Objectives:

This chapter will help you use the dictionary to:

• Look up the spelling of words• Find the syllable divisions in a word• Pronounce an unfamiliar word• Obtain further information about words

Part Three, A Brief Guide to Important Word SkillsUsing the Dictionary

McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

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The dictionary is a valuable tool.

To take advantage of it, you need to understand the main kinds of information that a dictionary gives about a word.

Look at your dictionary to find the following information:

1. Spelling and syllabication2. Pronunciation3. Parts of speech4. Meanings5. Other forms of the word

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SpellingThe first bit of information, the dictionary entry itself, is the spelling of the word.

At times you may have trouble looking up words that you cannot spell. Be sure to pronounce each syllable in the word carefully and write it down the way you think it is spelled.

If you still cannot find it:

• Try the other vowels. If you think it is spelled with an e, try a, o, i, u, and y

• Try doubling consonants

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If you think a word has the letter or letter combination in the first column that follows but you can’t find the word in the dictionary, try looking at the letter or letters in the second column.

c k, ser, re re, erf v, phg, j j, gie, e ei, iek c, choo us c, z, shsh, ch ch, shshun tion, siony i, e

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Syllabication

The second bit of information that the dictionary gives,also in the boldface entry, is the syllabication of the word.

The syllable divisions help you pronounce a word and alsoshow you where to hyphenate a word as needed whenwriting a paper.

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PronunciationThe dictionary offers information on the pronunciation of theword.

Use the pronunciation key in your dictionary as a guide to pronouncing different vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u).

Find the pronunciation key in your dictionary, and see how tointerpret the symbols, and figure out how to pronounce the words.

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The symbol looks like an upside down e. It is called a schwa,and it stands for the unaccented sound in words such asago, item, edible, gallop, and circus.

More approximately, it stands for the sound uh-like the uh sound speakers may make when they hesitatein their speech.

Uh could represent the schwa sound, as well as

The Schwa

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Accent marksSome words contain both a primary accent, shown by a heavy stroke, and a secondary accent, shown by a lighter stroke.

Parts of speechThe dictionary offers information about the part of speech, using abbreviations.

v. = verbn. = nounadj. = adjectivepl. = pluralsing. = singular

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Principal parts of irregular verbsRegular word forms add -es, -ed, and -ing to the stem of the verb.

When the verb is irregular, the dictionary lists its principal parts.

Present Past Past Presenttense tense Participle Participle

write wrote written writingbegin began begun beginning

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Plural forms of irregular nouns

Regular nouns form the plural by adding -s or -es

The dictionary supplies the plural forms of all irregular nouns.

apology apologieswife wivespasser-by passers-by

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MeaningsWhen there is more than one meaning to a word, the meanings are numbered in the dictionary.

In many dictionaries, the most common meanings are presented first.

The introductory pages of your dictionary will explainthe order in which meanings are presented.

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Etymology

Etymology = the history of a word.

Many words have origins in foreign languages, such as Greek (Gk) or Latin (L).

Such information is usually enclosed in brackets and is morelikely to be presented in a hardbound desk dictionary than ina paperback one.

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Usage labels

As a general rule, use only standard English words in your writing. If a word is not standard English, your dictionary may give it a usage label, such as informal, nonstandard, or slang.