Learn English vocabulary. List of basic English words for live communication. Learning English words in different ways

Learners English language The question is often asked: “When will I be able to speak freely? How many English words do you need to know for this? Different sources give different answers on this subject. consensus did not come up on this issue. We decided to give an opinion based on the experience of our English teachers.

How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently: myths

How many English words do you need to know for fluent speech: 1000 or 10000? The concept of "the minimum required vocabulary" is a subtle and ambiguous thing. There are 500,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary, a frightening figure and not at all inspiring for English learners. According to statistics, a native English speaker actively uses from 15,000 to 40,000 words. This is the vocabulary that a person uses in writing or speaking - active lexicon. Passive vocabulary (words that a native speaker recognizes when speaking or reading, but does not use in speech) reaches 100,000 words. In the article "" you can read in detail about these concepts.

The opinion about the “magic thousand English words” is now being actively discussed on the Internet. According to this hypothesis, it is enough for a person to know only 1000 words of the English language in order to freely communicate on any everyday topic. Agree, great: given that we learn 10 new words a day, then in just over 3 months we will be able to communicate freely!

At the same time, the vocabulary of a child of 4-5 years old, on average, has from 1200 to 1500 words, and of an 8-year-old child - about 3000 words. Does 1000 words give freedom in colloquial speech? We believe that 1000 words are not enough for normal communication at the level of an adult. Where did this number come from then? Perhaps the whole point is in the study of British scientists: they found that any author of an average text (excluding literary masterpieces) uses a vocabulary of only 1000 words. However, no one specifies that each author has a different composition of this 1000. Each person has his own vocabulary, which he uses when writing texts.

Some people advocate 1,000 words for a different reason: they believe that in order to communicate fluently in English, you need to learn a thousand of the most common words. You can even find special frequency dictionaries on the Internet. However, if you look at such a publication, it becomes clear that you won’t go far with this thousand words: about a third of them are prepositions (in, at, on), different kinds pronouns (he, she, his, her), interrogative words (where, why, what), numerals (first, second), etc. It will be difficult to make a meaningful sentence with such a set. In addition, the authors of dictionaries, when writing irregular verbs, do not indicate all three forms at once, but arrange them in three places according to their frequency. For example, the word keep is included in the first 200 words (according to various sources, 167-169th place), kept - stands at 763-765th place. This approach to irregular verbs is inconvenient: it is better to learn all three forms of the verb at once, so it is easier to remember them.

However, not all frequency editions are bad. You can use them, but choose the RIGHT words for communication, in particular verbs and nouns. The verb plays in the sentence leading role, because in any sentence there is an action (go, break, speak) or a state (be, exist) of an object expressed by a verb. It makes sense to study lists of the most frequently used verbs in English. For example, beginners can be advised to master a list of 100 verbs - they are all voiced, given in three forms at once. And those who continue can get acquainted with the list of 1000 most frequent verbs, there you can also see examples of their use in various contexts.

If you completely “lower the bar”, then you can also focus on the dictionary of Ellochka the cannibal: she calmly managed 30 words. However, if you do not want to be a "cannibal" and wish to speak at the level of an adult, you will need to learn more English words.

As vocabulary is reduced, so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of the things you can identify!

As your vocabulary decreases, so does the number of feelings you can express, the number of things you can describe, the number of things you can name.

How many English words do you need to know to speak fluently: reality

Now let's put the mythology aside and decide how many words are needed to communicate fluently in English. And let's turn to statistics again, it, like facts, is a stubborn thing. To understand 80-90% of the text of a general topic, it is enough to know about 3000 words, this is the figure that various studies of foreign scientists claim. Details can be found at lextutor.ca. Oxford learner's Dictionaries also offers 3,000 words for English learners. However, this is still not enough for FREE communication in English. While reading, you will guess the meaning of many words from the context. In addition, some of these 3000 words will be in your passive dictionary, that is, you will recognize many words when speaking or reading, but not using them in speech.

To speak truly fluently, you need to "activate" your passive vocabulary: 3000 in your active vocabulary is confident or beginner. At this level of knowledge, a person can speak on general topics quite fluently and confidently.

Thus, we came to the conclusion that 3,000 words is the necessary minimum for a conversation on general topics. You can reach this level “from scratch” in about 1.5-2.5 years (depending on the intensity of the classes, the efforts of the student, etc.). To speak truly FLUENTLY, you need to know about 5000-6000 words. Such a vocabulary corresponds to the level, and this is already 3-4 years of learning English from scratch.

