Word of the Week
With its 120th word, Word of the Week has now come to an end. We hope you enjoyed this free feature and that it has given you an insight into the thinking and research behind the English Vocabulary Profile.
All 120 are still available to read in our archive, below. Each Word of the Week in the archive is followed by a link to the full entry for that word on the English Vocabulary Profile. To view the entries, you will need to subscribe to the EVP: to subscribe for free click here.
Word of the week: one
The entry for the word one is quite a long one. Apart from its use as a number at A1, one is a pronoun and a determiner, featuring in many common phrases, such as one another, one by one, one or two. These and many other phrases are included within the B levels, but there is also one phrase given at A2: one day, which is commonly used to talk about something that happened in the past. In fact, this phrase has two distinct uses, the other one referring to the future and listed at B1, as in this learner example: I hope one day I can become like that. At the C levels, two further uses will be included for the pronoun: the formal use ANY PERSON, as in One ought to respect one’s parents and the phrase (all) in one, meaning combined into a single thing.To view the full entry for one on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: go
Although mainly used as a verb, the word go also exists as a noun and two uses are included up to B2 level: OPPORTUNITY at B1 and ATTEMPT at B2. Both meanings show the common phrase have a go, as in Can I have a go on your bike? The B2 meaning is slightly different and though no learner evidence has been found for it in the Cambridge Learner Corpus, it has been included here. The lack of written evidence is probably because this use is predominantly spoken, as the dictionary example shows. There are 55 matches when you search for the word go in the English Vocabulary Profile and these include a number of phrases and phrasal verbs. The three meanings at A1 include the phrase go shopping, which is known at a very early stage of learning!To view the full entry for go on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: word
The noun word illustrates the scope and coverage of the English Vocabulary Profile. The entry gives the basic meaning at A1 and includes four phrases up to B2 level. The phrase not believe/understand/hear/say a word at B1 shows an extension in the use of word, providing some frequent verb collocates. This information is useful for the classroom because it introduces learners to a choice of natural expressions at an intermediate level. The phrase in other words first appears in the Cambridge Learner Corpus at B2, although it might well be understood at the level below. However, its use in reformulating ideas and as a discourse marker makes it more appropriate to B2 level and above. At the C levels, further phrases and idioms will be included – for example, word for word and be lost for words.To view the full entry for word on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
