You should fall in love with Basic English, if only because you only need to learn 850 words to learn it. Oddly enough, this amount is quite enough to communicate easily and naturally with a resident of any English-speaking country. Of course, if you need English for the profession of a translator or for reading Wilkie Collins in the original, then welcome to philology or very serious courses. However, if your goal is simply to speak an international language, then welcome to this article!
For the sake of simplicity, 850 words are divided into major groups:
1) objects and phenomena (600 words, of which 400 are general, and 200 are designations of objects);
2) action or movement (100 words);
3) expression of quality (150 words, of which 100 are common and 50 with the opposite meaning).
Particularly encouraging is the fact that out of 850 basic words, 514 have only one syllable! This is not a conservationalist or anything worse for you. Already rubbing your palms in anticipation of the Basic Dictionary? Please.
1. OBJECTS AND PHENOMENA
If you act according to the "from simple to complex" method, then the minimum vocabulary can be learned from picture words. There are 200 of them. You can stick stickers all over the apartment (if the household does not go crazy, taking an apple from the refrigerator with a piece of paper "apple"). Or cut pictures from books. Or download images on the Internet and print them with signatures (by the way, you can flip through them in queues or traffic jams). And here is a ready-made list with pictures on Wikipedia.
1.1. 200 picture words:
It is more convenient and quickest to divide these basic words into 6 groups by meaning: body parts, food, animals, transport, objects, etc. If you study at least 2 groups every day, then in three days you can master the basic vocabulary. The main thing is not to lose your knowledge and consolidate it in practice. Any acquaintance who agrees to become an evil examiner or pretends to be a dunno, who is interested in everything, is suitable for this.
U:
umbrella - umbrella
1.2. 400 common words:
To make this sequence easier to learn, let's not reinvent the wheel. You can, of course, torment yourself and divide all words into semantic groups, but there will be so many of them that some will contain only one or two terms. Easier to learn alphabetically. There are about ten words for each letter. If you lean over a piece of paper for 10 minutes at least three times a day, you can learn at least 3 letters a day. The maximum depends on your goals and desires.
| page - page pain - pain, to hurt paint - paint, draw, paint paper - paper part - part, to separate, to split paste - paste, paste payment - payment peace - peace person - person place - place, place, take place, place plant - plant, plant, graft, sow |
play - to play pleasure - pleasure point - point, point, indicate poison - poison, to poison polish - to polish porter - doorman, porter position - to place, position powder - powder power - strength, power price - price print - print |
process - process, process produce - product, to produce profit - profit, get profit property - properties prose - prose protest - to object, protest pull - tension, pull punishment - punishment purpose - intend, purpose push - push, push |
| quality - quality, high quality | question - question |
| salt - salt, salt sand - sand scale - measure, scale science - science sea - sea seat - seat, to sit down, place secretary - secretary selection - selection self - self sense - feeling, meanings, meaning, to feel servant - servant sex - sex, gender shade - shade, shadow, shade shake - shake, shake, shake, shake shame - shame, shame shock - shock, shock side - side, to adjoin sign - sign, sign, sign silk - silk silver - silver |
sister - sister size - size sky - sky sleep - to sleep slip - slip, blank, slip, slide slope - slope, slope smash - hit, break smell - smell, smell smile - smile, smile smoke - smoke, smoking sneeze - sneeze, sneeze snow - snow soap - soap, soap society - society son - son song - song sort - kind, sort sound - sound soup - soup space - space, space |
stage - stage, stage, organize start - start statement - statement steam - steam, steam, move steel - steel step - step, step stitch - stitch, sew stone - stone stop - stop, stop story - history stretch - stretches, stretch, stretch structure - structure substance - substance, essence sugar - sugar suggestion - suggestion, guess summer - summer support - support, support surprise - surprise swim - swimming, swim system - system |
Y:
year - year
2. ACTION AND MOTION (100 words)
This list miraculously includes words that, it would seem, do not fit the concept of "action" at all: pronouns, polite phrases. Well, what did you want? Try asking someone to move without "please let him go northeast for the star."
