900 new words

3C

english File pre-intermediate

900 new words in 3 months

Reading

start

pages

main Menu

1/6

task

READING

Everyone knows the English language is changing.

Every three months, the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) publishes updates to its online dictionary. One recent update contained 900 new words, new expressions, or new meanings for existing words. But where do they all come from?

Next

words

2/6

task

reading

New words are created in many different ways.

We can make a new word by combining two words, like gastropub (gastronomy + pub) or emoticon (emotion + icon). Sometimes we put two words together in a new way, for example road rage or toy boy.

Next

words

3/6

task

reading

We also find that nouns can change into verbs.

Take the word text. Text was always a noun (from about 1369, according to the OED), but it is now very common as a verb, to text somebody. Other new words already existed but with a different meaning. For example, tweet was the noise that a bird makes, but now we use it more often (as a verb or a noun) for a message that people put on the social networking site Twitter.

Next

words

4/6

task

reading

Adopting words

Another way in which we make new words is by 'adopting' words from foreign languages, like barista or latte (imported from Italian when coffee bars became popular in the UK in the 1990s).

Next

words

5/6

task

reading

Brand or company names and new tech words

A lot of new words come from the names of brands or companies, for example we play music on an iPod and we google information. We also need more general words to describe new technology or new gadgets: Wi-fi, ringtone and smartphone are some recent examples.

Next

words

15

120

6/6

You can review the text (or parts of it) here:

task

reading

The invention of new words is not a new phenomenon. The word brunch (breakfast + lunch) first appeared in 1896, newspaper (news + paper) in 1667, and English people started to use the word café (from French) in the late 19th century. The difference now is how quickly new words and expressions enter the language and how quickly we start to use and understand them.

to test

words

vocabulary

Test

toy boy

latte

road rage

barista

gastropub

to text

a young man who is going out with a much older woman

to send a message using a mobile phone

a person who works in a coffee bar

feeling angry because of the traffic or another person's driving

coffee with hot milk

a pub where you can also have very good food

NEXT

CHECK

road rage

keyboard

google

smartphone

barista

newspaper

toy boy

iPod

emoticon

text

café

ringtone

Wi-fi

latte

gastropub

tweet

nouns to verbs

adopting words

brand/company names

new tech words

Combining two words

NEXT

CHECK

more new words

Next

test

You've done a wonderful job!

Play

LEARNING SESSION 3

Timeline

20xx

20xx

20xx

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

20xx

20xx

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet

review

learning session 3 / timeline

now it's your turn

drag the images and drop them in their corresponding places

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

19xx

19xx

19xx

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

Lorem ipum dolor sit amet

20xx

20xx

20xx

check

closure

This is the time to review and check if you have mastered the knowledge and skills.

start

closure/summary

2/3

review 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

flip card

closure/summary

2/3

review 2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

i didn't know... i will try again

i knew it! let's move foward

closure/summary

3/3

review 3

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. ¿Ut enim ad minim veniam, aliquip ex ea commodo consequat?

flip card

closure/summary

3/3

review 3

• Lorem ipsum
• Dolor sit amet
• Consectetur adipiscing
• Labore et dolore

i didn't know... i will try again

i knew it! let's move foward

You've done a wonderful job!

Before moving on to the next unit, remember to send your solution to the challenge to your teacher.

home