10 Tips to use your dictionary

1. Try and work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word from its context before you look it up in a dictionary. 2. A dictionary can help you improve your spelling, but you may have to look in several places before you find the word you want. For example, if you want to check the word "ceiling", you may look at "sealing", before you find the right word. 3. Get to know the range of information that is available in your dictionary (e.g. pronunciation, different uses of the word, etc.), and the phonetic alphabet and the codes that your dictionary uses. 4. Always check all the meanings given for a word, because the same word may have a different meaning in a different context. 5. A dictionary can give you a lot of help with grammar. For example, it can tell you whether a word is followed by a particular preposition, whether a noun is countable or uncountable, what the parts of irregular verbs are, or whether a verb is followed by the infinitive or the -ing form of another verb. 6. When you check the meaning of a phrasal verb, remember to look up the complete verb, for example 'work out', not just 'work'. 7. If you want to check the meaning of an idiom, look for information under a key word. For example, if you have trouble understanding 'It's taken for granted today that children should study a foreign language at school', look for help under 'grant[ed]'. 8. It's very important to study the examples of a word in use. As well as helping you understand meaning, the examples will show how the word is used and in what contexts. 9. Use a dictionary to help you with your private study, for example: a) To make sure of the meaning of important new words you have met in class (or heard in an English language film, or come across in something you have read for pleasure, etc.); b) To distinguish between words with similar meanings (for example, in a vocabulary exercise); c) To prepare a piece of writing or an oral presentation. 10. Remember that consulting a dictionary can be very helpful, but often (for example, during a conversation) you should use other methods (for example, asking for an explanation, expressing your meaning in different words) if you don't understand something or you can't find exactly the word you want.