You can learn alphabetically. And it can be divided into parts of speech: verbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc. Prepositions are easy to remember if you use a schema. Draw a square in the very center on a piece of paper and indicate movement with dots or arrows. For example, the preposition in translates as "in" - put a dot in the square and sign it in. And, for example, out translates as "from" - put an arrow from the square.
| come - come, come get - get, force give - to give go - to walk, to go keep - to continue, to keep, to leave, not to allow let - allow make - do / do, force put - put seem - to seem, to appear take - take / take be - to be do - to do have - to have, to eat, to know say - to speak see - to see send - send may - can will - to be to want about - about across - through after - after against - against among - among at - in before - before between - between by - to, in accordance with, for, on down - down from - from in - in off - away from on - on over - by through - through |
to - to, to, to under - under up - up with - with as - because, as for - for of - from, oh, from till - bye, until than - than a - any, one, each, some the all - everything, all any - any, nobody every - everyone no - no, no other - other some - some, a little such - this way that - what this - this, this i - i he - he you - you, you who - who and - and because - because but - but or - or if - if though - although while - while how - how when - when where - where, where, from where |
why - why again - again ever - ever, never far - the farthest forward - send, forward here - here, here near - near, near now - now, now out - outside, outside still - still then - then there - there, there together - together well - good, much almost - almost enough - enough even - still, even little - small much - a lot not - not only - only quite - quite so - so very - very tomorrow - tomorrow yesterday - yesterday north - north south - south east - east west - west please - please yes - yes |
3. EXPRESSION OF QUALITY (150 WORDS)
3.1. General (100 words)
This is probably the nicest part of the vocabulary. Without adjectives, the language would be too bland and official. You can learn alphabetically. And you can find images of objects or photographs of people and write on the back of what you think of them. Feel free to express yourself. The more you use the adjectives from the list, the faster you will learn.
| important - important |
3.2. Opposite (50 words)
The easiest way to quickly master words is to find antonyms. Have you already said everything about the different people in the photos? Change your perspective and use opposite adjectives. Or just write down first the designation of quality from paragraph 3.1., And through a hyphen - the opposite in meaning from paragraph 3.2.
That's all. Congratulations! You have a basic vocabulary. And it will be quite enough for communication. It remains only to learn how to put these most necessary words into sentences. Welcome to grammar!
List of "rare" words in Russian ON THE SITE VERSION http://language.mypage.ru
The list is strange in places, but still interesting.
1.Multifor- this is the most common file for documents
2.Gapovat- threaten
3.Trash shit(or halam-balam) - "This is not for you halam-balam!"
4.Kichkinka- baby, an appeal to a little girl - not an Uzbek, but not a Slav either. From uzb. "Kichkintoy" is a baby.
5.Yeh-ay-yay- Nizhny Novgorod exclamation of surprise
6.Kefirka- a girl trying to whiten her face with sour milk (it can be seen from the spots of unevenly lightened skin, and they even smear her face and neck, sometimes her hands. The ears look awesome at the same time)
7.Dubai- a lady who came from work, engaged in prostitution. Or dressing "like Dubai" - bright, tasteless, with an abundance of crystals, gold and trinkets.
8.Oud- part of the body (shameful oud - what is usually called an indecent word).
9.Straight- a rag, straighteners - dense lace
10.Chuni- type of footwear. Often this is the name of the general shoe, which is used in order to go out at night on a small need.
11.Get lost- drink alcohol.
12.Confusion- a tangle of everyday activities or events.
13.Galimy(or golimy) - bad, low-quality, uninteresting
14.Yokarny Babay- exclamation (eprst, ezhkin cat, yo-mine, etc.), resentment at the current situation.
15.Scuboot- shave, cut.
16.ShuflYadka(shuflYada) - a small drawer (in a desk, wardrobe, chest of drawers, etc.)
17.Fly- last summer.
18.Ticket- receipt, invoice, ticket, small piece of paper.
19.ZanAdto- too much, too much.
20.MlJavast, mlYavy - relaxation, unwillingness to do anything, fatigue.
21.Poke around- crack, make holes.
22.Kotsat- to spoil.
23.Coward- run with small steps.
24.Scabrous- vulgar
25.Puff, trail - walk slowly, not keep up with anyone.
26.Buchich- alcoholic party.
27.Overdressed- very brightly dressed.
28.Habalka- a rude, uneducated woman.
29.Broody- chicken woman (insulted.)
30.To snuff- hit.
31.Jamb- error.
32.Backbite- harmful child.
33.Hag- crow, old woman.
34.Locker- porch.
35.Podlovka- attic.
36.Blue- eggplant.
37.Fisherman, the catcher is a fisherman.
38.Hitch- lose.
39.Pantyhose- jostle in the crowd.
40.Sardonic laugh- uncontrollable, convulsive, bilious, angry, stinging.
41.Lapidarity- brevity, conciseness, expressiveness of syllable, style.
42.Algolagnia- sexual satisfaction experienced: - when inflicting pain on a sexual partner (sadism); or - in connection with pain caused by a sexual partner (masochism).
43.Sublimation- this is a process in which the attraction (LIBIDO) moves to a different goal, far from sexual satisfaction, and the energy of instincts is transformed into a socially acceptable, morally approved one.
44.Lyalichny, lalichnaya - something very childish.
