reading a thesaurus or a dictionary does that improve your v

MisterE,

Take a look at some of the sites in this list. Looks like there are quite a few you'd find of help.

http://search.about.com/fullsearch.htm?terms=improving%20vocabulary

Like learning to feel more comfortable talking with girls, expanding your vocabulary takes practice. Put what you learn to use in your every day life so it will be second nature to you.

thank you kindlyy

It might or might not improve your vocabulary -- but for sure it will make your time on the pot seem much shorter.

You gotta figure a better way to improve your vocabulary -- although I must admit that I have a dictionary in both my bathrooms.

hahah i see so what do you suggest?

I don't know about reading a dictionary or thesaurus. Depends on how you read them, I suppose. Useful for crosswords! (is this why they're in Frank's bathrooms!)

How about simply reading, with a dictionary to hand.
Try reading the newpapers and look up any words you don't understand.

If that seems too simple, try something a bit more complicated, say Time, where there is better language, and also discussion of topics.

When you look up a word, go to the trouble of writing it down, noting it's spelling and context, and try using it in another sentence.

Reading anything at all, with a dictionary to check unknown words, is probably the easiest, and you should start to get a better vocab. There's not much use in learning new words if you can't use them. And you look a right wanker if you just drop big words into a conversation to impress / confuse.

If Frank is any proof of vocabulary improvement by having a dictionary in both pot rooms, it's my considered opinion that it works. He probably reads a great deal of Shakespeare and Hemingway, because he has the skill of the classics and the untamed (compliments). The best way to increase your vocabulary is by writing one word on one of those index cards from the dictionary that is foreign to you with the definition on the other side, and memorize that word for the day. Do that every day. On the weekend, go over the five words you memorized, and see if you remember the definitions.

Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read. Read, read, read.

Reading isn't a stroll through the sports pages, comic section, or even the latest Daniell Steel pot broiler. Reading demands more of you than a popular sitcom. Choose what you read carefully, and then read it carefully. What does each sentence mean? How do the words chosen contribute to the clarity and meaning of the sentence? Why was one word chosen when there are probably a half-dozen others that might serve. From every thing that you read, you should carry away some small nugget of learning. Think of those little factoids as bricks. Unless you do something with them they will just lie there in a jumble. Useless. Worse than useless because you may stub your toe and fall flat on your face onto the hard ground of ignorance. Take each of those precious bricks that come to you and place them carefully into the walls of the structure you are building. That building is called education. Some folks are terrible architects and as a result they end up with some pitiful little shack that shakes every time a freight train rumbles by. If you are wise and industrious, you might build a castle that can withstand every storm and earthquake. You get to choose. Later you may brag, but please don't whine.

thanks asherman u the man thanks a lot man that helped me a lot anything else? anyone?

MisterEThoughts

Next step, of course, is for you to consider some punctuation. This'll make it easier for the rest of us to read what you have to say. :wink:

I think Ashman has covered all the bases; READ, READ, READ, READ, then more of the same. That should also help with learning grammar!

WARNING
Okay, this will be a shameless plug for my industry and a reiteration of what has been posted.

READ, Read, READ, Read!

Get a Library Card! Then READ some more.

The more you read the better and faster you are at it.

Why should you trust me? I have been using the public libraries in America since I was a child. I have worked in a library for 15 years. I have watched immigrants learn english (not easy, our language is very hard).

Anyone can improve their vocabulary. And it is very true that asking why someone used a particular word instead of another, improves your vocabulary. Always question our language, it keeps your mind sharp.

Will reading a dictionary or thesaurus help? Yes. I have to write a lot at work (instructions, letters, blah, blah, blah) and I always look for the right word to convey my message. Words are there for us to use. You should be able to convey a feeling with words. All good writers can do this.

May I ask why you want to improve your vocabulary? I think everyone should aspire to that. However, don't get me wrong, I don't believe we all should speak proper english. That would be so booring. Words should be used to make life fun, know what I mean dude?

yea well i dunno i love english and i write a lot too poetry rap and such things as i named i just wnt to be able to speak more clearly and more openly also i would like to have a better communication skill with vocab and well that helps.

english is the 2nd hardest language in this world to learn, atm I am learning spanish I know italian and german as well as some portuguese. I think even though reading a dictionary or thesaurus may help reading a good book may help more because you will remember more through association. Using a dictionary or thesaurus at the right time is a better idea as you are more likely to remember your newly learned words if you learn them 1-2 at a time instead of actually reading a thesaurus.

ahh i see maybe you write any suggestions what books to read to enrich the vocab?

okay dude, I checked out your website, cool. Here is probably the best advice I could give anyone. Speak from the heart.

You write from the heart, speak from from the heart. Most people are afraid to express their opinion, they are afraid that others will make them feel bad or stupid for it. Screw others, it's your opinion and what you feel. Be true to you.

For books I would suggest:
There is a book called Desk Companion, it has no author just an editor, it should contain a little of everything, grammar, punctuation, etc.

There is a complex book called Xerox Publishing Standards, go to the library for this one, it costs big $$ to buy. It gives some very useful information for editing. It's something good to look at. But won't be the most help.

I would also suggest a basic english book on the parts of speach. Go to the young adult section of the library. This is the best place to get a basic book, the stuff in the adult collection will over explain things to the point of confusion and frustration. Although the young adult collection is for teens I find it very useful to explain a simple concept. No one needs to read 3 chapters on what a verb is, no one really cares that much.

Vocabulary gets easier when you read all of the things around you. Signs, the cereal box, foriegn movies with subtitles, flyers, newspapers, brochures, etc. Once you absorb all of the words around you, you will begin to delete some of those words from your vocabulary and add the words that become the most effective expression of yourself.

You can say the same thing many ways:

Man, my dogs are throbbing.
My pedes are in distress.

or simply said, my feet hurt.

When you look for the options on how you want to say something you improve your vocabulary.

good luck.

thanks a lot for that help thanks

another plea for punctuation! ...,,, It's there to make your statements easier to read. String of consciousness stuff is only good if you're James Joyce (and then....?)

yea, I understand