Activity: Vocabulary Building
Level:
Beginner, Intermediate, Lower Advanced
I n s t r u c t i o n s f o r Te a c h e r s
This list is meant to be used as a vocabulary building tool for use in class and as a take home activity. It provides an excellent opportunity for
students to self-assess their own basic vocabulary.
Use:
Explain the list to students using the information page as a guide. Use percentages in explaining the numbers as fractions and ordinal numbers
may not be familiar to all students.
Have the students go down the list verifying that they know the meaning of each word immediately without having to think about it. If they
have to think about the meaning (even for a second) have them mark that word for further practice. If they don’t know a word instruct them to
ask the meaning using the word number.
Encourage other students to provide their fellow students with the answers. When multiple meanings are possible, some constructive
discussion may ensue. Encourage answers but try to provide the most often used and simplest definition.
Students will likely reference the equivalent word or phrase in their own language. A blank is provided next to each entry for this purpose. This
list becomes the students’ own personal glossary for study outside of class.
Depending on the level of your students you may choose to only cover 25-50 words per lesson. Discourage working ahead by more advanced
students as this weakens the usefulness of the activity.
Students practice recognition of patterns, pronunciation, and saying large numbers in this exercise without even knowing it. Finally, this is an
excellent filler activity if you find yourself with extra time in class.
Licensing:
©2006 Center for Applied Linguistics & Language Education. As with all CALLE activities and references, this document is freely available for
classroom use and reproduction so long as it is kept in its original format and the CALLE name and logo are not removed. Removal of CALLE
name or logo will result in a violation of US and International copyright law and may be prosecuted as such.
Information
This list is the product of several years of linguistic research and surveys. It is meant to provide a reference of the most common words in the
English language based on their frequency of use in written texts.
Methodology
A team of scientists used computers to analyze every piece of widely circulated print literature in the English speaking world for a period of three
years in the early 1990’s. This included major newspapers, magazines, and novels. The team recorded the words on each page and recorded
how many times each word appeared . Their research resulted in this list which ranks the 1000 most common words in the English language by
how often they are used.
Note that today a few more words may appear in this list that were not so common in the early 1990’s such as internet, website, Iraq, etc. Also
be aware that each word is counted independently so a noun may appear in both its singular and plural forms and a verb may appear in several
forms throughout the list.
Importance of these Words
These words make up a standard basic vocabulary. They do not meet any specific need, but comfort with and practice of these words will make
reading and learning more complex forms much easier.
The first 25 words make up 33% of all written texts. The first 100 words make up a full 50%.
And, the first 300 account for 65% of all words you are likely to encounter when reading.
Knowing all 1000 of these words means that you can read 75% of most books and newspapers
even before learning any specialised vocabulary.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
the
of
and
a
to
in
is
you
that
it
he
was
for
on
are
as
with
his
they
I
at
be
this
have
from
______________
26.
______________
27.
______________
28.
______________
29.
______________
30.
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31.
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32.
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33.
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34.
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35.
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36.
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37.
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38.
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39.
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40.
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41.
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42.
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43.
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44.
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45.
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46.
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47.
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48.
______________
49.
______________
50.
or
one
had
by
word
but
not
what
all
were
we
when
your
can
said
there
use
an
each
which
she
do
how
their
if
______________
51.
______________
52.
______________
53.
______________
54.
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55.
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56.
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57.
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58.
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59.
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60.
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61.
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62.
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63.
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64.
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65.
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66.
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67.
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68.
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69.
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70.
______________
71.
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72.
______________
73.
______________
74.