You don't speak English yet? Start mastering the first 1000 words! You can calculate the time frame in another way: if you tirelessly study 10 words a day, then a reserve of 3,000 words can be acquired in just a year of study. However, do not forget that memorizing words is not enough. To learn how to speak, you need to learn grammar in order to understand how to build a sentence. And most importantly, you need to speak English as often as possible. You need to be able to operate with any vocabulary, then even with 1000 words in your pocket you can, if necessary, communicate in English on a simple topic.

As you can see, for fluent communication in English you need about 3000-5000 words, your desire to speak and hard work. Do you want to make it easier for yourself to memorize so many English words? Try doing it on with one of our teachers. You will significantly expand your vocabulary and learn how to correctly use the studied vocabulary in speech.

And now you need to ask where the nearest pharmacy is, but this word - "pharmacy" completely slipped out of my head ... You find it in the dictionary and indignantly hit yourself on the forehead: Pharmacy! Exactly! How could I forget that?!"

Familiar? English words are forgotten or just settle into the PASSIVE vocabulary. The question arises: how to learn English words quickly, easily and most importantly - effectively? Get ready: you will find a huge, but the most complete and useful article on this topic.

To compile 8 rules for learning English words, we interviewed 6 experts. Two methodologists: Olga Sinitsyna(head of methodology and content department) and Olga Kozar(founder of the school English with Experts).

And four practitioners of the language: Alexander Belenky(traveler and famous blogger), Dmitry More(professional translator and author cool vlog), Marina Mogilko(co-founder of LinguaTrip and author of two videoblogs) And Xenia Niglas(A graduate of Cambridge, a Fulbright Scholar and also a popular video blogger). They will illustrate our rules with personal examples.

The table of contents of the article (it is really very large):

What English words to learn first

Our answer will be useful for both beginners and experienced students, because we often step on the same rake ...

Rule #1 – Learn only the words you need!

When you are teaching new language so great is the temptation to memorize something like this: "superficial", "wither", "piercing" etc. Perhaps it will be possible to shine if refined interlocutors come across.

But why do you need a word "savor" if you don't know 3 forms of the verb "eat"? For what "fulminant" if you don't know the words "speed"? Do you need sophistication if the basic vocabulary is not yet flying off the teeth?

In the later years of the university, we studied specific vocabulary on the topic "International Relations" (my specialty is "International Relations and American Studies").

At the end of the 4th year, we went to the states under the Work and Travel program. Once I see that my classmate is sitting thoughtful. I asked what happened, and he says: “We have been going through all sorts of complicated concepts like “a treaty on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons” or “detente” for four years now. But today at work, I realized that I don’t know how to say “bucket” in English.

By the way, those complex terms did not come in handy for me. So not all English words and topics are really useful.

WE RECOMMEND: do not waste time and memory resources on words that you do not actively use in your native language. It is better to use the saved forces for practicing and repeating words that have already been studied and are really needed. Go through and remove the excess from there without a twinge of conscience.

What then to learn? Base + area of ​​interest

The required vocabulary is compiled according to the formula: base(high-frequency words used by all people, regardless of profession, interests, religion, etc.) + words related to your interests and language learning goals(What do you need English for?).

At the same time, it is better to look for vocabulary in trusted sources, since sometimes something is given out as high-frequency, which in fact is not.

I remember how at school we learned many different words related to the traditions of English-speaking countries. These words have never been useful to me in my life.

For example, the word "shamrock" stuck in my memory, but I never used it.

It’s easier to ask in the course of the situation what a word means than to try to prepare yourself for all kinds of traditions (and to ask, you just need frequency vocabulary - approx. author).

Where will we look for basic English vocabulary

1. Study lists with high-frequency English words. Why go far: there are lists on Lingualeo, and frequency words. If your language level is already higher, then take larger lists, for example, The Oxford 3000.

2. "Take out" the words from the adapted literature. That is why it is called adapted, because rare and Difficult words replaced by simple and high-frequency ones. You will find a selection of 16 cool books adapted by English-speaking experts.

3. Study the news in an adapted language. The principle is the same as with books: read the news (you can find them at learningenglish.voanews.com) and write out unfamiliar words. Use our to immediately translate them and add them to the dictionary.

