer is A. "To conceive" is "to imagine."  You can picture it in your mind. Conceive what?  

In this sense, "conceive" takes an object.  It's transitive. Consider a variation.

Six. Do you know how the author Suzanne Collins  conceived the idea for The Hunger Games?

The answer is B. If you conceive of something,  you invent it. You create it in your mind. Do  

you know when I first heard about The  Hunger Games, I actually didn't want to  

see the movie or read the book? It sounded  horrible. It sounded inconceivable. What  

form is that? It's an adjective. The suffix  -able tells us you're able to conceive it,  

and thee prefix in- means not you're not able  to conceive it. You're not able to imagine it,  

so "inconceivable" means "not  possible to imagine" -- unimaginable.

Here's a completely different meaning of  "conceive." Seven. After many years of not  

being able to conceive, Sabrina  found herself expecting twins!

The answer is C. "Conceive" can also mean to  get pregnant. It can be used with or without  

an object. She had trouble conceiving.  She had trouble conceiving a child.

Eight. Skydiving may look fun to some, but  I have no inclination to do such a thing.

The answer is B. "Inclination" refers to a  desire to do something. It can be a countable  

or uncountable noun, and it's usually followed  by an infinitive. Some common phrases include:  

have no inclination to do something,  show little inclination to do something,  

one's initial inclination,  one's natural inclination.

If you look inside the noun, can you see  the verb? Incline. The passive -ed form "be  

inclined" functions more like an adjective  describing someone's feelings. They either  

feel like doing something or not. If you're  inclined to participate in a discussion,  

you feel like participating. You  have the desire to participate.

Look at this sentence. Nine. The charity  is organizing a fun event for families in  

the community. It's free of charge, but you can  certainly make a donation if you feel so inclined.

The answer is A. If you want  to, if you have that desire.

Okay, final word. Number ten.  

I don't know why he persists in asking for change  when no one wants to do anything different.

The answer is A. When someone persists in doing  something, they continue to do it. The action may  

be difficult or unwelcome. In our example, the  man persists in making requests for change. We  

can also say that he persists with his questions.  So, there's no object, but there are two common  

prepositions that follow this verb: persist  in doing something, persist with what. What's  

the noun? Use the ending -ence. Persistence.  His persistence is annoying. He doesn't stop.

Note that it all depends on what a person  continues to do. Persistence could be admired,  

but sometimes persistence is annoying. Consider  another context for this verb, persist.

Eleven. The instructions on the bottle say that  one more tablet can be taken if the pain persists.

The answer is still A, continue. In this  sense, something continues to exist beyond  

what is expected. It's an intransitive verb,  no object or preposition follows. If the pain  

doesn't stop, we can use the adjective to  describe it: persistent. Persistent pain.

Okay. Let's review the five key words we  studied together. Say them aloud with me.

Assemble. Andthe noun, assembly.

Collapse. And the adjective, collapsible.

Conceive. And the adjective meaning "not  possible to imagine" -- inconceivable.

Inclination. And the verb, incline.  Its passive form: inclined.

Persist. And the noun, persistence.  The adjective, persistent.

It's time for you to start using the vocabulary.  

Can you choose the correct  word to complete the sentence?

One.

Thankfully for parents of young children,  

strollers are collapsible,  making air travel easier.

Two.

We have no inclination to  participate in this project.

Three.

Traveling from their respective regions,  

the elected representatives assembled  to discuss the new proposal.

Four.

They tried every conceivable way  to stop the change from happening,  

but in the end there was nothing they could do.

Five.

I do not understand why they persist  in making such ridiculous claims.

How did you do? Next, when I ask you a question,  

I want you to pause the video and then say  or write your answer. Use the key word, okay?

One. If assembly is required for the furniture you  buy, do you assemble it yourself or hire someone?

Two. What factors might contribute to the  collapse of an administration or regime?

Three. Give an example of a brilliant idea or  plan you first conceived and then realized.

Four. Are you inclined to try a  different line of work? Why or why not?

Five. Give an example of when  your persistence paid off,  

meaning when did your persistence benefit you?

Okay. Quick recall. What's the  word for gathering or coming 

together?

assemble

What's the word for when something  suddenly falls or stops working?

collapse

What's the word for imagining or  inventing something in your mind?

conceive

What's the word for a desire?

inclination

And what's the word for continuing an  action that's either difficult or unwelcome?

persist

If you'd like to continue building vocabulary  skills, consider joining me on Patreon,  

where we work on all skills. We'll end here. As  always, thanks for watching and happy studies!