Question

A word can mean different things in different contexts. Look at these three sentences:

• The students are taught to respect different cultures.

• The school is organising a cultural show.

• His voice is cultured.

In the first sentence, ‘culture’ (noun) means way of life; in the second, ‘cultural’ (adjective) means connected with art, literature and music; and in the third, ‘cultured’ (verb) means sophisticated, well mannered. Usually a dictionary helps you identify the right meaning by giving you signposts.

Look at the dictionary entry on ‘culture’ from Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2005.

(Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, synonyms, etc. are signposts which help you locate the right meaning and usage, and give information about the part of speech that the word is.)

Look up the dictionary entries for the words sympathy, familiarity, comfort, care, and surprise. Use the information given in the dictionary and complete the table.

Noun	Adjective	Adverb	Verb	Meaning
sympathy
familiarity
comfort
care
surprise

Answer 1

Noun	Adjective	Adverb	Verb	Meaning
sympathy	sympathetic	sympathetically	sympathize	feeling of pity for others in their misfortune
familiarity	familiar	familiarity	familiarize	having close acquaintance with someone or something
comfort	comfortable	comfortably	comfort	a state of physical ease
care	careful	carefully	care	feeling of concern or caution for someone or something
surprise	surprising	surprisingly	surprise	astonishment at an unexpected event