Better to have news, literature, etc. adapted by English-speaking experts: you will be sure that this vocabulary is really used in life.

I remember a school course where we were taught that breakfast is breakfast, lunch is dinner, dinner is supper.

In practice, it turned out that not only no one speaks supper, but even no one understands.

It turned out to be quite a local British word.

In fact, lunch is lunch, and dinner is dinner.

Where to look for words for areas of interest

As an answer, I’ll tell you a case: in the summer of 2016, our communications director went as a volunteer to the Olympic Games in Rio. She was appointed as an interpreter for the beach volleyball section. Her English is excellent, but she did not speak sports terminology.

To prepare, Katya watched volleyball videos in English from the Games in London. So all the necessary vocabulary was at her disposal.

Dmitry More shared the same experience: to prepare for the wheelchair volleyball project, he watched recordings of the Paralympic Games, read articles in English, etc. Ksenia Niglas learned vocabulary for her bachelor's work in the same way. I think you understood our recommendation 🙂

Another cool tip from Marina Mogilko:

For children who are learning English for a specific area, I recommend according to its theme and watch-watch-watch in the original, because such a movie is filled with the necessary vocabulary.

There, these words are constantly repeated, and if you hear a word in context 3-4 times, it will stick in your memory.

So, while watching House, M.D., I picked up medical vocabulary, and with the series Suits, I unconsciously remembered the words of a legal subject.

Rule #2 – Learn More Verbs!

Especially at the beginning of language learning. Any noun can be described as a last resort with the words "such a thing that ..." - and then a description of the actions.

Gina Caro in the book "English for Ours" describes an exercise: look around and describe in English using verbs all the nouns that you meet:

the bed is the thing I sleep on, the chair I sit on, the table I eat at, and so on.

All the verbs that come across are good verbs, they are worth remembering. The only noun you need thing.

Rule number 3 - Learn set phrases!

These are natural combinations of words for a native speaker. For example, take a photo, but not do a photo, fast food, but not quick food and others. We have already devoted this rule, in which you will find a list of phrases + dictionaries, where there are even more of them.

Why this is important: a person who does not speak a foreign language well, first thinks in Russian, and then translates these thoughts into English. But the norms of word compatibility in these languages ​​are different.

Imagine: you need to explain that the car has a flat tire. You go to Google Translate and type in a word "deflated" (or "deflated"), and the translator will give descended (or deflated). But there is a stable phrase for this situation.

Once, when I was traveling in America, I had a tire puncture. It took me a long time to figure out how to explain it.

And only then I heard from the specialist who advised me the expression “flat tire” (which translates as “flat tire”). Then I remembered him well.

Although before that the word “flat” was associated with the word “apartment”. But this is a British version, in America an apartment is only called an apartment.

WE RECOMMEND: learn more set phrases. Google collocations examples or common collocations and look at the result. Or just read. In addition to learning phrases, we recommend memorizing whole phrases. Teach them in the form you will use (1 literal unit). This is the advice of the polyglot Kato Lomb, which we are talking about.

How to learn English words quickly and easily

It can be seen from the previous part of the article that the sources of new words are English-language materials and word sets / dictionaries. And so you learn, for example, a phrasal verb to get down. At this stage, typical mistakes begin.

Rule #4 – Learn words only in context!

Suppose the verb to get down you first came across in a song by KC & The Sunshine Band. You wrote it out on a card and noticed that in addition to the meaning used in the song "let's break away, ignite" the verb has others: make someone unhappy, write someone down, leave the table after eating and etc.

"How cool! In one word I will cover so many necessary meanings!- you think and start memorizing all the meanings en masse.

And the wonderful musical context with disco rhythms has already been forgotten, and the word has become a set of letters with a dozen unrelated meanings ... Alas, most likely, you will not remember this word when you need it.

WE RECOMMEND: learn to ignore that this or that word has some other meanings besides the only one that you need right now. Let this word exist only in the context in which you met it. If in another place you see to get down with a different meaning - well, you will go to the dictionary again. But even then, don't get stuck thinking it's the same word. Let them exist in your mind separately, each in its own context.

If we found a word in English-language materials?

Then keep this context in mind. Parse the text of your favorite song, add a word to your study, and the context will always be with you.

