Chapter Two: The study of the lexical items in the dictionaries

The aim of the second chapter is to list the lexical items that have been investigated on the basis of the dictionaries detailed below, and introduce the relevant research. At first happen and seven lexical items have been selected, listed in the Roget’s Thesaurus Dictionary and the Dictionary of Hungarian and English Synonyms as synonym forms of happen. They all belong to the same synonymous word group - happen and its synonyms. The research was to look up the lexical items - happen, befall, occur, take place, eventuate, pass, go on and fall - in five different monolingual dictionaries, then compare their description with the results. The aim of the study was to demonstrate how these lexical items occur in the dictionaries. Those meanings or properties of the words that are dissimilar in the dictionaries are also going to be represented. The words were studied in the dictionaries on the basis of their meaning, grammatical features and collocations. On the basis of the analysis some similarities and differences have been established between the dictionaries. They will be referred to with the help of the following abbreviations:

OALDCE - Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 2005.
LASDE - Longman Active Study Dictionary of English, 1991.
OPDTWG - Oxford Paperback Dictionary Thesaurus & Wordpower Guide, 1992.
LDCE - Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2005.
MEDAL - Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2002.
As a result of their comparison, a conclusion could be drawn in the final section about which dictionaries may be more useful for the learner. To be able to obtain those differences, dictionaries of different levels of English and publication have been chosen to carry out the research.

2. 1. Happen

The first dictionary studied was the OALDCE. Four different meanings of happen are distinguished here being illustrated by the following examples:

To take place, especially without being planned: You’ll never guess what happened! Accidents like this happen all the time! Let’s see what happens next week! I’ll be there whatever happens. I don’t know how this happened.
To take place as the result of something: She pressed the button but nothing happened. What happens if nobody comes to the party? Just plug it in and see what happens.
To do or be something by chance: She happened to be out when we called. You don’t happen to know his name, do you? It happened that she was out when we called.
Used to tell somebody or something, especially when you are disagreeing with them or annoyed by what they have said: That happens to be my mother you’re talking about. (2005, p. 677)
Also, the OALDCE lists four further expressions that contain happen and are frequently used in everyday conversations. These are eloquent examples for words that happen occur with:

Anything can/might happen: used to say that is not possible to know what the result of something will be.
As it happens/happened: used when you say something that is surprising, or something connected with what somebody else has just said: I agree with you, as it happens. As it happens, I have a spare set of keys in my office.
It (just) so happens that: by chance: It just so happened they’d been invited, too.
These things happen: used to tell somebody not to worry about something they have done: ’Sorry. I’ve split the wine.’ ’Never mind! These things happen!’ (2005, p. 678)
The OALDCE presents two phrasal verbs of happen:

Happen on something: to find something by chance. (old-fashioned)
Happen to somebody/something: I hope nothing (= nothing unpleasant) has happened to him! It’s the best thing that has ever happened to him. What’s happened to your car? Do you know what happened to Gill Lovecy? (= have you any news about her?) (2005, p. 678)
The dictionary provides four variations of the meaning, four expressions and two phrasal verbs of the lexical item. Each one is illustrated by examples. The dictionary also presents words that happen collocates with. This is useful aid for the language learner to get to know the different meanings of the same lexical item that are often deteriorated from the normal use, and to see where the difference between them lies. By presenting the words in the collocations, the examples help the learner to gain a concept of the appropriate use of the word. The collocations are good illustrations for how the lexical item can be used in everyday communication. Besides, the dictionary also includes some information indicating the part of speech such as a “verb” or “phrasal verb”, grammar “infinitive”, style “old-fashioned”, and lists some words frequently used with happen “accident, event, shit, wait, etc” (2005, p. 678).

The second dictionary researched in a similar way is the LASDE. Three meanings of happen are distinguished here:

To take place: A funny thing happened yesterday. What will happen if your parents find out?
Happen to:
A phrase used to give force to what you are saying, when you are angry: That happens to be my bike you just knocked over!
Happen to someone/something: to take place and have an effect on somebody or something: She is very late. I hope nothing’s happened to her. (1991, p. 323)
In LASDE two further expressions frequently used with happen are listed:

“As it happens and it so happens that: a phrase used when what you are saying is slightly surprising, or when the thing mentioned is so by chance: As it happens, I still have the money. It so happened that we moved away from that area” (1991, p. 323). However, this dictionary includes a phrasal verb, too: “happen on something: to find something by chance” (1991, p. 323).

