Guided notes and paired practice: I created this to go with the dictionary lesson.

Como utilizar un diccionario

Dictionaries are very useful tools for foreign language students. They give
us instant access to vocabulary words and the various contexts in which
they are used. Using a dictionary, though, is a skill. In order to properly use
a dictionary, we must have at least a basic understanding of the symbols
they use and the different parts of speech. Once we master these skills, we
will end up better readers and writers in Spanish!

Symbols and what they mean:

n. _________noun___________ : _____________person, place, thing,

idea______________

nm. _____masculine noun_____ : __________any noun which takes “el” or

“los”__________

nf. ______ feminine noun ______ : _________ any noun which takes “la” or

“las”___________

v. __________verb____________ : _action word (what someone/thing is doing in

a sentence)

vtr. _____transitive verb________:_can have a direct object (just recognize

that this is a verb!)

vi. _____ intransitive verb_______: can’t have a dir. object (just recognize that

this is a verb!)_

adv. ________adverb__________:____describes a verb or adjective, usually

ends in -ly_____
adj. _______adjective__________:______________describes a

noun____________________

prep. _____preposition_________:______location words like “in” “of” “from”

“under”______

m. _______masculine__________:________nouns and adjectives can be

masculine________

f. _________feminine__________:________ nouns and adjectives can be

feminine_________

pl. ________plural_____________:_______________more than one

____________________

pn. ______pronoun___________ : _________replaces a noun (he, she, it,

etc.)____________

~ _________________replaces the word when using it in an expression

_________________

Context

Words have context in a sentence. This means that one word may mean

many different things, but when looking at the sentence, you can figure out

which meaning (context) is being used. Sometimes words are used in

idiomatic expressions. Idiomatic expressions are phrases that do not

translate literally from one language to the next (for instance, in English we

say “to be hungry,” but in Spanish we say “tener hambre,” which means “to

have hunger.”) Also, if we look up “medicine” in the dictionary, we have an

entry for the actual field of medicine (la medicina) and one for the type that

is given to patients (el medicamento). This is why it is imperative to look at

the whole sentence before we go looking up a word.

Making adjectives agree and conjugating verbs

• When you look up an adjective in the dictionary, you will find its

masculine singular form. If the adjective is describing a feminine

and/or plural noun, you must change it to make it agree in gender and

number!

• When you look up a verb you will find the infinitive form (not

conjugated, ends in –ar, -ir, or –er in Spanish and starts with “to” in

English). If the verb needs to be conjugated in the context of the

sentence, you must do so! Wordreference.com has a great verb

conjugator!

Paired Practice

With a partner, use a dictionary to determine the meaning in Spanish of the

underlined words in the sentence.

1. Carla leaves her book in class. deja

2. In autumn, the leaves fall from the trees. hoja

 3. The patient’s back hurts. espalda

4. Carlos came back home after school. regresó (came back)

5. She got a flat in New York City. apartamento

6. The land in the country was flat. plano

Now find the English meaning of these Spanish words! Use the surrounding

words as clues!

1. ¿Estás listo para el exámen? ready

2. Conozco a un hombre muy listo. clever

3. Listo la tarea en la pizarra. I list

4. El verano es mi estación favorita. season

5. Te esperaré a la estación de tren. station

6. Saca una hoja de papel, por favor. sheet (of paper)

7. En el otoño, las hojas se caen de los árboles. leaves