______________
75.
will
up
other
about
out
many
then
them
these
so
some
her
would
make
like
him
into
time
has
look
two
more
write
go
see
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
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______________
______________
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______________
______________
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______________
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______________
______________
______________
______________
n u m b e r _____________
77. n o
______________
78. w a y
______________
79. c o u l d
______________
80. p e o p l e _____________
81. m y
______________
82. t h a n
______________
83. f i r s t
______________
84. w a t e r ______________
85. b e e n
______________
86. c a l l
______________
87. w h o
______________
88. o i l
______________
89. i t s
______________
90. n o w
______________
91. f i n d
______________
92. l o n g
______________
93. d o w n
______________
94. d a y
______________
95. d i d
______________
96. g e t
______________
97. c o m e
______________
98. m a d e
______________
99. m a y
______________
100. p a r t
______________
76.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
over
______________
new
______________
s o u n d ______________
take
______________
only
______________
l i t t l e ______________
w o r k ______________
k n o w ______________
p l a c e ______________
year
______________
live
______________
me
______________
b a c k ______________
give
______________
m o s t ______________
v e r y ______________
a f t e r ______________
t h i n g ______________
our
______________
just
______________
n a m e ______________
g o o d ______________
s e n t e n c e __________
man
______________
t h i n k ______________
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.
150.
say
______________
g r e a t ______________
w h e r e ______________
h e l p ______________
t h r o u g h ___________
m u c h ______________
b e f o r e ______________
line
______________
r i g h t ______________
too
______________
m e a n ______________
old
______________
any
______________
s a m e ______________
tell
______________
boy
______________
f o l l o w ______________
c a m e ______________
w a n t ______________
s h o w ______________
also
______________
a r o u n d _____________
f o r m ______________
t h r e e ______________
s m a l l ______________
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
set
______________
put
______________
end
______________
d o e s ______________
a n o t h e r ____________
w e l l ______________
l a r g e ______________
m u s t ______________
big
______________
e v e n ______________
s u c h ______________
b e c a u s e ___________
t u r n ______________
h e r e ______________
why
______________
ask
______________
w e n t ______________
men
______________
r e a d ______________
n e e d ______________
l a n d ______________
d i f f e r e n t __________
h o m e ______________
us
______________
m o v e ______________
176.
177.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
192.
193.
194.
195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
try
______________
k i n d ______________
h a n d ______________
p i c t u r e _____________
a g a i n ______________
c h a n g e _____________
off
______________
p l a y ______________
s p e l l _____________
air
______________
a w a y ______________
a n i m a l _____________
h o u s e _____________
p o i n t ______________
p a g e ______________
l e t t e r ______________
m o t h e r _____________
a n s w e r _____________
f o u n d ______________
s t u d y ______________
still
______________
l e a r n ______________
S h o u l d _____________
A m e r i c a ____________
w o r l d ______________
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
208.
209.
210.
211.
212.
213.
214.
215.
216.
217.
218.
219.
220.
221.
222.
223.
224.
225.
high
______________
e v e r y ______________
near
______________
add
______________
f o o d ______________
b e t w e e n ___________
own
______________
b e l o w ______________
c o u n t r y ____________
p l a n t ______________
last
______________
s c h o o l _____________
f a t h e r ______________
k e e p ______________
tree
______________
n e v e r ______________
s t a r t ______________
city
______________
e a r t h ______________
eye
______________
l i g h t ______________
t h o u g h t ___________
h e a d ______________
u n d e r ______________
s t o r y ______________
226.
227.
228.
229.
230.
231.
232.
233.
234.
235.
236.
237.
238.
239.
240.
241.
242.
243.
244.
245.
246.
247.
248.
249.
250.
saw
______________
left
______________
d o n ’ t ______________
few
______________
w h i l e ______________
a l o n g ______________
m i g h t ______________
c l o s e ______________
s o m e t h i n g ________
s e e m ______________
n e x t ______________
h a r d ______________
o p e n ______________
e x a m p l e ___________
b e g i n ______________
life
______________
a l w a y s ______________
t h o s e ______________
b o t h ______________
p a p e r ______________
t o g e t h e r ___________
got
______________
g r o u p ______________
o f t e n ______________
run
______________
251.
252.
253.
254.
255.
256.
257.
258.
259.
260.
261.
262.
263.
264.
265.
266.
267.
268.
269.
270.
271.
272.
273.
274.
