3: Use Context Clues to Determine the Meaning of Unknown Words
- Page ID
- 396140
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\(\newcommand{\longvect}{\overrightarrow}\)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)One of the most important strategies to help build your vocabulary, increase your reading speed, and impact how much you understand is by learning vocabulary in context. “In context” means using the situation that you understand in the sentences you have read so far to guess the meaning of new vocabulary without depending on a dictionary constantly. We will use the "types of context clues" as we learned them in our last sub-unit to further explore this concept here, but first, some more background on why this skill is necessary:
Guessing the meaning of new words using the context of the situation means using a dictionary less. When you are reading something, if you stop and use a dictionary every time you come across a new word, not only do you use more time, but you may forget what you learned from the reading and you won’t remember the new vocabulary as well. In addition, many words in English have several different meanings depending on the context. As much as possible, try to guess the meaning of the vocabulary using context clues. You could make a note of the new word and look up the meaning in a dictionary after you read, just to confirm your guess against the dictionary definition, but wait until you have finished reading a page or two before you use a dictionary. Also, of course you should use a dictionary if what you are reading becomes confusing and it is difficult to understand.
Tips for Learning Vocabulary in Context
Identify the Part of Speech
Before you guess the meaning of the new vocabulary based on the types of context clues present, it is also helpful to understand how the unknown word functions in the sentence. Is it an action (a verb)? Is it a thing or a person (a noun)? Is it trying to describe something (an adjective)? Is it trying to describe an action or an adjective (adverb)? You can also use your knowledge of word roots, especially suffixes, to guess its part of speech. Once you know the part of speech, it will be easier to make an accurate guess as to the word's meaning based on the type of context clues you see present in the surrounding sentence(s).
Guess the part of speech of the word in parentheses (). Scroll down to check your answers.
- Apollo played on his (lyre) and the Muses sang.
- He broke a (twig) off the tree and started writing in the dirt with it.
- During the meeting, the secretary (documented) all important discussion topics and later emailed the notes to all workers in the office.
- There is (empirical) evidence--that which comes from research studies-- that shows that human activity is contributing to global warming.
- There’s no doubt it was a hate crime–he walked into a (predominantly) black church and started shooting. The shooter was one of only a few white individuals present.
1. A lyre is probably a noun, because it looks like it is an object that music can be played on.
2. Twig is also pronably a noun, because it is something that can be pulled off a tree.
3. Documented must be a verb (an action) because it is something that the secretary is doing. Verbs often end in -ed if the action has occrred in the past, or -ing if the action is occurring now.
4. Empirical is likely an adjective. It is placed before the noun "evidence" and seems to be describing that evidence.
5. Predominantly is probably an adverb (these almost always end in -ly), and they must describe other descriptive words, or verbs. In this case, predominantly describes the black members of the church, and the adverb lets us know something about how many members are black.
Identify Word Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes
If you recognize part of a word, there’s a good chance that the new vocabulary will be related to that same meaning. Combining this strategy with the context around the word can help you be more confident with your guess.
Does the sentence make sense if you replace the new word with your guess?
Once you have tried to determine the part of speech (whether the term is a thing, an action, or a descriptive word), and looked for any recognizable morphemes, you are ready to try to analyze the sentence by examining the type of context clue and formulating a guess based on context, perhaps coupled with part of speech and morphemes. Do not feel that you have to guess or know immediately exactly the meaning of the new word. Sometimes it’s just as helpful to be able to guess the general meaning of the new vocabulary. Of course, you can find the word in a dictionary later to see if your synonym is close to the actual meaning. The more you practice analyzing sentence structure to see how a context provides clues, the more likely you are to find that your guesses continue to become more accurate, in general (though we can all make incorrect guesses from time to time).
- Apollo played on his (lyre) and the Muses sang.
Before, we noted that a lyre was a noun. Our experience with knowing that instruments are "played" and seeing that there is also singing going on lets us make an educated guess that a lyre is some sort of instrument. We can substitute "instrument" for "lyre" and the sentence will make sense.
2. He broke a (twig) off the tree and started writing in the dirt with it.
Experience again! If we think of what can be broken off of trees, we can probably start to visualize the concept of a twig, even if we've never heard this term. Understanding that twig is a noun (thing) is helpful here. We can sub in "small branch" or "stick" to verify that phrase or word makes sense in this context.
3. During the meeting, the secretary (documented) all important discussion topics and later emailed the notes to all workers in the office.
Example is a good fit here, because we are given examples of things that can be documented--"important discussion topics"--and something you can do once you have documented--"emailed," another verb ending in -ed. We could sub in "recorded" or "took notes on" in place of the word "documented" in the sentence.
4. There is (empirical) evidence--that which comes from research studies-- that shows that human activity is contributing to global warming.
A definition clue is provided here. The audience assumes the audience may not be familiar with the term "empirical" and uses dashes to explain empirical evidence. Knowing that empirical is also an adjective allows us to understand that this is a way of describing evidence that comes from research.
5. There’s no doubt it was a hate crime–he walked into a (predominantly) black church and started shooting. The shooter was one of only a few white individuals present.
This is an adjacent clue. The next sentence lets us know that most people in attendance were people of color, so predominantly, which we recognize as a descriptive word based on the suffix -ly, must have something to do with "how many." We can substitute "mostly" or "majority" to get the general idea of what "predominantly" means.
In this last example, we can also use experience--in fact, many times, a context clue can be classified in more than one way. The better you get at understanding how sentence structures function, the more frequently you will be able to accurately guess a word's meaning based on context.
Is the new word necessary to understand the sentence?
Although it doesn’t help you remember or guess new vocabulary, a great strategy to use is to just delete the word if you don’t know it and it doesn’t affect your understanding of the sentence, especially if you tried using a synonym and it doesn’t seem to fit well. Skip the word and see if you still understand what is happening in the reading. If you still understand, then keep going! Don’t come back unless you see the word repeated. Then you might want to try to guess the word and/or use a dictionary to find the meaning.
More on "Definition" Type Context Clues
Many times, especially in academic course textbooks, the author expects the reader may not be familiar with special vocabulary. In these cases, they may add the definition of the word in the sentence or the next one. This is one of the easiest strategies to use. There are several ways writers might do this, specifically with punctuation:
- X is Y (defenestration is the act of throwing someone out of a window)
- X, that is / i.e., Y (defenestration, that is, the act of throwing someone out of a window)
- X, or Y (defenestration, or the act of throwing someone out of a window)
- X, which means Y (defenestration, which means the act of throwing someone out of a window)
- X (Y) (defenestration (the act of throwing someone out of a window))
- X -Y (defenestration – the act of throwing someone out of a window)