The LASDE similarly to OALDCE provides a great number of examples that are useful ways the language learner in interpreting lexical items, especially when the dictionary presents words in their collocations. Apart from these, the LASDE indicates the part of speech happen belongs to such as a “verb” or “phrasal verb”, too. The learner can obtain a lot of useful information about the lexical item, for instance, two synonyms of happen are listed here: “occur and take place” (1991, p. 323). The use of these synonymous lexical items is compared: “Events usually happen or (more formal) occur by accident: When did the explosion happen/occur? Events usually take place by arrangements: When will the wedding take place?” (1991, p. 323). Some useful advice for the use of happen is also provided: for example, “if you want to ask about a problem which someone has at the present moment, it is usually better not to use the word happen. Instead, ask: What’s the matter? What’s wrong? Is anything the matter?” (1991, p. 323). Also, additional abbreviations following the lexical item indicate style whether it is used in formal or informal situations (e.g. the case of occur).

The third dictionary studied was the OPDTWG. This dictionary contains only one meaning referring to happen: “Take place by chance or as a result of something” (1991, p. 408).

On the basis of the references the OPDTWG includes, this dictionary is poorer in information than OALDCE and LASDE. The part of speech is marked in OPDTWG, but there are no examples given that could illustrate the use of the item and provide help for the language learner to grasp the proper use of the word. However, the origin of the word is identified as “Old Norse” in this dictionary. Out of the five dictionaries OPDTWG is the only one where a reference to the word origin is found. No expressions with happen are listed. No examples illustrating collocations of happen occur in OPDTWG. However, there are two phrasal verbs listed with one example referring to each: “Happen on: come across by chance, and happen to: be experienced by or become of: I don’t care what happens to the money” (1992, p. 408).

The LDCE contains more information regarding happen than the previous dictionary. Four meanings of happen are listed in LDCE:

When something happens, there is an event, especially one that is not planned. (= occur). When did the accident happen? It’s impossible to predict what will happen next. Something/anything happens: Something terrible happened. She carried as if nothing had happened. This was bound to happen sooner or later. This kind of thing happens all the time. We’ll still be friends, whatever happens.
Something/anything what happens to somebody/something: if something happens to someone or something, they are affected by the event: He should be here by now - something must have happened to him. The same thing happened to me last year. What’s happened to your coat? It’s all ripped.
Happen to do something: if you happen to do something, you do it by chance: I happened to see James in town.
Something/somebody happen to be something: used when telling someone something in an angry way: This happens to be my house! (2005, p. 737)
Apart from the meanings above, LDCE provides three different expressions containing happen:

As it happens/it just so happens: used to tell someone something that is surprising, interesting or useful: As it happens, I know someone who might be able to help.
These things happen: used to tell someone not to worry about a mistake they have made or an accident they have caused, etc. It’s not your fault - these things happen.

Whatever happened to somebody/something: used to ask when a person or thing is now: Whatever happened to Steve? I haven’t seen him for years. (2005, p. 738)
Two phrasal verbs are presented in LDCE: Happen on/upon somebody/something. They refer to “to find something or meet somebody by chance: There have been reports or strange happenings in town” (2005, p. 738).

On the basis of the study regarding the references the dictionary involves, the indication of the part of speech, the various examples of the word-usage that provide a lot of useful pieces of information to the language learner must not be ignored. A list of words frequently used with happen is mentioned in LDCE, such lexical item is “accident” (2005, p. 738).

The last dictionary studied was the MEDAL. One meaning of happen is mentioned here: “To take place, usually without being planned: The accident happened at 4.30 p.m. yesterday. He seemed to be unaware of what was happening around him. What happens if I press this button?” (2002, p. 647).