275.
i m p o r t a n t ________
u n t i l ______________
c h i l d r e n ___________
side
______________
feet
______________
car
______________
mile
______________
n i g h t ______________
w a l k ______________
w h i t e ______________
sea
______________
b e g a n ______________
g r o w ______________
t o o k ______________
r i v e r ______________
f o u r ______________
c a r r y ______________
s t a t e ______________
o n c e ______________
b o o k ______________
h e a r ______________
s t o p ______________
w i t h o u t ____________
s e c o n d _____________
l a t e r ______________
276.
277.
278.
279.
280.
281.
282.
283.
284.
285.
286.
287.
288.
289.
290.
291.
292.
293.
294.
295.
296.
297.
298.
299.
300.
miss
______________
i d e a ______________
e n o u g h ____________
eat
______________
f a c e ______________
w a t c h ______________
far
______________
I n d i a n ______________
r e a l l y ______________
a l m o s t _____________
let
______________
a b o v e ______________
girl
______________
s o m e t i m e s ________
m o u n t a i n __________
cut
______________
y o u n g ______________
talk
______________
s o o n ______________
list
______________
s o n g ______________
b e i n g ______________
l e a v e ______________
f a m i l y ______________
i t ’s
______________
301.
302.
303.
304.
305.
306.
307.
308.
309.
310.
311.
312.
313.
314.
315.
316.
317.
318.
319.
320.
321.
322.
323.
324.
325.
b o d y ______________
m u s i c ______________
c o l o r ______________
s t a n d ______________
sun
______________
q u e s t i o n s __________
fish
______________
area
______________
m a r k ______________
dog
______________
h o r s e ______________
b i r d s ______________
p r o b l e m __________
c o m p l e t e __________
r o o m ______________
k n e w ______________
s i n c e ______________
e v e r ______________
p i e c e ______________
told
______________
u s u a l l y _____________
d i d n ’ t ______________
f r i e n d s _____________
e a s y ______________
h e a r d ______________
326.
327.
328.
329.
330.
331.
332.
333.
334.
335.
336.
337.
338.
339.
340.
341.
342.
343.
344.
345.
346.
347.
348.
349.
350.
o r d e r ______________
red
______________
d o o r ______________
s u r e ______________
b e c o m e ____________
top
______________
ship
______________
a c r o s s ______________
t o d a y ______________
d u r i n g ______________
s h o r t ______________
b e t t e r ______________
b e s t ______________
h o w e v e r ___________
low
______________
h o u r s ______________
b l a c k ______________
p r o d u c t s ___________
h a p p e n e d _________
w h o l e ______________
m e a s u r e ___________
r e m e m b e r _________
e a r l y ______________
w a v e s ______________
r e a c h e d ____________
351.
352.
353.
354.
355.
356.
357.
358.
359.
360.
361.
362.
363.
364.
365.
366.
367.
368.
369.
370.
371.
372.
373.
374.
375.
l i s t e n ______________
w i n d ______________
rock
______________
s p a c e ______________
c o v e r e d ____________
fast
______________
s e v e r a l _____________
h o l d ______________
h i m s e l f ____________
t o w a r d _____________
five
______________
s t e p ______________
m o r n i n g ___________
p a s s e d _____________
v o w e l ______________
t r u e ______________
h u n d r e d ___________
a g a i n s t _____________
p a t t e r n ____________
n u m e r a l ___________
t a b l e ______________
n o r t h ______________
s l o w l y ______________
m o n e y ______________
map
______________
376.
377.
378.
379.
380.
381.
382.
383.
384.
385.
386.
387.
388.
389.
390.
391.
392.
393.
394.
395.
396.
397.
398.
399.
400.
f a r m ______________
p u l l e d ______________
d r a w ______________
v o i c e ______________
s e e n ______________
c o l d ______________
c r i e d ______________
p l a n ______________
n o t i c e ______________
s o u t h ______________
sing
______________
war
______________
g r o u n d _____________
fall
______________
k i n g ______________
t o w n ______________
I’ll
______________
unit
______________
f i g u r e ______________
c e r t a i n _____________
f i e l d ______________
t r a v e l ______________
w o o d ______________
fire
______________
u p o n ______________
401.
