Exercise 9*: Answer these questions by referring to the extra sections.

1. What are homographs? (p.xii)
2. Where would you find the plural form of a word? (p. xiv)
3. What are register labels? How many are there? What is the difference between slang and coarse slang? (p. xvi)
4. What are cross-references? What do “opp”, “=”, and “compare” mean?
5. When should you use an exclamation mark (!)?
6. What is the spelling rule for “i before e”?
7. Who was Canada’s only woman Prime Minister? How long was she in office?
8. What unit is used to measure pressure?
9. If someone says the temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit, what is the temperature in Celsius?
10. How many letters are there in the Arabic alphabet?

HOW DO I FIND THE CORRECT SPELLING OF A WORD?

First, say the word aloud. Perhaps it’s “believe”. Think about the first sound. It’s a “b” sound so you turn to the beginning of the “B” section of the dictionary. Now listen to the second sound. It sounds like a short “u”, so turn to the “bu” section. The third sound is an “L”. So you look through the ”bul” or “bulle” section, but you can’t find anything that looks right. Obviously, the second letter is not a “u”. Can you think of another vowel that makes a similar sound. What about the “e” in “carpenter”? Now try the “bel” section. After looking through this section you find “believe”. It can be a long process, but the more you practice the better you will become.