45.Buy up- make purchases.
46.Transcendental- incomprehensible to human understanding
47.Eschatology- ideas about the end of the world.
48.Apologist- Christian writer who defends Christianity from criticism.
49.Flute- vertical groove on the column.
50.Anagoga- allegorical explanation of biblical texts.
51.Lucullus- a feast.
52.Aiguillettes- these are such plastic things at the end of the laces.
53.Bonhomie- unceremonious, inappropriate-familiar treatment under the guise of friendly.
54.Honeymoon(honeymoon in English) - we believe that this is the first month of the newlyweds, but in English the word is split into "honey" and "Moon". Most likely, the English word "honeymoon" implies that the common moon, which Americans think of as cheese, becomes honey.
55.THE ACCOUNTANT- a greedy person striving for profit. How many of them are around us ...
56.Kobe(“He is kobenitsya”, “hesitates”, “don’t freak out”) - to bully, “brace himself”, show off.
57.Morosyaka, pAmorha (accent on the first syllable) - drizzling rain in warm weather and sun.
58.Witch(do not sway) - excite something, expose to sway.
59.Vehotka, wiggle - a sponge (rag, washcloth) for washing dishes, body, etc.
60.Bawdy(noun "obscenity") - vulgar, shameless.
61.Moody- silly.
62.Crust, he is a scoop - a small saucepan with a long handle.
64.Pass to the ball- the same as for free.
65.To the top with a drykom- upside down.
66.KagalOm- all together.
67.Bump into- messing around, not finding a place before falling asleep in bed.
68.Kiss, kiss - kiss.
69.Trandychikha(tryndet) - a woman-talker (to speak nonsense).
70.Nonsense- verbal delirium.
71.Trichomudia- junk, husband. genitals.
72.Heck- to defecate.
73.Bundel(bundul) - a large bottle, a bottle
74.Gamanok- purse.
75.Buza- mud, thick.
76.Shkandybat- trail, go.
77.Break through- walk, run.
78.Fat- an invoice for payment.
79.Ayda- let's go, come on (let's go to the store).
80.Exercise- the exercise.
81.Exercise- do exercises, faire ses exercices
82.Buffoon- jester, antics.
83.Phat- talker, braggart.
84.Skvaliga- stingy.
85.Yoksel-moxel- used with feeling in moments of complete chaos.
86.Mess- mess.
87.Pustomel- Chatterbox.
88.Mandibles- clumsy hands.
89.Rinda- queue.
90.Polsh- the volume of a certain container.
91.Maza- small (from the Latvian Mazais).
92.Nonche- today.
93.Apotheosis- deification, glorification, exaltation of a person, event or phenomenon.
94.Unleash- scold someone.
95.Planter, Wet - a small artificial reservoir near the vegetable garden.
96.Pre-sand- scold.
97.Epideria- accident, surprise.
98.Perdimonocles- an illogical unexpected conclusion.
99.Set up- set up against.
100.Skim- miss something.
101.Insinuation- (from Lat. insinuatio, literally - ingenuity) - slander.
102.Scopid- greed.
103.Saban- a ladder with a platform (used during wall painting or other construction work).
104.Adobe- a dwelling made of reed bundles coated with clay.
105.To hang out- mark each checked item of the list with check marks.
106.Mikhryutka- a nondescript, puny person.
107.Dradadamovy- woolen cloth (for grandfathers - a type of cloth) (the word is found in classical Russian literature).
108.Expansion- expansion of boundaries, limits.
109.De facto- in fact, in fact.
110.De jure- legally, formally.
111.Cutting- a cut piece of a product (from life).
112.Loose- different books in one box at the store reception.
113.Pezhnya- nonsense, trifle.
114.Check- the same as jackal.
115.Herashka(vulg.) - something small and unpleasant, inorg. origin.
116.Navel- something small, pleasant (Nabokov).
117.Poured(Chekist.) - Assistant for tel.
118.Triticale(bot.) - a hybrid of wheat with rye.
119.Ramp- butterfly net (Nabokov).
120.Shpak- any civilian (Kuprin).
121.Bilbock- toy (to catch a ball on a string with a stick) (L. Tolstoy).
122.Bibabo- a doll on hand, like Obraztsov's.
123.Nadys- the other day, recently, to spray, to brag, to boast.
124.Nache- better.
125.To publish- to get dirty.
126.Mandibles- clumsy hands.
This section lists the most commonly used words in the English language. Words are sorted by frequency of their use and are listed in descending order. This is convenient because when memorizing words, priority is directed to the most necessary words.