I added This is a word from a Rolling Stones song. .The line at the bottom of the vocabulary card will always remind me of the context.

If we take a word from a list like "Top 100 frequency words"?

Then immediately put the word back into context. According to scientists, we should see each word 7-9 times in different situations to remember it. There are many sources for these situations. For example, English explanatory dictionaries always supply words with good examples. These are Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, Oxford Learner's Dictionaries, etc.

By the way, in them (explanatory dictionaries) it is best to look at the meaning of a new word for you (namely VALUE, not TRANSLATION), because this way you will be insured against all sorts of uncomfortable situations.

Once one of my students came to the lesson after training and the question “How are you?” replied "My press hurts".

Indeed, if you go, say, to Google Translate and type in the word “press” there, it will give the answer “press”. But the problem is that "press" is a hydraulic press. And the one that hurts is abdominal.

And in the English-English explanatory dictionary, you will immediately see that “press” is not what you need.

Another source of context is search engines in English-speaking countries, such as google.co.uk or google.com.au. You type a word into a search engine and see in what situations it is used.

The third source is English corpora (specially prepared databases of texts with reference English). The most popular are the British English Corps and the American English Corps. You need to work with them in the same way as with search engines: you drive in a word and study examples.

After you have found a suitable example (context) for yourself, you can add it to your word.

Learning English words online

WE RECOMMEND: never learn a "lonely" word! When you start learning a new word, first of all, find good examples for it, the right context. In order, firstly, to remember it better; secondly, it is correct to use and combine with other words.

Rule number 5 - Use intralingual links!

Some English words may have distant relatives in other languages ​​- French, German and even Russian. Also, the word probably has close relatives in its own language - these are words with the same root, like ours: table, dining room, feast etc. You can look for such “connections” in special etymological dictionaries, for example etymonline.com.

Also look for synonyms (similar in meaning) and antonyms (opposite). The explanatory dictionaries that were above will help you with this. And catch another one: dictionary.com.

WE RECOMMEND: for new words, especially rather complex, abstract ones, look for context within the language itself: cognates, synonyms, antonyms. All this will help create strong neural connections and associations.

Rule #6 - Come up with your own word examples!

You did everything according to the rules: you found an example, together with it you "placed" the word in your head, but it is still forgotten ... Why? Because it is better to remember what is related to you, your personal experience.

When you have learned a word, immediately come up with your own examples for it, or better, act out a whole dialogue. Let's remember our to get down(in meaning "break away, ignite").

- Let's come off This Friday! - Can you free yourself? After all, if we want a long time break away so you need to start early. - Yes. I want to start break away at 8, and finish only in the morning! etc.

So, along with memorizing a new word, you will repeat the grammar.

When you yourself have used a word several times, it is remembered forever.

I remember the story with the word oatmeal (porridge). During my first trip to Britain, I did not know this word. In the meaning of "porridge" she used the word porridge all the time, as we were taught at school. But no one understood me, because porridge is a very formal, bookish word (no one uses it).

I was corrected once, corrected twice. Then I repeated this word several times myself - and that's it. I have not forgotten him.

WE RECOMMEND: after you have seen examples of how the word is used, come up with your own context. Starting from it, come up with several examples (coherent dialogue or separate sentences) and say them loudly and clearly. If it’s hard to come up with a situation, then remember the last time you used this word in real life, and reproduce this situation in English.

How to learn English words online: simulator

How not to forget a new word?

If you learned a word in accordance with these rules, then it will settle in your head for permanent residence. But! If you do not use it in speech for a long time, over time the English word will move from an active vocabulary to a passive one. How to avoid it?

Rule number 7 - Come up with a bright association for yourself!

This will especially help with abstract concepts, long and difficult words to write, etc.

For example, our service has a special field for entering an association. For owners of associative thinking and developed visual memory, this is just a godsend: close your eyes and remember this phrase.

Here is my stupid example of the word admiration (admiration). "Admirate" is a fiction based on the word "to die". Silly, but works for me.

Rule #8 - Use the Spaced Repetition Technique!

In repetition, the main thing is not the character (HOW to repeat), but the timing of the workout (WHEN to repeat). It is better to do this when you are about ready to forget what you have learned. These moments of forgetting were established by the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, who developed the so-called "forgetting curve".

