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cereal  –  serial

[the same pronunciation, as in ‘serial’]

The confusion may occur on account of the similarity in pronunciation.  So, those learners doing any listening comprehension tasks must pay more attention to this pair of words.

a cereal (wheat)

“Cereal” is ‘a kind of grain from a grass-like plant, such as wheat, maize, millet, oats, rye, rice, sorghum, barely, etc.’,

a cereal breakfast

e.g.

‘Cornflakes’ is a breakfast cereal.

“Serial”, as a noun, is ‘a story which appears in parts in a magazine, on radio, on television, etc.’; and as an adjective, ‘happening or arranged in order – numbers, activities, etc.’,

‘CSI’ — a popular TV serial

e.g.

Most of us enjoy watching TV serials in the evenings.

the serial number on a product

Check the serial numbers on these cheques, please.

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