Pronunciation of words:
| Word in english | Russian translation |
|---|---|
| you |
You, you, you, you; you, you, you, you |
| I | |
| to |
To, in, on, towards |
| the |
Definite article |
| a |
Indefinite article |
| and |
And, ah, but |
| that |
That, that, that |
| it |
He, she, it, this, that |
| of |
Indicates:
|
| me |
Me, me, me |
| what |
What?; what? |
| is |
3 l. units present from be |
| in |
Inside, in, on, within |
| this |
This, this, this |
| know |
Know, have an idea |
| I'm | |
| for |
For; for the sake of |
| no |
Not, not at all No, no |
| have |
To have, to have |
| my |
Mine, mine, mine, mine; my own |
| don’t | |
| just |
Pious, righteous Exactly, just, exactly just now |
| not |
No no no |
| do |
Do, do |
| be |
To be; to be alive, to live; exist happen, happen, take place |
| on |
On, on, around |
| your |
Yours, yours; is yours |
| was |
1 and 3 liters. units past tense of be |
| we | |
| it's | |
| with |
C, together with |
| so |
So, so, like |
| but |
Just; simply Except, Except, Except But, and, however, nevertheless |
| all |
Everything, everything, everything; whole Completely, completely, completely |
| well |
Good |
| are |
2 p. units, 1, 2, 3 l. pl. present from be |
| he |
He (about a male person) he, she, it (with personification - about male animals, natural phenomena, objects) |
| oh |
Oh !, oh !, oh! (expresses surprise, joy, admiration, fear) |
| about |
Around; everywhere close Oh, about, about, about, about |
| right |
Right, right; loyal; Right, right; exactly straight |
| you’re | |
| get |
Get (ownership), become the owner |
| here |
Here, here, in this place now, in this moment |
| out |
Outside, outside, outside |
| going | sush. walking departure, departure, departure movement towards the goal |
| like |
Similar, similar, similar, similar Likewise, so likely, possible To love, to like to want, to desire |
| yeah | |
| if | |
| her |
Indirect case of she |
| she | |
| can |
To be able, to be able to be able to, to be able |
| up |
Up, up, up, up, up |
| want | sush. lack, lack Desire, want |
| think |
Think, think |
| that's | |
| now |
Now, now, now When, time |
| go |
Go, go, move leave, leave travel |
| him |
Indirect case of he |
| at |
U, in, for, on |
| how |
How, how, how much, to what extent |
| got |
Last time. from get |
| there |
There there |
| one | chisl. one (number) sush. unit (digit) one, single The one and only |
| did |
Last time. from do |
| why |
Why? |
| see |
See watch |
| come |
Come, come; go come, come |
| good |
Good unspoiled fresh |
| they |
They (about people, animals, objects) |
| really |
Really, really, really? really? that's how! very, extremely, extremely |
| as |
As narech as equally, as equally as Because; insofar as |
| would |
auxiliary ch. Last time. from will |
| look | sush. sight Look, look; inspect; track |
| when |
When? when, which |
| time | sush. time |
| will | auxiliary; serves for the formation of the future tense in the 2nd and 3rd pages. units and many others. h; in a lie. English in this sense is also used with the pronoun 1-l. |
| okay | |
| back | sush. back Back back |
| can’t | |
| mean |
Intend, keep in mind Poor, pathetic, seedy, neglected average |
| tell |
Talk to tell |
| I’ll |
Ishall I will |
| from |
From, from, from |
| hey |
Hey! , uh !, uh? |
| were |
1, 2 and 3 p. pl. past tense of be |
| he’s |
He is he has |
| could |
Last time. from can |
| didn’t | |
| yes | |
| his |
His, his, his |
| been |
Last time. from be |
| or |
Or else |
| something |
Something, something, something, something |
| who |
Who? who who |
| because |
Because; because |
| some |
Some, some; alone; others some (smth.); Little Some, some, some, some |
| had |
Last time. from have |
| then |
Then, at that time, at this time, at that time then; later, after, then; Further |
| say |
Talk; say, pronounce; expressed in the words sush. opinion, word |
| ok |
Everything is fine; OK; right |
The subject is the main member of the sentence, indicating the logical subject to which the predicate belongs. A subject in English refers to a person or an object referred to in a sentence.
Spoken English includes many speech clichés - phrases used as ready-made formulas for common situations. These can be expressions from one word (hello) or from several (to tell you the truth). This collection contains colloquial phrases in English that will come in handy in everyday speech.
Speech patterns are an important part of spoken English
Spoken English can be understood as the informal style of speech that native speakers use to communicate with each other. It is replete with idioms, slang, quotes from bearded jokes and jokes from local TV. To fully participate in communication, for example, Americans, it is desirable to live in the United States.
But more often colloquial English is called purely functional English, when it is required to explain that part A is inserted into part B, and not vice versa. The main thing here is to know a minimum of vocabulary and, to have enough practice, and everything else is an optional luxury.
