1. Context Clues (Vocabulary Skills)
Sandra Sembel
Uphenglishclasses.weebly.com

2. Learning Targets
Context Clues
What?
Why?
How?

3. What?
Word
Surrounding text
text
Clues (Pointers) in the surrounding text that can help us to guess the meaning of a word in a sentence
text
text
text
Word
text
text
text

4. Context Clues: How? Definition Examples Explanations Synonyms Antonyms
Indirect clues

5. 1. Definition Clues Formal Definition Punctuation
Formal Definition is normally introduced by words/phrases such as:
Is/are …
that is …
Or …
Means …
i.e
Definitions with punctuation use:
Parenthesis
Dash
commas

6. 1. Formal Definitions
Some spiders spin silk with tiny organs called spinnerets
Hyperopia or far sightedness occurs because there is a defect in vision in which parallel rays come to focus behind the retina.

7. 2. Definitions with Punctuations
Parenthesis  ( )
Jane’s father who was a haberdasher (a men’s shop keeper) started his own business after he resigned from the military.
Dash  —
Tom’s father was a haberdasher—a men’s shop keeper.
Commas  ,
Tom’s father was a haberdasher, a men’s shop keeper.

8. 2. Examples Look for examples of the word in the sentence e.g.
The English language has lots of homophones, such as two/too, bear/bare, him/hymn, and soar/sore.

9. 3. Explanation
Katie is always infallible in math class because she had never gotten a problem wrong.
Never wrong
Never right
Wrong
Incorrect

10. 4. Synonym
Look for a word or phrase in another part of the sentence that has a similar meaning to the word you don’t know. For example: Gary was astonished when he won the lottery, and James was just as surprised.

11. 5. Antonyms
Look for word or phrase in another part of the sentence that has the opposite meaning of the word you don’t know.
e.g.
Tom was anxious about the test, but Tina was calm.
Jason was told to be respectful to his teachers; however, he is often insolent.

12. 6. Indirect Clues (Inference)
Analyze the language around the unfamiliar word.
e.g.
The professor was a favorite among the students at the college. His sagacity was helpful to them as they pursued their degrees. The professor was known to make the lectures interesting by using his experience, insight, and common sense.

13. Try this!

14. Types of Context clues
Sentences
Definition
Haberdashery, a place that sells man’s clothing, is becoming more common today.
Example
In that shop you can find haberdashery items, such as ties, cuff links, hat, shirt, or pants for men.
Synonym
People go to a special shop for menswear or haberdashery.
Antonym
Peter wanted to go to the haberdashery, while Ann wanted to shop at a boutique.
Indirect Clues (Inference)
Peter went to the haberdashery to buy a male suit to wear on his uncle’s wedding.