Basic English

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noun

a simplified form of English restricted to an 850-word vocabulary and a few rules of grammar, intended especially as an international auxiliary language and for use in teaching English as a foreign language: devised by Charles Kay Ogden.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of Basic English

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby Basic English

Basic Assembly Language, Basic Curriculum, basic dress, basic dye, basic education, Basic English, basic industry, basicity, basic lead carbonate, basic oxygen process, basic plumage

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Basic English in a sentence

We were barely into the appetizer when he asked a fairly basic question—where did my family live?
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone|Samantha Levine|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The training, at least as described by the U.S. military, is incredibly basic.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His first language was Russian, then he learned Swedish, but chooses to perform in monosyllabic broken English.
The Cult of Yung Lean: ‘I’m Building An Anarchistic Society From the Ground Up’|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nothing in it was meant to change the basic operations of the capitalist economy or to intervene aggressively in class relations.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

And yet—as any private who went through basic can tell you—good weapons training means not shooting wildly 14 times.
A Veteran’s View: NYC Cold War Between Cops and City Hall|Matt Gallagher|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thomas Cooper, an English prelate, died; highly commended for his great learning and eloquence.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
A fancy came into my head that I would entertain the king and queen with an English tune upon this instrument.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Dockier, a prominent leader of the Levelers, in the times of the English commonwealth, was shot by order of the government.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
It seems to me that such verses as these might very well have satisfied the English admirers of Klopstock.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
William Woodville died; a distinguished English physician and medical writer.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell

British Dictionary definitions for Basic English

basic English

noun

a simplified form of English, proposed by C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards, containing a vocabulary of approximately 850 of the commonest English words, intended as an international language

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012