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A dictionary is an indispensable tool for learning a new language. It gives you the definition of words in a language. Besides the definitions, a dictionary tells you what the spelling of a word is and how it is pronounced. Here are a few things you can do with a dictionary.
To check the spelling of a word
The best way to learn the spelling of a word is to find it in the dictionary. To find a word in a dictionary, you should know the first few alphabets in it in the correct order. While looking up words in a dictionary, you should be able to quickly judge whether any word comes before or after the word you are searching for. If the first letters of two words are the same, you should look at the next letters to determine the word order. For example in the case of the words dare, dart and darn, the first letters are the same which means the correct alphabetical order will be based on the fourth letter. So dare comes first, darn second and dart last.
How to find a word in the Dictionary
Each page in a dictionary has two words printed in large bold letters at the upper left-hand and right-hand corners. The word printed in the upper left-hand corner shows you which is the first word on that page. In the same way, the word printed in the upper right-hand corner shows you which is the last word on that page.
Understanding definitions
To make the best use of your dictionary, you need to understand a few common conventions. For example, each entry in a dictionary is followed by a phonological transcription of the word usually using the International Phonetic Alphabet. To the right side of the phonological transcription there will usually be an abbreviation such as 'n' or 'adj'. These abbreviations show which part of speech each word is. For example, the abbreviation 'n' stands for noun and the abbreviation 'adj' stands for adjective. Some words may have multiple meanings. Good dictionaries will usually separate different meanings by numbers.
Should I use a monolingual dictionary or a bilingual one?
Monolingual English dictionaries which give the definition of words in English are better than bilingual dictionaries in many respects. For example, they give you practice in understanding English. As these dictionaries give definitions and examples in English, you will immediately see how a word is used.
But what if you can't understand the definitions? In that case, you should choose a simpler dictionary. Good dictionaries will usually give simpler definitions that most learners can understand. After all, it is simply annoying if you can't understand the definition of a new word.
