3. Looking up for part of Speech.

You know that you don’t need to look up every new word in a dictionary because you can guess the meaning from the context. Sometimes, however, you may want to use a dictionary for other purposes – for instance, to find out the part of speech of a word or to learn related words.

A dictionary entry will tell you the parts of speech a word can be, usually with these abbreviations: n=noun, v=verb, adj=adjective, adv=adverb, prep=preposition, conj=conjunction. The abbreviation appears before the meanings of the word with that part of speech. This dictionary entry shows that the word reason can be a noun (with four meanings) or a verb (with one meaning) A related adjective is reasonable.

reason1 [ri:zn] n 1 purpose, cause (for a belief or act): The reason for the error was clear. 2 an excuse: I didn’t have any reason for being late. 3 the ability to think clearly: She is normally a person of good reason. 4 good judgment: He has lost all reason! reason2 v to persuade or think in a sensible way: I tried to reason with him, but he won’t listen to me. reasonable adj having reason or sense: She is normally a very reasonable person, but today she’s upset.

1. Find these words in your dictionary. Write part of speech on the lines. Before each word – (n) for noun, (v) for verb, (adj) for adjective, and (adv) for adverb as in the example. Some words, in different contexts, can be more than one part of speech.

1. ___ terrible 6. ___water 12. ___ produce

2. ___ discipline 7. ___ expert 13. ___ enormous

3. ___ value 8. ___ commute 14. ___mystery

4. ___ original 9. ___farm 15. ___ individual

5. ___ pleasant 10. ___air 16. ___ trash

2. Complete this chart. Write the appropriate related words under each heading. (x means that no word corresponding to that part of speech exists.)

Nouns	Verbs	Adjectives	Adverbs
education	_____________	_____________	_____________
____________	x	____________	X
____________	believe	____________	____________
infection	___________	____________ ____________	_____________
origin	____________	____________	_____________
_____________	____________	respiratory	X
_____________	____________	____________	tightly

Language Functions Stating Likes, Dislikes and Preferences

The British are known to be reluctant to speak about themselves and their personal affairs. They protect their privacy and wish equally for other people to protect theirs. In fact, they have an overriding respect for the privacy of other people, a feeling like that, in the long run, people’s likes and dislikes are their own concern and nobody else’s. That’s why they generally avoid stating likes, dislikes and preferences in a straightforward way, but rather use polite, tentative and pleasant techniques instead. Of course, situations vary. In formal situations, the British use more direct ways of expressing likes, dislikes, preferences. Nevertheless notice: the grammatical negative “I don’t like …” sounds too strong and dogmatic. It isn’t used in a conversations as the natural negative by native speakers. You may say something else instead, e.g. I don’t particularly like …, etc. It’s important to choose appropriate ways of saying things according to the situation you’re in, the relationships you have with the people you’re talking to; the mood of the people you are talking to. Here are some helpful ways you can do that.

Asking about Likes	Expressing Likes	Expressing Dislikes
Formal
Don’t you find it exciting / enjoyable? May I ask you if you are fond of …?	I’m really very fond of it. It is one of my favourite pastimes. Yes, I never get tired of …	I (rather) dislike … I must say, I’m not too fond of … I don’t really like …
Neutral
Do you /don’t you like / enjoy / love / care for / adore …? How do you like …? Are you fond of / keen on / happy with …?	Yes, very much indeed. I really like / do like … I’m very fond of … I’m very keen on …	I’m afraid, I don’t really / quite / particularly like … Not at all. I don’t care for it. I’ve never liked …
Informal
Don’t you love …? Do you like …? Do you fancy …?	It’s really great! There’s nothing I enjoy more than … I’m absolutely wild about it (mad on / about it).	No, I don’t like / dislike … I can’t bear / stand … I hate / detest / loathe …

Preferences is liking one thing better than another. There are quite a few expressions of asking for and stating preferences in English. They may be divided into formal, i.e. those used when talking to people formally and those used with friends. Here are some helpful phrases you can use to express preferences:

Asking for Preferences	Stating Preferences	Stating Lack of Preferences
Formal
What would you prefer, to … or to …? Would you like to …? Which do you prefer / like, …?	I prefer … I’d prefer … I tend to prefer / to be rather more interested in …	I haven’t (got) any particular preference. I can’t say I prefer … Well, I’m not at all that keen, actually … I must say both sound equally to me.
Neutral
Would you like …? Which do you like better …?	I prefer / I’d prefer … I like … best / better. No, thank you. I’d rather not. My favourite … It depends.	I like them both / all. Oh, I don’t mind. It’s all the same to me. I leave it to you to decide. I’ll go along with what you decide / suggest.
Informal
Do you feel like …? D’you fancy …?	I like … better. I’d rather / sooner … Yes, sure. It’s better.	It’s up to you (to decide). Oh, I’m easy. I’ll do whatever you decide / suggest.