Guessing word meaning exercises

Lexicology

Additional material.

Inferring meaning from context

There are a number of clues which you may be able
to use to help you work out the meaning
of an unfamiliar word:

The
context
in which it is used

• Visual clues: a picture in a book or film footage in a TV news
  broadcast may help you.

• Your own background knowledge about a situation: for example, if you
  already know

  that there has just been an earthquake in Los
  Angeles, then you will find it easy to

  understand the word
  ‘earthquake’ when you hear a news broadcast about it.

• The
  immediate context (other words around the unfamiliar word): these
  may make the

  meaning
  absolutely clear: ‘Suzanna picked one tall yellow gladiolus to put
  in her new

  crystal
  vase.’ Even if you have never seen or heard the word ‘gladiolus’, it
  will probably

  be
  obvious to you from the context that it is a type of flower.

• Grammatical
  clues in the context: it is not difficult to understand that
  ‘superstitious’

  must
  be an adjective in the sentence ‘Marsha is very superstitious.’ or
  that ‘gingerly’ is

  an adverb in ‘Jackie tiptoed gingerly down
  the stairs.’

Similarity to other words you already know in English

A
large number of words in English are made up of combinations of other
words. You may never have seen the word ‘headscarf’, for example,
but the meaning is easy to work
out from its two components.

Structure

A prefix or suffix may give you a clue, for example.

Similarity to a word you know in your own (or some other) language

If
your first language is of Latin or of Germanic origin, you will come
across many words in
English that resemble words in your own language. However, English
has taken many words from many other languages too. So make use of
any other languages you know. But remember that some words are false
friends — they sound as if they mean the same but in fact they have a
different meaning. (A good dictionary will give lists of false
friends for a lot of European languages.)

Explaining unknown words

The following expressions can be useful when you are trying to
explain what a word or

expression means:

It’s
(a bit) like
(a chair) …

It’s
something you use for
(painting pictures /cleaning the kitchen floor …)

It’s
a kind of
(bird /musical instrument/ building…)

It
must /could be
…

It
will not be possible to work out the meanings of all the unfamiliar
words that you come across but remember that you do not need to
understand every word in a text in order to understand the whole
text. When it is crucial to know a meaning, use the clues suggested
in this unit and make a guess
before checking the dictionary.

Exercises

1) Look at the following text. Before you read it, see if you know what the underlined words

mean.

A
tortoise is
a
shelled
reptile famed
for its slowness and longevity.
The Giant Tortoise of the Galapagos may attain over 1-5 metres in
length and have a lifespan
of more than 130 years. Smaller tortoises from Southern Europe
and North Africa make popular pets. They need to
be tended, carefully in cool climates and must have a warm place in
which they can hibernate.

Which of the underlined words can you guess
from the context or using any other clues?

2) Use the context to work out what the underlined words mean.
Explain them using one or other of the expressions from the previous
page.

1)
Above the trees at the edge of the meadow, a buzzard
hangs for a moment on the wind

before soaring towards the hills.

2)
According to some sources, the water vole
is one of the most rapidly declining creatures

in
Britain and a new survey is now being carried out to determine how
serious the

threat
of extinction really is.

3)
Using a large chisel
the police broke through the front door and surprised the robbers.

4)
We ate a delicious chicken and noodle soup from a big tureen
and enjoyed several

bowls each.

5)
When the soup is ready, ladle
it into six warmed bowls.

6) We often used to walk up
to the cliff top where we would clamber
over the farmer’s

gate
and go right to the edge where the view was better.

7)
Some people get really ratty
when they haven’t had enough sleep.

3)
Use your knowledge of other basic English words to help you work out
the meanings of the
underlined words and expressions. Rewrite them using simpler words or
explanations

for the underlined words and phrases.

1)
It says on the can that this drink is sugar-free.

2)
More and more shops now have their own special store
cards
and offer you a discount

if you use one of them.

3)
I find Mo a very warm-hearted
person.

4)
I’ve been up
to my eyes in work
ever since I got back from holiday.

5)
We walked down a tree-lined
street towards the station.

6)
The little boys were fascinated by the cement-mixer.

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