Practice
English vocabulary practice: useful words beginning with I
Sign in to saveA new word becomes more useful when you can connect it to a familiar situation. These six I words appear in instructions, plans, messages, and everyday conversations.
Understand and use six useful B1 words beginning with I: identify, ignore, improve, include, increase, and independent.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
independent learner /ˌɪn.dɪˈpen.dənt ˈlɜː.nər/
The short answer
Use identify when you name or recognize something, ignore when you choose not to give it attention, and improve when something becomes better. Include adds something, increase makes an amount larger, and independent describes someone or something able to act without help or control from another person.
Please identify the file you need before the meeting.
Why it works: Identify means recognize and name the correct file. The words before the meeting show why the reader needs to do this.
5 more examples
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Do not ignore the safety instructions on the screen.
Ignore means choose not to give the instructions attention.
Not this:Do not
follow the safety instructionson the screen. What changes: Follow means do what the instructions say. Ignore means give them no attention. -
Regular practice can improve your pronunciation.
Improve means make pronunciation better through practice.
Not this:Regular practice can
damage your pronunciation. What changes: Damage means cause harm. Improve means make something better. -
The price includes delivery to your address.
Include means have delivery as one part of the price.
Not this:The price
excludes deliveryto your address. What changes: Exclude means leave something out. Include means add it as part of the whole. -
The number of visitors increased during the holiday period.
Increased means became larger in number.
Not this:The number of
visitors decreasedduring the holiday period. What changes: Decrease means become smaller in number. Increase means become larger. -
An independent learner plans her study time and checks her own progress.
Independent describes a learner who can make and carry out a plan without another person controlling each step.
Not this:A
dependent learnerwaits for another person to plan every study step. What changes: Dependent describes someone who needs another person for support or direction in this situation.
Read the full guide
Read the whole sentence before you choose a word. Look for a clue about the action or result. For example, a file can be identified, a problem can be ignored, and a skill can improve. Say each useful phrase aloud, then make a sentence about a situation you know.
Find the clue in the sentence
A familiar situation can help you choose the right word. Read the subject, action, and result. In a sentence about a meeting, identify may mean find and name the right document. In a sentence about a skill, improve may mean make it better.
Please identify the file you need before the meeting.
The reader needs to recognize the correct file. Identify does not mean change or remove the file.
What tells you that identify means recognize in this sentence?
The phrase the file you need shows that the reader must find the correct one.
Use identify when you can name something
Use identify when you recognize a person, object, cause, or problem and can say which one it is. You may identify a caller, an error, or a useful source of information. The object after identify names what you recognize.
The technician identified the cause of the error.
The technician found and named the cause. The word does not mean that the technician repaired the error.
Choose the useful phrase: identify the cause or identify better?
Use identify the cause. Identify needs something that a person can recognize or name.
Use ignore carefully
Ignore means decide not to give attention to something. A message may tell you to ignore an old link because it is no longer useful. When the object is a person, ignore can suggest that you are being impolite, so choose it with care.
Ignore the duplicate message and reply to the newest one.
The duplicate message does not need a reply. The newest message is the one that needs attention.
Why is ignore suitable for the duplicate message?
The message repeats information, so the reader can give attention to the newer message instead.
Use improve for a better result
Use improve when a skill, plan, service, or result becomes better. Regular practice can improve pronunciation. You can also improve a report by making its purpose clearer. The sentence usually names the thing that changes.
After feedback, Luis improved the opening of his report.
The opening changed and became clearer. Improve describes a change for the better.
Can an amount improve, or can it increase?
An amount can increase. Improve is more useful when the quality of something becomes better.
Separate include from increase
Include means make something part of a group, price, plan, or list. Increase means become larger in number, size, or amount. A plan can include an extra session. The number of people who attend can increase. These words describe different changes.
The workshop fee includes a copy of the course materials.
The materials are part of the fee. The fee does not become larger because the sentence uses include.
The number of workshop places increased after the venue changed.
There are more places than before. Increase describes a larger number.
Use independent for someone who can act alone
Independent is an adjective. It can describe a person who makes decisions and carries out tasks without another person directing every step. It can also describe an organization that is not controlled by another organization. The noun usually follows the adjective.
Her manager trusts her to work independently on the project.
Independently is the adverb form. It describes how she works. Independent describes a person or thing.
Which word describes a worker: independent or independently?
Use independent worker. Use independently after a verb to describe how the worker acts.
Before you go
Remember this
Use identify for recognizing or naming, ignore for giving no attention, and improve for making something better. Include adds a part, increase makes an amount larger, and independent describes someone able to act without another person directing each step. Keep one sentence for each word and use it again this week.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "English vocabulary practice: useful words beginning with I"
What does identify mean in English?
Identify means recognize and name a particular person, thing, cause, or problem. Use it when you can say which item you mean, such as the correct file, caller, or source of an error.
Please identify the file you need before the meeting.
What is the difference between ignore and forget?
Ignore means choose not to give something attention. Forget means fail to remember something. You might ignore an old message because it is not useful, while you might forget to reply because it did not stay in your mind.
Please delete the file you need before the meeting.
How do I use improve in a sentence?
Use improve for a change that makes a skill, service, plan, or result better. You can improve pronunciation through practice or improve a report by making its purpose clearer. Name the thing that becomes better.
Do not ignore the safety instructions on the screen.
What is the difference between include and increase?
Include means have something as part of a group, price, plan, or list. Increase means become larger in number, amount, or size. A course fee may include materials, while the number of places may increase.
Do not follow the safety instructions on the screen.
Is independent an adjective or an adverb?
Independent is an adjective, as in an independent worker. Independently is the adverb form, as in work independently. Use the adjective to describe the person or thing and the adverb to describe how an action happens.
Regular practice can improve your pronunciation.