Understanding Vocabulary in Context

VS2.20

Using Your Knowledge of the World

Often you can guess the meaning of a word just by using your own knowledge of the world and how things work. For example, look at this sentence: I didnt sleep well because my neighbours dog was yapping all night. You can guess the meaning of yapping by thinking about your knowledge of dogs and your knowledge of sleep. How can dogs wake you up? They can jump on you or make a noise. Because this is the neighbours dog, not yours, it must make a noise. So, you can guess that yapping is some kind of noise, probably like barking. In most situations, this is enough information for you to continue reading. It doesnt matter if you know exactly what kind of noise it is. Exercise 1: Using your Knowledge of the World Use your knowledge of the world to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. Some vegetarians believe that killing animals is wrong. Others are vegetarian because they think meat is bad for people. A vegetarian is probably ____________________________________ 2. The driver swerved to miss the little boy who stepped out into the road. To swerve is probably ______________________________________ 3. The podiatrist told the woman to take the medicine for 5 days and call him if she didnt feel better. A podiatrist is probably _____________________________________ 4. She picked the irises and arranged them in a vase to put on the coffee table. An iris is probably__________________________________________ 5. Her tea was tepid, so she put it in the microwave. Tepid probably means ______________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Punctuation Clues
Punctuation clues are one of the easiest kinds of context clues. With punctuation clues, the meaning of a word is explained immediately after the word between brackets, commas or dashes. This type of clue is very common, especially in college textbooks. Look at the following examples: Brackets: A tornado (a violent storm of twisting wind) struck Edmonton and caused a lot of damage. Commas: A tornado, a violent storm of twisting wind, struck Edmonton and caused a lot of damage. Dashes: A tornado a violent storm of twisting wind struck Edmonton and caused a lot of damage. Notice that the punctuation is around an explanation of the word. Exercise 2: Punctuation Clues Use the punctuation clues to find the meaning of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. The deluge, a flood of rain, threatened to drown the little town. A deluge is ___________________________________________ 2. Sleet (half rain and half snow) can be very difficult to drive in due to poor visibility. Sleet is ______________________________________________ 3. Freezing rain rain which freezes when it hits the earth also causes many accidents. Freezing rain is ________________________________________ 4. People have gotten lost 10 meters from their homes in blizzards snowfalls that come down very thickly. A blizzard is __________________________________________ 5. Another dangerous form of weather is hail (falling balls of ice) which has been known to get so big that it can break a car windshield. Hail is _______________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Definition Clues
A words meaning is often given by including its definition in the sentence. The definition is linked to the word with a linking word, usually a verb. Here are some examples of linking words: is, was, are, means, i.e. (that is), involves, is called, that is and resembles. This type of clue is also very common in college textbooks. Look at the following examples: A cane resembles a walking stick. Giggling involves laughing in a silly way. Exercise 3: Definition Clues Use definition clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. Breaking even involves making enough money to pay for business costs but no more. Breaking even is ___________________________________________ 2. Many new businesses go bankrupt, which means they lose everything. To go bankrupt is __________________________________________ 3. It takes a special kind of person to give up a regular jobs security, i.e. the safety of a weekly paycheque, to go into business on her own. Security is ________________________________________________ 4. Small enterprises are usually defined as businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $2 million in annual (yearly) revenues. An enterprise is ____________________________________________ 6. Entrepreneurs are people who start their own businesses. An entrepreneur is _________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Example Clues
Example clues give you examples of the unknown word. You must figure out what the examples have in common in order to figure out the meaning of the word. Examples are usually introduced by expressions like these: such as, for instance, including, for example, and like. Look at this one: Large corporations like General Foods, Shell Oil, Nortel and Canadian Pacific are often less innovative than smaller ones. This sentence gives you 4 examples of large corporations. Think about the examples. What do they have in common? They are all large companies. So, a corporation must be a company. Exercise 4: Example Clues Use example clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. A great part of Canadas economy is based on its natural resources, for instance coal, oil and wood. A natural resource is _______________________________________ 2. Despite the risks, new businesses are expanding everywhere, from natural resources, manufacturing, construction, real estate, retail trade and especially service industries such as consulting and tourism. A service industry is ________________________________________ 3. The reporter talked to many auto-industry executives, e.g. company presidents and vice-presidents. An executive is ____________________________________________ 4. The research company said that less-established car makers such as Subaru and Isuzu could be forced out of North America. Less-established is _________________________________________ 5. The Big Three are designing radical new cars including vehicles that use radar and advanced computers. Radical is _________________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

VS2.20

Exercise 5: Review I Use knowledge of the world, punctuation, definition and example clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. The asp, a small poisonous snake, is found in Africa, Europe, and Arabia. An asp is _____________________________________________ 2. Rodents such as mice, rats and beavers, can often do a lot of damage. A rodent is ____________________________________________ 3. Gardeners curse the mole (a small rodent that likes to dig in soft soil). A mole is _____________________________________________ 4. The hare resembles a large rabbit. A hare is _____________________________________________ 5. She screamed when she saw the arachnid moving across its web. An arachnid is _________________________________________ 6. Many restaurants serve molluscs for example, snails, oysters and clams. A mollusc is ___________________________________________ 7. Cetaceans, including whales and dolphins, are thought to have high intelligence. A cetacean is __________________________________________ 8. Many people are afraid of reptiles like lizards, snakes and turtles. A reptile is ____________________________________________ 9. The large dog used by the Inuit in northern Canada to pull sleds is called a husky. A husky is ____________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Comparison Clues
Comparison clues show that two or more things are alike. Words like similar, as well as, both and likewise show that comparison is possible. Look at this example: Washing windows is a tedious job. Similarly, cleaning the oven is very boring. The word similarly shows that there is something the same in the two sentences. Washing windows and cleaning the oven are different, so the similarity must be in the description. We can guess that tedious and boring must have similar meanings. Exercise 6: Comparison Clues Use comparison clues to guess the meaning of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. A soft cloth will soak up a lot of water. Likewise, a sponge is very absorbent. Absorbent means _____________________________________________ 2. Spot cleaners as well as other bleach products are good at getting out stains. A spot cleaner is ______________________________________________ 3. A large family seems to have an infinite amount of laundry to do. Similarly, there are always an endless number of dishes to wash. Infinite means ________________________________________________ 4. Both the vacuum cleaner and the smaller portovac are useful in doing the rugs. A portovac is _________________________________________________ 5. Pat finds washing dishes relaxing. In the same way, Jane finds folding laundry soothing. Soothing means _______________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

