Overview

Much the same as the United States is a melting pot of cultures, American English is a melting pot of languages. Influences on American English come from many sources, such as French, Spanish, African, German, Yiddish, and Indian, to name just a few.

Sometimes knowing the origin of a word will help you figure out its meaning, but if you don't happen to know it, there are several other ways to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word. One way is to use context clues from the words and sentences around the unfamiliar word. Another way is to look at the parts of the word: the root, prefix, and suffix. The root is the main part. Prefixes and suffixes are added to the beginning and ending of roots. Knowing the meanings of common roots, prefixes, and suffixes can help you determine a word's meaning.

Knowing what words mean is just the beginning. Knowing how to use words in your writing is the next step. You can use synonyms and antonyms to make your writing more interesting and meaningful. Synonyms are words that have similar meanings. Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.

English contains some tricky words. Pairs of words that are spelled alike or that sound alike are called homonyms. Sometimes you may have to stop and think about which word, or which meaning, a writer is using.

Sometimes, English spellings can seem strange. For most spellings, though, there are standard rules to follow, such as put i before e except after c. Understand, though, that there are almost always exceptions to the rules. Knowing these rules will make writing much easier.