Colloquial phrases in English also apply to this minimum. These cliché phrases, blank phrases are capable of solving the lion's share of communication tasks by themselves. For example, everyday communication details such as greetings and goodbyes, wishes for a good day, expressions of gratitude and an apology are completely clichéd.
By inserting the necessary blanks, you give the statement a touch of confidence or uncertainty, a joyful or dissatisfied attitude towards the event. In a word, colloquial phrases-templates are very convenient.
Phrases and Expressions in Video Tutorials
Below I provide a list of expressions, compiled from personal experience, and examples for them. But I also want to recommend you interesting video tutorials on the Puzzle English service - a lot of conversational topics, expressions, and individual nuances are simply and interestingly analyzed. Great, the lessons are complete with exercises.
Greetings and goodbyes
Greeting formulas include not only the greeting itself, but also the following question like "How are you?", "How are you?" etc. Let's start with greetings and goodbyes:
| Hello | Hi Hello |
| Hi | Hey |
| Good morning | Good morning |
| Good afternoon | good day |
| Good evening | good evening |
| Good bye (Bye) | Bye |
| See you later (see you) | See you later |
| Have a nice (good) day | Have a nice day |
Notes:
- Hello and Good bye- the most neutral forms of greeting and goodbye, which are suitable for any situation. Hi- a more conversational, friendly form.
- The phrases are used for greetings. good morning \ afternoon \ evening, but not good night is a good night wish.
- In English, as in Russian, there are farewell words that imply parting forever, for example farewell(goodbye) - this word with a bookish connotation is found more in historical films, and not in everyday speech.
The greeting is usually followed by a formal question like "How are you?" Here are the main question and answer options:
Notes:
- Front fine, good or ok should add thanks or thank you, thanking the interlocutor for being interested in how you are doing: Thanks, I’m fine.
- Question "How are you?" is just a greeting, a courtesy formula. You shouldn't tell in detail how you are doing or, even worse, complain about life.
- For more information about the intricacies of greetings, see the article:
By the way, if you want to know how to learn expressions better, where to find examples, I recorded a video with a few tips:
Expression of gratitude and response
In 99% of cases, the words are suitable for expressing gratitude and answering it: "Thank you." - "You are welcome." This formula is exactly the same as the Russian “thank you, please”. But there are other options as well. Here are some popular formulas for expressing gratitude:
And answers to gratitude:
Apologies and responses to apologies
Notes:
- In short, the difference between sorry and excuse me is that sorry they say after they have done something (stepped on their foot - Oh, sorry!), and excuse me- when they are just going (Excuse me, can I take your pen, please?). That is sorry- this is when they express regret about something, and excuse me- to attract attention, apply, ask for something.
- In response to sorry usually say ok, it's fine, no problem, approximately as we answer "oh well!" or "it's okay."
Expressing confidence and uncertainty
In conversation, words are often used that indicate the confidence or uncertainty of the speaker.
Notes:
- Expressions I’m (pretty, absolutely) sure suitable for any situation. I'm certain \ I'm positive express somewhat more confidence than I'm sure, and sound more official.
- I bet- This is a stable colloquial expression that literally means "I bet (on something)". Russian equivalents: “I bet”, “I bet”.
Sample sentences:
- I'm sure you are right. “I'm sure you're right.
- I'm certain we made the right decision. - I'm sure we made the right decision.
- I'm positive I left my wallet in my car. “I know for a fact that I left my wallet in my car.
- No doubt it's possible. - I have no doubt that this is possible.
- I bet you don’t have guts to jump! - I bet you have a lot of guts to jump!
| Expressing uncertainty | |
|---|---|
| I think | I think |
| I guess | I think \ Probably |
| I'm not sure | I'm not sure |
| I'm not quite sure | I'm not really sure |
| Maybe | May be |
| Perhaps | Perhaps |
| Probably | Probably |
| As far as I know | As far as I know |
| As far as I remember | As long as I remember |
| I have a feeling | I have a feeling |
Notes:
- Expressions I think(i think) or I guess(lit .: I guess) are translated as “I think (I think, I suppose), I think, probably” and are often used when the speaker is not quite sure.
- Expression I guess has a more informal connotation than I think, and is typical of American English.
- Maybe and perhaps mean “maybe, maybe”, but maybe- a less formal option. Word perhaps characteristic of written and official oral speech.
Sample sentences:
- I think he is taller than you, but I can’t be certain. “I think he’s taller than you, but I don’t know for sure.
- I guess she prefers roses. - I think she prefers roses.
- I'm not sure we should eat this meal. - I'm not sure if we should eat this dish.
