Use a dictionary


A dictionary lists all of the words in a language in alphabetical order and explains their meaning. You may have a small pocket dictionary, your teacher might have a large English dictionary in the classroom or you may use a dictionary app or website. Once you know the alphabet, you can use a dictionary. Dictionaries are great for understanding words, checking spelling and building your vocabulary.


In order to use a dictionary, you need to know the fi rst three letters of the word.


1. If you want to look up the word ‘controversy’, you would start by going to the ‘C’ section of the dictionary.


2. Then you look at the second letter, ‘O’, which is much further down the alphabet, so you need to keep going to near the end of the Cs.


3. When you have found the words that begin with ‘CO’ you would look at the next letter, ‘N’. Again, it is further down the alphabet so you keep looking past words that start COD … COL … COM ... until you come to CON. Keep going until you have found your word.


Beside the word you might see a small ‘n’, ‘v’ or ‘adj’. These stand for noun, verb or adjective. For example, ‘controversy’ is a noun.


As well as giving the meaning of the word, some dictionaries give an alternative word that means the same thing. This is called a synonym. If you are looking for more synonyms then you must use a thesaurus. A thesaurus can be used in the same way as the dictionary, but instead of offering defi nitions, it only offers synonyms.


If you do not have a dictionary to hand, you will have to use your own knowledge to make an educated guess about a word’s meaning. Look at the sentences before and after, and make a guess based on the context in which the word is being used.


Understand


1. Use a dictionary to look up the meaning of the following words:  omission  uncharted


 primitive  catastrophe


 happy  speak


2. Come up with a synonym for each of the following words:  fast  sad


Discuss


1. Look at the title of the extract on page 134. Based on this title, can you guess where and when this story will take place?


2. Have you read any other stories or seen any fi lms with a similar setting? 133


 shout  wash.


 repository  inextricably.


Grammar Primer: pages 29–30


How to...


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