About the Oxford Starter Dictionaries: Oxford's new Starter range of dictionaries breaks fresh ground in language-learning providing essential information in a completely unique way. Specially designed for beginners, these essential volumes are not merely scaled-down versions of larger dictionaries. Every effort has been made to approach foreign languages from the point of view of the beginning student who may be unfamiliar with the conventions of the more traditional bilingual dictionary, which presupposes a basic knowledge of the foreign language. Each dictionary contains approximately 20,000 words covering everyday vocabulary and core survival phrases. From irregular verb forms to common idiomatic usage, the Oxford Starter Dictionaries provide generous coverage of those aspects of the foreign language which are less easy to decode for English speakers. These innovative teaching tools are unparalleled as accessible and user-friendly introductions to foreign languages. Each Starter dictionary provides: *Maximum Guidance The English-foreign language side provides the user going into the foreign language with maximum guidance offering detailed coverage of essential grammar, clear signposts to the correct translation for a particular context and a wide selection of example material. The foreign language-English side is designed to capitalize on what English speakers know about their own language. Irregular verbs, adjectives, and plurals are all featured in the wordlist. *Correct Grammar and Usage Points of basic grammar are reinforced using the ! sign and colloquial usage is marked for both English and the foreign language. More complex grammatical issues are dealt with in short notes at appropriate points in the text or in the more detailed boxed grammar notes. *No Abbreviations The only abbreviations the user will find are those which are entirely self-explanatory as headwords in the wordlist. Parts of speech, gender labels, regional markers, and grammatical terms are all given in full with a glossary providing explanations and examples of different parts of speech in use. *The Best Translation The language used in examples is carefully chosen to guide the learner to the correct translation. The wordlist and the clear, lively examples are drawn from English and the foreign language as it is currently used. *Accessibility and Clarity Each dictionary page is refreshingly uncluttered. The move from one language to another is explicitly indicated using = signs. *Thematic Boxes Thematic boxes are provided containing the vocabulary relevant to areas such as days of the month, games and sports, and talking about time. *Symbols Colloquial usage is clearly indicated by means of symbols which are explained at regular intervals at the bottom of the page. Read Less