402.
403.
404.
405.
406.
407.
408.
409.
410.
411.
412.
413.
414.
415.
416.
417.
418.
419.
420.
421.
422.
423.
424.
425.
d o n e ______________
E n g l i s h _____________
r o a d ______________
halt
______________
ten
______________
fly
______________
gave
______________
box
______________
f i n a l l y ______________
wait
______________
c o r r e c t _____________
oh
______________
q u i c k l y _____________
p e r s o n _____________
b e c a m e ____________
s h o w n ______________
m i n u t e s ____________
s t r o n g ______________
v e r b ______________
s t a r s ______________
f r o n t ______________
feel
______________
fact
______________
i n c h e s ______________
s t r e e t ______________
426.
427.
428.
429.
430.
431.
432.
433.
434.
435.
436.
437.
438.
439.
440.
441.
442.
443.
444.
445.
446.
447.
448.
449.
450.
d e c i d e d ____________
c o n t a i n ____________
c o u r s e ______________
s u r f a c e ____________
p r o d u c e ____________
b u i l d i n g ___________
o c e a n ______________
c l a s s ______________
n o t e ______________
n o t h i n g ____________
rest
______________
c a r e f u l l y __________
s c i e n t i s t s ________
i n s i d e ______________
w h e e l s _____________
stay
______________
g r e e n ______________
k n o w n ______________
i s l a n d ______________
w e e k ______________
less
______________
m a c h i n e ___________
b a s e ______________
ago
______________
s t o o d ______________
451.
452.
453.
454.
455.
456.
457.
458.
459.
460.
461.
462.
463.
464.
465.
466.
467.
468.
469.
470.
471.
472.
473.
474.
475.
p l a n e ______________
s y s t e m _____________
b e h i n d _____________
ran
______________
r o u n d ______________
b o a t ______________
g a m e ______________
f o r c e ______________
b r o u g h t ____________
u n d e r s t a n d _______
w a r m ______________
c o m m o n ___________
b r i n g ______________
e x p l a i n ____________
dry
______________
t h o u g h _____________
l a n g u a g e __________
s h a p e ______________
d e e p ______________
t h o u s a n d s ________
yes
______________
c l e a r ______________
e q u a t i o n __________
yet
______________
g o v e r n m e n t ______
476.
477.
478.
479.
480.
481.
482.
483.
484.
485.
486.
487.
488.
489.
490.
491.
492.
493.
494.
495.
496.
497.
498.
499.
500.
f i l l e d ______________
heat
______________
full
______________
hot
______________
c h e c k ______________
o b j e c t ______________
am
______________
rule
______________
a m o n g ______________
n o u n ______________
p o w e r ______________
c a n n o t _____________
a b l e ______________
six
______________
size
______________
d a r k ______________
ball
______________
m a t e r i a l ___________
s p e c i a l _____________
h e a v y ______________
fine
______________
pair
______________
c i r c l e ______________
i n c l u d e ____________
b u i l t ______________
501.
502.
503.
504.
505.
506.
507.
508.
509.
510.
511.
512.
513.
514.
515.
516.
517.
518.
519.
520.
521.
522.
523.
524.
525.
c a n ’ t ______________
m a t t e r ______________
s q u a r e ______________
s y l l a b l e s ___________
p e r h a p s ____________
bill
______________
felt
______________
s u d d e n l y ___________
test
______________
d i r e c t i o n __________
c e n t e r ______________
f a r m e r s ____________
r e a d y ______________
a n y t h i n g ___________
d i v i d e d ____________
g e n e r a l ____________
e n e r g y _____________
s u b j e c t ____________
E u r o p e _____________
m o o n ______________
r e g i o n ______________
r e t u r n ______________
b e l i e v e _____________
d a n c e ______________
m e m b e r s __________
526.
527.
528.
529.
530.
531.
532.
533.
534.
535.
536.
537.
538.
539.
540.
541.
542.
543.
544.
545.
546.
547.
548.
549.
