Upgrading your Vocabulary from Beginner to Advanced Level English
When learning English and becoming more proficient, it can be incredibly rewarding to explore more advanced alternatives to the words we use regularly. Learning about those alternatives can give our communication depth, precision, and richness, and make it feel much more natural. In this blog, I will show you how to ‘upgrade’ everyday words to an advanced level so you can feel more confident in your communication.
Let’s get started!
Common words: from basic to advanced
Good, or very good
More advanced alternatives:
excellent, outstanding, remarkable, fantastic, etc.
The upgrade in a conversation:
Basic:
Q: ‘How was that restaurant you visited?’ A: ‘Good/very good.’
Advanced:
Q: ‘How was that restaurant you visited?’ A: ‘It was truly excellent! Thank you for asking!’
Happy, very happy
More advanced alternatives:
delighted, thrilled, overjoyed, chuffed, pleased, etc.
The upgrade in a conversation:
Basic:
Q: ‘How did you feel when you got the job?’ A: ‘I was super happy’.
Advanced:
Q: ‘How did you feel when you got the job?’ A: ‘I was absolutely thrilled about it, to be honest!’
Bad
More advanced alternatives:
terrible, awful, unacceptable, dreadful, horrendous, etc.
The upgrade in a conversation:
Basic:
Q: ‘How was the weather in Spain’ A: ‘It was bad’.
Advanced:
Q: ‘How was the weather in Spain’ A: ‘Oh gosh, it was honestly dreadful!’.
Sad
More advanced alternatives:
heartbroken, upset, disappointed, downhearted, dejected, miserable, etc.
The upgrade in a conversation:
Basic:
Q: ‘How are you feeling now Joe left you?’ A: ‘I’m feeling sad.’
Advanced:
Q: ‘How are you feeling now Joe left you?’ A: ‘I’m feeling absolutely heartbroken to be honest with you.’
Interesting
More advanced alternatives:
fascinating, intriguing, compelling, remarkable, captivating, etc.
The upgrade in a conversation:
Basic:
Q: ‘How was that book?’ A: ‘It was interesting’.
Advanced:
Q: ‘How was that book?’ A: ‘It was incredibly fascinating! I didn’t expect to be so captivated by it’.
How to effectively use this method, step by step:
First of all, I encourage you to reflect on the words you often use and take inspiration from the list of examples above. Then, research suitable alternatives for those words and study them. When you get a chance, practise using those new advanced words frequently in speech and writing. And then finally, once you get accustomed to those more advanced words, pick up a new basic word and repeat the process!
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I hope you enjoyed this article and using this method to grow your English proficiency. You will notice that once you get accustomed to these more advanced phrases and words, conversations become much more interactive, and people will be more prone to continuing the discussion.
If you ever want to practise your spoken English, I invite you to sign up for one of our English community speaking sessions! And of course, you’re always welcome to join the conversation in our forums to practise your written English!
Until next time!
Marieke, OLS Community Manager - English