9.

DICTIONARY WORK
Objectives

After studying this lesson, learners should be able to:

 Identify headword;
 Find the meaning/description of word;
 Identify verb pattern;
 Use verb pattern;
 Identify compound word;
 Build compound word.

A. Headword: a key word placed at the beginning as in a dictionary entry.

Rumondang is a polytechnic student. She enjoys learning English very much. She has
gets pleasure from / takes delight in
to enjoy = to get pleasure from/ to take delight in

been learning English at Medan State Polytechnic for several months.

Once in the morning on the way to Polytechnic, she found a piece of torn English paper. However because she
was interested in it, she read it thoroughly. She found some new
was caused to give attention to completely in every way
to be interested in = to be caused to give attention to

words and underlined them.

drew a line under
A few minutes later she decided to ask her English teacher the meanings of the words. Unfortunately, the
teacher did not have much time. He only lent Rumondang two different dictionaries and showed her how to
find the meanings. Below is the conversation between Rumondang and the teacher.

Rumondang is a polytechnic student. She gets pleasure from / takes delight in learning English very much.
She has been learning English at Medan State Polytechnic for several months.
Once in the morning on the way to Polytechnic, she found a piece of torn English paper. However because she
was caused to give attention to it, she read it completely in every way. She found some new words and drew a
line under them.

A few minutes later she decided to ask her English teacher the meanings of the words. Unfortunately, the
teacher did not have much time. He only lent Rumondang two different dictionaries and showed her how to
find the meanings. Below is the conversation between Rumondang and the teacher.

Here’s the conversation between Rumondang and her English teacher.

Rumondang : Excuse me.

Teacher : Yes.
Rumondang : I need some help.
Teacher : What is it?
Rumondang : I found this paper in the backyard. I read it twice but I still do not know some words.
Teacher : Well, I will tell you what I can do. I will lend you two different dictionaries and I will show
you how to use them. Here you are.
Rumondang : Thank you so much. Here’s the paper.

Here’s the torn English paper.

The Characteristics of Life

We live in a remarkable place, and we live in a remarkable time. Our home, the Earth, is unlike any other
planet that orbits the sun. The Earth is the only planet with great oceans of liquid water. It is the only planet
surrounded by an atmosphere that is rich in oxygen. And it has something else that may not exist on any other
planet: The Earth has life.
No matter where you live – city, farm, small town, or suburb – life is all around you. In fact, it is almost
impossible to think of a single place on Earth that is not a home to living things. Life is found in golden
grasslands, scorching deserts, deep oceans, and even the frozen wastes of the Antarctic.
It’s often easy to think that life is the most ordinary thing in the world. However, life is far from simple or
ordinary. As you study the living things of the world, you will come to appreciate their special qualities all the
more.

Questions:

1. Why doesn’t Rumondang know some words yet even though she has read the article twice? Give your
answer.
2. According to you, what is the teacher’s purpose not to tell Rumondang the meaning of the words directly?

Practice 1

Instruction: 1. Consult your dictionary and find out the meanings of all the underlined words in the torn
English paper above.
2. Rewrite the article using the meaning you have found.

1. remarkable :
2. unlike :
3. orbits :
4. liquid :
5. surrounded :
6. exist :
7. suburb :
8. grasslands :
9. scorching :
10. frozen :
11. wastes :
12. Antarctic :
13. ordinary :
14. appreciate :

Practice 2
Instruction: Consult your own dictionary either English-English or English-Indonesian to identify the word-
class and simple description/definition of each word below, and make sentences using the words:

1. Card : Noun : ....

2. Simply : Adv: ...
3. Identification :
4. Dividend :
5. Loan :
6. Dignity :
7. Simple :
8. System :
9. Cheque :
10. Through :
11. Credit :
12. Approximate :
13. Reliable :
14. Sanctuary :
15. Controversy :
16. Coincide :
17. Institution :
18. Computerize :
19. Acquire :
20. Self-esteem :

Activities:

1. Match the best word in meaning from the options below to the italic word in the sentence.

a. Carol has many interests.

