English, like any other language, is constantly growing and evolving. However, the English of our school textbooks somehow remains the same. How upgrade your english? Your attention is presented a list of 10 popular obsolete words and expressions and modern options for their replacement.
Language is an ambiguous being. Like any living creature, it constantly grows and develops. Indisputable proof of this, in particular, are constant changes. So in English there are already several layers of vocabulary that have ceased to be relevant for communication among native speakers. Alas and ah, this information still cannot reach some teachers and teaching models. Let's figure out what and how is actually now in English.
So what has changed?
- Hall. We remember from school days that this is an auxiliary verb that is used with the pronouns I and We in the future tense. However, even 10 years ago it was no longer used for this purpose. It is still found in colloquial English of various regions, but is used only to express a willingness to engage in some kind of group activity. For example, you agreed with friends to go to the cinema with the reservation of a meeting near the entrance. As soon as the last guest joins the company, you can say: “Shall we?”, which will mean “Well, let's go?”.
- How do you do? Nobody talks like that anymore. Instead, there are “How are you?”, “What have you been up to?”, “What have you been doing recently?”, “What's up?” - and a thousand other ways to ask how you are. As they say in all universities, forget everything you were taught in school!
- Pupil. If you use this word in communication with English-speaking people, they will think that you are talking about the pupil, since the pupil is also a pupil. If you want to talk about younger students, sometimes it's appropriate to say schoolboy or schoolgirl. Older people of any age and any type of training are usually referred to as student.
- telephone. At one time, this word was called a landline phone. About 5 years ago, people ran en masse to turn them off. Be honest, do you still have a landline phone? Do you still use it regularly? Not? Then forget that word too. It is better to talk about mobile phone or cellphone.
- To go in for sports. Yes, yes, yes, this phrase was also imprinted into my brain, in the 7th grade. And yet, having thousands of hours of communication behind me, including with native speakers, I have never 1. used and 2. heard it in their speech. Instead, they say to do sport / sports.
- What a pity! Nobody says that either. If you still want to express pity or regret about what is happening, you can say “What a shame!”, “It's a shame!”, “That's bad!”, quite informally “Crap!”, “That sucks!”, “That stinks!”, or even “I'm sorry”, which in a specific context means “I'm sorry”.
- little, when it comes to size. The word is still actively used in colloquial speech in the context of quantity or volume. However, it is better to say small or even tiny and other more saturated words about size.
- Refrigerator. Perhaps this word was once relevant for the London aristocracy, but how it ended up in Russian-Soviet textbooks is a mystery to everyone who is at least somewhat familiar with the language. For decades, a much more relevant option has been its abbreviated version - fridge.
- Must. The word is still used in colloquial speech, however, with the development of acceptance and tolerance, the harsh “should” sounds much less common in society. Substitution options are have to or should, among others.
- It goes without saying. It goes without saying that this turnover has not been found in English speech for a long time. If you want to confirm the authenticity of what is happening, you can use certainly or definitely.
Do not let your English remain at the level of outdated textbooks. Use the words that actually live in native speakers. Don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. Your English can get better! Good luck with your study!
You can find more information about teaching English in the blog https://grade.ua/uk/blog/