Example sentences in dictionaries: More important than definitions(2)
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One more example
We have said that example sentences give important grammar/usage information and program your brain to produce its own sentences. Let's see one more example of how this works.
Suppose we look up the word shroud in a dictionary and find this definition:
[Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture]
Great, so now we know what shroud means. It means "to cover and hide". We even know that we usually use shroud in the passive voice with the preposition in. But can we really use the word shroud, i.e. can we make our own sentences with it?
For example, you could say "I was hidden in the corner" — but would it be OK to say "I was shrouded in the corner"? Or, you could say that "The street was covered in darkness" — but could you say "The street was shrouded in darkness" instead?
Well, we don't know that. All we know is, shroud is probably NOT used in the same way as cover and hide, but the definition does not say in what situations (contexts) it IS used. So after seeing the definition, we know what shroud means, but we still can't do anything useful with it.
Now let's read the definition with example sentences:
http://www.antimoon.com/how/shroud-ex.gif
What do these examples tell us? They tell us many things:
ⓐWe usually say that something is shrouded in something, and not, for example, that something shrouds something. (We could have learned this from the definition, which says (in) usually pass., but examples are nicer than codes.)
ⓑBoth physical (hills) and nonphysical (affair) things can be shrouded in something.
ⓒThings can be shrouded in mist or shrouded in mystery. "Shrouded in the corner" will probably sound strange to native speakers.
With this information, you are finally prepared to use the word shroud in speaking or writing. For example, you can imitate the example sentences and say "The negotiations are shrouded in mystery" or "The street was shrouded in fog". This imitation can happen consciously (if you look at the examples while writing your own sentence) or in the magical "learning by input" way (if, say, in a week, you're writing a composition and the phrase "shrouded in something" appears in your head because you have seen the phrase before in the example sentences).
Final advice
First, make sure your dictionary has lots of example sentences. Better yet, use two or more dictionaries.
The next time you look up a word in a dictionary, and you want to use that word in your own speech or writing, concentrate on the example sentences — maybe even try to memorize them. You will not only learn incredibly useful information on the word's usage; you will program your brain to produce similar sentences. You'll be surprised at how much your brain can do if you feed it with enough input.
<또 다른 예 >
지금까지 사전의 예문이 중요한 문법/용법을 가르쳐주고, 나중에 직접 문장을 만들 때도 도움을 준다는 사실을 설명했습니다. 실제로 어떻게 예문을 활용하는지 예를 하나 더 들어보겠습니다.
shroud라는 단어를 찾는다고 합시다.
shroud [(in) usually pass.] to cover and hide
[Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture]
자, 이제 shroud의 뜻을 파악했습니다. "감추거나 숨다"라고 하네요. 그리고 주로 수동형으로 전치사 in과 함께 쓴다는 것까지 알았습니다. 하지만, 이 정보만으로 shroud를 넣어 직접 문장을 만들 수 있겠습니까?
예를 들어, "I was hidden in the corner"라는 문장이 맞는다는 건 알지만, "I was shrouded in the corner"라는 문장은 올바를까요? 아니면, "The street was covered in darkness"라는 문장이 맞는다는 건 알지만, "The street was shrouded in darkness"라는 문장은 올바를까요?
아직까진 알 수 없습니다. 아마도 cover나 hide와는 쓰임이 다를 것 같지만, 사전 정의만으로는 어떤 상황(맥락)에서 사용하는지는 모릅니다. 뜻만 알아서는 실제로 아무런 일도 할 수 없습니다.
그럼 예문과 함께 살펴봅시다.
shroud [(in) usually pass.] to cover and hide; "The hills were shrouded in mist. The whole affair was shrouded in mystery."
이 예문으로 무엇을 알 수 있을까요? 많은 것을 알 수 있습니다:
*sth is shrouded in sth라고 쓰지, sth shrouds sth라고 쓰지는 않네요. (이건 "(in) usually pass"라는 표시를 보고도 알 수 있지만, 예문으로 확인하는 것이 더 직접적으로 느껴지죠)
*물질(hills)과 비물질(affair) 모두에 'be shrouded in'을 쓸 수 있습니다.
*감추는 주체가 안개나 미스터리입니다. "Shrouded in the corner"라고 하면 원어민한테 이상하게 들릴 수 있겠네요.
이 정도 정보는 있어야, 실제 말과 글에서 shroud란 단어를 사용할 준비가 된 겁니다. 예를 들어, 예문을 모방해서 "The negotiations are shrouded in mystery"나 "The street was shrouded in fog"라고 쓸 수 있는 거지요. 이런 모방은 의식적으로 이루어질 수도 있고(문장을 만들다가 사전을 찾아서 예문을 확인했을 때), "입력을 통한 습득"을 통해 마법같이 이루어질 수도 있습니다(작문 숙제를 하다가, 예전에 봤던 "shrouded in something"이라는 표현이 불현듯 떠오르는 때).
< 마치는 조언 >
1-먼저, 예문이 풍부한 사전이 필요하겠죠. 사전을 두 개 이상 보는 것도 좋은 방법입니다.
2-사전에서 찾은 단어를 실제로 직접 사용해보고 싶다면, 예문에 특별히 집중하세요. 나아가 외워도 보세요. 단어의 용법에 대한 귀중한 정보를 얻는 것뿐만 아니라, 우리의 머리가 비슷한 문장을 만들어 내는데도 도움을 줍니다. 충분한 입력이 주어진다면, 우리의 두뇌는 놀랄만한 일을 할 수 있습니다.
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