However, eight expressions of happen are listed in MEDAL. For the sake of the better understanding, each one is illustrated with examples:

See what happens: Let’s just wait and see what happens.
As it happens/it (just so) happens that: spoken, used for saying that something is true, although it is surprising: As it happens, I’ve got a bike, can lend you.
These things happen: used for telling someone not to be upset about something unpleasant that has happened or something bad they have done.
Whatever happens: used for saying that nothing will change a situation or fact: Whatever happens tomorrow, this experience has been worth the effort.
If anything happens to: used as a way of avoiding talking directly about something bad that might take place: I’d never forgive myself if anything has happened to her because I didn’t go to meet her. If anything happens to me, you’ll plenty of money to live on (= if I die).
What (has) happened to somebody: spoken used for asking where something is: What’s happened to the newspaper that was on the table?
Happen to do something: have a pen I can borrow? Spoken, used for expressing an opinion firmly, because you are angry: I happen to live here too - don’t live your rubbish everywhere!
What/whatever happened to somebody: used for asking where somebody is now and what they are doing: Whatever happened to your friend George? Spoken, used for asking something does not happen or exist now: Whatever happened to the idea of being innocent until proven guilty? (2002, p. 647)

The MEDAL includes the most phrasal verbs of happen:

Happen along or happen by: old-fashioned. To come to a particular place without planning to.
Happen on or happen upon somebody/something: old-fashioned. To meet someone or find something without planning to.
Happen to:
Happen to somebody: if something happens to you, an event or action takes place which affects you: This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
Happen to something: used for talking about the way something changes or develops: We don’t understand what is happening to the economy. (2002, p. 647)

MEDAL contains a lot of important pieces of information that are useful for the language learner. Apart from the various examples for the use of the word, the part of speech is also marked here. Similarly, a reference to the style is included in the dictionary, and words frequently used with happen are listed as well “accident, crash, disaster, event, incident, miracle, tragedy” in MEDAL. (2002, p. 647)

Whereas the OALDCE contains four meanings of happen, the LASDE has three ones, the OPDTWG lists two meanings, but both LDCE and MEDAL include only one. Due to the study the following general meanings of happen were collected: to take place without being planned (OALDCE, MEDAL) or as a result of something (OALDCE, OPDTWG); to do something by chance (OALDCE, LASDE, OPDTWG, LDCE, MEDAL). To tell somebody something especially when being annoyed (OALDCE, LASDE, LDCE, MEDAL); occur (LDCE); have an effect on someone (LASDE, LDCE); be experienced by (OPDTWG); become of (OPDTWG); polite questions (MEDAL). To sum up, on the basis of the dictionaries studied, the meanings of happen in the order of frequency are:

To do something by chance.
To tell somebody something especially when being annoyed.
To take place as a result of something, = or without being planned.
To be experienced by, = to become of; to occur; = in polite questions.

The five dictionaries are all rich in examples. These examples show happen in collocations. These are for the language learner to see how to use the lexical item in different cases that are sometimes deteriorated from the normal everyday use. Regarding the expressions of happen, the most expressions occur in MEDAL, while the OPDTWG contains none. This latter dictionary was the poorest in examples, too. The expressions including happen collected from the dictionaries in their frequency order are the following:

As it happens (OALDCE, LASDE, OPDTWG, MEDAL); it (just) so happens that (OALDCE, LASDE, OPDTWG, MEDAL)
These things happen (OALDCE, OPDTWG, MEDAL)
Whatever happened (LDCE, MEDAL)
Anything can/might happen (OALDCE); see what happens (MEDAL); if anything happens to (MEDAL); what has happened to (MEDAL).
The five dictionaries all contain some phrasal verbs of happen, too. The LDCE and the MEDAL provide the most phrasal verbs (three), whereas the OALDCE, LASDE and OPDTWG present one or two. The list of the phrasal verbs of happen found in the dictionaries are found below. Their order of frequency is:

Happen to (OALDCE, LASDE, OPDTWG, LDCE, MEDAL);
Happen on (OALDCE, OPDTWG, LDCE);
Happen upon (LDCE); happen along (MEDAL); happen by (MEDAL).

