Cambridge Select Insight verbal set

The idea

Many words in English have more than one meaning. The word 'letter' can mean a symbol in the alphabet, a written message, or the exact words of a rule, as in 'the letter of the law'. In these questions you are given a meaning and must find the sentence where the word is used with exactly that meaning.

Read the meaning you are hunting for first, then test the word in each sentence. Ask yourself what the word is doing in that sentence: in 'He wrote a letter to his cousin', the letter is a message you can post; in 'Drivers must obey the letter of the law', it is the exact wording of the rules.

The most common meaning is often a trap. The sentence you need is the one where the word carries the given meaning, even if that meaning is the rarest one.

Worked example

In which sentence does 'letter' mean 'the exact words of a rule or law'? (a) Drivers must obey the letter of the law. (b) Write each letter of the alphabet in lower case. (c) He wrote a letter to his cousin in Scotland. (d) The first letter of her name is M.

1. In sentence (a), 'the letter of the law' means the exact words of the rule — the meaning asked for.
2. In (b) and (d), 'letter' means one of the symbols in the alphabet.
3. In (c), 'letter' means a written message sent to someone.

Answer: Drivers must obey the letter of the law.

Watch out

• Choosing the sentence with the most familiar meaning instead of the meaning asked for.
• Reading only the first sentence or two and stopping before testing them all.
• Deciding from the word alone, without reading how it is used in each sentence.