Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks and Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Tasks
- Introductory unit
- 1 Language standards and rules
- 2 Varieties of English
- 3 Types of grammar
- 4 Language systems and syllabuses
- 5 Forms and functions
- 6 An introduction to phonology
- 7 The consonants
- 8 The vowels
- 9 Rhythm and connected speech
- 10 Sentence stress and intonation
- 11 Word formation, spelling and word stress
- 12 Lexical meaning
- 13 Word classes and phrases
- 14 Sentence structure: the simple sentence
- 15 Sentence structure: the complex sentence
- 16 Negatives and questions
- 17 The verb phrase
- 18 Time and tense
- 19 Aspect: progressive
- 20 Aspect: perfect
- 21 Modality
- 22 Futurity
- 23 Hypothetical meaning and conditionals
- 24 The noun phrase
- 25 Determiners
- 26 Adjectives and adverbs
- 27 Prepositions and phrasal verbs
- 28 Cohesion
- 29 Texts
- 30 Conversation
- Key and commentaries
- Introductory unit
- 1 Language standards and rules
- 2 Varieties of English
- 3 Types of grammar
- 4 Language systems and syllabuses
- 5 Forms and functions
- 6 An introduction to phonology
- 7 The consonants
- 8 The vowels
- 9 Rhythm and connected speech
- 10 Sentence stress and intonation
- 11 Word formation, spelling and word stress
- 12 Lexical meaning
- 13 Word classes and phrases
- 14 Sentence structure: the simple sentence
- 15 Sentence structure: the complex sentence
- 16 Negatives and questions
- 17 The verb phrase
- 18 Time and tense
- 19 Aspect: progressive
- 20 Aspect: perfect
- 21 Modality
- 22 Futurity
- 23 Hypothetical meaning and conditionals
- 24 The noun phrase
- 25 Determiners
- 26 Adjectives and adverbs
- 27 Prepositions and phrasal verbs
- 28 Cohesion
- 29 Texts
- 30 Conversation
- References
- Index
12 - Lexical meaning
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 February 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Thanks and Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Tasks
- Introductory unit
- 1 Language standards and rules
- 2 Varieties of English
- 3 Types of grammar
- 4 Language systems and syllabuses
- 5 Forms and functions
- 6 An introduction to phonology
- 7 The consonants
- 8 The vowels
- 9 Rhythm and connected speech
- 10 Sentence stress and intonation
- 11 Word formation, spelling and word stress
- 12 Lexical meaning
- 13 Word classes and phrases
- 14 Sentence structure: the simple sentence
- 15 Sentence structure: the complex sentence
- 16 Negatives and questions
- 17 The verb phrase
- 18 Time and tense
- 19 Aspect: progressive
- 20 Aspect: perfect
- 21 Modality
- 22 Futurity
- 23 Hypothetical meaning and conditionals
- 24 The noun phrase
- 25 Determiners
- 26 Adjectives and adverbs
- 27 Prepositions and phrasal verbs
- 28 Cohesion
- 29 Texts
- 30 Conversation
- Key and commentaries
- Introductory unit
- 1 Language standards and rules
- 2 Varieties of English
- 3 Types of grammar
- 4 Language systems and syllabuses
- 5 Forms and functions
- 6 An introduction to phonology
- 7 The consonants
- 8 The vowels
- 9 Rhythm and connected speech
- 10 Sentence stress and intonation
- 11 Word formation, spelling and word stress
- 12 Lexical meaning
- 13 Word classes and phrases
- 14 Sentence structure: the simple sentence
- 15 Sentence structure: the complex sentence
- 16 Negatives and questions
- 17 The verb phrase
- 18 Time and tense
- 19 Aspect: progressive
- 20 Aspect: perfect
- 21 Modality
- 22 Futurity
- 23 Hypothetical meaning and conditionals
- 24 The noun phrase
- 25 Determiners
- 26 Adjectives and adverbs
- 27 Prepositions and phrasal verbs
- 28 Cohesion
- 29 Texts
- 30 Conversation
- References
- Index
Summary
1 The corrections to the non-standard forms and their explanations are as follows:
a trees, with: Wrong forms. These are probably spelling mistakes rather than confusion between similar words of different meanings.
b small: Wrong choice of word, no doubt due to an overlap in meaning.
c very good news: Wrong form. The learner is not aware that news is one of a small set of words (like measles and species) that have singular meaning but plural form.
d hard: The learner has overgeneralized the -ly adverb suffix: hard is both adjective and adverb.
e She made films like ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes’: This is a case of the wrong words. The error probably derives from a mistranslation. The use of did for made is a common mistake where the learner’s own language may use only one verb for both sets of meanings.
f a famous scientist: Notorious is the wrong word. The meaning is roughly the same as famous but it has negative connotations. Cientific is a case of the wrong form, both in terms of spelling and part of speech.
g fed on: This is a case of the wrong form of the word, if we take a word’s form to include its associated prepositions. To feed insects and to feed on insects convey two distinct ideas.
h quit: This is a case of the wrong word: you get rid of things you do not like, but you quit your job.
i obliged/lessened (or, more formally, abated): wrong form of the word (in the case of obliged) and wrong word: supplies, resources, numbers dwindle, but rain tends to lessen, die out, abate, etc.
2 b homonyms; c antonyms; d polysemes – although there is a difference in meaning, they are related since they share the meaning ‘series of things that are linked in some way’; e co-hyponyms – kinds of furniture; f polysemes; g antonyms; h synonyms; i hyponymy: snake is the superordinate term for swamp adder; j polysemes.
3 The dictionary categorises the words as:
deceased: formal; defunct: formal; lifeless: [not marked]; to croak: old fashioned slang; to depart this life: polite word/phrase; to expire: literary; to pass away: polite word/phrase; to perish: [not marked]; to pop off: humorous.
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- Information
- About LanguageTasks for Teachers of English, pp. 254 - 257Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017