550.
p i c k e d ______________
s i m p l e ______________
c e l l s ______________
p a i n t ______________
m i n d ______________
l o v e ______________
c a u s e ______________
rain
______________
e x e r c i s e ___________
e g g s ______________
t r a i n ______________
b l u e ______________
w i s h ______________
d r o p ______________
d e v e l o p e d ________
w i n d o w ____________
d i f f e r e n c e ________
d i s t a n c e ___________
h e a r t ______________
sit
______________
sum
______________
s u m m e r ____________
w a l l ______________
f o r e s t ______________
p r o b a b l y __________
551.
552.
553.
554.
555.
556.
557.
558.
559.
560.
561.
562.
563.
564.
565.
566.
567.
568.
569.
570.
571.
572.
573.
574.
575.
legs
______________
sat
______________
m a i n ______________
w i n t e r ______________
w i d e ______________
w r i t t e n ____________
l e n g t h ______________
r e a s o n _____________
k e p t ______________
i n t e r e s t ____________
a r m s ______________
b r o t h e r ____________
r a c e ______________
r e s e n t ______________
b e a u t i f u l __________
s t o r e ______________
job
______________
e d g e ______________
p a s t ______________
sign
______________
r e c o r d ______________
f i n i s h e d ___________
d i s c o v e r e d ________
w i l d ______________
h a p p y ______________
576.
577.
578.
579.
580.
581.
582.
583.
584.
585.
586.
587.
588.
589.
590.
591.
592.
593.
594.
595.
596.
597.
598.
599.
600.
b e s i d e _____________
g o n e ______________
sky
______________
g l a s s ______________
m i l l i o n _____________
w e s t ______________
lay
______________
w e a t h e r ___________
r o o t ______________
i n s t r u m e n t s ______
m e e t ______________
t h i r d ______________
m o n t h s _____________
p a r a g r a p h _________
r a i s e d ______________
r e p r e s e n t _________
soft
______________
w h e t h e r ___________
c l o t h e s _____________
f l o w e r s ____________
s h a l l ______________
t e a c h e r ____________
h e l d ______________
d e s c r i b e ___________
d r i v e ______________
601.
602.
603.
604.
605.
606.
607.
608.
609.
610.
611.
612.
613.
614.
615.
616.
617.
618.
619.
620.
621.
622.
623.
624.
625.
c r o s s ______________
s p e a k ______________
a p p e a r ______________
m e t a l ______________
son
______________
e i t h e r ______________
ice
______________
s l e e p ______________
v i l l a g e ______________
f a c t o r s _____________
s l e e p ______________
r e s u l t ______________
j u m p e d _____________
s n o w ______________
ride
______________
c a r e ______________
f l o o r ______________
hill
______________
p u s h e d _____________
b a b y ______________
buy
______________
c e n t u r y ____________
o u t s i d e ____________
e v e r y t h i n g ________
tall
______________
626.
627.
628.
629.
630.
631.
632.
633.
634.
635.
636.
637.
638.
639.
640.
641.
642.
643.
644.
645.
646.
647.
648.
649.
650.
a l r e a d y ____________
i n s t e a d ____________
p h r a s e _____________
soil
______________
bed
______________
c o p y ______________
free
______________
h o p e ______________
s p r i n g ______________
c a s e ______________
l a u g h e d ____________
n a t i o n ______________
q u i t e ______________
t y p e ______________
t h e m s e l v e s _______
t e m p e r a t u r e _____
b r i g h t ______________
l e a d ______________
e v e r y o n e __________
m e t h o d ____________
s e c t i o n _____________
lake
______________
c o n s o n a n t ________
w i t h i n ______________
d i c t i o n a r y ________
651.
652.
653.
654.
655.
656.
657.
658.
659.
660.
661.
662.
663.
664.
665.
666.
667.
668.
669.
670.
671.
672.
673.
674.
