We admit: English is not the most logical language. If you’ve grown up speaking English, then many of the underlying structures of the language are second nature to you, and you’ll automatically follow the rules of syntax and vocabulary without thinking twice about it. However, if you’re learning English as a second (or third) language, it’s easy to get confused when words don’t seem to follow the rules all of the time. In this regard, English is a very flexible language, one that can be used in a variety of descriptive ways in prose and poetry. On the other hand, this flexibility can sometimes lead to confusion.

For example, we all know that nouns are nouns, and verbs are verbs. Two separate and distinct parts of speech, they’re easy to keep track of and use – except when they’re not. Look at the following sentence pairs:

The captain decided to beach the boat before the storm reached the coast.
The crew pushed the boat onto the beach.

The housekeeper forgot to mop the linoleum last night.
Before the party, I need to clean the linoleum with a mop.

He’ll help you bottle the beer once it’s ready.
When you put the beer in bottles, use a funnel to keep spills to a minimum.

The pilot was told to ground the helicopter so the crew could check for damage.
Strong winds will bring the helicopter to the ground.

In the first sentence, the highlighted word is used as a verb, while in the second sentence, the same word is used as a noun. The sense of the word hasn’t really changed, though; it’s easy to see that the word beach, when used as a verb, means “put on the beach.” But don’t expect all nouns to double as verbs! You can launch a boat into the ocean, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to “ocean a boat.”

The best way to become comfortable with this flexible-yet-confusing word usage is to keep track of words like these for later study. When reading the newspaper, a book, or an on-line article, make a note of any sentence in which a word is not used the way you expected. Use the Ultimate Vocabulary program to look up the word (the program has over 142,000 words in its database) and see dozens of examples of how that word is used in different contexts. You can use these examples to write your own sample sentences. After a bit of practice, you’ll be able to tell when a word can shift from noun to verb, and you’ll be an expert at making that shift yourself in daily conversation.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

If you’ve studied English literature, you’ll recognize that as the first verse of Lewis Carroll’s poem “Jabberwocky,” from “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” (more commonly known as “Alice in Wonderland”). Carroll (Charles Dodgson, 1832-1898) was known for his playful use of language, and he frequently invented new words to use in his works, some of which (such as the word chortling) are now in standard use. But even though this verse contains mostly nonsense words, they still follow the basic rules of English grammar and vocabulary, and provide a good example for how you can learn new words in your vocabulary-building efforts.

For example, we don’t know what gyre and gimble mean, but because they describe what “the slithy toves did” and where (“in the wabe”), we can identify these words as verbs. We can also identify two adjectives, slithy and mimsy: the first one describes “toves” (whatever they are, but it’s a plural noun) and the second describes “borogoves.” Another clue that slithy and mimsy are probably adjectives is that they both end in –y; adjectives are often formed by adding “y” to the end of a noun (milk/milky, water/watery, risk/risky).

Knowing the patterns that words follow is helpful when you’re learning new words. Let’s look at the nonsense word wabe, and apply some standard English rules. In the book, Humpty Dumpty explains to Alice that this word means “the grass plot around a sundial.” Keeping that definition in mind, what would you expect these words to mean?

• waby
• wabiest
• wabeless
• wabeology

We’ve already seen that adding -y to a noun turns it into an descriptive adjective, so waby would mean “like the grass plot around a sundial.” A common way of creating comparatives in English is to add the suffixes -ier and -iest to an adjective to indicate increasing intensity (example: happy, happier, happiest). Using this rule, wabiest would mean “most like the grass plot around a sundial.”

Think of words that end in -less. What do they have in common? If you answered “the lack of something” you’re right; therefore, wabeless would mean “without the grass plot around a sundial.” Finally, wabeology would be the study of wabes (think of the words psychology, physiology, biology, etc.).

In the future, when you come across a word that’s unfamiliar to you, don’t look at it as a nonsense word. Instead, use the tools you have and the patterns you know to decipher what the word means. The more carefully you examine a word, the better able you’ll be to remember it and use it correctly. Word-lover Lewis Carroll might have outgrabed* with joy at such a no-nonsense method of learning new vocabulary words!

*”something between bellowing and whistling, with a kind of sneeze in the middle,” according to Humpty Dumpty

One of the best features of the Ultimate Vocabulary program is the opportunity it gives you to gain confidence in using new words by learning how to use them correctly in context. We provide numerous examples, as well as exercises that help you practice selecting the most appropriate word to complete a sentence. If you’re studying for the GRE, practicing sentence completion is an important part of your test preparation.

Here’s an example of a sentence-completion exercise:

The research assistant attempted to duplicate the professor’s laboratory tests, but the instructions he left for her to follow were so ____________ that her results never __________.

a) detailed … corresponded
b) outdated … differed
c) ambiguous … matched
d) precise … matched
e) illegible … finished

First, read the sentence to yourself and get a sense of its meaning. In this example, the sentence has a negative tone; you can see this by the use of the words attempted, but, and never. Keep this general idea in mind as you look at the pairs of words to choose from.