1) hobbies
2) profit
3) cause to give one’s attention

b. There is an access to the bank.

1) opportunity
2) way
3) attack

c. You can transfer your money through our vast network of international Banks.
1) growing
2) fast
3) extensive
d. The keycard was issued two years ago.
1) problem
2) published
3) outcome

e. The keycard works automatically.

1) faster
 2) slowly
3) self-acting

f. The keycard saves you time.

1) safe
2) except
3) manages

g. A secretary is often responsible for travel arrangements.

1) preparations
2) agreement
3) result

h. Every employer wants his employees to work hard.

1) a person who gives money to people
2) a person who works with managers
3) a person who employees others.

i. The distributor delivered the purchases some time ago.

1) buys
2) goods
3) value

j. The World Bank was funding the polytechnics.

1) providing
2) investing
3) supporting

2. Make a sentence using each of the following words. Give the contextual meaning of each of the word.

a. Characteristic :
b. Scientific :
c. Curiosity :
d. Simplify :
e. Branch :
f. Action :
g. Arrangement :
h. Attitude :
i. Provide :
j. Support :
k. Identify :

B. Verb Structures and Patterns Guidelines

Verb Explanation Examples

Type
Intransitive An intransitive verb does not take a direct object They're sleeping.
 They arrived late.
Transitive A transitive verb takes a direct object. The direct object can be a They bought the sweater.
noun, a pronoun or a clause. He watched them.
Linking A linking verb is followed by a noun or adjective which refers to the The meal looked wonderful.
subject of the verb. He felt embarrassed.

Verb Patterns

There are also many verb patterns that are common in English. When two verbs are used, it is especially
important to notice which form the second verb takes (infinitive - to do - base form - do - verb ing - doing).

Verb Pattern Structure Examples

Verb Infinitive This is one of the most common verb I waited to begin dinner.
combination forms. Reference list of: Verb + They wanted to come to the party.
to Infinitive
Verb + Verb+ -ing This is one of the most common verb They enjoyed listening to the music.
combination forms. Reference list of: Verb + They regretted spending so much time on
Ing the project.
Verb + Verb+ -ing Some verbs can combine with other verbs She started to eat dinner. OR
OR using both forms without changing the basic She started eating dinner.
Verb + Infinitive - no meaning of the sentence.
change in meaning
Verb + Verb +ing Some verbs can combine with other verbs They stopped speaking to each other. =>
OR using both forms. However, with these verbs, They don't speak to each other anymore.
Verb + Infinitive - there is a change in the basic meaning of the They stopped to speak to each other. =>
change in meaning sentence. This guide to verbs that change They stopped walking in order to speak
meaning provides explanations of the most to each other.
important of these verbs.
Verb + Indirect An indirect object is usually placed before a I bought her a book.
Object + Direct direct object when a verb takes both an She asked him the question.
Object indirect and direct object.
Verb + Object + to This is the most common form when a verb She asked her to find a place to stay.
Infinitive is followed by both an object and a verb. They instructed them to open the envelope.
Reference list of: Verb + (Pro)Noun +
Infinitive
Verb + Object + This form is used with a few verbs (let, help She made her finish her homework.
Infinitive and make). They let him go to the concert.
He helped him paint the house.
Verb + Object Verb+ This form is less common than verb object I observed them painting the house.
-ing infinitive. I heard her singing in the living room.
Verb + Object + Use this form for a clause beginning with She told him that she would work harder.
Clause with 'that' 'that'. He informed him that he was going to
resign.
Verb + Object + Use this form for a clause beginning with They were instructed where to go.
Clause with 'wh-' wh- (why, when, where) She told me why she had done it.
Verb + Object + Past This form is often used when someone does He had his car washed.
Participle (V3) something for someone else. They want the report finished immediately.
C. Compound Words

Compound words are two or more words that function as a single unit of meaning. Their rules can be
complicated and hard to remember. For example, is it book store or bookstore? There are three types of
compound words.

