Effective English Communication - Polysemy in English

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In this Livestream, we discuss polysemy in English and how that can make us more effective communicators in English. If you can understand the meaning of polysemous phrases then you can face any social situation!

Phrases that are polysemic:

  • How are you?
  • Let’s do coffee?
  • We should get lunch one of these days?
  • We should hang out soon. (soon in general)
  • Get ready for the meeting.
  • Ready by end of the business day.

Words that are polysemic:

  • Bright
  • naturally
  • Clearly
  • Get (become, understand, procure, obtain)
  • Mathematical words: mean, power, even, volume, root

Here are some examples of polysemous words and polysemic phrases:

While:

  • While John was in the garden, the doorbell rang.
  • While your argument is correct, it is incomplete.

Key:

  • I need to have the key replicated.
  • The key issue with this presentation was not one of completion but lack of polish.

Makeup:

  • Sally is a fantasy writer. She likes making up stories.
  • Did you know that English speakers make up a huge percentage of the global population?