The further intention was to compare the dictionaries by the references they involve regarding happen. As a result, they all indicate the part of speech following the lexical item. Moreover, the OALDCE contains numerous references concerning the use of the word, but the LASDE refers to the style, and lists synonyms of happen. On the basis of the data collected, the OPDTWG seems to be the poorest in both examples and references, at the same time but it is the only dictionary out of the five that indicates the origin of the word. The LDCE provides little information about the use of the word except for a reference to the style and the word “accident” that happen collocates with. However, MEDAL presents style and words frequently used with happen. These extra elements, additional pieces of information may not be ignored as they must provide useful knowledge about the usage or style of the lexical item in question to the learner. Therefore they make the procedure of the second language acquisition more effective. (See Appendix A)

2. 2. Befall and occur

All dictionaries demonstrate befall with few words. For example, the OALDCE mentions only one meaning of befall: “(of something unpleasant) to happen to somebody: They were unaware of the fate that was to befall them” (2005, p. 120). In OPDTWG one can find a similar reference to the meaning of befall with no examples representing the use of the word: “(of something bad) happen to” (1992, p. 71). The LASDE describes befall as “(usually used of something bad) to happen to someone as if by fate: Some misfortunate must have befallen them” (1991, p. 74). The LDCE refers to befall as “something unpleasant or dangerous befalls you, it happens to you: We prayed that no harm should befall them” (2005, p. 121). The MEDAL includes only one meaning of befall, too: “if something unpleasant befalls you, it happens to you” (2005, p. 110).

The five dictionaries similarly contain only one meaning of befall. According to them, befall means “something bad, unpleasant or dangerous to happen”. However, the OALDCE, LASDE and LDCE present befall in its collocations, so these dictionaries provide useful examples to the learner about the usage of the word. No examples are listed either in OPDTWG or in MEDAL, whereas the latter dictionary provides several examples regarding the usage of happen. In terms of the references, all dictionaries indicate the part of speech, however only the OALDCE contains some information about the use of the word or grammar. According to the OALDCE “befall is only used in the third person” (2005, p. 120). Except for the LASDE, all dictionaries add the remark “literary” to the lexical item. This is a reference to the usage of the word. Therefore it can be said, that the dictionaries contain few pieces of information regarding “befall”. These are mainly references to its meaning and usage illustrated with a few examples.

During the research regarding “occur”, two meanings of this lexical item were found in all dictionaries. The OALDCE contains the following two meanings of occur: “1. Happen: When exactly did the accident occur? Something unexpected occurs. 2. Exist or be found somewhere: Sugar occurs naturally in fruit” (2005, p. 1009). Similarly, the LASDE lists two meanings of occur: “happen: Many accidents occur in home. 2. Exist: That sound doesn’t occur in his language” (1991, p. 468). Two meanings of occur are listed in OPDTWG, too: “1. Happen. 2. to be found or present: Radon occurs in rocks such as granite” (1992, p. 613). The LDCE describes occur with two similar meanings. They are the following: “1. Happen: A third of accidental deaths occur in the home. The explosion occurred at 5.30 a.m. 2. Happen or exist in a particular place or situation: Whooping cough occurs mainly in young children. The highest rates of unemployment occur in the inner urban areas” (2005, p. 1134). The MEDAL explains occur as “1. Happen, especially unexpectedly: Police said the accident occurred at about 4.30 p.m. Complications occurred in only 5% of the patients. 2. Exist or be found somewhere: This small tree also occurs in Central and Southern India. These are just some of the elements that occur on our planet” (2002, p. 978). To sum up, the five dictionaries all describe occur with two basic meanings. These are “happen” and “exist or be found”.

A similar demonstration of the phrasal verb - occur to was found in the dictionaries. They all present the same meaning of occur to except for the LDCE and MEDAL, which list two meanings of the same phrasal verb. The list of the meanings of “occur to” is found below:

”Occur to somebody (of an idea or a thought): to come into mind: The idea occurred to him in a dream. It didn’t occur to him that his wife was having an affair. It didn’t occur to her to ask for help” (OALDCE, 2005, p. 1009).
”Occur to someone: (of an idea) come into someone’s mind: Just as I was leaving the house, it occurred to me that I had forgotten the keys” (LASDE, 1991, p. 468).
”Occur to: come into the mind of something” (OPDTWG, 1992, p. 613).
Occur to somebody: if an idea or thought occurs to you, it suddenly comes into mind.
”It occurs to somebody to do something: I suppose it didn’t occur to you to phone the police? It never seems to occur to my children to contact me.
It occurs to somebody that: It had never occurred to him that he might be falling in love with her” (LDCE, 2005, p. 1134).

Occur to:
“Occur to somebody: if a thought or idea occurs to you, you suddenly and unexpectedly start to think about it: The thought of giving up never occurred to me.
It occurs to somebody to do something: it didn’t occur to her to ask how he’d found her” (MEDAL, 2002, p. 978).

