Context of a passage/sentence plays a vital role in comprehending an unfamiliar word. In this presentation, I will show you how you can 'guess' the meaning of a word from its context.

1. UNDERSTANDING WORDS
FROM CONTEXT
Dr M. S. Xavier Pradheep Singh
Assistant Professor, Department of English,
St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous)

2. Objective
Knowing how to understand the
meaning of unknown and multiple-
meaning words by using context
clues

3. What are contextual clues?
 When attempting to understand the
meaning of a new word, it is often useful to
look at what comes before and after
that word.
 These surrounding words can give
readers helpful context clues about the
meaning and structure of the new
words.

4. Read the following sentence
• The Red Indian tribes cut their boats out
of tree trunks using an adze.
• Try to draw an adze using the information
given in the sentence.

6. Complete the following statements:
An adze is a kind of ______________. It
is similar to a(n) ___________ and can be
used for _________________.

7. Complete the following statements:
An adze is a kind of __a tool___. It is
similar to a(n) __axe___ and can be used
for __cutting__.

12. It is possible
to guess the meaning
of a word
from the context.

13. Why should we learn contextual clues?
• Reading comprehension involves using the
other words in a sentence to
understand an unknown word.
• An author often includes hints or clues
to help the reader expand vocabulary and
grasp the meaning of the passage.
• Skill in using context clues enables a
reader to comprehend advance texts.

14. Six common types of context clues
• Root word and affix:
– Prefixes, suffixes and roots of words are
sometimes helpful to understand the
meaning.
– People who study birds are experts in
ornithology.

15. Six common types of context clues
• Contrast:
– Sometimes a word or phrase is clarified by the
presentation of the opposite meaning
somewhere close to its use.
– Unlike mammals, birds incubate their
eggs outside their bodies.

16. Six common types of context clues
• Logic:
– The meaning of an unfamiliar word can be
guessed from the description of a situation.
– Birds are always on the lookout for
predators that might harm their young.

17. Six common types of context clues
• Definition:
– Sometimes a word's or phrase's meaning is
explained immediately after its use
– Frugivorous birds prefer eating fruit to
any other kind of food.

18. Six common types of context clues
• Example or illustration:
– Sometimes a hard word or phrase is said in a
simple way
– Some birds like to build their nests in
inconspicuous spots — high up in the
tops of trees, well hidden by leaves.

19. Six common types of context clues
• Grammar:
– Sometimes, the grammatical structure of a
sentence or a phrase explains its meaning.
– Many birds migrate twice each year.

20. Review
• Read the following passage and try to
guess the meaning of difficult words from
the context.

21. A country girl was walking along the snerd with a
roggle of milk on her head. She began saying to
herself, ‘The money I’ll get for this milk will allow
me to increase my trund of eggs to three
hundred. These eggs will produce the same number
of chickens, and I’ll be able to sell them for a large
wunk of money. Before long, I’ll have enough
money to live a rich and fallentious life. All the
young men will want to marry me. But I will refuse
them all with a ribble of the head – like this…’ And
as she ribbled her head, the roggle fell to the
ground and all the milk ran in a white stream along
the snerd, carrying her plans with it.

22. Thank you