VS2.20

Contrast Clues
With contrast clues, you use the opposite of known information to figure out the meaning of an unknown word. Connecting words like however, yet, on the other hand, instead of, but, while and although are used to show that meanings are opposite. Look at this example: Although some old people abhor change, most of them enjoy new things and experiences. In this sentence the word although shows that there is some opposite meaning in the two parts of the sentence. Both parts are about old people and their attitudes to change. The opposite meaning must be between abhor and enjoy. Abhor probably means the opposite of enjoy. So, abhor probably means dislike. Exercise 7: Contrast Clues Use contrast clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. Many of the elderly who go to programs at Centennial House are highly stimulated. On the other hand, old people who stay home all the time are usually bored. To be stimulated means _______________________________________ 2. Alzheimers disease is a common problem in old age, but many old people continue to have healthy minds. Alzheimer s disease is ________________________________________ 3. While many people live in rest homes, others still live on their own or with their families. A rest home is _______________________________________________ 4. Many old people stay home in inclement weather, yet they go out walking on nice days. Inclement weather is __________________________________________ 5. Instead of vegetating at home, lots of old people are very active in the community. To vegetate is ________________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Referent Clues
Referent clues is when an unknown word is referred to (mentioned) again using a synonym or explanation of the word. Synonyms often follow words like this, that, these, those, or the. Sometimes, however, there is no obvious clue word. The reader just sees that the meanings are probably similar from the ideas in the sentence. Look at this example: She yelled out the window at her neighbours dog. Then she said to her husband, That hound is always waking me up at night with its barking. Tomorrow Im going to complain. In this example, that comes before the unknown word. This suggests that a hound has already been mentioned. We can guess that that hound refers to the dog. So, a hound is probably a dog. Exercise 8: Referent Clues Use referent clues to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When youve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. Yesterday some shysters came to my door. Those dishonest men pretended they were doing a survey and then tried to convince me to buy a magazine. A shyster is _______________________________________________ 2. My neighbours have a beautifully landscaped yard. It is well arranged with beautiful shrubs, lush looking trees and bright flowers. Landscaped means _________________________________________ 3. Junk mail is a huge cause of pollution. These flyers advertising all sorts of things are put through the mail slot and usually not even looked at before they are thrown in the garbage. Junk mail is _______________________________________________ 4. Cathy gave a shower for her friend Jill. Everyone gave presents to Jill for her baby at the party. A shower is _______________________________________________ 5. Paul paid his rent late. The delay was caused by Pauls bank. They lost his deposit. A delay is __________________________________________________

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Understanding Vocabulary in Context

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Exercise 9: Review II In this exercise, use all 7 types of context clues (knowledge of the world, punctuation, definition, example, comparison, contrast and referent) to guess the meanings of the underlined words. When you ve finished, discuss your answers with your tutor. 1. Anne of Green Gables is a famous Canadian childrens story. Anne of Green Gables is ____________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _______________________________ 2. It is the story of a young orphan (both her parents are dead). An orphan is ______________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? ________________________________ 3. She gets sent to live with an elderly couple (Matthew and Marilla) who live on a farm on Prince Edward Island. They want to adopt a boy, but Anne is sent to become part of their family instead. To adopt is ________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ 4. They want a boy to help with the farm chores such as planting crops, chopping wood and picking apples. A chore is __________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ 5. However, Anne is a very engaging child. She interests Matthew and he wont send her back. Engaging means ____________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________

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6. Marilla and Matthew live in a small town called Avonlea. Avonlea is _________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ 7. The people of Avonlea expect their children to be very obedient. Likewise, Marilla expects Anne to always do what she is told. Obedient means ____________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ 8. Although Anne tries to be obedient, she gets into lots of scrapes. These difficult situations often lead to some very funny results. A scrape is ________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? ________________________________ 9. Anne has very red hair and shes very self-conscious about it. Similarly, shes very embarrassed by her freckles small brown spots on her nose and cheeks. Self-conscious means ________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ A freckle is _________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _________________________________ 10. One time Anne tries to dye her hair black. Unfortunately, she changes the colour to green instead. To dye is ___________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? __________________________________

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11. Marilla shears off Annes once beautiful hair, and Anne has to wear a bonnet (hat) to cover up her bald head. To shear off is _______________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? __________________________________ A bonnet is __________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? __________________________________ 12. By the end of the book, Marilla adores Anne instead of disliking her as she did at the beginning. To adore is _____________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _____________________________________ 13. Anne has become an exemplary young lady. For instance, she wins a university scholarship, she saves a young childs life, and she has become truly beautiful. Exemplary means _______________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? _____________________________________ 14. Unlike many of her friends who lose their imaginations as they grow up, Anne retains her vivid imagination into adulthood. To retain means _________________________________________________ What type of clue did you use? ______________________________________

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