Vocabulary

“without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.”

-David Wilkins

And without a doubt, vocabulary stands as one of the most important parts of learning a language; not only words, but variations of the same words. This means synonyms, antonyms, synonyms, word forms, word lists, word families, and so on.

Let's look at some these words.

Synonyms

Webster's Dictionary: one of two or more words or expressions of the same language that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses.

Synonyms are important when you speak or write because it adds variation and melody to language. Sure, you can use the same word again and again, but how boring is that? For example:

The puppy had filthy paws and a dirty coat.

In this sentence, filthy and dirty are synonyms; the use of these words adds variations to the sentence and makes it more interesting.

As a side note (for you more advanced people), a synonym can also be a word that embodies something, like a quality or idea. For example, the word tyrant can embody the idea of oppression.




Wilkins, D. (1972). Linguistics in language teaching. London: Arnold.