This page is part of a publication called Number One ESL Discussion Book & Reference Guide.
o English is the most widely-spoken language in the world, with 1,121 million speakers (native and non-native speakers).
o 378 million people speak English as a first language.
o 743 million people speak English as a second language.
o Nearly 59 percent of all content on the internet is in English.
o English is an official language in 59 countries.
o English is the most common second language in the world, spoken in 55 countries.
o According to the Oxford Dictionary, there are approximately 170,000 English words in current use.
o The English vocabulary range of native speakers who grew up in an English-speaking country and went to college is estimated to be around 25,000 to 30,000 words.
o Nouns make up the largest category of words in English and include names of people, places, things, and ideas. It’s estimated that around 40-45% of English words are nouns.
o Verbs represent actions, states, or occurrences. Roughly 20-25% of English words are verbs.
o Adjectives describe or modify nouns and pronouns by providing additional information about their attributes or qualities. Adjectives make up approximately 10-15% of English words.
o It has been suggested that the most frequent 2,000 to 3,000 words in English cover around 90% to 95% of the words used in everyday conversations and written texts. Therefore, if you were to focus on learning and understanding the meanings and usage of these most common 2,000 to 3,000 words, you would likely have a strong foundation for comprehending the majority of spoken and written English encountered in everyday situations, including media sources like TV, movies, newspapers, magazines, and books.