Lesson 1 of 125 min read
Learn Words in Context
Recognising a translation is a start. To use a word in PTE, you also need its meaning in this sentence, its grammar and a natural partner. Begin with a small, useful record.
Understand the pattern
Read this sentence: The library extended its opening hours during exam week. Extended means made longer here. It does not mean made physically bigger, although extend can have that meaning elsewhere. The object, opening hours, tells you which sense is relevant. Record the sentence before reducing the word to a definition.
Make a word record with five parts: a short meaning, the word class, a useful phrase, pronunciation and your own example. For extend, a useful record is verb; make longer; extend a deadline; audio checked; The manager extended our deadline until Friday. A translation can help you understand, but cannot supply the English sentence pattern.
Choose words you need to understand a passage or express an idea, rather than collecting every unfamiliar word. A small set that you can retrieve is more usable than a long list you only reread. This course develops those foundations; the Collocations Kit then practises combinations in greater depth.
Language in context
| Word or pattern | Meaning or use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| extend a deadline | Allow more time | The tutor extended the deadline by two days. |
| available | Ready or possible to use | A quiet room is available after lunch. |
| require something | Need something | The application requires a signature. |
| temporary | Lasting for a limited time | The office has a temporary entrance. |
Worked example
Reason through the choice
The clinic has limited capacity, so appointments must be booked early. Does capacity mean ability to hold or serve people, or a personal opinion?
Answer: The amount the clinic can accommodate or serve.
The link between limited capacity and early booking points to a restriction on how many people can be seen. Record limited capacity as a phrase. Knowing only that capacity is a noun would not settle its meaning.
Try it yourself
Write your answers before opening the key. For open responses, the suggested answer is one possible version; keep the meaning and check the target pattern.
- The train service resumed after the repair. Explain resumed in plain English.
- Choose the useful record: available = translation only; or available = adjective, ready to use, a room is available.
- Write a sentence using extend a deadline and say how much extra time is given.
Check answers and explanations
1. Started again. After the repair suggests that the service had stopped. The time relationship helps identify the meaning.
2. The second record. It shows both meaning and sentence behaviour, so you can reuse the word.
3. The lecturer extended the deadline by one week. By gives the amount of extra time; until Friday would give the new endpoint.
Use it in your PTE preparation
PTE Academic
When reading an academic passage, choose one word that carries the argument and record the sentence around it. Explain how its meaning supports the main point. You do not need to turn every technical term into active speaking vocabulary.
PTE Core
Use notices, appointment messages and workplace emails as study material. Record phrases that let you explain a problem or request a change, such as a temporary closure or extend a deadline. Keep the situation alongside the phrase.
Recall and transfer
Close this lesson. Explain temporary and available, then produce a new sentence with require. If you can recognise a word but cannot make a sentence, revisit its grammar and example. Your first review list should contain the gaps you actually found.