Using New Words in Your Own Sentences

You don't really own a new word until you use it yourself. After you learn a word, try it in a sentence about your own life. Say you learn 'exhausted', which means very, very tired. You might say, 'I was exhausted after soccer practice.

' A good sentence shows the meaning. 'I am exhausted' is okay, but 'I was so exhausted that I fell asleep at dinner' shows exactly what the word means.

Try to use each new word three times in one day: once talking, once writing, once explaining it to someone.

• 1Use a new word to make it yours.
• 2A good sentence shows the word's meaning.
• 3Try it three times in one day.