675.
hair
______________
age
______________
a m o u n t ____________
s c a l e ______________
p o u n d s _____________
a l t h o u g h __________
per
______________
b r o k e n _____________
m o m e n t ____________
tiny
______________
p o s s i b l e ___________
g o l d ______________
m i l k ______________
q u i e t ______________
n a t u r a l _____________
lot
______________
s t o n e ______________
act
______________
b u i l d ______________
m i d d l e _____________
s p e e d ______________
c o u n t ______________
cat
______________
s o m e o n e ___________
sail
______________
676.
677.
678.
679.
680.
681.
682.
683.
684.
685.
686.
687.
688.
689.
690.
691.
692.
693.
694.
695.
696.
697.
698.
699.
700.
r o l l e d ______________
b e a r ______________
w o n d e r _____________
s m i l e d ______________
a n g l e ______________
f r a c t i o n ____________
A f r i c a ______________
k i l l e d ______________
m e l o d y _____________
b o t t o m _____________
trip
______________
h o l e ______________
p o o r ______________
l e t ’ s ______________
f i g h t ______________
s u r p r i s e ___________
F r e n c h _____________
d i e d ______________
b e a t ______________
e x a c t l y _____________
r e m a i n _____________
d r e s s ______________
iron
______________
c o u l d n ’ t ___________
f i n g e r s _____________
701.
702.
703.
704.
705.
706.
707.
708.
709.
710.
711.
712.
713.
714.
715.
716.
717.
718.
719.
720.
721.
722.
723.
724.
725.
row
______________
l e a s t ______________
c a t c h ______________
c l i m b e d ____________
w r o t e ______________
s h o u t e d ____________
c o n t i n u e d _________
i t s e l f ______________
else
______________
p l a i n s ______________
gas
______________
E n g l a n d ____________
b u r n i n g ____________
d e s i g n ______________
j o i n e d ______________
f o o t ______________
law
______________
e a r s ______________
g r a s s ______________
y o u ’ r e ______________
g r e w ______________
skin
______________
v a l l e y ______________
c e n t s ______________
key
______________
726.
727.
728.
729.
730.
731.
732.
733.
734.
735.
736.
737.
738.
739.
740.
741.
742.
743.
744.
745.
746.
747.
748.
749.
750.
p r e s i d e n t s ________
b r o w n ______________
t r o u b l e ____________
c o o l ______________
c l o u d ______________
lost
______________
sent
______________
s y m b o l s ____________
w e a r ______________
bad
______________
s a v e ______________
e x p e r i m e n t _______
e n g i n e _____________
a l o n e ______________
d r a w i n g ____________
east
______________
pay
______________
s i g n a l ______________
t o u c h ______________
i n f o r m a t i o n ______
e x p r e s s ____________
m o u t h ______________
y a r d ______________
e q u a l ______________
d e c i m a l ____________
751.
752.
753.
754.
755.
756.
757.
758.
759.
760.
761.
762.
763.
764.
765.
766.
767.
768.
769.
770.
771.
772.
773.
774.
775.
y o u r s e l f ___________
c o n t r o l _____________
p r a c t i c e ___________
r e p o r t ______________
s t r a i g h t ____________
rise
______________
s t a t e m e n t _________
s t i c k ______________
p a r t y ______________
s e e d s ______________
s u p p o s e ___________
w o m a n _____________
c o a s t ______________
b a n k ______________
p e r i o d ______________
w i r e ______________
c h o o s e _____________
c l e a n ______________
v i s i t ______________
bit
______________
w h o s e ______________
r e c e i v e d ___________
g a r d e n _____________
p l e a s e ______________
s t r a n g e ____________
776.
777.
778.
779.
780.
781.
782.
783.
784.
785.
786.
787.
788.
789.
790.
791.
792.
793.
794.
795.
796.
797.
798.
799.