- Anna explained the task but I'm not quite sure they understood her. - Anna explained the task to them, but I'm not entirely sure that they understood her.
- Maybe your father can help you to find a job. “Maybe your father can help you find a job.
- Perhaps you will change your mind after the presentation. - Perhaps you will change your mind after the presentation.
- This is probably the rarest mineral in the world. - It is probably the rarest mineral in the world.
- As far as I know, smoking here is prohibited. - As far as I know, smoking is prohibited here.
- As far as I remember, the boy's name was Allen. - As far as I remember, the boy's name was Allen.
- Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. “Toto, I have a feeling that we are no longer in Kansas.
Expressing your opinion
Notes:
- Like “I think” in Russian, I think can sound confident or, conversely, emphasize the speaker's uncertainty in his statement (which happens more often). It all depends on the context and intonation.
- The popular internet expression IMHO comes from English in my humble opinion(IMHO) - in my humble opinion.
Sample sentences:
- I think if you work hard, you’ll do well in the exam. “I think if you study hard you will do well on the exam.
- It seems to me that your business plan is very convincing. - It seems to me that your business plan is very convincing.
- In my opinion, there should be at least two windows in this room. “In my opinion, this room should have at least two windows.
- To be honest, your new car is awful. “Honestly, your new car is terrible.
- To tell you the truth, there is no much choice for you. “To tell you the truth, you don't have much choice.
- To my mind, red is not the best color for wallpapers. - In my opinion, red is not the best color for wallpaper.
Consent and disagreement
Besides yes and no, there are other ways to express agreement and disagreement in English. The following are ways of expressing consent, which are complete sentences.
Notes:
- Expression absolutely in response to any statement indicates agreement. Often, without thinking, it is translated as “absolutely”. But absolutely can rather be translated as “of course”, “totally agree with you”, “necessarily”, etc. depending on the context:
Will you join us? - Absolutely.
Will you join us? - Of course.
- I couldn’t (can’t) agree more denotes a strong, confident agreement. It is often misused, for example: I could agree more, I couldn’t agree anymore.
Disagreement formulas are also short sentences.
Notes:
- Turnover If I were you Is a special case of a conditional sentence. Read more about it in the article.
- Let’s- an expression used to induce joint action, like “come on (-te)” in Russian. In general, in terms of grammar, let’s Is an abbreviated form of let us however, the full form usually has a different meaning: let us do something.
Let’s go! - Lets go!
Let us go! - Let us go! (let us go)
Sample sentences:
- Would you like a cup of tea? - Would you like a cup of tea?
- Do you want tea? - Do you want some tea?
- How about a cup of tea? - How about a cup of tea?
- Can I offer you my help? - May I offer you my help?
- Let’s get back to work. - Let's get back to work.
- I recommend you avoiding some neighborhoods in our city. - I recommend that you avoid certain areas in our city.
- You shoud sleep better. - You should get better sleep.
- Why don’t you come to our party tomorrow? - Why don't you come to our party tomorrow?
- If I were you, I would wait for a lawyer. “If I were you, I would wait for a lawyer.
- You'd better take an umbrella. “You'd better take an umbrella.
Appreciation, expression of feelings
| Great | Fine |
| Good | Good |
| Nice | Ok cute |
| Cool | Cool, cool |
| Wow | Wow wow |
| I like it | I like it |
| Fantastic! | Awesome! Fantastic! |
| Not bad | Not bad |
| So so | So-so |
| It could be better | It could have been better |
| Not good | Not good |
| Bad | Badly |
| Awful | Disgusting, awful |
| It’s terrible | This is terrible |
| I'm so glad for you | I'm so happy for you |
| I'm sorry about that | I'm sorry |
| Oh, my god! | My God! |
| What the hell! | What the heck! |
| What a pity! (what a shame) | What a pity! |
- Since religion is a delicate question, the phrase "Oh, my god" often replaced by a euphemism "Oh, my gosh", a "What the hell" – "What the heck".
- I'm sorry about that they say to express sympathy when something sad happens.
I failed my exam. - I failed the exam.
Sorry about that. - I'm sorry.
- Expression "What a shame!" is often mistakenly translated as “What a shame!” because shame means “shame”. It actually means "What a pity."
I understand / don't understand
Notes:
- Got it- a colloquial expression, something like "got it".
- Word spell in the expression "How do you spell it?" means to spell. The question is often asked about the first or last name. In English, it is often impossible to understand by ear how a name is spelled, unless you spell it out. More details on this in.
