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: light
The word light is an adjective, a noun, and a verb, and both the adjective and the noun appear to be known at the A levels. The first meaning to be listed at A1 is for the adjective: PALE, in connection with colour, as in light blue. In the entry below, the learner example given is at A2, but evidence has been found in beginner level coursebooks and other materials that this meaning is taught earlier, so it has been included at A1. One meaning of the verb is listed at B1: START FLAMES, and at B2, there is the further meaning MAKE BRIGHT, as in Fireworks lit up the sky. As you can see in the dictionary example, up appears in bold in the entry, showing that it commonly collocates with the verb in this sense. Further phrases will be included for the noun at the C levels, including in the light of (US: in light of) and come to light.To view the full entry for light on the English Vocabulary Profile, please click here.
Word of the week: around
The word around is a preposition and an adverb, and several meanings for both parts of speech are included in the English Vocabulary Profile. The search results for this word give the core meanings and uses that are shown in the entry below, together with a number of other entries where around occurs – for example, at bounce along/around/into, hand about/around, the other way round/around, splash about/around/through, etc. This element of the resource gives the user a fuller picture of how the word is used and clicking on any one of the search results takes you directly to the entry selected. Interestingly, American English always uses around, whereas in British English around and round are often used interchangeably, as in look around/round (somewhere).To view the full entry for around on the English Vocabulary Profile, please 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.
