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symbol does your dictionary use to indicate how this is to be done?
7. Pronunciation — Look up the pronunciation of the following words: (a.) «ancillary» (b.) «harass». What
symbols are used to indicate how to pronounce these words? Where are these symbols explained? Sometimes a
word is spelled the same way, but pronounced differently, for each of its different grammatical roles. (E.g.,
«estimate», as a noun; «estimate», as a verb.) Look up the word «estimate» to see how it is pronounced in each
of its roles.
8. Parts of Speech — For each word there should be an indication of its Word classes or parts of speech:
(e.g., verb (v.); noun (n.); adjective (adj.); adverb (adv.) etc. It's useful to know that the same form of the word
can serve more than one function (i.e. , fill more than one position in the sentence). Look up the word «form» in
a good dictionary. What different functions can it serve? (See also «Parts of speech», Unit I of section V in Part
II.)
9. Other information about verbs:-
A. There should be an indication of whether a verb is trans. (transitive) or intr. (intransitive), i.e., whether or
not it is followed by a direct object. You may find that some verbs (like «guess») can be used either way (trans.
and intr.) B. Irregular inflections of verbs should be indicated; e.g. irregular forms of the past and past perfect;
swim, swam; put, put; to be — am, is, are, was, were. C. Information about Phrasal Verbs is useful. Sometimes
called two-part verbs, these consist of a verb and a specific adverb (e.g. to give out) or preposition (e.g. to look
after). These have a different meaning from the meaning of the verb alone (e.g. to give or to look), and they
may have separate listings.
10 . Other information about nouns:
A. There should be an indication of what type of Noun it is i.e., Countable (C), or Uncountable (U)). This is
useful for deciding whether to use it with a singular or plural verb; what determiner (the, a, much, many, etc.) to
use with it; and with what pronoun (sing. or plural) to replace it. B. Irregular inflections of nouns should be
indicated: e.g., irregular plural forms such as «child», «children»; «candy», «candies»; «phenomenon»,
«phenomena»; «datum», «data».
11. Other Information about Usage:— Become familiar with the labels used in your dictionary to give
information about the use or function of the word in the language. What do you think the following labels
indicate about the word?
standard/ non-standard; Brit./ Am., colloq. (colloquial), slang; obs. (obsolete); arch. (archaic); Black
English; abbrev. (abbreviation). (See «Abbreviations»,Unit 2 of WP Appendix, [Section X]).
Without bothering to look these up, how do you think a good dictionary might label the following:
a. «You're gonna make it hot for us.»
b. theater, theatre; color, colour; favor, favour
c. Thine honour has been ruined.
d. Ain't you pretty!?
e. Have a «nash»?
12. Compound words — these are separate words that have a special meaning when they appear together
(without a hyphen — ) and hence may be listed as a single entry under the first of the two words. E.g. hot air;
hot dog; hot plate; hot pot; hot line
Sometimes the two words are actually joined together, and you will learn this from the fact that they are
listed as a single word e.g. hothouse, hotfoot, hothead.
Sometimes the two words are joined by a hyphen, and this too, will be indicated by the form of the
dictionary entry: e.g. hot-blooded.
13. Synonyms and Antonyms — A good dictionary will also list words that are similar in meaning to, or
opposite in meaning from, the word you have looked up (i.e., its synonyms and antonyms). Some dictionaries
list the synonyms and antonyms under the most frequently used word. E.g., under «injury» the American
College Dictionary lists the following synonyms (syn.): hurt, wound, and the following antonym (ant.), benefit.
14. Etymology, or word derivations— It is sometimes useful to know whether the word was originally Latin,
Greek, German, French, Spanish, etc., and when it came into the English language). (Most college-level
dictionaries supply this information.) E.g. if you look up the word «refusenik» which is listed in some
dictionaries published after 1974, you will learn that «refusenik» is a new formation from «refuse» and the
Slavic suffix «-nik».(See also «nudnik»). See also «It's All Greek» in part III below.