FAQ
Questions are more a topic of grammar, not vocabulary; a separate large article is devoted to them. Here are some common patterns in colloquial speech.
| What is…? | What …? |
| Where is…? | Where …? |
| Can I ...? | May I …? |
| Can you ...? (Could you - more polite) | Could you…? |
| How much is ...? | What is the price …? |
| How many \ much ...? | How many …? |
| How long ...? | How long …? |
| How do I go to…? | How do I get through ...? |
| What time is it? | What time is it now? |
| What time do you ...? | What time are you ...? |
| How far is ...? | How far …? |
| Where can I get ...? | Where can I get \ get ...? |
| Where can I find ...? | Where can I find…? |
| How do you like ...? | As you like) …? |
| What’s wrong? | What's wrong? |
| What happened? \ What’s the matter? | What happened? |
Notes:
- Pronouns can be used in questions about quantity. many and much(How many? How much?). Read more about the difference between them in the article.
- Question "What’s the matter?" Is a way to ask what happened. But a similar question “What’s the matter with you?”, which can often be heard in films, often has a negative connotation, something like: "What's wrong with you?"
- Requests to someone using a verb could sound more polite than the verb can: "Could you help me?" more polite than "Can you help me?"
Sample sentences:
- What is sarcasm? - What is sarcasm?
- Where are your friends when you need them? - Where are your friends when you need them?
- Can I borrow your pen? - Can I borrow a pen from you?
- Can you ask your dog to bark, please? - Could you ask your dog to bark, please?
- How much are your boots, your clothes and your motorcycle? - How much do your boots, clothes and motorcycle cost?
- How many times can you fold a piece of paper? - How many times can you fold a sheet of paper?
- How long can you hold your breath? - How long can you not breathe?
- How do I go to the library, please? - How to get to the library?
- What time is it?- What time is it now?
- What time do you close? - What time do you close?
- How far is from here to the airport? - How far (how far) is it to the airport?
- Where can I get such a nice prom dress? - Where can you find such a cute prom dress?
- Where can I find investors? - Where can you find investors?
- How do you like John's new apartment? - How do you like John's new apartment?
- What’s wrong?- What's wrong?
- What happened?- What's happened?
Different ways to start a sentence in English
To wrap up, here are a few ways to start a sentence in English. Some of them have already been mentioned above.
| Well .. | Well… |
| So ... | Anyway |
| As for me | As for me |
| As far as I remember… | As long as I remember… |
| As far as I know ... | As far as I know… |
| Actually ... | Actually |
| By the way | by the way |
| The problem is that | The problem is that… |
| The point is that | The bottom line is that |
| On the one hand ..., on the other hand ... | On the one hand on the other hand… |
| Fortunately ... | Fortunately… |
| Unfortunately ... | Unfortunately… |
| In my opinion ... | In my opinion… |
| It seems to me that… | It seems to me… |
| I think \ I guess | I think… |
| Personally, I suppose ... | Personally, I think ... |
| Moreover, ... | Moreover, … |
| What’s worse is that | Which is worse |
| Briefly speaking ... | Shortly speaking… |
Sample sentences:
- Well, let’s get started. - Well, let's get started.
- So what are you doing next weekend? - So what are you doing next week?
- As for me, I prefer cheeseburgers. - As for me, I prefer cheeseburgers.
- As far as I remember, there was a ladder on the roof. - As far as I remember, there was a staircase on the roof.
- As far as I know, this is an episode from ‘Robinson Crusoe’. - As far as I know, this is an excerpt from Robinson Crusoe.
- Actually, her name was Nina. - Actually, her name was Nina.
- By the way, Tom is still waiting for your report. “By the way, Tom is still awaiting your report.
- The problem is that free college is not free. “The problem is that free college is not free.
- The point is that it is possible but very difficult. - The bottom line is that it is possible, but very difficult.
- On the one hand, I'd like more money, but on the other hand, I'm not prepared to work the extra hours in order to get it. - On the one hand, I would like more money, but on the other hand, I am not ready to work overtime to earn this money.
- Fortunately, we are in the semifinals but we are not champions. - Fortunately, we are in the semifinals, but we are not champions.
- Unfortunately, we got lost in the forest. - Unfortunately, we got lost in the forest.
- In my opinion, his previous play was much better. - In my opinion, his previous play was much better.
- It seems to me that we are at the wrong bus station. - I think we are at the wrong bus stop.
- I think that your teacher won’t like a gift card. “I think your teacher won't like the gift certificate.
- Personally, I suppose that we should join our allies and help them. “Personally, I think we should join our allies and help them.
- Moreover, they didn’t let me speak to a lawyer. “Moreover, they did not allow me to speak to a lawyer. this wonderful site - there are native (and non-native) language teachers for all occasions and for every pocket 🙂 I myself went through more than 80 lessons with the teachers I found there! I advise you to try it too!
