Practice
English vocabulary practice: useful words beginning with P
Sign in to saveA short group of words can do a lot of work when you know where each one fits. Patient, polite, practical, prepare, prevent, and progress are useful in messages, conversations, and everyday plans.
Understand and use six useful English words beginning with P in everyday plans, requests, problems, and updates.
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
make progress /meɪk ˈprəʊ.ɡres/
The short answer
Learn a new P-word with one clear meaning and one natural phrase. Then make a sentence about a situation you know, so you can choose the word for its meaning instead of its first letter.
Please prepare your questions before the meeting.
Why it works: Prepare means get something ready. Questions are the thing the speaker wants ready before the meeting.
5 more examples
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Please be patient while the receptionist checks your booking.
Patient means able to wait calmly. The phrase explains the delay.
Not this:Please
be calmwhile the receptionist checks your booking. What changes: Calm describes a person's state at that moment. Patient focuses on handling the wait without complaint. -
Lina wrote a polite message to ask for a later appointment.
Polite means respectful and considerate. The message asks for a change without sounding demanding.
Not this:Lina wrote
a rude messageto demand a later appointment. What changes: Rude language can sound disrespectful. Polite wording makes the request easier to receive. -
The group chose a practical plan for travelling to the workshop.
Practical means likely to work well in the real situation.
Not this:The group chose
an expensive planfor travelling to the workshop. What changes: Expensive describes cost. Practical describes whether the plan can work for the people and situation. -
Wearing a helmet can prevent a serious head injury.
Prevent means stop something from happening. The helmet reduces the chance of injury.
Not this:Wearing a helmet can
treat a serious head injury. What changes: Treating happens after an injury. Preventing aims to stop the injury before it happens. -
After a week of practice, Diego made progress with his presentation.
Make progress means move forward or improve. Diego is not finished, but his presentation is getting better.
Not this:After a week of practice, Diego
repeated his presentationwithout changing it. What changes: Repeating can be useful, but it does not always show improvement. Progress means that something has moved forward.
Read the full guide
Read the whole example aloud. Ask what the speaker needs: time and calm, good manners, a workable idea, advance work, protection from a problem, or movement towards a goal. That question will often lead you to the right P-word. Keep the word in a short phrase, then reuse the phrase in a new context.
Read the situation before choosing the word
The letter P does not tell you which word belongs in a sentence. Read for the situation first. A delayed booking may need patient; a request may need polite; a journey may need practical. The surrounding details are your best clue.
Which word fits a message that asks a colleague to change a meeting time without sounding demanding?
Choose polite. A polite request shows respect for the other person's time and choice.
Use patient and polite with people
Patient and polite are both useful when you deal with other people, but they describe different things. Patient is about waiting or handling difficulty calmly. Polite is about the way you speak or act. You can be both patient and polite when a service is delayed.
The assistant was patient with the new visitor and explained the form again.
Patient describes the assistant's calm response over time. Polite would describe respectful words or manners.
Choose practical ideas and prepare early
Use practical for a plan, solution, or choice that can work in the real world. Use prepare when you do something early so it is ready later. The words often appear together in planning: prepare the materials, then choose a practical way to use them.
We prepared a short agenda and chose a practical time for the call.
What should you prepare before an interview: your ideas after the interview, or your answers before it?
Prepare your answers before the interview. Prepare means make something ready ahead of time.
Prevent problems before they happen
Prevent looks forward. It describes an action that stops a problem, accident, or unwanted result from happening. The pattern is prevent something: prevent mistakes, prevent damage, or prevent a delay. Use it for the earlier action, not the repair afterwards.
Checking the address carefully can prevent a delivery mistake.
Prevent a mistake means stop it before it happens. Correct a mistake means fix it after it happens.
Notice progress, then reuse the words
Progress is a useful word for learning, work, and personal goals. You can make progress on a task or make progress with a skill. After each practice session, name one small improvement. Then use another P-word in a sentence about the next step you will take.
I made progress with my notes because I prepared them the night before.
Write a sentence about a task you are improving. Can you use make progress with or make progress on?
One possible sentence is: I am making progress on my weekly report because I prepare the figures each morning.
Before you go
Remember this
Choose the word from the situation. Be patient during a wait, use polite language for a request, and choose a practical idea that can work. Prepare before an event, prevent a problem where possible, and notice progress as you practise. Review each word in a short phrase, then make it useful in your own sentence.
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 P"
How can I learn English words beginning with P?
Choose a small group and learn each word in a sentence. Notice the situation and the grammar pattern, such as be patient, a polite request, prepare something, or make progress. Then say or write one new sentence of your own.
Please be patient while the receptionist checks your booking.
What is the difference between patient and polite?
Patient describes staying calm while you wait or deal with difficulty. Polite describes respectful language or behaviour. A person can be patient during a delay and polite when speaking to the person who is helping.
Please be calm while the receptionist checks your booking.
What does practical mean in English?
Practical describes an idea, plan, or solution that is likely to work in a real situation. It often considers available time, money, information, and other limits. Practical does not simply mean cheap or simple.
Lina wrote a polite message to ask for a later appointment.
How do I use prepare and prevent in a sentence?
Use prepare when you make something ready before it is needed: prepare your questions for a meeting. Use prevent when an action stops a problem from happening: careful planning can prevent mistakes. The two verbs focus on different actions.
Lina wrote a rude message to demand a later appointment.
What does make progress mean?
Make progress means move forward or improve. You can make progress with a skill, on a task, or towards a goal. The phrase can describe a small improvement, so you do not need to finish everything before you use it.
The group chose a practical plan for travelling to the workshop.