Definitions

Reason

A definition explains the meaning of a word. Imagine, you cannot remember a certain word or you use a word that another person does not know. What can you do? Exactly, you can explain what you mean. So it is in fact really handy to know a bit about definitions.

How can I define a word?

Describe (the most common form of definitions): Think of a more general word and then specify how this term is different from other terms that belong to this group. Example: dog; A more general term? – animal. And how are dogs different from other animals? They bark. So our definition could be:
A dog is an animal that barks.

Name a few examples: Think of typical examples. Example: month; Can you think of any examples for months? – e.g. January, May, December. So our definition could be:
January, May and December are months.

Name the components: Think of the components the term consists of. Example: Irish coffee; What does an Irish Coffee consist of? – coffee, whiskey and sugar. So our definition could be:
An Irish coffee consists of coffee, whiskey and sugar.

Important Grammar Aspects

The tense you usually use for definitions is the simple present (facts in the present). To describe words, relative clauses are quite useful.

Exercises on Definitions

More Exercises on Definitions

Changed: 10th Dec 2010 19:36

URL: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/writing/definitions