800.
c a u g h t _____________
fell
______________
t e a m ______________
God
______________
c a p t a i n ____________
d i r e c t ______________
ring
______________
s e r v e ______________
c h i l d ______________
d e s e r t ______________
i n c r e a s e ___________
h i s t o r y _____________
cost
______________
m a y b e ______________
b u s i n e s s ___________
s e p a r a t e ___________
b r e a k ______________
u n c l e ______________
h u n t i n g ____________
f l o w ______________
l a d y ______________
s t u d e n t s ___________
h u m a n ______________
art
______________
f e e l i n g _____________
s u p p l y ______________
802. c o r n e r ______________
803. e l e c t r i c ____________
804. i n s e c t s _____________
805. c r o p s ______________
806. t o n e
______________
807. h i t
______________
808. s a n d
______________
809. d o c t o r ______________
810. p r o v i d e _____________
811. t h u s
______________
812. w o n ’ t ______________
813. c o o k
______________
814. b o n e s ______________
815. t a i l
______________
816. b o a r d ______________
817. m o d e r n ____________
818. c o m p o u n d _________
819. m i n e
______________
820. w a s n ’ t ______________
821. f i t
______________
822. a d d i t i o n ___________
823. b e l o n g _____________
824. s a l e
______________
825. s o l d i e r s ____________
801.
826.
827.
828.
829.
830.
831.
832.
833.
834.
835.
836.
837.
838.
839.
840.
841.
842.
843.
844.
845.
846.
847.
848.
849.
850.
g u e s s ______________
s i l e n t ______________
t r a d e ______________
r a t h e r ______________
c o m p a r e ___________
c r o w d ______________
p o e m ______________
e n j o y ______________
e l e m e n t s __________
i n d i c a t e ___________
e x c e p t ______________
e x p e c t ______________
flat
______________
s e v e n ______________
i n t e r e s t ____________
s e n s e ______________
s t r i n g ______________
b l o w ______________
f a m o u s _____________
v a l u e ______________
w i n g s ______________
m o v e m e n t _________
p o l e ______________
e x c i t i n g ____________
b r a n c h e s __________
851.
852.
853.
854.
855.
856.
857.
858.
859.
860.
861.
862.
863.
864.
865.
866.
867.
868.
869.
870.
871.
872.
873.
874.
875.
t h i c k ______________
b l o o d ______________
lie
______________
s p o t ______________
bell
______________
fun
______________
l o u d ______________
c o n s i d e r ___________
s u g g e s t e d _________
thin
______________
p o s i t i o n ___________
e n t e r e d ____________
f r u i t ______________
tied
______________
rich
______________
d o l l a r s _____________
s e n d ______________
s i g h t ______________
c h i e f ______________
J a p a n e s e __________
s t r e a m _____________
p l a n t s ______________
r h y t h m _____________
e i g h t ______________
s c i e n c e ____________
876.
877.
878.
879.
880.
881.
882.
883.
884.
885.
886.
887.
888.
889.
890.
891.
892.
893.
894.
895.
896.
897.
898.
899.
900.
m a j o r ______________
o b s e r v e ____________
t u b e ______________
n e c e s s a r y _________
w e i g h t ____________
m e a t ______________
l i f t e d ______________
p r o c e s s ____________
a r m y ______________
hat
______________
p r o p e r t y ___________
p a r t i c u l a r _________
s w i m ______________
t e r m s ______________
c u r r e n t ____________
p a r k ______________
sell
______________
s h o u l d e r ___________
i n d u s t r y ___________
w a s h ______________
b l o c k ______________
s p r e a d _____________
c a t t l e ______________
w i f e ______________
s h a r p ______________
901.
902.
903.
904.
905.
906.
907.
908.
909.
910.
911.
912.
913.
914.
915.
916.
917.
918.
919.
920.
921.
922.
923.
924.
925.
c o m p a n y ___________
r a d i o ______________
w e ’ l l ______________
a c t i o n ______________
c a p i t a l ______________
f a c t o r i e s ___________
s e t t l e d _____________
y e l l o w ______________
i s n ’ t ______________
s o u t h e r n ___________
t r u c k ______________
t r a i n ______________
p r i n t e d ____________
w o u l d n ’ t __________
a h e a d ______________
c h a n c e _____________
b o r n ______________
l e v e l ______________
t r i a n g l e ____________
m o l e c u l e s _________
F r a n c e ______________
r e p e a t e d __________
c o l u m n _____________
w e s t e r n ____________
c h u r c h _____________
926.
