5000 Word Book Discussion

Entry Name Purpose Example
abbr. abbreviation shorten words or phrases Dr. and Mrs. Franco visited us.
adj. adjective modifies nouns or pronouns Harry wore an old hat.
adv. adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb I have always admired him.
art. article a, an, and the That is the book I need.
conj. conjunction joins words or groups of words She drives too fast and recklessly.
exp. expletive Introduces a sentence There are six books on the shelf.
intj. interjection Expresses strong feelings or sudden emotion Bah! That's humbug.
noun noun names persons, places, things or animals Iron is a useful metal .
pron. pronoun used in place of a noun She celebrated her fifth birthday.
prep. preposition shows relationships They stood under the bridge.
verb verb shows action or condition of the subject The man painted the room.

The synonym column tries to pinpoint the different definitions for the same word. For example the word "train" can refer to "a railroad" or "instruction." Understand that no synonym means the same thing but helps the non-native speaker determine which meaning. In reality native English speakers determine the meaning by the context of the sentence. For example, "The nomads camped out in the desert" tells us that the desert is an arid sandy place. While the soldier decided to "desert" tells us the soldier leaves without permission.

In some cases the native English speaker uses the context of the preceeding and following sentences to determine the meaning. For example "She was an old maid" could mean an elderly servant or a middle-aged lady that is unmarried. The sentences around the sentence would easily let the native English know which it was.

Some words appear to be plurals of other words but in fact are distinct words. Examples of this are: "due" and "dues", "spectacle" and "spectacles."

Return to 5000 Word Book Choices