Suppose you have learned a word. Repeat it a few minutes after that, then after a couple of hours, then after a day, then after 2 days, then after 5 days, then after 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 8 months, etc. .d. After a while, the word will firmly sit in your head.

Let's summarize. How to learn English words every day - program

1. Learn only the words you need! This is the base + specific vocabulary for your area of ​​interest. Also learn more verbs, stable combinations and whole phrases. You can find all this in special sets, dictionaries and materials in English (adapted - for the base, thematic - for special vocabulary).
2. Learn words only in context! If you "get" a word from an article, song, etc. - then keep it in your head with this context. You take a "lonely" word - look for a context for it. And in no case do not try to immediately learn all the meanings of a polysemantic word! You will only get confused and lose touch with the main thing - with the context.
3. Immediately try to apply the word in life! If there are no situations of communication in English yet, then invent your own examples: play a scene with this word, remember the real life situation associated with it. Remember that for a strong memorization you need to meet the word 7-9 times in different situations, and preferably in those that are related to your close experience.
4. So that the word is not forgotten, come up with a bright association for it: graphic, auditory, funny, stupid - it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that it matches the type of your thinking (are you auditory? visual? kinesthetic?) and work for you.
5. Keep your repetition rate to a minimum by using the spaced repetition method.

Did you even notice how many pages you dashed off?!

You may think that this is too long. Which is easier, just memorize cards and hope for their “magic” effect.

You promised to tell how to learn words in English fast!

But the same Lingualeo is TOOL, which gives you the opportunity to add an example (context), your picture and association. The ability to take a word from that very context () and drive it away from all sides.

But you can use this tool in different ways. You can thoughtlessly drive away word cards in the hope that they will be remembered if necessary. Or you can take responsibility for learning and take it seriously.

Then you will not only recognize the word in the picture (passive vocabulary), but you will be able to use it in speech (active vocabulary).

P.S. As you can see, this article does not give "magic tricks" and "easy methods" (by the way, those do not exist). In return, she talks about the seemingly obvious rules for how our memory works, which many have forgotten about in the pursuit of speed. If the article turned out to be really valuable and useful, share it with your friends and make their English learning more effective.

Do you want to improve your spoken English? Studying colloquial phrases and expressions - this is just where to start!

This article contains everything you need in a conversation on absolutely any topic. You will make your speech richer and more varied, and communication with people more enjoyable and exciting!

Greetings and goodbyes

Of course, you can always get by with the words “Hello”, “How are you?” and “Goodbye”, but there are more diverse ways to say hello and goodbye, especially in a friendly setting (for example, in a group):

Introductory words

They make sentences more coherent and help the other person follow your train of thought. They also give you time to pick up words without creating large pauses in speech.

Ways to express agreement or disagreement

There are many shades between "yes", "no" and "maybe". Whether you want to evade a direct rejection or, on the contrary, express your enthusiasm, these expressions will help you:

Polite phrases

Always nice in any language. Be sure your interlocutor will appreciate the knowledge of these phrases, whether it be gratitude, apology or just courtesy.

Ways to keep up the conversation and respond to what was said

Undoubtedly, the most popular conversational reaction is the word “Really?” Depending on intonation, it can express a variety of emotions, from sarcasm and irony to surprise and sincere delight. But, of course, there are other ways to show interest in what has been said:

Let's talk about free resources, thanks to which you can easily memorize unfamiliar words.

How to learn English words without cramming and boring exercises? To memorize new vocabulary, we offer several interesting sites where you can expand your vocabulary for free and even help those in need without spending a penny from your personal funds. How to do it? Read below.

1 Quizlet

Let's start with our favorite site, quizlet.com. We choose it for effective methods memorization of words, as well as a modern and concise design. And Quizlet is suitable for both beginners and those who speak English at a level.

In Quizlet, you can not only choose from ready-made learning modules, but also create your own. To do this, you need to make a list of unfamiliar words and find a translation for them. The resource will automatically offer you translation options, and if they do not suit you, you can enter your own. After saving the learning module, go to the "Cards" section - here you can view the words and listen to the pronunciation. In the next section - "Memorization" - you will select the translation for the words. If you make a mistake, then you will meet the word again, and then again, and so on until you remember it. In the Writing and Spelling sections, you will memorize how a word is spelled. And at the end, you can take a test that will check your knowledge of the entire vocabulary of the training module.

