It is asking you to find an alternative word or phrase for sagged without changing the meaning in either case.
Let's practise
It was a majestic hall, with wooden towers and pinnacles that reached higher than the highest trees. It was the tallest, finest building that had ever been seen in the land. And the king was proud of it. Nothing as grand had existed in his kingdom before. It became known as the Great Hall.
As soon as the Hall was finished, the party began. It was to be the feast to end all feasts. It began one morning as the sun rose and then continued day after day, night after night. Long tables sagged under the weight of the food, and revellers sagged under the effect of the drink. It made their heads spin and caused them to sing louder and louder and to dance more and more wildly.
Brian Patten: from Beowulf and the Monster (Scholastic, 1999)
The word sagged has been used twice in this text. Which other word or phrase could replace sagged?
1 mark
- Read the question and read it again. What is it asking?
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- Sagged is a verb. Why might something sag?
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Because something heavy is on it.
- Can you put something heavy on a reveller?
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No, but it says they sagged under the effect of drink.
- What might their bodies look or feel like at the end of a night of partying and drinking?
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Tired, weak, bent over.
- Think of synonyms for sagged which could describe both the table and the revellers.
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Bent, weak, drooped, slumped, hung down.
- Choose the most suitable word that means sagged, and which fits the table and the revellers.
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The most suitable word is slumped.
- Check your answer.