300 most common English words
Did you know you can understand 60% of all written material the 300 most common words in English? Find the top 300 (& how to learn them) in this article.
Most common nouns in English
Nouns are words that name something — a person, a place, or a thing. The most common English nouns are:
word | time | number | way | people |
water | day | part | sound | work |
place | year | back | thing | name |
sentence | man | line | boy | farm |
end | men | land | home | hand |
picture | air | animal | house | page |
letter | point | mother | answer | America |
world | food | country | plant | school |
father | tree | city | earth | eye |
head | story | example | life | paper |
group | children | side | feet | car |
mile | night | sea | river | state |
book | idea | face | Indian | girl |
mountain | list | song | family |
Most common pronouns in English
Pronouns are words that replace nouns. They are used to avoid repeating nouns repeatedly, making sentences easier to understand. The most common English pronouns are:
you | that | it | he | his |
they | I | this | what | we |
your | which | she | their | them |
these | her | him | my | who |
its | me | our | us | something |
those |
Most common adjectives in English
Adjectives are words used to describe nouns or pronouns. The most frequent English adjectives are:
he | a | one | all | an |
each | other | many | some | two |
more | long | new | little | most |
good | great | right | mean | old |
any | same | three | small | another |
large | big | even | such | different |
kind | still | high | every | own |
light | left | few | next | hard |
both | important | white | four | second |
enough | above | young |
Most common verbs in English
Verbs are “doing” words that express a specific action. The most common English verbs are:
is | was | are | be | have |
had | were | can | said | use |
do | will | would | make | like |
has | look | write | go | see |
could | been | call | am | find |
did | get | come | made | may |
take | know | live | give | think |
say | help | tell | follow | came |
want | show | set | put | does |
must | ask | went | read | need |
move | try | change | play | spell |
found | study | learn | should | add |
keep | start | thought | saw | turn |
might | close | seem | open | begin |
got | run | walk | began | grow |
took | carry | hear | stop | miss |
eat | watch | let | cut | talk |
being | leave |
Most common adverbs in English
Adverbs change the meaning of a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Aside from the most common ones below, you can usually spot adverbs by looking for words that end in ‘-ly’. The most common English adverbs are:
not | when | there | how | up |
out | then | so | no | first |
now | only | very | just | where |
much | before | too | also | around |
well | here | why | again | off |
away | near | below | last | never |
always | together | often | once | later |
far | really | almost | sometimes | soon |
Most common prepositions in English
Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns, or phrases with other words in a sentence. The most common English prepositions are:
of | to | in | for | on |
with | at | from | by | about |
into | down | over | after | through |
between | under | along | until | without |
Most common conjunctions in English
Conjunctions connect words, clauses, and sentences. The most frequently used English conjunctions are:
and | as | or | but |
if | than | because | while |
Most common contractions in English
Contractions are shortened versions of words, which cut out letters and replace them with an apostrophe (’). The most common English contractions are:
it’s | don’t |
4 great ways to learn new English words
Now that you know the words you need to get started, the next step is to ask, “How can I learn them?”
- Use flashcards: Flashcards help you learn new vocabulary through repetition, repetition, and repetition.
- Write a diary: When you write a diary, you’ll learn and reinforce the most frequently used words in your daily life. You’ll also figure out which words are missing from your vocabulary.
- Practice by speaking: You can learn so much by talking to people.
- Create your word lists: you can create your word lists that focus on the vocabulary you will need every day.