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: thing
The noun thing is very commonly used in English and learners need to be able to use it with confidence. Two senses are known at A1 level: OBJECT (referring to something without saying its name) and the use of things for possessions or a set of objects, as in the Learner example at A1 They don’t need a lot of things [to] be happy. Take a look at the phrases listed at B2 in the entry. They are all frequent in first language use, but do not always get taught in the language classroom.To view the full entry for thing on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: cool
Cool is used a lot around the world, especially by teenagers. Indeed, a quick search for the word on Google yields around 466 million hits, and it has even been borrowed as a word by Chinese. Little surprise then that it is known as an informal exclamation and as an adjective meaning ‘good, stylish or fashionable’ by A2 level., and there may be a case for assigning these senses to A1. Please let us know what you think by using the feedback button . The adjective sense of ’cool’ (SLIGHTLY COLD) is known at B1 and the verb sense at B2 level, including the phrasal verbs cool down (BECOME LESS HOT) and cool off (BECOME CALMER).To view the full entry for cool on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: good
How many meanings does the adjective good have? There are six listed at A1 level in the entry and a further five from A2 up to B2 level, as well as the phrases a good thing and Good for you! The noun is listed at B2 in the sense of HELP, along with two phrases: be no good and do somebody good, and the Learner example for the latter phrase offers sound advice: I think living and studying in another country will do you good. The search results for good also list a large number of phrases, such as not very good/tall/happy, etc. at A1, sound good/interesting/strange, etc. at A2, good value (for money) at B1 and a good/great deal at B2.To view the full entry for good on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
