Introduction

Context clues are bits of information within a text that will assist you in deciphering the meaning of unknown words. Since most of your knowledge of vocabulary comes from reading, it is important that you recognize context clues. By becoming more aware of particular words and phrases surrounding a difficult word, you can make logical guesses about its meaning.

As you prepare to become a teacher, it is important to understand that no matter what subject you’re going to teach, teaching reading is a foundational piece. When becoming a teacher of reading, you must be prepared to teach students how to comprehend text. Text is difficult to comprehend if students are unfamiliar with the words, and therefore you need to be prepared to teach them strategies to figure them out.

On a more personal level, when completing your readings at an undergraduate level, as well as preparing for tests and quizzes, it is important for you to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases as well. This activity goes through several strategies to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases. Strategies include, looking up the word and using text clues to determine the meaning. When using context clues, you can look for definitions within the text, look for synonyms, find contrasting information, or identify familiar examples or experiences within the text. Yet another way to find the meaning of a word is to look for a part of the word that is familiar to you, which will help you derive meaning.

Using Context Clues

Sometimes a text directly states the definition or a restatement of the unknown word. The brief definition or restatement is signaled by a word or a punctuation mark. Consider the following example:

If you visit Alaska, you will likely see many glaciers, or slow moving masses of ice.

In this sentence, the word glaciers is defined by the phrase that follows the signal word or, which is slow moving masses of ice.

In other instances, the text may restate the meaning of the word in a different way, by using punctuation as a signal. Look at the following example:

Marina was indignant—fuming mad—when she discovered her brother had left for the party without her.

Although fuming mad is not a formal definition of the word indignant, it does serve to define it. These two examples use signals—the word or and the punctuation dashes—to indicate the meaning of the unfamiliar word. Other signals to look for are the words is, as, means, known as, and refers to.

Synonyms and Antonyms

Sometimes a text gives a synonym of the unknown word to signal the meaning of the unfamiliar word:

When you interpret an image, you actively question and examine what the image connotes and suggests.

In this sentence the word suggests is a synonym of the word connotes. The word and sometimes signals synonyms.

Likewise, the word but may signal a contrast, which can help you define a word by its antonym.

I abhor clothes shopping, but I adore grocery shopping.

The word abhor is contrasted with its opposite: adore. From this context, the reader can guess that abhor means to dislike greatly.

Examples

Sometimes a text will give you an example of the word that sheds light on its meaning:

I knew Mark’s ailurophobia was in full force because he began trembling and stuttering when he saw my cat, Ludwig, slink out from under the bed.

Although ailurophobia is an unknown word, the sentence gives an example of its effects. Based on this example, a reader could confidently surmise that the word means a fear of cats.

Tip

Look for signal words like such as, for instance, and for example. These words signal that a word’s meaning may be revealed through an example.

Prefixes and Suffixes

Prefixes

A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word to create a new meaning. Study the common prefixes in Table 3.2 “Common Prefixes”.

TIP

The main rule to remember when adding a prefix to a word is not to add letters or leave out any letters. See Table 3.2 “Common Prefixes” for examples of this rule.

Table 3.2 Common Prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Example
dis	not, opposite of	dis + satisfied = dissatisfied
mis	wrongly	mis + spell = misspell
un	not	un + acceptable = unacceptable
re	again	re + election = reelection
inter	between	inter + related = interrelated
pre	before	pre + pay = prepay
non	not	non + sense = nonsense
super	above	super + script = superscript
sub	under	sub + merge = submerge
anti	against, opposing	anti + bacterial = antibacterial

Suffixes

A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word to create a new meaning. Study the suffix rules in the following boxes.

Rule 1

When adding the suffixes –ness and –ly to a word, the spelling of the word does not change.

Examples:

dark + ness = darkness

scholar + ly = scholarly

Exceptions to Rule 1

When the word ends in y, change the y to i before adding –ness and –ly.

Examples:

ready + ly = readily

happy + ness = happiness

Rule 2

When the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the silent e in the root word.

Examples:

care + ing = caring

use + able = usable

Exceptions to Rule 2

When the word ends in ce or ge, keep the silent e if the suffix begins with a or o.

Examples:

replace + able = replaceable

courage + ous = courageous

Rule 3

When the suffix begins with a consonant, keep the silent e in the original word.

Examples:

care + ful = careful

care + less = careless

Exceptions to Rule 3

Examples:

true + ly = truly

argue + ment = argument

Rule 4

When the word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before any suffix not beginning with i.

Examples:

sunny + er = sunnier

hurry + ing = hurrying

Rule 5

When the suffix begins with a vowel, double the final consonant only if (1) the word has only one syllable or is accented on the last syllable and (2) the word ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant.

Examples:

tan + ing = tanning (one syllable word)

regret + ing = regretting (The accent is on the last syllable; the word ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant.)

cancel + ed = canceled (The accent is not on the last syllable.)

prefer + ed = preferred

Summary

In conclusion, being able to identify the meaning of unknown words is a key part of comprehension. Without comprehending a text, there is no benefit to reading it. Using the skills you’ve learned in this activity to determine word meanings, without needing to use a dictionary, will increase your efficiency as a reader.

Clues in the text, such as definition clues, are likely the easiest to use. Definition clues state the definition in the text shortly after mentioning the word. Synonym clues, provide a more familiar word that has a similar meaning to the unknown word. When using example clues, a reader must draw on their own personal experience. Experience clues are more effective if you have background knowledge of the subject at hand. Another type of clue learned about in this activity is the use of signal clues. Signal clues provide phrases or punctuation that lead to the meaning of the word. Being familiar with all of these strategies will help you to determine meanings, and therefore derive meaning from text better than ever before.

In addition to using clues in the words around the unknown word, word parts can also be used. Prefixes and suffixes are important to understand. A prefix is a word part added to the beginning of a word that changes the word’s meaning. A suffix is a word part added to the end of a word that changes the word’s meaning. Learning the meanings of prefixes and suffixes will help expand your vocabulary, which will help improve your writing.

Sources:

“Prefixes and Suffixes” by Lumen Learning. Retrieved from: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/buswriting/chapter/3-4-prefixes-and-suffixes/ Licensed under BY-NC-SA 4.0

“Using Context Clues” by University of Minnesota Libraries. Retrieved from: https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/4-6-using-context-clues/ Licensed under BY-NC-SA