Understanding unknown words

When you read an English language text you may not know the meaning of all of the words. If this happens, you should try to guess the meaning of unknown words from their context. Often an approximate understanding of a word is enough to help you answer a question.

Strategies for understanding unknown words

You can use clues from the text to help you to guess the meaning of a new word.

Look at the word form: Is the word a noun, verb, or an adjective? Identifying the word form may help you to choose the correct word for your answer.
Look at the parts of the word. For example, does it have a prefix or suffix that might indicate its meaning?
Look at the whole sentence that the word is in. Sometimes the sentence will explain the word.
Look for signpost language around the unknown word. Understanding the meaning of words such as: however, in addition, because, as a result … may help you to guess correctly the meaning of unknown words.

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