According to research by British scientists, the language of Foggy Albion has more than 600 thousand words. It would seem, how can you master all the vocabulary, even in a short time? For comparison, the Russian language contains about 400 thousand, which does not prevent us from freely expressing ourselves. After all, understanding each other does not require knowledge of all words; it is enough to have a minimum of the most frequently used lexemes. Your attention is presented to the 100 most common lexical units in English, knowing which you can understand three quarters of any text in the language of Tom Sawyer. Check it out!
Don't miss the opportunity to improve your English in a fun way. A weekly portion of up-to-date English in every new video on the EnglishDom Youtube channel - click to subscribe.
Pronouns
Since any English statement begins with a subject, that's where we'll start. The subject is the main member of the sentence (subject), performing an action, and giving the answer to the questions "who?" and what?" Quite often, pronouns are English subjects:
| I | I AM |
| He | He |
| She | She |
| You | You you |
| We | We |
| It | It |
| They | They |
In total, there are 7 of them in the British language, for comparison, in the Russian language there are much more. The indisputable advantage of the British thinking device is the absence of as many cases as in ours. While the Russian grammar for each pronoun assumes 4 more word forms (me, me, me, about me), in English for all other cases, when the word is not in the first place, a generalizing, object case has been created:
| SUBJECT | ADDITION | MEANING |
|---|---|---|
| I | Me | Me, me, me, about me |
| He | His | Him, him, them, about him |
| She | Her | Her, her, her, about her |
| It | It | Him, him, them, about him |
| You | You | You, you, you, about you |
| We | Us | Us, us, us, about us |
| They | Them | Them, them, them, about them |
A separate important group is the words indicating to whom the object belongs - "whose?", "Whose?", "Whose?", "Whose?"
Total: 25 words that appear in almost every sentence. Knowing them, one can understand the main idea contained in the text - who performs the action, to whom this or that thing belongs, and to whom the action is directed.
Nouns
Verbs
The second main member of the sentence is the action verb. The most important in English are the "Holy Trinity" - do, be and have... These verbs have a lot of additional meanings, they serve to form thousands of idioms. We can say with confidence that having memorized these 3 words and their word forms, you can already convey about 50% of all actions.
The rest of the most frequent action words:
- Say- talk
- Use- use
- Will-will (indicates future tense)
- Would- would (indicates the subjunctive mood)
- Make- make
- See- see
- Look- watch
- Know- know
- Could- could
- Can- to be able
- Like- like / love
- Give- give
- Want- to want
- Go- go
- Think- think
- Take- take
- Get- receive
- Come- to come
Prepositions, conjunctions and particles
The most numerous group of frequently used words. Prepositions and other dependent parts of speech are used to link words in a sentence. The difficulty in memorizing them is that they do not carry any semantic meaning. That is, if you can mentally fix a picture for each noun or verb, then you will not be able to do this with prepositions.
| To | K (indicates direction) | With | WITH |
| For | For | From | From |
| Of | (indicates the genitive case) | As | How |
| And | AND | At | About, on |
| In | V | But | But |
| That | What | By | K (indicates the term) |
| Not | Not | Or | Or |
| On | On | Because | because |
| Up | Up | Out | Out, you- |
| About | O | # | No |
| Than | How | Into | Inside |
| Back | Back | After | After |
The translations presented are just the most common versions. Depending on the context, many prepositions may have other definitions with similar meanings.
Question words
Quite a significant, albeit small, group of words. It is used to construct questions or in the form of conjunctive links in complex sentences:
- What- What?
- Who- Who?
- When- When?
- How- How?
- Which- Which the?
There are a total of 13 question-words in Britain's speech, but today we are considering only the most popular and frequently used ones.
Adjectives and everything else
Words that endow someone or something with beauty, kindness, intelligence and other signs. They provide answers to questions such as "which?", "Which?", "Which?", "Which?" etc. A very broad group, each of the adjectives is unique, therefore only 3 are distinguished from the frequency ones:
- Good- good
- New- new
- Other- another
- How- How?
- Which- Which the?
You can familiarize yourself with a hundred of the most-very-most in the article 100 most used adjectives.
Due to our scarcity, we will not separate the rest of the words into a separate block:
Separately, it is worth mentioning articles - a special part of speech, which has no analogues in Russian grammar. There are only 3 articles in British speech - a, an and the- and they are needed to identify nouns in the stream of speech.
Conclusion
Having memorized this base of English words, it will already be possible to easily perceive by ear a simple American speech and form your thoughts. It remains only to mention that a more effective way of memorization is not cramming, but reading texts in the native language, listening to music and watching films. And the best is live communication. You can communicate in our Conversation Club, and train your self-confidence in the Online simulator.
Good luck in learning the language!
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