If you want to learn words in game form, the sections “Selection” are suitable for you - you need to combine the word with the translation and “Gravity” - you need to enter the word until the asteroid fell to Earth.

2.Learn English

Check out learnenglish.de for electronic flashcards. The creators of the site offer three stages of learning new words:

1. First, you scan the words and try to remember them by associating them with the picture.
2. Then they show you a picture for a while, and you try to remember the word.
3. At the third stage, you test your knowledge: write a word in English next to the picture.

The exercise is quite simple, but for beginners this is exactly what you need.

On the same site, in the Mistakes section, you can work on exercises with English words that are often confused, for example, any and some, borrow and lend, etc. On the Word Games page, you will find a variety of games to expand and develop vocabulary: crosswords, unusual sea battle, etc.

Despite the somewhat outdated design, the resource remains useful for those who are just starting to learn English.

3. Freerice

Freerice.com is the most unusual resource of all. Let's say right away that it will not work for beginners, but from the level you can try to practice on it. Here it is necessary to select meanings for English words.

What is the "feature" of this game? All the salt lies in the so-called "reward". For each correct answer, you "earn" 10 grains of rice. At the end of the game, the sponsors of the site recalculate the amount of grains earned into a monetary equivalent and transfer this amount of funds to the account of the World Food Program - the largest organization providing humanitarian assistance to the hungry. The motto of the site is Play and feed hungry people (Play and feed hungry people).

Let's reveal all the cards at once: according to the calculations of foreign experts, in 10 minutes of the game you can "earn" only 3 cents. Yes a little. What if millions of people play?

4.Memrise

The Memrise service was founded by Princeton University neuroscientist Greg Detre and eminent mnemonicist Ed Cook. The resource is incredibly popular - about 40 million users from 189 countries of the world are registered on the site.

Memrise is a modern platform where interactive flashcards are used as a learning tool. Thanks to a thoughtful design, the site is easy to use on an intuitive level. The service focuses on visualization, which can be presented as a picture, a meme or a short video recorded by a native speaker. However, Russian-speaking users of Memorise may find it inconvenient, because the translation of many words will have to be entered independently. In addition, the pronunciation of words can only be listened to in ready-made courses, but if you create your own list of words, you will have to voice them yourself.

The site offers a paid subscription, but the free version is sufficient for most users.

5 Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary.com is a great service for those who know English at a more advanced level. Here you will match words with their meanings in English.

In the Dictionary section you will find definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary, you can create your own mini-dictionary and learn only the words you need. In addition, Vocabulary.com offers ready-made lists of words.

This resource may seem simple, but it is based on complex algorithms that will help you learn more than 15,000 words efficiently. In the Play the Challenge section, you can test your vocabulary: as you play, the service remembers which words you have not yet memorized and focuses on them.

In future articles, we will continue to share useful resources with you. However, words can be learned not only online, but also offline. In the article "" we talked in detail about how to learn new English words. How to memorize effectively foreign words, see release on the YouTube channel "Ingleks". Get busy and hone your knowledge.

Did you know that according to Oxford research, there are over 171,000 words in the English language that are in active use. Yes, that's a lot. This is why most English learners feel a little overwhelmed. Where to start? What are they - the most common words?

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. Since names have power, words have power. Words can light a fire in people's minds, words can knock tears out of the hardest of hearts."

~ Patrick Rothfuss

We have selected for you list of the most popular words in the English language which you will certainly use in your communication. Experienced linguists know that it is enough to master most used english words- and half the success is yours!

And to remember a lot of English words, you can use the tips from our article.

The most popular English words with translation and transcription: top 100

By learning the 100 most common English words, you will greatly simplify learning and be able to build simple sentences in English.

The most common words and phrases in English will help you show the wonders of communication in any situation. The article will help you in any difficult situation while traveling. However, there are also some pitfalls here: several very important issues. Which of them can be considered the most used? How many? What should you pay attention to first of all?

British scientists have found that for free communication it is enough for a foreigner to know about 100 most used lexical units that make up 50% of the spoken English that we use in everyday communication.

Most used English words you no longer need to search in different textbooks or on different Internet resources: they are in the table below.

Top 100 Most Popular English

Most English learning guides recommend that you start learning new words by category, such as colors, animals, or food. Let's streamline the process of mastering the material by distributing vocabulary into parts of speech, and talk about them in more detail. Let's start with nouns.

