Improve Your Vocabulary: Part 2
2024-05-25
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1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we continue our answer about the best way to expand your vocabulary.
2Last week, we said the best way to improve vocabulary is to really "know a word."
3We talked about the form of a word -- or how it sounds, is written, and what its parts are.
4Today let's talk about the meaning of words.
5Knowing the meaning of a word seems easy: translate it into your native language or look up the definition in a dictionary.
6But, to fully know the meaning of a word in English, one definition is often not enough.
7English words are famous for having more than one definition.
8For example, look at the word "run" in these sentences.
9I'm going to run to the shop.
10She runs the local bakery.
11Water was running down the table.
12All the papers are running the story.
13The first definition in Merriam-Webster's dictionary for "run" is to go faster than a walk.
14That is certainly the meaning of run in the first sentence but not in the others.
15When we say, "she runs the local bakery", we mean she is the person who operates, manages or owns the shop.
16We could say "Water was running down the table" or "Water was flowing down the table."
17And when "all the papers are running the story", they publish it.
18We also have to know the ideas or feelings that a word suggests to fully understand the meaning of a word.
19Let's look at the first example with the word "run."
20I'm going to run to the shop.
21This is different than saying:
22I'm going to go to the shop.
23The second example simply states that we are going to the shop. But the word "run" tells that the trip will be fast.
24When we look at the meaning of English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by fully understanding a word's meaning.
25However, we cannot just exchange one word for another without changing the overall meaning of the sentence.
26So, next week we will take a look at synonyms - or words that have the same or nearly the same meaning.
27Do you have a question about American English?
28Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
29And that's Ask a Teacher.
30I'm Gena Bennett.
1Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we continue our answer about the best way to expand your vocabulary. 2Last week, we said the best way to improve vocabulary is to really "know a word." We talked about the form of a word -- or how it sounds, is written, and what its parts are. 3Today let's talk about the meaning of words. 4Knowing the meaning of a word seems easy: translate it into your native language or look up the definition in a dictionary. But, to fully know the meaning of a word in English, one definition is often not enough. 5English words are famous for having more than one definition. For example, look at the word "run" in these sentences. 6I'm going to run to the shop. 7She runs the local bakery. 8Water was running down the table. 9All the papers are running the story. 10The first definition in Merriam-Webster's dictionary for "run" is to go faster than a walk. That is certainly the meaning of run in the first sentence but not in the others. 11When we say, "she runs the local bakery", we mean she is the person who operates, manages or owns the shop. 12We could say "Water was running down the table" or "Water was flowing down the table." 13And when "all the papers are running the story", they publish it. 14We also have to know the ideas or feelings that a word suggests to fully understand the meaning of a word. 15Let's look at the first example with the word "run." 16I'm going to run to the shop. 17This is different than saying: 18I'm going to go to the shop. 19The second example simply states that we are going to the shop. But the word "run" tells that the trip will be fast. 20When we look at the meaning of English words in this way, we can see that our vocabulary expands by fully understanding a word's meaning. 21However, we cannot just exchange one word for another without changing the overall meaning of the sentence. So, next week we will take a look at synonyms - or words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. 22Do you have a question about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com. 23And that's Ask a Teacher. 24I'm Gena Bennett. 25Yaroslav Khrokalo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 26_________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28vocabulary-n. all the words a person knows