LEARNING ENGLISH TIPS

How should I use my

dictionary?

What dictionaries do I

need? If possible, you

should buy two

dictionaries: a good

bilingual dictionary and a

good English-English

dictionary. The bilingual

dictionary is quicker and

easier for you to

understand; the English-

English dictionary may

give you more

information about a word

or phrase, It is also a

good idea for you to work

in English as much as

possible. Here are some

current recommended

English-English

dictionaries: Large

dictionaries Cambridge

International Dictionary of

English Longman

Dictionary of

Contemporary English

Collins COBUILD English

Dictionary Oxford

Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary Medium-sized

dictionaries Collins

COBUILD Essential

Dictionary Oxford

Wordpower Dictionary

Longman Active Study

Dictionary What

information does a

dictionary give me? the

meaning, e.g. homesick =

unhappy when you are

away from home for a

long time the

pronunciation, e.g.

chaos /kems/, dreadful /

dredful/, island /aitand/

the part of speech, e.g.

dirty adj {= adjective), lose

v (= verb), law n (= noun)

any special grammatical

features, e.g. advice (U) (=

uncountable) common

collocations (word

partners), e.g. you do

homework [NOT you

make homcwofk]

example phrases or

sentences, e.g. It was

such a big menu, I didn’t

know what to choose.

opposites (where they

exist), e.g. polite (*

impolite/rude) Note: In

most English-English [...]

FILED UNDER: LEARNING

ENGLISH TIPS

Punctuation

QUOTATION MARK “”

Quotation marks are most

commonly used to

enclose speaker’s exact

words, and to set apart

words that are discussed.

a) Our teacher then asked,

“Would you like to go

outside today?” (direct

quotation) b) The word

“thunderstorm” often

brings fear among the

very young in our group.

COLON : A colon

introduces a list, a direct

quotation, and the end

portion of a sentence that

is an explanation. It is

used after an introductory

classification, after the

salutation in a formal letter

and between numbers in

time. a) The following

items were bought at the

pharmacy: pop,

newspaper, and a bottle

of hair shampoo. b) I

learned the following: I

was too old and run

down to compete. c) He

immediately replied by

saying: “I am completely

innocent.” d) Her actions

made me think of one

thing: revenge! e) Dear

Lucas: f) Being out in the

sun made me think of

only one thing: water! g)

3:30 PM APOSTROPHE ‘

An apostrophe is used to

show ownership

(possessives—singular

and plural), period of time

and a sum of money. It

also acts as a place holder

for a missing letter. In

addition, it is used to

construct a [...]

FILED UNDER: LEARNING

ENGLISH TIPS