Help With Python :)

Question

Okay i seriously stumped
Question: Create a function named word_count() that takes a string. Return a dictionary with each word in the string as the key and the number of times it appears as the value.
Answer: 
```
def wordcount(word):
  stringdict = {}
  for word in splitstring:
    if stringdict[word]:
        stringdict[word] += 1
    else:
        stringdict[word] = 1
```
Kenneth you've stumped me good. With no other forms giving me a clear answer to this challenge I've scrambling around hours for the right answer. And if my code looks the way i feel it is i think i have several errors .

Stone Preston · Accepted Answer

for one, you never split the string. try splitting it first and then see what you can figure out. also I would change the name of the parameter since you use word in the for loop:
python
def word_count(sentence):
  string_dict = {}
  split_string = sentence.split()
  for word in split_string:
    if string_dict[word]:
        string_dict[word] += 1
    else:
        string_dict[word] = 1

also note that if string_dict[word]: is going to throw an exception if the key does not already exist in the dictionary, so you are going to have to change that. 
you might try using the in keyword, which would test if a given key is already in the dict. dont forget to return the dictionary at the end:
hint:
```python
    #this will test if the key is already in the dict or not
    if word in string_dict:
        #key is already in the dictionary, so increment its value
    else:
        #key is not in the dict yet, set its value to 1
```

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Devin Scheu

Devin Scheu

Help With Python :)

1 Answer

Stone Preston

Stone Preston