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Gardeners use spades and rakes and shovels. People who work with words—and you do whenever you read or write—have two handy-dandy tools to help them: a dictionary and a thesaurus. ” They really should say “a dictionary” because so many different kinds of dictionaries exist. (See, for example, the mini-dictionary at the back of this book. ) This chart gives an idea of the main types of dictionaries you can come across: Kind of Dictionary Definition What It Does Pocket dictionary very small dictionary (usually paperback) It contains a limited number of words and definitions.

The familiar suffixes -ed and -ing are added to verbs to change their tense: create ϩ -ed ϭ created; wear ϩ -ing ϭ wearing. Suffixes also change words into different parts of speech: custom (noun) ϩ -ize ϭ customize (verb) accident (noun) ϩ -al ϭ accidental (adjective) wise (adjective) ϩ -dom ϭ wisdom (noun) Suffixes have meanings, too, but learning them is not necessary. Just remember that some suffixes make words into nouns, and other suffixes turn words into verbs, adjectives, or adverbs. qxd 6/26/04 2:26 PM Page 23 (PANTONE 2627 U plate) Find the Roots Suffixes That Form Nouns Suffixes That Form Verbs Suffix Examples Suffix Examples -age postage, marriage -ate vaccinate, cooperate -ance performance, hindrance -en brighten, strengthen -ant defendant, occupant -ing puzzling, keeping -arch monarch, patriarch -ize fantasize, crystallize -dom kingdom, wisdom -ee employee, absentee -eer mountaineer, charioteer -er, -or dancer, actor -ence 23 Suffixes That Form Adjectives -able capable, reliable -er, -est finer, finest; younger, youngest excellence, conference -ful hopeful, fanciful -hood childhood, motherhood -ic, -ical comic, magical -ion union, inspection, tension -ish foolish, reddish -ism patriotism, Impressionism -ive massive, creative -ment enjoyment, attachment -less fearless, tireless -ness happiness, darkness -some handsome, lonesome -tion application, demonstration Suffixes That Form Adverbs -ly carefully, happily -ward inward, outward -ways sideways, frontways -wise lengthwise, clockwise Exceptions to the Rule When you add a prefix to a base word, the spelling of the base word doesn’t change.

Dave warned us to hurry and not to tarry over dinner, or we’d miss the last bus home. Explanations Through Relationships Sometimes you can guess a word’s meaning from the general situation in a sentence. The little boy couldn’t speak any English, but he was able to pantomime his request, using gestures and body movements. Connecting words called conjunctions may also serve as context clues. And, but, or, and yet connect ideas that are equal in importance. They are called coordinating conjunctions.