Contractions with Two Meanings

Lots of contractions!

Contractions are two words put together in a shorter form. We use lots of contractions in English: isn't (is not) doesn't (does not), didn't (did not), can't (cannot), won't (will not). I'm (I am), you're (you are), we're (we are). There are tons of them!

Confusing contractions

Apostrophe -s

But let's (let us!) talk about some tricky contractions. Contractions with apostrophe -s ('s) and apostrophe -d ('d) are difficult because they have two meanings. Think about it: what does he's mean? Look at these two sentences:

He's studying English.

He's visited England.

In the first sentence, he's means he is. In the second sentence, he's means he has. When we see 's it can mean either has or is. 

Apostrophe -d

I'd been working for hours.

I'd like a glass of champagne.

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The Most Common English Adjectives

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If you want to quickly expand your English vocabulary, adjectives are a great place to start! Adjectives are a really important part of speech. An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.

It is a good idea to focus on the most common ones in the language. Below are lists of the 50 most common words in both American and British English.

50 Most Common Adjectives
🇺🇸 in American English 🇺🇸

No.	Adjective
1	OTHER
2	NEW
3	GOOD
4	AMERICAN
5	GREAT
6	BIG
7	HIGH
8	OLD
9	DIFFERENT
10	NATIONAL
11	SMALL
12	LITTLE
13	BLACK
14	IMPORTANT
15	POLITICAL
16	SOCIAL
17	LONG
18	YOUNG
19	RIGHT
20	BEST
21	REAL
22	WHITE
23	PUBLIC
24	SURE
25	ONLY
26	LARGE
27	ABLE
28	HUMAN
29	LOCAL
30	EARLY
31	BAD
32	BETTER
33	ECONOMIC
34	FREE
35	POSSIBLE
36	WHOLE
37	MAJOR
38	MILITARY
39	FEDERAL
40	INTERNATIONAL
41	TRUE
42	FULL
43	HARD
44	SPECIAL
45	RECENT
46	RED
47	OPEN
48	PERSONAL
49	GENERAL
50	CLEAR

50 Most Common Adjectives
🇬🇧 in British English 🇬🇧

No.	Adjective
1	OTHER
2	NEW
3	GOOD
4	OLD
5	DIFFERENT
6	LOCAL
7	GREAT
8	SMALL
9	SOCIAL
10	IMPORTANT
11	NATIONAL
12	HIGH
13	BRITISH
14	POSSIBLE
15	LARGE
16	RIGHT
17	LONG
18	LITTLE
19	YOUNG
20	POLITICAL
21	ABLE
22	GENERAL
23	ONLY
24	PUBLIC
25	AVAILABLE
26	FULL
27	EARLY
28	BEST
29	BIG
30	MAIN
31	MAJOR
32	ECONOMIC
33	SURE
34	REAL
35	LIKELY
36	BLACK
37	PARTICULAR
38	INTERNATIONAL
39	SPECIAL
40	DIFFICULT
41	CERTAIN
42	CLEAR
43	WHOLE
44	FURTHER
45	WHITE
46	OPEN
47	EUROPEAN
48	FREE
49	CENTRAL
50	SIMILAR

Most of the most common adjectives are the same in the US and the UK (78% of the top 50 and 92% of the top 25 words appear in both lists). Notice that American is the 4th most common adjective in American English and British is the 13th most common adjective in British English. We shouldn't read too much into these simple lists, but it is interesting to note that military, federal, and personal all appear in the American list. Do you notice any other patterns?

That's all for now! Start studying!

If you're looking for something similar, check out the most common verbs in English.

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Sources: The primary sources for compiling this article were the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the British National Corpus.

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Parts of a Laptop

English Vocabulary - Parts of a Laptop

Today lets learn English words to talk about parts of a laptop. As you may know, a laptop is a computer you can close like a book and take with you. Larger computers that you cannot take with you are called desktops, because they sit on top of a desk. A laptop sits on top of your lap (your lap is the upper part of your legs, which is horizontal when you sit!

The part of the laptop that you look at is called the display. Display is also a verb: your computer displays pictures, videos, and websites. Some people call this a screen, too. Screen is a more general word—your TV has a screen, there is a screen at the movies—but display is better for computers. On most laptops, there is an area around the display that doesn't show pictures, like a frame. We call this the bezel. In the middle of the bezel, above the display, you probably have a webcam: a camera that you can use on the web.

The part of the laptop with the letters is called the keyboard. A board is a flat surface, and this board is covered with buttons called keys; that's why we say keyboard! In front of the keyboard is a touchpad, which you can touch to move your cursor (the arrow on your computer screen).

On the sides of the laptop (not shown in this picture) you may have many different ports to plug in your power cord, headphones, or a USB cord.

More free English resources 

Parts of a Laptop Computer

Parts of a Car

Basic English Vocabulary - Parts of a Car

Welcome to the first post in a new series on basic vocabulary from the Ginseng English Blog: Parts of a... Today, let's look at some useful vocabulary for the outside of a car!

On a car there are four tires, two front tires and two rear tires. Front and rear are useful words when we talk about cars. A car has two bumpers to protect you in an accident: a front bumper and a rear bumper. Above the bumpers are lights. There are headlights at the front of the car, and taillights at the rear of the car. On each side of the car is a side-view mirror, to help you see behind you. Inside the car is a rear-view mirror, too.

What other car vocabulary do you know? What do you want to know? Comment below!

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Review of Participles

Remember:

Participles (or participial adjectives) are verbs with -ED and -ING endings that can work like adjectives, describing people and things.

 -ED participles (past participles) usually describe how we feel, as in, "I feel exhausted."

-ING participles (present participles) usually describe things that make us feel that way, as in, "That hike was exhausting."

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