The additional piece of information the researcher can find in each dictionary is the reference to the part of speech such as a “verb” or “phrasal verb”. The five dictionaries are all rich in examples regarding the usage of the lexical item. It means that language learners can benefit a lot as they see the word in a great number of its collocations. While the OALDCE, LASDE, LDCE and the MEDAL include some useful information regarding grammar such as “in passive, with prepositions or always” and style “formal”, only the OPDTWG marks the origin as” Latin”.

To sum up the research regarding befall and occur, in the case of befall all dictionaries agree in meaning. Except for the LDCE, the dictionaries all demonstrate the “literal” meaning of the word. The OPDTWG and the MEDAL illustrate the word without any examples, which otherwise would mean great for the learner regarding the appropriate usage of the word. However, the OALDCE, LASDE and the LDCE fulfil this important task. Only the OALDCE includes a piece of information concerning the use of befall. In comparison to the previously studied occur, the five dictionaries handle befall in brief. In the case of occur the dictionaries list the same variations of meaning. They all contain various examples representing the use of the word, but differ in some pieces of additional information except for their references to the part of speech. Similarly to happen, the OPDTWG marks the origin of the word, whereas the OALDCE, LASDE, LDCE and the MEDAL contain references to the grammar and style. (See Appendix B)

2. 3. Take place, eventuate and fall

This section gives insight of the presentation of the following lexical items, take place, eventuate and fall on the basis of the research done by using five dictionaries.

Regarding the meaning of take place all dictionaries agree. They provide the same and only meaning of the lexical item take place:

“Happen, especially after previously being arranged or planned: The film festival takes place in October. We may never discover what took place that night” (OALDCE, 2005, p. 105).
“Happen: When did the accident take place?” (LASDE, 1991, p. 685).
“See happen” (OPDTWG, 1992, p. 926).
“Happen, especially after being previously planned or arranged: The next meeting will take place on Thursday. Talks between the two sides are still taking place. Major changes are taking place in society” (LDCE, 2005, p. 1246).
“Happen: The Olympics take place every four year. I don’t know exactly what took place in the classroom” (MEDAL, 2002, p. 1463).

Take place is presented among different lexical items in the dictionaries. In one instance the researcher can find it among the expressions of place (OALDCE), but in all the other dictionaries it is among the expressions of take (LASDE, OPDTWG, LDCE and MEDAL). The meanings of take place show that all dictionaries are rich in examples, except for the OPDTWG, which contains no references either to the meaning, or to the use of the word. Each dictionary indicates the part of the speech such as a “verb” or “noun”. The OALDCE provides a list of the synonyms of place, though these items do not refer to take place as a synonym of happen. Therefore, they are unimportant from the point of view of this research.

The following lexical item to be dealt with is “eventuate”. It is presented in the dictionaries very poorly. The LASDE, OPDTWG and the LDCE do not contain eventuate at all. They neither mention, nor do they have any references to this word. However, eventuate does exist in English language. This statement can be justified by the fact that in search of eventuate it was found in both OALDCE and MEDAL. The OALDCE describes its meaning as “happen as a result of something” (2005, p. 501), similarly to the MEDAL, which refers to eventuate as “happen at the end of a process or period of time” (2002, p. 473).

Both OALDCE and MEDAL indicate the part of speech such as a “verb” and refer to the style “formal”, but neither of them provides any information about the lexical item. These dictionaries neither illustrate “eventuate” with examples, nor do they contain any references to the grammar, the origin, etc.

The following lexical item to be introduced is fall. All dictionaries describe fall with different meanings, but there is always one reference to happen in every dictionary:

Happen, occur or take place:

”Happen, occur: to come quickly and suddenly. The synonym of descend: A sudden silence fell. Darkness falls quickly in the topics. An expectant hush fell on the guests.
Happen or take place: My birthday falls on a Monday this year.
Move in a particular direction or come in a particular position: My eye fell on (= I suddenly saw) a curious object. A shadow fell across her face.” (OALDCE, 2005, p. 528)
”Happen: Night fell quickly. Christmas falls on Friday this year. A silence fell as he entered the room” (LASDE, 1991, p. 55).
”Happen, come about” (OPDTWG, 1992, p. 320).
”Happen on a particular day or at a particular time: I’d like to dedicate this record to all whose anniversaries fall at this time of the year. Her birthday falls on a Friday this year” (LDCE, 2005, p. 566).
”Happen on a particular day or date: Christmas falls on a Saturday this year” (MEDAL, 2005, p. 498).

