In 2011, researchers used the Oxford English Corpus (OEC) to come up with a list of the most commonly used words in the English language. In total, the texts in the Corpus contain more than 2 billion words and include a wide variety of writing samples, such as literary works, novels, academic journals, newspapers, magazines, debates, blogs, chat logs, and emails. From that record, a list of the most common nouns was derived:
Project manager Angus Stevenson said, “The thing that struck me when I put together this list was that 90% of the top 100 words were one syllable and that a large proportion was actually from Old English, meaning the words we use all the time in basic sentences are from before the Norman Conquest.”
The most commonly used verbs are (to) be, have, do, say, and get. The most commonly used adjectives are good, new, first, last, and long.
Did you know that the bulk of the English language is made up of just 1,000 words? Learn why the ampersand (&) was once considered the 27th letter of the alphabet! Or check out how long a “moment” was when people relied on sundials!
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A building project can be great for bringing your students and classroom together! A House or Community Places activity, a Seasons Tree, or World Maps are great for class projects, rainy day activities, or just for fun!