1. Closed compounds: mesh two words together

For examples:

flowerpot,
keyboard,
notebook,
bookstore,
bullfrog,
snowball,
mailbox,
sometimes,
grandmother,
railroad,
inside,
upstream,
outside,
cannot,
basketball,
anybody,
skateboard,
moonlight,
grasshopper,
everything,
sunflower,
etc.

2. Hyphenated compounds: not surprisingly use a hyphen between two or more words, often to prevent
ambiguity.

For examples:

half-sister,
mother-in-law,
merry-go-round,
two-fold,
check-in,
father-in-law,
 seventy-two,
long-term,
up-to-date,
one-half,
over-the-counter,
etc.

NOTE: Hyphenated compound words are most commonly used when the words being joined together are
combined to form an adjective before noun.

For examples:

forty-acre farm,
full-time worker,
on-campus housing,
state-of-the-art features,
family-run business

However, these hyphenated compound words become open compounds when they are placed after the word the
describe.

For examples:
The farm has forty acres.
The worker is full time.
The housing is all on campus for freshman.
The business is still family run.

3. Open compounds: Whether a compound word is properly open, closed or hyphenated may depend on
whether it’s used as a noun, adjective or verb.

For examples:

school bus,
living room,
peanut butter,
no one,
ice cream,
real estate,
high school,
living room,
sweet tooth,
hot dog,
grand jury,
post office,
full moon,
 cave in,
Boy Scouts
etc.

Verbs are usually open.

I need to back up my computer files.

Can you carry over funds to the next year?
I told the associate to follow up with the client.

Adjectives and nouns are usually closed or hyphenated.

I have a backup copy of my computer files.
The funds were carryover from last year.
The associate had a follow-up call with the client.

Some words (someone, something, somewhere, anyone, anything, for example) should always be one word.

Other tricky compounds:

Never mind – correct

Nevermind – not a word

A lot — correct
Alot – incorrect
Allot – to give or apportion

All together – as a group

Altogether – entirely

Every day – duration or time

Everyday – noun or adjective

All right – use this

Alright – not exactly wrong but not entirely proper either

When pluralizing compound words, the “s” is properly attached to the word that’s being pluralized,
though you see that more in writing than in everyday speech.

For examples:

Daughters-in-law
Chiefs of staff
NOTE: When in doubt about a compound word, look it up in a dictionary or style manual. If the answer
is still unclear, just be consistent throughout your own document.

Exercises:

A. Find the compound word in the sentence below:

1. My grandfather is coming home for the holydays.

2. I really want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
3. The real estate agent had to take a test to get her license.
4. She is a part-time teacher.
5. That is our full-time worker.
6. I am so tired of looking for on-campus housing.
7. He was seventy-two years old.
8. Let’s go play some basketball.
9. Has anybody seen my binder?
10. I am a homesick person.
11. He is a very creative teenager.
12. He will be here in forthcoming week.
13. The car is up-side-down.
14. She is a famous movie star.
15. She comes into the room immediately.

B. Make compound words with the word below, and insert them in sentences:

1. Day: daydream – It is only a daydream.

2. Ear:
3. Wash:
4. Wood:
5. Fire:
6. Hair:
7. Down:
8. Grand:
9. News:
10. Eye:
11. Wind:
12. Foot:
13. Water:
14. Work:
15. Sea:
16. Head:
17. Out:
18. Under:
19. Home:
20: Up:
C. Match the word below to form compound words:

NO A B Result

1 fire wood

2 life ball

3 eye down

4 work house

5 wood ache

6 work ear

7 room town

8 fighter fly

9 head storm

10 phone bath

11 glasses foot

12 mail out

13 light field

14 way tub

15 board rest

D. Write the correct word:

 + ____________________________

+ ______________________________

+ _________________________________

+ ___________________________________

+ ___________________________________

+ ____________________________________

+ ____________________________________

+ ______________________________________
+ ______________________________________

+ _______________________________________