The dictionaries do not only differ in the number of the several meanings of fall they list, but in the way they refer to happen, too. The OALDCE contains three meanings of fall as a synonym of happen. They are “occur”, “take place” and “moving in a particular direction” (2005, p. 528). The LASDE and OPDTWG describe fall as a synonym of happen in the same way: “happen”. However, the LDCE and the MEDAL restrict the use of fall to happen at a particular time, date or day.

The additional piece of information all dictionaries contain is the indication of the part of speech “phrasal verb” below the inspected lexical item. The OALDCE, LASDE, LDCE and the MEDAL involve several examples to illustrate the use of the word, but the OPDTWG does not contain any. The OALDCE, LASDE, LDCE and the MEDAL also include grammatical references to the word to represent its usage “with always, adverbs, prepositions”, etc. Interestingly, OALDCE mentions a synonym of fall, namely “descend” (2005, p. 528). The analysis showed that the OALDCE is the dictionary that provides the most information about the given lexical item in terms of its meaning, examples and other references for the usage of the word.

All dictionaries agree in the meaning of take place. They all identify take place as a synonym of happen. Except for the OPDTWG, the dictionaries are rich in examples illustrating the usage of the word in its collocations. They also indicate the part of speech. In OALDCE take place occurs below place, but in the other dictionaries it is listed among the expressions of take. Eventuate can only be found in OALDCE and MEDAL as a synonym of happen. These dictionaries do not provide any additional information about the lexical item except for a single reference to the part of speech and style. Finally, fall is represented in every dictionary with different meanings, but there is always a reference to it as a synonym of happen.

All dictionaries contain useful examples illustrating the usage of the word except for the OPDTWG. This dictionary seems to be rather poor in every field of the research. All the other dictionaries provide references to the grammar; the OALDCE refers to synonymy, and they all indicate the part of speech.

(See Appendix C)

2. 4. Pass and go on

In search of the following lexical item, two references have been found regarding the meaning of pass as a synonym of happen in OALDCE: “1. Happen - to be allowed: I don’t like it, but I’ll let it pass (= will not object). Her remarks passed without comment (= people ignored them) 2. Happen between A and B: to happen, to be said or done: They’ll never be friends again after that has passed between them. His departure passed unnoticed” (2005, p. 1064). The LDCE lists one meaning of fall referring to happen: “happen - something passes between people, they speak each other or do something together: A glance of recognition passed between them. Please say nothing of what has passed here today” (2005, p. 1201). The MEDAL describes the twelfth meaning of fall as “to happen or be allowed to happen” (2002, p. 1034). This dictionary also lists two expressions of fall as a synonym of happen: “1. Pass without incident (= without unpleasant happening): The rest of the meeting passed without incident. 2. Pass without comment (= without someone saying something about it): This innocent remark did not, however, pass without comment” (2002, p. 1035). All three dictionaries indicate the part of speech such as a “verb”, involve several examples to represent fall in its collocations, and provide references to the use of the word with “always, adverbs and prepositions”. However, in the LASDE and the OPDTWG pass does not occur as a synonym of happen.

All dictionaries contain a phrasal verb of pass - pass off - as a synonym of happen:

“(Of an event) to take place and be completed in a particular way: The demonstration passed off peacefully” (OALDCE, 2005, p. 1064).
“Pass off well: to take place successfully: The meeting passed off well” (LASDE, 1991, p. 488).
“Happen in a particular way” (OPDTWG, 1992, p. 645).
“Pass off well/badly: if an event passes off well, it happens in that way: The visit passed off without any serious accidents” (LDCE, 2005, p. 1201).
“If an event passes off in a particular way, it happens in that way: The protest march passed off without any serious trouble” (MEDAL, 2002, p. 1034).
All dictionaries describe the meaning of this phrasal verb as “happen in a particular way”. In every case they indicate the part of speech. Except for the OPDTWG, all dictionaries contain examples to illustrate the usage of the word in its collocations.

