Homes and Habitats for the Assam Police Constable (AB & UB) Exam
The homes of animals, birds and insects, together with the names of human dwellings, form a well-defined list in the General English paper. A question here gives the creature and asks for its home, or gives the home and asks for the creature. The words are short, they repeat faithfully, and they can be learnt a few at a time. The one thing a candidate must be careful about is the difference between a home and a habitat: a home is the particular dwelling the animal makes or uses, while a habitat is the wider natural surroundings in which it lives. This page keeps homes under one heading and habitats under another, so that the two ideas never get mixed. The material follows the standard grammar and vocabulary reference books used for Assam recruitment examinations and is reviewed before it is published.
How This Portion Is Set
The examiner most often gives a creature and asks for its home, and less often gives the home and asks for the creature. Occasionally a question on habitats is added, in which the natural surroundings of a creature must be named, such as water for a fish or a forest for a lion. Both kinds are answered from a list, and the list is finite.
Home and Habitat: the Small Difference
A home is the place a creature itself lives in or makes, such as a kennel for a dog or a web for a spider. A habitat is the larger surroundings in which a creature naturally lives and finds its food, such as a pond for a frog or a grassland for a deer. The dog's home is a kennel, while its habitat is wherever human beings keep it. The examination tests the home far more often than the habitat, but it does test both.
Homes of Domestic Animals
These are the words most often asked, and they should be the first to be learnt.
- Dog and kennel; cat and cattery; horse and stable.
- Cow and byre, also called cowshed; pig and sty; sheep and fold.
- Hen and coop; rabbit and hutch; bee and hive.
- Ass and stable; ox and shed.
Homes of Wild Animals
The wild animals have names that are less obvious, and so they are asked more often than the domestic ones.
- Lion and den; tiger and den; bear and den.
- Fox and earth; wolf and lair; jackal and den.
- Rabbit and burrow, but a group of rabbits lives in a warren.
- Mouse and hole; squirrel and drey; snake and hole.
Homes of Birds
Most birds make a nest, but a few carry a special word that the examiner likes.
- Bird and nest; eagle and eyrie; pigeon and dovecote.
- Hawk and eyrie; hen and coop; sparrow and nest.
- Swallow and nest; owl and nest; duck and nest.
Homes of Insects and Small Creatures
These are short words and are learnt very quickly.
- Bee and hive; ant and anthill; spider and web.
- Wasp and nest; termite and mound; silkworm and cocoon.
Homes of Aquatic and Reptile Creatures
- Fish and water; frog and pond; crocodile and river bank.
- Oyster and bed; snake and hole; tortoise and burrow.
Names of Human Dwellings
The vocabulary of human dwellings is tested in the same question set and is worth a small list.
- House, hut and cottage; mansion and palace.
- Bungalow and apartment; hostel and barracks.
- Monastery and convent; hermitage and camp.
Traps That Cost Marks
- Giving a young one instead of a home, as in writing puppy for kennel.
- Using nest for a bee, when the home of a bee is a hive.
- Confusing a den with an earth, which is the home of a fox.
- Writing web for an ant, when the ant lives in an anthill.
- Using the general word house where the paper wants the exact word such as stable or byre.
High-Yield Pairs to Memorise
- Dog and kennel; horse and stable; cow and byre; pig and sty.
- Lion and den; fox and earth; squirrel and drey; rabbit and burrow.
- Bee and hive; ant and anthill; spider and web; silkworm and cocoon.
- Eagle and eyrie; pigeon and dovecote; bird and nest.
- Fish and water; frog and pond; crocodile and river bank.
A Revision Plan for This Block
- Make one page of animal homes, one of bird homes and one of insect homes.
- Mark the exceptional words, such as eyrie, drey and warren, and revise them first.
- Keep the homes and the young ones on separate pages and revise them apart.
- Write one sentence for each pair so that the word is learnt in use.
- Revise the whole list twice a week and test yourself by covering the home column.
Group Names and Their Homes
Some questions join the home word with the group word, and a small list of groups makes the answer exact. A swarm of bees lives in a hive, a colony of ants lives in an anthill, and a flock of sheep lives in a fold. A herd of cattle lives in a byre, a pack of wolves lives in a lair, and a pride of lions lives in a den. Learning the group word with the home word prevents a candidate from choosing a home that belongs to a different creature.
More Homes for Practice
- Dog and kennel; cat and cattery; horse and stable.
- Cow and byre; ox and shed; pig and sty; sheep and fold.
- Hen and coop; rabbit and hutch; bee and hive.
- Lion and den; tiger and den; bear and den; wolf and lair.
- Fox and earth; jackal and den; mouse and hole; snake and hole.
- Squirrel and drey; rabbit and burrow; hare and form.
- Bird and nest; eagle and eyrie; hawk and eyrie; pigeon and dovecote.
- Ant and anthill; spider and web; wasp and nest; silkworm and cocoon.
- Fish and water; frog and pond; oyster and bed; tortoise and burrow.
Homes in Common Speech
Some of these words appear in common phrases, and the phrase is a quick way of fixing the word in memory. To send a dog to its kennel, to put the horse in the stable, or to hive the bees are all everyday expressions. In the same way, a person who leaves home to travel is said to leave the nest, and a place that gives shelter is called a harbour. Reading these phrases aloud once is often enough to keep the words in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the home of a horse called?
The home of a horse is a stable. The home of a cow is a byre or cowshed and of a pig is a sty.
What is the home of a bee called?
The home of a bee is a hive. A bird lives in a nest, and the two words should not be used for each other.
What is the home of a fox called?
The home of a fox is an earth or a burrow. A lion lives in a den, so the two homes should be kept apart.
What is the difference between a home and a habitat?
A home is the particular dwelling a creature uses, such as a kennel for a dog. A habitat is the wider natural surroundings in which it lives, such as a pond for a frog.
Where does a squirrel live?
A squirrel lives in a drey, which is a nest built high in a tree. The word drey is one of the special home words that the paper likes to ask.