927.
928.
929.
930.
931.
932.
933.
934.
935.
936.
937.
938.
939.
940.
941.
942.
943.
944.
945.
946.
947.
948.
949.
950.
s i s t e r ______________
o x y g e n _____________
p l u r a l ______________
v a r i o u s ____________
a g r e e d _____________
o p p o s i t e ___________
w r o n g ______________
c h a r t ______________
p r e p a r e d __________
p r e t t y ______________
s o l u t i o n ___________
f r e s h ______________
s h o p ______________
s u f f i x ______________
e s p e c i a l l y _________
s h o e s ______________
a c t u a l l y ___________
n o s e ______________
a f r a i d ______________
d e a d ______________
s u g a r ______________
a d j e c t i v e __________
fig
______________
o f f i c e ______________
h u g e ______________
951.
952.
953.
954.
955.
956.
957.
958.
959.
960.
961.
962.
963.
964.
965.
966.
967.
968.
969.
970.
971.
972.
973.
974.
975.
gun
______________
s i m i l a r _____________
d e a t h ______________
s c o r e ______________
f o r w a r d ____________
s t r e t c h e d _________
e x p e r i e n c e ________
r o s e ______________
a l l o w ______________
fear
______________
w o r k e r s ____________
W a s h i n g t o n _______
G r e e k ______________
w o m e n _____________
b r o u g h t ____________
led
______________
m a r c h ______________
n o r t h e r n __________
c r e a t e ______________
B r i t i s h _____________
d i f f i c u l t ___________
m a t c h ______________
win
______________
d o e s n ’ t ____________
s t e e l ______________
t o t a l ______________
977. d e a l
______________
978. d e t e r m i n e _________
979. e v e n i n g ____________
980. n o r
______________
981. r o p e
______________
982. c o t t o n ______________
983. a p p l e ______________
984. d e t a i l s _____________
985. e n t i r e ______________
986. c o r n
______________
987. s u b s t a n c e s _______
988. s m e l l ______________
989. t o o l s ______________
990. c o n d i t i o n s ________
991. c o w s
______________
992. t r a c k ______________
993. a r r i v e d _____________
994. l o c a t e d ____________
995. s i r
______________
996. s e a t
______________
997. d i v i s i o n ____________
998. e f f e c t ______________
999. u n d e r l i n e _________
1000. v i e w
______________
976.
Analysis
Certain things about the order of words on this list may surprise you but actually make sense. Keep in mind that this is based on a survey of
written English and not of spoken. Thus we find words used to talk about people are things before those used to talk about ourselves. This is of
course contrary to traditional ESOL courses which concentrate almost entirely on speaking about ourselves. American occurs early on, but
considering 330 million of the 400-500 million native speakers of English live in the US, that again should come as no surprise. Note however
that Indian comes far before England and British reflecting the oft forgotten reality that India is the second largest English speaking population
behind the US. Take note of the following series and their occurrences on the list as an aid in determining emphasis in teaching.
Articles: the (1), a (4), an (43)
Verb [be]: am (482), is (7), are (15), was (12), were (35), be (22), been (85), being (297)
Verb [do]: do (47), does (154), did (95), done (401), doing
Verb [have]: have (24), has (69), had (28), having
Pronouns: I (20), you (8), he (11), she (46), it (10), we (36), they (19); me (112), him (66), her (62), us (174), them (58)
Possessives : my (81), your (38), his (18), her (62), its (89), our (119), their (49)
You’ll also find the basic colors, numbers, prepositions, and conjunctions, words for time (day, week, year, etc.), and basic geographic terms like
land, island, mountain, etc.
Finally note that many words are repeated in plural form.
Source:
There are several variations of this list. This particular listing is taken From: The Reading Teachers Book of Lists, Third Edition; by Edward Bernard Fry,
Ph.D, Jacqueline E. Kress, Ed.D & Dona Lee Fountoukidis, Ed.D.