The final aim of this section is to present the study of go on. The dictionaries list different meanings of this lexical item. The reference to its meaning of happen occurs in every dictionary except for the OPDTWG. In OALDCE go on is described with eight meanings. There is one that refers to happen: “Happen: What’s going on here?” (2005, p. 637). The LASDE lists nine meanings of go on with one reference to happen: “Take place or happen: What’s going on here? There was a party going on next door” (1991, p. 307). In case of LDCE five meanings of go on are listed, there is one which refers to happen: “Happen: I don’t know what’s going on. What were the children doing while all this was going on? Like all good resorts, there is plenty going on” (2005, p. 692). The MEDAL lists ten meanings of go on, among those one describes the lexical item go on as happen: “Happen: I wonder what’s going on next door - they are making a lot of noise” (2002, p. 608).

Except for the OPDTWG all dictionaries contain a reference to go on as happen. Therefore, go on can be enumerated among the synonyms of happen. All dictionaries indicate the part of speech such as “phrasal verb”; involve examples to illustrate the use of the word for the learner. For the same purpose, the OALDCE also includes a reference to the grammar “be going on” (2005, p. 637). The lexical item pass with a reference to happen only occurs in the OALDCE, LDCE and the MEDAL. These dictionaries contain some examples for illustrating the word-usage. They also indicate the part of speech. However, the LASDE and the OPDTWG do not contain any references of pass to happen. The phrasal verb pass off occurs in each dictionary with a few illustrative examples for its appropriate use, except for the OPDTWG. All dictionaries mark the part of speech as “phrasal verb”. The last lexical item, go on is mentioned in every dictionary as a synonym of happen except for the OPDTWG. Its usage is demonstrated with examples. All dictionaries including go on as a synonym of happen indicate the part of speech, besides the OALDCE provides a useful reference to the grammar. (See Appendix D)

2. 5. Discussion

The objective of this section is to draw a conclusion from the result of the research about the dictionaries. Based on the analysis of data, the aim was to compare the five dictionaries, and decide in what ways they could facilitate the foreign language acquisition. Eight lexical items belonging to the same synonymous word-group were selected for that purpose. They are happen and its synonyms. Each of them were analysed on the basis of five monolingual English dictionaries. The results helped to draw some conclusion regarding the dictionaries. Appendix A, B, C and D illustrate the results of the research.

The OALDCE must be a very useful device of language learning. This dictionary represents each lexical item with various examples to demonstrate the word in its collocations. It also contains references to the part of speech, style, grammar, and the use of the word. What makes this dictionary a really valuable source of knowledge is that it often adds a list of synonyms to the lexical item. Its aim is not only to increase the vocabulary of the learner, but to show where the boundary between the meanings of different synonyms is.

The LASDE seems to contain similar pieces of information about the lexical items than the OALDCE. Except for eventuate and pass as synonyms of happen, every lexical item occurs in this dictionary with examples and references, even with synonyms. On the basis of the information regarding the items - eventuate and pass, this dictionary seems to be poorer than the OALDCE.

The OPDTWGE seems to be the poorest dictionary in every respect. Similarly to the LASDE, it does not contain eventuate and pass as synonyms of happen. This dictionary does not provide various examples or references for the usage of the word. It does indicate style. A list of synonyms is not offered either. This makes OPDTWGE more valuable for the language learner. The OPDTWGE always indicates the part of speech and sometimes identifies the origin of the lexical item. This is a feature the other four dictionaries do not share. However, the OPDTWG fails to provide a lot of necessary information that cannot be ignored regarding the use of the language. To sum up, this dictionary might be a useful source of learning at a lower level of proficiency. For example, in the cases when learners do not need a lot of extra information regarding the chosen lexical item or when too many piece of information only would confuse them.

The LDCE, similarly to the OALDCE is quite a new dictionary, they both have been released in 1995. Every requested lexical item can be found in it. This dictionary contains a lot of information and references to the grammar and style. However, it does not provide a list of synonyms. Still, LDCE might be a useful source of language learning at a higher level of proficiency in English, too.

On the basis of the data gained from the research, the MEDAL can be described in every respect the same way as the LDCE, except for it provides a list of synonyms for the lexical items. This dictionary includes those properties that make it a useful aid of language learning at an advanced level of English.

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