Let’s look at option (a): detailed and corresponded. If you fill these words in, the sentence says that the instructions were so detailed that the results never corresponded, or matched. This doesn’t make sense, because usually the more detailed the instructions are in a laboratory experiment, the more chance there is of getting the same result every time. The only way this would make sense is if the instructions were TOO complicated. Option (d) also uses a positive word in the first position, and another one in the second position. Using this pair of words, the sentence says that the instructions were so precise (accurate and easy to follow) that the results never matched. Again, this doesn’t make sense.

Filling in the blanks with the pair of words in option (b) gives us the statement that the instructions were so outdated that the results were the same every single time. Outdated generally means “no longer accurate” so it wouldn’t make sense that her tests, using bad data, would match his results. In addition, the assistant is trying to duplicate a set of results (and therefore “never differed” would be a good thing); however, the word but implies a negative outcome.

Option (e) looks like a good choice at first: the instructions were so illegible (hard to read) that the results never finished. Wait a minute, though – “results” don’t “finish.” If the sentence read “… that she could never finish the tests” then we could consider this pair, but as it is, the sentence would not be grammatically correct, so we can eliminate this option.

We’re left with option (c). Using these words turns the sentence into a statement that the results were so ambiguous, or unclear, that her results never matched his. The meaning of the sentence makes sense in context, and the sentence is grammatically correct. By first determining the overall intent of the sentence and then comparing all possible choices, we’ve come up with the right answer.

We’ve come a long way from the Middle Ages, when only a small percentage of the population – the rulers, the clergy, and the merchants – knew how to read and write. Improvements in working conditions, health, and the global economy as a whole give most children the chance to attend school, at least for a little while. However, not everyone has the same opportunities, and there are more than seven million adults worldwide who can’t write or read even the simplest texts in their own language. Studies have linked illiteracy (the inability to read or write) to poverty, malnutrition, and abuse. Even in wealthy countries such as the United States, Canada, or Australia, people who have limited literacy skills are at a disadvantage when competing for jobs and benefits.

Learning the basic skills of reading and writing is important, no matter what age you are. Improving those skills by learning new vocabulary, and by practicing your abilities to speak easily and fluently with other people in a variety of situations, is something that can be done as part of a formal school program or as a self-study course. Here at Ultimate Vocabulary, we offer several programs focused on vocabulary enrichment, public speaking, and business communication. Click here to learn more about these programs.

One of the best ways to improve your reading ability, vocabulary, and public speaking skills is to read out loud to someone else. Do you have children? Read a story or two every night to them, and you’ll be encouraging their language skills as well as your own. Do you live near a hospital, nursing home, or aged care facility? Many older people are losing their sight but not their interest in the world. Ask about volunteer opportunities to read newspapers and magazines out loud to the residents – not only will you help them keep in touch with the events of the day, you’ll be learning new words and concepts yourself, and practicing your pronunciation skills.

Many schools and universities also need volunteers to help students with their reading and writing. You’ll find that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to someone else, so look for vocabulary-building sessions that are designed for people whose native language is not English. Once you’ve explained a word and how to use it, that word will be a solid part of your own vocabulary – plus you’ll get the chance to practice presentations and interactions with a variety of people, which will help you in your personal and professional development.

New Year, New Job?

If this is the year that you’ve decided to pursue a new career, then make vocabulary-building part of your professional plan. Your language skills will help you when you’re writing your cover letters. Good cover letters will get you interviews – and successful interviews will place you at the top of the list when the hiring decision is made.

Cover Letters

If you’ve been following the Ultimate Vocabulary program, you’re able to use elegant and sophisticated words with ease in conversation. However, a cover letter might not be the best place to use some of these words. You might be tempted to describe your excellent work habits by saying “I am an assiduous worker and always punctilious,” but the person reading your cover letter (often a secretary, or someone in the Human Resources department) might rate your letter lower if they don’t understand your meaning. Save your best word skills for the interview, and keep your cover letter clear and to the point.

Here are some sample sentences you might use to describe yourself and your work history, using some of the more well-known words featured in the Ultimate Vocabulary program:

• While acting as the office manager, I developed a comprehensive procedure manual that all of our seasonal workers now use as a reference guide.
• Due to my three years as the department’s liaison to management, I am confident in my ability to help people achieve consensus.
• I was instrumental in the process of installing the new computer software, and even after I left the company, they called me in as a consultant during the annual upgrades.

Interviews

Once you’re scheduled for an interview, call the company and ask who will be conducting the interview. Many companies have web sites, and you can look up information on that person and find out what their background is. They’ll be asking about you, but if you’ve taken the time to learn about them, you’ll be able to easily adapt your speaking style to best suit the situation. Keep in mind that many interviews are set up in two stages, with the preliminary interviews done by assistants or office workers, just to see if you’ll “fit” with the existing work group. Remember, not everyone uses the Ultimate Vocabulary program! If your interviewer has to ask you to explain what a word means, they might feel embarrassed, and that could reflect negatively on you. Adjust your conversation according to your audience, and use vocabulary that will highlight your abilities and experience without creating confusion in your listeners.