Most Popular English Nouns: Top 100

To designate the names of objects, phenomena and living beings, nouns are used, without which no language can do.

Noun is a part of speech that names objects, people, events, concepts, etc. Nouns are divided into 2 large groups:

1. common nouns that denote objects, actions, processes, substances, concepts, etc. ( dog, table, fact, date, time)

In addition to this division into groups, nouns are divided into countable ones that can be counted ( a cat - cats, a toy - toys, a lamp - the lamps, a team - teams) and uncountable, which cannot be counted ( milk, sugar, butter, money, life, hope).

Knowing the difference between such nouns, you can easily and correctly use articles, number forms and adverbs much/many, little/a little.

English words on the topic “Home”

We are sure that the topic “Home” is close to any person. And knowledge of the words from this section can be useful in a variety of situations: with friends, at work, while traveling.

Everyone will definitely use these words in everyday English.

Moreover, many of these nouns are used in idiomatic expressions that will help to diversify the language and make it more alive:

everything and the kitchen sink(Russian necessary and unnecessary)

to sweep something under the carpet(Russian try to hide something)

chair days(Russian old age)

English words on the theme "Family"

Equally important in communication is the theme of the family. Here you can highlight the words denoting loved ones (eng. nuclear family) and more distant relatives (Eng. extended family).

Many of the words will already be familiar to you, since most of us will immediately remember children's poems in English about the family:

The table contains the most common words on the topic “Family”, which will help you tell about your loved ones and relatives.

Popular words on the topic "Family"

Interestingly, in English there is a word for grandparents - grandparents, and words like mother-in-law(Russian mother-in-law, mother-in-law), father-in-law(Russian father-in-law, father-in-law), sister in law(Russian sister-in-law, sister-in-law) and brother-in-law(Russian brother-in-law, brother-in-law) mean relatives on the part of the husband or wife and correspond to different lexical units in Russian.

English words on the topic “Work”

A lot of attention is paid to such a topic as “Work”. You definitely can't do without such vocabulary! In any case, you need to be able to talk about your profession and directly about the work itself.

Therefore, in the table, in addition to the names of professions, you will find words that will help you communicate with colleagues and management.

Popular words on the topic "Work"

There is a similar proverb in English about work: Don "t do today what you can put off till tomorrow(Rus. Work is not a wolf, it will not run away into the forest).

100 most common English verbs

If you are just starting to learn English, choose your new words carefully. Leave only those that you definitely need!

Having only 100 most common verbs in your toolbox, you will be able to talk about past or future events, discuss hypothetical situations or possibilities.

Conventionally, English verbs can be divided into the following groups:

semantic- the most numerous, have an independent lexical meaning, describe actions, feelings or a process ( dance, look, run);

auxiliary- necessary in the preparation of negatives and questions, complex verb forms. They do not carry a semantic load ( do, will, be, shall and others);

linking verbs- are a connecting element between the subject and the nominal part of the predicate, indicate time, person and number ( become, remain, grow, be);

1. modal- express attitude to action (must, forced, can) and require translation ( can, may, must, ought, need and etc.)

Depending on the meaning, static and dynamic verbs can be distinguished, which, for the convenience of memorization, we combine into blocks. If you are very interested Irregular Verbs then read all about them

English verbs of motion

Verbs of motion accompany us everywhere: at home, at work, on vacation and while studying. It is hard to get around without them when describing events or a way of life.

By the way, the most common verbs come, go, walk in general, they denote movement in space, but describe it from different angles. For example, verbs come(Russian approach) and go(Russian to move away) indicate the direction, and the word walk(Russian to walk) speaks of the nature of the movement.

Action verbs in English

By learning these 50 words, you can significantly diversify your speech and get closer to understanding standard English. And who knows one fine day to say: "Yes, I read Shakespeare in the original."

Instead of a conclusion:

You speak up to 20,000 words every day. That's over 1000 units per hour! You use them when you work, study, talk to students or native speakers, or just practice your conversational skills.

Most of these words are verbs. How well do you know them? Are you using it correctly? Do you know all the situations in which these words can be used? Think about it!

You probably spend a lot of time and effort on learning new vocabulary and this is very important. But it is much more effective and important to pay attention to the part of it that you use every day and learn even better. And presented by us 100 most popular words will help you with this.

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