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Several sources claim that Shakespeare used nearly 30,000 different words in his works. However, we need to ask what we mean by “different words”. Is it reasonable to count go and going and gone as three different words? If we count go and going and gone as one word (GO), then Shakespeare used fewer than 20,000 “different words”.
What’s the most times you can repeat the same word consecutively in a sentence and still retain meaning? Here’s a sentence with 7 words in a row. (more…)
Here are some words we use in English that are also “international words” - you see and hear them almost everywhere. So even if you are starting to learn English, you already speak it!
hello
football
telephone, phone
hotel
taxi
toilet
museum
TV
pizza
sandwich
restaurant
city
hamburger
video
Can you put each of these collective nouns in the right sentence below? You must use each noun once only.
pack | herd | fleet | suite | audience | crowd
1. The farmer moved his __________ of cows to higher ground to avoid the flood.
2. The President and his staff had a __________ of rooms on the top floor.
3. After the concert the __________ clapped loudly.
4. It was difficult to move because there were so many people in the __________.
5. Which navy has the biggest __________ in the world?
6. The casino uses a new __________ of cards for each game.
See Comments for answers.
Advice is a noun:
Advise is a verb:
A stationer sells stationery (writing paper, envelopes and other office materials).
Stationary is an adjective meaning “not moving”.
In American English “practice” is a verb and a noun:
I need more practice before I do the exam. Can I practice my English with you?
In British English “practice” is a noun and the verb is “practise”:
I need more practice before I do the exam. Can I practise my English with you?
