Using your dictionary

Exercises 3.1

Answer these questions about collocations and dictionaries.

1. How does the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary show collocations?
   Answer

   It puts them in bold.

2. Which five collocations can you see in the top box of the word "pain"?
   Answer

   in pain, constant pain, ease the pain, a sharp pain, aches and pains

3. Why is an online dictionary particularly useful?
   Answer

   It can take you to a lot of information about a word or about types of word very quickly.

4. What information does the online Thesaurus usually show?
   Answer

   Synonyms, related words and phrases

5. How does the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary indicate that a collocation is informal?
   Answer

   By writing INFORMAL after the relevant use of the word.

6. Look at the dictionary that you normally use. Does it indicate collocations? If so, how?
   Answer

   If your dictionary does not indicate good collocations either by putting them in bold or by using them in example sentences, then you should seriously consider getting another dictionary that will help you in this way. It will be very useful when you are writing English compositions as well as helping you to improve your vocabulary.

7. Look up pain in your own dictionary. Which of the collocations on the left-hand page does it either highlight or illustrate in example sentences?
   Answer

   Your answer will depend on your own dictionary.

8. Look up the noun offer in your own dictionary. What collocations can you find? Does the dictionary indicate whether the collocations are formal or informal? If so, how?
   Answer

   Your answer will depend on your own dictionary.